This final review includes everything that I've put into my project including:
PLANNING
PEER ASSESMENT
KEY INFORMATION
EXECUTION
FINAL TRAILER
RESEARCH
PROPOSAL
TIME PLAN
I feel as if I've implemented enough, for example my planning was observing both vampire culture and attempting to splice together true crime to make it extra special how I achieved this was to observe both of the cultures for example what Tracey Wigginton did and her former life before this, about her tragic life and how to explore into this. Tracey has a lot of depth as a person seeing as she's been abused a lot, in most true crime cases the convict usually has gone through something traumatic to affect them deeply this occurs in most cases and has been a pattern as of late because it's an inciting incident that usually makes them pursue a life of crime. Tracey for example, had been abused S/A a lot and been taken advantage of when she was very little causing her to develop detremental health issues and really take a toll on her in her adult life, all of this information can be found here. By the story (real events) that happened to Tracey Wigginton:
PROPOSAL
To demonstrate the entire project, and enlighten the brief introduction to my project. Assesses all the themes and purpose evident in all of my research at the start of the project a lot of my ideas, had transformed and the outcome really shifted from my original idea. Example a lot of my research on aesthetics didn't really build character or expand upon the plot present yet it was important to give a more dreary color palette for the trailer and to make the sense of fear incredibly evident. Like how the tonal shift from introducing Tracey as a character is sharp and really builds character.
Project proposal is evident here, I want to indulge in all of my original ideas and explore different reasons as to why they shifted as my research concluded. The skills and inspiration adn a lot of my genre influences, true crime is incredibly important to my project because it builds off of a real life story which happened. Involving mental illness, a murder and also vampires. There was a lot of material to draw inspiration from and to be influenced by ie the world building had to be realistic due to the themes and making the characters and simple premise be more believable to add to horror and shock value.
My individual project, had to be scrapped due to time. So the explanation of an animation being done surrounding this case was a lost cause, and in retrospect. Tasteless. Transforming the source material using the information present, such as the information surrounding the victim and perpetrator Tracey Wigginton is a lot to dive into. Like the weapon she used gathering props and making the scene look truly authentic was present in making this. Also by splicing together non-fiction and fiction together really makes this stand out. Who this project is aimed at is very important because a lot of movies need to have an audience to thrive, like the Tracey Wigginton case can only interest a select group of people. So to make this project really thrive off of the true crime and horror genre; it had to develop onto the case and not strive too far from the actual incident. Making Tracey Wigginton, the character was also a challenge because we really had to dig deep into who she was. From my research a lot of elements about her make her a very tragic character leading up to the murders. She was also entranced by everything about the occult and the friends that would follow her would also have her interests which is why a lot of people abetted and helped in this murder.
Themes, content and genre is incredibly interesting and worthwhile to delve into. The mixed media in this project is evident by the amount of research that I have partook. I studied "dont f**k with cats" a netflix series to garner more evidence on what a conventional true crime is supposed to look like. I also studied in what the trailer conveyed and how much information was on display ie the blend between the little information on the cat killer. I wanted to draw inspiration from how the inciting incident is how everything unfolded and include a narrative device that stems from this killing like exploring who Tracey is as a person is important to understand why she'd do such a thing. However, vampire culture is very present in this project. I think this underlines the part of my proposal because I did implement both true crime and horror/thriller in the same trailer by demonstrating the monologue that dracula appeared to have explaining himself. I wanted to draw parrelels between him and Tracey to show how similar they are. I have also partook in the research surrounding D.I.D which is a condition people have causing them to develop multiple personalities, her personality happened to be a vampire. Leading to how she confessed to the murders.
What inspired me mostly is how bizzare this case is. It's an outlandish and almost unbelievable thing to happen which is why I believe it's great to do a project on. A lot of my research included from how she killed Edward. Also why she did it because as far as the evidence stated. Edward was a very kind man. However, I managed to scour evidence and create an outline of who Tracey is. I did an entire case study on her life and detailed everything she did up to that point. Also outlining all of the abuse that she went through and how this transformed and deeply affected her into adulthood. This research segment is heartily important because it's crucial to understand and annotate from the source material, breaching a lot of these ideas and expanding on them. Also knowing which evidence and information to highlight and convey. For example the most important part of this case truly is the murders as it's the most fascinating part.
