Our draft trailer was uploaded on the 29th of February. With our final trailer uploaded on the 27th of March. Both the 1st and final drafts of our trailer were posted on to YouTube and shared on the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter.
Our draft trailer undertook a lot of feedback which we addressed. The most obvious change to the final trailer we made was changing the ending to make the girl have more of an identity to engage the audience. The music was also changed to make categorizing the genre more easily and also making the audience a bit more uncomfortable when watching. We decided to use a time lapse to show the fragmentation of the scene, and can give insight into the mindset of the character who suffers from a mental illness. The effect of the time lapse can emphasise the fact that the character has schizophrenia, and may lead the audience to empathise with the character. It can also bring confusion to the audience due to the disjointedness of the clips. This is also shown by the quick zoom in on the writing on the wall, the camera work is hand held. The time lapse also indicates that it is over a long period of time, showing everything that is written on the wall. A few seconds focusing on a matchstick being lit illustrates the danger element within the film and a close- up concentrating on the flame is eye catching to the audience, it stands out and would make them question what is going to happen. Shortly after a 1 second flash on a close- up of the girl's eye is shown; looking up then down to give a dark element to the film. A mid- shot of the girl standing looking directly at the camera is edited to be a black and white shot and very dark lighting to give mystery and make the audience think about what they cannot see and raise questions on the location.
Before the filming and editing of out trailer, we had to conduct research from within our target audience. There were many ways we conducted research, mainly through SurveyMonkey, a questionnaire website which enabled us to ask direct questions about specific things. We also used social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitterwhich are more popular among our target audience. Finally we used YouTube once a piece of music, a clip or the whole trailer was uploaded.
We imagined our target audience as a Female who was between the ages of 15-30. They would have an interest in films and brief knowledge on some mental disorders, particulary schizophrenia. They would have an income and be able to afford to go to the cinema or buy/rent DVD's from shops.
Initial Audience feedback on our idea:
- When showing Schizophrenia it had to be clear
- Majority of audience weren't aware of the details of Schizophrenia but from recent feedback we learnt that people did think the white dress did have links to a hospital gown or a mental asylum.
- Many knew it was similar to Multiple Personality Disorder
- Drawing would be as effective as writing on the wall
- The audience would have wanted to be educated about the effects of Schizophrenia
In our audience questionnaire, a resounding 81% of the responses suggested that the genre we should use is a Psychological Thriller.
Our audience responce suggested we used the following style in our trailer:
- Fractions of fast paced editing
- Dramatic music aimed to build on the atmosphere
- A disorientating element from the editing to make the audience uneasy
- A voice over or sound effects such as breathing
One part of the trailer we wanted to perfect was the Time Lapse. We had practised using the time lapse in our initial attempt, setting up the wall and the actual attempt. Feedback on the use of a time lapse was positive, although the mise en scene had to be right in order for it to be effective.
- Audience wanted to watch the film to see more of the girl's problem
- Music is effective at the beginning
- Some shots in between the time lapse could be moved around to make the trailer more dramatic
- Young girl is mysterious
- Good use of costume, audience thought outfit represented a hospital / mental patient
- Wider variety of shots more effective
On the Social Networking site Facebook and the video uploading site YouTubethere is a "like" system that is usually more popular then a comment. We received additional feedback through the use of the "like".
Without audience feedback making the right decisions for the trailer would have been hard as our judgement may have hindered the overall effect of the trailer. By having audience feedback that judgement is reduced as we listen to what our target audience suggest and make it more appealing for them.
If we had to start the project again I would make sure to include a more detailed audience feedback, this way, we would have a more pinpointed image of our finished product. We would also have more knowledge on our audience and what they would prefer.
The combination of products is what entices an audience into paying to see the film. We wanted all our publications to feature a common theme, and use the same symbolism in each. We looked at the Dark Knight Rises ancilliary, as they each use minimalist symbolism to tease the audience into watching the film. The poster uses the 'Bat' logo as an instant draw, very simplistic yet instantly recognise. Although we do not have our own symbol, we can use one, such as a white dress, to represent something that will draw our audience in.
The Dark Knight Rises website uses black to represent darkness, and a broken Batman mask to represent Batman being broken. The rain and figure of Bayne represent how he has been left outside, alone and without help. It is this style and symbolism that we used for inspiration for our combination of ancilliary texts, as we used the angelic figure of the dress to symbolise a light in the darkness, and kept the same gritty theme throught out publicatuions.
Our teaser trailer shows innocence, paired with confusion and fear with the ripping white noise creating unease and discomfort. This contrasts with our poster, as our poster only shows the innocence we are trying to convey. The absence of writing on the wall is also a choice we made, to separate the trailer from the poster and website. We have also hidden her identity in both the poster and website, which conveys innocence.
Creating a balance between similarity and contrast to create a consistant and visually distinct style was our biggest challenge when creating our ancillary texts. All pieces convey a dark feel, with the white dress and blonde hair representing an angelic feel, with a sense of lighting up the darkness. The trailer also plays on this symbolism with the match lighting up the surroundings with a luminous glow.
Our website uses similar imagery as the other two publications, however we opted for a darker theme. Using a photograph of the drawn-on wall, we have created a dark scene,with our trailer at the center. Using the trailer in the center, Eva (our main character) is mostly covered up, removing some innocence from the scene, whilst drawing more attention to our trailer.
The poster is our most 'innocent' publication, as it doesn't give much away to the audience and shows Eva is a dim but fair light. Attention is drawn to the centre of the poster, which shows a souble shadow of Eva. this double shadow is representative of her mind, fragmented into two - the innocent little girl, and the angry and seemingly endoctrinated tortured soul. The title is also split in two, which is also a symbol of this.
Our trailer is a combination of both innocence and darkness, and is the most revealing of all our pieces, as we reveal Eva's face. The time lapse shows how this is happening over a long period of time, and expresses her frustration and confusion. The trailer compliments our poster and website by keeping with the same angelic feel of Eva, however when we see her face at the end of the trailer the image is black and white with her in darkness, looking angry. This contrasts with our poster, but also shows the two sides of Eva - the angelic figure, and the angry tortured soul.
The idea of our ancillary texts are to draw our target audience to our trailer, which is more revealing than the website and poster. All our pieces are good advertisement, as each piece leads the audience to ask questions - The poster and website leave her without an identity, whereas the trailer reveals her face, however that leaves the audience asking why she is angry.
This is the first attempt at a final trailer for us. Please could you leave a comment with your thoughts on what is good / what could be improved. Thank you.
