In world where people are scared by what goes bump in the night, possessions and floating sheets a new splash of horror is needed to relight true terror and fear to an audience of common day sissies. “The Field” is the new horror set to scare audiences to the bone. A film so horrific it even makes Jason tremble and Freddy wish he was dreaming.
The blissful, tranquil country side a relaxing weekend to allow Mark to relax with his friends just one last time. It is the few months before Mark, Chloe, John and Tasha go their separate ways in life and they decide to have one last weekend together to properly say their goodbyes they pack up and leave the city to relax just them no outsider influences but the world is a new world. Endlessly expanding developing but to what end?
A new wonder wheat has been produced by top American scientists and has been said to be able to end starvation in the world and be used as a new source of energy. Despite the Americans inventions the first major and currently only plantation lies in the UK who previously denied growth of such crops as this isn’t just any crop it’s GM. Kept under wraps by both American and English governments can this wheat truly be the answer?
The villagers that Mark and co originally meet seem distant at times but friendly none the less they appreciate the sentiment of the groups trip and aim to please their guest to their secluded farming town. As night falls things begin to make a terrible turn for the worst as villagers turn savage, feral and start to kill innocent and track down anyone like a pack of wolfs. But what is it that makes the villagers turn so violent.
A new take on the zombie type film jam packed with more tension and fear then ever. Beautifully crafted use of editing and screen play set the mood for the terror factor that is “The Field”. This chilling tale is one not to be missed.
To establish my audience I created an online questionnaire that I distributed using social media. My main idea was to get a basis for what would sell in a real world application for my local area. To get a general idea of each participants background I asked for both age and gender the majority of my participants are in the late teen age range which is an ideal target age to be aiming at as this age group would be expected to visit cinemas and watch films on a more regular basis then older people.
My female to male split was reasonable more males answered my questionnaire however a significant amount of females also did meaning this questionnaires results are not gender bias. To get a general idea to perhaps what area of film I should consider developing my trailer in I asked questions about film habits such as favorite genre and if they view films on a regular basis. The results showed the out of the people I questioned the top genre was horror closely followed by comedy, not all of my genres received likes this could be a representation of my area or it could of been down to having a small sample of people.
To get a general idea in my mind of how big the trailer should be where it should be placed I asked how often it was they actively searched for trailers for upcoming films a majority said sometimes indicating that if a particular film is interesting enough they will search it out , hopefully my film will me similar to this. finally to wrap things up I asked where they would most see trailers a majority of the votes stated the internet this could be a reflection of my age range as it is commonly associated that teenagers spend a lot of time on the internet, however because of this I have decided that when creating my trailer I should consider this, perhaps creating a smaller trailer that can be placed as an advert on webpages or before videos on YouTube for example as this appears to be an ideal way to get my product out to my target audience.
Empire is a large company that aims to please most audiences
and so therefore no particular audience for the magazine company as a whole can
be depicted it can only be as vague as movie watchers or cinema goers. However
this edition has a very strong batman theme and so therefore this particular
edition could be said to be appealing to fans of the superhero be it from
television, previous films or the comic books.
It’s initial to see the image of Bane from batman is the
main focus of the magazine as it covers the title and by doing so creeps into
the masthead. The image is the first thing that catches the audiences’ eyes this
is done by the positioning and the actual photograph itself. The photograph is
looking straight at the audience and directly interacts with the audience the
positioning places the picture at the very top of the page yet again brining a lot of attention towards
it.
There is a slight tilt on the image of bane this connotes he
has dominance other the audience. This puts him in high status and connotes to
why he is the main figure of the magazine. This is stereotypical for male to be
shown as dominant in media as media producers show figures similar to their own
in a better representation then other social groups.
The colour scheme of the cover resembles the main story
which would help connect to a “hard-core” fan base. The main colours used are
yellow blues and then normal used shades of white and black. Yellow and blue
are colours that have been associated with batman as his original costume
followed this colour scheme this is the main story also about the new batman
film. This would interest and fan base as they would more than likely play
attention to this detail the colours also however do stand out on the page and
would gain a lot of interest in audiences as it stands out on the dark
backdrop.
The typography used is very basic bold and easy to read this
is most likely to appeal to all audiences as some people may not want a
magazine that has lots of swirls in the lettering it also when combined with
the colour really makes the words jump out of the page to yet again help
collect potential consumers eyes.
