Classification

These are the 7 types of classifications you get on different films.
For our trailer we have chosen the certifficate 15.

This means that no-one under the age of 15 is able to watch this film.

According to The British board of Film Classification the following is only able to be shown
in a 15 movie...

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/classification/guidelines/15-2

This is what the BBFC say about violence in 15 horror films.

Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification.

Single White Female Poster

We took inspiration from this film for our trailer, and we really like the poster too!

Looking at the conventions we have noticed a lot about posters.

* The actresses names are on the top of the poster - on their heads which on is which.

* The tag line is on the bottom of the poster- this is to interest the viewers.

* There is a consistent font and colour.

* The audience can tell what the genre is by the expression of there faces, one looks worried and the psychotic character looks longingly behind a close door, showing her stalker side.

* The actual Title is done very cleverly indeed, the film title has a double meaning as it is also advertising for a new roommate, the title is a cut out of the newspaper in which the ad would of been put in.

* The film has directors and producers names at the bottom and has

'COMING TO A CINEMA NEAR YOU' which is also a convention of a advertising poster.

Music for the montage

We are having trouble finding a good piece of instrumental music to fit in with our montage.
Its only a quick part of the trailer but it is very effective and the climax of our film. This is why it needs to be thrilling and suspenseful.
We may need to compose our own piece on garage band. But this may be too simple or sound a bit unprofessional, we need to figure this one out!

Analysis of the 3 codes in our media text, part 3

Camera Shots...
A particular camera shot or angle can be vital when portraying a particular scene. Within our media text there are a lot of different camera shots used to represent different characters, including how important they are in the scene, the mood of the scene and to show the different range of camera shots and our knowledge. It also has to be clear to the audience what is actually going on in the scene, the camera shots should tell a story in the best way possible and do little to confuse the audience (unless purposely made for effect).
This blog will go through each shot we use and how this is used for representation.
- A shot of Charlotte looking in the classroom, making sure we don't break the 180 degree rule, this was mainly used for a close-up on Charlotte's face, peering in. Showing a slight bit of anxiety on her face the audience is aware she is nervous.
- An establishing shot of Charlotte entering the room. Summer is already sitting down with some friends showing she is popular.
- Next is a low angled shot of Summer shaking Charlotte's hand, this is to show the two being introduced, the audience can guess that these two have been acquainted.
- A wide, two-shot of Summer and Charlotte working at a table, this portrays the growth in their friendship.
- A title is then shown
- A mid-shot of Charlotte going into Summers back garden is used to show the action clearly.
- We are very proud of the next shots in the sequence, Summer is close to the camera and walks past her bedroom window doing her hair, an extreme long-shot is used here as when she walks past Charlotte is standing in the garden. This shows her stalking behaviour and when the audience see her here, they are quite shocked as the camera shot is unexpected.
- A reverse shot goes from Charlotte, to what she is looking at, to the back of her head. She looks away vacantly in the wind. - A shot of Summer and her boyfriend, Sam are walking together, this is a wide angled shot showing the two sharing a close relationship. The next shot is effective as it is a two-shot close up showing loving looks from one another, a kiss and then Sam walking off into the red doors, showing he is walking towards danger.
- The next shot is Charlotte hiding behind the red door Sam is about to walk through. The shot is again wide to represent her vulnerability and her increasingly worrying behaviour.
- THE MONTAGE
...this has already been explained in previous blog but is basically a combination of the most thrilling action throughout 'Tracing Steps'.
- After the montage the music goes quiet and there is a wide shot of a dark hall way and a closed-door. The door swings open and Charlotte runs towards the camera screaming.
- There is then a close-up of Charlotte crying, showing her emotion by using a close up of her face.
- The last shot is effective as it was filmed from behind Charlotte into the mirror so both sides of her has been shown here, the shot is a mid-shot to show the composition of the room and also her creepy and slightly pleased expression, this is then faded out to our title.

Changes...

We changed our montage and took out the fades, this is because it was too much and not very conventional.

We need to put in our thrilling music...which have still to do!

Our Advertising Poster

For our subsidiary tasks we haven chosen to do a magazine cover that advertises our film and a advertising poster. We have been researching both these texts to try and get an element of what conventions they use.

After brain storming some ideas we came up with a few and decided to put them into practice to see what they would look like. We started by composing the characters and taking pictures, and these are them :)

We came up with this main idea from the poster 'Single White Female' which has been one of our main media influences when doing our coursework.

