4.5 Planning - Preparation

After finishing all our storyboards both animatic and photo animatic we had to plan even more before we could start filming.
Our first decision we had to make was who would be our protagonist.

Actors/Actresses

Above is the selection of girls we had to become our main character in our final piece, after looking at all 4 girls we decided to use Catherine, we decided on Catherine because she was fair skinned and fair haired and thats exactly what we wanted as we thought it would allow us more to work with. We wanted to be able to make our protagonist to look washed out and tired and thought dark make-up would look more effective on paler skin.

Location

Due to our film being a horror movie we decided we should have a few different locations rather than just sticking to one. By doing this shows variety which matches our protagonists mental state. The locations we chose to film at

1.The Beach

2.Conaught Park

3.Kearsney Abbey

4.A bedroom

All the locations we have chosen to film at all give an eary feel, but not only is the location important but the time in which we film at. Time for our filming is crucial, we needed to film at certain times to create the feel we wanted, because we're in Winter we knew we would have to film around 3 and 4pm, this is as the dark is setting but it isn't too dark so that we can't see anything when filming. We wanted to film in locations that had trees so that we could try and create an atmosphere ourselves with the natural light and the surroundings we were already in.

Although there were a few other locations we thought about using we decided on our final 4. The other possible locations we looked at included a grave yard. We thought about using the grave yard because it added a bit of worry to the trailer along with the typical atmosphere found in a grave yard, however we decided against it because we thought it was a typical horror movie location and we wanted to avoid that.

Clothing/Make-up

In order for our protagonist to meet the criteria of a horror movie character, clothing and make-up was vital. We wanted our character to look as if they had just got out of bed, therefore Pyjamas was obvious, but the type of Pyjamas was what we had to decide on. Although the clothing was decided the characters hair and make-up had to be agreed on, hair was expected to be natural but also a bit messy because they had just woken up, along with very little make up because they had been sleeping however we wanted to try and make our character look a little scary and stressed so we decided on some dark make-up below the eyes to make her look a little deranged.

4.4 Planning - Script

Key
* SD = Stage Directions
* VO = Voice Over
*S = Speech

'The Forgotten' - Script

SD - Girl laying on bed, with eyes wide open, laying still.
VO - It's been happening since she was young, she just doesn't remember.
(Change clip to girl @ beach)
SD- Girl walking along beach, wearing same outfit, looks lost.
VO - Where she is.
(Change clip to girl at park)
SD - Girl walking through park, looking lost
(Blank screen with the words '*****', 'The Sun'
VO - Who she is, nobody can ever figure out,
(Clip changes to close up of girl)
VO - what happened to her.
(Montage of series of clips of girl in different locations)
SD - Clip of girl running
SD - Clip of girl crying
VO - To the world she is one person
SD - Clip of girl sitting on bench
SD - Clip of girl screaming
(Blank screen with the words 'AMAZING', 'The Daily Express' written on it)
VO - But to one person she means the world.
SD - Clip of girl walking down a road
VO - But the rest of the world have forgotten about her.
SD - Clip of lit up road, girl walks down it away from audience.
VO - But she's also forgotten about them.
(Blank screen with the title 'The Forgotten' on it)
(Blank screen with the company logo)
(Blank screen with the words 'Coming to a cinema near you in March 2010')
S - Loud cry/scream

Above is the outline script of our teaser trailer, we decided to write up a script to help us focus on the task we had, along with the script and our storyboard we believe we can get all the shots necessary for our trailer to be complete. You can clearly see from looking at our script there is very little speech in our teaser trailer, however what we do have is a voice over, along with the voice over we are using inserts to help portray our idea.

The majority of the shots we are going to be using are long shots, we decided on long shots because it would allow us to see our protagonist along with the surroundings and in a horror movie surrounding are vital, we want our audience to see the settings so it can set the scene. However in the bedroom we have decided to use a lot of close ups, focusing on the face. By focusing on the face the audience will see the make-up used but also our characters facial expressions.

Although we have written a script as well as drawing our storyboard we are almost certain a few changes will be made before everything is complete.

4.3 Planning - Photo Animatic

The photo animatic is an animatic of all the photos that should be taken using our storyboard, this allows us to see exactly how our final piece will look, without the movement. The photo animatic allows us to see our locations, see how well our character fits in to our genre and to see the movement of our storyboard. This is one of the final processes we take before we start our initial filming.
The animatic also allows us to put our credits and inserts into the process so we can see what we like and what we don't like before we started the editing process.

