CHANGE IN GENRE!!!!!! - Action/Comedy to Horror

After speaking to our course teacher (Mr Thornton), Dan and I have decided to change our genre idea from an Action/Comedy trailer, to a horror movie trailer. Reasons of changing the film genre was due to the difficulty of the action/comedy, trying to make the audience laugh, that if it was unsuccessful with the jokes we used, then the trailer would be a flop. Another reason for our change in genre was due to the other participants of our media cause doing Action Thriller, made us think of a change, so we decided between the both of us, while watching different various film trailers, we came across the horror movie trailers and how effective they are and we then decided to change our genre to being a Horror.

Paranormal Activity Trailer Analysis

In 2009, the film paranormal activity was released and overall, it was a huge success, bringing a whole range of audiences around the world. To prove that it was successful, through my research of this film, it was budgeted of around $15,000, once released it made a net profit of $193million, which shows how successful it was. This is the trailer for the first paranormal activity film and later over the years, created a sequel of these found footage horror films.

The uniqueness of this trailer gives the audience the real life experience of feeling like they’re in first person and that they’re the ones holding the camera, increasing the anxiousness, intensity and fear. Due to the film being completely different from other conventional horror films, this would give the feeling of a whole new experience and have the audience intrigued about what’s going to happen in the film. As soon as we see the production company of the film, which in this case, it is Paramount, the movie begins straight away. The long shot used for to film the trailer shows the audience that the trailer shows people watching the film, reminding the audience that the trailer is actually being filmed from a first person view and that it is also being filmed in a cinema.

Throughout the trailer, the lighting is constantly dark, this is to re-enforce that the trailer is a horror genre and also keeps giving reminders to the audience that the trailer is also set in a cinema. There are quick cuts in the trailer when a scary moment occurs and it is cut to the audience to show the expressions on their faces, making the audience feel like that this is the expressions that are going to be on their faces when they watch this film. This will bring in a wide range of audiences to come and watch this film.

The unique selling point in this film is shown in a very smart but cunning way. This is because of the camera type used in the trailer. This is shown through the use of poor camera quality but the producers, directors and editors wanted to use this effect to have a bigger impact on the audience. This is one of the reasons why they wanted to keep to a lower budget and didn’t want to spend much in the production stage of the movie as they were using cheap but more effective cameras, but are not as good compared to the cameras used by other movies, which would cost thousands more. In the trailer, we can see this is emphasised, this is through the line of a male character saying “High Def (Definition) Camera On” this shows the camera simply being used for the audiences purpose and that they want them to feel the experience and fear of the movie.

The prevalence straight away at the start of the film is given to the female character which is after the distribution company, Paramount, goes by and this is done through the cameraman looking at her. During this time, we get the impression that there are two cameras when there is a shot/reverse/shot which is used for the view of the conversation. This is also helps to introduce the second character in the trailer, which is the man.

Overall, the camera movements are never smooth in the trailer and because of this, this makes the trailer be able to build tension and intensity when watching it and this is when the actors are holding the camera. These movements get quicker and quicker throughout the trailer when the non-diegetic sounds increase and when it is introduced to the trailer. As the non-diegetic sound gets louder, there are more events that occur which then cuts to the audience in the cinema getting scared and jumping out of their seats.

The trailer itself tries to sell itself to the audience by having audience views of the film, e.g. cutting to the audience jumping and being scared, also it includes critic’s reviews saying for example “The Scariest Movie of All Time!” this is to bring in the target audience to go and watch this film. Right at the end of the trailer, when the audience thinks it is all over, we see a man fly into the camera to end the trailer with a scare, making the audience remember it more. This is one of the only times in the trailer that we see it in full screen as almost all of the trailer was filmed as if the audience was in the cinema but this quick shot/transaction would be able to catch the audience off guard and give the audience a real purpose to go and watch the film.

Through the different camera types, the audience will get drawn into the trailer as it more mysterious than any other horror film, which makes this trailer/movie unique. From the trailer, we as an audience do not gain much information about them, having the mysterious feel about the film, wanting the audience to want more and watch the film. This is to add the suspense to the trailer and also to make the horror scenes have more of an impact in a person’s perspective. 