Buffers are used to attract and audience the magazine uses
text such as “World exclusive” alluding to the audience that there is no other
way to obtain the information inside the magazine meaning if the audience
misses out on this opportunity then they are not going to find this information
anywhere else this gives an incentive to the audience to purchase the magazine.
The magazine is produced by Total Film a magazine with a
large audience based on its coverage of certain films. This editions main
feature is information on the new up and coming James Bond film sky fall.
The colour scheme of the magazine is shades (white black
grey ect), yellow and red no other colours are used on the magazine. The use of
colour is quite clever the dark colours make the magazine appear very
sophisticated and make it appeal to perhaps a more inelegant audience however
the contrast between the yellow and the black really make it stand out on the
page meaning that it may catch audiences eyes a lot better than other magazines
that use very bright colours.
The magazine places its biggest selling points into the masthead.
The masthead contains the majority of Daniel Craig’s face which is looking
straight at the audience connecting this places him as a priority in the
magazine this is also supported by the large bold text of “Skyfall” the name of
the new film as both of these are linked.
The magazine places a buffer in the masthead saying
“essential preview” this says to the audience that this article is essential to
life that essentially isn’t worth living without. This gives the audience a
motive to purchase the magazine.
The main image of the magazine is a mid-shot of Daniel Craig
who plays James Bond in recent films. The image is placed in black and white
similar to classic James Bond style. The whole of the front page works as a
large semantic field for this classic film series as it includes the main two
stereotypes of bond films the inside of a barrel graphic and a man in a nice
suit with a handgun. People that might not even know what Skyfall is would more
then likely be able to state what the main feature of the magazine is due to
the style it has been created as. This appeals to the audience because a lot of
fans of Daniel Craig or James bond will instantly recognise this and therefore
feel as if they should purchase this magazine as it will provide them with
knowledge in terms of Blumer and Katz Uses and gratification .
This is a Star Trek edition of total film. The masthead of
this magazine sticks to common conventions of magazines due to it being large
and bold and taking around a third of the page, The reason this is good in
terms of appealing to their target audience is because the total film masthead
is very iconic and essentially works as a beacon to their fans allowing them to
easily spot and distinguish this magazine from other competitors such as
Empire. The masthead is also very simple and doesn’t lean to a particular type
of social class or person this allows to magazine to appeal to the widest
possible audience because it doesn’t particularly give off and themes, this is mainly done by the colour as white is
very neutral and does not naturally suggest a particular gender.
The main feature of the article is star trek and is the
magazines main selling point for this addition. They try and sell this to the
target by using the star vehicle on the front page. The placement of this vehicle
addresses to the audience as the characters eyes are directly engaging the audience
this should appeal to certain consumers that enjoy the work of the actor it is
also noticeable that the actor is pulling an also most seductive pose
suggesting the placement of the image is directed towards a female audience,
this could be the magazine produces being clever as traditionally Star Trek is
seen as a male dominant franchise and so by addressing this through use of
image they connote that the film can also be enjoyed by female audiences, this
is supported by the fact Star Trek is also seen as a “nerdy” franchise yet the
magazine uses the word “coolest” underlined drawing attention to this
attempting to counteract this “nerdy” reputation .
The magazine uses common puffs and pulls such as mentioning “exclusive”
to try and draw in an audience. This would work because as Blumer and Katz uses
and gratifications states audiences use certain media text for reasons, one of
the most important reasons in this theory for magazine is information seeking
and therefore by placing an “exclusive” audiences should feel the need to buy
the magazine just to learn the “exclusive” information that magazine contains.
The colour of red is used subtly to perhaps suggests towards
the genre or style of the magazines main feature Star Trek . Red tends to
connote; danger,fear,lust and anger now when applied to a series such as Star
Trek one commonly know for its Sci-Fi themes is also know for the occasional
action scene due to this I believe they are using read to portray a sense of
danger suggesting the film is a Action/Sci-FI. This appeals to an audience
because it is commonly though of that men enjoy dangerous film such horrors and
action adventures because of this the colour may have been chosen to try and
attract an “adventurous” male audience as it would be thought that this type of
consumer would get the most entertainment out of both the magazine and the
film, this also applies to Blumer and Katz as entertainment is another
significant fixture to why people seek media productions.
