Ident

When thinking about our ident we wanted to make sure that it associated with our trailer so we came up with the name of 'Shooting Star Productions'. After a lot of thought we decided that the star tied in with the whole point of being a 'star' and shining in the school show. The name signifies stardom and fame and the background image which is the mellow moon in the night sky suggests a 'romantic' vibe, this is good because it's what we wanted to achieve as we have chosen to do a romantic comedy. We used a publisher and photobucket found the background that looked suitable.

This is our final outcome of our ident. I like the overall effect and think the atmosphere it creates is very much a part of what our film is meant to be about. The most difficult thing was to edit the shooting star going through the sky because it consisted of moving it up each time in each shot.

Filming

Sofar, me and my partner have filmed some auditions that we are going to show short clips of in our trailer. We had to ask to use our schools main hall and stage whenever it was free, we also had to ask for permission to get use of the stage lights to make the auditions as if they were really happening. Although, there was a lot of staging that needed to be done we ended up with some realistic shots from different angles.

Similarly, last week we shot the hallway scene which shows the geek, Miranda walking down by herself with her school books and then a group of 'bullies' pushing her out the way. She then drops her books all over the floor and they all laugh at her.

We made sure some students brought costume to fit the stereotype.


The Judges


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cyuEpAiojg&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDA6j7CU0YY&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmx2PnenhJo&feature=relmfu

These scenes show some of the footage me and my partner took during the process of filming which was difficult at times but very fun to do. You can see how the teachers acted very well and it all looked very realistic, I thought they did a very good job and it did add a lot of humour to the trailer.


Extra Footage


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mtgPt_oeRI&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ULm8hqvhnY&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmwRxjDvITU&feature=relmfu

Sabotage


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF9-QrtEP1g&feature=relmfu


This was the first time we filmed the sabotage in the toilets and this first take didn't quite flow as I was a bit slow in panning to follow the girls so we shot it again and worked out better.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW-vhKjdzf4&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUynm-7y0CA&feature=relmfu

The link above shows some of our filming of a corridor scene where Miranda is 'stealing' Greg from Millie (the geek) as she makes her jealous by showing off Greg and walking straight down the corridor on purpose knowing that Millie will see her and be upset. The humourous side to this scene is where just after Miranda walks past there is a boy looking really shy sliding down the wall. This is very comical because it shows that even the boy fancies Greg!

Research into other Trailers

I have searched various other trailers from previous a level students who have produced their final trailer for their a2 coursework, some trailers are at a very high level of quality and others are not. This has helped me to point out what does and doesn't look effective, I have also realised that sound is an important factor as it adds and creates impact.

Practise Filming

During our last two lessons, me and my partner have gone out and found people to act so we could practise our shots and camera movements. This was harder than we thought because we had to keep moving the camera and placing it at different angles that would show our media skills more. For example, a simple panning shot was tricky as the camera had to be held very still at all times and has to be moved to show the continuation of movement. This gave us practise that we needed for the future filming and made us more prepared fo what was ahead.

Script

As we are doing a trailer there is not going to be much dialogue but there will be some words to do with the scenes that we will edit and out together. For example, the panel of judges will comment on the auditions and either say if they are good or bad. We will use teachers for this part of the filming and their actions to the students will add to the humour of the trailer-establish the rom com genre.

A boy who auditions starts dancing and then one of the judges will comment
"This is a singing competition" - this will add humour and hopefully portray a comedy genre.

Locations for Trailer

The location that we have chosen is pretty much always in a school setting so the first establishing shot at the start of the trailer will show the front of the school from a distance so it will be clear to the audience where the film is going to take place.

For instance, this is an example of what it should look like to set the scene:

Shots will take place in different locations in the school like: 

• school toilets
• stage in the main hall
• corridors
• common room

Other shots out of school will either be done at one of our houses to make the trailer more effective and not so one dimensional.
 

Planning for the Trailer

Here is a rough draft showing our initial ideas and camera shots, by doing this we expanded our ideas further and had a stable starting ground into progressing our trailer.

Here is our storyboarding sofar:

Things to do on the week 21/11/11:

Actors:   Miranda (geek)= wednesday lunch

             Lucy (popular girl)

             Greg (main boy)

             Judges (get 3 teachers)

Extra's:   Beth (lunch)

             Natalie

             Reiss -Thursday Lessons

*Get consent to use the main hall to film some auditions on the stage.*

Scenes to be filmed First:

• Film 5 auditions in the hall with the spotlight to focus on them on stage auditioning.
• Ask 6th Formers to stand in hallway and move aside when Lucy walks down. (slow motion)

Costume:

*Greg* - ask to bring costume

Miranda- some geek like props e.t.c

Camera Shots and Angles

By testing with all the avaliable camera shots, sizes and angles I gained an insight into what shots would be best to suit our teaser trailer. Shots that are catchy and short will best relate to a teaser trailer as you have to portray the main scenes in the film to attract the audience.

