Here's an update of where I am at with the making of the soundtrack for my trailer. This is a time consuming task as Garage Band is a new software that I am slowly getting to grips with, however I am doing my best - and with the help of the music tech teacher - to navigate around the software and make this soundtrack the best it can be! So far, I have added numerous 'loops' of sound including, bell transitions, jingle bells etc that all accompany one another nicely and my soundtrack is starting to come together. Although I am making the soundtrack now before my filming is all complete, I am aware that I will have to manipulate the music slightly to fit the pace, transitions and footage that will construct my trailer.
As I am beginning to creep into the filming stage for my trailer, I think that this is a important time to begin to research the production/institutions that are going produce and distribute my film. Due to making a film of the Christmas Genre and having films like Love Actually and The Holiday as inspiration, it is important to look at institution and company's that are significantly involved in films of this genre. My co-producer and I are aspiring to make a film that realistically would be distributed by large and successful company that falls within the 'Big 6' such as universal in order for our film to be successful and in the real world, have the most potential to be a hit film. In regards to producers, we were planning on having a production company that is independent and can mirror our low budget that we have! Therefore with a independent producer and successful 'Big 6' distributor, our film has the most potential to succeed. I researched the 2003 Christmas Phenomena 'Love Actually' in order to find out the production and distribution company's associated with such film.
This is a film that is one of my inspirations as it includes a variety of Hollywood actresses and actors that work as the USP for the film attracting a wide audience, also despite this it follows the festive theme, like i wish to do with my film and cleverly accompanies various narratives against each-other. Part of the reason for the success of this film (Like any blockbuster film) is due to the production and distribution company associated. Production company/s: Universal Pictures Studio Canal Working Title Films DNA Films
Distribution Company/s:
Various company's were used in order to distribute the film yet the most poignant was Universal.
From this research and knowledge of the film industry it is evident that the most popular and successful distributor is Universal. Therefore my co-producer and I are settled on the fact that Universal should distribute our film as this gives our trailer a great platform to be able to become a successful Hollywood film following Love Actually and The Holiday.
After looking and considering a range of dates, my co-producer and I have decided on a range of dates over the December period in order to begin to film our production. December is a prominent month for us as our film is a festive Christmas film, therefore all major Christmas activities and mise en scene is going to be taking place within the month of December, considering this the majority of our filming needs to commence in the coming few weeks. 2nd and 5th of December are inset days, therefore we are going to take these days in order to go to London and film some scenes on the busy and festive London streets!
In my trailer, the aim is to create a trailer that includes a wide variety and locations in order for me and my co partner Olivia to show our skills to the best of our ability. Using a variety of locations allows our trailer to look professional and present the amount of locations that would appeal realistically in the whole length of the film. From completing research and trailer analysis, I realise that a large number of locations need to be covered in order to make a successful trailer.
This is the Hamleys store in London, which is one of the locations in which I am to film at. This is a conventional location for a Christmas film as it is common for films within the festive genre to feature a scene in a popular and festive toy shop for example in home alone there is a scene in the famous toy shop in Macys in New York. This is a location in which would fit the genre of my film perfectly as the mise en scene inside the store within the festive period is clearly identifiable to a Christmas film.
Another location which is a definite on the shooting script is the ever busy and extremely festive 'Winter Wonderland' located at Hyde Park in the centre of London. My co producer and I feel like this is a perfect location as it is a free event and has the exact Christmas ambience that we are trying to portray in our film. Also within this event there is lots of different shots we could film as there is a ice skating rink, fair ground rides and lots of typical Christmas events that would be expected to see in a film of such genre.
After weeks of research and planning, my co-producer Olivia and I have come to a very exciting stage in the preparation of our film! We have reached the storyboarding stage!! wooohoo. Although we are both aware that this is going to be a challenging task as we are not 100% secure on the story line, and we understand that our film is not 100% going to replicate our storyboard - we are going to give it our best shot and clearly plan out the different shots we are hoping to include in our trailer, making it easier for us when it comes to the filming stage. I will keep you updated on how our storyboards are coming along! This is my current storyboard at the moment, these first 7 shots indicate the institutions and distributors of my trailer, also the first few shots that show the montage of this particular scene.
