Planning - Final Colour Scheme & Font

The colour scheme for the surrounding on screen titles will be a black and white only. This will change for any fictional companies which I have created where there specific appearance/colour scheme will be shown. As i have already stated the footage will also be shown in black and white.

The font that will be used is called 'Sue Ellen Francisco' and this will be used for any titles I wish to use within the trailer.

Planning - First Attempt Production Screen

This is the early stage of my own production screen for my film trailer. I hope to make it become animated for the final product but on show is a still image for what i think i may use. I am using a similar style fromn that i will use for the film name and on screen titles.
As the name 'Pickford Productions' this shows that it is my own work and my own style of film. It will add to the effects of the dark unknown theme to the film to try and attract a specialised audience.

Planning - Pinnacle Studios 12

Pinnacle Studios has been the programme which I have used to edit my film trailer. I have found no problems with the use of this software which has made it very easy for me to create the trailer which I have originally intended. The positives with Pinnacle firstly is its ease of use, I could easily upload my footage from my camera directly in to enable the editing to begin. The footage which is captured becomes sub divided into specific take categories. It then made it much easier to drag and drop the specific clip that i wanted. Once in I was able to change the length of the clip, the speed that I wanted it at, the music to be played in the background, the visual effects of the image and also the way it appeared through different fading techniques. The programme works with layers and the layout makes it easy to complete all of these different areas. Also as I had previously chosen a specific font I was able to upload this and use within the software. This made it much easier for me to provide a more professional looking trailer as I could make the fonts appear when I wanted them to rather than as a set picture.

Planning - Trailer Title

I have decided that i will be calling my film - Looking For Alice, below is the image of how the title will be displayed by both the colour and font.

Planning - Advanced Story Board

Planning - New Plot Story Board

From the improved plot this is the story board. It is only in a basic hand drawn form which was done from the new ideas i had created for my trailer.

To gain more information of the trailer i will produce a more advancd version which will give a better idea of my trailer.

Planning - Soundtrack - Change in Tones

The piece which I have chosen has a change of tone halfway through the soundtrack. I am to take advantage of this and when the storyline within the trailer changes this is when I will do so. Not only this but with general beats of the music I will be editing my footage to fit perfectly with the music.

The track lasts for 2:26 - I will have the introductory shots with the slow paced actions at the beginning to the trailer with the slower toned music - After 1:07 the music has a clear tone change and increases in sound, from this I will be changing pace to the trailer.

By doing this I feel I will gain most from the trailer and with the clear links to both the music and video footage will provide a more professional appearance.

Planning - Change Of Plot

Previously i had thoughts of the trailer being set at a beach local to a place in Scotland that can be easily visited. After development and filming at this location i felt it did not feel right and became limited to the shots that I could perform. From this I have changed both the plot and the location of the trailer. All though a similar story line it will now be produced close to my home.
I will be incorporating a theme of a female who has lost her baby at a young age, yet still alive and is not giving in to losing her. Through the trailer there will be different shots of the main character at slow paces with different variety of angles. In order for the audience to tell what is happening the main character will look at a small picture of a baby at this point we do not know who it is. With the piece of music chosen there is a change in tone and from this I will begin to change the scene of the trailer. I will have the main character running as though she thinks she has clues to the destination of her missing child. The final scene will end at the location of a barn where the door will slowly open fading out to a blank screen.

Planning - Change of Soundtrack

After research and testing against storyboards and animatics i feel the original track was to short and i feel i have found a much stronger piece by the same artist. The difference with the track is that lyrics are involved over the piece whereas before an original piano solo was used. Also i feel the track shows more emotion which is an element i am trying to involve into my dramatised film trailer. Hopefully i will be able to produce a touching story which will leave the audience wondering of what will happen.


The track which i have selected for the final trailer is:

- As I have now selected the track which I will be using I will contact the composer in order for the track to be used from gained permission.

Planning - Preview Screen

After research this screen has commonly appeared on many professional trailers. From its purpose of approval for the audience watching i will mainly be using it to incorporate a professional feel to my own trailer.

It will be shown in the opening shot to the trailer to show that the preview has been approved and is fit to watch by the viewers. The image will be first seen at the same time that the audience first hears the soundtrack in the background.

All though the footage in the trailer will be in black and white I will be keeping this image in its full colour to show its visual authenticity.

