Evaluation Question One

1)
I chose to do a teaser trailer, a poster and film magazine, I chose to do it all about a schizophrenic and chose a very simple title “The Schizophrenic” because I think it sounds more effective because it is straight to the point.
I wanted to use as many clever shots and I really thought about how I was going to make this like a real media product.

The First shot I am going to analyse is my opening shot where Jack is walking towards the camera, I chose to do a long shot here showing Him walking down the alleyway because I didn’t want to go straight into the action, I wanted to introduce the main character first, I wanted him to walk down the alleyway instead of out in the open because I think that it would look better for the mise en scene if the area surrounding him was more compact and closed in, I think this could symbolise the characters mood, he is a schizophrenic therefore his mind would be more closed in and dark which is exactly what the alley way is. Also by using a long shot it gives the people who watch it a chance to view the whole character so they know it’s going to be about him. I was inspired by the opening of a trailer for “Hide and Seek” starring Robert De Nero, the trailer opened on him in the shot and I immediately knew that the film would be about him. Over the shot I have put some dark music which is quite fast paced, it has a little bit of a beat over the top, I chose a fast paced track because my main personal objective for my trailer is to link everything back to my characters mind I think a weird, un-natural and quick paced piece of music will help give off that effect.

The link between the first and the second is some text in bald font saying “ONE BOY” and then there is a second clip and then “TWO MINDS” I chose to do this because I think that without giving away the storyline it gives as much information as needed behind the main character.

The second shot I’m going to analyse is my second shot, it appears between the two texts and I have chosen to write about this shot because it shows the “crazy” side of my character, it is a close up on his face as he twitches and says “I’m going to kill her” I chose to use this dialogue at this point because I hope that it will make the audience want to know what is happening and want to watch it, it is also a very short clip, I made it a short clip because I think it will be effective to make it fast paced and a little bit jumpy because once again it represents my characters mind, I really want the layout and pace of my trailer to link with my character. Although it’s a close up on his face there is still a background and that is just silver, metal surface (which is actually a garage door) it doesn’t look like a garage and I chose to do this shot because from an audiences point of view they wouldn’t know where the character is and would be wondering where he was and why he has just said that and who he said it about. I wanted this to be a very short shot but a shot that raised a lot of questions from the people who watched it, Who? Why? And Where? I edited the music at this point and turned it right down as I believe that as the main character his voice should be properly heard. Everything in this shot is also quite enclosed and close up, like the mind of the character, I wanted to get across to the audience that when the shot is enclosed and close up is when he is in his “psychotic” mood.

The next shot to analyse is going to be the shot where Jack and Danni are walking down the road holding hands, I think this shot immediately makes it clear to the audience that Danni is the girl that Jack wants to kill because she is the first girl that we see in the trailer and he is obviously close to her. I did a long shot here so that I could see the whole of both of their bodies but also the mise en scene is there and I can see the open space, the houses, gardens, cars and roads, by showing the open space I wanted to symbolise that Jacks mind may be clear at this point, he is smiling and looks very happy. He has previously stated that he wants to kill her but I wanted this shot to show his other personality. I think it effectively does this, there is a hint of a dark and eerie mood about the shot because the sky is grey and the street is deserted but the focus is on the two characters. I think this works well because it shows that although they are happy at the minute and he is in his loving and caring personality, there is still darkness close behind and it is always there. I think this shot also builds up a bit of tension because the audience have already heard him say he wants to kill her but will it happen in this shot?, I made this shot a bit longer than the previous one because instead of being short and snappy (which represented his state of mind) I let it run a bit longer making it seem free and natural which is how he is feeling at the moment, during this shot. The music continues through this shot but quietly, I thought that the music could act like the schizophrenia in my media text, when he is killing, angry or crazy the music is loud but when he is in a sane mood then it is quiet, it’s still there but tucked away (in the back of his mind)

For my fourth analysis I am going to write about the shot where Jack is once again standing infront of the silver, metal surface (garage door) he is standing to the right of the shot and facing the left so we see the side of his face and says “I’m going to kill her!” it looks like he is talking to someone else, it is once again a small space and only his face and a bit more space in the shot which shows he is back in his “killing” mood. The audience will be confused at who he is talking to which will still make it a bit tense, is there another character? Is he talking to himself? Once again raising a few questions which will come clear later on in the trailer, the background is dull as all that is in the shot is Jack and the silver, dirty and rusty background. The music is turned down at this point so we can hear the dialogue because it is very important that we know what the main character is feeling. We can tell he is insane again in this shot a lot of this is down to his very good acting but the shot and the positioning of the character shows something is definitely happening.