However because we started filming far to early we didn't take any photos, our plan was to do it at the end using our storyboard, however because we didn't even use our storyboard when we started filming because of the problems we encountered, creating a photo animatic was impossible. Therefore we haven't created one as it wouldn't of fitted with our final piece.

4.2 Planning - Animatic

After drawing our storyboard we had to make it into an animatic, by doing this it allowed us to see the sequence of shots our storyboard had led to. There were very little changes from our drawn storyboard to our animatic, however we are sure there will be many other changes further along the process.

The animatic is another process that helps us to plan our work before we even start filming it, it allows us to make our mistakes before it's important.

4.1 Planning - Storyboard

After choosing our brief, we had to pick our genre that our teaser trailer was going to be based on. After deciding on genre we had to think of an idea to base the trailer on, after throwing some ideas between the group we decided to start drawing out some ideas. Below shows the storyboard that was drawn between the group to put the initial ideas on to paper, the storyboard shows the huge amount of focus on our one character and how important the locations are in this teaser trailer. More than likely a few changes will be made before we produce our final piece.

3.2 Pitch - Presentation

We were asked to prepare and give a presentation to our class outlining any ideas and plans we had for our teaser trailer. Our aim of the presentation was to try and allow people an insight into our ideas for the teaser trailer. Within the presentation we wanted to make people aware of the

• genre
• locations
• characters
• general twist of the trailer

We wanted to take people through the process we had gone through for making the decisions we had made to get to where we are now with all our final decisions made. With every decision made we wanted to give a reason why we made it and how we thought it would benefit our teaser trailer.

3.1 Pitch - Initial Ideas

The brief I have chosen is as follows:
A promotion package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer, together with two of the following three options:

• a website homepage for the film
• a film magazine front cover, featuring the film
• a poster for the film

That specific brief was picked as I thought it would allow me to develop the skills I had acquired in the previous year, not only this but I also thought it would allow me to learn new things and branch into a new genre that I hadn't looked into before. A teaser trailer was something I hadn't heard of before and after having it explained to me thought it would be something different to do and liked the idea of having a challenge.

There are going to be quite a few planning stages that I am going to need to undertake before being able to produce my teaser trailer. Before producing the teaser trailer this biggest planning I am going to have to undertake is coming up with an idea that the trailer can be based on. To do this I am going to have decide on a genre, after deciding on the genre, I am going to have to think of a brief beginning, middle and end to allow me to try and produce a successful trailer. After deciding on the sypnosis of the teaser trailer, writing a script will help me to ensure everything is pieced together in the right order.

Deciding on the genre is going to be crucial as this is probably the biggest thing the teaser trailer is going to be based on, being a teaser trailer means it gives very little away, however the one thing it should give clues towards is the genre, therefore I need to ensure I cover all areas of the specific genre I intend to choose. The genre I have decided to choose is Horror. Horror is a genre that I have had very little to do with so I thought it would be something different to do and would allow me to look deeper into a genre that I would say would be my least favorite. Although it may seem silly doing a genre I haven't dealt with much, I thought it would be a challenge and something different to do. This means my trailer needs to follow as many horror conventions found in a teaser trailer as possible, these conventions include

• darkness
• suspense
• confusion
• a sense of lost
• eary voices
• isolated locations

A teaser trailer is a little different to a normal film trailer, a teaser trailer is very short usually lasting around two minutes, the biggest difference between a teaser trailer and a normal film trailer is that the teaser trailer never ever gives anything away, usually it only gives enough away to allow people to learn about the genre of the film compared to a film trailer that has clips from the film and sometimes allow people to grasp quite a lot. A teaser trailer is very basic, therefore in order to fit the brief I am going to have to give very little away of what it's about but ensuring that I allow people to learn of the genre.

2.2 Production Company Logo Design

In order to get noticed an eye catching logo is needed. Having an eye catching logo will allow people to see our work and associate our work with this logo. In order to have an eye catching logo there are a few things that are key, our production company name was a must in the logo along with keeping any pictures that are used to be simple, this is because logos are usually small and over complicating things can lead to confusion.
It was decided that the name for our production company would be "Eclipse Entertainment" because of the simplicity of the name and the alliteration. The alliteration made the company name easy to remember and the simplicity meant it would be hard for an audience to forget it.

