Analysis on Capes

I am yet to make my mind up about my super hero wearing a cape. I think that Capes are too cliché and if I want my trailer to be serious then it may be better with the cape left out. However, it is a mainstream convention that superheroes wear capes and if the audience see a cape then they will definitely associate my character as a super hero. If I did include a cape I would want a slow motion shot of the cape blowing in the wind. After watching the film The Incredibles, I feel like the script writers made a parody on the idea of wearing capes. Again, I do not want my trailer to be seen as a spoof so I will have to focus on making the cape look heroic and dramatic.

Analysis of costumes

Superhero

View more presentations from Bobbie Brown.

Final idea

I consulted with a friend from media class and discussed my idea. We came to the conclusion that if the costume is designed well enough and I do some well-thought out location shooting then my idea could become a great teaser trailer. We discussed what I would have to do and that involves character casting, costume design, location shooting and working out a story line. I have made my final decision about my trailer. I am going to make my super hero teaser trailer idea.

Pedestal Shot type

If I do use my super hero teaser trailer idea, I want to use a pedestal shot for the Superhero. If I use this shot, I would use cuts to action scenes or inter titles to create a dynamic mystique about my super hero. A pedestal shot is a shot that moves vertically up or down in respect with the object/ character. This can give the impression that this character/ object has significance within the film. Here is an example.

Idea for my Trailer

              Today I started mind mapping the mainstream convections of different genres within the film industry. Whilst plotting this, I came up with an idea for my coursework trailer. My idea was to make a super hero teaser trailer. My initial idea was to have a pedestal shot of a super hero slowly revealing his super hero identity. The camera would reveal his/her boots and continue moving upwards but then cut to inter titles or a dramatic fight scene. The camera would cut back to the superhero and reveal a bit more of his/her costume.
               The costume would have to be well thought out and detailed for this teaser trailer to be taken seriously. I do not want to end up with a super hero spoof like the film Kick-ass. Kick-ass's costume is somewhat of a hilarity and is hard to take seriously. I want my costume to look professional and serious. If i went along with this idea, I want to steer it as far away as possible from Kick-ass.

Mindmap of Conventions of films



Analysis of Endings of trailers

I have noticed that at the end of most trailers, there are ending title cards. These provide the audience with information about the upcoming film. If I want my trailer to look realistic I will need to include these ending title cards. I have analysed the ending title cards from the trailer Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Green Screen

I have noticed that this green rating card is in at the beginning of most trailers. I will include it at the beginning of my teaser trailer to make it seem more realistic. The green screen is like a license that says the trailer has been approved for a certain audience. I think my trailer will be suitable for most audiences or possibly 12+ as there may be comic/ fantasy violence.

Analysis of a teaser trailer and a trailer

Here I have analysed both the teaser trailer and a trailer for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by David Fincher. I will compare the two and list the core differences between them.

The teaser trailers characteristics:

• There was a fast pace of editing.
• The storyline wasn't outlined. The plot was difficult to grasp.
• There was no dialogue or voice overs.
• The whole trailer was a montage of 1-2 second clips.
• There was an underlying motif of the snow covered road leading to the house.
• The soundtrack was Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song by Karen O. There was no diegetic sound.
• The trailer lasted 1 minute and 39 seconds.

The official trailers characteristics:

• There was a slower pace of editing
• There was spoken dialogue and voice overs
• The motif of the snow covered road was revealed more
• The pace of editing increases towards the end
• There were slow transition fades between cuts
• The trailer was much longer. It was 3 minutes and 50 seconds.

The core differences were the pace of editing and use of sound in these two trailers. The teaser trailer was a montage of 1-2 second clips with quick cuts. This made it difficult to understand the storyline. No dialogue was used in the teaser trailer which also makes the storyline difficult to grasp.
The trailer used a slower pace of editing with slow transition fades. The pace of editing increases towards the end to build suspense. The trailer lasted much longer and the use of dialogue and voice overs gave the audience a better understanding of the narrative.

Altogether, I thought both trailers were effective. The teaser trailer created a aurora of suspense for the audience whereas the trailer outlined the narrative for the audience.