Fast And Furious 6 Trailer Analysis

With a budget of $160 million and being released in 2013, Fast and Furious 6 became a very successful film, generating a net profit of $628 million. From the my previous research and from what I have learnt from it, that films only make a sequel if the previous film/films have been successful, in this case, the Fast and Furious franchise has become very popular and also very successful, generating a high amount of money. Film critics gave Fast and Furious 6 a rating of 7.2/10, which overall, is a very reasonable rating but also shows that the film is also very good and one to go and watch. Just like all of the previous films, Fast and Furious 6 is also classified as a thriller/action film but also does categorise into other sub-genres, which is common with all of the 5 Fast and Furious films previous to this one being analysed.

Straight away, an establishing shot is used where we see one of the actors, Dominic Toretto, house in the movie. Us, as the audience find this out when the quote “This is what $100 million buys” which is said by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, then there is a cut and we see there is a sex scene, this is used to attract the younger audiences, the use of an iconic childhood hero would be able to have the audience excited and would want to watch the film. Through the use of Todorov’s Theory, we can see that the audience has settled down. When Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson enters the scene and into the mind of the audience, it then becomes disruptive. Later on into the trailer, the scenery of London is set by an establishing shot, which is after conversation of Dominic and Dwayne Johnson, we can see that firstly, the camera is focused on the plane, which tells the audience that they’re flying away/out from somewhere. We then see shots of the Tower Bridge and Big Ben in the trailer, this gives the obvious impression to the audience that the scene/film is going to be set in London, England.

The Fast and Furious trailer, from what I have researched so far, is one of the longest, this is due to the constant high impact of action, which this coincides with the general genre of Thriller. In the trailer, there is a large amount of explosions as well as fast paced action such as car chases and gun shots, these types of scenes are to grab the attention of the audience, this would make the audience be drawn into the trailer and want to watch the film when it is finally released. The storyline in this trailer is introduced to the audience fully and allows them to have a good initial idea about what the full film is going to be about. Even with Dwayne Johnson narrating the storyline, in a personal opinion, it is hard to listen to it, this is due to being engulfed in the fast paced action that is in huge quantities, also that the narration doesn’t stop as soon as the non-diegetic sounds start. The fast and furious storyline stereotypically starts after the film distribution company’s names fade away as the trailer progresses. From my previous research analysing movie trailers, it is vitally important that the film industries/companies are places in the right place in the trailer, this is to have a better effect on the audience, even though they only last minimal seconds in the trailer, but also, this is used to allow the effect of the trailer to run smoothly.

The main antagonist in Fast and Furious 6 is Owen Shaw, but he is introduced and shown in the trailer in scenes where it is at night, this gives the audience the feeling that he is a mysterious, dangerous and sly. We get to see a lot more information about the Fast and Furious storyline, but from this trailer, we don’t learn much about what Dominic’s opposition is like, this gives the mystery to the film and wants us to watch the movie to see more action and gives us the feeling of wanting more. Personally, this trailer did give out a lot of information about what the film is about, but this have had an impact on the audience making them wanting to be engulfed in the full film, but some information, such as the character of Owen Shaw is left a mystery to retain the suspicion of the film.

There is a lot of different unique selling points that Fast and Furious portrays from its trailer. We were able to be introduced to the line-up of actors, but the main characters we see is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Dominic, which give the audience that these two characters are the main protagonists in the movie. One reason why Dwayne Johnson is in the movie, I personally believe is that due to his successful career as a professional wrestler at WWE and being able to gain a huge fan base across the world and also his successful acting career, this draws in people from across the world to wanting to watch this film as they feel like they have a parasocial relationship with Dwayne Johnson. Another unique selling point that is portrayed in the Fast and Furious is that previously, they’ve has a very huge success with the other films that have been produced. Due to the film being a part of a sequel, the previous movies link in with Fast and Furious 6, so they’re trying to widen the fan base by including how good the previous films were and how successful they were too. In the previous Fast and Furious, a main character of Letty dies, but comes back to be found alive, adding that twist to the film, and showing why this film is also a Thriller as well as an action. Throughout the trailer, this gives the audience the impression that there is only one storyline but it’s ultimately followed by two or three sub storylines due to the amount that is going on.

