PROMO PACK BRIEF

Ben Richardson 1853

I worked with Sam De Bruin 1815, Matt Heyns 1828 and Finn Hanley 1824.

Our brief was to make a promo package, consisting of at teaser trailer, full trailer, film poster and social media pages for a film.

Our film was called Off The Leash. Off The Leash is a horror/thriller film following the adventure of four teenage boys investigating a group of violent protestors called the 'Transparent Animals'. The film takes place during the covid-19 pandemic, which has forced the government to take action by initiating a national lockdown. As a result of the lockdown precautions, the Transparent Animals have begun committing violent crimes and misbehaving in order to show their disrespect towards the governments. The group wear animal masks in order to hide their identity and appear intimidating. 

You can see my Creative Critical Reflection by clicking here or you can access it by clicking the page above.

Camera Work: We filmed the majority of our film using an iPhone camera. We used an iPhone 12 Pro camera, which films in very high quality (4K HDR).  As each member of the production team also appeared in front of camera, everyone had to do their fair share of filming. In scenes that I was not in, I often was behind the camera filming. Furthermore, if I was behind the camera and another person in the team was filming, I would be giving advice and recommendations about different camera angles and shots we could use to create meaning.

Editing: We used Final Cut Pro to edit our film. Throughout production, Matt was our chief editor due to his previous experience editing footage using Final Cut Pro. However, I also helped out and made suggestions for edits we could implement and came up with different ideas and variations. For example, I suggested that we use a variety of short clips (e.g. close ups) with fast editing in order to build suspension and create an eery atmosphere for our film.

Lighting: We filmed a large amount of our trailer outside in the woods, so we used natural lighting for the majority of our production. However, some of our trailer was filmed in the dark-room at school where we used a variety of red lights to create a scary effect. I thought the red lights would connote a threatening situation and I feel as if it was successful.

Directing: Throughout our entire process, each team member contributed ideas and thoughts about plots, shot-types, locations and props. This was very helpful as it allowed us to always have a variety of options when it came to filming. One main directing aspect that I took control of was finding props. For instance, I suggested that the antagonists wear animal masks and I found my animal masks that are used in our trailer. Furthermore, I was able to sort out getting a car to use for one of our scenes that required it.

Main Trailer

Teaser Trailer

Film Poster

Social Media: Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/offtheleash22/

REFLECTIONS: DARK ROOM

When I reflect over our film trailer, multiple scenes stand out to me as being successful in creating meaning. Some of my favourite footage from our trailer is the clips we got in the schools dark room. Using the dark room allowed us to film creepy, eery footage with jump-scares. We used red lighting in order to build tension, as red often connotes warning and danger. Furthermore, we filmed using found footage which made the audience feel as if they were actually in the shoes of the protagonist and experiencing the horror for themselves. 

We used a variety of different camera angles in order to portray the antagonists as threatening and scary in this footage. For example we used a low-angle shot (see below) in order to connote power and authority which is something that the protesters want to have. We also use a mid shot which showed a protester and also enables the audience to see what he was wearing, along with the background of the room, informing the audience of the location.

Overall, when reflecting on the footage captured in the dark room, I believe it was some of our most successful footage as clearly emphasises the horror genre of our film. The footage was scary as it acted as a jump scare for audiences to experience. I also feel as if the variety of camera angles proved to be successful in creating a sinister undertone for the antagonists.

CHANGES: STORYLINE

One main change we made during our production was to the storyline of our trailer. Originally, we had a completely different idea from Off The Leash. When we were researching we came across the TV show 'Hunted' on Channel 4. This TV show explored the idea of a group of people on the run from another group who had the aim to 'hunt the runners down'. We liked this idea as we thought we may be able to develop it into an enticing, action film. We explored different ideas; one idea we had was to have someone who owed a powerful organisation a lot of money (maybe drug money) and was on the run from them. We believed this idea could work because we could create an action-thriller trailer using lots of short clips and fast editing.

Eventually, as a production team we drifted away from this idea as we realised that involving drugs and dirty money is not suitable for audiences under 18 and that would significantly limit our target audience. We still were enthusiastic about the idea of an action-thriller, so we still followed this idea. We had to adapt our plot so it was more suitable to younger audiences, but also keep the genre we liked, this proved to be difficult as we had to work around fine margins. However, we eventually came up with the idea of 'Off the Leash!'. We still took inspiration from Hunted in the sense that there were a group of antagonists terrorising a group of teenagers. We also made our protagonists teenagers, this was a good idea as it will attract younger, teenage audiences to watch our film because they feel as if they can relate to the characters of similar age.

