Critical Theories

Critical Theories

Psychoanalysis

In my trailer it is important that the portrayal of the character is perceived in a strange way in which the camera shots, composition and angles are at different angles and capture the emotion of what the character is feeling so that the audience become emotionally attached. Also to show if the character is an id, ego or superego so that we realise how selfish or selfless they are towards the other characters. Also if I do use the word insanity for my trailer it needs to present the character as the meaning of insanity;

Feminist

As I am a woman It's highly likely that I will make the woman have more sympathy than the man in the trailer. As it may spice up the storyline, however I do want the trailer to be a uni-sex trailer as it will have a larger target audience. However I will need to take into consideration which character I want to use to be perceived as the protagonist and the antagonist.

Deconstruction

Looking at my trailer from a deconstruction point of view, you cannot compare something to something else if you don't know what to compare it to. E.g the ying yang; if you only saw the evil side in people how can you see the good. Everyone has both good and bad in them just some have one section bigger than the other. The ying yang demonstrates how we can portray our characters as in every film they may be seen as the protagonist when all along they could reverse the role into being an antagonist. This theory, I need to think about as I would like to have a villan and a 'goodie' this must be represented in my trailer and I must decide which character/s must be shown as which roles and if I will challenge the conventions.

NARRATIVE  AND AUDIENCE THEORIES

Todorov's Theory helped me to plan the structure to my trailer by having an equilibrium-disquilibrium- new equilibrium, I think that my trailer will be a good example of this as I will have build in tension creating the structure of the equilibriu but also using sections to cut from one part to another to show the contrast of the situation but also to heighten the tension of the parts that have more tension to keep the audience interested and want to see more.

Desinsitisation  Theory  will allow me to not make my trailer have graphic content in my trailer, As my trailer is going to be a thriller I wanted to prevent any elaborate content which made the direction of the trailer turn more towards the horror genre. Therefore I applied this theory to not shock my audience and prevent any graphic content or revealing too much of the 'good' parts of the film so my audience would be enticed to watch my film.

Initial Ideas

Initial ideas

I have two different main ideas for the film trailer I want to do,  I brainstormed ideas around a film name which would suit a thriller film. I have also talked in detail things I want to include symbols and extra meanings in my trailer and I am going to think it through well so the trailer has a clear meaning.

Idea 1

Here is my brain storm...

'Insanity' is what I would call it as I looked it up in the dictionary it means; 'The condition of being insane; a derangement of the mind.' This makes it clear what I need to make clear that this is shown in the trailer that they are not 'all there'.  The plot of the film trailer is basically about a woman whom is going insane, her and her boyfriend and walking nearby a park when her boyfriend ties up his shoelace and the woman is gone. no-one or nothing is in sight. situations are shown of it happening to other people. Til the girl comes back and is something else. I thought of phrases I could use throughout other trailer to give an eerie tone;'I didn't know if it was me, my vision or my fear.' ,'I turned around and no-one was there', 'My footsteps haunted me.','unknown or unreal.' Throughout the trailer I may use voice overs to say these sayings either using a deep voice or a Young childlike voice as people see this as scary. I want to make this film more of a thriller also and make things ambiguous.
Idea 2

Here is a picture i scanned in of my brainstorm...

'Unknown' is my second idea, the plot is: A girl/boy who is being followed by someone but it turn out to be her best friend as they are obsessed with her, or it could be cyber bullying and the durastic measures people go to effect people. This is only a rough idea but I think it fits the film genre well as it is surprising, however I'm only going to reveal certain scenes in the trailer as I want to leave the audience wanting more. I would really like this to be interesting, to use phrases like; 'when trust becomes nothing.', 'not even footsteps make sense.' phrases like these will add an eerie tone to the trailer and give an impression on the audience.

Conclusion

However compared to my other idea I think idea 1 is better as it will grip the audience more and I can visualise this idea more. This idea 1 will be ideal as it know what i want my trailer to look like, i want it to be professional with well thought out edits and camera shots with a clear understanding. My trailer will also link well to my poster and magazine cover as you can see on my picture of my brainstorm.