I did do a lot of research into vampiric themes to understand Tracey's interests and her psyce, why she's like the way she is and who her friends were. We did a lot of brainstorming to convey Tracey in this final trailer and also took direct inspiration from the vampiric and brooding themes, in my final project I included a lot of blacks with only hint of other colour.
Understanding the limiations of creating a project, is essential. I also delved into the things that I wanted to create indiviually however as evidence by my work it simply wasn't possible. Yet a lot of the skills that I had weren't put to waste. For example editing in my final project really stood out because of the use of music, colour and jumpcuts. Exploring this medium proved effective, also devling into web design wasn't bad either and I managed to create a lot of work surrounding the case, I also wanted to make it akin to the blair witch project as well by including the sepia theme. Also the evidence of this crime was important because I wanted to make it feel all the more real. Like diving into an actual case.
TIME PLAN
All of the information included in this time plan is detailed here because it's essential to see the structure and time of events that followed this project. I wanted to efficiently show off everything that went into this production one by one, why the planning is important and why setting dates is important to thouroughly. I went into detail on what I did each week and what was important to do this was also included in a blog, streamlining what happened at the murders so the most crucial information is displayed in the trailer and not forgotten about.
This time plan outlines what happens throughout the first few weeks, I wanted to give myself a detailed yet straight forward schedule. I dislike overcomplicated schedules, so I watered a lot of the information down on what I needed to do. A lot of resources were scoured during this period such as the articles I had looked into which fleshed out Tracey as a person, therefore making it easier to study her and making it easier to make a project fully surrounding her. Tracey's story including two themes, horror and true crime. I found it quite simple to splice both of these elements by introducing this trailer to the realistic crimes such as the news reporter outlining everything that happened. Scouring for resources was crucial to this project and finding the source is great for making our project seem more credible and official. To have this sense of reality in the midst of the horror genre really made it pop. Establishing a clear plot was also included in this plan, I wanted a clear sense of narrative throughout the trailer as to not make it seem complicated or too non linear. Having a sense of structure was essential. A lot of trailers are increasingly short meaning they have little to no time to send their message, I needed Tracey's story to be condensed as well to fit alongside the theme of having trailers only a minute and a half or only a minute long.
Making it seem easier for what's to follow along was also one of the steps included, like having vampires and folklore implemented into my research for more information on how to convey a more brooding and dark character. Both of these things was grand for a rich storyline, it was also to implement between my final website which is a press pack communicating all of the information produced. Discussing ideas on what to do individually really pushed forward a nice sense of control because we could each put forth all of our ideas, how this shined in our project was how unique it was. The effects drawn from old dracula movies like black and white a tape roller was also inspired by the research that I did throughout, inspired and following this time plan.
These weeks were all about planning and communicating different ideas for the final shoot, like information on what sort of props to use to make these sets seem all the more believable and authentic. Touching upon my individual project, although it wasn't able to see completion and didn't come past a draft phase the planning between touching upon it figuring out what sort of colour palettes to use the storyline to focus on, is an effective tactic that could've birthed an original project with edge. However, I was only able to implement this research into a poll of what people liked like their interests in music in film, by using google forms this sort of research was good to see what audiences are into and what's popular. The way to find out our audiences was key also because of the niche market to tap into this was also for the press pack to appeal to audiences by clever usage of marketing. Colours, jumpers and all the aesthetics were used to create a sense of eerieness following alongside this project. Shot types to understand a greater meaning of what makes a shot work, like setting up the establishing shot to communicate the beginning of the story, different types of shots make the scene really new and fresh. What sort of shot to use at the inciting incident to make it all the more dramatic. Tension is really heightened by this because it gives off a sense of vision, throughout. A creative vision is essential for a project because there's a clear start to finish I wanted to communicate this by spicing up the storyboards to make it all the more dynamic interesting usage of shots and lighting is played around with to give the scene effect and make it really stand out. I wanted to research more into cinematography these following weeks, although it can't appear as professional as the likes of the shots in breaking bad or game of thrones, the visual is fantastical and usage of lighting colours and effects is used to make it all the more spectacular. Which is what I wanted to focus on to at least imitate those kinds of imagery.
This last time plan is really irellevant because it outlines something that never came to fruition in the first place.
