This is our preliminary shoot where we shot a short clip to represent the genre out trailer will be, as a group we planned out what we wanted to shoot and what roles we took for the task, filming was spread between me and Nathan Pugh and Nathan Plummer was in charge of sorting out the props we would use. Below is the feedback we received from our focus group:
"The shot of the seagull gave an eerie feel. Also, I think the last shot was very effective because it makes him look larger and more powerful." "I think the strongest shot was the one taken from ground level, I think it is the most effective because not only does it show him stepping over the camera, it's also quite unexpected, it also shows off the background so that we realize how bleak and deserted it is." "I thought that the film clip was an introduction to a nature program because of the scenic shot of the animals. I didn't see the gas mask on the face, so therefor didn't understand what it was about." "The scenes were very effective and supported by the music, however, the person walking along very merrily and did not reflect a serious tone." "The contrast between filming the animals juxtapose with the main character walking through the empty street. The poster shown on the fence gave clear context as to was going on. It loosely resembled the film '28 days later'." The feed back was very helpful in allowing us to understand what people thought of the style of our trailer. The feedback will be very helpful when filming and editing the trailer as when know what aspects we need to improve and what we need to keep the same.
Here is our storyboard the drawing was mainly done by Nathan Plummer and I did one slide I also wrote 10 of the boxes and Nathan Pugh wrote the rest. Below is the feedback we received from our target audience:
"It was very good detailed drawing and thought out story line with flashbacks and what to show the audience. However it is supposed to be a trailer so maybe it shouldn't be as detailed in the trailer because your showing the audience a glimpse of film not the whole film""In my opinion, I think that the storyboard was well illustrated with the use of shot types. However, I would only say to now look at how long you want each shot to take to represent your intentions of that particular scene"
"I believe that the storyboard is very focused on the story and each choice of shot they have chosen conveys a scared and worried feeling in which they want the audience to feel. In stark contrast I feel as though they may benefit from adding more information on the transitions from each frame to the next and how this will be fulfilled." "The storyboard clearly demonstrates the editing and camera work which will be used within the film. I feel that if colour was to be incorporated into the pictures then this could convey what was exactly happening in each scene. Other than that the illustrations were very effective in showing what will be included in the trailer." "From the storyboard the creator puts a very clear image in your head of how the film is going to turn out, making it really effective and clear. The shot types are also mentioned in each description of the scene and they are very relative to the type of scene being created and does well to create the desired tone and atmosphere. The way the shots are linked together also works well to create the tone, however they should be careful to make sure each shot works well with the shot before and after it, to make sure that the trailer makes sense for the audience. Also, i would like to add that the drawings are incredible''
The Feedback we received for our storyboard was very helpful. It help point out the places that we need to improve and where we could make the storyboard better. In particular we could have used colour to try and illustrate exactly what will happen in the shot, for example if we are planning on using a using a pan we could have a different colored arrows showing the way the camera would pan. Overall I think our target audience liked our storyboard and liked how we showed each shot type. They commented on how out shots types and the way we explained the scenes really show the tone we are trying to create and how it meets our genre.
Within in our group we will try to split the work load up evenly so it is fair. We will have different roles within our group, so I will be mainly focusing on the editing side of the project, Nathan Pugh would be the main the camera man and Nathan Plummer will be the designer. Each member of out group has contributed evenly for example me and Nathan Pugh wrote the storyboard, Nathan plummer drew the pictures to go with the writing.
We will use a variety of camera shots such as establishing shots to show our scenery and the setting we are filming at, We will use lots of close ups to show the emotions that our main character is feeling and to show the audiences these feelings as well. Furthermore we will use point of view shots and over the shoulder shot to show what our main character is looking at.
Mise en Scene
We will be using lots of different items to help represent our story and genre. For example a gas mask which we are buying off Amazon, we feel that this will help our story line and appearance of our main character. Also we will be wearing tatty clothing such as a leather jacket and tatty jeans because we feel this will help us paint the picture that our main character as gone through a lot.
Editing
With the editing we will be using fades and cross dissolves for out flashbacks and from shot to shot as he is walking around. We will mainly be using straight cuts though has we feel this will have the desired effect we are looking for.
