Get Out Trailer

Ancillary Task - Poster and Magazine Cover

Question Four; How did you use media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?

Question 4; How did you use media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages? from alicesoph96

Question Three; What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Question Two; How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjnFTeVCu_0
(due to problems with Youtube, I could not embed)

                               

                       

The two ancillary products I made to go with my horror teaser trailer are a magazine cover, and poster. I chose to accompany my trailer with these two products as my research has shown that horror films are commonly marketed with magazine articles/covers and posters as well as the trailer. In order to make sure that all three of my products linked, I had to ensure there was similarities and points that can be strongly identified and linked in each to make the film stick in the audiences mind, and also so the audience can notice they are advertising the same thing. The overall aim for all three of these was to create a unified sense of identity and branding for the film Get Out. From the audiences reaction and positive feedback I received, I think that this aim was successfully met through a few different factors.

The main similarity with all of these is the fact that the actress is in all of them, looking the same in terms of hair, make up and costume. This will make her seem recognisable and people see that all are advertising the same film. Another similarity to do with the actress being used to advertise the film is her expression. In all images she is in character looking scared and panicked, the same as she looks in the trailer therefore creating a strong link between all of the products. This works well especially with magazine cover, as her keeping in character on the cover contrasts the typical way actresses are shown on covers - usually hair and make up done nice and shown in a more glamorous way, not necessarily showing that they are promoting their film.

Another strong link between the two ancillary tasks is the font used. The same font style is used for the film title on the poster and on the magazine. This font will then be associated with the film, and also become a sort of logo, enhancing the sense of branding across the products. This font stands out well on the magazine cover as the rest of the text in a bold, simple black or white font, whereas Get Out is written in an entirely different and contrasting text. A similar text is also used in the trailer. At 0.30, the film title appears, and is is rough, scribbled handwriting. Although the text in the two ancillary products and the trailer does not match exactly, they are similar and therefore can trigger recognition and connection of the products.

The colour scheme used across all products is the same as well, with dark colours, and reds being used as they reflect the dirty, slasher themes in the film, and the emotions and feelings that are evident in the trailer and in the images used - horror, panic, fear. These colours not only strongly suggest the horror genre, but create a strong visual link between all the products, as using different colours for each product would confuse the audience and make them seem like they are advertising different things.

All in all, I think the above factors create a strong, link across my main product and ancillary texts making it obvious they are for the same film. Altogether they effectively sell the film, effectively making the audience want to watch the film which I learned from my audience feedback.

Question One; In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products

Second Edit of my Trailer

First Edit of my Trailer

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Audio Permission

Loss; Composed by Enrico Altavilla, freesoundtrackmusic.com

I have not purchased any download credits. If I use one of the tracks from your site in my video, do I have to put "freesoundtrackmusic.com" in the actual video somewhere? 

No. Many small productions (like Youtube videos) will not have a credits section. In these cases, a small mention in any of the descriptive text (either online or printed) accompanying the video will be sufficient. Alternately, purchasing a single download credit (for only $3.50 USD) entitles you to use either "FREE" or "1 credit" tracks in your productions without any mention of freesoundtrackmusic.com.

Black Vortex;  Composed by Kevin McLeod, incomptech.com

By default, they are licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. To use this license, simply attribute the music in your piece (website, film, phone system, etc.) as is reasonable to the medium.
There is no cost to use music under the Creative Commons License.

Step 1: Give Credit

Short example:
Title Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

If you'd like to include the full license for legal reasons, you can do the following:

Title Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) 

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
It is important that you replace the word Title with the Actual Title of the piece that you are using!

Final Copy of Magazine Cover

After looking at my first magazine cover, I decided to change a few things to make the layout fuller and use the space more efficiently. First I added the diagonal strip to fill up some space and make the main coverline stand out. I also changed the text of Get Out to the same as the poster to create a stronger link between the poster and cover as well as to create a sense of branding. I then moved around the two other coverlines and decided there was too much free space, and that I could add another one. I am a lot happier with this cover than my first go, and will use this as my final edit. 

Text Experiments Part 2

After posting the four different font styles i could use on my poster, the response I got was in favour of the Stencil font. However, after looking at it again and comparing, I decided that the font was too military and does not fit the theme of the film, as well as looking too harsh and overpowering in contrast to the image. I then looked at the second favourite from my experiments, the Papyrus font. This looks creepier and not harsh on top of the image, fitting the themes better. Although this was the second favourite, there was additional comments on how this should be improved, including making it bolder and increase the spacing. I have now worked from these comments and have the following results.

