animatic storyboard

Adobe Premiere Elements: How to add a small ID logo in the corner of a v...

This helped me put on the news banner as Adobe pro elements 10 is a very complicated piece of soft wear.

Stalker news scene - Updated

This is our news scene which will be seen on the TV when our female protagonist is watching it home alone. we used the BBC closing credits to make the audience feel that its real and it relates to them as most English citizens would watch the news and see the closing credit day to day. We didn't make the speaking perfect due to our camera running low on battery and us needing to film more that day, this doesn't matter too much as the scene would be on the TV and the audiences attention would be on the character not the quality of the filming. I have updated it to have a new banner to make this scene look more realistic and more like a actual news report. The breaking news supports our film as its about escaped convicts in the area to it will cause alarm 

Stalker news scene

This is our news scene which will be seen on the TV when our female protagonist is watching it home alone. we used the BBC closing credits to make the audience feel that its real and it relates to them as most English citizens would watch the news and see the closing credit day to day. We didn't make the speaking perfect due to our camera running low on battery and us needing to film more that day, this doesn't matter too much as the scene would be on the TV and the audiences attention would be on the character not the quality of the filming. VIDEO HAS BEEN DELETED

To do list this week

1) Questionnaire Evaluation - explain your findings and how this has influenced your film trailer

2) Title Research of films in your genre then create practise titles and explain what is effective and why

3) Sound Research

4) Online Tutorials to help with the filming and editing

5) Animatic Storyboard

6) Stereotypical props and character types featured in the opening - explain that the antagonist photos featured in the trailer are conventional as the detective often looks at the suspects. The antogonist is a stereotypical representation as he is a convicted criminal, male, middle-aged, serious and intimidating etc.

Shot types we are using in our film

This is a list of some of the shot types which will be shown shown in our trailer, we will try to use a range of shots throughout.

Over the shoulder shot- This shot will be used when Chloe is sitting down watching the news report, the over the shoulder shot will show the TV and it will tell the audience that she is watching the report.

Close up- We will use this shot when we are showing the expression on Chloe's face, this will be when she is frightened due to the lights going off.

Extreme close up- This will be shown when the Antagonist is in Chloes house. There will be an extreme close up of his eyes, he will  be seen to be very serious and intimidating which will link to his character.

Long shot- We will use a long shot when the antagonist is shown to be following one of his victims, we will also use a long shot when the Antagonist is shown to be walking away from the scene with a knife. 

Medium Shot- This will be used when Thomas is doing the news report. A medium shot is good as it shows his smart clothing, and it also shows the background, which is important because we are filming live from the scene. 

Mood board

This is our mood board, this represents what ideas we have for the trailer, as shown we plan to have a kind of Scream inspired film now, we have brought this in as we can easily access the locations we need, the story revolves around the escape of a convicted murder from a prison. The prisoner uses a mask to conceal there identity, which will add mystery and suspense to the trailer as we can't relate to the antagonist and this makes him appear inhuman and almost like a machine.

On the board we also have the weapon of choice our murder will be using, as we have researched we have seen that each antagonist in a slasher film has had different weapon of choice like in Texas Chainsaw Massacre the main weapon is a chainsaw, or in Halloween Mike Myers uses a kitchen knife more often than not, in our trailer the antagonist will use a meat cleaver to kill his victims.

 Our character types are also shown on screen as we see, their will still be a group of people being hunted, and the primary character in the film will be a film, this goes against what the audience would expect from a female character as we are often given a male protagonist as they appear strong and physically able to beat the antagonist.

J RAT production logo

This is the production logo we have designed to add to the beginning of our trailer. The name J-RAT Media Productions comes from a combination of our filming groups names, and we thought it was effective and memorable. 

Trailer billing card

We have created a billing card to go on the end of our trailer to add to the realism and make it look like a genuine film trailer. We used the layout from the film Seven's billing card to help us design ours and make it look like the real thing.

Thriller genre history

The first thriller film was produced by Alfred Hitchcock in 1926, it was called The Lodger and was a suspenseful Jack the Ripper story, Hitchcock is considered by many to be the father of the modern psychological thriller film as he has produced so many critically acclaimed thriller films, he was nicknamed "the master of suspense", six of his 15 films in the 20's and 30's were thrillers and almost everything he did afterwards was Thriller, he also produced The Man Who Knew Too Much.

In the 1940's and 50's, Alfred Hitchcock continued producing suspense thrillers such as the Oscar winning film Rebecca which is about a women in danger from her husband. During the 50's the use of technicolour filming techniques became more widely used, Hitchcock began to use it in his films during this time period, he produced Strangers on a Train in 1951 which was about two train passengers who both staged a series of murders trying to outwit each other.

In the 1960's the violence that appeared in thriller films increased rapidly with the release of Peeping Tom, with Carl Boehm as a psychopathic cameraman the film was released prior to Hitchcock's Psycho. After Hitchcock produced the thriller Psycho, which at the time stunned and frightened audiences for its graphic deaths and tension, the film itself is about a loner mother-fixated motel owner who kills the guests at his motel. Spy thrillers also began to appear, films like James Bond were very popular especially during this time because it was the height of the Cold War.