Cowboys and Aliens Trailer Analysis

                This is an interesting trailer to analyse as it is hybrid genre of two very differing genres. The costume design in the first few seconds of this trailer suggest its a western film but the special effects of the spaceships suggest sci-fi. These two genres of films are mostly male orientated anyway which is why I would say this trailer appeals to the male audience of 16-25 years old.
                  The frequent mid shots and close up of characters suggest this is a character driven film with one of the unique selling points being the actors who star in it. Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig are the main protagonists within this film. Harrison Ford is well know for starring as 'Indiana Jones'  and Daniel Craig is well known for starring as 'James Bond'. These two actors have a certain appeal as they starred in popular movies and are renowned for being talented actors.
                   Some of the pace of editing is extremely quick within this trailer. It highlights the number of gunshots, explosions and battle scenes there are in this  obscure hybrid genre film. The number of explosions and gun shots supports the theory that this is targeted at the male audience.
                   There are some cliché s within this film specifically to the western/action genre with bar fights, chase scenes and everyone possessing a fire arm. The chase scenes between horse and space craft are somewhat different making this film unique in its own special way.
                    The diegetic beeping sound of Daniel Craig's bracelet is synchronous to the cuts of footage on the screen. In between these beeps we can see; a dog barking, a woman looking afraid and a man on horseback looking confused. The use of lighting is blinding as space crafts become visible and start wreaking havoc on the town. The battle seems quite unfair between aliens and the technologically impaired town folk, but the plot twists as Daniel Craig can use his technologically advanced bracelet against the attackers. The obscurity and originality of this film will make it appealing to the audience as it may seem refreshing because it is different in its own way.
                      The non-diegetic backing music to this trailer is 'Gasoline' by Audio Slave. The use of modern music with the 'awesome' guitar riffs makes the trailer look cool and hip, especially with the diegetic explosive sounds and war scenes overlying the music track.
                      The use of black and white footage at 1:49 implies a flashback or previous memory held by a key character. The story line may not follow a liner narrative as flashbacks will cause the story to jump backwards and forwards in time. Within this flashback we see a woman taken by the invaders. Dialogue spoken by Daniel Craig states 'She's the only one who knows who I am'. This may outline the plot further as the audience could assume Daniel Craig is looking for her.
                       I think this film will attract its target audience and may be a success due to the oddity and unnaturalness of this very cliché western/ sci-fi film.

Captain America: The First Avenger Trailer Analysis

           This trailer is skewed mostly towards the male audience aged between 16 to 25. There are several reasons why this trailer may appeal to the male audience. The first and most obvious reason is the fact that this is an action film. The opening shot of the United States Armed Service Recruitment indicates to the audience there is a war on. The zoom in to the building and cut to the men being recruited inside determines the fact that there is a war occurring.
             This film was produced by Paramount and Marvel Studios. Paramount have released many high quality films like Indiana Jones, War of the Worlds and The Italian Job. Marvel Studios specialise in Super hero/ heroine movies. Popular films they have produced include X-Men, The Fantastic Four and Iron Man. We can instantly tell (if we couldn't from the title of the trailer already) that Captain America will be a super hero and this film will be about hero's and villains.
               The shot reverse shot used in the alley way emphasises how little and weak the main character is, especially through the use of high and low angle shots. We can see that the protagonist is being bullied and has a troubled past like many superhero's do (Batman, Spider man etc). We can assume that this will be a very cliché action superhero movie.
               There are many mid shots of explosions and men carrying weaponry. The mise-en-scené and camera work appeal to the male audience as it bears resemblance to many other action films and video games like Call of Duty. The pace of editing is also sped up at this point to draw the audience in and to make them feel amidst this action packed story. Dark lightening is used during the battle scenes which connotes the unknown, tension and danger. The non-diegetic epic music makes the battle sequences feel super and combined with the diegetic sounds of the explosions and gunfire, the trailer is portrayed as an action packed film.
              The super hero's suit is shown from 1:57 onwards. The costume design is similar to many super hero costumes where the real identity cannot be revealed. The mise-en-scené of the mask is very cliché. The dramatic entrance with all guns blazing by the super hero is also very cliché
               Altogether, I think the marketing trailer for this film is effective and will attract the audience it targeted.

