a teaser trailer for a new feature film, a magazine poster advertising the film and also a film poster featuring the film.
Before starting the main construction for my task I did some research into various aspects of the film industry that would aid me throughout my production. For example, I looked at many different film trailers and identified the different elements that I would need to include in order to make it clear which genre my trailer would belong to. As this part of my research progressed, I quickly decided that the genre I wished to represent was psychological thrillers. The reason I chose this genre was because I was impressed by the many different ways in which this genre can be used to explore and portray social issues and mental illness' from schizophrenia and MPD to insomnia and alternate realities. It was the creative freedom of the genre that mostly interested me when deciding how to construct my promotion package.
After reaching this decision, I focused my research on the codes and conventions that make up a psychological thriller and how I could accurately represent this genre in each of my tasks. As well as watching the trailers for the movies myself, I read reviews as well. Through this research I was able to determine which aspects of a psychological thriller would work in my production and what wouldn't. For example, almost immediately, the idea of any kind of special effects was dismissed. This decision was made for two reasons. The first reason being that I had access to limited technology, which meant that the extent of the special effects I would be able to create would be limited in both scale and quality. The second, and perhaps more important reason for this decision was that a psychological thriller relies on a certain element in order for it to really be successful, that element is realism. The more real a psychological thriller seems, then the more of an impact it will have on the audience.
because of this I decided that the inclusion of special effects such as green screens and animations would be out of context and detrimental to my final outcome.
When it came to deciding on an age range to aim my production, I was torn between two different opinions. On one hand I could aim it a younger audience (15+) and thus, attract a wider audience. Or, I could stick to my original plan and make it as an 18 certificate because of the nature of the storyline, themes and dark nature of the production.
As a way around this problem, I created a questionnaire that included this question along with others such as 'how long should the trailer be?' 'should there be dialogue, if so how much?' and 'what would attract you to the trailer?'. Through this questionnaire, I was able to tailor my production to my audiences feedback and thus create a more successful trailer.
After much deliberation I eventually decided that an age 15 certificate was most appropriate for my film. My reasons for this are that the guidelines for a 15 certificate suit my trailer (and full film synopsis) better than any other certificate.
The guidelines I went by are as follows;
On the issue of imitable behaviour, there must not be too much detail on incidents such as self-harming, hanging or suicide as it could be copied. The same goes for the glamorisation of easily accessible weapons such as knives.
An element of horror, threat and/ or menace is permitted, unless it is sadistic or sexualised.
In a certificate 15 film, the use of frequent strong language is permitted. However, the stronger terms such as 'c**t' are only permitted if justified by the context. Also, it is unlikely to be accepted as a 15 if the language is repeatedly used and in an aggressive manner.
With the exception of strong detail, nudity is permitted in a certificate 15 film. Sexual activity may also be portrayed, again with the exception of strong detail.
Without dwelling on the infliction of pain and injury, (strong) violence is permitted. Despite this, it is likely to be unaccepted if the violence is sadistic or sexualised without the justification of context. Also, the strongest of gory images is likely to be unaccepted.
When filming my trailer, I strived to create a dark, tense mood that would help to create the kind of atmosphere suited to my genre. I did this through the use of mise en scene, camera shots and angles and of course editing.
When filming the scenes, I often used lighting in order to control the feel of the shot. For example, in the opening scene, I waited until after dark to shoot the scene because I wanted to establish the dark mood as soon as possible.
As well as shooting at night, I used dimmer lamps in order to create an eerie feel to the scene which I felt was important.
Alongside the use of practical lighting, I added a vignette effect to the lens in the editing stage of the production. The effect this had was that it brought a contrast to the scene that really complimented the eerie feel I had already created on set.
In terms of mise en scene, I tried to include in my shots, elements of a psychological thriller in the semantic field of confusion. For example, the swerving car, the flashes of light, the loud bangs and the writings on the wall. My aim was to use these elements to serve as a representation of the characters state of mind throughout the trailer.
Also, as a way of getting the across to the audience a sense of chaos and confusion, I used inter-cutting techniques to bring together a trailer that effectively denotes such elements.
When it came to creating a soundtrack for the trailer I decided to write, compose, produce and edit a piece of music played on a piano. This non-diegetic form of music complimented the creepy, thriller element of the trailer whilst building a storyline of it's own.
