Audience feedback

Students from different classes and even schools watched our trailer so far and we gained some useful feedback.

• The trailer has a good feel, you have a lot to work with, the ending shots showing the death and the wall dripping blood shot really works and screams the genre of the trailer the audience. However, you need to build up the story with shots which reveal the plot because currently this is difficult to understand."
• "Very freaky, editing added great tension, but once a message is made you can cut away"
• "Need more emphasis on the cheating, as the movie is based around this idea and the consequences, at the moment it is not very clear that any cheating has taken place
• "I like it, especially some of the shots, but I think you need to add some music in to the exam hall scenes to add pace to it because it becomes boring to look at after a while"

Pre Final Audience Feedback

Today we had Jesse O'Mahoney and Hugh Spurling in to give us feedback on our trailers. We discussed the positive effects of our trailer, aswell as those that need improving. This was a benefical session as we are constantly watching our trailer and having someone watch it links into what our audience would feel when released. We know our plot and therefore know the message that is coming across in the trailer, however, Jesse and Hugh found it difficult to recognise this. This is the main point which will now improve our trailer. 

Jesse and Hugh advised us into different ways of portraying the story, these includes messages on screen, short clips to engage the audience into the emotional hook. Key information they provided us with was to watch the trailer through the eye of someone else, here we will be able to notify what is missing. 

We now plan to implement our trailer, tomorrow we will film more short clips to reveal the story and after all filming is done and trailer has been put together, we will consider writing on screen to emphasis plot.

Evaluation of trailer so far

Over the past week we have been editing our trailer, putting footage together, cutting down the footage and adding effects. Effects which include music, sound effects and voice over have to complete and add a professional look to our horror trailer. We have followed our story board and planning procedure, however when watching the trailer so far, we did not feel it worked. We had built up an equilibrium showing school exams which are our emotional hook as everyone can relate but the outlook was not of a horror genre. After adding sound to emphasis this, we still did not have it. We actually have clear footage but to the extent of high standard professional horror, it was not working.

As makers of the trailer we are watching and editing this footage every day, to secure the understanding we gained an evaluation from 2 media teachers. They both agreed the trailer was not expressing horror or the plot and as a group we discussed ways to improve...

1. Change the scenes, instead of following a clear Todorov theory, this can remain with quick shots of deaths to create a sense of enigma and leave the audience questioning. In doing this, the montage of deaths could remain but we will be using our footage to a higher standard.
2. In some scenes, the visual is not as effective as the audio. A way of using the audio effectively would be to detach this and use this as an audio over a more effective piece of footage. We could use this as juxtaposing, where an exam scene would have the voice of a death. These are ideas we are planning to use to process an effective trailer.
3. Breaking down the footage, it is a trailer and the visuals should be quick shots which remain in the audience's mind. We need to gain an enthusiastic audience, not bore an audience with long scenes in a trailer.

Exam hall scene

The assembly hall is a location which is always booked and difficult to get access too, as a group we managed to promote our film and was allowed to film in here. Below is the list of props we will need to shoot our scene effectively..

• 16 students to sit in the exam and help build the exam scene
• Examiner to emphasis this and bring the emotional hook
• Exam desks, chairs and papers
• Exam boards
• Equipment for exam
  

We was given 2 hours so we was working to a timeline, this was to set up the scene and shoot the filming. Our actors worked well as the examiner had to speak many times to film from different angels. The footage we have gained has strengths and weaknesses which we will work with when editing our trailer. We would not of been able to gain this footage without amazing help from staff and students. 

Filming, last death scene

After evaluating and acknowledging the difficulties we had in our previous filming session, we ensured this filming was of a high standard. We discussed what we had to do to set up the scene and show the fear of the character, directing the actor we gained some good footage. Sadly, I was not available to film today yet my group still worked cohesively without my presence. I feel this was because we planned our scenes effectively.

We now have all our footage for our montage of deaths and will now begin shooting our assembly hall scene. Planning for production has already been done for this scene, yet we need to check availability of the hall.

