A Critical analysis of the Animatic Process of Defaced Film Trailer

An animatic is defined as a preliminary version of a film, produced by shooting different sections of a storyboard and adding a soundtrack. The process in which you make the animatic is made up of many different aspects of making a film, however an animatic is used to see if the storyboard works and is a series of still shots rather than moving images. However similarly to a movie trailer, the editing software that we used (Windows Movie Maker) is how we created our animatic. 

The process of creating the plot for our trailer was difficult, as we found it challenging to create an original movie idea and to find locations that were within our distance, which could be used. The key components we had to consider when making our trailer were the breaks in the equilibrium, the telling of a story without giving too much away, and portraying the characters and their importance to the plot.

Originally we had created three separate plots, however after many sessions of researching plots of other horror films similar to ours, like “Identity” and “The Ward”, we were able to adapt our plots into one final piece, thus creating “Defaced”. The film “Identity” acted as a stimulus to construct our own adaptation of a psychological horror. The main themes we wanted to portray in our film were the unknown and the fear created from it, multiple personality disorder, the justification of murder (in the sense that the characters want to stay hidden, so this is how they justify it), the necessity of evil in human nature, the inviolability of free will (the link to Mark and his split personalities – if he’s controlling himself or if he is unaware and subconsciously leading his friends to their doom), memory, and violence. 

The title for the film was a difficult creative decision to make as we wanted the title to portray the main themes of the film, yet follow conventions of horror films in the sense that their titles are in some way related to the way in which people die. Films such as “Saw” and “A Nightmare on Elm Street” are a few examples of this. Our title was at first hard to come up with as the names that we had wanted to use such as “Skinned” and “The Unknown” had already been taken by film companies such as Warner Bro’s and Paramount. That is when we decided to create a title that not only emphasises the state of murder but also the idea of vulnerability and great revilement. The idea for this came from African tribal masks, which are said to conceptually make the user lose their human identity and turn them into the creature or person represented by the mask itself. We wanted the title to show this aspect as our plot centres on the themes of creating a new persona and consequently creating a loss of human identity.

To begin the process of the animatic we first had to create a visual storyboard from the plot we created. By drawing still images we were able to produce what we thought would create a non-linear narrative for our trailer in the hopes of getting both a physical reaction such as shock and emotional reaction such as horror and fear from the audience.

During the storyboard process it became clear to us that our plot would be difficult to create a realistic adaptation due to a large amount of actors needed and visual effects such as realistic pyro effects, aging of the skin and professional CJI. However following revisions we had made to the plot by taking out a lot of the actors for the asylum scene, removing the shop and B&B from the trailer completely we drafted our storyboard. We found that the idea of Defaced was now more believable and easier to create. Things such as a cut in characters and a simplification from our original idea of making the plot focus more around the asylum patients characters rather than who they were pretending to a more cut down and easier to follow plot allowed us to finish our storyboard with approximately 74 shots. As well as this we were also able to create a few test shots of makeup and costumes to see if the characters would portray the genre we wanted. The test shots showed that the plot was now something we could work with to create our trailer without the need for a large amount of money, so we began organising filming dates in which we would get certain scenes done.

As part of this process we created a props list, which would help us get a clear idea of what was needed for the scenes. For the film trailer we needed approximately 32 different props; such as fake blood, a strait jacket and knives, which are all key images associated with the horror genre, so by following these conventions we decided to heavily portray them in our trailer. We also needed appropriate locations, which people could associate with the horror genre, so by placing a large portion of the action in a forest and a deserted village people would get this connection. Each location was selected for certain reasons; the forest was used to show the majority of the action as the idea of concealment could be portrayed there through the use of specific lighting and camera placement. In one of our scenes in which Charlotte is being dragged away we are purposefully never shown the face of the attacker, or if she dies or not, to create a code of enigma. The village was used as its abandoned –like state would portray the idea of isolation and help to build suspense. However, the most difficult location to find was the caravan, as the location for the scenes had originally been a basement, however after revisions made to the plot we decided on using the caravan. The caravan was useful in portraying the themes of forgotten memories, isolation and emptiness, as the scene in which it is used in which the two Marks talk to one another is used to create a sense of confusion so that the audience suspects Mark of being the murderer. However, the derelict and wrecked caravan is also used to show a part of Mark, which he had forgotten, which is why the location worked so well. The transitions between the two Marks talking is broken with a negative camera shaking effect to imply that what is going on isn’t real but rather a part of Mark trying to resurface. Our soundtrack also added to the suspense of this scene, as the violin and deep breathing sounds built tension in the scene adding to the confusion.

 For the process of the animatic we had to take still images that followed the action, style and layout of the storyboard to help put the narrative of the trailer together. When doing this we had to take into consideration the lighting of the area and the time of day, as continuity was a key issue faced when taking the photos. We wanted to create a final product that would portray characteristics similar to that of professional trailers. Continuity was an issue during the beginning of filming in relation to costume and lighting, as the scenes we had finished needed to be recreated due to the images not being strong or bright enough and the actors being filmed having different costumes on.

After redoing these shots we were able to finish the scene and edit the images so that the images flowed more realistically.

When deciding on our actors we needed to take into deliberation who was available to be filmed whenever we needed and that they also portrayed the characteristics of the people in our plot. For the trailer we needed three females and two male actors, however we also needed extras in certain scenes, such as the early “escape scene” to help create the break in the equilibrium created by a scene of a large crowd moving in chaos.

