Legal Restraints in my area's of focus.

In filming teaser trailers there are a variety of features in your clip which will need to be carefully looked over, there are legal issues such as copyright and defamation. Copyright is dangerous territory in any industry now a days and you have to be carefull even making a film clip for a project that you avoid infringement. Defamation also known as slander is the communication of a statement that makes a claim which could give any individual, product, goverment etc a negative image. A famous case of defamtion and libel is the case of 1735 when John Peter Zenger a journalist for New York Weekly journal published a write up which criticised William Cosby (Governor of New York 1735), Zenger was taken to court but the case was eventually decided as not-guilty as Zenger proved that his supossed 'seditious libel' was correct.


Filming in the Uk publically is legal, but in non-public places which restrict commercial filming and photographing sometimes a permit is needed. On a more radical degree, if when filming there is likely to be any explosions or fire arms used then Uk police need to be fully informed and consulted, also permission is needed to portray any police personel.


In America the 'Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)' declared that theatrical trailers should not exceed the length of 2.30, but major production companies are allowed to overrule this term just once per annual year. Internet and home made trailer are excluded from this rule. Green and Red bands are a simple colour code scheme to explain to the audience the approval content of the film. Green bands signify the film has been approved for all audiences. This contributes to broadening target audiences. Red bands symbolize explicit content only for restricted or mature viewers.

In a contract between actors and producers there is a section which states film posters should include a billing block, a billing block is a highly condensed block of writing commonly situated at the bottom of the poster. Having highly condensed writing allows the fit the required writing in, whilst leaving space for detail.

Film Trailer Style Models.

The film trailer is the most decisive point of a movie advertisement campaign, it particulates the audiences level of interest in the film. In mine and many others opinion in order to create a succesful trailer you must follow the Todorov's theory of 'Equilibrium', the strategic order of this theory is pretty much followed by each one of my trailers i have analysed, the stages for this are as follows; Stage 1 the state of equilibrium and how it should be, Stage 2 a disrubtion of the equilibrium, Stage 3 recognizing the disruption of the equilibrium and Stage 4 attempt to fix the equilibrium. There is a Stage 5 but it is not recognizable in film trailers as it acts as a spoiler. Stage 5 is the equilibrium restored.

Paranormal Activity 3 trailer analysis.

The purpose of this trailer is to entice and create nervousness for the audience, also to reminisce to the audience of the previous two films.

The target audience is generally set at 15-25 year olds, the certificate for the other two films was both 15, and surprisingly due to the films denotation and its fear factor. This encouraged more 15-17 year olds to view a film of that calibre whilst they had the chance.

The genre is quite clearly a horror film based on the trailer and the feature film name, its sub genre you would have to agree is mystery, the denotation of darkness in the trailer supports this statement. You can also establish the genre of this film by the hand held camera view, as many horror fans know hand held camera is a tense and effective way of creating fear, films such as Clover field, Blare Witch Project and Rec 1 & 2 both have become successful in using this technique and cemented this way of recording as a horror common convention.

The opening puts emphasis on the way the movie will be shot, from hand-held camera point of view, there is an important opening shot which sets the scene for the movie, the date displayed on the camera reads ‘September 3^rd 1988’ this date was before both Paranormal activity 1 & 2 therefore the trailer’s connotation tells the reader that the latest film will be a prequel.

In-between shots of the trailer there is a transition of static to image and it plays an important part of building fear and tension, the static can relate to films such as Ring which is considered one of the best horror films ever. The trailer also uses many fade out effects to resolute to darkness; also sound waves are slowed down particularly when the girls are laughing to alter it as a sort of demon like cackle which connotes the horror genre. Obvious special effects include the ghostly figures appearing in the trailer. Apart from the effects I have noted down there is not a lot more, effects used are quite diverse as the trailer doesn’t want to spoil some of its best apprehensive moments in the film.

Colour in the trailer is a very grainy simple colourised picture; the production team have used some images in a night vision effect which goes hand in hand with the themes of the film and also adds further dread to the film. There are more dark shot images than any other sort which follows the genetic codes of a horror film trailer.

