Final Film Draft 2

Final Film Draft 1

Film Trailer - Rough Cut

Post Production: Cutaway Shots of Stock Footage

As tweaks for my film trailer, I have decided to add cutaway shots of stock footage that I have downloaded from the internet. I chose to use stock footage of Los Angeles because it represents a pinnacle goal or achievement for an athlete or celebrity to live or be in LA. In the context of my film trailer, this would be a dream achievement for my main character because once he achieves monetary success as a footballer it would be ideal for him to live in LA; this is because Los Angeles is regarded for it's great weather, beaches and lifestyle which are just some of the things that would be desirable by the young footballer.

Post Production: Titles

Due to the fact that I am producing a film trailer, I still need to create an ident for a made-up production company which will be put at the beginning of the trailer in order to make it look as professional as possible. On top of that, I have also added titles at the beginning and end of my trailer to allow my target audience to know what the name of the film is. I also chose to add the titles at the end of the trailer but then later on I decided against this because it would increase the duration the trailer a bit too much as I already put credits and a 'Coming Soon' title at the end of the film trailer.

I have changed the font of the closing titles multiple times until I found one that was suitable for the conventions of my film trailer. I finally settled on a font called Colleged because it looks like text that would be a college sports team. Although this font may be more suited to an American college sport film, it is the font that I could find that best suited the genre of my final film which is a trailer for a sports film biopic about a young footballer.

Final Title

Post Production: Sound - Editing Voiceover Audio

During my the post-production process, I chose to edit the audio voiceover as I felt that the volume was too quiet and this would inhibit my main product. I used the effect volume to increase the audio level of the voiceover and this would make my voiceover seem more powerful than it was before. This is because they are audio clips from the coach giving a motivational talk to the main character which include phrases such as "This is your chance" and "The world's at your feet". I think that choosing to put the latter audio clip at the end was a good choice because it is in time with the title of the trailer. Therefore, this reinforces the name of my trailer as it is clear what my trailer is called because the title is on screen while the audio of the title is being played simultaneously.

Post Production: Sound

During creating my film trailer in Premiere Pro, sound was essential to my trailer. This involved manipulating sound and adding background music that fits with the conventions of the genre that I am doing. I decided to add the background track of a hip-hop/sports-themed instrumental because I felt that this was the most suitable for my film trailer as the beats in the music represent the tension that is present in a journey involving overcoming adversities. It also highlights the fast pace that is present in football as a sport.

I also overlaid pieces of dialogue from the motivational talk that coach gives to the main character onto the footage of the young footballer sat on the bench looking over the football pitches in front of him. This audio of the coach giving motivation to the character from another part of the trailer are supposed to be memories that the young footballer is recalling upon while he is contemplating what steps he should take next in his footballing career. 

For the first clip in the trailer, where the young footballer kicks the football against the net, I have overlaid a football kick sound effect that I downloaded from the Internet for free. I felt that this had to be added because the kicking of the football in the original clip is barely audible. On top of that, the kicking noise makes the video seem more realistic because it makes the audience feel like they are actually watching this happen in real life. This also thanks to the fact the viewers are positioned in front of the net which makes it seem like they are actually behind the goal watching the net bulge as the ball goes in.

Post-Production: Editing - Transitions & Effects

During creating my project in Premiere Pro, I have used quite a few transitions and effects to connect pieces of footage together that I filmed and tried to make it more seamless in order to fit with the conventions of a film trailer. 

Through using this effect, I managed to slow down the speed of 3 clips. One of those clips was overlaid on top of the first one in order to give a blurry or confused perspective of the character. This allows me to show that the main character had to come from adversity to be a successful footballer. 

While filming the motivational talk, I was in the reflection of the door in the background. After seeing this in post-production, I decided that something had to be done to hide or get rid of the reflection in the background because it would look really unprofessional if I was in one of the clips in my final trailer. Eventually, I chose that the Gaussian Blur would be the best effect to use to blur the reflection in this part of my trailer. Firstly, I made a circular mask to highlight the area that I wanted to blur. Then I increased the blur level to around 200 as I didn't want the outline of the mask to be completely visible but I still wanted the background reflection to be quite blurred in order to make it seem like the glass in the window of the door was clear.

