Research into Similar Products: Conventions and Structure of a Trailer

I have already looked at the primary codes and conventions of a film trailer. i have learnt that each trailer, regardless of genre, all have similarities. Genre can influence how a trailer is made and what choices are made for the trailer. For example an action music Soundtrack would be used in a film that has a large amount of action sequences to connote to the audience the type of film they are watching. This may excite the audience and give a hint towards the generally idea and plot of the film. To help me make a successful film trailer i'm looking at some of the best film trailers. knowing what makes a film trailer successful is important as i need to know the generic conventions required in one. A range of things may make a film trailer successful. From the soundtrack to the fast paced, intense editing in an action trailer.                                                                      

             

From researching into film trailers i have looked i the structure of constructing a trailer. 

For a trailer:

Act 1 : opening of trailer and introduction of characters and environment. we get a sense of the characters relationship and the introduction of a dilema usually appears during this act.  

1. Opening: establishes setting and introduces character
2. Build up: Relationships established. Development of characters and their world
3. a dilemma or series of complications.  Characters are faced with an obstacle t
4. Events: a series of events/action as characters try to overcome obstacle, solve problem, discover truth and so on.

A lot of film trailers reveal to much about the plot and spoiling the story. An effective trailer avoids any suggestion of resolution and ending. some trailers even suggest that the antagonist is going to become victorious in a situation that seems impossible for the protagonist. Like there is no hope

Looking at these different trailers loosely allow me to base my own trailer on the techniques. I will look into some trailers I enjoy now for inspiration, as well as to build upon my knowledge of trailers and their conventions, before I begin to plan my own.

Research into Similar Products: Film Trailer Conventions.

   Jurassic World is the forth installment in the Jurassic series and the first film in the sequel trilogy. Directed by Colin Trevorrow. Starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. Jurassic World grossed $652.3 million in the United States and $1.018 billion in other countries for a worldwide total of $1.670 billion, against a production budget of $150 million.
                
I have decided that a film i would like to look into is "Jurassic World". I am looking at this trailer for its use of Camera work, Editing, Sound and Mise-en-scene. Looking at this trailer will allow me to understand in detail the codes and conventions of a professional trailer which means I can apply these techniques to my own moving image project.

- The opening shot for 'Jurassic World' shows a family in an airport prior to their children's arrival at the Jurassic world island and the events that are to unfold there. This scene uses a specific piece of dialogue which foreshadows the events to come and gives a basic narrative to the plot of 'Jurassic World'. "You're gonna have so much fun, and if anything chases you, run!" This is closely followed by the Universal logo which has the Legendary film company logo incorporated into it. We are then introduced to the setting of the film with a long shot. We can also see a ferry heading towards the Setting which suggests this place is somewhere of great controversy and popularity. A follow shot is also used at the beginning of this scene. We originally only see the ferry moving, yet not knowing what to. Then a wide shot is used to show the island and the comparison between the Island and the people on board the ferry.

- The use of non-diegetic sound when "On June 12" appears helps create a nostalgic feel for older audience members. we see one of the main protagonists in this scene and the awe of amazement as he see the gates to the park open. We then have a high shot showing the masses of people in the park which connotes that there is now a park finally open to the public unlike the previous films. the soundtrack helps emphasize the enormity of the crowd. The audience are then shown the dinosaurs at the park which is eventually built up throughout the trailer.

- As the mention of a hybrid dinosaur is mentioned the music begins to become much darker and each scene cuts away when it ends. This creates tension at it builds up to showing hints of the dinosaur. We are never directly shown what the create looks like which teases the audience. The beginning of the trailer is much lighter then the ending of the trailer.

The music throughout is in time with the scenes.

These are just a few of the noticeable features that help emphasise the films narrative and genre through sound and camera work.

research into similar products : Ancillary poster: Shutter Island

Shutter Island 

The main image is of Leonardo Dicaprio, a well know actor and a selling point for the film, is surrounded by darkness with nothing except a lit match. This creates mystery and suggests that he is lost. Dicaprio is a very well know actor and will attract fans due to his previous roles such as Titanic. He is positioned as the main Image and will attract the audience due to him being easily recognisable. Having him at the centre suggests he is the main character and the plot revolves around him. The main image has multiple different pictures meaning it is layered with and island with a building on it. This would suggest it is Shutter Island and raises questions why Leonardo is there. DiCaprio's face appears to be puzzled and implies he is trying to work something out which implies a psychological thriller  alongside the thriller genre.

