Evaluation- First Draft vs. Final Piece

As you can see from comparing the first draft of our trailer to the final piece, a lot of things were changed in order to further enhance the effect and impact that the trailer had. The main differences between the two include:

•  An increase in the typography size- we particularly wanted the review to stand out more as it is the first shot and therefore plays a key part in enticing an audience.
• In terms of the rest of the typography that appears throughout the trailer, rather than using the plain black background as seen in the first draft, we used the reoccurring shot of the underpass as a background for this. This gave a much more professional sense to the overall piece.
• We changed the initial shot of our protagonist as we felt this better matched our narrative aim. The shot used in the first draft makes him appear worried whereas we wanted him to appear fairly calm at the beginning in order to conform to Todorov's theory of equilibrium.
• We added more post- production elements to our final piece as we noticed that the first draft was lacking in this. The main thing that this included was the use of the black and white filter in certain shots- a convention we found was common in existing urban drama trailers.
• We also filmed new shots in which to include such as the violence shots. This was the main thing that we felt was missing from our first draft- stopping us from excelling into the typical urban drama conventions. Obviously we did not have access to stunt doubles and therefore had to think cleverly about how we filmed fight scenes whilst making them look realistic.
• We removed unnecessary shots that appeared in our first draft, such as the ones of the protagonist running up the stairs and the group of girls smoking. Not only did these not add anything to our trailer but they appeared unprofessional and amateur at points. By doing this we allowed ourselves more time for more effective shots.
• We improved the appearance of the drug lord by using a sound bridge to merge his voice with other shots. This made him appear a lot more intimidating, adding the element of mystery that the trailer required.
• We increased the pace more steadily by making the shots gradually get faster and more action intensive. The end of the final piece particularly contrasts with the first draft as there is a lot more action shots (such as the protagonist jumping over the gate) which added to the excitement of the trailer.
• The black and white shot of the protagonist with a black eye and blood dripping helps to enhance the clarity of the genre and conform to the narrative that we were aiming towards. Used in conjunction with the shot of him on the floor with a bat and a pool of blood, the audience can see the violent theme that runs within the narrative and is enticed by the sense of danger.
• The difference between the first draft and trailer was the fact the title at fist appears over the final shot of the protagonist before reverting onto a black background. This forms a smoother link between the trailer and the ending, giving a much more professional look to the piece.