Research

Trailer conventions 

• Tells you who made the film and often what the producers have previously made. This is to help sell the film to its target audience.

• A brief outline of the plot. Depending on the genre of the film it will depend on how much of the story we get told. In action trailers it may not always be clear what the entire plot is as it is many focused on the action and often the special effects such as big explosions. A sci-fi trailer may be more focused on the technological aspects of the film and also any impressive CGI that may be in the film. Drama trailers will focus more on the film as there is very little, if not any, special effects or CGI. A lot of the plot will be based on the acting and the narrative of the film.

• It will introduce the main characters to the audience. It will also show us who the actors in the film are.

• Shows the audience where the main settings of the film are. This is used mostly in sic-fi films as the landscape/cityscape is often created using CGI.

• The main aim of a film trailer is to make the audience want to go and see the film. It gives the audience information about the plot to make the audience interested, they do this by introducing the main characters and shows bunny bits or action bits depending on the genre.

King Kong 1933

The trailer starts with a mid shot of a wooden gate opening and words saying "Electrifying King Kong". The music is very reminiscent of that time period and it is noticeable that the words on the image are used to sell the film. As the quality of the pictures is bad the trailer relies on the words to sell the film. The next long shot has a gate opening and a stop motion animated King Kong being seen in the background. The amount of people there is quite staggering when you realise that none of them are created out of CGI. Once again the trailer relies on the text to sell the film "the sensational thrill that has shocked millions!", as this section of the trailer continues and the gate continues to open more text appears on the scree "Still the most amazing show on any screen", this part of the trailer almost relies more on text than it does on the actual moving images.

It then does a double wipe cut to the next frame of yet again more people running the long shot and then yet more text appears!!!! This time it says "Look at these scenes, right out of the picture", just before it does a jagged swipe down cut and finally cuts down to a scene of some men clearly looking at something. This is also the first time we have  dialogue "we'll be millionaires boys, I'll share it with all of you, why in a few months it will be up in lights on Broadway!! Kong the eighth wonder of the world!!". The acting is very bad at this point as several of the younger actors are looking straight at the camera.

The trailer then jump cuts to a trail clearly heading for Kong. As it zooms into they drivers face the driver comes closer the the camera. This is the only shot to show an object/person moving towards the camera. At this point the camera cuts to a close up of the driver applying the brakes to the train, then the  digetic sound is the brake of the train and the drivers scream. The 1930's non-digetic dramatic music is still playing in the back ground. This does lots to build up the atmosphere.

Stop Motion animation is used yet again to show Kong destroying the train. It then cross dissolves to Kong climbing on a building and taking a girl. This is effective at building tension and atmosphere because the cross between Stop Motion and real life creates the illusion that she is being picked up by Kong. One of the best examples of this is when Kong actually picks up the girl and there is now a stop motion figure of her in the models hand. This then jump cuts to a shot of her in what is clearly a replica of Kong's hand, thus making it look as if he is actually holding her.

This poster is unlike most post 1970 as it features a purely hand drawn design and features no photography. This is partly because of technological limitations of the time, but also because the art can be drawn in colour but a photograph would have been in black and white. The technological limitations also meant that King Kong could easily be drawn on the the scene and the editors and artists would not have the trouble of overlaying the model of Kong with the real life photo.

Devil Trailer Review 2009


Things start out strong for M. Night Shyamalan’s Devil as we’re presented with appropriately disorienting upside down views of a cityscape, while being told that “our lives are filled with chance encounters.” We are then introduced to a coterie of characters; the girl, a black guy, an old lady, a mysterious looking dark-skinned man, a bike messenger. Things take a turn for the worse when the trailer starts hitting us with fly-throughs of a CGI elevator shaft. The dark skinned man keeps acting uncomfortably and is probably a devil. But then back to the action — everyone is in an elevator? This is not good. We learn that the entire movie will take place in an elevator. Someone is super evil in the elevator — probably the dark skinned guy — we know this because someone bit the girl. Or was it a cut? Who knows, but the guy who played Claire’s boyfriend in Six Feet Under is going to find out via video camera. A collection of thrilling events happen and we see some flashes of dead people to remind us that this movie is “from the mind of M. Night Shyamalan” as if that’s supposed to make us feel better!!