Real Steel Trailer Analysis

          I think this trailer is targeted towards 16-25 year old males for a number of reasons. This sci-fi action film has many qualities about it that makes it appealing to the younger male audience. One reason would be the motion capture of the robots. Real fighters were put into a ring and the recorded fight was converted into robot avatars. The giant fighting robots seem more appealing to the male audience than the traditional female audience. However, the main unique selling point of this film would be the main character played by Hugh Jackman. Hugh Jackman has been in many films including the very popular X-Men and Van Helsing. Hugh Jackman is known for his action films and his aggressive role played in these films. Hugh is reserved as a very talented actor and even a heart throb for the ladies, its possible he may draw a small female audience to this film.
         The voice over in this trailer is done by Hugh Jackman and draws the audience in by the seriousness of his tone of voice. The flashing photographs of famous boxers suggests that it will be an action film but the introduction of giant robots leads us to believe this is a sci-fi film.
          The use of lighting is very interesting in this trailer. From 0:48-0:50 of this trailer and 0:51-0:53 we can see the outlines/ silhouettes of two giant robots in action stances. This makes the robots look menacing and powerful, especially combined with the low camera shot which gives them significance. The giant posing robots can attract the target audience because it may be amusing to watch them fight in a ring together.
          The use of inter titles and the piston moving/ gear grinding animations behind them provides the audience with information whilst not breaking away too much from the theme of the film. The animations are all mechanical and the trailer flows in and out of inter titles.
           This film would probably attract the same audience as the film Transformers as the general concept of giant robots fighting each other hasn't changed much. There could have been some indirect or even direct inter textuality in this film as transformers has already been released. Inter textuality in this case world mean that the film has picked up influences or ideas from other sources whether it was done indirectly (subconsciously) or directly (on purpose).
           

Senna Trailer Analysis

           This trailer is skewed towards the male audience aged roughly 25-35 years. I think this trailer is aimed more at an older audience because the film is more of a documentary about Senna's life. Ayrton Senna was born in 1960 and began his motor sport career in 1981. The older audience would feel more inclined to go watch this film as Senna was more popular in their generation and not within a younger audience.
            As the film is a documentary, the events that happen in this film are more sensitive. The crashes and explosions have an importance as opposed to just mindless action. This is another reason why the film is targeted towards the older generation as opposed to the younger generation who are more used to action/ adventure films.
            Competitive racing is a sport that is mostly watched by the age group of 25-35 and the dialogue ' I love to race' and 'Pure racing, that makes me happy' supports the appeal to the target audience.
             This film was produced by Universal Studios which is a well known, highly viewed institution so we know this film will live up to standards as opposed to a institution like Metrodome that produces B movies. Universal Studios have created many well known films such as Definitely Maybe, Mr.Beans holiday and Hot Fuzz. Universal studios have created a wide range of films that appeal to many different audiences.
            The feel-good non-diegetic music makes the trailer seem exciting and happy until the music cuts at 0:50.  The sense of seriousness is created by the mid shot of a crash shortly after the dialogue ' there is a small problem where he thinks he can't kill himself'. The trailer shows the sensitive side of the documentary as well as the thrilling events that occur.
            The use of inter titles like the words 'Genius', 'Maverick' and 'Superstar' suggest to the audience that this character is a fascinating person to go watch in the cinemas. The use of these words appeal the audience even further to go watch the film.

