Development of our ideas!

Here are a few shots of which we developed our poster ideas just for inspiration to help us understand what works and what may not...

Ideaaaa (1)

Ideaaa (2)

Other ideas:

Initial Poster Idea..

This is our inital poster idea! From our location shots where we had tested with practise shots before making our trailer we tested our idea with this image of Steph's eyes to see if our idea would be successful or not.

We took a print screen; Command, Ctrl and 4, and print screened the shot of Kira as Ruth in the corridor. We liked the use of lighting here creatign a silloutte, still obvious it is of a girl. Because the lighting is quite dark and the eyes are covered with the image I believe our genre is obvious to its audience if we were to use this stragedy for our poster in hope to advertise our film.

We did this via AS Photoshop C5 by opening both images in Photoshops and clicking; Command A which selects the whole image so we could copy and paste it onto the eyes photo (Command and V). We then had to transform this image; Command and T and dragging the corner arrows inwards in hope to smallen the photo. We found it easier to zoom into the photo by this point for us to gain a better understanding whether it would work for our project and would fit in the eyes. Because we copied and paste this it is an seperate layer so we could rub out the access of the photo in which would appear around the eyes using the rubber tool on the side bar. We found this quite difficult at first as we werent completely sure where the eyes finished however after chaning the opacity (above the layers) and pulling the bar down, we could clearly see where the photo ended.

We are happy with this design as it looks slightly eerie and creepy showing the genre quite clearly. The only issue we think is what else we would include on the poster deciding on whether we'll have it landscape or portrait.

Our poster ideas :)

This is a mindmap with ideas we want to include within our poster. Firstly we mentioned that we wanted to incorporate our production title (Running Inc. production) by using an image of dripping ink. From looking at other influential posters we decided we wanted to use a bold, strong image of an eye because it links in with the title of our film 'Blink'. 

Here are 4 poster sketches we made in class using our brainstorm as an influence to create an potential poster. We wanted to use the diary, Ruth's eyes and ink to represent our production company in our poster so these show the different ways we could present these in a poster. 

Influences for Poster..

Influences;Posters

View more presentations from cindyjw.

A presentation (by Cindy) of posters which as a group we collected in class, with added descriptive evidence  as to why we liked them and how they can influence our poster.

FEEDBACK?

Maybe write down what people liked or disliked about the trailer?
Facebook?

OUR TEASER TRAILER!

Our final teaser trailer! We're happy with our final outcome and look forward to hearing others feedback once we have our screening session.

Our trailer so far..



Development: What we wish to change:
- The opening clip with the puddle we decided to make longer to help introduce a build up in the trailer
- We wish to cut the effect of the library scene as it was too fast and to create a contrast between the scary 'darker' parts than the ones shot during the day.
-We took the pan out of the trailer (at the beginning) of the school because we didn't feel it was  completely appropriate as is set during the night at the beginning of our trailer.
- We wanted to have the clips as a whole at the beginning longer to emphasise the shorter, quicker ones towards the end along with faster eerie music to show the change of event since the opening.
- The music is also a factor we wish to change, possibly adding a heart beat towards the end overlapping the other to add to  the faster pace intriguing the audience.

Our titles..

After viewing our complete trailer we got some feedback from viewers to see their opinion of our titles. When planning our titles we decided on the taglines "Reality" "Or" "A" "Dream" to incorporate the audience and keep them involved with the storyline. These taglines were then added towards the end of the trailer in the hope that it would build momentum and achieve a scary tense atmosphere, however we felt that they didn't fit in with the fast tempo and actually slowed the beat down, making the build up of fast cut clips appear longer and drawn out. After consideration we removed the taglines and watched the trailer again and came to the conclusion that our trailer worked much better without them.

Coming Soon :)

This is another clip we decided to have for  aftter our title 'Coming soon' and featuring our website.

We made these titles on LiveType after completing our main title of 'Blink'. We thought it would be appropiate to have the same background and effects on the titles; 'Coming Soon' and 'www.blink2012.org.uk'.

