Final poster

I am very pleased with my poster as it is exactly how I planned it. My characters are in the same clothes and in the same locations as they are in the soap trailer making it add the advertisement for the approaching episode. The name of the magazine is eye catching and effective and there is no other information on the poster like the posters I have researched.

Making the poster

After opening my chosen photo into Adobe Photoshop I made the brightness and contrast higher to create more effect.














I then made the vibrance higher to define the colours and make it appear more effective and eye catching to the audience.

I inserted a cooling filter to make the poster looking slightly more creepy, cold and a bit darker seeing as there is a murder in the soap.

I used the cropping tool on photoshop to cut the excess background off my picture as it was too distracting and made the poster portrait

I then inserted the name of the soap 'DA1' into the poster. At first I made it red as I wanted it to be bright and bold but decided it was too bright and distracting from the picture so made it yellow. It is still bold and bright but I believe it looks better and still leaves the photo of Ellie and Sarah as the main focus.

I wanted a dark outline around the letters 'DA1' to make them stand out more and look more appealing. To do this I selected the letters and then changed the layer style.







From this I could select what colour I wanted a chose a dark grey as I thought it looked effective and complimentary against the yellow.

I thought it would be a good idea to include when DA1 is on so put in bold letters at the top of the page 'Every week day 8pm Soap TV'.

Photos for the Poster

At first I thought this would be an ideal photo for the poster but then I realised that Sarah's hands are blurry which would ruin the appearance of the poster.

I like the way they are standing next to each other and their serious expressions. The background is also effective as it is the location in which the soap is set for the episode.

I think it is effective how Ellie and Sarah are wearing the same clothes they are wearing in the trailer.

After looking at all the photos, I have decided that I will use this photo for my poster. I like the serious expressions they both have without looking moody and the way in which they are both standing is natural and relaxed. (In the other photos I think Sarah looks quite stiff and uncomfortable). I also like the way in which their bodies are turned towards each other.

I think this is a good photo, however, I think they are both standing too far apart. The sunlight has also made their faces look quite bright.

This photo wouldn't work as they are standing too far apart. Sarah looks quite uncomfortable.

This photo looks good but I would prefer the them to be standing closer.

I have decided to use the second photo down for my poster.

Plans for my Poster

When making my poster I plan to use a photo of my characters to fill the page and overlap it with the name of the soap so that it is clear to the audience what the poster is advertising. I will have my characters posing in the woods, the location in which I am filming my soap. I intend to have my poster landscape and will position my characters so they are all looking at the camera with a serious expression but are turned towards each other. I will have the woods in the background looking dark and somewhat creepy with the images of the characters looking bright infront of it.

Poster- Research

To decide how to lay out my poster for the soap, I researched different television posters as I could not find posters on Soap Operas.

I like this picture of the 'Scrubs' characters as it includes all the main characters smiling for the camera. The title is bold and eye catching and there is no distracting text. The cast is wearing hospital clothing to keep in character and are standing infront of x-rays to show they are working in a hospital so people who may not have seen the show know that it is about the lives of doctors and nurses. This makes it look natural and related to the show 'Scrubs'. It would not look as effective if they were dressed in their own clothes. This is also important as anyone looking at the poster may not realise that the people shown on it are from 'Scrubs'. Despite the bold title it is essential they continue to keep in character so the poster can be easily identified.




I also like the idea of choosing two characters like in this poster with a background of the location in which the episode is set in. I think it is a good idea telling the reader when this programme is on. Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchy are wearing provocative outfits to demonstrate they are fun city girls being transferred into a life of hard work and labour which they are not used to. The idea of the clothing in this poster is to demonstrate that they are out of place in this location.








I also like this poster as it features all the characters and I also like the way they are all wearing the same colours and the background is plain and not distracting. The name of the drama is bold and stands out being the focus point of the poster. The cast do not usually wear clothes as severe and dark as this which means that they must be trying to show the darkness of the drama 'Torchwood' through the poster. Their make up has been done so that they all look incredibly pale. This could be to show how they are different from other people in the drama; to show their uniqueness.

Poster for the Soap- Font Ideas

I have settled on the name 'DA1' for the name of my soap. I thought this was a good name as it is then clear that it is located in Dartford. All soaps have name to do with their location. 'Eastenders' because they come from East London, 'Coronation Street' because thats the street in which the soap is located and 'Hollyoaks' for the same reason.





After I had settled on this name I researched and collected a range of different fonts. From this I can see which fonts look best for the soap and can check it looks good with the soap name. I chose 36 different fonts which I thought could be appropriate. From this I chose my five favourites and narrowed it down to the one I decided looked best.

I settled on the font 'Franchise' which i discovered on http://www.dafont.com/

I chose this font as it bold and professional.

I want a bright, bold title on the poster so have decided to have 'DA1' in either a bright red or yellow. I will decide which looks better when I have made it.

Music and Sound

I wanted instrumental music over my trailer and searched youtube to find an appropriate piece. I finally settled on the instrumental of Lil Wayne called 'Hot'. I thought this suited my video very well as it was repetitive and upbeat and enhances the trailer rather than over shadows it and I believe adds to the tension.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=taYks0oJlSg


I wanted the car doors to slam as I thought it was effective. Sarah's door slammed really well but Ellie's didnt't so I copied the sound from Sarah's door onto Ellie's door. I thought this had a big impact as it was the only sound over the music.

