The conventional narrative structure pointed out by Tzvetan Todorov, was that all narratives could be broken down into five simple stages. These were:
Stage 1 - A state of equilibrium is defined.
Stage 2 - Disruption to the equilibrium by some action or crisis.
Stage 3 - The Character(s) recognition that there has been a disruption, setting goals to resolve problem.
Stage 4 - The Character(s) attempt to repair the disruption, obstacles need to be overcome to restore order.
Stage 5 - Reinstatement to the equilibrium. Situation is resolved, a conclusion is announced.
Using this theory, as a group we broke down our narrative into these five stages.
Equilibrium -It is Halloween 2009 and a normal school day. A group of friends are hanging out together in the school playground. Jay who is one of the main characters in the film tells the rest of his friends about a rumour which has been going around school about an ex-head teacher. This was that a head teacher had apparently committed suicide in the school building years ago and on Halloween haunts the school.
Disruption - That same night Jay and his group of friends decide to break in to school and while they are in the building they start hearing noises and get worried.
Recognition of Disruption -As they wonder around the building to try and find out where the noises are coming from, they see a shadow of a teacher and Jay goes missing.
Attempt to Repair Disruption - Jay then scares the rest of his friends as he had not really gone missing, but was playing a prank on his friends. They then try and leave the building but the door is locked and they hear more noises.
Reinstatement of Equilibrium - They eventually end up leaving the school and then tell everyone else at school what had happened. A year passes and the same rumour is brought up again.
I Created this moodboard using images i found on the internet which were based around the 'horror' theme. I focused mainly on the idea of isolation, keyholes and locks. This is because the main idea of our film was students being locked in a school. By looking at different images, it gave me ideas and effects we could try and use in our own film.
After watching a variety of trailers from different genres I gathered that the following things appear predominantly:
Introduction to the film
Release date
Advert for the film
Promotes the film
Length (1 – 3mins)
Narrative Director’s name
Production company
Shows key stages of narrative
Certificate
Slogan/ Catchphrase
Voiceover(sometimes)
Reviews
Diegetic sound (Dialogue)
Non-Diegetic sound (Sountrack)
Intertitles (Actors names)
Horror Trailers - Codes & Conventions After watching only horror trailers, I found out the common conventions which should then be visible in our trailer:
Upbeat music
Release Date
Pace builds up with the narrative to create suspense
Doesn’t give entire narrative away, but shows enough to grab the audience’s attention
Establishing shot at the beginning of the trailer to set the scene
Production company logo
The length of each shot shortens as the action and pace enhances.
Transition: Start off using fade to blacks but gradually only straight cuts are used
Camera Angle: Predominantly medium angle
Camera Shot: Ranges from ECU, CU and MS
Approx: 80 shots
Length: 2.00 minutes approx
Non diegetic sound
The Purpose of a Trailer I gathered the following notes using an interactive DVD on trailers.
What is a marketing campaign and why is it needed?
Major elements of a film making campaign include:
· Trailers
· Billboards
· Pop ups
· Radio
· Website
· DVD
· Web 2.0
Film making can be very cost effective. Feature films need strong takings at the box office in order to cover the costs of production, pay investors and make enough money for the next release. When a film is released at the cinema it only has a short space of time for it become a box office hit. The marketing campaign plays an important role in informing the potential audience about the film with the purpose of encouraging other people to see the film in the cinema. The distributors are keen for the film to be a success so they can create a marketing campaign that aims an awareness of the film and create interest; this means distributors stand a better chance of making a profit.
Why is the trailer important?
A Trailer is a powerful weapon in the marketing campaign. Posters are important in capturing the initial interest of the audience and drawing them into the cinema, however they cannot put across the excitement and atmosphere of a film in the same way a trailer does. The combination of a moving image and sound both show “larger than life” through the equipment of the cinema. This means trailers stir our emotions and give us a “flavour” of the film that is impossible to gain through the still images alone.
When is the trailer produced? Most trailers are produced at the same time the film is being edited.
The timing of a trailer campaign in cinemas, online and on Television is important. It must be shown far enough in advance to generate excitement about the film’s release, but not so early that people forget about the film. Often, a shorter version of the trailer known as a “teaser trailer” will be released early on in the marketing campaign to give people an idea of what the film will be about, and to generate a “buzz” around the time of release. Now, most films have websites to accompany their release and teaser trailers will often be seen first online.
