The process we took on consisted off taking photographs for each shot we wanted to create which then gets edited together and makes a moving image trailer. It allows us to have a rough idea of what the trailer we are going to produce will be like, through motions and the timing. We add sound effects and a sound track to create a more effective moving image animatic. Here is a few examples from our storyboard:
Each member of our group came up with an individual plot synopsis and then seperated into groups in the class which included myself, jess watkins, elyse holder and sophie cashell, in which then we came together as a group to think of ideas for a effective storyline weighing up the pros and cons of each suggestion, after a lot of altering and decision making we then finally created a combined plot synopsis to go ahead with which was realistic to make which wasnt along the same basis as none of our individual original plot synopsis's. Our storyline was along the same lines as 'friday 13th'.
We then had to start thinking of how to create the images for the animatic to be made and deciding what images we were definitley certain on. We took around 50-60 shots so we had more of a variety of which to choose from for the final animatic, we took different shots from different angles and used a different variety of backgrounds for the images. When using our outdoor shots, me jess and elyse arranged a date in which we would all meet up at early evening time just as the dark began to fall so we could create our 'nightime' shots. This time was also agreed with annika a member out of our group who was also going to join us to take part in some of the images. We used two locations; field by the school and a lakeside forest in pandy as they were easy for us to access. There were several different props used including a tent, jess's car, torches and a white coat for the actor playing Eddie. The actors used were members of our group ; Me, jess and elyse however we also used two other people Annika and Scott who arent in our group but are close friends so we knew they were reliable. I was unable to go to the photoshoot in pandy because i was ill on the chosen day to do it but i was confident jess and elyse could go ahead and do it as they lived very near to the location and had everything planned and I was informed that there was one shot they wasnt able to recreate which was Eddie drowning in the lake effectivley so they compromised and chose to throw rocks into the water to create the rippling effect. There were also some shots which we took at the school forest in which didnt come out as effective as we were hoping because the flash on the camera wasnt as good as we thought so the quality on some of the shots arent the best.
There were creative improvements such as black and white effect added to make the trailer more effective and give the 'past tense' feeling to the animatic.
During the editing process, me elyse and jess met up as a group and the first thing we did was insert the photos that we had decided on in storyboard order which created a basis of our storyboard to helped us to decide what worked and what didnt and what we think would go well with the shots. We rearranged some of the shots in the opposite order to what we had orignally planned out because we thought it worked better than we had first set it out like. For the titles I chose basic but effective titles to explain the story in brief including '12 months later' 'the lake is revisited' 'they thought they were alone.. but they were wrong' this would then question the audience as to what lake? and why is the lake so significant in the trailer? we also then decided to use lyrics off another popular film which we had previously researched up on using the words '1,2 Eddies coming for you' '3,4 you wont live anymore.' we agreed that this worked best with our trailer as it would stick in the audiences minds and could become quite catchy and the association linked with death was apparent. It took a while to decide where to place the titles, before or after certain shots but we finally worked out what flowed best, we also added the fading to white and black transitions to add to the eery atmosphere we wanted our animatic to create.
When choosing the length we had to decide what reaction we wanted to leave the audience with, whether we establish the characters or to make them jump and react to the animatic. At the start of the animatic we decided to use short shots because it just covers the basis of the background story and we didnt want to put too much emphasis on to it. When establishing the friends featuring in the animatic we made these shots last longer so the audience would connect with them more which would create more of an emotional bond and should attract our specific target audience more as they are of the same age group. As the events are unfolding at the end of the trailer we decided to make these also quite fast paced to add a dramatic suspense in which i thought of the idea of leading it up to a sudden shot on which the trailer would end on unexpectedly.
The soundtrack we used co-insided really well with the shots we used and flowed effectivley with the individual length of each shot we used. The soundtrack added tension and worked well as a usual conventional horror animatic would.
I think our completed animatic appeals to our specific target audience as they can relate to the main characters in the film, the actors included are around the same age group as the target audience so they can relate to the typical fun they would be having around that age, camping, enjoying their independence now they can drive and explore. The 'fear factor' of them returning to the lake could relate to some individuals at that age as they take risks and it could be something they would do to purposefully scare themselves however they wouldnt expect things to take a turn for the worse as they do in our animatic. Our animatic gives the target audience the change to imagine themselves in that situation.
If we were to improve our animatic i think we should have included some dialogue from the characters to cover the backstory a bit more but we were unable to do that before the deadline. I think we could have also included better and more images to use for the animatic however this can easily be done for the actual moving image trailer we are to create. I also believe we could have used two different soundtracks for the animatic, the eery horror sound one to create suspense and tension and then a normal happy soundtrack to identify the huge contrast from the characters having a good time up until it all goes down hill.
One main thing we needed to do but was unable to because we didnt have the resources we needed e.g. the mask is to include images of the killers masked face, as the mask is a main prop in our trailer, we also need to decide on our ending image, the one that will unexpectedly jump out at the audience and we will need to make sure it is effective.
2.) This image sums up a part of the story effectivley, we know the boy is getting pushed into the lake but there are unanswered questions as to who is pushing him in and why? the angle of the shot is also effective and the surroundings fit appropriatley.
3.) This key image is appropriate as it shows the teenagers are camping somewhere. It is also shot from Eddies point of view so the actors in the tent are very vunerable characters and we dont know what is going to happen to them.
4.) This key image creates fear for the audience as the young character is in a lot of danger and by her facial expression is screaming which creates fear for the audience as we dont know what she is getting dragged away by. She is a teenage girl so this focuses on our target audience.
5.) The expression on the face of the young girl in this image is significant as we do not know what she is looking at, although we do get the idea that she is scared of something it is a typical horror movie image and i think it works well as she is hid behind a tree, emphasising her vunerability in the woods.
My role during this process included taking part in featuring as one of the actress's in the images for the animatic, helping take photos and give ideas for photo shoots. I have put a significant part of myself towards thinking up ideas for the plot synopsis of our combined ideas. I thought of some of the titles featured in the trailer and have attended and helped at the editing process. I also put a lot more of my ideas forward on other things but they may not have been included in our final animatic. I have made substantial effort to attend every meeting that was possible other than ones when i was off ill.
I think as a group we worked well together and our animatic wouldnt have turned out as well as i think it did if it wasnt for our each and every efforts individually. To make our trailer even better i will continue to put forward my ideas and play part of a significant role to help our trailer be even better :)
