Script

There isnt a acript for my film trailer i decided to use voice-overs instead at the title screens.

"In A Normal College"

"After Hours"

"The Students Are Not Alone"

"College Of The Damned"

Character List

Gary Langfield - Barry Scott (The Killer/extra)



Natalie Thrustle - Sarah Smith (Extra)



Jenna O'Hara - Emily Wilson (Supporting Actress)



Claire Smith - Beth Cross (Antagonist)

Prop List

* Mask.

* Clothing - Dark for the antagonist - normal clothing for the rest of the cast.

* Pens.

* Paper.

* Books.

* Bags.

* Whiteboard.

Location List

* Outside of Wyke college.

* Wyke College grounds.

* Inside the Ash building at Wyke college.

Main Idea - Synopsis

My film trailer is based around the narrative; during the Cold dark nights of winter, in the small town of Hull, a small group of around five students are staying at college after hours to finish producing their college newspaper. It all seems to be going just fine apart from their deadline drawing ever closer then weird things start happening; strange noises can be heard, the eerie feeling of being watched, people going missing.
Its centred around two main characters as they try and escape from the masked antagonist, several of their friends are found dead.
A series of fast paced edits, and dramatic music will help me follow the conventions of horror movies and movie trailers. Also having one of the main characters being a girl; scared, panicky and screaming could be a convention of horror movies in general. I will also use several different locations around the college to give the feeling of them trying to escape.
The intended audience is 15 in doing this it will allow me to make my trailer somewhat more scary and violent then that of a 12A certificate.

Title Idea's:

- College of the Damned (my chosen title)

- Dead College

- College of Death

- College Terror

- Bloody College

Target Audience

I have decided to produce a film trailer in the horror genre as i think it will be more enjoyable to produce. Having looked at a number of horror films and trailers i have noticed most of them are rated 15. This is because there will be violence but not too much gore, there will be murders but again they won't be very graphic. The language used will be moderate as there is no real need to use taboo language in the trailer at all, nudity won't feature in the movie either. The reason for it being rated 15 is because viewers under 15 may be shocked and scared by the events and i think that people aged 15 and over are more mature and understand that its just a film.

Ideas For Trailer

Romantic Comedy -
There are two students who attend college they start off by going out together then she gets stolen off him by his best friend. He has to prove to her that hes the better choice.

Horror -
Halloween party where the costumes begin to take on a life of their own whatever people are dressed as they become completely with no memory of who they once were. The only people who can help are those who wasn't invited to the popular peoples party. Its a chance for the underdogs to show what they can really do.

Comedy -
Two teenage girls want to change their image and reputation from their old school image into something more fitting for college. With lots of laughs and embarrassment.

Sport -
The college football team is failing and their lead striker is starting to feel the strain its effecting his work and his ability to play. Follow his story as he finds ways of making his team better even if they are a bit... Unconventional.

Musical -
A group of drama students go on the road during summer and try and make it in the performing business but just as their about to give up, has their luck really changed?

