Research and Planning Targets

Spend a little bit of time revisiting some posts and adding some theoretical points using specialist terminology. Is there any more detail you can mention to explore genre, representation, mise-en-scene, camera composition and editing. You need to share your schedules and plans for filming and then make them happen. This evidencing of time management is important if you want to achieve more than 16 marks out of 20.

More than Human - Outro/Credits

Here is the finished video for our outro for the trailer. This was created on Sony Vegas 11, with the help of some YouTube tutorials on how to create these effects.

At the start we have warned the audience to ‘Be prepared for the horror within’ so they would think that there is still a lot to come after the trailer. That saying really makes it seem as if it’s a horror film and it is very scary.

After that we have included the date the film would be out, and social networking trends so # sign on twitter e.g. #morethanhumanmovie so the audience would mention our film and word of mouth would get around and market our film for more viewers. As well as telling them to like us on Facebook so we can keep them updated with any quests and games we will launch to market the film using any sort of campaigns.

The last bit of the outro includes everyone who was part of the film e.g. the directors, actors, productions companies etc. as they need to get credit for their work.

We have added sound to this, to make it more dramatic and to have more effect on the audience, although I think the pinnacle point of the outro is the screen shutting off at the end of the trailer as if its the end. 

More Than Human Intro

Here is the finished video for our intro for the trailer. This was created on Sony Vegas 11, with the help of some YouTube tutorials on how to create these effects, which would be shown on a later post.

Underneath the title ‘More Than Human’ we have included our slogan ‘The Horror Within’ so the audience we are targeting is given a clue. I believe this will appear better and give the audience an impression that this film is very serious, and high quality.  

Our own production company - Paradox Entertainment

Here is the finished video for our production company, called Paradox Entertainment. This was created on Sony Vegas 11, with the help of some YouTube tutorials on how to create these effects, which would be shown on a later post.

Paradox Entertainment was founded by Daniel Malamud in November 2013. It is currently compromised by two sub divisions - Paradox Studios and Paradox Cinema.

Paradox Entertainment saw the success in the first movie released and decided to produce another film, this one being a horror film, 'More Than Human' - Release date 2015 (TBA)
The video above shows our finished product for Paradox Entertainment, this sets the mood for the rest of the trailer. I hope you enjoy.

Pre-Editing - Tutorials - Smooth Transactions/Use Velocity - Sony Vegas

In this video below, is a tutorial on how to use Smooth Transactions and the Use Of Velocity in Sony Vegas. This video would be able to help us use a more smoother and faster range of transactions, meaning that from cut to cut or frame to frame, it is more smoother and hopefully giving us more marks for the use of editing. I personally think that after watching this video, it would help us get a better grade as from shot to shot would be smoother and due to the increased velocity between the transactions, would add more tension for the audience.

Pre-Editing - Tutorials - Black flashes - Sony Vegas

In the video below, this is a tutorial for Sony Vegas (which is the program I am going to be using for the editing of our trailer) on how to add black flashes to your video. I've watched this video a couple of times and I found it really useful and that it gives clear instructions on how to create these black flashes, it is also very easy to follow. Personally, I am going to be using the black flashes in our trailer as this would give us a more tense and more horror feeling towards the audience as it would make the trailer more fast paced and tension building. I also think the black flashes would be a huge asset to making our trailer either a fail or a success.

 

Our Film Institutions

Paradox Entertainment was founded in November 2013 by me, Daniel Malamud. It is currently comprised of two sub divisions - Paradox studios and Para Cinema.

Paradox Cinema is a production company that specialises in virtually no-budget
blockbuster epics. The past project is the feature-length motion picture 'Swan Song'(April 2014), which revolutionised cinema.

Paradox Entertainment saw the success in the first movie it released and decided to produce another film, this one a horror film ‘More Than Human’(Release date 2015 TBA)

The video below shows how we will aim to do the title, this sets the mood for the rest of the trailer

Own film Treatment - Final

Synopsis

Two teenage boys, aged 18 and 19, we're brutally attacked last week at a cemetery in the North of London. Their bodies were left hanging as a warning to other individuals not to trespass at the cemetery. Left behind was two camera's to show the world the disturbing images these two teenage boys faced and their experiences before the distressing deaths of both of them. The found footage of both of these teenagers soon leaked onto the internet and now on news channels across the globe.
We see footage being taken by the actors themselves so its documentary type trailer. Both directors James Young and Daniel Malamud star in this incredible and horrific trailer which include terrifying scary and daunting moments, aims to discomfort the audience and think of what the future could hold.
Trailer will be our January time... Brace yourself!

