After having posted my survey online, I received plenty of responses almost immediately so I took the post down to have a look at how varied the responses were and its clear that the comedy genre is topping the favourite with 31.25 %, followed by Action and surprisingly Other with 18.75. When I evaluate the responses it will be worth looking at these as I may have missed an important genre. But it is also clear that Romance is not popular and you may be questioning why I needed to include the' least preferred genre' question- this is because I wanted to gather consistent and reliable results as well as to see other popular and least popular genres that I hadn't thought of. I have also decided to cap my results at 30 as I think this is a reasonable amount of people to take my survey and if too many people participate this may cause my results to become biased or too one sided.
When I came across a Horror film from which I had previously analysed the opening for. I thought it would be a good idea to analyse the magazine cover in order to show my variety of analysis's, rather than always looking at the same type of genre.
Nevertheless, the magazine cover for scream (as pictured) was relatively simple, with the central image being a close up of the villain. But apart from this, there was no other images , which in a way is effective as it focuses all the attention on the character. When considering the mode of address, despite the character seeming to be looking directly at the camera, the sinister fact that there is not any facial expression , creates a chilling effect for the viewer which is ultimately the ideal feelings that the designers would have wanted us to experience .
Also the mask is identical to the other Scream films, which in turn will bring back emotions of nostalgia from the TA, weather it be emotions of fear (which may encourage the audience to see what the article is about) or enjoyment .
Furthermore when taking a close look at the typography and font of the magazine cover, it is clear that the colour and font have not been altered to match the genre of the film being advertised. However the title of the film is greatly enhanced compared to the other titles.
Looking at the cover from a linguistic point of view, it doesn't offer many imperatives as you would expect like "Buy" or "Look" instead it does create the idea that the magazine has lots of information thanks to the word "plus" which is emphasizing what the magazine has to offer. It is also worth considering that the magazine company "Entertainment weekly" could be considered a more formal magazine than Empire for example, which reminds me I need to be careful when choosing a company as it greatly reflects and relates to my target audience.
The colour palette is fairly simply with a Dark red background that fades away into darkness, but the simplicity of the colour scheme is not to be taken for a normal type film, as the typical connotations of the film suggest there will of course be death , pain and suffering.
Considering the time of the magazines release (2011), it is understandable that there is not Social media link, and is also a reason for the lack of alternative advertisement.
What I can take from this magazine is that simplicity can be effective if done correctly, but that it is important to keep up to date with current technology for the creation of my own magazine. This may be through social media links or perhaps through alternative advertisement.
At first glance it looks like a typical TOTAL FILM magazine cover, with the title shown at the top of the frame. However, despite the font being the same, the fill and appearance of title makes it seem unique in the sense that it directly represents the film. Thus encouraging the audience to think that this magazine will be something new . The inclusion of the tagline THE MIND-BLOWING ISSUE, once again suggesting this will be the best magazine they have ever read. The title stands out in a bold and overwhelming red font, whilst still maintaining the colour scheme of the magazine, with the blue and red being the most dominant colours overall. These colours are also deliberately chosen as they excite the audience and encourage them to pick up the magazine because of its vibrancy.But also, they connote specific attributes that target a particular audience. For example stereotypically speaking, male viewers often watch thrillers and action movies, therefore, by including a red font, the male audience may assume that the film being advertised contains death and action.
The lighting itself is rather dark with the left hand side of the magazine being lighter than the other. This creates an effect that almost deliberately targets an audience, this being that some film viewers arguably those who watch more diverse films might tend to look into the darker side of the magazine, perhaps for a sense of escapism whereas others may look to the lighter side to seek comfort. Bearing this in mind, the designers placement of taglines is greatly effected , looking at this example the tagline is on the left (the lighter side) with the contents of the object being directly contrasting, in order to catch your attention- and this is also why the font colour differs from grey to red.