The narrative in the trailer is perhaps the girl’s father. The narrative is very important as it introduces the characters for the film. When picking out words in the trailer, words like ‘bloody Mary’ and ‘fear’ stand out as momentous to the genre.

The use of text/language promotes the films time period, the font of the text for example ‘OCTOBER’ is in a classic font which symbolizes the date of 1988. The month October which has been picked for release date is very common in Horror blockbusters as the month of October is typically associated with Halloween.

Sound effects are relatively similar to the effects I have stated above and there is a lot of short low pitch noises between shots for that shock sound effect. The noise of the static also plays a big part in the build up of tension.

Rise of The Planet of the Apes trailer analysis.

The purpose of the trailer is to explain the plot summary of the film and also give an insight to the audience of the level of destruction the apes are causing.

After looking into the latest film of the new Planet of the Apes series. The campaign tagline for the film is ‘Whose side are you on?’ uses a technique to interact with the audience, this preposition appeals to a wide target audience for a number of synergetic reasons. The new film also appeals to viewers who enjoyed the previous film in the series; this broadens the target audience because the previous film was produced 10 years ago and the original film which was created in 1968. Furthermore providing a wider target audience was the TV series in 1974 which was successful in both America and Britain, the series was repeated in 1994 on channel 4 in Britain. So not only are a realistic general target audience of 16-24 year olds targeted but from 1968-2001 the series have already established a target audience and market,

The genre is labelled as action, adventure and sci-fi I certainly feel that the way the trailer is sequenced fits the genres very well, I think more so it represents the action side of the film. The fast flowing, quick shots and high tempo speed certainly integrate with the common conventions of an action film trailer. The trailers denotation does also show elements of sci-fi conventions such as the gorilla’s which represent a chemical malfunction of some sort.

The opening shows a location shot in San Francisco over a bridge, this long shot then fades out and there is a medium close up on a gorilla with many others in the background but the centre focus is on the one gorilla. Intentionally the connotation of this shot is to first show the detail and effects used on the gorilla making it seem so realistic and secondly to show the extent and numbers of the apes. After this shot there is a reaction shot to show the weakness and fear through the eyes of a human.

A variety of shot are used in the trailer, most consistently are long shots and low angle shots to represent the Apes power status in the film. Reaction shots are also used which is common in action films.

The obvious special effects used in the trailer are amazing CGI to create the ape’s realistic image and other effects like the explosions used in the trailer highlight its action constituents.

Colour and picture quality in the trailer is at a very high standard; all attention to minor detail is attended to, to help cement the CGI effects.

Narrative in the trailer is very partial as the trailer plays on the fear and suspense which it promotes through fast shots and ‘booming’ sound effects. There is narrative at the end which exclaims the pleading of a human to an ape and the low angle shot on the human which promotes the vulnerability of the human race.

The text used is commonly used in other parts of the Planet of the Apes series so a recognizable text style is established for former fans and the block style dimensional text is bold enough to stand out for new target audiences. The release date is shown in the same style, being a summer blockbuster can captivate a wide audience range.

The sounds effects include explosion sounds, screaming (again proving humans as weak) and the non-diegetic sound played throughout is hard hitting and relative to the film’s genre.

Smurfs trailer analysis.

The purpose of the trailer is to use the power of comedy to entice the audience in watching the film.

The target audience for the film Smurfs is aimed at a younger audience due to its animation appeal, the target audience also appeals to a younger audience because of the Smurfs TV series which was a major success on an international basis. A broader target audience is established because of its family appeal also, children who view the film at the cinema will usually be accompanied by an adult/parent/guardian.

The genre of the film is family adventure but also as the trailer tries to articulate there is a strong sub genre of comedy. The denotation of the trailer clearly fortifies the genre.

The opening to the trailer begins with a magical mystical non-diegetic music which is light hearted and calm, there are landscape shots to show the smurfs peaceful environment. There is a camera pan around the smurf village, until a reaction shot of a smurf shadowed by a high angle shot is shown to signify the danger that these people face.

There are lots of bright vivid colours which appeal to younger audiences and helps illuminate the animation side of the film.  