For all of the above images I made the title bigger so it stands out, the only differences they have is have given them different coloured strokes around the text to make it stand out. The first has the same red in the hoodie sleeves as an outline, the second has black and the third is just thick white. All three make the text stand out more, but all in different ways. For example, the white looks a bit chalky and loses some of the textured edge. As I think the white looks too messy, I am going to dismiss it, and just post the black and red outlined text ideas on Twitter and Facebook to get more audience feedback.

After posting the images on facebook, the result I got told me that the text with the red outline was better from the audiences point of view. I also agree with this, as it makes the text stand out the most. Therefore, I am going to be using that poster as my final one.

Text Experiments - Poster

The feedback I got from my initial posters said that the text should be changed. These are a few I have tried out, and will post these on social networking sites to gain more feedback about whether or not any of these work for the  audience or whether to try out some more ideas.

Potential Magazine Cover

This is a potential cover that I have created and uploaded to social network sites including Twitter and Facebook to get feedback on what the potential audience like about this and what they think should be changed. Once I have sufficient feedback to work from, I will make necessary changes.

My Three Poster Ideas

After posting these images on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to get feedback, it was clear that the right poster was the favourite with it gaining ten votes, with the others not getting any.
As well as asking for feeback on which overall poster was the best for me to use, I asked how I could improve my work. From this I got a response saying how the font used for "GET OUT" needs to change as it does not fit in with the theme. I will now work on that and experiment witj different fonts.

Resultant Images - Contact Sheets and Edits

Photo Shoot Plan

The photo shoot I am going to do will cover both images for the magazine cover and the promotional poster. This will help create a sense of branding and ensure the image of the character, May, will stick in everyone's head more. My photo shoot will take place in the studio as I think it will create a more realistic look, and studio images tend to look better for promotion in a lot of cases. Especially with magazine covers as it does not overcrowd or make the cover too busy. I will use a black background for this image as it fits to typical horror conventions and will allow me to blend the shadow into the background better.

In terms of lighting, I am going to use one softbox shining up from the floor as this creates a lot of shadow as well as a vintage horror poster feel. I will experiment with the intensity of the lighting a bit, making it brighter and duller to create more or less shadow and see which ones work out best. I am also going to experiment with the models distance away from the light source. For example, higher up or further back.

As I want the images to fit the trailer exactly, I am going to recreate the same hair and makeup that was used in the trailer. This includes messy hair, and casual clothing such as a hoodie and plain top. As the trailer progresses, the May's attitude and fear increases as does her injuries. To show that the magazine and poster are clearly advertising a horror film, the models facial expression and body language is crucial. This means I want to capture the same fear that was filmed for the end bits of the trailer, such as heavy breathing, frantically looking around and crying. I also want her to come across as the protagonist as well as the victim, so at the same time she needs to look powerful. In terms of makeup, I will be using special effects makeup to recreate bruises and cuts that are shown in the trailer so that the trailer and still images are visually linked. To ensure this I will be referring back to my trailer so that continuity is kept throughout the process.

I know that the shot types I plan on using will be mid-close ups as that will fit better and be more aesthetically pleasing when on a poster and magazine cover, as well as keeping focus on her face which is conveying the emotion and physically showing the cuts and blood. Other than that, I plan on trying a few different angles and compositions so I have a range to work with when it comes to editing and putting together my poster and magazine cover. One idea I think will work out well is having the models hand over her mouth as if she is trying to keep quiet or hold back fear. I am also going to try out looking down on the model to make her appear more vulnerable, emphasizing the fact she is the victim.

When it comes to editing, I plan on keeping it fairly simple, and I am not going to spend time adding make up and fixing any blemishes as they will add to the tired, scared look I am going for. I will increase contrast and make some areas brighter to stand out more against the strong shadow. I also may as try desaturating the images slightly to see how that would work out.

Photo Shoot Call Sheet

Photo Shoot Call Sheet from alicesoph96

Results from my Survey

Once I had done my filming, I decided it may be a good idea to change the title to something more fitting to the location and the ideas in the film, as well as the fact that the title change "Get Out" was written all over the location, which gave it a creepier, more authentic feel. 

