Research

Raiders of the Lost Ark(1981) Teaser Trailer
Time Length: 1.05

Micro Features:
Camera/Mise en Scene

Close up of Indiana and the man in baige

• The mise en scene begins with a close up of the side of a man's(Indiana Jones; the protagonist to the movie) face with a man in the background of the shot. Indiana is wearing a dark fedora hat which represents the time period; the time period being the 1930s. The other man is in a beige suit and beige fedora hat which represents that this man is more wealthy, as he is in a suit and Indiana isn't. The close up does not just bring attention to the hats representing the time period, but it also bring attention to the sweat on the men's faces which means the environment they are in is hot. The man in beige says: "Do you realise what the Ark is? It's a transmitter, it is a radio for speaking to God." This introduces what the plot in the story is and what the Ark is. The man's German accent will also hint due to the time period that he could be a possible Nazi. This scene is very important in a teaser as it introduces the protagonist, the time period, the type of setting, the possible antagonist and the plot; which is very beneficial to a teaser as they are so short and may not have time for too much dialogue.




Close up of the skeleton on the wooden spikes


• The next scene features a close up on a skeleton on wooden spikes heading towards the camera. The wooden spike trap, the skeleton and the cobwebs in the background of the shot tell the audience that the possible setting in this scene is a ancient ruins. The medium shot which follows shows Indiana and a man in the background as the spike goes across the lens. The medium shot effectively shows Indiana's torso in full costume revealing more about his character and reveals a stream of water heading through the cave; the stream as well as Indiana's sweaty face shows that the environment beyond this cave could be exotic. Indiana's costume shows him in his dark fedora hat, a dark leather flight jacket, a khaki shirt, a brown strap and a whip. The dark leather flight jacket hints that the character could fly or be very adventurous. A whip would have been used by animal wranglers back in those times, this could hint that the character could have a background in wrangling or it could just be a innovative weapon. The khaki shirt would most likely be found in desert or other conditions involving heat. The costume tells the audience that the character is a adventurous explorer.




Extreme close up of Indiana's whip


• In the next scene it introduces the desert environment. The first shot is a low angle long shot of a bunch of men running towards and past the camera as it slowly pans up to meet them. The camera angle shows that these men are dominant, this could be due to the amount of them. The long shot introduces and establishes the environment in the desert village or town. The costumes of the men and people in the background corresponds with the environment; robes suggesting it is hot as well as revealing these men's Arabian heritage. However, the men running are wearing black cloth around their heads hiding their identity and making them seem antagonistic. The setting also suggests that place is poor which means that someone richer may be in charge; this links back to the German at the start. This is followed by a over the shoulder shot of Indiana pushing a women down and another over the shoulder shot from Indiana's point of view as he pushes the approaching Arabian in the face. This introduces a possible female counter-part and romance to the plot. It also reveals more about Indiana's character, that he is caught up in a lot of trouble over the Ark which he must be looking for. This scene also introduces the whip with an extreme close up of him getting it from his belt; the extreme close up bringing full enthasis to the whip. This is then followed by a low angle long shot from behind two other Arabs as Indiana cracks his whip at them to keep them back. The shot represents him as a dominant wrangler over these two Arabs who back away as he begins to crack his whip.
 



Medium shot of Indiana on the side of the truck


• The next scene shows a action sequence involving Indiana trying to commandeer a truck to pursue the Germans in suits in their car. It starts with a close up dolly shot of the front of Indiana on a horse, once again adding to his adventurous persona.There is then a close up from the back of the Germans car as they all turn around to look behind them. The shot from the front shows Indiana is in pursuit and the shot from behind shows the Germans are the ones being chased; this also shows that the Germans are the definite antagonists. In the shows a low angled medium shot on a dolly from the front of the truck, as Indiana is now on the side of the truck approaching the drivers door, with the horse still running next to the truck. The low angled shot makes the truck seem more dominant and acts as a juxtaposition to Indiana making him look outmatched. The medium shot hints that Indiana has jumped from the horse to the truck, as well as showing where they now are which is a desert road. There is then a low angled long shot from the side of a cliff looking up as the truck skids across the verge of the cliff with Indiana holding onto the door. The shot introduces the concept that they are driving on the verge of a large height adding tension. The low angled shot shows that Indiana and the truck are in danger. There is then a medium over the shoulder shot from the drivers point of view, as he meets Indiana with a punch to the torso as Indiana gets in. This is followed by a series of close ups as Indiana goes through the windscreen and is forced to hold onto the Mercedes hood ornament. The Mercedes also adds to the fact that the Antagonists are German as Mercedes is a German car.



Close up of Indiana pointing his pistol

• The next scene introduces the audience to a darker environment in a bar, the darker gloomy atmosphere and the actors in coats hints that climate is colder as well. The first seen is important as it introduces Indiana's nationality clearly. It is a over the shoulder shot from an unknown man in a hat's perspective. Indiana says: "Let her go" in an American accent which tells the audience he is American as well as mentioning the women counter-part again. The the pattern on the glass on the door represents bars; this means escape from the situation will be difficult. The next shot is a close up of a man in a black coat, glasses and fedora hat holding a shard of metal in position to strike the women(extremely phallic reference portraying dominance over women in this time period), right as it is shot out of his hand. The mans black costume and actions show he is an antagonist. This is followed by a low angle close up of Indiana pointing a pistol and running away. The low angle could suggest that it was a bold decision to defend the women. The shot also shows the audience that Indiana is armed with a gun which is a phallic reference making him look dominant; corresponding with the low angled shot. The shot which follows is a medium shot of Indiana running past the camera as the man in black pursues with a sub-machine gun. The fact the man has a bigger gun makes him look more dominant.




High angle long shot of Indiana riding through a camp


• The next scene is just a high angled panning long shot following Indiana as he rides a horse through a camp full of Arabians. The fact the shot is high angled and Indiana is riding away from the camera suggests that he is running away from something. The long shot also makes him look smaller and more insignificant. As Indiana is mounted and the Arabians aren't mounted is a juxtaposition representing Indiana as a more important character. The shot also brings reference to the desert environment again.




Low angle medium shot of Indiana being pursued by a boulder


• The last scene is set in a exotic jungle and cave environment. The first three scenes introduce the setting and the fact Indiana is being chased by tribe of natives to the jungle. The first is a panning medium shot following Indiana as he's running past. The medium shot shows more of the jungle in the background; the sense that there is something else in there. There is then a medium shot on a dolly following natives with spears moving through the forest. The third shot is then a long shot of Indiana running towards the camera on a tropical plain with the natives and jungle in the background. This could hint that he might have taken something special to the natives. This is followed by a sequence where Indiana jumps over a hole in the ground using a vine. It starts with a low angle medium shot as he takes the vine and jumps. The low angle represents the danger of falling. There is then a low angle long shot from inside the hole looking up as Indiana goes across the hole, the shot represents how far the hole goes down. The scene ends with a shots in a cave in the jungle. Firstly a long shot of Indiana running away from the camera as a load of rocks fall down onto the floor in front of the camera. The long shot makes Indiana look small compared to the situation that the cave is collapsing. This is then climaxed by a low angle medium shot of Indiana running past the camera with a golden object in his hand, as a very large boulder pursues him. The low angled shot is a juxtaposition making the boulder look incredibly larger than Indiana.

Editing

• Unlike most typical teasers or trailers, Raiders of the Lost Ark doesn't show any production titles at the start, instead it only shows a list of credits at the very end.




