Research and Planning - Trailer feedback

Below are examples of some of the feedback myself and my partner received after showing our rough version trailer to the class:

I completely agree with the feedback regarding more non-diegetic sound needing to be added and I am very happy to have my narrative idea and logos complimented!

Again, I completely agree that sound stings need to be added to scare the audience, however this is down to my partner to do. I'm very pleased to have my cinematography and narrative idea complimented!

I've really found the suggestion of a more distinctive title font thought provoking and I will definitely look into a different font style, or a variation of the one I've already used. I'm really pleased to have my cinematography/scenes complimented once again and I'm so glad the narrative of the trailer is clear and complimented by this member of my class!

Again, I'm so pleased my cinematography has been complimented again and I'm very happy that the 'beginning was very impressive' as this person says! I do agree the colour is not very defined, however I did explain before the trailer was shown that the colour and image was slightly distorted during converting the video file so my partner could add sound to it.

I'm so happy someone picked up on the use of the blue tinge/tint I added to the scenes in the woods and graveyard and complimented them along with my location choices! I completely agree the storyboard parts need to be filmed and they will be. I also agree the music/score needs to be slightly improved. Fast editing, as suggested, will be used during the montage.

The location and logos I used/created have been complimented here and I'm very pleased! I agree Matt's dialogue needs to be clearer and this will be sorted for the real trailer.

My cinematography has yet again been complimented here and again the sound is the area that needs improvement.

My mise-en-scene and editing has been pointed out as a strength by this class member and I'm very pleased! The music/score again is mentioned as an area for improvement - I completely agree.

My editing and production company logos have been complimented and identified as a strength yet again and I'm very pleased they have been described as "amazeballzz" !!! The sound is again the area for improvement. This is the first feedback which suggests the narrative is slightly unclear, the narrative has been complimented by others, but I will certainly look into improving it to make it clearer.

My mise-en-scene costumes and locations have been identified as a strength and I love the suggestion to add a darker tint to the scenes in college - I knew there was something not quite right about them and now I realise its because they're not as dark, or eerie, as the rest of the trailer scenes are!

Once again my mise-en-scene and narrative/storyline have been complimented and the sound has been identified as an area that needs development - this seems to be a very common theme now!

I'm glad to say that all the feedback forms recognised that my film genre was horror and correctly described the narrative of the trailer - this makes me believe that I am on the right track for conveying my genre and storyline.

I am very pleased that my logos were identified as a strength by 3 people, my cinematography was identified as a strength by 4 people, my mise-en-scene was identified as a strength by 5 people, my narrative/storyline was identified as a strength by 4 people and my editing was identified as a strength and highly complimented by 2 people.

I completely agree that the main area for improvement is the sound, as suggested by 8 people's feedback forms.

During the creation of this rough version of the trailer I took on the roles of: Cinematography, Mise-en-scene and Editing - as well as creating the production and distribution company logos. My partner worked on the sound.

Research and Planning - First Draft Trailer

Below are two versions if my first draft trailer. They contain the same content, however one is of a different resolution and video size, making one look fuzzier and more discoloured than the other. I did find the problem of my footage changing colour slightly and becoming of a worse quality when the file had to be converted so that my partner could add sound onto it.

Below is the 'high resolution' and 'large video size' which has discoloured and slightly distorted the video:

 

Below is the 'medium resolution' and 'medium video size' which is not as discoloured or distorted:

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.