Evaluation of filming process

Above is a break down of the filming process so far, there are areas for improvement which we will ensure we improve for our next filming session. As a group we come up with one area which we felt went well and one recommendation.

• We worked effectively as a team which ensured when we come together, our filming was of a high standard.
• However, we need to plan our scenes more effectively, which will make the filming sessions quicker as we are working to a deadline.

Second day of filming

This shoot was continuing in the void filming our death scenes, we had planned today's session of filming to be the chair scene and Harry's death. The chair shot worked well, we filmed this from different angels and shot lengths so when we evaluate we can discuss and choose what worked most effectively. However, Harry's death did not go aswell as intended. I felt we did not plan this scene thoroughly so as a group we were confused and did not feel what we storyboarded worked.

To overcome this problem, we discussed what the shot was establishing and what the portrayal was. We re-planned this and now in a position where we can shoot the footage successfully.

10/11/2011

Today's filming session went really well, as a group we are really pleased with the outcome. We managed to shoot 3 scenes, one death scene, Jordan hanging, followed by a shot of his legs swinging. As stated on the previous post, we used a 'maximise your chances' board to set up the scene. Using the fake blood we had a scene of a female hand dragging down with blood everywhere, symbolising our emotional hooks and adhering to the genre, horror.

Setting up scene for shooting

As stated throughout my planning, one of our death scenes is a hanging. There was many safety precautions we had to consider when filming this. In the void, we set up creating a school environment with a mathematic square showing education. We had a ladder up to this, showing you have to try to succeed which is challenging our emotional hook. We chose an area where a light was glowing and this is where out hanging scene would take place. The light would glow on our actor who is playing Jordan to show the fear through facial expressions. We had a rope which we was using and hung this around a pole and then around his neck. The image on the left shows my group member, Jassiem, setting up this scene. 

As our film is orientated around our emotional hook success, we used this spray paint of 'maximise your chances' which immediately suggests our questions of how far would you go to get something you want? What would you do to succeed? It also questions the plot of our trailer being cheating.

Equipment needed for filming

To ensure we used our time for shooting effectively, we had a lesson on how to use a manual camera, working focus and how to use a Zoom Handy Recorder to record sound. This will ensure our trailer is a professional looking piece. With the manual focus, we learnt that we are able to focus on one specific object/person, whilst the background can be blurred, this works both ways and if we wanted to blur the protagonist, we could with the background in focus. We also learnt how to zoom and finalise our piece. 

With the Zoom Handy Recorder, we experimented with recorded from distances, and how close you had to be in order for the dialogue spoken to be clear. We will not be recording sound on the SLR camera as it would not be as effective as a Zoom Handy Recorder, so we had to ensure our sound was able to sync with film footage in perfect time. To do this successfully, we will have a loud noise at the start of each scene so it is made clear when putting footage together.

Build up to production

Tomorrow I will begin filming footage for my trailer. We are shooting our death scenes in the void so we will need fake blood. I experimented with fake blood bought from a joke shop but the effect this had on skin was not as successful as intended. Because of this, I made blood, using syrup and food colouring. Once mixed together, I added a tea bag to darken the mix to ensure it created a grotesque blood feel.

1st draft of screen play..

Today, I was introduced to a new source of software which will enhance my production. Celtx is a programme which helps write screenplays in order, depicting dialogue, action, transitions and other features. It also allows creation for a schedule of production, organization of storyboards and character biographys.This software is a quick process for a means of production.

Below is our first draft for our screen play, it has been deconstructed with edits made..

 

As a group we worked together to produce our first draft of our screen play, we worked with our story board and planning to produce this piece.

The outcome of our screen play left us to make decisions. We discussed our screen play with our teacher and as a group we felt there was little narrative order, we was not adhering to Todorov's theory, because of this, we decided we need to rearrange our scenes. Our trailer included many scenes which were shown before disruption, as it was only a trailer we felt we would lose and confuse our audience doing this. This lead to a second draft...

