Magazine Layout

Film Magazine Title Ideas

Here are some ideas for the title of my film magazine cover.

Blockbuster- A blockbuster refers to a movie which has huge financial success, generally £100 million or over in North America. It would be suitable for the title of a film magazine because it would suggest it is reporting on the biggest successful films showing or coming up at the time of the issue. On the other hand it may also suggest that the magazine won't review smaller films which would make its content very limited.

LCA- An abbreviation standing for 'Lights Camera Action' which relates obviously to what directors may say during filming. It seems a suitable title for the magazine because it is short and memorable. It also is said at the start of filming a scene which can relate to the title being at the start of a magazine which could represent each issue of the magazine being a new scene of a 'movie'

Uncut- Used when describing a version of a movie that has all of the original footage in it. This would be a suitable title for a magazine because the 'uncut footage' could be represented by the reviews and opinions expressed within the magazine which aren't always expressed in the reviews of the movie.However, this title doesn't look as interesting or powerful as the other ones and may seem a bit bland.

Rewind- A title which could represent people going back into the film to review it. This title may prove limiting and/or misleading because film magazines always voice opinions on upcoming films which wouldn't be shown in the 'Rewind' title.

Reel- A word for a strip of film. Suitable for a film magazine because reviews and people exploring films only explore small elements of what they know or key points to films. On the other hand, Reel is also the name of a cinema company which might mean it isn't suitable to use it.

Conventions of a Film Magazine

 The cover of this empire magazine follows the general conventions you would find on a film magazine. It also follows a fairly common design shared by all issues of Empire magazine.
 The masthead of the magazine is the largest text on the cover and is in bright red writing making it the first thing a reader sees and allows a common reading of the magazine to instantly notice the magazine on a shelf and pick it up. It is also in the common font and one of the same recurring colours used by Empire magazine on all its issues again so people are familiar with what it looks like and also making all issues of Empire magazine look uniform in appearance.
 The main image of the magazine shows a famous actor and relates to the biggest story on the cover of the magazine. It attracts immediate fans of the actor or the character he is portraying if someone seeing the magazine would recognize the character. By using a well known actor the magazine can also attract one off buyers who wouldn't commonly buy the magazine but are interested in the actor or the film he is going to be in.
 The colour of the text is interchanged for every other story between being black and white. These colours contrast each other well and by using them in an alternating pattern the magazine looks more interesting than if a single colour had been used.

Conventions of a Film Poster

Alternate Shooting location ideas

 Due to the difficulty with turning a room into a convincing office for my film trailer I have decided to look for alternate locations for my scenes that will create a more believable whilst still being suitable for my trailer.
 I think that at least one of the two office scenes can be moved to a different location for example the one with Northcott and Malory talking could easily be changed to one of their homes or some sort of bar etc. Similarly the one in which Northcott confronts Sylvester could be changed to outside, somewhere discreet where nobody would see him confronting him.

Ideas for new locations
Confrontation location: This could be changed to behind a building with an industrious, plain feel that could represent the back of the office in which the detectives work. It could also be in some sort of tenfoot or back alley in which Northcott has convinced Sylvester to meet him.

Northcott and Malory talking: This scene could be one of the pairs house, a scene with them walking down a street discussing the case, or a cafe set up. The latter of these would require a lot of mise-en-scene to be successful, the walking one would be easiest and still remain effective.
A different idea for this scene could be in a car before they say leave for or from work. The car could be stationary and would be easy to shoot and make look effective.

Overall these scenes move away from the college environment which is proving difficult to film in.

Shooting session 05/12/12

During this shooting session we used two different shooting locations. One was a classroom down the oak corridor in which we used the computer and the door as the mise-en-scene to give the shots we got the feel that we were in an office. When filming I was trying to get the feeling of a believable office environment by being careful what was in the background of shots. Obviously because the shooting was done in a classroom it isn't entirely believable and in the future I will likely need to re-shoot and put more thought into the mise-en-scene of the environment I film in.

