Evaluation of Recording Voice-over:

Today (Monday 22nd September) we went to the recording studio around 2 o'clock to record an audio clip, which we plan to use in our trailer. One of our main ideas is to have a news reader reporting on the case and to have it playing on the radio with our killer listening to it. We enlisted the help of some of our friends, one of which has a good natural diction and accent and the other with a good knowledge of music programs and experience with the recording studio.











Our friend Emily went into the booth in preparation for recording, however we had a few technical problems, either with the headphones, the microphones or the computer itself. Luckily we managed to sort it out and we could start recording. We wanted a few phrases, that would sound like a breaking news segment so they wouldn't go into too much detail but just enough to give the audience hints about the plot.

"There has been a development in the ongoing case involving the murder of homeless teenagers within the suburbs of London. So far there have been a total of 8 deaths in the past 8 years. Scotland Yard has been following the case, three suspects have been identified, but no arrests have been made."

This is the 'script' for the initial voice-over that we are going with although it may be altered slightly, for example we found an effect on Logic where it made the voice sound more like it was coming from a radio or television. However, apart from the technical issues, I think we are more confident in using the recording studio to create voice-overs and the afternoon was successful in helping us progress with our final piece.

The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo Deconstruction : Sound

The sound in the girl with the dragon tattoo trailer consists of mainly non-diegetic music with a very defining drum beat through out.

The drum beat is a key element of the trailer's sound as when the drum beat sounds a straight cut between different shots happens and so allows the images to change at the sound of the drum beat. 

Throughout the trailer the soundtrack of non-diegetic music and vocals intensifies contrapuntally alongside the images shown and slows down when the cuts between frames slow down as well, this adds to the effect the images have on the audience as alongside the music and sound the piece on a whole is very intense. 

At one point in the film trailer the non-diegetic sound almost stops completely. This is the point where the camera is framed on screen and takes a picture of the subject in front of it, this shows to the audience that this part of the trailer must be important and makes them focus on the frame more so than some of the other less defining ones and this is emphasized by the slowing and dulling of the soundtrack.

The drum beat also incorporates the credits and titles shown at the end of the trailer. The drum beat gets slightly louder as these appear making the audience pay more attention to them as they are telling the audience something about the film itself.

'The Snowman' Inspirations

Recently I read 'The Snowman' by Jo Nesbo and it gave me some ideas and inspiration for our own film. The genre is considered crime fiction as the main focus is on the detective, Harry Hole rather than the serial killer as he tries to solve the murders. However the book does contain some psychological elements and also contains horror aspects, which would be useful for us to consider.
The book is set in Norway, 2004 but contains flashbacks to give the reader hints about the killer, who is only revealed towards the ending, after a series of misleading red herrings. Harry Hole is investigating the recent murders of women in Oslo and as he begins to look for a link between cases, he realises each woman is married with children and a snowman appearing at each murder scene.
As he looks back through previous cases going back years, he knows he is on the case of Norway's first serial killer. The fact that most of the victims vanish after the first snowfall of winter is also intriguing to Hole and he discovers more women who have disappeared or murdered in a similar fashion.
The team suspect that paternity issues might be a motive for the murders and they realise all of the victims' children have different fathers to who they think. Gradually they get closer to the real killer...


The reason this book inspired me was the different paths it led the reader down, only for them to realise it was a dead end and have to go back to the start to try and work out who the killer is. In a trailer, we probably wouldn't be able to show that as well but I like the idea that the killer wouldn't be obvious to add a bit of mystery. I also like the idea of something deliberately being left at the murder scene, just to toy with the police and show that they are actually in control.
Another thing I liked was the link between cases as I feel there needs to be a motive for the murders, especially with a serial killer. In our trailer, we are hoping to use the idea of homelessness as a motive, with our serial killer murdering a number of homeless teenagers, set in London.

Warner Bros. Production Company Research:

I was asked to research Warner Bros. Production Company to see if they would be suitable to produce and distribute our film.

Warner Bros. Production Company is an American producer of film, television, and music entertainment and they produce and distribute a wide-ranging state of some 18-22 films each year.

