Welcome to my A2 Media Studies blog! It shows all of my work which I started on 18/06/12 and finished on 27/03/13. I put a lot of time and effort into my work and I hope that this is reflected in my final product.
My evaluation begins on 26/02/13 My final products appear directly under this text
I had a lot of fun creating my poster, magazine and trailer this year. I hope you enjoy looking at my blog, enjoy!
I used the results from our questionnaires and used them to create charts so that our data can be easily interpreted. This graph shows the age of our participants, this will be taken into consideration when looking at the results.
We handed out our questionnaire to 10 people, 7 were female and 3 were male.
From looking at this graph we can clearly see that a mixed paced trailer seems to be the most popular option for our trailer.
In general most people think that a voice over would be the most appropriate choice for our trailer. One person suggested to start off with voice over and then fade to music which I think is a very suitable idea.
From our other results we discovered
It is a good idea to be able to see snippets of zombies
The audience believes that the main character should wear combat clothes
This is mine and Pippa's second questionnaire. We created this as now we have a much stronger idea of which type of film trailer we intend to make. We planned on gathering some extra information which could help us to make decisions in regards to what we should (or shouldn't) include in our work.
This is an example of a completed version of our questionnaire. We handed out a total of 10 questionnaires in class and gathered the data we had collected. We will now use this information and consider it when we start to seriously plan our ideas and begin to make our trailer.
The questions we asked were
Should a zombie film, similar to resident evil take place during the day or at night?
What weapons would you like to see our female lead character using?
Should a voice over or titles be used?
What editing pace should we have? Fast, slow, mixed?
Who's perspective should the camera be from?
Would you prefer to see snipits of zombies or no zombies; just lots of noises to build up tension?
What would you expect the female to be wearng?
Should low angles be used a lot to influence dominance?
This year we need to make a film trailer, either full or a teaser, a film magazine cover and the films poster. Through all of my recent research and planning I have found out the basics needed to include to make our film trailer realistic. An average film trailer will last around a minute and give an audience snippets of the film to entice them to come and see it at the cinema. The trailer should include
A small look into the narrative
A voice over/ titles
The release date
The production company
The name of my film
Plenty of peaks and 'jumpy bits'
This is an example of something I would be able to achieve. There are no special effects but the fear factor comes from the use of pace and camera angles. This can be easily recreated.
This is something I can't do due to the heavy use of special effects and CGI animation. However I do like the idea of a strong female character to be portrayed.
This year to complete our media work we have to work in groups, the tasks of cinematography, editing, mise en scene and sound. I am working with my friend Philippa and we have discussed what we will be taking responsibility for.
Philippa - Cinematography, Sound
Me - Editing, Mise en Scene
I went onto the IMDb website to research what sort of films my target audience enjoy I started this my looking at the top 250 films in the horror genre. I looked for this genre as this is the genre I planned on using for my trailer. According to IMDb, these are the top 7 horror films of all time number 1 being a Resident Evil evil film. This is extremely useful to me as this is what I plan on using as inspiration for my own work.
This is the top 7 of the top 250 action films on IMDB. On this page Resident Evil: Retribution is also ranked at the top. Our genre will have an action crossover so will be very helpful for me when I come to making my own trailer.
The Hypodermic needle model
This model is explained like a needle going straight to the brain. The media submit a message to the audience's mind, they take the information and they accept it. This could ultimately change their behavior or beliefs.
The Cultivation theory
This theory is explained as the more we are exposed to a certain side of the story or certain information the more we will start to believe it. An example of this could be newspapers reporting more on youth crime, we as consumers could start to believe that young people are causing the most crime.
The Desensitization
This theory suggests that because people nowadays are so exposed to violence and other strong themes we are becoming more 'used to it'. Or it doesn't bother us as much anymore, we are not as easily shocked or scared. Films such as Frankenstein which used to terrify have become laughable and modern horror such as Saw has definitely 'turned up' the horror.