Global releasing
When a film is being shown globally, it may have a range of release dates. In which case each version of the trailer must carry the correct information to ensure the audience are aware of the correct release date. Sometime trailers are re-cut for different countries for example if a U.S film is released in the UK, they may use a different voiceover on the trailer shown in the UK to make it easier for the UK audience to understand. In recent years, the changes in media technology have had a big effect on the way film titles are released internationally. For example a film which is released in the US first may be “pirated” in the UK before its actually released. This happens when people secretly record the film in the cinema then upload it on the internet, this is usually referred to as “film piracy”. This potentially puts box office profits at risk and therefore those involved in promoting a film need to carefully control the process of release. For this reason films are increasingly being release on a “day and date” basis, which means they are released on the same day globally which prevents pirating.
Function and Features of a Trailer
What types of trailers are there?
A ‘teaser’ trailer may be cut and released online, or played in the cinema in the early sages of the promotional campaign. This is shorter than theatrical trailers and is designed to ‘tease’ the audience and stimulate their appetite for more information. A word of mouth will therefore be started as people will talk about the film to friends and an air of anticipation is created.
The teaser trailer will be followed by a theatrical trailer, which is usually played in cinemas 3-4 weeks before the film is due to be released. Trailers may also be used in television advertising campaigns, known as ‘TV spots’, but as air time is expensive there are very short cuts of the trailer, designed for impact in the shorted space of time possible. How are trailers chosen to preview before certain films?
The exhibitor (cinema manager) uses their marketing knowledge to select trailers aimed at similar target audience to that of the main film showing, hoping the forthcoming attractions will encourage them to come back. When the cinemagoers (people who visit cinemas to watch a film) return the process is repeated, which results in a regular audience. Classification also plays an important part in what is shown. Trailers are given classifications in the same way films are, so for example a trailer for a 15-certificate film can not be played before a PG film as it would be unsuitable for the younger audience. However sometimes trailers designed for older audiences are cut to make them suitable for younger viewers with the idea that accompanying adults will return to see the film on their own.
Trailers - Location, location, location
As the internet is now established as a tool in film marketing, the ways in which we come into contact with film trailers has changed significantly. Websites such as IMDB (Internet Movie Database), Apple movie trailers and official websites for films often have trailers which have been cut for a general audience and are therefore suitable for viewers of all ages.
This is important online as, in contrast to cinemas, age restrictions can be difficult to enforce. Options to comment on trailers, joining online forums to discuss the latest releases and links to film sites through social networking enables internet users to engage with films before they are released.
From the view of a film distributor, online marketing is a very effective way to generate interest in a film before it’s released.
Why is it important for a trailer to show us the genre and how is this established? Genre is important in film making as our decision about what to see will partly depend on whether we enjoyed other similar films. When we watch trailers we are automatically ‘decoding’ what we see and hear to work out the film’s genre. For example dark shadowy figures and scary music would be recognised as a film of the horror genre or animated images and bright colours would indicate a film for children. We call these recognisable sounds and images conventions of the genre. Occasionally, a film will be a mixture of more than one genre, this adds to our enjoyment as our expectations are taken first in one direction then in another.
The stars in the film are another indication to the genre. As a cinema-going audience we are used to associating certain stars with certain genres, for example Jim Carrey with comedy. A trailer will always ensure that we are made aware of who the stars are, as this will encourage the audience to see then film and help them to recognise the genre.
How does a trailer show that a film is worth going to see? To show us how this new film is different to others in the same genre, the USP. This is what separates one film from another released around the same time or of the same genre. The USP could be a genre which provides a unusual mix e.g musical horror or some distinct such as an innovative use of special effects. The USP of a film is important for marketing the film as it sets each release apart from its rivals.
What are the features of a trailer?