The movie poster is centered around the lift which most of the film takes place in. The red glow coming from the center of the lift is red and this clearly symbolises the devil. The poster is an edited photo and the lack of  human presence is disturbingly chilling.  

Iron Man 3 Trailer Review 

 

The non-digetic sound track from the trailer in full.

                                 

The trailer opens with a faded in long shot of the sea with three helicopters approaching in the distance. The diegetic sounds of the helicopters merge with the non-diegetic sound of very dramatic classical music. When the shot begins to blend with the next frame, a voice over of Robert Downy JR starts. 

In the next wide shot we can clearly see the character that Downy plays; walking in what is obviously his work shop. The mid shot clearly shows all of his old Iron Man suits and we also get to see his new suit.This is effective in creating interest as the suits are a big selling point of the film.

The frame then blacks out into a long shot of iron man flying through the sky to save many falling people. At this point the voice-over says “and occasionally save the world”.

The frame then jump cuts to a shot of Iron Man protecting someone. This helps to emphasise how much of a hero he is. The diegetic sound of Iron Mans weapon firing once again merges with the non-diegetic sounds of the dramatic music.

The frame then blacks out into a picture of a distraught looking Robert Downy Jr saying "so why can't I sleep" this once again connotes a very dark film and makes us see that while there is a battle with the obvious bad guy the character will also be facing an internal struggle. This once again gives the film a darker edge. This helps to differentiate it to the Avengers Movie and the post Iron Man Movies which were mostly light hearted. 

As the trailer progresses, it is even clearer that there is a complication to the narrative. This is made clear with a shot of the American skyline in Washington which then blacks out to be followed by  a mid shot of the character President Ellis walking to Air Force One (the Presidents maxim security airplane).

The character Iron Patriot can be seen landing at the end of the red carpet leading to Air Force one. This long shot helps to emphasise the security around the President. 

The new character Iron Patriot is seen more clearly in the next mid shot. There is very little digetic sound but alot of non-digetic dramatic music. The music is key to this scene as it creates the atmosphere of a very dark film.

The digetic sounds create the dark atmosphere in this frame "How can I protect the one thing I can't live with out?", this once again creates a very chilling atmosphere which is not what the entire film seems to be about.  

The mid shot once again shows the different Iron Man suits that are in the background. This is very effective miss en scene.

The frame then jump cuts to the next over the shoulder mid shot of Iron Patriot. This time however, smoke has been added to shroud the character creating mystery around him. The colours are very dark and it is only the lights from the eyes and chest that are easily visible. The character is more of a silhouette giving the audience a sense that there is more to this character than meets the eye. 

The next two frames are similar to the last one. They are long shots of Iron Man protecting someone. Again the frame has alot of smoke and the eye, chest and palm lights are the only real visual elements in this section. 

The long shot of all the Iron Man suits is effective in creating interest for the audience, as the CGI is very cutting edge. Even more suits can be seen in the background giving a greater sense of atmosphere.

The long shot of an explosion is very effective at capturing the audiences interest as the explosion helps to show a more action packed side of the film. This would increase the appeal of the film.

The trailer is about average length for a trailer. It is not a teaser trailer therefore, it is longer and the narrative is explained more. This is effective at selling the film as it creates intrigue.

Iron Man Posters

The film posters for this film are heavily set on the four main characters. 

The poster features two of the A listers that are in the film: Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert Downey Jr, as they are superstars and would attract people to go and see the movie. The main focus is clearly on them however, there is also a hint towards the new Iron Man suits at the bottom of the picture to attract the target audience.

This poster is different from the last. It focuses on a different area of the film while still drawing our attention to an Iron Man suit. The actor, another A Lister Don Cheadle in a brand new suit which is in the iconic red and blue of America. This is a very captivating poster as the photo is sharp and clearly to the point. Once again trying to attract and tease the target audience.

In this photo Iron Man is very predominant in the foreground while the other suits and the exploding mansion are not very predominant; however, they do fill the background and create interest. The heavy damage on the Iron Man suit connotes a battle of some kind and the vengeful expression suggests an element of revenge in this film. 