The start of the teaser


• It begins with a black screen followed by big bold white lettering to contrast with the black background, this helps the writing stand out. It shows a date and a movie which came out on that date: "1975. . .JAWS" then "1977 . . . STAR WARS" then it ends with "1981. . ." with the Raiders of the Lost Ark title coming afterward. The title is written in a different font, it is also a different colour; in orange and yellow with an outline of blue. The font is also slanted with the first letter appearing larger; this makes the title seem adventurous and exciting. The colours orange and yellow portrays adventure, excitement, the blue outline will represent devotion truth and wisdom. This is significant as this means all of these films are related in some way. It is subtly connoting that the film will involve Oscar nominated director Steven Spielberg from Jaws, Oscar nominated director George Lucas and Harrison Ford from Star Wars, also Oscar winning film composer John Williams. This will effectively bring an audience who are fans of those films and the people involved.
• Apart from the scene involving dialogue the teaser uses a lot of quick cuts to keep the teaser short.
• In the shots which are in the same scene as one another, they use match on action which connotes that they are in the same scene. To navigate from one scene to another they use jump cuts to different environments.
• The quick cuts act almost like a unchronological montage to give the audience the idea of what the films about.




Medium shot of Indiana being chased


• They use juxtaposition in the throughout the teaser, most notably at the start where Indiana's head is closer to the camera making him appear more important. It is used again in the shot where he is on the side of the truck to make the truck look bigger and more menacing. It is also used again in the end shot where the boulder appears much larger than Indiana making it look more dominant than Indiana.




Title to the movie


• The trailer then fades to black quickly slowly zooming in on the title again to remind the audience what the title is again. It is then followed by the credits which are important as they show who's involved in the film which is important as a famous name will attract a larger audience.

Sound

• The start of teaser shows two films whose scores were both done by the Oscar winning film conductor John Williams, this hints that John Williams will again be working with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg to make Raiders of the Lost Ark.
• There isn't a lot of dialogue in the trailer yet the dialogue which is used in the trailer gives the audience a lot of information. The teaser remains mostly non-diagetic.
• The trailer relies a lot on the music to portray a lot of the emotion. In the style of Jaws and Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark will also use a symphony to portray tension, excitement and romance. The sound remains parallel throughout relating to the scenes within. 
• The music is also the theme to the movie which will help promote it.

Lighting

Close up of Indiana and the man in beige

• In the first scene where Indiana is introduced there is only backlight and filter light, Indiana's face is shadowed which means there is a lot of depth to the character which will be revealed as the teaser goes on. The other mans face is half shadowed, this corresponds the dialogue meaning he is the antagonist out to get the Ark.



Medium shot of Indiana in the cave as the spike goes past the lens

• In the next scene in the cave there is only filter light, this is to represent that they are in the middle of the cave and they are no where near an entrance. This also gives enough light to quickly show Indiana in his costume which is important as it shows lots about his character. The light also shines on Indiana's hand which could connote him as the protagonist.



Over the shoulder shot of Indiana

• In the next scene in the desert town it uses a natural sunlight used as filter light; using the buildings and Indiana's hat to cast shadows. Sunlight is considered as filter light due to the fact that sunlight can come from any direction. The filter light also successfully adds plenty of shadows on the characters once again portraying mystery. The broad shadows casted by the buildings help create a sense of urban realism to the seen.



Medium shot of Indiana on the hood ornament

• In the next scene on the desert road there is once again natural sunlight acting as filter light. Indiana's fedora hat constantly blocks the light covering his face with shade connoting that hes a very maverick character. The shot where hes waling across the side of the truck with the shade all over his body once again strengthens this maverick concept.



Over the shoulder shot of Indiana in the bar

• In the next scene in the bar uses a lot of backlight and filter light; the backlight makes the man in black appear more antagonistic by creating black silhouette shapes. The filter light in this scene helps us finally see Indiana's face clearly, this adds emotional depth to the character making him stand out as the protagonist in the dark surroundings.



Long shot of Indiana as the cave collapses

• The last scene once again uses a lot of backlight and filter light to create shadows and mystery in the scene. The lack of key light throughout the teaser creates the sense that there is a lot of antagonism to overcome throughout.

Macro Features
Iconography/Genre

• The teaser introduces the genre immediately as it shows the films which the maker's were involved with before; Jaws and Star Wars were both action/adventure films. Also the title involves the word "raiders" is very forceful hinting a lot of action in the movie. The colour of the font on "raiders" also hints the genre; orange mainly representing adventure.
• Indiana Jone's costume introduces the time period, fedora hats were extremely common on men in the 1930s. The costume is also very weather-worn which therefore connotes the adventure genre.
• The guns, the whip,the fighting and the stunts connotes the action genre.
• The different locations also connote the adventure genre, as well as the mise en scene in these locations such as horse riding and cave collapsing.

Characters

• Indiana Jones is shown the most throughout the teaser to connote that he is the protagonist. He remains nameless in the teaser so the costume is important in the audience recognition and connoting character traits; like his whip connoting he can be very innovative by using a whip instead of a gun or a knife. He is also played by Harrison Ford who had just gained mainstream recognition through the success of Star Wars in 1977 and The Empire Strikes Back in 1980; this is effective as it will attract an audience.

Setting

• The teaser features multiple locations; to a western audience most of the locations apart from the bar will be very exotic connoting an adventure genre. It tells the audience that the protagonist ventures across many countries throughout the film.

Narrative

• There isn't a lot of narrative in the teaser, so therefore the narrative which is very important. It features the text at the beginning hinting that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas will be involved. The main diagetic dialogue in the teaser is the central European man explaining what the Ark does, this is important as not that many people would know what the Ark is.
• It is because of the lack of narrative that the teaser relies heavily on the micro features such as Mise en Scene.

To conclude, the teaser is effective as it is short and doesn't reveal too much. It subtly shows who's involved with the film to attract fans of Jaws and the Star Wars franchise. It focuses mainly on a non-chronological montage of the protagonist in different parts of the film to introduce not only the actor involved but the genre and time period. It also uses mainly non-diagetic music rather than diagetic dialogue.

Rock'n'Rolla(2008) Trailer
Time Length: 2.26

Micro Features:
Camera/Mise en Scene





"THE ROCK STAR " sequence starts


• After the initial production titles, it then shows a distorted, almost animated, sepia close up of the character Johnny Quid with the words "THE ROCK STAR" next to him. This is to introduce the first of the main elements which make up the main plot.
• There is then a high angle shot of a tennis court in the countryside which then pans quickly to a overhead shot above Lenny and Archy reading a newspaper. The high angle shot establishes where these characters are, the tennis court with all the people playing in white portrays them as upper class; the fact Lenny and Archy are sitting closest to the camera watching them play establishes them as the more important people in the shot. Lenny is the only one who speaks out of the two of them which could mean he's more important, he also has a very strong London(Cockney) accent which could mean he comes from a lower class background. They are both wearing suits, Lenny wears a more beige suit to give him a more older and more important look, whereas Archie sits without his blazer on which makes him look less important.
• The next shot is a handheld close up on the Newspaper and there is a picture of Johnny Quid as Lenny says "Troubled rock star, Johnny Quid. . ." this could suggest that this character will go on to cause most of the problems in the film. The hand held camera creates a sense of realism.




