This is the first piece of research I conducted; I researched the definition of a teaser trailer and the conventions of film magazine front covers and film posters. I sourced my definition from Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teaser_trailer
Click here to view my analysis.
The marketing of a film is extremely important so I looked at the film distribution process and how websites can be used as marketing tools; here are these two pieces of research I produced:
Websites
District 9:
1. The visual style reflects the action/sci fi hybrid genre and the alternative reality style of the film, through the use of the panoramic image with the sounds gives an insight into the atmosphere of the film. There are realistic landscapes from South Africa which are not “Alien” to us, there are soundbites from various sectors of society which are convincing and so add to the sense of verisimilitude. The MNU links portray it as a realistic controlling organization.
2. The links and language on the site suggest the website is targeted at young adults yet appeals to a wide audience of 15-45, because they would be quite difficult for young people to follow, for example, the links on the panoramic image have to be scrolled over to click on them so you have to look for them. The military style to the website also reflects males as the main target audience.
3. There are a number of interactive features including a trailer, some games, a photo gallery, a virtual tour, a maths quiz, a training simulation. Links to twitter, Myspace, Facebook etc
4. You can submit your email address in order to progress on the game and updates, so it encourages people to keep being involved in the website and marketing of the film.
4. You can submit your email address in order to progress on the game and updates, so it encourages people to keep being involved in the website and marketing of the film.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: 
1. Every aspect of the site is visually powerful; there is an image of the main characters as the background in an imposing stance which connotes the theme of action throughout the film. This theme is continued on each page of the website with different characters. The links between pages are animations which further emphasise the action genre; they also suggest the theme of magic in the film as the animated clouds appear to materialise into the next page. The transitions between the pages would in fact be recognised by the audience as the omen of Voldemort, the antagonist in the film, the sinister nature and dark colour of the smoke suggests that the film will be quite dark and sinister.
2. This film is incredibly famous for appealing to a huge mass audience, so this is reflected by the images that depict characters of a variety of ages and gender. The animated transitions between the pages also appeal to the whole audience.
3. Interactive features on the site include:Potion making contest (You Tube)/Trailer/Music/Images gallery/Downloads/Links to sweepstakes websites/Soundtrack available to buy/Merchandise available to buy/Novelty applications/Free Iphone app/Video of world premiere/Link to website of the previous film in the series/Links to sites to buy tickets from.
4. You are not asked to submit your email to any part of the website but there are lots of links that enhance the marketing campaign, by furthering the audience’s involvement in the movie
Marketing a Film
1. Every aspect of the site is visually powerful; there is an image of the main characters as the background in an imposing stance which connotes the theme of action throughout the film. This theme is continued on each page of the website with different characters. The links between pages are animations which further emphasise the action genre; they also suggest the theme of magic in the film as the animated clouds appear to materialise into the next page. The transitions between the pages would in fact be recognised by the audience as the omen of Voldemort, the antagonist in the film, the sinister nature and dark colour of the smoke suggests that the film will be quite dark and sinister.
2. This film is incredibly famous for appealing to a huge mass audience, so this is reflected by the images that depict characters of a variety of ages and gender. The animated transitions between the pages also appeal to the whole audience.
3. Interactive features on the site include:Potion making contest (You Tube)/Trailer/Music/Images gallery/Downloads/Links to sweepstakes websites/Soundtrack available to buy/Merchandise available to buy/Novelty applications/Free Iphone app/Video of world premiere/Link to website of the previous film in the series/Links to sites to buy tickets from.
4. You are not asked to submit your email to any part of the website but there are lots of links that enhance the marketing campaign, by furthering the audience’s involvement in the movie
Marketing a Film
I sourced the following information from Wikipedia -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_distributor so that i could understand how the whole film distribution process works, because this could affect what we can do with our trailer.
Film distributor:
· A film distributor is an independent company
· Final agent between a film production company and a film exhibitor
· The term "distribution" = marketing and circulation of movies
· A film distributor is an independent company
· Final agent between a film production company and a film exhibitor
· The term "distribution" = marketing and circulation of movies
Film distribution process:
1) Convince the exhibitor to rent, or "book", each film - usually arranges industry screenings for exhibitors, and uses other marketing techniques to make the exhibitor believe they will profit form investing in the film.