Planning - Voiceover

After research i though that i would introduce a voiceover as a form of showing and explaining the plot to the film. I feel now after this planning that this would not be right with my trailer. I will be sticking to the soundtrack and the on screen text to portray this and no voiceover will be used.

Planning - Colour Schemes

For the fonts and display screens etc. I need to identify a colour scheme that I feel will look good against the colour footage as well as black and white scene footage.
I am thinking to keep it plain and simple and also to show a continuity and similarity though out to keep all the title pages as white fonts on black backgrounds.
The only elements of colour which I will bring into the trailer are the company names and logos which have fictionally been incorporated with the making of the film.

Planning - Shortlist Title Font

These are a few fonts which I have selected fron the site 'DaFont.com'.

As of yet I have not selected the name for the film so I have used the song title to present the different fonts.

All of the fonts shown are all very elegant but also appear to be quite mysterious which links well with the setting to the trailer.

The track which is used as the soundtrack to the film is composed and performed by a french composer therfore I want a font which can relate to this.

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FeedBack

After feedback from friends and family I have decided that the font which I will be using will either be 'Sue Ellen Fransisco' or 'Organic Elements' which can be seen in the middle of the image to the left.

Planning - Professioal Trailer Lengths

Shifty 1:49
Adulthood 1:39
Kidulthood 2:05
4.3.2.1 3:39
Harry Brown 1:59
This is England 2:26
Cass 2:08

These are the time lengths for the current trailers which i have previously researched. As you can see they range from 1 minute 39 seconds to 3:39 and obviously as these trailers are all from professional films then i feel i should follow the way they have advertised their film. I am aiming to complete my trailer between 2-3 minutes. I feel this is the perfect length to create a small snippet of a film and should just be long enough to making the audience want to see more.

Planning - Location Shots

These are a few location shots of where the new film trailer will be set.
As they are close by to my home it will give me plenty of chance to re-edit footage that may not have appeared the way I want them to.

This was one of the main change of location based on this matter. I feel i will be able to produce a much stronger piece from this.

Planning - Soundtrack

I feel that for my film trailer i will be using an instrumental soundtrack with out the use of lyrics.

I specificly looked at the composer Yann Tiersen and have looked at diffent pieces which he has composed. I specificlly like the track 'La Plage'. Also as i am planning on using the setting of a beach i feel this music is ideal as 'la plage' is french for 'the beach'.

Planning - Plot Drafts

Walking along beach variety of shots, female narrating over, shots of feet looking at different
typical british film looks at everyday british lifestyles.
Music plays with beach, then cuts out, goes to back black screen with writing of credit details, character looking at letter? (No speaking)
Then narrator kicks in saying the brief story line (TBC)
writing on typewriter - over shoulder shot showing elements of storyline on screen
Pan shots on cliffs panning around to look at beach

Planning - Genre

The genre of the film is of typical British Drama.

THIS IS ENGLAND

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

THIS IS ENGLAND

View more presentations from HarryPickford.

DVD Cover Research - Green Street

This is the DVD cover for the film Green Street which is of a football hooligansim genre which is clearly shown from the cover shown on the left. The cover itself has been converted to greyscale to show the mysterious characters and that they do something wrong and not following the law in the film. Because of this it appeals to many as they want to see this as many of these aevents are present in real life today. Obviously in the film these elemts are exxagerated but still it appeals to a wide audience who are into hooliganism, fighting films. The characters which are shown by a medium close up on their heads appear to be straightbacked and appear to not be moving. This creates a defence line or barrier which shows to us they plan to fight. This links with the caption 'Stand your ground and fight!' which is next shown in the lower image on the cover. The charactersd have all turned to boystrous males who appear to be in a gang/firm which may have just won a fight with another football teams firm. This is shown on the face of one of the characters who appears to have a bloody nose. As i have already said these events are of real life happenings and appeals to many so for this reason are present on the front cover. The only colour on the page comes from the title of the film which is a contrasting red to the background which stands out amongst the other areas.

