Editing

Although filming seemed to be fun and exciting, editing was the best part of this entire coursework. We were taught how to use FinalCut Pro to edit our trailer. We all were heavily surprised to see what we were capable of with the help of this software. Thanks to our teacher James Murison and Steve who helped us in mastering this software. This helped us a lot and we were able to be more creative after learning how to use FinalCut.


Here is a preview of how we used FinalCut Pro:

Filming

Filming for the trailer was very much fun and exciting for all the members of the group, but was also challenging. We had to make sure that all the shots have been taken perfectly so that there is no room for error. Although it was our first time experience with this unique genre, I think my group worked together with its full potential and everyone gave their very best to produce a masterpiece.

 This scene was shot inside our college's Drama Studio.

 This scene was shot at Alam Raja's house.

 This running scene was shot at Morden Park.

 This epic scene was shot in one of the classroom's with a SamrtBoard in the background.

 This is a traffic light in the outskirts of Croydon.

The argument scene was shot in an alley way near Morden Station.

Shooting Script

The script has been written by all of my group members and we also kept in mind that it has to be similar to the daily life-style of a teenage boy and how he communicates with everyone around him.

Joshua's sister: What's this? (Angry voice)
After a while..
Joshua's sister: Just leave. And don't you dare take any of the stuff out of this house. (Annoyed and frustrated)


Conversation between Joshua and his friend:

Joshua's Friend:  Hello
Joshua: I know its late..... Listen I need your help right now.
Joshua's Friend: Yeh I'm sure I can hook you up with someone but its dirty business out there.


Conversation between Officer Benedict and Joshua's sister.

Benedict: I'm afraid your brother ran into some sort of trouble........


Conversation between Officer Benedict and The Commissioner

The Commissioner: Benedict, there are some papers here, these are Joshua's paper. Its very important that you get this worked out, we gotta get this guy down. He is extremely dangerous and it is upto you now to get this sorted out.


Meeting between Joshua and the Drug Lord.

Drug Lord: You agreed to this (long pause). Do as I say.....


At the very end, we have decided to use a dialogue which will have a great impact on the audience for its deeper meaning relating to the context.

Drug Lord: GAME OVER!

Storyboard

We decided to take sample pictures similar to the camera angles we thought of using for our trailer.

Treatment

Genre
The genre of our trailer will be crime thriller. This is because all of us (Me, Anid and Zara) believe that constructing a trailer based on real life events will help us bring out the best of us. Before deciding on anything, we analysed various trailers and then reached to this conclusion.
Synopsis
Joshua, a careless teenager, is kicked out of his house by his sister as his grades did not meet the expectation. Homeless, broke and no where to go, Joshua calls one of his friends for help. Joshua is introduced to a drug-lord by his friend and agrees to work for him as a messenger. Little did Joshua know, the cops were also keeping an eye on his moves.

While carrying out a deal, Joshua ends up in a pursuit with the police and accidentally drops the parcel and faces the cold truth. Since he dropped the parcel and was unable to carry out the deal, the drug-lord sets his dogs after him. Tangled up between the police and the underworld, Joshua journey towards his freedom is portrayed.
Characters
Till now we have decided on a few possible characters.
Joshua (Lead Character)- Anid Bytyci. As Anid is an AS drama student, we believe that his potential and knowledge about acting will help us achieve what we want.
Tony Pomfret (Drug Lord): A professionally trained actor who is best suited for this character for his experience and acting qualities.
Alam Raja (Joshua's Friend)- This is the first time Alam Raja will be starring in front of a camera. Since we have known him personally for a long time, we believe that his hidden acting talent will be our primary weapon to portray Joshua's friend.
Afroza Begum (Joshua's step-sister): Afroza has worked in front of cameras several times and knows how to get into the character. As she is living on her own and is also taking care of her brother, she is (without any doubt) the best suited actress for this character as she will be able to connect to it.
Possible filming Locations
Since our budget is limited and the storyline itself does not require any landmarks or skyscrapers to be shown in it, we have decided that our filming locations will be common place where teenagers who are involved with drugs usually hang out. Therefore, we have decided to film near Morden, Croydon, Morden Park, My house, Alam's house and the streets.

Harry Brown Trailer Analysis

Harry Brown Trailer Analysis

Harry Brown (2011) is a British film based on a crime thriller genre. The trailer gives a brief synopsis of the entire film. Almost all the basic camera angles have been used including hand-held camera shot which allows the audience to connect more to the trailer. The pace of the trailer has been balanced moderately. Jump cuts have been used but unlike other trailers, it does not get fast paced a the end. Extensive use of non-digetic sound will be noticed including a soundtrack which starts playing from the middle of the trailer. The mysterious type sounds creates suspense and surely helps in keeping the audience attached to it. The soundtrack helps in establishing the point of the director which is, darkness can never win against the light. Most of the shots used in the trailer are violent which gives the audience a hint that this film is very aggressive. Low camera angles are also used to show dominant features of a few characters including Harry Brown himself.

