Final Trailer

Our final outcome, enjoy!

Did we stick to our plan?

Before filming our trailer we created a rough story board including what will happen in each scene in the correct order. We also made rough notes as to what camera angles/ techniques we would use to film each scene.
Although maintaining the main story line we added some extra scenes that weren't in our story board e.g we added scenes of our main character locking different doors to show she was frightened which created higher levels of tension in our trailer.
We also added different camera angles and techniques to what we originally planned. This was due to what we felt worked better in terms of professionalism.
In our original story board we also had a male character who was trapped in the house as well. We however, did not stick to this idea as we felt a third character was not necessary when filming. 

Challenges we faced during editing

Editing our trailer was a time consuming process due to our genre being based around unrealistic aspects. One thing we struggled with the most was sound. We edited sound effects into each scene as apposed to having one song or music track throughout the trailer. We struggled with the timing of our sound effects and getting all the music to flow together. For example timing the sound of the ringing phone in time with the other violin music we had on top. 

On final cut pro there is a wide selection of effects you can add to a clip to change the colour or lighting. When editing we added a few of these effects to a few different scenes to change the look of the clip and make it more scary and give more of a spooky feel. However when looking back on each clip and playing them all together the lighting of some scenes didn't match the lighting of others which looked unprofessional and made the trailer not fit together. We then had to go back through the trailer and add the same effect to each clip which improved the trailer a lot. 

Editing

Editing was quite an important aspect in the creation of our trailer due to our horror genre. We had to use various effects and sounds to help enhance the horror aspect and visuals in our trailer. To do this, we used effects from final cut pro. For example, throughout the flashing images of the girl trapped in a cupboard, we used specific visuals such as filters including : hard light, and a projected film. To make these clips appear quick and suddenly, we used the flashing transition as it moved in and out of scenes. This helped to emphasise the characters fear, and keep the audience interested. 

In terms of sounds, we decided to use various different sound effects over the trailer rather than one soundtrack or voice over. To do this we used sound effects by final cut pro, and recorded our own. We aimed to build up the layers of sound towards the end, including a heartbeat, police sirens, telephone dials and spooky violins. All of these sounds help to create tension towards the end of the trailer, which we felt was more effective than using just one soundtrack. At the beginning of the trailer, we used a deep drone, and then as the flashing images emerge, we added a lost signal sound effect, which fitted well with each scene. In the shot of the telephone ringing, we extracted the audio from the clip, and added our own ring tone. We also recorded voice notes for the dialogue of 'The end is near' and 'We've tracked the call, its coming from 22 park avenue'. To make these voices appear like they are over the phone, we added an audio effect called 'telephone' which made the voice notes sound slightly muffled. Here is a screen shot of the layered sounds towards the end of the trailer.

Making End Credits

When researching trailers we noticed each one had end credits to finalise the trailer. Key information was shown in these credits such as the production company, actors and people involved in the actual editing and making of the film.

We made one similar by using final cut pro where we used an existing template and edited things such as colour, font and layout of the clip to fit in with our trailer. It includes our company logo, film production company, directors, costume design, production design, directors and actors who starred in our trailer. 

Here are the final end credits that we used in our trailer. Unfortunately a black background for the credits was not an option when editing the colours, we therefore chose a white background with black text on top. We feel that the credits are a necessary aspect in our trailer as it gives credit to the producers and reveals to the audience who stars in the film. 

Filming problems and/or highlights

When filming our trailer we came across various problems and highlights. The first problem we came across was achieving the correct lighting when filming in a garage. This was due to it being dark outside and the light in the garage was not bright enough. To overcome this, we brought a lamp into the garage and put it at the side of the frame. In addition to this, we shone a spot light on the figure of the character, to bring out contrast between the dark background and foreground.

Initially in our film plan, we were to use a house phone for a shot to create more of a homely feel. However, the house phone we decided to film was slightly broken, and therefore didn't dial or ring properly. This was therefore a difficulty as we had to film before the phone stopped ringing. We therefore decided against the idea of using a house phone, and decided to use a mobile phone instead.

Throughout filming each scene we had to experiment with different camera shots and techniques to see which ones would be most effective. For example close ups, wide shot, action match. This was a time consuming process and took a lot longer than we initially planned.

A highlight when filming was the action match that we used when the mother walks out the door. This was effective as we has previously experimented with this shot in our camera angles and shots post, and we therefore felt confident when filming the scene.

Final Magazine cover

This is our completed magazine cover, made using photoshop and inspired by existing 'Empire' film magazines. Overall we are pleased with the outcome, as we feel it has similar aspects to existing magazines, and we feel that our layout and colours fit with our horror genre well. If we were to improve upon this magazine cover, we would possibly use another photograph to give the audience a wider insight into the film, however we felt that using the same image for both our poster and magazine created a more consistent form of merchandise.