As the genre is drama/musical, little graphics and special effects will be needed.
I will use graphics for the title and credits and I will use the green screen for the image that will go with the title.
I will film Alice doing a pose infront of the green screen and then I will use After Effects to turn the green background black and to change the colour of Alice to a bright colour, either pink, yellow or blue.
Wednesday, 8 October 2008
Title
For me, deciding the title of the film has to be the most difficult part of making a trailer or film. I decided that it would have to be short and snappy, like 'Step Up' and 'You Got Served'. After decided the music, I found that my finale song was called 'I Believe' and has that repeated quite a few times so I thought that would be quite a good title. Also, as it was all about dancing, I came up with the title 'Just Dance' because I think it is snappy and I found it makes me think that dancing is simple and that you shouldn't think, 'just dance' because all you need is the passion.
When it comes to the place of the title in my trailer, I decided that it would come about two thirds of the way through the trailer and following the title will be the credits, filtered in between the movie clips. I thought about position of the title on the screen and I think that I will include a photo of Jasmine, but in a Pop Art style so that it isn't a clear image and is in birght colours, with the title to the left of the image. I also decided that as the credits would be white text on a black screen, that the title would also be good like this, but maybe with abit of a tint of colour within the white, depending on the colour of the image. For the actual font of the title, I decided that a rounded font would look good, either Comic Sans or Arial Rounded and with no capital letters. For the transition of the title, I think that if it was faded onto the screen, it wouldn't stand out as much so I think that I will have the title appearing on the screen, in time with the music.
When it comes to the place of the title in my trailer, I decided that it would come about two thirds of the way through the trailer and following the title will be the credits, filtered in between the movie clips. I thought about position of the title on the screen and I think that I will include a photo of Jasmine, but in a Pop Art style so that it isn't a clear image and is in birght colours, with the title to the left of the image. I also decided that as the credits would be white text on a black screen, that the title would also be good like this, but maybe with abit of a tint of colour within the white, depending on the colour of the image. For the actual font of the title, I decided that a rounded font would look good, either Comic Sans or Arial Rounded and with no capital letters. For the transition of the title, I think that if it was faded onto the screen, it wouldn't stand out as much so I think that I will have the title appearing on the screen, in time with the music.
Props
When watching the four trailers that I analysed, I noticed that they had many props that created the background and style of scene and I decided I would follow this same idea. I decided I would make sure the dancers in the shots of the corridors are carrying ballet shoes and the musicans are carrying instrument cases. This is because I think it will set the right scene for a school of the arts. Also, the first shot of the trailer is of a letter for the dance school, this tells the audience that she will be going to a dance school.
Another idea for props that I came across was Jasmines clothes, as she will need to be wearing very baggy style clothes and not so perfected, unlike the ballerinas. This is because it implies to the viewers that she isn't anything like the ballerinas and not as neat and tidy, much like her style of dancing.
Also, one of the beginning shots is of Jasmine getting told off by her teacher because she was framed with drugs in her locker. I will create this idea, without actually telling the viewers, by having jasmine looking ashamed and the teacher holding a clear packet of what looks like cocaine. This will be effective as the viewers will automatically assume that it is a drug and that she has been caught with them.
Another idea for props that I came across was Jasmines clothes, as she will need to be wearing very baggy style clothes and not so perfected, unlike the ballerinas. This is because it implies to the viewers that she isn't anything like the ballerinas and not as neat and tidy, much like her style of dancing.
Also, one of the beginning shots is of Jasmine getting told off by her teacher because she was framed with drugs in her locker. I will create this idea, without actually telling the viewers, by having jasmine looking ashamed and the teacher holding a clear packet of what looks like cocaine. This will be effective as the viewers will automatically assume that it is a drug and that she has been caught with them.
Location
When choosing locations for the shots in the trailer, some were quite obvious, others not so obvious. For example, the shot of Jasmine dancing in her bedroom will be shot in a bedroom and the shots of the dancers in the dance studio, will be shot in a dance studio in my school. However, for the shot of Jasmine dancing in a public place, I came up with the idea of her dancing on the beach under a brick arch, the location of the beach is easy to get to and I think would look really effective. On the other hand, choosing the location for hte school corridors, of which is in many shots, was more difficult. This was because it wasn't a good idea to use the corridors in my school because my school is an all-girl school and in the movie it is a mixed school, therefore it would look strange if there were no boys. Also, most of my school are younger than the age of the characters being played, so I thought if the shots were of younger children, it wouldn't get the right background that I wanted. I overcame this problem by slightly changing my shots so that the only shots in corridors was when there wasn't supposed to be any one else there as it was in class time. this worked well because it meant that I can film it when the school is quiet. Also, I came across the idea of filming it in a different school. Hautlieu is a mixed school based in Jersey and has the right atmosphere and style I wanted so I decided that if my idea doesn't work, I can try and go the this other school and attempt it there.
Actors/Actresses
When choosing who to play the characters, I found it quite a simple stage as I know people that have done dancing all there life, both street dancing and ballet so finding people to play the certain parts was quite easy.
Summary of Actors and Actresses:
Alice - Playing the main female character (Jasmine) - Lots of experiance at Street Dance and Ballet. Also, a good actress and has been in many shows before.
Jonny - Playing the best friend (Lee) - Been in shows since he was young with a lot of experiance with acting. Also, good friends with Alice already so they would work well together as best friends.
Callum - Playing the main male character (Jake) - Lots of experiance with Ballet and is in dancing and acting shows very regular, with plenty of experiance.
Emma - Playing the popular girl (Sarah) - Very good at Ballet and acting so a very good choice of this part.