Throughout the trailer, we see an enigma, who is within the character of Letty. This is due to the fact that we don’t see her much but she has been given a lot of prevalence in the Fast and Furious 6 trailer, this is due to that there are many different conversations that are revolved around her, also due to there being a close up/zoom shot of Letty in a black and white format gives the emphasis that she is or going to be an influential character in the movie. In the trailer, we do witness her a lot but we don’t hear her talk, meaning that I am able to enhance the type of enigma character when I start to produce my own trailer.

Ultimately, we see the last piece of information being the title of the film, which is Fast and Furious 6, but prior to this title we see at the end, the trailer ends with action as we see a car flip over and the is on fire, giving the exciting experience being allowed to carry on even when the trailer is over and shuns out of the action genre. Due to the action at the end plus the titles, this would get the attention of the audience and also re-enforces the target audience and also the fan base to go and watch this film. Furthermore, as the car scene at the end is prior to the titles, this becomes an importance to the audience as they’d be able to remember the car scene and the fire making them remember the titles even more. Fast and Furious 6 is a well-established movie within its genre, so in comparison to the titles, I personally believe there is less relevance from the movies they produced before. On the other hand, this does also tell me that if the titles are after an action packed scene, the audience would be able to remember them more.

Overall, I personally believe that this trailer has had its impact on the audience, resulting in its huge success and also due to the high quantities of information that is being perceived in the short 3 minute clip. While watching this trailer, it’s allowed me to think what type of content and how/where I am going to place the right content in my trailer and how it will make it more effective, depending on the genre of my choice. The trailer shows the initial storyline as it begins after the film institutions, which is an idea I am going to implicate in my own production. Fast and Furious sells its unique selling points in an interesting way as they’re all spread around within the trailer, but it also gives me the thoughts of where, in my own production, I would like to implicate my own unique selling points in the best possible way and how it would reach out to my target audience.

Hide and Seek Trailer Analysis

At the start of this trailer, it starts by informing the audience about the film institution, in this case, it is 20^th Century fox. 20^th Century Fox has creates/helped with loads of well-known films/trailers, this could attract different types of audiences to watch this film. At the start of this trailer, there are two adults that are talking about a girl called Emily. This can suggest that Emily, the child, is one of the main characters in the film/trailer and this is later proven throughout the trailer. The narrative of the film is introduced through the conversation of the two adults as they hint a death of a partner, which is why they need to move away.

Throughout the trailer, there is very dull lighting and this sets a mysterious and sinister mood of the trailer and creates a fearful atmosphere in the audience. The first half consists of slow music to build up tension and the other half is setting the story for the audience to understand. The tone then changes when there is a big bang noise and then a sudden change in the girl’s behaviours which are scary and creepy. This shows the audience that the trailer is not just about relationships and a troubled family but that there is also an element of horror and fear to the trailer.

There’s a large emphasis on the children and the child like behaviours in the trailer, this is to add in an extra fear factor as in present horror conventions, the children are ones to be possessed as it is found scarier and because the children in horror films are innocent and vulnerable. The titles of the trailer is called “Hide and Seek” and this helps to emphasise the child-like behaviours, this is due to hide and seek being a popular children’s game. Throughout the trailer there is reference to counting of numbers, which links to the game of hide and seek, and this is echoed in the background of the trailer, referring to the word “Game” that Emily says, hence the link. Also towards to the end of the trailer, Emily uses the typical hide and seek phrase, “come out, come out, where ever you are” this gives the audience a scary feel as it builds up intensity and a lot of fear as the young girl is trying to find someone, adding the mystery of who she is trying to find. However, when Emily uses this phrase in that context, it gives the impression that she is not innocent or vulnerable, that as well as the protagonist, she is the antagonist and we know this from the narrative that was at the start of the trailer about the young girls strange behaviours and we understand now why the family have to move.

