Research: Film Titles

 Clueless:  

The first film title is from the 1995 rom-com/coming of age film. The title is on a pink background which will immediately appeal to the female target audience stereotyped with romance films as a whole. The use of the shimmering/sparkly diamond font also links very closely to the target audience, maybe a slightly younger female audience as diamante and glittery fonts are conventional of romance films targeting a younger audience, teenagers around 13+. This font is stereotypically very feminine as it includes silver gems which have codes of jewellery and jewellery is a stereotypically female thing as females wear it much more than males. This font is very eye-catching as it looks flashy and shiny and the silver is clearly emphasised and clear on the pink background, however this typography wouldn't necessarily be that appropriate for my film. This film is set in a high-school and is based around the drama and gossip element of teenage life, therefore this bold and glamorous title is very appropriate as it ties in with the lifestyle of many of the female characters in the film, who are fairly wealthy and enjoy hobbies stereotyped with teenage girls such as shopping. However, this wouldn't be appropriate for my trailer as my film follows a very different narrative to the conventional romance film with a gossip theme set in a high school with a range of stock male and female characters. 

Love Actually:

This title has a very simple design and style, however I think it is still very effective and appropriate for the romance genre. The word 'love' is included in the title therefore it automatically represents the romance genre as love is the main aspect of every romance film. The word is written in red typography and red is iconic of the romance genre as it is stereotyped with love and hearts. The first word in the title is bolder and in a brighter colour so it stands out more and draws the audience in, the second word is less important and is more like an afterthought so is in a smaller and less bold font, but is still clear and noticeable. I liked the use of typography for this title as it is simple and therefore seems to be targeting an older target audience, of mainly adults, compared to the title above. The red colour used is highly conventional of the genre and is very noticeable which is important for a title. I like the use of a plain white background as the black and the red font used automatically stands out on it. Overall this title is designed nicely and I would consider using a similar typography for the title of my film, however it is simple and most likely used with a large and eye catching image, therefore if I decide to use a simple title like this, then I must ensure it is still interesting and not to basic to attract an audience. 

A Cinderella Story:

This typography is very bold thick and therefore each letter stands out clearly and therefore will draw in audience attention immediately as they will be able to easily read the title and will then potentially want to know more about the film. The font uses a nice fade effect to go from a lighter blue to a darker blue at the bottom, this looks effective and is pleasant to look at as the colours contrast well. Pastel colours, particularly baby blue shades like the one above, are conventional of romance film typography and posters and therefore the colour of the font above links to the romance genre very successfully. Pastel shades are fairly positive and uplifting meaning that many of the target audience will look at this and sense that the film has a happy tone and narrative, and therefore a potentially happy ending which is what many of the female target audience of romance films have proven to enjoy. I would consider using a similar title to this for my film as I think that it is fairly basic but still effective and both my film and this film will target teenage females and so I want to use the stereotypical style and colours that interest this demographic. However, a font like this might be a bit to fairytale-like for my film and may attract a slightly younger audience than I planned to, also my film includes the characters drinking alcohol etc so it won't necessarily be appropriate or relatable to a younger audience and won't follow all the same positive themes as the film above. Therefore I might consider using a slightly more professional and less pastel coloured font so that it links more closely to the tone of my trailer. 

Audience Feedback for Trailer Draft 1 (outdoor only)

I showed draft 1 of my romance trailer to a group of 10 of my audience, over half of these were female teenagers and so this linked to and represented the niche target audience I'm focusing my film on. It was very useful to get feedback on my initial trailer from these people as they are the stereotypical demographic to watch romance films and therefore they will understand the conventional features and elements of these films that should potentially be included in their trailers. 

Positive Feedback on the Trailer:

• The audience said that they liked the lighting of the shots on the sunny day as it gave the trailer a positive tone and it represented the happiness of the protagonists when they are together. 
• The non-diegetic soundtrack of 'Passenger/Let Her Go' was liked by the audience and many of them said that it was very appropriate and tied in with the narrative and the range of shots very well. 
• The shot of the characters legs walking across the stream was one of the favourite shots and was described as being very effective and potentially being a good opening shot or a shot to represent a change in location or situation. 
• All of the outdoor shots were seen as being very effectively lit by external lighting and therefore clear and not blurry, making them look more high quality and professional. 

Areas for Improvement in the Trailer:

• The audience said that a few of the shots were quite similar as they were all outdoors and in park or field locations, however I hadn't yet included my indoor shots in this draft and so they said that when these were included it may allow more variety within shots and will therefore be more interesting. 
• The audience said that titles were definitely needed and transitions would help to split some of the shots up and allow them to fade into each other less suddenly. 
• The narrative was seen as confusing for a few of the audience, this could potentially be because some shots were still missing from this particular draft. However, the order of the shots in the trailers timeline needs to be carefully considered. 
• Dialogue was discussed and the audience thought that some dialogue within the shots might have been effective. If not, then they suggested a voiceover to make the narrative clear and to potentially allow one of the main characters to give their point of view to the audience and to interest them. 

