The Friend

Wauconda Community High School

Movie Trailer

Entry Description

It is a horror film we did in class.

Judge 1

Positives: Once "The Friend" hits the 1:35 mark, the energy and music-editing in this trailer really strengthens the piece as a whole, and it evolves into an effective slasher/thriller. There is some interesting camera-work at play here combined with strong stutter-editing which really helps push the unsettling nature of the narrative and characters. Strong ending glance from the antagonist to cap off the piece, along with a very eloquent end-card graphic.

Improvements: A large majority of this trailer can be trimmed down – using sound effects, dips to black, and montage – to help guide us along a narrative which isn't very clear as is. Using small expositional pieces of dialogue, or striking images to display energetic chunks of the story could help the pacing – really inject as much momentum into this as you can. Strong sound effects to build tension will really help with this. Adding some depth to the lighting will strengthen the eerie tone and aesthetic of this trailer as well.

Judge 2

Positives: The editing of the killer or potential killer in the hallway is extremely effective.

Improvements: Use a tripod for all shots but the POV shots. That will make the hand-held work more unique and impactful. Use lighting to help create an eerie feeling. The footage in the hallway that I mentioned above and the hand in the bathtub set the mood. The shots that have flat lighting loose the feeling of horror.

Judge 3

Positives:

Improvements:

Judge 4

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