Saturday, 21 October 2017

The Snowman Trailer anaysis




Film company logo fades in.

Production company logo fades in from black.

An establishing shot of snowy rooftops and a shadowy figure walking across the screen fades in. Church bells ring in the background.

A long shot of a woman, on her phone, walking towards camera is shown. Off centre, right. Dark lighting and mysterious mood. Footsteps sound effects.

Centred mid-shot from behind of the woman. She gets a snowball thrown at her from off screen. A sound effect of a snowball being thrown is used. She turns around slowly.

Cut to black. Very loud crashing noises. Audience don’t know what it is, can be confused or intrigued.

Intertext fades in. 'Based on the terrifying best-seller'.

A loud gong sound is used as an establishing shot and a voice over fade in. The establishing shot show an icy mountain and a body of water. A voice-over starts by saying 'A woman vanished last night...'

Long shot of a dark, winter scene, creating a suggested spooky atmosphere. The background contrasts to this as pretty lit up houses are used.  A man on a truck, stands up and looks around.

Mid-shot of a man in a shed full of snow. He is looking around with a torch. The gong sound effect is still ringing in the background which builds suspense and brings an eerie atmosphere.

The voice-over continues '... we just found the body.’ A left to right pan of an outdoor shed/ garage is shown with a body lying on the floor. The victims face is hidden to keep the narrative vague.

Close up of a briefcase being opened and a shiny mental hammer being revealed. A sound effect that sounds like heavy machinery is used as well as another gong.

An over the shoulder shot fades in. Two men are looking at looking at each other. One is wearing a smart suit and the other is wearing an outdoor coat. The main in the suit says 'Prince?' It looks as if they are in a bar or a party event because of the colours and the man's attire.

Shot reverse shot editing is used to show the other man’s face. A mid shot is also used to help us see his concerned expression as he shakes his head.

A close up of a black-gloved person, holding a weapon and activating it.

The black gloved person stretches out some wire.

The same figure holds the weapon downwards and turns the trigger to make a clicking sound. The voice-over continues ' ...and the head...'

An extreme close up of a beaten woman lying on the floor, looking distressed. Her hair falls over her face but we can still see her eye and some bruises and scratches are visible.

Cut to black

The voice-over continues '... is missing…'

Mid-shot of dark, shadowy figure, leaning over someone. He pulls the weapon up quickly. Loud wearing, machine sound effects are used again.

Cut to black.

Establishing shot of hills and a misty sea scape fade in; a fish flops around on the sand.

Crosscut editing is used and we are shown an establishing shot of a very snowy hill with lots of trees. A small house and a car are centred in the middle. The gong sound effect is still being used.

Fade to black.

An over the shoulder shot from behind a snowman is used to show a fearful expression on the man in front. A low angle shot is used to create an almost point of view shot from the snowman. The voiceover continues 'He calls himself The Snowman Killer.'

Shot reverse shot editing is used and we see the snowman's face looking back.

Centred shot of a drawing on an icy wall. The drawing looks quite immature as it is of a stick figure snowman with 'Hello Mister Police' written above it.

Mid shot of a man in a shed facing sideways looking towards the camera. He is wearing an outdoor coat. The voice-over continues 'He's completely insane.'

Crosscut to a mid-shot of a young girl in the snow. We think this technique is to introduce the characters.

long shot of dark village, focusing on a truck with its lights on. Creepy dramatic music starts. It sounds like a woman's voice singing about front doors being left open. This song and sounds have creepy connotations. Leaving your front door open in horror films connotes vulnerability.

Long shot of house windows, where we can see inside. A mum is with her daughter who is dancing and being childish. The scene is dimly lit.

Close up of a hard, holding and lit cigarette. lured background/short depth of field. This should suggest this man is one of the main character as we are forced to focus on him. The voice over continues 'I think that he is going off to women that he disapproves of'.

Fade to black.

Mid-shot of woman talking. She looks worried and as if she if briefing someone on the murder cases.

The man puts out his cigarette in some snow.

Mid close up of a woman sat in bed, reading a book. She looks like she is in comfortable clothes and she is relaxed in her own home. The scene is layed out so that a window is behind her. Minimal lighting. Someone throws snow at her window and she jumps, turning to face the sound.

