1. Lucy-Anne Richardson
Development Diary – Trailer
I started off my trailer by uploading all the necessary and acceptable
shots onto Final Cut Pro. I went through the process of using the
edit decision list to help me do this. I then uploaded the audio I
wanted to use within the trailer either as background music or
sound effects – however there are sound effects I can use that are
already on Soundtrack Pro, which I can then convert to Final Cut
Pro. I wanted to put in a white screenbehind my production
company logo so that the black would stand out. I also want to add
another company logo such as Lionsgate before the trailer begins as
this keeps to traditional conventions of film trailers; it also
promotes my company by using the logo I created. I did this by going onto the
left hand side screen, going into the options to click controls, which is where I
can enter text and change the background, colours etc. I then split it into two by
using the blade tool and going back into controls to add a different text/logo. I
imported the logos into the left hand side screen and simply dragged them down
into the appropriate point on the sequence.
Before putting the first clip I shot into the sequence, I need to
check which one I want to use as there are some different
takes. I put it into the sequence by dragging it down. I then
watched the clip all the way through again and decided that it
was too long, especially for the first scene. By
using the shortcuts ‘I’ and ‘O’ (in and out), it
was easy to select the section I wanted to cut.
Thus using the blade tool, I then deleted the
appropriate section. I watched it from the
beginning, which showed how quick the black
screen went into the first clip. I used the
selection tool by double clicking in between the
two clips and went to effects, video transitions
which brought me a list of different ways one
clip can go into another, I used the additive
dissolve first to see what it looked like, as well
as using other ones to see which one worked
best. For now I am going to keep with the additive dissolve as it
went to the next clip at the right speed; but it made it look
slower and softer. I also realized as I was watching it back that
I hadn’t inserted the background audio. As I had already
uploaded it into Final Cut Pro, I could drag it down, but
instead of dragging it to where I placed the clips, it goes
into the bottom sequence marked with “A2” “A3” or “A4”
standing for ‘Audio’. The song then ran along until it
finished, without interfering with the video section.
However I didn’t want the music to start straight away (whilst the logos
were being shown) so I used one of the sound effects I had previously
converted from Soundtrack Pro and dragged that before the ‘She’s got
you high’ clip so that a dreary sound would play, mirroring the logos. By using
the shortcut (P) on the keyboard, the pen automatically appears (which you can

2. Lucy-Anne Richardson
also get from the right hand side selection list) and clicked on the line in the
centre of the clip. By doing two clicks, I can drag one down which fades it in and
out. I can use this for audio and video which I will do all the way through as I
don’t always want to use the video and audio transitions.
The first two clips did not need the audio that came with them so I locked the V1
and V2 so that the video wouldn’t delete. However, I have kept in the audio when
the actors are speaking or certain background noises are being shown such as
the creaking going up the stairs. From looking at other trailers, I found that the
audio was not always linked to the video. Such as someone speaking whilst
another action is happening – this could be considered a narration to the
storyline, which I thought was really effective. I had a clip where Amy was
answering her phone call from Megan, which was a main part I wanted to include
so that Megan wouldn’t randomly show up and the audience be confused. I
deleted the video of Amy standing talking on the phone and dragged the audio
underneath the clips of the car driving in and Amy and her mum walking to the
cottage. This not only kept with conventions but also made the
trailer quicker; otherwise it would drag on and become a short
story.
I used the ‘She’s got you high” track at the beginning as the story is
at a balance. Using Todorovs Narrative Structure, the beginning of
the trailer shows equilibrium, which then moves onto a disruption.
This track is happy yet not too over the top and can show a clear
contrast once the darker music comes in. I decided to input the scary
music (again which I got from Soundtrack Pro) once Amy put the
ring on her finger to show the audience that the ring caused the
sudden change and would be the main reason the strange events are happening.
In order for the first track to fade out as the second track is fading in, I again used
the (P) pen tool, rather than one track stopping whist the
other starts.
Another common feature in film trailers, especially
horror and supernatural films, is text in between shots. I
have taken inspiration from The Possession trailer and
Mama, which are both similar in genre and storyline and
used a series of text in between to create suspense and to
tell the audience more information. I have decided to use
the main line that has been included throughout all the
media products such as the poster and magazine front
cover “Sometimes a new beginning, could be your end”. I
used red for the text colour and a black background and
Trajan Pro for the font so it is in keeping with the current
house style I have been using (again on the poster and
magazine) due to its connotations. I did this by going into
the multimedia selection (see picture) and clicking text,
which then brought up the left screen and allowed me to change the text, colour,
font etc. through ‘controls’. Once I had done this, I could drag the box down into
the sequence and then fade it in and out.

3. Lucy-Anne Richardson
Many trailers used text at the end of the trailer with the director or
producers name on it such as “Sam Raimi presents The Possession”.
Instead of having them on separate texts, as it would take too long, I
decided to do three different texts and place them on top of each other (as
I wanted some of the text to be a different size). Making sure they were
the right length of time and faded out in the same way.
I used the ‘title safe’ option which allows me
to follow the lines shown in order to place
the text in the centre and make sure its in the
right place. I also did this for when the logo
was put in place so that it was centre.
Clicking onto the small square above the
main video (final piece) allows you to click
the title safe and other options.
Throughout the entire trailer, I had to make
sure the audio including songs was not above
a certain point on the volume scale (located
to the right of Final Cut Pro) so that it was not
too loud once it was finished. Also I didn’t
want one section to play normally, whilst
another is too loud or too quiet, thus making it look amateur and unprofessional
and making the audience feel uncomfortable. I could do this by hovering over the
line shown on the audio clips and dragging it up or down (also double clicking on
the clip, bringing up the screen above with a level option).
As I was watching through the trailer, the middle section seemed too slow when
the aim was to create suspense so I decided to insert a clip
(which is also shown at the end) of the old newspaper article
of the girls death in the cottage fire. However, I used the
blade tool to cut the clip and used two small sections with a
gap in between (to play above the original clip of the
fireplace. I did not use any fade in or out or any transitions, as
I wanted the clips to create a flashing effect such as a
premonition into the ending of the film without giving too
much away. I like how the same clip is used again nearer the
end of the trailer, as it would entice the audience into seeing the film.
I used some different effects with the colour corrector but decided it made it look
too amateur, as I was happy with the lighting and colours already there. The
main purpose of this trailer was to draw an audience into wanting to see the rest
of the film from just watching the trailer and to create suspense and angst so
video effects such as transitions, as well as different sound effects and transitions
were the main focus as I think they are more effective in this case.

4. Lucy-Anne Richardson
Once all of the editing was completed and I was happy with everything, it was
converted into ‘QuickTime’ so that it can be uploaded and played on YouTube for
example.