Script ( First intial idea)

An extreme close-up of a female appears crying on the screen-
Female -When you know what is feels like to be held at gunpoint
You will know that all you can do is wait and cry.


A Jade Stipetic production – a heart beat sound is used to justify that something bad is going to happen- a heart rate also appears on the screen.


The female is running through a field laughing when suddenly the shot fades into a gray. Whilst the colour of the wide shot fades as does the females laugh to emphasize the females insanity
(Laughs.)


A black screen appears ‘Starring Rachel Forward.’


Then there is an image of a old wooden door were the audience see’s the stalkers hand open it. ( The door squeaks.)
Stalker – I found you.

Female – No,No,No……………………………



The female shouts ‘No’ whilst she his hugging her daughter and making sure she cannot see the stalker.
Another black screen appears with a creepy echoing sound. ‘Dum’


The female and daughter are still sat were they was in the previous shot but without the tension of the killer being around.
Female – it’s going to be ok

To show the audience that something bad has happened I am going to film the female and her daughter down a busy road holding hands dressed only in white, to show innocence or possibly death.
(The daughter waves.)

Flash backs appear after that shot to show insanity and possibly death-
I am going to film things that happen in everyday life.
Female – look at me


The reason for not having much script would be because I want the audience to be left wondering is the women insane or dead, what happened to her child, why is he stalking her so that the audience will go to cinema and possibly by my film.
I think that if my trailer was made into a film it would be extremely tense in the fact that I would not give away big clues and the story would be left hanging.

Character list

Rachel - Rachel is the insane mother in my film trailer. The character is very sure of herself and always knows what to do in normal situations. The reason I chose Rachel was because of her big blue eyes for the main close-up in my film trailer. Her blonde hair is good for my horror film trailer because the audience do not yet know from watching my trailer whether she is evil or good which should make them want to go to the cinemas or buy my film. (Marketing strategy.)

Carley – Carley is the child in my story who is the daughter to Rachel. She is a very shy character who is confused as to why they have to hide from an evil man. She looks innocent as she has light blue eyes and fair coloured hair this is why I chose her.

Stalker – the stalker is the antagonist who follows the mother and daughter around or so they think. The stalker is actually a metaphor for the mothers insanity.

The reason i chose my charcters was because the ylook innocent and are arian.
i think that this goes against the conventions especially with the character 'Rachel' because she is evil in the film.

Shooting Schedule

Tuesday 24th November - Film a phone on a kitchen side and off the hook.
Kitchen -shots- 21, 22, 28 of my storyboard.

Thursday 26th November - Film a forest from a point of view shot.
field -shots- 6, 7 of my storyboard.

Wednesday 2nd December - Film Rachel crying, Film Rachel speaking on the phone.
Dark room -shots- 1, 2, 3, 4 of my story board. Kitchen -shots- 25, 26 of my storyboard.
Thursday 3rd Decmeber - Film the door opening.

tuesday 8th December - Film 'Rachel' and 'Carley' crying, Film 'Rachel' and 'Carley' on cottingham road.

Prop list

props

-for the first scene i need to use a gun to connotate violence, the reason i am using a gun is for the first scene is to show the audience that 'Rachel' is in trouble.
- I need a phone for when the killer calls 'Rachel' this brings tension to this particular scene.
- When the killer enters the room through the door i will need to use a black glove to show that the stalker is mysterious.
- White clothing to connotate innocence or possibly insanity.

Props
- Gun
- Phone
- White clothing
- Black glove

these props are all basic conventions of what you would see in horror films. by using these weapons and unusual things such as 'Black Glove' the audience can see that a murder may happen, making my film trailer conventional of the horror genre.

Synopsis

Rachel and Carley lived a happy life living in a local community, Carley is at school and Rachel stays at home.
After a week of the mother being not so sure of herself anymore she appears to think that an odd looking man is stalking her every move. Rachel is on pills to treat her schizophrenia which adds to the equation of the stalker being a figment of her imagination.
Rachel becomes more weary throughout the film, which makes her daughter ‘Carley’ fairly paranoid as the audience can gather from my film trailer.
Finally Rachel’s mind reaches the point were the stalker is no longer following her on the streets but also in her home. From this point onwards the two characters have to stay indoors as the supposed stalker tries endlessly to find them. (But obviously does not succeed.) At the end of my film trailer I leave the audience confused as they are both stood on a pavement dressed in white. Are they dead? Or is the mother insane?

questionnaire and findings

Questionnaire for a film trailer


1.) What is your favourite genre of film? ( please state why?)

