Once we had researched the different sounds that we wanted to use, we then had the difficult task of positioning the sound clips in the desired place. We had chosen to use mostly non-diegetic sounds, including heart beats and a tense, fast-paced backing track to emphasise the torture scenes implemented. In addition to this, the end checkout scene also features diegetic dialogue whereby the victim (as the employee) announces the price of the items purchased. Attached below shows the process carried out in order to efficiently place the sound files.
The Heartbeats:
As mentioned, we had researched the sound that we wanted to include prior to editing and thus, we were able to import the sound clips straight onto Final Cut.
This screenshot shows the 'Heartbeats' sound file once imported into Final Cut. As the image shows, there were numerous beats included as around 3 minutes worth of sound was downloaded; this then meant that we had to cut the clip down to the number desired using the Blade tool.
We had managed to shorten the clips to 4 beats in order to line up with the footage already shot. It was extremely tricky to line the starting beat of each heartbeat with the cut of the flashbacks as Final Cut would only allow default movement for the clip, meaning we could not get the sound and footage to play simultaneously. To fix this, we had to zoom the editing pane is substantially in order to allow for more movement of the sound clip.
In addition to the heartbeats, we also decided to add a heart beat monitor flat line sound to be layered over a black screen. The sound was extended quite dramatically in order to build the suspense and create enigma for the audience. This clip was easier to line up as the sound itself was continuous and not broken up.
Glitch Sound Effect:
In order to coincide with the modern concept of our narrative, we decided to add in a glitching effect throughout the trailer, including during the checkout scene, which was achieved using cuts and blading. To emphasise this, we imported an 'interference' sound which resembled a 'buzz' and layered this over the Security transitions we had added previously. We then copied the footage once cut to the correct length and placed them over the other two glitching intervals added.
This image above shows the footage zoomed in to allow a clearer view of the interference sound; they are the 3 smaller chunks of sound.
Tense and Fast-Paced Backing Track:
The non-diegetic backing track used in any film or trailer is key in creating the atmosphere for the audience watching it; for this reason, one of the most challenging aspects of creating this trailer was finding the best sound for the montage of torture clips.
In order to achieve the sound that we wanted, we decided to layer various different sound tracks together. Firstly, we added a sound clip called 'Epic Music' which was very upbeat with obvious loud 'Booms' throughout and coincide with the genre. Additionally, the positioning of the said 'Booms' played simultaneously to the black intervals between each torture clip; this creates tension for the audience as they are on edge whilst watching the torture yet also made to jump by the continuous loud bangs.
For the majority of the trailer, we chose an eerie slow and quiet backing track to be played in the background of all the additional sound clips. This meant that during the more calmer points of the trailer, a soundtrack which conformed to common conventions of Slasher horrors maintained the atmosphere for the audience.
There is also a torture clip which features the killer breaking the victim's finger; for this clip, we layered the diegetic sound of bones breaking to increase the tension for the audience and adhere to the slasher aspect. The Screenshot above shows the final view in Final Cut of all the sound layered in the trailer.
Diegetic Dialogue:
Under the 'Window' drop down menu in Final Cut Pro, there is an option to 'Record Voiceover', which we selected to record the diegetic dialogue of the victim announcing the price in the hardware store. By selecting this, it brought up a 'Record' option.
Using headphones which we plugged into the Mac, we were able to use the attached microphone to record the sound. The attached image shows the pop-up with the recording settings and options we used to control the sound recording.
This shows the final sound recording once recorded and imported in time with the footage in Final Cut.
Evaluation:
As mentioned, sound is one of the most important aspects of any film, both diegetic and non-diegetic, for creating the atmosphere, particularly in a horror film. I feel that as a group we managed to execute the task of adding sound rather effectively despite the challenges that we faced. I also believe that individually, we showed a variety of different skills due to the various different software used to produce or import the desired sound. Overall, I feel that this was a very successful task which we executed well to produce a professional and creative teaser trailer for our chosen genre.
In order for our group to create a successful trailer which attracted the desired target market as well as follow common conventions, we decided to carry out a focus group session with volunteers from our target market; this was to allow us to identify strengths and possible improvements for out trailer. Vast amounts of feedback was attained, which was then analysed and acted upon in our trailer, which is detailed below.
Audience Feedback:
1. Blink Effect:
One of the improvements suggested by volunteers was during the eye-opening scene whereby a point of view long shot of the victim looking at the killer is used, however, the eyes close first and open later. This was not ideal and thus, I improved upon this in editing.