PLANNING
A lot of planning went into this project. For example, looking into vampiric themes and colour palettes evident in my former blogs where I delved into a lot of the imagery to attempt to replicate it into my press packs and posters. I found that red's and blacks really worked well together and mesh well because they give off a more sinister tone which really applies to my project. I also tried to create a vampire moodboard in one of my blogs to give an idea of the aesthetic this will all be contributed too. I think that it went well because of how effective and sharp this imagery is. A lot of this draws reference to ghostly imagery, muted colours and sepia tones. I implemented this well in my trailer I've also made a board to represent my planning and research into this, like how I tried to find a blend of muted colours which compliment the feeling of unease and action that I was trying to add filters and these ideas really shine through.
Scrolling through, the idea and execution of dark blacks and only a hint of another colour really makes this board effective. The reason I wanted to implement only a tint of colour was to find a sufficient filter for my trailer to make my work especially special, like these buildings and architecture are a slight representation of how my work stands out and I wanted to really make it feel as if the settings had a meaning. We managed to include a river and a black and white filter in the final trailer to make it seem like it was a darker time then usual. I feel as if the mysterious and almost odd aesthetics was really something to consider to make this project because I wanted to have this right to every detail. Imagery associated with vampires include:
LIGHTS OR ODD IMAGERY
TREES
DARKNESS
REDS//BLACKS
FOGGY MORNING
OFF LIGHT SOURCES
I also implemented a lot of this planning in drawing the final storyboards which garnered a lot of information from this mysterious aesthetic and translated into drawings:
As for example, most of this is in only black and white yet it's a rough draft. This is important to find out shot types and how the story is going to pan out during the final video. Like what shots are supposed to be shown and how long a shot will last. I didn't want to keep it too long because most trailers are incessently snappy because there's only a short amount of time to convey information. Drawings are usually used by professionals in the business because it's important for the actors to know what shot and what position to be in.
RESEARCH
I did a lot of research for this project, because it was important for me to know my ground and cast of characters. For this part I want to include the editing styles in both horror/true crime to splice these two genres into one. This is the thing that makes our project incredibly unique because it has non fiction and fictional elements both conjoined. A lot of the viewers may research Tracey Wigginton after I displayed the netflix trailer, how it's exciting is because it appeals to a niche that really enjoy horror films. Because they work better at a scarier time I tried to include this film in october/november of 2023. It comes incredibly soon.
Yet for this part, I'd like to include a clip from the 1930's rendition of Dracula. A lot of these dated aspects inspired me greatly, to inclue and try to replicate and reform a lot of the tricks used to spook audiences from this time. It's also good reference because the crimes happened around the 1980's so vampire culture was really booming then.
The dialogue, dated texture and incredible delivery is what inspired me to research more into vampires so they could have a split theme. The way that Dracula is portrayed in this 1930's rendition is what makes him spectacular. I drew parellels to both Dracula from Tracey to show how similar they are and how terrifying it is to have her really exist. I also included this clip and researched more into this to make my trailer a cyclical structure, like both staves start at the start and end. Someone tries to tackle down Dracula and I made him symbolise Tracey which added a lot more mystery to her. The final dialogue "Now that you know what you have learned" is supposed to hint to what the audience learn about Tracey. Delving into this media is really what makes this trailer pop. Black and white is implemented only because they couldn't put in colour, I wanted this trailer to draw reference to how much vampire and crime media is both shrouded in mystery from this colour coding.
Articles about Tracey Wigginton also made me more intrigued in this case, for example a lot of these handles:
More of black and white printing to make this all the more sinister, this information is delivered in such an ominous manner, referencing how these letters are fading in displaying this case. I also included this in the press pack because it makes this seem more real, a link to the articles of where I got my story from included here:
On a similar note, I've looked into different sorts of effective marketing for press packs. Which really fit into the theme of this case. I studied the likes of CSI because it fits into a police case, and how a real case and evidence is presented. It was so authentic it lead people to believe that it was authentic because of the way the information was presented, I'll leave a couple of images detailing what the press pack looked like. It was for a new premiere of csi, to make it seem all the more interesting they portrayed the plot to every "David Nicholsan" these case studies were so infamous they managed to be banned, seeming all the more daunting and all too real.
