Friday, 1 March 2019
Theatrical Trailer Draft 1
I also have made progress on my theatrical trailer and, although it is also incomplete, I feel that I have made more progress with it than with my teaser, However, I feel that the character of Juniper, the main female protagonist of the film, needs more screen-time.
Teaser Trailer Draft 2
After more filming and editing I have uploaded another draft of my teaser trailer, however it is also incomplete and there are still edits I would like to make- More updates to follow
Tuesday, 19 February 2019
Thursday, 14 February 2019
The Lost Key: First Teaser Draft
After beginning to edit the first draft of my teaser trailer, I thought I would upload an incomplete prototype so I could measure my progress. As you can See, so far I have kept most of it accurate to the storyboard, however, there are still shots that I have edited slightly and am yet to add.
-The original storyboard
- The Prototype Teaser
Monday, 11 February 2019
Filming On Location
Thursday, 24 January 2019
Choosing Costumes.
I went down to the school's costume department to see if I could use any in my film. I wanted to keep them true to the genre so I looked at costumes in already established fantasy films and loosely based mine on those.
Wednesday, 16 January 2019
Creating a Campaign for my Trailer- Website Plan
This is just a quick sketch of what I want my website to look like. I decided to go with a quite simple design as I am inexperienced with coding or making websites. The platform I will be making it on will be Wix, due to it's easy to use, user-friendly interface.
As one can see, it is a very simple design, however, if I am feeling confident I will try to make it more advanced and improve it where necessary. I came up with the tagline Unlock your past, to open your future. Which I thought had a nice ring to it as well as linking into a key theme of the film.
Wednesday, 19 December 2018
Location Scouting for my Trailer
The other day, I went out searching for locations that I could use in my trailer. Thankfully, when drawing up the storyboards, I drew locations that I was already planning on using, then went out and took pictures of said locations.
The first are some pictures of a forest that I live nearby. I thought that they would be perfect to film in, due to the easy accessibility and relevance to the genre, as forests are one of the more common conventions of Fantasy texts.
The first are some pictures of a forest that I live nearby. I thought that they would be perfect to film in, due to the easy accessibility and relevance to the genre, as forests are one of the more common conventions of Fantasy texts.
Another location I thought would be good to use were these old ruins that are also relatively close to me. This would be a prime place to film because of the accessibility (being on a public footpath) and the fact that it is far enough away from any modern buildings or roads that it could genuinely seem like it was in the past.
Thursday, 13 December 2018
Monday, 10 December 2018
Improving my Editing Skills
Our school holds a bi-annual charity trip to Monduli, Tanzania. In it, myself and some other students went to different schools and did jobs such as planting tree lines and painting walls in the rooms. Being an avid media student I decided to film much of the trip so that I might one day make something of it, and sure enough earlier this December, our school had it's yearly fundraiser. I wanted to be involved, so I thought I'd edit together a video together to show at the event, to both show people what we did and also try and convince more students to participate in the charity. And although the video has got nothing in common with what I am doing, I thought it would be good practice.
Editing the video however, became quite a struggle as it had been a while since I had done anything like that. I had not done any editing since my AS Level Film Opening and it really proved to be a struggle. At first I tried to use Adobe Premiere Pro, but that proved to be a problem, as it kept crashing every time I tried to use it. Luckily my laptop had built in editing software, so I used that instead.
Although it started off quite easily, I began to struggle a bit with transferring the clips from my SD card to my laptop, however, this was soon solved and I was adding clips and photos in no time. I did also have some trouble with saving as well, but I was eventually able to sort that out and my video began to take shape. I finally finished it, the night before it was due, but I was happy with it nonetheless. I really think that it improved my editing skills and that I have become more used to making new videos.
|| Unfortunately, I was unable to upload the video with music as it was blocked on copyright grounds||
|| Unfortunately, I was unable to upload the video with music as it was blocked on copyright grounds||
Sunday, 18 November 2018
Pitch For My Film/Trailer
Pitch for my Film: The Lost Key
Overview
I have always loved the fantasy genre, from the day I read what to this day remains my favourite book: C.S Lewis' The Magician's Nephew I fell in love with the whimsical awe of the stories that could be told in this genre. Growing up I continued to watch and read all the fantasy I could, from BBC's TV series Merlin to Peter Jackson's The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogies. I'd always wanted to make a fantasy film of my own, one that meant as much to other people as others have meant to me.
Beat Sheet
1: Opening- Two old men are ambushed by main antagonist MALUS. He kills one of them whilst the other one mutters a spell that teleports the key wrapped around his neck. Angry, MALUS kills him before demanding to his followers to find it.