Trailers are a genre in their own right and have their own sense of easily recognisable conventions. -Trailers are designed to capture our attention and hold it for a short space of time -They create a mood/atmosphere and intensify our anticipation of what is to come within the film -They give away some of the plot but not all of it -The style in which the information is conveyed is often fast-moving and requires our full attention -It is not possible to watch a film at this high pace however we enjoy the rollercoaster effect of a trailer and the mental challenges it presents -Sound is important, particularly the music which can manipulate our emotions and create specific atmospheres. -The voiceover is used to summarise aspects of the story and empahsise credit information where appropriate. It also try’s to promote the film by building anticipation.
Conventions: They highlights the ‘best bits’ of a film -Showcase the stars in the film
-Some visual images barely stay on the screen long enough for us to recognise what we are seeing
-Conversations between characters often consist of one liners
-Dramatic camera angles n
-Action-combined with credits on screen
-Voiceover- used to tell the story and give credit information
-Music-creates atmosphere
-Title-may not appear until the end
-Trailer builds to a climax, where it ends.
Narrative:A group of sorority sisters play a prank after on a guy, after finding out he cheated on their house-sister. However this prank goes wrong and results in the death of their house sister. They all agree never to speak of it again but, 8 months later at their graduation they start getting stalked by a serial killer and eventually start disappearing one by one.
Target Audience:15+, Teenagers and Young Adults.
The start of the trailer suggests that the genre of the film is a ‘chick flick’ however as it goes it becomes clear that it is more of a horror film. This would attract the target audience as it represents enigma drawing the attention of the audience.
Characters:There are a variety of characters which are all dominant in different scenes throughout the trailer. However, the main characters are the 5 sorority girls, the guy who they play a prank on and the serial killer. The sorority sisters are represented as being stereotypical young females by their choice of costume (heels, short dresses) and the guy is also represented as a stereotypical male by his costume (jeans, t-shirts). There are also plenty of background characters shown throughout the trailer. These include the people partying at the beginning of the trailer, the teacher who is giving a speech and the other students who are also graduating. These background characters do not have much dialogue or play much importance to the action of the film, which makes it clear that they are not main characters. The main characters would be easily identified by the audience right away as they are shown in most scenes as they have a significance importance to the narrative.
Music:The music at the beginning of the trailer starts off upbeat in the background, whilst the teacher is giving a speech to the students. It then goes to the party scene and the music gets louder and more upbeat, this is unconventional for a horror film. This upbeat music then remains in the background while the girls talk about how to get revenge on the guy who cheated on one of them and eventually fades out. Sound effects and dialogue are then used from this point rather than music, e.g. when the guy stabs the girl there is a loud bang and scream. Further on when they show graduation day and they all get a strange text the music starts again. This time is starts slow and the pace picks up slowly as strange things happen to them. This helps to build tension, keeping the audience engaged and interested. Eventually when they show quick flashes of all the sisters being attacked, the music is loud, fast and upbeat, however sound effects such as screaming and banging can still be heard. Towards the end the music fades out and what sounds like girls chanting and clapping is played in the background, this represents
The music cuts off when the title of the film is shown, leaving the audience in hug suspense. However after this, when the intertitle appears showing ‘coming soon’ the same chant is played again until the trailer fades out to black.
Editing:There are approximately 112 shot in the trailer. These shots start off lasting about 2 – 3 seconds each and use predominantly straight cuts and fade to black, which is conventional of horror trailers. At the start not many transitions are used when they show students doing normal things e.g. listening to their teacher while she is giving a speech and partying. This allows the scenes to flow and seem ordinary. This emphasises the horror scenes later on, which only last half a second and use straight cuts. This builds up the tension extremely fast and keeps the audiences interested.
Production Information:“Summit Entertainment” is shown at 0.20 seconds. Showing the production company is important as it can help to attract viewers. Although they may not be as well known as other production companies, for example “Universal” they have produced some well known and popular films. These include successful films which are now available on DVD such as “Twilight”, films which are currently in the theatre for example “Twilight Saga: New Moon”, “Bandslam” and films which are in production including “Remember Me” which is set to be released next year. If the audience are aware of this and have enjoyed any films that have been produced by this production company, they may be encourage to watch “Sorority Row”, as they believe it will be as good as the others they have produced. Also, showing the production company in a trailer according to copyright laws, ensures them the trailer will not be copied.