Analysis Of - The Strangers

As the trailer starts a piano can be heard as you see the "Rogue Pictures" and "Intrepid Pictures" logos. A wide shot establishes the scene of a lake surrounded by trees at night time. It then cuts to a house with the porch light on, which has several trees outside. Birds can be heard above the sound of the piano. It then cuts to a close up of a sheet with red rose petals on it this could connote passion and love, the next scene we see is of a table with candles on it then a man lighting them the scene seems romantic. It cuts again to a mid shot of a female in the bath she looks calm and happy. We then get the first narrative spoken by the characters their dressed up for some kind of event and he produces a ring and tells her "you are my girl" it cuts again to a close up of them hugging in which she replies " I love you Jimmy". The piano stops and a bang or knock can be heard they turn around and we see the window and hear something creaking. The screen fades to black with the creaking sound still there and a female says "what is that?" the words "inspired by true events" appear in faded white lettering. The lettering fades away and there's a close up of the woman in the window peering out. The camera fades and a set of swings appear one of which is swinging and causing the creaking sound. The screen fades to black again and the words "We always tell ourselves" appear in the same faded creepy white lettering. The creaking noise is still there as we see a small shed through the trees with a single light illuminating the door. Jimmy says "its OK there's nothing here" then the screen fades again and the words "There's nothing to fear" appear. You then see a living room in darkness with light passing through it which could either be car headlights or a torch while he says "i haven't heard a dog bark or a car pass, nothing" as hes saying this you get a mid shot of the woman standing still then we get a close up of her hand as she locks the door. The screen fades to black again and "But sometimes" appears followed by "we're wrong" under it. Then it cuts again to a long shot of the female stood in the middle of a room which is well lit however in the background which is still slightly in shadow a person walks casually into the door way and stares at her their wearing a suit and a sack on their head with eye and mouth holes. She doesn't see him then it cuts to a black screen quickly and there's a loud sound like a drum which creates suspense. It then cuts to a shot outside of Jimmy standing near a car with the door open, a eye line match shot as he looks into the woods, it cuts and we see where hes looking its dark and you cant really make anything out, the camera shakes slightly and the woman says "there's someone out there" as shes saying this it cuts to a mid shot of her looking terrified and like shes been crying. It cuts again to the shed and we see a small looking female walk out wearing dark trousers and a red coat the colour in this case could mean danger shes also wearing a white mask which looks like a dolls face. It cuts again to Jimmy with him looking over his shoulder heading back into the house, it cuts to where he was looking which was the shed but the girls no longer there. It cuts again with the eerie music picking up slightly of an extreme long shot of a figure out in the open with a few trees close to the camera whoever it is, is stood under a street light. It cuts again to the woman looking out of the window into that exact spot but again there's no one there, it cuts to a close up of her face and she looks scared. It fades to black and the sound of a phone line being cut or disconnected can be heard. It cuts and a slow song can be heard playing and Jimmy peaking out of one of the rooms in the house down a corridor, the scene is in darkness except for a lamp which he says "hello". Point of view shot as it cuts to the the living room which is empty it then cuts quickly to the LP player showing the LP spinning. It cuts again to a shot with Jimmy stood in front of the camera faded and the woman looking around the door behind him emphasised, she looks frightened. It cuts again to the fire place and it pans slightly dramatic music starts playing as it cuts to a close up of the fire you can see a mobile phone melting, you hear her say "what is it?" he replies "its my phone" as the scene cuts to a mid shot of him. It cuts again to him walking through a door, the camera cuts and we see him from the other side of the door as he walks in, he looks shocked. It cuts again to a mid shot of her putting her hands over her mouth looking shocked to. We then get an eye line match shot of her looking at the window which has the word "hello" written in white repeatedly all over it she says "oh my god" the music slowly fades out as the events unfold. The camera zooms into the window slightly and it cuts again to her walking into the bedroom (the bed with the rose petals on it can still be seen) Jimmy says "we gotta get outta here". It cuts to a mid shot of him stood facing the front door he says "I'm gonna open the door and i just want you to run, OK?" as he says that the camera turns to her looking worried it cuts back to him and a loud sound is heard and an axe is put through the door behind him he leaps out of the way and we see a close up of the head of the axe with wood going everywhere. It cuts back to him stood in front of her and shes screaming they stumble back and the camera cuts to the chairs toppling over, as they do this they knock the LP player and the music starts playing over the scene the camera cuts to an extreme close up. It cuts back to her screaming behind him as hes trying to protect her. The camera cuts to the axe smashing its way through the door then the screen fades to black with the words "this summer" the words shake and the scene cuts to the swing set and a girl sat on it wearing dark clothes and a mask but you can see she has blond hair, The music is still playing but it doesn't seem to fit the events which are unfolding. A series of quick cuts happen with the door swinging slowly open then a close up of the woman hiding looked scared, then a shot of a man stood in the house with the guy in the suit and mask holding the axe behind him it cuts again to the black screen with the words "what are you afraid of" the words shake and it cuts again to the first girl with dark hair wearing a mask standing up from behind something. A succession of really fast paced cuts of the woman holding a knife looking around trying to protect herself, Jimmy outside again with trees behind him, the man in the mask running towards the camera, a window where one of the girls in a mask appear, to a close up of the woman screaming again, then the blond girl in a mask looking through some slats of wood which appear to be a door, of Jimmy in a car behind the wheel he gasps and looks behind him quickly, of another car driven by the masked people hitting their car, of the woman outside on the ground trying to get away from the girl with the mask and dark hair who's holding a knife, a close up on the knife inside the house held be the woman (you can tell because of the clothes) the curtain is moved away and the word "killer" can be seen on the window this makes you think that they may not be as innocent as they have been made out to be throughout this trailer, throughout all of this dramatic music has been played in a loop which gives the impression of the CD maybe being stuck and not able to play past a certain point. It cuts again to them running into the cameras view then someone stood outside of the shed holding a torch you cant make much out because of the way the torch is angled. Quick cuts as we see Jimmy holding and aiming a shotgun, the woman stood at the window screaming again banging on it frantically, it then cuts to an odd image of the three masked people looking at Jimmy and the woman they have their backs to us the music cuts out and the screen fades to black. You can hear the woman say "why are you doing this to us" dramatic music starts again as the image of a masked persons face comes onto the screen faded a different woman's voice which is kind of echo-ey says "because you were home" the words "the strangers" appear in white writing in the bottom right of the screen. It cuts and the names of the two lead characters appear "Liv Tyler" and "Scott Speedman" it cuts again and you can see one of the girls in a mask peering from an alley as she slowly walks into a better view, it cuts to a black screen which says "coming soon".