2: JUNIPER, our main protaginist. She is at home with her family, her brother CORNELIUS and her father WILLIAM. She leaves the house to go hunting.
3: JUNIPER is in the woods when she all of a sudden notices a flash of light, when she goes to investigate she sees the key hanging from a branch. She recognises it and picks it up.
4: JUNIPER takes the key home and is admiring it when she shows her father. He tells her to show the local mage to see what he thinks.
5: One of MALUS' followers tells him that the key has fallen into the hands of a young girl. MALUS, angry prepares to go and find her and the key. MALUS wants the key to open a chest that would give him the ability to rule over the kingdom.
6: She shows CAPITOUS the mage. He straight away recognises it and tells her the story behind the key and chest. He tells her that the key is sough after by many and that she is in grave danger if she keeps it. It opens a chest that contains a powerful spell that in the wrong hands could be a disaster. She then tells him that her mother wrote of the very same key before she went missing.
7: Longing for answers over their mother, JUNIPER and CORNELIUS plan to find the chest and open it for answers. So they head back to CAPITOUS for help.
8: They get to CAPITOUS' home and ask him for a map to the chest. Reluctantly he hands them a map and then a letter, written by their mother. He tells them there's something they need to know about her but he is shot with an arrow through the heart before he can say what.
9: The two run from CAPITOUS' home and head to their own, where they take their horses and ride off through the town towards the woods.
10: They shake off their pursuers and rest at the foot of a mountain, where they read the letter and map from CAPITOUS. They gather resources and rest for the night.
11: They start to head east towards the ruins of Crekern Castle, a mythical place that lies on the top of Mount Trianth. We see lots of footage of them on their journey.
12: A few weeks into the journey, they reach a crevice and must find a way to cross. They find a makeshift bridge, however it can only take them and not their horses, so they let them go.
13: JUNIPER makes it across the bridge with ease, but CORNELIUS struggles and gets stuck in the middle. All of a sudden MALUS and his followers appear on the other side and they begin firing arrows at CORNELIUS.
14: MALUS gets up to the end of the bridge and tries to bargain with them, offering to spare their lives for the key. JUNIPER refuses and tells her brother to jump.
15: He does so and MALUS cuts down the bridge as CORNELIUS barely reaches the other side. MALUS warns that this isn't over as the two run off away from the crevice.
16: The two are travelling when they find a farmhouse, they go there to seek refuge and find SUSANA. She tells them about MALUS and why he is after the key. The next morning she sends them off with some supplies and wishes them luck.
17: We cut back to MALUS. He has found another way across the crevice and begins chanting a spell to himself and coming from the crevice there is a deafening roar.
18: JUNIPER and CORNELIUS are talking to each other by the campfire. They are talking about their mother. They get into a big fight and CORNELIUS storms away angry at his sister and unwilling to go on with the quest. He begins to head home.
19: JUNIPER is climbing to the top of a mountain when all of a sudden she sees Mount Trianth and Crekern Castle. She is about to head down when she hears a loud noise behind her.
20: MALUS comes in on the back of a huge dragon, he is holding CORNELIUS in his hand and threatens to drop him if she does not return the key. Defeated, she gives him the key for her brothers's life and asks why he needs the chest. He reveals that it was hidden by his sister who is also their mother. Making him the uncle of the two children.
21: The two watch MALUS as he flies towards Crekern Castle in order to open the chest. JUNIPER and CORNELIUS decide that the right thing to do is to follow him and try to stop their uncle at all costs.
22: MALUS searches for the chest in the ruins whilst the children run up to the top. He finds the chest just as JUNIPER reaches him. She tries to reason with him but he refuses. He picks up the chest and unlocks it.
23: Suddenly, CORNELIUS, who was hiding behind him, runs out, knocks him over and the chest goes flying across the floor. It lands at the feet of JUNIPER, and falls open. MALUS, angry stabs CORNELIUS, killing him and desperately tries to catch it and stop her but it's too late.
24: JUNIPER, now endowed with ancient magic has a duel with MALUS. He tries to put up a fight, but is no match for her. He tries to retreat, and calls out his dragon, which takes him away from the fight.
25: As soon as he's gone, JUNIPER falls to the ground and sees CORNELIUS. He is dead and she begins to mourn with him in her arms. Suddenly she hears her mother's voice. She tells JUNIPER that she could save him, but that she'd have to give up her newfound powers.
26: JUNIPER agrees and with one final enchantment brings her brother back to life. The magic leaves her and goes back into the chest which slams shut. CORNELIUS wakes up and asks what happened, when JUNIPER turns back around their mother is gone.