Codes and Conventions

The codes and conventions of our film are similar to that of an horror film, being fast-paced with fears and scares. Our film trailer involves many fearful moments. These are all typical, expected conventions in horror films. Another convention of horror films is that there is always someone to run away from or/and survive, we included this in our trailer as the guys try to survive from running away from the infected people. Lastly, one of the most common conventions of an action film that we have included in ours is death.

Starring
Daniel Malamud - Denzel Shedd
James Young - Jack Buskley

Vlog - HighGate Cemetery - 15th October

My Role in the duo (Dan and I)

Throughout our course in Media, I have the role of editing. The software I am going to be using for our editing is Sony Vegas Pro 11. This is a decent editing software to use as I am able to add a whole range of different effects that would be useful to our chosen genre for our trailer, for our genre, it is a found footage horror film, personally, Sony Vegas Pro is going to be the best software to use to help us succeed in making this a good and hopefully scary trailer, due to the amount of different effects I could use. This can give us a whole variety and there are many tutorials from youtube to help me with the editing.

Font

I think in order to make this film successful, a font is needed which is eye catching and audience would know straight away that it’s from our film, just like Scream 4 did, I will try to find a font which is suitable enough to use.

After some time of researching what font would be most suitable to use for our film trailer and bearing in mind it needs to link into horror, I have decided to use a font called ‘chiller’.This looks very creepy, and would suit our genre.

More Than Human

Directed by Daniel Malamud and James Young

Trailer Update - 15th October 2014

On the 15th of October 2014, Dan and I went to take some location setting photos for our trailer. We traveled to London, up to Highgate Cemetery, where we spent around 2-3 hours taking photos and discussing between each other and planning what we would like to do for our trailer. We had to pay £4 for entry to the cemetery, this is due to there being famous individuals buried there such as Malcolm McClaren, Karl Marx, etc. Throughout the day, Dan and I did some video blogs to update the audience of our blogs, to show them where the location is and what it is like to be in our position. These video blogs (Vlogs) will be placed on the blogs in the next couple of days.


Here are some pictures off the internet of what HighGate Cemetery looks like. We have our own photos that will be uploaded in the next couple of days too.

Our Certificate Research - 15

For our film trailer, we have decided to make it an overall 15 certificate, this is due to the audience we would be presenting to as they're mainly some of our peers or maybe younger.  Also due to the research of our genre, horror films/found footage horror films are classed as 15+ films due to the horror, gore and violence within the film. Due to the audience being our peers, we made it aimed to be for teenagers and young adults. Between Dan and I, we decided to make the film a 15, as this is due to our film trailer having gore, violence and the language may be not appropriate for those under the age of 15. So we said that it would be a reasonable idea that we made out film a 15, rather than an 18, as an 18 rated film would be too extreme for the audience.

Film Certificate - 18

If a film is rated 15, it means that no one over the age of 15 is allowed to view it, even if accompanied by an adult. These films can include more gore, harder swearing, more sexually explicit scenes and more. They tend to be taken more seriously than the lower classifications, as they are primarily aimed at an adult audience, with no attempts to please anyone younger. A lot of films that are aiming for the teenage audience cut out a lot of their violence in order to appeal to a wider audience. 'The Hunger Games' cut out seven seconds of violence in order to stick with its target audience and to allow teenagers to watch it. A similar cut was made in 'Taken 2', which is an interesting example, as the first 'Taken' film was rated '18'. 15 rated films do well because they attract a wide range of audiences, by sacrificing the younger years, they attract far more of the older generations, who, after all, are the ones with the money. This would be a good rating for our film to be, as it could include a fair amount of gore and swearing to make it more realistic, while keeping with our target audience.