Another effective sound was the sound of the hammer on the peg. I changed the volume to make it louder in order to create more of an impact. The sound of the hammering is almost a preview of the murder that is about to happen.

I have emphasied the rustling of the leaves as the attacker walks past the tent to make it look ans sound more sinister as noone knows he is there. It also makes the audience think that something bad is going to happen.

I thought it would be effective to include a scream into my video but not show what has happened to intrigue the audience. Sarah's scream was quite feeble and pathetic so I recorded myself screaming instead.

I recorded my mum as the voiceover at the end as I thought she had a good secretarial voice for it. I showed her different soap trailers with voiceovers at the end to show her how I wanted her to say it and wrote it down for her. "Is it too late for Sarah? DA1 all next week on SoapTV". I thought this was very effective and sounded just like the voiceovers on professional soap trailers.

Health and Safety Risk assessment

To ensure the filming is as safe as possible I have taken a health and safety risk assessment. As I am filming in the woods in the dark I have taken a few precautions.

1) Being an 18 year old girl with expensive camera equipment I have decided to bring someone with me each time and have done it early in the evening at 4-5pm so not to be out too late

2) In addition to this I have to be very careful because there is a river right next to my location so my characters and I will have to be careful not to get too close as it could be dangerous if someone fell into it in the dark.

Location Shots

This is where I will film Sarah walking towards me. I chose this angle because it looks very wood like and quite a sinister looking location in the dark. There is also lots of space to put a tent up and I can easily position myself to capture her from different angles. It is very convenient for me to get to as it is just behind my house so getting to the location to film will not be an issue for me.

This is the same part but from a different angle. However I believe seeing the grass and football posts ruins this view so I will film from the angle above.

This is where I will film Sarah walking away from me. I can film Sarah walking quite far away making it look as if she is disppearing into the woods. I like this view as it looks quite scary to film a young girl alone in the woods and there is a lot of space.

This is the same camera angle but in portrait rather than landscape.

Characters

0Sarah Biswell


Sarah will be dressed appropriately for camping wearing a navy coat, jeans and wellies. She will wear barely any make up on her make on her face and have her hair tied back in a pony tail making her look fresh and casual.















Ellie Gooby


Ellie is the girlier character. She will be wearing a beige coat, a pale top with black bows on it, jeans and army boots and despite being on a camping weekend she will have her hair straightened and her make up done nicely.

Timeline

This timeline demonstrates what I plan to do in my media film stage by stage including sound. (click to enlarge)

Research

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68GWmOETotQ&feature=channel

This Eastenders trailer about Archie's murder is very helpful to me for making my own trailer as it shows the audience close ups of the suspects and keeps the audience guessing which is what I want to do. The christmas music in the background is very effective as it makes it clear that it is a christmas special and the way the music is portrayed makes it sound very creepy and creates suspense. I like the idea of the heartbeat in the background and will consider using it in my own trailer. I have decided to base my film on a similar storyline to the Eastenders Archie Mitchel storyline.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwCDI1Lwrgs

This Emmerdale trailer 'Charity Returns' is good as it displays a lot of attention to detail. It is unclear at first who the character is as it only shows her eyes and lips and she is wearing a wig. Her make up and the lighting has been done perfectly for the trailer which is shown when she closes her eyes. I could use the idea of zooming in on Sarah's eyes to demonstrate the fear. The background music is very effective.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcVoNEhhICU

I think this trailer is extremely effective as it shows the cast of Coronation Street in slow motion all having fun whilst bin contrast they have flashes of a tram crashing in between. The change of lighting is good as it shows it bright where the cast are having fun and dark where the comotion on the tram is. There is also a dramatic change in sound. The music is all calm and then changes to sirens displaying panick and emergency. The contrast is very effective. I could use this idea and flick back to the other characters having fun whilst Sarah is alone in the woods getting murdered.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAPdiFbCyc8

This is a very effective trailer displaying the events leading up to Becky and Steve's wedding. There are close ups of guests, the groom, the bride spinning in her wedding dress and the bride drinking champagne. This gives the impression that it is going to be a huge event and is going to be ruined by the voice over at the end saying "Friday 13th.. The perfect date for a Coronation Street Wedding" the background song "This is my lucky day" is also very effective as it suggests that the wedding is not going to turn out that way. I think it would be a good idea to have an effective voice over like this at the end of my soap to ensure that people will be eager to watch it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgqHU73L1Vk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17qQjGOfGk4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WdMbTMqCgM

These three trailers are exactly the same except they each include a different daughter pleading to their mum. I think they are very effective as the lighting is dark and each daughter looks scared. They are very short getting straight to the point. In all three Niall and the mum are saying the same things which I believe creates a great deal of impact. I could use this panick and desperation in my soap.


All these soap trailers were incredibly helpful to me whilst planning my soap. However the Eastenders' one is definitely the most helpful as the storyline in the trailer is the most related to my trailer.