illogic Storyboard

This is our storyboard for our trailer. Instead of putting each sheet of paper with are storyboard on, we decided to film all the papers together and explain what they mean.

illogic Animatic Trailer

Critical Analysis Of Film Trailer Animatic

An animatic is a series of still images edited together and displayed in sequence. In film and television work, the storyboarding stage may be followed by simplified mock-ups called "animatics" to give a better idea of how the scene will look and feel with motion and timing. A rough dialogue and/or rough sound track is added to the sequence of still images (usually taken from a storyboard) to test whether the sound and images are working effectively together. This allows the directors to work out any screenplay, camera positioning, shot list and timing issues that may exist with the current storyboard. The storyboard and soundtrack are amended if necessary, and a new animatic may be created and reviewed with the director until the storyboard is perfected.

We first decided on creating the camera shots and scenes on a storyboard. This way we knew what shots we needed to take, the length of the shots and the locations to take the shots. We were also able to see the order the shots would be in. We started by drawing the shots on the storyboard sheet that we thought would be good in a trailer. Then we wrote about the shot by the side of each drawing. Finally we numbered each shot in the order we thought would be best in the trailer. After completing our storyboard, we decided to film the sheets of paper the storyboard was on, this way instead of reading the storyboard on the blog, you can watch a video which also explains each of the shots in the storyboard. We then decided to create an animatic, as we had the shots and the order we wanted them to be in and thought it would be a good idea to see how it would look like, with the sound, dialogue and the mise-en-scene being added in with the shots. Doing the animatic was useful, as we were able to see how it looked like and could see some improvements and camera shots we needed to take. It was also especially useful for the sound, as we incorporated a few different pieces of music and knew how it could be improved.

When shooting our shots for the animatic, we decided to use our storyboard so that we could shoot all the shots for a particular location at one time. We had about seven different locations, using different props and changing the mise-en-scene in each one. This saved on time and we seemed to be more organized as we did one location a day. When doing the editing all we had to do was arrange the shots by using our storyboard. Altogether we had 28 shots in the animatic trailer; this included shots from the seven different locations, we also showed all the props that played a significant part in the trailer, like the key. Some of the props we included in the animatic were, a key, photos, a car, a phone and rope. We chose our actors based around their availability, as we had to take most of our shots in school and we knew who would be able to do it. By having actors we could rely on, we were able to keep to our schedule on when to shoot. There were some shots that we were unable to do, for example, a shot of the control room; this was because the technology was not available at the time. We did make some improvements when shooting our animatic, for example, we changed one of our locations which was in a closet for our beginning of our animatic, but there was too much light in the room so we decided to change the location. When comparing the storyboard to the animatic I could see a few differences that we had made, mostly improvements from our drawings to the actual photo, but the main difference were the camera shots and angles, as we could see the different shots and angles on the animatic, but it didn’t show on the storyboard.  

When editing our animatic we first put all our shots onto the computer and put them in the correct order. We looked at our storyboard and thought it would be best to put the shots in the same order. At the beginning of the animatic trailer we decided to make the shots about four seconds long as it kept to the conventions of how normal trailers would be. Near the ending the shots speeded up, by the end the shots were one second long, creating a fast paste feel, which again when filming our trailer would keep the audience enticed and excited. Next we added our titles in-between our shots. The first title ‘A girl who has everything’ is shown 12 seconds in from the beginning of the trailer. The next title ‘locked in a room’ is shown a few seconds later. The title after that ‘with a limited amount of time’ is again shown a few seconds later. The final titles ‘to win’ ‘her’ ‘freedom’, were split up near the end and were shown quickly, each one after a camera shot, this again made the trailer fast paste. At the very end of the trailer we showed the title ‘illogic’ and used a special effect to make it appear mysteriously. After that the end credits are shown. We then added the dialogue and the sound. This was the hardest part of the editing but one of the most important parts of the trailer. At the beginning of the trailer we decided not to use any music, only the sound of the girl heavily breathing and the phone vibrating. We then hear the girl speaking and shouting, after that it cuts to a title. By doing this it kept to the conventions of thriller trailers, as it keeps the audience in suspense at the start, by which point the audience start to ask themselves questions, such as what’s happening? And why is this girl trapped? We felt this was the best thing to do. When the first title is shown the music starts slowly, getting faster and faster near the end. At the very end the music gets intense and finishes when the end title appears. There is also some more heavy breathing and screaming throughout the trailer.