(This will be analysed on another blog)

We first came up with the idea of Summer and Charlotte being separated in the poster by a door or a wall, this was to show Charlotte's 'stalker' and psychologically messed up side! We took some test shots (please keep in mind these are only testers!) to see how this would look. We love the expression in Charlotte's face, it shows her longing to be close to Summer and wanting everything she has and wanting to just be her. We thought it might be a good idea to bring in Summer's boyfriend, Sam, in the pictures to really show Charlotte's jealous side and to add another twist on things. We might use this composition for our advertising poster but with a better camera, selected wardrobe and lighting!

analyse the effects of the 3 codes in my media text, part 2

Symbolic Codes.

Well, there is a variety of reasons why we 'did the things we did', its not always apparent to the audience, a lot of people don't actually watch a film and think 'that jacket represents his mood', however, there is in fact a lot of people who do and most symbolic codes are too obvious that the audience processes them automatically, e.g. there is a character holding a blood-covered knife - the audience automatically can tell what character they are - violent, angry and murderess.

Therefore, the symbolic codes in a media text are just as important as anything such as the type of text, or camera shot used. A symbolic codes can be anything to do with mise en scene, clothes the particular colours etc.

There are a few scenes in our trailer where the character's feelings, mood and personality come through because of their clothes and particular surroundings.

There is a scene where Charlotte is outside Summer's house, wearing a grey hooddie. This was used to demonstrate her mood, grey, distraught and also slightly cunning. The weather was also drizzly, cloudy and cold, so these factors made the scene look eerie and mysterious.

In our trailer, we liked the idea of using bright red doors when filming. Even someone who was watching our clip saw this and mentioned it! The trailer is meant to start off slowly and calmly and increase with suspense as it goes on, e.g. it starts off with symbolic red doors and moves to blood on Charlotte's hand! We first used the doors when Charlotte sneaks into Summer's garden and in school when Charlotte is spying on Summer and her boyfriend.

Summer in our trailer is the sweet, popular girl who is loved by everyone. Her dress sense therefore has to reflect this. She is always looking stylish and is the envy of other girls with her perfect life, but this takes a turn when Charlotte befriends her.
In the montage and thrilling scenes we used fake blood for a gruesome but not 'disgustingly Gorey' effect, and the audience wonder 'who is that from?' this helps portray the deeply disturbed character of Charlotte. We also smudged Summers make-up to show how upset she is and her despair, she is usually a tough character but with the recent events she faces the audience can see her emotion when she is crying in the end scene. Her body language is completely different to earlier scenes when she is her happy and confident self.

analysis of last uploaded clip.

The video that has just been posted below is basically our most up to date and recent clip of our trailer. I have gone through what needs to be done and edited before being completed. This lesson we also gained some audience feedback from a willing volunteer. They had some interesting things to say about our clip and this will be uploaded shortly, it Will also help when it comes to our evaluation.
Firstly, the thing that need working on...
An observer of our trailer queried about the hand-shake that is exchanged between Charlotte and Summer, however, only their hands are shown not their faces. They asked 'how do we know who this handshake is between?', after explaining that trailers aren't meant to reveal much to the audience and that the next clip is them sitting at the table, we felt the audience would assume that would come to mind is that the two girls have become friendly with each other. We do not know if we are to change this at the present time, because this shot is also very conventional of a trailer.
We also might edit the scene where Summer and her boyfriend, Sam, kiss. This is because its not quite clear if Charlotte is in fact spying on them. Also, the wait between 'An Obsession' and 'That turns fatal' is quite long, we wanted to have the sequence without any interruptions as it is one of our favourite ones (where Charlotte is outside Summers window) however, this may be confusing for the audience. We will gather more feedback to the audience to see if this needs to be altered as well.
The music, you may notice, fades in and out at random times. This needs to be altered because it was originally turned down for voice overs, however we felt that the voice-overs worked better in other parts of the trailer.
As much that needs to be done (hopefully not much, just the odd bit!) we are very happy with how some of it looks. The montage as you can tell is coming together well, we have an idea for the end of this, which if goes well, will turn out very effective! Its to have the already fast-cut clips edited together even faster till suddenly with the music it stops. This is to create an eerie feel as Charlotte comes screaming out of the door 'DON'T RUNAWAY FROM ME!'
We need to get some tense music to go with our montage as this is the climax in the trailer therefore we want it to look good!
The last scene of Summer crying is an emotional end to the trailer. Hopefully the intended effective will be achieved and the audience will be drawn in to the tension of the montage then suddenly to the emotion of Summer crying.

Getting There...

Montage Scene Footage

The explanation for this clip is in the previous blog.

a slight bit of rule breaking...

