'Enclosed' - Animatic Trailer

This is our animatic of 'Enclosed.' We mainly wanted to test out the composition of the shots, and to see if when edited together along with the soundtrack that the real trailer would work.

Black Swan - Poster Analysis

  Black Swan is one of my favourite psychological thrillers, and as our film is the same genre, I thought it would be interesting to look into the posters used to advertise the film. There were actually about five posters for this film, however I had two favourites. This was one of them, because I find the image to be so cinematic and creative. Artistically, it manages to give an overview of the film plot just by an image.

  The colours here are again conventional for this type of genre, featuring white, black and red. I think that the contrast between the dark black and the pure white  is very eye catching, but also cleverly represents the story, in that there are the personalities of the white and the black swan. The main character is clearly a ballet dancer, apparent by her stance as well as her costume, and a combination of this and the actual title, 'Black Swan,' clearly inform the audience that the film is about/related to Swan Lake. However what I find most interesting and clever is the use of the cinematic black feathers that float around her. They not only represent her personality as the Black Swan, but also the idea that her life is falling apart around her due to the role in the ballet, which makes the link quite literal but so artistic.

  The title of the film sits conventionally towards the bottom of the poster, in a formal font to suit the story, in white to stand out from the black part of the costume. Above are main cast members, which were not included in the Silent HIll poster, but are definitely common and conventional, which I will include in my own poster. By flicking through various posters, I found that on average a poster features around two or three cast members, depending on the unique selling point, as if one actor was the USP, his name may be the only one featured on the poster.

  Another feature that is common in film posters is the advertising of the film's director, as a USP. This broadens the target audience, in this case suggesting that if one enjoyed 'The Wrestler' or 'Requiem for a Dream,' one will like this film too because it is directed by Darren Aronofsky. This is something that I will take into account when creating my own poster.

  A billing block will be vital in my own poster, and the one featured on the Black Swan poster is a typical version, however it is quite clever in that it works around her red arm. Although it is interesting to manipulate the billing block like this, I am not sure I would be able to do so for my own poster in order to achieve the best mark, as I have to follow certain rules and restrictions. However another thing that interested me about this billing block was that the font is different to the norm, as it follows the font of the main title, where as most are edited so the letters are slim. Company logos, age restriction, release and the website are all featured below, which I must recreate for my poster.

Silent Hill: Revelation - Poster Analysis

  As I analysed this film trailer, I thought that it would be a good decision to analyse the poster too, as I have an understanding of the plot and the meaning behind the composition and design.

  There were multiple posters produced to promote this film, however I found this one to be the most interesting and complex in terms of hinting at the story. The title of the film, "Silent Hill: Revelation 3D," is featured in the centre of the poster, which is positioned so that the reader knows that it is the title of the film, but also because it is unmissable. The font that is used resembles the franchise, as it is a film based on the popular series of video games. It is also used in the first film, and therefore continues the series.

  The main image is what interested me the most about the poster. The shot is portrayed as an unknown corridor with multiple arm reaching out, suggesting a prison-like environment. There is a young (about 18) girl crawling on the floor with a torch, and an unknown character behind her whom wears a pyramid sculpture on his head, and drags a large sword in tow. The girl that is crawling on the ground is evidently the main character in the film, and being on the floor emphasises her vulnerability. The fact that she has a torch presents the idea that she is exploring the location/looking for something or someone, and her distressed, fearful facial expression allows the audience to assume that she is the target in the film, and is presented with horrific events and must survive.

  The character following behind with the pyramid on his head, whom is actually named, "Pyramid Head," is portrayed as the potential villain in the film, as he suits the environment, as is posed in a very threatening manner, especially with the sword that he drags behind. The dark, barely lit lighting in the shot emphasises the idea of danger and horror, with most things being blurred and not quite clear (in terms of the characters' perspectives). The poster provides the code of enigma through the photo, as it leaves the viewer with questions such as:

-What is Silent Hill?

-What is the girl looking for and why is she here?

-Will she escape/survive?

-Will she be the victim of Pyramid Head?

  The poster features a tagline, "Prepare for a 3D ride through Hell," which not only reflects the story, but also a unique selling point - that the film will be available to watch in 3D. This is becoming increasingly popular in films, and more recently in horrors, and is very successful. In this poster, the tagline has replaced the billing block, however I am definitely going to include one in my own poster, as they are obviously conventional. The release date of October 26th is featured underneath the tagline, and it is interesting to see how they timed the release of the film to be near Halloween, as they will most likely make as much profit as possible in this season. There isn't much more to analyse here; the fonts are different to the main title of the film, perhaps because they are easier to read, and the colours are conventional (white and red are common in horror film posters) and stand out from the main image.