Film Certificate - 15

If a film is rated 15, it means that no one over the age of 15 is allowed to view it, even if accompanied by an adult. These films can include more gore, harder swearing, more sexually explicit scenes and more. They tend to be taken more seriously than the lower classifications, as they are primarily aimed at an adult audience, with no attempts to please anyone younger. A lot of films that are aiming for the teenage audience cut out a lot of their violence in order to appeal to a wider audience. 'The Hunger Games' cut out seven seconds of violence in order to stick with its target audience and to allow teenagers to watch it. A similar cut was made in 'Taken 2', which is an interesting example, as the first 'Taken' film was rated '18'. 15 rated films do well because they attract a wide range of audiences, by sacrificing the younger years, they attract far more of the older generations, who, after all, are the ones with the money. This would be a good rating for our film to be, as it could include a fair amount of gore and swearing to make it more realistic, while keeping with our target audience.

Film Certificate - 12

12 rated films mean that the audience has to be over 12 to be able to watch it, or they can be accompanied by an adult. These films are a significant step up from 'PG's' as they can include a bit of blood and they are allowed mild swearing. These are the borderline of adult films, as they are the start of getting into more serious topics, but they are still very mild. 12 rated films tend to appeal a lot to a teenage audience, as they allow all teenagers to see it, however this means that an adult audience may be reluctant to go and see it. The James Bond franchise is an exception to this rule, however, as it is an accepted franchise that is loved by all ages. 'Licence to Kill' was the only Bond film rated higher than a 12, but nowadays would probably be considered a 12.

Film Certificate - PG

'PG' stands for parental guidance, meaning that people under the age of 12 should not watch it without the consent of their parent. PG films are a slight step up from U films in the sense that they can subtly reference drugs and sense and nudity is allowed, but not in a sexual way. PG's are still not very explicit in any way, and are still aimed at a young audience. Again, I do not think that this would be a suitable genre for us to do, as it would not appeal to an adult audience, and they may not think that it is serious enough for them.

Film Certificates - U

This is the lowest film classification; it stands for 'Universal' - a universal audience. This means that anyone can watch it, from babies to elderly people, however they tend to be aimed for a very young audience. A lot of U rated films are animation and almost all of them are aimed at the 5-7 audience. There are a few exceptions, such as a few of the Star Wars films are U rated, however they are aimed for a very wide audience. This film classification is very much for family films, and you do not get many thrillers that are made for this age group, especially not serious thrillers, because of their dependence on threat and violence. I don't think our film is rated for a universal audience as it is aimed at a 16-25 audience who may think that watching a U rated is childish, and it would reduce our audience.

Horror Movie Mood Board

#1 Frightened - Actors will have to show a lot of fear, this would help put the audience in the same shoes, or same place as the actor being scared, message would be easier to get across, and quality of film would be better. Serious horror films require just as much preparation for a role as other genres. It's imperative that the audience believes in the world of the film. The believability of the character is an integral portion of that believable world.

#2 Make-up blood - This will be key to show cuts and injuries on people, audience could think that it actually happened and draw them into the film, with this, we could dramatise the situations and make the audience feel sympathy for the actors. Any horror film we are acting in is a world that needs to come across as believable. True, it's not every day that we might get stabbed in the heart or have our friend's head fall in our lap, but it is our job as actors to make these moments as real as possible.

#3 POV shots - Point of view shots, would be ideal to be seen, as its found footage based, and a trailer, I would like to make some of the shots look blatant that we(actors) took them.

#4 Masked antagonists - Potentially saving us getting an extra actor, this would scare most audience as being seen with a mask thats covering the face, covers the identity, most people would link this to crime, and that they are about to do something bad, easy way to outline the bad guys.

#5 Facial Make up - Including cuts, wounds, scars, scratches, if all good, it would increase the quality of the film, just running around looking fine won't look realistic, but using makeup to fake injuries and accidents would surely make it more realistic.

#6 Group of survivors - Instead of using one person, use a group of friends or just survivors who got together to stay alive, this would be more effective as the audience can pick out their 'favourite' ones, and create a social interaction with each other, talking about it at school, work etc and making the film more popular.

