Friday, 28 February 2014
Monday, 24 February 2014
Film Certification Research: BBFC
Static Reality will feature the use of drugs and violence, so must adhere to the British Board of Film Classification’s regulations for 15 rated films.
Drugs
Drug taking may be shown but the work as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse
(for example, through instructional detail). The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable.
The use of drugs in Static Reality is brief and intends to showcase the characters dependence and addiction. It does not promote the use of it and portrays the bad effects of using it, depression, schizophrenia and impairment.
Violence
Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic violence is also unlikely to be acceptable.
There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but the depiction of sexual violence must be discreet and justified by context.
There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but the depiction of sexual violence must be discreet and justified by context.
There will be a clip of a fight scene, that won’t show injury. The corpse won’t have any external injury and will just appear dead. This does not breach the regulations of the BBFC.
Sunday, 23 February 2014
LO2: Treatment and Concept
Pre-Production
Film Trailer Treatment and Concept
Production Team
·
Jake Dungworth – Director/Cinematography
·
Alex Raynes – Producer/Writer
·
Will Hewitt – Producer/Writer/Cinematography
·
Lewis Leversidge – Post
Production/Health and Safety Manager
Characters/Actors
Connor Wright – Mike Davies
Ronnie – Luke Goddard
Mr. Shipman (Boss) – James Scanlan
Connor’s Mate – Mitch Morton
Connor’s Mate #2 – Dominic Duerden
Policeman – Mick Heard
Locations
Derelict Building - UTC Sheffield College
Basement (111, Matilda Street, Sheffield, S1 4QF) – Monday 17th
9:30am – 12:30pm
Office – Sheffield Live! (15 Paternoster
Row, Sheffield, S1 2BX) – Wednesday 19th 9:15 – 11:00
Flat (6, Stanwell Avenue, Wincobank,
Sheffield) – Saturday 15th 10:00am
Concept
In the trailer of Static Reality we touch on the ideas of
schizophrenia, human conscience, drug use and the ‘groundhog day’ esque style
of film where the days repeat themselves from our main character’s point of
view.
Essentially it follows the life of a single man, Connor Wright who normally
lives a ‘regular’ life, where he goes to work at the accounting office of
Willow Pharmaceuticals, but is also a drug addict. He and his friend Ronnie are
obsessed with drugs, their lives are going nowhere and this how they prefer to
spend their time. At the beginning of the trailer, Connor awakes in a derelict
building next to a dead body. A static radio noise plays in the background. Mysteriously the corpse doesn’t faze him and
he knows he has to get rid of the body but is unsure why, as if he’s in fear
that if he doesn’t do it bad things will happen. Our character suffers from
blackouts, which are sequentially followed by these instances where he awakes
in the room. Basically he believes he has a different life purpose on these
different days. However, the character’s
memory is erased after these days and he has no knowledge of either day. Until one day, his boss at work catches on to
his mysterious absences; our character looks bewildered at the boss insistent
that he never misses a day at work. Following this, he wakes up next to his
boss who is dead. The character thinks this is just another body to dispose of,
unbeknown to the fact it’s his boss. Waking up on the next day he goes to work
to discover his boss is missing, yet there is police involved. He overhears the
police enquiring a co-worker, who replies that he hasn’t be seen for 2 weeks.
During this scene, the camera focuses on our characters face that increasingly looks
confused as to what might have happened. He walks over to his desk to find the
radio playing the same static noise. The trailer cuts to several clips of other
scenes in the film, an action scene, a clip of our character running etc. while
‘Feel Good Hit of the summer’ by Queens of the Stone Age plays.
Audience
Broadcast for a 15+ Audience
Purpose
The trailer for Static Reality has been
created for Warp Films as a competition.
Equipment (Provided free by UTC
Sheffield College)
Camera – Sony Pro HD P100E, Canon 650D DSLR
Mounts – Tripod, Steadicam, Fig Rig
Lighting
Props, Costumes and Models
Wheelbarrow
Bin Liner
Imitation of Drugs
Radio
·
Connor Wright – Suit/Casual
Clothes
·
Mr. Shipman – Suit
·
Ronnie – Casual
·
Policeman – Uniform
Health and Safety Considerations
Risk Assessment
Legal and Ethical Considerations
Static Reality will feature the use of
drugs and violence, so must adhere to the British Board of Film
Classification’s regulations for 15 rated films.