Copycat theory
This theory suggests that people could be highly influenced by things they witness in the media, if they see a crime and become 'inspired' they could choose to imitate it in a real life situation. This could be backed up by the Jamie Bulger case study, a young boy was brutally murdered as his young killers tried to imitate what they had seen in the film 'Child's play'
Uses and Gratifications theory
This theory focuses mostly on the audience, we take what we need from the media to gratify us. We do not let the media affect us, we pick and choose what we get from it.
After researching one 15 rated and one 18 rated film I decided I needed to do some extra research into what makes these films rated as they are.
Films rated as 15 by the bbfc should not be watched or purchased by people aged under 15 years old. In these films, behaviour such as swearing and violence are allowed as long as long as the work as a whole doesn't endorse it. I want to rate my film as a 15 mostly because themes of strong violence are allowed as long as it doesn't dwell on the pain or injury. However as we begin to make the trailer the rating may have to change
Certificate 18 may be too high for my film as I do not plan on incorperating much gore or any heavily sexual or disturbing content.
I will try to make the trailer for my film a 12a rating. This is because I want my trailer to be seen by as many people as possible, as the trailer may be shown on television I need to make sure that it is appropriate for anybody that may be watching. By making sure more people watch the trailer it will help create synergy around the film. This rating may have to change depending on the themes in the footage we choose to use.
28 Days Later (2002)
The second film trailer I am going to analyse is 28 Days Later, this film is a certificate 18. Unlike the other film I analysed this one will have a very restricted audience. It will only be suitable for adults which means that the trailer will definitely be affected by this as it needs to be suitable to be seen on television. I have decided to use this trailer as I want the threat in my film to be zombies, which is the same as this film. I wanted to know how this can be portrayed in a horror film. This film was directed by Danny Boyle and received a rating of 7.6/10 on the IMDb website.
Genre
The genre of 28 days later is Horror/ Thriller. This is shown through the use of frequent jump cuts and quick flashes. These are used to add tension and make sure that the audience keeps attention throughout the trailer. Although the scenes do not thoroughly make much sense without explanation the audience will keep watching to try and work out what it is that they are watching. They will pick up on clues such as low key lighting and key sound effects such as screaming. Suspense is maintained throughout this trailer as we are unable to see the threat that caused this panic, this may be a reason some people chose to go and watch the film in the cinema. The hints towards a zombie apocalypse could indicate a slight lean towards a sci-fi genre.
Representation
The stereotype of a male hero character seems to be challenged in this film trailer, this is because the main male character we see does not seem to take a very active role in the trailer he does not seem to understand what is going on around him. The audience is as clueless as the character is. He is not a stereotypical hero character as he does not look particularly handsome or extraordinary, he does not carry weapons and he does not have a female character to protect. There are no other characters represented in the trailer, this tells the audience that the man we see may end up being the only character who manages to survive in the end.
Narrative
Although the story seems unclear the beginning of the trailer sets it up for us, we seem to see that an infection broke out and infected a city, this caused a pandemic and this city was then evacuated but something happened after this which is only described to us as 'devastation'. We then see a man lay naked in a hospital bed, this man now wanders around London as the streets are bare and littered with packets and empty cars. An appropriate theory for this narrative would be active/passive theory. The man we see seems very passive to begin with and his main actions involve running away and wandering around seemingly very confused.
Audience
The audience for this film will be mature adults because the trailer is rated as an 18. I do think that the audience will have to remain very active throughout the trailer to understand what is going on. This could be because of the more mature audience they are expected to be able to understand more complex trailers and be able to build on what they see and make sense of it. The audience could have previous interests in horror or zombie films as these films tend to have a very specific audience.
Media Language
Cinematography
-The shots of the explosion are taken from various different angles, perhaps showing us different peoples accounts of the event. There is then a jump cut straight to a mans eye. This gives the impression that this man has just awoken after all of this horror has taken place.
-A birds eye view is also used at 0:42 so that we can see that this man is alone in a world that was full of panicked people not too long ago.