Furthermore, taking into consideration the framing of the front cover, it is obvious that the main character from the film is the central image, also with the character being Leonardo Di Caprio (a USP within himself) its to no surprise the designers are making it clear that he is in the film. Additionally the ratio of text to photography is reasonably high, in terms of there being a fair amount of text (its key to note that not all of which is relevant to the film- something I will consider), and as for the photography, it is somewhere inbetween a mid- long shot of the character- which allows us to see his full appearance (suited and looking prepared / in control, whilst the lighting implicates that he has a potential dark side).
Overall I like the incorporation specific details in the main title, for example looking at the metallic effect, it really contributes well to the appearance and is aesthetically nice to look at. It also conforms to the genre whilst representing a unique style of film- therefore appealing to a broader audience.
In the past few days I have been adding to my survey questions as I want both broad and specific results based on certain aspects of my trailer. For example, with the intention of making a comedy and with the assumption that the action genre will be the most popular, I decided to include a direct comparison question which involved actors. Specifically one from both genres, so I went with Kevin Hart and Daniel Craig- both successful and well known actors who dominate their genre ,so it will be interesting to find out who is more popular .
This is also another way of deciding between the comedy and action genre as it ensures that my results are reliable. I have now finished my survey and will the complete version out in the near future to gather results.
So, after having brainstormed potential ideas for my trailer , I thought I had come to the conclusion that I wanted to create a something like a psychological thriller. However after taking into consideration the suggestions made by my potential target audience. I concluded that this is not the genre nor the right type of film that I want to make. After all, I want to enjoy making the trailer and want my audience to enjoy the film rather than it being monotonous. For this reason, I have decided against my original idea and instead I am planning a Comedy, something that I feel I can pull off but also something that I can make to a good standard. Recently I've come across numerous Kevin Hart films with Ride along 1&2 and Central intelligence being a few that have surpassed the genre in terms of their success. Now of course, I do not have Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson to my disposal, but I think a comedy has great potential to entertain my audience and I can't wait to start production.
Thanks to this task, I have learnt the importance of frequent shot changes in order to keep the film flowing, as well as the accuracy of shots,meaning keeping a steady hand when filming. But out of all the things this task taught me, the most important one is to use a tripod. A feature that maybe we overlooked last year and it's something that could've made our opening better perhaps. Also it is important to have accurate and still shots when using the tripod and to also use different angles rather than using the same ones each time.
So in preparation for my trailer I have started to develop an audience survey in order to discover some film related attributes that my target audience have. I intend to send the survey out to groups of people from my estimated age group and then to a slightly older age group, in order to get varied results and to see if perhaps my idea is targeting an older age group.
Within this opening question I will have identified favourite genre of my age group, which will prove if my idea coincides with the preferences of my age group or not. The possible answers I have listed are from the current mainstream genres, however in case a genre is missing, I added the "other" option in order to give more variety to my results.
Following a few days of filming we decided it was best to combine our footage into a "first draft of all our shots", which turned out well. But overall we decided we could add more shots , with an ariel shot and a tracking shot being just a few that we think we could to add. I'll keep you posted over next week if we do indeed decide to add these shots as well as what else I do.
I've also set out to research my target audience and I am currently in the process of developing the questions now.
After a successful day of filming yesterday, we set out to gather even more shots for our short film. And I think its fair to say we achieved this, thankfully the weather was on our side today a factor that helped us get : a two shot, an establishing shot, a pan and a medium shot. We also changed out location from our first day of filming as it would be a good idea to test ourselves in different light situations to make for a more interesting movie (however we did bare in mind that the point of this short film wasn't to create a storyline as such, instead it focused more on the variety of shots and angles we could create). As for more shooting, tomorrow might well be a case of reviewing our footage and piecing together the shots we have so far.
So today I've been planning a short movie, simply to gather some more camera practise in preparation for my film and to show the wide variety of shots I am already capable of. Today we went out and shot some of our shots, we also wanted to include a variety of locations and lighting to show that we can adjust the camera according to the situation. Overall we managed to shoot both low and high angle shots as well as an Over the shoulder shot and a close up. I will keep you posted with what's to come, and what shots we shoot tomorrow.
The trailer opens with an establishing shot of "The Pentagon" which immediately creates a serious tone to the film, we then cut to a large room filled with numerous men wearing suits. This specific clothing conforms with the business-like attitude we would expect from a well known area.