Today we did a bit more of filming, and yes I realise, it is not
proffessional to start editing before the end of filming.
But we are still short of essential footage and we want to complete
our all important montage scene for the climax of the trailer.
But, today i felt, was very successful.
We wanted to add a slight bit of gore to our trailer without
making it look fake, exaggerated and give too much away.
We decided to have some quick, snappy shots of Charlotte with
blood (fake of course) on her hands. The actual fake blood looks really
effective in the shots, there is one where she walks passed a white collum and
smears her hands on it, leaving a trail of blood. This creates an enigma code
and hopefully makes the audience wonder who's blood that is...what is she
doing?/has done?
All these questions are designed to be wondered in the trailer for the audience
to find out the answers, they have to simply come and see the film!
Another shot was Summer getting dragged back, she looks as if she is
trying to escape from somewhere, this will be added into our montage,
as well as the close up we have of her looking around - it is pitch dark and
her expression looks terrified, she also has a bloody noise and some scratches -
again, the audience is wondering why? Suddenly Charlottes face appears from
behind Summer. This, combined with some thrilling music, we feel will
have an intense effect.
We borrowed an extremley savage looking knife for some scenes in our montage.
While watching trailers we also noticed that quick close-ups of objects are often used.
We decided to use the knife and Charlotte holding it, this has
been taken from the film 'Obsessed' where this also happened, showing
conventions of a real thriller trailer.
The footage will be put together and shown on a blog very soon!

More Footage...

Here is some footage that we filmed recently. The scenes show Charlotte's jealousy towards Summer and determination to win over her boyfriend. He is reluctant to let her anywhere near him.

We also did some shots of Summer and her boyfriend to show the audience a clear and happy

relationship between the two, and Charlotte attempting to ruin this. One was a wide shot of

the two holding hands, talking and smiling. A simple shot like this tells a lot about the characters which is what is needed in a trailer.

This was the first time we were filming Mark who played the role of Sam and thought him and Grace (Charlotte) worked well together. When he pushes Charlotte away, the expression on her face looks simply distraught. She feels failed in her attempt to win him over so she must take more drastic action.

This has quickly been edited together so there is no music or effects, simply the footage we may or may not edit into our final clip.

We still need a bit more footage, and to start editing our conventional and important montage scene. We may use some of these scenes here, clipped down and sped up to fit in with the montage.

Analyse the effects of the three 'codes' in my Media Text

Audio Codes...
This code includes the use of dialogue, music and instrument choice.
First of all we choose our music very carefully. Using garage band we were
able to mix our music together so it was able to increase in volume and tempo when needed to create effect such as suspense or just to be quieter when dialogue needs to be heard.
Our Field Audio (the sound that is created and recorded during production such as dialogue) is often re-recorded over as a voiceover over the clip so it is able to be heard more clearer. This is also to go with the conventions of a trailer. This makes the sound better to hear and the audience can understand the effect of music.
The first track called 'Uninvited' was originally an acoustic peice. The melody and tune of this song is very eerie and the piano instrument at the start is not only quiet and mysterious but also conventional as it is often used in the beginning of films and trailers. We combined this track with the same (more recent) upbeat one that had been remixed. This is cued in as the action is increasing, this is typical of a trailer and is often used for tension building up to the montage.
After the climax in the trailer we decided to use the song 'White Blank Page' which is slow and sad, which fits in very well with Summer crying and being mentally tortured by Charlotte. The lyrics also go in very well with our theme. It is often that more than one song is used in a trailer, a fast paste one and a slow one to end the clip, which is exactly what we used.

Editing Techniques

Editing is an art of story telling, therefore, it is a very important part of our coursework, the trailer (or particular genre you are producing) has to flow and look believable.
The shots the editor chooses and the order in which they are combined sets the space and time of the film and guides the audience's attention.

Here are some common continuity editing techniques. I have included here to show my knowledge and understanding, I will also relate it to my coursework to demonstrate how I have been aware of the different techniques and rules of editing. And also about the conventions for trailers.

One thing that isn't yet in our trailer but will soon be edited in is our montage sequence. This is a series of short shots that are edited together in a sequence to advance the narrative. It is commonly used in trailer to create suspense to the audience. In many cases a song is played in the background to enhance the mood. The way in which images are joined can produce shock, excitement and fascination.

The 180 degree rule is the imaginary line that passes from side to side through the actors. It basically cannot be broken (unless for effect) this is for many reasons but mainly not to confuse or loose the dialogue or any important parts of the film. In our coursework we made sure we didn't break the rule, look at our first scene...Charlotte opens the door and when she walks into the classroom the camera is also on the same side, this makes the continuity flow and doesn't confuse the audience.

