Ridwan+Hoque



** A2 Media Studies ** ** Trailer Coursework **

**Research & Planning**

__**The Pitch:**__



__**Trailer Analysis:**__

**The change up** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHnyW5Fvtvw media type="youtube" key="xHnyW5Fvtvw" height="315" width="560" The change up represents two American men who by accident end up exchanging lives in terms of role-reversal. The trailer tells the audience that both the men struggle to continue their daily routines through the life of the other. The trailer opens up with the introduction to the two protagonists. The shots mainly used are mid and long-shots which highlight and emphasise the key points in the film. They are edited in a way that makes them connectable through the trailer to literally tell the story. There are montages of shots presented which exaggerate key concepts in the trailer which appeal to the audience. The trailer in some ways is chronological and almost tells the story through the trailer. Both the protagonists are presented through the variety of shots used. The shots particularly focus on the facial expressions of the characters conveying their feelings, this correlates with the mise-en-scene and sound of the trailer. There are close-ups which lead into extreme close-ups this also underlines the facial expression of the two men.

The dialogues used by both protagonists significantly tell the story of the film and show the characters outlook to the audience. The trailer presents two names to the audience; the protagonist’s names are shown to the audience which implies that they are generally well-known. However the director’s name is not clearly given away, but shown as the director of famous films he/she has created. There is no voiceover this is probably to keep the film a mystery to the audience but uses also aspects of sound, cinematography and mise-en-scene to make the viewers more appealed to the trailer. The mise-en-scene tells us that the film is based in America and revolves around the life of two American’s who appear to be from a middle-class status. The lighting used illustrates and distinguishes between the placements of the shots used in the film.

The music shows anxiousness and worry and this draws the audience’s attention to the film. The possible target audience of the film is ages around mid 20’s as the film clearly shows the struggle between lives of two men, who are strung up in their one another’s social life. The non-diegetic is synchronised with the shots building up the climax of the film which draws the viewer’s attention. The music differs between shots in the trailer at parts of tension in the trailer where there are moments of shock this highlights and emphasises the dramatic parts in the trailer. The target audience is young to middle aged adults. This is probably because of the way the film is presented representing through the story of two middle-aged men. The unique selling point represents a supernatural element of change, which appeals to the audience.

__**Comparative Trailer Analysis:**__

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4YV2_TcCoE
 * Se7en** and **Saw ll**

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nac1avJp3UE media type="youtube" key="J4YV2_TcCoE" height="315" width="560"media type="youtube" key="nac1avJp3UE" height="315" width="420" Seven opens up with shots and small dialogues that introduce the theme and story of the film. The trailer tells the audience that there is a killer who they are trying to catch throughout the film. The film involves police detectives (protagonists) who are involved in a series (seven) of sadistic murders. Saw ll tells the audience of a film associated with “a game” of eight people, who reluctantly have to look for an antidote that will save them from being killed. However the trailer shows us that the psycho “Jigsaw” informs the eight victims that there will be some who die and “there will be blood”. The two trailers in comparison open up with intriguing shots that appeal to the audience; these montages of shots are simultaneous with the dialogue of the voices in the film. Both the trailers are not as conventional as it would be for a horror/thriller film; where the film opens up with a contented beginning that leads on to forebode a series of merciless killings.

The variety of shots used connotes the eeriness of the themes of both films. Seven presents small shots that draw the viewer’s attention which captures the theme of the film conveying danger and menace. There are a wide range of close-ups used in the film which allows the viewer’s to relate to the emotions of the characters, mostly showing anxiousness and fret. These close-ups allow the viewer’s to relate to the characters feelings and feel a sense of fear which they can associate with the film. However Saw ll predominantly uses long shots to convey the “game” in which they are trapped in, portraying fear and panic of the characters. The minority of close-ups used, present the characters emotions which allow viewer’s to connect with. In both trailers there are fast paced editing used to connect the shots this in-turn makes the trailer seem more in sequence which in relation almost tells the story in order throughout the trailer.