Instead of just changing my ideas, I decided to find out what the audience would like, as the trailer and film as a whole has to appeal to them. To do this I created a survey seeing whether they would prefer the title Alone or Get Out. I then posted this on my media blog, FaceBook and Twitter along with a very brief summary of the film so they knew what plot is and could decide which title fitted it better. 

As you can see from the screen grab of my results, Get Out won the majority of the votes at 69.23%. As it was such a strong win, I have decided to change the name to Get Out as its more fitting and the audience prefers it.  

Mock Up Poster

Animatic Trailer - Get Out

Edit Decision Lists

Edit Decision List – Camera One from alicesoph96

Edit decision list – camera 2 from alicesoph96

SURVEY- WHAT SHOULD I CALL MY HORROR FILM

Click here to take survey

Call Sheet

Call sheet from alicesoph96

Technical Trials

Shoot List

Shoot list from alicesoph96

Location Scouting Sheets

Location Scouting Sheets from alicesoph96

Studio Site Plan

Motel Site Plan

Shoot Plan

Planning for Film Shoot from alicesoph96

What I Have Done so Far

What I Have Done so Far and What I Have Left to do from alicesoph96

Storyboard

Talent Release Form

Talent Release Form from alicesoph96

Risk Assessments

Risk Assessment – Motel from alicesoph96

Risk Assessment – Photography Studio from alicesoph96

Proof of Permission to use Motel Location

As I could not meet with Mr. James, I instead sent him all the information via email, and got permission via email. This email included a disclaimer to ensure him that the property would not be damaged, and that he held no responsibility if someone go injured or equipment damaged while on his property. 

Disclaimer attached to email sent to owner of property;

Disclaimer from alicesoph96

Talent Release Forms - Covering Trailer and Ancillary

Location Release Form - Ancillary

Sample Script

Script from alicesoph96

Edited version due to location change after initial ideas and film name change after shooting. 

Production Company Development

Name Ideas; 

This mind map shows the process and ideas I went through to chose my production company name. I decided to put the names; Studio 666, Paranormal Productions and Scream Screen to the vote as I think they show the horror genre best and sound effective. When discussing these three ideas, we decided that Studio 666 sounds better as has more of a "Hollywood" sound to it while also giving a clear horror reference due to 666 which is typically known as the number of the devil. The other two ideas are good, however do not fit as well nor give the same effect. For example; Paranormal Productions sounds more related to ghost films such as The Conjuring (2013) and not a bloody slasher film which is what my movie is.

Research; 

These three existing horror film production company logos have given me inspiration when it comes to making my own. I like these as they are relatively simple and not overly dramatic such as Universal logo is. Although these logos above are quite simple, they are really effective and show clear links to the horror genre, through colour, texture and image. A very good example of this is the Lionsgate logo which uses images in the background of flames and smoke which looks a bit like a representation of hell. The Twisted Pictures logo is also good, as the shadow gives the text a mysterious look while the image in the middle of the two words gives a more direct visual indication of the horror genre. The simplest of them all is the Hammer logo which just shows the red text central to the composition. Although this is the case, it is still clear that it is a horror production company due to the red colour used which is linked to blood and similar horror connotations. All of the above use a black background which is typical in most logos not just horror as the black makes the colours, image and text stand out more dramatically. 

Out of all of the images I have looked at above, the one that I like the most and am getting the most ideas from is the Lionsgate one as although it is relatively simple, it isn't overly simple and i want to include some images to make the logo stand out more and be more memorable. 

I chose to include this video to give examples of animation and sound as it shows two different companies which I have looked at. The first one shown is Lionsgate which in comparison to Twisted Pictures is clearly the more established company due to how theatrical the intro is. 

In terms of sound, both use fitting sound that matches the pace of the animation. With Lionsgate, the sound is quite ominous and ghostly giving a spooky horror feel that matches the movie that is about to start. There is also synchronous sound to match the turning of the wheels and the door creaking open. This synchronous sound is also related to the horror theme as they sound rusty, creaky and echoey like you would hear in an abandoned building. 

The sound used for Twisted Pictures is more lively, and to me it doesn't sound very conventional of the horror genre. Although, it does sound quite metallic and matches the movement of the wire. This does give indications of a slasher film such as Hostel (2005) but not the horror genre more generally. 

