Monday, September 28, 2009

Target Audience Research

When looking at genres of film in comparison to the film trailer I have figured out that the target audience for a trailer tends to vary according to the target audience for the movie/film of the trailer itself. An example for this is if it were a movie/ film with a ‘Thriller’ genre, the trailer would attempt to appeal to the audience who most enjoy watching that film genre which would most likely be people who like scary, intense films which makes them want to jump out of the seats. The trailer would therefore most likely include the most intense parts of the film; things that make the audience jump or get scared, sped up clips, lots of fast cuts etc to appeal to the audience’s desire of adrenaline and intensity. Different genres have different audiences which come with different trailer types.

To fully understand the target audience for my film trailer I will have to decide on which type of genre I want my film to be, this
would affect the audience received for the trailer its self. After I have decided on a film genre I will research deeper in to the specfic audience of that genre using a questionnaire that I shall make.



Friday, September 25, 2009

Research From Paris with Love trailer

The film trailer for ‘From Paris with Love’ only uses footage and clips from the film itself. This gives the audience a feeling of what the film is going to be like. It also helps tell them what the story/plot is going to be like. The clips used would most likely be the most interesting parts from the film, to make it look really good. It would most likely show bits of act one, parts of complicating act one, a little bit of both act two and complicating act two but not act three as they would not want to give away the end otherwise people would not to go see the film as they would already know the ending.

At the start of the trailer it shows clips of a man and his wife/girlfriend kissing over the top of the clip it says ‘a man’, ‘committed’ and then there is a short pause were u think it would next say something like ‘love’ because of the title of the film and what is happening in the clip but it then changes clip to the guy on a phone and over the top of the clip it says ‘to his job’. The film trailer then kicks off to lots of clip of people getting questioned, people in gun fights, people dieing, explosions and generally action filled clip. This was a good way to do the trailer as it starts of slowly and then really kicks in, making the audience more excited.

The Mise-en-sence used in the trailer has be done to look naturalistic like with the film making the audience feel as if the film could have been real footage of it happening in real life.

The music used as a backing soundtrack to the trailer has been done to making the film trailer look good and flow from one clip to the next smoothly. The music then plays out on some clips with important dialogue or the dialogue which stands out and then comes back in when the character has said the important thing. The music used has a fast beat with sort of a rocky edge making the footage on the screen seem more extreme because the music is more intense.

The film trailer shows the main character and introduces them at the start; they are played by famous people making more people want to come see the film when it is out. These stars include John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Amber Rose Revah, they would bring there own fans to the audience as they are starring in the film.

Near the end of the trailer over a clip of a satellite from outer space a title comes up saying ‘manipulated’ this word itself makes the audience wonder who gets manipulated and what happens because they could have taking there own view on what they saw because they don’t know if there is a hidden story etc.

Also to add the wanting to know more feeling of the audience it then says ‘his first mission’ and then shows a few more clips and then says ‘may well be his last’. The two subtitles link together and make the audience want to know what is going to happen and if that is true etc so it would make them go see the film when it comes out.

At the very end it comes up with the film title saying ‘ From Paris with Love’ and then comes up with one last action filled cool clip with two people getting shot and then the title of date of release comes up saying ‘February 2010’. This leaves the audience with a cool image in there head and with the information they need if they want to go see it when it comes out.

From this research I have thought about subtitles throughout the trailer telling the audience more to do with the plot etc. It has also made me think about link from one sub title to another to make the audience think etc.



http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/09/16/first-badass-trailer-for-pierre-morels-from-paris-with-love/


Thursday, September 24, 2009

Research for Van Deimen's Land trailer

The trailer for the film ‘Van Deimen’s Land’ just uses footage from within the film; this is good as it gives the audience a feeling of what the film could be like. It doesn’t tell you much about the film and it doesn’t give much of the plot away but if you put a couple of things together you begin to figure the links and what you think could be happening. This makes you want to see the film to see if you are right. Van Diemen's Land is about cannibalism during the early 1800s with the convicts from transportation etc. This topic makes people interested as they would like to see what it was like.

As soon as the film trailer starts it starts to show you shot of where about the film is taking place, the establishing shots used are good as they tell the audience the location. You then hear so dialogue in a foreign langue which is translated and subtitled at the bottom of the screen/clip. The subtitle says ‘the end of the world’ having such a bold statement at the start of the trailer makes the audience want to keep watching and find out what is meant by it.

