Music

For our teaser trailer we had to create our own original non-diegetic music to make the action on screen more effective, and more interesting to watch.

As our trailer is a Psychological Thriller, we watched many other real media from this same genre, in order to gain inspiration.
One of our most predominant influences, for not only narrative, but music too, was Requiem for a Dream. This trailer uses fast paced, club-like music, which mirror the party shots. This music highlights the way in which the drugs are initially used - in order to have fun. The music connotes this enjoyment through its upbeat rhythm.

However,  on several occasions, the on screen action does not fit this upbeat music, as it displays mental breakdowns, and entrapment, such as the character screaming for help while in prison, and the protagonists falling into lives of addiction, pain and prostitution. Therefore, it can be suggested that, although on the surface it appears to be a positive depiction of partying, drugs, sex, and fun, as suggested by the music -  this music is actually perhaps contrapuntal as a darker message of helplessness and pain is presented. This could be suggestive of the negative effects of drugs and addiction.

This clip presents the upbeat music used in the trailer:






















In our trailer, we utilised the music in a similar way; we created a soundtrack from a remixed club version, of a pop, upbeat song. This mirrored the club-scene effect we were striving for, it suggested that the protagonist has started to experiment with drugs primarily due to the surroundings she now, as a young adult year old, finds herself in, such as parties, clubs, experimentation with drugs, sex, and alcohol. The music mirrors that of the music she would listen to, while in these situations.
Similarly to Requiem for a Dream, although the music mirrors the enjoyment she may initially experience while at these parties (as presented through the dancing shots), it also contrast the shots nearer to the end of the trailer, as she begins to lose control, and lacks mental stability. Shots such as her spitting out blood, and starting to experiment with hard, dangerous drugs, by injecting them, contrast the non-diegetic music, as they are portrayed negatively and suggest danger and unhappiness.
We aimed to portray helplessness, and the negative effects of addiction throughout the trailer. This is similar seen in Requiem for a Dream.

This clip presents the club-like music used in our trailer:




Another aspect of the sound that we looked at, and researched, was the way in which the Psychological Thriller teaser trailers often ended. It appeared to be a common convention that there would be a increase in tension throughout the trailers, which was followed by a moment of quiet and immediately contrasted by a climatic loud moment, mirroring the on screen shot. This is done to lure the audience into a false sense of security, by allowing them to believe the tension, and most dramatic shots was over, and had already been conveyed, then the climax is shocking, and induces surprise and perhaps fear. This is done to hook the audience, and having the climax at the end, with no restoration of equilibrium, it leaves a sense of complete ambiguity, resolving nothing, and leaving the audience with a mystery.
This technique is found in Requiem for a Dream, as the trailer goes in a full circle, starting with dialogue and no non-diegetic, ending with the same dialogue and no music, then this is immediately followed by the character screaming underwater - which creates this sense of fear and mystery.

This clip conveys the ending music used in Requiem for a Dream:



For our trailer, we followed this convention, by having a short moment of silence immediately followed by a shocking climatic moment. We did this to hook the audience, by leaving the trailer as ambiguous and mysterious, and to create the element of shock.

This clip depicts the ending music used in our trailer:

contrasting shots

graphic match shots at start contrast with running shot at end

still vs hand held
both from behind
walking vs running
change in her mental state

Storyboard to Final Product

By the end of the planning stage, we had created a storyboard so we knew what each shot was supposed to look like. This made filming easier as we knew exactly how to frame the shots when it came to filming.

Our opening montage was going to consist of three graphically matched shots, each with the protagonist facing away from the camera, as she gets dressed, walks down the street, and waits at the station.

 The first shot and the third shot are still while the middle shot tracks Bethan as she walks.

This is a Time-lapse- we wanted to use one of the sunset to show the passing of time as the day turns into the night. This represents the last of the Protagonist's innocence.

This is the first shot of the protagonist taking a drug. We decided to break the fourth wall by having her look directly into the camera- symbolising defiance. Up until now the audience hasn't even seen her face.