The 70's and 80's had spy films scattered through them and most of the James Bond films were released during these decades. The industry also see's the last Hitchcock film as he died in 1980, he released one of his last films in 1972, it was called Frenzy and it made nearly $12 million. These years also saw rapid increase in the number of slasher films and films tended to be far more violent as the industry began using improved makeup and special effects techniques.

The 90's and films today have seen a wide range of thrillers, there have been several films based on thriller novels, most famously by Stephen King. The 90's was an era of obsession based films with a stalker usually following or becoming obsessed with a certain character an example of this was The talented Mr Ripley. There was however another theme throughout the 90's and this was the hunting down of serial killers, the most famous of which is Silence of the Lambs, which received best-picture in 1991, Seven was another famous thriller of this decade. Since then the thriller genre has started to reuse elements from previous films and add more violence and brutality, an example of this includes The Last House on the Left.

Institution research

These are the six major film institutions (The Big Six). Film institutions are very important as they provide the money for films to be made, and without them, no one would ever get enough money to make a decent budget film. These companies also own studios, providing places in which major films can shoot exactly what they want. The only problem with film institutions funding a film is that they like to have complete control over the project, so if you go to them for money your film may not end up being completely how you originally planned. They are all about making money, and this stops film advancing as an art form. However a lot of good films are made by studios and the film business wouldn't be what it is today without these major institutions.

Warner Bros studios was founded in 1903. It was formed by four brothers called the Warner brothers, and was one of the first companies to make movies with dialogue in it. They also famously started the original 'Looney Tunes', as well as many more successful cartoons. Warner Bros have a very wide range of films. They tend to make high budget movies, to make a lot of money, and their films are shown around the world. Their films appeal to a very wide range of audience as they make films from many different genres. Previous Warner Bros films include: 'Harry Potter', 'The Departed', 'The Dark Knight', 'Slumdog Millionaire', 'P.S. I Love You', 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', 'Troy', 'Blade Runner', 'The Wrong Man'.

Paramount Studios was founded in 1916 and is one of the oldest film institutions. Steven Spielberg is a major partner with Paramount as he is one of the leading film directors in Hollywood and this is a major contributor to Paramounts success as he has many fans and followers who will watch anything he puts out, making most of his films instant money makers. Paramount are ranked as one of the highest-grossing film studios in the world. As with Warner Bros, they make a very wide range of films which targets many different audiences with each film. Paramount films include: 'Titanic', 'Transformers' 'Indiana Jones', 'Iron Man', 'Forrest Gump', 'War of the Worlds', 'Mission Impossible', 'Shutter Island', 'Paranormal Activity' .

Sony Pictures is another of the film studios in 'the big six'. Although you wouldn't think that Sony would be in the big six it does own Columbia Pictures, which is a much more well known company. Another slightly less well known, but still widely appreciated company that they own is Tristar Pictures. As Sony are primarily associated with gaming and electronics their film side isn't as well known. Despite this, they are still one of the highest grossing companies in the world. Most of their money comes from the fact that they are already such a big company so people have heard of them so will trust in them. They also do a lot of advertising for their films through their other products (such as the PS3 gaming console). Sony Pictures films include: 'Spiderman', 'Men in Black', 'Gladiator', 'The Da Vinci Code', 'Quantum of Solace', 'Hancock', 'The Pursuit of Happyness', 'The Adventures of Tintin, 'The Social Network', 'Bucky Larson: Born to be a Star'.

Walt Disney Pictures is probably the most famous film institution, mainly because most people grow up watching most of their films and TV shows. Disney are famous for their traditional family movies and cartoons but recently have made more action films for example 'Tron' and 'Pirates of the Caribbean' to reach out to a larger target audience by doing something a bit more appealing to teens and adults. They also own a large number of institutions: Touchstone Pictures, Pixar, Marvel, and most recently Lucasfilm. Pixar are seen as one of the best film institutions in the world, as they consistently make excellent films. Their films are enjoyable for both children and their parents, making them a real money maker. Pixar and Marvel both stray from producing a large number of films, opting instead for taking their time with each one and increasing the quality of the films. The quality of the films aren't as high as Marvel , but are more 'fun'. This is what makes for millions of fans as everyone is on edge waiting for them to bring out the next film. Through these companies Disney manages to get a huge amount of money, and it is a big factor in their recent success. Disney films include: 'The Lion King', 'Toy Story 3', 'The Avengers', 'Pirates of the Carribean', 'Beauty and the Beast', 'High School Musical', 'Tangled', 'Thor', 'Finding Nemo', 'Hannah Montana', 'Bambi', 'The Princess and the Frog', 'Alladin', 'A Bug's Life' .

