Soundtrack Production Practice

Following on from my last post, above is a basic and very short video of the type of music the band I'm working with can sing (cover.) They are covering 'Little Lion Man' by Mumford and Sons, this is similar to the acoustic style and tone that I was thinking of for my non-diegetic soundtrack, and therefore it was useful for me to see them cover different songs of this genre and see which ones would be potentially good for my trailer.

Soundtrack Production Practice

 The other day I got together with the band that have agreed to help me out with my non-diegetic soundtrack, most likely to be a cover of a slow but popular chart song of some sort, so that it attracts the correct target audience but still upholds the conventions of the romance genre. One of the band members is my male actor in the film so I already know him well and know that I can successfully work with him, so this was very convenient. As is clear from the pictures, we don't have all the equipment necessary to record the soundtrack properly as it won't have a high enough quality to be included

in my trailer. However, these shots show some of our research and practice to investigate which songs the band could cover well and which were more difficult for them. This was very useful for me to listen to their music and to decide if their style and voices tied in successfully with my trailers narrative and shots. I personally think that the band are very talented and are successful in making covers of slower, more acoustic style songs, which is the type of thing I'm looking for in terms of my non-diegetic soundtrack. The band have agreed with the songs I have chosen as background music for my trailer and are now currently arranging with me and with the school music department, when is an appropriate time to borrow their equipment to record the track. We all aim for this to be done in the next week providing there are no delays and the equipment works as planned. As soon as this is recorded I will tie the soundtrack in with my female characters voiceover and place these over the top of my trailer.

Production Update: Sound Delays

I'm slightly behind schedule in terms of the sound involved in my trailer. I have decided on and arranged what non-diegetic soundtrack I want for my film and have told the band that are covering the songs how I want them recorded. The band have agreed to record the soundtrack as soon as possible, however it is slightly difficult in terms of equipment and all of the members having to be free at the same time to use the recording equipment at school. A positive is that all of the band members go to the same school and therefore it will be fairly easy for them to meet in a certain place at a certain time and use the equipment needed. The recording of the voiceover done by the female character has been delayed due to me not being given permission or access to take a professional microphone home with me from the school music department. This is an issue as my main female actress doesn't go to the same school and therefore in order to record the voiceover we have to use the microphone at school as I don't have the budget or resources to use equipment from home as it will be too amateur and will decrease the sound quality in my trailer. To overcome this I will arrange a time when I am free at school and when my female actress is off of college and then will ask for permission for her to come in as a visitor and use the microphone in school. I aim for this to happen at some point next week as I don't want to be too behind schedule in terms of editing.

Research: Film Idents

Above are 3 idents from UK based film studios/companies, therefore they will have a much smaller and more niche target audiences. These idents are far more simplistic than the previous idents I have looked at as they aren't huge Hollywood distributers and therefore don't need to include the same features as the others do to emphasise their global presence, as many of the UK companies will target just UK audiences alone as they don't have the budget to target a large tent-pole audience. The top two idents use solely black and white colours, whilst these aren't the brightest and most eye catching colours, they do make both titles look professional and depending on what genre of films they most often create, then this is very effective. For example, if the companies make a lot of dramas or documentaries, then this typography will be appropriate because it represents the company in a mature and serious way and shows that the films/trailers they create will have serious narrative features included. The last one uses a blue font on a white background, this stands out and different shades of blue are used to make the typography a bit more interesting and to make it look more appealing. All of these have white backgrounds which are very basic but allow the company to present themselves in a less amateur way than if just bright and child-like colours/patterns had been used, this will appeal to an older and more mature target audience as they will associate this style and tone with the content of the films made by the company, and will therefore potentially more interested in watching. 'Warp Films' uses a globe logo which is similar to some major film studios such as 'Universal' that I've previously looked at, this could be because they are trying to target a more global audience and attempting to appeal to a different range of people. The typography uses in all of these is clear and bold which is conventional of all company idents as the name of the company is intended to stand out and be emphasised to the audience. For my ident I am likely to follow the conventions of the examples above and go for a more simplistic design. This is firstly because I don't have the skills or editing equipment to create something too detailed, but also because like the companies above,I will target a more niche, and a non-global target audience. The target audience I will target will be a UK audience or predominantly teenage/adult females, and therefore I want my ident to follow the conventions of a UK-based company ident and show that I'm not as globally known as the major Hollywood conglomerates. However, despite me following a simple and clear design, I still will have to ensure that my design is eye-catching and unique, otherwise the target audience won't be attracted to it.

