Research and planning-podcast

This is my podcast where I have talked about what I have done for Media so far this year

Research and planning-what is a teaser trailer/trailer?

A teaser trailer/trailer consists of a montage, lots of peaks from the narrative, voiceover, titles, title for the film, release date, film certificate and names of the production and distribution companies for the film. A teaser trailer/trailer is used is shown on TV and in cinemas to promote the film.

A good example of a trailer is:



This trailer is a good example as we are able to achieve this kind of trailer. This is because it contains no explosive special effects or CGI. Also we could create of this quality on quite a low budget and just use existing locations as there is no need to build any special designed sets.


A bad example of a trailer is:


This trailer is a bad example as we realistically could not make a trailer similar to this one. This is because we cannot work with live animals like snakes and also we have no location or set that could replicate a plane like the one shown on the trailer. Also even if we just used rubber snakes it would not look realistic and would not create the fear we'd want it to.

Research and Planning-questionaire results

From the questionnaire we learnt:

• Our audience want a mix of Titles and voiceover in the trailer
• They fast a mix of both fast paced and low tense music in the trailer
• They want to see both shaky scenes using a hand held camera and some smooth scenes filmed using a tripod.
• Most of the audience we asked said that they would prefer white flashes between the scenes
• Most of the audience said they wanted costumes and make up that fits with the genre we are doing. Also they said to use dark clothing and makeup.
• Most of the audience said they would want a range of different sounds throughout the trailer as oppose to one consistent sound track
• The audience want a mix of point if view, over the shoulder, long shots etc.. in the trailer
• The audience cannot decide whether they want a male/female hero or villain an audience members said they wouldn't mind if the hero was male or female.

Research and planning-questionaires-one blank and one completed

Research and planning: meeting post-update

Today me and my partner had a discussion to finalise who was going to do what roles within the trailer. We decided that I am going to do Cinematography and Mise-en-scene and my partner Nyle is going to be in charge of Editing and Sound.

Research and planning-audience research

 Above are screenshots showing the top 20 Thriller films on IMDB. From the list the films that I think are most like the thriller we are going to make are Looper , Taken 2 and The bourne legacy. All of these films fit the thriller genre perfectly as the are fast moving and have lots of action

The above screenshot is from The Numbers website. It shows the top rated movie for males and females and his will help with the gender of my target audience. It states that the top movie for males is The Avengers and the top movie for females is Pirates of the Caribbean: on stranger tides. This is due to Johnny Depp. Although these films are not thrillers they have element of a thriller film such as high action and fast music.

The screenshot above tells us the top 20 movies for viewers under 18. In this list there is lots of thriller films such as Blade, Lord of the rings and The Matrix reloaded.

Research and planning-target audience

Target audience for film trailer on Prezi

Research and planning-Media exam: theories

The 'hypodermic' model

Mass media has a direct immediate and powerful effect on its audiences. Messages are directly injected or shooted into our brains.

Cultivation theory

The more time people spend living/watching a TV world the more likely they are to believe the social reality portrayed on Television.

Desensitisation

When the audience is less effected or immune to violence after being exposed to it for a period of time.


Modelling/copycat theory

Something publised in media that is then copied in order to get attention. For eg. violence or suicide in films are sometimes copied




Uses and gratification theory

As an audience we take in the information from a media text or film that we need or like and disregard the other bits that are not relevant. We are intelligent and can use our brain to select or deselect messages from a film.

Research and Planning-Meeting

Today me and my partner Nyle had our first meeting to talk about our Film trailer project.

We discussed who is going to do which job role.

We decided that I am going to do the Mise-en-scene and Nyle will be in charge of Editing

We are still unsure who will be doing which remaining job role so will discuss this further before coming to a conclusion.

Research and Planning-audience polls-poll junkie

Click here to vote on  my audience poll

Research and planning- teaser trailer analysis

The second trailer I am going to analyze is the film trailer for Panic Room This film came out in 2002 and is directed by David Fincher. It has an 15 certificate and is a Thriller film I am going to watch this trailer and comment on Genre, Representation, Narrative, Audience and Media Language throughout it.

Genre

This teaser trailer is a thriller trailer. I can tell this from watching it because it has mostly low key lighting which is a common convention of this genre film. Also the trailer as a whole has an element of creepyness to it and this is further enforced by the persons voice that can be heard throughout most of the trailer. However unlike most tradional films including thriller films there doesnt seem to be any clear cut heroes or villains in this trailer and there is a bit of ambiguity as to what this film is really about. As well as this Carol Glover's theory applies to this trailer as there seems to be a girl in the film who is being terrorised throughout.