The second shooting location we used was in the media office which, though we didn't finish the shooting session though what we did made me come to the conclusion that the media office is a little to small for shooting in. Though it looks believable the cast have very little space to move around, especially with three of them being in the scene. Also being small means that the camera angles I can use are limited as either I can't get in a position for the shot or the tripod is to big to be put where it needs to be.

Sound effects research

For the film trailer as well as a music soundtrack I need sound effects which in some cases would be difficult to re-create. To solve this I will use sound effects websites and choose the most suitable sounds I can find.

The sounds I need are:
A heartbeat sound effect during the phone call scene
A phone hang up sound.
A phone ringing. (While it would be fairly easy to get a phone sound in real life, the sound effect happens off screen and a louder effect would be easier to achieve if it was taken from a sound website)
The sound of a bat or other blunt object hitting someones face or another surface will do.

Phone sound
http://www.soundjay.com/phone-sounds-1.html
Phone sound 4 on this website is good for what I need which is a stereotypical phone.

Heartbeat Sound
http://www.soundjay.com/heartbeat-sound-effect.html
The same website also has some heartbeat sounds though I may look for some different ones as non of these are all that dramatic.

Shooting Schedule 2

Due to cameras being booked I have had to shoot later than I had hoped

Office scene 
Date:Wednesday 5thy December
Lunch time and Last period
Cast required:
Alex Woodard
Josh Yorgensson
Jack Branton
Location:
Media office
DONE

First Outdoor Scene
Date: Saturday 15th December and Sunday if necessary
Cast Required:

Alex Woodard
Josh Yorgensson
Jack Branton
Adam Toomes
Yosef Sugarman

Also on Wednesday if I have time I would like to re-shoot the previous indoor scene hopefully in better condition and better camera work.

Background Music for film trailer

UPDATE
After using these in some footage I have gathered for the film trailer I realize I may need to find music that blends together better to make transitions between different parts of the soundtrack smoother. I also need to look at different combinations of the music which I can do on movie maker with the timings and pictures from my storyboard as reference for where the music needs to start and finish.

Shooting Session 29/11/12

During the first shooting session we filmed one of the office scenes in a classroom relying on things like the computer, whiteboards and careful camera angling and shooting to ensure it doesn't just look like a classroom. This shooting session was extremely helpful as I learnt how difficult it is to get the perfect shot in an imperfect environment.

I now know that I need to scout out environments in advance and make them available  maybe even get some shots before the cast arrive and know peoples positioning beforehand to get better footage. I also need to know if anything is going on in the area around the set as during the shooting music from nearby classrooms could be heard in the background.

Full script

Establishing shot of Hull 0.00-0.01
Animation of producer that made the movie (horizon productions) 0.02-0.04
Tracking shot from behind of Northcott and Malory leading the drug dealer out into the street 0.05-0.06
Establishing shot of street opening arrest scene will be in. 0.07-0.08
Medium shot of whole group meeting up after catching drug dealer 0.09-0.10
Close up of Malory 0.11-0.12
Close up of Sylvester 0.13-0.14
Close up of Gold- starts speaking towards end of close up, carries on to next scene 0.15-0.16
Close up of drug dealer while Gold speaks 0.17-0.19
Close up of Gold by end of the speech 0.20-0.21
MCU of Northcott who turns to the camera and says "It's what I do Sir" 0.22-0.24

Shot of Northcott, his partner and his boss walking into an office, throwing envelope on table 0.25-0.27
MCU of Gold with Northcott and Malory in the foreground, says "Excellent work gentlemen" 0.;28-0.29
Medium Close of of Northcott explaining "With this new evidence we will be able to bring down these drug dealing scumbags 0.30-0.33
MCU of Malory saying "We are on the case sir" 0.31-0.33


Text shot on black background saying "When a crime..." 0.34-0.35
Medium shot of Gold pacing with the envelope 0.36-0.37
Text shot on black background saying "Goes deeper than anyone thought possible..." 0.38-0.39
Close up of envelope in Gold's hand as he paces 0.44-0.45
Text shot on black background saying "Loyalties will be tested..." 0.46-0.47