There is a series of text use in the trailer the first bit is ‘This Summer’ in a blue block like 3d style which is bold and stands out, the blue colour connotes the smurf representations. Followed by this text is ‘From Columbia Pictures’ this is a famous distribution and production company known for movies similar like Stuart Little and Surf’s up, so mentioning that the film has links with a conglomerate company like Columbia Pictures gives the film a first-class reputation. It goes on to say ‘The chase is on’ this implicates its action elements. There is then a sequence of texts which goes ‘Smurfs’ ‘in 3D’ ‘Summer 2011’, stating the film is 3d is a technique used to pull in even more audience because it is a increasingly popular method used by many blockbuster hits.

The voice over plays it’s most significant part in the opening by addressing the audience and explaining the summary of the film. It also speaks out the text which is done to cement what the text actually says.

Dialogue in this trailer contributes a lot to the comedy appeal, the smurfs take part in much of the dialogue and exploit it well to appeal to there younger target audience. The dialogue from the two human characters introduces themselves and also gives the audience an insight to there personalities. The repetition of the word ‘smurf’ catches onto the audience and leaves a message to viewers when the trailer is finished.

Film Magazine Cover Style Models.

The purpose of Magazine front covers is to both protect the pages inside and also to create attention  and entice readers to get curious and make there own opinion. The more attractive and informative the cover the higher the chance of it being bought. With Magazine front covers theres no verbal explination so what is on the cover needs to speak the words of the producers, discourse structure of the cover and colour schemes can be a great way of determining target audience, i.e. the red flames on the Hellboy cover which appeals to males more so than females. Other ways are showing images which appeal to a certain sex more than the other, this attracts what is called the male gaze, for example showing a female actress in a seductive manner. This supports theorist Laura Mulvey.

Dark Knight cover analysis.

As you can see the iconic image of the joker is in front of the text making the picture seem so much more significant.  The denotation of this image is that the facial expression looks like its aiming its focus on the audience. The picture can also be appreciated for its centre alignment which again cements the focal point.

Instantly the bright vivid colour scheme used on the magazine draws attention, the colours from the clothes the joker is wearing collaborate with the font and other design work. The purple and green are both typically associated with the joker.

The importance of the text is highlighted through it overlapping what appear to be the prominent feature (image of joker), but looking closer the ‘Joker’ text which appears to be stencilled for a unique anti-establishment effect.

Sub text such as ‘World Exclusive’ attracts customers because they realise the content of the magazine is unreachable anywhere else.

The dark red iconography of the ‘EMPIRE’ masthead stands out to future customers and also relates to the film as another colour which represents the Joker and also shows the genre of the film as action.

The invitation of ‘meet the joker’ is used as a way to subtly approaching customers interest and letting them feel they can get an understanding like no other of the villain.

The other feature writing sticks with the same superhero font convention but mentions other films to tame other peoples interest if they do not particularly enjoy Batman movies. Your attention is drawn to this by the use of a green ‘X’ which links back to the Joker.

The barcode, date and price are simply placed on the magazine for authenticity and to follow the genetic conventions of a magazine.

The background of the main image connotes further the darkness and mystery this film.

This front cover issue includes a plug to the right of the Joker in the green colour which is still connoting the Joker but talking about a different subject matter.

Avatar cover analysis .

The blue theme instantly correlates the iconic image and sticks to the theme of the film therefore making it stand out to potential customers. The main image itself overlaps the FILM title masthead therefore emphasising its importance.

The colour scheme used is a very simple yet applicable for the theme of Avatar and its futuristic elements.

The white masthead contrasts with the blue combination and stands out in big bold lettering to attract instant attention.

The headline and sub text are a very powerful part of promoting this magazine. The ‘AVATAR’ is in a times new roman style font and capitalized for focus on the movie name, it’s ironic that the font is denoted as a classic style, considering above the title is ‘intergalactic exclusive’ which connotes that the film genre is a fantasy sci fi film and that it takes place within a futuristic setting, this is also perceptibly seen through the character above.

