Planning possible music choices

So far I'm experimenting on what will be the best song to play in the background of the trailer, what will give the best mood.

During the good times or to conclude the trailer, I thought of using:



Paper Tigers by Owl City has an upbeat, happy tune and the lyrics can show some relevance to the story too-
"And I’ve been bundled up for days
Too confused to be amazed
At all the icy water in my veins
Why do I feel so alone?"

"But I feel thin behind these paper walls

Why do I feel so alone?"

"‘Cause the angriest bark is always worse than the bite
Like the ache in my chest that my heart didn’t invite
But if the prettiest romance isn’t perfectly right
That makes every love lost just a holiday every night"

When it comes to the disruption in the trailer, I considered using:



The feel of Mr. Brightside by The Killers is not as happy and upbeat, but it still has a good rhythm. The lyrics also relate to the story in some way:

"Jealousy, turning saints into the sea
Swimming through sick lullabies
Choking on your alibis

But it’s just the price I pay
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes"

In relation to my story, it fits with how Carla feels powerful and controlling with the notebook- as if she's found her perpouse. But because of this, she no longer acts like a 'golden child'.

Organisation of actors and planning names

The protagonist:
After some research, I decided to name the protagonist Carla (Portuguese name meaning "one who possesses strength"). As Carla will be the next wilder of the notebook, she'll then be the controller or the power of the story.
The Actor of Carla will be Amber.

The boy:
I intended to provide a bit of humor to the boy's name; especially when said. So I plan to give him a hispanic name which are Spanish names which are known to be quite long as it includes both the mother and father's surnames- it's a very confusing process.
So far my results are:

José Maria De Las Mercedes Acosta 
Carlos Alberto Del CAstillo Cabeza De Vaca 
Juan De Dios Otero Antormarchi  
Juan Carlos De Los Parlotes De Amadeo 

However, after further investigation I've decided to call the boy "Estabon Hudiosichardo Montoi Deskroso Ramerez". I went for a name that's foreign as girl's show interest towards men that are not from there country.
The Actor of the boy will be Kavan

Other characters:
I've asked other's to play parts as background characters and other characters.

There will be an interfering girl named Fey with a strong personality. I asked Milena to play as this role.

Research from target audience: Responses to questionnaires

I surveyed 11 people about their opinions of Rom Com films. This is how they responded to the questions:

1) What age range are you?

Most where aged 10-20 and one aged 41-50.

2) Do you watch Rom- Com often?

From the results, most people like to watch Rom-Com's and they've all seen one before. This makes it reassuring that my film trailer can relate and be understood by most people.

3) What do you expect from a typical Rom Com?
Responses included:

"Girl and boy meet, some problems with them both then eventually fall in love"
"A great story but not too serious"
"A romance between two people with slight humor in it"
"Lots of comedy with a romance that makes the movie great"
"slapstick comedy with puns; the lead character should appear genuine and have chemistry; a unique plot with a few twists and turns with a happy ending"
"Boy meets girl, girl hates boy, the boy uses humor and slapstick to show the girl what a great guy he is, girl falls in love with the guy and ends with a lingering kiss"
"Boy meets girl, they fall in love however something happens to them preventing them from developing the relationship"
"A Happy Ending"
"Love story between male and female; comedic scenes in between"
"Love story that begins rocky and goes wrong but gets solved at the end"
"Naughty love events"

Here I get a general idea of what people expect from a Rom Com. Therefore this enables me to take these ideas and maybe add a twist or my own interpretation to the typical conventions.

4) What don't you like in a Rom Com?
Responses include:

"Too Cliche"
"Over emphasis on love triangle"
"It can't be too cheesy or serious"
"If the romance is too complicated and over powers the comedy"
"Stupid puns and basic humor, for example states the obvious. I also hate it when characters are frustratingly slow or dumb"
"They are all the same"
"Too cliche and predictable"
"Too much 'naughty'"
"Cheesy scenes"
"I don't like that it's predictable"

The criticisms have provided me a chance to avoid these problems when it comes to the story. But I'll only take on board some of the responses as my film trailer is based on Rom Com conventions; so it might well be predictable.

5) Would you like a Rom Com to have...

Most people enjoy humor that's done well and cleverly. I will then take this into consideration when placing humor in the trailer and ensuring that it will provide some laughs.