Drugs
Drug taking may
be shown but the work as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse
(for
example, through instructional detail). The misuse of easily accessible and
highly dangerous substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to
be acceptable.
The use of drugs in Static Reality is brief
and intends to showcase the characters’ dependence and addiction. It does not
promote the use of it and portrays the negative effects of using it, depression,
schizophrenia, impairment etc.
Violence
Violence may be
strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest
gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic violence is also
unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal
references to sexual violence but the depiction of sexual violence must be
discreet and justified by context.
There will be a clip of a fight scene, that
won’t show injury. The corpse won’t have any external injury and will just
appear dead. This does not breach the regulations of the BBFC.
We will also be using a copyrighted music
track, Feel Good Hit of The Summer by Queen of the Stone Age, so the proper
legal action must be carried out to request it for use in our trailer. Alex has
filed a request to Kobalt; the legal owners of Queens of the Stone Age to allow
the use of the track in Static Reality. Other tracks used in the trailer are
sourced from Incompetech, provided royalty free and licensed by a Creative
Commons license.
We will
assure that before entering or taking photos of an individual’s private property,
permission is granted from the owner.
The
Data Protection of 1998 states that if an individual is featured in photography
or video footage, their consent must be given for it to be published or
broadcasted. We will make sure that the actors featuring in our trailer will
sign a release form.
Thursday, 20 February 2014
LO2: Planning Documentation for Trailer
Here is some of the planning documentation that me, Jake Dungworth, Lewis Leversidge and Alex Raynes came up with when brainstorming ideas for a trailer we could produce for Warp Films. We wanted to relatively keep the trailer in the style of a conventional Warp production; a gritty, British thriller.
We first ad the idea of the trailer showing a man leading two lives, we would show a man having a normal day, then him waking up in a derelict, abandoned building. We expanded on this idea and came up with many ideas that we will refer back to.
Wednesday, 19 February 2014
Unit 46: Information Notes/Definitions
Preferred Meaning - The meaning the director/producer wants us to accept. What connotations they want us to have, what interpretation to follow etc.
Encoding - "to put into"
Mise-en-Scene - Location, Lighting, Make-up, Costume, Props, Casting, Acting Gesture - generally the way the set has been produced to help set the scene and atmosphere.
Encoding - "to put into"
Mise-en-Scene - Location, Lighting, Make-up, Costume, Props, Casting, Acting Gesture - generally the way the set has been produced to help set the scene and atmosphere.
Tuesday, 11 February 2014
Assignment 1: Brief
Assignment 1:
- Upload at least 5 examples of audio-visual products (idents, trailers, adverts etc)
- Upload 5 examples of either trailers, promo documentaries, music videos and analyse EACH of them according to:
o Purpose
o Form
o Content (what is happening through the MES, CW, ED)
o Meaning (Narrative/connotations and how achieved through MES, CW, ED)
o Genre and how it is shown
o Audience
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
LO1: Analysis of Film Trailers
Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction is essentially a crime drama film, but is noted for its unique blend of black comedy, neo-noir and crime. The purpose of the film trailer is to advertise what the film is about to audiences and why they should see it. Beginning with a quaint piano introduction, as if to connote another typical "artsy" film trailer, an introduction giving information on the film's success and reception at the Cannes Film Festival is played - however, all of a sudden gun shots burst through the text and interrupt the calm elevator-like piano music. The trailer then starts to play Pulp Fiction's famous theme music, while clips from the film are shown in short and fast takes, making the audience feel excited and draws them in.
