A story of creation, love, hate, adventure, and, most of all, sex; the story begins in Denton, Ohio as Brad Majors and Janet Weiss, after getting engaged (Dammit Janet), travel to see "the man who began it," but wind up at the castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a transvestite alien from the planet of Transsexual in the galaxy of Transylvania (Sweet Transvestite). And they meet Riff Raff, Magenta, and Columbia which leads to "doing the Time Warp again!" They discover they have been there on a "special night." Frank's creation is to be born! As Rocky has been revealed (Sword of Damocles / I Can Make You A Man), rebel Eddie, Frank's last-recent creation, ponders in on his motorcycle (Hot Patootie-Bless My Soul) whom Frank kills. In comes Dr. Everett Von Scott, he's come for Eddie (Eddie's Teddy) which results in the discovery of Eddie's deceased body. Frank chases Janet and Brad and Dr. Scott chase Frank (Planet Schmanet Janet), which results in everybody (but Frank) getting frozen. Enter the floor show (Rose Tint My World / Don't Dream It / Wild & Untamed Thing) which then turns into the horrifying death of both Frank and Columbia die and the castle's blasting off! Brad, Janet, and Dr. Scott survive and leave with torn clothes and battered bodies
The Amityville Horror
George & Kathy Lutz and Kathy's 3 children are moving into an elegant Long Island home. What they don't know is that 6 gruesome murders were committed there the year before - Ronald DeFeo Jr., the oldest son in the family, murdered his parents, his 2 brothers & 2 sisters by shooting them with a .35 caliber in November of 1974. No sooner are the Lutzes moved into the house than they begin seeing horrible things - the ghost of Jodie DeFeo, horribly disfigured bodies - and hearing ghostly voices throughout the house. George seems to notice it the most, and it isn't long before he becomes a danger to those around him. When the local priest, called in to bless the house, comes charging out in horror after being swarmed by flies, he issues a dire warning to Kathy - 'Leave that house'. But will they be able to escape before the house and its vengeful spirits take control of George - and make him into a deadly menace?
Freddy vs Jason
Two of the most remembered eighties slasher film icons finally clash together on the big screen in a film fans have long been awaiting. Trapped in Hell when the authorities of Springwood manage to erase all evidence of his existence (and thus the fear that gives him his power), nightmare spirit Freddy Krueger comes across the soul of the equally infamous Camp Crystal Lake mad slasher, Jason Voorhees. Taking the guise of Jason's mother, Freddy resurrects him and commands him to start terrorizing Springwood, hoping to instill enough fear that the name Freddy Krueger gets out again so that the ensuing panic makes Freddy strong enough to return a seventh time. The plan works, but Freddy soon discovers that Jason, true to his nature in the past, will not stop killing, and is taking each of his victims. Determined to retake his position as the most feared killer in Springwood, Freddy devises a plan to sedate Jason into unconsciousness in order to battle him to the death. In the meantime, a small band of survivors who learn what's happening make their own efforts to not only ensure Jason's victory, but to return him to Camp Crystal Lake.
In order to play with the recognisable conventions of trailer groups. We came up with ideas of how to market and promote bloodshed high.
For this task I was working with Hannah Ajala, Eleona Yuzon.
Heres a picture of out story board for the given task...
We first assigned roles Hannah was going to be dealing with the introduction. In the introduction this is were we as a group decide that the USP ( unique selling point) should also be highlighted here, which was the fact that we were goign to using english vampires instead of the typical cliche American blood sucking vampires. Another USP was the fact that instead of doing an expected base of the highschool drama scenario we chose to use a shed as a drug point instead of a certain area withing a school. Hannah was also going to discuss who was going to deal with the production and we chose ...
We chose to use Lionsgate because they do not usally deal with horrors they normally deal with inspriational and motivating movies so we believed that this will have a great impact. Another point that hannah was going to mention was the part of the storyboard and this was to highlight on key issues of our movie that would aid our USP. I then entered and dicussed the various shot types we were going to use and this was because we believed it was very important to keep the audience and viewers interested in the whole plot and movie direction. I also discussed the type of characters we were going to be using and were in the trailer we will show this. I spoke of using Alexander Skarsgard and Rachel Wood.
