LO4: Justification of visual and audio effects in final edit

FEEDBACK:

During the editing of my teaser trailer, I gained feedback from my peers about what I could do to improve the edit by creating a SurveyMonkey questionnaire and sharing the link to my classmates. I gained positive feedback such as "effective use of diegetic sounds help to make scenes more tense such as the final one shown." This feedback is effective in helping me improve my teaser as knowing the positive feedback is just as useful as knowing the constructive criticism. This is because it allows me to know about what edits worked effectively so that I would know what not to change and what to incorporate more into my work. However, the constructive criticism is much more effective as it allows me to directly improve any faults/things I've missed. For example  the very effective piece of feedback that told me "I (you) should change the temperature in the properties of the scenes to give them more colour and make some scenes look less metallic". This greatly helped in allowing me to give my trailer more of a distinct visual style by making scenes less dull/lifeless in colour. The trailer scenes looking more visually appealing results in my audiences being more engaged in the content i'm showing, completing the purpose of my teaser by effectively advertising the product to the audience. 

DID IT LOOK HOW I WANTED IT TO?:

Despite me using my knowledge of cinematography and lighting to my best ability, the teaser doesn't feel as cinematic and tense as I hoped, this was due to multiple reasons. One reason is that I didn't have a budget, which made set dressing difficult as I had to use what I already owned, as well as this it meant I couldn't hire actors and had to use as little characters as possible. This resulted in the teaser having a 'homemade' element that makes it less authentic and scary as it doesn't feel real to the audience. However, I am happy with a lot of the visuals I have created, as they are effective at delivering an atmosphere that gives the audience a strong impression of the genre. The low-key lighting is also effective and presents how I wanted it to as it was easy to control using equipment I already owned. 

DID I FOLLOW CONCEPT DOCUMENTATIONS?:

I made sure to follow my concept documents closely as they were strongly structured and thought out, making sure scenes align well with the voice overs so that they help to deliver a narrative to the audience in a short amount of time. Since I had planned out my visuals in the storyboard with the location in mind, it made it much easier to create the visuals I wanted so that I could deliver a strong atmosphere.

However, one thing I missed was not being able to film a scene in my storyboard due to time constraints. This scene would've been great to include as it fits the voice over well and is effective at establishing the protagonists as an ever-present threat. The absence of this scene makes the teaser lose impact as the threat feels a lot less palpable. 

WHAT DECISIONS DID I MAKE AND WHY?:

One decision I made was to base my teaser around a haunted house premise with a twist, the trailer implying that the house itself is the antagonist and is slowly becoming the residents. I made this decision as it makes location recce and filming much easier, as I don't have account for weather or time of day that may affect how the teaser looks visually. Location recce was easier as I could talk to people I knew about filming in their house, meaning there's no risk of not being able to gain permissions. This also creates intrigue to the teaser as it isn't a typical 'haunted house' offering the viewer something interesting to think about, whilst also giving me the opportunity to create a sense of dread in a claustrophobic house environment that you can't escape from. This decision was also beneficial as filming indoors meant I could also carefully control lighting. This is important for a horror teaser as lowkey lighting helps to build suspense, fulfil genre expectations and create effective visuals using strong contrast of light and shadows. If I had to film outdoors, it would mean I have to film at night using battery powered equipment, as the suns brightness would dampen the atmosphere and tension. It would also be difficult to film outdoors as I would have to travel long distances to get to different filming location, whilst carrying equipment during night and at a time where my actors and crew have nothing on their schedule.

WHAT WOULD I DO DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME?: 

One thing I would do differently if I had the opportunity to remake the trailer is do more research by examining more teaser trailers. This is because I feel as if the structure of my final edit itself flows more like a short trailer than a teaser trailer. Examining teasers more closely would've given me more knowledge of how they use effects, techniques and structure to closely follow conventions that are effective at creating and building excitement. This would've made my final product much more stream lined and effective at targeting my audience. Another thing I would do differently is to film my teaser in a higher variety of locations (outdoor, different buildings etc.). This is because my teaser wasn't effective at creating the claustrophobic atmosphere I originally intended, and feels more cheap/lazy. This would also help to add much more allure to the teaser and tighten the threat of the antagonist, making it feel more omnipresent. This leads me to the final change I would make which is to showcase the antagonistic force more often, as it currently feels as if the threat level is fairly low.

LO4: Enhancing edit for final draft

The very first edit I made to the clips was to crop them and remove any unwanted sound from my clips.

I cropped the aspect ratio of my clips by first going to the sequence settings. As in my rough draft I used the wrong aspect ratio for the clips, I changed the format size back to 1080x720. Although my previous format size was more cinematic which is more suitable for a movie trailer, I hadn't recorded on my camera for that format size, which ended up making my clips much more zoomed in then originally intended, this ruined a lot of the cinematography of the clips as they were no longer adhering to the rule of thirds. I then reframed the clips using the selection tool so that my focus' will be centred.