Firstly, I deleted some of the footage initially used of the killer setting up the camera to reduce the number of transitions in use and thus, reduce the total time the teaser trailer ran on for as we were slightly over the allocated 60 seconds.
As explained in a previous post in terms of how to create this effect, I added another 'Centre' transition, but this time set the start as 'Open'; as a result of this change, I then had to go through again and change the remaining transitions to the corresponding 'open' or 'close' setting. The two screenshots above show this process, whereby I cut the clip and then inserted the transition.
These next two screenshots show a repeat of the process explained above, detailing how I added another transition and removed extra footage no longer required later in the trailer.
2. Scene Re-Shoot: Another suggestion was re-shooting the scene towards the end of the trailer in which the victim is seen in a dark hallway whereby the killer pulls her back into the darkness. The focus group concluded that the hands used in this shot were too delicate for the context of the scene and thus, a re-shoot would be best.
Our group arranged to meet in the Dark room once again, this time bringing in a substitute male actor to stand in as the killer. Using the cameras, we then re-shot this scene and imported the new footage into Final Cut.
This screenshot from our trailer shows the new footage of the victim being pulled into the darkness by the killer.
3. Conventional Scream: Moreover, many Slasher horror films and trailers feature the stereotypical victim scream, which we had not incorporated into our trailer. This was another suggesting from the focus group, to include a girl screaming at some point during the trailer. After further discussion with my group, we decided to include the sound just after the scene in which the victim is pulled back into the darkness.
Initially, we attempted to record our own scream sound using Audacity, however, once we had imported this into Final Cut, there was a lot of background interference and the scream did not sound authentic. For this reason, we later downloaded a royalty free scream sound effect from YouTube which best suited the context of the scene. I then edited the sound slightly, making it of a more appropriate length, and placed the sound in the correct location. 4. Building Suspense: Finally, in the first third of the trailer, there is a clip in which a point of view shot of the victim opening her eyes to see the killer's eyes appear in her face, inserted to create a jump scare for the audience. Audience feedback for this scene was that the music at this point did not build up suspense for the jump scare and thus, the clip was ineffective.
This screenshot shows the layout of the clips and sound in Editor view of Final Cut before the addition of the tense sound effect.
After extensive research on YouTube, I eventually found a suitable sound effect which built up the suspense for the audience but getting louder and faster only to suddenly stop, in which point I placed another 'Boom' sound effect. Once the trailer was then reviewed, the improvements built more suspense and created an effective jump scare for the audience.
Evaluation:
From the feedback gathered, I feel that an audience focus group proved hugely beneficial in terms of allowing us as a group to further develop our trailer to better suit the target market and genre. Although the suggested improvements were basic, the adjustments when reviewed after made the trailer much more effective and successful. Meeting with volunteers of the target market also meant that the topics of discussion and suggested improvements were focused on our chosen genre rather than generic. As a result, I feel that the trailer is now much more professional looking and a successful Slasher horror trailer.
As one of my previous tasks detailed, I created my own production company sequence for our own company, which we named 'KAB Media'. The next instalment of the task involved me implementing the sequence into our teaser trailer alongside the existing production company sequence: 'Twisted Pictures'; the screenshots below explain this process.
Implementing the Sequence:
Firstly, I imported the clip of the production sequence from previous projects in Final Cut; these can be found in the top left hand corner of the software. The screenshot above also shows the addition of a 'Fade to Colour' transition between the sequence and the corresponding trailer footage. I included this so that the sequence faded out rather than just cut in order to allow a more professional look.
In a previous post, I detailed evidence of importing additional sound to build suspense, however, once the production company sequence was then added, the sound was not in the correct place. For this reason, I moved the sound clip to a little later so that the climatic 'Boom' effect played at the point in which the victim is seen opening her eyes to see an extreme close-up of the killer's eyes. In correspondence to this, I then adjusted the other sound clips previously imported to allow for a smoother transition of the trailer.
For the existing production company sequence, we had incorporated the YouTube logo using a glitch effect we created using various cuts and transitions; to continue this theme, I then incorporated the logo into my own sequence also. To do this, I simply cut the footage in the areas of the clip whereby I wanted the logo to appear. By deleting the small fragment of footage between these two points, I was then able to import the YouTube logo and, using the 'Security' transition, was able to create the glitch effect. Additionally, an interference sound was used for the existing sequence which I then copied onto my own production company sequence to achieve the same effect.
This image shows the final layout in the edit screen of Final Cut in terms of the positioning of the production company sequence and sound effects.
