Locations

My partner and I have been giving the locations of the film a lot of thought and have come up with many different areas to film in order to create the effect we are looking for. The places we had come up with are:

• House/Garage
• Woodland areas
• Woods
• Forests
• Fields
• Old buildings
• Run down area
• Out on the streets
• Public place
• High street
• School
• Work
• Park

We had chose a house/garage for an option as we felt that it had many conventions attached to it that we could explore in our trailer and it also creates a believable effect to the film as being at home in a house gives the audience and unsettled feeling with the events happening in a place that you're meant to feel comfort and security.

Another option was in an open space outside, somewhere like open fields or woodland space also creating the thriller or horror effect on the viewer with it being in a dark place usually associated with being alone and lost. 

We thought that maybe filming in an old abandoned building/area would create the sense of a paranormal aspect from the area being old and corrupt, this would also allow the audience to make the connection between the setting and storyline of the trailer enough to link the two together. Also making the effect of the setting stronger.

From using the setting of a run down area it would create the effect of being alone and being deserted helping the scared feeling get across to the audience. This would also help the suspension build in the trailer causing the climax of the story line shown, making the audience want to see the film to see what happens and why they are there. 

If we chose a scene to be set out on the streets we would probably film it at night as then the genre of the trailer would come across easier than if we had filmed it in the day time, although doing this would challenge the typical conventions of a horror film confusing the audience between the genres.   

With the trailer being filmed in a public place it would help with the impact of the events in the trailer also helping build suspense. Being in public would make the audience loose track of the real conventions of a horror films although aspects of these have been shown in previous released horror films. Choosing somewhere like a high street would allow the viewer to make the connection between the events happening and them happening in a place surrounded with people building suspense more effectively then if this was to happen on a normal road. Being filmed at a school would change the whole perception of the film with it involving teenagers bringing the sense of immaturity to the storyline. This perception of the school also slightly links to the concept of the trailer if it had involved young children in it. 

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Film Trailers

Film trailers have many conventions from cuts and transitions to character names and titles. Trailers for romantic films usually have a smaller amount of cuts to give the feel of a slow-paced relationship or love, rather than a high paced Horror Trailer to build up the tension for the main film. Trailers also use different scenes to let the audience know where the film is set. For example Sex and the City's opening shots are usually of the New York buildings and bridges to show the iconic settings of a love story. A lot of films also choose their settings depending on the type of film, such as The Hangover is set in Las Vegas typically known for drinking and women and the phrase 'What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas' linking into to the problems they run into on their holiday.

Trailers also include key moments from the film which are sometimes not placed in order and do not give the main plot of the film away, although some trailers steer away from the traditional convention. Many of them are shown in quick cuts with the voice over describing what is happening in the scene, we may then here a short piece of dialogue from the film to show humour or seriousness. These are usually used as sound bridges to link the scenes together creating one big story rather than loads of small ones confusing the viewer. Many trailers will also use a voice-over sometimes of the main character or of a serious deep voice depending on the genre of the film. For instance in the 'In Time' trailer there is a voice over from the main character letting the viewer get a feel of what the main character is like, yet in a trailer for a film such as the purge a different voice is used in order to create a sense of mystery and unknown knowledge to the film. Voice-overs are often also used as sound bridges to connect two different scenes in the trailer or film. After carrying out research looking at different types of trailers many of them use this convention in order to hook the audience into to the film making it more likely for them to go and see the film, this hooks them in as it makes the film look more interesting showing the general storyline yet not giving all the plot away enticing the audience to view the film even more. 

The title of the film doesn't usually appear until the end of the trailer and followed by the release date sometimes with the billing block of the film. Although this is not true to all trailers released to the public, sometimes showing the title before the trailer shows any of the characters or storyline. This gives the audience a general idea of what the film is about and what to expect.  

The stars of the film and their names are usually shown in the trailer to let the audiences know who they are expecting to see and many people may just see a film for the people in it, which the institutions may use as a selling point. This can also help with merchandise as many people will buy copies of of the film or posters/magazines if they are fans of the main characters, also helping the film get better known.

The names of the director and/or producer of the film are commonly shown followed by the sentences 'From the director/makers of...' to help the audiences make connections between the films and their styles. This is also another selling point of the film as this shows the audience that if they liked their previous work they may like their new films.

The font in the trailer to a film also depends on the types of film it is. Many horror films have a dark coloured simple design for the film to go with the straight cut storyline of a horror, whereas for a rom-com film the colours will usually be white and pink or other colours we associate with love. This is done to create more feeling to the film and the audiences viewing the film. This also makes the film recognisable to many fans or people wanting to see the film, also making it another selling point by seeing the font and knowing immediately what it is trying to convey.