CCR Question 2- Research

 Creative Critical Reflection 2

How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

In films normally the way most people come to know of their existence is through trailers. So, for this question I wanted to tackle it by doing a trailer. But first I need to know how to even make a trailer.

How to Make a Movie Trailer - Editing 3-Act Trailer Structure

So, after watching this video I have identified that trailers are categorized into three main types:

• Cold Open: Critical for grabbing attention immediately with minimal setup.
• Premise Introduction (Act 1): Essential for clarity; the audience must understand the story’s baseline.
• Conflict and Antagonist (Act 2): Introduces tension and uncertainty, increasing engagement and preventing spoilers.
• Climax (Act 3): Delivers emotional and visual payoff, designed to overwhelm viewers with excitement.
• Button: A strategic final moment that leaves the audience wanting more, often a humorous or mysterious tease.

After looking at these types, I wanted to do a Conflict based trailer. Where I can clearly hook the viewers' attention and also because I feel it is the best option for a murder mystery. Now that I know what type of trailer that I want to do. I now want to look at how to edit clips and make it look and feel like a trailer.

How to Make a Movie Trailer Like a Professional Editor

Aspects

• Purpose of Accents: Adds emphasis, clarifies the story, varies the pace, provides breathing spaces
• Types of Accents: Quick shots, sound effects, verbal interjections, music cue hits
• Impact of No Accents: Monotonous pacing, less engaging, harder to follow
• Role in Music Synchronization: Accents land on musical transitions or beats for natural rhythm
• Effect on Audience: Helps audience digest information, keeps engagement high

What does this mean?

This means that aspects are an essential tool in trailer editing. It functions as a punctuation mark that shape the trailer's rhythm and clarity. Editors who rely solely on continuous dialogue and epic music without accents risk producing dull and tiring trailers. Incorporating accents thoughtfully leads to more dynamic, polished, and professional trailers. For my trailer I will make sure to add aspects where they are necessary in order to make sure to keep the audience engaged to the film.

Our Audience

Our target audience for this film is Millennials-Older Gen Z. I will appeal to them by making the trailer a reasonable length and accessible through apps frequently visited by those generations for example YouTube. The film opening is shot in a more domestic setting without too much action allowing for those older people's attentions to be attracted. Although this means that the younger Gen Z-Gen Alpha will not be as interested in our film due to their lack of attention span.

Conclusion

A movie trailer is a very popular and important way to engage with audiences while distributing a film. It allows for them to get a general gist of the story and keeps them wanting more. By making a trailer for our film it will allow it to be shared through a larger audience, allowing them to access it from social media apps like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc. By making sure this film gets out towards those apps it will not only be able to grab their attention through short clips and heart pumping music but also be easy to access through those free apps.

Makeup for our film- reflection

 Makeup for our Film

What could I have done better?

First of all I could have aliquoted more time to practicing the makeup so then it wasn't a rush to try to perfect the makeup before filming. Also, I should've watched more videos towards my level of understanding even though I watched beginner videos maybe I should have watched videos with less concepts. As it made it much harder to do the makeup as someone who just learned what each makeup tool was used for. Another thing that I could've done better is ask more of my friends to try the makeup on them as our cast is very inclusive so it's a bit harder to do makeup if I do not know skin tones. Also, I was missing some makeup equipment that definitelty could have helped to make the looks come out better. But at least I tried to finish the makeup without it looking like complete trash.

What Went Right?

For the makeup the thing that I think went right was definitely the foundation step. I got to be able to blend it out without any blemishes and made sure it looked alright. Also, I do feel like the lips went fine. For the detective style makeup (male makeup) I made sure not to use much product only a simple Chapstick to appeal to the mysterious look while also making it look more serious. For the bolder female look I made sure to include bolder makeup to the lips in order to give off that suspicious look. But because of not using the makeup the character conventions will be shown through their clothes and their body language throughout the film.

What does this mean towards our film?