After a few more clips it shows a title over the top of another clip the title says ‘...Takes Australian cinema into new territory’ this shows that the film is going to be different to the usual film and that it is good and has changed.

After a few more clips another title comes up saying ‘eight convicts escape’ this is a good pop-up title as it tells the audience some information on what is happening, it sort of tells you that is what happens in act one and that if the audience think watching an escape happen then wait until they see the rest of the film.

The next title comes up a few more clips after saying ‘based on true events’ this makes the audience want to see the film because now they know its not just all made up and a load of rubbish. This also grabs the audience’s attention because they can’t believe it.

Another title is then used saying ‘a hugely impressive debut’ and gives it 4 stars out of 5 for its rating. This shows the audience that it must be good and it must be worth watching.

The clips nearer the end of the trailer get more intense and show that the film genre must be thriller as it looks scary. Leaving the trailer with the more intense clips is good as it leaves the audience with a stronger image of the film in their heads making them remember the trailer and making them want to go see it.

The last subtitle before the main title of the film comes up saying ‘Australia’s darkest secret’, this alone would get a bit audience as it with capture all the Australians attention as they live in Australia and want to find out more about the past.

Between some clips they use very small musical interludes just to link from one clip to another. The music fits the thriller genre as it’s very eerie and strange and quite.

At the end of the trailer the title comes up saying the name of the film ‘Van Diemen’s land’ it then quickly comes up with the subtitle saying ‘hunger is a strange silence’. This gives the audience one last thing to think about, this is a bit creepy but it works well. Finally the release date for the film comes up saying ‘In Cinemas September 24’. This gives the audience they need to know if they want to come see the film, it also says the films website underneath where it says the release date, just encase any one wants to visit it and find out more about the film.

From this research this has made me think more about my genre and what music would fit with which genre and what titles look good within the trailer.


Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Research Harry Brown Trailer

The film trailer for ‘Harry Brown’ has footage from the film throughout. It shows the best most interesting parts to make the film look good and make people want to come watch the film.

The trailer shows the audience the main part of act one followed by complicating act one, it then shows the main part for act two and then a little bit of complicating act two and then it doesn’t show act three as it doesn’t want to give away the ending. By showing only parts of each act it doesn’t give away the plot fully. This is good because it gives the audience a feeling to what the final product should be like, getting them excited to see it when it comes out.

The Mise-en-scene used in the trailer has been done to look naturalistic like in the film itself; the director has done this to make it seem as if it could really happen in real life.

At the start of the trailer the film companies name comes up saying ‘Loinsgate’, the name is reasonably well known which gives the audience watching a good feeling of what is coming up next. Straight away you see the main character for the film played by the well-known actor Michael Caine, having this actor in the film makes fans want to come see the film.

The music in the film trailer comes in when the action kicks in near the end of the trailer giving it more of a hype and a good build up with a good finishing of making people want to see the film just cause the music made it look action packed because it was a fast track being played.

Later in the trailer comments and small parts of reviews from big well-known news companies and magazine journalists pop-up on the screen telling the audience of what people think of it. The first one says ‘Truly Awesome’, the second says ‘Unmissable...The best British film of the year’. This just shows the audience how good the film is going to be.

The last 10seconds of the film trailer is packed with very fast switching clips, throwing the action at the audience making it look really intense. This is a good way to finish the action trailer as it makes it look like it is full of interesting things etc.

Finally at the end the title for the film comes up saying ‘Harry Brown’ and then is followed by the date of release for the film saying ‘In Cinemas November 13’, this is a good way to finish the trailer as it tells the audience what they need to know if they want to see it.

From researching this trailer for ‘Harry Brown’ it has given me various ideas on how my trailer should be laid out, it also has given me ideas with genre and how if I did a fast paced action or thriller film it should end with a fast incoming of different clips to make it more intense and thrilling and interesting for the audience.


http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/09/18/must-watch-badass-trailer-for-michael-caines-harry-brown/

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Research Up in the Air Teaser Trailer

The teaser trailer for ‘Up in the Air’ includes footage from the film itself but it still doesn’t fully give away the plot of the film as it could be missing out the most important bits. This gives the audience a feeling of what it could be like, showing them various characters etc.

