Locations

The main events of the teaser trailer - the television, the kitchen, the hostage, etc. - will take place in a house, in an undisclosed location. I will not include an establishing wide shot to show the location of the house, but all interior shots; I want the audience to focus on the events of the trailer, rather than the location. The filming will take place in a living room, then as the female walks into the kitchen a hallway, before shooting in the kitchen. The house I have decided to film in is very modern, with a warm and welcoming feel to it - which contradicts the actions taking place there. Everything will be neat and tidy, with all the misé-en-scene showing the audience more about the lead female character who lives there.
      In contrast, throughout the remainder of the teaser trailer, all the shots will be exterior, although again no exciting or intriguing locations will be shown - I want the audience to focus on the action rather than the location. Moreover, these shots are so short, that an establishing wide shot, instead of a shot which adds to the intrigue and enigma of the over trailer, could be considered a waste of a shot. But the locations will reflect the action, and add to the atmosphere that the action is presenting. For example, roads will be used to shot the car and motorbike scenes, and I will use a large field for the kissing scene. I have decided to use a large field to show isolation with the couple, and add to the romantic feel of the shots. Although I am using a large field for the kiss scene, two of the three shots I will use will be mid- or close-up shots, to show the audience the love between the couple.


COMMENT: BEAUCHAMPS MEDIA SAID-
I like the way you are creating a claustrophobic atmosphere with a wealth of interior shots Luke and the way that your non-specific location brings a universality to the theme. Perhaps a google earth jump shot would make an interesting feature to emphasise that this could be any house in the world...

Costumes

Female
Main: Red sport trousers / shorts; black vest top.

Fighting: Red top, under black leather jacket. Black trousers / dark jeans.

Field: White summer dress.

Male characters:
Main: Smart casual: Shirt, jeans, suit jacket, shoes.

Fighting: Grey top, black jacket, jeans.

Field: Vest top / t-shirt, combat shorts, low-top cons.

After having watched and analysed many different teaser trailers, and whole productions, which include characters similar to those in my own production, I have decided that these clothes would be best suitable for them in the situations they would be facing. The female character is a positive representation of the physical and emotional strength woman can have, and the clothes reflect this; being sporty when necessary, yet elegant and beautiful at others. Moreover, the males' clothes are much more simply, casual, and everyday.


COMMENT: BEAUCHAMPS MEDIA SAID -
Good ideas for costumes but perhaps some more character could be added with specific accessories, watch, chain, necklace, hair bow etc. At the moment they are very general and a bit vague; a few signifiers might be interesting – think Electra with the red leather and the use of a chain...

Storyboard - Drawn

Shooting Script

Shot #	Shot Description	Audio and Dialogue
1	Graphic shot of institutions.	-
2	MS of newsreader talking at desk.	"...for the last time this year. Now back to our main story, Daniel Woods has gone missing from a party in central London, where he was out celebrating with friends. Police are not involved, and a search is being conducted. It is feared that..."
3	Slow reverse zoom away from television, to CU of using the remote control to turn off the television, to a low MCU tracking shot of feet walking (towards camera), to a CU of hand switching on a light, to a LS, to a MS, to a CU of character drinking a glass of water.	Feet walking on a floor; cupboard opening; tap running; etc.
4	CU of glass being put down on the side.	Diegetic noises of glass being put down.
5	CU of gun being taken out of female's trousers.	Diegetic noises.
6	CU of fingers holding the trigger, before camera quickly pans left.	Diegetic - breathing etc.
7	OTS, behind a person, looking at the female holding the gun.	-
8	OTS, now behind the female's left shoulder, pan over the right shoulder, then TS-FS, with the female on the left, and the male hostage on the right.	Intense, non-diegetic atmospheric bass swelling begins.
9	CU of hand lowering helmet visor.	Non-diegetic: Swelling continues, plus a beat as shot is shown.
10	OTS of hand revving motorbike engine.	Motorbike engine revs. Swelling noise continues. Beat as shot is shown.
11	CU of motorbike pulling away from camera.	Motorbike engine. Swelling noise continues. Beat as shot is shown.
12	ECU of male's eyes.	Swelling noise continues. Beat as shot is shown.
13	CU of female's head slammed against a brick wall.	Noise of head against wall. Swelling noise continues. Beat as shot is shown.
14	CU low shot of male being pushed to the floor by female.	Body hitting floor. Swelling noise continues. Beat as shot is shown.
15	LS of female walking away from body.	Footsteps. Swelling noise continues. Beat as shot is shown.
16	High angle long TS-FS, looking at female pointing the gun in the kitchen.	Swelling noise continues. Beat as shot is shown.
17	Low shot of car driving forwards towards camera.	Car engine driving. Swelling noise continues. Beat as shot is shown.
18	CU of hand changing gear in car.	Car engines driving. Swelling noise continues. Beat as shot is shown.
19	Low shot of car driving forwards over camera.	Car engine driving. Swelling noise continues. Beat as shot is shown.
20	Handheld ECU of gun. (Camera looking towards female.)	Swelling noise continues. Beat as shot is shown.
21	Low shot CU tilt of female laying on grass.	Swelling noise continues. Beat as shot is shown.
22	Handheld OTS CU of female face - looking at male.	Swelling noise continues. Beat as shot is shown.
23	Low LS of male kissing female on the grass.	Swelling noise continues. Beat as shot is shown.
24	CU of female's face.	Swelling noise continues. Beat as shot is shown.
25	Handheld CU of gun pushed against male's forehead, before camera pans to the left.	"Tell me what you know..." Swelling noise continues.
26	Graphic shot - 'It's time to face the truth...' fades into 'facethetruth.com'.	Male speaks (truthfully, whisper): "I don't know anything...". Swelling and beats stop.
27	CU of gun hitting male on head.	Gun hitting head. Swelling begins again suddenly - more intense than previously.
28	Low angle CU tilt of male falling from chair, towards camera.	Body hitting floor. Swelling noise continues.