  Despite there being no billing block, the bottom of the poster does feature things such as the film company logo, as well as the age rating, which is presented the American way with a table, featuring 'R' for Restricted Viewing. It also features a Facebook link and a Twitter '#,' which are much more conventional nowadays and I think are important features that I should include in my own. They also allow one to play around with intruiging links, such as the one featured on this poster. "Welcome to Silent Hill." This perhaps makes it more memorable but also follows the iconic sign in the movie that reads the same.

  Analysing this poster has definitely helped me to understand what is needed to create my own poster, however I think I must analyse another, maybe one a little more conventional (includes a billing block) before I begin to draw up my own ideas.

 

Enclosed - First Draft of Storyboards

Below are photographs of the storyboards for our full film trailer, titled 'Enclosed.' These are the first drafts, and we are going to keep in mind that they are going to change due to limitations of filming but also when we decide on location and characters. We have drawn up 105 storyboards, which we believe are two many, although we thought that it would be better to create more and cut down rather than not having enough. Hopefully our animatic will help us decide which shots work and which we want to use for our final trailer.

Sleepy Hollow - Film Analysis

  I chose to looks at Sleepy Hollow, because the film is classed as a horror with elements of dark, dark black humour, but it is also a particular favourite of mine, as the style and soundtrack of the film are what I find specifically interesting.



  Directed by one of my favourite directors, Tim Burton, the film follows the traditional story of Ichabod Crane, who has been sent to Sleepy Hollow in order to unravel the mysteries and murders that occur in this small village. The locals believe that the murderer is the 'Headless Horseman,' and old myth/legend, whom takes the heads of his victims. However, Crane believes that the murderer is a being of flesh and blood, and along with Katrina, they try to solve the horror that haunts the village of Sleepy Hollow. Although the film is described as a horror, there is a little love interest between Ichabod and Katrina, which provides a more in depth plot but also targets a wider audience.

  The style in this film is incredible. It resembles classic horror, such as House on Haunted Hill, which stars Vincent Price of which Tim Burton is a fan. The environment is very dark, featuring lots of black, grey and blue, and there is constant mist and fog to create the terrifying atmosphere. The film is also period, which fits the story but also adds to the horror, and in my opinion helps create the illusion of another world, where events like these could actually happen. This makes the horror even more frightening. The film was released in theatres mid November, which I think suits the season of the film.

  Apart from the style and design of the film, including the way it was shot, the soundtrack is one of my favourite aspects of the film. Composed by Danny Elfman, the music creates the atmosphere of a haunted village and a mythological creature, using low strings and haunting voices. I think the soundtrack is seriously underrated! The use of the organ is particularly haunting, and fits in with the storyline, as some scenes are set in the village church, and Ichabod's father is overly religious, but evil. The audio also ranges in pace, with fast, tense music accompanying scenes such as the Headless Horseman chasing Crane, but also features slower music, some with a solo of a young boy's voice, which creates another, almost sub-genre of horror, as it experiments with different ways to haunt the audience. Elfman frequently collaborates with Burton, and has composed the soundtracks for most of his films, including Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice and Alice in Wonderland. To experience the horror of the soundtrack, I recommend that one listens to at least the first four minutes of the video (approximately).

  I specifically found the flashback scenes of Ichabod's mother beautiful. The mise en scene that is constructed in the shots, such as the wide shots above, are actually the most colourful in the entire film, but really emphasise the idea of beauty and nature. I love the lavender pink petals of the trees, and the way that the shots are edited to create works of art.




  This is a video that I found whilst researching scenes from the film. Unfortunately I could not find the specific scene of Ichabod's Mother, however this compilation video features snippets from the film, as well as scenes from other Burton filmography. I find this video particularly inspiring, because I believe that it includes some of the best cinematography in film, and recognises the stylistic imagination and design behind Burton's films.

  There are a vast range of angles used in the films, from wide establishing shots, to point of view shots, however below I have listed some of my favourite shots (not including the previous imagery of Ichabod's Mother).

Audience Research

We composed a questionnaire to a random selection of 15 people. Our first question was: Which names do you prefer for a psychological thriller, which is about a boy who's whole life had been a lie? You have multiple choice, so please pick the ones that stand out the most for you. This is the analysis of that survey.