Representation

In this trailer the female character ( in this case) the young girl is represented as being weak and passive. Also she doesnt seem to have much control over the narrative. However this could be contradicted by the fact there is a woman doing the voiceover all the way through the trailer and normally most mainstream trailers have a man doing the voiceover for them. As well as this the trailer for Panic Room could be said to fit into Laura Mulvey's theory. This is because it looks as though the whole trailer is shown from a male gaze/point of view. This is again reinforced by the fact that the women are shown as sex objects and there is even one shot showing one of the women lying in bed. Moreover the representation of the men in the trailer is quite ambiguous as they could be seen as both heroes and villains.

Narrative

The trailer is basically about how these two women get trapped in a "panic room" and find it almost impossible to escape and presumably need saving in the end. From the trailer I can see that the two women are the protagonists in the film. Also it could be said that this film trailer fits Levi Strauss and Roland Barthes theory. This is because there are clear binary oppostites in the trailer. The two women are the good characters and the men trying to trap them are the bad characters. As well as this the trailer seems to also fit into Propp's theory about specific characters types within film. This is because there is hero characters which are the two women, there is villains which are the men and there is also princess type characters which are the two women also as they presumably need saving at the end.

Audience

The target audience for this film trailer would probably be teenagers from the age of 15-18. I think they would probably be students who have interests such as horrors and thriller films. This trailer could fit in and support the Reception theory. This is because while watching the trailer it could be perceived or interpreted in different ways. For example some people may think that the men in the trailer are villains and are trying to trap the girls. However others may see the men as the hero running around trying to save the girls.  Also whilst watching this trailer the audience can be quite passive and just sit there and let the information go into their brain. This is because it is quite easy to follow the trailer and the concept is quite simple and so the target audience doesn't require much concentration in order to understand what is happening in the trailer.

Media Language

Cinematography

• A long shot of the panic room is used as the first shot in the trailer. This is a good way to establish the scene and setting for the rest of the trailer.
• Then very slow pans are used in order to show specific bits of the set in detail. An example of one of the specific bits that are show is the locks in the room. This is done to emphasize just how strong the locks are and hard it would be to break in or out of the panic room. This also helps emphasize the scary/trapped element in the trailer.
• All the way through the trailer the is lots of zooming in and out of all the security features of the panic room. The zooms arevery slow and this helps slow down the overall pace of the trailer. Also this helps the audience keep up with the action in the trailer.
• Furthermore the fact the camera moves very slowly during the first part of the trailer helps build up the audiences anticipation and makes us think its building up to some sort of climax. 
• When the disruption is shown the camera quickens up slightly and this mirrors the action on screen getting a bit faster and more interesting. 
• Also a lot of close ups are used to show the characters faces. The close ups are used to show there facial expressions especially when they are scared. Showing them scared also enforces fear in the audience and this is commonly done in horror/thriller films.
• Most of the time the two women are shown using a high angle camera to make them look small and less powerful
• Also low angle shots of the men are used to make them seem superior and more powerful than the women in the trailer. 

Editing

• During the beginning of the trailer the editing is very slow and quite long takes are shown. This is done to slow the trailer as much as possible without it becoming boring. Also the slow editing helps build up the audiences anticipation for the rest of the trailer because it looks like something quite big and high action is going to happen soon.
• Also simple straight cuts are used throughout the trailer to show continuity.
• There is also jump cuts used to go from one part of the panic room to the other. These are used to make the audience a little disorientated and keep them interested in the trailer.
• Later on in the trailer when the disruption and parts of the climax are shown the editing gets slightly fast and this mirrors the action on screen as this also gets faster.
• The editing follows the exact same pattern all the way through the trailer. This pattern is the fact there is slow pans and then a jump cut and then another slow pan and then another jump cut. This pattern creates a sense of continuity and you can tell its all from the same trailer even though it does a lot of jump cuts from one thing to another.
• The final bit of editing in the trailer is a blackout before the name of the film comes on the screen. The blackout could signify a death or end of something. 