The fifth shot I am going to analyse is a shot that appears 2 shots later than the last one I analysed and it is a very similar shot, it is the same background but Jack is this time standing on the left facing the right so we once again see the side of his face and he says “but you love her” this is the response his “other personality” gives to him saying that he is going to kill her. I think this works really well because it is sharp editing and fast paced and clearly shows the state of his mind and it is very obvious that he is talking to himself and it shows the other side of the personality, this is where the trailer starts to get really fast paced as his evil personality is now taking over, infront of this rusty, dirty and metal surface where quite a few of his psychotic moments take place so the audience can start to tell that when he is stood there he is in his killer mood. The focus on this shot and the previous shot is all on him so the audiences focus isn’t taken away.

I’m going to analyse a different kind of shot and it is a mid-shot of Jack holding a knife between his teeth, this happens straight after the conversation that Jack has with himself when he says about killing her; the audience can only assume that this is where he kills her because they don’t see the killing happen because that would be showing too much of the film. The music is especially loud at this point to show his mind is “out of control” and the mise on scene shows that he is in a dark room, it is clear that it is a bed room but it is still dark, deserted and looks eerie. There is no dialogue just Jack, I think the saying that dialogue would kill the effect of the shot.

7th Shot analysis is a shot where Jack is sitting on a floor holding his knees and rocking, the camera is still held up high, looking down on Jack showing that he is really low and that the schizophrenia is beating him, I thought it was good to do this because it shows that I have thought about my shots and I have considered my character and how he is feeling, although the music is still really loud at this point we hear diegetic sound over it, this sound is a lot of banging as Jack holds his hands to his head and rocks back and forwards, this shot is one of my favourites because it leaves a lot of it to the audiences interpretation and that is what I personally like doing because I think it’s effective because they think about it more, the sound could either all be inside his head and he could be having a breakdown, or the sound could be literally banging on the door behind him, where either people could be after him? Or some ones found out what he has done?. The room is dark and dingy which could create more tension.

8th shot is a mid-shot of something covered in the boot of a car and Jack slams the boot shut, I think this is a good shot because no one knows for definite one is in the boot but is easily assumed that it is Danni in there. It is towards the end of the trailer, all we see is the boot and the covered body then jacks hand slam the boot shut. He then walks past the camera towards the door of the car; this shot shows that something really crucial has happened in the storyline, the music is still really fast and loud during this point to show Jacks mood is still ongoing, it is not necessarily a fast paced shot but it does include a tight and enclosed space which is what I use to show Jacks mood, this is the boot of the car, there is obviously someone being shut in the tight space which is what Jack has been like through the whole trailer. It is outside in natural light but is still quite dull which is what makes it more effective.

The 9th analysis I am going to make is on a very short close up on jacks face smiling at the camera; he smiles very weirdly and will make people feel uncomfortable, he has obviously proud of something he has done and sniggers to himself a little bit, I think it is effective that he is looking in the camera smiling because it could be him saying “you’re next” which could show there is a lot more to happen in the storyline than the audience has seen.

The 10th and final shot I am going to analyse is the final shot of my trailer and it is a mid-shot of Jack hysterically laughing to himself in an open space, we see a couple of graves which shows he is in a grave yard by himself, the music has all gone now and it just the diegetic sound of Jacks laughter, this clip lasts a couple of seconds before the title of the film appears in bald letters THE SCHIZOPHRENIC, the final shot of jack alone represents that he has no one and the lack of music may show that there is no battle between Jack and the schizophrenia anymore and that the schizophrenia has now won.