Today I had a extremely beneficial tutorial with a music tech teacher, and I was taught the simple steps and navigation around the software Garage Band. This is the software that I am going to use in order to create original music that will fit my trailer and accompany the action directly. Learning how to add loops of music, play around with the tempo and understand a idea of the sounds that will suit the festive genre, is something that I will benefit from as I can now start the exciting process of making my music! Being able to manipulate and edit my own soundtrack for my film will allow me to make a unique trailer, ensuring that I do not include any copy right music. I am so excited to further my skills on Garage Band, with extra tutorials and support from my teacher, as this is something I definitely want to include in my trailer.
Something that appears in most Christmas films is defiantly snow, and tons of it! This adds to the Christmas feel and the audience will easily be able to identify the genre just by this mise en scene. Typically american Christmas films produced by large institutions feature excessive amounts of snow, which sometimes looks somewhat unrealistic. Although it would be great to have snow in my film ...this is a convention of Christmas films that I am not certain on replicating in my film as it can not be guaranteed that snow will be forecasted to fit with my filming schedule. 2. The neighbours are your enemies
Something that is common on all Christmas films is that the main dominating family in the film do not get along with their neighbours! As a fan of the Christmas genre this is something I have seen before many times, in films such as Christmas with the Kranks. This is a film I am hoping to take inspiration from therefore maybe this is something to include in my story line if I decide to include neighbours!
3. Santa gets an impostor
This is a cliche that will not be appearing my film as Santa is going to feature in the trailer, yet won't be one of the main protagonists. Christmas films that include characters like Santa typically appeal to a younger demographic yet my trailer is going to be aimed at those teenage/adult range.
After distributing my survey to a variety of people between the ages of 16-20, 6 have completed my online survey regarding film trailers. This is clearly not enoughresults as 6 is a significantly small amount of people, and I aim for about 10-15 people to complete it in order to gain a wider range of results so I can analyse effectively. However for the mean time, I thought I would analyse the 6 answered surveys that are completed.
I included this question in order to establish whether the demographic are interested in watching the trailer first in order to get a understanding of if the film is worth a watch. From the results it is evident that there is a 50/50 split between very likely and likely, therefore it is essential that a competent trailer is produced as this will be a reflection of the real film, and from the results we can see that it is frequent that my target will watch the trailer to decide whether the real film is worth a watch. Linking to the purpose of a trailer being to entice the viewers to watch the full film.
As I am still in the planning stages of my trailer, it is not yet clarified whether I am going to produce a theatrical or teaser trailer. These results showing that the audience prefer theatrical trailers helps aid this problem I am yet to solve! This gives me a definite indication that I will produce a theatrical trailer. A theatrical trailer will therefore allow me to include more shot types and exhale my skills more efficiently as theatrical trailers are conventionally longer than a teaser.
I included this questions as it enabled me to gain a understanding of what film trailers people of my target demographic watch - therefore indicating the type of films they are into helping me with my narrative. Also, this question allows me to do some further research into what trailers have been watched but haven't done a good enough job of enticing the viewer to see the film at the cinema. For example 'Girl on the train' appears twice in the results of this question, meaning that there might be a specific reason for this - or contrastingly they just might not have got round to watching it yet as it is a current film in the market! I will do some further research into this.
This question enabled me to get a sense of whether trailers that deploy the whole narrative from start to finish work effectively. From the results it shows that 2 people think this works effectively, however a greater number of 4 people think that this doesn't entice a viewer to watch the film. Based on these results, in my trailer, I am going to aim to keep the ending omniscient in order to give people a reason to watch the full film and find out what happens.
This question enabled me to get some research on what sound will work effectively in my trailer. It is a common convention for trailers to have a voice over, however I was unsure whether this is something that my target audience find powerful, or contrastingly distracting. From the results 1 person thinks that it is slightly distracting, 3 people think it is not very distracting and 2 people aren't quite decided on what they think. This is a varied distribution of results - however the largest distribution is with 3 people who are not fazed by a voice over, which is something I could consider to deploy my narrative in the trailer.
In the creation of this questionnaire I wanted to gain a idea from a specific target audience of what trailers do not work effectively and in fact subvert the viewer from watching the film. Therefore from the results of 6 and 7 I was able to do so. 4 people interestingly said that they have never been put off by a trailer, however 2 people challenged this and said that they have been put off. I included question 7 to find out specifically what film/films have done so. One result showed that the person cant remember - meaning that the film trailer obviously didn't impact the viewer enough to even remember the name!...Something that I am definitely trying to avoid! The other named 21 jump street, further to this I will do some research into why this trailer didn't adhere to it's purpose and entice the viewer into watching the whole film.