All of this information portrayed in a more eerie manner, like subtle clues such as the fabric found at the scene when the victim was shot. Settings and names used, the official name for the culprit called the "carbon copy killer." reasons why this is spectacular is because it has an air of mystery around the carbon copy killer, multiple victims are detailed between this press pack. It also contains a lot of hints and interesting information surrounding around this case using newspaper paper to make it seem as if there's actually reports of this. A sketch of the perpetrator is all the more daunting because it gives a face to this killer. Also during this time the internet and misinformation was in it's prime so using techniques such as counterfeit newspaper was new to them because they didn't understand the skill behind it. There was a big budget around these press packs and there was buzz around because it was delivered to homes and frightened people, creating discussion around this show and banning them for misinformation.
Usage of actual human body and where it was damage is included, severe face injuries also harming the victim from the legs and knees. The report prepared is nameless bringing more mystery to this case.
Usage of the setting with this eerie green lighting makes it more sinister because of the way this is framed and shot, the low angle gives a sense of fear and enlightens the audience to usage of cinematrography. These shots, lighting techniques and that striking light green highlights the information surrounding the murders. And slight annotation makes it all the more believable.
This was mailed and distributed to actual homes at the time, and was also around the time where press packs seemed believable and real. Akin to the way the blair witch delivers their information the way that the information is conveyed as a police report, mailed to warn audience members with this name. Added to the controversy.
This case file, incredibly similar to most police case files as in the way the information is segmented in bits and pieces. This being mailed like a warning to people with the exact same names.
This newspaper digs into the psyce of the killer entrailing who he was like as a person before. Multiple articles detail about this campaign.
These headlines make this all the more sinister:
I feel as if it's confronting to include a lot of these articles because it reminds the viewers of this press pack that it's a real case that you can delve into, there's also a lot of details that make this case all the more wild. Including details about her past life why this delves into true crime is because there's a lot of documenteries available that really explore who she is as a person and how she got here.
It's important to explore into that aspect of her past because it reveals more who she is.
EXECUTION/FINAL TRAILER
The execution of this trailer is included here, on how I managed to splice both of these vampiric elements and plan further ahead on what this film trailer is supposed to look like. Also drawing reference from the charts what music is appropiate for this trailer as well, soft music or sinister and elevating music.
I settled on the track "flyswatter" by the eels to feature in most of this trailer because it gives an interesting edge to most of this film. A lot of the execution lies in snappy editing and how I wanted to portray the main lead, hinting to her involvement in the killing of Edward Boldock and also making it shocking to display her stabbing him in reference to how Edward was stabbed more then 20 times in the chest. I sped up this part to make it more action packed and dramatic. I feel as if this trailer succeeds in having more dramatic intent more then the last, I wanted to include the old trailer to involve a lot more progression because it's important to see my project blossom over the course of it's conception.
A link to the song is included here: https://youtu.be/2oeYkZZvLYE
Music is important for a film trailer because it's very much similar to pathetic fallacy, in setting the tone for the following moments like how Edward was murdered. I also tried to include a more sinister song one that builds during the trailers development beyond the inciting incident and introduction to these characters.
KEY INFORMATION
THIS INCLUDES WHERE I DREW REFERENCE FOR THE TRAILER:
A lot of these articles give reference to the murder and link back to the crime example, it explains and describes this crime in graphic detail and also gives background on Tracey Wigginton herself and what she suffered through. All of this is key information for my research and how this is essential is because how it connects with the overarching story.
PEER ASSESMENT
Peer assesment is important to more rectify the source material, I've included a lot of the things that I've changed throughout my press pack to make it more suitable for a larger audience and transformed some of the information for a more linear outlook on the story. Like more information on Tracey Wigginton herself, more information about the cast and crew and who did what. A lot of essential information was more explored upon like the overarching message I wanted to create.
This entire document includes:
AUDIENCE
CONTEXT
MARKETING CAMPAIGN
SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN
PROD. SKILLS
EBI
AUDIENCE
This campaign, had managed to be successful in garnering the right audience because of it's more mature and dark themes. The film tasked to not be higher then a rating 15+ although containing a lot of graphic imagery, it doesn't contain enough violence to be higher then such. Thus being a sucessful campaign, this film also appeals to those of which who are interested in the unusual as this is an unconventional type of documentary since it features a female lead, one which is suffering from a disease which affects someone's critical thinking skills. Developing a split personality disorder (DID) this is more explored upon on why she decided to kill him. It also explores how she used to be a victim and explains a lot of the times where she had been taken advantage of, harmed and S/A'd throughout her life explaining her behaviour. A lot of people whom this is appealed to would take interest in her life and find out for themselves whether they sympathise with her. Which is what I'd want to create, a deep discussion around her character and unusual crime drawing attention to Tracey and who she is as a person. A victim or a predator? The audience, would delve into this and think a little deeper.