Here it shows all many different types of camera sizes and shots:

                           Extra Long Shot - also known as a establishing shot to show the viewer where the location is and where the video is taking place.

                                                        Long Shot - useful when showing someone walking or moving.

               Medium long shot - See more of the face aswell as their body language.

Normal Medium Shot - The medium shot is from just below the waist to above the head. There is more headroom than in the bust shot.          

Close Up - The close up shot is used to reveal detail. If you are shooting just the head and shoulders of a subject this is a close up.

                     
2 Shot - Two-shots are composed when two people are in the scene and their interaction is important. A two-shot is a good way to introduce a conversation.

                

Synopsis of Our Film Trailer

After thinking about different plots for our Trailer, me and my group partner decided to do a romantic comedy about two girls fighting over the main character in the school show so they can be in the show with the popular boy in school. This is all towards my A2 Media Portfolio.

Synopsis:
The plot is about two school girls, one being a popular girl Eva that everyone knows and pays attention to, you can see she is the type of girl who gets everything she wants when she wants it and then on the other hand there is a not so popular girl, Miranda is the complete opposite to Eva, everything about her is nerdy and quirky and is never really 'processed' as being present by other people. Although, they are very different they do have one thing in common, and that is having a crush on the same boy, Greg. He is very confident and 'good looking' to which he always gets a main part in the school show every year. For once Miranda wants to achieve her goal to try and get herself noticed by him, the only way she can acomplish this is by getting the other main part in the the show by auditioning and getting through. However, Eva auditions aswell for the same part to be the main girl. Throughout they both get competitive and try to sabotage one another several times throughout the film, this is the comedy aspect to it as they foolishly act immature all to get that one part. Miranda shocks everyone by her hiden talent and sings a beautiful song, by this she thinks she may actually have a chance in getting the main part so decides to present herself better which makes other students notice her. Eva also delievers a good audition but what Miranda finds out is that she is actually lip singing, she is annoyed by this because she realises that all these years Eva has been cheating and actually isn't that good after all. Miranda wants to prove how good she can be and how bad Eva really is, by doing this she needs to come up with a plan to show Eva up.
Throughout the film there are ups and downs all to win one boy, who will get the main part?

Ideas towards a short film/trailer

I have looked at several short films and trailers to learn and observe the techniques used to create an effective story for the viewer.


Me and my group partner thought about doing a 'Romantic Comedy' and a teaser trailer as it would be interesting to include humour and therefore the audience can establish a certain genre. By chosing to do a trailer we know it has to be catchy and attention grabbing towards the audience, I think if we can make it look like other romantic comedy trailers we will hopefully meet the criteria in the marking system. We both personally prefer rom com's rather than horror and wanted to do something a little different than other people so this is partly why we have chosen to do this certain type of film as they appeal to us more. Although it will be challenging we think overall if we work hard and plan everything out perfectly than the outcome should be deserving.


Some short films that I watched to familiarise myself with romantic comedy trailers are:


'When in Rome'


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsb8U014Hs0

    From the start of this trailer it automatically grabs the audiences attention with a skyline of New York City, from this, a setting is established and we know where the film is going to take place for most of the film. There is a quick edit that shows a birds eye view of a fancy party going on in something that looks like a museum where everyone is enjoying themselves, as the camera pans throughout the place it focuses on one person, the camera pauses quickly and the screen splits to a split screen showing a still medium close up of one of the main characters, Beth. Everything is very fast pace from then and we see short clips of her from the movie doing everyday things. This grasps the concept of the typical conventions of a trailer for example, it should portray short clips from the movie and let the audience know who the main characters are. The first 20 seconds show us Beth life, we get the impression that she is a buisness woman, maybe a co ordinator for events? We can already sense some humour with jokes from Beth and others around her.


'The Proposal'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3JpKPZkC2w&feature=relmfu

'Love and other drugs'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKtrLiQTSM8

These are just some rom com trailers that I have looked at but there are many more. They all are catchy and potray a little what the film is going to be about.



The main conventions that I have discovered are: they all establish a plot so we as the audience get a sense what it might be about and therefore want to go and watch it, this is one of the main selling points on a trailer because if it is an interesting plot then it will attract more audiences. Futhermore, main characters are established so it might be actors we are familar with so will make us go and watch it more, also if a character acts or comes across in a certain way then some people might want to associate with them. Lastly I found that trailers should include scenes that are the most attention grabbing in the film through a cleverly designed movie trailer.