We usedd ^^^ Wobble, Squeeze out and fades. We experimented with various different effects however we didn't think too many effects worked as could be too difficult to read in a shorter amount of time and looked to figedity.

Using fades felt appropiate instead of appearing straight away in the titles so we entered a fade in and out.

Also, we initally thought the background looked slightly dull against the featured titles as if it was a JPEG as many credits we looked at initally moved as a whloe and slightly eeire. Thus we put 'shaky' effect onto it so it moved. At first we thought it worked however after editing the titles we agreed there was too much movement for a short clip and placed the two clips together (Blink titles).

After looking at them both we didnt think the fades worked as was clear they were two seperate clips and worked well without it as 'Blink' fades anyways.

                                                                We placed the wobble effect on the website which we think works really well, we wanted this effect on all the titles but they didnt work as well. But overall we are happy with our final result.

Our Music!

Scary music! by Cindy,Hannah,Steph&Claire

Here is the music we created for our teaser trailer.  We tried our best to fuse together a range of different sounds that together created a moody effect highlighting the genre of horror and increasing the tension.

Garage Band
To do this we used the software Garageband and selected individual instruments.  We felt that the low piano tones emphasised certain dramatic points within our trailer. 

Although this software enabled us to select a large range of sounds, we wanted to improve the track by adding iMovie non-diagetic sound effects. Below are the four sounds we felt wwent well with the storyline of our trailer.

The electricity sound was used to emphasise the switching on and off of the lights in the corridor scene.

The heartbeat was used to symbolise Lucy's fear and increased towards the end at a faster pace.


We used this sound effect during the library scenes where Lucy's character was within the school.








This high pitch noise created an eerie atmosphere and complimented the dark lighting used.

Our trailer movie title!

 These are our titles in which we created using both 'ASPhotoshop' (for the background image) and 'LiveType'.

First we thought a dark background image would work well with our titles and possibly tea stained to create an eerie look and relates back to our production company ' Running Inc Productions' featured at the opening of our teaser trailer. Thus we found an image in which we were willing to work with;

Then we thought by using Photoshop we could merge an image of a diary or text within our titles by creating another layer above our tea stained background, lowering the opacity of the diary to make it fit within the stains to create an old fashioned look using the rubber tool to edit out the edges for the paper to 'dissolve' within the background.

We merged the layers as one and changed the contrast making it lower and dimming the lighting as well as the brightness to create an darker feel to the image before adding a slight gradient towards the bottom of the background.

Here is a video of our process.

Then on Livetype we inported the file as a background in which we then added our title name 'Blink'. Before putting on the effect as a 'Wobble' and Shaky to emphrasize the word Blink and to make it seem interesting for the audience to watch.

We then exported this as a quicktime movie and imported it into our project! We use this music under the clip to create a feel to the frames differing to the rest of our trailer.

Final title!

We had a few issues with the title of our teaser trailer!
At first, we decided that it would be 'The Dream Catcher'; however, we discovered that it is already the title of another film & book.
So, we had to go back to our initial ideas and brainstorm some more, to come up with a new name! At first we found it quite hard and stressful but eventually, we came up with the title 'Blink'.
To help us come up with this title we  continuously kept looking back at our trailer and considered the 'Ink' in  our production company and related it to Blink.
We think this title is highly appropriate as relates to our storyline including nightmares/dreams and the fact that the majority of the film would be based upon an chase.

'The Dream Catcher'

We've just discovered that our name of our trailer is already used! The book of Steven King and FILM! 

We really liked the name of this so we're now in the process of changing our title name :( 

First Preview..

In Friday's lesson we sat down as a class and we all had a preview of everyone's teaser trailers. It was a really helpful lesson as we were able to get some positive feedback as well as some constructive comments to improve our teaser trailer.

Before we showed our trailer, we already knew that we would have to change the order of our music as some of it doesn't fit with a few shots; so we took it all out and have decided that adding the music and sound effects will be the last thing we do.

We need to make sure that we extend the 'puddle' clip as we need to show Lucy exiting the frame.
Near the beginning of the trailer, we have an establishing shot of the library, however, after hearing some feedback we think that it would look better if it isn't face paced; we have decided that the light, calm shots will be normal pace but the darker, more frightening shots will be faster.