COMMENT: BEAUCHAMPS MEDIA SAID –
Excellent work Luke, a full range of shot types, distances and angles, all used effectively to create meaning. Well done!

Shot List

1. -Graphic shot of institutions.

Fade through black

2. -Mid shot of newsreader at desk talking.

Fade

3. -Slow reverse zoom away from television, to close-up of hand turning off television with remote control, to (as female gets up from sofa and walks) a low tracking shot of feet walking (towards camera; camera moving backwards), to close-up of hand switching on a light, to long shot (as character moves away from the camera), to mid shot (as camera continues movement towards her), then turn clockwise and move up for a close up of the character drinking a glass of water. This shot is all one fluid shot, where the camera follows the character, and shows the actions and the female character, but at the moment avoiding her face.

Cut

4. -Close-up of glass of water being put down on the side.

Cut

5. -Close-up of gun being taken out of female's trousers.

Cut

6. -Close-up of fingers holding the trigger, before the camera begins to quickly pan left (to see what the gun is aimed at).

Cut

7. -Over the shoulder shot, behind a person, looking at the female holding the gun.

Cut

8. -Over the shoulder shot, now behind the female's left shoulder (to keep the 180-degree rule), then pan to go over the right shoulder (to break the 180-degree rule), before moving the camera backwards to create a two-person shot, with the female on the left, and the male hostage on the right.

Fade through black

9. -Close-up of hand lowering helmet visor.

Fade through black

10. -Over the (right) shoulder shot of hand revving motorbike handle / engine.

Fade through black

11. -Close-up low shot of back motorbike wheel pulling away, driving to the left of the camera.

Fade through black

12. -Handheld close-up of male's eyes.

Fade through black

13. -Close up of female's head being slammed against a brick wall.

Fade through black

14. -Close up low shot of a male being pushed to the floor by the female.

Fade through black

15. -Low shot of female walking away from motionless body.

Fade through black

16. -High angle long two-person shot (in corner of kitchen) looking at the female pointing the gun at male.

Fade through black

17. -Low shot of car driving forwards towards camera.

Fade through black

18. -Close-up of hand changing gear of car.

Fade through black

19. -Low shot of car driving forwards over camera.

Fade through black

20. -Handheld close-up of gun (looking towards the female).

Fade through black

21. -Low close-up anti-clockwise tilt of female laying on grass with male.

Fade through black

22. -Handheld over the (right shoulder shot) of female looking from left eye to right of the male.

Fade through black

23. -Low long shot of male kissing female in the field.

Fade through black

24. -Close-up of female's face.

Cut

25. -Hand-held close-up of gun pushed against male's forehead, before camera pans to the left to see female - "Tell me what you know..."

Cut to black

26. -Male speaks: "I don't know anything..." Graphics appear on screen, 'It's time to face the truth', before fading into 'facethetruth.com'.

Cut

27. -Close-up of gun hitting male on head.

Cut

28. -Low angle tilt close-up of male falling from chair.