Sound

• Throughout most of the trailer there is a woman's doing a voice-over for the trailer. However the woman's voice does not sound like a normal typical woman's voice. Instead it sounds very creepy and a bit deranged. I think this adds to the effect of the whole trailer as it makes the audience immediately sit up and take notice. Also when hearing the deranged voice the audience may feel a sense of fear which fits perfectly with the horror/thriller genre.
• 45 seconds into the trailer the voiceover stops and is replaced by a monotone kinda humming sound as the rest of the action takes place. This is done because at this point the action is more important than the sound and so by getting rid of sound it allows the audience to fully focus on the images on screen.
• The humming sound continues for most of the rest of the trailer apart from the last 11 seconds. 
• Then during the last 11 second of the trailer we get to hear one line of actors dialogue and this is the only actors dialogue we hear throughout the entire trailer.  I think we hear hardly any dialogue because it keeps the audience in even more suspense as to what the actual plot for the film is.
• The one line of actors dialogue we hear is when one of the girls says "What is he doing?" and the other girl says "there locking us up"

Mise-en-scene

•  The first shot we see is over the panic room and it is shot using low key lighting. This is done to make it look dark and scary and make the audience feel uneasy. Also the low key lighting used is a very common trait in most horror/thriller films.
• Within the mise-en-scene we can see lots of locks and security features in the panic room such as lead doors and surveillance  cameras
• Through the mise-en-scene you can see that the room is quite rough and dirty and this adds to the rough uneasy feel to the film trailer
• Then later on in the trailer as the action pick up there is a yellow tinted light used a lot to create a different colour other than just black or grey.
• Also this yellow light could represent the "light at the end of the tunnel" scenario and could show that they have a small chance of escaping.
• The villains/men in the trailer are wearing dark clothes such as black or grey. These colours connotate evil and death.
• However similarly the two girls/women in the trailer are also wearing dark coloured clothing. This could show that they are not as innocent as they may seem at first and also have dark side to them.
• As well as this the title for the film "panic room" is written in red writing which could connotate danger, evil, blood or the devil. Also red could be seen as a colour that shows some kind of warning.
• Moreover this trailer follows the Kuleshov method. This is because there is a montage used to show all the different parts of the film such as the disruption and climax. Montages are used to show the main bits in a film in a short space of time without giving away too much of the plot. I think the montage in this trailer is used perfectly as it shows you all the different bits of the film but still leaves you clueless as to the actual narrative and plot of the film.

Research and planning-audience research on facebook

Whilst doing my trailer analysis I couldn't think of what film do to for my second on. I posted a status on facebook asking for suggestions and below is the response I got:

After reading through everyone comments I decided to analyse the teaser trailer for Panic Room.

Research and Planning-trailer analysis

The first trailer I am going to analyze is the film trailer for Law abiding Citizen. This film came out in 2009 and is directed by F Gary Grey. It has an 18 certificate and is a Thriller film  I am going to watch this trailer and comment on Genre, Representation, Narrative, Audience and Media Language throughout it.

Genre

The genre for this trailer is thriller. However it also has an element of crime to it and some action scenes. I can tell this from watching the trailer as it has lots of past paced music with is a common convention of this genre of film, Also there is lots of short fast takes all the way through the trailer which helps maintain the action and tension in the trailer. As well as this according to Steve Neale's theory, genre is a repetition with some kind of underlying pattern and a few differences. This theory can also be seen in the trailer. For example in this trailer there is conventions of thrillers such as famous american landmarks and action scenes. Both of these elements are repeated time and time again and can be found in lots of other thriller films. However a genre difference in this trailer is that it shows the main character's family such as his daughter and wife. The family is not normally shown in a thriller trailer and this is a variation in accordance to Steve Neale's theory.

Representation

In this trailer the black man is represented negatively and is shown as the villain. This fits with the mainstream negative stereotype associated with black people and so the trailer supports this stereotype. I think that the black man in this trailer is shown negatively because this is what america is used to because of what they are fed through the media. Also the police are shown as the bad guys and Gerald butler's character is the good guy. Laura Mulvey says that all cinema is from a males perspective. However this trailer doesn't fit in with this as woman are hardly seen in the trailer and are not objectified.