Celtx, 1st draft of screen play

 

We will begin filming in a matter of days so to ensure we have good practice, we story boarded our death scenes individually. These scenes will be the most important part of our trailer as they define the genre of the film. When planning we focused on facial expressions to enhance the story line, aswell as camera angels and positioning.

Editing of teaser film poster

In a previous post I published an initial idea for 'The examined' teaser film poster, here we have further adapted this. After planning flat plans for film poster, we have put key information on this poster, this includes the release date, actors, directors and horror production company. This as an idea is effective yet I think the title needs to stand out and we could experiment with imagery and lightening.

Flat plans for film poster

Using what I have learnt from my research in Genre, Iconography and Ideology: film poster analysis, I made 5 flat plan ideas for my film poster. These with texual analysis are below..

1) For my first idea I wanted to use an image which strikes the audience. I took a few pictures of my sister and decided on this one. The way she is avoiding eye contact with the audience shows a fear of isolation which is a theme in horror genre. The positioning of the face titled creates a sense of mystery and enigma as it is suggesting she is hiding her identity. I used this image as the main image for my film poster, I sketched this on a large scale to create an effective outcome. In the top right corner, I decided was where the stars, directors, production logo and key information, it was not powering the imagery yet stood out and was easily recognisable. I decided to use a stencil effect on the typography for our title as it gives the exam feel. The release date was positioned underneath the title as these are 2 elements need to remain in the audiences mind.

2) The second poster had a complete different look to my first. This time I decided to express the fear of isolation using bars, this also explores the capture which some individuals believe schools hold. Exam time can cause closure for individuals. The effect of the lighting is hard to identify in this flat plan, but my idea was for the lighting to be held so the face of the protagonist was not shown. The title is placed at the top so it is easily recognisable, I have used a ruler for the I which suggests exams and school environment. The release date is at the bottom where the productions, stars and director will also be. Although in ways this poster does relate and express the story and genre, I don't feel it is effective, this leads me to my next idea.

3) As I mentioned in my 2nd poster, I liked the idea of showing exam environment and creating a school atmosphere through the film poster, I decided to use this in this poster. Here I created a book, visualising an exam paper where I exposed the exam title. The typography of the title almost looked scratched which is an element we have experimented with in our teaser poster. To create a sense of mystery and open up enigma, I decided on a catchy line. 'Exam number: will you survive?' This works effectively and adheres to our uses and gratifications when satisfying our target audience, exam numbers create individuality in exams and is how we are recognised, then questioning survival defines our film by genre. I have used a ruler which adds up to 'GAME OVER' this enhances the idea of enigma further. At the bottom of the poster will be the information on production, stars and directors.

4) Here I used imagery I had taken with my 1st film poster. The deaths in our film are going to grotesque so I wanted to create a sense of almost 'uglyness'. The images I took I placed a face against glass to challenge stereotypes. I used this with 2 images. In the first image the eye is open which suggests someone is always watching and you will never get away with doing something bad, this is a moral in our film and also relates to our idea for production logo. At the top I have placed the title in a handwritten, old fashioned, serif font which immediately suggests horror. In the bottom corner I have placed the release date with production information which is easily recognisable. 

 

5) Here I decided to use a rhetorical question to create a sense of enigma. To challenge audience expectations I decided not to show the face of the killer in this film poster. I used the back of the head to build tension. To create an exam atmosphere, I used the exam desk with an exam paper. On this I wrote the theme to attract a target audience. 'You decide' involves the audience and builds on mystery. The examined is stenciled to fulfill this exam feel.

Challenging horror film trailers with shot development

Today we was discussing the composition of our shots. Through our research as a group we understand that the last shot in a trailer is the film title and release date, this is a convention the majority of trailers adhere to as it allows the date and title to remain in the viewers mind. We decided that we want our last shot to be a snap of the trailer, where we will show a man getting pulled and then a 1 second flash of the killers face. Below I have produced a simplified version of what this will look like...