DVD Cover Research - The Firm

Another film which i am evaluating is also from a period set back from years ago around the 1980's. The cover itself is very simple allthough very affective. The images have been inverted into a cartoonised image and portrayed on a white background to make them stand out. The colours used are all very bright which contrast with the plain white background. Both of these factors look very affective as it stands out among other dvd covers. Although there the only image on the cover is of 7 males small body shots, presented on a plain background you would think it would appear to be plain and boring. But the way the characters are presented by their stance and facial expressions different techniques are brought in which take away the plain film and catch your eye making you want to watch the film.
The characters appear to be in a gang all lined up and looking as though they are walking towards the audience. They all appear to have a swagger about them and also as every one of the characters is holding a weapon it appears to be intimidating which makes you look at the cover. Due to the clothes they are wearing and the formation they are in straightaway tells the audience that its of football gangs and firms and by the way they are dressed you would associate with the 1980's.

DVD Cover Research - This is ENGLAND

This is the DVD cover for the film THIS IS ENGLAND. The main image is a zoomed in version of that present on their poister and it allows us to see the characters much more clearer. The images used is the same of which was used for the poster although this time it has been zoomed in the characters which are most present throughout the film itself. Once again the same font layout as well as the colour scheme has been used which links with the other media types. As well as this the images used again is linked with the rough estate and as you can see in the background is the high rise flats which were a popular faze of that period.
Also another factor to the cover I liked was the way the image had been edited and been made to look like it is actually took from the 1980’s when the film is set. As the film was made in 2006 obviously some form of fade has been used to portray an old camera has been used and I feel this could be a good effect which I could use myself if I wanted to create a film of an event which has taken place many years ago.

DVD Cover Research - Shifty

This is the DVD cover for the low budget hit film Shifty. There is a distinct colour scheme of black and yellow which contrast together and stand out among other covers.

With the title of the film the have used the I in the name shifty to create a line which runs all the way down the page creating a split. To the bottom right of the page is the words 'choose your side' which shows how either side of the line is like to different gangs. This is understood by the way the background characters are dressed to not show their face wearing hoodies and holiding weapons straight away telling the audience that it is a street crime gang film. The two main characters in the film are present at the front of the cover shown directly looking into the camera which appears to be looking straight at the audience. With their facial expressions it appears to be intimidating to the audience which catches your eye and makes you look towards the film. The two characters shown are very stereotypical of drug dealers which is also antoehr factor contributing to what the genre of the film is. Along with this theirs is graffiti used in the background and around the edge of the cover which looks like they are on the street and also sets the scene for what the film is about.

DVD Cover Research - Harry Brown

This is the DVD cover for the film Harry Brown starring Michael Caine. I like this cover as it is only very basic but still is very eyecatching and appealling. The background to the cover is a light white which contrasts to the other images present on the cover. The main character in the film and also who holds the name of the film as his name is the largest image on show. The reason this will have been done is because of his popularity which will raise the profile of the film making more people want to watch the film. As with the rest of the characters present on the cover they have been edited to a greyscale to show dull and myseterious characters.

The only colour on the page comes from the target behind the title of the film. This makes you look directly at this area as it is the brightest on the page which automatically makes you read the title of the film. The way the targets links is due to the gun crime in the film and by showing a target it will create an appeal to people who are into gangster, gun crime, gang films.

As the cover itself is only very basic i feel i could produce this in my own products still making it look affective without looking plain and boring.

DVD Cover Research - Cass

This is the DVD cover for the film CASS which i have chosen due to many elements which i find aesthetically pleasing. Not only this but also i feel this DVD cover could easily be replicated which is a major bonus as i feel i will be unable to provide any images under CGI as i feel it will look unprofessional which is what i am trying to avoid.
The majority of the main characters are on display on the cover for the film and if i produce a cast list as big as this i may choose to locate them onto the front cover with using the main character as the largest image. This way it begins to familiaise the characters with the audience before they have even seen the film.
Another factor to the cover which i like is the background. Faded images to show the time period including news paper headlines along with images of iconic figures appeal to me to show the period that the film is set. As you can see Margaret Thatcher who was the prime minister of the country in the 80's period straight away tells us that the film is bound to be of football hooliganisms of the 80's casuals.

Film Trailer Research - A Boy Called Dad

Soundtrack

As i have chosen to use a thriller and a real life story invloved I feel one of the biggest parts of the clip will be down to the soundtrack. It will straight away give a certain feel to the clip which will help me to create the way i want to entise the audience and try to make them want to watch the full film.
By doing this I have decided that I want to use an instrumetal soundtrack as a feel ideas can be imagined from this much eaiser than a soundtrack including words and also I feel it will be hard to relate a song with lyrics to the trailer. For my research I have been revisitng old movies which have used instrumental soundtracks in order to get inspiration.