Johnny Quid with pistols


• It cuts aways before Lenny finishes into a montage of different characters talking about Johnny Quid. There is a medium shot of the character Roman also reading the same newspaper saying:". . .is missing assumed dead." Roman is in room with a pool table behind, identified due to the light which would usually shine on a pool table. There is also a door behind him with red light coming through; this makes the room look very stylish and relaxed. This corresponds with Roman's costume, thick rimmed glasses, a black t-shirt and trilby hat, which is also very stylish. He has an American accent which suggests he may be in England for business reasons; his tone also insists he knows Johnny Quid through business. It then cuts to a medium shot of the character Mickey saying "our Johnny?" in an American accent which means he is associated with Roman. This insists that he is in the same scene as Roman and they do in fact know Johnny Quid. He is also sitting on a sofa in a suit with a bar behind him, which keeps the mood relaxed and stylish. It then cuts to a medium shot of June sitting on a sofa opposite Mickey smoking a cigarette. Once again the audience can tell its the same scene as the mood is very relaxed as she is sitting down and her tone is very sarcastic and it reveals that she knows Johnny as well, as she says:"If he's dead, that's the third time this year." However her voice has a Cockney accent which could mean shes less important than Mickey and Roman. Her line continues into another medium shot however this time it is of Jonny Quid. He is in another place however as the room is very scruffy and dirty, which suggests he isn't dead but maybe in exile somewhere. He is topless, wearing thick rimmed sunglasses and jeans with a shaven head; most notably he is swirling two pistols which could suggests he is a trouble maker and is dangerous; they are also phallic references. There is also someone jumping around which could suggest that he is under the influence of either drugs or alcohol.
• There is then a medium shot slowly zooming in on Johnny talking to his friend Pete with a light bulb hanging in between them. The fact Johnny's talking makes him more significant than Pete; Johnny also has a Cockney accent which could mean he is from a working class background. He says "I'm dead Pete; dead people don't like company." this tells the audience that the character is a recluse. The light bulb represents the isolation as it is not covered by a light shade.




Lenny and his gangsters interrogation


• In the next four shot sequence it features Lenny, Archie and a few more men in suits interrogating a man hanging from a chair; the fact the man is wet with a gun pointing at the back of his head will tell the audience that the man is being tortured in some way. The gun also acts as phallic reference to portray the gangster as a dominant character. It also tells the audience Lenny got his wealth by being a London gangster. The first shot is a close up on the man being interrogated with Lenny's hand on his chin. This time Lenny is in a darker suit which could reflect on the darker side of his life, he also wears a gold watch to express his wealth. The next is a quick establishing shot to show where they are, it shows they are in some sort of abandoned warehouse; an ideal place for gangster activities. It also shows the gangsters surrounding this man in an intimidating way. They are asking the man about a painting which links onto the next main element in the plot, specifically they are asking "who" took the painting. In the third shot the man spits out the name "Johnny Quid!" in a desperate tone. The fourth shot is then a close up on Lenny shouting "How did a dead man sell you a painting?!", this then summaries Johnny Quid's input to the film. From 0.03 to 0.20 it tells the audience about a specific character Johnny Quid, who is a rock star who is pretending to be dead and has a painting Lenny needs. The first 20 seconds also introduces the characters Lenny, Roman, Mickey, June, Pete and Archie and tells the audience that they are linked to Johnny Quid, but won't reveal how they are to leave mystery. The first 20 seconds also fits in 11 shots and manages them to seem fluent like a montage.




"THE PAINTING" sequence starts


• There is then another distorted sepia image, this time it is a medium shot of Lenny and another man looking at something with the words "THE PAINTING" next to them; this is the second sequence related to the plot. It then links into the next scene which is Lenny and this other man. In this scene the director introduces another character, Uri. The name reveals that this man is a Russian, and the setting, props and the costume reveal Uri to be very rich. The jumper on his back with the sleeves wrapped around his shoulders is a typical stereotype of a upper class person.
• The next scene is then a handheld close up of a rugged, scruffy looking man talking as if he is pitching the painting to an audience. The following shot shows his accomplice putting the painting on a stand. He says in an Irish accent "It is a very rare and expensive painting.", judging by their scruffy costumes it tells the audience they may have obtained the painting illegally and may be selling the painting illegally. The handheld camera creates a realism to the shot.
• The next shot is a close up with runs into a distorted establishing shot, it shows that this painting may be sold around by everyone illegally as someone picks it up and in the background it shows someone(probably Johnny Quid) smoking drugs in an isolated room on a wooden chair. It then cuts back to the medium shot of Uri and Lenny as Uri says: "Take it for a walk, maybe it'll give you luck." this shows the audience that Lenny should have the painting which causes confusion and mystery because the trailer is un-chronological.
• The next shot is a long shot of Pete and Johnny, the shot establishes more of whats in Johnny's hideout. It shows that the curtains are very tattered and the room is very wooden and dusty. Johnny is also smoking some drugs which could suggest that he may have blown most of his money on drugs. This shows that Johnny's living conditions are very poor. He says: "Johnny, wheres the painting?" this adds more suspicion as to what has happened to the painting.
• The next shot is a medium shot with a big open space in the middle with two lights on either sides and it shows that something is missing. This is as Lenny says: "Archie, I've been robbed!" There is also a transition as the camera suddenly gets closer with the noise of a camera taking a photo. This represents that a crime had taken place there. The fact that he is speaking to Archie shows that Archie sorts out his problems.




Lenny on the phone to Archie


• The next shot is then a handheld close up of Lenny on the phone in a dressing gown which suggests Lenny is at home. The handheld to create a realism to the shot. He then says "That's his favourite painting, his lucky painting." he puts a lot of emphasis of the word 'lucky' which refers to previous quotes in painting sequence, ; specifically "take it for a walk, maybe it'll give you luck." Its ironic as it hasn't gave him luck as he has been robbed. It also shows that Uri could be more dangerous than Lenny. Once again like "THE ROCKSTAR" sequence, "THE PAINTING" sequence fits 8 shots in from 0.20 to 0.35. Once again it is very un-chronological and is almost like a fluent montage showing characters relevant to that element of the plot.




"THE RUSSIAN DEAL"
sequence begins


• The third element related to the plot starts with another distorted sepia image, this time a close up of a hand shake with a black silhouette of a city in the bottom corner, this means that it has something to do with a deal in city(London). It then has the words "THE RUSSIAN DEAL" next to it. 

• The is then a long shot of the skyline of London, there is then a transition swipe which acts like a pan into another long shot of the London skyline, then there is another transition swipe into a close up of Uri in a safety helmet saying:"it'll become one of London's premier residents." The scaffolding across the skyline and the Uris line tells the audience that the Russian deal is related to the construction in London.
• The next shot is a slightly low angled medium shot from the front seat of a car focused on Lenny and Archie, the low angle portrays these two characters as important and dominant. Archie then says in a heavy Cockney accent: "You've got to watch yourself with this lot. The times are changing; they 'ent no respecter's of the old school." As Archie says that is shows a sequence of shots with Lenny meeting and shaking hands with Uri and men who are potentially working for Uri. This shows that Uri and Lenny are business partners and Uri could be potentially more dangerous than Lenny.
• There is then a shot/reverse shot of Lenny and Uri in a stand at an empty Wembley, which once again influences wealth. Uri says:"what is it going to cost me?" to which Lenny says "7 million euros". This shows that this deal is costing a lot but usually in a gangster movie, when a large amount of money is involved it will eventually get robbed. Both shots are also slightly low angled which would portray the characters as dominant and important to the story.




Stella with One Two


• The next shot/reverse shot is of Uri speaking to a women, who in the film is Stella the accountant. The close up on Uri shows he has concern on his face over the deal as he says: "i need another 7 million euros.". The bar in the background could also mean that he is attracted to Stella as he maybe trying to get her drunk for sexual reasons. The close up of Stella shows her smoking a cigarette, it is the way she smokes her cigarette and her upper class accent which shows her as another possible rich person. She then says: "7 million?" in a concerned face, this shows that she could be concerned for Uri or wants the money for herself. 
• The next shot is a medium shot of the lower half of Stella and a man in trousers, as she receives a bag supposedly with the 7 million in it. The way her arm trembles as she receives it suggests it is heavy. It then cuts to a medium shot of the top half of Stella and this man; the man who is played by Gerard Butler is the character One Two, Gerard Butler is also of the most famous actors in the film which means it is vital to show him in the trailer. His line is also humorous which adds more conventions such as comedy to the trailer. The including of One Two also links onto another bunch of characters in the film vital to the plot.




