Storyboard

Upon researching Gothic Horror trailers I noted that there was a set pattern and a convention amongst the sub genre.  The idea that my trailer should start with a narrator was something I saw in the Crimson Peak trailer, in which the actress starts by saying "Ghosts are real". I felt as though this was a very good idea for my trailer as it made me feel very uneasy, and gave me the feeling that something was going to jump out at me. The creepy feeling I experienced watching trailers such as Crimson Peak, is something I wanted to to portray in my trailer, therefore I felt as though having a narrator would help me portray that feeling.

Another piece of research that influenced my trailer was the Woman in Black trailer. In the trailer, and the film itself, the main source of lighting that the actor uses is a candle. The slight lighting cast shadows across the set and also tapped in the audience's fear of the dark.  This influenced my trailer in the sense that the only lighting I really used was a candle, which equitably lit the scenes and also  added to the creepy  aura that I wanted to portray in my trailer.

More location planning

Gothic Horror movie poster mood board

This mood board showcases the movie posters of my favorite Gothic horror films. I chose these because I feel as though they would be a good inspiration for my poster. The Victorian costume displayed in the bottom left is the costume that I wanted my character to wear.  Also, the mise-en-scene that the trailers are in is identical for the mise-en-scene I am trying to portray.  

Location for filming

These are a collection of pictures that showcase where I am filming my trailer. I felt as though the grounds of the stately home pictured would be a very good site to film my trailer.  Below I have written the pros and cons of filming in this location.

Pros 

• Provides a very good location to film as the wide open spaces allow me to get good long and sweeping shots. 
• Lots of diversity in the location itself, with woods and open fields etc.
• Due to the size you can't hear cars and other modern vehicles.

Cons 

• At the mercy of the weather
• Not allowed in certain areas after dark

Soundtrack idea for my trailer.

Here is piece of music from the Woman in Black soundtrack which I think will go very well with the genre of my trailer. Since the Woman in Black is a very successful Gothic Horror story I feel as though there soundtrack that has been composed will be very suited to my trailer, as it fits into my genre.

Time line plan

7th of September- 1st day of A2 and Year 13 

During this time I will look to research the relevant theory and the history of film trailers. I will also start to develop various ideas for my trailer, and start looking at the different conventions of the genres I am interested in. I will look at various Gothic Horror trailers and slasher Horror trailers to see if there are any codes and conventions that I can include in my trailer. I will also look a various other genres of trailer such as action, to broaden my knowledge of how trailers help market films in every genre.

1ST November-14th of December

During this time I will complete the filming of my trailer, and start on editing it. This will involve putting the research and planning I have been doing into action, and also organizing various locations to film in and costumes for my actors to wear.

7th December

Class evaluation week. 

5th of January 

First draft of the trailer

22nd of February - Final deadline

This will be the time I shall add the final touches to my trailer. I shall make sure that all the editing is done correctly and that the sound is properly synced, and potential cutting, and also making sure the special effects are well done. 

Dialogue and script

Dialogue

Shot

“The story of Arthur Cartwright is somewhat of  unpleasant tale. It does not end happily ever after like most stories of the paranormal, but instead showcases the dangers of communication between their world and ours,  telling the story of a broken man, whose loss almost drives him to madness. So leave your rational mind and your critical thinking behind, and listen to my tale. But be warned, it is far from explanation, and even further away from a lie”.  Arthur " Who's there show yourself, this is private property" Amber or filler : Scream in his face and the candle goes out.  Doctor : Mr Cartwright i'm Afraid your wife isn't well.   Arthur to his wife: Please just don't go, not like this.  * Joseph and Arthur walk after visiting her grave* Joseph : You should leave this retched place behind Cartwright, staying too long in the past is good for no mans health" Arthur : Why can't you see I have to, this is home.  Then cuts to Arthur sleeping and waking up to see Emily at the foot of the bed. She screams and then as he turns on the lights she dissapears. * This is the point where the trailer starts to pick up speed, and Non-diegetic  music starts to play* Stable man : Mr Cartwright there are certain powers on this Earth that you just don't want to meddle in* Arthur to Joseph : Something isn't right in Cartwright manor.                                             Arthur : " Hello? Madam are you alright Amber : YOU DID THIS TO US. Joseph : Dear god Cartwright what have you done Arthur :HOW CAN I HELP YOU?! WHY ARE YOU TORMENTING ME SPIRIT * Ollie walks topless with " hell" written on his back over and over. To finish to the trailer there is a long shot of Arthur walking into a dark room and turning sharply round.

