EVALUATION AND REFLECTION
introduction
The project task was to create a teaser trailer that had to be between 60 and 90 seconds in length. We were given a choice of 4 genres to choose from to make our teaser trailer. The choices were Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi and Horror.
​
I planned to produce an Action teaser trailer loosely based on the concept of the Kingsman film franchise which includes using multiple fast cuts with mainly close up and medium shots. My trailer was to be called ‘Hidden Spirit’ as the synopsis of my idea included the main protagonist having a secret power of immortality but this is not revealed within the trailer.
research
As the genre I picked was Action, I researched 5 action teaser trailers to find out what is typically found in a trailer of that genre. I watched the trailers for Angel Has Fallen (2019), Rogue Warfare (2019), Skyscraper (2018), Dunkirk (2017) and Terminator Dark Fate (2019). All of these trailers have fairly recently been made and before watching the trailers, I had only seen one of the films which was Dunkirk. This gave me a better understanding of Dunkirk as I had already watched the film so the teaser trailer linked quite well to what I watched and what I proposed to create for my own teaser trailer.
I would say that my research was quite useful for the development of the project as it gave me a better understanding and overall knowledge of Action genre conventions such as the antagonist usually having a female companion, fast paced editing, explosions, gun shots and close up shots to portray emotion; and the typical things that I would need to include to satisfy the conventions of an Action teaser trailer. On the other hand, it wasn’t that useful as technically I didn’t include any of the things I watched in the trailers I initially researched. This is because the basic concept of my trailer was actually based on the two Kingsman films from the Kingsman franchise (The Secret Service and The Golden Circle).
​
I think the main way I could improve the research I carried out is to look at and analyse more teaser trailers to gain a better and more thorough understanding of the genre I was looking to create, which was Action. In particular, I could have researched in depth into the Kingsman film franchise as this was the main premise for my trailer idea.
I think doing the above research will have impacted my project heavily because I would have had a better overall awareness of the Action genre along with knowing about other Action films including the Kingsman films. Also, this research would have helped me when it came to producing my teaser trailer because I would have had a broader knowledge of which shot types work in what way and which shot types don’t work so well therefore which shot types to avoid using.
In addition to theoretical research in terms of watching and analysing teaser trailers, one thing I could have done more of was experimental practical research. Essentially, getting a camera out and testing the camera in different settings to see what works well and what doesn’t work well. Linking this to my teaser trailer, before production, I could have filmed some test shots in the location I was going to be filming in, this being my living room and stairs in my house. This could have given me some knowledge of how the exposure and composition / mise-en-scéne would work in the location.
By filming test shots in the location I would shoot in, I could have understood how the lack of space would have hindered my production of the trailer prior to starting filming. I could have taken additional steps to make the most of the space I had available to me.
Also, with regards to practical editing research, I could have taken some of the test shots to Adobe Premiere Pro and experimented with them by using different effects to see what it would possibly look like.
Whilst editing my teaser trailer, although I was unsure of how to colour grade my film, this didn’t really hinder the project that much as the clips I filmed were shot in natural light so the lighting wasn’t negatively affected. To improve this practical research, I could have researched into colour grading online and practised this technique in Premiere Pro by using test shots to play around with to discover how colour grading would affect the feel of the teaser trailer compared to a teaser trailer with no colour grading. This is something I will definitely do for the next project as I feel this will greatly improve my knowledge of editing and will also improve the overall quality of the work I produce.
finished product
My teaser trailer was aimed at a target audience aged between 12 and 19 along with adults over the age of 18 plus. The general idea was to aim the trailer towards people who were teenagers and above. My age rating that I would give the trailer was a 12A meaning that people aged 12 and above could possibly watch the trailer (people aged 12 would need to be supervised by a parent or guardian and it would be at the parent or guardian’s discretion whether or not to allow their child to watch the trailer).
​
In a 12A film, there are certain things that you cannot include or can include but have to be limited and not related to the main plot. For example, a 12A film must not include potentially dangerous behaviour that children are likely to copy. Drug misuse must be sporadic and should not be detailed enough for children to copy. Moderate bad language may be used – stronger language may be allowed but this depends on the context in which it is being used. Nudity may be used but in a sexual context, it must be brief and subtle. Any sexual activity may be briefly and subtly portrayed. Moderate sex references may be allowed but multiple, recurrent crude references are prohibited.
With regards to threat and horror, moderate physical and psychological threat and horror sequences may be featured. Horror sequences should be infrequent. Moderate violence may be featured but any detail should not be emphasised or dwelled upon. Any emphasis on injuries or blood are prohibited, however occasional gory moments may be allowed if warranted by the context.
Overall, from looking at my feedback, I think my teaser trailer was well received by everyone and that they felt it was a good teaser trailer. The most commented thing regarding my trailer was the editing, music and the camera angles I used.
I received a lot of varied feedback from the class screening. On the whole, the feedback is positive but I did receive some constructive criticism which will be useful for future projects.