Archie(centre) and One Two(right)


• The next scene is a medium shot of Archie and One Two in a room, the way Archie is standing makes it obvious that he is more important as One Two simply slouches on a table. The setting looks like a bar meaning that One Two must be a lower class character in the plot. Archie says: "Come on where is it?" he says it in a demanding tone once again putting more importance on him. The music also stops which brings emphasis to the scene. There is then a close up of a bag under the table and the camera pans as they kick it to Archie and he kicks it to the man who's with him. It then cuts back to the medium shot as Archie says: "Look at that we could make a team." This once again adds the element of comedy to the trailer. This is the end of "THE RUSSIAN DEAL" sequence which fits 17 shots from 0.35 to 0.59, all of them are related to the Russian deal and the 7 million euros involved.




"MEET THE WILD BUNCH"
sequence begins


• The mood of the trailer changes as it introduces the fourth segment to the plot which features three head portraits in a row of Gerard Butler's character One Two, Idris Elba's character Mumbles and Tom Hardy's character Handsome Bob in a distorted sepia image. It has "MEET THE WILD BUNCH" written next to it. It suggests these three will be involved in the solution of the plot. The name "Wild Bunch" will also show audiences that these three will add conventions of an action movie to the film.
 



Handsome Bob pointing a gun, One
Two bleeding in the background


• This follows onto a montage of what the Wild bunch does. The first shoot is a low angle medium shot looking up at a car window as someone breaks it with a crowbar and the broken glass shards fall onto the camera. This is to represent crime, however the broken glass represents the turning point in the trailer; the Wild Bunch will break down the story and find a solution to the plot. It goes onto to a show a medium shot of a man falling holding a bag, a low angle medium shot of One Two firing a gun, a medium shot of Mumbles hitting a man on his knees with an iron bar, a low angle medium shot on dolly watching Mumbles run holding a bag, a low angle medium shot of Handsome bob pointing a pistol at someone with One Two in the background bleeding, there is then a medium shot following Handsome Bob running through a gate and a medium shot of One Two punching a man. These shots show the Wild Bunch robbing the bag of money which was shown previously in the trailer, which reveals their contribution to the film. Mostly all of the shots are low angle and hand held; the low angle shots are to make the Wild Bunch look important and dominant. This corresponds with them holding guns; phallic symbols which help portray masculinity and dominance. During these action sequences he uses a hand held camera to portray a sense of realism and make it more exciting. The characters expressions make them look exhausted and desperate which shows that the action sequences in the film are grueling to attract an audience. It also shows shots of Handsome Bob and Mumbles running away from something, suggesting that the people they are fighting are dangerous which corresponds with their expressions. The shot of One Two punching the man can refer to honour, traditionally hand-to-hand combat is usually done out of honour; this could show that One Two has a degree of honour to him. The industrial landscape represents working class, progression and pollution. These themes intertwine around the Wild Bunch as characters in this sequence. They are working class, they progress the storyline towards the climax; however their presence is very polluting and destructive.



Close up on One Two's exhausted
face

• The ending of this montage features One Two running away from a man who is bigger and is more muscular than himself. It features a medium shot of One Two laughing with his head bleeding whilst hes running backwards, a high angled long shot of the man running on a railway ripping off his shirt, a close up on the mans torso, a close up on One Two's head looking back, a extreme close up on the side of the man's face and an extreme close up on the side of One Two's face. All of the shots are handheld on a dolly following the characters. Using the handheld camera moves the image around the focus to invent the illusion that the viewer is with them running, creating a sense of realism. The railway setting portrays the themes of movement, speed and danger. This corresponds with the sequence as One Two is attempting to escape this other man and that this man is dangerous. The high angle shot represents the man being insignificant to One Two a like in the shot before where One Two is laughing; it is an arrogant laugh to make the man look insignificant. This is until he rips his shirt off to reveal he is physically fitter than One Two and also has a tattoo on his left pectoral muscle; this is to portray him as more masculine and significant. The close ups on the face reveal One Two to be more exhausted and desperate to get away, whereas this man is fitter and less exhausted. This whole Wild Bunch sequence introduces action and the more adventurous characters to the film.




Archie at the end of the trailer singing
into the microphone


• This goes onto the ending of the trailer which features a montage of different shots portraying action, humour, sex and social realism. Out of the 50 shots which are left in the trailer, 28% of the shots are handheld and they are in the majority of action sequences to make them more exciting. They use a montage of all the shots in the film wear someone is slapped to add humour; a slap is also a form of disrespectful violence to humiliate the victim. This could be important to the trailer as the film is about gangsters, and stereotypically gangsters are very disrespectful. Towards the end it features different characters saying "Rock'n'Rolla" throughout the film to effectively reference to the title so that the audience leaves remembering the film trailer. At the very end after the title and credits, there is  medium shot of Archie singing "You'll never sing the same if your teeth ain't your own" in a recording studio. The recording studio is a reference to the film being about a rock star and the quote refers to the gangster element in the movie. The microphone is also a phallic symbol, representing Archie to be a very dominant character.

Editing

Production titles

• The film begins with a the production titles. It appears in a distorted and animated way and is presented in sepia. It almost fades in, but it relates to the movie as the image is animated in  a way to make it look as though it is being constructed, which relates to "THE RUSSIAN DEAL". It is graphically designed to make the film appear more modern.
• The introducing graphics to the different sequences and actors credits make the movie more exciting and stylish. It is also used again at the end with the titles to bring more emphasis and help audiences remember the title. It is followed by the credits and "coming soon" which adds mystery as the audience doesn't know the exact date it comes out. most of the text uses background colour to help it stand out.
• All of the cuts are very quick to keep the trailer very fluent and stylish.



Director credit

• The directors credits are shown half way through as Guy Ritchie's films are very iconic for using London as a setting and witty gangsters. The graphics also features a building in the background relating to the plot.

• There isn't a lot of match on action as they are constantly using cross cuts to use only the shots relevant to the sequence. The longest period of match on action is used in the "MEET THE WILD BUNCH" sequence, this is because it is the primary action sequence in the trailer so there needed to be some relation between shots.



Title at the end

• Juxtaposition isn't used a lot as the role of dominance is continually passed around the different characters. It is most notably used in the scene at the end of "THE ROCK STAR" sequence where Lenny and his gangsters are surrounding the man hanging from a chair. The fact that the man is sitting against his will and they aren't makes them appear more dominant.
• The trailer uses the quick cross cuts to create the trailer as a non-chronological montage of shots; this doesn't reveal that much about the movie so audiences have something to look forward to.

Sound

• In the Rock'n'Rolla trailer it uses two songs from the film which are non-diagetic. The first one is 'I'm a man' by Blackstrobe which is also used in the opening monologue to the film, is used from 0:00 to 0:57. The song has a blues/rock sound which corresponds with the the title of the film. It also controls the rhythm and tempo of the trailer keeping the trailer at a steady pace to keep it stylish. The next song is 'Rock and roll queen' by the Subways, this corresponds heavily with the film as it says the words "Rock and roll", its also fast paced. It comes on from 0:59 to 2:15 as it shows he action sequences with the wild bunch. Both songs are very parallel to the mise en scene.
• The dialogue in the film brings a lot of attention to the accents in the film, predominantly Cockney meaning the films set in London. The dialogue also can overlap into other shots changing it from diagetic to non-diagetic, this helps the film sun more smoothly and can also add more mise en scene to correspond with the dialogue rather than keeping it on the same shot. 
• From 1:27 to 1:34 they bring a lot of emphasis to the sound of the slaps to add humour to the film.
• The add a lot of 'whooshing' sounds to the trailer as titles appear, for example at the start with "THE ROCK STAR" intro sequence. This is to make the trailer more exciting.