Narrative

The story of this trailer is a man is ambushed in his home, his family are in danger and he is trying to find out who is responsible. As with most films there is a clear protagonist character which is Clyde (Gerald Butler). Also there is binary opposites (good and bad). The police are the bad guys and Clyde is the good guy. Moreover some of Todorov's theory can be applied to this trailer. For example we see about 3 seconds of the equilibrium at the start of the trailer and then we see lots of the disruption during the rest of the trailer. As well as this during the trailer we see both passive and active characters. For example we see Clyde being very active throughout the whole trailer but we see his wife who is quite passive and is just dragged along and doesn't have any control or influence in the narrative.


Audience

The target audience for this film trailer is teenagers above 18 years old. However I think that it could also appeal to people from the age of 15 even though it has an 18 certificate.

• this trailer is mostly aimed at a male audience
• they could be either students or employed people
• interests they have could include cars and action films

As well as this while watching this movie trailer the audience have to be quite active in order to understand what's going on in the film narrative. Also I think that the uses and gratification theory applies to this trailer as the audience can watch the trailer and take what they need/want from it instead of being brainwashed.

Media Language





Cinematography

• From the very beginning of the trailer you can tell straight away that everything is not as it should be. This is because the camera is very shaky and this makes the audience scared and a little disorientated. 
• Also at the beginning we are already looking down at the villain character from the film as he is instantly show using a high angle shot which makes him look inferior to us. 
• Then later on in the trailer the main character/hero is shown using an eye level shot. This is used because it helps us/the audience to identify and relate to him and this shows we are on his side right the way through the trailer and the film
• Also during what looks like a pinnacle/important part of the trailer the protagonist character is shown using a low angle to show he is superior to the rest of the character and will inevitably win against the villains/baddies
• Even when Clyde is being accused and being arrested and when he is prison he still looks superior as though he is comfortable and happy. This is shown through the use of wide camera shots that show he is kinda free even though he is in prison.

Editing

• During the beginning of the trailer a few black outs and straight cuts are used to go from on shot to another and the pace of the editing and action is quite slow and calm because not much is happening on screen. This lasts for about 16 seconds
• Then after this the action very quickly picks up and as a result the pace of editing gets faster and the take get shorter
• Then after the production company logos are shown the trailer begins to show the disruption in the film. This edited together with lots of straight cuts to show continuity from one scene to the next. 
• After this a blackout is used before the trailer goes to the villain. This blackout tells us straight away that something bad is going to be happen and that everything is not as it was before. Also the editing gets bit faster around this part of the trailer.
• Then some quick white outs transitions are used when Clyde realises what the villain is up to. The white is used to signify the hero and to show good.
• Then some text that says "A man who loses everything... is capable of anything" is used in the trailer to help push the narrative along
•  After this the trailer gets darker and shows an execution. This is shown through the use of black out transitions that go from one scene to the next. Then later on white outs are used to show the hero again during more important parts of the film. Then blackouts are used from this point till the end of the trailer.

Sound

• During the beginning of this trailer the sound is quite quiet and slow. The first diegetic sound we hear is the door bell ringing that comes from within the film world.
• Next we hear the voice of the protagonist as he is talking to his daughter telling her to get ready for dinner. The music gets louder and more suspensefull during this scene.
• Then the music builds up to a climax point as Clyde (the main character) is beaten with a baseball bat.
• Then when the disruption is shown there is tension music in the background that is played in steady beats.
• Also as the trailer is played there is extracts of dialogue from the film which helps the audience understand the narrative.
• Then at the pinnacle point in the trailer where Clyde realises what the black man is up to the music changes and we get a few bars of loud high pitched beats
• After this there is some more tension music in the background for the rest of the trailer but this time the music is faster and has a sense of urgency about it.

Mise-en-scene

• At the beginning of the trailer, during the first 16 seconds the house looks quite normal and normal high key lighting is used to show this.
• Then as soon as something strange happens we see objects in the scene that we are not used to such as a baseball bat and gaffer tape on Clyde's mouth.
• The villian looks quite respectable. We can tell this by the fact the is wearing a suit and tie and is dressed very smartly.
• Also in the trailer we can see that his daughter is very important to Clyde. we know this because we see a bracelet that she made for him that says "daddy" on it.
• Then later on in the trailer within the mise-en-scene Clyde is seen using a syringe to inject a guy with something.
• Also clyde looks trapped when he is being interviewed in the police station. This is shown through the use of bars as this makes him look like he is literally in a cage.
• As well as this high key lighting is used throughout most of this trailer apart from the bit where he is being executed. In this scene low key lighting is used to show the darkness of what is happenin and to show horror and make us a little scared.
• Also this trailer fits in with the Kuleshov method as it has a montage of scenes. This montage is used in the trailer to tell the audience about the key parts of the film in a very short space of time without giving away to much of the film plot.

