How media theory applies to my work

Film trailer preview 1

Film trailer animatic

hand drawn story board

Risk assessment

Hazard	Who is at risk	controls	Severity of injury	Chance of injury	risk	Control measures
Lighting	Director and actors	Take precaution when near filming apparatus. Ensure you are aware of the equipment at all time	Possibly high	high	Burn injury, broken glass	Only use lighting equipment when required and take care when in their presence.
Filming equipment	Director and actors	The camera should be correctly attached to its stand/tripod at all times. Ensure you keep a firm grip when handling the device.	Mid	Mid	Drop injury, broken bones	Ensure that only experienced camera operators touch the device. Give the cast prior warning about the hazard
Wires	Director and actors	Tape all free wires to the floor with duct tape. Put signs around the wires to ensure the cast are aware of the danger.	mid	mid	Trip hazard	Do not run on set. Ensure that you take caution when near electrical equipment.
Knifes	actors	Knifes will be wrapped in a layer of cling film to reduce the sharpness if there edges. Characters will not perform any fight scenes with this item as the risk is too large.	high	high	Cut injury	Do not allows the knife handlers to perform any fight scenes with the knifes. Inform them on what they should do prior to filming.
Guns	Director and actors	The guns used will be airsoft replicas as they offer a realistic appearance without having the hazards. The guns them self still carry a hazard as they fire small bb pellets. To ensure this isn’t a risk I will clean the airsoft guns before use.	low	low	Impact, injury	Ensure that the device is clear of all projectiles.
Fight scenes	actors	The fight scenes will be carefully choreographed to reduce the risk of injury occurring. There will be minimal contact throughout to reduce the risk of injury.	Med	Med	Impact injury	Ensure that all participants in the fight scene are properly trained and aware of what to do.
Stunts	actors	Stunts will be carefully choreographed to reduce the risk of injury. The stunts themselves will be simple and not to demanding on the actors.	Med	Med	Impact injuries	Ensure that all stunts are carefully choreographed
Injuries from electrical equipment	director	Ensure that there are no exposed wires. If there are cover them with electrical tape. Do not touch electrical equipment with wet hands.	med	med	electrocution	Do unplug equipment without consulting the sight manager. Take caution when near electrical equipment.
Cars	actors	Scene which involve cars will be carefully choreographed to reduce the risk of any injury occurring. Ensure that the driver is experienced.	high	low	Impact injury	Ensure that the characters know where their correct positions within the scene.

CAGED: Film trailer script

CAGED: film trailer script:

Katayo:” I own you”

Diegetic: you see the character talking. The shot then changes to a shot of the recipient character.

Katayo:” you kill for me”

Non-diegetic you see the action of him killing being carried out.

Katayo: “you will die for me

Non- diegetic as you see the character lying on the floor as if he is about to die.

Katayo:” This is your life, deal with it!”

This is a non- diegetic sound as we see the recipient characters face in response to what has been said.

Inter title: (Black background with text reading CAGED)

Referee: “This guys an animal where did you find him?”

This is diegetic as you can see both the characters from a low angle long shot.

Katayo: “I didn’t. I made him that way!”

This is diegetic as you can see both the characters from a low angle long shot.

Katayo: “lock him up boys!”

Diegetic as you see the character talking.

Criminal associate: “well im not touching him!”

Over the shoulder shot from the front of the main character with the criminals behind him.

Next scene we see all the associates lying on the floor.

(Scenes showing the character training)

·         Fight training

·         Running

·         Weight lifting

·         Firearm training

Katayo: “Get up! This is the big one that I’ve been waiting for.”

This is a non-diegetic scene as we see and hear the character knocking on a door.

Shot switches to the character with the camera directly in front of him.

Criminal associate: “let’s see him survive this one.”(Laughing)

Diegetic sound as we see the character from a low angle mid shot.

Rival fighter: “looks like you’ve had a hard life. Good thing it’ll be over soon”.