The low-key lightning of the poster highlights how something dark is happening with the island and this is something that would intrigue the audience as they wouldn't expect a island to be seen as dark and evil and so creating a sense of mystery and intrigue and also fear for the movie.

The tagline ''Someone is missing'' is designed to create mystery and get the audience thinking who the missing person is. this is another selling point for the film as audiences may be drawn in to find out who is missing. 

The title gives us the primary location for the film; an island. this implies isolation and someone being  stranded somewhere they do not want to be. The shutter suggests something is locked away here and hidden from view. The colour of the main title, red, suggests the type of film this is and that danger and violence is ahead and present on the island.

October is written in red which suggests that aspects of horror may be used as October s the month of Halloween. The credits at the bottom of the poster do not draw away from the main title but included the name Martin Scorsese which gives credits to the directors and producers.

Research into Similar Products : Ancillary products : Movie Poster

 Doing a film trailer also means i am required to do a poster for the film to accompany it. To create a successful poster i have decided to look at different films poster from genres like Sci-Fi and Action to see the conventions used in them and how they are constructed which in turn will allow me to construct my own movie poster. The more I understand about the codes and conventions of a poster the easier it will be for me to create one.

A movie poster is another way for the film company to market and promote their film. It is vital that they create an eye catching and enticing visual as it gets to a wide audience. If can reach a wide range of audience members as they can be placed on billboards, sides of buses, In newspapers and magazines, at bus stops and in the cinema prior to release.

 There is a main image, which in nearly all of the above show cases the main character(s). This needs to be eye catching to draw the audience in. For example, the poster for "Justice League" features the main heroes of the movie and portrays them as the main focus point of the poster however the "Alien Covenant" poster doesn't feature any main characters but instead the  Xenomorth itself to show what the main antagonist of the movie is. The main image usually takes up the majority of the space on the poster, therefore it is a very important decision to make as this is what the audience will immediately see on the poster.

 A tagline is a common trait of a poster which can create a memorable word or phrase to give a basic summary of the film's genre and tone. the tagline may give extra detail about the film and give a hint to the films narrative. Which will cause the audience to be intrigued which will engage them. Above we can see the tag line for "Alien Covenant" which is very simplistic "Run" this creates a sinister town for the movie. "Run" suggest that the 'Xenomorth' is something you cannot fight against. it would intrigue the audience over the use of a simplistic tagline.

-The title of the film is another extremely important convention of the film poster, as without this information the audience will know what is being advertised and therefore they will not go and watch the film. The title is often printed in large, capitalized fonts so that the audience will be able to recall what the film is called and therefore be able to watch it if they are interested.

 A colour scheme is used that would accompany the poster suitable for the genre of the film. the colour scheme sets the tone for the film.

 Mainstream movie posters will often have a block of small text at the bottom to credit all those who helped with the film, such as the production company, script writer, music producers, costume designers etc.

Research Into Similar Products: Initial trailer Ideas

I have had some thoughts of possible film trailers which i could do. Before this i'm going to look at different film genres i am interested in and research into them.

One genre I am interested in is Thriller. Thriller allows different ways to engage the audience and experiment with different ways to create tension through the use of the soundtrack, camera angles and shots and through jump cuts in the editing phase. A thriller that I find is captivating and effective is the film 'Cape Fear' starring Robert De niro and Nick Nolte. It follows the story of an attorney who is tormented from a convicted rapist he once defended. Who later begins to violently stalks his progressively unstable family. If i did decide to do a thriller i would use a similar plot line to this film as I like the idea of someone being followed and playing with the victim's mind in a psychological way.

 

Another Genre i am interested in is the Action genre which can keep an audience engage with multiple action and can implement other sub - genres such as comedy into the film/trailer which will entice the audience to watch the film. An example would be The Justice League trailer which has a good balance of action and very light comedy. if i decide to do an action film i wouldn't do a hero film but something completely different however the way the trailer is structured is something i like.

Research Into Similar Products: Film Trailer Conventions

I have already decided that out of all the options available, i have decided to do a film trailer as this is something i believe i can be rather successful at.

I have looked at a few trailers that i find exciting and effective to draw audience members in. I will look to see if there are any similarities between the trailers and to see if i can implement these techniques into my own trailer.




although each of these trailers are different, focus on different genres and have different budgets, they  use similar features in their trailers to help make it effective for the audience. these features i believe are important in order to increase the audience's interest and expectation for the film.

