As a group, we have decided to create a film trailer for a film. This will include a film poster and a magazine cover advertising the film.
Before deciding on a fixed idea for our project, we have set up surveys in order to gather information from the public about their opinions about film. Follow the link to my survey:
Before deciding on a fixed idea for our project, we have set up surveys in order to gather information from the public about their opinions about film. Follow the link to my survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2MZHJ5J
After there has been a range of answers, we will take our results into consideration so we can come to some conclusions and ideas about our film project. (October 2010)
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What age group applies to you?
Please state your gender
What age group applies to you?
| 0-11 | 5.0% | 2 | |
| 12-15 | 17.5% | 7 | |
| 16-25 | 72.5% | 29 | |
| 26-35 | 7.5% | 3 | |
| 36-49 | 7.5% | 3 | |
| 50+ | 15.0% | 6 |
| Male | 72.5% | 29 | |
| Female | 32.5% | 13 |
| Comedy | 70.0% | 28 | |
| Action/Thriller | 40.0% | 16 | |
| Horror | 32.5% | 13 | |
| Romance | 17.5% | 7 | |
| Rom-Com | 25.0% | 10 | |
| Sci-Fi | 12.5% | 5 | |
| Fantasy/Supernatural | 12.5% | 5 | |
| Crime | 15.0% | 6 | |
| Adventure | 22.5% | 9 | |
| Drama | 17.5% | 7 | |
| Animation | 15.0% | 6 | |
| Other | 12.5% | 5 |
| Comedy | 30.0% | 12 | |
| Action/Thriller | 7.5% | 3 | |
| Horror | 20.0% | 8 | |
| Romance | 0.0% | 0 | |
| Rom-Com | 5.0% | 2 | |
| Sci-Fi | 5.0% | 2 | |
| Fantasy/Supernatural | 2.5% | 1 | |
| Crime | 7.5% | 3 | |
| Adventure | 7.5% | 3 | |
| Drama | 5.0% | 2 | |
| Animation | 0.0% | 0 | |
| Other | 10.0% | 4 |
| Posters | 2.6% | 1 | |
| Trailers | 56.4% | 22 | |
| Recommendations (Family and Friends) | 30.8% | 12 | |
| Internet Virals | 5.1% | 2 | |
| Reviews | 5.1% | 2 |
So far from the results my survey has received, it seems comedy is the most popular genre. As a group we took this into consideration and decided that it would be too difficult and risky to produce a comedy. Considering the second and third favourites were horror and action, and the success of our previous product, we decided to make a zombie style feature. Primarily the film will be a horror, yet it will contain some elements of action and mystery about it.
The horror genre is usually very popular at the box office and attracts a wide audience, so hopefully our product will be no exception.
After much time and consideration, we have come up with a storyline and a name for our film. The name shall be: “When the Last Leaf Falls”.
Plotline
Plotline
-Protagonist wakes up and encounters strange human activity. He sees a man in an alley way, approaches him, questioning whether he knows what’s going on. To no response, he moves closer and gets irritated. He begins to turn his head to reveal a bloodied face and demonic eyes. He escapes, now noticing blood and odd figures everywhere he goes. He gets home and sees news broadcasts regarding strange violent activity warning people to stay indoors. The town’s violence escalates to an entire domination of infected humans. His house is surrounded when he suddenly receives a phone call telling him to escape and fast. He is asked to go to a warehouse on the outskirts of town. He finds three other survivors who are armed. They see a swarm of the infected approaching the warehouse. Armed with guns, knives and blunt objects they embrace the attack. We strongly approve of all the survivors. There is a hint of romance between the protagonist and a female survivor. Almost all of the survivors die, leaving only the protagonist and the female who is wounded. He takes the woman through to safety and prepares to fight the infected crowd.-
This is just a brief draft of our plotline which we will eventually expand on. There are a number of issues such as casting which we are yet to consider which will effect our decisions towards the final plotline. (November 2010)
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Job List
Ross Webber (Myself) - Mise en Scene
Kate Johnson - Sound
Jackson Hogan - Editor
Alfie Thomas - Director
Being in the same group as our previous project, we thought it sufficient to stick to our same individual job as we all proved generally successful in our last project.
Title
There was much consideration and dispute over the title of our film. We had the a brief plot of our film and spent much time deciding on a title. A number of ideas were considered such as "Septic" which would then relate to short film titles such as "The Crazies" and "I am Legend".
However, the final decision on a title resulted in "When the Last Leaf Falls". As a group we believed this had a much more artistic and mysterious feel to it. We confirmed it with a number of other people as putting as much effort into such an issue can often produce results that are forced and overdone. However, the final name got very positive reactions and we are pleased with the resulting name of our film.
Intertexuality
There are a number of films we have compared and considered our product to be similar to. "I Am Legend" and "28 Days Later" are the most resembling. This is because of the similarities in the plotline and outcome of both these films. Especially in terms of "I Am Legend" we are looking to kill off the character during the feature. We will not necessarily give this away in the trailer, yet if possible, we may choose to drop a hint to the audience.