In the trailer, Emily is sometimes shown with a doll. The doll here is a signifier and sometimes, dolls are signified with horror movies as it is normally the doll that is possessed and they are used in many successful films such as “Child’s Play” with Chucky and also the recent horror film “Annabelle” which is all about a possessed doll. Also there is writing in the bathroom that is wrote with blood and this connotes death, gore and horror. There is also a mystery, when a knife is being taken out of the holder and the audience haven’t got a clue who is holding the knife and this raises questions. Also the knife is associated with killings as it symbolises death and terror in horror films.

The end of the trailer there is a lot of fast paced shots and a build-up of music to increase intensity and tension. After these shots, the film’s title appears “Hide and Seek”, and this informs the audience about the title of the movie, allowing them to take in the information. After the titles have been shown, Emily appears again and reflects her major role in the trailer and film. This is then followed by the release of the film, wanting the audience to go and solve the mystery and watch the film, and this is also placed at the end for the audience to remember the important information.

Hangover Poster Analysis

The main theme of the poster is the background, with the bright gold lights and the title looking like a sign you see in a casino, represent to the audience that this film is about three friends getting drunk and the highs of being drunk. The gold bright colours in the background attract the audience and make them feel like their looking at something from Las Vegas, which is represented with money, fun and gambling. The red and gold colours also represent the feeling of excitement and happiness, linking it back to Las Vegas. However, the clothes of the characters in the poster seem dull and dirty, suggesting the aftermath of the night before, hence the name, The Hangover. The poster shows the anti-climax and the consequences of what happened the night before and antics that occurred when the characters were drunk, this is due to the loss of a tooth from one of the characters and also the baby with the sunglasses also suggest that the trio found the baby and now returning him/her to the parents. This main image in the poster is photographically making it seem like that the antics that occurred with these characters could happen in real life.

The posters main messages are primarily visual, this suggests that the plot of the film tells the audience that we get to see what happened to the characters the night before. This gives the audience the sense of humour and makes them raise questions, making them want to know what happened the night before.

The tag line is in capital letters, attracting the audience, the tag line quotes “SOME GUYS JUST CANT HANDLE VEGAS”, this gives off the humorous image to the audience and links with the genre of comedy. This tag line also tells the audience where the movie is set, which is Las Vegas in Nevada, and this is because Vegas is a very popular place for comedy films as it is stereotypes with just having fun, getting drunk and spending all of your money and this is well established for this genre. Conventions, for example, the location, the wear and tear of the characters we see from the poster imply that the trio have comical personalities and are represented well in the poster.

The main and intended target audience of this film is likely to be the younger generation, 15-30 year olds, this is because this film is certificated a 15 and this is for the audience to relate to the characters experiences and mishaps that occurred and they can relate those mishaps to their own personal experience.

The feeling of escape from the real world is one of the promises that this poster addresses and this helps the audience have the ability to relate to the main characters of the movie. The attention of the target audience is through the use of humour in the appearance of the poster and the tag line we see on the poster uses its use of humour linking it to the genre.

There is also a sub tag line quoting “FEEL IT JUNE 5^TH”, this tag line tells us when the film is going to be released into cinemas and also it speaks to its target audience (15-30 year olds). Using the capital letters in the writing shows its importance in the poster, wanting the audience to go watch the film on that date.

The expressions that are shown on the characters faces show the typical stereotypes of the comedy genre films and this suggests the trouble that they have caused.

We can see on the poster that it does not include the characters names of the main actors, this could suggest that they are not the major selling point of the movie. However, these actors are very recognisable and can bring in a range of different target audiences.