Editing
The trailer uses titles rather than a voice over, this could be to add suspense with the sounds of screams and alarms instead of a voice over.
-The quick editing speed adds to the tension created at the beginning, this could highlight how quickly the infection happened and spread
-The quick 'flashes' of people in panic add to the tension and tell the audience that the people are in a blind, confused terror
-Straight cuts are used of the man walking around the hospital and his outside environment. The camera pans out further each time to show just how empty his surroundings are.
-Jump cuts are used later on in the trailer to build up speed and add to the tension, a chimpanzee banging on a glass case is an example of an image used to make the audience jump.
-Clips are shown in fast motion to shorten time and make things appear more instantaneous to the audience
-The entire trailer seems to become a montage of the film showing snippets of different scenes. This tells an audience that a lot of action will happen in this film and they are in for a lot of excitement.
Mise en Scene
-The location plays a key part in this trailer to add to its 'fear factor' The fact that it begins showing many people running and then jumps to an empty city of London we know that something is definitely wrong. London is a huge city, always full of people. The fact that it is empty is a shock to an audience.
-The litter on the streets gives the impression of chaos and people leaving in a hurry
-The lightening used is very realistic to real life situations, high key lighting outside in the day, and low key lighting indoors at night time. This creates a sense of realism for the audience and makes what they are seeing more believable
Sound
-The sound of alarms and screaming at the beginning of the trailer are desynchronized to the clips that play at the same time. This could be to highlight the disorientation and fear of the people that we see in the clips.
-The echo effect that comes with some of the sound could also give a sense of past tense.
-The sudden silence just before the title '28 days later' has an effect on the audience giving the impression of death. It also highlights that the man we see next may be completely alone.
-Dialogue is introduced with the man shouting 'hello!?' With no response, also telling the audience that he is alone. We do however hear a woman say 'Who are you?' but we do not see her, we are not aware whether or not she is a main character.
-Other dialogue narrates the clip and is non-diagetic, the characters can not hear it as it is not synchronized with the scenes we see.
I was struggling for ideas in regards to a second movie trailer to analyse for my media work so I chose to use the social media website Facebook and ask my friends for some suggestions. They gave some very useful suggestions that I was able to look through and pick a second option.
Resident Evil: Afterlife Trailer (2010)
The first film trailer I have chosen to analyse is from the Resident Evil group of films. I chose this film as it has a female lead role which is the main focus of the trailer I plan on making. The plot is also similar to one on my pitch, an illness taking over the planet and the main character's fight for survival. The film was directed by Paul W.S Anderson and is rated as certificate 15. The genre is Action/Horror which is the genre I'm aiming for my trailer. However this particular film was rated 5.9/10 on the IMDb website.
Genre
The genre for this film is action/horror this is shown easily by the pace of the film and frequent jump cuts. The jump cuts help to keep the audience engaged and add suspense. The pace of the trailer often changes, with some scenes even showing in slow motion this helps to keep the audience's attention as everything they see on screen is always changing. The genre does not need to be hinted towards as it is very clear through the use of props. We see many props which are common of action films such as the use of weaponry including guns and swords. This can also be linked to Andrew Sarris' theory on genre 'genre is the idea that it has a recognisable style which draws on an existing audience' This means that through the use of these genre keys such as the pace, tone and lighting of the trailer an audience can recognise them as being horror/action and be engaged. Fans of this sort of film are more likely to be drawn in by this.
Representation
There is a clear representation of Laura Mulvey's theory of 'the male gaze.' In this trailer, the male gaze is that the camera views everything from a male perspective. Women are either seen as mothers or sexual objects, never anything else. I think that this trailer supports this theory because the camera does linger on the breast area of a woman at around 0:46. Also by showing the main character wearing tight fitting leather clothes I think that this could be seen as objectifying her and turning her into a sexual object. However, this trailer also goes against the typical gendered stereotype of a woman playing the damsel in distress character who needs to be saved by a man. Here the main character Alice is clearly a strong character who can definitely look after herself. She seems to be fighting alone mostly without a lot of help. There is also another female character briefly shown fighting showing that Alice isn't the only independent female character in the movie.
