Editing The trailer

We started editing our movie on the 8th of March and the 10th of March on the apple mac laptops. We were able to use the software I-movies to edit out trailer, it took us a while to work out exactly how to use it however after an hour of editing we had got the hang of it completely. The software enables us not only to put together different shots, but lets us crop them, add in new slides and even add effects which is really good in order to make our trailer look professional.


After about 4 lesson we had cut all the shots down and put them together to create our trailer, we were very happy with how the shots had turned out. We then looked to the sound effects on I-movies to make the trailer even better and found a range of different effects that fitted our shots well. As we played through the trailer once we found that the music and shots combined made it look really proffessional however as a group we felt the shots did not flow together well. We then asked advice from one a media teacher and he showed us another aspect of Imovie that helped us merge the shots together. We added the little pockets of black between each shot which made the trailer flow better and we finally had a finished product.

The Purpose of a Trailer

The trailer is a powerful weapon in the marketing campaign. Posters are important in capturing the initial interest of the audience and drawing them into the cinema, but they cannot convey the excitement and atmosphere of a film in the same way a trailer does. The combination of moving image and sound, both experienced “larger than life” through the advanced equipment of the cinema auditorium, is an exciting experience. In this way, the trailer stirs our emotions and gives us a “flavour” of the film that is impossible through still images alone.

Most trailers are created and produced at the same time as the film is being edited. The timing of a trailer campaign in cinemas, online and on television is important; it must be shown far enough in advance to generate excitement about the film’s release, but not so early that people forget about the film before it even comes out.

Prank Final Website Design

This is my final finished website design to support both my trailer and my poster. I decided to pick a different image

instead of the one I had being practising with before, as I felt this was much more powerful. I used power point to put

together this design, and played around with the image colour to make it look more effective. I am really happy with

how the image has turned out, as it looks even more creepy in this darken black and white effect. I then carried on

with the idea of putting the red font against the black strip, so that the titles were not lost in the background. I then played

around with the main Prank title as to where exactly to position however finally placed it here as it aligned in the centre

so the audience is able to see exactly what the films called without hesitation. The font is chiller, which I think is really

effective as it goes with the creepy horror conventions and suits the narrative of the story well. I also kept the bold blood

red colour as I believe it makes the website look really scary and enables the reader to know the genre of the film

without even reading the story line. Finally I added the search bar, as I was really impressed with how it fitted in well with

the red colour and the fonts, however it took me a while to work out exactly where to place it as I didn't want to take away

from the image or the writing. I placed it just below the image so that it gives the audience a chance to look at the picture

first then they can then find out exactly what it is to do with through the search bar.

Website Ideas

These are some of my website ideas that I put together on the computer. I played around with one picture in particular, as I thought it was powerful, not giving too much away. I used the same bold red colour on the writing however played around with different fonts to see the changing effects.

Idea 1:

I simply uploaded the image to cover the background, so that it showed the audience not only the characters but the setting of the film.I then put together the writing, I started off putting them against the background however even in the bright red writing they still were lost in the picture. So I decided to add a black strip at the top of the page, I then brought the titles forward on top of it so that they were much easier to see. I then copied a search bar from another website, I felt it went along with the red theme and made the website look more professional. I was really happy with the finished product as I thought it conveyed horror conventions well.

Idea 2:

This was my second website idea using the same image. I moved the image away from the centre and cropped so it look more interesting. However I feel that it now doesn't show enough of the image to the audience therefore they won't be able to relate to website to the film. However I think how the title over laps the picture makes the website look more interesting. I then added the titles down the side against a black border to make them stand out and then added the same search bar as I thought it went so well. I am not as happy with this design as the first one as I don't think it looks as professional, but has given me plenty of ideas to work with for my final piece.

Website Design Ideas

These are some rough website designs for my trailer Prank. I have drawn a lot of the images that I have taken photos of so that the website will look more realistic and relate better to the film itself. It took my a long time to think of what I wanted to include in my website however after looking at so many existing websites, I saw the dark colour scheme ran through out therefore all my ideas are set on dark backgrounds.

