Film Marking Techniques

Media Studies At Aquinas: FILM MAKING TECHNIQUES: "This is a useful video on media language and lets you see a range of techniques that you might want to incorporate into your soap trailer."

Soap Poster Ideas

Idea for a soap billboard:

 Additional soap bus stop advert:

Binary, Grey's anatomy poster:

Life/ death, healing medice equipment/ killer gun.



Further Planning.. TO BE FINISHED..

·                 Camera shot and angles;

We have planned all different kinds of shoots that match the codes and conventions of soap drama trailers. These include: long shots, close ups, medium close ups, extreme close ups, low angle shot, high angle shot, eye level, point of view, over the shoulder, reverse angle. Using a variety gives the trailer a dramatic atmosphere and a fast paste storyline.

·                 Camera movement;

We have planned to use a lot of pans, and tracks to make the trailer have movement and give the illusion the storyline is moving on.

·                 Framing & Composition;

Looking at our locations ideas there are many ways in which we can frame our shoots. If we use our under the bridge location that we can frame the top of the bridge with the background. If we use a bus stop we can frame the actors in the bus stop by the walls. At the brick wall scene there is a pathway near one of the locations that when shot will create a corridor that can frame the actors.

·                 Mise en scene;

The mise en scene we plan to create are to reinforce our representations used in the trailer, for instance we are planning to use a brick wall which gives the connotations of youths/ teenagers. We also plan to use a location that has graffiti in the background, this will give connotations of youths and rebel behaviour. We also plan to use a puddle that the character runs into while the camera is placed on the ground, this will create a striking use of locations and see the splashed to shock the audience.

·                 Props;

The props needed in the different scenes include, a mobile phone, a bed, a bench a suitcase for the break-up scene. In one of the scenes we will also have a character run through a puddle.

·                 Costumes;

We are having our actors dress in normal teenager outfits, suggestions of jeans and logo t-shirt. We also need dark hoodies for the chasing scene that we have asked them to provide; this also had representations of dangerous youths.

·             Settings - Daytime

·             Sounds;

Sound; diegetic and non diegetic uses of sound: Will use the script to create diegetic dialogue, this will give representations of the characters for the audience. We will also edit non diegetic music over the trailer to create more representations and atmosphere. For one scene we have a phone call where we will record the other side of the phone call after the shooting and then lay this over the footage. Background sounds of streets, cars and other people will be used create a realistic atmosphere.

• Editing; we will mostly plan to use straight cuts to one camera footage to another, we may also start with a fade from black, and end with a fade to black, also at the end we will add a title card or dates and times of the show, this will also fade onto the screen or fade from black.

CONSIDER the key concepts:

• Genre:

The genre we will create is a formulaic genre of teenage drama soap.

• Representations:

Representations that we are creating will include multi-gender, and multi-race (if we have friends of multi-race, however we will try and include this).

• Audience:

Our target audience is teenagers, of both genders ages 14-19, the characters we will create will be aged 17/18, therefore youger audiences will aspire to be them, and aged 16/17/18/19 will relate to them.

• Ideology & Values:

With most teenage dramas there are a few things that happen for the audience’s ideology and values. The audience simply watch the show for entertainment, they watch the show and aspire to be the characters being created effecting their self esteem, or they watch the show and reflect the meanings created on their own lives, for instance, in our soap a girl becomes pregnant, this will make the audience see the effect it has on the character’s life and the audience may decide to change their lives effectively to avoid or achieve this.

Script.. TO BE FINISHED..