CONTEXT
I have added a trailer and poster. The very first page that was created, oddly enough includes my official trailer for the smoke and mirrors press pack featuring "a netflix original" It's cohesive and conveys the message that this is the final trailer. Evaluation asides, there's a lot of inspiration behind smoke and mirrors because I've included some posters around the trailer like the picture of the main lead looking ominous, my final page includes a poster of the main cast to display how it's coming out in 2023. Most conventional press packs usually include the final date to build hype for the product so I followed suite. I feel as if this press pack is suitable for the audience because it doesn't strive away from most of the conventions I've kept this press pack black and white, to follow along with all of the themes involved. For example the true crime genre and vampire theme go nicely with it. A lot of the posters are sparce to convey what they would look like they go hand in hand with the merch I have created. Initially, I wanted the poster to show at the start because I thought it would make the whole thing more eye catching and give off a more ominous tone however in reference to another press pack which is a movie coming out rather recently (minions 2022) I decided against it in favour of keeping my updated trailer at the start of the site.
MARKETING CAMPAIGN
The marketing campaign, also includes a lot of the things that I want the audience to buy to rake in a higher profit. Such as billboards posters and mugs this is essential for the growth of a brand because it taps into a market that are really interested to see the film. Because it isn't out yet there is a limited edition feel on all of the cups and t shirts being distributed. The reason why I explored upon this is because I wanted it to feel very authentic, the most essential part of a press pack is to make people interested in the film and to garner a discussion around the premise and characters. Making your decidated audience buy what's on your site is very essential because it makes them feel apart of your product highering it's chance to have a broader outlier of making money. The merchandise is in tact for if the film doesn't necessarily perform well and profits from the t shirts purchased by a loyal audience are a good fallback plan.
Wanting to see the film is a good aspect of this as well because it makes people invested in your product and how you've conveyed the message word will spread that your a good film-maker making you more likely to feature in other films.
PRODUCTION SKILLS
The first thing on the site is the trailer.
On the very first page is an introduction and the trailer, you can click on it and it's interactive. However I do feel as if my interactivity on this press pack is a little lacking. Yet the very first thing I did was include the trailer for my press pack as I felt it was the most important thing to do.
Yet I've tried my best to stick with a coherent theme to make my press pack seem as concise as possible the most important thing to do is give the trailer it's own edge, IE it's own theme. A lot of press packs include additional information or even their own style. Back when, some older press packs used to be given in hand or on the newspaper CSI included their own evidence booklet which was mailed through to make them extremely exclusive and remains as one of the most famous press packs to this day.
Most important things that really culminated and went well for this press pack include the mention of:
MERCHANDISE
BILLBOARDS
POSTERS
TRAILER
SHOOTS
PHOTOGRAPHY
THEMATIC PURPOSE
BEHIND THE SCENES
MEMBERS
This is essential to show the depth and research which went into this project, the most important part is to make it feel as if it was a team effort which is why I included everyone and made them a more essential role. Like the photography of the members or on the other hand the news handles and articles which really delve into this story making it rather interesting and complex. Three dimensional characters were really hard to research into a lot more information on the victim Edward Boldock was also explored upon and Tracey's character was delved into too.
A lot of the things that went well also were the amount of time I spent making mockups and fake t shirts to make this seem like the real deal, they were rather gothic hence the theme and most of the prices genuinely seemed authentic ranging from sizes and such.
My trailer is on the first page.
I have managed to keep a key theme, I've also rectified a lot more of the names and background on the team members explaining what their jobs were in this production and how they've collaborated. A lot of my effort to keep this film catering to a niche market were succesfull such as the featuring of news articles and further information of the suspect Tracey Wigginton, I've made her a rather grey character since some of her actions are indistinguishable. As the real person there' a lot to research of her.
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