Movie Trailer Recreation

Assignment:

The assignment was to pick a movie trailer that took place in school and recreate it. Some of the rules for the project were that we had to recreate the trailer shot for shot and edit for edit.  That means we had to do every shot that was in the trailer. We had to have similar costumes, the same camera angles, and the same length as the real trailer. The purpose of the project was to learn about advanced camera shots and lighting. 

Pre-Production:

I was working with a group of two other people and we chose the trailer Mean Girls. To start the project we began by writing the script, we had to transfer all the lines that were in the trailer onto paper that we printed off. The next step was to create a storyboard of every shot in the trailer. By the end of the storyboarding process my group had a total of 130 shots. After story boarding and writing the script we began to create a production schedule, we picked what days and where we were filming and when. After the production schedule was finished we made and cast and costume list. We started to pick people to play the characters. We also made lists of the costumes each person needed to have. 

Production:

Once all of the pre-production was finished we began the production process. The production process took the longest because of the amount of scenes we had to film. We filmed some of our scenes within the school during class but the rest of the shots were filmed outside of class. We came in on a Saturday to film the in school scenes and once we had finished the schools scenes we went to someones house and shot the party scenes, with each shot we filmed it multiple times to get it right.

Post-Production:

After we had finished filming everything the next step was to begin editing. We started by going through all the clips and deleting the ones that were bad or unusable. After we shorted through the clips the next step was to import them and name them. Once everything was in Premiere Pro and named I began laying them out in the timeline. After everything was laid out I began to synch them to the timing of the real trailer. I would put both side by side and watch them and edit mine to match the real trailer. After everything was matched up I began to search for the music that was in the trailer. Throughout the trailer there were around 5 songs total. The hardest part of editing was getting the timing right with the real trailer. 

Reflection:

Overall I am happy with my project, I like the shots that I got and how they are very close to the originals. I am also happy with how the final edit turned out, it all came together in the end and looks decent. There are also things that I would change if I could go back. I would make sure we had all the shots because we are missing a few. I would also plan it out better and make sure that we know what shots we are filming and when to make sure we don't miss any. I would also go back and film the night scenes again because they are to dark. the only other thing I would change is that I would make sure that we had the extras that we needed because a few of our shots didn't have as many people as we should have so we improvised. The hardest part of the project was time management because we didn't have as much time as we thought and we should have spent more time filming and editing than in pre-production.

Marks and Symbols

Summary:

Marks:

Logos for companies are everywhere, including on clothes, signs, posters, and billboards. As graphic designers there is an importance to know about the different types of marks. There are six different types and they include symbols which is just a graphic with no words, another type is a pictograph which is a graphic that represents a public place, that includes bathroom signs and handicapped signs. The third type of mark is a lettermark which is a abbreviation for a longer company name. Another type of mark is a logo. A logo is the opposite of symbol, except a logo is just the company name and no graphics. When a logo and symbol are combined it creates a combination mark, most companies have a logo, symbol, and a combination mark. The last kind of mark is a trademark, a trademark is a mark which shows that the mark can't be used without permission. 

Symbols:

Many things make up a good symbol which includes thinking about color, reduction sizes, symbol weight, taking negative space into consideration, and many more. There are around eleven things that make a symbol good. After thinking about each one that will help create a well designed symbol for a company. 

Logos vs. Symbols:

While logos and symbols seem like the same there is actually is a large difference between them. Logos include type while symbols don't, logos are the name of the company. Some advantages of using a logo are that they are easier to promote and they are very unique and easy to understand. Symbols are the opposite of logos, symbols are just a graphic and no type. Some advantages of using a symbol are that they are also are unique and easy to see, a disadvantage is that they are hard to understand.

Key Ideas:

After reading the article I learned a lot about developing a symbols and marks. One thing I learned was the six different types of marks. I learned about the different types and what they each are what advantages and disadvantages they have. Another thing I learned was about close gestalt. Close Gestalt is important in designing a symbol and it means that you need something simple and compact to draw the audiences eye to the symbol. The last thing that I learned was that the symbol needs to be able to reduced down to 1/2" or smaller. While being sized down the logo can't loose any of its aspects and still needs to be easy to see. My favorite thing that I learned was learning about developing a symbol. Learning about symbols will be important late in my graphic design career because every business needs a well designed logo, symbol, and combination mark.

Conclusion:

Overall the article was very easy to read and understand. I learned many things about the different types of marks and the components of symbols. I will be able to use what I learned later in my graphic design career.