Trailers and Opening sequences

A trailer usually consists of a montage of clips from the film. This montage gives key pieces of information about the film. Trailers usually start off at a very slow pace and gain speed as they near  the conclusion in order to grab the audience's attention and draw them into the film. The trailers usually have a tag line (memorable message/phrase) which the audiences will remember which will make them feel part of the film. It also identifies the companies and actors involved at the start to give a general overview of what you can expect form the film. Some trailers also have text during the transitions between each clip. These are usually a question or a quote from the movie which also grabs the audience's attention and makes them look to the deeper meaning behind the film. The text can also show reviews of the film and so allow the audience of the trailer to determine whether the film is worthwhile seeing and if it will appeal to them. An example of this would be the Expendable 2 trailer.
Film trailers are an important part of film making. They are very much like an advertisement for the film. A trailer is often given a big budget by film makers because it is such an important way of generating interest in the film before it is released. They are designed to give the audience a taste if the film and make them eager to come and see it. Trailers often include key moments from the film but do not give away any intricate details of the plot which would ruin the film for its audience. The title of the film often comes at the end of the trailer. often the film is linked to other successful films which the audience may have enjoyed. Many have powerful voice overs. Music is essential to add to the atmosphere and style of the film.

A film opening sequence of a film is the first opportunity that the director has to make a good and lasting impression on their audience. It introduces the audience to the tone or genre of the film by employing key conventions of that genre, for instance, a key of anxiety in horror/thriller films. It gives the audience a taste of the themes that will run throughout the film. It very often gives clues to the setting by opening with an establishing shot and cast of the film by introducing the audience immediately to the characters. It shows the audience the costumes used throughout the films. Some opening sequences superimpose opening credits over the opening action. It introduces the title and utilises both visuals and sound. The opening sequence will be designed to engage the interest of the audience

The companies create a music video which introduces all the cast with their characters and the main production companies along with the director. This identifies the key companies and the actors involved. This music video intro is usually positioned after a short action sequence at the very start. this immediately touches the audiences interests in the film and encourages them to watch on.  The Music intros always end with the director of the film.

As film intros play on they can also give an idea of the overall characters that will be met throughout the film.

Overall, film opening sequences are a key part to a film as they are what spark the audiences interests and are what captivates the audiences attention. All film intro sequences always show the title of the film either at the start or at the end in a large font with effects, which help to impress the audience and draw the audiences in.

Preliminary task shot list

Shot type	Shot Length (seconds)
Mid shot showing the school clock ticking.	2
Mid shot of two students sitting at a table	2
Mid shot of teacher sitting at desk	1
Mid shot of students sitting at the table	2
Mid shot of teacher sitting at the desk	2
Mid shot of students sitting at the table	2
Close up of one student as he looks up	2
Mid shot of two students at the table	8
Mid shot of teacher at the desk	5
Mid shot of the two students at the desk	3
Mid shot of two students standing up	2
Close up of one student with pencil	6
Mid shot of students and zombie around table	4
Mid shot of students leaving the room	13
Close up of student rolling over table	5
Mid shot showing the students walking away from the classroom	Rest of film

Preliminary task Evaluation

While we were filming we encountered several difficulties. The main difficulty was that we were unable to maintain the same room that we were filming in. This caused some complications as we had to film in a second room in which the layout had changed causing discontinuous editing to become apparent.

The equipment we used was rather simple to use however it did take our group a while to learn to use the editing software on the mac computers. However once we had learned how to use it we soon were able to edit more efficiently. The editing skills we used became more complex and the flow of the film was improved. An example of this was when we were inserting sounds into our film. At the start we were unable to quieten down the main audio from the clip. As our skills improved we were able to rectify this.

While we were filming we discovered that our original storyboard was confusing us as we were unsure of which shots we were going to use. When the story board was first drawn up we had shown what the final piece was going to look like. This caused concern as to what shots we needed to use. However we redid our storyboard and everything became much more clear and we were able to complete our film.
 

After editing our film we found that there are some parts that we will have to re-film as the story doesn't make much sense unless it has the shot in it. These shots include some close ups and our match on action which was not up to standard. Once we have reshot these parts the film will be of a better quality than it is.

Our group worked well as a team. We corrected each others' mistakes and we helped each other with the understanding of how to create films. When we were editing we each explained to each other how to edit and so improved our knowledge overall which aided in our skills.

preliminary task video

Description:

our video is about a zombie walking into the room where a school detention is being held. the students try to warn the teacher and end up taking matters into their own hands. after a short 'cat and mouse' sequence the students escape the room and save themselves unfortunately they forget the teacher and he gets eaten by the zombie.

story board

 

 

 

 

 

Preliminary Task

We have been asked to create a short film including three key components. 180 degree rule, match on action and a shot reverse shot. when we were planning our film we thought about the genre to start with. We narrowed our search down to either horror, action or comedy. We decided that a horror comedy would be the best option to go with as it would allow us to put all our ideas into one film. As we were planning we had to think about where we were going to use the 180 degree rule and the match on action. This could only be achieved once we had decided what was going to happen in the film.

Once we had got our story figured out we knew exactly where we were going to put the 180 degree rule. As our film contains two students sitting and talking, we thought we could put the 180 degree rule on the right side of the table they are sitting at.

 

Script for Preliminary Task

Zom-com….

 

 

Humphrey and Bruce are sitting in detention with their teacher when something unusual happens.

 

*Scene opens with the ticking of the clock and the students Bruce and Humphrey In after school detention.*

Humphrey: How long till we finish?

 Bruce: Umm…

Teacher: Shhh!

Humphrey: Sorry.

Bruce: Five minutes

Teacher: Shhh!

*Zombie is at the door, Sam notices the Zombie at the door.*

Humphrey: There’s a Zombie at the Door…*Whispers*

Bruce: Sh**

*They look at each other and then at the zombie*

Humphrey: Miss…. Miss there’s a Zombie at the Door

Teacher: Shut up Humphrey 

Bruce: But-t Miss…

Teacher: Be quiet Bruce.

Bruce: Grab a weapon, I’ve seen this before in movies.

Humphrey: Like what

Bruce: Anything!

*The boys look around and pick up weapons. Humphrey picks up a chair and Bruce picks up pencil. Bruce looks at his ‘weapon’ and then back at Humphrey and then prepares to fight, with the pencil. The zombie is suddenly at the table and plays cat and mouse with the two students, until the boys realise.

Bruce: Hang on. Zombies can’t run.

*They look at the zombie and she shrugs. Sam goes around the table while peter tries to be cool and jump the table. He fails and does the walk of shame out of the door. Closing it on his way out. The Zombie turns and see’s the teacher and stands in front of the camera.

Teacher: screams

*The boys are walking away from detention, and hear the screams, they look back then to each other and smile, then carry on walking, leaving their teacher and the Zombie.*

 

 

*End credits and music continue as planned*

Peter Godwin 8172