#7 Hideouts - Using creepy abandoned places, to set a scary setting, of course editing and changing the colours would be a priority to make these good. But showing a few quick hideouts and conditions of the place, would bring the

#8 Screaming - Acting in horror films almost always requires some sort of noise of distress at some point or another...usually it comes in the form of a scream. Screaming shows fear and being frightened, audience will see how scary it really is just by hearing the sound, yet some people may even just get scared by the scream.

#9 Woods - Many people find the unknown scary. The woods are not typically where people live. They may live near a forest, but they seldom live in one. Forests have predators, some of them large enough to kill humans. It's also easy to become lost.

#10 Creepy acting by diseased creatures - This would put the audience in discomfort, making them believe this could be realistic and make them scared.

#11 Knifes - Fake of course, using props like this would again, make it look more realistic as its something everyone thinks about when scared.

#12 Chainsaws - How scared would you be if someone was running after you with a chainsaw? Very! I am not sure how or where we could get one, or even a fake one, just to take a shot of one of the diseased creatures running after one of the survivals with one. But I think its a good idea to work around.

#13 Survival - Similar to hideout, show the horrendous conditions the survivals will be going through, stand out how difficult and disgusting some things are, for more drama and sympathy and fear.

#14 Blood trails - Anyone seeing this would freak out, this would mean someone has been seriously hurt or even killed, with blood being on walls, ceilings etc and still dripping, would look fresh and that in only just happened, so the audience may be engaged in the sense of being with the survivals. 

Codes and Conventions of a Horror Genre

Codes and Conventions of a Horror genre:

·         Split into sub genres, often hybridised

·         Primary target audience – male, 16-24, Mainstreamers

·         15 or 18 Certification (promises of pleasure) – debates on passive consumption

·         Uses and Gratifications (active audiences) theory can apply

·         Extensive use of Narrative enigmas

·         Exploration of Narrative Themes

·         Slow pace of Editing, builds tension. Long takes

·         Three act narrative structure

·         Predictable narrative content (follows format)

·         Clear binary oppositions e.g. good v evil

·         Use of low key lighting

·         Use of CGI, FX

·         High production values but many low budget horror films

·         Dominant, hegemonic representation of gender: The Female Victim

·         Extensive use of close up

·         Incidental non-diegetic sound

·         Distorted diegetic sound

·         Extensive use of narrative off-screen space

·         Young/teenage characters

·         Use of hand-held camera: audience identification/realism

·         Point of view shots

·         Low angle shots

 

The Cliches:

The Protagonist:

·        Teenagers - mainly girls.

·        Daredevils/ rebels.

·        stupid.

·        College dropouts.

·        Even more stupid boyfriends.

·        Blonde.

·        Screams.

The Antagonist:

·        Ghosts

·        Zombies

·        Creepy children

The Story:

·        Unresponsive bodies.

·        Haunted houses.

·        Haunted graveyards.

·        Haunted towns.

·        Haunted hotels with equally creepy workers.

·        Shower murders

·        Creaky doors.

·        Creaky stairs.

·        Creaky rocking chairs

·        Dolls.

·        Pictures with blurry faces.

·        People coming out of pictures or TV's.

·        Creepy, suspenseful music.

·        Chainsaws

·        Knives

The Unborn Trailer Analysis - Horror Movie Research

This trailer, called The Unborn, straight away, creates a scary, thrilling atmosphere and has an impact on the audience through the uses of sound, editing, camera angles and shots.

The diegetic sound of the whispering through the baby monitor, creates suspense but also wants the audience to raise questions about who it is speaking through the baby monitor, wanting them to find out more, and attracting the audience to watch the film. There are moments of high-pitched non-diegetic sounds and this starts to create an eerie atmosphere, which makes the audience feel uncomfortable. To add to the audience feeling uncomfortable, there is silence in parts of the trailer, which increases nervousness and also builds intensity, and this starts to create a sinister atmosphere. Some of the voices of the characters are not very clear and hard to understand, this increases a fear factor but also makes the feeling of the unknown within the audiences mind.

Throughout the trailer, there are many fades, as the trailer progresses, it encourages the same continuous feel of being uncomfortable. As the trailer progresses, the pace starts to increase and this is done through the use of jump cuts. This builds up the intensity and fear, meaning that the audience would now start to feel a bit more on edge.