We chose our length of shots by thinking how long they would be in the trailer and whether the audience would get board of the scene. We only had transitions when the titles would appear; this seemed to fit in with the music quite nicely. Near the end of the trailer we used slow motion which puts the audience in suspense. For the end title ‘illogic’, we used a special effect which made each letter of the word illogic appear after one another.

The titles we used are, ‘A girl who has everything...locked in a room...with a limited amount of time... to win...her...freedom...’ We decided on these titles as we felt it explained briefly the circumstance this girl is in. One thing we would do is add another title, as when we watched our animatic trailer, we found that we were missing a protagonist in it and we knew that we needed one in our real trailer. Another title we might add in our real trailer would be the main actors name as it would promote the film more, due to our actor being a recognised person. We chose the font style as thin and in white because it seemed serious and mysterious, and seemed to fit to the type of genre the film is.

It was difficult to find the correct music for the trailer as it didn’t suit our genre for our trailer, we managed to find some music which seemed to be suitable and decided to incorporate two different music tracks together and split bits of them up to flow with the pace of the shots. We decided the very beginning should have no music; this is because we wanted a quiet opener with the girl heavily breathing, this way the audience start to get interested and bond with the girl. We then decided to have a slow beat in the middle getting faster and sharper by the end of the trailer. The slow and fast beat of the music reflected the action and as there was a time element shown by the clock, we start to panic for her; at this point the music would have a faster beat.

Our target audience is 60% males and 40% females, aged 15-30. Even though we are missing a protagonist in our trailer I think the animatic would appeal to our target audience, as I think males are likely to find the film more interesting. It does show in the animatic that we are missing a male character, which is why we have decided on adding a few more shots of male characters, such as the boyfriend and the girl’s father. Our animatic has given us the opportunity to see this as we can develop it in our real trailer. 

When making the actual trailer there are a few things I would change, as I have said above, the main change being to add more male characters. Another problem with the animatic was that we couldn’t see the different camera techniques that we could use in our moving image trailer, for example, panning shots, crane shots, tilt shots and tracking shots. In the moving image trailer there are camera shots I would add, like a protagonist playing the villain, also more shots of this girl’s parents (mainly father), boyfriend and friends; again this is mainly because we need to add more male characters to meet what the target audience is. The music we chose for our animatic can be improved, as I think there is music better suited for our trailer. I think we are missing some dialogue, such as, the girl speaking briefly to her parents. The lighting is key for each location, this is because near the beginning of the trailer we want to show scenes that are bright and clear, then near the end we want to show the scenes as darker and faster, this is to entice the audience and get them interested in the film. Also we need show more props, such as digital and analogue clocks, more interesting locations and sort out the technology we need before we start shooting the trailer.

Below I have chosen five key images from the animatic and analyzed them.

1)  I have chosen this image as it shows the situation that the girl is in. This image is a medium close-up shot. She is locked in a room with light only coming from her phone. We used this image at the beginning of the trailer as it shows her at the present time. By the reaction on her face she shows she’s in distress and confused. The lighting, with the phone lighting up her face shows that she could be anywhere and the audience will be kept in suspense.

2)  I chose this image as it shows the girl receiving an ‘A’ grade for her work from the teacher. We used this in the trailer as a past event. I think this is a key image as it shows that she is smart, even though she doesn’t bother to revise her work, so when it comes to the challenges that she will face, we know she could probably figure them out. This shot also suggests to the audience that her teacher could be the villain, as her teacher knows she shouldn’t be receiving these grades and might want to put her to the challenge. The image here shows a bird’s eye view shot.

3)  This image is a close-up shot of a clock. I chose this image as it shows the time that the girl is faced with in each room. We used this image near the end and in our trailer will use a similar shot a few times, after one or two images, to make the pace faster. This draws the audience in as they start to panic for her. A light shows the face of the clock, but the rest of the background is dark.

4)  This image is an extreme close-up shot of the girl’s eye through a door. I chose this as it shows that someone could be watching her. The audience will be drawn in more and might think that she is struggling to get free and that there is hope for her. I think this is a key image as it slows down the pace of the trailer. This can frighten the audience as the trailer is constantly filled with fast shots, then this shot slows it down near the end, as it shows that the person who’s doing this to her could be on the other side of the door. This is a present day shot. The darkness at the sides with the light coming through the middle of the door creates a sense of freedom.