Overall, I believe the change to our storyline was successful and for the best.

REFINEMENTS: FILM POSTER

One refinement I made was to my film poster. Once I had finished my first draft I realised that I could significantly improve it as certain features were not right. For example, in my first draft the central image was slightly being obstructed by the film title. The refinement I made to overcome this issue was swapping the position of the film title and the tagline, using photoshop. By doing this it freed up more room towards the top of my poster, enabling the face of my central image to stand out and no longer be obstructed. This was a key edit as it must be clear that the figure is wearing an animal mask, as this is an important, reoccurring feature within our film.

Furthermore, in order to make room for my film title at the bottom of my poster, I had to edit the billing block and make it shorter and wider, in order to create more space above. This was an easy edit to make on photoshop as I could just edit the size of the font and compress it. This was also an important edit as it was important to make my film poster look professional. Professional film posters often have small billing blocks that are barely visible, in order to fit more important content onto the poster, such as the central image. I would say that this edit was successful as my poster turned out well and I am pleased with how professional it looks.

EDITS: GREEN SCREEN

One key edit we had to make in our production process was centred around the news reporter scene. We made use of the media departments green screen and Final Cut Pro in order to create an effect where the reporter appeared to be in a studio. This edit was one of the most challenging, but important edits we had to make. It was important to make this scene look realistic and convincing because if the editing appeared lazy and sloppy it could make our production team look unprofessional.

Using Final Cut Pro we were able to remove the background of the image and just select the reporter (Tom). We were able to complete this edit with relative ease because we filmed the footage against the green screen which had a strongly contrasting colour from what the reported was wearing. This allowed us to differentiate the reporter from the background. Next, we had to import an image of a news studio as the new background. We researched various images and eventually found one we thought would look convincing. Once more, using Final Cut Pro we could successfully underlay the image behind the reporter to make it look like he was sitting in a news studio.

Overall, I was happy with how this edit turned out. We were successful in creating a convincing edit that makes it look like our news reporter is in a studio.

CONSTRUCTION: INSTAGRAM

 

CONSTRUCTION: FILM POSTER

I created my film poster using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom. The process was relatively long as I had to go into great detail at several different occasions. I had to teach myself how to use the applications as I had no experience using either apps before. I would say I learnt relatively quickly and managed to produce a realistic poster which successfully portrays our genre and vibe.

I wanted to create a poster which highlights the scariness and severity of our group of antagonists, The Transparent Animals. After school one day I went to the woods with my dad where we took a selection of photos of the trees and me wearing my goat mask. Some turned out good and others not so good. After reviewing all the photos I picked the one I liked best and began to edit it on Adobe Lightroom.

Original photo

I chose to use Adobe Lightroom to edit my photo as it is easy to use and offers a wide range of filters and effects that I could use when customising my initial image. I edited the features of my image such as the shadows, exposure and added a red effect over the sky and trees. I was happy with the red effect I was able to create as it added a sinister and scary ambience to my poster which fit with our horror genre.

Adobe Lightroom

Finally, once my image was edited I dropped it into photoshop so I could begin to overlay my text and make some final adjustments. I used the 'Shock Therapy' font for my poster as its rigid corners and serious undertone emphasise our horror genre. One change I had to make to my poster was removing the logo that was visible on my shirt. This was simple as I just had to take a brush and apply some black over the white logo, making it invisible.

Adobe Photoshop

Finally, once I was happy with the way my poster was looking (the font, the background and the central image), I began to make some final adjustments. After looking at my first draft I realised that the central image was being obstructed by my film title. It is important that the central image of a poster stands out and attract attention, therefore I felt it was necessary to swap the places of the film title and tagline. This was an easy change to make as I just swapped the places of the two texts on my canvas. I was felt that the poster looked much better this way as the head section of my central image was no longer being obstructed.

Another final adjustment I had to make was making the size of the billing block smaller. This was a necessary change to make as it stops audiences from being drawn to it and focusing on other aspects of the poster such as the central image and film title.