For this question the majority of participants chose horror film. The reason horror film was chosen was because they scare people and leave the audience with suspense. (75%)
10% of students chose comedy genre and the other 15% chose love films.



2.) Do you prefer films that follow the basic narrative structure?
( beginning, disruption, quest, resolution, end)

most participants do like the plot to follow a basic narrative structure but 40% of participants said that films are good which start of with a flashback.


3.) How often do you watch films?

the mean of this was atleast 1 film a week.


4.) Do you think that horror films are better with a female protagonist and a male antagonist or vice versa?

all participants thought that female protagonists and a male antagonist worked better because males make better killers within a horror genre and that females are better at over exaggerating and looking after their children or friends that are also involved. in th elove genre particpants thought the same but the man always chases the woman so it works better for the man to be the antagonist and the female to be the protagonist.

5.) My idea is to create a film about a stalker, what age group do you think this would be?

18% of participants thought that it would be a 12.
70% of participants thought it would be a 18.
12% of particiapnts thought it would be a 15.


6.) how often do you visit the cinema?

Most participants visit the cinema on wednesday because of the 'Orange wednesday' promotion and the other 33% visited cinema once a month or just watched pirate copies.


7.) Do you think that film trailers make you want to watch the film at cinema or watch it in general? If so why?

40% of participants thought that film trailers do make them want to go see the film at cinema because they don't see the whole picture however 60% thought that most film trailers release now are unoriginal and boring.

My film trailers - Target audience defined

Due to the conventions of horror films I have decided to rate my film 18, Films such as Gothika and Panic room have been rated 15 however, my film is going to have more gore. The mise-en-scene used in my film will be fairly dramatic, such as dark rooms, dramatic clothing and ghostly images.
Even though my film is going to be rated 18 copyright legislation shows that internet websites such as ‘Fast past’ and cartoons like ‘king of the hill’ with taboo language are to be viewed by 18’s and over however, underage children are being given access to view these films without permission as it is online.
Therefore my films age limit matters but is most likely to be viewed by the younger generation such as teenagers, in light of this my film is going to be a certificate 16 as my film could be educational to teenagers as it brings awareness towards stalkers (verisimilitude is used throughout my film trailer to show that the events could happen to any mentally ill person or ‘normal’ person.)

Sleepy hollow analysed film trailer

The opening shot to tis trailer sets the scene by using a wide shot. A wolf sound is used to create horror and tension. The viewers focus on the woods and all of a sudden we see the star 'Johnny Depp' being tracked through dark woods. After this wee see the myth of the headless horseman.
The camera zooms to 'Johnny Depps' feet as he runs through the woods creating suspense as we can't see whats happening behind him.
The fact that a sword is pulled out at 'Johnny Depp' shows us that the trailer is set along time ago possibly during victorian times also because of the clothing that they were. When the sword is pulled out at him the shot immediatly skips to 'Paramount' letting the viewer know who the production company is.
Their is a voice over through out the trailer who the audience recognizes as 'Johnny Depp'.
Throught out the trailer we hear alot of talk of the headless horseman killing people.
(Severed heads)
The connotaions of a black forest would most likely be murder. The audience see a dead bodie lying in the woods which is obvious to have happened seen as the all the characters are talking about it.
The innocent female that is shown talking to 'Johnny Depp' is dressed ion white and tryig to to him what she kows about the headless horseman however, he does not listen to her as he says "I'm not used to female company" This shows the audience that somthing is obviousley going to go wrong.
The names of the main acters are shown on the screen in a ghostly writing for stra recognition. This makes the audience more keen to want to go and see at at the cinemas. 'Christiana Ricci' and 'johhny Depp'
The camera tricks that they use are really intersting everytime the headless horseman strikes 'Johnny Depp' wakes up or is not visible indictaing that thats who he is trying to kill.
The white writing that appears at the end of the trailer givges a ghostly impression which i think fits into the story vry well as after seeing the trailer it is clear that the story is about myths, ghosts and ghouls.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYHt8SdUj-U -Sleepy hollows trailer.

'Inglorious Basterds' film trailer analysed.