This was because they had experience in the popluar American series True blood. We felt that puttig them in this movie would be the best thing for publicity and also it would bring in lots of viewers. We chose to put the names of the characters at the end to make them much more memorable and also appealing for people to see. I also discussed the release which was in summer. This was becasue it would have been to cliche for the movie to come out in October being it was halloween. So summer was the best time for the release of the movie. I lastly also discussed the age group and we thought it being a horror it should be from age fifthteen and up. Eleona went on to discuss the non-diegetic sound features and also the sound track. We obviously knew being that it was a horror you needed a lot of sounds that created suspense. We also agreed not to include a voice over as it is to dated and extremely retro. We chose to use the American rock band Paramore this is mainly because they appeal to a certain audience and have also been on Twlight's trailer with their song 'Decode'.
Evaluation:
I think our presentation went very well becasue we highlighted the important points and covered what was wanted with unique ideas. I think I fwe had more time we could have came up with stronger ideas that would appeal more and also stand out more but I would give our current presentation a six out of ten.
On the 8th of september we had to choose groups that we wanted to work with and I was paired with William Kips and Emmanuel Aporah. I am very pleased with my group because I believe that when we buckle down and get the work down something great will come from it. William has excellent ideas and also a good drive to his work ethic. Emmanuel is an editing darkhorse that is definietly talented. This I believe will be strongly shown via our film trailer etc.
UPDATE : A member of our group has left so there are now only two remaining members.
I am going to be conducting an analysis of three movie posters and also their film trailers. This is mainly to see how I use and transfer knowledge from professional work on to my own. the main focus will be on the title, typography, trailer etc. I am going to use denotation and connotation to execute a depth analysis.
Precious
Focusing on the title first of all I can gather a lot of information from it. The word 'precious' is another way of expressing something dear to your heart. This can be many this from dreams to actual reality. The text used on the poster is bold and white stands out subsidiary to the striking image. You can immediately tell from the image of a person in complete black that this film is most likely going to be about pain and overcoming their situation. The reason why I say the image disperses pain is because of the way the body has cracks in it and that for me is an eye opener saying that the character was broken and is trying to rebuild themselves. Another striking point about this image was that there is a hand on the bottom which symbolizes that there is someone or something bringing this character down in her life.
At what point in the trailer are we told the name of the film? Why is this?
We are introduced to the title of the film around the end of the trailer.
I believe this is to make us have a good understanding of what the film is about and thus why it is called 'Precious'. This is to make us see what she is going through under three minutes, so we see the pain and disdain she struggles through within her life.
Why are we told who is starring in the film? How is this Information given to us? why?
We are told who is starring in the film to promote the film and get more viewers to watch the movie. This is mainly because well known actors and actresses have a lot of support from the viewers. This information is presented at the end of the film trailer after the title and I believe this is because they want create an element of suprise and give us the unexpected names. I use the term unexpected because you would normally expect the actors and actresses names at the start of the trailer.
What type of action do we see?
We are shown all types of action during the trailer that is expected and unexpected e.g. when the main female characters abusive mother hits the pan against the wall aiming at the characters head. That was a good example of unexpected action within the film trailer that made us want to view more. Here is an example of six shots ...
Within these six shots we are given a various amount of shots that display a various amount of emotions. This is vital because it allows to see and live in the world of the main female character.
What clues does the music give us as to what type of film the trailer is advertising?
The music says a lot because normally the music reaches to a specific target audience e.g. rap music to the hip hop subculture. This is seen in a lot of recording artists clothing e.g. Tupac Shakur ...
I believe that soulful, R&B music was used because it speaks to the soul and normally songs from that genre are about pain and growth from it.
What can you say about the voice of the person delivering the voice-over? Why do you think this voice was chosen? What effect does it have?
The voice delivering the voice over is the main character and this is creative and smart because it allows viewers to see things from the characters perspective. It also allows us to see the rawness and core details of the characters life situation. I believe this voice over was chosen to allow us the audience to connect more with the character. It also has somewhat of a realistic effect because we are seeing the life of a character in an everyday life situation.
How does the speed of what we see compare to watching a clip from a film? Why is this? Does the speed alter through the trailer or stay the same?
The speed of the trailer is much more faster because with a trailer they have to show you all the perks of the movie for the audience to be interested in it. With a clip it is very much different because you are just showing a part of the movie that does not require a lot of attention compared to the trailer. The film in the trailer does alter a lot and the speed varies but this is build the momentum and it most definitely works because you do not want to look away when watching the movie.
What information are we given in the very last frame of the trailer?