Lighting
For lighting we will being using natural lighting as we will be filming during the day. When he is in the house we will be using low key lighting because we feel this will make it easier to create and eerie setting.
Here is our filming schedule we did this as a group and Nathan Pugh wrote this. We needed to know when people are available so that we could book the camera out in advance. We feel that this will allow us to manage our time professionally to avoid any problems that may occur with any other commitments.
We have chosen to use this font because we feel it represents our genre the best due to the font having the effect of being ruined but not completely. The name we chose as a group, we felt this name really suited out film and what happens in the film, Dystopia means -
"an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one."
(www.Google.co.uk)
This definition is how we would explain the world in our film as the disease has ruined the country.
dystopia
Here is another font option for our name and font which is called "Algerian" which we will is quite a minimal look and is simple but we feel it can come across quite powerfully. However we do not feel it is better then our other option as we don't feel the impact is greater than the 1st option.
"I think that the font in the title gives a stone age look which links to the plot" "The name and font used link well with the film because the font looks degraded and decayed, showing that the film will be about the fatal collapse of society." "The font is showing importance through the use of capitals, and the scuffed effect show that the film (the world) has been dragged through terrible times and is struggling to return to normal. However the use of colour could have been better, such as a subtle hint of to show the theme of death and danger within the film." Here is our feedback for our chosen font, we got very good feedback from our target audience and we feel that we have made the right choice with our font and name.
Our main filming location will be around the school area and one of out group members house, the reason we are doing it here as its a very built up area which is a good setting because if we film at the right time a of day we can make it look deserted which will have a lot more of a dramatic impact on the audience. We will also film at a few other places for our flash backs. Riverside park is quite a good place to film as it is very local and again can look very deserted depending on the day. Another good filming location will be town because if we can make that deserted then we can have our main character walking through a normally busy place such as bargate or down the main row of shops completely alone which will I feel will look really good.
For these locations we may need to book the cameras out overnight as it will involve filming quite late or very early and at these times the college may not be open. The areas around the school are very safe and town is usually very safe aswell.
"Yes I think it is a good location for filming because it looks like a quiet area meaning they won't have the problem of people walking in the background of the shots, which is important due to the dystopian genre of their film. Also, the area is very close to college, meaning getting there is very easy and safe considering that you will have expensive camera equipment with you. However, it could be hard for you to create a suitable environment for your film, and you may need to do things like spill litter on the floor to make the area look more dystopian."
We have looked over the feedback given and have taken the positives on board and also took the negatives into consideration and we are looking into our setting to make sure we can make the setting suitable.
Camera - We will need to book the cameras as early as possible so that we secure a camera for the times we want to film.
Tripod - This will come with the camera when we book it.
Costume - We wont be having anything to difficult to get hold off, so we will be using pretty normal clothes but we will try to make them more worn and ripped. However we will be using a gas mask which we will need to buy off Amazon which is cheap and we will also buying a fake rifle off Amazon which again is very cheap.
Below is the script for our trailer and will be narrated over the top of the trailer:
Its been 6 months, since it all happened. Since everything i knew, everything I loved, was taken from m. It started in Asia, and in a matter of weeks it hit nearly every country in the world, time was something we didn't have. Before we knew it half of the worlds population fell, person after person, it was relentless. It reached the UK when I was up North with a few friends, we laid low or a while, but I knew I couldn't just wait around for something that might make everything better, I had a family, I have a family, I need to know they're okay.
Fake Rifle - Amazon - Used multiple times during the trailer by George out main character
Gas Mask - Amazon - Worn by George throughout the trailer due to the disease
Damaged Clothing - We can easily make them - What George will be wearing
Metal Pole or Baseball bat - Not sure - Used by intruders in the trailer
Teddy - Not sure - Seen during trailer
Note - Easily obtainable - Again seen during trailer
The house that we plan on filming in will be set up as if it has been trashed and looted by people after the disease spread. so what we will do is make the house look looted by having chairs tipped over, all cupboards open and foot cartoons and trash on the floor ask we feel that the dramatic effect this would have would be a lot greater than if the house was just normal.