This is the mood board that I have created in order to give me a replication the sort of film I am planning on creating in the coming months. As my film is a Christmas film, all of the images I have included are seasonal related - which give a indication of what the type of locations I want to include. These settings include - London in the festive period, Toy shop such as Hamleys, Christmas carol concert, Christmas in the household. This variety will allow me to produce the camera shots and cinematography that I am capable of.
Despite this, there is a range of low key and high key lighting used which I am going to experiment with in my film. The colour tone that is deployed in these images have a slight sepia effect which is obviously a common convention of festive films. This is something I will defiantly aim to replicate in my film. From my mood board it is evident that I want to include a range of different characters, varying from toddlers to elder characters - this mainly to give a sense of what Christmas time is like for a range of people and to give the overall film a family, festive, fun feel appealing to a wide demographic.
Today, Olivia (my co-producer) and I have been thinking deeply about the locations that we would like to include in our film, after looking at our mood board and doing some research we are certain that we want to film a short scene in some stores in the City as they will be perfect during the festive period. This would allow us to use variety of shots in a great location such as the toy store Hamleys, located in London. However to do so, we have to be granted permission from the store, therefore I researched who to contact and have sent an email which I will also forward onto other locations which we hope to film in - such as Harrods etc. The email is below...
The intertitles I will be analysing are for the festive romantic comedy film "The Holiday".
The first intertitle that we are exposed to is in the format of a split screen, the words written in a sans serif font - imposing the romantic element throughout the film. The words that are used state the characters name and her location, giving a indication to the setting before the film has began, allowing the audience to identify/escape based on the location. The text is written in a blue font, suggesting the type of character and personality that the character is going to be in which accompanies the blue titles - in this case a cool and collective character. Despite this, the split screen has been used so that the audience can immediately put a face to the characters name, proposing a relationship between the protagonist and the audience, enticing them to watch the film.
This is again evident with the opposing female protagonist Iris, her name and location is again stated, in this case 'England', allowing those in England to identify with the film and characters as well as the American consumers, appealing to a wide demographic.
The next intertitle states the previous films in which the makers of 'The Holiday' have directed. This makes the audience confident that they will produce a successful film that is worth watching. Despite this, these intertitles have been included as they will appeal to a secondary target audience (those lovers and fans of "what women want" and "somethings gotta give" as well the primary target audience that will be watching for the USP or other values.
Similarly to the first intertitles we are exposed to, the characters featuring in the film appear in the format of a split screen accompanied by there real life names, in this case 'Cameron Diaz', the text is written in the same sans serif font to show the significant similarity running throughout making the trailer more recognisable to the audience. Although it is the same character in the photo, the actresses real name has been used so that the audience can escape from the 'Amanda' that they are yet to know and identify with the popular and established actress that they have seen in previous films. This immediately is a unique selling point as the audience will know that they are guaranteed a great watch due to the actress/actress. This intertitle is repeated with the other protagonists such as Kate Winslet and Jude Law.
This intertitle states the name of the film, and significantly contrasting to the previous intertitles, the text is written in a larger font suggesting to the audience that this is the most important one yet and coherently the one that needs to be remembered. Like the rest of the intertitles, the white background contrasts with the blue font resulting in the text standing out and the white colour imposes the purity that is going to evident throughout the film. This text is a mixture between sans serif font and serif font - this suggests that there will be elements of romance and some harsher meaning throughout the film.
In my production, something I defiantly feel works well and is something potentially I would like to replicate is the editing use of split screening the images and the intertiles stating the characters name and where they are located in the film - as I feel like this imposes a relationship between the audience and the protagonists allowing the audience to relate to them creating a more satisfied targeted demographic.
My team member (Olivia) and I have decided that we are making a slight amendment to our genre, we have been considering including a Christmas element to our film and we have now finalised this idea! We have decided on a Chick Flick genre with a seasonal Christmas theme. We are only in the planning stages yet we are very excited to begin the filming of this trailer in the coming months!
Below is the short film that was made as a preparation task including a variety of shot types!