 

For these shots, our storyboard is very vague as we intended to film them using a Fish Eye lens. This creates point-of-view shots that are distorted and give the audience insight into how the character is viewing everyone else.

Red lighting is a motif used throughout our Teaser Trailer, representing danger, evil and temptation. A religious interpretation would suggest that the main character has fallen into Hell, due to the high-key lighting in the opening montage contrasting the low-key red lighting and general dark colour palette.

In this shot, the audience can clearly see the protagonists hand putting a drug into her mouth. We wanted to create a shaky, distorting effect that resembled a computer glitch. We cut up the shot and reordered the pieces- signifying the protagonist's inner struggle.

In some shots we decided to add more than simply red lighting- we also used layering. Layering one shot on top of another made the shots more visually creative and gave the audience a glimpse of what it might be like for the protagonist, under the influence of an array of drugs.

In this shot, we layered the same shot together, but moved it slightly to create the appearance of two protagonists. The idea that she has a split personality is presented throughout and this is suggestive of that. The drugs turn her into a completely different person.

These two shots were filmed with the fish eye lens and are consecutive. The way in which the protagonist perceives others has changed because of the drugs. The point-of-view close up shot of her friend's face under the fish eye lens, appears blurred and distorted and the audience are brought uncomfortably close to both the girl's faces as they converse. The first shot starts off close to Bethan's eye, before she moves away from the camera.

These two shots are repeated twice each very quickly as the protagonist takes a drug. The images flicker from one side of the screen to the other, giving a distorting effect. The multitude of distorting effects used throughout the teaser trailer adhere to the theme of drugs and to the conventions of films about drugs.

We also use close ups of drugs throughout the teaser trailer to contrast the long shots of the party scene.

 In our Teaser Trailer typography is overlapped to create the idea that the film has been given a large number of positive reviews. It also creates the sense of mystery, as we are hiding information from the audience. The typography speeds up as the music does, and builds up to the drop in the music, making it synchronous.

We decided to include shots of blood, both close up and on the protagonist, to depict the physical effects of drugs as well as the psychological and mental.

These two shots are consecutive and show contrasting emotions. We present the lows of drugs as well as the highs, ultimately condemning drugs instead of condoning them due to the detrimental effects.

Due to the portability of the GoPro, we were able to film from the bottom of the bottle as the protagonist drinks. This created a not only distorted, but almost sinister effect. We knew when drawing the storyboard that this was the effect we wanted to create but we were uncertain of how it would turn out.

Our final shot is filmed underwater- the protagonist is physically submerged but also mentally and emotionally submerged in her addiction.

Finished Teaser Trailer and Deconstruction

HARMONIOUS DELIRIUM

The non-diegetic sound of an alarm clock beeping synchronously with the straight cut editing of the opening montage depicts a sense of normality and mundanity. The high-key lighting and the emphasised diegetic sounds of each shot add to this image. Everything is as it should be. 

Until the alarm clock sound effect increases in pace and it soon begins to sound like a heart monitor measuring a quickening heart beat. The distortion of a mundane sound, into one that symbolises panic and danger, highlights how easy it is for someone's life to spiral out of control- even when it was seemingly perfect before. This could be a representation of addiction itself- one may think they have it under control but by the time they realise, it's too late. The use of the reviews at the beginning is to lure the audience in. The contrasts between the black background and the white typography is eye catching and draws the audience's attention. 

Similarly, the alarm clock beeping is a sound people often find tormenting and uncomfortable which further draws their attention to the teaser trailer. The three shots used in the opening montage are examples of graphic matching and don't allow the audience to see the protagonist's face, leaving them wondering who this person is.

The time-lapse is used to present the passing of time, as the protagonist travels to the party. The sun is setting which not only depicts the sky going from light to dark, it depicts the protagonist transforming from good to evil. 