Brick (2005) Trailer Analysis

BRICK (2005) TRAILER ANALYSIS

Brick (2005) is a thriller film based on a story of a few high school kids getting involved with the drug world. At the beginning of the trailer, there is a conversation between the lead actor and his girlfriend. This conversation tells the audience what the film may be based on. Later, it is found out that the film is about a girl who gets involved with some drug lord and how her boyfriend (Lead Character) tries to solve mysteries and save his girlfriend from the darkest side of the world. The trailer has an extensive use of non-digetic sound which surely keeps the audience attracted to the trailer. The use of this technique also helps to build up suspense amongst the audience. Use of jump cuts are also extensively used. This also helps in creating suspense. Camera angles such as, establishing shots, close up, extreme close up, panning are used which makes the trailer more ecstatic and fun to watch. The trailer also includes reviews which helps it to gain more popularity amongst the audience

The poster has been created in the manner which obviously connects to the story. The picture of the lead actor and the girl has been layered on such an effect which looks like smoke. This gives the audience a hint of mystery and suspense. Reviews are also shown in the poster which adds a point for promotion.

NARC (2002). Commenting on Performance, Sound, Speech and Lighting

NARC

NARC is a crime film based on illegal drug trading, involving corrupt police officers. The film was directed and written by Joe Carnahan and released in 2002. The cinematic techniques used in the film are very unique and remarkable.














 One of the most remarkable part of the film is the opening sequence. The opening sequence is a chasing scene where the actor is running after someone through the streets. Since the hand-held camera shot is used, the audience connects to the scene right away.

Use of blue filter and low lighting method also brings up the significant difference between a dream from the memory and real life.

Performance:

Henry Oak, one of the major characters, is presented as a short-tempered police officer. His performance gives the audience hints of him having a brutal past, later it is shown that his family was killed. Although he is very emotional, but he acts to be very tough and strong.

Sound:

Loud and violent non-digetic sound is used in most part of the film. There are a few split scenes with loud music which relates to the situation and has a greater impact on the audience as they would be able to connect themselves to the film. Fast paced non-digetic sound is used during all the action and suspenseful scenes.

Lighting:

The lighting of this film is very dim and dark. This represents evil and unlawful events that have been taking place in the film. Bright lighting technique is also used at some scenes where it represented happiness for the characters. For example, when Henry Oak was talking about his family, he went to flashback where the lighting was very bright and colourful.

Moon. Commenting on the use of mise-en-scene, lighting and performance.

MOON

"MOON" is a 2009 British science fiction drama film direct by Duncan Jones. The film is based on a man who faces personal crisis during his last days on the moon as a part of his three year contract.

Lighting:

• If observed closely, it can be seen that when Sam is on the surface of the moon there are quite a lot of lens flares from the sun's light. This brilliant technique is used to make the shots more realistic and lively.
• Low lighting method has been used almost all throughout the film to make the atmosphere dark and cold and create suspense amongst the audience.
• A specific scene where Sam finds another Sam in the wrecked space-car, red lights are used. This method has been used to convey a message to the audience. Red symbolises danger, blood or something bad is about to happen.
• Whenever Sam goes out to the surface of the moon, it always shows that the background is always dark. This again, tells the audience that Sam is in a place where there is nothing he can do and live a normal life.

Mise-en-scene:

• The machine (Gurdy) has a voice which is gloomy and also expressionless so it is complicated for Sam to understand what he is trying to express. Gurdy also has a limited number of emoticons stored in his database to back up what he is saying. All this sum up and the bottom line is that Gurdy is a robot and therefore, he cannot express feelings like humans.
• The color setting of the spaceship is very dull and monotonous. This shows that Sam is lonely and it actually proves the point that he is not on earth, where everything is lively, full of emotions and colourful.
• Non-digetic sound is also used to to make the audience feel Sam's feelings to some extent. The music is soft and very painful. Therefore it reflects Sam's feelings and shows how lonely a person he is.
• There is a scene, where Sam goes to flashback and he sees all the happy and precious moments that he has spent with his family and it starts to fade away. This usually happens to people who are going to die and eventually Sam dies at the end.

Performance:

• Sam is always talking to himself as there is no one else to talk to.
• In the entire film, there are many times where he tells Gurdy, "Why won't you listen to me?" This is very much ironic as machines are not suppose to respond to human commands until it is legitimate. This again tells the audience that how lonely Sam is as he is all by himself.
• Sam eventually starts hallucinating and this shows that his mental stability is decreasing day by day .

The most interesting part of this film was the camera angles. I will try to include the high angles and the establishing shots into my trailer and make it look interesting too. 

Batman (1989). Analysing Mise en scene, Camera angles and Lighting

Batman 1989 is a classic film based on the best selling DC comic called "The Batman". The entire movie has been filmed in a fictional place called Gotham City, where Batman is the saviour and fights crime on his own. I will analyze mise en scene, camera angles and lighting step by step.