In the last frame of this film trailer we are given the names of the characters that are going to appear in the movie...
This is very important because a lot of people go to see movies because of directors and also famous characters.
Which is more effective in making you want to see the film, the poster or the trailer? Why is this?
To be honest I believe that both the trailer and the film poster work hand in hand in the appealing factor and make us the audience want to go and see the movie. The trailer aids by revealing the motion and the key factors that are going to be involved. The poster gives us a visual that gets the audience asking questions because we do not know what to expect. The expections
Where would you expect to see this trailer:
a) before what films at the cinema?
I would expect to see a movie like Precious at sad, emotional, chick flicks. This is because this movie appeals to the 'sobbers', the criers at cinemas. The stereotypical emotional audience are usually women so they would place the trailer in movies that women are most likely to see and also reason with.
b) In the breaks of which TV programmes?
I would expect to this trailer advertised in the intermission of the Oprah Winfrey show or any other female leading talk show. This is similar to my reasons given above that is that talk shows appeal to women mainly out of the general public. This is mainly because women look for help and comfort out of these shows and usually gain it via the feminist support.
Looking at the trailer above and it immediately struck a nerve when I saw the reality of the situation in the trailer. The main fact is that it had a similar match to my image analysis. Another important fact is that movies production company is shown beofre we even seen the trailer. The plot of the movie is about Claireece Precious Jones a teenager that endures unimaginable hardships in her young life. Abused by her mother, raped by her father, she grows up poor, angry, illiterate, fat, unloved and generally unnoticed. So what better way to learn about her than through her own, halting dialect (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0929632/). The trailer is very appealing because it enters with non diegetic sound of the commentator who is actually the character and they are in their dream state, talking about what she wants to achieve in the hopes she will get it. Then we are suddenly stunned by the sound of the hit of the 'pan' on the wall then she is brought to reality. This is very inviting because movies that have a realistic element or story line often do well to win over viewers and I believe this trailer does that. The camera shots and typography used aid very in creating in creating an affective atmosphere, this is mainly because withing the short camera shots little bits of information is being released. Reading the plot I have also gathered that my image analysis was correct.
City Of God
The title 'City of God' can have many meanings that could vary from struggle to paradise. Focusing on the the title as well as the image I can see that the movie poster is showing us to different worlds one of paradise and one of a poorer culture. Concentrating on the title I can see that they have used a sandy coloured text which channels a rural cultures, this also has a a strong connection to both of the images shown above. Looking at the style and typography of the title I can see that it is gong to have some war or gang references this is mainly also due to the bottom image shown. The text in between the two images also makes known that there is something to be told i.e something of the unknown. Becoming aware of that makes me realise that there is going to be somewhat of a struggle for a certain character within the movie.
At what point in the trailer are we told the name of the film? Why is this?
We are given the title of the movie at the end of the trailer. It is presented to us the viewers with an flickering editing effect and I believe this is done to create and live up to the hype that is demonstrated within the action movie. The title is given to us at the end of the movie I believe to have an impact and make us remember the name of the movie.
Why are we told who is starring in the film? How is this Information given to us? why?
In this film trailer suprisingly there are no actors presented to us. No names are given on the screen which is expected of a trailer. I believe that this was done to aid the trailer and make it stand out more. There are mostly media commentaries and reviews being posted instead of names. Here are some examples below...
Looking at all of this information you I can tell that it got a lot of media response and also being that it was a movie from a festival they normally do not feature high end 'Hollywood' actors and actresses.
What type of action do we see?
Looking at this trailer we are shown various types of actions from imtimate moments ...
To gun filled action shots like this one below...
We are also given a reference of a fun social party life...
There are various representations of actions in the trailer given above and I believe this is done to make the audience want to go and see it and also appeal to many characteristics. So for example the love and emotional scenes will prodominantly appeal to the female characters and the male hegemonic action role will appeal to most fo the guys out there. So it is a movie for everyone.
What clues does the music give us as to what type of film the trailer is advertising?
The music that is presented to us sounds like club music from south America and this is because the story line is based around southern America. The music is also representing the pace of movent within the trailer. This appears to be an action movie given the fast pace so the music has to conincide with the film trailer.
What can you say about the voice of the person delivering the voice-over? Why do you think this voice was chosen? What effect does it have?
