Production: updated equipment

We are going to be using Adobe Premier Pro CC 2015 to edit the second version of our film trailer; we decided to change the editing software second time round as we feel that we should challenge ourselves to learn more, and the best way to develop our skills is to learn something new. Premier Pro also has more complex features, such as colour alteration and stabilising, both of which are things that may be required during the post-production process.

Production: updated communication

We are using the same communication method as we did earlier on in the course, by creation a group iMessage that involves all of the actors and Megan and myself. We felt that this was an effective way to discuss arrangements and plans for the scheduled filming day, as this worked previously, as well as being able to update them on any changes made.We made sure that the groups setting were set on to private to make sure that no one else had access to any of the information that we were posting in the group chat, as this could be dangerous if a lot of people knew where we are and at what times. The Facebook group chat allows the messaging to be instant so if there are any changes or alterations made the members can be easily and quickly reached.

Production: updated lighting

Lighting

The lighting throughout the film trailer will vary as we are shooting in multiple locations both inside and outside. The scenes that we are going to film in Leamington Spa we will hope to have a clear day so that the natural high key lighting portrays positive emotions both in the character and the audience. Bright natural light has connotations of happiness and peacefulness, which is a theme that we want to be present when showing the character moving on from the emotion situation that is shown towards the beginning of the trailer. This high key lighting will continue from the opening scenes which will be shot indoors, in a domestic location where the couple exchange gifts as this is where we are representing the happiness within the relationship - a true convention of the romance genre.

During the scene in the photography dark room, we are going to film under the red lights that are provided for when specially developing traditional photographs. We are doing this so that the audience understand the location of the scene, as it will portray the situation she is in and therefore convey this to the audience; the red lights will also be symbolic as the colour has connotations of danger and blood - this foreshadows the remainder of the narrative of the audience, following Barthes symbolic narrative code.

Production: updated casting consent

Casting consent

In order to gain full permission for our actors to be filmed on camera, we have used a consent form that the actors parents will need to sign. Only Nicole is under 18, so we will reissue a consent for her to fill out, as Lauren is over 18 so does not require parental consent.
The consent form will include the date that we are filming and the locations that we are using so that in case of any emergency, they will be able to locate us. We may also include a phone number so that we are easily accessible incase they need to reach us - we haven't yet decided if we will do this.
If for some reason we cannot gain permission from their parents, we will have to postpone filming until we can find a replacement actor.
We have been provided with a consent form by the school, and as Nicole is a student at the same school as Megan and I, we will use this to meet the rules of the school; this is because we will be editing the content in school and so will need permission to do this while on the premises.

Production: updated location

Chosen locations 

The locations that we have chosen to film in for the updated narrative are ones that we have thought through a little more than last time, allowing us to create the desired effect during the trailer. The first location is Jephson Gardens in Leamington Spa, which is a public gardens featuring a cafe, lake and grassland areas. We researched similar places local to us, and we chose this one because we felt that it had a wide range of places for us to shoot, as well as the fact that we would be able to go into Leamington Spa town centre to continue shooting on the same day. The proximity of the gardens to the town centre is very close so we should be able to shoot different scenes on the same day. We haven't been able to take test shots as it is quite along way just to take some pictures, but these are from the day we went to film.
 The second location that we are going to film in is the same house as in the first trailer. This is because we will have easy access to it  as we already have permission to use it. It also helps to represent a stereotypical domestic situation, which is what we will need in the first section of the trailer before the disruption.
A third location that we plan on using is the dark room that is located in our school for photography students to use when developing photos. This is an important location as the low key lighting will foreshadow a negative situation that will follow; it is where the female will see the suspicious figure in her photos. The dark room will also relate running theme of photography and help show her keen interest.

Production: updated props

Props

For props in the new narrative, one that will be predominant in the trailer is a camera; this will be given to her at the beginning of the trailer and feature often throughout. As neither Megan or I had a professional looking camera, we contacted the photography department in our school to ask if they had any unused, or broken cameras that we would be able to use. We were given a Nikon photography camera that no longer works, but that looks professional and legitimate.

We have organised for our actress to bring multiple changes of tops so that when we visit Leamington Spa we can record scenes to make it seem like she is taking pictures on different days. This will help to show her progression of happiness over time and will show the development of her character over a prolonged time period. Doing this will enable to audience to get to know the female character and build a relationship with her.