6) Do you like the idea of super natural events happening in a real world set up?
8 out of 11 people liked the idea of supernatural events and responses said that it does make the film more 'interesting' as long as the super natural events are not " too over the top". They like the "myths and legends" type of genre with a Rom Com and the idea of escaping away from reality.

7) What do you like/ dislike about school based films?
Responses include a mix of likes and dislikes:
"They're relatable"
"They're too nostalgic"
"That typical stereotypes are formed/ created. For example 'goths', 'cheerleaders'. It's over used and becoming boring"
"I don't like school based films"
"I like that they're relatable but I don't like the stereotypes and plots"
"They're quite cliche, you have the popular girls and the one's that isn't the one that gets the guy"
"They are mostly all the same story line and it doesn't show real life school situations"
"I love the originality involved"
"Some can be very unrealistic so the audience can't relate as much"
"They can be too similar and stupid"

These responses has helped me in choosing what might be involved in the school side to the story. First I considered including stereotypes, but now I'm not so sure. I like the idea of including a 'reality' to the school events so the story can be more relatable. This also could provide a much more unusual side when the book takes control of the outcomes of the story.

8) Should a trailer expose how much of the film?

Most like to keep spoilers hidden from the trailer, but enough information displayed so to understand the story. I will take this on board and make the story the focus of the trailer and not too much unnecessary extras.

Drafts: Trailer Poster rough layout

By using some internet images, I practice how I intend to layout my trailer poster.

I love how the photograph appears quite sinister and curious. That the girl is hiding behind the book, it is as if she's using it for protection or it has a dominant characteristic. The girl looks away shows distraction or even makes her appear 'easily swayed'.

I took her eye direction to an advantage so to make the logo a centre of attention. The logo reflects onto her glasses so to show awareness or to follow the motto; as she is the wilder of the notebook.

In this version, the logo is in the centre and takes place in front of the girl. This supports the book to be the main control of the story, the item that changes her life. Her glasses reflect glowing hearts which supports the romantic side to the story. The heats glowing can also reflect on the modern era of the story and the fantasy twist with the book.

I am inspired by the photograph but it doesn't show signs of comedy which is something I should consider to show in my poster.

Here I altered the colour vibrancy and added text in the background. The logo has been spilt further apart but I'm not sure whether to lay it out in this way. On the bottom right I added 'coming soon...', this will be replaced with a date but the font and the outline makes it some what comic book like.

Drafting: Trailer name and layout

I've decided to call my trailer 'Love Note' after being inspired by the popular graphic novel 'Deathnote' and for the wirl wind of change in the protagonists life due to the found note book.

After planning the layout for the logo of 'Love note':

I then decided to use a combination of fonts:

From  beginning to end, from ancient to modern the logo demonstrates how handwriting has changed depending on the era. I wanted to express age but with a modern twist to the logo so to show that love is eternal and always fits with the times.

The fonts that I'm currently using for the title is:
"Before the rain"
"University Roman LET"
"University Roman Alts LET"
"Symbol"
"Courier New"
"Stencil"
"MS Sans Serif"
and "Arial"

Drafting: Settings and Props

Here I began to look at where I might like to set some scene's that'll involve a bit of nature. These could be romantic scenes or iconic events.

Here I went to the Botanical Garden's in which I came across various benches. This inspired me by how youth might be found around benches or where love event's might occur. 

This shot was from Seraholl Mill, where there was a flower bed and a bench formed into a circle. This place might also be used for an iconic scene in my trailer.

For the main prop for my trailer, i.e. The notebook, I illustrated and annotated the prop to show why I have chose it.

Research into similar products: Posters

Previously I had researched into Rom Com Posters that inspired me. Here I'll be further analysing my preferred poster layouts.

Letters to Juliet

This poster stood out to me as the prop is quite the highlight of the image, as well as the girl peeping over the envelope. The girl looks very attractive which may highlight a potential romance in the story. The background supports key features of the girl including the similar shades of green the emphasise the eyes and the golden brown envelope to support her hair colour. The envelope in printed with a faded image of an older couple; this could reflect on future events. The poster also teases an idea of what kind of setting the stories based; the type of beige brick and the types of plants provide an Italian feel.

Ruby Sparks
The layout of this Ruby Sparks poster feels fun, free and flashy. The simple layout keeps the main characters key to the poster. The simplicity could demonstrate that the poster has potential; as the outlines are not filled in, but you understand what's there. This could reflect on the the characters relationship, or there might be a hand drawn theme to the story. The boy sits down looking at the girl as she rides off. This shows that he clearly likes the look of her but she's not stopping for him. This could mean that he's the one who loves her and she's the one leading him on. The main colour of the poster is sky blue, this could represent calmness, sadness or freshness to the characters relationship.