Storyline/ Script:

SCENE ORDER AND CHARACTERS

1.                Train station/ Bus stop (start) – Girl 1 (Charis), Guy 1 (Chris)

2.                Mersey Way Bridge and path, chase fight scene – Guy 2, Attacker Guy 1, Attacker Guy 2, Main Attacker Guy 3

3.                Train station/ Bus stop (getting angry) - Girl 1 (Charis), Guy 1 (Chris)

4.                In home, Toilets, pregnant girl – Girl 2 (Amy)

5.                Walking down the street, guys talking about football – Guy 1, Guy 3, Guy 4

6.                Brick wall, Pregnant girl telling friend – Girl 2 (Amy), Girl 3 (Emma)

7.                Street, Girl circling around her with people kissing – Girl 4 (Cathy), Girl 5 (Anna), Guy 2 (Luke)

8.                Train station/ Bus stop (arguing) - Girl 1 (Charis), Guy 1 (Chris)

9.                Park, holding girl back – Girl 5 (Anna), Guy 1 (Chris)

10.              Park, Girl fight rolling scene - Girl 4 (Cathy), Girl 5 (Anna)

11.              At home, door scene – Girl 3 (Emma)

12.              Leaving house, phone call scene – Girl 4 (Cathy)

13.              Bedroom suitcase scene – Girl 5 (Anna), Guy 2 (Luke)

14.              Brick wall – Girl 2 (Amy), Girl 3 (Emma)

15.              Train station/ Bus stop ending – Girl 1 (Charis), Guy 1 (Chris)

16.              Final shot of group all together, with show times on screen – Girl 1 (Charis), Girl 2 (Amy), Girl 3 (Emma), Girl 4 (Cathy), Girl 5 (Anna), Guy 1 (Chris), Guy 2 (Luke), Guy 3, Guy 4

Extras – 

Attacker Guy 1

Attacker Guy 2
Main Attacker Guy 3

Group of friends -

Girl 1(Charis) – Girlfriend on the train station/ bus stop

Girl 2(Amy) – Pregnant girl, tells friend, gets distress on brick wall

Girl 3(Emma) – Friend of pregnant girl, girl shutting door at home, helps distress pregnant girl

Girl 4(Cathy) – Girl who is hurt by people kissing, gets in fight with that girl, gets suspended

Girl 5(Anna) – Girl who kisses guy, gets in fight with girl who sees this, breaks up with guy in suitcase scene, held back

Guy 1(Chris) – Boyfriend at train station/bus stop, Guy getting bullied by football friends, holds girl back

Guy 2(Luke) – Gets chased and beat up, guy kissing girl, guy gets dumped in suitcase scene

Guy 3 – Football bully

Guy 4 – Football bully

· Train station/ Bus stop (start) – Girl 1 (Charis), Guy 1 (Chris)

Begins with Guy 1 and Girl 1 on bench
Establishing shot, long shot, to full shot, to close up, to two shot, to extreme close up to his face
Guy 1:    “We’re in trouble”
Extreme close up of eyes shift and worried.
Close up of her face looking at him all worried.
Starts music, fast paced.

· Mersey Way Bridge and path, chase fight scene – Guy 2, Attacker Guy 1, Attacker Guy 2, Main Attacker Guy 3

Low angle floor shot, see Guy 2 run pass, puddle splash, quickly followed by 3 guys chasing him.

Attacker guy 1:           “Oui!”
Attacker guy 2:           “Get here”
Switch to hand held point of view of Guy 2, camera falls to ground. Quick switch to side view of Guy 2 half gets up, as you see Attackers catch up and grab him, grab his hood and throw him back and push him around a bit. 
Guy 2:                    “Get off me”
Switch back to point of view, low angle looking up at attackers. Two attackers holding him down, main attacker in middle.
(More aggressive)
Main attacker guy 3:          “You sneaky shit!”
                Switches to over the shoulder shot of main attacker looking down at Guy 2.
Guy 2:                    “It wasn’t my fault”

Switch back to point of view.

Main attacker guy 3:          “You said you wouldn’t tell anyone, it had to stay hidden, you’ve ruined everything for me”

Guy 2:                    “I didn’t have a choice though, it was getting out of hand, I had to tell someone. I                                               -                              couldn’t keep it to myself any longer!”
Main attacker guy 3:          “You’re just a pathetic...”

PUNCH! In the camera

· Train station/ Bus stop (getting angry) -  Girl 1 (Charis), Guy 1 (Chris)

Two shot of Guy 1 and Girl 1 on the bench. Then to over the shoulder, reverse angle edit.
(Starting to get annoyed at each other)
Girl 1:                    “How did it come to this? You said we wouldn’t have a problem”
Guy 1:                    “It’s wasn’t just me that slipped-up. We all decided to do this”
Girl 1:                    “But it was always about you, we did this all to help you!”