A few people brought up the fact that my trailer didn’t have any dialogue and suggested that I include dialogue to make it easier for the audience to understand what happens - I agree with this comment as I did not use any dialogue, however the reason for which I did not include any dialogue is because the trailer was supposed to be an introduction/tease to a character in the main film and I intentionally did not include dialogue to make it more suspenseful.
Another thing people commented on was the fact that there was not a lot of context and the story was too long. With regards to context, I deliberately filmed the trailer in such a way as to not give much away about the film / trailer, leaving the audience on a cliff hanger on what would happen next. In retrospect, looking back at the trailer, I would agree that my trailer’s story was slightly too long because from a viewer’s perspective who had never seen the post production of my trailer may find it difficult to comprehend what was going on or where the story would end up or lead to after.
Quite a few people in the class said that they liked the camera angles I used in the trailer which I agree with as most of the shots I used were medium, long or close up shots which I have had previous experience of before.
Another person stated that they liked the shot where I put the mirror behind in the frame. I agree with this because from my research, I learnt how to properly frame a shot using the rule of thirds and making sure the important parts of the shot were always on the left or right intersecting corners as this is the best way to focus your viewer’s attention to the character and to make the shot aesthetically pleasing.
Two people said that I should have outlined or explained the plot more within the trailer. I would agree with this on the basis that I probably could have included some of the plot points in the trailer but also disagree with this because my plan was to leave out the plot on purpose as I only wanted to give the audience a slight introduction to the main character and to hint at the cliff hanger of what happened five months ago which is where the main plot would begin.
​
Firstly, there were a lot of comments regarding the use of dialogue in my trailer and the lack of it. If I had more time or another chance, I would improve the trailer by including some dialogue so I could give a more convincing plot overview and explain the overall introduction and personality of the character.
As my idea of the trailer was to include little to no information about the plot, I would improve the trailer by including little snippets of the plot to let the audience know what happens in the film but I would not dwell on this in the trailer as my intention was to redact a lot of the plot in the first place.
Regarding the length of the storyline in my trailer, I would definitely shorten this if I could improve it because the storyline did drag on for too long as some of the shots were static for more than 3.5 seconds. I would also include more fast paced editing with fast cuts to make the trailer feel more intense and to create more suspense.
With regards to the plot outline within my trailer, I would include more of the plot and explain this to the audience by including fade to blacks with short shots to describe what is happening and what is going to happen.
​
A lot of the improvements I have mentioned would be very easy to do and would greatly improve my trailer as a whole. Regarding the impact this would have on the audience, I think the audience would really enjoy the trailer and would praise the improvements to the trailer. I think if the improved trailer were to be re-screened to the audience, there would be a lot of positive feedback and a lot less negative feedback.
personal development
I believe the main areas I have improved upon throughout this project are filming, editing and Wix website building.
Filming – I used my own DSLR camera during the production of my teaser trailer so I was able to get used to the equipment by experimenting with a wide variety of shot sizes, types and framing / composition. I found out how to accurately frame subjects in the shot by using a setting that brought up an imaginary grid with two horizontal and vertical lines intersecting each other. This allowed me to adhere to the rule of thirds by avoiding framing things in the middle or off horizontal lines. I always made sure to frame the character’s eyes either to the left horizontal intersections or on the right horizontal intersections – this makes the shot seem more aesthetically pleasing to the viewer and audience.
Editing – Before undertaking this teaser trailer project, I had previously used Adobe Premiere Pro so I had a basic to intermediate knowledge of the software. This allowed me to easily import and place footage onto the timeline to create a sequence, add music and other sound effects as and when required. I also experimented with the basic colour correction tools to enhance the white balance of the shots because when I was filming, the white balance was set to auto and this works for the majority of the time, however in some instances, this can make the shots look a little off colour and a bit dull.
Wix website building – I have previously created my own personal portfolio websites to showcase my photography and film content so when I was tasked with creating a website to display my work for college, I found it pretty simple to set this up. Whilst creating and developing my website, I discovered a few things I didn’t know before. This included how to embed YouTube video clips, upload files (Word, PowerPoint etc.) and how to include links to external websites and other web pages within the website.
​
I have been able to further develop my skills in using the editing software Adobe Premiere Pro as before I started this project, I had had some previous experience using the software. I have learnt about the use of colour correction to enhance white balance, exposure and brightness to make my trailer more effective and more colour intensive.
​
The main challenge I encountered during production were lack of space and hard drive issues:
Lack of space – the location in which I filmed was my own house and due to the small nature of my house, there is not much space to work with when it comes to wanting to film something that requires a tripod and space in which to put it.
I overcame this challenge by making the most of the space that was available to me at the time by being cautious and clever about where I place the tripod in relation to the scene I was filming. For example, when shooting the ending shot when Richard (main protagonist) walks out his front door and off to the right on his way to work, the tripod had to be placed very close to the front door and the door had to be physically open which was not much of a problem. When doing the shot, I had to walk in from the right side of the tripod and I had to walk in such a way as to make it look like I was walking front on forwards.