Seven uses a voiceover in the trailer which sets up the premise of the movie and provides explanation when necessary i.e. (“In a world…”). The voiceover is also a useful tool which is used to enhance the audience’s understanding of the plot. The voiceover clichés add for satirical effect, as most horror sub-genre films usually use voiceovers to create ambience to the trailer. Saw ll doesn’t use a voiceover which is strange for a horror film as they predominantly use voiceovers to create mood for the trailer. The dialogues used from both trailers are diegetic sound which create atmosphere to the audience and make them relate to the trailer and characters emotions and feelings. It is also a sense of fear and panic the characters feel that is conveyed to the audience.

There are no names associated in Saw ll that are shown to the audience but the protagonists names in seven are presented, “Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman” these are names are not directly shown but said to the viewer’s. Both Brad and Morgan are famous for films such as “Shawshank Redemption” and “Ocean Elevens”. Also Gwyneth Paltrow had been shown in the trailer as she is also a famous actress. These names are presented to appeal to the audience. Saw ll does not present any names as it is a film with low-class actors that are unknown to the audience.

The mise-en-scene in seven is set in Los Angeles, California. The costumes of the two protagonists are presented as two middle-class detectives and represented through their age. Throughout the trailer there are gloomy colours which ties with the theme of the film/story. Whereas in Saw ll the mise-en-scene is set in what seems to be a warehouse full of booby traps. Like seven there are also dark and ominous colours used to highlight the theme of the film. The interior settings in saw ll make the film seem more realistic and emphasises the ‘horror’ aspect of the film.

The music in Saw ll complements the images and setting of the shots in the trailer. It is used to create an element of fear through amplification. The diegetic sound is quite frantic i.e. the sound of the screaming which all creates an eerie effect of fear to the audience. In seven the music used is generally fast which could connote the time of place or time the protagonists have to catch the killer. The non-diegetic sound adds to the ambience of the trailer which again draws the viewer’s attention. I think for both films the target audience is targeted towards ages around generally 18 and over due to the high amounts of blood and violence that is presented through the trailers. Seven has a USP as the film is based on true facts of religious textures i.e. sins. The seven deadliest sins bring the film more into reality. By creating an awareness of this the audience feel more fear and terror and are able to relate to the trailer. Likewise Saw ll similarly shares a USP which again represents the fear and panic that the audience can relate to showing the psychotic nature of the killer.

__**Magazine Analysis:**__

__**Magazine Comparative Analysis:**__



The two magazines in some ways conform and subvert to the conventions that a magazine will include. Both the magazines similarly have mastheads directly above the central image. Total Film uses an iconic style that intrigues the readers. It uses aspects of the film 'Inception' to relate it to the film. This emphasises the relation of the magazine and the film indirectly claiming the main feature article of the magazine. The two magazines have small subheadings above the masthead this instantly draws the readers attention and makes them consider the 'Mind-blowing issue' and 'World exclusive'. Directly below the masthead on both magazine covers is a small print of the magazines web address this in some ways makes the reader aware of other issues published by both magazines.

The mise-en-scene used in both covers relates to the film being advertised in their magazines. Total film uses Leonardo as his character from 'Inception', similarly Empire uses Heath playing his character as Joker from 'Dark Knight' to emphasise the relation between both the magazine and the film. Furthermore the use of mise-en-scene not only highlights the relation to the films but the colours used in both magazines also play a part in advertising the films. These colours draw the reader’s attention and make the readers able to connect with the magazine.

Both magazines use 'Plus' or '+' as a way of indicating more information that can be provided from the magazine. This appeals to the readers and assures them that they are gaining more from the magazines and not only the predominant focus of the main feature articles. This is the same with the sell lines which advertise other films that are published in the magazine. Another thing in particular that the magazines shares are the circle sell lines that draw the reader’s eye. This could perhaps inform the readers that there are exclusives into new films that have not been released. Again the readers are gaining more information from the magazine.