Research: Film Idents

The 3 images above show the well-known idents of 3 out of 6 of the Hollywood Big 6 production companies. The backgrounds of all of these are fairly similar as they all use a sky or a space image behind the title of their company. These backgrounds are used for mainly two reasons, firstly because the image of a blue sky or a starry night sky are both conventionally beautiful and calm. Blue skies are iconic of sunny days and sunshine has codes of happiness and brightness, therefore many people feel happy when they see images of a sunny sky. In terms of the Universal background, stars are icons of light and beauty and many people enjoy looking up at the stars at night as it makes them feel peaceful, therefore this background will be attractive to a large target audience. The second reason is that all of these pictures represent a large and wide open space, this could link to the idea of each of these conglomerates being global and targeting a large audience all over the world, as the open sky and space can be associated with everyone in the world and isn't specific to a niche audience. These background images represent that the conglomerates have no limit and can target whatever audience they wish to because they have the budget and the status. My production company differs from them in this way as it won't have anywhere near the same budget or resources as the companies above, and therefore I may have to consider using a slightly different background that is associated with the smaller and more niche production companies.

The actual icons and titles for both are very different for each conglomerate. 'Universal' uses a globe as it's logo to link closely to the title and to represent the idea that this conglomerate targets audiences from all around the world and isn't specific to one location. The globe icon ties in with the space background as it represents the earth and it's place in the universe. This company has a strong ident and title as both of these symbolise the idea that the company has no limits and can defy expectations as they have associated themselves with the idea of space and the whole universe, showing that even the sky isn't the limit. This looks impressive and will usually appear at the beginning of the film or trailer, therefore showing the audience that the film has been created by a company of huge power and status. The typography used is fairly simple but is still bold and noticeable, the white colour is used to stand out on the mainly blue and black background and the thin gold outline emphasises the font further. The title is simple because there's a lot more going on in the ident such as the detailed globe and the starry background, if the font was too detailed and confusing then there would be too much going on.

The Paramount ident is fairly effective, it uses a mountain image as it's icon which links to the 'mount' aspect as the name of the conglomerate. This is similar to the ideas I've discussed above in terms of the globe being a powerful image in the way that mountains are viewed as a challenge and people often talk about climbing mountains as something difficult, so the company has associated itself with these ideas and proven that they can overcome challenges and be successful, and do what many others fail to do. The stars around the title are effective and link to the film industry and the ratings of 1-5 stars that many magazines and critics use to rate newly released films. The actual typography is basic and a white colour, the white colour is the same as the stars and is fades slightly at the edges so it looks like it glows. If I used a font like this I'd have to ensure that it wasn't too basic and therefore boring which wouldn't appeal to the target audience as they would want to be drawn in by an eye catching and interesting font. However, it works successfully for this ident as the rest of the ident and the background are detailed and therefore this works to draw the audiences attention and play on their desires.

The Warner Bros ident is similar to the others in terms of the background image and style, and the idea that all of the titles and logos are in the very centre so they stand out immediately and the audience make direct eye contact with them, however the rest of the ident is slightly different. The other idents use images of either a globe or a mountain as their logo, however Warner Bros uses the name of their company inside a badge shape as their main logo. So, the title itself is practically the logo. This is still effective as the badge shape is an icon that can be associated with the company, and the audience will see it with the title inside and immediately know who the conglomerate is. The gold colour used for the typography is effective as gold is symbolic of success as it is iconic of first place medals and expensive items, therefore this offers the idea that the company is acclaimed and is better than it's competitors (the other Big 6 mainly.) The large 'WB' is eye catching and appears in a larger and slightly bolder font than the rest because these specific letters are an abbreviation of the company name and are meant to stand out and therefore be noticed and hopefully recognised by the target audience, who are likely to have seen a film or trailer made by the company previously. The blue background inside the badge is a lighter shade and therefore allows the gold to stand out and be emphasised further so the audience are forced to read the letters and potentially remember them.

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.