Black background with phone ringing in background 0.48-0.49
MCU of Northcott on the phone, picks up and answers "Hello" 0.49-0.50
Golds voice over Northcott saying "Northcott, the case is now in more specialist hands"
Northcott replies "But I have worked on this case for months you can't just..."
MCU of Gold on the phone: Gold replies "This is what's happening Northcott...trust me...it's better for everyone this way.
MCU of Northcott who lowers the phone, hang up sign plays.
Shot of boss putting phone down and destroying evidence

Text on a black background saying "Friendships will be stretched"
Northcott speaking to his colleague his colleague insisting something is wrong
Northcott's colleague telling Northcott to "Let is go"


Text on black background saying  "Bonds will break"
Northcott stood in office with Malory on chair, Northcott says "I can't believe they took me off the case"
MCU of Malory on chair saying "Calm down, this sort of thing happens from time to time"
MCU of Northcott stood saying "Not to be...
Shot of him turned towards Malory then saying "Something isn't right here"

Shot of Northcott marching up to Sylvester
Text "Rivalries will form" 

Shot of Northcott in front of Sylvester saying "What is going on Sylvester?!" 

Shot of Sylvester grabbing Northcott's shirt (less than a second)

Close up of Northcott as bosses Sylvester explains "Back off while you can, this goes deeper than you know

High angle shot of Northcott sat on a sofa with his head in his hands at home

MCU of Northcott's wife asking him "Why can't you just let this go"  

MCU of Northcott who says "This is my job...if I let this go it will tear me apart."
MCU of Northcott's wife saying "It's not the only thing that will be torn apart"

MCU of Malory (Stood up in front of chair) saying "You need to let this go!"
MCU of Northcott saying "I can't...I need your help in this"
MCU of Malory turning away saying "I don't want to be dragged down with you"
Shot of Northcott who has turned Malory around and is saying "This isn't about being dragged down...it's about doing what's right"

Scenes
Magazine review *Simply Amazing* The Sun
Shot of Northcott turning as if seeing someone
Magazine review *Incredibly Intrigue*
Tracking Shot from behind of Northcott chasing hooded figure
Magazine review *One of the best of 2012*
Shot of Northcott running around a corner before being hit in the face
Black screen with Northcott Breathing in the background
High angle shot of of Northcott bloody, kneeling on the floor with a club/blunt object in front of his face
Title of Movie appears here
List of producers and actors appears and release date

Northcott's Voice Over
"And I won't give up on this..."
"...even if it kills me"

Mise-En-Scene

Clothing
4 plain shirts
4 ties (3 would work but 4 is preferable
4 pairs of dark trousers
1 leather jacket
1 suit jacket
1 hat
Street clothese for the drug dealer and Northcott's wife

Miscellaneous 
1 Bat or club
1 Envelope with 'confidential' written on it
Two telephones, one needs to be in an office. One can be a mobile.

Sources for Materials
Alex Woodard and Josh Yorgeson can provide their own costumes which covers 2 of the shirts, 2 pairs of trousers, the suit jacket and the hat. For any remaining shirts or trousers if the other people who need to wear them don't own them then I have clothing that will suffice which I can lend them.
The street clothes are simple and can be general clothing the characters own.

For the bat/club I have the option of a real baseball bat or a padded silver one which would look safer but less realistic. This may not be incredibly important as the bat won't be in shot much.
I have an envelope suitable for the evidence one, all I need to do is write on it.

The mobile phone is easy, the office one will dictate which office I shoot in a little more unless I can find a wireless handset.

Voice Recording schedule

For the outside scenes the voices will likely be of a bad quality due to wind and other weather affecting the camera. To remedy this I plan to have the actors read off their lines into a microphone and then place it over the shots and sync the lips.

Voice schedule
Cast required
Josh Yorgeson
Alex Woodard
Scene
All outdoor scenes
When?
After shooting the outdoor scenes.

