I did some practicing on Photoshop to get used to the features and see what I could do so it is easier for me when I come to edit properly. I found it difficult at first as I have only had brief experience with this software, however it has advanced features and will make my magazine and poster look professional.
This is tool which enhances the photo to make the quality and light look more professional and show more detail.
This is a quick selection tool which allows me to select part of the image and detach it from the first background. This will be useful when I want to remove the background from an image and place the image on a different background.
Here I learnt about the crop tool which crops out unnecessary backgrounds. I watched the tutorial video I found and this helped me a lot when I came to look for the different features.
I have decided that as extra resources so I don't have to limit myself to certain images, I will organise a date with my actors in the Christmas holidays, to take more images to consider including on my ancillary products. I will ensure these images reflect my audience research (such as using close ups, low key lighting, showing the iconic mask and also using action shots for my magazine) so I know my target audience will be attracted to the products and are intrigued by them to watch the film.
We watched what we had produced so far and decided that the equilibrium needed to be shorted as it was over a minute long and we got bored whilst watching it and we don't want our audience to be.
Ensured that all our shots were tightly cut down to a professional and sleek standard so they didn't drag out and show unnecessary content such as characters just standing there, waiting for characters to do something or for action to happen.
We are yet to add more shots in, however this is the footage we have edited for our montage so far. We wanted quick shots which will make the audience jump. We have had ideas in today's lesson about removing the sound from the shots and having the sound of the spade dragging across some of the shots to suggest the shots in the montage are showing the disruption and disequilibrium in the film.
We thought that these shots were too long in the disruption after we watched them back from previous editing, so I cut them down to ensure they were sleek and professional looking. They look good here as they show the main action we want the audience see and they keep the audience on the edge of their seats.
This shot is quick and makes the audience jump. We cut it down so it just bangs on the door as soon as the shot comes on as this will be more frightening to the audience. When we come to sound editing, I want to enhance the banging sound as this will make the audience jump.
This is some of the trailer before the montage we have put together so far. It shows the action involved with the disruption and dis equilibrium and I really like how the shots aren't in film order as this leaves the audience asking questions.
13/12/15 Unfortunately today we only managed to do half an hour of editing instead of the full hour as we had some difficulties trying to retrieve our work on the Macs.
However, in this half an hour, we re ordered some shots and decided that the shots we have positioned for our montage needed to be cut down so they are only 0.5-1 seconds long. This is to make it extremely fast paced as I had previously analysed 'The Purge' trailer and I liked the effect its fast montage had on the audience. It increased their adrenaline and prepared them for the film and this is what we want to achieve with our trailer.
I suggested we should experiment by repeating some shots in the montage and we watched the 'You're Next' trailer for more inspiration. We all really liked the montage in this, which also repeated shots, so we tried to recreate this effect in our own trailer.
I also like the non diegetic soundtrack used in this montage as it suggests the time is flashing before the characters eyes and they need to escape. After the montage in the 'You're Next' trailer and also when the title appears, it shows a complete contrast in the action to the calmness of the next shots. Also, the calm/silent sound juxtaposes the frightening shot of the antagonist jumping out which shocks the audience. This is something I want to consider doing when we come to adding sound as this will play on the audiences fears and add to the horror which will meet psychological horror conventions.
To help me when I come to practicing and using Photoshop, I downloaded a guide for how to use the basic features on the software. This is so I can learn the more technical features when editing as I will already know the basics such as cropping and transforming, which will speed up the post- production process.
I will look at using the pen tool and custom shape tools for adding the 5 star rating and stickers to my magazine cover and poster, and I will need to use the text tool for the text. However, when my group and I decide on a font for our film, we might create our own on Photoshop, so therefore I will be able to just copy this into my designs and it won't be pixelated if I transform it. I will also be experimenting with the saturation, enhancement and contrast of my images as well as other features similar to these, so this guide has helped me learn how to do this.
As Photoshop is not yet on the school Apple Macs, I have decided to practice and experiment with ideas on another professional editing software called Serif DrawPlus X5 until Photoshop is accessible. However, I will produce my overall ancillary tasks on Photoshop.
I like this distortion effect this edit gives the image as it conceals the identity even more as it does't necessarily look like a mask with this effect therefore it creates enigma.
I like this edit as it blurred to look as though it is creeping out the shadows. Shadows are conventions of the horror genre and so it foreshadows mystery in the film, encouraging people to watch it.
I like this edit as it simple and looks sinister. However, it looks very edited even though it is only a black and white edit and if I was to consider using this effect, I will use photo shop to remove the hair at the side of the face so it is symmetrical to look more professional.
