I thoroughly enjoyed this experience as it helped me work with others in a team, and it helped me realise that working with others can be difficult but it's also worth the effort as you learn off other people through their unique qualities and skills!
This experience has also taught me how difficult making a 3 minute trailer can be! Everything must be taken into consideration, every word said must be written in the form of a formal script, every sot must be angled in terms of accuracy and precision. I believe I loved the filming aspect as it was very inspiring and it help teach me how one shot can be filmed in so many different angles and ways and the more creative you are - the more effective your product piece turns out to be.
There was a huge lot I learnt which was that editing can take the most time, and it is most definetely the most important part of the whole process - as no matter what you have filmed, it must be edited in a perfect way in order for a perfect outcome.
In terms of my research investigation, I learn that the narrative of a film is heavily researched by it's viewers and is quite interesting. As when high concept films such as King Kong and The Dark Knight use non-chronological order to display their order of events, Independent films do too such as Run Lola Run and Funny Games U.S. - I didn't know this as it astounding me the fact that even though they both industries differ through big budget films in comparison to independent films - they still follow the same codes and conventions of Classical Hollywood Cinema.
I would love to do this again as working with others has taught me to become patient, reliable and independent as when one is'nt present, it all depends on you whether you want to carry on one step further and stay back a step behind and catch up with the race.
As part of being related to another media text (AFTERSCHOOL), we tried to compare and contrast our trailer ina similar form. For instance, we included a 3 Act structure as did Afterschool,the conventions of the Thriller Gnre is for an ordinary setting. We chose to decide, parks and schools - as did Afterschool, thus we were committed to the storyline and plot as we tried to engage it as similarly as possible though the non-chronological order of events. We have done this through Final Cut as it was more "naturalistic' to provide a different approach as did Run Lola Run and Memento - two Thriller trailers who consist of a similar storyline/plot as ours;
Voice-Over
Voice-Over's aren't a common convention of Thriller Genre's but as a group we thought we'd set a new trend or start something new as we were anxious to see whether it would all fit in or work as a whole. I asked Michael and Sam, and they agreed with great enthusiasm which is always a plus as both voice-artists were brilliant with a "realistic" approach! :D Mainly non-thriller trailers have voice-overs; the function of a voice-over is to enhance the audience into the audience's understanding of the plot and is a vital tool for a trailer, espcially our trailer as it isn't in linear order and nobody is setting the base of our story; so why not get someone to tell them? A famous voice-artist, like Don Lofontaine, had voice-overed many trailers, and the positive effect this had on the audience was vital; eespecially if want to attarct our target audience;
Thus, with the help of Michael and Sam, we have introduced a new norm in voice-over art in the Thriller industry and set of codes and conventions.
Music
This is also another key tool, as it was my role, I set out to search for many songs and tunes to include in the soudntrack of our trailer. We were aiming for a "naturalistic" approach through naturalistic songs and instrumental music as it sets the tone of the trailer. For instance, a horror movie would have fast-paced music to build up the tension for the viewer, a film which consists of a tragedy genre would have slow-paved and heartbeat related sound effects to emphasise the unfortunate mood and tension amongst it's audience and in our case we have decided to go for a type of music which starts of slowly, steadily and calmy ( as it does in Afterschool) and then speeds up in terms of its tempo, dynamic and speed to build up the suspense and thriller the viewers would anticipate; here's a clear example of this happening;
Technical Elements
In relation to technical elements, I am referring to the sound mix which is where many trailers are presented in Dolby Digital, this is where the sound effects come in, i.e. heartbeat, bells, panting and many more tension-building sound effects and this is the focus point of this trailer along with the video footage mixed with the music both on Garageband and Final Cut - which helps establish the shape and form in which will be presentably viewable to the viewers - not only does the footage make the film but the good technical skills of editing and multi-tasking apply.
