Evaluation Activity 1

    Here are a number of screenshots taken from our trailer. All of these screenshots have some important input to our trailer whether it is setting a location or introducing a new character. This part of the evaluation re-enforces why we had put some shots in the trailer.

The title of the film:-

    We chose our title to be called Rise To The Top. There was a lot of deliberation of where we should place the title as we were putting it in different positions during the draft process. We noticed that other trailers try to give it as much prevalence as possible and we also followed this convention as we finally decided to put the title at the end of our trailer. 

   One reason why I felt this was a good decision for our specific trailer is because we had a lot of dialect in the form of text on the screen and so we had to make this piece of text more important than the rest and thus we put it at the end as it will be the last thing the audience remembers. Being a psychology student, I knew that people tend remember the start and end of any piece of information and that was the reason why we put it right at the end.   

    We also knew that we must differentiate the title from the rest of the text dialogue within the trailer. We kept the font the same as all trailers have a conventional "One Font" system to not overcomplicate it and we also followed this. That is why we changed the background specifically for the title where Aran can also be noticed. 

Here is a screenshot of the title right at the end of the trailer. we gave it a completely higher prevalence to the other pieces of text as it didn't have a black background as shown by the first screenshot making it different to any other pieces of text or titles that we included in our trailer.

  Setting/Location:-
 
     We understood that a trailer requires a number of locations and this was the hardest part in terms of showing a wide range of locations in a manner that will still make the trailer seem not over complicated and should compliment the pace as opposed to disrupting it. We introduced different locations throughout the trailer not really giving any prevalence to a specific location but it's rather spread out. We used a number of shots to show these locations which I believe can be seen by the choice of screenshots that I have taken below.
    I believe that one thing we had done well was use a wide range of shots to show the audience the different locations that we have and also tells them a bit more about the storyline. One example of how we used a wide range of shots was when we took the establishing shot of the running track. A screenshot can be shown below. I felt that this establishing shot was unique in comparison to the other shots we used to introduce the locations. Furthermore, we knew we were going to use this establishing shot as we found out that there was a stand there that we could use during our research and planning phase which not only shows the important of research and planning but also tells us that we had planned for this trailer properly.
    One problem we found was that we had many locations and thus this would affect the pace of trailer and could potentially disrupt the pace as a whole. Moreover, we would have wanted to add a little bit more in the trailer about Arans back story but due to this meaning the addition of more locations, we simply couldn't afford to disrupt the pace any further.
   I also feel as if our choice of locations were perfect in conjunction with the Boxing/Sports genre. These locations consisted of the boxing gym, running track and the footpath by the river. All these also showed off the storyline, plus told the audience that Aran was from a working class background which would appeal to out C1, C2 ad D target audience. The working class background could be seen by the old boxing ring as well as Aran running in public places amongst the public which isn't what's expected from boxers who are already famous or rich in real life.

   

Here is a screenshot of one of the way we established a location setting in our trailer. This was done by the title of the location shown above the door. The audience will then identify that this is the place where Arans training will be taking place here.

 

Here is the screenshot of the establishing shot of the running track. The camera pans to the running track from this point. We see almost all of the running track which shows that this was a perfect position to take this shot from as it can clearly be identified as an establishing shot.

 Costumes & Props:

    We used a wide range of costumes and props as we understood how someone's appearance can offer assumptions to the audience. We also knew that costume can add to the realism of the trailer as well as complementing the locations.We done this as we used a wide range of costumes to show that the movie is filmed over time. This is something I noticed in the Rocky movie where it tries to show the film shot over time as the training process takes a long time and this is something I believe we done well.

    We also used other conventional props that may not be noticeable but just adds to the realness and feeling of the movie. One of these props was Muhammed's hat which is seen in real life as a prop used by boxing trainers.

    One thing I felt we could have done better was introduce a costume that is completely different to what Aran was wearing. This is because all of Aran's costumes connoted training whereas if we had him in a suite or something a bit more formal, it would add to the back story.

Here is a screenshot of Aran. As you can see here, he is wearing the conventional boxing equipment with a tank top and shorts. We decided to have no sponsors and for Aran just to wear plain clothes to tell the audience that he starts off as unknown. Moreover, it also compliments the boxing location as it looks very gritty.