First Draft                                                                   Final Poster

CONSTRUCTION: FILMING

22nd November

We filmed the main portion of our trailer on the 22nd November in Esher woods. The filming was a lengthy process as there were multiple different scenes and varying shots that we needed to capture. When we arrived we realised that some of our initial ideas may not work, such as using found footage for our entire film. We overcame this by using a variety of found footage, as well as some regular filming. We decided to film in these woods because we could all easily access them. Furthermore, the sunlight provided good natural lighting.

As stated above, we used found footage in our trailer. Found footage is where the camera is held by an actor in the trailer as they film. In our trailer, Kyle was usually the one behind the camera and asking questions. For example, in one of our scenes Kyle is filming and says 'is this thing even filming'. This is an example of found footage. Found footage is useful as it makes the audience feel as if they are in the film themselves and provides them with insight and makes them feel involved. We used found footage in other scenes as well.

In the scenes which we did not use found footage, we used a variety of different camera angles and shots in order to create meaning. For example, we used an over-the-shoulder shot capturing Blake's reaction to a branch suddenly snapping in the distance. This shot was successful as it allowed the audience to see Blake's reaction and shows that the focus of the shot is Blake.

Another shot that we used was an establishing shot. We were able to capture this shot using Matt's drone. We flew the drone over the woods in Esher in order to capture a short clip of the drone flying over the woodland area. An establishing shot is useful as it shows the audience where the trailer is going to be set.

1st December

On the 1st December we filmed the scene with Alecia in the car. This was an important scene in our trailer because it introduces the antagonists as scary and menacing. The footage we got was all filmed in a car park near Esher. We needed to film the shot where the man in the goat mask appears in front of Alecia's car. We used an over the shoulder shot filmed from the back seat of the car, showing the windscreen of the car from the inside. Then the man appeared in the windscreen and Alecia screams. We captured this scene well as it shows the scariness of the Transparent Animals and the vulnerability of Alecia.

The other shot we needed to get was a camera angle that could show Alecia in the driving seat, but now also showed men with animal masks sitting in the back seat. We used a three shot of Alecia in the foreground, sitting on the drivers seat and the masked men in the background in the back seats. The three shot was useful as it allowed us to capture Alecia's reaction as well as the two men sitting in the back. 

On this date we also filmed our protest scene which introduced the audience to the cause of the Transparent Animal's protesting, the covid-19 lockdown procedures. In the protest scene we used a variety of different short clips and a range of camera angles. We used a tracking shot that followed the protesters down the road and various close ups of the signs and banners. These camera angles created meaning as they introduced the audiences to the antagonists, at the beginning of the trailer.

CONSTRUCTION: NEWS REPORT

The construction of this scene proved to be very successful. The news report scene is one of the most important in our trailer as it gives the context behind the Transparent Animals. Therefore, it was very important to get in perfect.

During the filming of this scene, we made use of the media departments green screen (which we would later edit out and replace with a news studio). We filmed this part of the trailer with a DSLR camera on a tripod. Using the tripod allowed us to keep the footage steady and look professional. The audio on the camera was not very good, so we placed an iPhone behind Tom whilst he spoke in order to capture the audio very precisely. 

SCRIPT:

There has been numerous sightings of violent protesters wearing animal masks around Esher woods and the surrounding areas. The group call themselves The Transparent Animals and are terrorising locals in order to protest against the recent lockdown procedures, in light of the skyrocket in Covid-19 cases in the area. We would strongly advice all citizens to stay out of the woods at all times as there have been reports of aggravated assault and possession of offensive weapons. WE REMIND YOU – FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY, PLEASE STAY OUT OF THE WOODS AT ALL TIMES.

CONSTRUCTION: MAKING PROPS

PLANNING: CASTING

Casting is a key part to any film as it is very important that actors are able to successfully convey the messages and personalities of the characters in the film. For example, someone who is confident and loud may not be able to successfully portray a shy, quiet character. Casting is also important as if a film is poorly cast it reflects very badly on the quality of the end product. I have made a brief presentation explaining why we decided to cast our actors for their roles.