Changes to be made:

• In my next draft I need to make sure I include both titles and transitions. My trailer needs titles in between or over shots to help explain the narrative even further and to back up all the shots in representing the relationship between the characters. 
• I have decided not to include dialogue between the characters in my trailer, however I will include a voiceover from the female character explaining their relationship and her feelings towards it. This will attract a female target audience as they will get insight into her personality and behaviour and may be able to relate to her as they will be a similar age and may have been through a similar situation. 
•  My next draft will include the indoor scenes/shots as well so hopefully the narrative will make more sense and follow a similar Todorov narrative structure as it will include a beginning, set up/development of relationship, diequilibrium and then equilibrium before the end. 
• The soundtrack was enjoyed and praised hugely by the audience that I showed this draft to and therefore I will need to either find something similar but non-copyright, or ask a band that I know to re-record a version of that specific song as it worked so effectively with the shots included. 

Initial Trailer Shots: Indoor and Outdoor

Editing: Lighting

After beginning to edit with both my indoor and outdoor shots, I discovered that there was a slight difference in the lighting. The contrast between the external lighting of the sunshine in the daylight and the extra internal lighting for the bedroom scenes is very noticeable. The 500W light that I used for the indoor scenes and pointed at the ceiling didn't work as effectively as I would have hoped and therefore I have had to make a few changes to my initial storyboard as a result of this lighting issue. These changes just involve taking out the indoor shots that I don't need and that aren't key in the narrative and replacing them with more outdoor shots of the couple together. I don't have time to re-film anything now ad I have to focus solely on editing my shots and adding the correct transitions. However, I think that the adjustments to my storyboard and the indoor shots I have included will work effectively and represent the disequilibrium of the narrative to the audience in a way that will hopefully grab their attention.

Editing: Slow Motion Effect

To the left is a screenshot from the editing of my trailer, it shows a shot of the stock characters dancing together in the rain. I have been editing and experimenting with the speed of this shot and I think that it looks the most effective in slow motion. This slow motion effect, as shown below by the turtle symbol over the top of the shot, is included as it emphasises the importance of that moment for the characters. Slow motion is used conventionally to show the importance of something and the impact of when it happens. I have included it here as I think it represents the idea that the characters are happy and together and that because of this nothing else matters and time has essentially stopped because they don't care about anything else. If I decide to include this shot in my final trailer then I think the audience will notice the importance of this effect and why it puts emphasis on the relationship of the two characters.

Shot Example: Blurred Effect

This is an example of a close up shot of the main female character in my trailer. I used this close up to emphasise the characters hair and make up and the way she is looking off into the distance and seems to be deep in thought. As you can see from the screenshot above, the shot has a blurred effect on it. This wasn't done in the editing process and doesn't involve any transitions. To get this effect I simply blew on the camera lens and then allowed it to gradually fade whilst the character was swinging slowly, this allowed a blurred effect of the female swinging in and out of focus. I think this looks effective as it is unique and will attract the audience and interest them. Also, it gives it a smokey, dreamy effect which can often be used in shots at the beginning of trailers to introduce the film and the characters. Also, it can indicate a bit about the characters personalities for example if the lens is blurry then it could be used to represent the characters vision or their mood e.g.tiredness or confusion. In this case it is used to look appealing and to exaggerate the close up shot to the audience and show the characters importance as her features become clearer and more emphasised as the blurred effect disappears, and therefore the audience focus on them more.

Initial Trailer Editing: Outdoor and Indoor shots

 I have finished filming all of my shots and have now started editing my shots and placing them into a timeline order that I think best represents the narrative of my film. For this initial editing I am continuing to use iMovie as it is basic and easy to use and also because I have iMovie on my home laptop and therefore it is very convenient and easy for me to access. A lot of my shots worked fairly well however many of them need to be cut as a result of things like rain getting on the lens or shaky camera work. However, this isn't

 necessarily a problem as I'm making a trailer so continuity isn't as much of a problem as if I was making a film opening for instance. Also, trailers conventionally include the best and most interesting shots from the film as they want to attract a certain audience and grab their attention, therefore I'm currently editing the shots and including only the best ones in my actual trailer.  An initial problem that I have encountered when editing is that some of the shots cut too quickly to shots from other locations and therefore it looks like they skip important parts of the narrative. To overcome this I will look at including appropriate transitions in between these shots and potentially re-order some of the shots so that when the location changes it is gradual and not sudden and shows a jump in time instead of a random change of location that doesn't make sense. I'm still re-ordering my shots along the      timeline for my film so that the order best

represents the development of the characters relationship. Currently the basic shot order is: the characters first meeting, the characters in a range of locations getting to know each other and falling in love, the characters having an argument and potentially breaking up (disequilibrium) and then a few shots of the characters together again at the end (showing a potential happily ever after ending and equilibrium.) I'm happy with this overall order of shots as I think it represents the film's narrative well and it makes sense that the arguing scenes come after the scenes of them meeting and falling in love. The trailer intends to not give away the film ending otherwise the audience would know what happens and nobody would be interested enough to see it as it would be predictable. Therefore the trailer will end on a cliffhanger with the short few shots of the protagonists together indicating the idea that they could end up being together again, however this is not definite and they also could not resolve things and stay apart.