The placing of the barcodes however are different and are on different sides of the covers. This is probably the conventions placed by both the magazines which you are most likely to find in both total film and empire. The common difference between total film and empire is primarily the amount of information provided by the magazines. It is the amount of sell lines provided by the magazines. Total film generally uses more sell lines to advertise other feature articles, whereas, Empire frequently focuses on the main feature article.

In conclusion both the magazines conform to the conventions of a magazine i.e. the placing of the masthead, sell lines etc. They both use a colour scheme that underlines the main feature article and the general theme of the magazine conventionally relates to the films being advertised in the cover.

__**Poster Analysis:**__

__**Comparative Poster Analysis:**__



The promotional poster for the film 'Bad Lieutenant’ does well in establishing an atmosphere and mood, depicting elements that subtly reveal the nature of the film and ultimately enticing the potential audience. The first impression we get from a quick glance at the poster is influenced by the vague black which almost circles nearly all the posters. The typography in all the three posters has a similar recurring style with 'Bad' it depicts and highlights the word throughout the poster. This reminisces the theme of the film hyping up the story of the film.

The poster does rely on star popularity and reputation to further promote it’s poster, using a popular names to advertise the film, creates a sense of awareness to the audience. This initially builds up the tension to the film. In the first two posters we see Eva Mendes slightly off key from the camera this creates some form of mystery and makes the audience consider the curiousness behind the poster. Additionally the colours used in all three posters coincide with background image in the posters, the first two posters use the same image however with different colours red and yellow which creates a sense of danger and mysteriousness and helps promote the film by making it look more appealing to the audience. There are also slight contrasts between light and dark which connotes the power and authority. The main significant difference between the first two posters is the colour the first uses simply black and white to advertise the film whereas the second uses slightly more colour which creates a sense of ambience to the poster.

The mise-en-scene in the three posters suggests several notions, the gloomy backgrounds in the first two posters are consistent with the bottom image of the four guys. This heightens the posters and appeals to the audience. The smart clothing and the gun symbolise the protagonist (Nicolas Cage) profession as dangerous. The mise-en-scene used in the poster additionally creates a sense of suave and depicts the professionalism of the characters shown in the poster. The third poster is quite odd compared to the other two posters, there are no pictures of the characters but a gun, this could signify the theme of the film and forebode the danger in the film. The first two posters similarly include more information than the third such as the credits at the bottom whereas the third only includes the title of the film, the main leading actor and the directors name. This is because the first two posters are most likely to be found in a newspaper, magazine whereas the third poster will be most likely seen on a billboard.

Another convention used in these posters is the directors name, this is utilized to try and attract the target audience. This appeals to the audience because previous successful films made by the director help promote the film. The first two posters use bold taglines "The only criminal he cant catch is himself" this is imprinted just above the credits and the actors names to help promote the film. The third poster contrastingly uses the colour red for the title this could forebode the danger of the film creating negative connotations of murder and evil.

The conventions for this type of genre generally have credits at the bottom of the poster, usually wearing something formal to show professionalism and feature the main predominant actor from the film. Also the main character is not always looking into the camera however for this poster we see the protagonist having direct eye contact with the audience which allows the audience to relate to the character. Furthermore the positioning of the characters is utilised to create a sense of mysteriousness to the audience. Also the clear protagonist is presented to us from the poster by the placement of the image, in the first two posters he is in front of the female which represents and creates an awareness of his status in the film.

__**Genre Research:**__













__**Moodboard:**__

__**Audience Research:**__

**What are the most important parts of a trailer?** It is usually the middle and the end of the trailer that sells and appeals to the audience the most, this is because they consist of action scenes and can also include a twist to the plot that builds the climax and suspension of the film. The middle can also further the understanding of the plot and create a dramatic climax. Furthermore the ending can include a spoiler, which is often inevitable can appeal to the audience by building context of the film.