The characters in the teaser trailer shown are played by various very famous actors, by seeing these actors in the trailer the audience would see the film as being good just purely for the actors in the film. George Clooney is the main character shown in the trailer this makes the audience assume that he is the main character in the full film itself, this makes all the George Clooney fans see the film as a ‘must see film’. The trailer shows other characters in the film as well, this also shows what type of character the actors are playing by what they are doing.

At the start of the teaser trailer they show George Clooney standing at a podium giving a speech, the image of the video then fades out to show the title company shots saying which companies made the film, an example of this is ‘Paramount’ a Viacom company, this name would be recognisable to the audience as it is a big well known movie company. This would help link the film to being a good one as Paramount/Viacom are known for making good films.

Over the top of the film company titles is the video sound of George Clooney’s character still giving the speech. It acts as a voice over and carries on throughout the trailer over clips snippets from the film, showing various points throughout the film. By having the speech through the trailer it helps give a good flow from clip to clip.

The speech that George Clooney is giving is really good as it speaks about life, which everyone can relate to. He also asks rhetorical questions in the speech, this helps link in the audience/ include them, because it makes them think. This is a good technique to include the audience. The speech he is giving is a positive speech making the film seem positive and look like a good one to see when it comes out.

Near the start of the trailer over one of the clips of an aeroplane is some text saying ‘Academy Award Winner George Clooney’ this shows the audience who do not know George Clooney a small bit of background information about his acting career and how good an actor he is. This makes people want to see the final film purely because George Clooney is such a good actor.

The camera shots and movements used for the clips in the trailer make the film look really smart because the look really professional and perfectly done. This would make the audience want to see the film for the technical side.

At the end of the teaser trailer it goes back to the original video clip of George Clooney giving the speech at the podium linking back to the voice over to him actually saying it. Then the title for the film comes up in a big bold font, the title is in the centre of the shot making it stand out, to link the title with the clip they put the title ‘Up in the Air’ literally up in the air, in the sky with clouds behind it. The title dissolves away and the text comes up saying ‘Arriving Soon’ this gives the audience an idea of when the final film is coming out.

http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/09/09/must-watch-jason-reitmans-up-in-the-air-teaser-trailer/


Sunday, September 13, 2009

Research Toy Story 3 Teaser Trailer

The teaser trailer for Toy Story 3 has nothing to do with the actually film; it does not contain any footage from the film itself. This sort of teases the audience by showing them something they haven’t seen before but it still has nothing to do with what they really wanted to see.

The teaser trailer introduces the audience to most if not all the main character from the previous Toy Story, this makes the audience feel welcomed as they already know the characters. Even though the teaser trailer has no footage from the final film Toy Story 3 in, it shows a funny clip with various jokes in making the audience laugh and making them want to watch the actual film when it comes out as it seems as if it shall be funny as well. The characters in the clip actually introduce their own film by building a sign saying Toy Story 3 on it. This is a good and funny way to introduce the film.

The Mise-en-scene in the teaser trailer has been done so that it is a familiar setting for the audience, showing them Andy’s room who own all the toys. The music is also familiar as it uses the same song as the other two pervious Toy Story films ‘you’ve gotta friend in me’.

At the start of the teaser trailer it shows the opening Pixar titles showing the audience that the same company is making the 3rd film as the 2nd and 1st, making it have a good link as the last two films were very good, this would make the audience want to see the 3rd film Toy Story 3.
The camera shots and angles used in the clip were done naturalistically making the clip look good, there was nothing special about the shots but the main viewing point of the clip was the characters themselves making it funny with the script.


At the end of the clip the title of the film is shown twice and then the release date is shown this tells the audience all they need to know about the film if the want to watch it. The actors used to do the voices of the characters are familiar and they are well-known, this makes the audience think if they are in it then it must be good-Tom Hanks returns to voice Woody, Tim Allen returns as Buzz, and Joan Cusack is back as Jessie.

From Watching this teaser trailer I have learnt that I will need to show both a title for the film and the films release date in my trailer. The footage does not necessarily have to actually be from the film and it is always good to use gimmicks like jokes and well known things (like music) to grab the attention of my audience.


http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/05/29/must-watch-first-early-teaser-trailer-for-toy-story-3/


Friday, September 11, 2009

CODES AND CONVENTIONS RESEARCH FOUND

Media concept – codes and conventions

What are codes?
Codes are systems of signs, which create meaning. Codes can be divided into two categories – technical and symbolic:

Technical codes are all the ways in which equipment is used to tell the story in a media text, for example the camera work in a film.