Casting a2 from BenRichardson55

PLANNING: COSTUMES

Costumes from BenRichardson55

PLANNING: PROPS

 

PLANNING: RISK ASSESSMENT

Risk Assessment	Hazard Proposed	Hazard posed to whom	Risk Level	How Risk was Controlled
Journey to location of filming.	Walking from Esher to the woods  and back from to Esher from the woods– cars.      Travelling via train to and from Esher – big step between train and platform, fast moving trains, public behaviour.                  Travelling via car to and from Esher – be aware of other drivers and pedestrians.	All 4 of us.               Sam, Finn                              Ben, Matt	High               Medium                              High	We took extra care when travelling to our site of filming, always looking both ways when crossing a road.   Sam and Finn will take extra care when entering and exiting the train making sure to check how big the gap between the train and platform is. Make sure to stand behind the yellow line on platforms. Avoid public confrontation.   When driving always check your mirrors and stick to the speed limit to reduce chance of accidents. Always look for pedestrians.
First Aid	Tripping/falling when filming in the woods.           Falling ill/sick Lack of vision - animal masks greatly reduce vision.	All 4 of us               All 4 of us All 4 of us	Medium               Low High	Take care when walking on uneven surfaces. We will carry plasters at all time to accommodate for any cuts.   Taking appropriate measures to help individuals who feel unwell i.e. calling their parents or getting them water. Walking slowly through woods when filming.
General public	Theft - drone, laptop, phones. Assault	All 4 of us                 All 4 of us	High High	Always carry items in a zipped up bag and never leave unattended when filming. Always checking we still have our valuables.   We will walk through public areas as a group of 4 in order to look less approachable. Will not speak to any other members of public.
Public incidents	Terrorism - caught up in terrorist activity leading to injury or confusion. COVID-19 lockdown - preventing us from filming.	All 4 of us All 4 of us	High High	We will follow given government guidelines and be aware of our surroundings so we do not get lost. Make sure everyone knows emergency contacts if needed e.g. 999. Making sure everyone follows covid-19 government guidelines and not breaking the law. Waiting until after the lockdown to continue filming.

PLANNING: AUDIENCE QUESTIONNAIRE

Audience questionnaire pptx from SamdeBruin4

PLANNING: MY TARGET AUDIENCE

To reach your target audience you have to have a clear and specific idea of who they are. This may include their age, gender, social class, ethnicity and what their general interests are. This information may be obtained by creating an audience questionnaire, this will also allow you to find out what their media needs are and how you can create a film that will satisfy them. 

I began by investigating how other media brands define audiences in order to prepare for creating my own audience profile for my A level production.

1. Who is my primary target audience? 15-25 year olds, unisex.

2. What kind of films and television are they likely to prefer? Combination of thriller/action/horror films: Cloverfield, The Blair Witch Project, The Ritual, IT. 

3. What platforms do they choose to watch films and where are they likely to see information about films? Subscription streaming services e.g. Netflix and Prime. Likely to see info about films on social media and online advertisements.

4. What brands do they prefer?

Odeon, Xbox/Playstation, Apple, Microsoft, Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp, JD, Nike, Adidas, Wagamamas, Nando's, McDonald's. 

5. What makes my film stand out from the competition? Found footage offers a different perspective and a USP other horror films do not have.

6 . Why should my audience watch my film? Audiences should watch my film as it offers an exciting, scary plot that will keep them on the edges of their seat.

PLANNING: TARGET AUDIENCE AND SIMILAR FILMS

Kezia Williams, of Entertainment One UK, on the FutureLearn Film Distribution by the Film Distributors Association, speaks about how film distributors build a 'comp list' of comparable films that their target audience would enjoy. 

She highlights the importance of knowing your target audience. She asks questions like "what drives them to the cinema" and "what interests do they have". She also says distributors will compare data of films that are similar in their genre, selling points and story. The target audience and budget is formulated from what box office take was like with previous films and the types of audience that saw those films. The target audience can be analysed to find the gender gap, and which cinemas the target audience usually frequent.

The genres of our film are horror and action.

We have followed Kezia William's advice and have collected some films that have similar genres and themes to ours. This will help us with inspiration and enable us to better reach our audience.