I like this effect as it looks like weapons such as knives or axes have been thrown at the character, suggesting to the audience that the character is an antagonist. The weapon marks foreshadow danger in the film suggesting violence giving the audience clues.
I like this effect as it looks like the masked antagonist is outside a window. This creates enigma for the audience as they will as questions such as who's window is it? and what will happen to the person inside the house? The effect also ensures it shows the antagonist is female by showing long blonde hair, therefore this shows how unique the film is as it is clear there is a female antagonist which gives the audience another reason to watch the film.
In this edit I have enhanced the light to create more shadow. I like this effect as it follows horror conventions and makes the antagonist look more sinister making the audience feel uncomfortable which conforms to horror conventions.
In today's editing session we continued to cut down shots and re ordered some to create the montage.
The second shot in this clip has been colour matched to the shot after it so it doesn't look out of place, even though it is a different location as this isn't relevant at this point in the trailer. The lighting of the shot was also too high key to look like it belongs in a horror trailer and it wouldn't make the audience feel tense. The new colour of the image exaggerates the colour of her eyes which makes her look mesmerizing for a male audience, but it also clearly shows her distraught emotion which looks effective.
In future editing sessions, I want to think about speeding up these shots to create a really fast paced and dramatic montage to create a rush of adrenaline for the audience. This will intrigue them to want to watch the film therefore making it more popular.
We also experimented with the speed of of the shot below to make the montage of shots quicker and sharper to make it more intense for the audience. We increased the speed by x2 and we put jump cuts in this shot, however after watching it, I felt like this sort of effect is more suited to a comedy film and it didn't look sinister as most sinister shots are slow paced. Therefore, we decided to remove the speed effect and cut this shot down using the blade tool so it wasn't too long and boring for the audience. Now the shot is much slower than the rest of the shots in the montage, I suggested to place it in the build up to the montage as I felt it wouldn't have looked right in the fast montage, and the trailer wouldn't make sense if it wasn't in narrative order as this would have confused the audience and the shot would have looked out of place.
For a few of the shots in today's editing session, we had to crop as we had filmed these shots portrait, as well as others in past editing sessions. However, cropping this shot worked to our advantage, because again, it focuses on the emotion of the character which is a convention of a psychological horror.
Cropping shots on Final Cut Pro X doesn't affect the quality of the shot either which is good as it means we can use all our shots and still create a professional looking trailer
In today's editing session, my group and I finished ordering the shots and we began to cut them down. We listened to each others suggestions for the order of the montage, continuity and colour matching as this was a big issue for us whilst editing today. A lot of the shots in the montage were different colours because of the lighting and location, so we colour matched some of the shots, for example the last shot of the montage and the shot of a masked antagonist coming towards the audience before the film title appears. We haven't yet added any text or our film title into our trailer as this will be the last thing we add.
In the bath scene, we had a shot of a light switching on and off to create an eerie atmosphere, however, I suggested that we cut the shot of Maddie in the bath in half and have the light shot in the middle as the second half of the shot looks as though Maddie is looking up at the light. This shot of Maddie acknowledging the light lasts for about 1.5 seconds so it helps with the lead up to the fast past montage rather than it just suddenly starting as this would look out of place. It also creates suspense for the audience as they want to know what is going to happen to her. The lighting of these shots also matches the tense mood as it very low key due to the natural light of the candles.
Over the past 2 editing sessions, my group and I have continued to order the shots and we should hopefully finish ordering them by tomorrows editing session. It is taking longer than expected as we didn't realise how many shots we had actually taken because we did extra ones than that on the storyboard as we thought of more ideas during filming. Therefore, this is making it difficult to order as we can't remember exactly where we wanted to place them in the trailer. We have ordered them in what we think looks best for now, but no doubt during cutting down and colour matching shots, we will re order as our ideas will develop.
We have had sound ideas during editing and we want to bridge the sound throughout shots to add the suspense and show continuity in some shots in the trailer. Kayleigh also showed me and Jamie the opening scene to American Horror Story season 1 and the sound in this is creepy and sounds like a tape recorder. We all liked the eerie mood this created and we want to consider this type of non- diegetic soundtrack.
We have also had brief ideas about putting transitions in the montage to make the shots link in a sinister way, for example a dissolve and fade transition. My group and I also said that for the shot of Maddie screaming, we want to the shot to go black from the action in the shot so the antagonist blocks out the screen which will allow us to put text on the shot in a unique and interesting way. We tried this but thought it didn't look professional so we decided to add a dissolve transition after to make the shot flow into the next one better and more professionally.