I guess we're all pretty fortunate as everyone was entitled to their role and stuck to it! ;)
For Instance, Suhail was very committed to his work as he made sure everyone was able to make it on our filming dates as well as capturing all the footage. He was also a great member in the role of a third party as he helped me choose which soundtrack to choose and how to edit our voice-over. He also helped out Raza a lot for his editing on Final Cut and eventhough he never really had as much experience as Raza has on editing, he still have it a shot, that's the team spirit! :D
Raza was very beneficial as his role entailed the most work on and the msot time-consuming out of the rest! He was quite patient and everytme we had a lesson where he was present, he went straight to it - thus very time-consuming and didn't waste valuable time which was well-spent on editing!
Sameria was also a great team memeber as she helped me with everything really; such as the voice-over, soundtrack, filming, editing and even the cast themselves! She was very adviseable as she told Raza which shots to put where as it would appear more attractive towards our target audience, such as putting the shots in non-chronological order
ME! As my role was to concentrate fully on the music aspect of the whole project - that's what I did. I first sat down for research and listened to many songs, with Suhail's help as he was very good at researching various songs. I also carried out the voice-over, with Sameria's and Phill's help with all the technical stuff and I organised for Sam and Michael to come and speak for our trailer, I constantly helped the group out whenever they needed help, such as; if someone wasn't here, which is a common problem, I made sure everyone was active and was doing something.
2. Everyone was constructive and productive throughout the whole process! If someone was stuck, each one of us would help out, no matter whose role it was. For examples;
I took photographs of the whole team at their best and distributed them to all the team members for further research or progress.
Suhail helped out pick which soundtrack to pick as I needed an extra person to help me choose which soundtrack would fit in with the Thriller convention.
Sameria was very beneficial to all the group as she was always happy to help and was there to provide everyone with answers as well as solutions.
Raza also helped me with the voice-over as I needed him for his final speech as his voice, in the different camera came out distorted - thus he was eager to help, even though we had a tight deadline to complete!
Weaknesses:
As a group, we probably weren't as organised as we should have been. But we did try our best as it isn't easy to work fully flexible hours with others whom may be busy. To help solve this solution, I photocopied out the drawings for the storyboard for everyone and I kept the yellow book as I always try to be available in lesson and outside of lesson. So in case I wasn't present, everyone would have a copy of the storyboard or an email of what needs to be done.
Another weakness maybe that although everyone has their own role and are happy to imply; we weren't as organised and time-consuming as we should have been as the editing aspect was the longest and left it till last minute, and unfortunately Raza wasn't able to make it on the last lesson, thus me and Sameria could'nt attempt to work on the editing as we weren't aware of his user name or password, thus we had quite a nervous dilemma; but in order to help improve this, we do know that there wasn't a lot of editing to complete as Raza had completed the majority of it.
Our trailer; TheCut has been informed by a number of research taken as we had to undergo a research investigation into a certain criteria such as Genre, Narrative and Representation. Our trailer had been informed mainly by NARRATIVE as a majority of the group had selected the question, my question was; An analysis of the Narrative Structure and editing techniques of two Thriller; Run Lola Run and Memento through the examination of key scenes. ). I have achieved my aim as I have now structured up the set of events to arrange my thriller trailer in as I have achieved my aim in finding out that now all films follow the Classical Hollywood Cinema, as mainly Thrillers don’t and they typically consist of a complicated narrative structure which is now part of a thriller convention. Thus, in order to follow the codes and conventions of my thriller trailer, I must represent my shots in non-chronological order (Run Lola Run) or even reverse-order (Memento), either way; they both consist of the thriller convention. Another key fact that I learnt was that trailers tell a story of a movie in a highly condensed fashion that has a maximum appeal. Traditionally, most trailers have a three act structure, act 1 being the beginning (Equilibrium) – which lays out the setting of the story, Act 2 being the middle which drives the story further (disequilibrium) and usually ends with a dramatic climax (Resolution) – This was all conjured up by Todorov’s theory of narrative which suggested that the trailer can imply some symbolic music, either a recognizable song or even an instrumental piece to dramatise the ending – the last act or trailers usually consist of a visual montage of powerful and emotional moments of the films, the most partial scenes of course are entailed within the film’s trailer – and also may include a cast run – a list of star that could help sell the movie further in terms of fan base and recognition.