· Different montage of quick sequences:

Music gets really loud and fast
· In home, Toilets, pregnant girl – Girl 2 (Amy)

Small pan of bathroom to side view of Girl 2, lots of close ups of her face, and extreme close ups of her eyes and hands. Girl starring at pregnancy test.
Girl 2:                    “Please don’t be positive... "

· Walking down the street, guys talking about football – Guy 1, Guy 3, Guy 4
Track of 3 boys walking down the street towards to camera, handheld. Switch from two shot of Guy 3 and Guy 4, to close up of Guy 1.
Guy 3:              “That was a rubbish lesson, almost fell asleep"
Guy 4:              “Yeah but at least we've got football tonight man! You're going down right!"
Guy 1:              “Yeah, well we'll see. I've got to see my girl tonight"
Guy 3:              “Why are you with that skank all the time? We're your really mates"

Guy 4:              "Are you gonna come back to the boys and do what you are actually meant to be doing instead of bedding your girlfriend all the fricken time?!"
· Brick wall, Pregnant girl telling friend – Girl 2 (Amy), Girl 3 (Emma)
Over the shoulder and two shot
Girl 2:              “Emma can I tell you something.. I’m pregnant”
Girl 3:              “Oh god, it’ll be okay”
Girl 3 hugs Girl 2. Then secretly gives snicker look towards Girl 2 while hugging, over shoulder shot.
· Street, Girl circling around her with people kissing – Girl 4 (Cathy), Girl 5 (Anna), Guy 2 (Luke)
Girl 4, quick zoom/ walk towards her with the camera, then circles around her to over the shoulder of her seeing Girl 5 and Guy 2 kissing.
· Train station/ Bus stop (arguing) - Girl 1 (Charis), Guy 1 (Chris)

Two shot of Guy 1 and Girl 1 on the bench. Then to over the shoulder, reverse angle edit.
(In heated argument). Angry face.
Girl 1:                    “I can’t believe you did this. You’ve ruined everything for us”
Guy 1:                    “Just stop it”

· Park, holding girl back – Girl 5 (Anna), Guy 1 (Chris)
Over shoulder of Guy 1 with Girl 5 running towards the camera, as Guy 1 holds them back 
Girl 5:              “Nooo!!”

· Park, Girl fight rolling scene - Girl 4 (Cathy), Girl 5 (Anna)

Long shot of two girls about to fight each other. Switches to over the shoulder.
Girl 4:                    “Ahh you bitch!”

Switches to over the other shoulder.

Girl 5:                    “What?!”
 Girl 4 ruby tackles Girl 5 to the ground on hill, scuffling. Switched to long shot of them 

· At home, door scene – Girl 3 (Emma)
Girl 3 runs into a room and closes the door, holds on to the door handle trying to keep the door shut. Medium close up from diagonal, showing her and the door

· Leaving house, phone call scene – Girl 4 (Cathy)

 (Filming girl on phone, then person on phone to use dialogue to make over voice). Girl 4 walks out the front door and tracks her walking walks to go to college towards camera, phone rings, get phone out of pocket, extreme close up of phone ‘College calling’. Close up of her face as she’s on phone.
Girl 4:                        “Hello”

College:           “Girl 4 we have decided that we have suspended you for the week on the accusations that you have attacked another student”

· Bedroom suitcase scene – Girl 5 (Anna), Guy 2 (Luke)

Fade in black. POV of clothes falling on camera, switches to side view of Girl 5 throwing clothes out of a suitcase Guy 2 as he wakes up.
Girl 5:                    “What have you done? We’re finished!”
· Brick wall – Girl 2 (Amy), Girl 3 (Emma)
Girl 2 (pregnant girl) crying and then Girl 3 grabs her buy the coat and shoves her against the wall. Over the shoulder and two shot, handheld.
Girl 3:                 “Pull yourself together”

· Train station/ Bus stop ending – Girl 1 (Charis), Guy 1 (Chris)

Two shot of Guy 1 and Girl 1 on the bench. Then to over the shoulder, reverse angle edit, close up of the sad faces.
(Sad ending)
Girl 1 gets up and collects bag
Girl 1:                    “I can’t do this anymore”
Switches to camera from across the tracks, train/bus pulls up, stops (quickly stops, fasts up) train pulls away, just him on the bench.