As the company name was "Eclipse Entertainment" we found it neccessary to use a solar eclipse in our logo. We also decided to stick to a black and white theme which fitted in with our horror genre for our trailer. Also by using black and white makes it easier for people to concentrate on our logo rather than our audience becoming complicated due to the large amount of colour.

Below is an example of our final logo design

2.1 Production Company Background

Every production company wants to be noticed almost immediately, having a logo allows them to do so. The significance of a logo is to help the reader identify the production company in a way that words alone could not convey. Many logos help explain the branding and sometimes even the audience the production company is aiming at, through the use of the pictures, colors and writing used in there chosen company logo. Although every company needs there logo to help stand out they also need to keep up with the development of there company and the audience that they are aiming at, that is why many logos change over time.

"Walt Disney Pictures" is an example of this. Established in 1923 as "Walt Disney Productions" by brothers "Walt Disney" and "Roy Disney" as the "Disney Brothers Cartoon Studios" the company was reincorporated as "Walt Disney Productions" becoming a leader in the American Animation industry before diversifying into TV, live-action film and travel which later became known as "Walt Disney Pictures" in 1983.

Whatever the name, "Walt Disney Pictures" or "Walt Disney Productions" the company as a whole is responsible of a huge amount of success, Disney films, Disney TV, Disney media products, Disney theme parks, they are all the obvious assets of Disney, however there are also a large amount people may not associate with Disney that are actually owned by them, these include ESPN, and Marvel, all of which are world famous. Films such as Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty and Robin Hood are just a tiny percentage of the films that Disney have produced.

At the start of the launch of "Walt Disney Productions" a logo hadn't really been established, instead at the start of a film the words "Walt Disney Presents" this was shown at the start of every film which started to build up an audience that associated the films with that in credit text.

December 21st 1937 - April 29th 1983

This in credit text was kept for nearly 50 years before any changes were made, however in 1983 changes were made to the "Walt Disney Productions" in credit text, although the changes weren't huge the company started to modernise there logo. Again the in credit text was used but depending on the film depended on the style of the text used.

Both of these logos were released on April 29th 1983 - July 24th 1985

After using in credit text for around 80 years, "Walt Disney Pictures" made huge changes, they entered into a new world with a real logo. On a blue background, a light descends from the top of the screen with a castle which could be related to either "Cinderella" or "Sleeping Beauty" castle. Along with the logo sound was added with a rendition of "When you wish upon a star" as well as the sound of pixie dust are heard during the formation of the "Walt Disney Pictures" text.

The logo bought out seemed to fit in very well with many of the Disney films at the time, the logo gave off a fairy tale feel matching many of its fairy tale films such as "Cinderella.

July 24th 1985 - November 17th 1995

10 years later the logo was updated even more although it was very similar to the previous logo a few changes were made. On the same blue background a 3D CGI castle is used with flags out of the top that actually move in this new updated logo, along with the "Walt Disney Pictures" is in more than 3-D. The sound changes to meet the new modern logo to a fan fare of which the flags move in time with the fan fare.

November 17th 1995 - July 7th 2006

From 1937 " Walt Disney Pictures" have seen many changes from there basic logo to the new up to date more sophisticated logo which uses technology to give it an even more professional look. It has changed 5 times to get it to what it is at this present time, the background has changed to a night background with clouds floating, again the castle is in CGI the same as it was in the 1995 logo, however it has changed even more. Fireworks are used as the castle appears on the screen, the "Walt Disney Pictures" is in the same famous font, however this time it fades in and out of the logo. Like the 3rd logo a rendition of "Wish upon a star" is used however it is completely different to the one used in the third logo, along with the sound of firecrackers going of when the fireworks appear.

July 7th 2006 - Present Day

Another production company that has seen changes in there logo is "Pixar." "Pixar American Studios" is an American CGI production company started in 1979 as the Graphics Group before it was bought by Apple co-founder "Steve Jobs" 1986, then later bought by "The Walt Disney Company" in 1996. Making films such as "Toy Story" "A Bug's Life" and "Monsters Inc"all of which are animated.