Cut to black

Fade into a snowy forest like area. A man and a woman, both dressed in big coats, look terrified as the camera pans and zooms in towards the girl.

Cross cut to an odd looking location, could be an abandoned shed or a barn. The setting is very dark and moody. A man stands on the higher ground, looking down, pointing at something with a torch. The camera pans down into a black area of the barn.. The voice-over continues 'The only thing we know for sure...'

Cut to black. The music stops.

Voice over continues '… is that he is playing games with us.'

Fades into a dark scene where you can’t see anything. A bright light is suddenly shone on a dead body that looks like it is wrapped in snow to immediate a snowman. The light looks like the trucks head, lights for the begging of the trailer. Crashing metallic sound effects are used as the shot cuts to black and the release date appears.

The intertext title reads 'This October' in a white and red colour. Strong font.

Upwards pan of city buildings. Two buildings with their lights on with trees in the middle. at night-time. Looks like Christmas but is very dark and creepy this creates conflicting messages and atmospheres.

Mid-shot of woman in the snow, wrapped up in a coat and scarf. Looking down and having a worried expression. The background is blurred but you can still make up a church and Christmas lights which is an example of Christmas iconography.

Shot reverse shot editing is used to show what the woman is looking at. We are shown another snowman by the road. As we have already been shown a human head in a snowman. This snowman suggests there is also a head inside it.

A man walks past shop windows wearing a hazmat safety suit and a gas mask. Voice over continues 'We need a way to lure him out'.

A woman in a red room (connoting blood and danger) pushes a plant pot along a shelf to reveal and camera. She is wearing fancy and expensive revealing looking clothes. Black lace.


Mid-shot of her getting undressed. this suggests she is trying to entice the killer.

Cross cut to a snowy hill where lots of birds hang around pecking at something suggesting hidden body.

Low angle of an with bruises looking worn out and like he is mid-battle. Voice over continues ' Be careful, we don't know what we’re dealing with…’

Man stands at top of mountain holding a gun in the air. high angle shows very misty and foggy below he fires the gun

jump cut to a snow man on a hill, looks like a similar location.

following shot through a tunnel into some snowy hills.

Crosscut a seascape with hills in the background again. Very icy, a figure is dragging himself across the floor the left of the screen whilst someone is walking after him on the far right of the screen. The man on the floor resembles the fish from the beginning of the trailer.

Mid-shot of man opening a big wooden barn door.

Mid shot of man through a frosty glass window, trying to open the door. Very dark interior with a snowy white outside. The voiceover continues 'He has been watching us the whole time'.

A mid-close up of the same two men from a previous scene in the trailer. An over the shoulder shot is used from behind the man wearing a suit. He is looking at the man in the outdoor coat as he speaks.

Pan, close up of a snowman wearing gloves. outside the window. The snowmen are all white ass snow and white is often used to connote innocence. this element could be done on purpose to confuse an audience to if they should trust the snow or not. The singing from earlier returns to build pace.

A really quick shot of a man holding and aiming a gun at something off screen is used. The mood is dark and suggests dangerous moment. The slow voiceover contrasts against the quick cuts.

A birds eye view of a snow covered car is shown where the camera is focused on a snowman imprint on its roof. This is the killer’s signature suggesting there’s been another murder. The voice over continues ' Building snowmen, cutting things up into small pieces.'

A close up of a hand holding a piece of paper with drawings on. The drawings look like bodies with pieces detached. Fade to black



Scene fades in to woman in the foreground who is blurry with a window behind her and a face in the window. The voice over continues ' he is taunting us'.  When the woman turns around the face disappears.


A shot lasting half a second showing someone with their hands tied on a sofa. They’re faceless and it is a very vague and quick scene.

Mid close up of man looking up, concerned.

Jump cut to a mid-shot from behind so we see what he’s looking at. He is looking at CCTV. Suggesting is searching for information about the murders. The voice over continues 'If we don’t find him, this is never going to stop.'

Extreme close up of hands writing a name on a blue envelope.

The man with the gun, points it at a mountain, the person he's aiming at runs away. Shot reverse shot editing is used to then show his frustrated reaction to this event.

A man on top of a mountain wearing all black, shouts 'Come on' in a frustrated way as if he is struggling with his hunt to find the killer. There are lots of snowy trees in the background which could be a idyllic scene or location used in a different film. The settings and context within this film is very contrasting.