I found this task extremely useful at this stage in my planning as it gave me time to experiment with the camera and shooting of a short production. This was a beneficial task that enabled me to differentiate between the shots that are easily produced and the shots that are harder to grasp, therefore this re triggered some of my previous knowledge from last years filming and none the less allowed me to gain some new skills that will help me further me in the filming process. All of the shots that were created were done using a video camera using a tripod - something that I was unable to use last year due to my lack of skills on how to control the tri-pod with a steady hand. Consequently, from the help of this task I have furthered my tri-pod skills and feel some what more confident in using a tripod for my trailer!
This is a magazine front cover from the popular and
established ‘Entertainment Weekly’ promoting the new Spider Man 2 film that was
yet to be released when this magazine was published. This edition of the
magazine has been retitled ‘Spidey, Entertainment weekly’, this marketing trick
was cleverly used to entice those Spiderman fans into reading the magazine as
it implies that this edition is going to revolved around the movie. Further to
this, the Black sans serif font ‘Spidey’ dominates the magazine title as it
contrasts to the white used for ‘Entertainment Weekly’. This has an effect on
the audience as it is the first thing they notice (other than the main image),
due to the large scale of the text meaning that it is predominantly visible
Spider Man lovers.
The main image placed in the centre of the cover is of the
recognisable character spider man, who is seen to be holding the female
character in a hostile position, giving the readers chance to infer the
storyline, from this predominant image. The fact that the female character is
placed at the forefront of the magazine implies that she could be of greater
strength than first anticipated. Yet this idea could be subverted due the
protagonist’s hand surrounding her making her look vulnerable and smaller due
to her lower positioning on the page.
The character Spiderman’s mode of address seems to appear as
if he is looking direct at the reader. Entertainment weekly has chosen to do
this to appoint the reader into looking at this magazine, a ploy that makes the
reader feel as if they are being watched!
The high key lighting used to brighten the female characters
face complements her complexion enhancing the fact that the character is female
and vulnerable, therefore making the reader’s purchase the magazine to salvage
the female character almost. In contrast to this the dark and shadowed lighting
used to overshadow Spiderman, adds to his thrilling character as appose to the
innocent and liable woman.
The evident language used through puffs and taglines all convey a
similar tone. The adjective 'Shocking' has been used
to describe the twists that are of significance in this magazine. This
conventional language appeals to the audience as they will want to be the first
people of knowledge to the 'twists' in the new film.
Overall,
this magazine cover is one that I aim to take inspiration from as the colour
scheme is complementary of the main image, back ground and titles. Therefore
the main lesson that can be learnt is that the pictures and the other colours
have to match.
Hey, So, today a two member of my class and I got together and decided that some initial practice with the cameras and tripods would be something that would go down a treat in preparation for the making of my trailer. Due to the fact that it is been a while since we got our hands on some equipment we thought it was appropriate to make a short film (with no structured narrative) to further our filming skills, making us extra ready to start shooting our trailer!!...woohoo!! I will keep you posted with what's to come...
This magazine front cover from Total Film is promoting the film avatar, which is clearly recognisable from the main character on the front. Like the other magazine covers I have analysed, the mid shot of the character is placed in the centre of the page, drawing the audiences attention to this aspect of the magazine. The positioning of the character is situated in the middle crossing all thirds of the page which shows that clearly the character is the most conspicuous element on the magazine. The image is of the character looking straight down the camera, using direct mode of address, this makes the audience feel as if the character is making contact with them, predominantly, putting pressure on them to purchase the magazine. Also, the eye colour in which the character obtains adds to the direct mode of address as his eyes contrasts against the solemn blue colour. The yellow florescent eyes make a imminent impact on the audience staring directly at them in such a bright colour.
There is a constant colour tone of blue being presented throughout the this magazine, blue has been used as this is a colour that the audience will be able to identify as being related with this film, therefore as soon as they see the blue colour scheme they will immediately be able to link this with such film. None the less, blue is stereotypically a 'boys' colour, therefore this could have been used by the makers of this magazine to attract a primarily male audience.
The subheading 'Its a guy thing' further implies that the primary audience for this film is males as this language is implying that only males will understand what's in this magazine, therefore it is unsuitable for the female audience. Other subheadings on this magazine include 'wild things' 'why the big paws?'. Here, it is evident that this magazine aims to portray an animalistic theme throught, due to the sci-fi/animal symbolism used in the film.