Studying Short Films

  Recently our class has been studying different camera angles and movements with the different shot sizes in more depth so we can apply all of the techniques to several short films that we come to analyse. One short film that we used this on is 'The Dipper' which is full of various camera movements and shot sizes, this is good because it gives us loads to write about and we can deconstruct certain areas of the film that are important.

Here is a link to 'The Dipper' : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtZ9fCwux64

Throughout the short film there are many techniques used all to create a sense of enigma towards the viewer. It starts of with a man speaking to what we know as a voice over, we don't know who is speaking until we get a zoomed in camera movement which lets the viewer focus ont the dipper himself, this emphasises him leaning against the wall so we get a sense that he must be a main character.

The voice overs throughout the short films signify the Dipper's thoughts and observations without him saying it out loud. At the start we hear car engines passing through the streets and then the diagetic sound of an ambulance beeping, this creates enigma because the audience feels unease and we want to know what has happened.

There are several panning shots following everyday people in town very busy and doing everyday chores. As the Dipper talks we see close ups of people's items and there 'goods' to emphasise the fact that the Dipper is observing what they have on them.

 For insatnce, a close up shot of a mans gold watch to highlight if it is expensive or not, the Dipper describes it as 'fake' and so he moves to observe the next person. While this is happening there is upbeat non diagetic music that creates tension, the build up adds to the enigma.

Next, there is a zoom drawing the viewers eyes in to a designer Dolce & Gabanna bag that the Dipper has been observing,  the non diagetic sound in the background is a heart beating, this slows down the pace and it entices the viewer to want to know what is in the bag, what is inside that is so imprtant?

    I like the wording on the shots for example the image of the bag says 'happiness', this represents what the Dipper must be thinking as he knows it looks expensive so wants to take whatever might be in that bag. It's a clever way of letting the onlooker know what the Dipper is about to do or thinking.

There is a clever screen shot which splits the screen in half, by this we see the Dipper himself and the victim whom he is following, we get to see what both characters are doing at the same time without edits from character to character.

Half way through the shirt film, the Dipper gets caught by a police man, there is a tilt shot which creates enigma because we see the woman he just stole from standing and looking pleased with herself. The camera tilts upwards and in the background she is stood on a hill looking more powerful, we get the sense that she had it planned all along, this therefore adds more tension and confusion.

The short film then replays again from the begining but this time it's from the woman's point of view and how she has been observing the Dipper all this time. It confuses the viewer as we don't know whether she is the one who set the dipper being caught. It becomes clear as to why there was an ambulance at the start.

There are questions at the end that the audience wants answers too for example we want to know is it the woman that knew and planned for the Dipper to rob the purse or was it just a coincidance?

The Sandman, (1992) Short Film, Directed by Paul Berry.

 The Sandman 1992 short film is a chilling representation of a European story character.

 Starting by a close up view of the moon which tracks a hillside landscape, the camera leads to an establishing shot of a cottage during the night time to give the sense of a misty atmosphere. While zooming in through the window leading inside the cottage there is diagetic sound of a clock ticking to which we see a woman sewing and a small pale boy maybe the womans son, banging some play drums moving along with the sound of the clock by the fireplace. The viewer then actually see's the clock with a long shot and as well the clock is associated with the moon which we have already seen once before at the begining of the short film.

By this point already the viewer feels a sense of mystery and tension. There is a high angle shot looking down from the top of the stairs at the boy with a candle in his hand, this could maybe signify a sense of protection for the boy as he is alone in the dark. The staircase itself gives off a gothic feel to the short film as everything is dark and weary. In addition, the effect of shadows throughout also add to the horror feel.

There is several point of view shots to make the viewers see and feel how the boy might be feeling. For instance when he looks up the stairs, it shows us his view and how long he has to walk upstairs for, this signifies a atmosphere that is empty so would be scared to walk up there alone. When the boy is walking up the stairs there is a birds eye view looking down on the boy at the top of the stairs finally and how long he had to walk up them.

The boys bed in the middle of the room is isolate with nothing around it, this could represent the fact that he is alone and feeling very vunerable and also that he has no where to hide. 
   
  
 This shot shows the isolation of the boy and we see the moon in the background through the windows, this creates the impression that maybe the sandman is watching over him whilst he sleeps alone and there is no protection. The fact that the window is open makes the viewer at unease and implies a sense of enigma to what is about to happen to the boy. 




 There is a tracking camera movement from when the boy gets into bed which then move upwards to a close up of the moon. At this point the viewer does not know what the moon represents but we know it has something to do with it.  

The Sandman himself represents the actual moon, his face is the same shape of the moon. Although he looks like the moon we can tell that the sandman is not at all kind, he consists of cold colours like white and light blue. These colours are not typical colours that you would pick to make someone feel safe and warm so instead it signifies the fact that he is evil and got a cold heart. The sharp facial features and the yellow evil eyes represent what a bad character looks like.