Close- up shot of the character’s face diegetic sound.

Katayo: “Kill him! Or there’ll be hell to pay!”

Diegetic sound as we can see a shot of the characters face.

(Zekrim is defeated and as a result of his injuries is hospitalised)

Katayo: “You have failed me and you will suffer for it!”

High angle over the shoulder shot from Katayo looking down at Zekrim.

We then see Katayo punching Zekrim in the face. From the point of view of Zekrim, the screen then goes black.

He awakes in a daze. We see through the characters eyes which show blurry vision.

We then see the character looking out window in awe.

He turns his head and the camera follows this movement and stops at his clothing which is placed in front of his bed.

We then see him walking through hospital corridors.

The next screen is a shot from the height of the characters shoes. It then tilts upwards to the height of his head and then slowly zooms in. 

The character begins to walk the streets in aimlessly. The character is viewed from a high angle shot long shot that tracks his movement.

The main character meets the protagonist Lucas. Zekrim’s dazed and confused manor leads Lucas to believe that he is in need of help.

Lucas: “are you okay?”

Lucas buys Zekrim some food and offers him a room at his house. On their way to the house they are apprehended by Katayo and his men.

Katayo: “We’ve been looking all over for you” (laughing)

Katayo recaptures Zekrim and returns him to the world of violence and death that he is custom to. Zekrim refuses to train as he does not want this way of life. Katayo becomes frustrated and enters Zekrim into a fight. Zekrim refuses to fight. Katayo’s and his associates beat up Zekrim to re spark his aggression but they do not succeed.

They take Zekrim back to his home. Zekrim uses this opportunity to attempt his escape.

Narrator: John Gledhill

(Narrated Text)

INT (narrator)”A man born into the world to fight”

Shot of the character as a young child. Shots showing him training and watching fights

INT (narrator)” He must use his might “

The character at present is scene within fight scenes in which he shows his strength and skill.

INT (Narrator)” To do what is right “

Shots of the character enjoying life for example: eating in a restaurant, playing basketball and playing video games.

INT (Narrator) “Zaid Rahman”

Shots of Zekrim

INT (Narrator) “John Gledhill”

Shots of Katayo

INT (Narrator) “James Nelson”

Shots of Lucas

“Coming soon!”

Editing software's

Editing software’s

The editing software’s below will be used during the post- production of my film trailer.

Sony Vegas pro 11

Sony Vegas pro 11 will be used to cut, add special effects, sound mix and render the clips that will compose the trailer. This programme is a professional editing programme that is used extensively in the production of visual media. The positive features of this programme are that it is simple to use but allows the user to create extremely effective edits. There is a wide-range of effect that comes with the initial programme and there are even more that can be added for example Plug-ins. I have prior experience with this programme as I have been using for around a year to create Gaming videos which I eventually upload to YouTube. My knowledge and experience with this programme is not great but I believe it is sufficient to create an effective film trailer.

Adobe after effects cs6

This particular programme will not be extensively used during post-production. I will use this at the end of production to add a colour correction. I will acquire this CC from Magic Bullet looks which is a plug-in within after effects. The reason for doing this at the end of production is because the CC is extremely demanding on the processing power of the pc and therefore will create lag and impair the rendering speed.

 

Boujou 5.0

This programme will allow me to motion track footage. This will therefore allow me to add 3d text to a clip and allow the text to follow the movement of the camera. I will be able to do this by running the footage through the programme which will in-turn analyse the footage and add key spots. The key spot can then be assigned a specific axis for example X, Y and Z.

 

Cinema 4D

This programme will allow me to create the 3d text that will be used in the film trailer. I will do this by inserting the motion tracked footage that I created in Boujou 5.0 in to Cinema 4D and then adding the text. This programme will also allow me to render the clip in a format that is compatible with Sony Vegas pro 11.

