2. Hansel and Gretel Our chosen fairy tale The story of Hansel
and Gretel is originally written by a pair of German brothers named
the Brothers Grimm. The story is about a poor family, whose mother
hatches up a plan to abandon her children in the forest, so that
she and her husband will only have to worry about feeding
themselves. The childrens father leads them into the forest and
leaves them there, to fend for themselves. The children wander
around for a while, then stumble across a magical house made of
gingerbread and candies. Little do they know a witch inhabits the
house and plans to lure them in, fatten them up and eat them for
dinner. She ends up fattening up Hansel and keeping Gretel as a
slave, but then, while the witch if checking on the oven, Gretel
pushes her into the oven and kills the witch. They proceed to steal
the witches jewels and are reunited with their father, and live
happily ever after.
3. Initial Research Brainstorming fairy tales Before we came up
with our final idea, we did some brainstorming of different fairy
tales that we could either adapt, or make into an interesting
trailer. Some of these were The Princess and the Pea CinderellaThe
Sorcerers Apprentice The Frog Prince Sleeping Beauty
4. Week 1 My group consists of Ana, Raissa and myself. Weve
decided to make a trailer for a film version of the popular fairy
tale, Hansel and Gretel. We chose this fairy tale because there has
not yet Snow White and the Huntsman film poster been a film
adaptation, unlike Snow White (Snow White and the Huntsman) or
Little Red Riding Hood (Red Riding Hood). I have been assigned the
role of director; with this role, I am in charge of constructing
and directing Red Riding Hood film poster the various scenes that
go into the trailer. Ive also been put in charge of casting as I
can use the acting skills of my drama class to my advantage.
5. Research Task Fairy tales For my research, I decided to
focus mainly on which fairy tales my group and I could either adapt
to form a new version, or which ones we could just modify slightly
to make the story a little darker/ more sinister. We made a list of
about 10 fairy tales that we were considering, and then spoke about
it together and decided which ones were maybe a little more
impractical and which ones we could make really special. As our
chosen genre is thriller, my group decided to analyse 3 different
trailers that relate to our chosen fairy tale. These were: Snow
White and The Huntsman - An example of a classic fairy tale adapted
to fit modern times and conventions Alice and Wonderland - A film
that keeps the fantasy/magical elements of the original story Taken
- Classic thriller Something all these trailers had in common was
their use of slow motion and fast paced scenes; everything has to
be in moderation. Most of them had quite a slow start, and then up
to 20 seconds of fast paced movement, then slowed down for the end
of the trailer. This turns out to be extremely effective as the
slow elements make you want to keep watching to see what happens
next and the fast paced element keeps you on your toes until the
end. I think this is some very important information to take
forward for when we start shooting our trailer. Other creative
elements included the trailers use of music, camera angles, cuts
and narration. These different factors made the trailer definitely
worth watching.
6. Snow White and the Huntsman Trailer AnalysisVisuals Good
amount of darkness/bright colours diversity in colour scheme
Transitions between regular pace and slow motion; adds another
dimension to the trailer Having a straight through cut to some
scenes and a fade in/out for others makes the trailer a lot more
dynamic Text dark background and large letters; very punchy and is
only on the screen for a short amount of time (2 seconds max.) 8
seconds of lots of action, followed by calm moments/moments of
dialogue Powerful cinematography Red flags flowing in the
breeze/the queens face after a kill Short, one second clips make
you want to see more Camera angles birds eye view, close-up,
extreme close up, mid-shotAudio Sound effects help convey the right
mood plenty of non diegetic sound that outweighs the diegetic
sound. This intrigues you whereas too much dialogue bores you.
Voice over very low male voice, makes the audience wonder, who is
he? Exaggerated sounds breathing, a knife being pulled out of a
sheath etc. make the overall effect more dramatic Lots of music
throughout, although moments of silence is very effective as
well.
7. Alice in Wonderland Trailer Analysis Visuals Quite muted
colours in the beginning whites, pale blues and pinks, creams.
Shows how dreary Alices world is before she falls down the rabbit
hole When Alice is falling down the rabbit hole, there is a 3D
element, makes the audience feel as if they are falling down with
her involves the audience The screen abruptly goes dark shocks the
audience Exaggerated sounds a door creaking open, footsteps etc. As
soon as Alice opens the door to wonderland, a kind of victory music
begins to play hints at the audience that this is going to be a
positive experience for Alice Imagery Longshot of the castle bathed
in moonlight from a distance Fade in/out of shots is more effective
that straight cuts (in this example) Camera angles Close up, long
shot, mid-shot, over the shoulder Only one or two action scenes the
others are more dream- like Text Ornate, gold on a background of
distressed red and keyholes 18 seconds of fast paced imagery and
only 2 instances of speech At the end the text In Cinemas 2010, we
see the signature Cheshire Cat
8. Research Task - DirectorI also researched my role as
directorwithin the group. I found out thatalongside directing, I am
in charge ofkeeping the artistic and dramatic visionin control. I
think that I will do well inthis role as I feel directing is
definitelymy strongest aspect, as opposed toediting, or controlling
the camera.Although I can contribute to these Danny Boyleprocesses,
being director I think iswhere I can shine the most.Some famous
directors in the filmworld are:Danny Boyle -Slumdog Millionaire and
Christopher NolanFrankenstein (the play)Christopher Nolan Batman:
The DarkKnight/The Dark Knight RisesChris Columbus Harry Potter and
thePhilosophers Stone/Chamber of Secrets Chris Columbus