This does mean that there is not going to be any makeup in this film besides the wound makeup. Unfortunately the makeup was way out of my league and doing both would make filming times longer and cause the actors to not want to come back. 

male makeup- implementation

  Trying out the Male Makeup

So after the nightmare with the female makeup I still have a chance with the males (or so I thought)

Male Makeup

Male Makeup

So after completing the makeup look I realized that instead of the grunge look, he looked like he got punched in the face which is definitely not a good look. And after getting clowned on by people I lost a subject to experiment on (very unfortunate). Also males faces are much harder to do makeup on as before fixing it to look like this we had this:

Male Makeup

It looks better on camera but in person he looked like "Count Dracula" and after that comment I knew for a fact that the male makeup had to also be cut. Unfortunately unlike girls you can't just add glitter to break up the "lost a bar fight" look so I really had no choice but to cut it.

What I have learned

I have again learned that I absolutely suck at makeup. I have also learned that the reason why no males really post the grungy look is because it's so hard to not get the beat up look. However I have learned that I am better at female makeup then the males. But unfortunately the male makeup had to be cut from the film. So to make the detective a more serious man as depicted in the script we decided that instead of the face being intimidating/serious it should be the body movement.

Trying out the makeup for females- implementation

 Trying Out Makeup

After discussing with the actors the only look I needed to practice was the bolder makeup.

Dark Fem Makeup

Makeup Look

After trying out the makeup I realized that I suck at doing makeup. Also even after multiple attempts to do the makeup it still looked bad. But honestly if I had redone it more I could have probably perfected the look but frustration took over as to why I had to cut it. 

What Went Wrong?

Almost everything went wrong when trying the makeup but in future films I want to try to do better. Also I could not find any lighter colored people to test the makeup on as some of our suspects are lighter. 

What Went Right?

I do think that the non cakey looking makeup was pretty good. Also, the way I blended it into her skin was nicely done with covering up most if not all blemishes. Also, the reapplying makeup to the beauty mark to make it pop out more was a great addition. As many evil people in media has 1 or more beauty marks on their faces.

What have I learned?

I have learned that doing makeup is much harder than what they say in the videos. Also that next time I should buy more stuff like lipstick and lip liner as without it the look did not pop as much. Also I have learned that beginner videos for makeup are actually very hard to follow and I should have asked my friends to explain how to do makeup to get a more detailed and hands on advice. I have also learned that working with eyeline is very hard as you have to keep the line straight throughout the process and my hands are very shaky so I had to redo the line many times and still failed to make it look any better.

How to use makeup in a SFX way- implementation

 Making the Wounds For Our Film

After getting the materials that I bought along with the additional research into Rigid Collodion and Scar Wax I was able to execute the murder scenes makeup. But before I give you a sneak peek into how the makeup turned out on set I must first show you the practice that I did before arriving on set.

Trying at Home

For this I had the person shave both their arms and legs for better application of the Scar Wax.

This is a video of me doing the wound makeup using scar wax. Unfortunately this subject could not have rigid collodion on their skin so I did not get to practice it before filming. However it was not needed (which the explanation will be later in the blog)

On Set Makeup

The actor came shaved allowing for me to skip out on an awkward moment. Also it helped make the process much faster.

Wound Makeup

Wound Makeup

What Could be Fixed?

Due to some misunderstandings with the Cinematographer I was told to complete the makeup look to early. This caused the actor to feel uncomfortable as the Scar Wax cannot be used long term. As time went on the makeup began to shift so it caused me to have to do some sprucing up more often than if I was told to do the makeup later. Also after realizing that the scene had to be pushed back after finishing up the Scar Wax I decided against using Rigid Collodion as it is basically a glue and long term use can cause real harm to the actor. Also, after the miscommunication it caused some staining on the actor with the fake blood after removal but luckily that was combatted with some hot water. 

What Went Right?

I do believe I was able to make the crime scene look pretty realistic along with the makeup looking fine enough to be believable. Also, the application of the wound onto the actor went very smoothly allowing for filming to not be halted as I finished rather quickly. The shade for the bruising effect look very nice against the actors skin allowing for an enhanced realism look. For some areas the more vibrant blood was used to show that while the victim was dead the killer felt a little more resentment and did another slash.

What Have I Learned?

I definitely learned to ask more questions as the situation with the makeup could've been easy to avoid. Also I learned that not every skin type is the same. For the practice that I did at home application was decent but on the actor it was way to slidy even with the baby powder. This made me realize that I should have done a separate meet up with the actor to try out everything before diving right in.

actually making the sound- implementation

 How Did I Make The Sound?