Another bit of sub text is a ‘decade in the making...’, the denotation of this bit of text tells the reader that the film took ten years to make which even for the latest Hollywood film is a colossal amount of time which in theory can only produce the best results. The ellipsis used implies the reader to read below.

The final bit of sub text on the front cover, says ‘But how long will we feel the force of James Cameron’s sci fi epic?’ the lexical creates link with other sci fi films, Stars Wars and the ‘force’ for example. It also makes it sound like the force is now and the film are already ‘epic’.

The image itself needs credit for its amazing graphics and effects which stands out to all audiences.

The grey and white coloured side bar features are in a detailed sophisticated font style with names like ‘Michael Caine’ and ‘Robert Downey Jr’ which draws attention to their fans.

Following genetic codes and conventions the cover also has a barcode, date and price. 

The overall discourse structure of the magazine is justified for a good looking effect and further influences the magazine to stand out.

Hellboy 2 cover analysis.

The colour scheme for this magazine represents the theme of the film which is red and black, this colour scheme connotes fear, hell and danger. This connotation is supported by the body language of the character clenching his fist signifying combat.

The character appearing as the iconic image is quite clearly a creature of some sort due to its body features like the two horn marks in his forehead and what looks like a stronger arm. It appears to be a typical superhero type character, but the connotation of his image makes it seem more villain like.

The masthead of ‘EMPIRE’ is on fire which denotes a film of intensity and action, the connotation of the masthead however represents the title and hell, the label has been modified for this edition making it unique to regular customers.

The commonly situated date and price is on the cover which follows the genetic codes of magazines.

There is a magazine feature notably used in some special editions of Empire called a plug which contrasts with the black background. The
plug says ‘40 movies that will get you sex’ this instantly attracts the male gaze.
The rosary beads symbolize a Christian faith; it’s ironic when the rest of the magazine is themed towards hell. This creates a question for the audience.

The sub text approaches the cover using a common idiom ‘you and whose golden army.’ This text is in gold for added effect.

The title Hellboy 2 is in capital letters but the H and the 2 are at equal levels to give it centre focus.

The first look bard tells the future customers that they get some exclusivity when purchasing.

Film Poster Style Models.

The purpose of the film poster is to initially launch the advertisement of a film, this is done by using a compilation of different images and text which explains the film in the best possible way and the most attractive way for its target market. Prior to the 1990's this was done through the use of illustrations. I think like other promotionial material Andrew Wernick's 'Vortex theory' is very applicable to film posters, he coins on the way promotional material feeds back into audiences and back onto itself, for example the Saw film poster advertisement promotes the current film and the other films it has released, also any other Saw promotion's i.e. the ride in Thorpe Park or its distribution company. I believe somewhere along the lines all film posters use this theory to promote itself.   

SAW IV poster analysis.

The denotation of this image looks very bland and the one and only iconic image takes up a large spread of the poster, apart from the title and tag line the image dominates the poster and acts as a aesthetic trigger to the audience, which applies to other Saw film posters as the producers like to let the audience establish their own views. 

The tagline for the poster is endorsing its own image by saying ‘if it’s Halloween it must be...,’ again they use promotional techniques from the previous films, not only do they set yet another Halloween release when audiences search for a typical ‘saw’ film.  They’re putting emphasis on the release date, as very few films get the opportunity to release on such a vital date when the genre dominates the box office. So if its own, then you know it’s done something worthy of receiving its place.

The denotation of the posters colour scheme is very basic only using greys, white and black. The connotation however express’s coldness and fear. Part of the image which is the metal also connotes discomfort.

The character’s condition can be obviously associated as dead but an enigma is created for new viewers as they would be eager to know how the character became the state he is in.

The connotation of the character image show’s he was old, very frail and had some form of head injury which affected his death dramatically.

The image like most horror film posters creates some sort of juxtaposed opinion for viewers, as they automatically assume that the film is about death and torture with what looks like unofficial operational equipment.

The typography of the writing very much so connotes the genre of the film being big bold and dark.

Another technique used to promote the power of the image is that it overlaps the text making it positively more iconic than the text.