Another improvement we are planning to make is to ensure that the pace of the clips are more consistent throughout our teaser trailer to create a big build up towards the end creating a larger indifference between the library scenes and the darker scenes of the trailer (slower before the book is opened) to create an eerie feel.

'Running Inc Productions' our final titles!

  Here is our finalised titles for our trailer! After all the hard work and practices with a lot of ink we creating something we are proud of!
   We filmed the ink during lessons where we went to an art room and used a stand (our last note of improvement) and pipettes! We found this a lot easier to work with and noticed what parts of the ink we wished to use. It also was easier as all four of us contributed and tried multi tasking with creating the diary also to make it appear more old fashioned  (using tea bags) :)
  After importing this on iMovie HD we then chose apart of our film in which we clipped and wished to develop on. After we placed it in LiveType! We used .......... type to create a feel of running along with the ink. Previously we 'reversed' the clip on iMovie so the ink is going the opposite direction which we liked as it appeared to be running away from something. Which was how we came up with the idea of our production company being called 'Running Inc Productions" :) Placing iMovie's heartbeat sound also worked well with the ink running upwards showing the viewer our set genre; horror.

Todays lesson!

Well today as a class we had an exhibition of all of our trailers together to help us gain constructive feedback from other groups in the class in which can help develop and better our trailer :)
Here we had to export what we had so far and watch back to help our development before finishing it completely!

As a group we found this a very practical lesson as we learnt what we can improve on. Our main focus is to have the libary parts slower to show the larger contrast and to add to the build up of the darker and consistant shots. At the beginning of our trailer we have a fast point where we have a POV shot showing the whloe libary ending with Lucy sitting in the corner alone to add to their idea of isolation. We put a effect on the computer speeding the shot. After looking back we noticed that this didnt work too well as wouldnt intrigue the audience as much to create an eerie feel that we intented later in the trailer. We like the idea of juxtaposition of happy to the fast paced madness of various shots involved within the nightmare, similarly to the opening of 'The Children' trailer (our key influence).

We have a week left! So we are hoping to stay after school to continue shooting with few more shots in the faster part of our trailer or to add build up.

Trailer titles

Trailer titles on Prezi

We did some research into what titles different trailers include so that we have an idea of what titles we should include in our trailer. We looked at 3 of our most influential trailers and created a prezi presenting a list of titles they use. From doing this we found that they are quite restricted and the most taglines used is 4. The taglines used in these horror trailers are to the point, and address you as an audience member which encourages you to watch on and become interested in the storyline.

Filming

Today we carried on with the filming for our trailer. We stayed after school until it turned a bit darker to ensure the lighting was appropriate for the shots we wanted. Firstly we filmed a long shot of Millie running away from the camera down the corridor which we thought looked really effective and captured the idea of the 'chase'around the school. We experimented a few times with this shot and also filmed it using a canted angle, to show the instability of her character.

We then went to film the library shots. To do this we got permission to turn off the lights once it had closed. When planning our location shots were a bit cautious of whether to film in this particular library because it was quite light, happy and had a positive atmosphere however once it was empty with the lights turned off the atmosphere suddenly changed and there was an eerie feel.

One problem we did encounter today, was that we didn't have access to the character Ruth's red dress which meant we couldn't film Kira's part. It doesn't effect the making of our film too much because we have already planned to have another filming session this week however in future we will need to be more organised so that we don't come accross this problem again.

To ensure that we filmed the correct shots, and didn't forget any important clips, we took our storyboard with us. We have stuck to all of the shots but we also thought it would be a good idea to experiment with some new ideas and improvise to see what we came up with. I think that this was a useful exercise because it allowed us to come up with some interesting/different shots and movements.

Filming the library scene.

Today, we met up with our cast member Millie, to film the library scene that will be used in the first part of our trailer.   We kept the lighting natural to create a safe school environment.  In order to achieve a build up; later on in the trailer, we are looking to use the footage as long clips, to gain a contrast with the fast pace jump cuts towards the end.