My Film Trailer Questionnaire

My Film Trailer Questionnaire

I constructed a questionnaire to ask for feedback about trailers in general to generate ideas for myself and so I can follow some of the typical conventions of a trailer and ask for what people want so I can figure out my target audience,genre, length of the trailer, edits and camera shots and the importance of them in a trailer. Ask them about my ideas for a trailer and what they think. I handed out ten questionnaires here is the layout of my questionnaire below.

Film Trailer Questionnaire                                  Please circle your answer.

Q1) What gender are you?
male     female     other

Q2) How old are you?
15-25        26-35        36-45       46 and over

Q3) Out of these four film genres which would you prefer for a film genre? choose one.
Drama         horror        thriller        comedy

Q4) What do you like in trailers, or best appeals to you into watching the film?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q5) Would you like an unusual story line in this trailer, or best appeals to you into watching the film?
Yes     No    Maybe

Q6) How long do you expect a trailer to be?Choose one.
30seconds       1minute       1minute 30 seconds    2minutes     2minutes 30 seconds       3minutes

Q7) What do you think the main purpose is?Choose one.
Inform the audience what the story is about                To make the audience look forward to the film

To keep the audience interested throughout the trailer

Q8) Pick two choices from the selection below on what you think a good trailer consists of?
Quick paced edits          upbeat music and storyline      a clear trailer with some humour

A voiceover of the main character talking about the film        a range of camera shots
Q9)How much of the storyline do you think should be revealed? Choose one.
The whole story        most but leave out some         some good parts are revealed 

 none of the biggest,only the main parts

Q10) Do you liketo see critics reviews/opinions and star ratings in the trailer?
Yes       No      Maybe

The results showed...

Q1)Male- 5      Female-5     Other-

Q2)15-25-3      26-35-3     36-45-2    46 and over-2

Q3)Drama-1      Horror-0      Thriller-5    Comedy-4

Q4)the feedback I got from this question was:
- To be kept interested at all times
- To be relevant to the film
-Fast paced trailers showing action and dramas
-Key points
-I like that trailers show you some of the best bits of a film, but leave it on a cliff hanger. It makes me want to see it more.
-Something that grips me, gets me interested.
-The story,how the characters interact with one another
-Fast action abd that it gives a clear flavour to the film
-Short to the point
-The people in it and to be interested into watching the film
Q5)Yes-6    No-     Maybe-4

Q6)30seconds- 1     1minute-1      1minute 30 seconds- 4    2minutes-3     2minutes 30seconds-0

3minutes-1

Q7)inform the audience what the story is about- 2       To make the audience look forward to the film-5

to keep the audience interested throughout the trailer-3

Q8)quick paced edits- 5       upbeat music and storyline-6     a clear trailerwith some humour- 5

a voiceover of the main character talking about the film- 2        a range of camera shots-2

Q9)The whole story-          most but to leave out some-1       some good parts are revealed-8

 none of the biggest parts, only the main parts-1

Q10)Yes-6    No-2    Maybe-1

After looking at my results/feedback from my questionnaire it has made it clearer to me what my trailer is going to be about; It will be a thriller trailer its length will range from 1minute 30seconds - 2minutes 30seconds. In my trailer it need to be clear that I make the audience look forward to the film and have; quick paced edits, upbeat music and storyline and a clear trailer with some humour. I will also include a star rating or a critics review at the end. Also my target group will be aimed at 15-25 year olds as they are a similar age to me I will know what interests them and what doesn't. They also liked my idea about a unusual story line and something including cyber bullying  in general from a students point with a twist.

Film Magazine Cover Analysis

Film Magazine Cover Analysis

This film magazine cover is what I would perceive as being as having the typical conventions of a film magazine. It has a picture of the main character Sherlock Holmes, bold font for the film title, bold masthead and the puffs are neat with subheadings with larger font to show the importance and what is in the puffs.  The bar code is in the right hand corner, there are three images overlapping in the corner which show different films of the '10 coolest movie being made now'. Also it is obvious that the image has been photo shopped and has text boxes to inform the audience of what the films are called. A colour scheme of blue, white and grey are used throughout this front cover to relate to the background and the genre of the film and type of colours that represent that genre which is a thriller film. I really like this film magazine cover as it presents the typical conventions and the picture of Robert Downey Jr overlaps the masthead which is very effective.