Silver Linings Playbook

By only showing half of the characters faces makes them appear incomplete- but together, they are complete. This could reflect on the storyline; there maybe a little something missing in their life which turns out to be their relationship. This idea is also supported by the emphasis on the eyes; they both have similar coloured eyes which could mean they both compliment well.

The boarder down the centre continues the posters black and white theme. The yellow helps emphasise important text as well as compliments the characters blue eyes.

I like the jots and doodles about the boarder which makes it appear busy yet confusing. This could reflect on love in general; how it's very disorganised and that there's never a clear path to the relationship.

Draft: Trailer Plot

Equilibrium:

A girl with: minimal school reputation, who’s quiet, shy but very observant.

This student is very much an average student- not too special but she does what she’s told. She’s accepted with a group- stereotypically the smart, strange and notably geeky group- in which she’s recognised as nothing too special from their points of view either. It’s clear that her normal life style doesn’t hold much adventures but she does have a hidden determination to be recognised; even for herself.

Disruption:

She one day comes across a very old notebook which contains a range of comments, confessions, letters and warnings. Once read, it is recognised to her that this book has a special ability- to match two people together as long as they show some sort of affection to one another.

This is where she recognises some sort of glimpse of fate once she found this book. Her life has turned another direction and she’s grabbing hold of this curious opportunity to do something different in her life. In that way, she’s the perfect person to have found this notebook.

Resolution:

She takes advantage of her observant skills and her small school reputation to become an unknown match maker of her school.

Here she experiments and learns this ability as best she can in between school.  She discovers and re-discovers what this notebook is capable of.

Disruption 2:

She continues to be this ninja in the shadows of match making, until this journey ends up turning a full circle towards her. A new student has entered the school that left her weak at the knees. But first impressions made it obvious that they have nothing in common.

This situation tests the girl and her role of being a match maker. First she was only interested in making other people happy but not thinking about herself.

Obviously, her feelings for this boy encouraged her to test the powers of this notebook. The boy had no effect of this enchantment as they have no connection to one another. But the girl’s determination to follow her heart did not stop because an old book decides her fate. She finds herself stopping anyone showing any loving affection towards this boy, even if they have a better chance with him compared to her.

The girl now becomes power mad by her ability to match people. Her greed has stopped people from making their own choices therefore her bad side is leaked little by little.

Restored order/ New equilibrium:

The girl now becomes the only person to show any love for this boy, but he’s still not fooled by her.  She comes to terms with what she’s done, she now feels lonelier than ever, her hatred for this book is demonstrated and she wishes that everything would be back to the way it was.

This leads the story on a cliff hanger- Will she ever get the boy of her dreams? What’ll become of the couples she matched? What will she do with the book? Will things ever be normal?

Research into similar products: Scott Pilgrim VS the world

I shown interest in this trailer from a previous post but here I wish to go more into depth with what I like about this trailer.

Camera:

The beginning of the trailer introduces to the viewer a teenage party. This establishing shot allows us to recognizes what kind of occasion is taking place and connects the film to it's target audience- teenagers. The camera moves into the scene like as if were entering the story and taking part in the exciting event.

A split screen soon displays Scott (Close-up shot) and Ramona (mid shot) both looking at one another. These 2 shots show they're first feelings: Scott's astonished facial expression shows that he likes the girl at first sight as well as the dominance of his facial expression may show his male authority and defense. But compared to Ramona, the long shot does not emphasize the face (that shows little interest) but shows that she's open and is exposed.
These feelings are emphasized again when the camera shows a close up of both Ramona's face and Scott squeezing his drinks cup. This could demonstrate his deep affections for Ramona and his powerful masculine side.

Once Scott has learnt a little more about this girl, he attempts to track her down. The wide shot showing Scott sitting down in front of his front door appears like he's a dog waiting for his owner. The distance from him to the camera makes him appear small and childlike- like he's new and excited by his first affections for Ramona.

I particularly like the blocking in this wide shot displaying several people drawing their attention to Ramona who's in focus- the focus of this situation. Her eyes turn away from everyone showing signs of guilt, embarrassment and worry. This could potentially give away a dramatic situation that's to come.