Credits/Intertitles: The following intertitles appear throughout the trailer:
0.35 – 0.36 ‘A Prank’
0.40 – 0.41 ‘No One Would Ever Forget’
1.08 – 1.09 ‘A Secret’
1.14 – 1.15 ‘No One Would Ever Tell’
1.50 – 1.51 ‘Sisters For Life’
1.59 – 2.00 ‘And Death’
2.20 – 2.22 ‘Sorority Row’
2.26 – 2.30 ‘Coming soon’
The Intertitles are all written in upper case as they are meaningful and help to tell the narrative. They also appear in white against a black background, making them eye catching and appealing to the audience. Most of the these intertitles are only shown for approximately 1/ 2 seconds, however they appear slowly on the screen and the texts gradually gets slightly bigger.
Narrative:A family enter a house they inherited from family; they find themselves trapped inside with 13 ghosts. They then have to do what they can to get out of the house alive. Target Audience:The predominant audience would be teenagers (16+), as they enjoy watching horror films.
Music: The music starts 0.20 seconds into the trailer and is slow and only played gently in the background, while showing a normal day for a family who are being told about the house they have inherited. This helps keep the trailer and audience calm. However as the pace is built up the music gets louder, faster and more upbeat. This helps to gradually build up the tension making the trailer more intense. This makes the audience more excited and thrilled. Like ‘Drag me to hell’ the music suddenly stops at the end of the trailer, leaving the audience in suspense.
Editing:There are approximately 105 shots in the trailer. The pace of the trailer starts off fast, gets slow then gets fast again. This is not conventional as most horror trailers which usually start off slow and get faster. They could have broken this convention to try and be unique and make their trailer different to others. The length of the shots at the start are about 1 second, they then increase to 3 seconds and finally by the end drop again to half a second. The extremely short shots at the end are effective as because the pace is so fast and the most intense parts are shown, the tension is extremely high.
At the beginning of the trailer a lot of fade to blacks are used as they allow the shots to move smoothly also keeping the trailer smooth and calm. However as the pace increases, only straight cuts are used to keep the tension and intensity high, keeping the audience interested.
Production Information: Warner Bros Pictures shown at 34 seconds & Dark Castle Entertainment shown at 36 seconds. ‘Warner Bros Pictures’ are a very well known, high-quality production company. Therefore this could attract viewers as people who are fans of other films produced by ‘Warner Bros Pictures’ may be attracted to watch this. It would also represent the film as high standard, like other films produced by them.
Voiceover:A male voiceover is used and says “This halloween, the only thing worse than being trapped inn a house with a ghost if being trapped in a house with 13 ghosts”. This helps to tell the narrative as well as setting the tone for the film.
Credits/Intertitles:Towards the end of the trailer the numbers 1 -13 appear as intertitles, in a big, red font. In between each number is a about half a second snippet of highly intense parts of the film. This part of the trailer is the most intensifying and scariest and is shown at the end to leave a lasting impression on the audience. The film title ‘Thirteen Ghosts’ is also shown, re enforcing it so people will remember it and “Halloween 2001” is shown after.
Characters:There are 5 main characters (plus extras) in the trailer. By keeping a small amount of characters, the trailer is less complicated and easier for the audience to understand the narrative of the film which is shown in the trailer. We are aware that they are the main characters as they are the only characters who are repeatedly shown throughout the trailer, they are also involved in carrying the narrative. From watching the trailer the audience are left with an impression of the different characters. For example the old woman is first shown wearing very scruffy clothes with rotten teeth and therefore the audiences first impression of her would be that she is poor and vagrant, however it could also be that the audience feel sorry for her when she begs not to be kicked out of her house for not paying the mortgage.
As the trailer goes on and she smashed the car window and curses the young woman the audience impression of her would automatically change to evil, crafty and bizarre. Another example is when the young woman refuses to give the old woman an extension to pay her mortgage the audience may believe she is cruel and unkind, however when the old woman puts a curse on her and she gets traumatised the audience will feel sorry for her.
Music:The music starts of slow and quiet while showing a normal day in work for a woman and remains like this until the tension is built up where it gets faster and louder. This is done as sound plays an important part in adding to the intensity, therefore by the music being louder and faster the audience will feel more anxious and fearful. At the end of the trailer the music suddenly stops this is done so they tension is kept right until the end of the trailer which will leave the audience interested in wanting to know more.