For this I decided to use the Double Bass to get that deep looming sense of dread sound, the violoncello to get the creepier sound, and the violin to tie in all of these sounds. Also I made sure to use dynamics to get that build up to the climax like starting at pp (very soft) to ff (very loud) as the score goes on.

Video of Sound

Video Of The Score

What Went Wrong?

I do think that the violin part sounds a bit odd but every time I try to fix it, it becomes worse. So maybe I should've found a more complementing instrument. Also I had to cut out the piano part because it was hard to make the part fit into this piece without giving it a horror more than mystery vibe. Also it took way longer than I expected to finish this score mainly because while I do have prior knowledge about instruments working with the bass clef as well as the treble clef made things much harder.

What Went Right?

For figuring out the notes and making sure they did not clash was pretty easy. For the bass and cello they give a more enriching vibe to the whole piece so that part was pretty easy. The use for sharps and flats throughout the whole piece went very lovely especially in parts where there only needed to be a slight shift up.

What Have I Learned?

I have learned that next time when making sound I should start much earlier. This could've allowed me to be more flexible with my note choices. As I personally feel ashamed of what I made, while my group members think its good I'm not sharing their thoughts. Also I learned to never use violin again as that instrument is very hard to research and learn. I have also learned that when doing small scores like this dynamics are very important and I would have added a lot more if I had the time.

male makeup- planning

 In my previous blog post about males makeup I included some items needed for the makeup. To achieve that dark grunge look I would need some eyeliner, eyeshadow, foundation and different brushes for better application.

Materials for Male Makeup

Makeup pallet

So this will be used around the eyes giving that no sleep look for the detective in our film. It can also be used to emphasize the detectives hard work on the case/ he is a busy man that does not take any excuses.

Makeup brushes and sponges

This will be used for blending out the makeup to not make it blotchy and also to help with a smoother application. Also this will allow me to do the makeup faster as if I had to do the finger application around the eyes it could cause more mistakes so this will be very helpful.

eye liner and brow pencil

The eye liner will be used to help with the "edgy" look of the detective. For this one it will have to be smudged using a finger so it can look more messy emphasizing that the detective is a busy man with a lot on his plate.

How Will This be used in our Film?

So these will help in achieving the detectives dark look. It will help the audience already identify that the detective is a very serious man who reads between the lines to identify who the killer is. For our film the detective will be shown in an interrogation room with each of the suspects. So the makeup could also make the audience get the vibe that he is trying to pressure them into giving up any clues on what happened that night.

More into Scar Wax- Research

 Just like the Rigid Collodion I wanted to go back and get more research into the Scar Wax. 

How to Use Scar Wax When Making Wounds

Wax Placement and Preparation

• Start by sketching the wax placement with an eyebrow pencil.
• Recommended to place wax on flatter areas of the skin to ensure better adhesion.
• Use Ben Nye’s ear and scar wax; scoop wax with the back end of tweezers.
• Apply an emollient on hands beforehand to manage the stickiness of wax.
• Press and shape wax onto the skin, beginning from the ends and moving to the sides, leaving a thicker middle section.

Blending and Foundation Application

• Blend the wax edges seamlessly into the skin.
• Use a small fluffy brush to stipple foundation gently over the wax to avoid disturbing the shape.
• Blend foundation over the rest of the face for a uniform look.

Carving and Texture Creation

• Use the edge of tweezers to carve a line into the wax.
• Employ zigzag motions to create a jagged, more natural-looking wound edge.
• Avoid making lines perfectly straight to enhance realism.

Coloring for Bruised Effects

• Use a palette with red, blue, and purple shades.
• Gently stipple these colors around the wax edges to simulate bruising.
• The stippling technique adds depth and variation in color intensity.

Adding Wound Details and Fake Blood

• Fill carved lines with a product called “fresh scab” using a small liner brush.
• Apply stage blood using a Q-tip to fill and enhance the wounds.
• Customize the amount of blood drips; in this tutorial, a subtle look was chosen.
• Use a beauty sponge to blot blood around the wound for a splattered effect.

How does this apply to our film?

