At first, none of us in the group had the best indication of how to use Final Cut Extra. We had briefly used it previously to edit our 'Napoleon Dynamite Trailer' and to edit our preliminary task.
Although when reused the programme then we never went into proper detail, this time round we looked more closely into sound, colour and different aspects when it came to editing. When we were editing our thriller opening we had to learn how to colour grade, which wasn't that difficult. We also looked at sound and sound effects which was really experimental and fun to use. Overall me personally and everyone in our group feel much more confident is we were to sit down again and use the programme to edit.
To find the music/soundtrack for our thriller we looked at Kevin Mccloud's music. As you can see from the image below he had a selection on genre's from the Film Scoring Moods. We looked at all of them as they had a link with our film. We didn't want to pick anything to obvious for a thriller as we thought it would look tacky.
In the end we decided to go with the song 'Anxiety' which was around 10 seconds but we extended it throughout. We made the soundtrack slightly more intense in some scenes like the opening with the abusive ex-boyfriend. This made the opening scene film more intense and created suspense and enigma. We then lowered the sound in certain scenes, as we wanted to background music to sound more effective.
Special Effects: The opening of the trailer consists of many special effects, including the explosives and the fire. This is the scene where they are testing the machinery they are buying and putting on a performance for the sellers. Having this as the opening scene in the trailer straight away gives you an idea to what the story is about, and creates intensity.
Close-up's & Quick Slides: Having the Close-up shots of the eyes shows a more personal sense of the subject and the character. It shows in the shot below a more emotional side and is quite intimate. By having multiple close-up shots in the trailer shows the different sides of each character and what they are feeling. Overall creating a personal feel to these scenes. Also the use of cut editing and quick slides shows a more dynamic approach and breaks up one scene, by making it look more edgy and different.
Lighting: Having different lighting in different scenes, conveys mystery and suspense. For example there is a shot of an eye with blackness closing in. This could interpret that the character is being trapped and he has no sight of what is happening next. The darkness could indicate the bad people/ bad side to what is happening and how they are more powerful.
Voiceover: Having the voice over of characters creates chaos and intensity. In the trailer we here the girl whom is talking over whilst she is acting on the screen. This could imply two sides of that character, one is she being paid to portray and another of her true feelings and what she wishes to happen.
Here is the tailer for the BBC Three Drama: Thirteen
I think this trailer is really effective and straight away caught my attention. As a coincidence the show was on throughout whilst we were creating our thriller. Thirteen and our film 'Full Circle' have a similar story line but not one as intense. I have really enjoyed watching the show from start to finish and it has huge amounts of enigma.
This has been created in the trailer by having closeups of her body. For example there is a close-up of her foot in the beginning, where her foot looks dirty and old. This could imply decay and insists she is escaping/running away from the house which we can see in the background. Here straight away we get an insight of what is happening and it is clear to understand.
Next after the closeup scene, 'Ivy' then decides to sprint down the road with the camera then following her, this is really effective and it is evidence she is running away and the loud sound emphasises what is happening.
There is then use of Slow Motion in the next clip where Ivy is in the Police Station and she is being questioned. The use of the slow mo shows she is confused and over whelmed with the questions and in a way implies she is contemplating on her answers, and doesn't give anything away straight away. This is unusual as you would expect a young girl that is escaping being trapped in a cellar for thirteen years, you would think she would want the guy captured straight away.
The use of layering is another technique which is used in the trailer. The use of layering could imply the different stories being discovered and the layers of which are true. It also creates mystification and shows the secrets and lies being told.
The use of the gray colour grading makes a scene in a film feel completely different. Gray is a neutral and balanced colour. It is an emotionless, dull and moody colour with associations with dirt and decay. It is a timeless colour with links to depression and loss. The use of having the gray in comparison to other seems shows intensity and sadness.
Lastly, the use of the Voiceover in a few of the scenes in the trailer makes it feel more intense. It also indicates a personal reaction from the character and lets you see that feel on whats going on. It makes it feel more tense, as you have a rush of scenes being played on screen and then having someone speaking over the top.
Thirteen Thirteen is a British drama television series. The series was created by Marnie Dickens and directed by Vanessa Caswill. Ivy Moxam whom is played by Jodie Comer, is a 26 year old woman who escapes from a cellar, that has been her prison for the previous thirteen years. The music in the opening 'The title music is In Your Dreams from the album Wild Go (2010) by Dark Dark Dark' Having this music made me feel much more at ease when watching the show, the TV drama is actually quite scary if your sitting down by yourself, so by having this more playful tone didn't make you feel as uncomfortable. It also had a more younger feel, not as adolescent and adult. As the show is quite grown up, the character of Ivy is although 26 when she was taken she was 13 so it makes it feel as if there is youth again.
I have really enjoyed watching 'Thirteen' and I was so excited to sit down on a Sunday evening to watch the following episode. Every episode was left with a really good cliff hanger which made it so much more intriguing and exciting. The best cliffhanger was definitely the one were Ivy gets out of the car in the evening and the man takes his hand from behind her and grabs her mouth. This was really good as a cliffhanger because you didn't know what to expect in the next episode, also it is the same scene which we used when were making our thriller opening. That worked well because we could compare and gather inspiration for when we were filming ours. The characters each individually were really different and everyone created dynamic. As you can see in the image below, her parents are split up and Ivy doesn't know this. Only when her sister tells her her dad left, Ivy realises and then argues with him how he 'gave up on her'. This guilt left on her fathers shoulders then brings the family together and her dad leaves the woman he is currently with. Ivy as we can see feels quite alone as she comes home after escaping, her sister is now engaged and lives at home with her fiancé. Then Tim comes back into the picture when he realises Ivy has come home, Tim was someone previously close to Ivy and the feelings come back when they are spending time together. Ivy doesn't realise Tim is engaged until she goes to tell him she loves him at the pub where he works, this is when she goes downhill and feels as if she has lost everything and everyone. Overall, alongside 'The Night Manager' which is also currently on this has been one of the best British TV Dramas that has been on in a while and I would definitely recommend you to watch!