Various camera angles are used throughout this trailer and some are canted angles, this creates an alarming atmosphere within the audience. There are also some variations of the shot types; the first shot is an establishing shot, this shows the audience the isolated setting in the trailer. There are also some of the over-the-shoulder shots, where the audience is then positions alongside the protagonist of the movie. Extreme close-ups are also used, one being a shot of the protagonists eye, which is a symbolic piece to the plot of the film and trailer. Various point of view shots, make the audience feel like they are the ones experiencing their fear and places them in the protagonists position, making them emphasize with the protagonist.

Saw 1 Trailer Analysis - Horror Movie Research

In this trailer, there is a slight link with Todorov’s theory of narrative, but overall it isn’t very clear. There is no period of equilibrium or a moment of disequilibrium in this trailer; it goes straight into the disequilibrium. However, with this disequilibrium, it adds more of a fear factor to the trailer and having a more intense and fearful feeling in the audience. In the trailer, we are shown some newspaper articles that are going at a fast pace, to increase the intensity, but this indicates the equilibrium in the trailer, also tells the narrative at the same time. Just the same as other trailers, this trailer has no new equilibrium, and the audience does not know what happens at the end, leaving them on a cliff hanger, making them want to go and see the film. This trailer also complies with Barthes Enigma Code by allowing the trailer to exit as a mystery, increasing the target audience and raising questions, making them want to know more and find out how it ends.

Also shown in this trailer is Props character theory, this is portrayed through the innocent victims being helpless and scared, which has an effect on the audience as we start to feel nervous as we are waiting to see what happens to the victims. The protagonist in the trailer is the police officer which linking to the character theory, he is the helper, as he tries to help and solve the mystery of what is happening to the victims. The masked puppet, named Jigsaw, is the antagonist, and linked to the character theory, he is the villain. Due to being behind a puppet, it keeps the true identity of the antagonist a mystery and draws the audience into watching more of the films, as Saw is a sequel.

Throughout the trailer, there are various different shots, editing techniques, camera angles and different ranges of non-diegetic and diegetic sounds that create a scary atmosphere in the audience.

Diegetic and Non-Diegetic sounds have been used in a variety of ways in the trailer. The high pitched rumbling noise of the non-diegetic sound is used to help build tension in the audience and also to build up the fear factor as well. The sound of chains in the trailer is the diegetic sound, also other sounds such as screams of innocent victims and clocks ticking adds the scare factor to the audience and giving it an eerie atmosphere. The unrecognisable voices in the trailer, which are not clear and understandable creates a fear of the unknown, making the audience want to watch the film, finding out more about the voices.

There are various different jump cuts in the trailer, these are used to create the suspension in the film and this makes the audience feel disorientated. Throughout the trailer, there is a lot of black screens which are on for a long time. This would make the audience feel uneasy as they have no clue what is happening and this create tension and suspension. It would also make the audience feel vulnerable and involved in the trailer.

Also, in the trailer, there are a lot of canted angles. These types of shots help create an alarming, uneasy atmosphere amongst the audience. As well as these shots, there are also a lot of close up shots which show the emotions and instability of the characters in the trailer, giving the scare factor to the audience, making them want to learn more and empathize with the characters.

Film Certificate

The certificate of my film I decided will be a 15 certificate. The reasons for me deciding to choose this certificate are because of the audience of my type of film and other films similar to genre. I found that with films similar to mine that I've studied (the Ring etc.) to have a reasonably high audience of teenagers and in particular people aged 15+ in these sorts of films, so it would therefore make it suitable and appropriate to make my film a 15. In terms of appropriateness, I feel that my film would fit in with the 15 certificate because it would contain violence/language of a reasonable level but not too extreme of what would expected of an 18, this is why my film would be a 15 certificate.

Horror Film Title Ideas

Here are our initial ideas for our trailer:

·        Nocturnal Eyes
·        The Last Ride
·        Black Trip
·        Sharing The wilderness
·        Against Expectations
·        Lie in wait
·        Desperate
·        One Way
·        Hell
·        Pray for rescue
·        1 week
·        They Watched or Watched

I like the last two names the most, '1 week' and 'They Watched'. Both are quite vague and dont give a lot away, would have the best effect on the viewers making them want to watch it.

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.

AS Coursework Reflection - Digital Technology