The task was to come up with some ideas for a trailer of a new slasher horror film called 'Bloodshed High' and sell it. In this video we talked about things such as:
Production details
Actors
The Unique Selling Point (USP)
Shot types
Target Audience
Soundtrack
Release date
All these points are important details that we must think about whilst creating our own trailers, so this practice task was a good way to prepare us for our real task.
Joey and I briefly talked about some typical conventions of horror movies. We then started to narrow down what we liked for our movie trailer. This is our brainstorm.
Recently we had been put into our groups. The rest of the class got put into groups of threes whereas I was put in a pair. I am now working with my good friend Joey Jarossi. I am very pleased to be working in a pair as I personally think it is less hassle to have to worry about one extra person and it means there will be less conflict. I get along amazingly with Joey and we have already started planning our trailer. We have very similar ideas which we can expand on together. We have allocated roles to make everything more organised. I am in charge of sorting out location, actors and photography and Joey is in charge of editing and cinematography. Together will come out with the storyboard and the overall idea.
I have decided to analyse the trailer for the film 'Don't be afraid of the dark'.
The first half of this trailer is blacked out and there is just a voice whispering over the top. Then all of a sudden, after a long pause, the first word of the title 'DON'T' appears on the screen. Each word comes up after a few seconds of clips. The title has appeared half way through the trailer whereas in other film trailers it usually appears at the end. I think the maker of this trailer has done this to make it different to every other trailer and also to increase the fear of the viewer as it comes quite suddenly.
Throughout this trailer, the action we see is mostly very fast paced and scary. This shows what sort of thing is to be expected in the film. By showing the the creatures (0:50 seconds) and the freaky art (0:58 seconds) we know that this film could possibly involve the supernatural. As well as this, near to the end of the trailer we see a child crawling under her duvet and as she pulls it up to carry on another creature jumps out. This action proves the film is not just based around humans.
In this trailer, most of the sounds heard are not music but sound effects in the film itself. However at some point a string instrument is played. It increases in volume which adds to the sinister feel of the trailer. It gives us a clue that the film is going to be scary, jumpy and possibly tense. It comes to a sudden halt when the last word of the title is revealed, which causes the audience to feel nervous.
The voice-over in this trailer is whispered and slightly echoed. Personally, I feel it is very intense because it made me feel very on edge and freaked out. I think this voice was chosen to make the audience feel exactly how I felt whilst watching it. As well as feeling nervous, I also felt very intrigued as to what this film was actually about and what was going to happen. This made me want to see it and I believe it would make others want to as well. This voice is a voice that people will definitely remember and can copy. The clips in this trailer are shown much quicker than they are in the actual film. Due to it being a horror movie, this is done to create suspense and not give too much away. The constantly changing images/clips keeps the audience on the edge of the seat and also worried, which is normally the aim of a horror movie. In this particular trailer, the last frame tells us the name of the director, the name of the screenplay wright and the name of the person who wrote the teleplay it was based on. Personally, I feel this information was left til last because it is not a necessity and most people don't even pay attention to this details.
This trailer really made me want to see the film and I think it would do the same for others. I believe it would convince people to want to see it more than the poster would.
The trailer of this film gives more away about what kind of film it is without giving too much away, whereas this poster just says the title and not much else can be extracted from it.
When it comes to movie trailers I personally believe images are more important than the words. An image can show the characters, setting and atmosphere of the film, whereas the words explain certain key points of the film. However, I do believe that words are important. Without words the images would create a slideshow which could get a tad boring, whereas with the words, the viewers can get a clearer view of what sort of film it is using the font, colour and arrangement of the typography. Images are like a teaser to what the film is going to be like. It gives the viewer a visual preview and entices the audience. Without the images it is more like a written review. To conclude, in my belief I still think images are more important although I understand clearly how very important the words are.
The colour and font of a film title can hint to what the film is about and create a certain effect. The use of the words can also add to this desired effect.
This is the title/poster for the film 'The Sixth Sense'. Firstly when thinking of the phrase 'The Sixth Sense' I know the film will include supernatural elements. This phrase is written in quite a simplistic font with extended ends and is in white on a plain black background. I believe the colour of the title makes it stand out and clear. It is very bright and is almost like a light, perhaps symbolizing death (the light at the end of life). The simplicity of the font makes it very eerie and hints at a child being involved in the film. Putting this all together I can then picture what the film may entail.
This is the title/poster of the film ‘Final Destination’. Hearing the phrase I believe there are many possible situations that could happen in the film. The first thought I get is that it is about a journey. Possibly a journey where something happens or goes wrong. Looking deeper into it I split the two words apart. Starting with the word ‘Final’ I think about the end of an experience or death. With the word ‘Destination’ I purely think of a place where someone is or wants to be. Therefore putting the two words together I believe the film will be about death and where it all happened.
Looking at the font, it is quite plain and underlined. I think this symbolizes the importance of the title. I don’t believe it needs much added to it as the words explain it all. The deep red of the font, could symbolize danger in the film as red is normally associated with blood.
This is the title/poster for the film ‘Happy go lucky’. The first thing I thought was this film is a light hearted, happy film and perhaps maybe even a comedy. The words are very positive and have no sad or negative atmosphere to them.
Then looking at the title itself it is written in big, bold, red font. The font itself is not sharp at all and is very soft round the edges, which makes me think it is definitely not a horror or thriller. Although it is in red, which is usually associated with danger, the red of this title makes it look happy and lively as it is placed on a white background rather than a dark one. This title seems to be a very obvious one.