Camera starts in a close up of a hooded man, and slowly a pan away as the monologue is spoken. -          Only a candle light to light the room. -          An old timely book to read from. -          The shot will begin in the pitch dark.        As I get half way through the narration, it changes to the shot of Arthur walking through the woods with the candle -      Cut to a shot of Arthur wandering through the woods with a candle in his hand looking scared.      - There will be no sound apart from his feet on the ground.      - Then someone will jump out at him and blow out the candle.             * Then the studio logos roll, plus " from the twisted mind of William Hadden"      Show a shot of Emily in a bed with Arthur looking depressed.                   Shots of them walking and talking, some over the shoulder shots to go along with the conversation.                                                                                                - Shows Arthur scrabbling for the light switch close up of his face when she is gone.               * Shots of Arthur reading old books by candle light*       - When the ghost seen occurs have objects flying around the room     - Glass smashing      Shows Arthur waking up to Amber sobbing curled up in the corner      - Over the head shots of him approaching the figure       Then amber snaps and grabs him and the shot is from ollies shoulder             Shots of Joseph and Ollie dodging various flying objects.      Shot of Amber charging at Joseph           - non diegetic music playing over the action shots.       roll titles on the screen saying " Some family secrets should be buried deep"              The shot follows Ollie into the room and then you only see a glimpse of Amber, and then the camera cuts to the release date.

Research into costume and prop

Costume

For my trailer I wanted the costume to be quite faithful to the late Victorian age, which saw the transition from traditional Victorian suits to the more modern suits you see today.  For Arthur, I wanted his costume to reflect his wealth. Therefore, his costume revolved around a more modern suit, to reflect that he has noted the change in fashion, with more traditional attire, a top hat would be ideal for this and also a traditional pea coat to also add to the traditional side of his costume. The pictures below show the different kinds of suits I want to be blending into Arthur's costume. I wanted Josephs costume to have the same kind of feel to it as Arthur's as they are both men of a certain class in Victorian society. The only item of clothing I had to provide to my actors was the top hat, as my actors already had black suits to wear as costumes to use for the trailer. However the design for the spirit of the story proved to be a bit more challenging.











I wanted the spirit and main villain of my trailer to have various characteristics of famous horror movie ghosts. I looked to films such as The Woman in Black and the Others for inspiration on how to costume a convincing ghost. Especially a woman specter and a child spirit. What I found conducting my research was that female ghosts are usually centered around a wedding, being left at the alter or having dressed in a black dress as was common for woman in morning at the time my trailer is set.  The long flowing gown that looks worn and dirty is something of a convention among female ghosts, an example of this can be found in the Woman in Black's costume :

As is apparent, her face is covered by a long flowing veil, very similar to that that would be found on a wedding dress. The connotations of a veil are usually associated with mystery and morning, which comes from Queen Victoria mourning over her husband.  The look that the Woman in Black was given is designed to be very unsettling as you can only see a brief outline of her face, which ties into the mystery that the spirit is supposed to convey in the film. For the ghost of the young woman I did look into using an old ball gown for the shoot. However, upon asking the actress whether she would have one to spare the answer was no, and also upon looking at certain prices on ball gowns I found that they were way over my budget. Therefore I decided to go for the blood stained dress type look. This displayed below:                                                                                


The ghost of the woman is supposed to very bloodied to reflect the hardships of torture she had to endure, so the blood stains on her top are not only to unsettle the audience, but also to go along with her backstory and also to convey how her spirit is still left in the past. Her daughter will also have the same costume.

Prop

The only props I will be using for my trailer are two candles and some torches. I will do this to add to the general unsettling scenes of the trailer, and also candle light gives me the right amount of lighting I want my characters to have especially at night. The torches will be used for certain scenes as well, however they will most likely be used for supplying an extra amount of lighting if the camera cannot pick up the candle light. 

letter of permission

Research in the marketing and distribution of movie trailers