Narrative
At the very beginning of the trailer there seems to be calm but the pathetic fallacy of the rain tells us that all is not well in this world and something bad is probably going to happen soon. We are told of an apocalypse destroying the planet which is why the main characters are still trying to survive. The cause of the apocalypse or what actually happened is not explained to the audience. We also see the trailer building up to a battle between Alice and the Umbrella company, we will not find out the outcome of this either. The reason for this is that the film makers want to encourage the audience to watch the film to find out what happens. Throughout this narrative Alice seems to be the most active character taking control in most scenes although she is not introduced at the very beginning. We first see a clip which seems to be in Japan of the 'outbreak' starting, by jumping from this to Alice we see a passage of time.
Audience
The audience for this film will be aged 15 or over due to the age restrictions put forward by the certificate. The film may involve some graphic or violent scenes which are inappropriate for younger viewers. I do think however this film is catered for an audience consisting mostly of young adults.I think this because older audiences do not usually enjoy films as fast paced and Personally I believe this trailer is aimed more at a male audience as an action/horror film with a 'sexy' female lead is stereotypically a film males would enjoy more than females. This particular group of films also has a video game franciese which is also stereotypically aimed towards a male audience. This means that this film would have an existing audience and the trailer is especially aimed towards them. The audience would take an active role in watching this trailer as although there is a voice over explaining the story, they would need to concentrate to see what is happening on screen.
Media Language
Cinematography
-The trailer begins with a simple close up of a woman's red high heeled shoes. There is heavy rain falling to the floor all around them. This then quickly jumps to a birds eye view of the scene, we see a lot of people walking by holding up umbrellas. (This could possibly be linked to the umberella corporation?) The only person without an umbrella is the woman wearing the red shoes. The people on scene all walk either side of the woman showing her standing alone. We then get another jump cut to an over the shoulder shot of the woman, seeming as though we as the audience is stood behind her. This continues to straight cut to a Japanese man who is looking concerned. This works as an eyeline match, we know that the man and woman had a moment of eye contact.
- There is a very brief jump cut to the man's look of horror which then shows the woman seemingly chewing on his throat as people begin to run away. The shot then zooms out at a birds eye view getting further and further away from the scene until it becomes an image of the planet Earth.
-Introducing the main character Alice a close up is used of her face, showing the audience the strange movements of her pupils.
-A long shot is used so that we can see a helicopter flying away but we can also see the people behind the fence who seem to be infected, there is then a brief close up of their arms pushing through the fence. This gives the audience hints towards what will happen in the film.
-High angle shots of mountains and trees show that the plane has travelled a considerable distance throughout its flight.
-A low angle shot is used as Alice bends down to look at the woman lay on the floor, this could show her as a strong character with power or it could be literal from the deceased girls perspective. A mid-shot of the woman on the floor then acts as an eyeline match for Alice. All scenes towards the beginning where we see either female lead role, they are shot from a low angle, making them seem important and powerful.
-At 0.49 we see a close up of a man's face, this shows him as playing a crucial part in this trailer, he could possibly be the villain character. The is confirmed by the next mid-shot/ birds eye view of him where we see him shoot a man without seeing any provoking.
-There are often tracks of planes and over air vehicles, showing that our attention as an audience should be there, possibly because the main characters are on that plane.
-There is a long shot of a whole group of people including Alice, as they are all positioned closely together in the frame we assume that they are allies. Alice and the villain are never framed together in the same shot, this helps the audience see the separation between the two sides.
-There is a long shot of Alice throwing shurikuns towards the camera making it seem like we are watching this from the enemies perspective.
-There is one scene in which a man and Alice are framed together in a mid shot and he is taking the most active role, this could possibly suggest a romance or friendship.