Common Features:
- Each trailer has their own soundtrack which is suitable for that specific genre style and creates and specific atmosphere for the trailer which would communicate the type of film they are watching. for example 'Saving Mr Banks'  has calm Piano music which is closely followed by trumpets which gives it a Dramatic and slight Comedic effect. However the Rogue One trailer uses darker music to assist the audience in understanding the type of film they are watching. The soundtrack allows the audience to understand the seriousness of the film. We can see fighting and the talk of war against the Empire. Unlike 'Saving Mr Banks' there are no comedic moments which happen frequently in 'Saving Mr Banks'.

-Text is used in each trailer. Either showing the Title of the film, the actors staring in it and their past achievements, For example ' Academy Award Winner : Emma Thompson', Basic plot points of the film and Dates for the films release. Rogue One incorporated the use of an hashtag, #RogueOne. incorporating social media allows the trailer to market the film in more then one way.

-There is also in each film a brief narrative to what the film is about and summarises the plot . This allow the audience to make up their mind whether they want to watch the film or not.

- 'Appropriate audience' banner popped up before the beginning of two of the three trailers to inform the audience who should be watching the film and who shouldn't.

Research into Similar Products: Characteristics of a Film Trailer

For a film trailer there are usually different characteristics which are used to gain the film's chosen demographic. knowing the film's genre will help to know what type of soundtrack or score should be suitable for the trailer in that genre. Although many films are different they still follow the same generic codes when it comes to trailers. Before looking at the codes and conventions I researched into the industry standard for a movies trailer. From my research Hollywood, MPAA ( Motion Picture Association of America) and CARA (The Classification and Rating Administration) all state that films should be between 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Some films can exceed this and go to 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Looking at Films made by the BBC, such as 'The Sense of an Ending' and 'Their Finest', I found that these trailers reside between 2 minutes - 2 minutes 30 seconds.

Usually a film will have various trailers. They would first have a teaser trailer which is about 20 - 30 seconds long and then an official trailer which will last around 2 minutes. These trailers will show more content to the film and would get the audience excited for what is to come. Trailers should never reveal too much of the films plot to the audience, as if this was to happen then audiences would be less inclined to watch the film as they are aware of the story line and the plot of the film. 

Although these three films are different in terms of Genre each of these are not above 2 minutes 30 seconds, and if the are its because the BBFC will provide guidance before the film trailer begins to inform the audience who should be watching this film which takes about 6 seconds. Therefore the film trailers here are between 2 minutes and 2 minutes 30 even though the Genres are completely different.

• The film immediately introduces us to our main protagonist(s). The actors playing these character may be a selling point for the film. People who know the actor or follow his or her work may be more likely to see the film if they are familiar with or admire the actor/actress. If the characters is likeable or relatable they may feel they have something in common with the character which would engage the audience before viewing the film.
• The Film production Logo pops up either just after some dialogue and a basic introduction to one of the characters or directly at the beginning of the trailer before anything is shown. This will inform the audience who produced and distributed the film to the audience. Some audience  members may base if they watch a film on what film company is involved with its production. This will determine if someone is interested or not. The big six are the biggest film conglomerates in the world. These include:

Warner Bros. Pictures
20th Century Fox.
Paramount Pictures
Universal Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Walt Disney Studios

• The film title will usually be at the end of the trailer which can be decorated, such as Thor/ Ragnarok has, to create a more memorable appearance for the film and allow the film to remain in the audiences mind. Throughout the trailer there may be reviews that come up. For example. La La Land and The Witch both have reviews and comments from film critics and newspapers. This will create a great expectation for audience members and would make them more likely to see the film as they want to know what makes this film so good?
•  Film trailer's sound effects and music is a crucial part to a trailer as it can create tension for specific genres such as a thriller. Using Soundtracks and Sound effects that should be suitable for a specific genre type or narrative. Voice overs are also very effective too, which helps summarize the plot in the trailers time limit. Sound would be non - diegetic and added in post production except for dialogue unless its was a voice over 

Now I have looked deeper into film trailers i can now decide what i want to feature in my trailer generally. First I must research into genre and see what specific film trailers look like based on their genre. Overall I have found out quite a lot from researching into film trailers. I didn't realise the effect certain aspects have on audience members, such as the text used and Actors used. These are just two examples of how film companies try to lure audience members to see their film and will be something I am heavily considering to make use of in my trailer once i have the genre and plot line created and refined. I will look at more film trailers and analyse them individually looking at them scene by scene.