Idea for music overlay

Just a random but exciting post. Today I was listening to Coldplay - Fix You and a certain line stood out to me. During the suicide scene when we show the twin sister finding the body, I felt it would be effective to hear 'When you try your best but you don’t succeed... When you get what you want but not what you need.' This line relates to our story with our main theme being success and the past of Kate's life being that she always trys but never succeeds. Although we can not use this song in our trailer, we can interpret and construct music around the meaning behind this artist's track.

Initial design for horror production logo

This is our initial design for our horror production logo. The image itself immediately suggests horror, attracting our target audience. The eye conotates the belief that someone's always watching and relates to our initial ideas for tagline/questions, it suggests that nobody gets away with anything; this is the moral of our story which is fulfilled through the examination of life or death. The hand creeping through the eye expresses this future. The glow which creates a glassy eyed effect created through Photoshop imposes the belief of being watched. Televisions impose a glassy eyed effect on viewers. The way in which the writing 'the eye' is small is effective. It symbolises 'actions speak louder than words' which is a quote in life. This relates to our story as we are opening a equilibrium of normality.

Making of our production company logo

After studying many different horror trailers and conducting a trailer analysis, as a group we know the horror production company has to be the first shot as it immediately identifies the genre and attracts the target audience.

Stages

View more presentations from Morgan Boon.

Similarities between my tailer & 'I spit on your grave'

This trailer has similar themes and challenges conventional characteristics through horror. Both trailers empose the nature of revenge and that survival is key with these values. 'I Spit On Your Grave' is a short trailer which between shots expose this caption 'some crimes are so brutal that if you survive, your only option is revenge, show no mercy'. This is similar to the story of my trailer. Another similarity is the challenge of the female becoming the killer, this is rare in horror as a convention is showing male dominance in society. This feature also challenges Mulvey's theory as my trailer and 'I Spit On Your Grave' both show women as active with no desire to fulfill males needs.

What Mulvey's theory has taught me...

Mulvey's theory has exposed me to the different ways women are portrayed and represented in horror movies. In horror, women tend to be portrayed as weak and vulnerable in a sexual context. This adheres to Mulvey's theory which suggests the male point of view adopted by the camera for the benefit of an assumed male audience. Women in horror are portrayed as objects or in a nature of male desire. This is a traditional hegemonic stereotype which has changed over time with the changes in society. Women are now free to construct their identities although there is some elements which do limit their choices. New representations of women are seen as them being dominant and powerful. The film I deconstructed visualises the change. Jennifers body holds a traditional representation of women, adhering to hegemonic stereotypes. Jennifer is portrayed as a sexual object revealing her nature through seductive actions but this could be challenged. Jennifer appears in the film as a vampire presented as seductive but only in order to ‘kill boys’, and not for any sexual reasons. This film has challenged conventional stereotypes of horror showing men as being strong and women as weak, showing the women as a protagonist. This turns Mulvey’s male gaze theory around, showing women as in control and dominant, not only for sexual purposes. 

Because of the change in society and the idea of turning Mulvey's theory around when characterizing the female character in my trailer, we will show women are weak but a rejection of these strong stereotypes. The protagonist of our trailer is going to be female, which rejects conventional characteristics of protagonist in horror.

Representation of women in a horror trailer.

Mulvey's Male gaze theory states women are portrayed as objects of males desire adhering to traditional hegemonic sterotypes of modern society. I am going to test Mulvey's theory using textual analysis skills on Jennifer's Body.

Representation of Women in Horror on Prezi

Laura Mulvey's 'Male Gaze Theory'

Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory, created in the 1970's, during modern society where hegemonic traditional stereotypes were portrayed throughout, suggests that woman are subjective to a gaze from a males perspective. 

• Her theory suggests the male point of view is adopted by the camera for the benefit of an assumed male audience. Women are portrayed as objects or in a nature for male desire.
• The practice of the camera 'lingering' on female's bodies is evidence to this - thus women are viewed as 'sexual objects' to gratify men.
• She argued that the central active characters are male in which the male audience identifies with them in their viewing of females as passive.
• Female audience are also positioned to identify with the male gaze and see through the 'male's eyes'.