In a matter of personal opinion the target audience seems to be males and of course people who have watched the previous films.

Dark Knight poster analysis.

The tagline instantly suggests that this film has some crime and within Gotham City and rules is broke; therefore the iconic image ‘Batman’ IS the solution. 

The iconic image is framed from a low angle shot which promotes power to Batman as he is looking down on the audience. The costume design also upholds his authority status by showing detail on muscle.

The DC symbol on the bottom part of the poster associates batman as part of the DC comic collection therefore fans of that comic book production will be open to watching the film.

The trademark brand image is recognized by a wide range of audience and is used in a multiple aspect not only over the title layout but also it is on fire above Batman’s head which is unusual as fire is represented as evil.

The smoke follows superhero genetic codes and conventions by connoting his image as mysterious.

Unlike other movie posters this poster shows allot of information and has a lot going on which is a contrasting technique to revealing little. Some movie fans prefer this because they know what they’re going to get with a poster like this.

The cast list is placed below the main iconic image with the surname in an increased font size because the surnames are big Hollywood names; Heath Ledger is a well recognized actor and a very important part in the film, Christian Bale is identifiable for Batman’s role and Morgan Freeman is one of the most recognizable actors of all time. All of these talents are a subliminal technique of drawing in fans.

2012 poster analysis.       

This poster has an out looking perspective for people viewing it, the tagline contrasts against the colourful skyline to highlight emphasis on it as this acts as the main feature.

This poster takes great stead with the uses and gratifications theory, it tries to give an impression of what the media can do for its audience (Katz 1959) by adressing the audience and allowing them to take away a message which leaves an ultimate gratification.


The mise en scene is very powerful in this poster as it contributes a vital part to the iconic image which is a monk standing on the Himalayas, so with the denotation of a wave matching the height of such a big mountain it gives the audience an element of fear when looking at the connotation of the world coming to an end. 

The typography of the tagline is in a capitalized standard which is bold and draws further attention. The typography of the ‘2012’ is a grey and dark colour scheme which stands out to the audience and looks like a modern silver chrome lettering.

The ‘November’ teaser release date is in red, a colour that symbolizes fear and death.

Amongst the detail in this poster the CGI effects for this poster is more than noticeable, the explicit effects of the waves clashing with the mountains is an amazing development in cinema production and audiences notice this.

The purpose of this film is to intrigue the reader and make them question the significance of the year ‘2012’.                                                                                                                                                                                    

The target audience for this film is near enough everyone because the plot is based on a possible factual circumstance.                                                                                                                                                                                       

Film Trailer Research Presentation

Brief

I have chosen the brief, which involves creating a promotional package for a brand new film; I will conduct a teaser trailer, which relates to my genre of my film idea. Idea’s will be practically based and then put through extensive research, looking into target audience and other concepts. The brief also consists of choosing two of the following three options:

1. A website homepage for the film.
2. A film magazine front cover,
3. A poster for the film.

The decision making for the two options is based upon my personal skills, I have chosen to produce number 2 and 3, the film magazine front cover I feel is a great opportunity to further develop my Photoshop skills, doing the magazine production in my AS year of Media studies allowed me to show innovative idea’s, but I feel in my A2 year I could show more innovation and improve my Photoshop and production skills as this project gives me more chance to create what I do, with the help of my research.

The film poster I feel is a chance to partially give something new a try, as I have not created a poster on this sort of skill level. Whilst this task will give me chance’s to explore new concepts of film and media, when producing the poster, I will be able to use my Photoshop skills I have acquired from my AS year to form the poster.

The decision to opt for the film trailer brief happened because I feel with this brief in contrast to the others I can bring more enthusiasm and confidence to the project, film trailers can often be considered as a form of advertisement to entice readers into further looking or viewing the film, especially in terms of teaser trailers. It is specifically promotion projects and MultiMedia production that I want to pursue through higher education and the skills I will need to have, fall under the tasks for this brief, I will need to be educated in filming, editing, sound co-ordinating, publishing and most of all knowledge of the media industry and its audience. I believe these skills can be adapted through my project and benefit me for future situations in education.