Hangover 2 Magazine Anaysis

This magazine front cover of the masthead “Entertainment weekly” is shown through the use of large, bold writing which is in the colour yellow. The colour yellow is used to connote and conform the emotion of happiness and general laughter, which is what we can see from the magazine cover, as the picture of the film, The Hangover Part 2, we can see that there is laughter and happiness, through the use of the characters smiling. Also, with the laughter and happiness, this implicates on the audience to have the same effect and is encouraged to be drawn into looking at the magazine cover or being encouraged to watch the film. Due to this magazine being a weekly release, this gives the suggestion that there is current information, meaning that the magazine is going to be lower in price, beating its fellow competitors.

Light, warm colours are shown on this poster, which connotes with the Masthead and the expressions on the actors faces. When linking the characters to the genre, which is comedy, we can see that their facial expressions give the mischievous, comical and commercial impressions which link to the films overall genre. Due to the characters being the main part of the magazine cover, the background is plain, this can connote to the audience and personally, it is enough to get their attention and get them interested about knowing what the film is about just from reading their magazine. As the characters are a trio, this can give us the impression that they all have the same prevalence but also that their all as important as each other, this tells the audience about their relationship with each other and that it connotes a good friendship between them all. Therefore, due to this, the audience would want to research what the trio’s friendship is like by looking for the answers within the magazine

The title of the film, Hangover 2, is presented in a recognisable but similar manner, this is due to the title being the official and main merchandise of the film, as this film is a sequel to the previous film, this also gives the magazine an official feel to the audience as it becomes more recognisable. Below the official title of the movie, we see the words in large white letters “Bad Boys”, this gives the impression to the audience that the trio are up to no good, which gives the impression of being comical, but also it connotes that the profile of the magazine and the film is more character based than written. The white writing of the words “Bad Boys” also stand out from the background, this is used to get the audience’s attention. With the words “Bad Boys”, there is hints below the written text as it gives away a slight part of the storyline as it shows what is partly included in the film. “Bad Boys” is a cliché, from the quote “Everyone loves a bad boy”, this is to reach out to the female target audience, meaning that women love a bad boy, and hence why there is a cliché. The differences in the text colours connotes the other adverts within the magazine, which the audience may or may not want to read as it doesn’t really have much prevalence as it is felt to be just a sub topic away from the main topic which is the Hangover 2. The strengths of the characters is shown not through verbal use but through the visual use, this is due to the large scale of the trio, advertising the film more.

Scream Magazine Analysis

Here we have an issue of scream magazine, this magazine connotes the horror genre, and hence the name “Scream”. We can see that there is a date which is down to the day, this can tell us that this magazine is a weekly release, also we can get the idea that it is a weekly release as the magazine is called “Entertainment weekly”. On the magazine, there is no price that is shown, this gives the audience the suggestion that there the magazine may be quite pricey, which connotes a sort of quality in writing. Due to the there being no we address for the magazine online, this means that the magazine’s “Entertainment Weekly” is not multimedia, this could mean that they want you to buy the magazine to find out what is inside the magazine. What I can see from this magazine, there is no tag line, this means that the central image is the main importance to try and engage the audience in the magazine and this is also to help promote the film, which in this case, is Scream 4. A technique that this magazine uses to attract the target audience is by using celebrity names (ones that are associated or connected with the film, Scream 4) and they use this technique to want the audience to buy their product and find out more about the film. The white writing of the masthead stands out from the background, attracting the attention of the audience and shows its importance on the page, this is because it is bigger and bolder than the surrounding writing on the page. Other articles are advertised above the masthead, these articles showcase the various different stories that would attract the target audience by showing the range of diversity that this magazine has, as the written texts are in different fonts, this is easier for the audience to gain different types of information from the magazine but also making the information more accessible.

The information from the main article is much bigger than the features and the other articles that are surrounding or above the main image. The texts that are surrounding the main image, for example, “Blood” and “Battle”, are associated with gore and horror, allowing the magazine to attract their target audience.

We can see that the magazine has a colour scheme, conforming to the horror stereotypes, which are white, black and red. The black shows darkness and fear as many people are scared of the dark, the black connotes darkness, giving the scary factor to the magazine. The red conforms blood and gore, which conforms to the typical horror stereotypes. We can see that the image heavily relates to its film, but the antagonist on the film is shown on the front of the magazine, this normally doesn’t happen but as the film is a part of a sequel and that the antagonist is taking on the same appearance than the ones in the previous films. Due to the familiar face/mask of the antagonist, the audience can provide their attention to that image from the well-known film franchise.