However we then experience a shot reverse shot which on one side includes Jonah Hill and Milles Teller, this would imply that the film is perhaps a comedy given that Jonah Hill often plays roles within Comedic film. Nevertheless the dialogue exchanged between the two suggests that the pair have done something wrong or haven't achieved a goal "failed" , and even though the frequent eye line matches would normally mean a sense of equality, the truth is that the low and deep tone of the other men creates the idea that they are superior.
We then skip to the first intertitle of the trailer, which at first implies that the film will not be comedy and the bold black font of the title supports this.
Instead, at this point in the trailer , we as the audience are yet to experience a plot, so after this title we assume there will be some explanation. This technique- of using intertitles to create a climax and to intrigue the audience is something I would like to emulate.
Following this we experience a slight and quiet tone of non-diegetic sound in the background, as well as a serious voiceover over the top which creates tension amongst the audience. We follow through the narrative with the pair and as the dialogue begins to fade, the non-diegetic sound increases in pitch until we see an action match with the drop of the music and a handshake between the two characters. This is effective as it not only shows the relationship between the two, but also the intense prosody of the non-diegetic sound builds tension.
Next we see a narration from one of the characters (Teller) whilst visually we see a fast paced sequence of the pair living a party lifestyle, which creates a sense of idolism for the audience in particular males (a clever method of targeting a specific audience)
This shows the characters in several different locations and contrasts heavily against the beginning of the trailer in which we saw a more serious tone to the trailer. The idea of fast paced sequences to build tension and attract an audience is definitely something worth mimicking within my trailer.
Overall the trailer uses a dramatic contrast to emphasize the storyline and plot, a good idea which requires numerous locations. This is something I will look back at when storyboarding.
The trailer opens with what appears to be an enhanced zoom into centre of the screen which is occupied by a an apple logo. This immediately signifies technology, and given the poster filled room of what looks like a young female we assume that this is a teen film. This is further supported when the camera moves through the screen in fast paced fashion.
Which then leads onto a variety of virtual settings, this creates a relatable setting for teenage viewers, and the non -diegetic sound over the top is allowing the trailer to open with speed in order to grab the attention of the audience.
It is at this point 0.4 seconds that we are informed about the film itself, and through the clever combination of voice over and inter-titles a sense of fun and excitement is created from the audiences perspective . And taking a closer look at the inter-titles, they are big, bold, bright and they cover a lot of space, therefore making them not only more appealing to a younger audience. But also it reminds them of the childhood game "Truth or dare" which in this case had been altered to match and older audience.
The trailer then becomes even faster, which is shown through a faster tone of non diegetic sound as well as a faster pace of editing, including; shot reverse shots, close ups and over the shoulder shots. This highlights a significant change in the story line as this is when the female character becomes involved in the game.
This also has a sense of appeal as the character who has so far occupied that majority of shot composition so far (which makes us believe she is the main character) decides to step out of her comfort zone, therefore offering escapism for the audience as they are made to feel a part of the game.
We are also frequently reminded of the film name throughout, even without a narration telling us, this ensures the audience remembers the name.
The trailer continues to connect with their audience through the camera position.For example, the audience see the action through the front facing camera, this allows the audience to capture a lot of the facial expressions and emotions that are given out, we are also aware that this is not personal and if you look closely in the bottom right corner you can see a @ this signifies an online presence which will further appeal to a teenage audience.
This continues throughout the trailer, with the pace becoming faster thanks to a rock music soundtrack in the background, until it slows down at the end prior to a climax.
Also the addition of on screen text during the trailer, allows the audience to associate themselves with the setting and almost imagine themselves inside the situation. Whilst for reformers the unlikelihood of the situation is intriguing in itself.
Overall what I can take from this trailer is using visual things to trigger relatability amongst a target audience can be important, and is something I want to utilise to its full potential.
