28 Weeks later - film trailer analysis (Final cut pro)

In this section of my work I am getting used to using Final cut pro. Firstly I went to Trailer Addict to find a film trailer which was suitable for my genre (horror). I decided to use the film trailer 28 weeks later as it involves zombies like the film trailer that my group is going to create. I used Final cut pro to get used to using the different equipment available. 

The first image that you can see above is how Final cut pro is set up. The first screen on the left is where you can put certain scenes, etc. The middle black screen is where text appears if yo add it in to your film trailer. The screen on the right is the film trailer that I dragged into Final cut pro so I could edit it. At the bottom is the whole film trailer where I can edit certain sections, add text, etc. At first I found this set up very confusing, however after a while using it I found it to be very useful the way that you can move certain windows around inside Final cut pro. It was very easy to put cuts in folders, etc as well.

This is the bottom half of Final cut pro. This is where you can edit it and is where I cut the film trailer 28 weeks later into sections. Firstly I selected the cut tool and pressed play, every time the film trailer changed scenes I would press the stop button so I could use the cut tool in that certain place. 

This is the top left section of Final cut pro. This is where you can create folders to put certain scenes in. Also this is the place you drag the film trailer you started with in the first place. A few of the folders I made for the 28 weeks later trailer were close ups, establishing shots, part 1 (The first few scenes) and the start of the trailer (company logo). I put these scenes into these folders to see how many they use during the making of the film trailer and how many my group will have to use whilst making ours. 

This part of the film trailer is when there are numerous quick cuts building up towards the end of the trailer. These cuts all happened between four seconds. This is a quick moving section adding in numerous cuts gives it a really good effect. This section of the film trailer 28 weeks later has shown me how many cuts I will actually need in my film trailer. It has also proven to me that I will need to shoot loads of 1 second scenes to get this effect as I'm not making a film I can't just take scenes out of the film itself. This part of the film trailer itself is only 2 seconds so I will have to make my clips even shorter than that. 

In this image I have added text to one of the sections in the film trailer. I added this text just to prove how easy it is to do something like that and how easy it is to edit the clip after I have filmed it. I just added simple texts saying what the clip was. If this was my actual film trailer the text would make sense and would be in a much better position.

Whilst editing the film trailer of 28 weeks later I found that there were many quick flowing scenes especially leading up too the big climax at the end of the trailer, I will use this in my own film trailer. I also have learn't new skills that I will use whilst creating my own trailer, for example cutting sections out that we don't want in our film trailers, laughing, wrong scenes, etc. When I create my own film trailer I will still be learning different skills but I'm glad I have edited this before to get used to the program and the basics.

Discussion on synopsis

Group synopsis from K Gold on Vimeo.

Here above is our group discussion which we uploaded onto Vimeo. In this discussion we talked about working in a group and what ideas we could add into the trailer through each others synopsis'.

Synopsis and target audience

Synopsis

A small city has been cut off from the rest of the world because of a disease that has changed most of the population that live there into zombies who pass on the disease. However there is still a small majority that live there without the disease. They know they have been cut off for a reason. The majority without the disease live in a small house, which they call the safe house; everyday some people from the safe house brave the zombies who walk the streets, houses and shops to find a way out or even to find more survivors. They soon notice some news on the T.V. that the town is going to be destroyed by a bomb whipping out everything that lives there and the disease. There is no way that the trapped majority can contact the outside world, phone lines have been cut and the only piece of technology they have is the television.

A time and date is set for when the bomb is going to be dropped can the humans escape from the town without getting attacked by zombies is there even a way out of the town.

Once we decided to work as a group we had to develop our idea so we all had an input. Here is our improved synopsis:

In world where people are scared by what goes bump in the night, possessions and floating sheets a new splash of horror is needed to relight true terror and fear to an audience of common day sissies. “The Field” is the new horror set to scare audiences to the bone. A film so horrific it even makes Jason tremble and Freddy wish he was dreaming.

