I have decided to lay these trailers out within this page to emulate the order in which you would naturally see them. A teaser trailer comes out first to introduce the idea of the film, a secondary trailer gives a little more context and the main trailer shows us most of what the audience wants to know.
However, I made the main trailer first as that was what featured the footage being developed for the original film, so it seemed natural to go that route. I could also explore other methods of animation in smaller trailers that could aid me in the future development for the film project.
First Teaser Trailer:
First Draft-
Second Draft-
This trailer was to give a hint at the themes and tone of the film I was presenting. It was very much like a poem or a fairy-tale telling children to be cautious. We see silhouettes of the characters that cut into the layers of a colourful, scratchy picture book. It was generally designed to evoke the feeling of discomfort and being lost beyond the point of no return. I am very happy with how that has turned out. I had a go at using the 3D camera in After Effects. Of course it took a lot of rendering time but I got the tunnel effect I wanted with very little hiccups. This could really help in certain scenes to give the feeling of dimension and weight to the spaces that the animated characters will occupy.
In terms of how it connects to my essay, the cutout silhouettes are meant to give the impression of delving into the darker side of the story. We see the silhouettes of an ogre, followed by a witch and topped off with the wolf. All of the strangers in the story of my film exist within their own realms, but are still intertwined as the child passes from one to the next.
The inspiration for this trailer was two trailers corresponding to themes of childhood and an uncanny atmosphere: Magic (1978) and Child's Play 2 (1990). Both of these trailers have a central point the camera focuses on, giving the vibe that it's directly addressing the audience. The rhyme was obviously inspired by Magic's trailer. Fats the Dummy chants it to the viewer, hinting at the theme of the film which is the ventriloquist with the split personality.
Abracadabra I sit on his knee,
Presto, Change-o and now he is me.
Hocus Pocus, we take her to bed,
Magic is Fun....we're dead.
Magic Trailer- 1978
Child's Play 2's trailer does something similar, zooming in to something except it's a Jack-in-a-box. When it's reaching the end of its musical tune it's crushed by Chucky to shock the audience. I like to think of myself being above shocking the audience, which is why I went the more understated route.
Second Teaser Trailer:
The second teaser trailer gives us more of an idea of our child protagonist and the journey they will tread. It's short and to the point, and all about the set pieces including what we may see in those set pieces. This was also the first time I was doing animation with my newly bought iPad Pro. I used the software Procreate for the first time, it's appropriately choppy and helps with the compositing of where I want characters to be animated.
I think I will have a lot to gain out of Procreate in terms of my drawing style and practice for my animation skills. This will also be easier for me to export and get the scenes into Adobe Premiere quicker and more efficiently for the final film. I just need to practise.
The theme of this trailer is also more about the chaotic sensation of being a lost child. Where am I? Where is mother? What is this place? The world is shifting in the child's eyes and it's constantly deceiving them. We are in the city one moment, but now we are in a forest, and now we are in the middle of a dangerous road. It reflects the domestic setting and the dangers that come when we don't recognise it.
Main Trailer:
First Draft-
Second Draft-
This is another dialogue-free trailer, mostly focused on what the final film will look like without spoiling the monsters' appearance. And it definitely embraces the dark fairytale horror aspect. This also gives us more of the idea on the film's style and takes us on a partial journey from the child's perspective. The buildings are impossibly tall, the police station is eerie, the road is mysterious, and the dentist's office is too close for comfort.
I love this trailer the most as it properly allows me to show off the best animation and what the actual film is going to be, and is the best looking of the trailers I worked on. We also see the mother for a brief moment to understand what the child is looking for, where he/she will go and the fears he/she will have to face.
We also see a proper hint at the ending with a shot into the child's mouth without spoiling too much.
SPOILER:
(This is what I have been planning for the ending of my film)
At the dentist's office, the wolf checks the child's teeth. However in a subversion on the Red Riding Hood narrative, it's the child that eats the wolf and rises victorious.
I wanted to do a new subversive take on the Red Riding Hood story, different from what was interpreted in other versions I am covering in my essay.
The wolf and Red have usually been predator/victim, lovers, parental figures or two sides of one character. But the take I am doing is one in which the wolf is the victim that is eaten by a monster in the guise of a child. Children always want to play monster, so it is not only empowering but leaves the nature of the child up for discussion.