When creating the “escape scene” we had a clear idea of what we wanted. Films such as “The Ward” portrayed people trying to escape a mental asylum, which followed the style and mimicked the chaotic disorder of the scene we were trying to make. However, we were faced with some difficulties as the animatic only portrays still images, so trying to create a sense of panic and anarchy was a challenge. In our group we discussed how we could try and make the scene portray this panicked rush of action, so when editing our animatic with windows moviemaker we made the transitions faster to emphasise the break in the equilibrium. We also added a non-diegetic soundtrack bridged with the diegetic sounds of screams, fire, sirens and footsteps. Finding the right location for the scene proved problematic, as the previous scenes of the patients in the mental institution were filmed in Neville Hall Hospital. However, we decided to shoot the scenes in our school corridor, but positioned the camera at a low canted angle so that the scene wouldn’t look like a school corridor but rather a hospital corridor. The positioning of the actors was also key in making this scene more chaotic, as we had decided to use a low angled medium close up of the patients’ legs to conceal the identities of the characters. This was done so that the audience didn’t know who had escaped creating a code of enigma. Props were used a lot during part of the scene as to imitate the fast transitions we needed action, so by placing actors on the floor with blood and lacerations on them it would show the perplexity of the patients and portray them as animalistic as their own need to survive outweighed that of anyone else.

Some shots we were unable to do. For example, we had originally planned on filming the majority of the action in a cornfield as the mise-en-scene is commonly associated with the horror genre, with films such as “Children of the Corn” using them in their film. A cornfield is also effective in portraying the unknown as they are connected with aliens due to their portrayal in movies such as “Signs”. However, due to timing and weather conditions there weren’t any cornfields, as they had been harvested. Instead we had to make revisions to the plot and that is how we came about sing a forest instead of a cornfield. We believe that this decision was useful and in the end benefited our trailer as audience feedback from questionnaires and interviews believed that the forest scene was a key image they remembered because of its lighting and overall look.

For the animatic the length of shots was determined by how much dialogue there was. When taking the photos for the animatic we had to take into consideration the script, as this was a key narrative structure, which we had to follow. So when editing our final piece we had to change certain scenes from 7 to 10 seconds. When filming the actual trailer the process of using dialogue wont be as much of a challenge as we will know the precise time in which the dialogue is spoken. The transitions used between scenes differed depending on the action in the scene. During the middle of the trailer there had to be a build up to the next break in the equilibrium so the cutting rate was slower and transitioning effects limited. Other editing effects we used during the animatic process were negative images during the caravan scene, a sepia effect added to photos during the flashback scene and blacking out during title sequences.

For our soundtrack we had to choose between a list of different titles from “Horror Classic Hits” and “Sounds of Horror”, which use both string instruments and computer emulated sounds to create a soundtrack similar to that in classic horror movies. However the main issue was finding the sound that complimented the scene in a way that didn’t overpower the dialogue and didn’t take the focus away from the action. The soundtrack also had to build suspense to create a shocked and fearful reaction when certain scenes, such as the knife and forest scene. The film “The Ward”, “Identity” and “The Hills Have Eyes” are all films, which build suspense through its soundtrack. “The Ward” uses similar techniques to portray madness and identity to our own trailer, as the main protagonist suffers from multiple personality disorder, yet it is unknown to the audience till the very end of the film. As well as “The Ward”, “Identity” follows a similar plot to this. Both films are effective as they keep the audience guessing and build up suspense through the film. The use of non-diegetic soundtracks in both films are equally important as well, as they mimic the action around them. This idea of mimicking the action is what influenced us to use a slow paced soundtrack in the car scene, as the slow and soft bass notes from the string instruments creates a sense of impending doom.

Our animatic appeals to our target audience as shown from our audience research where we interviewed a group of 6 people roughly around the age of 18 and asked them questions about key images they remembered and what was effective in the trailer. They found that the mixture of male and female characters in our film trailer portrayed different and unique characteristics and relationships, which helped, create a more realistic group of friends, rather than being too generic. This showed that our film trailer would appeal to a larger audience. As well as this the brutality of some of the scenes and the enigma the trailer creates is its unique selling point. However our subtitle of “You’ll Never Want To Leave” confused the audience due to its phrasing. From this we were able to change the subtitle.

Before making our final trailer I would change certain props used in the animatic, such as the makeup used on the patients. Originally I had wanted to use an almost white foundation to make the complexion of the patients more sullen and dead to emphasis their imprisoned mental state. However, due to our budget and lack of resources I couldn’t obtain the makeup needed. As well as this I would have preferred to use liquid latex to create the mask-like effect, but again there were issues with our budget. In relation to our soundtrack, due to the fact that the process was rushed in finding the albums previously stated, I felt that the soundtrack didn’t work as best as it could have. However, now that we are moving onto our actual trailer we have to use a soundtrack, which is copyright free. We have begun planning our new soundtrack in hopes of creating it ourselves using a piano, drums and string instruments, as well as computer-generated sounds.

My role during the process of making the animatic was to direct and work the camera on set, as well as using makeup to create different effects on people. As well as this my role was also to write the script and edit the scenes together using Windows Movie Maker. I excelled at using this software and spent approximately 7 hours editing our shots to create a smooth and professional animatic. As well as this I excelled at writing the script, as being an English A-level student in hopes of going to university to study English literature and drama, I was able to create a script by myself, with screen directions for both the actors and for myself, so that I knew what angle the shot had to be. I personally found the makeup a challenge, as being inexperienced in using it I found that I didn’t know what to do. However, after researching into techniques and watching professional videos of special effects makeup on Youtube, I was able to apply what I had learned. From my experience of creating an animatic I have learned how to use the editing software and bring to screen what I had envisioned for the trailer.