However, this theory can be challenged:

• Not all central heroic characters in films are male. Mulvey denies the existence of the female gaze!
• There have been changes towards the representation of women which has resulted in challenged to stereotypical gender roles since Mulvey's theory was written.

Today's discussion - suicide scene

Today we came together as a group and discussed how we were going to shoot the suicide scene. We have had many ideas for this throughout the planning, as follows:

1. Our first idea was for the suicide to be a hanging death, where the character would use an iconic item, we had ideas of a school tie which relates to the theme and expresses our emotional hook. This also related to Burton's theory where I found icons are key elements when identifying a genre. 
2. We then decided the death in form of the character jumping in front of a train, this not only would cause drama and create a sense of enigma but it would also relate to the setting of a school and how people travel to school.
3. We then discussed a original suicide idea which was slitting the wrist but as a group we did not feel this exaggerated the death enough.
4. Our fourth idea was to use a river and the death be a drowning scene. We felt this would be significant in showing isolation from wider society which is a theme throughout horror. However, when planning this scene we felt we were going to be limited with shot types and positioning because of the river. This led us to our final idea.

We have come to the decision of the suicide being a bath scene, where Kate slits her wrist in the bath and the loss of blood takes over and she drowns. We have merged the two key ideas above to ensure the strongest death which would attract and motivate the audience. We felt this would also build mystery and create a sense of enigma. The use of a bath allows us to explore different shot types and capture the death and gore of the character. We had to consider the BBFC and how this affects our trailer and we have decided not to show detail and we will show a negative infliction of pain.

'The examined' synopsis - Burton's theory

I have previously deconstructed an idea for a synopsis which has enhanced my understanding for my final synopsis deconstruction. Below I have deconstructed our trailer using Burton's theory... 

RED - Protagonist

ORANGE - Stock Characters

YELLOW - Plot and Stock situation

GREEN - Icons

BLUE - Backgrounds and Decor

PURPLE - Themes

"With the end of year exams impending for students at Locksford High; Harry, Sarah, Jordan, Lucy and Hannah are struggling to deal with the pressures of expected success and are willing to do what it takes to succeed.  Although exams are only a day away the teenagers are seen smoking in the school toilets during school where they come across a sheet of paper listing the answers for their forthcoming exams, do they cheat and use the answers or do they hand it in to staff? Realising they’re not alone they threaten student Kate, who looks shaken to death, to not reveal what they’ve found with devastating consequences.  Although fellow student Sarah protests that they shouldn’t use the answers the rest of the group pressure her into doing it.

A day later the exams arrive where all students of Locksford High are in the exam hall about to begin, whilst Sarah looks hesitant about what she’s about to do the rest of the group look smug with no signs of guilt? The girl they threatened, Kate Black, coincidently walks into the exam hall late looking more frightened than anyone else resulting in the five teenagers exchanging nervous looks. The exams begin with all five nervous about the girl whose life they threatened.

3 Months later on a damp and misty day its results day where it’s revealed that all five students have passed their exams with all A’s, consequently this is on the same day that it is revealed that the body of their fellow student Kate has been found dumped in a river after failing her exams due to nerves and anxiety put upon her by the group of teens. Feeling relieved that there is now no threat of getting caught the teens go out to celebrate, what they don’t know however is that there is a blood hungry psychopath out for revenge who will not stop till she has all five teens blood on her hands

The teens are quickly one by one locked up in the basement of the school and put into a test against their life in which the consequences of failing can lead to a sliced throat or amputated arm. With their lives on the line at the hands of a maniac out for revenge, this is one exam they cannot afford to fail." 