Movie quotes that i may use

Great quotes from action movies:

• Are you guna do something? Or just stand there and bleed?
•  None of you understand. I’m not locked up in here with you. You’re locked up in here with me.
• I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass…and I’m all out of bubble gum
• You haven’t got time to bleed.
• Looks like you’ve had a hard life good thing it’ll be over soon.

Audience research: focus group Q&A

Focus group questions

1.       What is your favourite film genre?

2.       What do you expect to see within a film trailer? (What are your conventions?)

3.       How long do you expect a film trailer to be?

4.       What was the last film trailer you watched?

5.       Are there any memorable film trailers that you can recall?

6.       How many film trailers do you see a week and where do you see them? E.g. TV, internet and DVD’ s

7.       If so have any of them influenced you into watching the film?

Unleashed trailer: speech and timings

Film trailer props:

Costume

Movie trailers that I draw inspiration from

Equilibrium (2002)

This movie trailer is conventional of many action movie trailers. The fast paced edits create an exhilarating experience for the audience in addition to the use of flash effects and the flame transitions that are used within. This trailer is extremely effective as it does not give the plot away and furthermore only shows small glimpses of the fight scenes. This acts as an enticement for the audience as they want to see the action and therefore anticipating watching the actual movie.

Blade (1998)

Blood and bone(2009)

This film trailer directly shows the audience what the film is about at the start of the trailer as a fight scene is show. The mise-en-scene is also effective as you initially see prison attire which connotes to criminality and danger. These features initially show the audience what the film is about. This allows the audience to make their own ideas about what is going to occur. Furthermore it attracts the attention of people who are interested in fight movies strait away this means that they are acquiring the primary audience initially and therefore increase publicity of the product.

History of movie trailers

What is a movie trailer?

A trailer or a preview is an advertisement for a feature film that will be screened in the future in cinemas. Film trailers were originally screened at the end of a feature film screening. This did not last long as the audience generally left the theatre one the film had ended. To solve this problem they began to show trailers before the start of the film and this method of advertising has stuck. The term “trailer” is still used today for trailers within the cinema and through other mediums such as: internet, TV and DVDs. Movie trailers have become increasingly popular within the internet specifically through YouTube. Around ten billion videos are watched online annually with film trailers being ranked third, after news and user-created content.

In earlier decades of cinema, trailers were only one part of the entertainment. In addition to the trailer short cartoons and serial adventure episodes were included. The early trailers were simple and only consisted of little more than title cards and stock footage. Today movie trailers are longer and more elaborate and commercial advertisements have replaced other pre-feature entertainment in major multiplex chains. Around the first the first twenty minutes after the posted show time is devoted to trailers.  

The first film trailer show in the US was in November 1913, when Nilis Granlund, the advertising manager for the Marcus Loew theatre chain, produced a short promotional film for the musical The Pleasure Seekers, opening at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway. The Nebraska daily star described it as” an entirely new and unique stunt”.

 The Pleasure Seekers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV5cFr5LhEE

Up until the late 1950’s, trailers were most commonly created by the national screen service. They consisted of various key scenes from the film being advertised. They also had large, descriptive text describing the story. The background music was usually taken from studio music libraries and then. Most trailers during that time had some form of narration which would have been featured stentorian voices.

Im the early 1960’s the face of movie trailer pictures changed, the trailers became text less, montage edits and fast paced edits lead a completely new type of trailer. This change was largely due to the arrival of “new Hollywood” and techniques that were used within television at that time. Among the trend was Stanley Kubrick montage trailer Lolita, Dr. Strangelove. Kubrick gained inspiration from a Canadian film visionary Arthur Lipsett.

 

Dr.Strangelove trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMv90svKgHs

Where they are produced

Film trailers for Hollywood movies are usually created by studios in Los Angles and New York. There are many renowned agencies that create movie trailers such as The Cimarron Group, MOJO, The Ant Farm and Trailer park.  The trailers are often created before or during the production of full length film. This means that trailers often consist of songs and scenes which are not within the full film.