As far as content goes, there are many significant takes and cuts from the film that help establish the types of characters and situations the characters get into. There isn't a particular straight-forward narrative involved in the trailer, as the film itself is merely a non-linear collection of events that take place in generally the same location where the characters are linked somehow, but some of the obstacles and happenings within the motion picture are denoted due to some of the characters' dialogue - an example is included near the beginning of the trailer when we hear John Travolta telling Samuel L. Jackson about how he is supposed to "take care" of his bosses wife while he's gone.
Many elements in the trailer are used to shape meaning in the trailer also.
Captions are also used throughout the trailer to express the themes connoted within the film, such as "LOYALTY" when Travolta is faced with a dilemma being that he becomes attracted to his boss's wife on the night out, and "BETRAYAL" when boxer Butch (Bruce Willis) breaks an agreement with the same crime boss and is on the run.
The trailer makes the film have an expansive look in terms of location and scenes, increasing the mise-en-scene of the film, with many takes throughout the movie played to match each character, and has scenes filled with clever and humorous dialogue towards the end of the trailer, to create comic relief and show the film's black comedy elements.
The soundtrack of the film changes to suit what feeling they want the target audience to have. For example, when the scenes featuring Uma Thurman and John Travolta are played, the song "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" by Neil Diamond (also featured on the actual motion picture) plays to give the audience the feeling of romance and helps connote John Travolta fighting his urges with Thurman. This changes when Bruce Willis' story comes into play with "Betrayal", where Bruce has wronged Marcellus, and the music is changed to the song "Out of Limits" by The Marketts, featuring a sinister-sounding bassline that makes the audience feel something bad is about to happen, when suddenly, a close-up of Samuel L. Jackson's famous "Oh I'm sorry did I break your concentration?" is shown, which is interpreted as if he is saying this to the audience themselves. The music then changes to the funk, upbeat song "Jungle Boogie", while many short takes of action-packed scenes are shown, almost like a montage of the exciting scenes to conclude the synopsis of the story.
The trailer is aimed towards a broad range of audiences, generally just those into cinema, and since the release of the film has gained a cult following and is hailed as a modern classic and a landmark in the Crime genre.
This Is England
This Is England is a 2004 drama film by Shane Meadows and produced by Warp Films. The film trailer's purpose is to advertise the film and show the audience what the film is about, as well as provide the audience with mise-en-scene into the story and setting. The film trailer is aimed at a broad cinematic audience, and may especially appeal to those who grew up or lived in the eighties and remembered some of its sub-cultures such as the mods and skinheads. It first introduces the main character, an 11-year-old called Shaun who has lost his father in the Falklands War and is taken in by a gang of skinheads. The trailer uses music from that time-period, mainly ska and punk music as that is the prominent music taste of the skinhead culture.
The meaning is shown through some of the content such as music and shots used in the trailer to increase mise-en-scene. The beginning of the trailer shows Shaun having a tough time, explaining he is being picked on at school and that he is upset at the loss of his father. Wide shots of Shaun walking alone through council estates of England and still shots of where he lives are used, helping establish the type of background the characters are from. This is backed up by a melancholy guitar playing in the background to show that Shaun is lonely. There are panning clips of him walking through his street alone and establishing shots of where he lives, such as a shot of the beach near his home.
However the music gets a lot lighter and happier when Shaun is shown introduced to the skinheads in the film. The music also changes to ska music to represent the skinhead culture. There are also quick cuts of black-and-white photographs of him and his new gang to help represent a montage or flashback feel.
Most of the first few takes from the film in the trailer are quite up-beat and happy, resembling the fact that Shaun has made some new friends and feels accepted, showing slow-motion clips of Shaun and his gang of skinheads having a fun time and laughing and jumping around. However the happiness of the trailer is brought to a halt when the antagonist of the film Combo (played by Shane Meadows) is introduced, showing a tense scene between him and the black character Milky, connoting the theme of- racism in the film.
The music then changes to an upbeat rock track with quick cuts of action and fighting, helping show the genre of film as a drama, as well as some dialogue to help tell the story and denote some of the political themes expressed through the film. Like the film itself, it is as if the trailer begins as a feel-good story then slowly progresses to chaos due to wrong influences and manipulation, and this is shown due to the acceleratingly fast cuts between scenes in the editing which helps make the situation look like it is spiralling out of Shaun's control.