Story
The trailer will heavily focus on the journey back to Southampton that George (our main character) goes on. It will start with him walking towards his house and will have three vital flash backs before entering the house. The first flash back will be him finding out about the break out of the disease. The second flash back will be him reaching London and seeing the rioting and finding a gun. and the final flashback will be him being attacked by looters wanting to steal his supply's. The trailer will then carry on with him entering his house and finding a note telling him were his family have gone. The trailer will then end on a jump scare of a man coming in to frame with a metal pole.
Camera Work
For the camera work we will try to use one or two establishing shots to show George walking down the road towards his house. This will show viewer where he is heading and how much it means to him. We will also include close ups of Georges face through out the trailer to show the emotions he is facing through out the different scenes. we will include many other camera shots such as two shots, point of view shots and over the shoulder shots. The reason that we have decided to use these types of camera shots
Sound
For sound we will be playing sad dietetic music through out the trailer, the only times music will not be playing will be through the flashbacks. We will also be putting in lots of sound effects like gun shots, explosions and many more.
Mise on Scene
For Mise on Scene we will be using a variety of props such as gas masks, guns and other weapons such as metal poles. For customer we will have the gas mask and tattered clothing to show he has not had an easy journey back to his house
There will be two main settings of the trailer, the first one will be the streets as he is walking back to his house, the street will be fairly normally but deserted, no cars driving around, no people, no animals, nothing just silence. The second setting will be a house, his parents house to be precise, which will be trashed and look looted with food cartons over the counters and floor, all cupboards wide open and nothing in them.
The beginning of the film will be when the main character George is trying to get home as the disease arrived in the UK he will be walking down a long road towards his house. He then find out his parents and family have gone and they left him a note which was left for him months ago. His main aim then is to locate his family.He is then attacked in his home by looters which he manages to escape from. He knows that his family has gone to an evacuation point and he makes it his mission to try and get there. The sanctuary is located at the docks which is a three mile walk. During his travels he will meet a variety of people that will attempt to help him achieve his goals, some being more helpful than other.
Due to the disease he will have to scavenge and hunt for food and supply's that will keep him going and will need to always wear a gas masks as the disease is airborne. As he gets to the sanctuary that his family have meant to have been evacuated to he notice that their is no one there. On the note that the parents left for him it tells him what block that they have been evacuated to and he visits that specific block to see if that's where they are but all he finds is his little sisters little stuffed toy that she carries around with her everywhere. He gets the sinking feeling that he will never see his family ever again. As he is walking through the sanctuary he walks in to the medical unit hoping to find answers and he finds a guy who has been left with the disease to fend for himself, He asks the man if he knows what happened here and the man informs him that their was a breakout of the disease, and that it spread like wild fire through the camp. This causes the people to riot and the sanctuary broke down. The man also informs George that many people fled on to boats and back into the city to get away but had no idea about the were about of Georges family.
George and his friend Toby search the city for Georges family. George and Toby set up camp just outside the city and Toby goes out one night to find food and while out he is confronted by a man who Toby ends up shooting the man and tells George the following morning. That morning George and Toby go to search the man and George identify's the man as his father and out of anger shots Toby. George is then even more desperate to find his family as now he believes his mum and sister are all alone in this somewhere in the city.
As George is grieving at his make shift camp, as night falls he notice a red light in the sky. Someone has set a flare off. He quickly jumps to his feet in an attempt to no miss the flare and its location. He rushes to the location of the flare to find his mother, sister and two strangers, he immediately threatens the two strangers but is quickly reassured they are protecting them. The mother then informs them of a wound that is infected and is getting increasingly worse.
The mothers health is drastically deteriorating and is becoming weaker. The medicine they are providing her is not working. The mother then informs George that his sister is immune and that he needs to take her to a safer place. George then takes his sister away and leaves his mother with the two man to try and keep her alive.
I am Legend
Im am legend is a classic example of a dystopian film. It involves and man and his dog in a vampire outbreak which has wiped out the majority of the population. It follows the adventures the main characters goes on. The clothing uses in the film is a common trend among dystopian films the main character is wearing old worn clothing that shows how much the character has been through. Also the camera shots are also very popular within this type of genre as it shows and sets the scene as something terrible has happened, one shot in particular is them showing the city with weeds coming through the pavement and the whole place deserted.