Some trailers incorporate material that is not within the finished film. These trailers are particularly desired by collectors, in particular trailers for classic films. In the movie Casablanca the character Rick Blaine says, “Okay you asked for it!” Before shooting Major Strasser this is an event that does not occur within the full feature-length film. 
Casablanca trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rguz_XRi8E

Truth Vs misleading

There are many examples in which trailers give misleading representations of their films. Some trailers give the impression that a particularly famous celebrity will be extensively featured within the film however, they actually only play a minor part within the film. Furthermore, some trailers advertising a musical for example that is directed at the female demographic due to stereotypes surrounding the film studio making it. May portray the film as being action packed which may not be the case. The use of theses tricks allow the film to draw in a larger audience.

The trailers could be misleading for the audiences “own good”. The audience may not watch such a film due to their initial preconceptions, the use of the bait and switching allows the audience to have a greater viewing experience that they wouldn’t normally have. However, it could create negatives such as having amazing trailers that promise a lot but average films that don’t live up to the expectations. An American woman sued the makers of'Drive' because their film failed to meet the promos promises. 

Three-act structure

Most trailers have a three-act structure relating to the full length-feature film. They start with the beginning (act 1) that lays out the premises of the story. The middle (act 2) drives the story further and usually ends with a dramatic climax. Act 3 usually features a strong piece of "signature music" (either a recognizable song or a powerful, sweeping orchestral piece). This last act often consists of a visual montage of powerful and emotional moments of the film and may also contain a cast run if there are noteworthy stars that could help sell the movie.

Voice-over

Voice-over narration is used to briefly set up the premise of the film and provide explanation when necessary. Since the trailer is a highly condensed format, voice-over is a useful tool to enhance the audience's understanding of the plot. Some of the best-known, modern-day trailer voice-over artists are Don LaFontaine, Hal Douglas, Mark Elliot, John Leader, Corey Burton, George DelHoyo, Peter Cullen and Morgan Freeman.

Classic voice-over artists in film trailers of the 1950s and 1960s included Art Gilmore and Knox Manning. Hollywood trailers of the classic film era were renowned for clichés such as "Colossal!", "Stupendous!” etc. Some trailers have used voice over clichés for satirical effect. This can be seen in trailers for films such as Jerry Seinfeld's Comedian and Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny.

Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ-i5gwZNjU

Information gathered from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trailer (promotion)

The format of movie trailers

Trailers tend to follow the same structure as the films they are based on. They have an introductory sequence, followed by a problem, and then a solution. This shows the audience where the film is based, the characters and actors who play them, and what the film is based on. This format has been argued to reveal the story in the trailer. Some people suggest that all the best bits of the film are put into the trailer to make the film more appealing, but the rest of the features leave a lot to be desired.

Trailers have three acts’, and it is common to have three different songs. The songs used within the trailer are often not within the film. This is because the film trailer is created before post production and the sound track is usually added at the end of the films production. Composers are usually the last creative people to work on the film.

Some trailers contain scenes that are not actually within the finished film. This is most evident in the 6 minute trailer for the Hitchcock film ‘Psycho’ in which the whole trailer shot post production. This trailer actually included a different actress for the main role. However in some trailers scenes are cut out. In the ‘Spiderman’ trailer there was a scene in which there where criminals near the World Trade Centre. The film was released soon after the terrorist attack at the World Trade Centre. Therefore it would have been controversial to show this scene when the area was still sensitive.       

Conclusion

Researching the history of movie trailers has been beneficial as it has allowed me to gain background information on my chosen form. Movie trailers have a short history of under a hundred years. However, there have been great changes during this length of time. The conventions and structure has changed greatly and now trailers are arguably one of the most important parts of a film.  The trailer allows the audience to gain the initial idea of whether or not they will find the film interesting or not. The trailer attracts a large audience and therefore is crucial in making profit. The editing within the trailer needs to be seamless to create an effective image.  