Analysis Of - A Knight's Tale

The trailer starts with a black screen as the music starts the iconic song "we will rock you" by Queen (however Robbie Williams did do some covers of Queen for this film so I'm not sure which version it is) A series of fast paced cuts after each of which the screen briefly goes black, these shots are; a horse with its rider in armour falling off this gives you a time period in which the film is set, the sound of the horse and hooves can be heard over the music, a fast panning shot of the crowd wearing clothes of that era, a shot of a armoured man on a horse with a lance, a close up of the mans helmet while he has the lance raised charging towards his enemy.
Other shots like close ups, extreme close ups show that this film is going to have some action in it, the music has a strong beat to back the scenes.
A lance hits a rider right in the face and his helmet comes flying off as his head is whipped back, the next shot we see the helmet flying through the air, with the crowd cheering. The music fades out as this happens and as someone catches the helmet a different tune kicks in.
The shot fades and a young boys voice can be heard "someday I'll be a Knight" his dad replies "yes William if a man believes it enough he can do anything" the shot cuts and you see an older man with the same style in hair.
It cuts and the logo for "Columbia" comes onto the screen. as the trailer unfolds there are elements of action, romance and comedy. In this trailer there is also a Voice over, its very powerful and deep he says "William Thatcher didn't make the rules, he was born to break them" The music is consistent t the events which are happening on screen, for example if its happy the music is cheery, when he is found out of lying the music becomes slightly dramatic.
The words "this summer" appear on a black background in big bold silver lettering. It cuts to more fast paced action scenes then "He" more scenes from the movie "will" more fast paced cuts "rock" one shot of someone getting hit with a lance then "you" this is a pun on the song which was playing at the start of the trailer. Then it cuts a shot of William charging with his lace without armour towards to screen shouting "William" he has flashbacks of his past as hes doing this as he hits the screen the words "A Knight's Tale" appear then fade to him kissing the main female lead then cuts again to the words "summer".