We will be filming in the photography dark room in our school to show the female developing the pictures she has taken, so we will be using the equipment located in the photography department to reflect the tasks that she is carrying out. The props that we will need to do this will include; plastic trays that the photographs will be moved to and from, tongs to move the 'developing' pictures from the different trays containing multiple 'chemicals' (we will be using water as a substitute to the real chemicals), a drying rack or line, which is where will film the female noticing something untoward in the pictures she has taken.

Production: updated target audience

Target audience 

Despite the fact that we are moving away from the topic of domestic abuse, we are going to continue to use the same target audience as the failed narrative. Having carried out a number of film analysis on romance trailers, I found that they stereotypically are all aimed at a similar target audience of women aged 15-30. this could be due to the fact that the romance films contain sensitive and emotional topics such as love, heartbreak and loss; conventionally these are topics that women can relate to, and so will appeal more to them as a target audience. Very rarely are romance films targeted towards males, as stereotypically they aren't interested in the emotional aspects of the films. However because we are subverting and aren't following the conventional romance narrative, we feel that it would be appropriate to include males in our target audience; therefore we have decided to aim our film at males and females aged 15-30. This narrative focuses on a less sensitive topic than abuse, nut still involves the concept of death, and the scene that shows the female being killed will be distressing, hence the minimum age of 15.

Production: updated storyboards

Production: updated casting

For the updated film trailer, we are going to continue to use Nicole as the protagonist as the acting that we were able to effectively capture was of good quality and we feel that with a more capable supporting actor the new role we are going to cast would work well for her. As we are representing a homosexual relationship, we felt that it was important the the two actresses felt comfortable in each other's company - particularly as they will be showing affectionate feelings towards each other.
The age of the actors ideally needs to be young adults, however as neither Megan or I know anyone that would be able to help, we have made the decision to cast a second actress who is around 17/18 years old. This is to match the age of Nicole. We also wanted to cast the actors knowing that they have previous acting background so that we can portray the trailer in as real a situation as possible, with the skill of the actors helping us achieve this.


For the female actor, we have used Nicole, a GCSE and A level drama student, who achieved grade A's for both levels of education.  Nicole and Lauren are close friends, and have known each other for years, which makes the nature of the relationship we want them to portray much easier if they know each other well. She is a very passionate drama student, and often takes part in a number of extra curricular drama workshops, and was part of this years school production. Due to her avid interest in drama, we feel that this will be represented in her portrayal of a character that will experience many emotions throughout the duration of the film trailer.



For the antagonist, we have decided to cast Lauren, who featured in the film opening last year. She is currently in her final year at college studying musical theatre is working at a very high grade; she also achieved an A* in GCSE drama, which ensures that she has a strong acting skill set to be part of our film trailer. She will have to be able to display multiple character types, as we are representing positivity in the relationship at the beginning of the trailer, followed by her being killed; this will require acting that portrays this scene to be as realistic as possible. Her dedication to acting is important for us as it ensures that she is going to be reliable and professional in filming.

Production: new narrative idea

Having decided that we weren't going to continue with our original narrative idea for the reasons explained in the previous blog post, we have been brainstorming new ideas that loosely follow the theme of a dark romance. Have seen our actors in action in the shoot for the previous trailer, we have decided to cast the female actress again; this is because she continues to study A level drama, meaning that she has experience with acting. Unlike the last attempt of the trailer filming, we are going to ensure that the new trailer follows the conventions of most film trailers, and not take such a linear narrative; this was one of the mistakes that we made.

For the new narrative idea, the main characters will be a female, who is a successful businesswoman, and a second female, who has a keen interest in photography; they are a couple and have been together for a while. The equilibrium will begin with the couple together at home before the male leaves for work. While they are at home, the businesswoman is going to give the other female a camera as a present to show the love she has for her - this will be the section of the trailer that displays the pure romantic elements to the film. Following this, the disruption will occur; this will take the form of the businesswoman dying while on her way to work. The trailer will then use a montage to show that time has moved forward several years, where the female is still struggling to cope with the death of her partner. This will be solved when the female has a conversation with her friend, who suggests that she should use photography as a way of dealing with the loss; she begins to use the camera again, taking pictures to help her heal. A montage will be used again where we see her taking pictures over a period of time to see her improving her life. The trailer will then move onto her developing the photographs in a photograph dark room, with the darkness foreshadowing a future negative element to the film. When developing she notices that there is a figure in all of the pictures that looks very familiar; she tries to ignore this and prepares for a gallery opening of these pictures. On the day of the opening, the female is looking at the blown-up pictures, when she realises that the figure in in all of her image looks very similar to her partner. The trailer will finish with the woman standing behind her while she comes to this realisation, leaving it ambiguous to the audience as to whether this woman is her partner or not.