stages of typography - adobe after effects

We started with a blank composition where to add typography onto the screen, you must select 'layer'. I used this each time I wanted to add a text box onto the screen. The thick red line boxes highlight how long your text is shown on screen, and you can change the position of the text by sizing the text box differently. I separated the red boxes with a quite a few seconds between each, leaving room for the trailer shot to be added in between. 

The red line that is vertical, shows what layer of text is coming up next when you preview what you have written on your screen. At this stage I have finished all the text boxes and put them in their own layers and now start playing it through making sure its in chronological order.

After previewing all the correct text boxes in order, I now look at the different type of effects that we can use. This is shown in the column on the right hand side of the screen. Because the genre of the trailer is horror, I stuck with the effect of 'Fade in'. The fading of the words appears slowly in a faint shadow and disappears the same way. This is effective because it builds up the suspense of what scene in the trailer is going to be shown next. 

The title of the film is a typical genre convention, so I decided to place this at the end of the trailer. However, because this is the main title of the trailer, I decided to use an effect that would differentiate from the normal typography. The name of this effect is 'decoded', but I still kept the effect of the 'fade' to keep consistency.

The release date is also another genre convention of a film trailer - this came after the main title was shown. To keep consistency throughout the trailer I went back to using the effect of 'Fade In'. Although it comes across the screen word by word, rather than the one sentence all together.

From our research, we found that many trailers show the production company at the beginning. We developed this into our trailer by using a font that looks like a typewriter - we thought this would be suitable to the brief by relating it back to students who were our intended audience.

Showing a production name, our research showed that trailers also show a production logo. We did this with no effect, just showing the logo of an existing company. This made our trailer seem more realistic.

magazine front cover final

When creating our magazine front cover, we looked at a range of film magazines and eventually decided on using the star model 'Empire' magazine. From looking at different copies of the magazine we saw that the front cover is the film character not the actor themselves. Therefore we used our two main stock characters as the trailer is centered around their friendship and the 'attachment' between the two of them. To distinguish each character we directed the actors to display different facial expressions. Above, the naive and innocent character - Sarah, acted by Junette Salonga is smiling with quite heavy makeup on. In contrast we have Kally Nichalou who plays Rebecca-  who is the abnormal protagonist, showing a more serious look and is in less makeup. We also considered the position of them two. Having them back to back shows how their friendship isn't quite what they seem because they arent facing each other. Kally is also taller than Junette, showing possibly more importance in the film trailer. Overall, we used typical conventions of film magazine front cover. Examples are, big clear masthead, straplines, large image, barcode, price of the magazine and date issue. 

Photoshoot still shots - magazine front cover

Synopsis - final

First draft: 

When first year college student Sarah arrives at university, she cannot wait to make new friends, socialise and more importantly, further her ambition to be a fashion journalist. In the mean time, Rebecca, an emotional and unstable student is also joining the same university, in a mind frame of disturbing thoughts that lead her to hurting people. Sarah and Rebecca become friends, and soon Rebecca reveals her true colours of a psychopath. How long will Sarah survive before its too late for her to run?

Final:

What do you do when your flatmate starts to control your life and university experience? Sarah (Junette Salonga) is beginning her first year, arriving in London to study Journalism. Rebecca, studying grand art and French (Kally Nichalou) introduces herself as shy and sensitive. Little to Sarah’s (Salonga) knowledge Rebecca (Nichalou) has come from a family background of deep emotions and instability brought about from the death of her twin sister. It has caused her to have an abnormal and obsessive personality disorder, controlled by daily consistent medication. Once Rebecca stops taking her medication, trouble begins at a dinner party where the peculiar student’s anti-social behaviour glares through.  Soon it becomes apparent to Sarah’s friends, Alison (Naomi Medina) and Sasha (Imogen Sweeney) that Rebecca’s secretive behaviour is something to be worried about. How far will Rebecca go until she is stopped? What started off as a disturbing friendship climaxes into a shocking unrestrained bloody standoff between two young girls who are willing to keep everything they want, whether it is a life at university or life itself.  

Film poster final

Furthering our development we came up with our final poster. Including the layout, typography and image. We decided to come up with this poster overall because our research showed that most horror film trailers keep it simple, with the image being the main attraction for the audience. 

Film Poster on Prezi


We picked the effect of using a framed photograph like the images were taken from university records, with their names underneath. We kept the consistency of the font used throughout the film poster and trailer to keep them linked together. We used typical conventions found on film posters such as the production logo, a website and a release date. We also featured our quote at the top of the film poster, usually it will read across the screen, but we decided it be best to read it down, bringing the attention to the pictures below.