Friday 26 November 2010
Tuesday 9 November 2010
Conventions of Chosen Trailers
Only one of the three trailers we analyzed used a voice over. We found that a theatrical trailer was more likely to have a voiceover, than a teaser trailer.
In the majority of our trailers the stars were show cased, except for Paranormal Activity as the actors/ actresses in it were not well known.
Tag lines are used to convey key ideas in the film. For example in Inception “You’re mind..is the scene of the crime”
We found the use of dialogue in theatrical trailers such as Mirrors and Inception was more prominent and extensive apposed to teaser trailers which had either very little or no dialogue.
There was no dramatic camera angles within Paranormal Activity, this is because it is all shot from the perspective that its a handheld home camera. Whereas Mirrors and Inception are both action packed films so there are a lot of high budget cameras used for dramatic effect.
In Mirrors and Inception action is interspersed with actor or director credits on screen, this is because they are high budget, Hollywood films and therefore the actors and directors are well known.
For every trailer, the music plays a very important role in creating atmosphere.
All the films we analysed showed the title of the film at the end, to build suspense till the climax and to encourage an audience to watch the whole trailer to find out the name of the film.
Most conventional trailers place the climax either just before the title is shown or in the last shot of the trailer, this grabs the audiences attention and leaves the audience with a defining last moment.
Structural Conventions
Inception
Opening: Introduces the main character Leonardo Dicaprio straight away. It’s set in a large town, which compliments it’s hollywood production and hollywood actors.
Build up: More characters are introduced, and their link with the protagonist. More narrative is revealed, and the title of the film is explained.
Problem: The problem is to do with them entering peoples dreams and weather its right and moral to enter without them knowing.
Events: The events which occur in the trailer are the obstacles which they face when they are within the dreams.
Mirrors
Opening: Introduces protagonist, Keifer Sutherland. Introduces setting, and the characters life and family.
Build up: The introduction of the mirrors, and the main narrative, that the mirrors are somewhat ‘possessed’.
Problem: The mirrors ‘haunting’ the protagonist and his family.
Events: The ‘possessed’ mirrors entering protagonists home, affecting his son and his wife.
Paranormal Activity 2
Opening: The opening starts with the “white noise” of a camera, or television screen. This creates mystery.
Build up: The introduction of the characters, and the voyeuristic nature of the camera.
Problem: The house is haunted
Events: Woman gets thrown at screen. Woman stands in hallway. It’s very quite, there is not much action.
Paranormal Activity 2 Trailer Anlysis
We find out at the end of the trailer the name of the film this is because it makes you watch the whole of it, it also creates a sense of mystery because you have no idea what the film is called or anything about it.
Why are we told who is staring in the film and how is this information given to us? Why?
No, this is because the actors are probably unknown so the viewers will not be interested in who the actors are as there are no a listers to aid the films ratings so they therefore rely on the reputation of paranormal activity 1 and the ratings from that and the views about it.
What type of action from the film do we see?
The type of action within the trailer is not the conventional type you normally see its not car chases, violent or gore. It focuses on more the fact that the characters are filming the actions themselves creating a sense of realism.
What clues does the music give us as to what type of film the trailer is advertising?
There is no music in the trailer, maybe this is because it is more mysterious if there is no actual music and it again adds to the sense of realism. Anything you hear is diegetic sound and this is what creates the tension.
Does the trailer come with a voice over and if so, what ca you tell about the voice being used?
There is no dialogue in the trailer and we don’t meet the characters which again creates a sense of mystery and doesn’t give away to much of the narrative.
How does the speed of what we see compare to watching a clip from a film? Why is this?
The different shots are set in real time, but the editing itself has increased in rapidity. Its shot in real time to reflect the realism of the film but the edits are quick to create excitement for the audience.
What information are we given about the film?
The information given is quite blurred as we are not sure what happens, because its a sequel the audience are aware of what happened in the first film but no narrative is given away in the trailer so we are left unsure with only an idea that it could be about disappearance, also actors names are not given as they are unknown.
What type of audience is the trailer aimed at? How can you tell?
The trailer is aimed at around 15 and above, this is because the film was given a certificate of 15.
Theatrical Trailer
The theatrical trailer was not longer than the teaser trailer, this is because the teaser trailer was not necessarily needed because the audience already know an idea of what to expect because of the last film and they do not to be enticed because of the films existing reputation.
Inception Trailer Analysis
We are told the name of the film at the end of the trailer. This is a very common convention of trailers. It forces an audience to watch the whole trailer before finding out the name of the film. It also allows the action to build up to a climax, to excite the audience.