  

This film poster is one that challenges the conventions of a magazine cover as it the puffs are uneven as the picture of his arm cannot be overlapped as it is part of the cover which makes it obvious what the genre of the film is. There is alot of overlapping of Jack Sparrow. There are alot of colours in the colour scheme;red,yellow, black, blue and white. However in some parts of the cover you cannot make out the font and this makes the cover harder to read. The font is bold and quite chunky, words such as; 'essential', 'preview' encourage readers to read the magazine and to intrigue readers into the film, which is what the magazine is supposed to do;advertise the film. 

This film magazine cover 'Film In' challenges magazines conventions by having the scenery of the background as the film, it sets the film in where its actually filmed at as it has an eerie background. The font colors all match; red, white, yellow and white some outlined in black, also some orange font. The picture overlapps the masthead, This is a good front cover for a magazine of this film as the boldest font shows that the films title; 'Twilight'. This is a good representation for a film magazine cover, it inspires me to be creative with my cover. Highlighted fonts are used;'Exclusive sneak peek!' words to engage the audience are used to make it more appealing for the audience to read. However the barcode is in the left hand side corner of the page which challenges the conventions as its normail at the right bottom hand side.

This film magazine cover 'Empire' is a bold front cover as it has bold and bright colours to represent the fire and the action in films. The layering of the pictures show that 'Men In Black 3' probably has he biggest section of the magazine as the picture is the biggest out of the three. The others pictures are in the background show that their stories will be smaller. The grey subtitles inform the audience what films the actors are in. The bottom pictures are set out like a comic strip a most of the films at the bottom are comics,animated or have a story to them. This is a clever layout as it presents comics in a different way also the bold yellow outline makes the box stand out more. This is my favourite film magazine cover as it shows the typical conventions; the barcode being placed at the bottom right hand corner. Also challenges them as it doesnt have puffs or a slogan.

These magazines are all inspirational in different ways as I have different ideas for my magazine now and I can also use my skills from last years coursework to help me develop my magazine skills.

Film Poster Analysis 2

 Film Poster Analysis 2

This film poster '27 Dresses' challenges the typical conventions of a film poster as the layout is very clever. As the film is about her being a bridesmaid 27 times, the fact she is wearing a wedding dress made out of the words that inform the audience about the film. The main title of the film '27 Dresses' is quite girly with the bold,pink font making the target audience appeal more to girls then boys as the pink represents a girly colour or love. The pink flower also ties in the white and pink colour scheme this could represent that there is always a colour scheme at a wedding and this could be an indicator of what the film is about. The black font gives other relevant information about the film. This film poster challenges the conventions by using a creative style of the wedding dress to represent a symbol to do with the film and it is very effective.

This film poster 'Elf' challenges the typical film posters, by having a the 'Elf' as the 'L' in the title of the film. This is very clever as it uses the font of its title of the film to show also what the film is about also the fonts colours and the pattern are very similar to the 'Elf's costume, it is a well thought out poster and is shown as a family/children's film by the fun in the poster. The stereotypical conventions of the list of names at the bottom of the poster are shown and the slogan of the film;'The holiday,discover your inner elf' ironically it says 'inner elf' instead of inner self to represent that the film is all about the 'Elf' finding out who he is. I really like this film poster as not only does it have the typical conventions but it has challenged the stereotypes of the conventions in film posters. The main actors names are at the bottom of the poster to advertise the actors, so an audience will recognise the names and will be more likely to watch the films as they can see the actors they like.

