Change of Brief

Throughout my research online of film trailers, I came across a lot of TV advertisements that I really enjoyed. After the draft filming I had done for my film trailer, I decided that comedy was a difficult genre to get across and that I would much prefer to do a TV advertisement instead.

And so, the brief I am going to be focusing on now is:

An Advertising package for a new product or service, to include two TV advertisements together with two of the following three options:

A radio advert
A TV programme sponsorship sequence
A web pop-up

Stoner Film Stlye Model

Company logo opens the trailer

Voiceover for the flashes of establishing shots of characters

Slapstick comedy shots that are overlaid with music from the band, Tenacious D as nothing in the clip needs to be heard because it's visually amusing

"Follow me, we are the shadow" as he whispers this there are then a few follow up scenes of lots of shouting and car crashes which is the exact opposite of 'being the shadow'
The music then cuts of so we can hear some of the dialogue when Jack Black falls on to a branch shouting "Oh sweet baby!"
The sound is also stopped when the comedy is slower to build up and becomes funnier because of the seriousness of the moment.
The title of the film, is then on the screen read by the voiceover
A longer comedy scene, without music
Coming soon!

Following conventions of a Stoner Film

Male Protagonists
A big quest which when completed will make their lives easier
Trying to evade the police and other people of authority

Scene 3 Draft and Storyboard

Scene Three - Meeting the Godfather
(Slapstick comedy moment)

Shot 1: mid shot Sophie in kitchen making tea, leaning against the counter waiting for the kettle. (there will be a voice over of her thinking about her day) 

The kettle suddenly boils and shocks her. She sighs and as she leans down to floor the camera moves to a full shot as she pulls up her sleeping bag and shuffles to the kettle.

-Company logos go here- 

Shot 2: As she lying on the sofa watching TV she hears a noise and climbs up on to the armrest to see through the door way.

-Another logo or text-

Shot 3: She looks back to see The Godfather sitting on a chair in the living room. Then in an attempt to flea, forgetting about her the sleeping bag, she falls of the sofa.

Godfather: (flicking his lighter) Mind if I light up in here?

Scene 2 Draft and storyboard

Scene Two - Class Introduction

Shot 1: Full person panning shot around classroom, establishing location and characters. Ends on Sophie


Teacher: This is our new student, Sophie, everyone. (pause) Well, our Head boy, Mikey will be happy to show you around

Shot 2: Sophie walks over awkwardly as Mikey turns around to greet her

Mikey: Hey, nice to meet you, wow I'm impressed you even made it in.


Shot 3: Changes to an over the shoulder shot directed at Sophie

Sophie: (puzzlingly) Sorry?
Mikey: I get allergies this time of year too, my face went all red as well and I didn't come in at all. And to be honest, I wasn't even as bad (laughs innocently)

All through this speech there will be close ups of Sophie attempting to intervene and tell him that she has no allergies and unfortunately just looks like that.

Scene 1 Draft and Storyboard

Scene one - Welcoming to the Sixth Form


Voice over to open: "I've never had much luck getting first impressions right"

Shot 1: Starts as a medium close up as the head of sixth form welcomes her, then a tracking shot of them walking.

Teacher: Hi, welcome to Oldershaw sixth form, you must be Sophie

Shot 2: Head shot of Sophie, establishing her character

Sophie: (Shyly) Sophie Lindon, yes.

Shot 3: Over the shoulder shot, directed at Sophie, as the teacher hands her some papers.

Shot 4: Switches to teacher as she starts to talk

Teacher: It's nice to meet you, my name is Miss Leading by the way

Shot 5: Over the shoulder at Sophie

Sophie: (Puzzled expression) Oh...right, in what way?

Shot 6: Over the shoulder shot as the teacher turns back around from walking into her office. She is unamused and blankly stares at her.

Shot 7: Close up of papers reading "Head of Sixth from - Miss Leading"

Draft Plot Line Development

Typical nerdy girl, first day of sixth form. Everything goes wrong as per usual. When she gets home she wishes she could be something more, to be prettier.
This is when her fairy Godfather appears and grants her of her wish by making her beautiful. However, there is more to her new looks than she realises and to have one good thing she more accept the consequences that go with it.
She returns home from sixth form, to her empty house as her Dad is always back and forth from working abroad. When she arrives home she finds her fairy Godfather still sitting around in house. While he tries to explain why he's still here there's a knock on the door, two young lads are wanting to buy their marijuana.
She is completely confused and while they're smoking in the living room, the Godfather explains to her in the kitchen that she's the local drug dealer and helping him out.
As she is seriously unimpressed and he refuses to change her back, they end up going on a quest to help out the Godfather so that'll change her back. 

Choosing a second genre

I have decided that I want to challenge the conventions of a Romantic Comedy trailer and after some thought have decided that by including another genre into my trailer I can mix the two and challenge the conventions.

Conventions of other genres (cont)

Conventions of a thriller film:

Daniel Craig portraying the main male protagonist in Casino Royale

Good vs Bad

Always a male protagonists who is brave and manly

Themes are able to be related too, real world problems, terrorism/cyber sercurity

These storylines strike fear and build anticipation

Conventions of a Fantasy film:

Fantasy creatures from Lord of The Rings

The main plot is based around something supernatural or magical

In the real world where ordinary people are unaware of their identity or powers

Secretive, held back trailer

Dramatic and unnerving music

Conventions of other genres

I decided to do research into the conventions of other genres of films before I made my decision about which one would work best with a Romantic Comedy basis.

Conventions of an Action Film:

Explosion scene from The Dark Knight

Good vs. Bad

Lots of fighting, destruction of cities and explosions

Use of weaponry and fancy vehicles

Usually modern and set in big cities

There is always a mission for all the characters

However, the main character has a personal motivation

Conventions of a Post-Modern film:

A scene from extras of a show within a show starring Orlando Bloom

No longer trying to fake reality

Talk directly to the camera or have views of the camera

Generally the main characters feel uncomfortable in the environment

Circular narratives

Sometimes there's a "what if" reference

Conventions of a Stoner Film:

Main characters in possession of marijuana in, Ted

Possession of marijuana or attempting to gain possession

Trying to avoid people of higher authority Police/Parents/Bosses

Desire for an easier life of leisure

Slapstick comedy

Male Protagonists

Background Music

Original scene from Inception

Music effects the mood and pace of a scene, like in Inception the music used is very subtle. This makes the destruction feel almost subtle, as this is a dream world, blowing it to pieces isn't a big deal as it's not real. The pace is unaffected because of this, and finshes as steady as it started.

Example of first music change

However when we change the music, the feel of scene is completely different. Here I used Summer Overture, composed by Clint Mansell for the film, Requiem For A Dream. As it is slow paced and gentle at the beginning of the music, it creates suspense and lengths the build up. Therefore when the music becomes more exciting, so does the destruction and feels more racy without actually making the motion faster.

Example of second music change

This example is far more extreme, as the video's motion was sped up to match the pace of the music. However, the music starts gently just as the others do, but has far more impact when the music kicks in. The motion is faster, but there is more adrenaline in the scene because of the strong powerful music, which is This Is The End by Machine Head.