Editing
-Editing plays a crucial role in this trailer as it relies a lot on speed to make an impression on its audience. The trailer begins with a slow motion scene of rain and shoes, this becomes normal paced for a second as it switches to a birds eye view. This could be because the slow motion will pull the attention of the audience straight to the woman wearing the red shoes. It also creates tension and tells us that something is going to happen. As the woman attacks the man we see a quick flash of what is happening which fades into her eating him. This is done at a very fast pace, highlighting how quick and severe the attack was.
-The use of dissolves, cut down the time it would take to watch a whole scene, it makes a jump cut less harsh. They are used to show a passage of time. One is used as the camera zooms from the city to the Earth, the dissolve helps the audience to understand that these two things, the city and the Earth are linked.
-The cut the black which comes next is harsh and grabs the audiences attention they did not expect this as usually a film trailer will flow smoothly. This then fades into the image of Alice, by doing this we see that time has passed between these things happening.
-Many jump cuts are used to show snippets of the film and story, these are usually fast paced to keep the audience's interest. A specifficly interesting example of this occurs in black and white, this has been done to show that it is not linear to everything else we see, it could be a flashback. The heavy use of jump cuts tells the audience that a lot happens in this film and they will be kept entertained.
-The editing only slows down to build up to another fast action packed montage, this may have been done to break up all of the fast paced events. If a trailer is all the same pace it could be very hard to keep the audiences interest.
Mise en Scene:
-The use of location is key to both a horror and an action film, by using a seemingly bustling city in the beginning we get a sense of 'normality' and then the change to a destroyed smoking city gives us a feel of change and fear. The lighting is very low key here giving the audience a sense that something sinister has definitely happened. Low key lighting is a key aspect to all horror films mirroring the dark themes which often occur in these films. Even in daylight there is a slight brown filter over the scenes to tone down the brightness and keep the low key lighting running through.
-It is interesting that around 1:28 the lighting suddenly gets much brighter in a room that is mostly white. White is a colour that represents purity and innocence however a man dressed in all black sits on a chair in this room showing a large contrast. He is thought to be the 'bad guy' or the villain of the film, the use of black and white makes this very clear to the audience. It almost looks like he does not belong in that chair, it is ironic that he sit's in a room representing innocence. However, interestingly all characters we see in these scenes seem to be dressed in black. This could suggest Alice is a form of Anti Hero.
-In terms of facial expression we never see anybody smiling, this highlights the serious tone of the trailer and the seriousness of the actions that are taking place. We do however see expressions of both fear and pain. This again, confirms that the genre of this film is definitely horror as well as action.
-The costumes we see in this trailer are mostly made of leather or metallic materials and are tight fitting, this paired with what we see including high tech cctv cameras and computer equipment tells us that this film is almost certainly set in a futuristic world. Interestingly however, the planes we see used early on are quite old in design and style and they do not appear very futuristic at all. It could be that the people underground are the only people who have these futuristic things. At the very beginning of the trailer the use of the red high heeled shoes contrasts highly with what otherwise seems to be a grayscale scene. This pulls the focus of the audience straight away.
Sound
-Throughout this trailer we hear a voice over, we find out that this is the voice of Alice as her face appears as she introduces herself. This is an example of non diegetic sound as the characters in the clips are not able to hear what Alice is explaining to us. The fact that what she is saying corresponds with what we see suggests that she can also see what we are watching on screen. There are sounds that punctuate certain points in the trailer, appearing as scenes flash or jump to the next. For example a sharp sound is used as a girl screams at 0:48
-As well as this however we do also hear some diegetic sound including the planes engine and gun shots. We also hear some dialogue from the film mixed in with the voice over.
-Music is used towards the end of the trailer to help the scenes flow without the use of the voice over. The pace of the song matches the pace of the clips. As the song is of the rock genre this matches greatly with the action theme of the movie. Stereotypically a horror film has slower and softer music, this music suits this mix of the two genres much better.
Today we were given the challenge of creating a film poster on photoshop after not using it at all over our summer holidays. This was to test what we had remembered. We were told to find an image online and turn it into a poster of the same genre we planned on making ourselves. I chose the genre of horror.