Summary of Actors and Actresses:
Alice - Playing the main female character (Jasmine) - Lots of experiance at Street Dance and Ballet. Also, a good actress and has been in many shows before.
Jonny - Playing the best friend (Lee) - Been in shows since he was young with a lot of experiance with acting. Also, good friends with Alice already so they would work well together as best friends.
Callum - Playing the main male character (Jake) - Lots of experiance with Ballet and is in dancing and acting shows very regular, with plenty of experiance.
Emma - Playing the popular girl (Sarah) - Very good at Ballet and acting so a very good choice of this part.
Music
When planning what music I was going to have in the trailer, I watched the 4 trailer I had previously studied and payed close attention to the music they had used. When i was focusing on the music, I found I noticed that when there was direct speech, the music doesn't stop, it just goes very quiet but gets louder when the speech is finished. I noticed that Save The Last Dance uses 5 music tracks, You Got Served uses 5 music tracks, Step Up 1 used 4 music tracks and Step Up 2 uses 5 music tracks.
This gave me an idea of how many tracks I should be considering using. The next thing I did was think about the order of the shots in my trailer and the atmosphere I wanted to create during those shots, as music plays a large part in the atmosphere created.
Once I had done this, I went through some previous soundtracks from similar movies and some of the same genre music (Hip Hop). I selected 4 tracks that I thought, in the order I put them in, worked really well with the order of my shots. I also selected a song called 'Is It You?' by Cassie and I thought this would be a good track to put in the middle of the trailer when the romance between the two main characters is first noticed because the lyrics help the viewers pick up on the fact that there is a romance. Also, the finally song I chose is 'I Believe' by Yolanda Adams. I chose this song because it is has a quick pace and creates a very lively atmosphere and I think thats the type of atmosphere I want to be created in my trailer so that it leaves the viewers wanting to watch it.
This gave me an idea of how many tracks I should be considering using. The next thing I did was think about the order of the shots in my trailer and the atmosphere I wanted to create during those shots, as music plays a large part in the atmosphere created.
Once I had done this, I went through some previous soundtracks from similar movies and some of the same genre music (Hip Hop). I selected 4 tracks that I thought, in the order I put them in, worked really well with the order of my shots. I also selected a song called 'Is It You?' by Cassie and I thought this would be a good track to put in the middle of the trailer when the romance between the two main characters is first noticed because the lyrics help the viewers pick up on the fact that there is a romance. Also, the finally song I chose is 'I Believe' by Yolanda Adams. I chose this song because it is has a quick pace and creates a very lively atmosphere and I think thats the type of atmosphere I want to be created in my trailer so that it leaves the viewers wanting to watch it.
Credits
When planning what credits I would include in my trailer, I watched the four trailers below and I made a note of what credits they had included and where in the trailer they were shown.
I found that the first two trailers, 'Save The Last Dance' and 'You Got Served', which were the oldest trailers, didn't include many credits at all, and if they did, they put the right at the end and all the text was very small and was all on one shot. i didn't think this was a very good way to show the trailers as it didn't really give the viewers much information, nor time to read the credits.
the next two trailers, 'Step Up' and 'Step Up 2', included an average of 5 shots for the credits. I thought this was a good amount because it was enough to fit the information on, without boring the viewers.
The information that 'Step Up' had on its trailers were:
Directed by
Screenplay by
Staring actors/actress
Choregraphed by
Executive producers
Produced by
The information that 'Step Up 2' had on its trailers were:
Directed by
Music by
Staring artists
Produced by
Executive producers
Written by
I decided that I would include a mixture that I thought were most important.
I also decided that I would put roughly 2 sections, depending on the amount of names, per shot so that the viewers wouldn't get bored. Also to avoid this, I decided that instead of putting all the trailers at the end, I decided that from about three quarters of the way through the trailer, i would begin putting the credits and then half way through them I will put the title and as the music fades put the other half of the credits.
This is how I am hoping to have the credits:
Shot 1 - Staring Actors/Actresses
Shot 2 - Choregraphed By and Screenplay By
Shot 3 - Staring Artists
Shot 4 - Written By and Directed By
Shot 5 - Production Company and Executive Producer
I found that the first two trailers, 'Save The Last Dance' and 'You Got Served', which were the oldest trailers, didn't include many credits at all, and if they did, they put the right at the end and all the text was very small and was all on one shot. i didn't think this was a very good way to show the trailers as it didn't really give the viewers much information, nor time to read the credits.
the next two trailers, 'Step Up' and 'Step Up 2', included an average of 5 shots for the credits. I thought this was a good amount because it was enough to fit the information on, without boring the viewers.
The information that 'Step Up' had on its trailers were:
Directed by
Screenplay by
Staring actors/actress
Choregraphed by
Executive producers
Produced by
The information that 'Step Up 2' had on its trailers were:
Directed by
Music by
Staring artists
Produced by
Executive producers
Written by
I decided that I would include a mixture that I thought were most important.
I also decided that I would put roughly 2 sections, depending on the amount of names, per shot so that the viewers wouldn't get bored. Also to avoid this, I decided that instead of putting all the trailers at the end, I decided that from about three quarters of the way through the trailer, i would begin putting the credits and then half way through them I will put the title and as the music fades put the other half of the credits.
This is how I am hoping to have the credits:
Shot 1 - Staring Actors/Actresses
Shot 2 - Choregraphed By and Screenplay By
Shot 3 - Staring Artists
Shot 4 - Written By and Directed By
Shot 5 - Production Company and Executive Producer
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)