Cut black

COMMENT: BEAUCHAMPS MEDIA SAID –
Terrific vision and attention to detail; I can completely visualise your planned shooting. Very effective planning

Idea Pitch

As the photo of my written pitch above shows, the narrative of my teaser involves a female character - the lead character - watching television, seeing on the news that someone has been kidnapped. She then very calmly and naturally proceeds to the kitchen to get a drink, before turning and confronting the man she has hostage - who was featured on the news.
      The first shot will be a mid-shot of a newsreader at a desk. The camera will then reverse-zoom away from the television which the newsreader is now on. I got this idea from my previous research into teaser trailers, where I saw the convention used in the teaser trailer for 'Resident Evil: Extinction', and decided to use it in my own production. The shot will then continue, and follow the actions of the female, as she moves into the kitchen to get a drink. This is a similar style to the teaser trailer for the video game 'WET', which I analysed previously, and includes a very fluid construction.
      The beginning of the teaser will have quite a slow pace, created using long shot lengths, each with very simple actions. This will then suddenly change into a fast pace, including lots of different shots and actions. This will also make use of Todorov's theory, beginning with equilibrium, where everything appears to be normal and average to the viewer, before the disequilibrium begins when the viewers see that the kidnapped male in the news is being held hostage by the female. Moreover, I will create an enigma from the teaser, by not resolving this mystery; just adding to it through dialogue and actions. I found this to be effective through my previous research into teaser trailers, where the teaser trailer for the video game 'The Secret World' used Todorov's theory in its construction, by beginning with equilibrium, and finished with an enigma and disequilibrium. It also ended with a website for viewers to visit for more information on the product. This was a very effective teaser trailer, and I decided to use the best conventions in my own production.
      I want the events and acting-style in the teaser trailer to be as realistic as possible, thus heightening the tension of production. The music I plan to create will add to this tension. I will also use a consistent style of red, white, and black colours for the female's clothes, and graphics within the teaser trailer. I noticed during my research that other female leads, such as Aeon Flux and Lara Croft also have their own unique and identifiable style through misé-en-scene. This will increase the strength of the character, and allow the character to be instantly recognisable.
      I have decided in my teaser trailer to include the institutions of the production, such as the production company, and the distributors. I will also include a website address for viewers to visit for more information on the film. This website could then contain more banners and advertisements to promote the film, and create 'hype'.
      Included in my teaser trailer are two main characters - a female and a male. After having studied Propp's character functions, I have decided that the female character will be the 'hero' of the overall production, and the male seen held hostage in the kitchen scene will be the 'helper' of the overall production. This will subverge the initial reactions towards the character, as the audience viewing the teaser trailer will assume that that character is the 'villain' of the production. The other male characters seen in the production could be the 'villian', 'donor', 'false hero', and 'princess' respectively.


COMMENT Beauchamps Media said:

Excellent planning Luke, you have worked hard and organised your production well, I'm glad it's now accessible for comments!

Femme Fatale Research

I began research into similar female-lead action-thriller films, such as 'Aeon Flux' (2005, Karyn Kusama), 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider' (2001, Simon West), 'Catwoman' (2004, Pitof), and 'Elektra' (2005, Rob Bowman). All of these productions include a female lead character which takes on the role of the 'femme fatale'. Traditionally, the femme fatale - a French phrase for 'deadly woman' - is a female character who is beautiful and charming, using her beauty to attract others - often male - before then leading them into dangerous and deadly situations. In the past, her abilities have been considered literally supernatural, and linked with witchcraft, but as shown in modern popular culture, the femme fatale uses charm, beauty, and sexual allure alongside impressive strength and technique in their actions. Typically, the femme fatale is the villain within the narrative - such as 'Poison Ivy' from the Batman series - but, as shown, can also be the heroine - like in 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'.

I will use the idea of femme fatale to create a strong, indepedent, skilled, and beautiful character for my production to use as the heroine of the narrative. From my previous audience feedback, I know that the male audience like female lead characters for the sexual appeal, while the female audience enjoy the representation of a strong and indepedent woman. By creating such a character, I can ensure that my production can be enjoyed by a large demographic.

COMMENT: BEAUCHAMPS MEDIA SAID –
Super research and a strong theme, you’ve used some marvellous examples.

Genre

From the results of my questionnaire and audience feedback, I have decided to create a teaser trailer for an action-thriller genre production. I have also decided that I will include a female lead in the teaser trailer - even though I plan to include a male main character alongside the female in what would be the distributed finished production - therefore, he may also be featured in the future auxiliary texts.

I believe creating a teaser trailer for a new fictional production of this genre will be very interesting and challenging.