This poster 'Gothika' is an unusual film poster as it shows only one picture and there are not any overlapping images which others may use. A theme of the colour blue is used this could represent calmness,tranquillity however it can represent sadness as people sometimes say ' you feeling blue?' to mean are you feeling down. This expression applies to this poster I feel as 'Halle Berry' does not look too please or calm. If anything the complete opposite. The sharp light blue font of 'Gothika' makes it stand out more as it is appealing to the eye and makes your eyes drawn to this font the most as it is so bold but very effective at the same time. The typical convention of having a slogan on the film poster;'Because someone is dead doesn't mean they're gone' an eeriness is in the sentence, also the information given in this sentence gives a hint of the film is about also, the writing on her arm 'Not alone' indicates that someone or something is following her. The position of her arms and body language suggests her uncomfort and how she is struggling through something. This poster has really helped me and given me alot of ideas about what I need to include on mine and to give myself ideas.

All of these film posters have helped me recognise conventions and the challenges in conventions, also what I want in mine; slogan, a picture where the film genre is recognised, names at the bottom of the poster to show the names of people involved, the date, bold title, challenging the conventions bu the picture. symbols to symbolise parts in the film.

Film Poster Analysis

 Film Poster Analysis

This film poster '127 Hours' looks like a film with adventure, but it's genre looks to be a thriller as it the image of the poster looks enticing. The font is what stands out the most as it has a bold font of '127 hours' showing that something important will happen in this duration of time. Above this title is the main actor 'James Franco' who is the man inbetween the rocks. A review is at the top of the poster in a bold font descriptive words such as ' A Triumphant True Story' to intrigue the audience into thinking it's an amazing film and for people to see. Also it has the typical conventions of a film poster as it has the thin text at the bottom listing;actors/ actresses, directors, producers etc. Also the film industries that produce the film will have their logos on their posters. Also it has a slogan 'Every second counts' the poster is themed around time including the background of the poster is a sunrise or sunset showing how the day progresses and how time goes quickly. This poster is a well thought out and spaced out film poster which to me looks like an interesting film.

This film poster 'Bride Wars' is a unique film poster as the font contrasts each other as the flowy italic font which is typically seen on a wedding invite or for special ocassions is contrasted by a font which is bold and red symbolising both passion and danger also the word 'war' is even contrasted to 'Bride' which is seen as a nice word as it is related to weddings and 'War' is something I would not relate it to. This is ironically shown as a 'War' as the brides are both using cake servers as a weapon to suggest the feud between them. A typical convention is shown which is a slogan; 'Even best friends can't share the same day' relating to how a wedding ay is supposed to be all about the woman but not even the best of friends can share the same day. This slogan also hints what the film is about, two brides having their weddding day on the same day. The convention of the small font at he bottom of the poster displaying the names of the actresses/actors , the directors, producers etc. Also ironically they are both in white suggests purity and innocence which contrasts the word 'War'.



This film poster is of 'The dark knight' an interesting interpretation of the film is on this poster as it shows 'the joker' saying his famous saying 'why so serious?' this is a clever poster for people who recognise the characters and know who 'the joker' is. However for people who have not seen the Batman films they would not recognise or understand this concept of this poster even though it is very clever film poster and the editing of picture is amazing as it has blurred out his face but managed to keep his face in shape to the mouth. I really love this film poster as it is so clever and at the bottom the films title and logo is shown. However it challenges the conventions of a film poster as the title of the film would be more likely to be seen as 'why so serious?' as it stands out more and the font is bold and has a red outline resembling danger which is probably what the film consists of. Also the film is shown as a horror film in this poster which I think it has been portrayed in the wrong way to its audience as it is not particularly clear but challenges the conventions.

 
This film poster is a classic. It is not as recent but this poster tells me what the film is about just by the images shown; the boat (Titanic) and two lovers on a boat. The title of the film is bold and is clear that it is the films title. A slogan at the top of the poster; 'Nothing On Earth Could Come Between Them' this slogan is ironic as it is centred in the middle of the poster as Titanic does come between them. This is done on purpose to set the film as a lovely romantic film where actually the ending is traumatic, also it is a true story of how two lovers and many peoples lives are effected by the traumatic experience of being hit by an iceberg. The typical conventions of a film poster are shown in this poster the best as it has the typical list of names at the bottom of the poster. The main characters in the films names are at the above which are in white to make them stand out more. The pictures are overlapped by the ship. This poster makes me realise that the poster is mostky about the images and that they tell the story on its own to make it a good film poster, however the font does play another big part of the film poster as they inform the audience what is going on and details about when it comes out the title of the film, actors/actresses starring in the film.