This will help when making the stab wound look more realistic. Also you may be thinking about how the slashes on the video look small and not realistic for a stab wound that is not a problem. I can always just use the steps and make the wound bigger this is just to help me get the idea on how to accomplish that scarred and bloody look. Also this helps make the victims dead body look more realistic. Fortunately they died from a stab would and not a neck slit as that would be very uncomfortable on the actor.

More into using Rigid Collodion- Research

 After doing my SFX post I feel like I needed more information into Rigid Collodion because while the video was helpful I did not get a full explanation into what it entailed/ how I should accomplish the makeup look.

How to Make a Fake Scar Using Rigid Collodion

Fake Scar Tutorial Using Mehron Rigid Collodion

Before breaking it down I wanted to go over the safety first.

• Rigid collodion must not be applied on or near hair, eyelids, mouth, eyebrows, or hairlines.
• Use a protective barrier on sensitive skin (e.g., Pros-Aide or barrier spray) before applying rigid collodion.
• Always perform a patch test on the wrist to check for allergic reactions or skin sensitivity prior to full application.

Now I will move on to everything needed to make the fake scar using Rigid Collodion.

Materials Needed

• Mehron rigid collodion (white, bright pink, and red cosmetic colors)
• Alcohol wipes for skin cleaning
• Toothpicks for detail work
• Color setting powder (similar to talcum or baby powder)
• Makeup remover supplies: 99% isopropyl alcohol, spirit gum remover, petroleum jelly, or oil-based removers like coconut oil

Preparation

• Clean skin thoroughly with alcohol wipes.
• Shave the area a few days prior to avoid discomfort or hair pulling during application.
• Sketch scar shape lightly on skin with a pink lip liner, considering natural scar formation and placement away from sensitive areas.

Application Process

• Start with drawing the scar outline and shading darker areas to simulate depth.
• Dab lightly with alcohol wipes to soften harsh lines.
• Apply multiple thin layers of rigid collodion, allowing each layer to fully dry before the next.
• Avoid applying rigid collodion on or around eyes and hair; mark safe boundaries using glasses or other visual guides.
• Once dried, the scar area appears shiny; apply a small amount of color setting powder to reduce shine and help makeup longevity.
• Use grease paint cosmetics to add realistic reds and pinks to emulate healing tissue.

Final Appearance

• The scar effect looks extremely realistic with stiffened skin texture where the collodion contracts.
• The combination of color shading and powder creates depth and natural scar coloration.
• The makeup is durable and does not easily move or smudge during wear.

Removal Techniques

• Use 99% isopropyl alcohol or spirit gum remover to break down rigid collodion.
• Petroleum jelly or oil-based removers (e.g., coconut oil) help loosen edges and dissolve grease-based cosmetics.
• Apply remover with gentle circular motions; rigid collodion tends to peel off in pieces.
• Some residual redness or skin indentation may remain post-removal but typically fades within 20-30 minutes.
• Avoid forceful removal to prevent skin irritation or damage.

How is this important to the film?

As stated in previous blog posts the victim dies to a knife wound and what is a knife would without some prior cuts. As the director I wanted to pain the killer as non-professional so the death is messy and seems very personal (which it is). So instead of just learning about the penetration site I wanted to learn about how to do slashes too.

How to use makeup in a SFX way- planning

 There can't be SFX makeup without the materials needed. So this blog will be focused on the things I need to buy for my implementation post of SFX makeup. As listed in my previous blog I need lotion, shaver, baby powder, sculpting tool, and petroleum jelly. As well as the actual materials like scar wax and rigid collodion.

Materials

I already got the lotion and disposable shavers for the filming date but I will need to purchase Baby powder- rigid collodion

Baby powder

I found this for like 4 dollars at Walmart so I will be placing an order to get it before the filming date. In our film this will be used to make sure the wounds do not have an unnatural shine to them. Also it will be used to reduce the chance of a glare on the wound part the blood can glisten a little to be more accurate but the wound must not.

Sculpting Tool

This will be used to help remove the stab wounds from actors after filming to make sure neither the wound nor the actor will be harmed. As inconsistent wounds will make the film look like trash so by safely removing the scar makeup it will help us make sure the wounds stay as consistent as possible.