The film trailer starts of with a high angled shot in which the general says ‘ten hut’ which automatically shows the audience that the film is of a military genre. Powerful music kicks in to inform the audience that the general is serious he then shouts ‘Eyes forward’, almost as though he is communicating with the audience.
A non diegetic noise of a gun shot is made which reveals ‘Once upon a time’ in a blood stain which connotates violence. Another gun shot is made which says ‘in NAZI occupied France’ this gives the audience a sense of location.
Another gun show is fired which reveals the army officer he is dressed in traditional carky green army clothing which shows the audience that he is of high importance as he introduces himself. The gun shot fires again saying ‘ACTIVATE’ A low angle shot is the

n shown as the feet of the soldiers walk synchronised. The gun shot is fired again saying ‘Infiltrate’ An over the shoulder shot is shown revealing the army officer again which reinforces the idea of him being extremely important. The camera then pans the soldiers to show their shocked faces they are not wearing hats which connotates that they are the least important as they are not wearing full queens uniform. The gun shot goes off again ‘EXTERMINATE.’
An establishing shot is then shown revealing the war which shows the audience that they are about to fight. Murder is said showing two people restraining a Nazi soldier then ‘Intimidation’ this is said as two office generals intimidating a young solider. This gives an insight to the actually war. ‘Terror’ A female runs across the screen as the camera pans her, she is dirty and muddy which shows that something bad has happened to her or is going to happen. A medium shot is then shown of Nazi’s being marched with their hands on their heads which shows the American army as dominant, the Nazi army are dressed in a darker green with different helmets which shows that they are Americas enemies. An extreme close-up is then shown of a Nazi with a swastika branded into his forehead. ‘You haven’t seen war’ this is wrote on the screen in a smudged blood mark, ‘Until you’ve seen it through the eyes’, ‘Of Quentin Tarintino’ this name is dropped indicating that the film is brilliant because he is such a good director. A two shot of an American soldier and a Nazi solider is shown, the American soldier then is seen hitting the Nazi’s head against a desk which shows dominance as a gun shot immediately goes off showing another blood stain which says ‘ There are no crimes’ A long shot is then shown of a American man with a baseball bat attacking a Nazi as soon as he swings for the Nazi a further blood stain appears on the screen which says ‘ Behind enemy lines’ This shows the audience that what they are doing is disgusting but there is no laws. ‘Brad Pitt’ the name of actors are commonly shown for star recognition the bigger the stars in the film the more people that go to the cinemas to see it or buy it. Inglorious basterds is then shown so that the audience recognise the logo and associate it with a good film. For comedy purposes Hitler is shown in a medium shot wearing Nazi clothing and a swastika robe ‘Nein, Nein, Nein, Nein.’ This means no in German but show the audience that the film is kind of funny but from this shot it is gathered that the Germans have been defeated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sQhTVz5IjQ

Strangers - analysed film trailer

The opening scene is an establishing shot of a lake that looks deserted, you can hear the diegetic sound of crickets as the camera tracks up to a long shot of a house.
The camera tracks along a bed and then a table to reveal rose petals; this indicates that a couple live here. The fact that piano music is playing shows that audience that something potentially bad has happened or going to happen.
A medium shot of a man lighting a candle is shown, this shows that he is planning a romantic evening; especially with the camera jumping shots to a close-up of a naked female in the bath. (Possibly his wife.) “I just want to tell you something” is used as a voice over as the female is getting dressed in the mirror, her back and neck is bare showing the female as a sex icon. An over the shoulder shot is used to show the female say “What did you want to tell me?” so far the audience has established that there is a couple living in a house that is in the middle of nowhere, suspense building music is playing over the top of the trailer and we can see that the genre is obviously horror. The camera then shows them hugging in 3 different camera shots, 2 shot, high angled shot and a low angled shot “ I love you too”.
A black screen is then shown as strange noises start to occur, “ what is that?” a loud non-diegetic bang is heard as the trailer says ‘ inspired by true events’ this straight away puts the audience on edge because it isn’t just an ordinary film parts of it may have happened. A long shot of a swing is used which is seen from the point of view of the woman this shows the audience that not only is the swing moving on its own accord but the female is becoming more and more terrified.
‘We always tell our selves’ This appears in writing on the screen this makes this makes the audience think ‘ what do they tell themselves?’
A montage of shots then appear as the sound the swings echoes through the shots.
‘ You have nothing to fear’ a bang is heard and everything goes back to normal with a long shot of the female in casual clothing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lm2hZ50sN4

Wedding Crashers analysed film trailer

I have chosen three different film trailers in order to be able to see the differences and analyse the way they have been put together to help me with my own work.