During the first fight scene, Scott and the 1st X-boyfriend are both displayed at a low angle shot therefore they both appear to be highly recognized in this event. This could also mean that they both have a uper hand or something in common during this fight- that they both like the same girl.

Editing:

During the  party scene, two shots change by a person walking through from one shot in which reveals the next shot. This effect demonstrates the busyness of the party as well as the idea of obstacles being in the way for Scott in the up coming future.

To encourage the comic book feel to the movie the pace of the shots speed up at times. For example when Scott signed for his package; the unnatural speed in which he signed the package holds this fictional twist to this film as well as demonstrating his passion for Ramona.

The fight scenes often include text to emphasise the characters actions which gives a graphic novel feel. I like this effect as it makes the scenes exciting and emphasises the drama.

The pace of the editing builds up as the trailer progressed- especially in the fight scenes. This allows most of the action to be displayed and highlights key moves so to bring about an exciting visual experience.

Sound:

The beginning of the trailer uses a simple build up of a guitar and drum beats so to bring a gradual introduction to the story- like the calm before the storm.

Once Scott meets and spends time with Ramona, the beat of the music is more catchy therefore builds more interest to the scenes. This also responds to how Scott feels, as if life has become more exciting for him when he met Ramona.

Action scenes are intensified with punch sounds and destructive noises which again makes the acts very overwhelming.

And coming to the end of the trailer- once situations become clear- the music becomes very catchy and energetic which compliments well with the battle scenes.

The end of the trailer, a narrator emphasises the name of the film "Scott Pilgram VS The World" therefore the viewer will remember. A male recites the name which highlights the action and strength in the film as well as making the name memorable.

Mise en scene:

During the beginning of the trailer, color is used to demonstrate the key emotion of the scene. For example, the pink in the Ramona's hair and the red cup highlights the idea of love. Especially when Scott squeezes the red cup, this could demonstrate his heart being squeezed with passion by his first sights on her.

When Scott shows his drawing of Ramona, though it could make it seem that he's a bad drawer, but it could represent his feelings at that time; as if he felt 'all over the place' and star struck by the girl.

The scene when Scott opens the door to Ramona, what he is wearing compared to Ramona appears more on the summer side than clothes that you may wear in the winter. This could demonstrate his excitement for Ramona, that his love for her is keeping him warm.

Even the lighting in this scene reflects some sense into how Scott feels. The snow from outside illuminates his home with more light- with Ramona in the center of the source. It is as if she's something glorious and magical; someone who's come to brighten up Scott's life.

Researching into Mise- en- scene

'Mise-en-scene' is French for 'everything in the scene'.

Setting: They are not just 'backgrounds', settings play an essential part of film-making in order to provide a feel of the characters environment.

Sets can be built from scratch, (this could be a very expensive method) or they find the set that already exists (but this could take a long time).

  

Props: Items which serve a purpose for the character or significance in the story.

Costume: Costume, hair and make up demonstrate the characters personality, class and job instantly to the viewer.

Body language and facial expression: Facial expressions show how the character feels to the audience.

For example, if someone was crying, we'd presume something bad has happened, but if happy music was played, then the meaning will be different. Body language also shows an indication to the characters feelings, or it could show the state of the situation.

Blocking: Blocking is the layout of a group of people. This is a good indication of each characters position in the story; whether it's the hero (positioned at the front)or the suspicious villain (often positioned at the back or opposite side of the hero).

Casting: The actors who're best suited to play the role of their character.

Lighting: Lighting supports the atmosphere in which the character's in or shows how the characters feeling. For example, if there is bright light, then the atmosphere is positive and hopeful. But if the bright light came from a hospital environment, then this could mean the character's feeling shocked or bewildered.

Colour: There's often a reason for certain colours being used; whether its within the characters costume or the setting. Colour can provide an idea of the mood or a meaning. For example, red could proved a loving mood, but could also signal a warning, depending on the situation.

Researching into forms of Editing

Straight cuts: instantly switches between different shots.

Continuity editing: stopping and starting filming at different scenes or sets.

Fade up/down: this is usually used to indicate an end of an episode of some action.

Dissolve: this is used to show that time has passed.

Cross-cut: cuts between action/ shows another scene during the action.

Cut away: cut away's highlights something important during an event. For example, cuts away to someone's reaction.

Pacing (slow/fast): The speed of which cuts are made. For example, during a dance scene the pace of the shots will be fast to give an lively, energetic feel.

Slow motion: used to slow down the speed of a clip. This might be used to show a characters mental state or used to highlight some action.