Evaluation:
Overall, the implement of the production company sequence made previously was very successful, with smooth transitions between the various clips and sounds to serve as a professional looking trailer. Although this clip then made the trailer longer, I was able to extend the sound clips, due to each clip being of a sufficient duration, in order to avoid obvious interruption in the trailer, which would have created a more amateur look.
The placement of each of the clips was important to make sure the storyline was roughly in chronological order. The clips were arranged in the same order as our storyboard so we had a guide of where wanted each of the clips to be placed. We added in some titles which were not listed on our story board but we where able to do this after all the other clips had been put in the correct place.
All of the clips also had to be in the correct place in terms of timing with the music and sounds. The sounds we added in included a heart rate monitoring machine where we had to match up images with each beep which only lasted for a few seconds. The first beep was merged with the sound of a barcode scanner. There was a long beep at the end of the short beeps to symbolise that someone had died this was spliced in individually as we only wanted three beeps then the long bleep. We then had to line up each of the short bleeps with an image and the long bleep was left as a black screen.
Longer pieces of music where easier to fit in with the clips as they lasted for several clips instead of a few seconds. We also had to record a separate sound clip of Kelsey talking due to too much noise in the actual clip. We then had to over lay the sound clip with the film clip to make sure the sound lined up with when Kelsey was talking on the screen.
We positioned the production company partway through the trailer as during our deconstructions we found other slasher horror trailers e.g. Saw which also did this and we also thought that it looked the best there.
For timings we tried to stick with the timings on the storyboard as we knew that this would make our trailer within the time limit we were given. Overall, our trailer lasted 1 minute and 7 seconds which was within the given criteria of around 1 minute. Filming extra scenes meant that if one lasted too long we were able to replace it with a shorter clip such as when we filmed blood dripping onto the floor it was too long so we replaced it with a scene of teeth being pulled by pliers.
For this editing task, I incorporated a variety of black screens into the montage of torture scenes to conform to common conventions as investigated in a previous post. As mentioned before, black screens are an easy and successful way of building tension yet creating enigma within a trailer.
The Task:
In Final Cut Pro, I added all of the required clips which would combine to create the montage of torture scenes; initially, this meant that all clips were placed directly next to each other, as the left hand side of the screenshot below indicates. To add the black spaces, I inserted unwanted footage between each clip and then deleted it; this may seem like a lengthy process but was actually quite a simple task to execute. By deleting the clip, the black spaces shown in the right hand side of each clip appeared; the reason behind these spaces appearing is to keep the video at the same length despite footage having been removed.
The screenshot attached below shows the torture montage with all of the black spaces included. When the sequence is played through, there would be a series of short torture clips which transpire into alternating black screens. As mentioned previously, these are common conventions of horror films as they help to build suspense, which is essential for any film trailer.
I then added transitions to the beginning and end of each black screen in order to make the continuity and sequence run more smoothly. Using the transition panel located on the right hand side of the software (see below), I selected the most suitable transition to coincide with the narrative of the trailer and also any possible music; for this reason, I selected the 'Fade' transition. By simply dragging the transition onto the desired clip, I could then edit the length using the Precision Editor to ensure that the sequence ran as desired.
Once the sound was added (see screenshot below), the whole sequence was extremely effective in building suspense and adhering to common conventions of horror trailers. As the image depicts, a series of loud non-diegetic 'booms' were added during each interval of black to startle the audience and build the tension throughout.
Evaluation:
The overall look of this montage with the black screens was hugely effective and successful in creating suspense and enigma for the audience; in my opinion, it is one of the more effective features of the trailer. I believe that this particular example of editing shows our group's and my skill set and development in understanding technology and different software. Additionally, considering how suited this feature is to horror trailers, I also believe that it emphasises our time and effort into researching common conventions of horror trailers. Despite being a basic editing technique, the final result was hugely effective.
Suspense and tension is one of the most desired emotions to be created when audiences watch a film of the horror genre. The aim of such films is to scare or excite the viewer, which can be achieved by having an unexpected event in the trailer and making the audience jump; this is where the black screens (or blank spaces) come into play.
Using Black Screens (Spaces):
For example, in a trailer there may be a scene of calm, adhering to Todorov's theory of equilibrium, which fades into a dark screen and then immediately following would be a brusk chaotic scene, potentially of the killer attacking the victim, along with a faster paced parallel soundtrack in order to frighten the audience. This is a highly effective method of keeping the audience intrigued and wanting to watch the film as they would want to know what happens to the victim in the end and also, in many cases, the adrenaline caused by the fright entices the audience further into watching the film or trailer. Alternatively, there maybe a chaotic event, such as an attack, which then cuts to a black screen and returns to a state of calm, also adhering to Todorov's theory; take Scream 4 (2011), for example:
Time line of Black Screens in Scream 4 Trailer (2011)
In Scream 4, near the end of the trailer, there is a montage of 'scary' scenes from the film which, finishing with a final low angled shot of the killer attacking a girl (the climax) and then the screen cuts to black. This scene then fades into a calm scene of the two girls pictured above; this method of editing also conforms to Todorov's theory of equilibrium and creates a lot of tension and suspense for the audience, making it a successful trailer.