This is emphasised by the use of breaking the fourth wall in the next shot, as Bethan takes a drug, looking directly into the camera. This act of defiance is paired with a non-diegetic pop song remix, to further highlight the distortion the protagonist is experiencing. The lighting has now become low-key and the lights of the party are multi-coloured, adding to the warped, distorted tone. Not only this but the use of a Fish Eye lens makes the point-of-view shots blurred and hazy, giving the audience insight into how one would feel under the influence of drugs. Some of the shots are lit with red lighting, perhaps symbolising danger and evil- addiction is not only dangerous, it can bring out someone's dark side.

Other than red lighting, layering is also used to give the effect of disfigured reality. An extreme close up of the protagonist's eye is layered with a long shot of her spinning around absent-mindedly, portraying the two sides of a person struggling with addiction. One is aware of what they are doing, while the other doesn't realise the consequences of their actions. Drugs provide the protagonist with a sense of both entrapment and escape. The music increases in speed as the intensity of Bethan's addiction worsens. 

The use of the overlapping typography combined with the distorted music and silhouetted shot of Bethan taking one drug too many symbolises utter chaos as the protagonist's addiction goes from bad to worse. The fast paced editing that follows this, emphasises the downfall of the character as she continues to become more and more dependent on the drugs. Close ups of these drugs are used to present their significance on the plot. Bethan uses them as a short-term escape but is ultimately trapped within her addiction. Compared to their dark, low-key lit surroundings, the pills are brightly coloured and evoke a sense of both emancipation and intrigue.

The fast-paced straight cuts are parallel with the sound as they were in the opening montage, to present the drugs have now become a part of the protagonist's daily routine. The cold-tone shot of the protagonist staring into the mirror- looking afraid and puzzled as she slowly wipes her bleeding nose, is preceded by more warm-tone shot of her laughing and once again breaking the fourth wall. 

The contrast of emotions are intended to make the audience feel uncomfortable while also giving them a close up look on the different ways in which one can be affected by addiction. The penultimate shot of the protagonist running, mirrors the tracking shot at the beginning, when Bethan is mundanely walking to the party. The alteration in lighting as well as the increased shakiness of the hand held shot signifies the huge juxtaposition between the start and end of the Teaser Trailer. The music stops momentarily as the screen goes black- leading the audience into a safe sense of security. When you think the addiction may be under control, the serenity is interrupted by the last shot of the protagonist screaming under water. 

The last shot of a teaser trailer should be memorable in order to ensure the audience watch the following trailer and eventually the film and the jump from pitch black to a predominantly white shot as well as the abrupt increase in volume, does this effectively.

Whiplash Poster Deconstruction

Whiplash is a 2014 Drama directed by Damien Chazelle which follows the story of an aspiring young jazz drummer.                                               Interestingly, unlike most film posters, the majority of the page is taken up by large bold reviews. The typography is very clear to read and is a large font. The text at the top and the bottom is a vivid red, and the middle is a very pale blue, these colours both contrast against the black background, causing them to really stand out on the page, drawing the eye straight to them.                                                                        The colour red could be used in order to draw immediate attention to this information, which tells the reader which awards the film has one, the title of the film and the main actors playing in it. This follow the conventions of a film poster, by attempting to persuade the reader, the awards suggest that the film is unmissable, the named actors draw in fans of these celebrities, and the title is bold and red so it is  more memorable.

The pale blue tint of the rest of the typography is also seen on the small image of Miles Teller, it can be suggested that, because of the negative connotations of the colour blue, this represents the protagonist's disappointment and disheartened nature throughout the film. It can be depicted that the contrast between the red and blue typography mirrors the narrative, as the red connotes the protagonist's passion for drumming, this is the brightest and most vivid aspect of both the page and his life. Whereas the blue connotes the constant disappointment he feels and the negativity he receives from his drum teacher (J.K. Simmons). This is the most prominent aspect of the page, covering the majority of it, mirroring how he allows his teacher's discouragement to over take his whole life, including his passion.