Shooting schedule

Scenes
Opening arrest scene+Chase scene 
Cast required
Alex Woodard
Adam Toomes
Josh Yorgeson
Jack Branton
Yosef Sugarman
Location
Town, scenes in location shots.
When?
Saturday and/or Sunday 1st+2nd December

Office Scenes
Cast Required
Alex Woodard
Josh Yorgeson
Jack Branton
Adam Toomes
Location 
Offices in college
When?
Wednesday 28th November. Last period

Home Scene
Cast required
Steph Kyle
Josh Yorgeson
Location
My house
When?
Monday or Tuesday the 26th-27th November (to be confirmed)

Animatic

Location Shots for outdoor scenes

For the outdoor shots of my film trailer I want areas that will represent a gritty, run down area of a city where crime may be higher. These shots are from an older area of Hull which have a broken or industrial feel to them. Also, not many people were around these areas which could give a bleak atmosphere as if everyone was hiding away.

Pic 1- This shot was taken down a small street near trinity church. This street would be suitable because it seems secluded from this angle and looks almost abandoned. it seems like a place a crime organisation may be able to lie low and not get detected.  

Pic 2- This is taken down the same street as pic 1 and looks like a loading bay to some sort of warehouse type building which, in films, is often a place where villains may hide. Using this would be suitable however filming there may be an issue if it isn't open all the time or if the owners aren't happy with us being there.

Pic 3- This area was chosen because of the run down look of it and because it looks like a place not many people would go unless they needed to. This area would give more space to film as it was a lot wider than the first two however it is a little plainer. The first street had more detail in the architecture of both the buildings and the road and looked more secluded than this one does.

Pic 4- This are has a slight industrial feel to it which could represent it being an area behind or near a warehouse which may be used for loading. Again it could represent a stereotypical area in which criminals may hang around.

Pic 5- Similar shot to Pic 4 with more space but less features. It is fairly close by and does look similar so these shots could be used in conjunction with each other.

Possible Health and safety hazards

Hazard
Swinging a blunt object near someones face.
Whose at risk
One of the actors who is 'being hit'
Controls
Pad the object or only make the illusion that it is swinging towards them.
Severity of injury
Probably serious, depending on what is used
Chance of injury
Low
Risk
Low

Story Board

Location Ideas

First scene, street arrest
Idea 1
Some old streets around the trinity market area or behind the deep look old, empty and rundown. These may be suitable to represent somewhere a drug dealer may have been found lying low. I am familiar with these locations though need to get pictures to find the most suitable area.
Idea 2
Indoor, warehouse looking building
Though this would look effective it may be difficult to find. It would make sense to film in an indoor area like this and also make for better sound quality than outside but again, finding a safe, legal location to film in wouldn't be easy.

Bosses Office
Idea 1
Offices within college
With minor alteration (getting rid of items that make it obvious that the filming is being done in a college) a college office could be made to look like a believable detectives office. If it is allowed by college staff this would be the easiest option.

Idea 2
Heavily altered room 
A room with a computer and/or desk could be altered if the effort was put in. The difficulty with this would to make it look believable so that it isn't obvious the room has been deliberately altered and doesn't look like a home enviroment.

Idea 3 
Actual Office in a workplace
Whilst probably the most believable, neither of my parents work in a place with an office and it would be difficult to get access to one other ways and filming time in an office like this could be restrictive and difficult to get re-shoot time.

Northcott's home
Idea 1
Living room of any house
This doesn't really require any effort to make believable though the lighting may need to be altered depending on the mood of the scene.

Chase Scene
Idea 1
Same streets as first scene
Could be same area, streets easy to film in.

Corridors
Any college corridors with either blank walls or with posters or leaflets you would find in a detectives office would work fine.

Character Names and Descriptions

Main Characters

Nick Northcott (Northcott)- The main protagonist of the film. Northcott is an experienced detective who believes in doing the right thing as laid down by the law before considering his own interests. With his trademark hat and his trusty partner Northcott has never failed to bring his case to a close.
Character Mise-en-Scene: Hat, similar to a bowler hat, dark coloured jacket for outdoors scenes. Shirt and tie for office scenes, dark trousers.