Camera Shots
There is many different types of camera shots that are used in a dystopian film, The wide rages include establishing shots, which is normally used a lot in of them to set the scene of everything gone and ruined. Also close ups are used to to show emotion. Camera angles are also very important to show the scene, For example if you are filming a scene where the main character is looking out to a deserted city you want to get the correct angle that will show that hes alone and that the city is deserted.
Setting
The setting for a dystopian film is also very well known ie a big city. The reason this is so common is because this is what most people are used to as in they walk around these city's quite a lot or may even live in them. By having a apocalyptic event happening in a setting like this would give it more impact and more of a dramatic effect.
Mise en Scene
The colours of a dystopian film are always very dark and gloomy to represent the loss of hope and how bad of a situation the as you can see from the picture below of the I Am Legend the pictures are very dark, lots of brown and dark yellows.
Editing
The editing in a dystopian film trailer is key in making look like a dystopian film. The editing needs to show genre by using straight cuts, fades and jump cuts. For example in I Am Legend uses quick fades at the beginning to show the panic, then during the trailer the editing slows down, they still use straight cuts and fades but they are slower to allow you to see the scene and to show you the setting and that the city is deserted.
We feel that our film will be rated around a 15 classification because we will be including a lot of violence and swearing which may be too strong and too graphic for a 12. With in a 15 you are allowed the follow:
"strong violence
frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***').
portrayals of sexual activity
strong verbal references to sex
sexual nudity
brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence
Within a 15 classification you are allowed quite a lot of swearing. There is no limit of the amount of times you can use words like F*** and you will occasionally be able to use stronger language like C***.
In our film we will be using a variety of strong language through out our trailer, we will have to be careful where we film because if were filming around children and swearing out loud
This graph was made to analyse the age group of the people that were answering our questionnaire and this would then help us decide which age group would like our film and what age group we will be aiming out film at.
The reason we asked if they were male or female is because we would then be able to figure out what gender would be most likely to watch our film. This would then influence our gender focused content.
We choose to do a question like this because it will tell us what people want when it comes to the male character. we can find out how they want the main character to act and what qualities they want to see him have.
The reason for choosing this question to ask was to try and see what people want for a setting and what they see would be an appropriate setting for our trailer. It will also tell us places to avoid filming in.
As you can see from the graph above you can see that the majority of people prefer slow piano to any other form of music in films and slow piano is traditionally used for sad scenes which we would feature in our film.
The graph above was designed to ask people about the life matrix and to try and photographic profile and find out what kind of person they are, as you can see above the majority of people are tribe wired which means digital, free-spirited the rest were all very even apart from fun/atics which only had four people tick that box
The style of this, The Book Of Eli, poster is very dramatic, the camera work used is a medium shot showing most of the body of the main character and some of the scenery, this is done to show the main character and also to show the setting of the film and to give you a basis of what the film will be about. The poster also shows you the setting because it wants to give you an idea of genre. The poster really represents the dystopian genre because of the clothing the main character is wearing and the setting is destroyed and ruined. The text is quite small which allows room for the scenery to be seen so that you know the film is post apocalyptic. The colors of this poster are very grey showing the destruction of the landscape throw nuclear war and also represents the breakdown in society but the beam of white shows some sort of glimmer of hope. The beam of white in the poster could also relate to the 4th stage of Todorovs narrative theory which shows an attempt of repair from the main character, because it is a metaphor for light in a world of darkness.
The style of this Mad Max Fury Road poster is very similar in terms of the style as my first example by trying to set the scene for the audience and to also give them an idea of the story line but this poster as a different camera shot, it uses a long shot to show the scene and a person from the film. The Mad Max poster really suits the genre of the film due to the scenery being destroyed and nothing around. This poster shows a lot of the scenery but at the same time has the title quite big and bold which adds to the poster rather than take your attention away from the scenery, the font of the title also fits in well with the style of the poster and also is corroded which also represents the story in terms of being post apocalyptic. The colors of the poster is also quite minimal and looks quite washed and I feel this works quite well with the setting of the film and also the story line and fitting in with the post apocalyptic and dystopian. In particular the yellow tones in the poster represent the natural landscape but also how the natural landscape has become ruined and not maintained. Themes that connect dystopian films are destruction of the landscape due to biological or nuclear warfare or disease. The yellow tones in the soil have connotations of a wasteland this combines with the gray and green clouds to suggest a poisonous atmosphere and to shoe something bad may be coming. This links to Todorovs narrative theory of the disruption.
