2. My group consists of three people; Me, Maheni and Raissa. On our first meeting we started discussing
fairy tales we remember from our own childhood and the moral to the story etc. We did not choose
straight away what story we’d be working on as there was so many stories to choose from! This step was
discussed and openly worked on as a group, so we was all sharing ideas as what we would like from our
trailer no matter what story we chose from.
We then decided to go with Thriller genre. We was all aware that fairy tales are known by everyone
because of their happy ever after endings so we decided to make a twist to whichever story we chose and
work on the idea that it had to be thriller. We chose this because, if we did a thriller based on a fairy tale –
it’s like showing the audience a side they never knew or even recognise for that matter, and this is what
makes it interesting; the fact we can ‘surprise’ the audience and give them something they’re not
expecting using the conventions they unconsciously know about.
We was aware of the limited number of characters we have access to, but we also discussed to speak to
people in Maheni’s Drama class to act in our trailer. This would be great, not only because they have
experience about acting but also because they must be pretty good at it.
3. Firstly, as a group we looked at all the possible fairy tales we could use and interpret it into our own. For
example, Red Riding Hood, Cinderella , etc
and many more…
4. After researching in depth various fairy tales, we decided to do Hansel and Gretel. Our decision was
mainly based on the fact we knew not many people would actually go for a story like Hansel and Gretel
and also because we was aware (due to our research) that there has not yet been made an
interpretation/adaptation of Hansel and Gretel… Unlike, Red Riding Hood (Most recent adaptation is
Red Riding Hood – out in 2011, which the name was kept original) and also to the story of Snowhite
(which there now is Snowhite and The Huntsman – Out in 2012)
After we chose the fairy tale and we was determined about what we was doing, we then discussed changes
we would make to the original story everyone knows. Once again, this was done in a group and we all
discussed and equally decided that we would keep loyal to the original story as much as possible. Reason
for this is that, although everyone knows the story as said before there has not been any interpretation
made so we don’t really have anything to challenge or work on to make it different. Meaning, if there was
already an adaptation we would have to look at ways to make it different (our own) so we could just say
that our trailer is just an up to date Hansel and Gretel, nothing more as we are not planning to change
much apart from the fat that obviously it would be more modernised.
5. All of us in the group knew the story which made it easy to work with. The highlight of the story is that
the kids are abandoned by the father – influenced by the mother, then the two kids get lost in the woods
and come across a witch.
We focused on how many characters we need (this was a priority, as we have limited people who would be
willing to be doing it) and based on the people we have, we have to make it as realistic as possible i.e.: The
family – all characters must be the same race, at least the two kids because we decided we only need three
characters – Hansel, Gretel and the witch. Yes, the father will be present in the story especially when he
leaves them in the woods but we decided we can have an ‘unknown figure’ and just use a manly voice.
This is ideal because the less people we have, the better! Meaning, there will be less hassles for when we
meet up to film and so on and we won’t have to worry so much about people turning up.
6. So far, all decisions that have been made regarding the trailer have been made as a group which
shows good skills of teamwork and independent work at the same time. But during one of our
meetings, we have briefly discussed the roles. So far we settled down for, Maheni would be the
director, Raissa would be the editor and I would be the Producer.
We decided this upon reflecting on what we individually thought were our weaknesses, even
though we would all have an individual role to focus on whilst shooting/filming we would still
work as a group and make decisions together. So either way, we’ll work together and to make final
decisions we’d inform all the other group members. This is to make sure everyone’s happy and
sharing ideas, we would agree with each other and also, essentially discuss what works better and
get our work done.
For example, whilst filming, one person can have an idea, then they discussed
it with the group and whether or not the rest of the group thinks it’s a good
idea we would make changes.
We thought this would be the best way to work together, so we know everyone’s
ideas/opinions within the group and everyone feels confident.
7. The director’s role is to…
• They have overall control over the project
• Works closely with cast and crew (characters and
editor & producer)
• Make final decisions
8. Edit footage
Work with camera and work on camera angles
Find different ways to film particular scenes
Works with both Director and Producer
9. Sets out the budget for the project
Works with cast and crew
10. Our trailer begins with a wide shot of the witches house; in the background we hear a voiceover briefly
narrating this shot and hear soft Celtic music. It then cuts to 3 pairs of feet walking, including the sound
of footsteps and crunching leaves/twigs. Another straight cut then fade into a medium shot of Hansel
and Gretel (main characters). The music fades out and we see them looking up at an unknown figure and
we hear a deep voice (Hansel and Gretel suggested father) saying his goodbyes to the children. We hear
leaves crunching as the person walks away and we get a close-up of their reactions – Gretel then calls out
for her father. In the next scene we see Hansel and Gretel give each other a knowing look followed by a
close-up of them holding hands. Whilst this is happening, we hear a twig snap and a close-up of Hansel
and Gretel swivelling their heads rapidly to the side – they both gasp, and run off deeper into the woods,
and we see a medium close up of their feet scrabbling away.
We then have a close-up of ‘Mars Studios presents’ written with twigs on the forest floor, and only then
does the fast pace music begin foretelling adventure. We then have 3 shots of Hansel and Gretel running
for their lives each with text in between. (Text to be decided on a later date). One running shot would be
a tracking shot from behind both children, the next from the side and the last a medium-close-up of their
faces.
From a distance we spot the witches house, surrounded by tall trees, then a medium shot of Hansel; and
Gretel who stop to catch their breath. We hear Hansel and Gretel breathing heavily. Then a wide shot of
Hansel, Gretel and the house altogether, with a strong heartbeat in the background (along with the
breathing). We see Gretel try and go forward towards the house but Hansel puts his arm out to stop her.
The next shot is a close-up of the houses door, which slowly opens with a creaking sound in the
background. We see half of the witches face, the other half covered by the door. A wicked smile slowly
appears on her face.
Then blackout and the words ‘’Hansel and Gretel’’ fade onto the screen, with a straight cut to the words ‘’
Coming Soon’’