Paul Malory (Malory)- Northcott's long time partner who follows him with almost awe and listens to him before anyone except his boss. When Northcott goes up against his boss, Malory is tested having to choose with his colleague and friend and the authorities who give him orders.
Character Mise-en-Scene: Shirt and tie, dark trousers.

Victor Gold (The Boss)- The chief detective at Northcott's place of work, often referred to simply as "The Boss" by  the other detectives. Maytrock is the main antagonist of the movie, keeping Northcott in the dark on what is going on and using his superior power for his own personal gain. Using his power and knowledge over the lower ranking members of the team The Boss really is in charge of the situation though finds the honest Northcott to be a constant thorn in his side.
Character Mise-en-Scene: Suit and tie, shirt underneath, dark trousers.

 Bryan Sylvester (Sylvester)- A junior detective being groomed by 'The Boss' and made into his cronie, Sylvester has half a brain which is all that The Boss needs from him. Sylvester sees himself differently, as a valuable asset to the boss who he believes is rearing him for promotion. Because of this, Sylvester will do anything asked of him if he thinks it will increase his standing.
Character Mise-en-Scene: Leather Jacket, shirt underneath though isn't often seen without jacket on. Dark trousers.

Minor Characters
Susan Northcott- Northcott's wife, a woman who looks after the house whilst her husband supports her at work. She feels she is happily married and comfortable as things are. She initially tries to comfort Northcott when things go awry with the case but soon becomes frustrated and thinks he is over-reacting, leading to tension between them.
Character Mise-en-Scene: Regular street clothes.

Drug Dealer- Short appearance at start. Rough looking, just been arrested by Northcott who is taking him in to question him further on the drug ring.
Character Mise-en-Scene: Regular street clothes, maybe a white t-shirt to contrast with the darker colours of the detectives

My Audience

My target audience is young mature people who are interested in the cinema and more specifically the detective genre of film. It is aimed at people who don't just want constant action in a movie but something that makes them think.
The majority of the audience would likely be male though a female audience may be interested in the film just not as much. This is because the majority of the characters are male and though it isn't a dominating feature action scenes would appear in the movie. A female audience may be attracted through them being interested in trying to solve the case and figure out what is happening. All in all the film could attract both genders because of the different elements of the film, it just likely gains the attention of one more than the other.
People who watch the movie are likely to be easy going, smart people who enjoy something that makes them think. They will have likely seen other detective movies or TV shows and may be into reading detective novels.
The target audience can range from lower to middle demographic class as all these people can afford to go to the cinema if something is on that they want to see.

Rough Script of film trailer

This post is a rough idea of what will be happening in the film trailer. The timings  and what will be contained in the shots will be refined and things will be added to the trailer to lengthen it.

1. Animation of producer that made the movie (fictional) 0.00-0.03
2.Establishing shot of street opening arrest scene will be in. 0.04-0.05
3. Long shot of crowd of people 0.06-0.07 (Detectives, Criminal, Civilians who came to watch)
4.Close up of Northcott's boss congratulating him on catching the criminal 0.08-0.09
5.Cut to close up of criminal struggling whilst the congratulation is going ahead 0.10-0.13
6. Cut to Northcott saying something along the lines of "It's what I do"..."It's what I'm good at" etc. 0.14-0.15

EDIT- In refined Script post, this scene may include shots of all the main characters as is conventional with film trailers.


1. Shot of Northcott, his partner and his boss walking into an office, throwing envelope on table 0.16-0.18
2. Close up of envelope on the table 0.19-0.20
3. Medium Close of of Northcott explaining "With this new evidence we will be able to blow this drug gang right over. 0.21-0.24
4. Fades into Northcott and his partner leaving saying "See you tomorrow," to boss. 0.25-0.26


Text shot on black background saying "When a crime..." 0.28-0.29
Low angle shot of boss looking at envelope, slowly zooming towards him, fades out 0.30-0.32
Text shot on black background saying "Goes deeper than anyone thought possible..." 0.33-0.34
High angle shot of envelope on table, slowly zooming in, fades out 0.35-0.37
Text shot on black background saying "Loyalties will be tested..." 0.38-0.39