The voice over used has a lot of effect because it sounds mysterious and alluring. They are often used in action moives so to be honest I would have been quite suprised if I did not hear one. I think it was chosen to aid by telling the story to give us the audience a better understanding. It has a great retro theme, I say this because voice overs are usually found in the 80s or 90s movies and its great to see that they are still continuing even though they are of different genres.
How does the speed of what we see compare to watching a clip from a film? Why is this? Does the speed alter through the trailer or stay the same?
The speed within the trailer is faster compared to an actual film clip due to the fact that film clips highlight certain emotions within a film for example emotion ...
Films trailers are meant to be a means of advertisement so it has to be fast to cram all the important action within two minutes. The speed alters within the trailer highlighting the action moments and adding more effect to them.
What information are we given in the very last frame of the trailer?
At the very last frame of the trailer we are presented with the film title and I believe this is done to make the audience remember the title of the movie so it is not forgotten. This is were actors and directors are often mentioned.
Which is more effective in making you want to see the film, the poster or the trailer? Why is this?
I believe that they are both powerful in different ways e.g. a film poster would make view the poster and want to find out more about what is actually going to occur within the movie. The good thing about a film trailer is that it highlights what actually happens in the movie without giving to much away and this can be a power lure. To be honest it all depends on the individual But I personally believe that a film poster may offer up certain still visuals a film trailer offers more by showing what actually is happening. the main problem with posters are that they may have different meanings e.g.
The image above could be a representation of a pop band movie or could be a comic movie about five friends with love interest, you can never really predict.
Where would you expect to see this trailer:
a) before what films at the cinema?
I would expect to see this film advertised before an action film and this is mainly because they offer a level action that should be placed with movies like it self e.g. before a gun fighting movie.
b) in what breaks of which TV programes?
I would expect to see this movie advertised between fast paced TV programmes like the wire that is full of action. This is mainly because the audience they are trying to appeal to would be watching the programmes they prefer.
The film trailer above is interesting because the change in the non diegetic sound appeals and makes the movie much more interesting. The movie company's production team is also shown before that actual trailer. We are also given the American deep baritone voice again which was predominantly used and popular in the 90s and 80s era. That type of commentator sound is normally use din the expensive action American movies and normally reaches out to many. The plot is based on a true story that takes place in the 60's where in the slums of Rio De Janeiro two boys growing up in the neighborhood take on different paths in life. The story is told through eyes of Buscape, a poor young fisherman's son who dreams of becoming a photographer one day. His story narrates the violence and corruption surrounding the city and the rise and fall of one of the city's most notorious boss'. Li'l Ze. As war wages on the streets Buscape's only way out of this violent life is to expose its brutality the world through his pictures. Along the way the lives of other are put into perspective as their stories intersect with the events that take place (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317248/). The camera shots used in the trailer were very quick and snappy which you expect from an action movie. The editing techniques used aided in making the movie stimulating and something good to watch. Looking at my image analysis compared to the trailer I have noticed that there are similar elements that i picked up on that matched the plot and trailer e.g. the reference of war or gang culture from the image analysis.
How To Train Your Dragon
I am going to start by analysing the title and by looking at it I can immediately tell that the movie is going to be aimed at a fictitious target audience most likely children and this is due to the use of animation. The production company are also on the front cover in black bold font which shows the company wants the audience and viewers to know that they were part of the expensive creation. The animation company Dreamworks are responsible for some of the most expensive but popular movies e.g. Shrek, kung fu panda etc. Placing the animation company on the poster makes head turn because it makes people want to watch the movie due to there great success in the past with there work. The font used for the title is very child like and this is because of the style of font and also the design on the 'R' in the work dragon. The image used for the poster (dragon) is mythical and is often used for children. The fire breathing dragon is firing and connecting this to the title it makes me think that the dragon shown is a main character or predominantly active in the movie.
After looking at the trailer I can honestly say that it is comically genius. The producers have infused realism into an animation for children so it is quite mature. The animation company's name is shown at the beginning which is expected like the two trailers above. The entrance of non-diegtic sound and camera editing immediately lures the audience this is mainly because although you expect the company to be shown at the beginning of a movie, you don't expect there to be anything added on to it like sounds etc. The trailer has a realistic feature and this is mainly because of the non - degetic sound of the character being the narrator. The way the character communicates has a realistic effect that you wound not normally expect from an animation movie. The plot of the movie is about the young Viking, Hiccup, wants to join his town's fight against the dragons that continually raid their town. However, his macho father and village leader, Stoik the Vast, will not allow his small, clumsy, but inventive son to do so. Regardless, Hiccup ventures out into battle and downs a mysterious Night Fury dragon with his invention, but can't bring himself to kill it. Instead, Hiccup and the dragon, whom he dubs Toothless, begin a friendship that would open up both their worlds as the observant boy learns that his people have misjudged the species. But even as the two each take flight in their own way, they find that they must fight the destructive ignorance plaguing their world (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0892769/). The editing in this trailer is quite simple and that's good because children like simple for this era but funny which children love. The reason I call it simple is because there are other modern high tec , special effect movies that use more special effects e.g. Avatar.