Here are a few trailers which do NOT FOLLOW this 3 act structure within it’s narrative;
Genre:
Although, I never studied the question of genre, I do realise how much effect it does have on the trailer, as a whole. No matter which genre you choose; one must make sure it coincide's with it's own personal time and space, through it's iconography (things your recognise with the genre; For Instance...
HORROR = Murderer, Haunted House, Lonely Victims, fatal weapons and death.( ^^ Scream, The Grudge, Lovely Bones, Dancer in the Dark, Funny Games U.S.)
MUSICAL = Numbers throughout, Happy and Lively Cast, Bright Cinematography and Mise-En-Scene, Plenty of Lighting and extravagantly colourful costume! ( ^^ High School Musical, Dancer in the Dark, Hairspray, Singin' in the Rain and Grease)
ROMCOM = Romantic plot, a couple, pursuit of happiness or love, ordinary settings, simple plot, usually one is not intersted in the other, etc. (^^ EG: Paperheart, 500 Days of Summer, 50 First dates and Valentine's Day!)
In relation to OUR trailer, we have consisted it with a Thriller genre; which usually must mean we have to include iconography which relates to the Thriller genre; Crimes, psychological harm or distress, a general theme of identity - we have used all of these conventions of our genre along with the iconography. Janet Staiger - a well known theorist for representing issues based around cultural issues; gender, sexuality and race/ethnicity. She also followed the rule of Mise-En-Scene which consisted of lighting, costume, props and figure movement. Now, in our trailer we have followed other trailers with the same genre along with the same use of mise-en-scene (costume - normal, everyday clothing, lighting - dark yet inspiring, figure movement and body - quite fast yet very common like everyday behaviour. Staiger's theory was to establigh a "naturalistic approach" to film and TV - we have done the same as, from other inspiring trailers such as Nowhere Boy, Precious, Shifty and Brick follow the same form of mise-en-scene;
Representation:
Usually, the form of represenation is highly important as it establishes what the film is trying to signify - in our scenario, we are simply representing, British Actors in the form of an Independent film, and here are some other films who have done similarly;
Well, in order to appeal to our target audience, one must provide a treat installed to lure your chosen audience into watching your trailer – simple. I believe the dominant purpose of a triler is to attract your target audience, now the real question which lies here is; how? Firstly, trailers are film advertisements and simply consist of selected shots from our film; it is the director’s job to provide the most funniest, scariest or most attarctive scenes from your footage to produce an audience but without telling too much (spoliers) as then there really is no purpose of watching the entire film if it’s already narrated through the trailer? Also, the scenes which may appear do not necesseraly have to be sin the order in which they appear in the film – and in our case, we must achieve this in less than three minutes…
In our trailer we have contained are the conventions of a Thriller genre; thus attarcting our target audience (18 tp 24 year olds) from that preferred genre group; for instance: if a person who usually watches Thrillers on a regular basis, they would want the best for their taste; thus including iconography from the genre such as plot, storyline, setting, location, etcetcera. Thus, they would expect to see in this Thriller what they would usually expect to see in a Thriller. In our case, some commmon key Conventions are; a crime at the core of the narrative (a murder was committed), a complex narrative structure (Order of events told in a non-linear structure - Memento and Run Lola Run), extraordinary events happening in an ordinary situation (a girl getting murdered during a film shoot) and general themes ofIdentity (Our protagonist is the prime suspect for the killing, but it is up to the audience to provide us with an answer through various forms of identity). In relation to another text, the 2002 trailer for Spiderman had an entire action sequence, such as escaping bank robberies, getting caught in a giant web and many more jam-packed adventures Peter ha to go through; thus in the trailer, it concentrated on mainly the action footage; and this is most definetely one of the conventions of an Action genre and to engage their audience further they have included just that; to provide iconogrpahy for their TG to recognise;
Another famous trailer for unleashing it’s inner beauty through providing what it’s audience want would have to be the 1960’s Thriller; Psycho which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and gave it’s anxious viewers a guided tour of the Bates Motel itself; and as iterated, it’s provided one of the most famous and scariest scenes well known in a thriller; when at this point, the soft spoken Hitchcock suddenly thros the shower curtain scene back to reveal Vera Miles along with a blood curdling scream;
To conclude, our trailer has communicated through to our audience by giving them what they want; a Thriller trailer. By including all the conventions of the genre, it should appeal to our audience as we had undergone primary and secondary research (Research Investigation) and they usually enjoy watching a Thriller with elements of what a Thriller should provide them with; a Thrilling experience!