We, captured shots of Millie reading the diary from different angles.  So that we could then have a wider choice when fialising the trailer in editing. We found that the most successful were the over the shoulder shots focusing on the dairy and the mid-shots of the pages themselves.  We also filmed a pan of the book shelf before focusing on millie in order to establish the library and where millie is hiding.  We filmed an audiences point of view by holding the camera in front of the person filming and then walk through the door and acroos  the library to where Millie is situated. This is a different of establishing the environment.  We found the library a little too light for the shots near the end of the trailer so we turneed the lights off, for this part and filmed Millie in a more distorted way as she dropped her head, to show a trance like state.

Second Day Of Filming.. (Thursday 3rd Nov)

After filming our practice shots (Wednesday), we then had an idea on what we wanted to film and how we wanted to film it. All of the problems/queries we had before were discussed and sorted out; e.g. the costume of both characters.
We decided to film before Annie again as we had the costumes ready and both Millie and Kira were available. We decided to re-film the corridor scene where Ruth (Kira) is slowly walking down the corridor with the lights flickering. Now she is wearing a red dress, she stands out more as red is such a vibrant colour. We took several clips of this as we feel as though we can use them throughout the trailer, in between shots. Instead of just having those shots, as she got nearer the camera, we experimented with having Ruth jump towards the camera, making it feel like she is pouncing on Millie. However, it didn't turn out how we wanted it to and Kira couldn't help but laugh. So instead, we thought that it would look quite scary if Ruth tilted her head and smiled at the camera. We felt that it looked very effective, and it even scared ourselves!
In addition, we also filmed the scene where Lucy (Millie) is running up the stairs, as if she is being chased by Ruth. Whilst filming this, we had an idea that when filming the Point Of View shot of Lucy, we could have Ruth standing under the stairs; we thought this would look really effective as you can only but see a glimpse of her which looks really freaky.
We are thinking about re-filming some shots, such as running up the stairs, as we need to make sure the lighting is the same throughout, but only if we have time. Also, there is a table in the way which we would like to move as it spoils the shot.

On the whole, I (Claire) think it was a good filming session as we had a lot to work with and edit in our lessons. We need to be much better organised over our next few filming sessions as we don't have a lot of time left until our final thing has to be finished!

Filming! :D

So last night it was the first night of Annie! We thought this was the perfect opportunity to put our ideas into practice by using Millie and Kira in our filming testing the shots and toying with different angles and shots. By this we thought of a new idea, having Kira underneath the stairs in which we will film Millie's reaction to both from the front and back view so can make a clear edit. Cindy (I) thought of running up the stairs as a POV shot with Kira beneath so the viewer can clearly see her also to understand Millie's reaction.Which looked quite spooky and could range our type of shots. I thought this could highlight the idea of the chase around school. 
  We tested the lit corridor with Kira which we thought worked really well! We continously kept flicking the lights on and off to create an eerie effect pausing and playing the camera, having Kira in the central frame placing closer to the camera each time we paused it. This was difficult at points as it was hard for Kira to find the exact same position she was in previously and hard for her to keep still the whloe time. However, it worked well either way as we plan to have this parts cut throughout the trailer so wouldnt have to transition well.
   Thinking about costume, after looking at the trailer with the red dress we thought to develop our red balloon idea, the red dress would work better and could look really effective! Because Annie has a red dress in our school production this can help majorly as Kiah wears it in the production anyways so would fit well and stand out against the dark background.

The dress looks extremely similar to this, so the red and the white will stand out against the dark lighting in the scenes.

With Millie's costume we have finally decided to stick with our set school uniform. At first I thought that it could be a problem because our uniform (Langley Park School for Girls) is quite iconic due to the pattern of our skirt. However we understood that when we film our scene in the corridor with all the other students, Millie is going to have to wear the same as everyone else in the shot (filming at lunch time) in order for her to show she has started a new school.

Tomorrow we are planning to film our finalised scenes for this in which we will use in our trailer with costume. Also, I brought white face paint in which we could use on Kiah to create a pale (ghost like) look, as well as black eyeshadow under the eyes.