The wedding crashers -
At the start of the trailer the audience can see that a recognisable song is been played which is iconic of love. (spandau ballet-True.) We see the two main stars Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson on every extract of the film through out the trailer, Close-ups and two shots are used frequently to show the audience this is who the film is mainly about.
The second clip which is shown at a persons wedding were we again see the two main characters cutting a cake with the supposed family the stars are in much lighter clothing than the other actors so that the audience can distinguish them.
Most of the scenes shown on the trailer are at weddings which hints that the film is about weddings hence ' The wedding crashers'.
The trailer starts with the stars having a great time until the song American idiot by greenday is played. From that point on the story changes into a love story however 'Vince Vaughn' is not in love were 'Owen Wilson' is. I noticed that when the actors names are shown on the screen Owen's is shown with a red background the colour of love and Vince's is shown on a green background the colour of jealousy. At the very end of the trailer the name of the film appears in the same colour and writing as what it would be on cinema advertisements and posters this is an effective way for the audience to know what film is being advertised.
the advert also shows the sentence get crashed this July 15 - this play on words not only tells the audience when the film actually is released at the cinemas but refers to the films title.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BchoV-6UHI8 - Wedding Crashers Trailer

Conventions of horror

Mise-en-scene –
Clothing – The clothing generally used in the horror genre is white which connotates innocence and black which connotates evilness. The white coloured clothing is generally worn by those who are the victim and the black coloured clothing is worn by the killer.

Lighting - The lighting in horror is usually fairly dim to show the audience when something bad is going to happen, however it can sometimes be light if the director wants to emphasize the kill. When building up to the murder or bad situation usually the lights flash to see what is going to happen or the lighting will slowly become dimmer for a dramatic effect.

Language – Actors speech is usually in clear English (In England.) however, when the bad event happens their speech is usually elongated to show the characters emotions.

Weapons – Guns , knifes and random objects.

Sound –
Diegetic sound – Diegetic sound is what the actors can hear, in horrors suspense is built up by the telephone ringing, the sound of the wind and other things like screams, Just everyday things that could potentially frighten a human if they was awaiting their death.

Non-diegetic sound - This is what the actors can’t hear. Such as music playing to set the scene, a voice over to frighten the audience and possibly screeches and lightening sounds to create tension for the audience.

Editing - Editing can be used in a horror film for many different things such as –
- Shots fading into each other to emphasize a shot.
- Non – diegetic sound
- Fake lightening – weather such as rain.
- Names of actors, producers, directors . . .


Cinematography –
Close-ups – for star recognition also to show characters emotions such as they are ready to commit a bad thing or crying.

Long shots – to set the scene.

Medium shots – to show what the character is up to.

Tracking - to show the person running away from the antagonist.

. . .








To follow the codes and conventions of the horror genre i am going to use verisimilitude and portray the mother as a depressed female.Working around this i am able to fit in the codes and conventions throughout my film trailer.I will use close-ups for star recognition to show the mother and daughter and their emotions from when they was happy to when they are petrified. Other shots will be long shots and establishing shots to show the audience who is being stalked and to give them a sense of location.The horror parts in my film will be filmed in dark lighting to show insanity. ( horror films are generally not filmed in light.) It gives a sense of mystery.

The history film trailers

The purpose of film trailers are to promote and advertise the film. Most trailers are shown either at the cinema or on peoples television sets; the term ‘trailer’ started because they were shown at the end of a film or program. This method was'nt always successful as the majority of viewers left the cinema before the trialer was shown. Now trailers are used before films or at intervals within certain programs, the name however has stayed around.

Movie trailers have now become very popular on the Internet. The way films are advertised shows a well thought out way of distribution and marketing and involves their target audience. For instance a distribution strategy would be to advertise your product on the front of magazines, posters and even bill boards.

For my research of the history of film and film trailers I have chosen to use the ‘Blair Witch Project’ as an example of how they market, distribute and basically make their chosen audience so keen to watch and purchase this film.

Basically the film is about three student film makers who plan a trip to find a local person known as the ‘Blair witch’. Ironically they disappear. The police and others try and find them and discover footage and items belonging to the students one year later.
Or do they?

By watching the ‘Blair witch project’ film trailer I immediately discovered that the film uses amateur footage allegedly from the students, the audience can also see that the film is mainly set in the woods; We hear screaming over the film trailer which is iconographic of a horror film, we know that it is a horror film because of the conventions that are used such as the camera angles.

After watching the film trailer I decided to study the ‘Blair witch project’s’ website. When you enter the website you see a badly filmed medium shot of a female student. (Possibly one of the three students that went missing.)

Producer -
Lions gate entertainment and Haxan films celebrate the tenth anniversary
1999- 2009


When entering the website we are approached by Ghostly writing which says ‘ The Blair witch project’ with four options-

- Mythology
- The film makers
- The aftermath
- The Legacy


Mythology
When I entered the mythology section of the website a time line of events appeared which were –

February , 1785 - Several children accuse kedward of luring them into her home to draw blood from them. Kedward is found guilty of witchcraft, banished from the village during a particularly harsh winter and presumed dead.