5)  This is the final image I chose. It is a close-up shot of the girl’s hand reaching out under a door for the key, suggesting that the key is the only way to freedom. This is a significant image in the trailer as it shows that she could be close to freedom, but might just fail, keeping the audience in suspense so hopefully they then want to watch the film. We used this image at the very end of the trailer; it is a good shot to finish off the trailer as we want to know what happens to her next.

During this process I feel as though I contributed by doing some filming, planning and editing. I did some filming and felt that I learnt how to film particular shots and the different techniques to shoot a scene. I did some planning where I learnt how to set out when to shoot our shots, for how long and where to shoot the shots, I also feel that I learnt some more group skills and how to work in a group. I also did some editing where I learnt how to put all of our shots on the computer software, how to create titles, how to cut bits of our shots, how to add and remove music/sound/dialogue, how to add special effects and how to add transitions. As we are a small group of three we all contribute in the filming, planning and editing. We all help each other and try to have an equal part in the process, which is how I have learnt so many skills. When filming the real trailer, I feel as though I could contribute in the same ways as I did in the animatic. I have learnt the skills to film, plan and edit, and believe our finished product will be a lot more sophisticated as a trailer. As we have had a practice run to vaguely see how are trailer would look like, we know the things we need to improve upon and so, can make a much better film trailer.

Inception Poster Analysis

Thriller movie poster analysis

Title:

·         The film’s title ‘inception’ suggests that there are a group of people who are interfering with another person’s life

·         Inception also suggests that the film could be about seeing into the future

·         The film’s title is shown near the bottom of the poster

·         The font size is a lot bigger than the rest of the text on it

·         The title uses all capital letters to make itself bolder

·         The title is also red; where as the rest of the text is white. All this makes it stand out and easily identifiable to the audience

Main image:

·         This main image has used special effects in creating the background of the buildings going vertically towards the sky

·         In front of that are the main characters in the film, with the most important at the front, as it is the main character we focus on when we look at it

·         The background shows us that they want us to see that this is a big city with cars at the back and people still walking on the sidewalk

·         When we see this image of the street curving, we can figure out what type of genre it is, and we also see it’s something different that you usually wouldn’t expect, which is why it entices you

·         Each character is dressed in a suit holding a gun, so we see them as being a gangster type of group

·         The colours focus mainly on a light blue spreading to a darker blue this making it seem more like a film and less like real life.

Film Stars:

·         All of the stars names are at the top of the poster

·         We see the biggest film star, with his name big at the top running across the page in white.

·         The other film stars which are less know, underneath the biggest star, their first name in red and surname in white, this is mainly to highlight the biggest stars name, as if the other film stars first name were in white, it would take the focus off the biggest stars name

·         The main film stars are all shown on the poster, the main character is not usually associated with this type of genre and we see this by the way he is dressed and the fact that he is holding the gun

·         Each character is looking away from one another, which shows that they might not be in a strong relationship, and shows that they could be enemies.

Tag-line:

·         The tag-line is ‘your mind is the scene of the crime’.

·         Seems to show that it is a psychological film, and creates the sense that the movie is about something you do with your mind

·         It is shown just underneath the film stars in white again.

Credits:

·         The directors name is not shown, instead they have written ‘from the director of the dark night’, this is because the dark night was such a big success and the director might not have been recognised to everyone if his name was put on the poster

·         The director is shown underneath the title in white again

·         Every word is capitalised

·         Underneath the director it says some more things probably about the production and the people involved

·         There is also the production company and website shown at the very bottom, in small font and in white again

·         At the very bottom it shows the release date in white and the same size font as the main film star, as the date needs to stick out to the audience as well.

The films target audience seems to be 15-35 mostly male, judging from the poster. This poster also shows something different and shows something which advertises its film a bit differently, which is why we look more interested in it. This film looks differently id say mainly because of the buildings curving, and interests you because of how many main stars are in the film.

My Plot Synopsis

Plot Synopsis

The film will revolve around a young female (Nicole – ‘18’) who is a student still in school. She is the main character with only a few scenes of other characters making an appearance in flashbacks of the trailer. The film trailer starts with the girl stuck inside a closet; we don’t know how she got in there, why she is in there, or how she is going to get out. The female character will show to be a popular student, with high grades - we will show this in the trailer by a flashback of her teacher throwing down her results paper on the desk with disbelief and a close up shot of her results paper with the highest grades on. In the film trailer using a flashback we will also show that she comes from a rich family, by a shot of her house and her parents giving her the keys to her brand new car (we will see this as the car will be wrapped up in a big ribbon and we will see that she has a big badge on her shirt with ‘18’ on it. She is going to be represented as a young girl with a perfect life, which is why we want to know the secrets behind her being in the situation she is in. She will also be someone who doesn’t care about anyone else but herself, which is why we can see there are lots of people who could be a suspect in doing this to her.