This poster for 28 days later is very different as it used edited pictures in stead of showing scenery from the film and this makes it very different to the other two, but it does tell a little about the story line by showing the main character walking on his own through London. The effect the eyes have is it shows the audience that there is some type of infection as the eyes look unhuman like. The text is positioned in the center but whats different with this one then the other two is that it has a biohazard symbol behind it showing that it is a virus that has effected the world and turning them into zombies.
The colors used are a lot of red which represents the virus and also represents blood, death and zombies and also because the red takes over most of the poster and the size of the uneffected person and the big ben represents how the virus has taken over the world. The colors represent the 2nd stage of Todorovs narrative theory of disruptions to the equilibrium which in this case would be the virus.
The Book of Eli is slimier is some aspects as the story which are trying to create, this makes the trailer of the film a very good example of the codes and conventions that a film in this genre would have for example the camera work in The Book of Eli is very dramatic due to the amount of action that takes place in a lot of the scenes in the film, you have a lot of straight cuts switch from one fight angle to another, jump cuts show the character fights the group of people, the trailer a few has a lot of establishing shots to set the scene in which the film is set this gives the audience a general idea of the story line.
The editing in the trailer is also very dramatic to show how action packed the film is, during one the fight scenes at the begging of the trailer there are lot of cuts to black to show the character fighting and after each cut hes hitting another person, also in the same scene they go to slow motion to also make the fight scene more dramatic there is also more slow motion through out the trailer making the different scenes more dramatic and powerful.
The clothing especially jumps out in terms of mise en scene as it is very particular to this kind of genre it is very waster lander in terms of scavenged items and old damaged items which give quite an intimidating look and this is what we will try to replicate in our trailer.
There is also a very dramatic sound track over the top making the trailer a lot more dramatic.
The setting is also very dramatic, its set in a wasteland with very little buildings standing, the reason this has such a dramatic effect on the audience is because there is no people around and a lot of the country is destroyed and people imagine this happening in real life which makes the film seem more dramatic
Although 28 days later is a zombie film it will have a lot of similarities in terms of the lack of people around and how deserted the cities are the camera work they used was varied from long establishing shots to close ups of the guy walking through London we would use slimier shots to this to try and make out settings deserted and without people.
The editing is very minimal apart from the text screens that have moving effects on the text itself there is only really straight cuts from each camera shot this does however give dramatic effect to the trailer and something that we will try to re create but maybe use more effects.
The clothing in the trailer is not really what we will be using in ours we will be mainly using gas masks and damaged clothing.
Mad Max is very similar to ours in terms of the clothing type and the editing and also sounds but not in setting. The clothing is very post apocalyptic. The camera work is varied through out the trailer and has a mixture of long shots to set and show the setting of the film and also close up for the characters these camera shots really show the genre of the film.
The editing in the trailer is very action based and is what we will try to replicate in our fight scenes the trailer has a lot of straight cuts from each scene to another but also having slow motion to add dramatic effect. The reason this is effective in this type of genre is allows the scenes to be extremely dramatic and at the same time showing how society has broken down. This is something we want to include in our work as we feel we can use these editing techniques to make our trailer dramatic and tense but at the same time showing the story line. The pace of the editing changes quite a lot in the trailer, it starts off very slow and gradually builds up which is conventional in a thriller trailer. but at times it will also slow back down and will then start speeding up. The trailer also uses a lot of straight cuts that are put in time with the strong, stabbing beat of the sound track which makes it a lot more dramatic. Also there are a few fade to blacks which are timed well to make the trailer seem more conventional to a dystopian film.
The music in the trailer is also very dramatic and conventional to a dystopian film because it starts off quite soft but gradually builds up layers to become faster paced and the soundtrack also includes stabs and stings to sound more tense and dramatic.