Deconstructing my synopsis using Burton's theory allows me to define my genre as horror. All elements ensure an understanding of the genre and how to impose this upon the audience successfully. They are similarities between the synopsis' I deconstructed in my research task, for instance, I found that the setting is often in a domestic or private sphere which is personal, this is set in a school where students and staff are supposed to feel safe, this suggests a lack of hope of being saved, which increases vulnerability. I am able to identify all of Burton's key elements in my synopsis which leaves a clear connection with the theory and genre being easily recognised.

'The examined' teaser poster

After researching many different typographys we could use for the title of our film, we went on to look at ways of presenting our font, ideas for backgrounds and initial teaser of the movie poster. We have considered the same form as the typography and to use to style to interact with our target audience, allowing vestehan. This has been accomplished here through the use of an exam desk to represent our target audience of students, the majority of the population have been confronted by an exam desk and therefore can relate to the situation. The use of 'doodles' on an exam desk immediately allows the audience to connect with this exam atmosphere. It also shows the fear of teenagers in today's society. The typography is similar to one of those presented in previous post of typography ideas. The font itself is handwritten and almost looks carved into the desk, which highlights the danger and creates a sense of enigma. The positioning of the title symbolises an edge and almost suggests something mysterious is going to happen. This is enhanced further through the use of red which symbolises blood and gore. The use of imagery with the blood represented love of a heart almost shows a juxtaposition of connotations. The knife through the heart challenges this representation and suggests pain and fear.

Sketch for typography idea

 

I was sketching during free time and I began sketching our film title. The effect of several lines to create the perfect line is a technique which shows imperfection and in an artistic nature almost life. It is handwritten which explores the 'exam' theme which is reoccuring throughout our film. It also portrays the language through technique, of 'examined'. This is further emphasised through the use of a ruler in the 'i' adding academic principle into the film which is used through the disruption of cheating.

10 ideas typography & textual analysis

I'm so excited about my idea and can't wait to make the trailer. Today, I put together 10 different fonts on Photoshop using my film title. I considered what I had researched from title exploration during this production. Here I looked at how the language of 'the examined' could be expressed through style. 

1. The first font which I chose explored this in an expressive way. It was in a form of graffiti which relates to our film of a school environment and stereotypes within this framework. This type face however does not scream horror at the audience. 
2. For me, this font screams horror. The typography holds an edge which builds a sense of mystery. I feel effects can be added to this, colour, experimentation of composition and background drops which could enhance the effect. I also feel this font tends to hold a formal nature which explores the exam environment. 
3. This typeface I believe is significant of horror. It holds an edge and uses tone to show mystery. For my film, I think this typography is too bold. Personally, I feel the language of our title is strong and needs the typography to be gentle to balance this. 
4.  This title conveys from the others, this is very gentle. It is a handwritten typeface which relates to the situation of exams and our emotional hook but the style of the typography does not anchor horror.
5. This font is like font number 3, it is a heavy font which almost controls the language used. When looking at this font, I focus on the style more than what the title is; this is something we have to ensure does not happen. Although the font has a mysterious effect of pattern and line, it is too powerful and disguises the meaning.
6. I believe this font attracts our target audience. Our primary market is a teenage London based group, socialised into mainstream British values, the majority of teenagers are exposed to graffiti and associate meanings/motives with this. This font anchors this. It is also similar to the danger symbol we see daily which immediately suggests mystery and creates a sense of enigma.
7. Although I have chosen this font, I do not admire it. The only aspect which connects with me and my film is the handwritten effect, the style looks almost as if it has been sketched under pressure and this idea of pressure is something we are using to hook our target audience.
8. This font conveys and attracts an audience by the edgy, unusual effect. This is a positive aspect as it ensures an audience is attracted but personally I don't feel it attracts our specific primary market. I feel it is childlike and does not emphasis a mature form. 
9. I decided on testing a famous 'Times New Roman' font as I wanted to experiment with the effect this has. Exam papers and assessments are written in this style which allows the audience to feel they are in the scene themselves as they can relate to the situation. 
10. The last font I experimented with was a bold font. I do not think this worked as it had the same effect as previous fonts. The strength of the typeface controlled the language which is something that cannot happen as the language of our title is crucial for identifying emotional hook and themes.