27: ONE MONTH LATER and the two finally return home. Their father is overjoyed to see them and asks about what happened. They tell him the whole story.
28: JUNIPER heads to the sea and casts the key away on a makeshift raft. It sails over the horizon, never to be found by anyone again.
29: When JUNIPER arrives home she finds a crow on her windowsill, he has a parchment in his mouth that she takes. It is another letter from her mother, and a map with instructions on how to find her.
30: MALUS, is in his lair, watching JUNIPER through a magic cauldron. He smiles to himself and looks at the map, he turns and tells a shadowy figure in the background that they have the location of his sister. Cut to black.
2: JUNIPER, our main protaginist. She is at home with her family, her brother CORNELIUS and her father WILLIAM. She leaves the house to go hunting.
3: JUNIPER is in the woods when she all of a sudden notices a flash of light, when she goes to investigate she sees the key hanging from a branch. She recognises it and picks it up.
4: JUNIPER takes the key home and is admiring it when she shows her father. He tells her to show the local mage to see what he thinks.
5: One of MALUS' followers tells him that the key has fallen into the hands of a young girl. MALUS, angry prepares to go and find her and the key. MALUS wants the key to open a chest that would give him the ability to rule over the kingdom.
6: She shows CAPITOUS the mage. He straight away recognises it and tells her the story behind the key and chest. He tells her that the key is sough after by many and that she is in grave danger if she keeps it. It opens a chest that contains a powerful spell that in the wrong hands could be a disaster. She then tells him that her mother wrote of the very same key before she went missing.
7: Longing for answers over their mother, JUNIPER and CORNELIUS plan to find the chest and open it for answers. So they head back to CAPITOUS for help.
8: They get to CAPITOUS' home and ask him for a map to the chest. Reluctantly he hands them a map and then a letter, written by their mother. He tells them there's something they need to know about her but he is shot with an arrow through the heart before he can say what.
9: The two run from CAPITOUS' home and head to their own, where they take their horses and ride off through the town towards the woods.
10: They shake off their pursuers and rest at the foot of a mountain, where they read the letter and map from CAPITOUS. They gather resources and rest for the night.
11: They start to head east towards the ruins of Crekern Castle, a mythical place that lies on the top of Mount Trianth. We see lots of footage of them on their journey.
12: A few weeks into the journey, they reach a crevice and must find a way to cross. They find a makeshift bridge, however it can only take them and not their horses, so they let them go.
13: JUNIPER makes it across the bridge with ease, but CORNELIUS struggles and gets stuck in the middle. All of a sudden MALUS and his followers appear on the other side and they begin firing arrows at CORNELIUS.
14: MALUS gets up to the end of the bridge and tries to bargain with them, offering to spare their lives for the key. JUNIPER refuses and tells her brother to jump.
15: He does so and MALUS cuts down the bridge as CORNELIUS barely reaches the other side. MALUS warns that this isn't over as the two run off away from the crevice.
16: The two are travelling when they find a farmhouse, they go there to seek refuge and find SUSANA. She tells them about MALUS and why he is after the key. The next morning she sends them off with some supplies and wishes them luck.
17: We cut back to MALUS. He has found another way across the crevice and begins chanting a spell to himself and coming from the crevice there is a deafening roar.
18: JUNIPER and CORNELIUS are talking to each other by the campfire. They are talking about their mother. They get into a big fight and CORNELIUS storms away angry at his sister and unwilling to go on with the quest. He begins to head home.
19: JUNIPER is climbing to the top of a mountain when all of a sudden she sees Mount Trianth and Crekern Castle. She is about to head down when she hears a loud noise behind her.
20: MALUS comes in on the back of a huge dragon, he is holding CORNELIUS in his hand and threatens to drop him if she does not return the key. Defeated, she gives him the key for her brothers's life and asks why he needs the chest. He reveals that it was hidden by his sister who is also their mother. Making him the uncle of the two children.
21: The two watch MALUS as he flies towards Crekern Castle in order to open the chest. JUNIPER and CORNELIUS decide that the right thing to do is to follow him and try to stop their uncle at all costs.
22: MALUS searches for the chest in the ruins whilst the children run up to the top. He finds the chest just as JUNIPER reaches him. She tries to reason with him but he refuses. He picks up the chest and unlocks it.
23: Suddenly, CORNELIUS, who was hiding behind him, runs out, knocks him over and the chest goes flying across the floor. It lands at the feet of JUNIPER, and falls open. MALUS, angry stabs CORNELIUS, killing him and desperately tries to catch it and stop her but it's too late.