Petroleum jelly

This will be used in multiple ways during our film. First it will be used to make sure that the scar makeup does not irritate the skin. Meaning that this will be placed on the skin before putting on the wound to reduce the chance of skin irritation. It's final use when filming will be to aid in removing the scarring makeup to make sure that the removal does not harm the actor (or makeup) in any way.

Scar Wax

In our film this will be used in making the stab wounds. It can help make sure that the scar looks as realistic as possible when filming. It can also help with exaggerating the pure horror of this murder as maybe there are lots of cuts before being completely dead showing a struggle to live or a manic killer.

Rigid Collodion

In our film this will be used to create realistic scarring. This often has a pulling effect to help enhance the look of the scarring but is a bit hard to replicate. So all of the filming of the victim must be done in one day because it will be hard to recreate exactly.

What Does This Mean Towards the Film?

These materials are all going to be used when making both the wounds and scarring. In our film it will be used to make the wounds on the victim as believable as possible within our best abilities. So not only will they help make the victims death look realistic some of these materials will aid in quick and painless removal of the makeup. I want to make sure that the actors are kept safe and preferably without pain so the sculpting tool, etc. is definitelty necessary.

How to use makeup in a SFX way- Research

 After knowing how to do makeup for our film, I wanted to start learning how to do the SFX. For our film the victim dies to a knife. Normally it's multiple knife cuts/ stabs. But before I learn how to do the actual would I have to learn about SFX makeup in the first place.

How to use SFX Makeup Safely

Where to Start With SFX Makeup | The Basics, Products, Application, and Safety of SFX Makeup

• inexpensive shaving tools (e.g., dollar store razors) for prepping skin.
• let each latex or adhesive layer dry entirely to avoid tackiness.
• Vaseline/petroleum jelly emerges as a versatile product useful for both application facilitation and product removal.
• The removal of fake blood stains is effective with petroleum jelly or lotion by leaving it on the skin before wiping.

Different types of Materials

Liquid Latex

• Requires a patch test on the wrist to check for allergies (itching, burning).
• Contains natural rubber latex and ammonia; can cause skin sensitivity and hair-pulling if applied on unshaved skin.
• Best to shave face/body areas to avoid painful hair removal during latex peeling.
• Skin preparation includes applying a light lotion, shaving, and cleaning skin before application.
• Latex dries in layers; each layer needs to dry (~2-3 minutes) to avoid stickiness.
• Use color set powder or baby powder to reduce shine after drying.
• Removal involves peeling latex off gently and using petroleum jelly (Vaseline) to break down residue.

Liquid Latex is usually used for prosthetics and skin effects so it is not that effective for our film so this method would be not necessary. As I stated previously we need wounds/ bloody scarring.

But there is an alternative to this material that is perfect for wounds. This type is Synwax also known as Scar Wax.

Synwax

• Synwax (Scar wax) is a flexible alternative for those allergic to latex. 
• Synwax is heat-activated, highly flexible, and moves naturally with skin.
• Application involves warming the wax with petroleum jelly, shaping, and blending edges with jelly or lotion.
• Strong adhesion can be enhanced with spirit gum.
• Removal requires scraping off excess wax with sculpting tools and breaking down residue with petroleum jelly.

As I have sad before Synwax would be one of the best options for wounds in our film. Not as much with thew scarring effects but there is one that can be used for scarring effects.

This type would be Rigid Collodion which is often used for creating realistic scarring effects which is perfect for the victims body in our film. If you were wondering what about Spirit Gum I did not mention it because it will have no use in our film because we do not need a small prosthetics for this film. Also Spirit Gum is a bit more dangerous than the others because it can cause chemical burns which is definitely one way to have an actor never come back. So that will not be used in our film.

Rigid Collodion

• Strong chemical smell; must be used in a well-ventilated area to avoid light-headedness.
• Requires patch testing and preferably a barrier product (e.g., Pros Aid spray) to protect sensitive skin.

This type would definitely be useful for making that realistic wound look for our film.

What does this mean towards the film?

Now that I have researched the SFX makeup I can now start using what I have learned to make the wounds and body scarring. After watching the video and learning about the 4 main types I know I can definitely make use of the Rigid Collodion and Synwax because they will be the most useful towards our film as they can both be used in combination to make the things I need for the film.