Trailer Analysis 4

Trailer Analysis 4 Abduction

I chose this trailer as it was an interesting story line which had a twist to it and the genre was thriller. I really enjoyed this trailer and I'm going to watch the film as it had a big impact on me as it interested me. This made me realise that I want this impression for my audience when they watch my film so it makes the audience think what will the film be like? This is my aim for my trailer. There are also good edits in the trailer and clever camera shots.

This clever camera shot of showing his reflection of his reaction to the news that his face is on a website for missing children. As this comes as a surprise to him his reaction to what happens is seen through the Ipad/ technological convergent. This camera shot is a very clever one as it shows the picture and the reflection in the screen which overlaps his face, I like this idea as it is reflecting who he is, and who he was and what he wants to be.

All of these camera shots all represent violence and the theme of thriller is in the trailer as it keeps you interested as there is non stop action.

     Abduction Film Trailer

In these screen captures, they all show that the film consists of alot of action and vilene, clever camera shots are used, such as a low angle shot of the camera looking up to the character 'Nathan' to show his superiority and that he is in control of this situation. A cropped shot of 'Nathan's' legs are shows showing the gun, again this shows his deteremination to kill and the to inform the audience that the film consists of the film genre of thriller and showing protection, The gun also represents death. The bottom camera shot shows in the face his anger to fight back,

 This trailer made me realise that my trailer must show people's reactions to situations and have emotion and feelings in it. It cannot just be well edited it needs to be well thought out and constructed appropriately and to a certain degree verismilitude as the trailer needs to be a real and appeal to my audience and that the audience can engage and have their own opinion to it. Also I would like to have clever camera shots and new camera shots to entice the audience into watching my trailer.

Trailer Analysis 3

Trailer Analysis 3

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter Trailer

I have chosen this trailer as it is a film genre I would like to try; a horror film. The film's summary is; Benjamin Walker stars as Abraham Lincoln. President Lincoln's mother is killed by a supernatural creature, which fuels his passion to crush vampires and their slave-owning helpers. The story line is an unusual one. It has a variety of clever angles, shots and movements throughout the trailer and inspires me to be ambiguous in the composition of making my trailer.

The trailer opens with this dark bewildered forest, a stereotypical horror image used and associated with fear or danger. The scenery suggests an scary place, the non diegetic music fades in and out of scenes and sounding similar to a fog horn. Ambient sound of a tapping of something is played in the background. The scenes are edited to the rhythm of the music played in the background where the louder parts in the music there are edited smoothly into the other camera shots.

This camera shot on the left shows a dark image of Abraham. At this point in the trailer there is a voiceover of the main character telling the story from his perspective. A high angle shot is then transferred into a low angle shot of his silhouette when the voiceover then says; ' and behold was death' a loud thunder sound is played this is associated with death and evil. This camera shot is a typical shot of a stereotypical horror movie. This scene is interesting as it shows the evil side to Abraham.

A clever camera shot of Abraham walking through the door is a clever edit too. I really love this camera shot as it is very clever and I would like to try and use this style of camera shot in mine and experiment with different types of new angles and composition style when using the camera. A slow motion edit is also used to dramtise the scene and build apprehension. The scene fades in and out of the edit into alot of dark edits this could relfect the them of the film that it is dark and is a horror film and has dark colours to resemble the mood.

One of the trailers  last camera shots is of a dark cloudy area, this is showing the darkness of the horro film. Also writing contrasts each other a white joined up hand written style of font is used to represent that the story has been written and now it's going to be told. The red,bold font 'vampire hunter' shows the boldness of the font and that there is blood involved; as the red represents danger or death.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Trailer

Overall this trailer has taught me alot about the editing of trailers and the sharpness and how it effects the overall effect. I really like this trailer as it represents alot of aspects I want my trailer to have and I need to look at a thriller trailer next as I think it will help me decide which genre I want to do and then I can start deciding ideas of the kind of trailer I want to make. This trailer has really helped me as I can picture my trailer in my head and what I want it to look like and is a good start.