From looking at typography's, I now know that as a group we need to find a font that allows 'the examined' to speak through the style, yet the style enhances the meaning. 'The examined' alone reveals to a certain extent our theme and emotional hooks. We can almost identify the setting and synopsis. The importance of this is crucial for attracting our target audience. The typography needs to interact with the audience, build a sense of mystery and enigma in a way which is effective not powerful. 

Discussion on disruption (cheating)

Our theme is expressing the issue of cheating, this is a disruption which challenges the equilibrium (a theory recognized by Todorov) because of this we have to ensure it is expressed and easily recognised. We asked students how they would cheat and after researching the issue we come up with 5 cheating ways for our 5 students.

1) The hat method, this was a method we found when researching, where the character will have the answers under the hat, we felt this would be effectively used for the lad Harry who is a stock character adhering to The Jock in Slasher Horror. 

2)  The eye patch method, here the character will have the results under the eye patch and pull the eyepatch to see the answers in the exam.

3)  Writing on the arm, this is a classic cheating method, it is obvious and therefore will be used for our surviving member, the final girl in slasher horror. Being a obvious cheating method, our target audience are more likely to relate to the situation. 

4) Like the writing on the arm method, we decided on a sweat band method which releases the answers under the arm. 

5) Our last method is quite mysterious in itself, we decided on an ear piece which would speak the answers to the characters but how  do they know the question for the exact answer? This builds a sense of mystery and creates enigma.

Planned shot 3 - Viod shot set up, latter scene

Using what we had learnt from our research we focussed on the lightening, as stated above you can see we have placed 4 lights in each corner which will shine on the character and build on mystery. The camera will be set at the front which will be a long shot and establish the setting. We will then show a close up to show the fear and terror on the individuals face. This will show a connection between the audience and the character, this also creates enigma.

Planned shot 2 - Bathroom (Kate's death)

This next shot we used the same technique as before. This is our latter scene where the suicide death takes place. We have shown 2 parts of this scene on this plan. We begin to see a long shot of the character walking into the bathroom, as she pulls back the curtain, we plan to have a close up of the girl dead in the bath, this will immediately create a sense of mystery and unfold our story.

Planned shot 1 - Exam Hall, Beginning shot

 

A technique which is effective in the planning process is to look at the setting from an aerial view. In doing this we can visual see the setting from any angle and focus on the props, camera position and shot type. We can also visually place the characters in the scene. The first shot we done was a beginning shot, of the exam hall. We decided shot one was going to be the camera at the back, a long shot showing the backs of the pupils head and the teacher/invigilator at the front. This immediately builds the scene of an exam which our target audience relate too. The next shot as you can see above is the camera in the right corner where the student will walk in late and creates tension. A close up will also be used to allow the audience to connect with our characters, which shows our themes being expressed through shot types.

Plot development

Our discussion lead to plot development, with the help of Jesse O'mahoney and Ben Harris we began sketching ideas for our story board. These were initial ideas where we sketched shots that told our story through structure and positioning. The story unfolds in a narrative order, yet this is challenged through some shots in the trailer as we are showing different scenes throughout, this keeps the audience anticipated and creates a sense of mystery and enigma. We also looked at shots which we felt expressed our themes. Below are our initial thoughts for story board ideas...

Narrative development - Todorov's theory

After looking at Todorov's theory, I and my group member looked at the way our trailer is going to unfold. We decided we were going to adhere to Todorov's theory with showing a state of equilibrium at the start, we believe this will enhance our emotional hook and attract our target audience. We are going to challenge this showing a disruption of the equilibrium by some action; this will be where the cheating scenes begin to unfold. The recognition of the disruption of equilibrium will come through when the audience are exposed to the cheating of the individuals, this will only show some of the recognition as we want to keep our audience anticipated to watch the film. An attempt to repair the recognition comes through when the revenge begins to happen. We will not show the 5th part of Todorov's theory in our trailer as we believe keeping the reinstatement of equilibrium hidden keeps the audience anticipated to watch the film. These discussions lead to us as a group discussing and planning initial ideas for plot development.