2) Then secures a written contract
3) The distributor must also ensure that enough film prints are struck to service all contracted exhibitors on the contract-based opening day.
4) Physical production of film prints and their shipping around the world (a process that is beginning to be replaced by digital distribution
5) Creation of posters, newspaper and magazine advertisements, television commercials, trailers, and other types of ads.
6) Ensure a full line of film advertising material is available on each film to help the exhibitor attract the largest possible audience
7) For foreign-language film, may also be responsible for dubbing or subtitling the film, and securing censorship
1) Convince the exhibitor to rent, or "book", each film - usually arranges industry screenings for exhibitors, and uses other marketing techniques to make the exhibitor believe they will profit form investing in the film.
2) Then secures a written contract
3) The distributor must also ensure that enough film prints are struck to service all contracted exhibitors on the contract-based opening day.
4) Physical production of film prints and their shipping around the world (a process that is beginning to be replaced by digital distribution
5) Creation of posters, newspaper and magazine advertisements, television commercials, trailers, and other types of ads.
6) Ensure a full line of film advertising material is available on each film to help the exhibitor attract the largest possible audience
7) For foreign-language film, may also be responsible for dubbing or subtitling the film, and securing censorship
Film distribution companies:
- Universal
- Walt Disney Studios
- Warner Bros – New line Cinema – Time Warner
- 20th Century Fox
- Paramount
- Columbia pictures
- Walt Disney Studios
- Warner Bros – New line Cinema – Time Warner
- 20th Century Fox
- Paramount
- Columbia pictures
These are some notes I made after watching a documentary by Lee Jury the Marketing Director of “GOAL!” because he is a professional of this topic, so his views could helps us.
Poster:
- Static image tells story/ USP (director, narrative, cast driven) and use it to campaign
- Should have imagery
- Try to appeal to broader audience and target audience
- Static image tells story/ USP (director, narrative, cast driven) and use it to campaign
- Should have imagery
- Try to appeal to broader audience and target audience
Consider…
- Where is focus? Narrative? Actor?
- Location setting
- Character pose
- Colour scheme
- Signifiers
- Title Style and positioning
- Iconic image
- Tagline
- Where is focus? Narrative? Actor?
- Location setting
- Character pose
- Colour scheme
- Signifiers
- Title Style and positioning
- Iconic image
- Tagline
Teaser campaign:
Set up story/cast of the film
Set up story/cast of the film
Main campaign:
Develops further promotion, press quotes
I analysed this film poster in order to uncover the conventions and reasoning behind its graphology so that I can bear the process it has gone through in mind when creating my own. Click here to view my analysis of the film poster.
It is important that the audience can identify the genre of the film we are promoting instantly so I researched into how genre is portrayed in film posters. Click here to view my identifying genre research.
We needed to understand the structure and conventions of film teaser trailers similar to our genres so that we could learn how to create a similar effect; I conducted research into two teaser trailers.
Develops further promotion, press quotes
I analysed this film poster in order to uncover the conventions and reasoning behind its graphology so that I can bear the process it has gone through in mind when creating my own. Click here to view my analysis of the film poster.
It is important that the audience can identify the genre of the film we are promoting instantly so I researched into how genre is portrayed in film posters. Click here to view my identifying genre research.
We needed to understand the structure and conventions of film teaser trailers similar to our genres so that we could learn how to create a similar effect; I conducted research into two teaser trailers.
Film Magazine Analysis
I also did some analysis of another film magazine front cover so that I could further understand the purpose of the conventions and see what makes a front cover look good:
[Semiotic Analysis of a Film Magazine Front Cover]
Teaser Trailer Analysis – Alice in Wonderland
1) At 1:20 the title is revealed but as the story is so well known already, people may figure out what it is advertising before this. Keeping the title till later on means that you reveal the title when people are interested rather than at the beginning, when you have not yet captured their attention, so the audience remember it better.
2) We are told that Johnny Depp is starring in the film because he is a very established actor, and so this broadens the potential audience as it will attract his fan base.