At the start of the trailer, I decided to add a clip of the main character kicking a football against the net of the goal. I feel that this is a really powerful shot because the football is going straight towards the camera and this makes it very clear that my film trailer will be about football. It will also make the audience feel like they are behind the goal watching this happen and this will mean it will be easier for my target audience to connect with the narrative of my trailer because it seems more personal. I chose to put a black and white filter on this camera shot because the first shot is supposed to be a flash-forward in time to when the main character is better at football in comparison to the other shots in the trailer where his shooting ability is quite poor. The B/W filter also makes the focus be purely onto the net of the goal and the ball being kicked into it, therefore, this makes it clear that the narrative of the film trailer involves football. 

Post-Production: Editing

During the editing process of my project, I used Premiere Pro to edit all of the footage that I filmed over the course of my filming days. Firstly, I imported all the footage for each scene into Premiere Pro as I filmed it and cut footage that had unwanted audio or did not fit in with my final film and its conventions. Then I muted some audio and moved different pieces of audio over other footage in my project. I also overlaid pieces of video from other clips over the part when the coach is talking to the main character. These overlaid clips mostly consisted of the young footballer nodding along in response to what the coach is saying. On further reflection, I decided that it would be more suitable for my project to be a film trailer instead of a short film, therefore, I changed my editing process to create a trailer

To indicate the beginning of my trailer, I added a cross dissolve transition between the opening titles and the first camera shot of the main character kicking a football towards a goal. I decided that this would be the best video transition to use at the beginning of the trailer because it has a fade in effect from complete black to a shot of the young footballer training and trying to perfect his shooting abilities. Furthermore, it fits in well with the conventions of my chosen genre which is a trailer for a sports film. 

Rushes

For my final project, I filmed a lot of footage that could be used in my final film. However, not all of the footage will be used in my project because either it isn't good enough or it does not fit in with the film and its conventions. Here are some of the best rushes that were made during my filming days which could be used in my final project.

Shot List

This is a post displaying a shot list for each scene of my short film biopic. This will allow me to film quicker as I will be able to know what shots I need to film for my short-film biopic.

Scene 1:

• Low angle shot
• Low angle shot with quick pan
• Wide shot
• Wide shot but character is walking back from the distance
• Close up with pan to ball going into the net and pan back to feet of character
• Close up with camera movement to see more of the characters face
• Close up of ball with pan back to feet of character
• Mid shot of the character being frustrated with his performance
• Low angle shot of feet and ball and fast pan to ball going in net
• Low mid shot of legs kicking the ball and fast pan of ball going in to net
• Low angle shot of ball and then character goes into frame and kicks ball into net 
• Low angle shot of character kicking the football upwards and then upward pan to show the ball going into the back of the net
• Another low shot of character kicking the ball and then walking out of frame 
• High angle shot of the football in perspective of the character looking down then head comes into frame and he kicks the ball into the goal. 
• Close up of football then the camera pans to show the characters foot kicking the ball into the goal and then pans back to the character's legs
• Starts off with low angle shot of character flicking up the ball and doing keep-ups then pans upwards to a mid shot to show the whole character doing keep-ups with camera occasionally panning downwards to his legs. Then goes back to medium shot of character flicking the ball back up and doing keep-ups. Pans down to show his feet kicking the football up. Pans back up to character flicking the ball up again to do more keep ups. Mid-shot then shows character flicking the ball up and volleying the ball into the goal first time. Camera then pans to ball going into goal and then shows medium shot of character walking around 
• Close up of character's face with expression that shows he is more pleased with his improved performance while his head is bobbing up and down and his upper body is moving around

Scene 2:

• Wide shot of girl leaning against the wall
• Close up of girls face showing a frustrated and disappointed expression 
• Wide shot of girl leaning against wall and then looking over while shadow comes closer across the brick wall. Then boy walks into frame and has argument with girl
• Close up of girl's face
• Close up of boy's face
• Over-the-shoulder shot of boy having conversation with girl
• Over-the-shoulder shot of conversation but from perspective of girl
• Over-the-shoulder shot of girl talking to boy then she slaps him
• Wide shot of girl talking to boy and then she pushes him out of the way and walks into the distance. Camera slightly pans to show girl walking out into distance

Scene 3:

• Tracking shot of boy making his way to a training session (football field)
• Mid shot behind  boy kicking ball up 
• Self-tightening shot from front showing boy walking towards focus of camera
• Extreme-close up shot of boy's eyes
• Wide shot of dropping ball
• Extreme-close up shot of boy's eyes looking down at ball 
• Wide shot of boy kicking ball into goal from behind the net 
• Medium shot of boy scoring goal from a side view
• Close-up shot of boy's face
• First person shot of player scoring
• Montage of main character training: doing push ups, sit-ups, sprints, catching medicine balls etc. Most of the montage is side-view mid shots and some close up shots showing expressions of 
• Over-the-shoulder shot of coach talking to player 
• Switches to Over-the-shoulder shot from perspective of main character 
• Mid shot from side-view of coach and player having a conversation
• 180 degree spinning shot showing characters having a conversation 
• Medium shot of coach walking out of frame
• Close up of boys face showing has elated expression after being told that he could be offered a trial from a Premier League club
• Wide shot of main character celebrating the fact he could be offered a trial from a Premier League club if he performs well in his team's next match while having an ecstatic and happy expression 
• Tracking shot of boy walking back home and still celebrating that he could be offered a trial from a Premier League club and still with a happy expression

Scene 4:

• Close up of main character's face looking ready and motivated for the match
• Tracking shot of boy walking onto pitch with the rest of his teammates
• First person shot from perspective of main character looking over seeing girlfriend in the stands waving and manager with the substitutes 
• Establishing shot of players lining up on the pitch
• Mid shot of player getting ready on pitch 
• Tracking shots of main character playing in match
• Low-angle shot of boy kicking ball then switches to medium shot behind showing boy shooting ball
• Slow motion close up shot of ball going into the back of net
• Medium shot of character celebrating with team mates
• Side-view shot of opposition team restarting game 
• More tracking-shots of player winning the ball back then does a one-two pass with a team-mate and dribbles past 3 defenders.
• Then a mid shot shows the character curling the ball into the bottom right corner
• Close up shot of the player celebrating the goal then switches to mid shot of him getting hugged by team-mates
• Close-up and then mid-shot of girlfriend in crowd celebrating the main character scoring another goal
• Self-tightening shot of main character dribbling the ball towards the focus of the camera then he passes a curling-ball past the camera view.
• A tracking shot of the team-mate showing him receiving the ball from the previous shot. A mid shot then shows him controlling the ball and putting the ball away into the goal
• Mid shot of character hugging scorer and celebrating the goal
• Close up of referee blowing his whistle for full time
• Medium and wide shots of main character and his team-mates celebrating the victory
• Mid shot of character in tracksuit after the game checking his phone
• Wide shot of scout walking towards main character asking him if he could talk to him for a minute 
• Close up of main character saying he can talk to him
• Over-the-shoulder-shots showing conversation between scout and the boy. Scout tells that he will be offered a trial for a Premier League club in the coming days
• Mid shot of character surprised and then happy at the news he's received
• Wide shot of scout walking away 
• Mid shot and close up celebrating the news by clenching his fist and a happy expression across his face 

Scene 5:

• Medium shot of main character sat down, waiting to receive a phone call from the scout 
• POV shot looking at phone, then it finally rings and the phone comes up with an incoming call screen 
• Mid shot of boy answering phone while sat on bed. Then starts conversation with Premier League club official. 
• Close up of his face while saying "No way" (diegetic sound) with an elated expression 
• Low angle shot of boy standing off bed while continuing conversation with Premier League club official 
•  Side view mid shot of main character finishing off conversation answering "Yeah", "Yes, of course", "Great" and "Thank you" to diegetic muffled conversation on the phone. Then finally saying "bye". After this, moves phone away from side of his head 
• Switches to front view mid shot of looking at phone
• Then graphic match to a close up of boy's hand hanging up phone
• Switches back to side view shot of character putting his phone away
• Goes back to medium shot but this time of character celebrating the fact that he has been accepted for a Premier League trial.
• Mid shot of him once he calms down and proceeds to phone his girlfriend and tell her the good news. 
• Close up of his face continuing conversation with girlfriend on his phone 
• More close up and mid shots of having conversation on phone. Then stands up and is in frame for a medium shot
• The cuts to next scene in short film/next part of trailer 

Scene 6:

• Tracking shot of car pulling in to the entrance of the road
• Low angle shot of main character walking out of a fancy car
• Fancy car pulls out of the camera focus
• Mid shot of character with a happy expression, quite wide smile
• Medium shot from behind suited character looking over the landscape
• Mid shot of suited main character turning around looking into the focus of the camera
• Tracking shot of girlfriend riding motorbike dressed in leather jacket, wearing helmet and black boots, driving across
• Match-on-match action shot of bike pulling into the entrance
• Close up shot of girl taking off helmet 
• Slow-motion mid shot and close ups of girl flipping her hair with her eyes closed 
• FPS shot of her hands placing helmet on bike 
• Front view shot of girl walking towards camera
• Two person shot of girl and main character
• Close up/over-the-shoulder shots switching between of girl/boy and perspective of boy or girl 
• Mid shot of main character saying: "I told you I would make it"
• Two shot of main character and girl

