Beginning the Editing Process: Screenshots from iMovie

To begin my editing phase I started with a blank screen - I chose this software as not only is it easy to manipulate footage in terms of colour correction, stabilising shots and cutting footage. It was also a free software that was available to me but would still allow me to produce a professional and effective trailer in terms of meeting the genre. 

Next I imported my raw footage onto the display "My Media". This allowed me to sort through and pick and choose my footage and allowed me to analyse the best shots which matched my story board the best. With all my footage laid out in front of me like this I was able to collaboratively make links between all of my shots and the sequence in my story board. This made it much easier when it came to putting my footage into my "timeline" to begin editing. 

After sorting thorugh my raw footage I began placing the shots into my "timeline". This began to bring in continuity between shots and I could visual play the shots consecutively and get a feel for the flow of the trailer. I used a variety of Shots 

Props for Filming and Anchoring the Diegesis: Killer Next Door

In order to anchor the diegesis of my trailer I used props to make the plot line clearer and more realistic. 

First of all, I needed to get across the fact that the male character is the killer. In order to do this effectively and efficiently without blatantly using dialogue to express this, I used inter-textuality. I made a fake newspaper by copying and pasting a murder case onto a page and added a headline and date to make it seem more realistic. I placed this in the house of the victim and as I panned across this prop it foreboded to the audience that not only was the male character a killer but that the victim was in danger of coming across him. 

For the gory scenes in my trailer I made fake blood out of honey, glycerine and red and black food colouring. This was made to look like real blood when placed on other props I used such as smearing it on knives, the killers hands and the walls of the killers basement. I also dirtied up some old t-shirts, one of them I placed in the killers bag of weapons to look like a rag which he uses to clean his weapons. The other t-shirt I made the victim wear in the chase scene through the woods as I had rubbed it with dirt and fake blood to look like she was cut and bruised when she had fallen whilst running away from the killer.

 

Another way which I anchored the diegesis was by taking real photographs of my female actor with her and her parents through out her life time. I placed these around the house and produced shots of them in my trailer. These shots of the photos were shown when the female protagonist was listening to a voicemail her mother had left on the answer machine. This helped the audience understand that the female protagonist did in fact live with her parents but they were not present in the house that day. I also used a voice over of a radio news anchor along with the physical prop of a radio to again convey the plot line clearly  The news anchor spoke of a "murder on the move" just like the newspaper expressed. This was another way in which the plot was anchored through the use of props. 

The last from of prop which I used was photographs of the victim and her house, this added to the effect of a stalker vibe to the killer and resultantly made it much more eerie. 

Mise-en-scene: Characters Costumes

For the costumes of my characters I needed to stick to convention in terms of the representation of their archetypal characterisation. This would enhance the genre and the understanding of the plot.  

For the victim, as a normal teen girl I wanted to keep the outfit simple. I chose, jeans, converse shoes, a plain white t-shirt (and a muddy / ripped t-shirt which she changed into during the chase scenes), a jacket and a rucksack.

I felt that this portrayed the victim well as she is seen as a normal innocent girl.

For the male antagonist, I also wanted to keep the costume simple and unsuspecting. Due to the genre being of the thriller, i didn't want to convey the character as a typical 'killer', in all black and disguised. I wanted the element of surprise was crucial in the trailer as the female protagonist needed to be unaware and have no suspicions toward the male character. This is why I dressed both of them very simplistic, casual and have an 'everyday' feel toward their appearances.

However, to add some element of suspicion, I added props into the costume list. The male killer had a sharp object which could be used to implement harm, this made it clear that he was not a 'normal' neighbour and the female character should be wary of him. 

A range of Shots/Angles; Filming On Set

In order to convey an interesting trailer, which a majority of it is based in one location, the angels and framing of shots was important to note as this added a varying dynamic to the trailer as well as a more engaging watch for the audience. Below are varying stills of 'on-set-filming' in the wooded area for the trailer. 

On Set Filming: Wooded Area

The location I decided to film on was private land which I had permission to use. The advantages of not filming in a publicly accessible area is that there was not interruption from people walking into shots who were not in the trailer. Here shown below are aerial shots of the wooded area, this overview was very helpful when planning the different scenes in the woods as it gave clarity for the routes we would need to take the equipment down as it would have been difficult to not damage any equipment if the area was unfamiliar with me and my actors due to many heavily overgrown areas and bumpy paths.

   

Here are some shots below of myself filming in the wooded area with my actors, we filmed in day light as being in an outside environment, studio lights where not an option so the sunlight is what we had to work with. This meant that filming had to be done with time effectiveness in mind; the later in the day it got the darker the frames became due to the disappearance of the natural source. This was difficult in terms of keeping continuity of lightning within shots as they all needed to look like they happened in the same time period of the day. However I managed to work quick enough yet not rush my actors in order to make use of the light available. 

Call Sheet: Killer Next Door

The call sheet is a major part or organising the cast for filming. This prompt the cast on the locations of set, the times they have to be there and on what days. It also provides them with mine, the directors, emergency contact number incase they are any problems regarding timing, costumes or locations. 

Blocking Shots: HOUSE AREA

Before filming, I made sure to go to the locations in which I would be filming at and take blocking pictures. This meant that before filming I was able to plan anything that needed to be considered when filming in these areas such as; Traffic and pedestrians - When filming scenes on the road, I cannot guarantee that the road will be free of traffic when I need to film in a public housing area, nor will i be able to control people passing by on the street. By getting these blocking shots I can plan the best anger to eliminate excess traffic or pedestrians as I do not want them in the frame. Also the actors cannot drive the car as they are not old enough so I will need another person on set who can drive the car in and out of the shots as I film. It will give the illusion that the actor / character is in fact in 'their' car. These things need to be considered carefully as I am not in control of the environment around me therefore am having to work under its demands. 

Blocking Shots: WOODED AREA

Before filming, I made sure to go to the locations in which I would be filming at and take blocking pictures. This meant that before filming I was able to plan anything that needed to be considered when filming in these areas such as; lighting - will these areas get dark quickly too fast? Obstruction - will i be able to successfully use my equipment to my advantage? E.g. the dolly will not work on the wooded surface area unless I put something such as a wooden board down the make the dolly run smoothly. There were many other factors which I needed to consider in all of my locations and the blocking shots allowed me to plan for these accountable factors.