The typography of the magazine is bold, neutral and easy to
read this has most likely been done to make it easier to see the text putting
and emphasis on the stories included inside the issue. This must be what the
producers thought was the main selling point apart from their Star Trek star
vehicle, this also works well as star trek is know to be sci-fi yet one of the
main stories they emphasize is based on comedy films, meaning the magazine is
trying to reach out to consumers that like the comedy genre as well as
sci-fi/adventure this widens the magazines audience base.
The poster uses very dark colours that connote mystery and
give a dark atmosphere. The dark links the genre of the film as dark colours
and red are commonly associated with horror.
The use of a pitch fork can link to the story. The use of a
pitch fork is interesting as this commonly connotes the country side and
farmers this could be a link to the setting of the crazies film as it is set in
a very isolated farming town the pitch fork however is commonly associated with
classic horror films where by the villagers of a town or village create an
angry mob and chase someone out of town for example. The pitch fork also
appears to have left a trail of a liquid the denotation of the red lettering
the drips and the darkness connotes that it is most likely a trail of blood and
this suggest that this pitch fork may have been used to kill someone this links
to the horror genre. This however could be some other sort of liquid on the
pitch fork however the initial connotation that comes to mind when taking in
the whole atmosphere and presence of the poster leads towards it being blood.
The text of “The Crazies” has a ‘warning’ sign poster look
this could connote that the story is linked in some way to military as this is
when a warning sign is commonly used in media when some sort of military law is
emplaced. This appeals to a male audience because military connotes action
which appeals to male youth’s excitement seeking according to Halls “storm and
stress” model.
The Poster is very simplistic yet affected. No real large
graphics have been used and the story hasn’t been revealed the poster makes you
think about what the film might be about and leaves quite a lot to the imagination
this said though the use of dark themes and blood red as the only colour still
provides a very dark atmosphere and still alludes to the genre well. This
appeals to the audience because it portrays the genre well so therefore fans of
this genre would naturally be attracted to this film.
The poster uses very dark colours with very bright colours
as a theme this gives great contrast and links to Levi Strauss theory of binary
opposition. The main bright colour used is yellow this is linked to the cats eyes this is most likely why they have
used this as it links in well with the natural colouring of the poster without
appearing as if it doesn’t fit in. The black of the cat and background connotes
darkness fear and mystery this links well with the genre as it also adds an
atmosphere of tension and may make the audience feel curios about the story
behind the film. The red of the woman’s clothes is visible but isn’t vey centralised
on. The red connotes violence, danger
and anger this links in well with the genre because it is the colour of blood which
is a common affect or prop used when filming a horror as unlike psychological
films the main scare factor tends to be the gore. This links to a male audience
in particular because red can also connote lust and by placing a helpless women
in a red dress this may connote to the male audience that she is an object of eroticization,
this something that Laura Mulvey explored in cinematography known as the “Male
Gaze”.
The style is very typical to posters of the era as there weren’t
many real computers in the 1960’s especially programs that allowed creation of
such publications. Because of this the style is very comic like as it would
most likely done by hand and mass printed however I’m unsure about this.
The use of the women with blood denotes that she is dead
this connotes that she has been killed as if it was a natural death she would
not have blood running from here head the cat perched onto connotes the
possibility that the cat had something perhaps to do with it or it could be a
link to the common superstition that black cats are bad luck as it would be
very unlucky to have been killed. The
cat also literally links to the name of:” Tales of Terror” as the cat has a
tail ultimately not the same however this could show a clever spin on the title
of the film. This appeals to the audience because it suggests their may be
certain aspects that require you to read between the lines. This links to
Blumer and Katz theory of uses and gratification, this is because this would
appeal to the audiences information gathering side.
The shocked expression of the women links to the genre as it
connotes fear and distress which is what the audience may want to feel if they
are watching a film of the horror genre.
The target audience for 28 WEEKS LATER is male youth between the age of 15-24. This group is represented through the use of media language.
The initial denotation of the poster leads to it being
mainly red feature one main image lots of large text and overall looking like a
piece of war proper gander. The large “Warning!” suggests that it would be
emplaced as a notification to the public this could connote that the setting is
in a zone with marshal law. This is linked to the genre as a lot of horror
films have involvement to do with the forces. This appeals to the target audience of males because according to Halls "Storm & stress" model youth seek excitement and "warning" suggests danger and ultimately should invoke a thrill in audiences.