Lighting

• The starting scene in the film leads the audience into a false sense of security as the shot is very well lit and colourful. Then it suddenly goes into the rest of the trailer which uses a lot of filter and backlighting to create much darker images and portray shade. This is effective as it is as soon as the character Johnny Quid is mentioned which would mean that he could be a very troublesome character.
• The filter lighting throughout the film portrays shades across half of the characters faces to bring mystery and a hint that most of the characters have done bad things in their past. The mise en scene is important to add more humour so the film isn't completely dark.
• They've put an filter on the shots to make them appear more retro and stylish.

Macro Features
Iconography/Genre

• The film has crime/action genre similar to Guy Richie's previous films such as Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
• They use a lot of the colour orange in the graphic designs which relates to action and adventure; corresponding with the genre.
• Iconography relating to the genre include guns, violence, fast pased cuts, the fast rock music and explosions.

Characters

• There are many characters featured throughout the trailer including Lenny, Archie, Jonny Quid, Uri and the Wild Bunch. Later on in the trailer they specifically display the names of the cast as there are so many big names in film including Tom Wilkinson, Gerard Butler, Thandie Newton and Idris Elba. Including these names in the trailer will be effective in attracting an audience.
• The trailer mostly revolves around Jonny Quid as he is the "rock'n'rolla" in question as he is the one who pretends to be dead and steals the painting which starts the series of events in the plot.

Setting

• The film is set in London, this can be made obvious by the accents of those in the film and the various shots including the London skyline and the River Thames.

Narrative

• There is a lot of dialogue throughout the trailer to mainly explain what the plot is and to give a bit more insight to the characters in the film. The amount of shots also allow a lot more narrative to be seen in the mise en scene as well. There is a lot more narrative compared to a teaser trailer as there is more time to reveal more approaching the films release date.
• The narrative to the plot is split into four parts which are: "the rockstar", "the painting", "the Russian deal" and "meet the Wild Bunch". This organisation prevents the plot being completely mixed up in the non-chronological order of the trailer. As it is un-chronological it also lets some of the shots become relevant which is very effective.

To conclude, the trailer is effective as it is around 2-3 minutes long and involves a lot more narrative compared to a teaser. However, a teaser trailers aim is to "tease" the audience and not reveal too much whereas a trailers aim is to reveal that little more to draw audiences in. It is very fast paced and features non-chronological shots relating to specific elements in the plot. The trailer also uses two rock music tracks at different times, one being slower in tempo and the other being quicker, to become parallel to the trailer at those specific times.

This is England(2006) Trailer analysis
This is England is a movie of the social realism genre, written and directed by Shane Meadows in 2006. The film depicts the story of a gang of 'skinheads', with huge influences of black culture (reggae, ska etc), who become segregated as nationalism violently turns to racism. Its trailer shows a flowing movement through three stages of the story, finishing before the restoration of equilibrium - a cliffhanger.


The trailer opens as the film does, with archived film footage of the 1980s used in order to set the scene. The editing of these shots is parallel and rhythmical with the music, showing the importance and preoccupation with music in 1980s society. The music creates helps to move along through three sections, stopping before the restoration of equilibrium to create a cliffhanger, keeping the audience guessing and wanting more. We begin with happy, parallel, chordant music that explores the contented mood of the characters.

In this trailer there are various denotations of contextually significant moments in the history of Britain, creating a clear connotation of nationalism and the huge importance, and almost USP status, of the 80s theme in this film. Denotations of clothes through show motions shots and freeze frames with parallel music connote a preoccupation with fashion at the time the film is set.

Facial expressions take the trailer through three different movements. We see an initial state of equilibrium explored through smiling characters in the first movement, characters are physically close to each other and this is shown by a high use of close up and medium shots, which, along with shot/reverse add to the emotional intensity of the piece. In the second movement we still play witness to a closeness, but the equilibrium is disrupted by the arrival of an antagonist, his power emphasised by his happy facial expression whilst others fade to sadness. Action builds as actions and expressions become increasingly more dangerous/violent/aggressive until a the third movement begins with a sudden jump cut to ratings and reviews, soothing music. Shots in this movement portray drastic fluctuations in emotions, with all still dramatically intense, adding to the kitchen sink feel of the movie.

Shots of negative body language such as insults and swearing are followed by happy laughs, his could be said to emphasise the light hearted equilibrium at the start of the piece. Signs of friendship are shown in slow motion/ freeze frame in order to emphasise the importance of these connections.

Characters are placed closely together throughout this piece. This is emphasised by the use of the long shot, which frames all characters together in order to give a close, family style effect. Over the shoulder close ups also create a fuller frame, giving the impression that a surrogate family has been formed. These shots can easily be incorporated into my own product, adding to an emotive feel.

Mise en scene, clothing in this instance, has important meaning in this trailer. It adds to the realist representation of 80s society, the USP of the film, and creates the entire context of the piece. Settings throughout the piece are, generally, decaying, lower class, everyday areas. This alerts the viewer of the 'kitchen sink' style of the social realism genre, representing the entire dramatic, mellow mood of the piece through decaying settings. Little use of props could also be said to dramatise the relationships between characters, working together with a high use of close ups and reaction shots to, overall, give the piece an emotive feel. Costumes are very elaborate, to me as a modern viewer, and heavily rely on popular culture (of the time) whilst dismissing gender stereotypes. We see females sporting traditionally male hairstyles and butch clothing, such as boots. This distracts the audience from the appearance of the characters, with their elaborate outfits used to make them stand out through a contrast to the plain settings, which allows the audience to focus on the emotions and relationships between characters.

The soundtrack begins with an uplifting, happy, light hearted song. This, as the trailer progresses, changes to a fast paced rock song, followed by a more mellow, soothing piece. This fits the mood and actions of the characters, with the music being parallel to the events and changing through the introduction of new characters or important actions. This three piece movement could easily be incorporated into my piece to highlight the importance and personality of certain main characters.

Diagetic sound, in the form of accents, gives us insight into the characters. Its colloquialisms show the characters to be of a lower class, which combines with text ('Theres three and a half unemployed') and a montage of Falklands war and political footage to give a clear representation of the lower class and their turmoil at the hands of a right wing government in the 1980s.

Iconography of this piece is laid with the emotional expressions and images of the desolate setting. This leaves undertones of political disenchantment, anger and highlights the everyday emotion explored in kitchen sink dramas. Themes expressed here reflect the movement of the entire piece, without giving anything away, in order to inform the viewer of the film's content.

Inception(2010) Teaser Trailer
Content analysis - The trailer emphasises the location and surroundings of where the film is located, the emphasis of this assumes to the audience that the location of the film is significant. Throughout the teaser, the trailer shows clips taken from the film itself with clips made specifically for the trailer along with credit and titles shown.

 


Lower classes, ethnicity, gender & age are all represented in this piece. The fact that we see very little of a mother figure and more of a metaphorical surrogate family creates the representation of the 'broken family' post Falklands war. This could also be said to be metaphorical of the main character's (Shaun's) father's experience, using bathos to represent a child leaving his family to fight a war against something very foreign, in this instance, the conservative government and other races.

The lower class are identified, in this piece, by their colloquial language and the run-down setting of the piece. They are represented to be less intelligent through the use of slang, alcohol, sexual promiscuity and the lack of employment or education. Crime and racism (being passed off as nationalism) are represented to be the workings of the lower class, thus representing them in a negative manner. The upper, in this case Thatcher, Duran Duran etc, are portrayed to be distant to the lower class. This is done through their representation only being through a television screen, the use of archived footage, highlighting the gulf between classes in 1980's Britain. It is worth note that the only person of political importance directly involved in the movie is the leader of an, arguably, extreme nationalist party - a clear statement on the beliefs and a portrayal of an ignorance within the extreme lower class.