· Final shot of group all together, with show times on screen – Girl 1 (Charis), Girl 2 (Amy), Girl 3 (Emma), Girl 4 (Cathy), Girl 5 (Anna), Guy 1 (Chris), Guy 2 (Luke), Guy 3, Guy 4

Whole group leaning against the wall. Switches to title card. Show times and channel.

Production Planning

Research into similar products:

Inbetweeners:


I have chosen this video to use as similar product to what I want my trailer to be like because it is based on a teenage drama/comedy and it uses one continuous storyline throughout but switches to different sequences to add mystery and show a range of drama/comedy within an episode. However my trailer will be based on a series so that I can show an even bigger range of sequences. This trailer also starts off with one sequence to set the storyline and atmosphere to the trailer; I will also try to incorporate this into my trailer.

Waterloo road:


After watching this, and other Waterloo trailers I want to base my product on something similar as it is a teenage drama, therefore if I do something similar I can get my friends and other student to be characters within the sequence. Also, I can use these storylines to base my storylines around. These trailers also have good camera movement that I can use; they involve a lot of long shot, MCU, CU and two shots.

Through my research and looking at existing soap trailers, I have decided to have a quick montage of sequences with one main storyline running throughout. These are some initial narrative ideas for the different montage sequences:

·         Running scene

·         Fighting scene

·         Bed room scene (girl waking up after party with guy)

·         Bed room (breaking up, clothes over suitcase)

·         Couple breaking up

·         Couple getting together

·         Smoking

·         Party scene

·         Run away

·         Goodbye (train station)

·         Fighting scene (two guys and one girl)

·         Two people kissing with girl behind them

·         Top of a building (jump off?)

·         Girls putting on make-up and guys getting ready

·         Classroom scene

·         Canteen scene

·         Shopping scene

      This is an initial idea for the main storyline;

Storyline – Group of 7-9 people are in trouble, I used this number because looking at similar soaps such as “Skins”, and “The Cut”. The group will be in trouble, resulting in them getting chased, threats and fights, however why they are in trouble will be a mystery to create intense and attract the audience to watch the show.

Location ideas:

Looking at my research into existing TV soap, I want to pick realistic locations that fit my representations of teenagers.

Initial location ideas:

Alex park (reservoir), Hollywood park, overview of centre and hill, Stockport shopping centre, Mersey walk side (under bridge), train station, college classrooms

Alexandra park is a large park containing a reservoir, hills and lots of greenery.

Stockport train station would be good to use, the pillars can create good framing. This setting could be used for chase scenes, or someone running away scene. However, permission for shooting in Stockport train station might be complicated and not permitted, in that case, similar locations such as a bus stop could have the same effects.

Mersey River has a walk pathway next to it that travels under bridges such as this one that contains graffiti, this gives representations of rebel youths.

Heaten Norris Park is located on a hill next to Stockport centre, therefore is has the great view of the whole Stockport centre. This will make a great establishing shot. Additionally the park has lots of hills and courts such as basketball courts that we could use for male characters to be playing a match in, giving messages of competition and masculinity.

We could also use my house that is close to Stockport centre to do indoor scenes such as a bedroom scene, bathroom scene, kitchen...

We can also use Aquinas College for a setting, however we would have to do this within college opening hours and with Aquinas students, limiting our shooting hours and cast. However if we do not get all our scenes shot, or have to re-shot some scenes that this is easily done at Aquinas College.

This is a map of our locations. Heaton Norris park, Stockport Train station, my house, Mersey pathway.
All of them, are easily accessible, and within 10/15 minutes away from each other making it quicker to switch between locations and easier to get all shooting done on one day.