Here is a screenshot of how I auto reframed my sequence.

Here is a screenshot of my aspect ratio now cropped so that the focus is in the centre of the shot.

I then removed the sound by unlinking it from the clip. I did this because most clips, even though they were supposed to appear silent, has 'white noise' in the background which is very distracting for the audience and unintentional. Although the clips now seem awkward as there is no sound at all, I will be adding music, voice-overs and SFX over the clips.

Some of the clips I recorded were too short, resulting in the scene ending abruptly and causing the trailer to move too quick. To make these scenes last longer, I right clicked on them and slowed down the clip by selecting 'speed/duration' and setting the number lower, allowing me to adjust how much slower they're going to make the clip the perfect length.

After I put all my clips in place I added a simple effect to them, this being fade in/out.

One of the ways I did this was by right clicking on the end of a clip on the timeline, I then selected 'apply default transitions'. However, this fade out was often too long. To fix this I zoomed in on the timeline and dragged my cursor over the effect, this reduced the size so that it was suitable for the selected clip. Making sure my fade outs are faster is important for the genre of my teaser trailer, as horror trailers are often fast paced. This makes the clips seem as if they are appearing and disappearing faster, improving the pacing of the clip. 

Although I applied this to most clips, especially in-between title/black screens and scenes, I still kept some without these transitions. This is because it helps to make a more impactful scene in a trailer, as the hard cut combined with other sound effects I will be adding, help to emphasise the clip feel more like a dramatic moment that would be in a real movie scene.

One of the most important elements in the horror genre for creating suspense and fear is sound. This is why this next part of my edit took the longest, as I had to get it right. 

Sound effects: 

I used the site free sound.org to gather my sound effects for the teaser. Although I recorded some (screaming sounds), I still needed to add non-diegetic sound effects that would be difficult to create myself. These sound effects are important to help me follow conventions of typical horror trailers. 

I then added my voice overs, which were effective at enhancing my edit as it made it feel more like a trailer, as they are commonly used to communicate to the audience the plot of the product without needing to include long scenes. They also allow for more visuals to appear during in the voice over so that the trailer can keep the audience engaged in what is being advertised. This is when the edit started to look more like my final vision. However, one issue is that, during pre-production, it's difficult to properly time how long the trailer will be as scenes may need to be longer than intended in order to convey the right emotion. This means that it's hard to tell how the voice overs will fit into the teaser, this resulted in me having to re-record voice overs but with slightly faster takes so that they can fit in to the product. This was detrimental as it meant I had to stray from the production schedule slightly in order for recording to be completed so that the scenes feel the way I hoped. 

(the razor tool that I used to cut up clips and audio)

I then searched on YouTube for copyright free trailer music that fit the aesthetic I was trying to create. 

Adding the music in proved to be difficult for a number 

of reasons, the main one being that my teaser was too

 long for the music. This would result in areas of my 

trailer where the section of music (that I cut up using 

the razor tool) was silent. To fix this issue I found 

where the audio looped and duplicated it, so 

that I could make the music last long enough for the teaser.

One thing I have to consider however is that I can't make the music too loud to over power the voiceovers (and sound effects when they re eventually added). To ensure I don't run into this issue, I will continuously balance them out when the SFX is added. Another consideration I have to make during editing is that the teaser isn't too quiet or too loud, this could cause viewers to lose interest if the teaser is too quiet or become annoyed at it if its too loud. This would be detrimental to the product I am advertising as those negative emotions will become associated with the product in the viewers mind. As I am editing I will make sure to rewatch the teaser in different audio levels to better asses how loud the audio-visual is and adjust from there. 

I then started importing my FreeSound.org SFX and layering them over my clips. For example a "whoosh" sound effect for when the torch goes across the frame and "knife" sound effects as the scissors get dragged along the counter as seen below.

The first sound effect I added was a 'cinematic boom' which is commonly used in trailers/teaser trailers to give more weight to an impactful moment. However, I used mine to lead the audiences into a scene after the initial scare, this way the music returning from the silence feels less out of nowhere. As cinematic booms often have a loud noise fading out, I used Premiere Pro to reverse the sound so that it builds into the loud noise instead. I right clicked the audio clip and then went to the speed/duration option, this brought me to a window where I could select the reverse speed option so that the audio plays in reverse. This resulted in the quick build up sound that re-introduces the music effectively and makes the trailer flow better. 

Another example of a sound effect I added was a 'sting', which is most used in horror to highlight an enigma or create tension. In my teaser I added it on the scene where the character 'Chris' is attacked and screams. This was to create a loud noise that helps make the moment more of a jump-scare as the loud noise would elicit a reaction out of the audience. It also makes the scene less awkward as the only noise in the silence isn't the scream in a quiet room. This appeals to genre conventions effectively so that the audience feels the trailer belongs to the horror genre, fulfilling their audience expectations. 