The target audience may be primarily for those into independent British cinema, possibly those who follow Meadows' work already, though the film has become extremely popular and reached out to mass audiences and was acclaimed internationally.
Snatch Trailer
The purpose of the film trailer for crime drama film Snatch by Guy Ritchie is used to give audiences an insight into the film and the subject matter it touches upon. It begins with a fast-moving clip of bank robbers unloading weapons before cutting to text revealing the director of the film and other titles he is known for to attract audiences familiar to Ritchie's work. The trailer's pace is significantly faster than the other two, using short, fast takes establishing how many characters are involved in a British heist involving a diamond.
The trailer's content is generally narrated and explained by all the characters from many scenes which help establish what the film is about, explaining situations involving boxing, guns and money, helping the context of the film become more clear. The fast-paced narrative and cuts between characters and setting also help connote the fast, complicated drama itself in the film and create meaning.
Towards the end of the trailer, the soundtrack turns to Incredible Bongo Band's "Apache", while freeze frames of the characters use a special effect to create a pop-art look while listing the cast and who plays each character. The FX used on these freeze frames almost has an American Spaghetti Western feel, similar to the works of Sergie Leone (The Good, The Bad and the Ugly) and could connote some classic Western film influences on the movie.
The film trailer is vey representative of the crime genre, and is shown clearly through its subject matter and what the characters talk about. The use of stereotypical cockney accents also help increase mise-en-scene
After the title in san serif font is displayed on the screen with a dark, gritty moving effect, one last scene involving Brad Pitt playing an Irish character with a strong accent talking to Jason Statham and Stephen Graham is used, ending with the quote "Did you understand a word he just said?" used for comic relief, which is effective in showing the audience the humorous side of the film.
The trailer is generally aimed at audiences over the age of 18, and preferably those into British movies.
Shutter Island Trailer
The purpose of the film trailer for Martin Scorsese's psychological thriller Shutter Island is to advertise the film and what it is about.
The content of the trailer uses long takes, often in slow-motion, along with a variety of shots and camera movements including pans, back-tracking and a large establishing shot of the island. DiCaprio carries the narrative while dips to black help break up the footage. The first half of the trailer is very built up and helps us understand that something bad may be about to happen in the asylum. The music throughout is very atmospheric and brings a dark tone to the story, typical of a psychological drama, and tends to pick up speed as the trailer goes on, as well as the speed of the cuts. This helps connote the speeding confusion and insanity the character goes through in the film, helping contextualise the genre and create meaning.
Certain sound-effects are very stereotypical of a psychological horror, with shrieks and screams in the background, helping the mise-en-scene of a mental asylum become more effective. As character's narrate the synopsis of the film, slow panning shots of prisoners behind bars and dark asylum corridors play to help establish the setting even further.
The trailer tries to convey meaning that there is something sinister about the asylum and that there is something wrong that DiCaprio must uncover - with a lot of dialogue from him and his partner expressing their suspicions with the place, as well as more subtle shots such as extremely quick shots of the blood-splattered womb he is meant to be searching for. As the trailer progresses, the shots get faster and use more visual effects such as white flashes and quick dips to black.
The trailer is very representative of the genre
Being a Martin Scorcese film, fans of his previous films such as Goodfellas and Casino will be part of the target audience this trailer is aimed at, as well as fans of the horror drama. Fans of DiCaprio will also be taken into account for the target audience, and some scenes show a resemblance to the complex film Inception, so fans of those types of films will also be interested in the film.
Trainspotting Trailer
Trainspotting is a 1996 drama film directed by Danny Boyle based on the book by Irvine Welsh. Set in Scotland, the film trailer's purpose is to advertise and promote the film and its subject matter, which is drug abuse and crime.
Despite its dark subject matter and the film's controversial themes, the beginning of the film uses upbeat music while a fast back-track of actor Ewan McGregor running through a city from police plays. While this is happening, a first-person voice-narration by McGregor is played over the edit, reading "Choose life, choose a job, choose a career, choose a family..." It almost immediately throws the audience into the life of the main character who is portrayed as living a drug-fuelled, criminal life.