At first glance of this teaser posterwe are invited to consider a potential new storyline. This is suggested through the simplicity of the camera position and the intertitles, for example the camera angle is enhanced specifically to show the facial expression of only two characters , which appears to be one of aggression on both characters. For any casual film fan who has seen this poster they will automatically assume that given the title of the film is Captain America, that the "Bad guy" must be the character directly opposite to him. But for avid Marvel fans this is not the case as in the last film the two characters were on the same side.
Typically with teaser trailers they give away limited information such as the title, and a potential release date, but this is often changed because of delays however the actual date can be assumed to be around a similar time or even earlier.
Which perhaps leads the audience to look further into the poster to try and find a hint, this is where we see the bold white writing at the top of the poster. This is noticeable as it spreads across both sides of the poster, the words of which state : " Divided we fall " and of course there are only so many assumptions that an audience can make with such limited information. But the fact that the producers and designers could create such an enigma simply by using a short sentence and a contrast of colours shows that sometimes simplicity is key when trying to intrigue and audience.
This is something I want to identify when creating my poster and for this reason I feel I will make a teaser poster rather than a theatrical poster. Mainly because theatrical posters often give away more information.
But if we take a closer look at the teaser poster it is clear that colour has been used to full effect, for example by using the colours that we normally associate with these characters, the designers can imply that the two are against each other as the two colours do not mix. Since the two are standing head to head we are made to picture the two fighting against one another. Also the colours themselves come across as dirty and dark, however this may be to contrast these colours against those in the centre of overall composition, which is seen as a considerably brighter colour , perhaps to suggest hope. However such a stark contrast between darkness and hope leaves the audience questioning the situation.
Overall the simplicity of design is something I would like to and feel like a can emulate, however I understand that it will be hard to create such an enigma given that it only worked in this instance because the two characters are already established and well known characters. That's not to say that I could create a similar situation.
But conclusively I am really encouraged by the idea of creating a teaser at this moment in time, as after having looked into both theatrical and teaser variations of the same film the TEASER version is more appealing to me.
Star Wars - The force awakens was one of the biggest films of 2015 if not the biggest, so I thought I'd look into the film prior to release in order to see why it was so successful.
So I started with the theatrical poster, not only is it aesthetically pleasing to look at given the variety of bright colours and things to look at- which of course gives plenty of information about the film, for example if we start with the characters.
From the first viewing we as the audience are made to look at the largest visual object- this being the villain - or at least we build the character representation that he is villain is he cloaked in black which typically speaking resembles evil, and he is holding a red light saver which will bring back feeling of nostalgia for previous viewers as well as reminding them that he is the villain. Furthermore in the poster his presence is made to seem daunting because of his shot composition. In contrast the other characters are seen to be weaker than him given that they are less emphasized. Also the layout of the characters is shown to make a clear divide between two sides, one side being the bad guy and the other being the good guys and the team we are often made to confide with.
The space background is deliberately used to remind the audience of the old fashioned series that everyone liked.
And whilst the majority of the poster has been taken up with characters, the Main title is added at the bottle /base of the poster in a away that it doesn't subtract from the rest of the poster but also so that it gets noticed. Also the title itself is eye catching since it uses the typical font and colour scheme that fans will have expected, but the old font almost sandwiches the name of the new film - which is clearly shown in white to attract the attention of the viewer.
However unlike most theatrical posters the release date of this film is not large, instead it sits at the bottom of the poster in a white font that differs from the main title, despite this it is still evident as its colour contrasts significantly against the black background
To conclude, this theatrical poster is one that I really admire for the image manipulation used. Although this is something performed by professionals I see no reason why I shouldn't try to manipulate my main image for effect just as it has been done here.
Evidently a teaser poster will always differ from a theatrical version and this is no exception. This is because it serves a different purpose, with a teaser poster being promoted almost to begin the marketing campaign. Whilst a theatrical poster will be released closer to the release of the actual film.
Despite this design being very basic, it does include very important information. For example the close up of each character serves to either remind the audience of a recognisable character or to introduce them to a new character. And an enigma is created with the designers opting to cover almost half of there faces, this effect clearly created mystery and was a technique used by the designers throughout the majority of the teaser posters they developed.