Planning: Comparative Text for my Main Idea

The comparative text for my final idea is the Journey game mode from the FIFA video game franchise. The narrative of the mode follows the story of Alex Hunter, a young teenager aspiring to make it as a professional footballer while encountering some problems on the way. I have chosen this media text to compare to my project because the narrative of my final film follows the journey of a teenage male trying to achieve his dream of becoming a successful professional footballer. This will allow me to have something to base the narrative of my final film trailer on and provide ideas on what I should include in my main product.

Final Idea and Synopsis

In order to have a clear idea of what I need to film and what my actors need to do, I need to have a synopsis/log line to concisely describe my final idea but to describe it fully, I will need to produce a detailed description of the narrative of my biopic short film. In this post, the aforementioned things are in clear organisation and ample amount of detail. 

Synopsis/Log Line:
A young aspiring footballer faces many challenges on the way to making it as a pro- his parents, coach and girlfriend say he won't make it. Can he prove his doubters wrong? 

Final Idea

The first scene starts off with the young boy trying to practice his football skills. He misses most of his shots, his control and skills aren't the best and he looks disappointed and frustrated. The main character gradually improves, gaining confidence with each improved shot that he scores and he manages to do some impressive ball control and hit the ball into the goal first time. He looks happier with his improved performance but still coy on his current ability. 

In the second scene, the boy makes his way home, makes his way into his bedroom and angrily kicks his football against the wall. He sits on his bed, looks at his poster of the 1966 World Cup winning England Team and the commentary of England scoring the winning goal plays through his mind as non-diegetic sound. He feels inspired to get even better and feels a moment of euphoria until it is disturbed by an incoming phone call. He answers the phone call and it's his girlfriend. She tells him that he needs to talk to her in person immediately. 

In the third scene, the boy meets his girlfriend in person outside the park under a tree while it is raining heavily. This shows pathetic fallacy as the weather is reflecting the mood of the scene and is foreshadowing what will happen later in the scene. The girl issues the main character an ultimatum: Either he becomes a professional footballer in the next year or she leaves him. The boy appears shocked by the news while his girlfriend walks away from the distance. The main character feels even more motivated to achieve his dream and positive feelings run through his mind as to how he is going to achieve his life goal. Once he regains those positive thoughts, the rain stops and the sun starts to shine.

In the fourth scene, the boy goes into a training session with his current youth team. After feeling invigorated and motivated, after his conversation with his girlfriend, he has a great training session. This is followed by a montage of him improving in each training session. In the final training session at the end of the montage, the coach tells the main character that he is impressed with his improvements. Then he says that the character is being scouted by Premier League clubs and may get a trial if he puts in an impressive performance in the team's next match.

In the fifth scene, the main character plays in his teams match on a Saturday. He manages to score 2 goals and assist another two leading his team to a 4-1 victory. After the game he celebrates with his team mates and the manager tells him that the scouts watching him were very impressed and that they will give him a phone call in the coming days. The main character talks to the scouts and they praise him for his performances and say that the Premier League clubs they are representing are very interested. The character makes his way home realising that his fortunes have changed massively.

In the sixth scene, the main character receives a phone call. It is from one of the Premier League scouts. He answers and the scout says that the main character has been offered a trial that will take place in a weeks time. The scout says that if he continues to impress on the trials, he will have a great chance of getting a professional contract. The young player is ecstatic about the news and feels like he will grasp the opportunity with both hands and perform to his full capabilities.  

Copyright for Footage in Film and Images for Film

In order to ensure that my short film doesn't get copyright struck by the original producers of the 1966 World Cup Final footage, I had to make sure that the footage I found was at least 50 years old. This is because under the copyright law, any audio-visual works are protected for 50 years until they can be used for reproduction. Therefore, I will be able to use audio commentary of the 1966 World Cup Final when the main character is thinking of these events in his mind as non-diegetic sound in the short film after he has a poor practice session. This audio plays while he is looking at a poster of the England football team captain at the time, Bobby Moore, is lifting the Jules-Rimet World Cup trophy. In addition, the copyright law will allow me to show these images in my film, therefore, making short film biopic as authentic as possible.