Symbolic codes show what is beneath the surface of what we see. For example, a character's actions show you how the character is feeling.

Some codes fit both categories – music for example, is both technical and symbolic.

What are conventions?
Conventions are the generally accepted ways of doing something. There are general conventions in any medium, such as the use of interviewee quotes in a print article, but conventions are also genre specific.

How codes and conventions apply in media studies
Codes and conventions are used together in any study of genre – it is not enough to discuss a technical code used such as camera work, without saying how it is conventionally used in a genre.

Codes and Conventions for Film Poster

A film poster is used to advertise a film. One film may even have several versions of the film poster with variations with size, content and the country of production of the poster. A film poster usually contains an image with text, over time this has evolved and posters used to be image-free billposters but are now highly visual. The text tends to contain the film title, written in large lettering and often has the names of the actors on the poster as well. It most likely will also contain a tag line with the name of the director and names of characters and the release date etc.

Most film posters are displayed inside and on the outside of movie theaters and elsewhere on street walls or in shops. Films, which have more posters everywhere, help to capture the attention of a wider range of audience. The images used in the posters would also appear in a film exhibitor’s pressbook and could also be used on websites, DVD’s, flyers, advertisements, newspapers and in magazines etc.

To make a good film poster I should use one main image or various images to do with the film its self. I shall also use large lettering showing the title of the film and maybe the actors in the film as well. My poster could also include a tag line to tell the audience any extra information.

Codes and Coventions for a Film Magazine Front Page

When I make the film magazine front cover there are many codes and conventions that I have to take into account; if this is done the magazine front cover will be a more successful product. The codes and conventions mix in with the target audience as they should try and attract the target audience selected by the manufacturers for the magazine. Codes and conventions are spilt down into three main groups; these are technical, symbolic and text.

The technical side of the codes and conventions for a magazine front cover can be made up from photo techniques used, the shots, the models, characters and where it is placed on the page. On magazines such as ‘Nuts’ and ‘The Zoo’, they have a beautiful model women on the front cover, this is so they can attract men 18 years old and over who like women, the production team also place the picture in the centre of the page so it is the first thing that the reader looks at. The picture itself can relate to the audience for the magazine, this will be important when choosing the picture for the front cover of my film magazine as it will show the audience of the magazine what the type of audience for the film.
The symbolic side to the code and conventions for a magazine front cover would be made up will be made up of the models costume, colours and who is in the pictures e.g. a celebrity. Colours and costume can affect the whole look of the front cover for example red can mean love or lust etc.
The text part of a film magazine front cover would be the font, font size, colour, amount and location of text.




Teaser Trailer Codes and Conventions

A teaser trailer is unlike a typical theatrical trailer, they are usually very short in length lasting between 30–60 seconds and often contain little, if any, actual footage from the film itself. Every so often, it is simply a shortened version of a theatrical trailer. A teaser trailer is usually released long in advance of the actual film. One of the main reasons for the trailer to be called a teaser trailer is because it teases the audience by releasing its teaser trailer one to one and a half years before release of the actual film.

The teaser trailers purpose is less to tell the audience about a film and its content than merely to let them know that the film is coming up in the near future. It also adds to the hype of the upcoming release for the film. A teaser trailer is usually made while the film is still in production or when it is being edited. Sometimes in the teaser trailer they may feature scenes from the film but in an alternate version, so it is different to what it would actually be in the final film. This has been done with many Pixar films.

For my teaser trailer I will follow the codes and conventions by making it last from 30 to 60 seconds. I will most likely use footage which would not actually be from the film to tease the audience.I would also make the the teaser trailer a bit silly to make it tease the audience even more, but make it so they would still want to watch the final film when it comes out.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

A2 Plan

Plan:

A promotion package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer, together with two of the following three options:

• a website homepage for the film;

• a film magazine front cover, featuring the film;

• a poster for the film.

In is project I have decided to make a teaser trailer film in its with a poster for the film and a film magazine front cover featuring the film. I will attempt to mix claymation with live action footage. I will put humans with clay models making the film trailer look interesting and make people want to see the final film. The genre for the film would be a comedy, so when thinking of the plot and the script I will have to make it random, different,creative and funn, coming up with some jokes etc. The poster will feature a photograph from a part of the film trailer, which will help link the two together. This will be the same with the image/images used on the front cover of the film magazine.