In our 3rd editing session, we colour matched some shots to ensure continuity was shown, and to ensure the shot looks like it is the same time and location so it looks in order where it needs to and the audience understand the trailer. I also cropped a shot of Delaney as we filmed it portrait so it wouldn't fit in the frame on Final Cut Pro X. However this worked to our advantage as it meant the shot became a close up and made it more sinister as her face came out of nowhere in the shot and this will make the audience jump. The close up also shows detail of Delaney's wound which connotes danger which conforms to horror conventions.
Today I drafted 2 posters for my ancillary task. I used an image of the masked antagonist which was popular with my target audience, and this looks effective on both these posters as it clearly shows the films genre. Both drafts are similar due to the same dominant image, however draft 1 is a zoomed up image with the film name in the centre rather than at the top like draft 2. I learnt from my existing product and film poster mood board research that film titles can appear and catch the audiences anywhere on the poster as long as it is big enough to catch the audiences eye and be the dominant text on the page, therefore this is what I have tried to achieve with both film posters. I have included our films institution at the bottom corner of both film posters as this isn't a major convention audiences look at, however if they do see the name Lions Gate, they will associate other popular films with this institution as it is world known. Also on draft 2, I ensured I included '#Transfixed' so word of mouth is created on social media and the film becomes even more popular as this was used on 'The Purge' film poster and this film was a major success. Furthermore, I have stuck with a red, white and black colour scheme to link with the magazine cover colour scheme and to also follow horror conventions. Finally, as it is important all 3 products look like they are part of a campaign, I included my symbolic link on both drafts which is the quote and this also creates enigma for the audience intriguing them to watch the film. Overall I have followed all the conventions of a film poster for it to look effective.
Draft 1
Draft 2
I want to experiment with photo editing, so when Photoshop is installed on the school Apple Macs, I will do some editing practice with these photos to see how they would look best. For example, I want to experiment with a distortion effect or a blur edit on this image I have used as it will cover the characters identity even more, look more interesting and creative, but as well as this, it will give clues to the use of drugs and danger in the film which will create enigma for the audience and make them ask questions. The text that I am considering for the quote will also link with these image effects as it looks disorted.
Today my group I uploaded the footage from the iPad and the iPhone onto the Apple Macs and then Final Cut Pro X. I was worried about the quality of the shots beforehand not being clear as from looking at the uploaded footage on YouTube, it is very 'pixelated', however the shot quality on Final Cut Pro is very clear and looks professional. We next went through each shot to see which were the correct ones we filmed and this took about half an hour because we had done so many retakes. We then took turns in placing the shots in the correct order of our trailer with everyone's input.
I was confident in using the features on the Apple Macs as the editing practice recapped my knowledge. I bladed the shot of the argument between Maddie and Elliot as this was extremely long on the timeline.
Next editing session, we will continue to order the shots and maybe get the chance to begin cutting them down using the blade tool.
After some discussion with Jamie and Kayleigh, we have agreed on using Lions Gate Entertainment as our distributor because it is an independent film company and as our film is also independent due to being produced my group and I, we thought this would be a good institution to use. As well as it is a popular distribution company, our film will still become popular. Lions Gate Entertainment also produce some horror films such as 'You're Next' which is a psychological horror we took inspiration from and others such as 'The Last Exorcism' and 'American Psycho' therefore we think Lions Gate Entertainment is an appropriate distributor for our film.
This is the sort of font I want to use for the symbolic quote ('Apologies don't mean anything if you keep doing what you're sorry for') on my film poster. I think it will create discomfort and confusion for the audience and this will intrigue them to watch the film. This is also the mood my group and I want to portray with the quote across all the media products. When I have access to Photoshop on the school Apple Macs, I will do some practice on it so I am more familiar with it's features and I will try to edit my text similar to this on Photoshop.
After thinking about which institution will distribute our film, I looked into some distribution companies that distribute horror films as this will be more realistic and acceptable when their logo appears on our trailer, film poster and magazine covers.
Lionsgate Films
The Last Exorcism
American Psycho
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation is an American
entertainment company and was formed in Vancouver, Columbia, on July 3rd 1997. Lionsgate Film's head quarters are in Santa Monica, California and they produce a range of film genres including horror. It is the largest and most successful mini major film studio in North America and it mainly focuses on foreign and independent films but has distributed a range of film serious including Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Hunger Games. This would be a good institution to consider as our distributor as our film is independent due to being produced by ourselves, outside a major film studio system. Also, as it is still a big company, our film will be well known and popular as Lionsgate has distributed popular films so therefore audiences will have high expectations for ours and we will make a lot of profit.
Warner Bros.