Seeing as "Deception" was the favourite, we had to ensure there was not already a movie that contained this name. However, I found that there was a film called Deception in 2008. We then had to make sure there was not a film called "Delusion". However, this was also a film made in 1991. Our third favourite was Enclosed, which we all agreed to use, as there was not a film made of this, and it was an audience's favourite choice. Our second question was: In a psychological thriller, which one of these themes would you most expect to be in that genre of film? The answers were:

This shows that the most favourited by the random sample was Paranoia, which our psychological thriller film did contain. Discovery and betrayal was also a key theme that people thought was neccessary, which we also included. We then asked: What types of props would you expect to see in a psychological thriller film, based in an asylum? You may give more than one answer. The answers they gave were as shown:

This now gives us an idea on what we can include in our film trailer. The next question asked was: What kind of costumes would you expect to see in a psychological thriller film, based in an asylum? You may give more than one answer. The answers were:

This helps out figure out what an audience would expect to see in our film trailer, so we can meet codes and conventions. We then asked: If you like psychological thrillers, what other kinds of psychological thrillers do you like? [if you do not like them, please say No Comment]. Their answers were:

Our next question was: If you like psychological thrillers, what other genres do you enjoy watching? [if you do not enjoy psychological thrillers, please say No Comment]. The answers were:

The next question asked to our random sample was: What is your favourite film and why? [Please do not include any psychological thrillers that may be your favourite, and pick a different film. The answers were:

Our next question was: What makes a film trailer for a psychological thriller stand out most for you? The answers were:

Finally, our last question was: What type of things do you expect to see, stereotypically, in a psychological thriller trailer? The answers were:

From this survey, we have a lot of ideas we can use for props, music, locations, and what people would expect to see in psychological thrillers, so we can fit codes and conventions, and maybe even challenge some with our plot in our trailer.

Films and Film Trailers That Have Inspired Me

Sucker Punch is a film that particularly inspired me. At the beginning of the film, there is about 5-10 minutes of the backstory, which is filmed very stylistically. Shot in very dark and haunting colours, the narrative is told without any dialogue (excluding the introductory poetic voice over before the events occur, and the occasional, "No!"), as the soundtrack dominates the audio, and the actual movement of the characters is almost presented in slow motion, which dramatises the events and is an interesting way of storytelling in film.
Below is the opening scene to the film, with a mini trailer added at the end.






I found this scene in Kill Bill particularly inspiring, and definitely aided me to come up with visually pleasing storyboards of the nurse setting up a tray of equipment, as well as revealing the character. The extreme close up shots of certain items and actions were interesting, and I attempted to replicate a few when creating our own shots.  Although our trailer is a different genre, I love the style of this film, and when I was trying to think of resources to extract inspiration for a nurse scene, this clip sprang to mind. I also found the use of a split screen very effective when telling the story line, and I think it is clever that they synchronise the two, i.e. When Elle is filling the syringe, a close up of the patient's wrist is shown on the split screen, allowing the audience to make the link that Elle is going to inject the patient with an unknown medicine.

Sin City

The cinematography in Sin City is one of my favourite in cinema. The stylistic design of the way the film was shot is so unique, and perfectly suits the comic book adaptation genre. I love the contrast between the black and white and the use of certain colours, such as red lipstick and blonde hair, as it carries a very film-noir feel but remains true to the graphic novel. Although something of this design would be extremely difficult to replicate as an amateur, I am definitely inspired by the art and will contain the inspiration from Sin City incase I can apply it to our own project. Below is the opening scene to the film, which gives an overview of the style and art in the film.

Changeling was another film that I found to be a great source. In particular, the mental institution scenes were very effective and enticed me as I watched them. I will definitely refer to these specific scenes in the film as it features a similar storyline to our own film trailer - Jolie's character is contained in psychopathic ward even though she is sane, and it follows her struggle to prove that. Where as in our plot, the boy has been brought up in the asylum from birth, and does not know any other life, but is not insane (however he has psychopathic tendencies after finding out certain information). The mise en scene in the psychopathic ward - scenes were what I found most inspiring. Similar to American Horror Story: Asylum, the rooms are very hospitalised (obviously), minimalistic and I found the character's costumes within the institution greatly inspiring, which helped me visual what our characters will look like, especially in the first few scenes where Cecilia is a nurse. Below is the trailer for Changeling, which I will refer to in the future, although I am uncertain of yet whether to analyse.