3) Action from the film that we see includes: Alice falling down a hole, then shrinking after drinking something from a bottle. A castle. 2 strange figures walking through a forest. Dark thorny woods with a cat face coming from it. An evil looking knight with an eye patch. A queen with a strange face, bursting through some doors. A furry, dangerous, roaring monster. A massive bird. The “Mad hatter” meeting Alice, walking across the table and throwing his hat in the air, also the mad hatter laughing a mad sounding laugh, throwing some things in the air.
4) The music is very intense and fast paced including chimes and bells, which suggests the film is a racy, action filled fantasy.
5) The voice over is unmistakeably British in accent and seems to be a quite old male, which some would associate with a stereotypical voice of an English professor.
6) The voice emphasises the portrayal of the fantasy genre because people stereotypically associate this type of voice, with a storyteller which creates a sense of magic and wonder.
7) The speed of the trailer is a lot faster than a clip from a film would be, in order to squeeze as much interesting action into the time slot, to make the film seem exciting.
8) The speed alters throughout the trailer. It begins quite slow, and then as she falls down the hole it speeds up, to show this is the point of the film where the storyline takes off and becomes most interesting, it then slows down a bit after this to symbolise the wonder and spectacle of the new world.
9) The last frame contains a credit block, it is left till the end because it does not play big part attracting the audience but needs to be there for legal reasons, if it was at the beginning people would loose interest straight away.
10) I think the trailer is more effective in making people want to see the film than the poster because it shows the action and storyline more than the poster, but the poster is important in seeding curiosity in the audience. Alice in Wonderland is already a worldwide know story so it is not so important in this instance for the film to portray the storyline.
11) You would expect to see this trailer before what films at the cinema such as
Other Disney films, films starring Johnny Depp, children’s films, things like Harry Potter because the people that watch these types of films are the target audience. You would also be likely to see it before TV programmes such as programmes on the Disney channel, because they are the producers of this film so are likely to promote it. Other children’s programmes on TV because the film is for children. Before some teenage and adult programmes because they could be attracted by the inclusion of Jonny Depp and because they may have seen the original Alice in Wonderland and so have some interest in seeing the new one.
Teaser Trailer Analysis – Alice in Wonderland
1) At 1:20 the title is revealed but as the story is so well known already, people may figure out what it is advertising before this. Keeping the title till later on means that you reveal the title when people are interested rather than at the beginning, when you have not yet captured their attention, so the audience remember it better.
2) We are told that Johnny Depp is starring in the film because he is a very established actor, and so this broadens the potential audience as it will attract his fan base.
3) Action from the film that we see includes: Alice falling down a hole, then shrinking after drinking something from a bottle. A castle. 2 strange figures walking through a forest. Dark thorny woods with a cat face coming from it. An evil looking knight with an eye patch. A queen with a strange face, bursting through some doors. A furry, dangerous, roaring monster. A massive bird. The “Mad hatter” meeting Alice, walking across the table and throwing his hat in the air, also the mad hatter laughing a mad sounding laugh, throwing some things in the air.
4) The music is very intense and fast paced including chimes and bells, which suggests the film is a racy, action filled fantasy.
5) The voice over is unmistakeably British in accent and seems to be a quite old male, which some would associate with a stereotypical voice of an English professor.
6) The voice emphasises the portrayal of the fantasy genre because people stereotypically associate this type of voice, with a storyteller which creates a sense of magic and wonder.
7) The speed of the trailer is a lot faster than a clip from a film would be, in order to squeeze as much interesting action into the time slot, to make the film seem exciting.
8) The speed alters throughout the trailer. It begins quite slow, and then as she falls down the hole it speeds up, to show this is the point of the film where the storyline takes off and becomes most interesting, it then slows down a bit after this to symbolise the wonder and spectacle of the new world.
9) The last frame contains a credit block, it is left till the end because it does not play big part attracting the audience but needs to be there for legal reasons, if it was at the beginning people would loose interest straight away.
