MAGAZINE COVER DEVLOPMENT

This is our initial design for "Empire" magazine, featuring a masthead, tagline, and various film titles relating to the horror genre in different fonts to act as logos for the films. We kept a fairly neutral tone to the design to tie everything together and give a more professional appearance after researching existing magazine covers. To further add realism, we have included a bar code, date, and sticker-like object. The main cast photos were taken from a second shoot that was developed from our first initial shoot ideas, shot in the college photography studio, in more appropriate costumes. Layering was used between the character shots to relate to the supernatural element/story line featured in our movie trailer. To improve the cover, we think we could add sub-titles to annotate and describe the films promoted in the issue. Also, a bigger variety of fonts could be used to differentiate each film. A price would also benefit the next design, to further appear realistic to the audience.

FILM POSTER DEVELOPMENT

These are our initial designs for our film poster. We booked the college's photography studio to shoot rough cast photos of the three main starring characters: Zara Mills, Holly Smith and Jack Psuedo. We chose the shot we captured of the two companions back to back as it highlights the storyline of the two's alternate personalities. We decreased the saturation of the image to relate to the film's horror convention, though the pitch black background was increased in contrast to give a striking appearance to the design and allow text to be clearly visible over the layer. We then placed the main character in the centre across the two women and reduced its opacity to show the supernatural ghost-like nature of Jack's character. Finally, we added a logo through the centre of the page to appear striking and used a slashing-type font, again to relate to conventions of horror films. We finally, added the cast names at the top of the poster, and credits at the bottom, with a "Coming Soon" sub-caption and a 3D feature.

The second design added a red line through the logo to connotate danger or blood. In addition, a tag-line "The Truth Is Not All It Seems" was added below the film's logo and further credits were added. For the third design, a glow was added for "Coming Soon" to make it more visible to the audience. The fourth draft included adding a smoke filter over the top of the layers to add to the ghost/supernatural storyline featured in the film. The fifth design presented the character's in their correct outfits in reference to the character profiles powerpoint. We thought this design was good, though it was too close-up for a film poster. Our final design shows more establishing shots of all three characters and uses the transparency effects to merge the three together to represent that they are linked. Furthermore, upon research of other film posters, we incorporated social media links and a website at the bottom of the poster.

INITIAL CAST PHOTO IDEAS

These photos are from our first initial photo shoot related to the main characters of our film Jack Psuedo, shot in the college's professional photography studio. We chose a black backdrop for the cast photos to create a dark and sinister ambiance relating to typical horror conventions. We used props such as chairs to provide different stances to work with in the editing stages. While the photos are shot well and the composition is successful, we think that certain facial expressions such as smiling does not suit our movie as it is a haunting and psychological story line. However, the main idea behind the shoot was to get some initial photos of the cast to work with and gain ideas as to how we could arrange our advertisements. In the editing stage, we used filters such as grayscale and increased the contrast to create an eerie, sinister and more striking effect. We plan on using the studio again to shoot our final cast images, but will choose appropriate costumes, possibly those featured in our trailer footage to create synergy and continuity.  

PRODUCTION SCHEDULE

CHARACTER PROFILES

(LINKED)

SCRIPT

As a group we have identified the key dialogue in our trailer, although its not much, we came up with the conclusion that we wanted our trailer to have a high sense of mystery and action therefore, dialogue wasn't too important but rather just to help drive the narrative for certain parts. We have also decided to take the gorrila filming effect for certain scenes so that there is a natural reaction in scenes rather than scripting out everything that we will do.

RISK ASSESSMENT

 The risk assessment is a fundamental  part of out production as it will help us to identify an possible hazards that occur during our filming and how we can control them. By being well aware of all the hazards it allows us as a group to eliminate them, remain safe and make the production process much easier.

Throughout our production we will be reviewing these hazards to make sure all the necessary measures are being kept to avoid hazards from occurring.

PRODUCTION: STORYBOARD

We have created a storyboard in order to have a visual example of how our trailer will plan out. The series of pictures in a sequence helps to tell the story and show the flow of action, thus making it easier when we are shooting our scenes. As a whole the storyboard is effective in our production process as we will refer to it throughout. 

PRODUCTION: SHOT LIST

The following is our shot list which we composed in order to outline the most important scenes in order of when they will come up in the trailer. It was important to pick a variety of shots and angles in order for the audience to be captivated by the action throughout our trailer. The sot list is also very helpful in terms of helping us to organise ourselves as to where we are going to shoot and if we need to ask permission in advance to shoot at certain places. Additionally the shot list outlines all the necessary props that will help us in filming our scenes, therefore we can prepare ahead of time what props we will need. Overall the shot list is a very important part of our production as it will help us to effectively organise ourselves so we can create a high standard trailer.

PRODUCTION: PLOT

This section provides the plot idea that the trailer will reveal.

Beginning

The trailer opens up to contrast the two main characters of Zara and Holly's lives. Zara is a 25 year-old upper class sophisticated investigative journalist. while Holly is an 18 year-old impatient and naive student. As the clip progresses, they begin to notice similar unusual activity in their different lives.

Middle

Zara and Holly decide to research the cryptic man that they continuously notice, and find his name is called Jack Pseudo, a man that died mysteriously over 50 years ago. Once the ghost knows he is being looked for, he starts to haunt the women further and scenes rapidly become faster and distorted.

End

Zara and Holly eventually meet in dubious circumstances, as the trailer reveals that they are somehow connected. Together, they form an unlikely bond and fight to uncover the mystery of Jack Pseudo and save their lives. The trailer ends with a shot of Jack appearing and then disappearing with heavy breathing and scream effects.

PRODUCTION: LOCATION

Zara's House

This house will be one of our locations for our trailer firstly because one the team members live here therefore, it will be very easy to access and film. Secondly, the appearance of the house is very well suited to the character Zara. One of the main features of our trailer is that it contrasts two characters who have a completely different style of living. Because of that, this location will be the much more traditional, higher class home. The surroundings of the home are also very effective and follow the conventions of horror movies. The house is in a rural, quiet area surrounded by forests so therefore it will be effective in playing with the audiences fear. This is something that we found out during our research stage and looking the trailer of "The conjuring" as the setting of the film was based around a secluded, quiet area. As a group we liked that idea and found it to be good at intensifying the audience's fears. Lastly, we also wanted a location that the audience would be familiar to in order to increase how realistic the trailer is.

Holly's House

We have selected to use this house as our second location as one of our team members live here, thus making the filming process easier. This is the home of the modern character Holly, that contrasts the home of the character of Zara, who is more sophisticated. Although it does not follow the typical codes and conventions of horror films, we wanted to add a modern twist to our trailer in order for it to portray the idea that evil can affect everyone in unexpected territories. This location is based in a more urban area, therefore the audience can relate more easily, again intensifying how realistic the trailer is. Because of the mix of both traditional and modern styles, our trailer challenged and reinforces dominant ideology, giving a uniqueness and surprising factor.

Field

Thirdly, we have chosen to use a field as an additional location in our trailer as it is located close to the home of Holly (A). As one of our team members is located close to the area, it will be easier to film as someone knows the location. and can therefore navigate the group. We will have to choose a time where the field will not be too busy to be able to give the desired effect that focuses on the two main characters.

The Library 
Lastly, our last location will be a library. This setting will be a key feature to our trailer as it what reveals to the audience the plot and Zara and Holly begin their adventure battling Jack . As a group we understand that the library can be busy which is why we will be shooting during quieter periods and will make sure of this by consolidating with the librarians. Its  really important that this scene is shot well as it will contribute in making our trailer effective.