28 Weeks later - film trailer analysis (Final cut pro)

In this section of my work I am getting used to using Final cut pro. Firstly I went to Trailer Addict to find a film trailer which was suitable for my genre (horror). I decided to use the film trailer 28 weeks later as it involves zombies like the film trailer that my group is going to create. I used Final cut pro to get used to using the different equipment available. 

The first image that you can see above is how Final cut pro is set up. The first screen on the left is where you can put certain scenes, etc. The middle black screen is where text appears if yo add it in to your film trailer. The screen on the right is the film trailer that I dragged into Final cut pro so I could edit it. At the bottom is the whole film trailer where I can edit certain sections, add text, etc. At first I found this set up very confusing, however after a while using it I found it to be very useful the way that you can move certain windows around inside Final cut pro. It was very easy to put cuts in folders, etc as well.

This is the bottom half of Final cut pro. This is where you can edit it and is where I cut the film trailer 28 weeks later into sections. Firstly I selected the cut tool and pressed play, every time the film trailer changed scenes I would press the stop button so I could use the cut tool in that certain place. 

This is the top left section of Final cut pro. This is where you can create folders to put certain scenes in. Also this is the place you drag the film trailer you started with in the first place. A few of the folders I made for the 28 weeks later trailer were close ups, establishing shots, part 1 (The first few scenes) and the start of the trailer (company logo). I put these scenes into these folders to see how many they use during the making of the film trailer and how many my group will have to use whilst making ours. 

This part of the film trailer is when there are numerous quick cuts building up towards the end of the trailer. These cuts all happened between four seconds. This is a quick moving section adding in numerous cuts gives it a really good effect. This section of the film trailer 28 weeks later has shown me how many cuts I will actually need in my film trailer. It has also proven to me that I will need to shoot loads of 1 second scenes to get this effect as I'm not making a film I can't just take scenes out of the film itself. This part of the film trailer itself is only 2 seconds so I will have to make my clips even shorter than that. 

In this image I have added text to one of the sections in the film trailer. I added this text just to prove how easy it is to do something like that and how easy it is to edit the clip after I have filmed it. I just added simple texts saying what the clip was. If this was my actual film trailer the text would make sense and would be in a much better position.

Whilst editing the film trailer of 28 weeks later I found that there were many quick flowing scenes especially leading up too the big climax at the end of the trailer, I will use this in my own film trailer. I also have learn't new skills that I will use whilst creating my own trailer, for example cutting sections out that we don't want in our film trailers, laughing, wrong scenes, etc. When I create my own film trailer I will still be learning different skills but I'm glad I have edited this before to get used to the program and the basics.

Discussion on synopsis

Group synopsis from K Gold on Vimeo.

Here above is our group discussion which we uploaded onto Vimeo. In this discussion we talked about working in a group and what ideas we could add into the trailer through each others synopsis'.

Synopsis and target audience

Synopsis

A small city has been cut off from the rest of the world because of a disease that has changed most of the population that live there into zombies who pass on the disease. However there is still a small majority that live there without the disease. They know they have been cut off for a reason. The majority without the disease live in a small house, which they call the safe house; everyday some people from the safe house brave the zombies who walk the streets, houses and shops to find a way out or even to find more survivors. They soon notice some news on the T.V. that the town is going to be destroyed by a bomb whipping out everything that lives there and the disease. There is no way that the trapped majority can contact the outside world, phone lines have been cut and the only piece of technology they have is the television.

A time and date is set for when the bomb is going to be dropped can the humans escape from the town without getting attacked by zombies is there even a way out of the town.

Once we decided to work as a group we had to develop our idea so we all had an input. Here is our improved synopsis:

In world where people are scared by what goes bump in the night, possessions and floating sheets a new splash of horror is needed to relight true terror and fear to an audience of common day sissies. “The Field” is the new horror set to scare audiences to the bone. A film so horrific it even makes Jason tremble and Freddy wish he was dreaming.

The blissful, tranquil country side a relaxing weekend to allow Mark to relax with his friends just one last time. It is the few months before Mark, Chloe, John and Tasha go their separate ways in life and they decide to have one last weekend together to properly say their goodbyes they pack up and leave the city to relax just them no outsider influences but the world is a new world. Endlessly expanding developing but to what end?

A new wonder wheat has been produced by top American scientists and has been said to be able to end starvation in the world and be used as a new source of energy. Despite the Americans inventions the first major and currently only plantation lies in the UK who previously denied growth of such crops as this isn’t just any crop it’s GM. Kept under wraps by both American and English governments can this wheat truly be the answer?

The villagers that Mark and co originally meet seem distant at times but friendly none the less they appreciate the sentiment of the groups trip and aim to please their guest to their secluded farming town. As night falls things begin to make a terrible turn for the worst as villagers turn savage, feral and start to kill innocent and track down anyone like a pack of wolfs. But what is it that makes the villagers turn so violent.

A new take on the zombie type film jam packed with more tension and fear then ever. Beautifully crafted use of editing and screen play set the mood for the terror factor that is “The Field”. This chilling tale is one not to be missed.

Target audience

A few main characters of the film will be the brave few who search for a way out and look for more survivors, however most of these characters will be male thus making my target audience maybe more directed towards males. Although there will be at least one brave female showing independence and bravery. There will be other characters back in the safe house, more female characters, as the male characters are protecting them.  My target audience will mostly be for all ages that enjoy action packed survival horror. I believe the film will fall into every social group from A to E class as it involves people from every class even if they are just back at the safe house.

Survey monkey research and analysis

I made a survey monkey so that I could research what my target audience would want to see in my film trailer. I asked certain questions to give me information that I needed.

Firstly I asked my target audience their gender so I could work out the average of each question I asked below. Luckly for me the genders were 50-50 having five people each which made my task easier.

My next question was asking the audience their age. Most of the people that filled out my survey were 17 or under, however there were a few over that age. This helps me know what age most of the people that filled my survey out are thus helping me know what age my film trailer is for when im making it.

I then asked my target audience what social group they would place theirselves in. As most of my target audience that filled out my survey are under 17 they placed themselves in section E (Student).

Next I asked them how often they watched films. I did this because if they didnt really watch films the survey would be a waste of time and the results would be usless. Luckly for me that most of my target audience put extremely often or very often, with no one putting that they don't watch films.

This was my most important question as by asking this I found out what my target audiences favourite genre thus helping me choose it to make my film trailer. The most popular was horror so this is the genre I have choosen. The results did very with many people also enjoying the genre comedy.

This question asked the target audience what their favourite film is from the genre they picked above. They all picked different answers thus giving me a wide range of films to look at whilst making my film trailer. Below is what they put for their favourite film.

They then had to say what they enjoyed about the film they had choosen. Some of the answers were useful as some said about the editing, action, sound, etc. However some didn't help me at all just saying that it was well made, etc. Below is what my target audience said.

My next question was about film trailers as this is the main part in my project. I asked them how often they watch film trailers. Again if some people had put no then the results would be usless, however only one person put not at all and the rest put either extremely often or very often.

I then asked them how long they think a film trailer should be. This also is a major question in my project as it has helped me decide how long I should make it last. Most of my target audience said 1-2 minutes which sounds about right as thats how long most trailers last for. No one put over the 3 minute mark however some did say to make it shorter but I believe the majority is right.

My final question asked my target audience what they think the main features are in a film trailer which get people hooked into a film and want to see it. There were 5 options with an extra box underneath if they felt like they wanted to add anything. My target audience thought it was key to have fast flowing scenes (numerous cuts) and have good sound in the trailer. These are the key things I will focus on in my trailer but still wont forget the editing, etc.