Also, although the main title of the film and release date is featured on the poster it does not cover a huge proportion of it. This reinforces the fact that this is a teaser poster and so the poster is not persuading us to go and watch the film, it is actually encouraging us to talk about it.
Ultimately, although this poster was simple in terms of layout I found it hard to analyse it due to the fact that there was not much going on. This idea is something I really need to keep in mind as although I am thinking of making a teaser poster I do not want it to be too simple, as the only reason this example succeeds is because the "Star Wars" brand is already well known.
The trailer opens with a quick short sequence of shots which show the 7 characters of the film, we are aware that there is seven characters given that a gold coloured number is present for each character. This method of introducing characters effectively shows the characters present and it could be interpreted that this is the order of their importance. However this is not confirmed.
Then we see the main title, perhaps a bit too soon in the trailer, however it does allow the audience to conclude that the previous seven characters are on the same team. And as a typical western would suggest the gold colour of the titles shows these characters are special or significant.
The trailer then progresses to a bright setting in which one single characters is silhouetted in a low angle wide shot, perhaps to exaggerate his importance or also to show his appearance which looks clearly western hence showing that this will be an old fashioned film.
Next we are brought to the attention of a potential plot , at 26 seconds a wide shot shows numerous horses charging through greenery, it then cuts to another shot of a black male character who isn't shot at either a high or low angle to represent his equality to what appears to be the enemy. This character is also shown to be of significance given that he has had the most screen time so far, but also his position in the rule of thirds evidently decorates him as a main character. But it also creates an enigma in the sense that we he has an enemy, which only intrigues the audience into finding out why.
Then after more short snappy shots the trailer begins to slow down in terms of shot speed and sound, this is to focus more precisely on the dialogue and to take in more information from the surroundings. And now we are told about the director, still maintain the gold font, but the title itself starts with a black ground then fades into a long shot as smoke gathers around the intertitle.
These are all the characters we are made to look specifically at and given the dialogue we know they are on the same team, but even without being told the information we could have figured it out ourselves since they all have the same font colour, font, graphic design and smoke during the freeze frame which lasts about 0.5 -1.5 seconds.
This design is something I like and it appeals to both the genre and the target audience of the film, therefore it is worth taking the time to consider the audience and from there work out a suitable colour, layout of the films titles, I also think the golden colour scheme is a true representation of the film and I would consider matching mu colour scheme to my genre.
Similarly to the teaser poster the theatrical version contains a similar design with those same two characters looking at one anther and with a similar graphic design with Captain America's shield being the outline.
But despite these similarities there are many differences as well. The noticeable change being almost the entire main cast being displayed (evidently in the same head to head fashion) and this is a feature of theatrical posters- they often give more information about the film as well as a confirmation date, which is why these are released closer towards the film release and Teaser posters a while before release.
In this instance the main title is in the centre of the poster which is used to grab the audiences attention immediately and also reminds the audience about the main character of the film (Captain America) which is also a reason why he is placed at the front of the shot composition rather than at the back. However after watching the film, I can confirm that the order that the characters are in, does not represent the role they play - apart from the two main characters at the front
As well as more characters being added visually on the poster, another difference is the fact that we see a list of the actors names instead of an intertitle at the top of the poster. This is a common feature of theatrical posters -something that can often be a big persuasion for audiences as they may base seeing the film on the actors rather than the plot or storyline.
Additionally the intertitle itself has developed since the teaser trailer , they have added "United we stand" prior to "Divided we fall" to remind the audience that they used be together at one point. But this also carries another message that this wont be a typical superhero movie and instead its quite the opposite ,which will encourage new viewers of the reformer type to see the film, whilst also maintaining there huge audience that will be wanting to uncover the enigma within the poster.
Although I have not analysed the teaser poster released for this film yet, I think that the way in which this poster establishes a sense of conflict is really good, as the wide shot enables the designers to highlight the head to head battle that will take place. This is something that I think is easier to create in a theatrical poster as there is the capability to reveal more information on this style of poster. Nevertheless I will keep an open mind when planning.