This poster is possibly the most unique poster of all of the Iron Man 3 posters. It features a solitary figure dressed in Mideastern/Asian clothes and surrounded by what looks like strange Asian relics. This is connotes that he is clearly the villain in this film. However, an enigma is created around this character because we don't really get a sense of who he is and apart from the way he is dressed there is nothing revealing about him. 

This poster contains a strong feeling of Iron Mans downfall. This is clear from the damaged Iron Man amour. The photography of Gwyneth Paltrow uses alot of dark/negative/cold colours reflecting the somber atmosphere is effective because it makes the embers of the burnt helmet stand out even more so it is more eye catching and more likely to stand out if it was on a billboard, bus stop, etc. 

This poster replicates many of the same characteristics that the previous one has. The colours are similar and the burning embers stand out in the foreground. There are a few things that are noticeably different from other posters. The characters facial expressions are nothing like any of the other characters from the previous posters. He has a confident look on his face. While his eyes are still partly shrouded in shadow we can clearly see them and this adds to the confident look. 

This poster relies much more on graphics than the others. Similarly it uses dark colours but there are patches of light in the frame. This time it is the blue glow from the hands and the chest and the fire that is coming out of his right leg. The character is clearly in some trouble and the pained expression  emphasises this. This is telling the audience that Iron Man is clearly in some kind of trouble. This makes the audience want to see the film so they can see how he gets out of this situation. The poster offers no explanation on how he will do this but we can be sure he will. The appeal is how he will do it.

All of these posters have features in common:

• The Date of the release 
• The actors name
• The clear "IRON MAN 3" text. This is always the same font and colour
• The marvel logo above the main text

This gives the posters uniform and can help to associate them with each-other. It gives the film a clear brand image. It also makes the posters very recognizable.

Another Marvel Films that is due to hit cinemas this year is Captain America 2: The winter soldier. This film has been intensively advertised and the trailer has been called one of Marvels best. It shares many of the same characteristics as the iron man trailer but starts backward by having the somber music at the end of the trailer and starting upbeat for the majority of the first half.

The film poster is also similar in style.

Pulp Fiction Trailer

The trailer starts with a long sequence of dialogue and rolling text about how the film has been a favorite at film festivals and also about the director which is a major selling point of the film. 

The music that starts has a very fast tempo and is surprisingly upbeat. This creates a fast tempo feel to the film. The theme of the film appears to be light but there seems to be a darker side to the narrative.

After the close up shot of a revolver being put on a counter the frame jump cuts to a mid shot of Bruce Willis and this is clearly being used to show the film has a collection of A list actors. It then cuts quickly to a close up of a cash register full of dollar bills. This highlights the gangster genre as money is a key theme that runs through many films in this genre.This is followed by a montage of John Travolta and Samuel L Jackson doing several gangster related activities. The editing is very fast and the shots range from mid shots and long shots. We get a sense of characterisation of the two characters.  These two create a sense of gangster related activity and this clearly defines the genre of the film.

After the final scene of the first section, the trailer then jump cuts to the black screen with the writing "A QUENTIN TARANTINO film", this is a large selling point of the film because he is a very well known and highly respected director. This would encourage people to go and see the film but it would also give people an idea about what style of film it would be.

Tarentinos films are famous for having a slightly strange edge and some critics say that Tarantino has created an entirely new genre of film. This is clearly the case in the film trailer because it follows very few conventions of films of a seemingly similar genre.

 There is then a continuation of the montage of the gangster related activities. There is also humour being used, as when John Travolta says "take care of", Samuel Jackson's Character make a gun shape with his hand and points it at his head and says "you mean like, take care of", this is funny because it is clear that he is being serious not sarcastic.

After the black screen saying loyalty, there is a long-shot of John Travolta appearing to have a debate with himself in the mirror. This is effective camera work because it shows a slightly strange edge to a film which Tarantino's films are famous for. The trailer is also very effective at characterisation. We get a clear sense of who the characters are and their roles in the film. However, their character arcs are still very unclear as the timeline is not linear. The only characters we don't get names for are surprisingly, the two main characters essential to the plot. This does create interest for the film and adds to the enigma of the narrative. 

