I am very happy with the first cut edit of my film trailer, however I believe that there are still several elements which I improve upon.
Firstly, I am not entirely happy with the lighting in some of the shots. Some of the scenes seem a bit dark and lacking colour, so I will be looking to re-shoot these in the college theatre, this time using stage lighting to make the trailer brighter, more eye-catching and more professional looking.
I am also not happy with the framing of the shot in which one of the student throws his script upon the ground (1:30 - 1:37). Instead of having this whole action shown in one single shot, I will re-film these scene as a match-on-action sequence, the first scene a medium close up in which the boy is seen going to throw the script, the second a shot of the script hitting the floor. This will also give me a wider range of shot types and styles.
I also think that some of my graphic captions could look more interesting and exciting. When I come to re-edit some aspects of my trailer, I am going to seek advice to see if there is anyway I could make my graphic captions move or zoom in on the screen, much like they do in professional film trailers.
Final Cut Edit
Above is the final cut edit of my film trailer. I made several changes between the first cut edit and the final version of my trailer, such as re-filming some of the shots in the theatre using the professional stage lighting, altering some of the sound levels so that during the climactic moments the backing track volume increased and had more of an impact, creating a billing block and importing a sound effect of an applause over the final shot to give more of an atmosphere. The most common transition I used between the shots was a straight cut edit, particularly towards the end of my trailer when the narrative pace increases and I wanted to reflect this through the editing. I did however used fade to blacks to represent a passing in time or a change in location between some of the shots.
My trailer opens with four long shots of the characters in my film, who are seen bowing as if they have just completed a stage performance. I slowed these shots down to match the slow, repeating sequence in the backing track. My aim was to start the trailer off more slowly, then increase the pace of the narrative dramatically further into the trailer to create the sense of enthusiasm and excitement musicals conventionally create.
I followed this shot with a wide shot of some of the characters sat around a table, taking part in a discussion about a performance competition which will allow them to win £10,000 for the college. This shot is really important as it establishes the sense of the narrative and the relationships between the two sets of characters, the two boys, the underdogs in the contest who as an audience we naturally want to succeed, and their dreaded 'rivals', the two female characters.
I followed this sequence with four close up shots of the main characters in my film. I also inserted graphic captions alongside the shots, giving the details of the name of the actor playing the character, a conventional feature of film trailers. Close-ups are also a conventional shot used in trailers as they establish a relationship between the characters and the audience, as they clearly portray the character's emotions.
I then went on to establish the genre of the film as a musical through the next long-shot, in which one of the female characters performs a dance move. Once again I slowed this shot down to match the pace of the backing track.
The next sequence consists of a series of medium-close ups, taken from different conversations between the characters. This diegetic dialogue further establishes the relationships between the on-screen characters, as the males are portrayed as being aspirational and really wanting to win the competition, whereas as the girls are represented as being over-confident and nasty towards the boys, through the line "Too bad you're not going to get it."
After this sequence I inserted two graphic captions with voiceovers imported over the top, as these are also conventional features found in film trailers. The aim of graphic captions is to create further excitement and make people want to see the film, so I used the captions, "January 2010....Prepare to be blown away." To create a Hollywood style, over-the-top effect on the voiceovers, I stretched them using a tool on the editing suite, making the voice appear much deeper.
At this point in the trailer the pace of the narrative greatly increases, mirrored by the increase in speed and volume of the backing track. This is also the point when the lyrical section of my backing track begins, so I was able to match up the shots with the lyrics which best suited the situation on-screen. The action on-screen also becomes much more dynamic, showing one of the dancers first performing an impressive back flip, followed by a series of dance leaps. I reduced the speed of the back-flip and the leaps to make the moves seem powerful and strong, reflecting her strong personality in the film.
The next scene is one that I had re-filmed from my original edit, in which one of the male characters looks at himself in the mirror. In the original edit this shot was very dark and grainy, however with the lighting it looks much more effective and adds colour, and conventionally musicals are known for their bright colours and dramatic, dynamic shots. I followed this with two further graphic captions and voiceovers, which again I stretched out to give them a Hollywood blockbuster feel. These captions contain the slogan for my film which I have also used on my ancillary products, "They have a dream to perform". I chose to use a gold font for my graphic captions as gold connotes fame, fortune and success, key themes which run throughout my film.
Next I used an over-the-shoulder shot sequence to present a dialogue sequence between the two male characters, followed by a two-shot of the female characters also conversing in a stairway. These conversations again develop the sense of narrative, reaching the climax in the story.
The next shot I used is a match-on-action of one of the males throwing his script on the ground in anger. The match-on-action develops a sense of narrative pace whilst the backing track also begins to reach is climactic point. I also reduced the speed of this match-on-action shot by 50% to enhance the dramatic atmosphere I wanted it to create amongst the audience.
I matched the next long shot carefully with the repeated lyric in the song, "Don't stop believing," in which the two male characters are represented as being worried and stressed as the competition looms. The next line "Hold on to that feeling" also matches the on-screen narrative in which the two girls perform simultaneous dance spins. Once again I reduced the speed of this wide shot slightly to further enhance the drama and tension. This shot is followed by a long shot of one of the male characters reading a script, further establishing my film's genre as a musical and developing the narrative. The genre is further established through a long shot of one of the male characters break-dancing, which again I slowed down to build up tension and excitement amongst my audience.
The final scene in my trailer is a two-shot showing the two male characters walk through a red curtain, as if they are about to undergo their final performance. I imported a sound effect of an applause to create an atmosphere of a crowded theatre, again a conventional feature of the musical genre. This shot then fades to black to finish my trailer, building tension and leaving the audience wondering how the narrative will be resolved. I then used a fade to bring up the logo of my film, "Believe", which is very brightly coloured to represent the glimmering lights of Broadway. This is followed by a billing block with production logos, a conventional feature of film trailers, coupled with the traditional font used. I end my trailer with a final graphic caption, "In Cinemas January 2010". The release date is an important aspect of film trailers as this reveals to the audience when they will be able to see the full production.
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