Research and planning-answers for trailer questions

After carrying out these audience interviews I learnt that:

• people want an element of surprise and suspense in a thriller trailer
• also they would like a trailer that keeps you guessing and doesn't give away too much of the plot.
• the trailer should be 1-2 mins long
• people expect a 15 certificate for a thriller film
• the poster would consist of a colour scheme involving red and black as these are popular with audiences 
• the trailer should have realism as oppose to supernatural elements
• the trailer should be similar to popular thriller films such as Taken 

Research and planning- questions for trailer

What would you expect from a thriller movie?

How long do you expect a thriller trailer to last?

What certificate would you expect a thriller film to be?

In the trailer would you like to see the full plot or have an element of surprise?

What colour scheme would your have in mind for a thriller film poster?

Do you prefer Supernatural or realism?

What shots do you expect to see in the thriller genre?

What are your favourite thriller films?

Research and planning-photoshop challenge

Our media teacher Angela set us a challenge on Adobe Photoshop to create a film poster that fits the genre of trailer we chose to make. We were given this challenge to see how much we could now do on Photoshop and how much we could remember about the different tools on Photoshop that we used last year when creating a college magazine and then a music magazine.

I think that this task really helped me because whilst I was doing it I began to remember bits and pieces about some of the useful tools within Photoshop. I used the free-transform tool to change the size of my car image. Also I used the text tool to add a title and slogan for the film. Then after this I also used the magic wand tool to cut around the 15 certificate logo and remove its original background before inserting it into my film poster. As well as this during the process of creating my film poster I rememberd how to use layers properly within my work and how to add something on a different layer.

However whilst I was creating the film poster I forgot to check the canvas size and so it ended up being a very large poster that was more than a metre wide. In order to correct this and make the picture a reasonable size when saving this file I had to lower the quality of the image in order to make the file size smaller so that it could be uploaded to blogger.

Below is the film poster I created using Adobe Photoshop:-

Research and Planning -certificates for trailer and film poster

I think that the certificate for our thriller film we are going to make should be  a 15. This is because most thrillers out at the moment have this certificate and so it seems appropriate and reasonable. Also thrillers are not generally extremely graphic and so there is no need for an 18 certificate. As well as this I think if this had an 18 certificate it would limit the audience too much and most teenagers which are the target audience for this film would not be able to see the film because of the age restriction

I think that the certificate for the trailer for this film should be a 12A. This is becuase it will then be able to be shown at primetime on the TV and at the cinemas. If it was any higher than this then the advertising of the film would be hindered as it wouldn't be shown till late night on TV. This means the film would get less exposure and so less audience. In order to make the trailer a 12A we will have cut out blood and swearing for the trailer and only have implied violence. 

research and planning-pitch

Media pitch from karishmavisram

Research and planning- Chase scene-evaluation

This is our practice and we have done a chase scene. My role was that I filmed the whole thing.

A good thing about the chase scene was that we have made very good use of sound effects and made them realistic and made them match what is going on in the video for example we used gunshot sounds where people were being sit. Also the sound used makes the scene more interesting and exciting to watch. As well as this within sound we also added some mood  music that continues in the background of the entire clip. I think this works really well to create tension in the clip and excites the audience.

Also I think the editing for the scene is very good and shows continuity. Also we have used different transitions such as fade outs to cut from one scene to another

I think the mise-en-scene could definitely be improved. This is because as a group i don't think we thought very much about the misc en scene within the scene apart from the gun props

The cinematography in this clip is ok but could be better. We have used one high angle shot when Wes is being shot. However I think that we could have used lots of other different angles and shot types throughout the chase to convey different meanings.

Also if we had to this task again I think we would use a tripod. This is because it would be a lot easier to keep the camera still and the quality of the overall video would be much improved.

As well as this I think that we could improve by going out and filming more footage in order to makes our video longer. This is because it was only 57 seconds and it was supposed to be 2 minutes. I think the fact that our chase scene was so short has taken away a lot from it and has severely decreased the quality of the final product. Also if it was longer then we would be able to tell the story a lot better and it would have made a bit more sense.

While doing this task I think i quite like the Cinematography and mise-en-scene aspects of it but I disliked the editing and sound.