Northcott gets phone call from boss at home saying "Someone else is on the case" and him replying in disbelief 0.39-0.42
Shot of boss putting phone down and destroying evidence 0.43-0.45


Text on a black background saying "Friendships will be stretched" 0.46-0.47
Northcott speaking to his colleague his colleague insisting something is wrong 0.48-0.50
Northcott's colleague telling Northcott to "Let is go" 0.51-0.53


Text on black background saying  "Rivalries will form" 0.54-0.55

Shot of Northcott marching up to Sylvester 0.56-0.57

Shot of Northcott demanding to know what is going on 0.58-0.59

Shot of Sylvester grabbing Northcott's shirt (less than a second)

Close up of Northcott as bosses Sylvester explains "Back off while you can, this goes deeper than you know 1.00-1.03

High angle shot of Northcott sat on a sofa with his head in his hands at home 1.04-1.05

MCU of Northcott's wife asking him "Why can't you just let this go"  1.06-1.08

MCU of Northcott who says "This is my job" 1.09-1.11

Scenes
Tracking Shot from behind of Northcott chasing hooded figure 1.12-1.14
Shot of Northcott running around a corner before being hit in the face 1.15-1.17
Black screen with Northcott Breathing in the background 1.18-1.20
High angle shot of of Northcott bloody, kneeling on the floor with a club/blunt object in front of his face 1.22-1.24
Title of Movie appears here 1.25-1.26
List of producers and actors appears 1.27-1.28

Northcott's Voice Over
"And I won't give up on this..."
"...even if it kills me"

Ideas for Name of Film

Nick Northcott

Northcott

Detective movies are often named after the main character 'e.g Sherlock Holmes, Frost (Touch of Frost) as it defines to an audience which famous detective will be in the film and draws existing fans to it. In the case of my film trailer this may be inappropriate due to the detective in my film being one I have only just made up.

Truth

Convicted 

Search For Truth

These titles are all to do with a part of the plot of the film, in my case, a detective fighting his superiors to discover what is actually happening in his department. 

Evaluation of Reconstruction

For our reconstruction piece we decided to remake a part of the paranormal activity 2 trailer which a member of our group (Dan Troupe) had made a storyboard of in the summer. Making a film trailer helped me more than a music video as for my final piece I am creating a film trailer. It gave me experience in what I needed to do to make it successful.

 For our production we needed a small group of people, one for being thrown back into the camera and a group of around six or seven for the cinema scene. The locations we needed, we substituted with college locations that had a similar feel. We filmed in corridors, classrooms, a stairwell and a rooftop(Though the shots on the roof weren't used) It took us around 2 hours to film including re shoots and this was spread over 2 or 3 lessons.

(Static Shot)

 For the static shot we used a 'noise' effect in Adobe Premiere Pro which made the above effect so it appeared as if static is on the screen. To get the sound effect for static we went to a free sounds websites called www.freesound.org and chose 'static' which gave us the effect.
 An alternate idea we had for the static was to create a static image on photoshop and place it over the top of the scene. This however took more time and getting it to look right was difficult and not everyone agreed on this. In the end we stuck to the first static effect as we thought it looked better and was simpler to do.

(Image of our person being thrown into camera)

Something our group found difficult was making a person flying towards the camera look effective. Obviously we couldn't literally throw someone at the camera for health and safety reasons, nor did we have access to any sort of dummy or the means to make a realistic one. Early on we contemplated stuffing a sleeping bag or something similar but once this was tested it didn't look right.

For the final shooting of this scene we used Joe who walked backwards towards the camera. We then sped this up to make it look like he had flown into it and quickly cut to the next scene of the camera on its side. Without better equipment or more time this is likely the best we could hope to achieve when making this scene.

From this task I have improved my editing skills, camera use and now appreciate how important organisation is. I feel the task would be easier if we followed our schedule more and allowed ourselves for more opportunity to re-shoot. 

 I will use what I have learnt here to improve my work on my own film trailer.