The poster uses one singular image of a man in a bio suit we
also see a bio sign behind the film name 28 weeks later. This connotes that
there is a link between the story line and some sort of epidemic or infection
if a fan of the original film this is obvious but if someone is new to the two
films then this is a good indication to the core story behind the film. The use
of “Quarantine” also links to the fact of it being an infection of some kind as
the only time people are kept in quarantine is to help prevent epidemic or
sometimes to prevent someone from relaying information ect linking the poster
to horror yet again. This appeals to the audience because they know it will be a perhaps easy story to follow perhaps meaning the film will be more action driven then story and dialogue appealing the male stereotype of loving action.
The red of the poster connotes danger, violence and anger
and is also the colour of blood which links to the zombie horror well as the
biggest parts of zombie horror utilised are the gore and making the audience jump. As afore mentioned this will appeal to the target audience based on the fact it creates a feel of danger that should invoke excitement. The danger and violence aspect work well with the horror genre as it suggests
there will be a danger aspect and some sort of violence behavior this sort of
actions are what would be expected of a horror as appose to something like a
psychological thriller as that tends to play a lot more on the mind then it
does the “boo.”
“Deadly force will be used to protect this area” is a quote
on the poster and connotes that there may be some sort of violence action in
the film as the statement could be used as a foreshadowing to hint into what
the story is about the violence connotation also links to the horror basis of
the film as violence is commonly seen in horror. When linking to uses and gratification
(Blumer and Katz (1974)) the poster is used for information to gain knowledge
about the film and entertainment for filling time analysing the poster.
The typography of the poster fits with the theme of the Poster well. It has a grainy texture look that creates the affect of the poster being folded or to be a certain age. This links to male audiences because the text its self is bold and straight to the point it is not curly and well present like a stereotypical female font would be, this gets the point of the film across being serious and simple that may apply to a male youths behaviour.
The Paramount logo is very iconic as Paramount is a very
large company in the film business. Denotation of this logo is simple a large
mountain above cloud level with the name Paramount perched on the peak all
inside a circle of stars. This is very open and is not linked with one theme or
genre in the film business as it isn’t “scary” or based on fantasy etc. The
large mountain could connote the paramount is bigger higher and ultimately
better than all the other companies out there. The natural lighting look gives
the logo a realistic feel.
The orchestral music commonly associated with the
animation really gives it that “epic” almighty feel. The animation of the logo
changes depending on how long they want to make it the full fledge logo shows
the stars of paramount crossing over a lake and then up the mountain to which
they then arc round and then this is when we see the name of the company.
Paramount have not really got much variation in there logo
sometimes no music is present if the film is more sinister or serious however
they do not tend to change the logos basics. However they do release special
logos every anniversary the most up to date version being the 100th
one of the more significant milestones a company can have
The Warner Bros logo is very iconic and hasn’t changed since
the creation of the business. The gold colouring of the logo could connote that
it is royalty within the business area it could also connote that it is a very
wealthy business. This is because gold is something that is commonly associated
with kings and queens gold is also worth a lot of money in comparison to other
materials and metals this is where these connotations could possibly derive.
The shield look linked with the fact it’s supposedly a
“family “business (Bros) could connote a family crest which was common in the
olden days for family names and households to possess their own crest that
commonly would be displayed in a shield fashion.
The initials of WB are present this is most likely emplaced
just to link the logo to the name of the company.
Warner brothers create a lot of films and tend to target the
mass audience in the media market as they are part of one of the large
conglomerates in the American media. However they still do change the
presentation of the logo depending on the film to suit with it to ensure that
it does not seem out of place. Most commonly the animation of the logo at the
start of films is changed to rather appear darker with more sinister music for
a horror for example or more “twinkly” and a warmer glow for a child’s film.
Pixar is a company famous for its animation children films
they are responsible for brilliant children’s films such as: Up, Toy story, Finding Nemo, WALL-E and
many more.
The logos baby blue connotes that it is peaceful and relaxed
as blue is a colour commonly associated with tranquillity. The shade of blue
also connotes innocence and immediately sets this a company advertising to
children, as you wouldn’t expect this type of colouring to be on a logo for a
company that only made horror films for example.