10) I think the trailer is more effective in making people want to see the film than the poster because it shows the action and storyline more than the poster, but the poster is important in seeding curiosity in the audience. Alice in Wonderland is already a worldwide know story so it is not so important in this instance for the film to portray the storyline.
11) You would expect to see this trailer before what films at the cinema such as
Other Disney films, films starring Johnny Depp, children’s films, things like Harry Potter because the people that watch these types of films are the target audience. You would also be likely to see it before TV programmes such as programmes on the Disney channel, because they are the producers of this film so are likely to promote it. Other children’s programmes on TV because the film is for children. Before some teenage and adult programmes because they could be attracted by the inclusion of Jonny Depp and because they may have seen the original Alice in Wonderland and so have some interest in seeing the new one.
Teaser Trailer Analysis – I Know What You Did Last Summer 
1) At the very end of the trailer we are told the name of the film, because this means the audience’s attention has been captured, so they will remember it better than if it was at the start when they may not have been paying attention.
2) We are not told who is starring in the film because at the time of the release the main actors were not particularly established, so they are not the USP of the film, therefore so as not to distract from the USP which is the genre.
3) Action from the film that we are shown includes: People telling scary stories on a beach/The characters driving dangerously then hitting a man with a car and dumping the body in a river/characters making a pact never to tell anyone/getting notes saying “I know what you did last summer”/ the characters ignoring the messages and mocking them, having fun/ someone getting chased by a car/lying in a hospital bed/ a woman with a knife/talking about murder and “what if he’s still alive?”/girl finding something in her boot of her car/girl gets her hair chopped off, screaming in mirror/ someone getting chased across the beach/ a fight/ a cloak figure with a hook/ people running away from something & the cloaked figure/girl screaming/a door being pushed through/girl jumping out of a second story window/man under water trying to jump up to a boat/girl turning round and gasping.
4) The music is quite contrasting to what you would expect to hear in an advert for a slasher movie, it is quite upbeat popular music so it has a different effect. It makes the film seem like it can relate to older teens, so therefore is a way of targeting the audience.
5) The voice over is a husky, male, American voice, which is seen in a lot of trailers of this genre.
6) I think this voiceover was was chosen because the sound of the voice instantly identifies the genre, as it is associated with most horror films. Also it sounds quite intense, which makes the person watching it interested in what they are saying.
7) The speed of the trailer is a lot faster than watching a clip from a film because there is only a short space of time so only the most interesting bits from a scene are included, this also means that some things are missing from the trailer so the audience does not know the whole story and this is what makes people want to go and see the film.
8) The trailer gets faster towards the end, as the clips of the characters being chased are included, after a brief idea of the storyline has been portrayed.
9) The credit block containing information about the producers and distributors etc. is in the very last frame of the trailer, as it is a legal requirement and so it is left until the end so that it doesn't distract from the content of the trailer.
10) The trailer is more effective than the poster because it gives a more in-depth idea of what the film is about. It is harder for the poster to convey the storyline because it is one still image. The trailer captures the audience attention easier because it has sound, action and movement.
11) You expect to see this trailer before films at the cinema that are 18 rated movies because that is the rating of this film and other slasher movies because they would be targeted at the same audiences. Also, before TV programmes that are late night programmes, because this is the time it will most likely be seen by the audience, if it was put on before children’s programmes it would not be seen by the target audience. Horror programmes because they are of the similar genre so people watching these programmes would be likely to be interested in slasher movies.
1) At the very end of the trailer we are told the name of the film, because this means the audience’s attention has been captured, so they will remember it better than if it was at the start when they may not have been paying attention.
2) We are not told who is starring in the film because at the time of the release the main actors were not particularly established, so they are not the USP of the film, therefore so as not to distract from the USP which is the genre.
3) Action from the film that we are shown includes: People telling scary stories on a beach/The characters driving dangerously then hitting a man with a car and dumping the body in a river/characters making a pact never to tell anyone/getting notes saying “I know what you did last summer”/ the characters ignoring the messages and mocking them, having fun/ someone getting chased by a car/lying in a hospital bed/ a woman with a knife/talking about murder and “what if he’s still alive?”/girl finding something in her boot of her car/girl gets her hair chopped off, screaming in mirror/ someone getting chased across the beach/ a fight/ a cloak figure with a hook/ people running away from something & the cloaked figure/girl screaming/a door being pushed through/girl jumping out of a second story window/man under water trying to jump up to a boat/girl turning round and gasping.