A quick montage is used which shows:

·         The front of a house with party lights,

·         A busy room full of nicely dressed people,

·         The female investigator with some champagne,

·         A man standing at a black fence looking out at the white background,

·         Black gloved hands inspecting a needle of some kind,

·         A woman in a red room with a man touching her,,

·         A female investigator walks into a lab, a voice over says 'another missing woman'

·         A woman walks out of the shower, high angle pointing at the floor showing snowy footprints. voice over continues ' there’s something were not seeing'

·         The fast pace montage continues with a man taking  a picture of a woman at the party,

·         A bright projector lights up an audience of people. The voice over continues: 'what matters most is that we celebrate the way this has brought us together'.


·         A dark shadowy figure looks at the person in hazmat suit,

·         mid shot of fancy guy making a toast (him saying voiceover part)

·         long shot of someone looking injured running away in snow, gets trapped by bear trap, its blonde woman from earlier, close up of her panic face of terror as she falls to the snow high pitched scream edited to go through you- like machinery

·         birds eye view of red car spinning out of control

·         dark figure facing fire outdoors in snow

·         two dark figures in dark room looks like man just threw girl on floor

·        Voiceover 'anyone can see that he is trying to hide something' man lying on floor looks dead                  and a girl sits on him stroking his head


·         people at party raising their glasses

·         over the shoulder shot of main girl talking

·         investigator man opens garage door looks in pain

·         little girl looks in horror screaming no

·         dead woman (mum) strapped inside red car, water slowly rising up her body

·        'you can't force the pieces to fit' -main guy close up      of his face framed to the left of screen directing    speech to camera

·         mid shot of someone wearing pig like animal mask, peering round corner in someone’s room

·         investigator girl on her bed looking vulnerable, looks scared low angle on her face

·         voiceover 'we could have saved them' 

·         she says 'no' jump cut to main guy with gun in snow

·         Jump cut back to girl looking distressed and shaking back and forth bent over, maybe being raped? clip not lasting a second

·         voiceover 'I gave you all the clues'

·         investigator looking angry and sweating and bruised

·         shot of writing on ice 'I'm doing this for you mister policeman' -childish writing

·         fire burning down shed blowing up in smokes, cut to main man screaming intense fire lighting scene

Very intense music helps keep the pace feeling fast and dramatic throughout the whole montage.

Cut to black (end of quick montage)

(Music stops)

Fade in ideal looking house

Investigator woman presses button to towards camera to open garage door.

Long shot of garage door opening.

Inside we see someone is waiting for her.

Close up of step ladder/stool with blood dripping on the floor.

Cut back to woman’s face as she gasps.

Cut to zoom in on garage door sliding up and snowman killer stood there with ice on his head looks like a reverse of the previous murders we’ve already seen.

She turns and runs away.

Close up of centre framing showing man’s body with snow man’s head with eye holes.

Zoom in closer to icy head.

Loud violin.

Cut black and blue writing says the snowman in icy font.
Footprint sounds and says 'October' official website and Production Company.

Friday, 20 October 2017

Trailer Research: Monster

The official trailer, for Monster, is 1 minute 50 seconds.
Editing techniques: Fast pace, cross-cutting, lots of fades and cut to blacks, animated futuristic inter-texts, CGI and night-cam elements.
Two main soundtracks are used in the trailer. In the beginning, there is a quiet soft string instrumental which builds and changes into loud dramatic tension building techno beat.
The trailer for Monster includes 90-100 shots.
There are two main characters and some alien monsters.




The trailer has 13 inter-text titles. They included some vague narrative explanations (eg. 'now they're residents). 

The trailer includes a billing block, ratings, name of the film and 'coming soon'.
The target audience for the film would be males 14-25. The BBFC certified the film as a 12A.
The trailer is not in chronological order.









The trailer features 10-15 locations/ settings, including the shipyard, a lake, a train, a war zone, a village, an army base, a house, long empty roads, tranquil historical rock, a forest and a swamp.
Very apocalyptic vibes.






As an audience, we don't get to see what they're running from properly, which makes you want to go and see the film to find out.