Applying Todorov's theory to trailer

Tzvetan Todorov suggested that conventional narratives are structured in five stages:

1. A state of equilibrium at the outset;
2. A disruption of the equilibrium by some action;
3. A recognition that there has been a disruption;
4. An attempt to repair the disruption;
5. A reinstatement of the equilibrium

He said this narrative structure is very familiar to us and can be applied to many 'mainstram' film narratives. I am going to analysis 'Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark' that I have previously analysed but this time testing Todorov's theory.

'Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark' starts with a establishing shot of the new house, which is an equilibrium within the setting. We then begin to see scenes of mystery, when the young girl starts hearing noises when exploring her new house, this shows a disruption of the equilibrium, breaking through of normality. An attempt to repair the disruption is shown through the the father and his girlfriend of the young girl who is facing menacing and terrifying forces are convincing her nothing is going to happen. Then there is a reinstatement of the equilibrium when all goes wrong and the menacing forces trap the young girl. No recognition is seen because it is a trailer and not a film and if recognition is shown the audience will not be anticipated to see the film.

Icons and setting

Iconography and setting was clearly emphasised with importance through Burton's theory. Iconography is key in identifying the genre of a film because of the connotations and the way it is percieved. For example, when we see a pumpkin, we immediately think of Halloween. This is a key icon which relates with the audience and also remains in the mind.


Our title being 'the examined' and our theme being around an exam environment, one of the key icons will be a ruler, students and teachers relate to this and its a symbol which will stick with the users. This may be our icon.

We will also consider the murder weapons which we will use, because we are planning a montage of deaths, we will show different weapons, however they will all show horror, knifes, stake and chainsaw.

Settings

1. Exam hall - we will use the exam hall as our target audience can relate to this environment. They will connect with the pressure and anxiety and the themes of success vs. failure through the use of this location. 
2. Suicide girls house - we will use a normal house to shoot this scene as we are showing the normality at this scene. This relates back to Burtons theory of using a private or domestic sphere which builds on the idea of isolation and that your not safe in your own home. This builds on mystery.
3. Underground of school - we will use the underground (the void) as it is an isolated area which signifies danger and displacement from society. It is also a small area which suggests individuals are trapped and their identities have been disguised, which is a feature of horror.
   

Target audience profile, primary market

Target audience profile - primary market

USES AND GRATIFICATIONS

To ensure our film trailer attracts our target audience effectively, we plan to use the uses and gratifications to adhere to the audience. Particularly in our trailer, surveillance is effective in satisfying the audience. Surveillance is the idea that people feel better once they know what is going on in the world around them and we will use this theory appropriately to our film. Our trailer is based on exams which are a current period which everyone experiences and can relate to, this causes stress which is something everyone is familiar with. The idea of stress and our emotional hooks being fear of failure relates to worldwide issues, such as poverty in countries, financial crisis and many others. 

We also plan to use personal identification which is where the audience are able to compare their life to the life of the characters in our trailer. Our movie is orientated around success vs. ambition, fear of failure and general school life which is something our target audience will be able to find similarities and watch them overcome problems which may even help themselves. Our disruption is cheating, which is a problem in every school which defines the way the audience can fully relate to our film. The message the audience will gain is if you get knocked down or fail once, success will always be at the end, success is the biggest revenge, and this in itself will help the audience gain more confidence and strength. 

We have also applied it through diversion which is the term when watching a film helps forget about the problems in your life, or makes them seem better. We will use this element to help the audience divert from the stress in their individual life by watching our movie. Our movie being based around a situation everyone has or will experience allows it to be seen as universal problem, where the audience do not feel as though they are alone.

The final element is social interaction where the movie will relate to today’s society. Today’s society faces issues with fear of failure and underestimating teenager’s intelligence, this can be seen through student finance issues, the increase in tuition fees and shortage of university places. This brings a common connection with our film and society.