Completed teaser trailer!

At the start of my trailer are two shots from ‘Lionsgate’ and the Motion Picture Filming Association rating images, which I have used for effect in my trailer and I do not take any credit for them as my own work as I have downloaded them.

The text “How can normal boy, turn into a Killer” is the first part of the trailer the audience sees. The text itself sets the tone and genre as well as possible plot lines. I also put it over two shots to both split the question and also to make it easier to read. The font is red and the background is black so that the font is able to stand out whilst maintain its dark tone. It also gives the audience the idea of danger in darkness because of reds association with blood and danger and its position in the black background. This automatically sets the scene without even seeing a shot from the film.

The opening clip, which is when Grant turns into the Clown, was done by using two images but the subjects in both of these images were at different heights and therefore their eyes were not in line with one another. I went into PhotoShop (a new media technology) and selected the two pictures I wanted and firstly I cropped both of the images to the size I was using for the videos (which is 16:9). I then used rulers on PhotoShop to mark out where the eyes on the clown started, finished and where the pupil is. I then put those measurements onto Grant’s picture and saw I had to move them over to the left by two centimetres. I then used the quick select tool to select Grant and I moved him over to where he was supposed to be. This left me with a white background where Grant used to be so I went to select and then inverse so the background was now selected. This meant I could fill in the background using the clown stamp tool without getting the original background colour on Grant. For this opening scene I decided to use images rather than video because images are easy to manipulate on PhotoShop as there is no movement to interfere with the desired effect. To give the effect that Freddy was transforming into the Clown I used a cross-fading effect on Coral Video Editor 12.

Following a hard cut the next shot shows Freddy drawing what seems to be the face of the clown. This shows his descent into the split personality, which is helped by the costume which I have already discussed. The camera is a slight high-angle shot which suggests looking down on his fall, encouraging pity. His expression however promotes fear. The lighting is normal lighting, showing he is to an extent still in control but it is slightly dimmed to give the feeling that he is losing that control. The chair next Freddy is pulled out, though this is subtle it suggests that there are two minds at work here, the helpless Freddy and the more sinister Clown. More noticeably the large windows in the background shows the dark night sky, contrasting to the white walls, again symbolising good and bad. The reflection of Freddy in the window also shows the split again. This is achieved as only half of his body can be seen in the reflection and suggests to the audience that he is not all himself and is losing that grip on reality. In terms of editing, when Freddy raises his head I increased the speed of the frames by 10% so that the audience can see his eyes. Then when he lowers his head I decreased the speed of the frames by 20% for effect.

There is then a cross fade into the next scene which shows the passing of time. The shot is slightly low angled because it shows that Harry’s character, Joey, is in full control of himself. The opaque windows also shows that he is unaware of what is happening to Freddy inside. They also provide a physical marker of him leaving the light into the darkness. There is no light in the corridor where the camera is, the only light source is from the porch. His lines then show his innocence and obliviousness in the situation. I used audio editing software on Corel Video Editor 12 to make his voice deeper by 10%, so that it is more powerful.
There is then a fade to black which shows an over the shoulder shot which shows Freddy’s perspective. This reveals the words “Kill Her” which are written in blood on the bottom half of his paper. This is, to an extent, a convention in horror films, the writing of important messages in blood, which shows the audience the danger of what is to come. The lighting is the same as the previous shot of Freddy in the same room.

There is another fade to black, which again shows the passing of time and into darkness. It reveals a long shot of Freddy and Abby in low key lighting. The main source of light is a desk lamp which highlights Abby and shows her to be innocent but surrounded by darkness and furthermore the danger she shall soon be in. This is further emphasised by the her relaxed position and the fact that she is oblivious to Freddy standing over her as she reads. The light in effect framing Abby contrasts her with Freddy further as he is framed by the darkness. His position allows him to look down upon her giving him the power in the shot.

There is another fade to black which goes back to the shot of Joey entering the house, but from the other side which gives a two shot. In the previous shot you will notice that Freddy was not there, and this is another convention of horror films e.g. The Strangers which unsettles the audience. Freddy is again positioned in front of the black background whilst Joey is now walking into the darkness, and away from the light. This symbolises his movement away from safety and towards what is hiding in the dark.

Once Joey has left the shot Freddy still remains and the split is shown visually and clearly for the first time by a series of hard cuts between identical shots except for the costume. The flashing images between the two split personalities shows that Freddy is not sane as the flashing is unsettling. It ultimately finishes upon Freddy which shows the monster is within but because it finishes on Freddy it shows there is a slight chance of hope.

There is a fade to black following the previous scene which then fades in to the title of the film. This title is the same as what appears on my poster and on the film magazine front cover. This links the three media texts together. I have already explained the connotations and how I made this title in the analysis of my poster.

A fade to black then occurs to show a low key lighted room and a two shot, mid shot of Abby and the Clown. This shows audience what is to come in the film, and Abby’s scared expression heightens the danger of her situation. I used strobe light to create this lighting effect, and it highlights the two faces, contrasting Abby’s freighted face with the demonic features of the clown. The lighting also means you still do not fully or clearly see the clown, which gives the audience the fear of the unknown hiding in the darkness.

There is then a sequence of three shots, which contain quick hard cuts, and cross fades. The speed makes it unnerving and is again a convention of the horror genre as it shows a lot without showing much and allowing for the audiences imagination to take over and want to fill in the gaps and see the film. Two of the shots have already been used, the two shot of Joey entering the house with Freddy over his shoulder and Freddy drawing at the kitchen table. These two shots frame the centre shot, which has very little lighting outside. It is an extreme low angle shot, giving Freddy all of the power, as he forces the shovel into the ground. The darkness does not allow the audience to see his features, which means they cannot identify or sympathise with him as a human.

The trailer then finishes with a fade to black into black background with red text (which connotations have previously been discusses) saying “Coming Soon”. This is a convention of teaser trailers as they are released before the release date is known and they are merely to attract audience’s attention and speculation about the film. This is then followed by the credits of the film, also seen on the poster, and the website which audiences can find more out about the film, as another part of an all rounded advertising package.