Thursday, 27 July 2017

The Circle Film Trailer Analysis

Camera
Lots of close-ups to show the main character's  happiness and intelligence in the beginning and her fear at the end
Panning and tracking shots
Mid shots showing the character and the activity they are doing
Long shot of Tom Hanks and his audience



Sound
Tension building background music, unnoticeable at the beginning, adds rhythm

Angelic singing 'were watching you' links to the plot and what Tom Hanks character says about the camera technology
As the music and the tension builds the singing sounds more creepy and sinister
Lots of diegetic crashing and screaming at the end

Mies-en-Scene
Emma's character wears lots of light coloured clothes, connoting that she is innocent and naive
Tom Hanks character wears a dark jumper whilst presenting his speech, connoting he is the antagonist of the film

Editing
Intertex
Release date
Actors names
Lots of red flashes within some clips suggesting that the video is part of the cult they are talking about.
Red text and backgrounds, connoting danger
Cross-cutting between locations
Shot reverse shot conversations
Gerontological editing
The tagline 'join us' reinforces the cult-like mood











The Circle's logo is shown a lot connoting it is a cult-like group
Slow pace editing in the beginning but fast pace towards the end, increasing the tension and drama
The trailer doesn't give too much away, meaning an audience will want to see the film to find out more.
Star power: Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, Karen Gillan and John Boyega
The mood is light at the beginning, bright colours, harmless dialogue, almost inspirational talking.









The end is dramatic and dark.
we know Emma Watson's character is going to be the main character as the focus is on her for the majority of the trailer

Tuesday, 25 July 2017

Deadpool Film Trailer Analysis

Camera
establishing shots
pan/tracking shots
high angles
low angles
close-ups

Establishing shots set the scene as they show where the action will take place. Low angles make the character look more powerful and strong. Close-ups show the fear or excitement on the characters faces. At the end of the trailer, a close up in used to show the state of Deadpool's face. This will attract an audience as they'll be intrigued to know what happened.

Sound
the sound cuts out for comedic value
diegetic sound of swords
non-diegetic upbeat r&b music
fourth wall breaking

Mies-en-Scene
costumes
weapons
red- danger/love

Editing
Intertext
release date
crosscutting
fade to black
shot-reverse shot
fast pace
editing is in time with the music

Conventions of action genre:
violence
guns
blood
loud upbeat music
explosions
fighting
drama











The production company is shown at the end. 20th Century Fox has had many successful films in the past so showing the logo will attract an audience as it suggests that this film will be good too.

Ryan Reynolds name is used as star power. Audiences who know this actor will be attracted to the film.

Fast pace action confirms the action genre to an audience. This will attract an audience who like action films.

The fourth wall break makes the audience feel like they're talking to the character on a personal level. This attracts an audience as they want to know the rest of his story.

Catfish Film Trailer Analysis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuE98oeL-e0


In the beginning of the trailer, we see a young male dressed in casual, stereotypical clothing for a young male adult. The beginning of the trailer is very bright, colourful and light-hearted which is reinforced by the angelic-like children singing. Children connote innocence which tells us that the intention of the character is pure. I think this convention will attract and entice an audience as they will be intrigued to find out the twist in the film and what goes wrong. The stereotypical male that is represented will attract a male audience as they will be able to relate.



A steady pace montage of Facebook screen grabs and shot clips begins where we are shown a woman's who we presume is the main characters love interest. Over the top of these visuals, a voice over from the main character tells us of the relationship between him and the woman. Documentary style video clips are shown of him on the phone. Elements of a love story will attract a female audience as women are represented to be emotional and more involved in relationships. However, I think that women will not like the ending as the trailer becomes dark and scary. This may attract men to see the film because men are strong and like scary films.

Montages are often used to represent younger people as they are quick and busy. An audience of young adults will be attracted by this as they see it as relatable.

A handheld cam is used for most of the filming which enhances the realism of the film and makes an audience feel like they're there with the characters. This hooks an audience in as the tension and drama will be passed onto the audience and they'll want to know what happens next. Close-ups are used to show the happiness on the main characters face when he is talking about the female character. The main shots that we see are close-up and medium close-up and his friends are documenting the moments.


Inter-text is used to give the audience more information- 'not based on a true story', 'filmed by his two best friends'. There is no information given about the actors or the directors. This could be because the film is a low budget, independent film; the characters are not played by well-known actors, meaning that including their names would not add star power and increase the revenue of their film. A review from a website is used as inter-text to attract an audience and tell them that the film is worth watching.