The animation of the desk lamp is very cute and gives a
sweet innocent feel this is down to both the noise it makes and the way it’s
animated to move this targets the audience of children well as it is
interesting but not overly complicated.
The typography of the words Pixar is very clear and easy to see yet is still not bold and
boring. The sharpness of the lettering suggests that despite the “cute”
animations the baby blue background and the childish feel the company is still
a serious company that wishes to be regarded as such. That said though the text
still appears inviting and warmer then other company logos.
Still despite the fact that Pixar is a one type of film
company they have made alterations to the logo for certain films to better
involve the actual film itself. The best example is the one created for film WALL-E this added the main star of the
film to the logo in a interesting way without alluding from the original design
that has been used for years.
This is the analysis for the brand new sci-fi horror film
that is Prometheus. Prometheus is a new hopeful film directed by Ridley Scott
who is linked with the alien franchise. The movie is set for a mass audience in
social bands between E-C due to the films nature.
The trailer starts with lined distorted image of the creators
and producers logos these are 20th century fox. We have an
non-diegetic sound of a fearful woman’s
voice stating she was wrong this is also distorted and fuzzed like the logos
and the current footage we have on screen. Then a beep happens and the noise is
silence this raises tension and automatically sets the scene this is when we
first see the directors name this is something that would interest certain
audiences due to the directors history in this type of genre. The silence is
broken by the same woman before saying that she is so sorry this depicts and
states that she has done something wrong the act and consequences is unknown to
the audience at this part in time. Women are commonly used in the horror genre
to depict fear; this trailer does not act differently. A sci-fi bass sound
appears from nowhere and echoes after this we see four blue thrustsers attached
to a large spaceship and a small graphic starts to appear on screen also new
atmospheric noise also accompanies the now quite bass . This would definitely interest audience
that are fans of the directors work as the sci-fi links with the spaceship
nicely and the atmospheric music also adds to it being a horror film meaning
that the link is quite clear between the style of the film and others such as
Alien.
A shot of a moonlit landscape which features lots of fog is
shown this sticks and keeps it depicted within the genre it is set as this is a
very out of this world feel which is obviously sci-fi linked. The next part
opens with the same noise as before linked with a flame appearing from a guy in
the bottom right hand corner this sticks with the genre the attire of the man
connotes sci-fi as it isn’t common clothing such as jeans and a hoody or a suit
but instead a large biome around his head and a shiny all in one this is a bit
like a space suit. A large shot of a door opening onto the scenery we saw
earlier is shown this just gives a setting for the film as we now as a audience
know that is the location of the base film.
A fade into and then straight out of a scene is used as a
transition from the longshot of vehicles into a over the shoulder shot giving a
landscape in representation to the during the transition more pieces of the
graphic are added to the screen this provokes curiosity in the audience and in
turn also promotes the genre as sometimes the most scariest things are the
things that are unknown to us. This scene turns into a match cut of same person
entering the room this just elaborates on the setting.
The next scene uses sharp cord music along with diegetic
screaming and a scene where by a man
appears to be being burnt by acid or some other form of liquid. The sharp cord
music connotes to the audience that something scary is happening the sharp
chord music also changes the previously slow tempo and works to create more
tension this would interest and audience because it keeps them entertained and
hooked watching as appose to bored.
The tempo of the scenes dramatically increases as each scene
fades into the next a lot props and other sources are used to keep the audience
interested. They show certain things that would interest someone that enjoys
sci-fi films such as orbs that scan areas there is also a small scene with a
man inspecting a foreign specimen. A shot of women is used running down a
hallway towards the camera she is “pretty” and takes up the screen she is
showing some flesh not a lot however this is so far the only distinguishable
character implemented into the trailer. This could connote that they are aiming
prudentially at the male audience as there first featured character look as
almost to be a damsel in distress. More graphic also appears on screen and it
appears as if it is wording to something. More fast paced scenes of action and
sci-fi gadgets are used increasing in tempo as does the non-diegetic music this
increases tension and interests the audience as it plays on stereotypes common
to what the audience supposedly want.
All music goes silent the screen is black apart from the
graphic that has been progressing since the start of the trailer it is clear
that it spells out “Prometheus” which is the name of the film. This is just
information that people need to know in order to want to watch the film this
also works well to remove previous tension build up.
