Research and Planning: First Podcast

When creating the video for our podcast, Adam and I realised that there were large amounts of information missing from our podcast. Because of this, we decided to re-do it and post it early next week

Research and Planning: Teaser Trailer Conventions

As a group, we are going to make a teaser trailer, film poster and magazine cover.

Some examples of fantasy teaser trailers are:



Typical teaser trailer conventions in this trailer include:
Montage
Voiceover
Production & Distribution companies
Music from soundtrack

This is a really good example of a Fantasy teaser trailer, though I realise I would be unrealistic to aim for this quality in my teaser trailer due to the amount of CGI.

Looking for a fantasy teaser trailer in which I could recreate something similar proved difficult, so Adam and I had a meeting and decided to incorporate our original plans for linking Fantasy with Family and Adventure. The Goonies trailer (although a little long) is a good example of adventure.



Typical teaser trailer conventions in this trailer include:
Director name & Production company
Voiceover
Montage

This is a lot more realistically re-creatable.

Research and Planning: Group Meeting One

I will be working with Adam Hilton.

I will be responsible for editing and sound, while Adam is responsible for cinematography and mise en scene

Research and Planning: IMDB's Top 25 Fantasy Films

Research and Planning: Target Audience of Teaser Trailer

Target Audience on Prezi

Research and Planning: Audience Theories

1. The hypodermic needle model
Messages are wholly accepted by general audiences - a 'direct, strategic, planned infusion' like being jabbed by a needle

2. Cultivation theory
The more exposed we are to certain medias, the more convinced we are that the message is true

3. Desensitisation
The world is such a bad place, nothing really affects us as it would our ancestors 50 or so years ago

4. Modeling or copycat theory
 We copy what we see in media - films, video games etc.

5. Uses and gratifications theory
We use the media for debate/knowledge, rather than negatively such as in the first four.

Research and Planning: Questionnaire and Answers

Above is one of the 11 questionnaires I gave out to get an idea as to what people think should be included in a conventional fantasy film. The results are below:

I will consider all of these answers for my teaser trailer

Research and Planning: Target Audience Interviews

From doing these interviews, I have gained a better understanding into what people want from a fantasy film. I'm going to try to make my teaser trailer thrilling and exciting, and create such a buzz from the trailer that people want to go and watch the film when it is out.

Research and Planning: Analysis of 'Thor' Teaser Trailer

Media Features
Editing
Editing features in this trailer include:
- Fade to Black
Fade to black transitions are frequent throughout this trailer and happen after each part of the trailer's montage. They may be being used to show a change in time, location or scene.
- Dissolve
These are used after each fade to black, to bring the next scene in. This is used as an emphasis of my previous point.
- Jump Cut
Jump cuts show high action scenes in this trailer.
- Straight Cut
Straight cuts, although rarely used, are also seen in this trailer. They are usually used to show that the time and location are the same, but the camera focus has changed to another person, for example, the straight cut used at around 1:00.
- Match Cut
A match cut is used at around 1:01 in a way of making the trailer flow but still including lots of action. In this match cut, the trailer goes from Thor hitting down some sort of weapon, and just as it is expected to hit whatever it is it's meant to be hitting, there's a cut to a car exploding.

Cinematography
Cinematography evident in this trailer includes:
- Close ups
These are introduced into the trailer right at the beginning, and are accompanied by POV shots as we see in turn Jane from Thor's eyes, looking down on him, and Thor from Jane's eyes, looking  up at her. These show the close proximity of the characters, and possibly hint at the closeness of their relationship, or the closeness required of them for the disruption in the film.
- POV shot
As aforementioned, a POV shot is used right at the beginning of the trailer. Although not accompanied by a low angle, it shows vulnerability as Thor, whose eyes we are currently looking through, is lay on the ground and Jane is stood over him, looking down.
- Establishing shots
An establishing shot is used just after the aforementioned to give the audience an idea of where the characters are and allow them to get their own impression of what may happen to them.
- Two shots
A two shot is used during the equilibrium as Thor explains a little more to Jane what is going on, and although the audience is not completely informed, due to the deixical (context bound) 'they'. The audience does not know what 'they' is, and can only pick up meaning from parts of Thor's definition during the two shot.
- Zoom
Zooms are used to show more of an location as quick as possible in this trailer. This is important in trailers, and particularly teaser trailers, as the audience needs to be given a clear enough idea of the film and be convinced to watch it in only a short space of time. A good example of this is at 0:14.
- Crab
A crab is used to follow a van in the trailer as soon as the momentum music starts. This fast movement accompanies the music in telling the audience that action of some sort is about to occur.
- Birds Eye View
The Birds Eye View at 0:24 is used to show location. It is accompanied by a zoom, as well as a pan.
- Pan
A Pan is used at 0:24 in a similar way as the accompanying zoom is - to show as much location as possible in a short amount of time. The idea behind this technique is to give the audience as much information as possible, but also leave them guessing. This is effective, particularly here, as from watching the trailer alone, we are not too sure what the significance is of the top of the building we have just been shown.
-  Shot Reverse Shot
From my knowledge of teaser trailers, I believe that shot reverse shots in teaser trailers are quite rare. This is generally because of the length of a teaser trailer, where there is generally not enough time to include a conversation of any significant length. However, shot reverse shots and conversation take up 12 seconds of this 1:14 trailer, and allow the trailer to add suspense, particularly with the angles in which each character is shot.
- Low Angle
A low angle is used around a similar time as the shot reverse shots in this trailer, and accompany the dialogue in making Odin appear more superior than Thor. A high angle of Thor during this time does not assist, however.
- Over the Shoulder Shot
An over the shoulder shot is used at 1:03 to show power.