The voiceover that is layered over the montage begins to create an emotional attachment between the audience and the character as it feels like he is talking to us and we are his friend. This could create an audience as we would want to know more about his story.

I think that the trailer successfully creates tension and drama which will attract a thrill-seeking audience. However, I think that too much of the film has been shown in the trailer. I think that less of the film could have been shown as that would make more people wonder what’s going to happen as I feel like it already looks like a short film.

Camera Shots.
Close-ups
P.O.V shots
Handheld camera
No steady cam

Mise-en-Scene.
Stereotypical clothing for a young male. Casual non-formal.
The girl in the film is seen not wearing much clothing (stereotypes).

Editing.
Slow pace builds tension
Jump Cuts
Inter-text
fade to black
cross cut editing

Sound.
Non-diegetic music
Voice over
Diegetic sound of the phone

Monday, 24 July 2017

Film Magazine Analysis (Johnny Depp)


The masthead - Empire is the biggest font on the page to catch people's attention and tells the reader that it’s the title. It suggests that the company is very important and influential.

The basic red font contrasts against the blue in the background. The magazine is popular enough to have the masthead is obscured by the main image. The magazine has a title that will be recognisable to readers.

The background of the main image sets the scene for the feature film. Along with the character in the main image the reader will know that this magazine is about 'Pirates of the Caribbean'. The background shows the island as well as showing variations of blues which links to the character, Jack Sparrow, as he is known for being cool and laid back.

The cover lines are written in black, yellow and white. These colours are used so that the text is broken down to not appear as overwhelming, the colour also helps the text stand out from the image. The use of bright colours connotes the genre of the feature film as fun and exciting.

The colours will mostly appeal to a younger audience as they are attracted to bright colours.

The biggest focus on the page is the main character from the feature film, Jack Sparrow. The image of the main character is a posed, mid shot which is the largest image on the page. This tells the audience who the focus of the magazine is without reading the titles. The character is posing, looking directly towards the audience which engages us and feels like direct communication.

The iconography of a gun, ragged clothes and jewellery, suggest that he is a pirate.


Captain Jack Sparrow is played by Johnny Depp, who is known for many of his other iconic roles in the film industry. The use of star power on the cover of the magazine will attract lots of different audiences who know him for other films.

The main cinema demographic and target audience for this magazine is 15- 28. I think this because the feature film has a BBFC certificate of 12 but stereotypically, children younger than 15 are less likely to want to read.

Cover lines around the page tell the reader what to expect inside including a list of 6 films and '102 more'. Gratifications promise that this magazine will give them an 'essential' 2011 preview which you won’t be able to get anywhere else. This attracts an audience as readers will want to know more than anyone else.


The barcode can be found quite large at the bottom of the page. however, the cover doesn't have a date, price or website.  This means the magazine could lose some income over the missing platforms. 

the strapline is hard to find on the cover because of all the other text, the reader will struggle to know what the magazine will focus on without scanning the magazine first which will not attract an audience.

The USP of this magazine is that the audience is promised to be told about more than 100 different films coming out in the year 2011 as well as an exclusive first look at 'Pirates 4'. Gratifications are what makes magazines popular and unique.

Attention is gained by the popular and well know title as well as the star power used on the front cover and the comedic mood.

Film Poster Analysis (Mean Girls)



The title of this film is written sideways in the middle of the poster. The title separates two groups of characters. Lindsay Lohan's character is on the left side of the poster, looking right at the group of three teenage girls on the other side of the title. The separation of the characters suggests a conflict between them in the film. This creates intrigue for an audience which will make them want to watch the film.

The poster is made up of variations of pinks and purples. This colours are feminine and stereotypically associated with women which tells us that this is the target audience. The colours also connote romance which will also appeal to the target audience.
The colours on the poster conform to the conventions of the teen-angst genre.

Lindsay Lohan is one of the only actor's names on the poster, which will attract a female audience as it is a use of star power and many women may want to be like her.

The production company 'Paramount pictures' is mentioned in the billing block which will attract an audience as they have made many successful films in the past.

All of the characters shown on the poster are teenage girls which make the target audience able to relate to the film.

The tagline to the film 'watch you back' has connotations of bitchiness and betrayal which will intrigue an audience to watch the film.