Despite our product seeming like the average zombie film, we have decided to shift it away from zombies and simply use the term "the infected" to describe those affected in the piece. Again, this is like the two films mentioned as the characters in each film have either been affected by a disease or however they have gained the conditions the film possesses.
"Dawn of the Dead" follows the survival story of a group of random people as they try to escape a zombie apocalypse.
"I Am Legend" is centred around the last man to survive in New York City after a disease spreads turning people into infected "monsters". This is the closest product to our film as we are looking to kill our character off in the final film just like "I Am Legend".
"The Crazies" is very similar to "Dawn of the Dead" as it follows a number of people fighting for survival against a zombie style disease.
Conventions of a Film Trailer
There are many features and aspects that will need to be studied in order to give ourselves an idea of what we need to include. These features include:
Title
Brief outline of the plot
Offer an idea of the genre
Release Date
Actors/Actresses
(Possible) Tagline
(Possible) Voice Over
Music to fit the genre
Introduce characters
Highlights key moments in film generally to fit genre
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Job List
Ross Webber (Myself) - Mise en Scene
Kate Johnson - Sound
Jackson Hogan - Editor
Alfie Thomas - Director
Being in the same group as our previous project, we thought it sufficient to stick to our same individual job as we all proved generally successful in our last project.
Title
There was much consideration and dispute over the title of our film. We had the a brief plot of our film and spent much time deciding on a title. A number of ideas were considered such as "Septic" which would then relate to short film titles such as "The Crazies" and "I am Legend".
However, the final decision on a title resulted in "When the Last Leaf Falls". As a group we believed this had a much more artistic and mysterious feel to it. We confirmed it with a number of other people as putting as much effort into such an issue can often produce results that are forced and overdone. However, the final name got very positive reactions and we are pleased with the resulting name of our film.
Intertexuality
There are a number of films we have compared and considered our product to be similar to. "I Am Legend" and "28 Days Later" are the most resembling. This is because of the similarities in the plotline and outcome of both these films. Especially in terms of "I Am Legend" we are looking to kill off the character during the feature. We will not necessarily give this away in the trailer, yet if possible, we may choose to drop a hint to the audience.
Despite our product seeming like the average zombie film, we have decided to shift it away from zombies and simply use the term "the infected" to describe those affected in the piece. Again, this is like the two films mentioned as the characters in each film have either been affected by a disease or however they have gained the conditions the film possesses.
"Dawn of the Dead" follows the survival story of a group of random people as they try to escape a zombie apocalypse.
"I Am Legend" is centred around the last man to survive in New York City after a disease spreads turning people into infected "monsters". This is the closest product to our film as we are looking to kill our character off in the final film just like "I Am Legend".
Conventions of a Film Trailer
There are many features and aspects that will need to be studied in order to give ourselves an idea of what we need to include. These features include:
Title
Brief outline of the plot
Offer an idea of the genre
Release Date
Actors/Actresses
(Possible) Tagline
(Possible) Voice Over
Music to fit the genre
Introduce characters
Highlights key moments in film generally to fit genre
Cast
- Protagonist - Alfie Thomas is an A Level Drama student and therefore has some acting experience. Our piece consists of many emotions and feelings so its important that we chose someone who would be able to express such features. Alfie also has the perfect appearance for the part as he carries all the general features that a mainstream Hollywood protagonist would have. The following survivors in our film are also A Level students and therefore the more minor roles in the film are accompanied with some acting experience.
Mack Newton - Survivor
George Elcock - Survivor
Jackson Hogan – Survivor
The other roles in the film are of course the infected. We have gathered a number of people with little to no acting experience to play this role as it is the smallest role and acting experience will not necessarily be needed for it. There is also a good range of age within these extras.
Ross Webber (Myself) - Infected
The other roles in the film are of course the infected. We have gathered a number of people with little to no acting experience to play this role as it is the smallest role and acting experience will not necessarily be needed for it. There is also a good range of age within these extras.
Ross Webber (Myself) - Infected
Cameron Hogan - Infected
Susan Hogan - Infected
Ben Camburn - Infected
Ryan Hogan - Infected
Baxter Hogan - Infected
Emily Reynolds - Infected
Hannah Pearson-Phillips - Infected
This list is subject to change as we are yet to finalise dates of shooting and of course this means we are unsure of peoples availability. However, this list suggests we have a good number of people willing to act in our film.
Location
There are a number of areas we are looking to film. Great Hyde Hall is our primary area to shoot as it is a good place to relate to our genre and we have had experience of shooting there before, with little distraction or difficulty so we believe it is a perfect place to shoot most of our film.
Harlow town centre is another area we will hope to shoot and preferably early in the morning in order to gather the right atmosphere for the setting. Hopefully the idea of shooting in the morning will mean that the town will virtually be deserted making it easier to shoot and will add to the mood and atmosphere of the film.
