My Trailer- Planning and Research

These are the aspects I need to consider for my trailer:

Actors
These are my actors:
Samantha Fahy- Mother

Samuel Smith-James- Villain/ missing boy and friends son

The reason I chose these two was because they're reliable and it is easy to get hold of them both at the same time as they live in the same household. I chose Samuel because he matches the description  of my character (missing boy) well and is around the same age of the character. The reason I chose Samantha because she is Samuels mother so is able to play the mother role well.

Mise en scene
Mise en scene is everything in a frame and its arrangement, such as decor, lighting, props and costume. The word comes from the french term meaning "Placing on stage".

• Setting

The setting in a film is very important, it sets the whole mood for the scene.
These are the settings I will be using throughout my trailer:

House

A house in a horror film is a well known convention, many horror films use houses in secluded areas as it symbolizes that the people inside the house are alone and far away from any help. This is the house I will be using, it isn't in the middle of nowhere but the house itself is very good for filming in and the environment around the house is dark and creepy especially at night.

Street

This street was used for the majority of the outside filming, I chose this street because of the lighting which was interesting but more importantly I chose the street because it was secluded which plays an important role horror films, as it creates a vulnerable vibe.

• Lighting

There are two types of key lighting, low key lighting and high key lighting. low-key lighting is often used in horror movies which is the type of lighting I will be using. Low key lighting is made up of a lighting pattern that uses both dark and light lighting in a frame which is call chiaroscuro, used to unsettle and frighten the audience. 
This is an example of low key lighting used in the horror film "Friday the 13th".

High key lighting is often used in romantic comedies and musicals consisting of even lighting throughout the frame, avoiding dark areas. High key lighting avoids shadow so everything looks bright, this has little dramatic effect and is used in scenes with no tension.
This is an example of high key lighting used in the American drama "Written on the Wind".

For my lighting, I will be using street lamps, household lamps and natural lighting. Most of my lighting will be low-key lighting as it is a horror film, because of the quality of the equipment I am using it is quite hard to make out the characters faces during the night scenes so I will have to take that into consideration.

• Costume 

Costume is simply the clothing that the characters are wearing, the costume is important to a film as it is used to signify/ make a clear distinction between characters.
My Main character, the mother, will be wearing casual clothing such as jeans and hoodies, along with the boy in the film.

The villain will also be wearing casual clothing, inspired by the film "The Strangers", to relate to realism and connect with the audience. The main piece of costume my villain will be wearing is their signature mask, this hides the identity of the villain adding mystery and a sense of the unknown.

• Props

Props are objects used by actors on stage to support the plot.
Props I have included in my trailer includes a newspaper that was found in the missing boys room. Another prop is the missing poster as it tells the audience that someone in the film is missing, supporting the storyline.

Script
A script or screen play is the dialogue or instructions for a film.
This is the script that will be included in my trailer.

Music
I have noticed that music in horror trailers starts of slow but builds up when the action starts to happen. The music matches the volume of terror to add tension and an atmosphere for the audience.
The music I have decided to go with at the start of the trailer will be calm and slow, this is a horror convention. As the tension in my trailer builds up I would like there to be minimal or no music so there can be chance for dialogue, the silence will also emphasise the difference when the loud and upbeat music comes in. When I add in the tense music, it should create atmosphere and make the trailer more thrilling.