Sound
Diagetic
- Dialogue
This trailer is quite heavy in dialogue, particularly at the beginning, and towards the end. This is to assist the audience in figuring out what is going on.
- Sound Effects
Very little sound effects are used in this trailer, the only ones being the sound of punches from around 0:26, and the ones from the car explosions. This may be because of the balance between dialogue and sound effect, where there is lots of dialogue, so only a small amount of sound effects.

Non-Diagetic
- Score & Mood Music
The score is an important part of this trailer, particularly as the action picks up, as it accompanies what is going on on screen perfectly. The music is not too monotone, but not changing too quickly either, and reflects the action on screen, heightening when action is the main focus, and calming when it is not. The music coming to an abrupt end at the end of the trailer is also quite effective.


Mise en Scene
- Costume
The costumes in this trailer represent the collide of the two worlds - Thor being one, and earth being the other. Thor has been cast out of Asgard, and is now among humans who are dressed fairly regularly in work uniforms or casual clothes, whereas Thor is in full body armour. This helps us as the audience to differentiate between the two worlds, and makes it clear when Thor is in one, and when he is in the other, as clips in trailers do not always go in order.
- Lighting
This trailer is made up mainly of high key lighting, perhaps due to the fact that the trailer is centred around Thor, the hero. Some parts have low key lighting, particularly during the talk with Odin, and these parts show danger and problems for Thor. There is likely to be more low key lighting in the full film than in the trailer.


Genre
This trailer has a couple of different genres, its main one being action, and a secondary genre of fantasy. This film can be classed as fantasy due to the existence of two worlds, and the impossibility of many of the issues occurring in the trailer occurring in real life. I believe this is a good example of Andrew Sarris' theory about genre being recognisable and appealing to a certain, existing audience. This film is given a wider audience bracket because it appeals to action fans as well as fantasy fans, many of which will have seen films with the other genre in anyway, as these are to genres commonly seen together.

Representation
The male gaze is more noticeably present in this trailer compared to that of 'The Spiderwick Chronicles', as there is not a particular emphasis on the film being aimed directly at children. The certificate of this film is 12A, and so naturally contains more 'risky' elements. Laura Mulvey would likely say that it was typical of the main character, Thor, to kiss Jane, played by Natalie Portman, as this is part of the male gaze, and a way to attract men to watching a film.

Narrative
From what we can see in the trailer, it is evident that this film is a good example of Propp's theory about main characters, where there is a hero (Thor), a villain (Odin) and a princess (Jane). The theory also includes tags such as 'false hero', which may also be true to the full film, although there are no signs of it in the trailer.

Audience
Just like with 'The Spiderwick Chronicles', audience members are likely to be more active while watching this film, rather than passive, as there is a lot of information to take in in order for the film to make sense. The reception theory may be present in some cases with audience members who have maybe travelled and are now living in a country other than the one they call home, who may empathise with Thor's position of being an outsider in a strange place.

Research and Planning: Analysis of 'The Spiderwick Chronicles' Teaser Trailer

Media Language

Editing
Editing techniques used in this trailer include:
- Dissolve -This is used when showing a transition from the real world to the world of the creatures. It is also used a lot in the equilibrium of the film to show the main character's discoveries and revelations.
- Wipe - Wipes are used as the main character gives the audience an overview of the plot. We hear his voice as he reads in the form of a voice over, while images are wiping on and off the screen at relevant times during the story.
- Fade to black - These symbolise danger in this trailer, and occur every time the plot thickens
- Jump Cut - Jump cuts are used in the montage section of the trailer, where the main character and his brother and sister are fighting off danger.
- Graphic Match - This happens at about 1:08 in the trailer, where it goes from the eagle's eye to the baddie's eye to the main character's eye. It gives the effect of a dream or premonition, where the main character realises what it is he needs to do. This leads to a montage with heavy action.