The use of the gritty neighbourhood setting also helps increase the mise-en-scene of the characters' lives and their addiction to heroin.
The trailer is very fast moving throughout, and tries to introduce each character by freeze framing shots of them in the film in black-and-white, beginning with McGregor's character Renton.
There is no straightforward narrative involved in the trailer, but uses connotations within the characters' dialogue and actions to suggest drug-use and the abrasive behaviour of the characters.
The trailer's editing is quite consistent throughout and doesn't change speed or soundtrack. The speed itself and extremely fast cuts and shots are almost used to confuse the audience and make them ask themselves what's going on. We see strange antics from the group such as shooting a dog with a BB gun, going out in a nightclub, and some disturbing hallucinogenic images seen by the main character which helps show some of the dangers faced through drug abuse. The trailer's narrative is non-linear and doesn't follow any particular chronological order, but this itself is significant to the film's abrasive mood.
The film will have been aimed at quite a general audience, over the age of 18, and those into black comedy/dramas, as well as the previous successful film A Shallow Grave. Trainspotting has since received a cult following and is celebrated today for its extremely positive reception.
Pulp Fiction is essentially a crime drama film, but is noted for its unique blend of black comedy, neo-noir and crime. The purpose of the film trailer is to advertise what the film is about to audiences and why they should see it. Beginning with a quaint piano introduction, as if to connote another typical "artsy" film trailer, an introduction giving information on the film's success and reception at the Cannes Film Festival is played - however, all of a sudden gun shots burst through the text and interrupt the calm elevator-like piano music. The trailer then starts to play Pulp Fiction's famous theme music, while clips from the film are shown in short and fast takes, making the audience feel excited and draws them in.
As far as content goes, there are many significant takes and cuts from the film that help establish the types of characters and situations the characters get into. There isn't a particular straight-forward narrative involved in the trailer, as the film itself is merely a non-linear collection of events that take place in generally the same location where the characters are linked somehow, but some of the obstacles and happenings within the motion picture are denoted due to some of the characters' dialogue - an example is included near the beginning of the trailer when we hear John Travolta telling Samuel L. Jackson about how he is supposed to "take care" of his bosses wife while he's gone.
Many elements in the trailer are used to shape meaning in the trailer also.
Captions are also used throughout the trailer to express the themes connoted within the film, such as "LOYALTY" when Travolta is faced with a dilemma being that he becomes attracted to his boss's wife on the night out, and "BETRAYAL" when boxer Butch (Bruce Willis) breaks an agreement with the same crime boss and is on the run.
The trailer makes the film have an expansive look in terms of location and scenes, increasing the mise-en-scene of the film, with many takes throughout the movie played to match each character, and has scenes filled with clever and humorous dialogue towards the end of the trailer, to create comic relief and show the film's black comedy elements.
The soundtrack of the film changes to suit what feeling they want the target audience to have. For example, when the scenes featuring Uma Thurman and John Travolta are played, the song "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" by Neil Diamond (also featured on the actual motion picture) plays to give the audience the feeling of romance and helps connote John Travolta fighting his urges with Thurman. This changes when Bruce Willis' story comes into play with "Betrayal", where Bruce has wronged Marcellus, and the music is changed to the song "Out of Limits" by The Marketts, featuring a sinister-sounding bassline that makes the audience feel something bad is about to happen, when suddenly, a close-up of Samuel L. Jackson's famous "Oh I'm sorry did I break your concentration?" is shown, which is interpreted as if he is saying this to the audience themselves. The music then changes to the funk, upbeat song "Jungle Boogie", while many short takes of action-packed scenes are shown, almost like a montage of the exciting scenes to conclude the synopsis of the story.
The trailer is aimed towards a broad range of audiences, generally just those into cinema, and since the release of the film has gained a cult following and is hailed as a modern classic and a landmark in the Crime genre.