Synopsis for Film

Nick Northcott is a successful high ranking detective of a British police department. Living happily with a family on a steady payroll and excelling at what he does. He is highly respected by his colleagues who regard his skills with both respect and jealousy. After just finishing a case that will lead him to the boss of a big time drug dealer, Northcott thinks he is doing good...
So when his superiors start acting suspiciously, when things seem amiss at work...Northcott does what he does best...he investigates. As he digs deeper and deeper into the mysteries of his own department, the horror and feeling of betrayal begins to consume his life. As he hits more and more dead ends, is tripped up by his colleagues and looked at with pity by his family, Northcott faces a battle to find the truth and also to keep his sanity.
Putting all of his friends behind him Northcott must go head to head with his superiors after years of being under them in a search for the truth. 

Location Shots for media text

The following pictures are location shots we used in our reconstruction of the paranormal activity 2 trailer.

This is taken from the roof of Wyke. We took it when nobody was around to make the shot feel lonely and give it the right feel for the trailer.

This is a shot of an empty corridor. We had to look for a corridor with a blank section of wall to make it look bleak and empty. It suggests that the are being filmed is lonely which suited the trailer.

These two shots are of a staircase we used though only the top image featured in the trailer. When filming we rattled the chain to make it look like "Paranormal activity" was actually happening in the clip. The second image is where we filmed the shot from looking down the stairs.

In this shot we pushed a chair from behind the table again to give the trailer a paranormal feel. By hiding Dan behind the table we made it look like the chair was moving of its own accord.

Codes and Conventions of a Film Trailer

The codes and conventions of a film trailer follow similar conventions though they will differentiate depending on the genre of the film and the target audience of the particular film trailer. The film trailer I will be analysing for examples is Sherlock Holmes (2009)

 Most film trailers tend to start off with an image or animation of the production companies logo, in this case the Warner bros logo (Seen below). This is used as an advertising tool for the producers whilst allowing the audience to know how big a budget the film will be and, if they know of the producers other work, what style the film will be in. The film trailer will also either bring up close up shots of major actors and/or bring up their names in near the start of the trailer so people know who is in the film giving them a better idea as to whether they will like it. This can also help market the film as people are more likely to see a film if it has a well-known actor in it. 

 The majority of a film trailer consists of often very short cuts of footage not necessarily in the right order. These short pieces of footage give an audience an idea of what the plot of the movie is whilst not giving spoilers due to the clips being short and in a random order. These clips also introduce plot some ideas of plot and who some characters in the movie are. They also set the scene and contain numerous establishing shots of landmarks an audience may know to establish a definite location. (Example below of close up shots introducing characters and establishing shot of London)

 In between the clips is text on a black background usually in a font that suits the film trailer it is being made for (e.g. a horror film may have red, blood covered text in its trailer). This text is used to either explain the plot of the film along of the clips shown or list the actors who are starring in the film. The text adds a dramatic feel to the trailer and helps the trailer stick in people’s minds. At the end of a trailer is generally the release date which is similarly presented on a black background like the rest of the text in the trailer.

 A film trailer will be different depending on the genre of film it is portraying.  For example, action trailers will be fast paced with lots of short, quick cuts to emphasise a lot is going to happen in the movie. A horror movie trailer may be slower and have fewer cuts to build up the tension that is what makes a horror movie.
 Some film trailers will have voice overs done either by one of the characters and or in the past a voice not related to the film. They act as a narrator for what is happening in the trailer and what an audience can expect to see in the film.
  Film Trailers are often seen alongside other media products of a similar genre to the trailer. By doing this the film trailer is more likely to be shown to people who would be interested in watching the film and get as large an audience as possible to see the film.
Codes and Conventions of the genre that the film trailer is will be used in most film trailers to let fans of that genre know that they will like the film. When an audience sees the codes and conventions of a genre they recognise they think that they are more likely to go and see the film. People enjoy recognising and knowing what will happen during a film so by keeping codes and conventions the same the makers of the film can often be sure of a positive response to their work.