Final Design

This is my finished film poster to promote my film Prank. In order to create this poster I used Adobephotoshop, this helped me to edit the photo properly to make it look more proffessional. I took the original photo, removed red eye and lightened up the background so the audience would find it easier to see the pyscho hanging behind the main character. I then added the main title, I struggled with choosing the correct font and colour as it was hard to get something to suit the film. However i believe the colour is eye catching and clearly stands out against the darker background. The font is big and in capitals so the audience are able to see exactly what the film is called. Next I added the tag line of the film, I wasn't sure of the white at first because I felt it took away from the main title however after a lot of playing about I thought it suited well against the dark background. Thirdly I added in the credits, in order to do this I looked at a variety of different posters to see exactly what was written in them. I then copied the order of directors/artists then added in the names of each person that was in involved in the trailer. Finally I added in the release date for the film so that the audience know exactly when they will be able to see it. I went along with the red of the title so that it kept the image the key aspect of the poster.

Poster Ideas

These are my film poster ideas to support the trailer. I have made these based on pictures that I will take when on shoot, I have also annotated each one to show exactly why I have chosen colours, fonts, camera angles and particular backgrounds. These will help me create my final design. in order to go along side the film trailer I will promote.

Filming Day Two – 3^rd March

We started filming at 4oclock again this week as we wanted to finish all our shooting in a few hours. The weather was fine, exactly the same as the previous therefore we were able to continue. Once again we went over our storyboards and wrote out exactly what shots we wanted to film, so we knew exactly what to do when we got there.

For this week’s shoot, we used two cameras so that we could do more than one shot at once. We used one camera to do all hand held shots, we felt these shots were key in our trailer to portray the chased effect and to show the emotion of each character. We then used the other camera to finish off the end shots of the trailer, by having this advantage of two cameras we were able to completely finish all shots needed.

We plan to start putting our shots and editing next Monday during our next media lesson.

During our filming we also took still shots of different characters from different angles, so that we can use them for both our poster and website.

Filming Day One – 24^th February

We started filming our trailer today in Maylands Woods, we had planned to film during the night however due to there being no lighting on the camera we decided to start at 4oclock. Before we had got there we had planned exactly what shots we wanted to have in order to keep organized and on top of our trailer work. We had planned to shoot a week earlier however due to heavy rain, it made shooting impossible. We were unsure about how we would adapt to using the cameras, but by the end of the evening we could each use them well and had each filmed many shots.

For this shoot, we focused mainly on fast past chase sequences, from many different angles. We managed to complete our opening shot which we recorded three times from differing angles to create a better sequence. We then moved onto all the running sequences, we were able to complete all these sequences in the few hours we were there, which gave us more confidence that we would reach the deadline.

We plan to shoot again next Wednesday in order to hopefully finish all shots needed.

Cast List

The cast in our film is quite small, as we felt it would be easier for filming and also it would be easier for the audience to establish what role each charcter has in the trailer.

Character: Costume/Props:

Girl 1 : Alex Kelly - Casual - jeans/top

Girl 2: Sophie Payne - Casual - jeans/top

Girl 3 : Rosemary Mainsfield - Casual - jeans/top

Boy1 : James Coy - Dark hoody/trackies/white mask

Boy 2: Jefferson Kibble - Dark hoody/trackies/white mask

Psycho: Anthony Harvey - Dark green trench coat/black hat/axe

Location of Prank

The setting of our film is a wood, we looked at many different locations including Phasels Wood in Kings Langley, however we felt Maylands Woods in Hemel Hempstead was better suited for what we wanted to do. They are set back from a local park in Adeyfield, they were very easy to get to and they are hardly very busy which made filming easier.

Plot Sheets

My group and I have finally put together the plot sheets of our film. It has taken us many lessons, as it was hard to decide exactly what we wanted to put in our trailer and how much of the story we wanted to give away. The plot sheets include subtitles such as camera angle, props or music fx; which has helped us with detail so we know exactly what shot we need and what we need for it. As a whole we are very pleased with the work we have done, as we believe the shots will show enough of the storyline, yet leave the audience wanting to know more. We plan to start filming as soon as possible, to get all the shots done, we will follow these plot shots in order to put together our trailer.