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| CHARLIE SLORICK CANDIDATE NUMBER: 1770 CLAREMONT FAN COURT SCHOOL 64680 |
My Production Team: Thomas Hutchinson 1733, Alexander Wain 1779 and Myself
Our brief was to produce a promo package for a film. This included two trailers (teaser and 2 minutes), a poster and a website all promoting the same film. We went with a thriller/horror/action as our genres, we wanted to experiment with these themes as we had never used them before and were eager to see what directions it would lead us. The title of our film is Silhouette. To create an effective promo pack we needed to research as well as plan the components of our promo pack. This can be seen uploaded to my blog. For the production of our promo pack, we used Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects and Photoshop to effectively craft media that looked professional. Social media was also used for the distribution of film/promo pack, these social media included Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Making the promo pack look professional and real.
EDITING
Tom took up the mantel of the primary editor for our trailer, though we all chipped in from time to time, showing effects we thought would work as well as giving Tom suggestions. Tom was the ideal editor for us as a group, he had the most experience with Premiere Pro and After Effects. As well as a reliable person for the edit as we were all pleased with his editing for our previous production Duty Calls. Tom used his technical knowledge and understanding of codes and conventions to produce a trailer with slick effects and gripping imagery to engage the audience.
DIRECTING
For directing we all took up this role. We felt if we all had an input on the directing of our film it would improve the quality with diverse ideas as well as produce a trailer that we were all happy with. Tom would offer his insight of what the scenes should look like together and how we could have different scene connect as well as stand out to make some information appear more important. I gave the other insight on what camera techniques could be used to convey some meaning or in tandem with Tom, discuss camera/actor movements that could flow into transitions.
CAMERAWORK
I was excited to return as the director of cinematography for this production as I had managed to borrow a Fujifilm XT-2 camera from a good friend. This camera was a high-quality mirrorless camera that could record footage in high-quality 4k resolution, on top of this a top-notch colour quality. Using this specialist equipment allowed me to capture footage that looked professional as well as eye-catching, with vivid colours and sharp detail. I made sure to get the most out of this camera by using a wide range of techniques to convey our themes and genres. Dolly shots, low angle, worm shots, bird's eye view, close up, pans, follow pans and many more. To both utilize the camera to provide captivating shots as well as give Tom flexibility with the editing.
POSTER
TRAILER
Trailers Your camerawork has made a major contribution to the success of the trailers. You challenged yourself this year with new camera equipment and skills, using a Fujifilm XT-2 camera to create professional- looking footage, with strong colours and sharp detail. You employed a wide range of techniques (Dolly shots, low angle, worm shots, bird's eye view, close up, pans, follow pans and so on). Throughout the production, from planning to construction, you have paid close attention to detail and aimed at the highest standards, which is clear from your 30 detailed posts.
ReplyDeleteFrom the polished PSYX Productions that you designed and made to the whole battery of special effects, convincing mise-en-scène complete with superb costumes, military equipment and realistic locations, the main trailer makes a strong statement about threat and personal courage, delivered in a way that will appeal to its target audience.
The menacing soundtrack along with the voiceovers fits the military horror genre which is developed in a sophisticated way with some excellent editing. Particularly smooth is the wipe transition from the bird’s eye view drone shot of the operatives entering the military building to the wide shot of the Government Mansion with the monster floating above it suspended in space. The colour tones are carefully considered throughout to lend unease (close-ups of boots splashing through rain, foggy wide shots, rainy city streets, barbed wire sharp and spiked fences sharp against grey skies, dark alleyways). Confident green screen editing in the news broadcast scene.
Excellent camerawork / editing includes the arresting silhouette of the ‘burning’ monster with radioactive flames flickering around it, as well as views through the night vision goggles, lending tension and realism as the monster is tracked. The confrontation with the monster, with firepower created cleverly through special effects, culminates in hand-held camerawork to simulate the pursuit and a surprise moment of personal revelation – the photograph of the sweetheart. Following trailer conventions, the trailer ends on a moment of suspense that hooks the audience – will the lone operative succeed in destroying the monster? The trailer also meets all other trailer conventions (production company idents, title, tagline, intertitles, release date, institutional information) and fits the trailer genre well (fast-paced editing, building to a climax, clearly signals genre, engages audiences who seek action / adventure codes as well as horror codes).
Your production team has had to develop creative ways of meeting the requirements of your original treatment (such as cross cuts to live action shots of family) such as replacing them with photos, because of the impossibility of meeting up with your original cast during lockdown, and the difficulties of travelling beyond your local area. You were so efficient in the initial stages that you had completed a substantial amount of your principal photography before constraints, but were nevertheless forced to be innovative in working around the constraints. I have taken all of this into account.
Poster Your poster is sophisticated and polished. Its success rests on its high-quality photography: the centre of visual interest is composed of striking layers that are at once intriguing, as they use a mirrored image, and fearsome, as the military equipment and skeleton masks inspire unease. The sharpness of the central splash is set against foggy layers that include the floating monster’s body, contributing to the complexity of the image and emphasising the unnerving tagline “What’s in your shadow?”. The red accent colour draws the eye to the pull quotes which make the words ‘chilling’, ‘devilishly’ and nightmare’ stand out. The visual codes are all drawn from the film work and are repeated in your website as well as the social media, which contributes to the cohesiveness of the promo pack branding. The poster meets genre conventions (film title, tagline, release date, talent, billing block, pull quotes, website).
ReplyDeleteWebsite An excellent film website with an arresting home page that features close-up profiles of the protagonists in their combat gear posed with satisfying symmetry. The layout and monochrome tones of the landing page allows for easy legibility of information which is grouped thoughtfully (film title, tagline); it allows the convergent links to be easily accessible and showcases the accolades of both the pull quotes and the Raindance Festival logo. The website hosts all the necessary elements (trailer, ‘behind the scenes’ photos, gallery, cast and crew, festival screenings, social media links, poster). The reviews page has particularly attractive layout and the video behind the Synopsis works effectively.
ReplyDelete