 To sum up, the codes and conventions of film trailers follow a similar pattern but will alter depending on the genre of the film. Almost all film trailers will have text describing the plot, and will introduce the plot and main characters within the trailer. The genre decides how the above is put together so the film trailer gets across the effect that the overall film is meant to have on an audience.

Pictures Below

Finished Reconstruction of Film Trailer

Paranormal Activity Trailer

Outakes for our film trailer reconstruction

This is a video of unused footage from our film trailer reconstruction.

Deconstruction + Reconstruction of a media text

Group Names: Dan Troupe, Andy Goodhand, Matthew Nolan, Beth Hirons

Roles:
Director: Dan Troupe
Editor: Andrew Goodhand
Producer: Beth Hirons
Cast: Beth, Andy
Camera Man:Matthew Nolan

Title of Media Text: Paranormal activity 2 (2010)
Original Director: Tod Williams





Production Plan

Replace Home environment with college environment

All Meet Up
Tuesday 2nd October
Tim's Lesson
Oak 37
Shooting Vending Machines 'dog shot'

All Meet up
Dan+Matt 12:40
Andy+Beth 2:50
Wednesday 3rd October.
Oak 35
Shooting if not complete. Throwing scene, canteen scene.

Story Boards for film trailer

Breaking apart a film trailer: Max Payne

Here I will explore the conventions in the 2008 film Max Payne

The first shot we get in the trailer is of the protagonist of the film submerged in water in an unconscious state. This could be seen as an unconventional way of introducing a character as it shows his possible death right at the start of a film trailer. Doing something like this may draw an audience in so that they can find out how the protagonist got into this position.

After the opening shots of the protagonist underwater we are shown a series of brief shots of other characters before being brought back to the shot of the protagonist. This gives the shots a dream sequence like feel as if the protagonist has or will encounter the characters in the shots and the images of them are going through his head as he drowns.

This shot is the final shot in between the two 'drowning scenes and is of candles and what looks like some sort of tombstone object. With its placement being before the shot fades back to the protagonist this could be a metaphor for death used to emphasis the fact that the character is drowning. Slowly fading back into the shot of the protagonist further links them making a more definite connection between the symbols relating to death and the potential for the protagonist to die.

This shot starts to represent conventions that would be familiar to a detective/noire film fan. It has a dark, mysterious vibe and the buildings suggest it is set in a dense metropolitan area. The main feature in the shot is a helicopter with a searchlight scanning the building. Helicopters like this are often used by police forces in detective/noire settings. Because of the darkness in the majority of the shot the searchlight stands out and almost seems to represent the safety that the police force represent.

Breaking apart a film trailer: Sherlock Holmes

Breaking apart Sherlock Holmes (2009) trailer

Here I will explore the conventions found in the Sherlock Holmes' 2009 film trailer.

This first shot of the trailer is a pan down into an establishing shot of the type of area the film trailer is set; in this case old time London. It opens up the trailer giving people an idea of what to expect of the movie and what sort of feel it will have.

The next shot in the trailer fades into a close up shot of the villain of the film. The fact that he is a villain is known because of the mise-en-scene used which is the prison bars in front of him which would suggest he has done something wrong. Another aspect of this shot which shows us this character is the villain is the lighting on his face. He is in shown in a dark shadowy light which gives him a sinister appearance that implies he has evil intentions you would associate with a villain of a trailer.

Between the opening shots the trailer fades to black whilst the villains voice over is playing. This makes transitions to different scenes smoother.

This is the first shot we get of the protagonist of the film, Sherlock Holmes. By giving us the first shot of him from behind it gives the character a feeling of mystery due to his current unknown identity. This draws the audience in and makes them want to know more about the character.

This shot suggests the contents of the film may be of the supernatural nature as it shows some sort of dark, evil cult at work. The cuts around this scene are very rapid and are followed by a figure running away down a staircase which further suggests that the people in the shot are of a mysterious, evil nature.

This is an animation of the production company which flashes up in the middle of the trailer. It allows a person viewing the trailer to use what they know of the company coupled with what they have seen in the trailer so far and better understand what sort of style the movie will be in from previous films made by the company.