November, 1786 - By midwinter all of Kedward's accusers along with half of the town's children vanish. Fearing a curse, the townspeople flee Blair and vow never to utter Elly Kedward's name again.

November, 1809 – The Blair witch cult is published. This rare book, commonly considered fiction, tells of an entire town cursed by an outcast witch.

1824- Burkittsville is founded on the Blair site.

August, 1825 - Eleven witnesses testify to seeing a pale woman's hand reach up and pull ten-year-old Eileen Treacle into Tappy east creek . Her body is never recovered, and for thirteen days after the drowning the creek is clogged with oily bundles of sticks.

March, 1886 - Eight-year-old Robin Weaver is reported missing and search parties are dispatched. Although Weaver returns, one of the search parties does not. Their bodies are found weeks later at coffin rock tied together at the arms and legs and completely disembowelled.

November, 1940- May, 1941 - Starting with Emily Hollands, a total of seven children are abducted from the area surrounding Burkittsville, Maryland.

May 25th, 1941- An old hermit named Rustin Parr walks into a local market and tells the people there that he is "finally finished." After Police hike for four hours to his secluded house in the woods, they find the bodies of seven missing children in the cellar. Each child has been ritualistically murdered and disembowelled. Parr admits to everything in detail, telling authorities that he did it for "an old woman ghost" who occupied the woods near his house. He is quickly convicted and hanged.

October 20. 1994 - Montgomery College students Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael Williams arrive in Burkittsville to interview locals about the legend of the Blair Witch for a class project. Heather interviews Mary Brown an old and quite insane woman who has lived in the area all her life. Mary claims to have seen the Blair Witch one day near Tappy Creek in the form of a hairy, half-human, half-animal beast.

October 21. 1994 - In the early morning Heather interviews Two fishermen who tell the filmmakers that Coffin Rock is less than twenty minutes from town and easily accessible by an old logging trail. The filmmakers hike into Black Hills Forest shortly thereafter and are never seen again.

October 25. 1994 - The first APB is issued. Josh's car is found later in the day parked on Black Rock Road

October 26. 1994 - The Maryland State Police launch their search of the Black Hills area, an operation that lasts ten days and includes up to one hundred men aided by dogs, helicopters, and even a fly over by a Department of Defense Satellite

November 5. 1994 - The search is called off after 33,000 man hours fail to find a trace of the filmmakers or any of their gear. Heather's mother, Angie Donahue, begins an exhaustive personal search for her daughter and her two companions.

June 19. 1995 - The case is declared inactive and unsolved.

October 16. 1995 - Students from the University of Maryland's Anthropology Department discover a duffel bag containing Film cans, DA tapes, video – cassette, a HI-8 video camera, Heather’s journal and a CP – 16 film camera. under the foundation of a 100 year-old cabin. When the evidence is examined, Burkittsville Sheriff Ron Cravens announced that the 11 rolls of black and white film and 10 HI8 video tapes are indeed the property of Heather Donahue and her crew.

December 15. 1995 - After an initial study of the bag's contents, select pieces of film footage are shown to the families. According to Angie Donahue, there are several unusual events but nothing conclusive. The families question the thoroughness of the analysis and demanded another look.



February 19. 1996 - The families are shown a second group of clips that local law enforcement officials consider to be faked. Outraged, Mrs. Donahue goes public with her criticism and Sheriff Cravens restricts all access to the evidence; a restriction that two lawsuits fail to lift.

March 1. 1996 - The Sheriff's department announces that the evidence is inconclusive and the case is once again declared inactive and unsolved. The footage is to be released to the families when the legal limit of its classification runs out, on October 16, 1997

October 16. 1997 - The found footage of their children's last days is turned over to the families of Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael Williams. Angie Donahue contracts Haxan films to examine the footage and piece together the events of October 20 - 28, 1994.

Basically the idea of the mythology is to make the audience believe in the actual film. This is a clever idea as it leaves people with a feeling of curiosity, making people read into the film and of course buy it.


The film makers

In the film makers section of the website there are lots of pictures showing the people who were involved in the incident of the myth the ‘Blair witch’. This is an example of one of the pictures used -

Montgomery College film students Michael Williams, Joshua Leonard, and Heather Donahue less than a week before their disappearance.

The aftermath and legacy are about how they planned the 'Blair Witch Project'
- the setting
- the students
- props that are found by the police.

This is interesting because people who have watched the 'Blair Witch' are often convinced that is is based upon a true story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZu1cTg-xUM - Blair witch project trailer.

My chosen breif

I have chosen to create a promotional package for a new film which will include a tease trailer. A front cover of a film magazine featuring my film and a final poster to promote my film.