Mise en scene

• Batman (Bruce Wayne) always asks his butler Alfred to do things for him and also relies on his advise most of the time. This shows that Batman is dependant on his butler very much.
• Jack Napier (later Joker), in the beginning of the movie is very dull and quiet and boring. On the other hand, after the incident in the chemical factory, he turns Joker and his personality changes as he becomes more loud, lively, dresses colourfully and his sense of humour also increases. This conveys a message to the audience that Jack has dual personality problems.
• In the scene in the museum, when Joker's goons are ruining every picture, he suddenly stops one of his men from destroying one specific picture and orders him to keep it intact. That picture is a very dark and satanic picture which gives off negative energy to the viewers. This picture is focused because it reflects Joker's feelings and thoughts.
• Batman working alone, staying in the dark most of the time conveys a message to the audience that he likes to be lonely and alone and there is possibility that he also might have a bitter past, which we find out later in the film.
• There are a few dialogues which Batman and Joker use are quite similar. One specific one was when they went to Vale's apartment. Although both of them came at different times but said the same thing, "....nice place, lots of space....". This shows that Batman and Joker are quite similar in one way and their aims are also similar but they walk different paths.
• Although everyone in the film is using guns and grenades, Batman on the other hand uses special gadgets of his own which makes him stand out.
• At the very end of the film, when Joker starts giving out money to the people of Gotham, everyone thinks Joker to be a hero although he has been killing people. The director has tried to convey a message to the audience which is, money can buy anything.

Camera Angles
Basic camera angles such as, low angle, high angle, establishing shots, long shot, tracking shots etc. have been used in the film to describe different characters, situations and the effects of the characters.

• Establishing shot of the Gotham City in the beginning of the film
• Close up shot to the pictures from Vale's portfolio and the Joker likes them. As the pictures were disturbing and expressed sorrow and disaster, the close up shot stated that Joker also likes inflicting pain on other people.
• High angle shot on Batman when he breaks through the top in the museum. This shot made Batman look more superior and a dominating character in the film.
• Another example of high angle was when Joker was giving out money to people, the shot stated that he was dominating the people of Gotham by buying them out.

Lighting
The whole movie has mostly been filmed either at night or in the evenings.Very few shots were taken in the day time but still maintained a dark and gothic effect using low lighting method. The entire point of using low lighting method was to create suspense and mystery amongst the audience. Significant focal lighting or bright lights were used at some point to convey messages to the audience.

• Bat-cave, Batman's car and even his appearances are mostly at night or are very dark, which tells the audience that although Batman is a hero but he also has a bitter past or moments which he regrets and his life is very dull and he likes it this way.
• At one point, when Batman is dressing up before goes to face the Joker, there's light focused on Batman's face which gives the audience a hint that Batman is the only hope Gotham has got against Joker.

Overall, I thought it was very good film as it was made at the time where special effects were not yet introduced in film-making. The lighting style of the film interests me the most and I think I will try to implement this idea in my trailer.

Deconstructive Analysis of "Law Abiding Citizen" Trailer

LAW ABIDING CITIZEN

Law Abiding Citizen is a thriller film directed by F. Gary Gary, starring Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx which was released in 2009. The film took place in Philadelphia where it tells a story of Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler), whose family (wife and daughter) were brutally murdered and raped in front of his own eyes during a violent home invasion and how he brings down not only the murderers, but also the criminal justice system who had let him down when he demanded justice. 
















The opening shot is an aerial shot of the city of Philadelphia with high rise buildings and monuments which gives the audience an idea f the genre of the film, which might be related to high society corruption and politics. 

The lead roles are performed by Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx. Although both of them are quite well-known and famous, but according to me Gerard Butler is the USP (Unique Selling Point) as he has previously in films of the similar genre, such as, "300" and "The Gamer".

The dialogues in the trailer are very cautiously selected as each and every sentence is like a hint to the audience. The trailer is constructed like a puzzle where the director left hints and traces which would help the audience to make a general assumption of the character's personality and state of mind. For example:


Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx): You think your wife and daughter would feel good about you killing in their name? 
Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler): My wife and daughter can't feel anything. They're dead. 

Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler): .....It's gonna be Biblical.

The usage of dialogues informs the audience on how and why Gerard is trying to bring the whole system down.

The editing of the trailer is very slow paced in the beginning and then gradually picks up speed and becomes very fast paced at the end. This is done to create suspense amongst the audience and to attract them to watch the film. Various jump cuts have been used and there were approximately 100-110 shots in a 2:33 trailer.

The title itself shows up at the end of the trailer and again keeps the audience confused as Gerard Butler "does not" seem to be abiding the law in the trailer.

The non digetic music, again, is used to create suspense during the whole trailer as the music is very spooky and creepy, in other words, psychedelic.

No ratings or narrations have been included in the trailer. This may cause in the loss of audience as most audience look at ratings. 

In case of narration, most audience cannot interpret the message in the trailer in which case, they prefer a narrator who might dictate along with the trailer and give them the message.