Scream 4 Trailer (2011)
Alternatively, they can be used to create the illusion that time has passed. This is used in horror trailers by showing a montage of scary scenes to the audience, separated by these black screens in order to build the tension and create enigma, thus making them want to watch the film. A successful example of this is the Sinister 3 Trailer (2015):
Time line of Black Screens in Sinister Trailer (2015) Time: 2:07 - 2:14
As the image attached above details, there is a period in the Sinister trailer whereby there is a montage of different scary clips from the movie separated by a black screen, each one becoming more frightening than the last in order to increase the tension. The quick cuts used in editing makes the audience feel on edge and a little disorientated as they do not know what to expect, creating a tense filled atmosphere and setting the scene; it is a successful example of black screen usage for this reason.
Sinister 2 Trailer (2015)
Evaluation:
Using black screens to separate different mini clips from a movie in a trailer is a very quick yet successful way of building suspense and enigma for an upcoming movie. They are also common conventions of the horror genre and thus, would be an effective technique to use in our own trailer.
One of the clips was filmed sideways therefore I had to rotate it to make sure the clip could be seen clearly. Initially the clip lasted quite a long time because we wanted to make sure we could see the blood dripping from her hands onto the floor. I then decided to cut it so that only one drop of blood could be seen hitting the floor. We thought that only showing one drop meant that it fitted in with the other clips which were fast pace.
In addition to rotating and shortening the clip I also thought that it would look better if we zoomed into the ground so that the blood could be seen splattering out instead of seeing the bottom of the chair legs and the blood dripping from a distance.
The next clip I edited was one of the actress being tortured. Therefore, to link it in with the theme of her being filmed for a YouTube video I decided to add a filter which made it seem as if though the audience were watching the camera screen that was being used to film her making it seem as if though they are there. The filter added a border with a record sign in the left hand corner and a battery sign in the right hand corner. The clip had to be shortened to also make sure that it fitted in with the fast pace of the rest of the trailer and to make sure the right moment was captured and in case we see Kelsey laughing at the end of the clip.
Then I added a pixelated effect to the same clip as not all video cameras have great quality and it made it seem more realistic.
Next there was a close up clip of fingers being bent by some pliers. I edited this clip in a similar way to the previous clip by adding a video camera filter and making it look pixelated. However, the pixelated effect made the clip seem really blurry and the fingers being bent could not be seen clearly so I decided to remove this effect from this particular clip.
Evaluation
Overall, I liked how these clips turned out. The editing and filters meant that they fitted in with our idea of a video being filmed for YouTube and the clips also fitted in with our genre of slasher horror by being fast pace with elements of gore. In the future I would like to try some reverse editing of the blood dripping onto the floor this would add some emphasis on the gore.
When implimenting the production company we chose to use Twisted Pictures as it a well known American independent company that mainly creates films within the horror genre such as the Saw franchise. As Saw was want initially inspired us with our own teaser trailer we chose to use the same production company.
I had to find a link from Youtube that would be available for us to use in our own work I had to complete a full download that included both the visual effects and the sound. We learned that many websites only allow the user to extrac the sound from the video and we had to complete some reaserch in to finding a download software to help us. We found that the website clip converter was usefully and allowed us the ability to use the entire video.
Once downloaded I had to find the Youtube logo in which I was going to use to create the giltch effect to introduce the production company and the idea of social media being used in the film. Our first decision was to understand whether we needed just the logo itself or the entire name of the site 'YouTube'. We chose to use the entire name, although the logo is very well known, we still wanted to ensure that a wide variety of audience would understand what we are trying to convey, this including older people who may not be familiar with the site.
Finally we also came across the issue of making the black in the images match to fuse the two images together and create a seamless effect. I had to take the logo in to photoshop as the black around the image was lighter in comparison to the video of the producion company video. I outlined the are I wanted to change using the select wand tool as it only selects the areas of the same colour. I then used the paint tool increasing the brush size and ensuring that the entirety of the background was darkend. When I was done I saved the image as a JPeg, as this is the easiers software to use, and transfered it on to Final Cut Pro.
