Storyboard

I have just completed my first draft of my storyboard. This is how it currently looks.

After looking back at my storyboard and talking to Miss Elliott about it i believe that it is too much like an opening sequence so i will need to make it more short and snappy. I was also thinking about showing the first section of the final scene and them coming back to it at the end. This is to draw the attention of the viewer into the trailer. As the viewer knows that there is something wrong, then they will try and work it out as the trailer goes on which well help keep them focused on what is happening.

After researching into how to publish better documents, I found a website called ISSUU which makes publications look professional. This is my first draft storyboard in a book effect.

ISSUU STYLE FIRST DRAFT STORYBOARD

After looking at my storyboard and getting peoples opinions on my ideas, I have re-arranged my storyboard. Most people thought that the idea was more like an opening sequence rather than a trailer so I cut down the shots and put a returning scene in so that it looks more like a trailer. Most of the shots that are lost or shots from inside the car in the forest, however I have made up on the lost footage by adding the retuning scene of the train tracks. I have then taken my storyboard and created it on a publisher document and then uploaded the storyboard up to ISSUU.

FINAL STORYBOARD

RESEARCH INTO SIMILAR TRAILERS

In this post i will be looking at horror trailers that are set in the woods or have links to birthdays. I will be looking at camera angles, sound, narrative and lighting.

4 Horror Tales – Dark Forest

 This is a Korean film and trailer; however it is a very good trailer featuring a forest so believe it to be a good trailer to include. The story is of five trekkers who go on a mountain climbing trip. The journey leads them to walk through a forest which is meant to be off limits! Two of the trekkers get wounded and the group is faced with a serious problem, they are in an area that has no cell phone signal so they are completely cut off from the outside world. One of the trekkers, Jung-ah, is unwillingly able to see the future, a residual influence of her shaman parents.
 The trailer starts with a calm, normal clip of the group going to the mountain. They are all talking in the car and there is a recording from a video camera to make it the scene seem more normal. There is then a title and a loud sound that u would relate to a horror. It sound like someone is scratching their nails down a blackboard and making the hair on the back of your neck stand on end.
 The next clip is of the group as they enter into the forest. Its starts with a high shot and then focuses in the the trees to establish the location. There is a background voice over to narrate but it is in Japanese so I could not understand it. These couple of seconds are of the group just as they are entering into the forest, when all is fine and normal.
 However seconds later you begin to see how wrong that assumption is wrong. The female actress starts seeing flashback type images of a dead person lieing on the floor and other members of the group as they lie did. So the vision is obviously of the future and what will happen to them. This is then followed by one of the group falling and becoming injured just as she saw in her vision.
 As the night sky comes over them,weird things start to happen. They are being dragged out tents and turning into evil people. i believe this to be from the forest but is un-known. This gives the viewer the opportunity to think what ever they like about what has happened, which is usually worse than what producers can think of.
 It finishes with the main star being dragged under the car. Making the viewer wounder what has happened!

4 Horror Tales - Dark Forest

IDEA DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

I have just started thinking of ideas for my teaser trailer. I have already chosen the genre 'HORROR'and will be targeting at 16 - 30 year old. It would probably have a 15 certificate.

My first idea is called '17 MILES'

The idea is that a group of teenagers go out in one of their old highly prone to break down cars, to a club however they break down in a forest at exactly midnight. As they have no signal they decide to try and walk to the nearest town 17 miles away which is Marlborough, however they soon realise that the next 17 miles are going to be the worst 17 miles they have ever trekked!

After much thought into my idea my original idea, 17 Miles, I have realised that my first ideas has a few problems. The main problem is that I don’t have anyone to drive in the trailer. I have fixed this problem by making it so that it’s a family outing rather than a teenage outing. This way I can get a parent to drive which makes filming a lot easier.

 My improved idea is called ‘18^th Birthday’. It is about me as I turn 18 and am going out with my family to celebrate. It becomes an 18^th to remember but not for the right reasons.



 It is my 18th birthday and me and my family are going out. On the way the car breaks down in a dark forest. Unfortunately there is no signal so the parent goes to find help, however they don't come back so me and the rest of my family have to go and find help for ourselves. This was the worst idea as we were taking ourselves away from the security of the car, into the dark woodland. As we trek through the woodland, we start to realise that we are being followed and we start to disappear. At the end of the trailer, it is just me left. There is a shot from the murderers eyes following me, then as i turn it is a shot from my eyes and a train goes past so i don't get to see them. 

TRAILER CONVENTION

Piranha 3D

 Piranha 3D is a horror/thriller about a species of piranha which vanished 2 million years ago, however an earthquake has opened a crack in the lakes floor down to their cave and unleashed them once again! This has happened at the worst time as it is spring break and thousands of college kids have gone down to the lake to celebrate. The coastguard tries to warn them of the lake shouting "The sheriff has declared an emergency!" but a student shouts in response "Don't worry we've got beer over here" which puts a stop to the coastguards announcement and the party continues. But not for much longer! As one of the prehistoric piranha bits its first victim, it draws blood which draws in the whole pack to the location of all 20 thousand students. The trailer shows as the pack swarms in on the students, hunting down their prey.

 Piranha shows some conventions of a trailer however there are a few added extras to add tension. The first text that is shown is the film company logo, Dimension Films, which is shown in the 17th second to tell the viewer straight away exactly who makes the film. It then tells the viewer that it is the same director of 'The Hills Have Eyes' and producer of '300' which will show the viewer that this is very likely going to be a very good film. The next thing it tells you when the film will be released, and then it will reinstade this at the end of the trailer. It has an unusul title sequence in which is has single words every second which eventually says 'HOW FAST CAN YOU SWIM?'. This is to show the threat that they are under. The last thing after the trailer that you will see is the title followed by the release date.

PIRANHA 3D TRAILER

CONVENTIONS OF A TRAILER

Conventions of a trailer:

• Title
• Film company logo
• Actors
• Show genre
• Release date
• Elements of the plot
• Camera angles
• Music
• Dialogue

PURPOSE OF A TRAILER

 The purpose of a trailer is to:

• Attract an audience
• Advertise an upcoming film
• Give a taster of the film
• Show the actors
• Show the genre
• Helps the film company tell how much interest there is
• Shows a unique selling point - Special Effects, 3D, Actors