With animation, both use it well to illustrate their logos in different ways. For example, with Lionsgate there is a sort of journey through a factory and through large doors to the actual logo itself and flames. This I think looks really good and works well with an established company, however, with a smaller company it could come across as a bit pretentious. 

The animation used for Twisted Pictures is a lot simpler, with the image being changed and distorted and not showing a journey like in  the Lionsgate one. This I think works well as the wire is constricting the text which links in quite strongly to the slasher themes of the film it is on which is Saw (2010)/ 

In terms of sound, I am most likely going to use sound similar to what is in Lionsgate as I like the creepy, ominous sound that leads up to the film, in contrast to the sound used by Twisted Pictures which I feel is not as exciting and interesting. In terms of animation, I want to create something with influences from both intros - as I like the fire of the Lionsgate logo and the Simplicity of the Twisted Pictures logo. 

Skeleton Layouts for Ancillary Tasks; Poster and Magazine Cover

Locations

I decided to look at two different abandoned locations as settings for my film. Both locations had positive and negative aspects, and as well as looking at how the location would work in correspondence to my ideas, I had to look at the more practical side as well such as accessibility and how well lighting would work.

Location 1;
This location has quite a few postives that would work really well with my film, with the location fitting well into the story. One of the positives of this location is how spread out the building is with quite a few doorways and entrances into different parts as well as having a small outhouse. This will come in really useful when shooting scenes where the girl is running away or the murderer is sneaking up behind someone. Another positive about this location is the fact that is is not near any shops/houses etc so not only will that look good in the film, but make filming easier and run smoother due to lack of people around who could get in the way of shots. Another positive about this location is how overgrown the grounds are which the building(s) are on. This would make for good shots, camera angles and chase/hide scenes. This location also has a dip in the land which has filled up to create a pond. This would also come in handy in relation to the events of my film.
Although this poses as a very good location, there are negatives to take into consideration. Firstly, the fact that it is not local, meaning that it is harder to get too. Also relating to this point, the nearest you can get with a car is about a mile down the road, meaning that it would take a few journeys to carry up equipment and props. Another negative point is lack of electricity/lighting/street lights. As I plan to film at night to get the right effect of a horror film, I do need some form of light, and getting some will prove a challenge, however this will occur at most locations. Health and Safety is another issue to look at. Prior to filming and letting any one into the buildings, I will have to thoroughly make sure it is safe in terms of broken glass and other potential dangers to the actors/actresses and anyone else helping out as part of crew,

 

Location 2; 

This location initially looked really good for my shoot and had a lot of positives, but once I visited it, and looked at it in relation to my film and practical elements, it was not as great as it first seemed. Although this was the case, it has got a few positive points. Firstly, it is only a short distance from where I live making it very accessible and easy to get to, not only for me but for the actors/actresses and anyone else involved. Another positive point is the rooms in the building. There are corridors with different ruined rooms leading off from them, including a room with a wall of cracked mirrors which would look good in the film. Another positive about the building is it is a bit of a maze, and in a confused frantic state, the final girl could easily get lost, trip up, etc with the murderer following her which would result in good footage. 

Although these positives are quite strong, the negatives do outweigh them. One negative is that this location is situated right next to a busy road and path and is accessible to anyone. Not only does this mean people getting in the way of filming but doesn't fit in with the idea of the girls getting lost in the woods. Another problem is the lighting. Even in the middle of the day, I could see very little in the building without a torch and this would be even worse at night which would make a negative impact on my filming and resultant footage. Another thing about this location is that all the rooms are joined and part of one building. Although this can result in some good footage, the film would work better with a slightly hidden, detached building for the antagonist to hide out in.

Conclusion; 

After carefully looking at both of these locations, I have decided that I am going to use the first location due to various reasons including its remote location, the building, the overall feel of the place and the lighting is slightly better, although still a slight problem which will need solving.

Update; 
After going to check the location once more for lighting, I discovered that it had been permanently boarded up meaning I could not get in to shoot. This resulted in me finding a new location that I could easily get to. I decided on using the abandoned Stansted Motel in Takeley which I have previously used on a photo shoot. This will be better as I have better accessibility to the location, and can get to a power source easier, therefore removing the problem about lighting.