Comp List:

 

Comp List from BenRichardson55

PLANNING: ADVANCED PRODUCTION

1. The name of our film: Off The Leash
2. The name of our Production Company and our co-production companies: Chambers Production, Minds Eye Films
3. The name of the director that will appear in our trailers: Matt Heyns
4. The name of the 2-3 main actors that will appear in our trailers: Finn Hanley, Ben Richardson, Sam De-Bruin and Matt Heyns
5. (Optional)  "From the director of..." SUSPECT
6. The names of the film festivals where our film will be screened (more festival names here): Edinburgh International Film Festival: Youth, BFI Future Film Festival
7. 
   Pull quotes from reviews etc; wording: 'thrilling' 'invigorating' 'absolute masterpiece'
8. Our target audience 15-25, unisex 
9. Social groups and issues in our film... Social group is male teenagers. Issues within our film are covid-19 and violent protests
10. Our props list - photos + clothing See post
11. Our social media - write down decisions about who is taking responsibility for which platforms Instagram - Ben, TikTok - Finn, Twitter - Sam, Facebook - Matt
12. Our music See post

RESEARCH: WHEN ARE TRAILERS SHOWN?

Most trailers are produced at the same time as the film is being edited. The timing of a trailer campaign is important: it must be shown far enough in advance to generate excitement about the film’s release, but not so early that people forget about the film before it even comes out. Directors also intend to have their films released by January, before Oscar season, so that their film can be nominated.

Toy Story 4

This film is a sequel in the toy story franchise, therefore it already has an established audience who will watch the film in order to relive old memories of watching the original films. Female audiences may watch the film due to the introduction of the new character; Little Bo-Peep, a strong, independent toy. This film was released in Summer, likely to target a child audience who are on their Summer break. This is also to fit in with the Summer vibe of the film. The trailer will also appeal to Americans as the idea of going away in a camper-van is traditional for Americans and may cause them to relive good, old memories. Furthermore, the beach boys soundtrack causes nostalgia for audiences, even though they may not have been alive during the songs initial release, it has a nostalgic and summery feel to it. The song may also contribute to the parents deciding to take their children to the film, because they like the music. 

Yesterday

The main reason why people are attracted to this film is because of the music of the Beatles. An older audience may like to watch this film because they want to relive memories of when the Beatles were together. However, the Beatles are multi-generational, so the film's music can be enjoyed by a very wide range of age groups. This film also has a summer feel to it with the festival season and live performances on the beech. This likely causes audiences to reminisce about musical summer experiences were maybe they attended a concert or festival. The film is also littered with guest appearances from famous stars such as Ed Sheeran and James Corden. This will attract an audience who like these famous singers and performers. 

The Brink

The Brink is a documentary about Steve Bannon, a right-wring American politician. This trailer will likely appeal to an American, adult audience who likes politics. Furthermore, right-wing audiences may enjoy this film as there beliefs are being emphasised. The film allows audiences to see 'behind the scenes' of the USA's political scene and fully understand how it can be very difficult to be a politician. However, in my opinion, the trailer does not seem to ask any hard questions, it just observes. This makes me believe that the film will be informative, rather than compelling. 

RESEARCH: WHERE ARE TRAILERS SHOWN?

Trailers are shown at the cinema, on TV and online with poster campaigns and radio campaigns also giving wide coverage for new film releases. Dedicated trailer sites and official film websites often carry trailers that have been cut for a general audience and are suitable for viewers of any age, whereas trailers shown in the cinema usually correspond to the classification of the film being screened.

After a discussion, I found that the most common places to view trailers are:

Cinema

Trailers are shown in cinemas before the viewing of the main film commences. Trailers being shown in cinemas are especially good because they are shown on a very big screen, with very loud audio, which gives the audience a chance to get a real idea and feel for the film, enticing them to go watch the film when it releases. Furthermore, another benefit of showing trailers in cinema is that audiences are not able too fast forward or ignore the trailer. Therefore, audiences will just sit back and enjoy the trailers and look out for films they may want to go and see.

TV

Trailers shown on television are not as effective as trailers shown in cinemas. This is because a lot of audiences tend to not pay attention during the commercial break. For example, people tend to go and get a drink or snack when the show stops playing. However, most people watch more TV than cinema so that is a benefit.

Websites

Trailers shown on websites are an effective way of reaching an online audience. More and more people are spending more time on the internet so releasing trailers as adverts for websites is a good way of reaching out to a potential audience. Unofficial trailers can also be uploaded by users to websites such as YouTube, this is a good way for a film to generate free publicity.

DVD

DVD's can be effective at promoting trailers as DVD's are watched over and over again. However, people have the option too fast forward through the trailers at the beginning of the tape, so it may not always be effective.

Social Media

Social media allows people to comment on trailers and join in with discussions about the film. Trailers posted on social media also appeal to a younger audience who are constantly using social media.