Further costume influences

After doing some experimental filming with our cast members Kira and Millie, we decided that it would be a good idea to dress the ghost character (Ruth) in a contrasting costume to reflect the dream like state in which she is appearing in. We looked at the film trailer 'Don't look now' and the storyline is of a young girl who dies and then keeps reappearing as a spirit. The red dress she wears is a very important factor as her father keeps seeing this colour after she dies. The colour red also represents the idea of death and blood.

This trailer influenced our costume ideas and we have come to the conclusion that we want Ruth to wear a red dress because it is such a vibrant colour and will be memorable to the audience who watch our trailer. We already have access to a red dress as our drama department have allowed us to borrow it during our filming. We aren't going to make any changes to the costume for Millie (playing the part of Lucy) as the school uniform fits in perfectly with the surroundings and her role. 

First time filming!!

Today was the first time we filmed!! Before the preparation of Annie we borrowed Kira and Millie in hope to get an idea for shots in our trailer :) We noticed the light switch would repeatedly have to be turned off and on for Kira's part, and came up with the idea that this would be in between clips within the trailer instead of once as we thought it was a strong point within it. However, Cindy wasnt sure about the use of both being in langley uniform as the character of Ruth is meant to represent her character as being dead therefore, to make the dream appear more abstract possibly have her wearing something different to stand out. Here is a video of shots we used in which we hope to do within our actual trailer :)

Film Schedule!

Here is a still of our filming schedule :)  We're planning on filming before our school production 'Annie' as we have easier access to the cast (the two cast members play the lead as Annie) and we understand that the school is open thus will have the dark environment and lighting we wished for, also costume would be appropriate due the production's costumes as orphans can work well with the character 'Ruth'.  We shall be using the red dress used for Annie on our charater Ruth as we want the dream like character to stand out.

We shall first film some practice shots and camera movents with the actors in the likely environments.  this will help to get an overview of whether the storyboard we have contructed works well enough for our film genre, horror.  Once this has been done and watched back we will then film the real shots in costume and character before the Annie shows.  

Other titles ideas....

As a group we decided that our previous titles appeared too animated for our set genre so we thought of a new idea in which we experimented with in our previous lessons.  


Here we used indian ink which we spatttered across a A3 page while filming, to get a interesting and gungy effect.


This video is of a few clips in which we liked and wish to do better on our next trail. Once we saw our footage we noticed numerous things that went wrong and could improve. The lighting was the main factor as in each clip the paper is shown to be a different colour due to it's lighting. If we were to shoot again we would use the 'white balance' effect on the camera to help avoid this. Moreover another problem encountered was the use of the paintbrush. We would have to use pipette to splash the ink avoiding the paintbrush to be seen within the shot. Furthermore, when practising this technique there was only two of us available to perform this thus the movement of the paper and the spattering of the ink as well as the camera filming was difficult to control therefore we would do this differently next time with all of us. 


One problem that we found difficult to overcome was how to make the ink run without moving the paper too much (making a jagged effect), thus we were thinking of using a stand and filming with that instead of lying the paper flat across a table. This would also be easier for the camera as wouldn't have to move as much. We would just have to find a way of using the pipette with this stand to create this effect. 




We're planning of reshooting this effect during a lunch time in which we know the art room would be free so we achieve something we are happy and can work with :)

Film Schedule!

Here is a still of our filming schedule :)  We're planning on filming before our school production 'Annie' as we have easier access to the cast (the two cast members play the lead as Annie) and we understand that the school is open thus will have the dark environment and lighting we wished for, also costume would be appropriate due the production's costumes as orphans can work well with the character 'Ruth'.

The Annie Production times: 

Wednesday 2nd Novermber - 7pm-10pm

Thursday 3rd November- 7pm -10pm

Friday 4th November 7pm-10pm

We would film before these times so our characters have time to get ready for the production and most likely will be filming on Wednesday or Friday depending on our quality of the footage. Moreover, we're aiming around filming at 5.30pm because the lighting would be appropriate as it gets darker earlier.

All filming would be completed in school.