This Is England
This Is England is a 2004 drama film by Shane Meadows and produced by Warp Films. The film trailer's purpose is to advertise the film and show the audience what the film is about, as well as provide the audience with mise-en-scene into the story and setting. The film trailer is aimed at a broad cinematic audience, and may especially appeal to those who grew up or lived in the eighties and remembered some of its sub-cultures such as the mods and skinheads. It first introduces the main character, an 11-year-old called Shaun who has lost his father in the Falklands War and is taken in by a gang of skinheads. The trailer uses music from that time-period, mainly ska and punk music as that is the prominent music taste of the skinhead culture.
The meaning is shown through some of the content such as music and shots used in the trailer to increase mise-en-scene. The beginning of the trailer shows Shaun having a tough time, explaining he is being picked on at school and that he is upset at the loss of his father. Wide shots of Shaun walking alone through council estates of England and still shots of where he lives are used, helping establish the type of background the characters are from. This is backed up by a melancholy guitar playing in the background to show that Shaun is lonely. There are panning clips of him walking through his street alone and establishing shots of where he lives, such as a shot of the beach near his home.
However the music gets a lot lighter and happier when Shaun is shown introduced to the skinheads in the film. The music also changes to ska music to represent the skinhead culture. There are also quick cuts of black-and-white photographs of him and his new gang to help represent a montage or flashback feel.
Most of the first few takes from the film in the trailer are quite up-beat and happy, resembling the fact that Shaun has made some new friends and feels accepted, showing slow-motion clips of Shaun and his gang of skinheads having a fun time and laughing and jumping around. However the happiness of the trailer is brought to a halt when the antagonist of the film Combo (played by Shane Meadows) is introduced, showing a tense scene between him and the black character Milky, connoting the theme of- racism in the film.
The music then changes to an upbeat rock track with quick cuts of action and fighting, helping show the genre of film as a drama, as well as some dialogue to help tell the story and denote some of the political themes expressed through the film. Like the film itself, it is as if the trailer begins as a feel-good story then slowly progresses to chaos due to wrong influences and manipulation, and this is shown due to the acceleratingly fast cuts between scenes in the editing which helps make the situation look like it is spiralling out of Shaun's control.
The target audience may be primarily for those into independent British cinema, possibly those who follow Meadows' work already, though the film has become extremely popular and reached out to mass audiences and was acclaimed internationally.
Snatch Trailer
The purpose of the film trailer for crime drama film Snatch by Guy Ritchie is used to give audiences an insight into the film and the subject matter it touches upon. It begins with a fast-moving clip of bank robbers unloading weapons before cutting to text revealing the director of the film and other titles he is known for to attract audiences familiar to Ritchie's work. The trailer's pace is significantly faster than the other two, using short, fast takes establishing how many characters are involved in a British heist involving a diamond.
The trailer's content is generally narrated and explained by all the characters from many scenes which help establish what the film is about, explaining situations involving boxing, guns and money, helping the context of the film become more clear. The fast-paced narrative and cuts between characters and setting also help connote the fast, complicated drama itself in the film and create meaning.
Towards the end of the trailer, the soundtrack turns to Incredible Bongo Band's "Apache", while freeze frames of the characters use a special effect to create a pop-art look while listing the cast and who plays each character. The FX used on these freeze frames almost has an American Spaghetti Western feel, similar to the works of Sergie Leone (The Good, The Bad and the Ugly) and could connote some classic Western film influences on the movie.
The film trailer is vey representative of the crime genre, and is shown clearly through its subject matter and what the characters talk about. The use of stereotypical cockney accents also help increase mise-en-scene
After the title in san serif font is displayed on the screen with a dark, gritty moving effect, one last scene involving Brad Pitt playing an Irish character with a strong accent talking to Jason Statham and Stephen Graham is used, ending with the quote "Did you understand a word he just said?" used for comic relief, which is effective in showing the audience the humorous side of the film.
The trailer is generally aimed at audiences over the age of 18, and preferably those into British movies.
Shutter Island Trailer
The purpose of the film trailer for Martin Scorsese's psychological thriller Shutter Island is to advertise the film and what it is about.