MICRO FEATURES
Camera

• The first shot after the title name of the director and distribution company logo appear, is a close-up shot of a metal object spinning, slowing down ready to stop. This suggests that the spinning metal object is significant to the plot of the film, as the shot is a still close-up leaving the audience to watch and wait for the object to stop spinning. This clip soon changes suddenly viewing a credit title. This shot brings suspense to the audience as the reason for this object spinning is unknown but is obviously significant as it is the first shot of the trailer, this also gives the affect of a 'hook' - does the spinning metal object stop spinning?
• Establishing crane shot from a high angle to show location. Also panning is used in this crane shot, this gives a first person perspective of being up above in the air observing down below.

Close-up shot of the main character and recognisable actor Leonardo DiCaprio, the shot is from outside of the helicopter looking in where he sits inside. Him being on the other side of the window/glass gives the effect of 'looking through the Looking-Glass', this then reinforces the plot and the themes of reality vs. the mind/dreams.

• Long shot of a character being dragged away by two men.
• Close-up shot of a glass of water, the water then moves to the side of the glass as if there is a change of direction of gravitational pull. This is abnormal in reality which hints the genre of sci-fi.
• First person tracking, rotating quick but the camera is steady and smooth this may be used to represent movement in time.
• Tilt/Dutch angles are used to represent unsteadiness and the challenge of gravity.
  

Editing

• Begins with a zoom into the distributors company logo 'Warner Bros'. The logo is constructed of buildings from a bird's eye point of view. This then fades into black to create a dramatic effect.
• There are many titles in this teaser trailer intertwining with short clips from the film itself; Title of the director fades in and out to black, then the shot of the spinning metal object appears. This then changes to another title and fades into black yet again.
  
• Narrative is told through titles fading in and out between clips. Around the title there is a first person perspective of the camera moving (tracking and panning) around an city landscape which appears to be specifically made for the trailer as it looks computerised. This is used to create a relationship between the narrative titles and the actual clips taken from the film.
• Titles are not always straight and still. Some are on a slant rotating slowly - this connotes the idea of no gravity or balance.
• Pace of the clips and shots changes as the trailer progresses and unravels, this helps build suspense and tension.
• The last shot is a close up of Leonardo DiCaprio's face awakening. This then jumps back to the camera traveling the city landscape panning and tracking upwards to a bird's eye view. Once again the building constructs the film title 'Inception', the title constructed by buildings simplifies and converts to a maze around the film title. This shows a relationship between the plot of the film and also helps imply that the concept of the film is for the main character to travel through this maze as journey and unravel the mystery. Also the image of the maze portrays to the audience that the film may be quite complex.
• The narrative titles also show the films tagline 'Your mind is the scene of the crime.'

Sound/lighting

• Throughout the trailer there is use of only non-diagetic sound.
• The music playing in this teaser trailer is specially composed music for just the trailer.
• The same piece of music is played throughout the film trailer to provide continuity.
• The music begins quietly, the dynamics slowly grow higher and higher as the trailer progresses. The film trailer cuts of the clips shorten and speed up along with the music speeding up too.
• There is use of synchronous sound in this trailer, in the very first shot when the metal spinning object appears the sound 'booms' as the shot suddenly appears and then the sound of non-diagetic music is parallel to the object slowing down.
• Music is parallel to the action of the trailer.
• The overall lighting of the trailer is well light.
• 
  
  The shot of the metal spinning object; glass of water and the last shot of Leonardo DiCaprio seems to be lit from one side to create a dramatic effect.

Mise-en-Scene

• The high crane shot view of the buildings creating the Warner Bros logo is used to show a relationship between the film and the distribution company.
• The glass of water and the water flowing to the side of the glass as if the gravitational direction has changed.
• The narrow corridors of characters fighting in the air and running against the wall, yet again the use of this is to represent gravity and science. The narrow corridors is used to portray the sense of being trapped. The use of a fight scene in this trailer also signifies the genre of action.
• The clothing all the actors wear, is formal and smart. Men dressed in black suit dragging another character away suggests authority.

Macro Features 

Iconography

• The glass of water. The glass of water showing the change of gravitational pull, this is used to reinforce the genre of the film, that it could be in the genre of Sci-Fi.
• The use of city landscapes could be used to give a clue about the plot of the film.
• Men in formal suit wears used to reinforce the image of authority.
• A watch, ticking to 12. Used to represent the time running out or a race against time.
• Guns are used to also reinforce the genre or Action.

Characters

• Main character is Leonardo DiCaprio, a famous well known actor and he is seen the most in this trailer but usually in a medium shot or close-up to keep focus on this one character. This is done to help promote and advertise the movie as a well known successful actor is in the cast.

Setting

Setting of the trailer is is unknown, but the first location shot is of a birds eye view panning above looking down at a city. Also the first shot that contains characters from the film is from the top of a building inside a helicopter. The use of buildings is significant to the plot.

• Location of the clips towards the end are from inside a building, so it trailer begins on the outside and then moves to inside of a building. The contrast of seeing clips from the outside and the inside emphasises being inside of a building representation of being trapped within.

Narrative

• The narrative is in the form of written titles that show between clips of the film. The titles show the films tagline 'Your mind is the scene of the crime'
• Only the tagline is shown for the plot narrative, no actual narrative dialogue, only non-diagetic music.

Saw(2004) Teaser Trailer
 Time Length: 57seconds

Macro Features
Camera

• First shot is a medium shot of a man topless in a broken car with no doors.
• The same medium shot then zooms out into a wide long shot, the long shot reveals the rest of the room and another male character whom also seems to be strapped into a trap. The camera moves swiftly left to right as it zooms out, this is done in parallel to the man's actions as he tries to wriggle side to side to get out and escape.
• Series of medium shot/reaction shot of a blond woman.
• A medium profile shot of the same man from the beginning shot is shown, this done to show continuity between the shots. This is also done to introduce the victims, the antagonist is nowhere to be seen yet which gives the sense of mystery towards the audience.
• Shot changes from a profile view to a front portrait view of the face and views a reaction shot of the man screaming in the car, he is seen through a hole of the broken glass in the foreground. The glass with sharp edges and cracks represents danger and he is surrounded by it. This signifies the genre of Horror as there are victims screaming and trapped in throughout the trailer.
• Bird's eye view shot from top angle viewing down at two characters dangling above traps that are down on the floor beneath them. This high angle shot is used to portray the vulnerability to danger all around them.
• Shot changes quickly with a flash, then shows a first person perspective (POV shot) looking up at the lights on the the roof of a room. This is done to show continuity from the scene, as though one of the characters have fallen from their grip and landed on the ground looking up at a light.The light could be symbolising death- 'going towards the light in the dark'.
  
• An establish location shot then appears, the trailer does not appear to be in chronological order thus creating a sense of confusion. The camera slowly pans around the location of a city then pans to a crowd of people surrounding a large building with large windows.
• The pace of the shots begins to quicken.
• There are series of different shots, long, medium, close-ups all showing victims desperately trying to escape from death and traps.
• During the series of different shots there is a shot of a round object with jagged edges and a red and white hypnotic swirl in the middle. The colours red and white is a connotation to the film saw as it is used throughout the previous Saw films and is the theme to the antagonists costume.

