New Shot List

After our initial ideas feedback, we decided to alter the structure of our Teaser Trailer, focussing more on the protagonist's mental breakdown rather than a long montage, as it felt more like a film opening than a teaser trailer.

Here is our new shot list.

What We Changed

After completing our first draft, we received detailed audience feedback from a focus group of 17-20 year olds on how to improve the piece.

It was suggested that the beginning section of the trailer did not effectively convey the Psychological Thriller genre, due to the slow pace, continuity, and high-key lighting.

The opening montage was seen as too similar to a film opening, rather than a teaser trailer, and conveyed aspects of Social Realism, as opposed to Psychological Thriller. Because of this we decided to remove the opening montage, in order to focus more on her drug addiction, and added in drug shots, such as an extreme close up of a syringe, the protagonist drinking alcohol, and pills spilling onto a counter.

After listening to the feedback we decided to make the trailer more effective we needed to further display the protagonist's descent into addiction and insanity. In order to depict her powerlessness and breakdown, we needed to add more drug fuelled shots, and more shots of her breaking down into madness, such as multiple drug shots.

For the drug taking scene it was brought to our attention that there was not enough variation in shots, there were too many repeated shots with red lighting. Therefore, we subsequently removed several of the shots that we had repeated of her dancing, and added in more shots of her breakdown, such as the protagonist breaking the fourth wall and laughing into the camera.

Additionally, in our draft it appeared that the protagonist's mental instability occurred over the process of one night after the party, however we had intended to portray a breakdown over a longer period of time. In order to change this we added more locations, such as the living room, and also styled her with a multitude of costumes. This also more closely followed the conventions of a teaser trailer, which display events that take place over a longer period of time.

One of the main issues that came to our attention was the main drug used during the initial drug taking scene. Feedback from the focus group told us that the drug appeared too unrealistic and unintimidating, therefore to really emphasise the dangers of the drug use we changed this to multiple drugs all falling onto the camera, we did this to highlight how the increase in drug use, within society, as visually they are everywhere, covering the screen completely.

We were told that a way we could improve our trailer would be to add more creative editing, and camera angles. We achieved this by creating unique shots with the GoPro, this included
experimenting with taping the camera to the bottom of a glass bottle, we edited this into a
match on action shot of our protagonist drinking alcohol. Additionally, we put the GoPro at the bottom of a full bath and created an ambiguous shot of the protagonist screaming underwater. This follows the conventions of a Psychological Thriller as it adds a sense of mystery. We also expressed creativity through the trailer with graphic matching at the start, before she attends the party. In these shots she is facing away from the camera, getting ready and walking, the repetitiveness of the shots mirror the normality of her life before it is disrupted by drugs.

To make the pace of the trailer more effective we most shots, making them shorter, and added a variety of very fast paced new shots. We edited this in a way so it was in time with the non-diegetic music, so at each new beat there was a new shot. This new faster pace was not only parallel to the music, but also the narrative as it created tension and created a sense of lack of control, as it goes so fast the audience is almost unable to focus on the whole thing - similar to how the drug addiction is affecting the protagonist.

Survey Monkey - Initial Ideas

Initial Audience Feedback

After developing a few initial ideas for the trailer we created a survey that was answered by 16-18 year olds, and was about what they as an audience believed would be more effective for our trailer. We did this to see what this audience would expect from a Psychological Trailer, and what they would want to see in one. Therefore, after collecting their answers we could respond accordingly within our media piece.

For question one,we got a brief idea of what our audience expected from a Psychological Thriller, and from this we could see that the majority of responses expected to see drugs, dark lighting and red lighting. We thought it was very interesting too see how our audience saw the significance of lighting for Psychological Thrillers, this could be because of the conventions of most well known Psychological Thrillers, such as Requiem for a Dream, as they often portray the colours red and black, and deal with psychological issues such as drugs. Additionally, this could be because the audience picks up on the dark connotations of darkness and red imagery - therefore as from this survey we became immediately aware of the audience's belief of the importance of lighting - this was a very signifiant and prominent aspect of our trailer.

Therefore, in order to comply with these, we used low key lighting throughout the more drug-fuelled shots, and used a prominent red colouring for the drug taking scene. This colour use fulfilled the audience's expectations of what a Psychological Thriller should appear like. We had the theme of drugs throughout, with repeated extreme close up shots of various drugs, and a suspenseful drug taking scene.