The only hint of what the story may be about is when Bruce Willis character wakes up in a boxers outfit. This hints at some kind of fight. While the story may not be portrayed clearly, the trailer is still very effective at selling the film. The combination of montages and the strange use of dialogue make the film very interesting because the audience wants to understand more about the characters roles within the narrative. Tarantino is very clever in creating an enigma surrounding the film but at the same time making us want to see it even more. This reflects his style of film very strongly.

One of the parts of the trailer that stands out the most is when Samuel Jackson says "Oh I'm sorry did I break your concentration?", this is effective because the music stops playing then resumes again straight after. This makes the scene stand out and creates a sense of humour around this character. This is also one of the longest scenes with only one protagonist.

There is also no chronological  sequence to this trailer and this makes it more intriguing. There is also the idea of fiction, however, the trailer looks very realistic.

There are moments when the viewer doubts whether the chronology of the trailer is represented in the film. Often in this genre of film there is not much chronology but the audience still get a rough idea of the character arcs and main narrative developments. At the end of the trailer the audience is left with the impression that they will have to see this film to fully understand the full narrative, as the trailer is just not clear enough to understand what it will be about. 

The poster looks like the front of an old book cover with one of the central protagonists: played by Uma Thurman, the only character on the front of the poster. This is the only official poster for the film however, it is hailed as one of the most famous movie posters of all time due to the simplistic nature of the photo and the weathered look. The list of A list actors is in the same order as said in the film trailer. 

Moon Trailer

The trailer is set in what appears to be a not so distant future where hydrogen 3 is mined on the Moon. It is clear from the person who is running the mining facility that he has had a long stay of solitude. The main focus of the trailer is how little time he has left in his contract. This cleverly develops the narrative as the trailer clearly denotes a very simple story line to begin with. However, as soon as the story line is developed an enigma immediately is created as there now appears to be two Sams. This is extremely confusing for the viewer because just a few seconds ago we were informed by some text that he was alone by himself.

This is a very confusing trailer. However, it is able to captivate our interest. The chronology of this trailer seems to be in the same order as the film. This is because the beginning and the ending have clear differences and the character arc/arcs seem to have a clearly defined path.

This is why the trailer is so effective is because of the use of the establishing shot at the beginning and the quick shots are used at the end to signify the change that is taking place.

Drama Trailers

The narrative within these trailers is much more detailed with a focus on how the plot will unfold. Characterisation is also important as this is often a key to the trailer. The main character of the film goes through a very detailed character arc throughout the duration of the trailer. This is often used to show how the characters change will affect themselves and also others around them. This makes the ending much stronger and means the film is more worth seeing, so this acts as a very strong selling point for the film. Most drama films have key locations that are essential to the development of the narrative and this is often shown in the trailers by having shots of the surrounding landscape. This is often representative of how the main character will affect the local community and possibly change it, either for the better or the worse.

The effect of the landscape is clear in the trailer for "The Promised Land" where the main theme of the film seems to be revolving around land and the process of cracking to find oil. There are many ethical issues around this process and this film is clearly about them. This development of the narrative is effective because we get a much clearer sense of what the film is about. There is no enigma as there often is in SiFi, action, crime, thriller film trailers.

The shots used to show the geographical location are often long ariel shots from helicopters showing the true expanse of the land. These shots continue throughout the trailer and are very effective due to the lack of special effects and editing.

This is trailer doesn't use the any special effects but relies on telling the narrative and the wide camera angles to show the surrounding landscape and how the characters interact with it. 

Research using my Focus Group

Results of my survey:

What genre of film do you normally watch?

The results surprised me because the most popular film choices were for Comedy and and Sci-fi. I believe this may be because these genres span a wide range of films and can form hybrid genres when combined with different styles of narrative. 

What films have you seen?

This was once again very surprising. The older films not many people had seen; however, as lots of people had seen Pulp Fiction (1994) and Taken (2008) which shows that an older film can still be as popular as a new film. The data could be biased because the people I surveyed were younger and may not have seen some of the older films on the list. If a group of older people were surveyed, the results may have been different. 

By which of the following methods do you usually watch films?