The content of the trailer uses long takes, often in slow-motion, along with a variety of shots and camera movements including pans, back-tracking and a large establishing shot of the island. DiCaprio carries the narrative while dips to black help break up the footage. The first half of the trailer is very built up and helps us understand that something bad may be about to happen in the asylum. The music throughout is very atmospheric and brings a dark tone to the story, typical of a psychological drama, and tends to pick up speed as the trailer goes on, as well as the speed of the cuts. This helps connote the speeding confusion and insanity the character goes through in the film, helping contextualise the genre and create meaning.
Certain sound-effects are very stereotypical of a psychological horror, with shrieks and screams in the background, helping the mise-en-scene of a mental asylum become more effective. As character's narrate the synopsis of the film, slow panning shots of prisoners behind bars and dark asylum corridors play to help establish the setting even further.
The trailer tries to convey meaning that there is something sinister about the asylum and that there is something wrong that DiCaprio must uncover - with a lot of dialogue from him and his partner expressing their suspicions with the place, as well as more subtle shots such as extremely quick shots of the blood-splattered womb he is meant to be searching for. As the trailer progresses, the shots get faster and use more visual effects such as white flashes and quick dips to black.
The trailer is very representative of the genre
Being a Martin Scorcese film, fans of his previous films such as Goodfellas and Casino will be part of the target audience this trailer is aimed at, as well as fans of the horror drama. Fans of DiCaprio will also be taken into account for the target audience, and some scenes show a resemblance to the complex film Inception, so fans of those types of films will also be interested in the film.
Trainspotting Trailer
Trainspotting is a 1996 drama film directed by Danny Boyle based on the book by Irvine Welsh. Set in Scotland, the film trailer's purpose is to advertise and promote the film and its subject matter, which is drug abuse and crime.
Despite its dark subject matter and the film's controversial themes, the beginning of the film uses upbeat music while a fast back-track of actor Ewan McGregor running through a city from police plays. While this is happening, a first-person voice-narration by McGregor is played over the edit, reading "Choose life, choose a job, choose a career, choose a family..." It almost immediately throws the audience into the life of the main character who is portrayed as living a drug-fuelled, criminal life.
The use of the gritty neighbourhood setting also helps increase the mise-en-scene of the characters' lives and their addiction to heroin.
The trailer is very fast moving throughout, and tries to introduce each character by freeze framing shots of them in the film in black-and-white, beginning with McGregor's character Renton.
There is no straightforward narrative involved in the trailer, but uses connotations within the characters' dialogue and actions to suggest drug-use and the abrasive behaviour of the characters.
The trailer's editing is quite consistent throughout and doesn't change speed or soundtrack. The speed itself and extremely fast cuts and shots are almost used to confuse the audience and make them ask themselves what's going on. We see strange antics from the group such as shooting a dog with a BB gun, going out in a nightclub, and some disturbing hallucinogenic images seen by the main character which helps show some of the dangers faced through drug abuse. The trailer's narrative is non-linear and doesn't follow any particular chronological order, but this itself is significant to the film's abrasive mood.
The film will have been aimed at quite a general audience, over the age of 18, and those into black comedy/dramas, as well as the previous successful film A Shallow Grave. Trainspotting has since received a cult following and is celebrated today for its extremely positive reception.
Monday, 3 February 2014
LO1: Analysis of Audio-Visual Promos
TV Series Commercials
Commercials for TV series' are a great way for a television channel to promote a programme played on their station. These can be from short twenty-second to minute-long promos.
Here's an example of a TV series advertisement, This Is England.
This promo is used to promote the spin-off series of the 2006 film. The television promo only lasts roughly a minute long and features the main characters at a party jumping up and down. None of the footage in the trailer is featured on the actual series but helps introduce the characters that were seen on the original film by Shane Meadows. The fact that the characters are all jumping around at a party connotes they are young and gives the audience an idea of the types of characters they are. The promo is narrated by the character Woody who introduces the characters one by one, simply outlining them and commenting on their dancing in the video.