Simiarly to "Disneys" first logo "Pixars" is also very basic, the logo is very boring and not very modern.

1986 - 1995

Then in 1995 we see some change to the "Pixar" logo, color has been introduced as well as bit of animation. A lamp hops onto the screen, sees the word "Pixar" and the letter I and squishes the I until it disappears, it then takes the place of the I in the word. The light slowly dims as the lamp is still on then all of a sudden the lamp turns off too so the logo is completely black.

1995 - Present Day

1.5 Research - Primary Research

Before producing our movie trailer, it was important as a group we agreed on who our target audience were going to be. By picking a target audience meant it would allow us to directly target a specific audience, trying to fill our trailer with things that would interest that audience.
We agreed to target 16-24 year olds, who are interested in the horror genre. We aimed for an age range around ours as it would be easier for us to relate to them.

So after agreeing on everything we had to do some primary research, I decided for my primary research to use a questionnaire. I chose a questionnaire because I have worked with questionnaires in the past and believe it is the easiest way to collect and analyse peoples opinions.

I decided to hand out a questionnaire to 25 people from my school, family members and friends outside of school, this allowed me to get a large variety of peoples opinions to what could be included in our final piece.

Questionnaire

"Do you regularly watch films?"

Yes - 22
No - 3

"What is you preferred genre?"

Horror - 6
Romantic Comedy - 4
Comedy - 8
Thriller - 5
Science Fiction - 2

"How do you usually watch the films?"

Cinema - 17
Home - 6
Other - 2

"When you do visit the cinema, do you pay attention to the trailers?"

Yes - 20
No - 5

"Do you think trailers are a good way of allowing people to get a feel for a film that hasn't been released?"

Yes - 11
No - 14

"Have you ever used the internet to research a film, or even view it?"

Yes - 17
No - 8

After looking at my results I feel the majority of people are more interested in just watching the actual film rather than the trailers, however this may have something to do with their age, this will only drive me to try and produce a trailer that people are interested in rather than just ignore it. I also think people don't realise how much they can actually get from the interent concearning films in their own home from using their internet.

1.4 Research - Exhibition

During, after and even before producing a film of any form, production companies look into the ways in which they will exhibit the film to its audience. Due to the growth in society, and an even bigger growth in technology, production companies are being with more choices in the mode of exhibition they are going to choose for the film.


Apart from the obvious of using the cinema to advertise and show there film, companies can do so so much more to advertise there film, sometimes before it is even finished. This is because of the growth in the internet. The internet is seen as an everyday tool in life today, therefore many production comapanies are starting to advertise their films using trailers on many different internet sites, one of the biggest being "youtube". Instead of just having the final product online, trailers and short trailers are being published online to try and create a bigger fan base before the film is released.



Along with watching the film or trailer online they can also research a specific film as the internet is seen as key mode of research. Sites such as "IMDB" which provides information on characters, the plot and other film facts is a good way to research a film, or the typical search engines such as "google" is another way in which people can research the film.


The obvious way to exhibit a film is the cinema, thousands of people visit the cinema regularly, and production companies take advantage of this, however having a film screened at a cinema costs and therefore can't always be a way of exhibiting a film for everyone and this is where film festivals come in.


Film festivals are an organised extended presentation of films that allow smaller budget films to be shown, although there is usually an entry fee for bigger film festivals such as "Cannes" not all require an entry film. This allows people who have created a film to still have it shown to people without having to pay a huge sum of money, as well as showing the films at the film festivals, awards are awarded for certain categories.


The cinema not only allows prodution companies to show there movies but it also allows them to advertise there upcoming movies with trailers or even short trailers, this then allows the audience to witness a range of films that are going to be released soon which they may be interested in. Not only does it allow an audience to start to progress before the films are even released it allows people to get a feel for the film as there at a cinema watching a trailer on a large screen with good sound, rather than watching it on a small computer screen at home.

Another way to get peoples attention for an upcoming film is through use of ancillary tasks. Although its not directly a mode of exhibition it can be seen as a helping hand. Production companies use posters and other advertising agents to advertise the film before it has been released in the hope of creating a large audience. Posters, advertisements on film magazine covers, flyers and other ways to advertise a product/service are all ways in which production companies would use to create a bigger fan base.
Below is an example of a magazine cover used to advertise a "Harry Potter" movie.