​
Hard drive issues - Throughout the course of producing and making my teaser trailer, I have been saving and compiling my work on my personal hard drive as it has a large storage of 1TB (1000 gigabytes) which is more than enough space to store all of my work. The issue that I encountered happened when I was editing my teaser trailer. As my hard drive is formatted to work on Windows software only, when it came to working on an iMac PC, I could not transfer my files from the mac to my hard drive as it was not formatted for a Mac.
​
Luckily, I was able to temporarily store the Mac files on a hard drive supplied by the College and then, the next time I was using a Windows PC, I managed to transfer the files from the College hard drive to my personal hard drive. From that point on, I was able to work from my personal hard drive.
​
I feel that I need to develop some of my camera and editing skills further. More specifically, I would like to learn more about colour correction and grading with editing and put this into practise to make my films look more presentable and natural.
In terms of camera skills, I need to develop my mise-en-scéne further because there was a shot in my teaser trailer that uses mise-en-scéne incorrectly which I did not know when I was filming.
In the opening shot, dustbins and other recycling materials hindered the scene because they were not supposed to be there and therefore carry no meaning. However, to a viewer, they may not understand the filmmaker’s intentions and will most likely get confused with why the dustbins were placed in the frame in the first place.
In future, I will always ensure that if anything or an object is placed within the frame, it is there for a reason and there is a meaning behind it being there. Also, anything that is unnecessary to the scene will have to be removed temporarily from the frame in order to not confuse the viewer.
With this in mind, I really need to focus on how I use mise-en-scéne in my future projects and develop this further in order to create better films.
​
The new skills and knowledge I have learnt and developed throughout this project will help me with my future education and career by allowing me to be more accustomed to how Adobe Premiere Pro works and how the workflow works. Rule of thirds and composition / framing is very important so this knowledge will make my future projects much more professional and aesthetically pleasing.
In terms of my overall project, there are many things that went well but there are also things that I could improve in if I had more time or if I was given an opportunity to start it again.
Filming – the production of the project went well because I luckily have access to my own DSLR camera that I can use whenever I like. The camera I used to film the project is a Canon 700D which is a beginner DSLR camera but it is good enough to shoot a student type project with its 18 megapixel sensor so it can shoot nice quality footage depending on which lens you choose to use. For example, I have quite a few lenses in addition to the kit lens you get with the camera at purchase. These include a wide angle lens and 2 telephoto zoom lenses (good for exposing depth of field).
I also was able to use a tripod which was a good decision to make because it allowed me to get stable shots with no camera shake. If I didn’t use or have a tripod to use, the shots I filmed would have looked quite unprofessional and it would have portrayed the wrong feeling or emotion I was trying to get across to the audience.
Another thing that I feel went well was my costume choice for the character I played in the film. As my idea was loosely based upon the Kingsman film franchise and given that you see most characters dressed smartly in suits and ties, I wanted to replicate this in my trailer. I successfully did this because I chose to wear my suit jacket and trousers that I wore for an event in 2016. This outfit fit perfectly with the character I was aiming to portray – a young man who works as a secret service agent.
With regards to editing, I feel this went well because I made sure whilst producing the trailer in production to film as much footage as possible and always more than I needed, just in case a shot that I wanted to use I didn’t like and had to change it with a different shot. Without having filmed additional footage, this would not have been possible. Furthermore, as I had had some experience using Adobe Premiere Pro, I felt accustomed to it and I was able to import media and put clips onto the timeline sequence quite easily and smoothly. This prior basic knowledge allowed me to experiment with other more advanced editing tools such as colour correction. I used colour correction in my trailer to enhance the white balance and exposure in some of the shots because all of the shots I filmed were shot in natural light so I didn’t have the added benefit of using a lighting kit; something which I will have to consider in future projects to make my lighting more suited to whichever scene I am filming.
The music track I chose to use I feel fit perfectly with the feeling I was aiming to convey to the audience – an action / upbeat track that features an orchestral mix of instruments. The beginning of the track features single beats that are perfect to editing to the beat. I took full advantage of this by cutting the establishing shot at the beginning to a closer shot of the exterior of my house on the exact second the beat changes for maximum effect and tension for the audience.
If I had more time and an opportunity to start the project again, I would focus on the mise-en-scène of my shots, this being what I include in the frame of the shot. This is very important because if there are things or objects that are placed in the frame which are not important to the scene and not supposed to be there, it will confuse the audience as they will be wondering why this particular object featured in the scene and not in the main film or further down in the teaser trailer.
For example, in my establishing shot, I made a mistake of not moving some dustbins and recycling materials out of the frame before clicking record. When it came to editing, this left me with no option but to use the shot I filmed as I was not able to re-film this shot at the time. With more time or a second opportunity, I would temporarily move the unnecessary objects or things out of the shot in order to create a more interesting and thoughtful meaning to the shot and to not confuse the viewer into thinking why an object would be placed there with no meaning. This choice to adjust my mise-en-scène will greatly improve all of my shots because everything I shoot in a frame must be there for a reason and have a meaning behind why I placed it there in the first place.