Editing: There are approximately 92 shot in the trailer. These shots start off lasting about 2 – 3 seconds each and use a mixture of transitions for example fades and straight cuts. However as the tension is built up the shots only last for 1 – 2 seconds and use straight cuts. These shots help to build up tension as only the most intense parts of the film are shown, e.g the old woman throwing a brick through the car window. By only showing 1 – 2 seconds, the audience are left in suspense as they will want to find out what happens in between which will encourage them to watch the film.
The pace of the trailer starts off slow and then gets faster. This includes the music and length of shots which both speed up throughout the trailer. At the start of the trailer a mixture of straight cuts and fades to black are used. This helps to keep the atmosphere of the trailer fairly calm as the fading moves one shot into another smoothly. However as the pace picks up and the more intense shots are shown the length of the shorts is shortened and only straight cuts are used. This is done as straight cuts jump from one shot to the next and this builds up the tension quickly as you are shown so much intense moments in such a short space of time. These short shots also only allow you to see quick snippets of action so you are not given too much information as a reader of the text.
Production Company: Universal shown at 27 seconds& Ghost House Pictures shown at 29 seconds. Showing the production information can attract viewers. This is because if it is one which has a good reputation and is well known for making good films, people will automatically assume this film will be of the same high standard and want to watch it. Therefore this could be the unique selling point (USP) of the trailer.
Credits/Intertitles: The following intertitles appear throughout the trailer:
1.22 – 1.24 ‘From Sam Raini’ – This lasts 1 second more than the other intertitles as they want the audience to remember the directors name, which is another USP.
1. 29 – 1.30 ‘Director or spider-man’ – By showing this, people who enjoyed spider man may be encouraged to watch it as it is produced by the same director so they believe it will be as good as spider-man. He also directed films such as the ‘Evil Dead’ series, ‘Boogeyman’ and ‘The Grudge’, which is also a USP.
1.34- 1.35 ‘And the evil dean trilogy’
1.45 – 1.46 ‘This may’
1.51 – 1.52 ‘Universal pictures and Ghost house pictures
1.57 – 1.58 ‘Present’
2.04 – 2.05 ‘The return’
2.08 – 2.09 ‘Of true horror’
2.14 – 2.15 ‘Drag me to hell’
2.16 – 2.17 ‘In theatres May 29th’
2.18 – 2.20 ‘Universal pictures and Ghost house pictures present Alison Lohman “Drag me to hell” Justin Long Co-producers Cristen Carr Strubbe, Ivan Raimi – Showing the actors names can also encourage people who are fans of them to watch it, as they would enjoy watching their favourite actor in a film.
The main purpose of these intertitles is to help explain the narrative of the film.
1. genre of film are you most likely to watch when going to a cinema? - Horror - Comedy - Action - Romance - Adventure - Musical 2. What motivates you the most to go and watch a film? - Trailer - Actors - Director - Word of mouth - Reviews 3. How long do you expect a trailer to last? - Under 30 seconds - 30 – 1min - 1 – 2 min - Over 2mins 4. In a trailer, which of the following should be the main aspect? - Storyline - Background music - Actors - All - Other 5. How much of the storyline do you think should be given away in a trailer? - All - Most - Little
After asking 20 girls and boys all aged 16 - 20 the above questions, i got the following results.
The Hypodermic Needle Theory The hypodermic needle theory was introduced during the 1920’s and implied that mass media had a direct, immediate and powerful effect on their audiences. It suggests that audiences submissively receive the information transmitted by media texts, without any attempt on their part to process or challenge the data.
In other words it suggests that, as an audience, we are manipulated by the creators of media texts, and that our behaviour and thinking might be easily influenced or changed by media-makers. This theory is still used today to explain why certain groups in society should not be exposed to certain media texts for fear that they will then act them out the behaviour they view themselves. This explains the age restrictions on films, especially of the horror genre. As we are producing a horror trailer, we therefore have to take into consideration the content we use in our trailer, ensuring it is not too violent or brutal.