Analysing Film Trailers

I am going to analyse three different trailers. I am going to look at different types of genre and also films which have different age ratings. This will help me to decide which genre to choose and also how a film trailer is structured.

Film Genre

Action
Adult
Adventure
Animation (traditional, computer-animated and stop-motion)
Biography
Children's
Comedy
Crime
Disaster
Documentary
Drama
Foreign
Family
Fantasy
Horror
Musical
Mystery
Period-piece
Romance
Romantic comedy
Sci-Fi
Short
Sport
Suspense
Teen
Thriller
War
Western

Conventions Of Film Trailers

Generally film trailers consist of four elements.

Plot summery: Establishing the scene, Introducing the characters and show the problem they will face (However it is a trailer therefor they cant tell you the outcome)

Voice-over: Tends to be a strong and powerful voice to attract attention. Gives a brief explanation as to what the film is about.

Music: Helps to set the tone and mood of the movie. The music which is on the trailer isn't necessarily from the film itself as the score or soundtrack may not have been developed yet.

Cast, crew and studio information: The cast, producer and director of the movie is revealed by showing their names usually in text format. Studio production logos (producing company and the distributor) are also shown, they originally featured near the beginning of a trailer however since the late 1970's they were shown at the end.

Mise-en-scene
Sound
Lighting
Language
Editing
Cinematography

Is used throughout to create the atmosphere of a particular genre.

Purpose And Function Of Film Trailers

The purpose and function of a film trailer is pretty simple; To make people want to watch the film. They are used to advertise upcoming movies they are generally shown at the start of a movie in the cinema. However you can view them on the television or the Internet. This is due to the audience taking more attention to them. Trailer producers use shots from the movie to give a brief view of the story making viewers want to watch them. Trailers generally last around 2 minuets so they have to be effective so they choose the most exiting, funny or noteworthy parts without giving too much of the film away.
There can be more then one version of the trailer, Theatrical and Teaser the theatrical version needs to be longer and give more information, the teaser version is much shorter and shows less but usually has a much bigger impact.

History Of Film Trailers

The term "trailer" originally comes from them being shown at the end of a film. However this method did not last very long as the audience tended to leave the theater as soon as the film had ended not getting to see the trailer, Although the name has stuck the way in which film trailers are viewed has changed they are now shown before the film begins.

In 1912 'Edison' developed what is considered the first scene trailer, also known at the time as haralds. This meant that at the end f his 'What Happend To Mary' episodes he would tag a preview of the next incident thus creating trailers.

Also in 1912 at Rye Beach in New York one of the concessions hung up a white sheet that showed the serial 'The Adventures Of Kathlyn' and at the end of the reel Kathlyn was thrown into the lion's den. after this "trailed" piece of film asking "Does she escape the Lion pit? see next week's thrilling chapter!"

Trailers were mostly created by 'National Screen Service' and consisted of key scenes from the film being advertised, large text describing the story and an underscore pulled from the studio music libraries. Those trailers which had narration featured stentorian (very loud and powerful) voices.

In the early 1960's, trailers changed and text less, montage, quick-editing trailers became more popular this was largely due to the arrival of the "New Hollywood" and the techniques which were becoming more popular in television.

As Hollywood began to produce bigger blockbuster films and invest more money into marketing them, directors such as Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone and Barbra Streisand began to depend on Kaleidoscope films (which was started by Kuehm and his company in 1968) to create the best trailers to their ability so that theater-goers could see.

Film trailers have now become extremely popular on the Internet, some 10-billion videos are watched online annually, currently movie trailers rank #3. This is a great way to distribution and marketing. Other methods of advertising films are posters, magazines and billboards.





http://www.movietrailertrash.com/views/history.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_trailer

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=history+of+film+trailers&hl=en&tbo=p&ei=p0sBS9ytMdG24QbX0KSCDA&sa=X&oi=timeline_other_dates&ct=timeline-other-dates&ved=0CB8QpQI&tbs=tl:1,tlul:1905,tluh:1919