Story Telling Unit: "The Meeting" - Trailer Development and Inspiration

As part of my planning process, I've been looking at tv drama trailers to get a sense of the content and mood different shows and trailers use to draw the audience in. The tone of my idea is quite dark and I want it to be shot in a real gritty style, using locations that aren't necessarily the prettiest of pictures. I want my trailer to involve all of the characters and introduce them in terms of their appearance, actions and attitude.

I want to shoot a similar style trailer that was used for Channel 4's Top Boy by Ronan Bennett.



I like the idea of mixing voice overs and lines from the series with footage used in the episodes and footage filmed especially for the trailer. This technique would work for my trailer as I can introduce the characters without actually giving the films story or plot away. I want the characters to cross paths without actually interacting with eachother. Again, Top Boy used this technique in an advert. It wouldn't be long enough to use as a trailer and lacks depth in the content but the style and choreography used in the shot is something I would like to use in my trailer.



I have some limitations in trying to replicate this shot. For instance, I wouldn't be able to use a crane like the one used for the Top Boy advert. Nor the budget to crash a BMW into a wall!

Top Boy is shot in a similar style I want to shoot my trailer/film in. Its use of social reality in the characters it presents and locations it is set in, is matched with the often hand held shots giving it a rough and edgy feel. The music again fits the mood and by using music artists that are labelled to the "street" and "grime" genre as actors, such as Kano, the components in the film all fit nicely together creating a strong brand image.