Stranger Trailer - ID# 133

Neuqua Valley

Division: A

Movie Trailer

Entry Description

Three friends (Elaine, Kinsley, and Liam) go out on a Friday night to finish a physics project. As the night goes on, tensions rise between the couple (Liam and Elaine) and the third wheel (Kinsley). Kinsley 'falls' off a cliff that night, and a year later, no serious investigations have been made. Liam lied to the police, and Elaine, telling them that she fell off by herself. Elaine and Liam eventually get serious together, and on the one year anniversary of Kinsley’s death, Elaine gets visited by Kinsley. Kinsley is ‘dead’ set on exposing all the lies Liam has told and finally get her revenge.

Recent Teacher Comments

• 3/23 9:04 am - Pros - Sound, lighting, editing, and locations are all working very well in the trailer! The sound design for this piece leads the way in setting the mood, defining the genre, and motivating the edit points. The camera and lighting in the opening shots, like the low angle looking up the basement stairs, further support the suspenseful nature of the trailer. The effects editing was subtle but effective. Both the eyes and the radio effects were used in a way that supported the storytelling and were not just used for the sake of doing a cool effect, which is all too common in recent history. The drone shot at the end not only enhances the wonderful location for such a scene, it creates a sense of this grand scale to the piece that a simple wide shot would have failed to do. Cons - The strong nature of this trailer, overall, works against you in one very glaring way. The scene beginning at 0:37 does not match the rest of the trailer. The production quality is low, the sound of the dialogue is poor in comparison to the rest of the trailer, and the scene has an overall hurried feeling. The ending shot is the saving grace that leaves the audience with a positive impression that the first 37 seconds works so strongly to build. The storytelling could have been greatly strengthened here by not relying solely on the dialogue and taking more time to film the scene to ensure it is up to the quality standard of the rest of the piece.
• 3/9 12:40 pm - Great job. I think this is put together really well. Gives us just enough info to be curious and want to find out what happened and to watch the whole thing. Drone shot really brought it all together.
• 3/8 9:37 am - I really enjoyed this trailer. The match to action to the drone shot was excellent. To take this up a notch, look at your use of color value and light. Is it consistent? Is this what you want to communicate?

Judge 1

Positives: Like the drone shot at the end; really mixes up the shots. The opening shot really sets the tone and lets the viewer know they are about to be "scared."

Improvements: The car scene is a cool idea but needs a little re-editing. Also, when filming outside, try to work on using mics to help with the wind sound.

Judge 2

Positives: Excellent editing! Great take on horror editing tropes. Wonderful opening shot and overall visual style.

Improvements: Audio work could be improved, particularly during dialogue scenes. Some VO from the perspective of the protagonist could help move the trailer along and provide help with narrative.

Judge 3

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Judge 4

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