Editing

• Distribution company logo 'Lionsgate' appears first, then the studio logo 'Twisted Pictures'.
• The font of the 'Twisted Pictures' has slits across it almost like a blade has sliced it. Also the sharp object between the title with a twig with thorns wrapped around it signifies the genre Horror.
• Narrative titles appear throughout the trailer, the style of the font looks as though it is made out of metal and is 3D, shows a relationship with the film. The titles are highlighted in the middle and gets darker around the edges.
• Titles fade in and out from black as well as the shots from the film.
• Motivated cut is used, views a very quick shot of an image in which the audience may not tell what it is when seeing the trailer for the first time. This cut is used frequently throughout the trailer to draw an audience and to literally 'tease' the audience.
• After the motivated cut, the image fade in and out of black, then a bright flash appears suddenly. The two are used together to give a dramatic and shocking effect.
• The pace of the editing quickens in parallel to the action.
• Cutaway shot is used, the traps from the film clip are seen in the clip with the titles. This is done to avoid the uncomfortable change from film to title clips which is done many times near the end of the trailer - it keeps the flow and continuity smooth.
• The titles towards the end are also incorporated with traps, the traps behind are in fact 'trapping' the titles. This is done to show continuity between the clips from the film and the titles editing in after.
• The use of the weapons with the titles signifies danger and death which then leads to being one of the many conventions of the genre Horror. This allows the audience to see that the genre of this film is Horror.
• The last title showing 'SAW 3D' is also in 3D style, this is done to promote that the film has been specially made for a 3D filming experience which taps into a wider audience.
  
• The title then vibrates and then with a sudden outburst, an intense close-up of artificial weapons come out towards the screen to give a 3D effect. Again, the purpose of this is to promote the 3D filming experience.
• The last shot we see is of title of the release date and shows the tagline for the film 'The traps come alive.' In this last shot shows blood dripping down onto the screen, the use of blood connotes death again reinforcing the genre Horror.

Sound/Lighting

• There is use of diagetic and non-diagetic sound used in this movie trailer.
• Use of a non-diagetic voice over narrative which seems to be the antagonists voice is very significant to the plot as previous Saw films, there is no certain visual identity of the antagonist but his voice which is distinct and recognisable.
• Non-diagetic music is used, seems to be specially composed music for the trailer. The music can be described as eerie and creepy which helps reinforce the genre of Horror.
• The non-diagetic music is parallel to the action on-screen.
• Tension of the music builds up and in the last quarter of the trailer the full music begins, again parallel to the action on-screen.
• Diagetic sound is also used, the use of a female screaming victim is essential as it reinforces the genre Horror. Not only is there just one female scream but male too. In the beginning of the trailer, there is off-screen screaming echoing in the background, this helps build tension and suspense.
• Sound effects of weapons are used to emphasise the danger of the weapons, the metal sharp sounds are loud and can cause an audience to 'jump' in their seat.
• In the scenes that show the victims, the lighting is quite harsh.
• The key lighting is usually focused on the characters and creates strong shadows on the characters features, gives the appearance of the victims being trapped in darkness.
• Low-key lighting is used in all the clips from the film thus creating a chiaroscuro effect. It creates a strong contrast between light and dark

Mise-en-scene

• The use of set design is important within this trailer, the setting of the scenes and the objects that surround the character is significant as it needs to portray the sense of entrapment to reinforce the plot of the film.
• Although the lighting of the scenes are low, the audience is still able to see that the camera focuses on a character and the surroundings of many metal objects hidden in the shadows. This specific set design and objects are used to amplify character emotion or to set the mood of the film.
• The use of costume the characters wear helps signify the characters, the male and female victim in the beginning of the trailer are seen with hardly any upper clothing on.
• The first male victim is topless, the human flesh is seen with no protection. This is done to signify vulnerability to danger and also to provoke the audience to feel the pain that the victims feel on their bare flesh.
  
• The use of the blond woman is significant as it portrays the stereotypical Horror 'female' character, the use of clothing is again quite bare. This is done to sexually objectify women as it has been done in many female characters in Horror films previously.
• There is a theme that runs through out the Saw series film, the use of props the antagonist uses has a 'fair ground' appeal to them. E.g. a gear on a machinery has white and red swirl painted on it. The use of red and white are part Saw franchise.
• The traps are the ideal choice of weapon of how the antagonist kills his victims, again this is part of the Saw franchise and because of this, the audience know that the traps are a representation of death.
• The juxtaposition of the city landscape setting and a victim trying to escape a death trap evokes the sense of danger to the audience. The image of a normal day life being interrupted by a murder about to happen in a window shop is abnormal and disturbing. This works very effective and gives a quite surreal/strange image to the audience.
• Sharp weapons and traps connotes the Horror genre.

Micro Features
Iconography

• The use of many 'Screaming Victims' shows the conventions of a Horror Genre.
• The use of weapons/traps is used to kill victims, this signifies the genre of Horror and that the film includes violent action.
• The use of 'fair ground' themed props signifies the Saw series films as the patterns of red and white have been used in previous Saw films. Also gives the image of innocence in contrast with the deadly weapons.
• Use of a Pig's mask is used to hide the antagonist's identity.

Characters

• The antagonist is the same 'killer' from the other previous Saw films therefore Saw fans will recognise the antagonist's voice although his identity is hidden.
• The victims as the audience knows from previous Saw films, have 'flaw's according to the antagonists. This reinforces the Horror convention and formal signifier 'Society is to blame'.
• The antagonist follows the classic themes and narrative conventions of the Horror genre 'The Human Monster'.
• Use of a blond attractive female as one of the screaming victims may signify the character role 'The Final Girl'.
• The trailer does not give clues to show which hero or heroine defeats evil/antagonist in the end.

Setting 

• The location of the majority of the clips from the film is hard to identify. It appears that the character's are within a room, the dim lighting has a sort of green shade to it which portrays an old, dirty, grim basement type room. The outside location of the room is unknown. This evokes the sense of mystery and the unknown to the audience
• One clip from the film then shifts to the outside city landscape, this is the location for one of the victims stuck in a trap.
• The location of the victim is always isolated and any other humans cannot reach them. This is yet again, another convention of the Horror genre.

Narrative

• The narrative is followed by a non-diagetic voice over and titles.
• The voice over is the voice of the antagonist which is recognisable to the audience if they have watched previous Saw films.
• The voice over narrative is not actually taken from the film, but is used to narrate the trailer and help re-boot the franchise of Saw films "This game has a new design". It gives a brief summary that the film is about 'Fear, suffering, death'.
• The narrative is to literally 'teases' the audience and helps promote the film, it does not give the clues to what the plot is actually about just the action within.
• The plot of the film conveys the storyline of 'The Human Monster'
• The trailer does not follow in chronological order and the narrative does not follow 'Todorov's Narrative Structure', the trailer subverts and does not conform to this.

Empire Magazine(Mar 2010) Front Cover Analysis

Total Film Magazine(2010) Front Cover Analysis

Total Film Magazine(2010) Front Cover Analysis

Empire Magazine(Dec 2009) Horror Front Cover Analysis

Although this is not a specific Horror Magazine cover, I chose this cover because it includes an iconic horror character in which audiences can identify and conveys some of the conventions of the Horror genre. Most Horror magazine covers tend to look quite amateur, for example the 'Scream' magazine (right), their front cover includes a central image of a monster, some may perceived that using a typical horror 'monster' or antagonist as the central image may realistically look false. The mast head's font is ideal to the genre as it has blood dripping down from it but also it looks too simplistic thus it does not appeal to the audience and is not as 'eye-grabbing' as the 'Empire' magazine cover.

Another example is the magazine cover of 'HorrorHound'. The central image is of infamous horror antagonist from the film Friday the 13th, Jason. The central image is not a photograph but an artistic painting of the antagonist, this gives the magazine cover a comical appearance rather than a scary and more horrific style. This cover follows the left-side third rule and includes miniature photos of the above the coverlines, this gives the reader a more visual in-take rather than reading a lot of information from the cover. The colour scheme is quite simple and the use of red is used to connote blood which reinforces the Horror genre.