Film Trailer Research - Shank

This trailer came from the same people who distributed other films which i have already researched so with all of their ideas becoming on show to me will give me a better understanding of the way they make their films look so profesional at the same time making me want to go and watch them. I like elements in this clip such as the editing of the shots with slow motion and also black and white affects eing added. Hopefully if i try to replicate these it should increases the level that my own production will be at.

Film Trailer Research - Shifty

The reason that i have looked at shifty is because it was produced on a low budget and took around 4 weeks to complete filming. As these are similar circumstances to mine i feel this will become very effiecient to me and will benefit my own production. The reason i chose this specific film is due to it also having a similar genre to that i wish to produce which is a thriller. As the trailer, well, the whole of the film is used in real life surroundings and no studios are present this gives me a greater understanding for the level that i will be able to produce. As i can simply not afford to use big filming studios and will also need to be using real life surroundings by watching the trailer it improves my knowledge for the different angles and positiong of cameras and how to pursue a vague story line without giving to much away at the same time of the audience getting engrossed.

Film Trailer Research - Adulthood

During the trailer there are many different elements from it which i really like and will try to replicate. During credits and other foms of text which are used instead of a narrator on the screen is used i find this a very good idea. The way the shots are edited to freeze and become an animated image also gives the audience time to think and read the text. I like this form of editing and feel if this could be used correctly in my production then this would certainly add an extra level of professionalism.

Film Trailer Research - Kidulthood

Following on from the previous post the same director/writer has also been a major part in the film kidulthood as he also stared in the movie. The reason i like his production especially on his trailers is the way he can tell a story line with extremely quick cutss. The way this benefits the trailers is by constantly keeping the audience iterested and wanting to know more from the film. The pace of the cuts are very rapid and not one shot lasts more than around 3 seconds. This also builds up tension and the pace of the trailer which also entises the audience.

Film Trailer Research - 4.3.2.1

From previous films which i have watched i have found the films which have been directed by this up and coming producer and director 'Noel Clarke' has produced films which really inspire me. I certainly will be gaining inspiration from his films and trailers and i will be posting them all onto my blog to enable me to try and duplicate some of his shots into my own film trailer.

Film Trailer Research - Harry Brown

From looking at the similar film trailers to that i hope to produce it should give me a better understanding for the way to produce them and how to include different shots to show clips which should turn out to be a good film. I do not want to show to much to make it look like the audience are actualy watching the film in the trailer which can become boring and will not gain me good marks for making it look like a real production.

Film Trailer Research - This is England

Once again this film has a similar genre of drama which i feel my movie trailer will be. I feel this will best suit the way i can shoot the film as this type will not need any special effects which i will find hard to replicate. A main area in this trailer which i expecially like is the fact of the soundtrack which runs along the clip and i feel an instrumental track similiar to this will help me to be able to create a similar professional feel allowg people to imagainate and be able to think along the lines of which the storyline is intended.

Film Trailer Research - Cass

This is the first film trailer which i have looked at in the process of my research. Although i will find it hard to replicate film trailers to this standard i feel by looking at them i will gain a stronger sence of knowledge for the way in which i will produce my own. The genre of the films which i will be looking at will be similar to that of mine wich is social realism with a dramatised storyline.

WordleArt-FilmGenres

Intro.

My name is Harry Pickford, this is the second blog during my media A level course. As i have finished my AS year i am now beginning the A2 work. Over this blog i will produce my research and planning for my own digipack which will consist of a video/trailer, DVD cover a poster and finally a website. As i have only just began this process i do not have a full solid plan for the genre of the film. I have a shortlist of ideas to produce but hopefully during the research and planning i will gain ideas and inspiration from others which are already out there. I certainly feel i want to include a story line which is based around a drama and a real life production evolved around social realism with a thriller plot also invloved.

Here is a basic schedule to shows rough dates of when i will complete certain aspects of the module:

-Complete research by 24th July
-Complete planning by 10th Septemnber
-Complete rough-cut by 20th September
-Complete final-cut by 1st October
-Complete album/poster mock-ups by 15th October
-Final album/poster completed by 31st October
-Ausience feedback by 10th November
-Revisions by 20th November
-Evaluations by 30th Novemner

-First hand-in: 1st December