Match on action is an edit that puts two different shots of the same action together, making it appear to continue uninterrupted. This is used when Charlotte is outside Summers house. We use a total of 3 shots for this piece of action. One is a close up of a long angled shot looking up at Charlotte. The next cuts to Summer in her room, However the audience can see Charlotte outside, it is therefore the same piece of action just different perspectives, the last cut is from behind Charlotte and her turning her head.

Shot, reverse shot is used when two shots are edited back and forth between two characters. This is not currently in our trailer but will be between Summer and her boyfriend.

Tracing Steps...Coming Together

We finally have found a name for our film! It is called 'Tracing Steps'

to give the idea of copying and stalking.

This is our most recent upload and edit of our film.

As you can see the sound is very obvious. It still needs to be edited

in a lot of places but we did choose the music very carefully. The

main track 'Uninvited' works extremely well with the theme of our

movie. We made the music our own by combining two tracks and fitting it in with

the particular clips. The opening scene we feel works well, with the muttering of

the class and Charlotte peering in, showing her vulnerability and nerves

as it is her first day. The montage of the music coming in slowly and the door being

opened near the camera flows well. The next scene where Charlotte is sitting

down near Summer and a voice over is heard, the music fades in order for the

audience to hear it.

The shots we feel work very well are the ones where Charlotte is in the garden and Summer is oblivious to this.

The ending of this clip is also something we are proud of. For example after Charlotte screams the slow music comes in. This is very conventional of a trailer. We still need however to create our fast paste montage to create suspense and tension as this is used in most trailers. This will be in the middle of the trailer before cueing the sad music. The transition between Charlotte mimicking Summer in the mirror and the title 'Tracing Steps' we find is affective.

Our First Editing Session

To make my progress clear, I am going to blog every film to make

sure that I keep up to date.

Call Sheet

This was created to keep organised, just like the professionals!

Production Office: Southfield School Directors: Imogen Brown and
Kettering Carly Chamberlain

Location 1: Long Fellow Park, Kettering
Location 2: Southfield School, Kettering

Cast Character
Grace Meredith Charlotte Westbridge
Imogen Brown Summer Freeman
Greg Hughes Matt (Summer's boyfriends best friend)
Mark Drakeford Sam (Summer's current boyfriend)
Carly Chamberlain Chloe (Summer's best friend)
Chloe Pitts In the friendship group
Ellie tate In the friendship group
Philip Swain Teacher

Camera: Carly Chamberlain
Production: Imogen Brown, Carly Chamberlain
Location: Imogen Brown, Philip Swain.

Contact Number.
+447867524223

Filming Schedule.
Friday: Grace will come to Imogen's house to complete the following scenes.
Location: Imogen's house, using the landing, hallway, garden and side gate.
* Shot of Charlotte entering Summer's house and Shot of Summer doing her hair while Charlotte is in the garden.
Saturday: Complete more scenes.
Location: Imogen's house, front of the house and bedroom.
* Shots of Summer walking out the house with Charlotte round the back of the
* Charlotte putting a wig on to copy how Summer looks.
* Scene of Charlotte and Summers Boyfriend.
Monday:
Location: School
* Shot of classroom scenes
* Summer and her friends scenes.

Here is some of our first filming that we did and some of the shots we will use in our

actual film because some are quite effective.

For example, the one where Charlotte is standing in the garden and Summer

Walks passed oblivious to her while she is doing her hair. This is quite a conventional

scene, e.g in films where there is an obsessed person they are often there when the other

person is unaware.

Currently there is no music and this will obviously be added for affect. This post also

acts like a test shot as it gives us an overall idea of what we need to do in order to make the trailer effective and also to give us an idea of what it may look like.

Filming Schedule

Filming In the holidays...

Friday: Grace will come to Imogen's house and we will aim to complete the following scenes.

Location: Imogen's house, using the landing, hallway, garden and side gate.

* Shot of Charlotte entering Summer's house

* Shots of Charlotte in Summers garden, spying on her.

* Shot of Summer doing her hair while Charlotte is in the garden.

* Charlotte screaming 'Don't run away from me'.

Saturday: We will aim to complete more scenes.

Location: Imogen's house, front of the house and bedroom.

* Shots of Summer walking out the house with Charlotte round the back of the

* Charlotte putting a wig on to copy how Summer looks.

Filming during term time...

Location: School

* Shot of classroom scenes

* Summer and her friends scenes.

* Composing of music

* Scene of Charlotte and Summers Boyfriend