The Exorcist
House of Wax
Friday The 13th
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. is an American entertainment
company that produces film, television and music entertainment. As one of the
major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in
Burbank, California. This institution has distributed a range of film genres, including a few of the psychological horror films I have taken inspiration from during my research such as The The House of Wax and Friday
The 13th, therefore this would be a good institution to
consider as it has a similar target audience and films. Hammer Film Production
Woman in Black
The Resident
Hammer Pictures is a British film production company based
in London. It was founded by William Hills in 1934. This institution is best known for their production and distribution of horror films including their most famous Frankenstein. They have also produced a range of science fiction films, thrillers and comedies but during its most successful years, Hammer
dominated the horror film market and had worldwide distribution and financial success. However, as they aren't as financially big as companies such as the the Big 6, they usually work in synergy with distribution
companies such as Warner Bros. and this leads to their films success. I will speak to the other members of my group, however I don't think this is a suitable institution to consider as our distributor as it isn't as well known as Lionsgate Films and Warner Bros. and it needs to work in synergy for the film to become well known, therefore it may be difficult for our film to become popular and make a lot of profit from our target audience as not a lot of people will have heard of this institution or have visited their website.
The features I will include on my magazine to promote it as something my audience need to buy and something they need to read are:
The dominant image- this will be an image my audience can relate to and is from the film to also show the genre
A catchy name such as something which will stand out on the shelf. As magazines are stacked. it needs to be big and bold and at the top of the page so it is seen first on the shelf
Exclusive information like interviews and photos- these will be presented as stickers or bold fonts that stand out and catch their eye
A reasonable price of £2.00- this fits in with my films target audience as they will be middle class people with not much disposable income as they are young so most of them will be in university or just starting a job.
Actors names and exclusive fold out posters to intrigue the audience to buy it
Website- so my audience can visit the website for the magazine and see what more is offered, for example on-line quizzes and prizes
A # for my featured film or magazine name so the audience can interact and find out more
Institutional information of the film and magazine so the audience can have good expectations for the film and magazine based on the institution
The features I will include on my poster to promote my film as something my audience need to watch are:
The dominant image- this will be an image my audience can relate to and is from the film to also show the genre
Actors names intrigue the audience to watch it as they might be a fan of these actors
Institutional information of the film so the audience can have good expectations for the film based on the institution
Ensure it looks like a horror film genre by using red black and white colours to connote death and danger to create a thrill before they have watched the film
Use a symbolic link to show that all 3 products are part of the same promotional package.
A # for the films name so the audience can interact and find out more
This is the audience feedback from my survey; I asked members of my target audience to fill out one survey each to find out which pictures they liked and thought were best for me to use for my poster and magazine cover to ensure my results are fair and reliable. Overall, the feedback was constructive and it has given me a clearer idea as to what types images I want to consider using and developing for my magazine cover and film poster:
What have I learnt and how will I use this research?
From this research, I have decided that I want to draft
ideas for my posters using these 3 photos as they were all popular with my target audience, it's just a case of which one will look best after I have edited them. One member said they liked them as they liked the use of lighting as it makes the characters look creepy. Therefore, I will have to ensure I keep or exaggerate the eerie low key lighting on the images when I come to edit it. Some members said they like the use of the dark backgrounds on the images therefore this is something I will need to consider keeping because as well as my target audience liking this, black is a convention of the horror genre and suggests mystery which will link my poster to the film trailer due to the enigma created. Also, one member said that they like the fact the characters on these pictures look like they are staring at you in the eye (a gaze- I found out that this is a convention of the horror genre) which conveys fear.
Furthermore, I have
decided that I want to consider using the image of
Maddie screaming in the corner for my magazine cover like my second draft. This was the most popular picture with my
target audience as they said they like how she is looking
distressed and they are shown her situation which adds to the horror of the
film and gives them clues as to what to expect from the film. They also said
they liked how she looks frustrated as it intrigues them to find out why.
From the photos I have taken, I have chosen the 3 I think are best for each ancillary task and as it is down to the audience whether or not my 3 products are popular, I have created a survey to get my target audiences opinions on which dominant image they think is the most effective and why, and which ones I should use for my magazine cover and poster:
I chose these photos for the magazine cover as from previous research, I found out that it tends to be action shots or shots taken from the film on the front cover to intrigue the audience. This is because most people will have seen the film poster before the magazine cover, therefore will have already seen the characters and the magazine will introduce the them to role of the characters. I decided to use shots of characters which weren't taken from the film for the poster as posters tend to introduce the characters to the audience and that is what I wanted to achieve, as well as build suspense, especially with the masked characters. I also found out from previous research that posters usually use close up shots and shots with 'a gaze' to attract and involve the audience so I considered this when deciding on the photos as this will appeal to my target audience.