Why are we told who is starring in the film?
One of the first characters we see in the trailer is Leonardo Dicaprio, and we are told his name. This is because Dicaprio is a well known A-list actor. An audience will immediately recognize him, and want to watch the film along with the trailer because he is starring in it.
What type of action from the film do we see?
The teaser trailer is only a minute long. Therefore not a lot of narrative or action is revealed. The trailer relies on the actors and the distributors.
What clues does the music give as to what type of film the trailer is advertising?
The music is very eery, it’s quite slow and has an almost spooky, horrors sound to it. It’s hard to define what genre the film is from only a minute trailer.
How does the speed of what we see compare to watching a clip from a film?
The edits are a lot quicker and more rigid. There is one shot where the camera speeds through the town, this is perhaps a shot that was filmed solely for the trailer and not for the film.
What information are we given?
There is a very limited amount of information about the narrative, apart from the tag line “Your mind..is the scene of the crime”. This suggests a psychological theme to the film, this makes an audience wonder what is to follow.
What type of audience is the trailer aimed at?
The most common age group would probably be 15-24. This is because of the actors, and the fact it is an action film.
Theatrical trailer
The theatrical trailer is at least a minute longer than the teaser. The teaser trailer is very ambiguous whereas the theatrical explains a lot more of the narrative of the film. The same tagline is used in both trailers, to link the two trailers together.
The shots get faster as the trailer develops to build to the climax at the end, the same as in the teaser, the climax, again, is the title of the film.
The music is a lot quicker, louder and more intense, this is to develop the trailer from a teaser to a theatrical.
There is a lot more action in the theatrical than that of the teaser, it shows off the special effects to increase the excitement and profile of the film.
Mirrors Trailer Analysis
Why are we told who is starring in the film?
We are told who is starring in the film because they are A list actors. This attracts an audience to the film. If the actors are well known then an audience, who recognize them, are more inclined to want to watch the film with their favourite actors star in.
How is this information given to us? Why?
This information is given to us on a black screen, using white writing. This make the actors names stick out, and stops the continuity from the previous scene so that we get lots of random shots, so as not to give away to much of the narrative.
What type of action from the film do we see?
Not to much of the action is revealed from the trailer. There isn’t any gore. The majority of the action is implied, and through the music.
What clues does the music give as to what type of film the trailer is advertising?
The music creates a heartbeat. This build up tension and suspense and reflects the fear in the characters. The music is all quick sounds, nothing slow, it’s all very fast paced.
Does the trailer come with a voice over and what can you tell about the voice being used? Why do you think the voice was chosen? What effect does it have?
The voice over is that of the characters. This allows the audience to get some idea of the characters, their role in the film and a small idea as to the narrative. “I’m so scared”. Because the character is saying this, it evoked the same emotions in the viewers, which is the desired effect for a horror film.
How does the speed of what we see compare to watching a clip from a film? Why is this?
The speed, as with any trailer, is much faster that watching a clip from the film. Clips are usually shot in “real time”, meaning that the characters talk and move at a realistic pace. In the trailer, all the dialogue is given over voice over. The speed of each shot is much quicker and the shots are cut much faster. This is because they have to get enough information and shots in in a small amount of time and they have to build up the tension for viewers.
Does the speed alter through the trailer or does it stay the same?
The speed quickens as the trailer goes on. After the title of the film, there are three quick shots, the women reaches out and touches her child appears to fall through the floor. The shots are so quick that as a viewer we can barely see what’s happening. This creates a sense of mystery and makes an audience want to see more, hence go to see the film.
What information are we given about the film?
The only information we are given, which is also revealed in the title of the film, is that the mirrors are the central point of the narrative. They are what causes the disequilibrium.
What type of audience is the trailer aimed at? How can you tell?
I would say from around 15 and above. The characters are a small family and so the film would relate to other small families, making the horror even more hard-hitting.
Theatrical Trailer
The theatrical trailer gives away much more information than that of the teaser trailer. The characters have much more dialogue and we seem them actually talking in “real time” rather than a voice over. A lot of the same scenes are shown in both trailers so this gives us an indication that these are the integral scenes of the film.
We meet more characters in the theatrical trailer, and look at the characters we saw in the teaser more closely. This is because it’s longer than the teaser trailer. The development of the characters is important as an audience get some of their questions answered from the teaser, whilst perhaps getting more questions to ask before the film.
We see much more action in the theatrical trailer, and a bit more of the narrative. Similarly to the teaser trailer the editing increases in rapidity towards the end. This is to build the audience up to the climax, which is the title of the film at the end of the trailer, which is again similar to the teaser.
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