For this question we wanted to see what sounds the audience thought was most relevant for a Psychological Thriller, the most popular answers were 'remixed music' and 'beeping sound effects'. We found this response interesting, and thought the popularity of the answer could be because we were asking a younger audience, and as this genre of music is more lively and youthful it is more relatable to a younger audience as it is what they are used to being exposed to. It can be suggested that Psychological Thrillers typically have an older, more adult-based audience, so by using a very current remixed songs, we appealed more to our target demographic.  We can also suggest that with modern drug-fuelled media, such as Pulp Fiction, Skins, Breaking Bad, and Trainspotting, the drugs are depicted in a positive way, which is mirrored by the party/club scenes and the upbeat, positive/lively music used - therefore this is what our target audience is accustomed to and associated drug scenes with.
This response could also be because the remix of music can add to the fast pace of the trailer, and can also create a sense of distortion that the drugs create.

The monotony of the beeping sound is effective as it can contrast the fast paced variety of shots. We decided to start the trailer with the sound effect of an alarm clock, in order to convey they initial normality of the protagonist's life. This then increased in speed, and began to resemble a heart monitor, this symbolised the change in her life as she began experimentation with drugs. The switch from normality resembles the disruption in her life. 

For the drug fuelled shots we created a remix of several popular songs, these mirrored the on screen action, as we edited the shots so they were synchronous with the music. Additionally, the mash up of songs added to the distortion that was created through post-production editing, such as layering.

This question was asked in order for us to be able to narrow down which colours we focused on within our trailer. The audience's belief of the significance of lighting, and the prominent connotations of red and back is again very evident in this question. This could be because of the common use of this low-key lighting and red and black colour imagery, in modern Psychological Thrillers that our primary audience will be used to watching, such as Se7en, The Machinist and The Silence of the Lambs

Both black and red follow the conventions of a Psychological Thriller, and they obtain negative connotations, such as evil and blood, which are what we were aiming to convey. This is likely to be why the majority of the audience chose these answers. 

We made red our most prominent colour used in order to depict the real shift in the protagonist's life. The red symbolised danger, fear, corruption and blood - which are all themes conveyed within our trailer. We use the red lighting very explicitly in the drug taking scene, and then it is most subtly displayed throughout the rest of the trailer (eg blood).

For this we wanted to see what the audience expected to see regarding a drug addiction, and whether they would expect to see it in a more negative or positive light. The majority of responses were what we had anticipated they audience would want to see, which was they would expect to see the themes of addiction, vulnerability and insanity. We can suggest that the audience expects to see this due to the effects of drugs, and how they are often portrayed to take a negative toll on the user's life. Additionally, we can consider how drugs are such a dominant aspect modern society, especially within youth culture - therefore these negative themes, such as vulnerability, depression and addiction, are the most common answers as this is what our audience is used to being surrounded by.

We used the mise en scene, lighting, editing and camera work in order to depict these themes.

We used extreme close up shots of various drugs in order to convey her addiction, as the trailer went on we conveyed stronger and more dangerous drugs, such as the syringe, in order to convey her
progressive addiction.

We illustrate the theme of vulnerability through her inability to stop her addiction, she has lost control to it. This is depicted through shots of the physical effects that the drugs have on her, such as nose bleeds, and her spitting out blood. We also convey her lack of control through shots of her screaming and running, to highlight her unhappiness and vulnerability.

We depicted insanity by breaking the fourth wall and having our protagonist laughing into the camera in spite of the pain and suffering she is experiencing. This presents her psychological disturbance, and follows the conventions of a Psychological Thriller.

This question gave us more of an idea of the specific ways in which an audience expects to see a drug addiction presented on screen. The most popular responses were for there to be multiple shots of drugs, and for there to be a fast pace. This was an interesting response as it gave us an insight into what our audience perceives to be important aspects of a drug addiction. Multiple drug shots indicates that an audience sees drug addictions as something extreme, where the user is completely submerged in a drug-fuelled experience and life. This suggests that the audience views drug addiction in a negative light, as it puts forward the idea that they see it as dangerous.
Additionally, the popularity of the answer 'fast pace' illustrates that they see the overwhelming effect of the drugs, which causes distortion and disruption within a normal life. These opinions could again be because drugs have become so common within modern society, to the extent where our audience is very aware of the danger and disruption of this.

We used various extreme close up shots of numerous different drugs to display her addiction. We used an overwhelming amount of tablets, and covered the entirety of the camera lens, this suggests how inescapable the drugs are to the character, and how they have become the most pivotal aspect of her life.

Additionally, we scattered a variety of pills over a counter top, this demonstrated the sheer amount of them, and by being thrown carelessly around it mirrors the protagonist's lack of control.







Throughout the trailer we utilise a very fast pace, keeping the shots in time with the non-diegetic music, this represents the chaos in her life, and suggests that everything is all happening so quickly she has no time to process it all, or do anything to change it.