The next part uses diegetic sound and a close up of a
distraught woman to increase tension and create interest again. The woman does
not look to be erotized this breaks Laura Mulley (75) theory of the male gave
as she is not emplaced into the trailer for sexual interest but instead to
create fear. The trailer finishes with prompts to the audience for the story
line saying they went searching ect this Is most likely emplaced to give the
audience background to the story as the clips don’t give in much detail what
the film could be about this is just to interest the audience.
The trailer is only 1 minuet and 10 seconds this is most
likely because this allows it to be used in cross platform advertisement. For
example this could be played before a YouTube video or could be playing as an
advertisement on a normal website.
I am analysing the trailer for 28 weeks later (2007) the
sequel to 28 days later rated to be one of the best zombie horror films to
date. The audience for the trailer is within boundaries between E-C as this is
what the nature of the film applies to. Certificate of the film is 18 so
therefore an estimated ideal age would be between 18-32.
The initial start of the trailers does not initial spark for
the film to be horror as it shows quite a picturesque scene of a sun set. Every
think looks very tranquil and this is the complete opposite of what is commonly
in horror films as to create a good horror film enough tension and atmosphere
normal need to be emplaced. The scene fades to black and then into a birds eye
track of what looks to be London this is when we hear the first non-diegetic
sound in the form of chord music this creates a gloomy atmosphere as it is not
as tranquil and peaceful as the scenes we are witnessing this could be used as
foreshadowing that an event is going to happen.
A sharp chord noise is used as a bridge to change scene. A
visual effect of what you would see when recording with a poor video camera arrives on screen as we see
a aeroplane land peacefully a scene quickly flashes up that shows a deserted
street with piled cars this connotes that something has happened here as this
is not commonly scene in a place that has residents because of this we get a
slight glimpse into what the film is about. This quickly transitions using the
same effect into looking down a man’s rifle scope. The man is clean and does
not look as if he is the only one alive as he is well kept his uniform is army
based this explains why he has weaponry and this suggests there may be a
marshal feel. We also get the dialogue of: “welcome to London” this is most
likely used just to set the scene of the previous clips and the movie in
general. We fade to black and have a jittering word of quarantine this is still
setting the scene as we can divulge from this that the setting is within some
sort of quarantine. We then get security footage of a train with the initially
non-diegetic noise of a women talking about where the train is traveling during
this speech we get footage inside the train.
The clip transitions fast between 3 scenes from different
areas around the quarantine these are most likely establishing shots. One of
the scenes contain lots of bright bags suggesting that the contents may be
potentially harmful. We then fade to another text screen that contains the
words eradication an we start to see men in bio suits burning bodies this goes
along with the speech of then explaining they are yet to clean the area of
remaining bodies we have a close up of a
fire that fades to black. We then have a scene that show a naked woman being
rumbled up and down by men in bio suits this in certain theorist eyes for
example Mulvey could suggest the audience should be male as the woman is being
shown as passive and also naked this means that men can rather eroticize other
her despite the fact she is being sterilized from contamination is screaming
her head off and decency is still covered.
Another establishing shot is used of a moving red train,
this time however the scene is a lot darker giving a more gloomy atmosphere as
appose to the more tranquil landscape shots we witnessed at the start of the
trailer.
The trailer introduces us into the idea of the fact they are
needing to repopulate London by giving us another text graphic and also
allowing this to be divulged by dialect as the 12 boy is the youngest in the
country this wouldn’t be expected as children are born frequently. This is
backed up with it cutting to more scenes of lots of people walking with luggage
and belongings down a corridor and off a train. The two children characters
that the trailer introduces to us run towards a man we have yet to seen a man
watches them moving with each other and states that this is what it he wanted
to do allow families to start again because of this we know that this man must
be the children’s father.
The music begins to increase tempo and we also get
introduction of a drum kit this is most likely foreshadowing to an increase in
pace in editing and clips and is likely
used to increase tension a this is common with the genre however we are yet to
witness any real action deluding towards the actual events however the trailer
does nicely explain what the cerium stances of the setting are. A long shot of
the two children on a bike is shown as they travel through a graveyard a few
extra scenes play and learn more about the story as it would have certain
influences of the children’s mother, we then fade to black and the name of the
film and then fade to a scene where by a women is strapped to a bed this could
be there mother as previous dialogue and this clip together suggests.