24: JUNIPER, now endowed with ancient magic has a duel with MALUS. He tries to put up a fight, but is no match for her. He tries to retreat, and calls out his dragon, which takes him away from the fight.
25: As soon as he's gone, JUNIPER falls to the ground and sees CORNELIUS. He is dead and she begins to mourn with him in her arms. Suddenly she hears her mother's voice. She tells JUNIPER that she could save him, but that she'd have to give up her newfound powers.
26: JUNIPER agrees and with one final enchantment brings her brother back to life. The magic leaves her and goes back into the chest which slams shut. CORNELIUS wakes up and asks what happened, when JUNIPER turns back around their mother is gone.
27: ONE MONTH LATER and the two finally return home. Their father is overjoyed to see them and asks about what happened. They tell him the whole story.
28: JUNIPER heads to the sea and casts the key away on a makeshift raft. It sails over the horizon, never to be found by anyone again.
29: When JUNIPER arrives home she finds a crow on her windowsill, he has a parchment in his mouth that she takes. It is another letter from her mother, and a map with instructions on how to find her.
30: MALUS, is in his lair, watching JUNIPER through a magic cauldron. He smiles to himself and looks at the map, he turns and tells a shadowy figure in the background that they have the location of his sister. Cut to black.
Theory
I tried to include as much theory as I could in my beat sheet. I made sure to apply Todorov's Narrative Theory and follow the chain of: Equilibrium, Disruption, Recognition of disruption, Attempt to repair and New Equilibrium. I also took into account some of Propp's Character theory and included characters such as: The hero, the villain, the dispatcher and the helper. e.t.c.
Representation
In terms of representation I thought I'd try to focus on a female main character. Juniper is a teenage girl with a little brother Cornelius. I felt that instead of having a male lead, which is what most films and texts in this genre focus on, I'd have her instead.
Conclusion
Altogether, I feel that The Lost Key uses many tropes of the fantasy genre, as well as theory and representation. I think that I will have fun when making the trailers and hope to give a production that means a lot, as well as being enjoyable.
Tuesday, 13 November 2018
What Age Rating Should I Make My Film?
What Age Rating Should My Film Be?
Over the years there have been many fantasy films made, to many different audiences. But if I were to be making a fantasy film I would have to know what my target audience was, the target audience that most Fantasy Films are aimed towards. So I Looked at the BBFC Website to read up on the age ratings and decide which was best.
A 'U' rating means that the film is suitable for all ages, but mainly aged 4 and over as adults would not know what particular children may find disturbing. In 'U' rated films you would have a very restricted use of threat and violence, which would be poor for my story as I would not be able to show many realistic scenes of danger, making the stakes very low. However, lots of children's media is fantasy based which means I would have a larger target demograph.
BBFC Rating: U
A 'U' rating means that the film is suitable for all ages, but mainly aged 4 and over as adults would not know what particular children may find disturbing. In 'U' rated films you would have a very restricted use of threat and violence, which would be poor for my story as I would not be able to show many realistic scenes of danger, making the stakes very low. However, lots of children's media is fantasy based which means I would have a larger target demograph.
BBFC Rating: PG
'PG' stands for Parental Guidance and it is similar to 'U' in that it is mainly directed towards children. However, this again means I am limited in what I can show in terms of violence and threat as a 'PG' rating gives the parents a choice over weather their child should watch it. However, yet again fantasy is always a popular genre with children so that is also noteworthy.
BBFC Rating 12/ 12A
BBFC Rating 15
A'15' Rating would be perfect if I were planning to do a more mature film. However, the guidelines are more strict when it comes to '15's, as no one younger than this age is allowed to watch one of these films in a cinema. This means the amount of people that can see my film would be greatly restricted. I would be able to up the stakes however, as the threats would be much more serious and realistic.
BBFC Rating 18
Finally we have the '18' rating. This is the highest BBFC age rating that can be shown in commercial cinemas. '18' Films tend to show graphic scenes of a sexual and violent nature, which is not the sort of thing I want my trailer to be focusing on, so I would probably not use this as my target audience as you don't get many fantasy films with '18' ratings.
Conclusion
Altogether I feel that a '12/12A' rating is the best for my trailer as it means I can have a really good balance of what I can show and who can watch it. As another note there have been many famous and popular films that have been made with a '12/12A' rating.
Thursday, 8 November 2018
Genre Theory in the Trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
I recently made a blog analysing the use of narrative theory in the trailer for the first Lord of the Rings trailer. So I thought it would be fitting to now analyse the first of the prequel films; The Hobbit trilogy. This time however, I did it on genre theory.
The Hobbit Trailer - Genre Theory
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