Targeting an Audience

How these films target particular social groups (age/gender/ethnicity)

Films usually choose a target audience to help specify how they promote and market their film. By choosing a target audience it allows film makers to communicate and success at the box office, a targeted audience can be an audience of the same age range, gender, or ethnicity. For example the film 'Inception' has successfully reached their target audience with the use of their teaser trailer. They tap into their targeted audience with the use of mise-en-scene and iconography to reinforce the genre thus reaching out to a specific audience that watch those type of films. E.g. the iconography of the guns shown in the trailer is one of the conventions of the Action genre. The plot of the story some may perceive determines the targeted age range for this film. From what the audience sees in the trailer, the plot seems to be quite complex as it is also from the genre of Sci-Fi. The age range for this type of film could be for sophisticated young adults and adults that have a better understanding of how the mind works as it is the basic plot of the film. Also in the trailer the use of only male characters can target a male audience but then negatively narrows their target audience.

How these social groups are attracted to these products (adverts/film trailers/junkets/colours/layouts/word of mouth)

The advertisement for this film was significantly promoted as the last of the Saw film series and used a new tagline "The Traps Come Alive", this taps into a more narrow audience that enjoy watching films in 3D thus widening Saw's targeted audience. Also the use of teaser posters that were released before the film were used to help promote the 3D experience. Taglines were used on the poster such as 'In Eye-Popping 3D' and 'In Mind-Blowing 3D' to help push forward to the audiences that the very last film of Saw is in an impressive 3D experience. The use of film trailers also attract social groups, usually the release of the teaser trailer is out first before the theatrical to attract an audience and 'hook' them in, then the theatrical trailer is release shortly afterwards to elaborate more from the previous teaser trailer. Reviews are very useful when it comes to attracted a social group, an audience before watching the film may read film reviews and critics to see other opinions. If the reviews are positive, this then creates a positive judgement towards the film thus making the box office take-in more successful.

The technologies by which these products are marketed

Social groups can be attracted to these products by the use of technologies in which these products are marketed, for example the film 'Saw 3D' attracted their already targeted audience from previous Saw films but to attract new audience by rebooting the Saw franchise in 3D experience.

My Chosen Genre
The chosen genre we have chosen for our products is going to be HORROR. Our reasons for this choice is because the conventions of the genre Horror are clear and easier to portray than other genres as we have found in our research. For example the use of Mise-en-Scene can significantly portray the genre of Horror, e.g. the use of a murder weapon such as a knife can connote the sub-plot of a 'Slasher' Horror movie. The iconography is much simpler and can reinforce the genre of Horror clearly with the use of blood or a 'screaming victim'.

Characteristics of the Horror Genre

Themes: There are themes of good vs evil, normal vs abnormal, male vs female and dark vs light. Often these themes lead to the messages and values presented in the movie. Usually the basic theme for the plot will be for one character or a group of characters to overcome fear or evil an antagonists evoke to them.

Setting/location:The setting/location of the film from the Horror genre is typically set in an isolated environment. The atmosphere is usually intense and fast pace, the disturbance of peace in a quiet location.

Characters:The characters usually each play a specific role in the Horror genre. There is an antagonist which is the villain of the story, 'the bad guy' and the protagonist which is the character that tries to overcome and 'defeat' the antagonist. The role of a woman portrayed in the Horror genre is significant, usually in the beginning of a Horror plot the woman is seen as weak and feeble but then as the plot unravels she is seen to be strong and is the character that defeats evil. This follows the 'Final Girl Theory'.  The heroes or heroines have different attitudes towards the antagonist than the 'Human Fodders'. The protagonists usually run away at first to either find a more destructive weapon or an effective method to overcome the antagonist. In addition the other characters that accompany the protagonist depend on them to keep them alive.

Iconography:This is what features in the film to represent that specific genre. With the Horror genre the use of props, music, camera shots and settings can signify that specific genre. The use of iconography can be heavily symbolise conventions of the Horror genre, for example the use of blood symbolises death which then can signify a theme from the Horror genre.

Sub-Genres of Horror
Hauntings and Demonic Possessions:These types of films play and evoke the audience's fear of the unknown, superstition and the idea that evil forces such as ghosts and spirits exist in the world. These forces are usually portrayed in a spiritual presence of the dead such as witches, spirits, ghosts or demons. These kind of plots include the fight between good and evil by referencing religion. For example in films like 'The Grudge' which includes an American nurse being exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse.Apocalypse:Mankind is threatened with extinction of the human race by inhuman creatures of monsters. The antagonists in plot may consist of creatures out of space or a threat of a plague or virus that can spread and wipe out man kind. Films like 'Resident Evil' or 'Rec' portray this sub-plot and the film usually ends with mankind dying out and the disturbing noises of the creatures dominating. The Human Monster:This deals with the horror of abnormality of the antagonists personality such as psychopathology and murder or psychosis and insanity. This plot explores and takes the audience inside of the mind of the killer who appears to be insane, usually these sort of antagonists seek out revenge on innocent victims. The characteristics of this sub-pot portrays the idea that some people are born with no sense of morality therefore leading them to become a cold-blooded murderer.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park(1997) Poster analysis



Pulp Fiction(1994) Poster analysis

Primary colours are the main colours used in this poster. This creates an old comic book effect, connoting innocence and youth which is immediately juxtaposed with images connoting sex, drug use and violence. Audiences view this and are attracted by the breach of social norms expressed through the colours and images. The dark colours of the character immediately contrast with brighter, more childish colours of the title and background. This causes the main character to stand out among its surroundings, which, with the help of a children's comic book style, help the poster to glorify these acts (i.e. drug taking, sex & violence) as merely fun and games, thus enticing the audience.

The poster has been laid out in a portrait format. This showcases the main character in the centre of the product, highlighting her power and importance. Though there is only one character shown in the centre of the poster, we do not witness a sense of loneliness as the oranges, reds, and yellows, along with objects placed around the character, leaves a sense of warmth and fullness, indicating that the character is comfortable with the state or perpetual anarchy. The layout of titles and framing of the picture also adds to the 'comic book' connotations mentioned previously. 

All text has been written in a very bold, capital-lettered font. This dominates the poster and has been used to create synergy across all media platforms. The font can be used across many platforms in order to create a unique style for the franchise and immediately inform the viewer of the product, with a view to make this style iconic and memorable to a large demographic.

The relaxed, informal arrangement of drugs and weapons in the image could be said to promote these things. They are placed next to an object of desire, i.e., the female character, in order to attract the audience. The female character is reading whilst laying with these objects, implying that taking part in violence and drug abuse is a hobby, as is reading. The comic book connotations are made complete by the female main image reading a comic book which shares the title of the film, implying the whole situation involving drugs and violence is merely a children's game or a fun, childish pastime.

When juxtaposed, the black dress of the female character could be said to contrast with the setting she is in, portraying a conflict between the higher class represented through the sleek black dress, and the lower class setting. This portraits the female as an objects of desire, more wealthy and luxurious than her surroundings. Her dark hair, eyes and clothing show a dark side, which is supported by the connotations of the gun and cigarette. These represent an idea that a higher class can be obtained through guns, violence and drugs. It is this twist on conventional ideals that attracts the audience and gives the poster a slick, cool feel. 

This poster is the perfect example of techniques and conventions my product can embody. It's use of images, colour and text give the poster, and indeed the franchise, an iconic feel that I wish my product to achieve.


The Strangers(2008) poster analysis

Drag Me To Hell(2009) Poster Analysis