Research and Planning - Logo Feedback

After completing the production company and distribution company logos I wanted check they would get positive feedback from my trailer's target audience. This is the feedback I got off Facebook from people who viewed both logos:

After such positive feedback I've decided my logos are definitely complete and don't need changing.

Research and Planning - Production/Distribution Logos

This is the Production Company logo I created from scratch in an online photo editing website (similar to photoshop) called pixlr. I then animated it in windows movie maker.

This is the Distribution Company logo I created in windows movie maker. The rose clip was taken from youtube, however the lettering and text animation is my own work and I tinted the rose clip black and white for a more horror effect.

Research and Planning - Budget Update

Since my last budget update I have not purchased any more items, however I have found a few things out:

-My Dad has the red spray paint that is required for the trailer, so I do not have to purchase any.

-TheBodyJewelleryShop online no longer sells white zombie contact lenses, so the price of this item has drastically shot up from around £6 which that shop used to sell them for, to £14 which is the cheapest I can now find after hours of searching online.

-My actress Sara already has a suitable pair of dolly shoes which can be used as part of her costume, so I don't have to buy these.

-My Mum is kindly letting me use one of her vintage looking knives for filming - however for health and safety purposes I am going to put a large amount of transparent Sellotape over the knife's blade and point during filming to ensure no one slices their hands off or kills anyone during filming.

Although I no longer need to worry about buying spray paint, a knife, or dolly shoes, I don't believe the amount of the budget I am saving from this will compensate for the dramatically increased price of the white zombie contact lenses.

Research and Planning - Rough Trailer Version

To get feedback on our trailers, the class has to have a rough version of their trailer created to show the class.

My rough version contains the three actors I am actually going to use (Sara, James, Matt and myself) and a few of the costumes (Jame's 'vintage murderer' costume) and props (lantern, candle, knife) which will be used in the real trailer.

My media partner is in charge of editing, however due to him having other media related commitments and a short time scale to create the rough edit, I did the editing on this rough version (I also did the editing because the video camera I used to film the scenes was my own and because the scenes I needed to use from the animatic storyboard were on my computer).

As my partner has yet to add a score to this, the rough version below is all my own work (minus a few of my friend's photographs which represent scenes which I have yet to film with my own actress due to the costume not arriving in time.)

Please note, both the production company and distribution company logos were created by myself, but based on both mine and my partner's ideas. They may change before the real trailer is created.

Research and Planning - Rough Version Filming

Filming went well ! However, due to the rain in the morning before we went out filming, the woods we began filming in was very slippery and muddy - meaning my actors could not run through the woods as fast, or for as long, as I had planned due to safety issues. The acting during the chase scenes was not too good either, however I understand my actors were more concerned about not slipping and falling than getting into character and maintaining suitable facial expressions for their roles.

There was a lighting issue in the graveyard scene, as the sun was really low in the sky and made the scene appear lighter than it should. When I film in the graveyard for the real version I want the natural light to be limited so the candle in the lantern is the main source of light, to give a more eerie effect.

But over all, I think filming went well and this rough version of the trailer will really help me improve the real version when I come to film it.

Research and Planning - Filming Preparation

In preparation for filming the rough version of the trailer I had my three actors meet at my house for 11am to get them in costume, do their make-up and their hair.

My friend Sara (playing the dead girl) kindly allowed me to give her a black eye (I'd like to point out this was given via make-up and not physical contact!) and the first version is pictured below:

I have to confess that the make-up looked more authentic in person, however because the audience is going to see the make-up on a screen through a camera, I have to make sure the make-up looks good on camera, even if it looks over the top, or unrealistic, in person. I will continue with make-up tests to make sure I get something that looks better on camera than this does.

Sara's costume has yet to arrive in the post after being purchased from eBay and so she was not wearing the proper 'vintage dead girl' costume when filming the 'rough' version of the trailer. Matt was in partial costume - wearing the correct black boots and leather jacket.

The only person who was able to have their full costume for this 'rough' version of filming was James (playing the vintage 'Jack the Ripper' style murderer) as his costume was basically my 'Phantom of The Opera' outfit, consisting of: black trousers, shiny vintage black shoes, white shirt, black waistcoat, silver pocket watch chain, white bow tie and tailcoat. James looked great in the costume and when I restyled his hair into a 'vintage schoolboy' style, he really looked the part. The look was then completed with a knife. James pictured in his costume and with the knife prop:

Research and Planning - Budget Update

I set myself the budget of £20 for costume and props and today I purchased 1 costume and 2 props in preparation for some test runs and mock up filming tomorrow.

I purchased a gothic looking lantern from IKEA and used some black shoe polish to make the item look older and more vintage. I also purchased a pack of 4 candles for the lantern. The lantern cost £7.25. The candles cost £1.95. Both are pictured (IKEA website picture) below:

I also bid on (and won) a dress for my female lead's costume on eBay. The dress cost £3.69 and is pictured below (eBay picture):

The dress sadly won't arrive in time for the mock up version of the trailer, but will be perfect for the real version of the trailer.

So today I spent a total of £12.89, over half of the budget. My partner protested I'm spending too much money, however I spent 3 days trying to find the cheapest candle holding lantern I could which was the IKEA one and after scouting around charity shops and looking on eBay the dress I bought was also the cheapest I found. I'm not entirely sure how cheap my partner expects things to be, but it shouldn't matter as I'm the one doing mise-en-scene and therefore having to pay for it anyway.

Items I have yet to get are:

-red spray paint/paint
-white contact lenses
-white dolly shoes
-vintage looking knife

I have no idea how I'm going to purchase all that whilst keeping within the budget, but I'm hoping my media partner can spare £5 to help me out if the cost of things does go above £20 - I'm sure he will (I'll make sure he can't refuse haha!!)