Shotlist (Draft)
(Final)
Harlow town centre is another area we will hope to shoot and preferably early in the morning in order to gather the right atmosphere for the setting. Hopefully the idea of shooting in the morning will mean that the town will virtually be deserted making it easier to shoot and will add to the mood and atmosphere of the film.
Shotlist (Draft)
(Final)
Storyboard
Script
Props
(Fake) Blood - This will be used mostly on the infected in order to show their cannibalistic and violent attributes. The blood will also be used on the protagonist and other survivors simply to show realism of the film and to an extent show the fight for survival.
Clothes - Obviously we need to consider the clothes we not only have for the protagonist, but for the survivors and also the infected. We will need to consider if any of the characters are surviving in very specific costume, for example, in "28 Days Later", the protagonist wakes up wearing scrubs as shown.
Bricks - We will try to use bricks and other such rubble within the film in order to show the destruction and madness of the surrounding scenery due to the outbreak.
Gun(s) - Guns and other such weapons will be included within the film for the action aspects.
Make up - Make up will be important to distinguish the difference between the protagonist and the infected. Dark colours involving blood will be used for the infected to show the horror of these specific characters. Of course the opposite will then be used for the protagonist to show his heroic stature.
Costume
For the protagonist, costume will be fairly general with perhaps just a hoody, jeans and a jacket. This is because we want him to seem like an everyday member of the public and add a sense of realism to the film. This will also allow the audience to relate to the protagonist. In this screenshot from "28 Days Later", the protagonist is wearing very simple costume of a t-shirt and a hoody. This brings a real sense of reality to the film and therefore can relate with the audience.
A similar effect is used with the zombies within "28 Days Later". We will look to use this effect within our own product as it is exactly the kind of features of realism we want to include.
Certification
Script
“I never knew what opening my eyes that day would mean. The lone streets - the unfamiliar faces.”
LOUD GASP – SILENCE
“Repeated sightings of strange human behaviour. Spontaneous violent outbursts have been reported. Stay indoors.”
“I felt that everything was truly surreal.”
“13 Gaunt Street, you’ll be safe there.”
“Who is this?”
PHONE LINE DEAD
“Stay focused, aim for the head.”
“The only question was – who would be the last to fall?”Props
(Fake) Blood - This will be used mostly on the infected in order to show their cannibalistic and violent attributes. The blood will also be used on the protagonist and other survivors simply to show realism of the film and to an extent show the fight for survival.
Clothes - Obviously we need to consider the clothes we not only have for the protagonist, but for the survivors and also the infected. We will need to consider if any of the characters are surviving in very specific costume, for example, in "28 Days Later", the protagonist wakes up wearing scrubs as shown.Bricks - We will try to use bricks and other such rubble within the film in order to show the destruction and madness of the surrounding scenery due to the outbreak.
Gun(s) - Guns and other such weapons will be included within the film for the action aspects.
Make up - Make up will be important to distinguish the difference between the protagonist and the infected. Dark colours involving blood will be used for the infected to show the horror of these specific characters. Of course the opposite will then be used for the protagonist to show his heroic stature.
Costume
For the protagonist, costume will be fairly general with perhaps just a hoody, jeans and a jacket. This is because we want him to seem like an everyday member of the public and add a sense of realism to the film. This will also allow the audience to relate to the protagonist. In this screenshot from "28 Days Later", the protagonist is wearing very simple costume of a t-shirt and a hoody. This brings a real sense of reality to the film and therefore can relate with the audience.
A similar effect is used with the zombies within "28 Days Later". We will look to use this effect within our own product as it is exactly the kind of features of realism we want to include.
Certification
Before deciding on an appropriate certificate, the guidelines of the BBFC should be considered and researched on the official BBFC website http://www.bbfc.co.uk/classification/guidelines. There has been much debate over the certificate, we not only want our trailer to have, but what hypothetically, the film would have.
We believe the film as a whole would have a 15 rating. This is because there were be moderate violence and gore within the feature. There may also be the use of strong language, which all may be unsuitable for a 12 rating. This is the case for a number of films similar to ours; "The Crazies" being the biggest example. There were no extreme shots or extreme values issued within the film which would establish an 18 rating. Having our product at a 15 will mean there is room for a bigger target audience and therefore will increase profit.
The trailer will also be a 15 as there are a number of shots we would like to include in order to attract the audience yet break the guidelines of anything lower than a 15.
We believe the film as a whole would have a 15 rating. This is because there were be moderate violence and gore within the feature. There may also be the use of strong language, which all may be unsuitable for a 12 rating. This is the case for a number of films similar to ours; "The Crazies" being the biggest example. There were no extreme shots or extreme values issued within the film which would establish an 18 rating. Having our product at a 15 will mean there is room for a bigger target audience and therefore will increase profit.
The trailer will also be a 15 as there are a number of shots we would like to include in order to attract the audience yet break the guidelines of anything lower than a 15.
(December 2010)