**Do you expect to hear a voice-over in a trailer? If yes why?** A voice-over is likely to be expected in a police, fantasy or horror films as it is used to set up the premise of the movie and can be a useful tool to provide explanation of the plot where necessary. It could also be used as clichés for satirical effect.

**How important is music to a trailer?** The music can be used as a tool that helps set the mood and tone of the trailer. It can help create atmosphere and synchronize with the montage of shots to build the climax of the trailer. The composing and compiling of soundtracks can help accentuate a film’s appeal and therefore sell the film.

**How important are names of cast/crew in a trailer?** The names of cast and crew can in some ways help benefit the trailer of the film; it can promote and advertise the film by using well-known actors/actresses as a tool to appeal to the audience. It can also promote the actors/actresses, making them more known to the audience and help attract the targeted audience. However it can be argued that the names shown in a trailer have no striking effect to the appeal of audience, as the technical aspects used in the trailer will help advertise the film more.

**Should a trailer be done in a linear or non-linear way?** On one hand if a trailer was presented through a non-linear view this could possibly intensify the effectiveness of the film and not clearly give away the most important parts of the film. However, a linear trailer can help build climax to time and could also help the understanding of the plot.

**What music is expected in an Urban Drama?** In an Urban Drama the music is generally more up-beat as it correlates with the theme and mood of the film. The up-beat music usually synchronizes with the shots to create a sense of urban culture which helps promote the film.

**Within British Asian Dramas, do you expect to find parochial communities?** Only within some British Asian dramas is it expected to find a well represented parochial community. We generally find these representations of a parochial community that are linked to specific areas i.e. Leicester or Bradford. Therefore the parochial communities within British Asian dramas are usually area specific and do not necessarily represent the British Asian community correctly.

**What are the different conventions in an independent and mainstream film?** An independent film is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. A mainstream film is a commercial film that is made by major entertainment studios or companies that are owned by international media conglomerates. The difference is usually between the actors, the funding, marketing and the money provided. Independent films have more freedom and mainstream films have more publicity.

**Is it important to have identical elements in the following?** With all, the identical elements do need to correlate with each other, there needs to be a constant repetition between elements such as the colour schemes, names etc. This creates a sense of awareness about the film, therefore making it more recognisable and making the audience more aware of the film. The design & layout and font also play an important role in creating the consistency between the magazines, posters and trailer.
 * **Magazine**
 * **Trailer**
 * **Poster**

**What dialogue is heard in a trailer?** The dialogue usually correlates with the plot of the film; this alongside the voice-over helps the understanding of the story. The dialogue can also help build suspense and tension usually with one-liners which can appeal to the audience more. The dialogue additionally creates a wider awareness of the genre, making a clear statement about the films themes and plot.

__**Questionnaire - Audience Research:**__



__**Questionnaire Analysis:**__





**Ancillary Tasks** __**Sketches:**__

__**Magazine:**__ Both these sketches are drafts for my magazine. They both conform to the conventions that a magazine will impose i.e. with the masthead on top of the page and the main focus image central of the magazine front cover. I most likely will use the image of the right as a template for my final magazine front cover because it looks more appealing, yet however it will be harder to create as only original images can be used and the sketch consists of five images.

__**Poster Sketches:**__

These are the two sketches for my planned poster. The second image does not clearly show but will consist of three images; two of the antagonist and the central image of the protagonist. The first sketch for my poster consists of a central image of the protagonist, surrounding by buildings with a knife in his/her hand.

__**Pictures for Magazine:**__

These are three potential images i chose out of a variety for my magazine. The first image consists of the two protagonists; from my point of view there is evidence of good photography skills reflected by the positioning of the two characters and the lighting. I decided to use this image rather than the other two because, i felt there was more space for my magazine to be created around. Furthermore, even though the second image was centrally focussed and had just like the first image good use of lighting i felt that it would not suit my magazine idea, as represented by my sketches. Also the third image had lacked photography skills such as the use of lighting and a centrally focusses image this is why I had picked the first image for my magazine.