I looked online for some film poster examples and looked for typical themes and conventions needed to make my attempt look realistic.
- A good title
- Some film titles
-The lighting and colour scheme should hint at the film genre
-Often actors names are printed in a large font to help plug the film
- Date of release or (Coming soon to a theatre near you)
-A possible age rating
-A tagline
This challenge did teach me that I definitely have to spend more time revising my skills on Photoshop. The picture I chose was originally in black and white which didn't give me as much as I'd like to work with when it came to editing.
Today I took a camera around college and recorded the responses of some possible audience members in regards to my questionnaire. I asked 3 people, the first of which requested that we did not film her face. Other than certain people attempting to be 'funny' or ruin our video's I think that we got some very useful information.
People would rather see our Zombie apocalypse film
Sound effects that add tension could be used
All of the people we asked suggested that a 15-18 age rating would be most appropriate
Appropriate locations that were suggested include: In a town, a destroyed city ect
The pace should be a mix of fast and slow
Our zombies need blood, ripped clothes, strange walks
This was my original pitch for my A2 Media project. Me and Pippa are working together as a pair and worked together to come up with some ideas.
We had two potential plot ideas with one being a favorite from the off. The first idea was a zombie apocalypse film with a female lead role. Similar to the resident evil films or 28 days later. Our other idea is a hostage situation film, based on ideas such as 'Taken' but with a more horror feel. Both of these films would have a female front, going against the grain as it were of both a hero and a villian.
The sounds we would need include gun shot and the 'clip-clopping' of high heeled shoes. These would instantly create a feel of non stereotyped action. We will also need to decide what sounds our zombies should make if we make the zombie film, they could either moan or scream.
If we made either film we would also need noises such as the blowing of wind, dripping water or the sound of rubble. These add realism and tension to a film which will help a lot with our genre.
For our music we would like the trailer to start of softly or quietly either with a quiet instrument or such playing softly. But as it gets into it more we would like the pace to quicken considerably possibly with electric instruments and loud rock music.
We are aiming to market our film as a certificate 15, we feel that this could be appropriate with the amount of horror we aim to incorporate into our trailer. As the genre will be action-horror rather than just plain horror. Having our film as a 15 opens up our audience choice and allows more people access to our film. However if we make the hostage film there is a chance there will be more horror therefore we may need to change the certificate.
In terms of location for the zombie film, an isolated urban area seems the best idea to film in because the city makes an interesting 'playground' for props and mise en scene. The kidnap film however, would be filmed in somebody's house, preferebly a basement for the most realistic horror experience.
For props in the hostage film we would be rather minimalistic, maybe needing a chair and some rope to add to the fear. But for the zombie film we can really 'go to town' on props, we could decorate the streets with 'bio-hazard' posters make sure there was litter scattered everywhere. We could also have fun with weapons in these films, using toy guns, knives and less conventional weapons like baseball bats.
In regards to cinematography we have already planned to use a zoom and a pan from feet to head and over the shoulder shots to introduce or character. A few flashes of zombie closeups would also be a good way to add the fear factor.
Today we made some questions to ask people in my college to help to give me ideas as to what we could do for our film trailer. These are the questions I chose to ask as I would like to make my film as interesting to an audience as I possibly can. I will ask these questions around college and note the responses.
For our A2 media project we have to make a teaser trailer. We are
either going to make a zombie apocalypse themed movie with a Lara
Croft-esque hero. Or a stereotypical, kidnap scenario, trapped in a
basement horror. Which of these ideas do you think are a better idea for
a film?
What sound effects would you expect to hear in a movie like this?
What certificate do you think would be appropriate for this movie and why?
What would be an appropriate location for this movie? Eg: A school, woods ect
Would you expect a trailer for this film to be fast or slow paced?
Is having a female lead role for this film a good idea?
How can we make our zombies more scary? What should they look like?
Any props you'd expect to see? Like weapons for example?
