Shots we used for inspiration

•  Shot on left - We Are Your Friends (2015) - drama/music/romance film set in LA which follows the career of a DJ. The trailer features a extreme close up of a dilating pupil with a sharp focus on the iris and pupil. The shot is only half a second long and mart of a montage of footage of the DJ recording different sounds.
• Shot on right - our teaser trailer - we used a close up shot of an eye to show and emphasise the effects of drug use. Our shot lasts one second which gives the audience time to see the pupil dilate. The eye isn't as close as the shot we used for inspiration but we wanted to show that the eye was Roses.

• Shot on left - Trainspotting (1996) - this is a popular drama film set in Glasgow which tells the story of a group of young men caught up in a cycle of drug abuse. As our film was about drug use in response to mental illness, we were strongly inspired by the shots in trainspotting.  The shot above on the left shows the main character, Renton, injecting heroin into a vein in his arm using a needle.
• Shot on right - our teaser trailer - We attempted to replicate this shot using a needle used for printer ink refills. We obviously could not make the shot look as convincing as the shot from trainspotting as the actor obviously could not actually push the needle into her arm and we therefore made the shot as short as we could, ensuring the belt above the elbow is visible and the needle pushing against the skin.

• Shot on left - Trainspotting (1996) - this is a shot from the same scene as above in Danny Boyle's Trainspotting. This shot shows an extreme close up of heroin being made on a metal spoon.
• Shot on right - our teaser trailer - we were inspired by the shot from trainspotting and recreated it using golden syrup and a lighter. We held the lighter under the spoon and let bubbles form. Using a +10 close up lens attachment we were able to capture this process in very good detail.

• Shot on left - Fish Tank (2009) - this is a shot of the titles on the trailer for social realism drama, Fish Tank. The titles are in a bold, sans serif, capitalised font on a black background. However the text is transparent which reveals a layer underneath on moving water. This therefore creates a visual effect o the water through the text which reflects the films name.
• Shot on right - our teaser trailer - we wanted to achieve similar titles to those in the Fish Tank trailer and therefore researched online how to achieve the same effect and applied it to all of our titles with a shot of Rose running through an orange lit subway in the background.

Music

Above - The XX - Intro - featured in Project X (2012), various crime/thriller shows Cold Case, Person of Interest, Law & Order

Above - Jacoo - Crossing Winds - we 7used this in our trailer due to its resemblance to the XXX's song. The tense heartbeat like percussion and building tempo make it perfect for our trailer.

• We researched music we liked and found artists such as The Black Keys and The Vaccines and other indie-rock artists whose music was used in teen drama trailers. We were oringially inspired by this music styles and looked for remixes and remakes online we could use in our trailer however we thought that as our trailer had a darker mood to it we would look for something more sombre.
• We liked music by The XX but their work was copyrighted so we found an artist called Jacoo on online music sharing site SoundCloud and came across his song Crossing Winds. I contacted the artist to ask for his permission and he replied almost immediately granting us permission.
• The song he produced sounds almost identical to The XX's Intro but has a beat and build more suited to our trailer.

Evaluation

• In conclusion, the majority of our shots inspired by existing work turned out successfully and we combined a range of angles and shots to give a restricted narrative outline of our films plot.
• As for the music, we were determined to find the perfect piece inspired by an existing artist and we added different songs to the clips to test the sounds and found Jacoo's song to be a perfect fit

Music Update

As we approached our first draft deadline, we had a list of things yet to complete in our trailer, we made a list of adjustments we needed to make in order of priority and we agreed that music was the most important thing to organise. We had asked my uncle to create music but he was still producing the song so we continued to research music to use. I made a list of artists whose music would fit our trailer and searched soundcloud for remixes and covers which are available to use commercially but most didn't fit as they were too electronic/rock.

I therefore lokoed on Youtube and searced for "The XX copyright free' ad we thought The XX's song Intro fit our trailer well the first result was a song by Jacoo called Crossing winds which was inspired by the Xx's song.

 

The song is an original piece recorded by the artist but we were unsure on whether it was available to use without permission.

 

As we were unsure if the song was copyrighted or not, I emailed the artist to confirm that we could use the song and he replied almost immediately to the email to verify permission for us to use the music. We will have to give credit to the artist in the caption of the YouTube video but ultimately, we think this music fits really well so we're going to keep it.

Sound Research

The sound in our teaser trailer is to be quite fast paced and urban to reflect the negativity and adrenaline of the drug use and alcohol introduced to Rose's life.

Music commonly used in teen drama films include modern indie/alternative songs with synths and a consistent beat. 

As our film idea is for Rose to turn eighteen and her life becomes a lot more based around drugs and alcohol, I thought our opening scene could show a home video of Rose turning 18 with family and/or friends singing Happy Birthday and end the trailer with our shot of Rose in the public toilet whilst playing an instrumental version of Happy birthday which changes off pitch and fades out.
After evaluating this idea the group decided this wouldn't be possible due to a shortage of timing in

My uncle is a songwriter in California. He tours the United States with his band and writes music for commercial use in his free time. His music has been featured in 'The Middle' (ABC) 'The Game' (BET), 16 and Pregnant (MTV), 'Tosh.O' (Comedy Central), '10 On Top' (MTV) as well as corporate projects, iPhone apps, websites and other new media. 

I messaged my uncle to ask if he would be able to write some music for our trailer and he said he would be more than happy to help. I sent him a link to a draft of our film so he could match the atmosphere and timings of the video roughly.

Below is a lin to his page where he publishes his music and events

https://www.reverbnation.com/stuartmoore

Soundcloud Experiment

Soundcloud Inspiration

In order to begin the search for music, I looked on sound cloud to find inspiration. We know the type of music that we want for the trailer - indie pop/alternative pop.
In order to find music matching this description I searched similar bands.