__**Magazine Drafting Process:**__ My first draft for my magazine, consisted of key primary colours i.e. blue white. I felt that the design and layout did not look realistic and professional, therefore attempting to change the layout in areas such as the masthead adding perheps additional content. Furthermore the process of creating my first draft I knew was not going to be my final magazine draft since I had to incorporate the usage of photoshop and used my first draft as a tool to make myself more aware of aspects and features to create a professional and high-quality magazine as well as poster. Additionally, with my first draft I had felt that the title of my trailer had blended in too much with the focal image which would have made t harder for readers to read. In the second draft of my magazine, the masthead had changed (colour) since I felt that two colours did not look professional and did not look as presentable. I had also included extra content such as "exclusive to new film releases" which helped my magazine look less plain and dull. Again with my second draft the masthead this time had not looked as presetable since it blended in with the image too much, also I had felt that my second draft was too plain and needed extra content to appeal to my audience more. I had also configfured the image making it more brighter and adding a greater level to make the magazine seem more appealing.

For my final draft __**Pictures for Poster:**__ These are three potential poster images that I had taken and had concluded to be three images that could be used as the focal image of my poster. Firstly the last image on the right I had felt was a good representation of character profiles but I had also felt that it somehow would lack the police / crime feeling compared to the first image on the left. This image represents a more police / crime feeling since the female detective is holding the gun and this adds onto the whole police/crime feeling. The middle image was also a good choice of photography which could have been edited and incorported to fit as a focal image for my poster, however unlike the first image on the left, I in someways felt that it would be difficult to incorporate a image including two attached characters, standing side-by-side as a poster image, likewise for my last image on the far right. This is why i chose my first image on the far left since it was a good representation of the character and represented dominance and power within a woman, a feeling which we intended to create for our audience.

__**Poster Drafting Process:**__ In the first step of creating my poster I used this image as it had immediately appealed to me. I had then edited the image rendering voice levels, the brightness and contrast and edging out any unwanted background. I started off with a larger background scale and had cropped the image to fit only the character. In the second step, incorporating the idea from the 'scarface' poster i used a 50/50 black and white background and had smudged edges of the focal image to fit in with the background. I felt that smudging the main focal image would create a greater appearance and fit in more with the background. I had also reduced noise levels here and increased the level of brightness and improved the texture and focus of the image. In this drafting stage I had used an image of an estate buliding and trees that gave my poster the city feeling, to build an emphasis on the whole police/crime genre. I had done this since researching other films from my genre the setting is usually located within the city. Also in contrast to my first two drafts I had exteneded the scale of the image and made it larger to allow more space for the image of the estate building and the trees. In the final process, I had included the title of the film "Trail", credits, the main characters name, the slogan and had slightly enhanced the focus of the image to make it stand out more. The font for 'Trail' was obtained using a website and creating it there. The idea for the title and how it should look was obtained identifying similar posters in my genre. Furthermore, I had attempted to play around with the slogan and try place it in different parts of the poster, but felt that on top of the poster would be perfect since there will be a correct use of all the space on the poster and would look more professional.

__**Final Poster:**__

__**Final Magazine:**__

**Main Product & Evaluation**

__**Trail - Script:**__ The script we felt was quite basic and lacked dialogue however we contrastingly felt that this would create greater emphasis on our trailer and its plot, since the montage of shots would tell the shots rather than a voiceover or dialogue by the characters. The (.....) on our script is to represent the series of shots in our trailer.

__**Shot List:**__

__**Location Shots:**__











__ **Casting Analysis:** __











__**Storyboard:**__







__**Full Storyboard:**__



__**Official / Final Trailer:**__ media type="youtube" key="rXfd-YkZPEo" height="315" width="560" align="center" __**Evaluation(Part 1):**__

media type="youtube" key="tOBOrEBjoUM" height="315" width="560" align="center" __**Evaluation(Part 2):**__ media type="youtube" key="qb1-d2bSjEA" height="315" width="560" align="center"

__**Official / Final Trailer:**__