Codes and conventions off a film trailer

Codes and conventions off a film trailer:

·         The duration of a trailer is under 3 minutes – 2’05”

·         Fast cutting crating jump cuts

·         Lots of action in each frame

·         Many different shots are used

·         Use of on screen graphics

·         Use of a voice over narration

·         References positive reviews

·         Ensure the films USP (unique selling point) is evident

·         Includes the main producers at the beginning and production credits at the end ( although not the screen long enough to actually read in certain but ok for the inevitable DVD

·         Title of the film as a banner

·         An onscreen website

The voice over narration is an important element of a trailer often using stock phrases like ‘coming soon... (Creates a sense of anticipation)

The title (often heard and seen to cement in viewers minds)

Skill development essay

Skill development

Evaluation essay

Before I started the AS media course I had little to no experience with the media subject. I had not studied media at high school or at any other stage of my education. At the start of the AS media course I found the work to be challenging. Furthermore, there were occasions where I had no idea what to do. However, during the duration of the first month of the course, my skills began to improve which in turn increased my confidence. This is evident as the initial drafts of my aftershave advertisements were crude and unconventional to relating objects. However, through the duration of the preliminary task the drafts began to improve becoming more refined and conventional. The final product turned out completely different to the initial draft due to the development of my skills and also through the process of trial and error. Trial and error has been essential to my development because it has allowed me refine my ideas into something that is truly effective and beneficial for my product. My recent work is in great contrast to my early work and this is partly due to development listed above.

The teaching methods used by the teachers have helped a lot in the development of my skills. The would explain the task clearly and thoroughly, furthermore if the students were still ensure she would repeat what she had said and break it down making it more understandable. The 1 to 1 sessions also helped as they allowed us to understand what is required of us and how we should go about to achieve it.

Another method that I used to gain knowledge and skills is online research. I often used YouTube to find photo shop tutorials on features and editing techniques. I found this to be extremely beneficial as it allowed me to create a more effective product. Furthermore, it improved my skills in independent research. This method of development has been used extensively through my AS Media course and also the start of my A2 media course.

Creativity was an issue at the start of the course because I had no idea of what genre I was going to base my advert on. However the methods that were taught in class to gain inspiration helped me with the problem.  By looking at other existing products I began to gain a greater understanding of the target audience that I was trying to appeal to. Furthermore, it showed the conventions of where specific information was located and positioned. Tis allowed me to create a finished product that was conventional and relatable for the target audience. Another method that I used to help with creativity was drafting ideas and removing the ones that are not effective until there are only a select few left. This helped me add convention and information which, resulted in the finished product being creative and realistic.

The extensive use of research and planning was difficult for me at first as I had little previous experience with it.  Furthermore, the detail required was initially more than I could find. A method I used to develop on this was reading texts more thoroughly which, allowed me to gain a greater understanding and also extract more information from it. Over the duration of the course I learnt to be as detailed and thorough as possible in my work. As it increased my grade and reduced the risk of having to return to it at a later date.

The methods I used for research were primarily the internet and existing products. However, I also gained knowledge from friends and teachers by asking them there expectation of the products. Online research is the method that was most extensively used. It allowed me to find all the necessary information required for my research. The information was easily accessible and could be easily interpreted into my own words. Looking at existing products for example magazines was beneficial as it allowed me to gain an understanding of the target audience and there expectations of the product. Furthermore, it allowed me to determine the conventions and the positioning and location of the conventions. Asking friends of their expectation of this product was beneficial as it allowed me to gain greater insight into the product. This allowed me to determine which conventions would be the most effective for the specific target audience. Asking friends also allowed for a wider range of views as something that I find effective may not in the eyes of someone else. The comments and observations on the drafts from the teacher and class mates were also beneficial. It gave me ideas on how to modify the product to make it more effective for example changing the colour of a feature, changing the positioning and adding features.