Additionally, the contrast between the small scale of the image of Miles Teller and large bold reviews demonstrates how the protagonist values praise over his own self. Within the plot of the film the protagonist injures himself and makes himself unwell in order to please his drum teacher, therefore the overwhelming size of the reviews suggest that this are more important to him that his own life and health. 

Furthermore, throughout the film the protagonist strives for praise and encouragement, yet receives near to none, therefore this poster displays what he has always desired and never achieved, as he is surrounded by positivity an praise.

The simplicity of this poster demonstrates his focus on drumming, and the spotlight both highlights his desire to perform and both literally and figuratively be in the spotlight, and it suggests the pressure he feels to be one of the greatest jazz drummers. 

Using Photoshop

For our poster and some elements of our website we had to use Photoshop. For A2 it is a new, unfamiliar software so we began by experimenting with it.

In this photo we wanted to edit the colouring to make her hair more red and her skin more pale- to represent the power her addiction has over her. The motif of red colouring is used throughout our teaser trailer to represent her addiction and the danger it enforces on to her.

We edited different layers of our poster in order to change the colour of the photo to black and white. By using the lasso tool, we were able to select the areas in which we wanted to bring out the colour- the blood from her nose and her hair. Both are red and fit in with the motif of bright red lighting that is exhibited in our teaser trailer. However we decided that we didn't want to use this style for our poster, as it gives the photograph an animated effect, and we believed it looked rather unprofessional. The black and white element doesn't really fit with the tone of our trailer and from analysing pre-existing movie posters we understood that the more the poster reflects the trailer, the more effective it is.

To create our Poster, we layered photos of the protagonist on to a black background. By editing the opacity of the photo layers, we were able to create a photograph that depicts two of her- one that is looking sideways, creating suspicion while the other looks straight ahead. We matched the photos up so that they shared an eye, representing how intertwined the protagonist and her addiction are. Throughout the Teaser Trailer she is presented as two different people, with and without the drug and these are depicted on the poster. Regarding typography, Photoshop only allowed fonts to be up to a certain size, so we had to select a font in Word, and apply this to the poster afterwards. Luckily Photoshop allowed us to remove the backgrounds of the typography which was necessary when adding the typography. We also used this tool for the title on our website.

Our final poster

At first, we weren't sure which image to use for our poster. We had a couple to choose from but neither of them were exactly what we wanted to use on a poster to represent our film.

We attempted to make a poster with this image- to see what it would look like after we edited it and added typography. However it didn't have the right tone we wanted to portray through our poster, and the theme of distortion wasn't present.

We next changed the image to one with two photos overlapping-something we do with our shots in our trailer. We matched up Bethan's eyes, which worked quite well. 

We decided that we also needed to change the typography- it was difficult to read and we didn't think it gave the poster the right tone.

This is our final poster.

The genre of our film is psychological thriller, and this is why we used two overlapping images. The photo is the key focus of the poster which is why our typography is minimalistic. Bethan is two people- before and after she takes the drug. The first image depicts her looking sideways- looking for a way out of her addiction. However, the more prominent image is the face of the drug-addict, suggesting no matter how hard the protagonist tries to beat her addiction- she can't win.  While the left image looks calm, and natural- the right face has a nosebleed to show her physical deterioration and mascara smudged under her eyes, to show her emotional deterioration.

The photo is quite dark- with a black background and a reddish/brown tint to the protagonist.  This is why we decided to make our typography white- so it is easily visible and catches the attention of the audience. The font is simplistic to contrast the complexity of the over lapping images, and what they signify. The title separates the tagline, making the words 'Harmonious Delirium' the centre of the audience's attention regarding typography. Although the quotes under the stars are small- the five star ratings are easy to see which will draw the attention of the audience anyway. 

Following the conventions of a typical film poster we have included the credits at the bottom of the poster. These are hard to read but the point of a poster isn't necessarily to promote the actors, director and producers.