COMMENT: BEAUCHAMPS MEDIA SAID –
Great idea; ‘Wanted’ is another example with a strong female protagonist in the trailer that you may wish to consider.

Primary Research and Audience Feedback

Before I begun the construction of my own teaser trailer, I decided to get audience feedback from a varied demographic based their favourite film genres, and their expectations. I created a questionnaire with open questions, giving them the freedom to express their preferences and gratifications from viewing these genre of productions without restriction.
To the right is a copy of the questionnaire I created.

In the questionnaire, I began by asking questions based on their favourite genre, to gain insight into their preferences and requirements for that production. I was also interested in making an action-thriller teaser trailer, so at the end of the questionnaire, I included questions to discover their view on the genre, and whether it would be a good decision.

Interestingly, the majority of responses to the first question 'What is your favourite film genre to view?' was in fact action-thriller, with over 50% of all those who participated, male and female, mentioning this genre. I had already previously considered creating a teaser trailer for an action-thriller production, and from these initial results alone believe it will be a very successful and appropriate genre. Also included in response to this question were the genres romantic comedy, and comedy.

At this point in the research, I wanted to keep my options open, and have an open mind; I allowed those surveyed to tell me why they enjoy the genre of film they enjoy, and what they expect to gain from the film. Other questions I included in the questionnaire were: 'What are some of the conventions and ideology you expect to find within this genre of film?'; 'Why do you enjoy watching films of this genre?'; and 'What are some of the gratifictions you get from watching films of this genre?'.

Here are some of the responses I got from the questionnaire:

"I see people on films and draw confidence and courage from them."

"[I enjoy] intriguing characters, [and] great tense scenes."

"I feel exhilarated after watching."

"Fast paced, good storylines help you escape from everyday life."

All of these conventions and gratifications can easily be included in a teaser trailer for an action thriller film. At the end of the questionnaire, I included a section based on the action-thriller production, beginning with simply asking if they enjoyed watching action-thriller productions. Of those surveyed, over 77% stated 'Yes'. This is a very strong result, meaning, obviously with a good construction and narrative, a film and teaser trailer of this production really would be successful and popular. I also discovered from my questionnaire that the audience enjoys both male and female lead characters, with over 40% selecting the 'Both' option, and the other results spread equally throughout the 'Male' and 'Female' options. Reasons for this include "I can relate to [male leads]", "Female leads... [show] strong characters", and "relationships develop [which] is fun to observe", and "[It's] good to see women involved in action packed scenes!"

More Research into Teaser Trailers

I continued my secondary research into teaser trailers, watching teaser trailers on the Internet, and on my own DVDs and Blu-rays where possible. I found the following three teaser trailers particularly interesting:

The first is the teaser trailer for the 2007 Michael Bay production 'Transformers'.

This teaser trailer contains few of the conventions I have previously mentioned, including only varied shot types and graphics. However, included in the teaser trailer is a twist based on a true life event, which will draw in the audience as they initially believe the trailer to be non-fictional. It is also interesting to point out that no shots from the movie were used in this teaser trailer, and very little of the storyline was offered. The teaser trailer merely presented the audience with an enigma.

Another teaser trailer which is similar is the first of the two teaser trailers for the production 'The Da Vinci Code'.

This teaser trailer again includes no shots from the movie itself, and is instead created entirely from CGI. It is key to note that this teaser was released before even a single frame of the production had been shot. (See here.) This teaser trailer fulfils its purpose by simply informing and exciting the audience of the adaptation of the highly successfully novel, and creating the hype for the movie long before the release, thus ensuring a maximising of ticket sales and profits. The teaser trailer also includes credits from the production, so fans of the cast can also be excited for the release of the production. Overall, an excellent example of an early but successful teaser trailer.

The recently released teaser trailer for the forthcoming Disney Pixar production 'Toy Story 3' is also an excellent teaser trailer.

This trailer uses the popularity of the Toy Story series and it's characters to it's advantage, by giving each character it's own spot on the teaser trailer and including scenarios that fans of the series will enjoy and be excited about. It keeps the consistent character traits and situations that fans of the series will know and love, and brings back to the audience the overall 'feel' of the original Toy Story films. This will definately excite the audience, which is complimented by the release date of the production - June 18, 2010. The release date is very rarely a convention included in the teaser trailer, as it is more often than not unknown to the production company or distributor that the production will be ready as planned. However, as this is an animated feature, and the same company produces and distributes the production, it is appropriate to include the release date, and very exciting for the audience.

COMMENT - Beauchamps Media said: Again, some impressive, focused research which is effectively based in deconstruction to inform your own planning.