I am going to conduct an analysis of some horror movie trailers. This is to find out how and what makes the trailers appealing to viewers and also to look at the negative aspects that can be improved. Film trailers are very important because they are great for marketing which creates publicity and 'hype' for the movie, which in the end brings in more viewers and makes money. Their have been many disputes to discover what is actually important in film trailers e.g. characters, sound, storyline etc. I am now going to look at some horror movie trailers from the 1980s, 90s, and two much more recent ones. From this I hope to gain much more information about the progression from the 1980s to now and see how much the standard in trailers has changed.
The Shining (1980)
The shiningwas released in 1980 and is arguably the best horror movie of the eighties. The plot is about a man, his son and wife become the winter caretakers of an isolated hotel where Danny, the son, sees disturbing visions of the hotel's past using a telepathic gift known as "The Shining". The father, Jack Torrance, is underway in a writing project when he slowly slips into insanity as a result of cabin fever and former guests of the hotels ghost's. After being convinced by a waiter's ghost to "correct" the family, Jack goes completely insane. The only thing that can save Danny and his mother is "The Shining" ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081505/ ). This is a great example of less is more, there are not a lot of special effects like in today's much more recent movies but the story like and acting contribute. In this film trailer I can see how suspense is demonstrated through the non- diegetic sound, editing and camera shots. They give us flavour which sets the mood and keeps us the viewers interested. The editing e.g. the cut ins and fades create tension and also keeps the viewers on edge like a horror should. The shots used also allow us to 'drift' e.g. there are many shots of the scernery, so when it cuts or fades into a erractic scene it catches viewers off guard because they were not expecting anything to happen at that current moment.
Deep Rising (1998)
This movie was was released in 1998 and did not recieve good reviews from the various critics but still got a views due to strong promotion and also because they were the same directors that created alien vs predator. When a band of ruthless hijackers invade the world's most luxurious cruise ship, they're shocked to discover the passengers have mysteriously vanished! But that doesn't mean they are alone! Something terrifying is lurking just out of sight: a deadly force from the unexplored depths of the ocean that begins to snatch the horrified intruders one by one (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118956/). This is the era when movies special effects had not been developed to its best potienal and it was being over used as illustrated in this movie. The movie like most other movies has impacting non diegectic sounds that occur when something is going to take place e.g. the sluring sound of the creature in the vent or when one of the robbers guns shaking these actions create a mood. In this we are introduced to popular ninetes commentator that has the 'deep baratione storying telling voice'. I believe this is to add create much more suspense. recently it has been deemed as 'corny or boring' when viewers hear this voice but back then it was quite a modern interesting thing. The shots used in this trailer are very fast paced, which I expected as it comes across as an action film which again was very popular at the time.
The movie was released in 2004 and recieved good reviews froms crictics even though it was a remake of the 1978 version. The plot is about a young female nurse, named Anna, is caught in the middle of a world-wide chaos as flesh-eating zombies begin rising up and taking over the world and attacking the living. She escapes into the streets and is rescued by a black police officer, named Kenneth. Together they find shelter in a mall along with a group of other survivors. For a while everything is ok, but pretty soon, they start running out of food, the power goes out, and the dead keep finding ways to break through their defenses. Realizing they're sitting ducks, they make a plan to head for an island by using two armored mall shuttle busses to get across the sea of zombies. This movie appeals from a realistic form because its something that you would expect from stereotypical 'commerical' family and then the penny drops, this is a definiet stand out. The non diegetic sound plays has qute an impact e.g. when the clock is ticking it immediatly makes you believe that something is going to occur very soon, so again it carries the element of suspense. The duration of the camera shots allow the story to come together and suprise viewers quickly. The camera shots used played very well with the text used on the screen in the movie to tell us the time of day it has a continuity effect.
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