When creating the music for the trailer I was careful to frequently refer back to different scenes in a chronological order so that I could successfully synchronise the music with what the audience see on screen. Through this technique I have been able to create a consistent soundtrack that compliments each scene with it's style and tempo.
However, I did encounter a problem when putting my trailer and soundtrack together. The problem was that the music was too long for the trailer. As a result, the two did not fully synchronise the first time. As a way around this problem I took the very end of the soundtrack and carefully blended it with the end of the trailer. This worked very well and meant that my closing credits were in perfect sync with the music.
Also, I decided early on that I did not want to include any dialogue in my trailer. My reason for this was because It was at first a way of challenging the forms and conventions of existing media products. However, as the trailer developed it became more and more necessary as it helped to enhance the dramatic feel of the trailer whilst adding to it's mysterious nature.
I say this because how we judge a character in a film or trailer is dependent on how they speak and what they say. By not having my characters say anything at all, the audience feels themselves being drawn towards them, wanting to know more about them. This in turn, focuses their attention on the way the characters para-linguistics denote their emotions, which I felt would be extremely beneficial to the reception of the production.
The way that I structured my trailer was important to how I wanted it to be received by my intended audience. It was also a way of challenging the forms and conventions of a typical psychological thriller in a way that would still be recognised by my audiences whilst still being in a unique style of my own. The way I did this is as follows;
I started of with a relatively normal scene (man arriving home), and slowly built around that normality with chaos and confusion.
The way that it is structured leads the audience into the trailer, whilst the titles hopefully entice them into wanting to see how the story develops.
After completing my trailer for the first time though, I did not feel as if I had achieved this in the best way. I then decided to go back to the editing suite and amended the titles within the trailer to include the line 'will change the lives of millions' . This along with the blood-curdling scream that follows suggests that yes, he will 'change the lives of millions',but not in a good way, perhaps. This change was, I believe, essential in order to accurately structure my trailer in a way that would make sense to my audience whilst also entertaining and interesting them enough to want to watch the full film.
Aside from my main construction, I believe that my ancillary tasks compliment the package as a whole for a number of reasons. For example, I was careful to the retain a similar style to the trailer in a way that would not dramatically change the codes and conventions of either a film poster or a magazine front cover.
When designing the respective tasks I chose to draw them by hand first before scanning them into the computer for further editing.
The following image shows how my film poster developed over time.
Stage 1 - The original hand drawn design.
Stage 2 - The second phase of hand drawn design (painted).
Stage 3 - The first computer manipulated image.
Stage 4 - The final edit.
The first stage consisted of deciding on what font to use and what layout would work best for my poster.
The second stage was a development of the original design and was now coloured. I decided to paint the image purple, not because I wanted to it to be purple but because purple was the easiest colour to manipulate once it came to scanning the image and editing it using computer software such as Adobe Photoshop and PaintshopPro7.
The third stage was the first go at edting using computer software. I used a chrome effect to give the poster the right feel and sharpened the colours so that the brush strokes were more visible. I also coloured in the title in red in order to make it stand out more. I also decided to add in a 'sunburst' effect so as a way of adding a professional feel to the poster.
The final stage of editing consisted of
softening up the chrome effect and adding iin the main images. The main image is the creepy shadow which was a photo i took of a friend stood behind some blurred shower glass. I then used various photoshop effects to make the image fit onto the poster and also added a screenshot from the trailer as a way of linking them all together. The screenshot also seemed to add that final touch that made the poster look really professional. The one thing I feel didn't go as well as it could have was the writing at the bottom which reads 'The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Lose', the writing is difficult to make out among the chrome backdrop.
The following image shows how my magazine film poster developed over time.
The stages here are the same as the stages I went through for my film poster.
Again, i chose the purple colouring because it was easiest to manipulate online. The main image I used for the magazine front cover was also a screen shot from the trailer because I feel that it brings an element of horror to the magazine that was essential if it were to link with my other ancillary task.
After the first edited I posted the image on facebook so that i could get some audience feedback. Through this feedback I was able to understand that the magazine was lacking in other aspects that make a magazine cover look professional. These aspects were; a barcode, screengrabs from the main feature and the date of the issue. After adding these elements my feedback was generally more positive.
Overall, I believe I have created a successful promotion package, whilst not just challenging forms and conventions of existing media products but also developing them in a way that has enabled me to retain my own unique style, yet honour the traditional aspects of filmaking and producing that originally inspired me. 