Insidious - Poster analysis

From the makers of Paranormal Activity and Saw, the makers created Insidious. From looking at the poster, the poster looks to draw the target audience as there is a lot of detail to it, meaning that the audience would think that it would be a good film, this could be because of the people who made this film, previously created two successful horror films.

As we can see from the poster, the audience automatically can see the title; this is because it stands out from the poster, with the conventional white writing with the “SI” in the title being in red. These colours are used, not only that it stands out from the dark background, but to go back to the stereotypical horror conventions, with red meaning blood and gore and white meaning light and safety, the audience can automatically think that because of these two colours, that there might be some gore/blood. It can also suggest to its target audience that there is a dark and dangerous side to the film. From my research into this film, the title “Insidious” has a meaning, the meaning of the word is “Intended to Entrap”, giving the suggestion what the film may or may not be about, but it gives the audience suspicion.

The sinister looking boy standing in front of the old, run down house is the main image in the poster. In a conventional horror, an old, run down house is stereotypical, and this raises awareness in the audience as it gives the feeling of the house being haunted or dangerous. Going against the average codes of the horror genre, the sinister young boy are normally perceived as being good, as it normally is the young girls in horror films that get possessed. We can see that the child looks sinister and possessed by his eyes, as they look like there is someone inside, controlling him and it gives the audience an eerie feeling. Linking this to Claude’s theory of oppositions, we can say that the young boy in the poster is opposite to the average young boy. Giving the impression on the audience that he is different, this wants to make the target audience watch the film and find out what happens to the young boy, who from the poster, may have the most prevalence in the film.

There is more of a focus on the young boy and less focus on the old house in the background, meaning that the images are short in depth. This only gives out short ideas and clue about what the film is about. From the impressions I get from the poster is that the film is set in an old, run down house and the main character is a possessed, sinister looking young boy. With this poster, would bring in a wider range of audiences as they would feel like it is different to the other conventional horror films in the past.

Colours of the images in the poster look drained; this is to give the poster an older look to it, and also an eerie and dark feeling.  The red of the young boys pyjamas, give the impression that he is dangerous and unpredictable, which draws us in more, as we have the thought of wanting to know more about the film. This would raise questions also to the audience, making them ask themselves “Why is he in pyjamas?”, “What happens to him?”, “Is there something wrong with this boy?” Having a dull image, make the audience raise questions and want them to find out more.

The word “Insidious” is written in the young boys left eye, going back to the boy being possessed, this can have the impression on the audience that he is, as well as the young boy can be the protagonist, he is the antagonist as well. Personally, I think that this would bring in an audience as children being possessed are scary and dangerous, and this is the opposite to what the young boy is perceived to be.

From the teaser trailer, the quote “It’s not the house that’s haunted” encourages the target audience to find out more about why the film is haunted or scary, as it goes against the conventional horror films having the house being possessed or haunted. Linking this to Barthes Enigma Theory, making the audience to solve the mystery on what is haunted and the mystery of the film, forcing them to watch it and find the answers.

On the film poster, there has the actors and actresses names, this is to promote the film and widen the range of audience and attract them to the film, this is because if there is a recognisable/well known actor or actress in the film, the audience who like them would more than likely go and see the film, increasing the net profit of the film. At the bottom of the poster, we see a billing block, which is a block of writing that will contain the companies, directors and other members of the cast and crew that are included in the film. The billing block may attract an audience, this is because at they might read the block and recognise their favourite director or actor that is included in the film and this encourages them to go and watch the movie, due to their interest in their work.

Also, at the bottom, there is also the film institutions, as these are the company’s logos that have helped provide the budget and create Insidious. The film industries can also help us recognise what type of genre the film would be as most of the companies stick to one specific genre, an example of this would be Warner Bro’s create a whole range of films from Action to Cartoons and also Horrors.