Today, after filming, I took some pictures for my film poster and magazine cover. I took ones which represented our characters roles and emotions in the film to portray a frighting mood and clearly show the horror genre on the film poster and magazine cover. I am going to create a survey and ask my target audience which images they think are best for me to use for my final products:
I like these shots as they show the main antagonists and cult members. However, it will leave the audience asking who the woman in the middle is without a mask as she looks sinister which could suggest she has been captured or she is an antagonist which will intrigue the audience to watch the trailer and film to find out. If I was to use one of these images, I would experiment with editing and change the lighting so the main focus was on Delaney as this would show she is a main character but not specify her exact role.
These shots are what I was trying to achieve with my first draft . They are effective as they shows action in the photo which suggests suspense and dramatic action in the film. It also gives clues to what the film is about as the audience will be able to see that it is a cult member at the window of a home which does gives clues to a home invasion. If I was to use one of these images, I would need to make it more focused so it looks more professional.
I like this shot as it shows the home owner is in danger and it clearly shows the genre of the film. It is a high angle shot to show the dominance and power of the antagonist to suggest the victim doesn't stand a chance of survival.
These shots clearly show the films genre as they have an iconic horror convention which is the mask. This makes the film look and feel mysterious making the audience wonder who is behind the mask. I decided to take a lot of close-ups of a cult member as a lot of the time it isn't a main character on the front, for example on the 'Insidious' poster and magazine cover, the characters used aren't main characters, they just come across as the most frighting which is what I wanted to do with mine to ensure the audience are scared from the beginning.
These are high angle shots of Maddie to make her look vulnerable. The audience will want to watch the trailer and film to find out if she survives as she looks helpless in these shots. However, they will be surprised when they find out that she is the final girl.
I took these shots as it was a shot I wanted to consider when I put together my second draft. These shots also show Maddie's vulnerability and suggest she is distressed. It is also a shot taken from the film which I found out if often seen on horror magazines and posters to add to the realism l to appeal to the audience. I will consider using the shot on the left as it looks more frightening and realistic.
Today my group and I finished all of our filming. My group and our actors went to Kayleigh's house straight from school and began filming at 4 pm and finished at about half 5. We finished filming the remainder of our home invasion with 4 cult members taking part in this filming session, this means that our overall trailer will show the 6 cult members including Delaney, our antagonist.
This is a shot inspired by 'The Purge'. I suggested to have other cult members in the background sharpening knives to suggest violence and fear.
Whilst waiting for Maddie, our protagonist to do her make-up, my group and I began filming the cult members approaching the house. Jamie and Kayleigh filmed a pan shot of them walking up a path behind the house into the driveway and I did a continuity shot to lead on from this which was a mid shot of them walking towards the window and banging on it to create diegetic sound and create an eerie atmosphere. I filmed from inside the house to give the effect that it was a point of view shot of Maddie seeing them thought the window and I had to position the tripod on the couch as it wasn't tall enough on the floor. As these shots are of the characters outside filmed on a different day, the lighting is different. Therefore, for the continuity to look accurate and show the same time frame as previous shots in the montage, I want to colour match them with the previous filmed shots to ensure we create a slick
and professional trailer.
I also filmed a high angle shot of Maddie screaming on the floor in a corner to show her fear, vulnerability and distress. However, it was difficult to film at first as I wanted to create shadows of the cult over her and the space we were filming in was too small. We improvised for lighting and used torches to create the shadows however it was hard to film Maddie without have the actual cult member in the shot which we didn't want. In the end, I moved the camera back and I managed to get a shadow of a hand. This was effective as it represented her as vulnerable at this point so the audience fear for her life and watch the film to see what happens.
Overview
Overall, I have really enjoyed filming, because as a group we didn't have any major problems when it came to filming, choosing mise en scene, deciding on a narrative or research roles etc. Also, as we used our friends/people we know well to be our actors, it was successful as we all listened to each others ideas during the filming process and that was one thing that made it successful as well as the good location we had. Furthermore, each member of our group and actors were familiar with the narrative and the mood we wanted to achieve in our trailer, therefore it was easy for us to decide on extra shots and ideas during filming. Also, our actors knew how to act in a way which could create an eerie, sinister mood to create our montage of shots for our disruption which is the most dramatic part of our trailer. However, if I was to do anything different next time, I would try to aim for my my group and I to get more shots filmed each time we film and be more professional, as a lot of the time it was hard to take each other seriously when it came to dramatic action scenes such as the screaming and romantic scenes.