Here is a screenshot of Aran in yet another piece of clothing to show that its a different day but they're still in the same location. The boxing gloves Aran's wearing is a very important prop that is required to tell the audience the basic idea of the movie and makes the trailer much more understandable. We also witness Muhammed's hat on the right hand side which will tell the audience that he is his Arans trainer and he is also wearing a working class uniform again with plain clothes. As you can see, the boxing gloves are the only props with a sponsor or a brand name on it. This gives it most prevalence and catches the audiences eye in the shot which again helps the audience identify the genre in the movie.       

     Camera work and Editing:-

     We understood how important camera work and the editing process would be to the success of our trailer. All conventional movies have smooth editing and use a wide range of camera movements for many different reasons. I believe that different types of camera work along with the editing helps achieve the audiences need of escapism whilst watching a movie as different types of editing keeps the trailer flowing. This could be identified in our training montages where Aran was using the same sparring combinations throughout the trailer but the use of fades and cuts and length of shots made it feel different. The use of camera work could really be identified by the different angles in which we used. these different angles added to the intensity of the trailer as it was very fast paced.

        I feel our trailer is to an extent conventional in regards to the editing and camera work. We use a number of establishing shots along with fades which can be identified in many sports genres but the way in which we constantly changed the camrea angles made it less conventional to the genre yet added a lot of effect as shown by the screenshot below.

Here is a screenshot to show the use of our camera work. We closed up on Aran's feet and thought of this shot very carfeully as there is also movement inn the background. Furthermore, the camera is at a very low angle which shows hints of the unconventional style that I had mentioned above.

                                   

                           

 Title Fonts and Style:-

     The use of titles and text is vital to the success of a trailer. Not only can it act as a piece of non verbal dialogue but also helps dictate the pace. This is why we spread our text around. I felt we had done this well and we needed to because of the sports genre our film is associated with. I noticed there are constant changes in the pace of the genres and this is why we included so much text.
     One problem with putting so much text in a trailer is that the audience may not identify the most important pieces of text. We managed to get over this by putting the title at the end of the trailer. We learnt that people tend to remember the start and end of any piece of information the most and thus this was how we gave it the most prevalence.

Here is an example of some of the text that we included and the purpose of these pieces of texts are to dictate the pace of the trailer which is also accompanied by the sound as well. these actor titles were used to show a change in location as well. I felt as if these titles were a vital part to the success of the trailer and made it seem much longer than it actually was. This is because the constant changes in pace in such a short period of time makes it feel much longer.

Story and how the trailer sets up:-

    I felt as if the research and planning stage was the reason why our story made a lot of sense. Thanks to the detailed storyboard that I had prepared, we had a clear idea and thus we believed our understanding would also give the audience a clear idea of how we wanted the trailer to look and what sort of a storyline it was trying to portray. 

   We wanted to convey our sports genre as much as possible and this is why we added so many montages of Aran training. We also made it fairly conventional as we followed Todorov's narrative structure to an extent. The only bit that couldn't be identified was the initial equilibrium and we done this on purpose to make it less conventional thus different but also I felt that having an initial equilibrium will negatively affect what we are trying to tell the audience as we wanted to show that he is on a mission from the beginning and thus there is no equilibrium that he is happy with. Despite this we follow the middle steps of Todorov's narrative structure but we don't have an ending as it's only a trailer and we are also seen as conventional in that sense.

    We aim to be conventional as we understand that these conventions are what the audience expects from genres and thus we must follow them in order for them to be successful and meet the needs of our audience. We decided the way in which we would differentiate ourselves to any other sports movie is by becoming slightly less conventional to surprise the audience and not just make our trailer a typical sports/drama movie. During my research, I noticed that the majority of trailers follow Todorov's narrative structure and so we knew the relevance of this. It also helped us save a bit more time as it gave us an initial idea of how we were going to set up our trailer.

Here is a screenshot right in the middle of one of the montages. It just shows how the trailer starts up fairly high paced straight away. This shot is shown in terms of Todorov's narrative structure as recognition of disruption as Aran realised he's got a lot of work to do to succeed. This shot is followed by a championship belt which re-enforces this idea.