Universal Pictures is another major film institution. They have large theme parks around America which help promote their business, helping them make more money. Universal, like many other film institutions, make a large range of film genres to target a large market of people. They are another company that go hand in hand with Warner Bros and Paramount as they are all in it more for the money than for the art form of making films itself. However they don't disappoint bringing out big budget films that have been highly successful and have made many films that are seen to be classics for example 'E.T' and 'Jaws'. Universal films include: 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy', 'E.T', 'Bourne Identity', 'Despicable Me', 'Back to the Future', 'A Beautiful Mind', 'American Graffiti', 'Love Actually', 'Bruce Almighty', 'Jaws', 'American Gangster', 'Mamma Mia!', 'Jurassic Park', 'King Kong', 'Meet the Fockers', 'The Mummy'.

20th Century Fox is another very large film institution well known across the world. 20th Century Fox was one of the film institutions that started a little later compared to the other big companies. This institution is owned by a news corporation which also own the Fox television channel which helps in making them a lot of money. The TV channel has pumped out many shows that the world has loved for many years. They sometimes even make films from the TV shows they play on their channel for example 'The Simpsons Movie'. 20th Century Fox tend to make very high budget films and like many other institutions, make films for a wide range of genres. Many people criticize them and say that the company is nothing more then a logo where as other institutions have more to show for, like Universal with a theme park and Sony with its electronics. However 20th Century Fox are still a widely well known institution. Famous 20th Century Fox films include: 'Avatar', 'Star Wars', 'Independence Day', 'Home Alone', 'X-Men', 'The Simpsons Movie', 'Ice Age', 'I, Robot', 'Marley and Me', 'Taken', 'Minority Report', 'Prometheus', 'Die Hard', 'Speed', 'Alien', 'Eragon', 'True Lies', 'Titanic', 'Moulin Rouge!', 'Road to Perdition', 'Night at the Museum', 'Austrailia'.

Finally, Lionsgate Entertainment was originally formed in 1998, it is based in California where it is able to produce different types of media products from movies to TV dramas to music, Lionsgate is the most commercially successful mini major film and television distribution company in North America and the seventh most profitable movie studio, with total income estimated at around $2 billion. Although not part of "The Big Six," Lionsgate is still a widely known and successful company. Lionsgate are known for producing highly successful film franchises such as The Hunger Games series, as well as this they have also produced several successful horror films such as Cabin in the Woods, The Possession, Sinister ,Texas Chainsaw 3D, and the SAW series.

It seems that many of the large film institutions  that started right at the beginning of film making are the most successful production companies in recent times. This makes sense as they have had the most time to evolve and grow to what they are now, giving the audience the best possible films they can make for us to enjoy.

What our audience expect to see in a horror trialer

Did out audience like blood and gore?

How our audience wanted our antagonist

The of the questions on the Antagonist also helped us a lot. Our group was unsure whether to make the antagonist visible or non visible. The results of the question swayed us in favour of visible, with 65% of people saying so. Also the results of the question on antagonist characteristics helped us show what the character will be like in the trailer. In the trailer the antagonist is seen to be creepy, mentally unstable and intimidating.

What is your favourite horror/thriller film questionnaire results

*Favourite horror sub-genre questionnaire results

When asked what their favourite horror sub genre was  the majority of people said thriller, So we decided to make our film a Thriller. Before we recorded this questionnaire, we were unsure whether to do a thriller or a psychological horror.

Results from our questionnaire about our protagonist.

This question of our survey wasn't a must for us as in the trailer we don't see a protagonist. we have thought of one as a detective but he did not make it into our trailer

Feedback from our questionnaire about our antagonist

as  we can see out of the 20 people we asked it was pretty even, but a visible  Antagonist was in favor. this goes well with our film as our antagonist is visible and not a spiritual figure. this helped us choose what type of antagonist we wanted and what film idea we wanted to go along with, as our original idea was to a paranormal activity type film but from this survey we learnt that a visible character is preferred.
for the characteristics we decided to go along with the more mentally unstable and creepy villain hence we went for a escapee from a mental asylum. this also helped us decide how are villain will kill his victims and the way he does it.

Location questionnaire answers

When deciding our location the questionnaire results helped us massively, as we were unsure on where the film would be located. With 40% of the people saying to use a house, we decided to use that. Also we agreed with 20% of the people as we chose to film some of our shots outside near a park.

Age and Gender results

These results show that the majority of people we asked were between the ages of 16-20, also it shows the most of the people we asked were male. We decided to set our age certificate to 15, so the questionnaire results are still helpful to us as only 5% of the people we asked were under 15.

First day of filming

-On the 30th of November we filmed for the first time. This is Thomas Cunningham in our film. this is the scene where he is reporting in news about the new dangerous convicts that has escaped the mental hospital. His costume was very good and he looks professional new reporter due to the suit and trench coat. This scene is the establishing shot of our trailer as it tells the audience what the trailer entails and what the movie will be structured on. 

- The weather was good, as there was no rain, this meant we were able to film without any distractions.

- We were not able to film all of the shots

- We have filmed around half of the shots that we need to do

-We are going to look over the shots in the coming days and see if we need to re film them

- The rest of the shots needed are at a different location

-These shots will be filmed in the coming days

- We feel the quality of the shots are a lot better than last years filming

- The camera quality is very good as we used a GoPro