Cinematography
Cinematography evident in this trailer includes:
- Establishing Shot - This shot starts the trailer off and it a shot of a pretty house surrounded by nature, giving a false sense of security.
- Close ups - Close ups are used to show the emotions of the family - they're not happy about being in this house from the start
- Mid Shots - Mid shots are used a lot to show the main character when he finds the book and as he's reading it. This could give the impression of a presence other than the boy
- Extreme close up - An extreme close up shows the main character's eyes at one point as he reads the note on the book he found. This may have been designed to show fear in his eyes, or to symbolise his concentration.
- Crab - A crab movement follows the boy as he runs through the woods. This is not the main focus of the screen however, as subtitles are shown in the middle of the screen.
- Pan - Again, this is not the main focus of the screen, but creates an effect as the camera pans around the woods and subtitles are shown.
- Two shot - There aren't many of these, however when we do see them, they show two very different characters - a believer and a non-believer talking about what's going on around them. These shots create tension and further break up the false sense of security painted at the beginning of the trailer.
- Low angle - Low angles are used to show the irregularities of the real world, e.g the creatures. This tells us that they are creatures to be feared and taken seriously.
- Birds eye view - A birds eye view is used when the three siblings team together to protect the book. It is used to show their fear as well as give an indication to the audience of how much immediate danger they are in.
- Ground level shot - This uncommon shot follows straight after the bird's eye view to show that something is about to attack the siblings. In the first instance, this shot shows no action, but hints that something is going to be making its way through the floorboards.

Sound
Diagetic
-Voices - There isn't much dialogue in this trailer, it only occurring in the aforementioned voice over-type story telling (this is diagetic because it is a character reading a book that he was seen reading on screen) and in the action montage, were voices are high and dialogue is quick, showing the rush and struggle of the fight.
- Sound effects - These sound effects, although added afterward, are diagetic as they would be something that a character can hear. Sound effects are a huge part of Fantasy films, especially when the fantasy element is cartoon or a special effect.

Non-Diagetic
- Score -Music is played practically all the way through the trailer and forms a score.
- Mood music - A good example of mood music is in the action montage, when the pace quickens and the music gets louder. As the montage comes to an end, so does the music, and then, once again, all is calm for the subtitles. All the way through the trailer, there is an air of mystery created by the music.


Mise en scene
- Low Key Lighting - The lighting throughout the trailer is quite low.
- Props - The props shown in this trailer are old and rustic. This creates a type of fear in itself, as the audience are more than likely to have some element of fear of the unknown.

Genre
The genre of this film is fantasy. It also fits into the children's genre, as it is aimed at children. This is reflected in the PG certificate. The trailer is also a good example of Steve Neale's theory about repetition and difference, where repetition attracts the audience, but difference is 'absolutely essential to the economy of genre', where audiences are less and less and willing to go and see films that are alike in almost every way. Typical fantasy conventions in the trailer include: mythical creatures, multiple worlds (ours and another), sword fighting and a magnificent tale of how the world was discovered.

Representation
Laura Mulvey's theory is that films are always filmed with the male gaze - i.e in every film, females are shown as sex objects. This is not the case particularly in this film, possibly because it is aimed directly at children and would be irresponsible and morally wrong.

Narrative
This trailer follows Todorov's theory in that it has an equilibrium, and then a disruption. It doesn't however have an ending, as what would be the point in a trailer that gives the ending away?

Audience
With this trailer, the audience has to be quite active, as without doing so, they wouldn't know what's going on.

Research and Planning: Photoshop Challenge

I created this film poster as a recap to photoshop after not using it over the summer. At first, I felt like I remembered nothing, but as I started creating, I remembered the best ways to put images onto my page, and edit them with the magic wand tool.

Research and Planning: Regulation and Censorship

In class today, we have talked about regulation and censorship. We discussed how our films and trailers will have different regulation certificates, due to the difference in content. Therefore:

My film would have a 12A certificate. This would be due to the amount of action and violence involved.

My trailer, however, will have a PG certificate, because there will inevitably be less violence, and there will be more time spent giving an insight into what the film is about, not showing how the battle is fought, and not giving anything away as to who wins.

Research and Planning: The Test

This was my first shot at using a video camera to make a video. We used iMovie to edit the video, which I found useful as it will make it easier when I come to do it for the teaser trailer.
I found making the sound difficult, but think that with practice and some fiddling around and trying things, it won't be too bad for the finished trailer (well, fingers crossed, anyway!)

Research and Planning: Pitch