I then had to select certain areas that I wanted to remove from the production company video to make room to impliment the image. When doing so I did not want to use a patteren so I chose at random where to place the effect. I then used the blade tool to remove the sections and shorten the length of the image to a minimum as I wanted it to appear as a glitch.
I then placed a glitch effect found in the effects area of Final Cut Pro and procceded to place over the top of the Youtube images. This became tricky due to the images being so small and therefore I needed to use the prossision cut editing to make the proccess easier.
Finally I placed over the top of the footage the sound of a light buzz/ glitch sound and reduced the volume slightly to make the effect believable.
For this blog post, I deconstructed the editing for a scene in the 3rd instalment of the Hostel films, a 2011 Slasher horror. According to the official IMDb site, the synopsis for Hostel 3 is as follows: 'while attending a bachelor party in Las Vegas, four friends are enticed by two sexy escorts to join them at a private party way off Strip. Once there, they are horrified to find themselves the subjects of a perverse game of torture, where members of the Elite Hunting Club are hosting the most sadistic show in town'.
The Scene (YouTube):
Editing Deconstruction:
This screenshot attached below shows a Point-of-View shot from the victim's perspective behind a mask template. During this clip, hand held camera work is used to create the illusion that the victim is moving his head aggressively in fear and trying to escape. We can also see a partial of the torturer's face in one of the eye holes in the mask; this is to emphasise the sadistic look on his face which the victim would be seeing, unsettling the audience and creating tension.
The scene then cuts to an over-the-shoulder shot of the villain drawing a template on the victim's face, as pictured below. The cut between the hand-held camera work to the steady over-the-shoulder view emphasises the contrast between the scared and confused victim to the villain's perspective, whereby he is calm, almost creating a sinister atmosphere.
The shot below also shows an over-the-shoulder shot, this time defining the victim's fearful face, causing the audience to sit on edge, apprehensive for the victim as to what is about to unfold.
In the image below, we can see the victim being tormented by a large power drill. In terms of editing for this clip, the diegetic sound of the drill is enhanced greatly, along with cries of protest from the victim, in attempt to unsettle the audience. In addition to this, no non-diegetic music is used in order to emphasise the sounds of the victim screaming which can be more unsettling for the audience and build more tension than screams played along with a soundtrack, despite being eerie.
Another effective use of camera work used is the tracking and pan shots used when focusing on the weapons; in this example, surgical tools. This first screenshot shows the camera panning across the screen to show the vast array of different surgical tools the villain has; this builds the tension and creates a sense of dramatic irony as the audience is able to guess the gory procedure about to occur.
The screenshot below then shows an example of tracking, whereby the camera tracks the surgical scalpel as the villain picks it up. This is to emphasise the focus on the weapon in order to build the suspense for the audience just as it is clear that the torture is about to begin, creating a sense of foreboding.
This clip below then immediately follows the clip explored previously in the form of match-on-action of the villain about to torture his victim. Match-on-action is an effective method of editing in order to further build the tension and set the atmosphere right before the big torture scene as it allows us to follow the villains slow, torturous build up to hurting the victim. The scene cuts from an extreme close-up of the weapon to a point-of-view shot from the victim to suggest the point of realisation of the victim, building the tension. Additionally, this creates a sense of realism for the audiences as they are seeing the event unfold from the same position as the victim, making them almost feel targeted.
There are also cuts between the torture scene and to a room behind a glass screen showing the Elite club's members watching. Using mid-shots and close-ups for these cuts, the audience is able to see the reaction shots of the onlookers, which are, as shown, suggesting enjoyment; this indicates how isolated and trapped the victim is, building the tension further as the audience knows no one will help him and so the outcome is likely to be gruesome.
Finally, after the match-on-action sequence explored earlier, a series of extreme close-ups are used to shows the villain cutting the face of the victim, along with blood and the ripping of the skin as he removes his face. Parallel to this, the enhanced diegetic sounds of the villain screaming greatly unsettles the audience, creating a tense atmosphere due to the vast volumes of gore involved. The fact that we can still see the victim's facial movement and eyes makes the scene seem so realistic, which is again unsettling.
Evaluation:
The effective editing examples used allowed for a greatly unsettling scene of torture for the audience, which creates a lot of suspense and tension when the audience watches it. The variety of different camera shots is also very successful as the audience is able to see the torture from every angle, further setting the atmosphere and scene. Since this example explored is of the same genre, I could gain inspiration in terms of camera shots and sounds to be potentially used in our own trailer.