Although we won’t show where she is held in the trailer, in the main film it will show at the end to be directly under the school, because at the start of the film, we would see some construction workers building this huge metal building underground, this building underground will be a containment place for deadly murderers, and there will be a date at the bottom saying ‘15^th October 1855’. In the film the next scene would cut to present day, as it will show at the bottom of the screen, and a shot of the school with everyone outside the building, this showing us at the start of the film that there is a big building underneath the school which they might not know about.

Throughout the film trailer we will see that the only way for her to escape from this closet is to figure out the games and puzzles that lie in front of her on the door, objects could also be hung up on the door, to help her with each puzzle/game. To make this film a more exciting thriller we will see that there is a clock on the wall with only a certain amount of time on it, and at the end of the time, the words ‘end game’, making the audience know how long she has got to escape this closet. Each room will have a time limit for her to complete the game. When she completes a game, she will receive a key, and attached to that key will be a date, we will then show in the film trailer her having a flashback to that date, she will try to figure out what happened on that day, and see if something strange could have gone on that day, or if she particularly hurt someone.

She figures out the first puzzle/game quite quickly and opens the closet door to what she thinks is freedom, but in fact finds herself in a small room with another door in front of her and another puzzle/game, with a clock still ticking in this room, she figures out that she is not safe from freedom yet. She has to figure out what she has to do again to find the right way out, as we see she is a bright student, she figures out these puzzles/games quite quickly, with the instructions on the wall and only a few other items. We soon see as she figures out each puzzle/game and opens the door, she enters another room with another door and more games. We watch her struggle as we see her trying to figure out each game, as she doesn’t know how many more there is or if when the clock runs out, that’s the end for her. In the film and near the end of the trailer we will see she has a big decision when she is faced with two doors and two screens on the wall. In one room her mother and in the other room her boyfriend, but although the one person will be in the first room, they would actually be in the second room, as she will think they are in those rooms but have actually been swapped. She will save the one even though she meant to save the other.

Buried Trailer

Buried Textual Analysis PowerPoint

As I couldn't show my PowerPoint of my textual analysis, I have instead inserted underneath, all the information I wrote about it.

Buried Textual Analysis 

Buried is a 2010 mystery/thriller film.

We as the audience are able to identify the genre of the film in this trailer by using some technical aspects - camera shots, editing, sound and mise-en-scene. This particular film trailer is only 30 seconds long, but packs in enough action and information for us to identify the necessary points in it. The trailer shows us that a man (Paul Conroy) is stuck in a coffin underneath the ground, so we instantly see the mise-en-scene, which in this case has a big part in establishing the mood for the genre, the small confined space makes you feel claustrophobic, and the lighting also plays an important role as its dark with only a few shots of light coming from a lighter and a cell phone this showing us a close shot of his reaction as its focusing on his face. The combination of fast paste editing and different camera shots which mainly focus closely on the characters face to see his reaction as to the situation he’s in and the close up shots of other parts of his body e.g. His hand, arms and legs shows us the confined space he’s trapped within, this automatically  switches on our brains to try and answer questions such as, why is he in this coffin? and how is he going to get out? Thus we relate these questions again to what we think the genre could be. The final and most important aspect in this film trailer is the sound. Digetic and non-digetic sound plays an important role in every trailer as it creates the mood and atmosphere, in this trailer the music is quick from the start with a steady beat, this is key as the audience must be drawn in to the trailer from the start and need to follow the story, so the fast music along with narrative and digetic sounds of lighters and phones tells our brains what genre this is. Non-digetic sound sticks to the conventions of modern mystery/thriller trailers.

The target audience for this film is around 15-40. It targets males and females with an interest of mystery, suspense and/or Ryan Reynolds.  Using the four technical aspects discussed previously, the trailer targets an audience by camera shots, editing, sound and mise-en-scene. Using objects in the film such as a blackberry phone and a Hamilton watch, associates itself with the new phones and watches the audience have at this time. The mystery and questions we want answered when we see this trailer only seems to interest this age range, as its quite intense and thrilling.