This is a magazine cover from the film specialist magazine ‘Empire’,
featuring the joker from the Batman Phenomena ‘The Dark Knight Rises’. The film
is clearly evident from the main central image dominating this front cover. The
well-known character ‘The joker’ takes pride of place in being the USP for this
magazine, as he is easily recognisable in his distinct look. Having him as the
main image will immediately attract the demographic of Batman Lovers, as well
as others who have never seen the Batman trilogies.
This character is positioned at the fore front of this magazine
cover overlapping the title suggesting that the image is more important than
the magazine itself. This is something I am aiming to replicate in my magazine
as it is a common convention of all magazines no matter what the genre. The
joker has been cleverly positioned in a way that advertises his devious traits
and personality, by the simple positioning of his hands on his knees.
Despite being slightly overlapped by the main image the title
is written in sans serif font and is the largest text on the page, giving an
indication that it is important for the potential buyers of the magazine to
identify the magazine company first, in this case Empire, as this may be a
reason why people would purchase the magazine – due to this company being
highly established and an extremely popular film magazine. The title is written
I red which immediately advocates the genre of the film being thriller, due to common
connotations of the colour red being, violence, brutality etc, all things we
are expected to see in a film of this genre. The red title also complements the
black background, making everything on the foreground of the magazine cover
stand out.
None the less the Buzz Words have a big impact on the
attraction of an audience. Words such as ‘Plus!’ ‘World Exclusive’ imply that
this is a magazine that is direct and exclusive for you as a reader. These
words are conventions of magazine front covers as they entice the potential
readers by making them feel as if this is a one chance opportunity to find out
the inside gossip on the magazine.
The dark low key lighting highlights the jokers hands and face contrasting his pale complexion to the dark and solemn colours of his costume. Therefore this supports the genre of the film and replicates his dark personality, that fans of the Batman series would know about. And for those who don't, this is something that has been done so the audience want to get to know the character.
The Notebook trailer, a popular romantic drama starring Ryan Gosling opens with non diegetic high pitched music, music that replicates a piano playing. This immediately sets the tone for the film, suggesting the tranquil and solemn feels that depict the drama element in in the genre. This music is played over a birds eye view shot of two characters on a rowing boat, a romantic thing to do, therefore this supports the genre. Furthermore, the sepia effect that has been used to colour the footage gives the audience a indication to the era this film was set in, in this case being the 1940's. This adds to the realism of the film, emphasising the innocence of the sincere love they felt for each other. This is something that will attract the primary audience of the female gender. Yet the fact that this is a film that is set in the olden times, this may attract a secondary audience of the elderly as they may be interested in reliving their childhood.
We then hear the diegetic sound of the bell on the bicycle and the long shot of the two couples on the bike. This makes the characters seem childlike and innocent, appealing to the target audience who would be able to identify to not the lifestyle of these characters due to the era it is set in, but the experiences they are going through.
The voice over is present throughout the majority of the trailer, summarising the plot and giving a overview of the characters relationships as we see them on screen. This is effective way of enticing the audience as they are hearing the narrative as well as seeing the visuals. The voice over is of one of the characters who plays the elderly character Noah in the story, therefore the audience would be engulfed by this factor and will want to watch the film in order to hear the rest of his story. The voice over says "Who will she choose?", this engima code will excite the audience into wanting to find out the answer to this open question, an effective way of enticing the audience to watch the film.
The credits are placed at the end of the trailer like in many trailers, this works as a USP for the film as this includes the actors, the production company etc. Therefore the followers of the production company who have produced similar films of this genre are going to have an interest in watching this film. None the less, the followers of established actors such as Ryan Gosling are going to be within the targeted demographic of this film.
The Notebook trailer, a popular romantic drama starring Ryan Gosling opens with non diegetic high pitched music, music that replicates a piano playing. This immediately sets the tone for the film, suggesting the tranquil and solemn feels that depict the drama element in in the genre. This music is played over a birds eye view shot of two characters on a rowing boat, a romantic thing to do, therefore this supports the genre. Furthermore, the sepia effect that has been used to colour the footage gives the audience a indication to the era this film was set in, in this case being the 1940's. This adds to the realism of the film, emphasising the innocence of the sincere love they felt for each other. This is something that will attract the primary audience of the female gender. Yet the fact that this is a film that is set in the olden times, this may attract a secondary audience of the elderly as they may be interested in reliving their childhood.