A dramatic drum noise scored with a fast paced fade to black
is used and increase tension this is mostly used to prepare the audience for
high action shots and the more horror part of the trailer as not much has been
used to “scare” the audience. we then get a really atmospheric noise that rises
in tempo and noise and we witness a shot of someone’s strapped feet shacking as
if they was having a fit, this is
happening in very dark lighting. This gives a very dark atmosphere and would
interest the audience that enjoys horror as it is scary the music works well to
add tension and fear into the scene also.
A series of fast paced action scenes are used that show lighting
removing they include diegetic noises of screams and this is most likely used
to interest the audience now, these techniques of film play are commonly seen
in horror trailers as it is the best way.
A close up of a man mouth is used to break silence that is
created beforehand. This slightly removes tension allowing the audience to be
interested. The next scenes appear to feature whilst sirens and other alarms
are going off this increases tension and interest and is mainly used to show
more information in a interesting way that certain audiences may find
interesting. We get a scene with the two children whilst the lights are off and
the only light source is the alarm this gives a very dark gloomy atmosphere and
it leads the audience to believe something is going to happen This all broken
when a figure burst through the door the children scream this tactic is most
likely used to try and make audiences jump. The use of music increases the
tempo of the scene this is because it is not a slow paced song.
The trailer ends towards with the song playing
and lots of high action packed clips that include shooting, explosions ect.
This might interest a more action based fan base as well as a horror one due to
the fact it is very high action and
these sort of images we would more likely expect to see in a James bond trailer
or there about.
I am analysing the trailer for The Crazies inspired by a
George Romero horror from the 1970’s. The movie is created for mass audience in
boundary’s E-C.
The trailer starts very tranquilly and inviting to the
audience. It does this by using 3 main clips the first used is a establishing
shot of a field of corn on a nice summer day this is followed by a long shot of
two children riding there bike the scene then fades to a tilt of a peaceful
street. Each of these scenes are very common to what you may see in a romance
or something set with a nice tranquil film each of these scenes gives a sense
of security to the audience. The piano score that is used as a bridge follows
the theme of blissfulness helping keep this feel portrayed to the audience.
The tension starts to increase quite early on. The long shot
of the man with a gun walking towards the children playing baseball increases
curiosity however the sudden introduction of a string instrument into the audio
adds tension and foreshadows that something isn’t right. During the transition
between the mid shot of the two police men and the fade to the long shot we
have a very bass heavy noise this is something common in horror trailers as it
is a loud “scary” noise.
Tension increases once again and builds up to a climax. One
of the police men makes his way up to the man this is when we have a match cuts
and multiple over the shoulder shots as it is dialogue. The mise-en-scene of
the older man is not befitting to the tranquil feel we initial have, he does
look very “out” of place and mind and this is something that builds tension as
we as an audience know nothing about this man and his initial appearance is
worrying. This is linked with the police mans acting who looks worried and this
because of his stature of power being in
his job position works on role figures to add tension because if he is worried
and being a police man then maybe we should be. The older man raises the
gun and we get a close up of it raising
this increases tension because we know that he aims to shoot the other man. A
quick transition is used to the crowd of the baseball where we see the majority
of a blond woman’s face this build s more tension as we do not know who has
been shot and killed. This woman may have been emplaced into the main focus to
interest male audiences more. We then see the old man fall to the ground and
the scene fades to black. During the scenes the piano from the music has gone
an it is now mainly string we also get a loud bang that sounds like a door
shutting when the screen fades to black.
All these features rise tension well from a previously calm full setting
and would interest anyone that is interested in horror movies as tension is one
of the biggest atmospheres they play on.
The next scenes are used to develop and give hints to the
plot of the film. The police men is reassured by what could only be described
as his partner the company names are also shown here after the build up of
tension as this is when an audience most likely would be paying the most
attention and so by placing this here they may be more likely to remember. We
fade to an establishing shot of the town/city we slowly zoom into the scene and
then fade into a doctors. Dialogue of “hes just not right” is used as a sound
bridge between these scenes. This helps develop the story because we can
divulge that perhaps whatever happens is to do with this man the doctor scene
also helps us presume its linked to something medical such as a virus or
infection.