It is the world's largest film and television studio, in 2009, Warner Bros. became the first studio to gross more than $ billion domestically in a single year.

In 2013, Warner Bros. Pictures grossed an industry-leading $5.038 billion in global box office to take the number one positions in domestic, international and worldwide box office. The year marker the first time the Studio surpassed the $5 billion mark and only the second time that deat has been achieved by any studio in Hollywood.

The company's vast library, one of the most prestigious and valubale in the world, consists of more than 61,000 hours of programming, including nearly 6,500 feature films and 3,000 television programs comprised of tens of thousands of individual episodes.

Warner Bros. is responsible for the Harry Potter film series, the highest grossing film series of all time, it is also responsible for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 as Warner Bros.' highest grossing movie ever.

Some of the more recent films that Warner Bros. Pictures have produced which have elements that could inspire us are below.

I picked Inception, as we are thinking of doing a psychological thriller/horror, the plot of Inception is quite complex involving multiple layers in dreams and I imagine our killer to have a similar mind as the main character Dom (Leonardo DiCaprio).

I also thought I would mention the Sherlock Holmes films (and similarly the BBC Sherlock TV series), Sherlock Holmes is a famous detective with a quick-witted mind. I think our serial killer will have a very sharp mind and in a way he will be one step ahead of the police and predict their next move. We've also discussed the idea that he might have OCD or something similar and I imagine is mind to be really organised and on top of things, again similar to Sherlock Holmes.

Camera Angles and Shots.

Camera Work.

Megan: 

We chose this location for a shot as the low angle or where the camera is almost level with the ground alongside the narrow path way creates a illusion that the path is getting narrower almost making it claustrophobic and as if the person is being swallowed up by their surroundings. 

For the second shot we chose this location due to the natural lighting framing part of the shot and the door frame from the sky light. the darkness surrounding the light also give the shot a mysterious and enigmatic atmosphere to the picture as something could be hiding in the shadows.

Hayley:

For this shot, we liked the idea of using the metal fence as a frame, originally it was of a green bush like you can see in the bottom left, but then we noticed the motorway in between and how you can see quite far away in the distance. We also liked the different layers involved in the picture; the fence in the foreground, the garden, the houses, the road (although I think we just missed a car), and the fields and trees in the very background. 

Alice:

For the next picture, we liked the idea of the stairs spiralling downwards and gradually getting smaller, it would have been better f there were stair as it would look more effective. We chose to have a person in it to give the shot depth and make the shot more realistic. The colours also make it look quite old and mundane. 

Genre Investigation: Slasher

I decided to do an genre investigation into slasher as I created a two minute film opening of a slasher film last year.

I looked at the conventions of a slasher film;

• contain a lot of gory, bloody scenes
• numerous deaths
• underlining back story provides a motive for the murders - sometimes revenge
• main victim usually survives till the end
• at least one person killed on screen
• usually rated at least 15
• the female is less attractive/virgin/sensible/innocent usually survives
• the stereotypical 'popular' girl and guy are killed
• creepy, slow build up to deaths
• villain has physical deformity and/or mental issues
• villain never runs - doesn't need to as they are in control and will definitely complete the murder
• quick camera angles during death
• unhappy or intriguing endings
• usually set in remote areas - not urban
• immediate death/gory scene or quick build up at the very beginning
• villain's identity is often unknown/hidden by either a mask or lighting/camera techniques
• villain often has a signature murder weapon 
• generally darker lighting throughout film, not usually bright and happy

Well known slasher films/series:

• Saw 
• Scream 
• Friday the 13th  
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre
• Final Destination

Location scouting

We want our film trailer to be a psychological thriller with elements or urban drama incorporated so I looked at possible filming locations. 

This could be a good establishing shot as we are planning to have a time lapse and the trains going past could be quite effective.

We want to have a homeless girl as our protagonist/victim and this could be a location for her to be in. 

The lighting could also be quite effective if we did it at dusk so that the tunnel would look even more dingy that it already is.