I think this is a great way to advertise a spin-off of a film, because this makes the audience want to know more about what is going on with the famous characters after the events on the motion picture set three years earlier.
Idents
Idents are simple promotional clips/texts that help advertise a television channel or programme. This can include the ident on BBC One before a programme starts. This is often red and includes circles spiralling round the BBC One logo. This particular ident, used to remind audiences of what channel they are tuned into, features people riding bikes around the city of London and eventually in a big circle to make the shape of the letter "O".
Music Video
A music video is a video that play along and suits a piece of music. This can feature the artists playing live, or a simple narrative that goes along and suits the music. This can represent what the music is trying to say, or simply have footage of the artists playing. This is the video for the song "No One Knows" by Queens of the Stone Age, which features the band playing in a dark studio, as well as a side narrative of the band driving a car and crashing into a deer.
TV Advertisement
Adverts often come inbetween TV Shows, and a series of them plays for three minutes long. This is how the TV channel makes money. Adverts need to be suited to what they are advertising and more importantly who they are advertising to.
This particular advertisement is an intersting and unusual example. It is essentially targeted at men, but advertises through the point of view of women, using the slogan "This is Your Man Could Smell Like". This appeals to men and creates the agenda that men should use this product to impress your wife.
Game Trailer
The game trailer for PlayStation3 game "The Last of Us" is typical of a game trailer and almost resembles a motion picture trailer, using character narratives and short takes followed by black screens. The cuts of gameplay speed up as the trailer goes on, featuring more action shots of the game.
Assignment 1:
Commercials for TV series' are a great way for a television channel to promote a programme played on their station. These can be from short twenty-second to minute-long promos.
Here's an example of a TV series advertisement, This Is England.
This promo is used to promote the spin-off series of the 2006 film. The television promo only lasts roughly a minute long and features the main characters at a party jumping up and down. None of the footage in the trailer is featured on the actual series but helps introduce the characters that were seen on the original film by Shane Meadows. The fact that the characters are all jumping around at a party connotes they are young and gives the audience an idea of the types of characters they are. The promo is narrated by the character Woody who introduces the characters one by one, simply outlining them and commenting on their dancing in the video.
I think this is a great way to advertise a spin-off of a film, because this makes the audience want to know more about what is going on with the famous characters after the events on the motion picture set three years earlier.
Idents
Idents are simple promotional clips/texts that help advertise a television channel or programme. This can include the ident on BBC One before a programme starts. This is often red and includes circles spiralling round the BBC One logo. This particular ident, used to remind audiences of what channel they are tuned into, features people riding bikes around the city of London and eventually in a big circle to make the shape of the letter "O".
Music Video
A music video is a video that play along and suits a piece of music. This can feature the artists playing live, or a simple narrative that goes along and suits the music. This can represent what the music is trying to say, or simply have footage of the artists playing. This is the video for the song "No One Knows" by Queens of the Stone Age, which features the band playing in a dark studio, as well as a side narrative of the band driving a car and crashing into a deer.
TV Advertisement
Adverts often come inbetween TV Shows, and a series of them plays for three minutes long. This is how the TV channel makes money. Adverts need to be suited to what they are advertising and more importantly who they are advertising to.
This particular advertisement is an intersting and unusual example. It is essentially targeted at men, but advertises through the point of view of women, using the slogan "This is Your Man Could Smell Like". This appeals to men and creates the agenda that men should use this product to impress your wife.
Game Trailer
The game trailer for PlayStation3 game "The Last of Us" is typical of a game trailer and almost resembles a motion picture trailer, using character narratives and short takes followed by black screens. The cuts of gameplay speed up as the trailer goes on, featuring more action shots of the game.
Assignment 1:
- Upload at least 5 examples of audio-visual products (idents, trailers, adverts etc)
- Upload 5 examples of either trailers, promo documentaries, music videos and analyse EACH of them according to:
o Purpose
o Form
o Content (what is happening through the MES, CW, ED)
o Meaning (Narrative/connotations and how achieved through MES, CW, ED)
o Genre and how it is shown
o Audience
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