4) The music is quite contrasting to what you would expect to hear in an advert for a slasher movie, it is quite upbeat popular music so it has a different effect. It makes the film seem like it can relate to older teens, so therefore is a way of targeting the audience.
5) The voice over is a husky, male, American voice, which is seen in a lot of trailers of this genre.
6) I think this voiceover was was chosen because the sound of the voice instantly identifies the genre, as it is associated with most horror films. Also it sounds quite intense, which makes the person watching it interested in what they are saying.
7) The speed of the trailer is a lot faster than watching a clip from a film because there is only a short space of time so only the most interesting bits from a scene are included, this also means that some things are missing from the trailer so the audience does not know the whole story and this is what makes people want to go and see the film.
8) The trailer gets faster towards the end, as the clips of the characters being chased are included, after a brief idea of the storyline has been portrayed.
9) The credit block containing information about the producers and distributors etc. is in the very last frame of the trailer, as it is a legal requirement and so it is left until the end so that it doesn't distract from the content of the trailer.
10) The trailer is more effective than the poster because it gives a more in-depth idea of what the film is about. It is harder for the poster to convey the storyline because it is one still image. The trailer captures the audience attention easier because it has sound, action and movement.
11) You expect to see this trailer before films at the cinema that are 18 rated movies because that is the rating of this film and other slasher movies because they would be targeted at the same audiences. Also, before TV programmes that are late night programmes, because this is the time it will most likely be seen by the audience, if it was put on before children’s programmes it would not be seen by the target audience. Horror programmes because they are of the similar genre so people watching these programmes would be likely to be interested in slasher movies.
Trailer Analysis
I also did a shorter analysis of Run Fat Boy Run as it had a very defined structure:
1) The music starts after the 6th shot when he starts training
2) 28 shots are used
3) 12 shots include dialogue
4) 9
I did deeper research into the conventions we found present such as voice over and titles so we had a clear understanding of them when we made the decision whether to use them or not.
Voice Over
REASONS:
1) To help the understanding of the storyline
2) To entice the audience
3) To give away the genre
4) Make clear the visual aesthetics
5) To create tension
6) Enhances the atmosphere
7) Introduce characters/showcase the stars
8) Reinforce the title of the film
9) Oral reinforcement
Tokyo Drift:
· Action fast pace is reflected by the use of words (wrong side of the law/underground/the rush/the risk) that suggest danger and excitement
· Simple language that is easy to understand, so we focus on the visual
· Repetition at the beginning and the end of the trailer builds excitement
· Repetition of the word fast
· Racing rules/fast furious = alliteration
· Length of the sentences are short to accompany relevant shots, so matches the frames
· The word Now is emphasised on its own
· Emphasis of superlatives by repetition
· Inclusive language
· Tension and conflict portrayed “life moves fast/anything can happen”
Monster House:
· Aimed at children – over dramatic delivery
· “legend” “story” “secret” choice of words create atmosphere
· Alongside dialogue to reassure audience it’s not too scary
· Length of lines are short
· Invitational lexis is emphasised “come over”
· Helps to establish narrative and genre
Graphics/Titles
Graphics give us further information about a film. They are an important convention of trailers because they…
· Indicate genre
· Indentify target audience
· Emphasise “Star” appeal/status
· Give factual information e.g. release date, production company, name of film
· Help tell narrative
· Good substitute for voice over
Pattern of placement:
- Producers/distributors
- Narrative/genre
- Actors/director
- Title/factual information
- Credit Block
Preliminary Task
We practiced using the equipment we will be using in a preliminary task and analysed other groups work, this was helpful because we found out what we would do differently for the real thing and found out what we should avoid when filming. This is the preliminary trailer me and my group produced:
This is the analysis sheet I produced when analysing other groups, and my own, preliminary trailer: Click here to view my analysis of the preliminary tasks.
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