We also used other, less popular, answers to this question to convey her addiction, such as breaking the fourth wall, screaming shots, fish eye effect and blood, as we felt these all conveyed a psychological breakdown, and depicted her descent into insanity and addiction. Also, some of these shots, such as the fish eye effect used during the party scene add to the sense of distortion which is caused by the effects of drugs. We also created this effect though post-production editing, such as layering

Poster Idea One

For our movie poster, our main inspiration is the poster from Before I Go To Sleep.

As our film centres around one character in particular, not three, we are going to have three images of Bethan in a similar format. The left one will be of her before she has a drug addiction, the middle will be from the party, where she tries the drug for the first time and the last will show the protagonist as her health is deteriorating. 

The centre image will be this: 

It fits in with the theme of our website and trailer as the predominant colour is red. Bethan's hair, makeup and clothing is minimal to allow the red light to be the focus; it is eye catching enough on its own. She is staring right into the camera with a dazed/confused look on her face. This is half way between content and devastated which is what the other two photographs depict.

Website Construction

This is the homepage of our website for our movie. We decided to put the title at the bottom of the screen, to subvert the convention of always having it at the top. We used the same typography as the one used in our trailer, and it is white to stand out against the bright colours of our background.

The images in the background are the main focus of the website and some are shots from our trailer while others have been filmed separately.

The theme of drugs and a wild lifestyle is prevalent in the background and gives clues to what the film's storyline is, without giving the entire plot away. The main colour is red, but we also have one shot from the party scene, which is lighted all different colours due to the strobe lighting.

The ratings and comments on the film appear one by one in the corner of the page, next to the title. We also considered putting them all up at the same time, but we felt it would take up too much space and we wanted the audience to focus on the footage. We have included links to social media sites and also other pages of the website but these are also quite minimally designed for the same reason. 

In order to have enough space to include the trailer, the title, the ratings and other features, we framed the shots for the background predominantly on the left. The title and the video are on the right and take up quite a lot of space.

For the ratings, we have used gold text but the same font as the title. We wanted a colour different to the title but would still stand out, and gold connotes success and achievement. 

Gone Girl Poster Deconstruction

This is the first official poster for David Fincher's 2014 thriller based on the novel Gone Girl written by Gillian Flynn.

As we can see the majority of the poster is taken up by the image of the sky, and Amy's eyes in it. Nick Dunne, her husband is placed at the bottom of the image, looking small and vulnerable compared to Amy's huge eyes above him. The poster is predominantly a blue/grey shade, with a white cloud shadowing parts of the title. The film focuses on lies and deceit which is likely why the cloud was placed in the centre. The top of the poster is the darkest- a navy blue- which may represent Amy's dark plans and twisted ways. The figure of Nick has been slightly distorted- the top half of his body moved slightly left. His life has been torn apart by someone he would never have expected. The truth has been distorted like the image.

The line across the bottom of the image depicts the typical 'Breaking News' bar, that is present on News channels. Although part of the news story title is missing, any one who has read the book, will know what it says and anyone who hasn't can get some sort of understanding from the words 'search' and 'continues'. It would seem that the only word missing is in fact 'Amy' which is probably intentional, as the film (and novel) revolves around Amy, who has gone missing. To fit in with the theme of the media, the sky appears to be more yellow around Nick, which may represent the eyes of the media on him, as the main suspect in his wife's disappearance.

At the top of the poster, small, minimal typography is used, as to not distract from the image. It mentions two other films David Fincher has directed, which automatically attracts fans of those films. In slightly bigger writing, are the names of the two stars playing Nick and Amy Dunne. Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike are famous actors, which draws attention. If they weren't so well known, it would be unlikely that their names would be so noticeable.

The text at the bottom is all quite minimal also. The names of the cast and producers are in a pale grey colour as is the website and hashtag used to promote the movie. The release date is bolder and darker than the rest of the text as this is a vital piece of information people need to know.

A series of other posters was also created to further promote the film. These have an almost comical tone that those who know the plot will understand. The 'Happy Anniversary' is of course ironic. Each of the posters depicts a prop from the film, while giving away more clues about the narrative.

Whereas the colour scheme of the first poster is full of cold tones- these posters are the opposite. The colour red is used on the evidence bags as well as the lingerie which signifies the sexual explicitness of the film- it is rated 18. The dark wood that each item is placed on as well as the photo which is predominantly black, give a sinister tone that is also present in the original poster. These posters are more conventional of a sexually explicit thriller. This makes it apparent that movie posters can be completely different but be just as effective.