We then hear the diegetic sound of the bell on the bicycle and the long shot of the two couples on the bike. This makes the characters seem childlike and innocent, appealing to the target audience who would be able to identify to not the lifestyle of these characters due to the era it is set in, but the experiences they are going through.
The voice over is present throughout the majority of the trailer, summarising the plot and giving a overview of the characters relationships as we see them on screen. This is effective way of enticing the audience as they are hearing the narrative as well as seeing the visuals. The voice over is of one of the characters who plays the elderly character Noah in the story, therefore the audience would be engulfed by this factor and will want to watch the film in order to hear the rest of his story. The voice over says "Who will she choose?", this engima code will excite the audience into wanting to find out the answer to this open question, an effective way of enticing the audience to watch the film.
The credits are placed at the end of the trailer like in many trailers, this works as a USP for the film as this includes the actors, the production company etc. Therefore the followers of the production company who have produced similar films of this genre are going to have an interest in watching this film. None the less, the followers of established actors such as Ryan Gosling are going to be within the targeted demographic of this film.
This 2011 hit film Bridesmaids directed by Paul Feig opens with a wide establishing shot of a urban city - in this case New York City, a popular american state. Immediately from this shot, we can infer that this is where the film is going to be set, giving us an idea of the characters frantic, busy lifestyle. City states are conventional for films within the chick flick genre as usually the female characters a surrounded by hectic lifestyle that adds to there character.
It then quickly cuts to a medium two shot of two female characters who are very excitable over the engagement of one of the females. The diegetic sound hears the two screaming, (a stereotypical convention of females) accompanied by the dialogue "so, will you be my maid of honour". From this one scene it is clear who the targeted demographic is - females due to the fact that they can identify with the narrative - getting engaged etc. The fast past editing reflects the fast paced lifestyle of a woman that is being represented throughout the film. This shot then quickly cuts to a close up of the female protagonists showing their gleaming facial expressions that complements the dialogue.
Later on in the trailer, we are exposed to the inter titles. The florescent pink font complementing the light pink background, are a indication to genre being a Chick Flick. The use of pink also connoted femininity which appeals to a female target audience. The inter title 'This May' states the release of the film, yet isn't specific in the release date imposing the audience to find out the information for themselves, a marketing technique that is familiar in trailers.
We then see a close up shot of the blonde outcast female character calming her fear of flying with a alcoholic beverage, creating a comedic effect and according to the uses and gratifications theory allowing the audience to escape in this film, and perhaps even identify to the stressed atmosphere that surrounds this character.
The drunken blonde character challenges the typical representation of women. Dialogue supports this when she states "i'm ready to paaaartyyyyyy!". Although women are known for partying more than men, in such situation (being maid of honour) on the plane on the way to a wedding, this is a something that is unexpected, suggesting to the audience that this film is going to deviate from the conventions of a cliche click flick film.
In this task I looked closely at the shot types that construct a teaser trailer. From deep and close viewing of the trailer I noted down all of the different shot types that were evident throughout the first 1 minute of the 2:36 minute trailer - there was 36 just in the first minute, sometimes with more than 1 shot per second creating a fast paced trailer. This is something I need to replicate in the creation of my film. Within the next few weeks I will begin the Planning for my trailer including making my own shot list that will include a variety of shots that I plan to include in my trailer. Therefore by doing this task I was able to gain a understanding of the large number of versatile shots that I need to include to make my trailer as professional as possible. The shots are listed below:
0:00 - Film rating approval screen
0:08 - Institution logo (Universal)
0:09 - Institution logo (Dreamworks)
0:11 - Close up of blonde female character
0:17 - Panning establishing shot of house
0:19 - Long shot of female on balcony
0:21 - Medium shot of female in bedroom 0:23 - Two shot of male and female 0:25 - Inter title 'One week ago' 0:27 - Upwards pan close up of female 0:28 - Low angle close up of female body 0:29 - Pull focus of female protagonist and group of girls 0:31 - Inter title (at 4:36 pm) 0:33 - Long shot of female running 0:34 - Tracking shot of woman running 0:35 - Ariel shot of train 0:35 - Close up of woman running (low key lighting) 0:35 - Sped up close up of train 0:36 - Inter title 'A woman disappeared' 0:39 - Close up of brunette female on train 0:42 - Long shot of woman under bridge 0:44 - Inter title 'based on the thriller that shocked the world' 0:47 - Medium shot of female character 0:48 - Tracking shot of women on train 0:48 - Camera moves the front medium shot of women on train 0:50 - Medium shot of train 0:51 - Extreme close up of female 0:53 - Long shot of police cars and police 0:54 - Long shot of male character 0:55 - Long shot of other male character 0:56 - Close up of female 0:57 - Wide shot of police scene with pull focus 0:59 - Fade to black 1:00 - Medium shot of police investigator
From analysing this theatrical magazine poster, I understand the conventions and codes that commonly appear. Therefore when making my own magazine poster I am aware that including the main protagonists in order to convey their role in the film (as has done in this poster, with the main character standing at the forefront of the frame indicating that she will have prominence throughout the film.