As a well co-operative group, we have all chipped in our talents and created a 3 minute trailer; consists of the Thriller genre, targeted at 18 to 24 year olds along with the purpose to entertain.
I am going to include a scanned version of our storyboard and will develop it further by discussing what will be shown on screen, the order of events along with the soundtrack being played along with the shots; [The set of order which will appear on screen for out trailer]
1 Here is the film 4 logo in which will be displayed first in resemblance to what we had planned together, this logo help's signify that our trailer is a British, Independent film of the production company; Channel 4. Here is a trailer for Slumdog Millionaire which co-Film Four Productions as one of it's studio's along with Fox Searchlight.
2. Next up, onscreen would be the Gogo Films logo along with the UKFC Logo, both very diverse and direct media productions. Here is a link to both websites which have a variety of services on offer; such as Gogo TV, Gogo Film, Gogo Research and many more.
3. Trailer Starts! Here, we have included the first 3 shots of our storyboard, which I drew out in brief for a "feel" for what will be displayed throughout. We started off with a corridor scene where the "Film Club" poster is displayed on the wall and we see a group of girls staring at it with anticipation - and then the protagonist is introduced here. So basically we get a normal environment setting as most Thriller trailers do, such as After school - where our inspiration was created.
In Afterschool, we get the first scene set also in a college/school where the characters are introduced. These are one of the common conventions of a Thriller genre; the setting commences with an ordinary setting where ordinary events take place. In this case; school/college = study, projects, socialism and teaching!
4. Awards Information; This is a prestigious part of the whole trailer as it suggests that it's been reviewed by critics such as Phillip French who come from magazine reviews such as Empire magazine; http://www.empireonline.com/
5. More trailer shots; to help move the trailer along smoothly, we have included many shots, and here are a few clips from our storyboard to help imagine this out clearly;
^^ This part of the trailer is where the audience get an inner feel and depth of what the film provides - we tried our best not to place the order of events in chronoligcal order as it would'nt reconcile with the conventions of the genre itself; thus films like Memento and Run Lola Run; both of which are well-known for their unique portrayal of non-chronlogical/non-linear order of events which are displayed throughout the entire plot.
6. Institutional Data - VERY important which sews the whole trailer together with it's production companies, websites, release date, of course with a tag-line(caption); here I created a Poster for a film in which was very beneficial towards our groupwork as it helped me realise what to initially inclue and to re-iterate, it helped me with the actual title and the film's informative details;
7. Towards the end, shall be played some last footage of the trailer to leave the viewer shocked with awe with the climatic ending; [One of the key conventions of the Thrillers]
7. In Conclusion, here is a list of the possible soundtracks we have included and have used amongst our shots to help immerse them together and enable them to emerge as one as it's more soothing for the reader to absorb the medium - through music and shots.
Mr role entailed to carefully concentrate, select and apply the soundtrack along with the voice-over fopr the shots to be edited on Final Cut;
Our trailer is called The Cut where it has a unique storyline and plot and includes most of the conventions of a Thriller genre, this is our finished product and it was worth while! ;)
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