Genre and how the trailer suggests it:-

      Our trailer is of an sports/Drama genre. Our trailer shows basic pieces of text within it which supports this. Firstly, there are a number of locations which suggest that this is a sports genre movie and will attract a typical male audience. The most identifiable location for the genre is the boxing location as it connotes sports and boxing. Furthermore we knew we had to put this location in for the audience to understand what the movie was about, especially as we didn't want to give much away in terms of dialogue. The constant exchanges between Aran and Damien also re-enforces the genre as we actually see fighting. Moreover, the drama can be identified through the conversation shared between Aran and Myself. This is the reason why we decided to add the dialogue and make the drama aspect clear and try to gain the female audiences attention through this as they may not care much about the boxing sequences which my audience profiling has supported. Movies such as Rocky also has a back story to gain the female audiences which was what we were trying to achieve.
     
    We understand the importance of a genre and how each genre has certain criteria that is expected from the audience. This is why we needed to study similar genres in order to find out what sort of criteria needs to be met. Such criteria that we noticed were fast pace as well as a hero being Aran, A villain in which Damien can be identified as, a helper who is Aran's trainer Muhammed and the Donor who I am. Although this is a narrative theory, I understood the importance of this theory in regards to shunning out the sports genre in our trailer. Propp's theory has really helped in making the narrative clear with the genre and was a vital theory that we exploited during our planning phase.

   The non-diegetic sound aspect was also a very helpful way to suggest the trailer. Complemented with the shots and locations, it dictated the fast pace and made it feel like a boxing trailer. Movies such as Rocky is worldwide known for its soundtrack and this is what we tried to do with pur trailer. We also made our own theme music thanks to James Richardson which was one of the successes of the trailer and helped others identify our trailer as a sports genre.  
    
                                   

Here is a screenshot of the boxing ring as well as Damien who is seen as the villain in this trailer. Aran can be seen as the hero as well in this shot and the genre can be shown by the boxing gloves. This shows how much of an impact the location can have on the genre but also shows the importance of props as well to convey a genre.

    How characters are introduced:

   We noticed during our planning phase that the relevance of a character is given by offering as much or as little camera time. We wanted to maximise the amount of characters we include in the trailer to make it have more of a broad feel. Furthermore I felt we added a wide range of characters without over complicating the trailer. We introduced characters at different intervals to help the audience identify them but also to tell the audience that there is still a lot of information that they can gain from watching the entire movie and it helps gain more interest of the movie from the trailer.

    

    Again Propp's narrative theory was vital in this particular aspect. We wanted to show the Hero firs, which was closely followed by the helper and villain. We gain minimal information about the donor as it helped us give me a mysterious feel. The audience will identify that I play an influential part in Arans motivation but they don't know why which is why they will get intrigued. 

    As boxing is a individual sport we wanted Aran to be in the first and last shot. He is our main character and is a boxer. Thus we introduced him at the beginning and he will be the last thing the audience see. I was introduced with dialogue where the conversation between Aran and myself is the only  piece of diegetic sound within the trailer to show my sort of influence on Aran.

    Muhammed is also introduced towards the beginning and straight away can be identified as Arans trainer as he is always with him in the boxing gym. He is there in order to add to the realism of the trailer and although he doesn't have any dialogue in the trailer, he is a huge influence on Aran and this can be identified.
                                          
  Here is a screenshot of me being introduced to Aran. We also try to make this Aran's back story and this is done by not showing anything in that shot that could be associated with boxing. This again differentiates me from the helper and gives me more of the Donor role. As me speaking to him is what motivates him and thus I'm giving him a speech which he then uses to help him succeed. 

    Special Effects:-
    We understood how the most successful boxing related movies didn't have many speciel effects but focused more on making the movie more plain to add to the realism of the film. For example in Rocky, the use of special effects is minimal but they still add effect through the constant changes in the pace of the movie which can be seen especially during the fighting scenes. This is why we didn't want to overcomplicate our trailer with special effects but use the natural camera shots and locations to make it as effective. We knew this would be the best way in which to attract the audience.
    One thing that we had done a lot of thanks to our research was the constant changes in pace. We done this a lot as the only real effect we used was fade shots which were used frequently  but due to the constant changes in pace, didn't feel repetitive and helped with the fluidity of the trailer. 

                                     
Here is a screenshot of one of the fade transitions that we had used to link two shots together. These two shots were in our boxing location where the fade shot helped to show the audience that they are both linked and helped support the pace and flow of the trailer.