One Republic Inspiration

When I searched this the following results came up:

I selected the violin cover as we are not sure whether we want the music to have lyrics or not. The cover does not have lyrics which makes it a good comparison to some of the other songs I found.

The song slowly builds, starting with one violin for the first 13 seconds. A strong bassy drum beat is added on top of this. The drum is at the same pace as a heartbeat which would be suitable for our shots.
At 27 seconds another violin is added, which increases the depth of the music, and it could be used during a point of our trailer when there is increased tension.
Although, the song does not progress much after this, which may not be suitable for our trailer given the genre and plot line.
Our trailer had lots of disequilibrium throughout which means that the trailer needs to constantly build, rather than building more at the beginning and continuing the same throughout.

Coldplay Inspiration

When I searched this the follow results came up: 

The song ‘Midnight’ is relaxing and is mostly done on electronic instruments, which is suitable for our target audience.

The song starts with a slow, electronic piano melody for the first minute and 8 seconds. A fast, snare drum beat is added on top of this.
Again, there isn't a lot of progression in the song, and given our genre and media form, it is not a suitable song for this purpose.

The Weeknd Inspiration

When I searched this the following results came up:

This is the only song that I selected with lyrics. The song is a cover of The Weeknd – High for This by Ellie Goulding.

The song starts with a monotone bass and someone snapping their fingers. At 13 seconds there is a high pitched bell every second. This is also when the ad-lib vocals come in. At 26 seconds, all of the sounds built up stop and there is a low pitched wave sound, over this Ellie Goulding sings the lyrics of the song.

“Open your hand
Take a glass
Don't be scared
I'm right here
Even though you don't roll
Trust me girl
You wanna be high for this”

These lyrics are suitable for our genre and plot due to the song implying the use of drugs, and drugs are the main focus of the trailer. These lyrics could be ‘sung’ from the point of view of the drugs, the “trust me girl” could be a temptation for the character to take the drugs and become reliant on them.

Awolnation Inspiration

When I searched this the following results came up:

The song starts with a drum beat similar to a heartbeat, with a type of chime, quieter in the background. This happens for the first 16 seconds.
After this, a dubstep sound is added. This could be a good for the trailer as it builds tension, which we are doing in the trailer to attract the target audience.

At 47 seconds, there is a higher pitched ‘dubstep sound’. Another drum beat is also added, again, it is higher pitched and faster than the other and is more like a light tap on a cow bell. This adds tension, and could be used to show a different direction in the characters life. We could link this part to a flashback.

There is not much progression after this, which means that it does not suit the genre or trailer form, although, the song does progress quickly up to the minute mark, which will be the length of our trailer. Therefore, we could use the song and cut the last minute when there is no progression.

Sound in Trailers

We Are Your Friends (2015)

Sound

• Non-diegetic dialogue - "5..4..3..2..1"
• low scratch sound increasing in volume and pitch as he counts down
• abrupt stop and silence as he says 'one'
• Straight into Years & Years - Desire (Griffin Remix)
• Main character introduces friends and location
• " My friends and I, We're from the San Fernando valley. That flat stretch of land on the other side of the Hollywood hills'
• Location is evident and supported by establishing shots of Hollywood and long shots of him and his friends
• 'Full of actors, waiters and wannabees who cant afford to live in Los Angeles'
• Young, low status work, trying to be successful
• Disequilibrium - seem unhappy where they are - limited success
• Diegetic Dialogue - 'We're going to be out of the valley by the end of this summer'
• Dialogue turns non-diegetic 'I think I have an idea' then music becomes louder and more upbeat as editing pace fastens to add
• Diegetic dialogue - clips of each characters saying one word 'This is gonna be // the best // the best (repeated) //  night // of // your // life'
• Music stops, diegetic dialogue - "This party sucks, LA is dead, can you play Drunk in Love?" "absolutely not"
• element of comedy
• New song starts - On the Regular by Shamir
• Lots more diegetic dialogue explaining how he is going to be more successful
• Upbeat song suggests things are picking up for the characters
• Music stops again - quieter and less upbeat - his a new point of disequilibrium
• "don't you feel like theres a lot more quality stuff we could be doing?"
• music then picks up as characters seen as couple running together
• Song lyrics - 'See the dawn of a new beginning' new equilibrium
• Lots of dialogue
• We are your inspiration, we are your voice, we are your future - titles, leads to movie title, We Are Your Friends
• Music quietens - "lots of beating hearts out there, are you sure you can handle it?"
• Heartbeat paces drum sound to build tension and high pitch squeak as Zac gets closer to the mic - then silence
• "Whats up? I'm Cole Carter" silence - tension, he has to entertain large audience, silence is awkward and anticipating
• We Are Your Friends by Justice plays with appearance of film title word by word

Project X

• diegetic dialogue - handheld recording
• "Mum, Dad, It's me Thomas. Erm, where do I start? This was supposed to be a small get together. I wanted to be cool for one night. I wanted girls to notice me. Then things got a little out of control.."
• Non-diegetic music starts - 'Pursuit of Happiness'
• Repetition non diegetic dialogue - 'tonights about...' - listing reasons for party
• Fast paces beat of song mimicking heartbeat matched editing of shots of party and freeze frames of scenes as polaroid images
• diegetic dialogue - crowd chanting "Thomas" in time with music
• builds up to point he jumps off roof and the music then becomes louder and the beat is heavier
• Sirens - danger
• Phonecall from dad checking up on son along with shots of wild and out of control party
• music stops as car crashes into pool - screams of fear
• Cuts to thomas back on phone to father - "Yeah, all good" - irony and comedy
• music continues as star billing and release date appear on screen