At this early stage of planning, I want to make a Chick Flick film, possibly with a seasonal theme of Christmas. I already know that my film will entail some of the conventions above, including a female cast and having settings such as a school/home environment. From researching about conventions of a Chick Flick genre I am confident in that if I do decide to make a film of this genre, I will be able to successfully include factors that will make these film easily appealing to the target audience.
The trailer opens with soft non diegetic sound that sets the tranquil tone for the first part of the trailer. This music portrays the sound of a piano juxta-posing what is expected with the tense narrative and the contrasting the calming music. The music progresses at a content and steady pace opening with a soft tone and then increasing in tempo throughout the trailer resulting in a crescendo. The non-diegetic sound that we are first exposed to fades out when we are introduced to the voice over of the authoritative figure - the pilot. Due to the fact that the voice over is a fuzzy sound, this resembles a real life voice over from a pilot that you would experience on a plane, resembling the realism of the film - enticing the targeted demographic to watch the film. It is evident from this trailer that a variety of sound techniques as well as dialogue that will accompany the cinematography fittingly. At this stage, I am still not certain on the genre of the film however I am contemplating making a Chick Flick with a seasonal theme of Christmas, therefore it will be important for me to carefully make and manipulate some music that will fit this genre.
The theatrical trailer of the 2016 film The Shallows opens with the establishing shot of a large beach, this immediately sets the scene for the audience so they are aware of where this film will predominantly be taking place. Therefore from the outset of the film we are exposed to the spacious deserted beach which inflicts isolation, something which might later be foreshadowed in the film. The ariel shot inflicts the extensive scale of the beach and the audience quickly start to depict what the narrative could entail.
We then contrast to a slow motion shot of what seems to be the main female protagonist on a board which shows her confidence in the water. Therefore it is suggested that this character is no stranger to the water. At this point in the trailer there is very little sound, only very low volume fuzzy non-diegetic sound that doesn't seem to have a purpose at this point.
Next, there is a shot of a mass of birds, this suggests that the film is going to take place in a relaxing and calming setting, this is a juxtaposing idea considering we know that the narrative is going to be tense and uncalming to watch.
We then see the female characters loss of power through a wide low angle shot as she is hurdled through the waves by a large wave, yet she manages to keep her strength subverting the audiences expecations of females. The diegetic sound of the wave matches what the audience are seeing on screen.
The camera then cuts to a low angle shot, perhaps a point of view shot from the shark, putting the audience on edge yet enticing them to watch on. This is where the trailer starts to pick up the pace. Still we don't have any other music apart from the diegetic sound of waves.
It then cuts to black and here the diegetic loud crunch of the female protagonist eating a apple, this could be a reflection of the shark bite. Therefore the audience are being subtly exposed to the narrative and are being teased into what happens to the character.
Later on in the trailer at 1:16, the tone of the trailer begins to change as see the characters demise as a powerful character. The darker lighting inflicts her struggle that begins to panic the audience. We no longer see a steady camera as the camera begins to shake inflicting the cameras panic and frantic movements to get free.
The intertitles are written in a simple sans serif font with usually with one or two words on each intertitle. The white font against the contrasting black background helps the audience take note of the significant words that are placed in between the frantic scenes we are being exposed to throughout the trailer. However the intertitles do not start appearing until the last half of the trailer making the audience keep focuses in the first half on the narrative and then allowing them to focus on the intertitles in the second half. After analysing this theatrical trailer, there are aspects in which i am going to replicate in my trailer, for example the varied camera angles are essential to engage the audience and the sound is vital to set the mood, therefore i am going to consider these factors in depth for the the creation of my trailer.