This particular trailer is only 30 seconds long. There are about 27 shots used in this trailer. The fast paste music throughout creates a sense of urgency, as the digetic sound of the objects, the character and the narrative creates a bigger sense of mystery and drama. The narrative quickly sums up the story for us, as the character acts out the objects he has, like his lighter.

This trailer dosen’t focus on relationships that much, but does show a quick shot of the main character on his phone to who seems to be his girlfriend. We sense this because he says to her ‘do not go back to the house’. The main character himself seems to be a rich man, as he is told to transfer a lot of money, and the phone and watch he has are very expensive.

The trailer reveals that although this man is stuck in a coffin, to get himself out he will have to give money to some other people and agree to everything they want otherwise he could die.

The trailer creates the code of enigma as we want to know how is he going to get out of the coffin? Why was he in the coffin  from the first place? And what is going to happen to him?

The trailer uses titles as well as narrative because when we visually see something at the same time we hear something, we are more likely to remember it and it keeps you enticed within the film.

Film studios use trailers to market their product as its the best way to show the audience what their film is about and why it would be interesting for them to see it, they also need to have a code of enigma.

Film trailers are successful in targeting their audiences, if its an animation then they will always have a popular children outcome, and so if its a horror film, generally the audience will be adults.

In this trailer I have identified a few things which coincide with the plot of the film. The first shot we see his face light up green, this is unusual now but later on in the trailer we can see a glow light he has lit up. He has a blackberry phone which is expensive, suggesting he’s rich. He also has a Hamilton watch which is very expensive, again suggesting he is rich. The lighter allows him to be in control, so we see what he sees, again creating a shocking and anticipating await of what there is to come.

I think that film trailers are very effective, as without them we would not know of any films, and so films would not get enough revenue, therefore rubbish films would be made as they would have little budget and it would also be more expensive for us. 

I have identified ten codes and conventions in this trailer:

Ø  You will notice at the start of the trailer the ‘Lionsgate’ entertainment company logo appears, but it does not appear in its usual manner as it seems to adapt to the genre of the film, this is only to prepare you for the upcoming setting. We also see it fade out and it then seems to quickly expand the company name again  and then fade through black. The final thing we notice is a blue line running across the screen of the company name, this is again to change the usual manner and as we will see continues throughout the trailer, creating the consistency which gives it a much more powerful impact to the story.

Ø  In this trailer we also notice that the voice over throughout is a man. In most mystery/thriller trailers the voice over is a man, this is because a mans voice is a lot deeper and creates the right effect for this type of genre.

Ø  Subtitles are used conventionally as they seem to be split up. So we see a moving image then subtitles, then more moving images and so on, this also creates the fast paste worried effect and we can easily get drawn into it. ‘Paul Conroy.....has a lighter.....a cell phone.....90 minutes of oxygen.....and very few options.....Ryan Reynolds.....Buried’.

Ø  The main character in this film is a man and in most mystery/thriller movies, you will notice most men as the main characters. This is to show the vulnerability that rich men would face, as opposed to a horror where its always a women running away from something showing her fear.

Ø  From the very start of the trailer the music kicks in. Again the same in almost every trailer. The music coincides with the genre as it has the beat of a mystery/thriller and as the music is played from the start it draws you in, gets you interested. Throughout that beat stays and even with the red lines across the screen, we hear the slashing of what seems to sound like a sword.

Ø  Another convention was the fact that the trailer throughout stuck to the concept of quick camera shots from a few different angles, to create fast paste editing. In this genre type they will do this to create the suspense and tension within the trailer.

Ø  As we watch the trailer we learn that Paul Conroy is a wealthy man and the trailer keeps up this convention as we see his clothes look expensive, his blackberry is expensive and his watch is expensive. They do this so we don’t start asking ourselves unnecessary questions within the trailer which has nothing to do with it.

Ø  There is also not a lot of lighting in this trailer with only light coming from the flames, which again makes ourselves ask another question. With these types of genres you would typically expect a lot more of the film to be shot in the night not the daytime.

Ø   As we start to finish watching the trailer we notice the actors name, which they include if the actor is quite popular and well known, the actor alone could just bring in a percentage of the audience. We also notice the directors name, again to increase the audience percentage.

Ø  The final convention we see is the title at the very end, and spoken by the voice over to increase the drama. The date is also shown at the very end. Companies usually leave this till the end as if we see it at the start and get in to the film, by the end we would have forgotten what it was called. This way we are fully focused on the screen and are attention is to the trailer.