The Uses and Gratifications Theory
The uses and gratification theory is a theory of mass communication which places the needs, motives and gratifications of the media users in the centre of interest and sees media users as playing an active role in the media consumption process.
It was first introduced in 1948 by Lasswell who suggested that media texts had the following functions for individuals and society: However in 1974, researchers Blulmer and Katz expanded this theory and published their own, stating that individuals might choose and use a text for the following purposes (ie uses and gratifications):
Diversion - escape from everyday problems and routine
Personal Relationships - using the media for emotional and other interaction, eg) substituting soap operas for family life
Personal Identity - finding yourself reflected in texts, learning behaviour and values from texts
Surveillance - Information which could be useful for living eg) weather reports, financial news, holiday bargains
Our school was chosen to team up with a professional educational production company, Action Dog to produce a documentary based on the Indian landscape, garden and paintings at the British Museum over a period of a week. We started by looking around the Indian garden and paintings to give us an idea of the event. After, we brainstormed our ideas as a group with Action Dog and came to the decision that we wanted to produce a docudrama. This was because we thought the documentary side could involve giving facts and information on the history of the plants and paintings and the drama aspect could include our modern interpretation.
I found being able to work alongside a professional team producing a docudrama was the biggest highlight of my experience. As, it was a new experience and one in which students rarely get the opportunity to be involved in. Also being able to see how a real film crew work was quite interesting. The most disappointing part of my whole experience was not being given the chance to take part in any post-production tasks, as this meant we did not get to experience the whole production process of making a moving image. Also we did not get to take part in any filming as it was all done by the directors; this meant we did not get hands on experience with any camera equipment.
Before we started the project we carried our research at school by looking at information on the British Museum website, so we had a background idea on what the project was about. As we only had 5 days to complete the docudrama we had to work at a fast pace. We came up with a timetable and decided we would spend the first day brainstorming our ideas, second day developing these ideas in school which included storyboarding, third and fourth day filming at the museum and the fifth day back in school editing the footage. I think two days was not enough time to carry out all of the filming as we were sometimes rushing parts, which could get frustrating as they were then not to the best of our ability. The fifth day was not as productive as it could have been as we were not given the chance to edit, but instead were just given ideas on how it might have been done.
The most significant thing I learnt was seeing how a real production company works and what is involved in producing a small scale docudrama. The aspects which will be most valuable in my next moving assignment are the tips I picked up while being filmed. This includes filming one shot several times at different angles in order to get a variety of shots and the best shot. Overall this experience was very interesting and beneficial as I now have to produce a teaser trailer so can use all the knowledge and skills I learnt during this project.
For A2 Media studies we were given several briefs from which we had to choose one to complete. As a group we decided to produce a promotional film package for a new film. We then had to select two out of the following three to create - web page, film magazine cover, and poster. I chose the film magazine cover and poster as our AS project was print therefore I picked up many skills which will help me make the magazine cover and poster at a high standard. Also, at school we do not have the resources or technology to make a high-quality web page, however we do have the software to make a successful film magazine cover and poster for example Adobe Photoshop.
I have begun my research by watching a range of trailers for a variety of films. This helped me and my group to decide on the genre horror for our teaser trailer as we were influenced by the style of horror trailers and found it was the most accessible genre to us in terms of equipment, locations actors ect. By watching theses trailer we were also able to identify the conventions of horror trailers. In addition, I will start to carry out research on trailers which includes finding out the purpose, features and functions of them. I can then apply this knowledge when I make my own. In addition I will be analysing a number of horror trailers by breaking them down. This analytical research will help me gain a better understanding of what needs to be included when making my own teaser trailer. This includes identifying all of the conventions of horror trailers, which is important as my trailer must be recognised as a horror teaser trailer and therefore I must make sure I follow the conventions of them.
For our teaser trailers; we have to make a narrative for our entire film first which we will then choose the parts we believe are most intense to use in the trailer. We plan on using Tzvtan Todorov’s theory which states all films can be broken down into five stages. This will be useful for us as we can use these five stages as a starting point for different parts of our film and then put them together.
Once we have decided on a final idea I will carry out further research and planning. By carrying out this project I hope to achieve a successful horror film teaser trailer, film magazine cover and poster. Furthermore I would like to develop my practical skills and understanding of film-making.