Other examples of sound effects I added were the diegetic sounds, such as knife scraping, stab sounds, glass breaking etc. These sound effects help to immerse the viewer in the world I am creating by making it seem more real, as the important sounds are more pronounced and can be heard better.

Another way I enhanced my edit was by using colourings and filters. This was because, although I was happy with how my lighting looked, the colour of the lighting in the scenes themselves were often too white. This gave my teaser a very metallic look which was not intended. Adding the filters made scenes have more of a colour to them, such as the kitchen scene being slightly more blue, giving the teaser much more visual identity than in the offline edit. 

Another way I adjusted scenes was by changing the properties of the clips. For example, in the scene shown my light source was coming from behind my actor, this made the scene very difficult to see as the light wasn't revealing the properties of the scene. So in editing, I reduced the shadows so that the scene was much more visible and the audience can see what's happening. 

However, this wasn't the only way I adjusted clips to improve the edit, I also adjusted the properties to improve how the scenes look. In this example, I reduced the shadow bar, making them much darker, this caused the light to be much more concentrated and made the surrounding darker, allowing e to appeal to genre conventions by creating a creepy atmosphere to keep the audience engaged.

               

(Before)                                                                 (After)

After gaining audience feedback, I completed my final stage of editing my adding colourings to the scenes using the adjust settings. This was effective in improving my final edit as it helped to give the teaser much more visual identity, this is because survey feedback complained some scenes were too metallic-looking and felt too lifeless/damp.

I did this by changing the 'temperature' of the more colourless looking scenes to improve their visual style, for example this scene where I increased the temperature to make the torch beam more orange in appearance, compared to the much more clinical white. This helps to connote the burning hot tension the scene is trying to convey

LO4: Produce an offline edit

 

Currently this edit is a very basic version of what the final product will look like as the footage is unedited and there are no effects or transitions. In order for my clips to appear more like a trailer, I will need to add elements that allow me to conform to stereotypical trailer conventions so that I can capture audience interest.

One important element I will add is the music, as music helps to tell the audience how to feel and sets the tone of the trailer. The music I will use will be eerie and slow to help build suspense and communicate to the audience that they are watching a horror trailer. This will help them understand what to expect out of the product and makes the teaser trailer more engaging to watch.

Another important element I will add is voice overs. Voice overs are often used in trailers as they are effective in communicating to the audience the plot of the product without needing to include long scenes. They also allow for more visuals to appear during in the voice over so that the trailer can keep the audience engaged in what is being advertised.

I will also add black screens with text that addresses the audience. These are stereotypically used in order to break up the trailer so that the pace remains consistent whilst building excitement. Including these will allow me to better conform to common trailer conventions so that it is better communicated to the audience what genre I am portraying. This will also allow me to better follow the tropes of a teaser specifically, as teasers never reveal exact release dates, using the black screen will allow me to tell the audience a rough release period to begin building excitement ("coming this halloween').

LO2: Rough Sketches of ideas

 

LO2: Consent form/location permission

 

Here is a release and consent form for gaining permission to film in the residents home;

Here are the consent forms my actors signed to gain permission to film and produce a teaser trailer with footage they are in.

LO3: Production materials in line with plan

When filming my Trailer, I used a variety of equipment to create the scenes I had planned on my storyboard. 

Camera: the most important piece of equipment I used was the camera, this was to get high quality footage compared to other alternatives such as filming with a phone, and allows me to control the image manually too, such as adjusting the focus so the subject can be seen easily. 

Tri-pod: Another piece of equipment I used was a tri-pod, this allowed me to hold the camera still in scenes so that the shot wasn't shaky, this creates a much more visually appealing scene and overall improves the trailer quality. The trip-pod also allowed me to create smooth turns and camera rotations making scenes more exciting/engaging to watch as the camera follows the subject. However one negative aspect of the tripod is that, even at the smallest size adjustment, it was still to big to record scenes that took place close to the ground, resulting in me having to prop the camera up on boxes or holding it manually making filming some scenes much more difficult and time consuming.

LED Site Light: As the genre of my teaser is horror, lighting is very important in scenes as you want them to be dark, but still make the subject visible, this is why the pole lamp was a valuable piece of equipment as it allowed me to directly control where the light was coming from as well as allowing me to highlight a subject and create a strong visual contrast, these all helped to give the trailer more style and make it more visually appealing. However, one negative of the pole lamp is that it didn't allow me to control how much  light was in a scene, as it only had one setting which was very bright. To work around this issue, I used a white t-shirt and/or a plastic bag to reduce the amount of light in the shot and change how the light looked.

Powerful portable LED light: This was the second piece of lighting equipment that I used to control how the scenes looked. Although this lamp produced much less light, it was much smaller, allowing me to use it more flexibly in tight areas. One example of this is the fireplace shot, as the fireplace wasn't producing enough light for the desired effect, I put a yellow cap over the lamp (to create a fire-yellow light) and placed it in front of my actor to make it appear as if the fire is producing the light, making the silhouette much more bold.