This is exactly what I would have expected from a younger audience as cinema and online are the most common way of watching films. It was interesting to see that they were very close together and this demonstrates how the internet has made watching films even easier as people can watch a wider range of films (illegally and legally) online. DVD and TV are very low which is most definitely the result of the internet and it is also clear with the demise of companies such as HMV. 

What is the most influential in helping you make your choice about what film to see?

The results are not surprising because they are the most closely related to the options in the other questions. 

Evaluation of Survey 

  
Both these films are well known and this shows that people still like to watch old action films as well as new ones. These films are completely different to each other except perhaps for some of the action/violence. These two films are both critically acclaimed and both scored highly on IMDB (Taken 7.8 and Pulp Fiction 9). This shows that films that are exceptional stand the test of time and will appeal to a wider audience.  

The way people watch films is clearly changing. If this survey had been done in 2000 the results would almost certainly be different. This is because the internet connection would be dial-up and have a maximum data transfer speed of about 40 kbits/s. This means the online streaming of films would have been impossible. With the introduction of broadband it is now possible to stream, download and upload films. This means people can watch them in the comfort of their own home. This is possibly one of the reasons that the option for DVDs is low.

The way people decide what film to watch was interesting because it is clear that people are more likely to decide on a film if they have seen the longer version of the trailer. This is often seen at the Cinema and on TV. I feel that the answer is unclear for the DVD/TV option because they are grouped together in the same category. To get a clearer understanding of this I should have had two separate categories. This would have made the survey more detailed and clarified these options.

These two films, few people had seen. This is not surprising as the films are very old and do not have the same reputation as Pulp Fiction. Despite scoring 7.2 (From Dusk Till Dawn) and 8 (The Untouchables) they still don't have the same reputation as the more recent films. This could be because the films are much older or it could be because the style of film is so different to modern film, that people don't feel the desire to watch them. 

War films were another category that not many people had seen. This is surprising because there have been many war films released over the last 20 years and I was expecting this genre to have been viewed more. The low score could have been due to many factors such as, my focus group having a larger majority of females than males and few films of this genre were made after 2000.

How people are influenced in which type of film to see was also interesting because the majority of the votes were for trailers showing at the cinema.

This is possibly because cinema trailers are played when the same genre of film is being seen. This means people are more likely to see a film that is more appealing to them if they see it at the cinema. 

Adverts however, are played more frequently on television and are normally done in TV spots that last about 30 seconds. These are also played when television shows of a similar genre are on as well. They can also be played at a late/earlier time so more of the target audience sees the trailer. 

This survey shows that the way in which people view films is changing and also how the advertising needs to be better suited to reach a wider audience.

First Person 

This is the use of first person in the Iron Man three trailer. It is more in-depth than a point of view shot and makes the audience seem more in-touch  87u

All of the trailer I have looked at I would like to incorporate aspects form all of them into my trailer. I liked the old style of film such as Tarantino but I also liked the more modern trailer from directors such as Shane Black and Ridley Scott. I wanted to mix the two of them together to produce a cross genre trailer.

While doing my research I noticed that there were no trailer had combined two genres of film together. While some action films did mix drama and action together there were no polar opposites being put together. This could potentially be a new area to explore.

Film Ratings

The U symbol stands for Universal. A U film should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over. However, it is impossible to predict what might upset a particular child, especially at this lower end of the category range.

PG stands for Parental Guidance. This means a film is suitable for general viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. A PG film should not unsettle a child aged around eight or older. Parents should consider whether the content may upset younger, or more sensitive, children.

Films classified 12A and video works classified 12 contain material that is not generally suitable for children aged under 12. No one younger than 12 may see a 12A film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult. Adults planning to take a child under 12 to view a 12A film should consider whether the film is suitable for that child. To help them decide, we recommend that they check the BBFCinsight for that film in advance.

No-one under 15 is allowed to see a 15 film at the cinema or buy/rent a 15 rated video. 15 rated works are not suitable for children under 15 years of age.

Films rated 18 are for adults. No-one under 18 is allowed to see an 18 film at the cinema or buy / rent an 18 rated video. No 18 rated works are suitable for children.