Thriller was the genre we chose to aim it at as it is so popular around our age group, so 
we tried to use as many common thriller conventions as we could where possible. These included details such as: low key lighting in some parts and eerie yet somewhat dramat
ic music, especially the further into the trailer it gets. Research into films that follow the conventions such as ‘Gothika’ and ‘Taken’ helped us decipher what was needed and from there we had a better understanding of how to create a particular atmosphere for the genre. An example of how our research gave us insight was the idea of a hand help camera. When studying the film ‘Creep,’ which is about a woman who gets locked in a tube station and hunted down, we noticed that the b
eginning uses a hand held camera to let the audience know that there is someone else there. Because there is little action or drama in it, it comes across as spooky, however we wanted to use it in a dramatic context and therefore had more upbeat music as well as moving the camera more violently to signify running, or in this case chasing.
As both my ancillary (AS film) and main trailer revolve around stalking. The main difference is that the genre of my primary film is social-realism and highlights homosexuality as it is a boy stalking another boy he likes however, whilst this storyline revolves around stalking-it is meant in an entirely different context as this is a different genre and is far more physically harmful. When comparing both texts, it is apparent how much I have improved over the course of a year. There is far more confidence with the camera work and more techniques have been used such as hand held camera (although this was used on a small extent in the ancillary text) and zoom. As well as this, there were far more problems to overcome such as trying to get access to certain areas and working out time schedules to suit everyone so there was a greater sense of achievement after we completed it.
In the feedback we received back at the beginning of the project after presenting a powerpoint of our ideas, we got told that it would be a challenge trying to get actors and actresses to perform at a high potential to gain the correct atmosphere needed to pull off a thriller. As well as this, they would need a timetable that would adhere to both of our, already difficult, timetable restrictions. As neither Nina or myself had very many frees together, our actors needed to be available around the times that we were. Our first idea was to use someone from the drama department but this became a challenge when nobody was able to do it. Finally our friend Chloe came forward and agreed to do it, which was useful as-although not perfect-we had enough time off together necessary to complete the trailer, although it involved sacrificing a number of evenings in order to do it. As well as this, we were advised about possible limitations when it came to shooting in different locations due to Nina's disability. Although we had given this some thought, we had not considered how much of a challenge it would be and we made sure we constantly took it into consideration before deciding to film somewhere. The feedback from the presentation helped bring to light some of the important snags we would hit during the filming process and helped us take precautions to prevent them or make it easier to overcome them.
Once we had posted the trailer online, we asked our friends to leave comments about what they liked and what could be improved. One helpful comment was given by Nina's sister, a fan of horror and thriller films. She stated:
"The trailer has good use of angles and different views. I understood the storyline and the music added a uneasy theme to the trailer, which was effective. I think that the font used could've been different as the font is commonly used and is well-recognised as something used in Windows editing software. Overall, the trailer got across the main plot and included much needed suspense to achieve a horror-type trailer"
It is true that we tried to incorporate as many angles and different camera techniques as possible, however I disagree somewhat that the plot is easy to follow. Problems we encountered were that we thought people might get confused with the character Ella having a different boyfriend later on in the trailer, but luckily nobody seemed to pick up on it. I do agree, however, that the font 'Chiller' is used very commonly and is associated with Microsoft Windows, but it was difficult trying to find an appropriate font that was right for the film and none of the other ones fit the bill in quite the same way
.The comments above came from youtube and have been put on there from class mates and friends. As I have had some concerns with the trailer noticing small imperfections, it is nice to hear some positive light shed on it, particularly hearing that it gave one person in particular goosebumps!
Other comments to come from friends included:
"It follows the genre conventions"
"Good effect on the ending title"
"Good use of font and title-it fits in well with the genre”
"Capturing music"
and on a more negative note
"The name seems a bit 'corny'-could have been improved"
Whilst this is something that I once again agree with, we had difficulty coming up with a good name that could be associated with the film and therefore 'No Escape' seemed like the best option from the few that we came up with.
The use of web 2.0, and other media technologies in the process of planning, researching, contructing and documentating our project has been imperative. Almost all of our research was carried ou
t online using youtube which allowed us to find the ideal trailers to draw ideas and understanding from. As well as that, every bit of planning we have done has been documented online using google docs. Email has also been vital to send work back and forth to each other from home and to share ideas over and has in turn allowed us to come to reach agreements about who was playing the bigger parts in different areas of the project and who was dealing with different paperwork. As well as this, Photoshop was fundamental when it came to creating our poster and magazine cover. Although other software could have been used. We would not have had the advantages and all the different tools that Photoshop encompassed. 
Modern technology was also used to create our trailers. Filming involved a film camera from which the film was then uploaded onto a computer with a cable and stored in an external hard drive to keep it safe, and easily transportable.
Whilst it has been considered a very demanding project-facing many challenges and limitations, we have overcome each hurdle and there has been a great sense of achievement with it. Nina and I used great teamwork and developed skills in partnership. Both of us knew where our strengths and weaknesses lay, so we used this to our best advantage to achieve the best results possible. The most enjoyable part of the experience was seeing our completed trailer and watching the result of months of hard work.
Overall, I am happy with the completed products. I am pleased with the magazine cover and particularly the poster as they are both very effective, like others who saw them also coveyed. Whilst I can notice some small imperfections in the trailer, I am pleased with the overall outcome and think it captures the genre well-especially towards the end, where low key lighting is used more frequently.
From here we added the same backdrop we used in the magazine cover. This helped to create a common theme within the two so that people could relate it to the trailer. We used an image we took from the internet and copied and pasted it into the background. Next we switched around the layers so that it remained behind everything else such as the photograph and the text.
Initially we opened up a blank canvas in Photoshop and put in a photograph of Chloe we took in a photo studio against a black backdrop. We had difficulty in choosing a photograph as there were a number that we wanted to use but we eventually settled on this one as it covered enough of the screen without having the potential to get in the way of all the titles that were going to be put there, and it also made her look vulnerable and isolated. We didn't bother to change her attire as it wasn't needed and her white outfit meant that she would stand out more against the dark backdrop. We decided on a black background as it made her look more alone and vulnerable. As well as this, darkness is seen as highlighting fear so the audience will perceive it as frightening and isolated.
This print screen shows us starting off our magazine cover. Here you can see we've put in a background that looks like scratched glass or material under the photograph of Chloe. Initially we were toying with the idea of using just a plain background but we decided to stick with the same background as we used in the poster so that the film could be associated with a common theme that people would remember it by. On the left hand side, you can see that we have opened up the type tool which is what we used too insert all the text and here we used the title as a starting point. We had some trouble deciding on fonts, but eventually decided to use the Chiller one for the main title as it helps the audience determine the genre.