Transformers: Dark side of the moon Trailer Analysis

           Although this trailer is quite long, it remains a teaser trailer as it does not outline the main plot of the film. The trailer gives a minor glimpse or insight as to what the movie is about but still remains quite ominous to the audience.
            I think this trailer is skewed mostly towards the male audience of ages 16-25. I can support this by the fact it is a sci-fi genre film. Sci-fi films mostly target the male audiences whereas romantic comedy's appeal to the female audience.
            Michael Bay is the Director and producer of this film. Michael Bay is most known for his films like Armageddon, Pearl Harbour, Transformers, Nightmare on Elm Street and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  Michael Bay has directed mostly action, sci-fi and horror movies. Most of these genres appeal mostly to the traditional male audience. From noticing that Michael Bay has directed this film and the genre is sci-fi, I think it is safe to presume this film is targeted towards the male audience.
            If we analyse the trailer from 0:55 to 1:00, we notice that the tense non-diegetic music ceases as the man from NASA speaks down the radio, 'Mission is a go'. After this piece of dialogue we cut to a close up of the astronaut on the moon. In the reflection of his helmet we can see a crashed spaceship cutting into the moon. The use of reflection suggests that his mission will involve investigating this spaceship. The tense mood music, dialogue, and camera shots suggest that this film is targeted at the male audience because the removal of music and dialogue 'mission is a go' suggests top secrecy which is reinforced by the spaceship reflection in the astronauts helmet.
           The diegetic sound of the astronauts heavy breathing makes the audience wait in anticipation and breathe in time with the film creating an Iambic Pentameter effect. The audience feel in-sync with the film as the heavy breathing has a certain rhythm to it. This is partly what makes it a good teaser trailer. It 'teases' the audience by being elusive and creating suspense.


           

Age of Heroes Trailer Analysis/ Audience

This is the trailer for the war film Age of Heroes. I think the target audience would be for teenage boys skewed towards 16-25. I can support this thought by the fact it looks very similar to popular video games like Call of Duty or Medal of Honour. These games are very popular within that target market and so the film may attract that audience. It may also attract the older male audience like males age 25-35. I think it may appeal to the older audience as it is a World War 2 film and the older audience may be interested in the more historic side of the film.

 This trailer has many features appealing to the male audience. There are several explosions, war scenes and strong violence. These are some mainstream conventions of an action/ war genre film. Quick cut action edits make the trailer seem fast paced and action packed which could also draw in the audience. It is different to a romantic comedy where the pace of editing is slowed down which is why that genre mostly appeals to traditional female audience. I think the pace of editing widely affects the target audience.

Certain diegetic dialogue such as ‘an elite smash and grab team’ and ‘commando unit’ may appeal to the younger male audience as they can relate it to video games and other war films. The music makes the action on screen look quite epic. The music is non-diegetic makes the target audience feel surrounded by action and in the middle of the battlefield.

The institution that distributes the film is Metrodome. Metrodome isn’t a well-known distributor and specialises in low budget B movies. Some of Metrodomes other work includes Everyman’s War, Days of Glory and Attack of Leningrad. Metrodome specialises in low budget war films. This film may have been bought out now as in Britain, soldiers defending the country and being praised and shown in positive light. This film may have been bought out to boost morale.

The use of camera shots is interesting in this trailer. The use of long shots of explosions and the close shots of weaponry reinforces the fact that the film is supposed to be a war film. However, there are many mid shots, two shots and shot reverse shots which imply that the film may be a character driven drama. An example of a shot reverse shot is at 0:56 – 1:00 of the trailer.

The unique selling point of the film could be the actors starring in this film. Sean Bean and Danny Dyer star in this movie and are the two most important characters. They are at the forefront of the promotional poster which symbolises their importance.

The Difference Between a Teaser Trailer and a Movie Trailer.

A teaser trailer is specifically designed to 'tease' the audience. Teaser trailers do not reveal any significant plot details and are meant to give the audience a minor glimpse of the movie to come. A teaser trailer is supposed to raise excitement and anticipation for a films release. They do not normally contain dialogue. An example of a teaser trailer:



A movie trailer is more detailed. The main plot is outlined further and there is often dialogue. A trailer is a fuller preview of the film. A teaser trailer is shown to create a 'hype' for the film whereas a movie trailer is to entice the audience to watch the media product. An example of a movie trailer:





As we can see, the movie trailer is 'liked' more on youtube and so I assume it is more popular than the teaser trailer. This is an idea to consider for when I make my final choice on my coursework piece.

Thoughts about my Coursework.

Today I had a miniature brain storm about my coursework. I decided I wanted to create a trailer as opposed to a teaser trailer. I asked my friends to help think about film ideas and asked a friend of mine that is also a music student if he could create a piece of backing music for my trailer. I need to make a decision of what genre of film I want for my trailer before my friend can start working on a music track for me. The music has to be appropriate to the movie genre for the trailer to be effective.

My Old Blog

http://bobbiebrownsblog.blogspot.com/