A interesting use of fast paced editing synced with music
played shows some of the residents of the area. This is played after a text
graphic on a blank screen saying “your Neighbors” this leads on to a mid-shot
of a blue house. We then fade to inside
a doctor’s office and we have a two shot of some story characters. We then see
this again but instead with the graphic friends. This could connote that no one
is safe from what is happening this would interest an audience because it gives
the film story elements and a sense of no happy ending.
The trailer uses lots of dark scenes as these help provide
tension and a dark atmosphere. A series of clips do this. One clip shows a
woman standing in front of a combine harvester the only light source we see is
from the lights of the vehicle and we get a clear view of the size scale
between the woman and the vehicle. As the scene fades to another graphic the
string non-diegetic music stops. Both this work well at rising tension because
we know that if the vehicle was to move the woman would have no chance because
of the difference the sudden stop in music that has been present for a while also
works very well as it ends very abruptly meaning the audience notices the
change and so would concentrate on the scene more.
We get a close up of a worried boy and a worried woman by
the looks of it using previous graphics these are mother and son. Children are
often seen as innocent and defenceless (apart from certain films where the play
on this fact) this makes the audience fear for the childes well being. The
mother is wearing a white dressing gown the whit could connote innocence and
purity suggesting to the audience she has no done anything wrong yet still may
suffer the consequences.
Shots of the event still in silent add more tension to the
trailer. The tracking shot of the man walking up the stairs with the diegetic
sound of his feet on the wooden steps this adds tension because we presume as
an audience that he is going to the woman and child. During this we have very
fast paced cutting to and throw from the child and mother to the man this
builds up the speed we then get acting where by the child and mother are killed
in cold blood. These scenes would interest and audience because if you enjoy
horror films then these types of scenes are very common and so you know it
would be suited to your taste.
A pulse sound is introduced into the trailer and an
interesting editing is added. The scene doesn’t necessarily change however we
fade to black and then back to action every time a pulse happens this is a very
interesting use of editing and it increases attention to the clips very well it
also works well adding tension and it creates a very out of the ordinary
atmosphere. We see pretty much the same shot we saw earlier of the street yet
this time it is deserted although still bright it appears very dull in
comparison this connotes to the audience something is out of the ordinary. This
is supported by the actors acting as he appears confused as someone rides past
him singing.
The trailer uses simple scare tactics by having a non-moving
“scary” figure suddenly jump towards the camera this would interest any
audience that is a fan of being scared. All the next scenes are high packed
with action yet very dark and mysterious
the pulsing noise is removed and we get this almost static like sound
instead. The main dialogue helps develop the story line this would interest and
audience that maybe is not sold by just “you will be scared” techniques but
instead wish for a core story. The pace of the clips puts the audience on edge
as to what is going to happen we see lots of guns and other props that are
associated with violence. The trailer resorts back to interesting the audience
by scaring when they feature a shadowy figure scraping a knife against a wall
in a pitch black room the noise is something that may cause some audiences to
get a shiver down there spine. We have a loud crash noise as we fade to black.
The tempo of the trailer is lowered and we get this very
interesting edit where by all movie noise is removed yet all we hear is music
(Mad World – Gary Jules) which is very depressing and gives the trailer the
feel of there being no hope as it is a very depressive song. This is linked
with different clips of the characters we have previously focused on in
different “end game” situations. The dialogue is reintroduced as is a raising
in pitch and tempo string orchestra this is linked with some more high action
we also have a close up of a very odd looking individual who appears to be
crazy perhaps linking to the name of the film the last scene before another
graphic and before we revert just to the song again appears to be a bomb being
detonated this may interest audiences that more action based fans. We get a
graphic of the name of the film this is normally if left so late put at the very end of the trailer however we
then get a very dark shot of what appears to be a blood covered pitch fork
being dragged we also get a mid-shot of a woman attached to a bed looking fine
and healthy. The trailers end before we see what happens. This is a method that
may have been used the keep audiences on tenterhooks and has most likely been
used as a cliff hanger to make audiences want to go and watch the film. However
it may have not shown this because it would be too horrific for younger viewers
or people that may not want to watch the film.
For my Advanced Portfolio I have decided to chose the film promotion brief because I developed a keen interest in British film production whilst studying for my AS examination unit. In addition for AS I elected to do the print brief so felt undertaking the challenges of moving images at A2 would widen my skill base in media. Regarding the ancillary tasks I am going to create a poster and a magazine front cover as I have already had experience working in the medium of print and wish to develop my skills.