The blissful, tranquil country side a relaxing weekend to allow Mark to relax with his friends just one last time. It is the few months before Mark, Chloe, John and Tasha go their separate ways in life and they decide to have one last weekend together to properly say their goodbyes they pack up and leave the city to relax just them no outsider influences but the world is a new world. Endlessly expanding developing but to what end?

A new wonder wheat has been produced by top American scientists and has been said to be able to end starvation in the world and be used as a new source of energy. Despite the Americans inventions the first major and currently only plantation lies in the UK who previously denied growth of such crops as this isn’t just any crop it’s GM. Kept under wraps by both American and English governments can this wheat truly be the answer?

The villagers that Mark and co originally meet seem distant at times but friendly none the less they appreciate the sentiment of the groups trip and aim to please their guest to their secluded farming town. As night falls things begin to make a terrible turn for the worst as villagers turn savage, feral and start to kill innocent and track down anyone like a pack of wolfs. But what is it that makes the villagers turn so violent.

A new take on the zombie type film jam packed with more tension and fear then ever. Beautifully crafted use of editing and screen play set the mood for the terror factor that is “The Field”. This chilling tale is one not to be missed.

Target audience

A few main characters of the film will be the brave few who search for a way out and look for more survivors, however most of these characters will be male thus making my target audience maybe more directed towards males. Although there will be at least one brave female showing independence and bravery. There will be other characters back in the safe house, more female characters, as the male characters are protecting them.  My target audience will mostly be for all ages that enjoy action packed survival horror. I believe the film will fall into every social group from A to E class as it involves people from every class even if they are just back at the safe house.

Survey monkey research and analysis

I made a survey monkey so that I could research what my target audience would want to see in my film trailer. I asked certain questions to give me information that I needed.

Firstly I asked my target audience their gender so I could work out the average of each question I asked below. Luckly for me the genders were 50-50 having five people each which made my task easier.

My next question was asking the audience their age. Most of the people that filled out my survey were 17 or under, however there were a few over that age. This helps me know what age most of the people that filled my survey out are thus helping me know what age my film trailer is for when im making it.

I then asked my target audience what social group they would place theirselves in. As most of my target audience that filled out my survey are under 17 they placed themselves in section E (Student).

Next I asked them how often they watched films. I did this because if they didnt really watch films the survey would be a waste of time and the results would be usless. Luckly for me that most of my target audience put extremely often or very often, with no one putting that they don't watch films.

This was my most important question as by asking this I found out what my target audiences favourite genre thus helping me choose it to make my film trailer. The most popular was horror so this is the genre I have choosen. The results did very with many people also enjoying the genre comedy.

This question asked the target audience what their favourite film is from the genre they picked above. They all picked different answers thus giving me a wide range of films to look at whilst making my film trailer. Below is what they put for their favourite film.

They then had to say what they enjoyed about the film they had choosen. Some of the answers were useful as some said about the editing, action, sound, etc. However some didn't help me at all just saying that it was well made, etc. Below is what my target audience said.

My next question was about film trailers as this is the main part in my project. I asked them how often they watch film trailers. Again if some people had put no then the results would be usless, however only one person put not at all and the rest put either extremely often or very often.

I then asked them how long they think a film trailer should be. This also is a major question in my project as it has helped me decide how long I should make it last. Most of my target audience said 1-2 minutes which sounds about right as thats how long most trailers last for. No one put over the 3 minute mark however some did say to make it shorter but I believe the majority is right.

My final question asked my target audience what they think the main features are in a film trailer which get people hooked into a film and want to see it. There were 5 options with an extra box underneath if they felt like they wanted to add anything. My target audience thought it was key to have fast flowing scenes (numerous cuts) and have good sound in the trailer. These are the key things I will focus on in my trailer but still wont forget the editing, etc.

Film logo analysis

Above are three film productions that have made three different types of genres of films. These film productions have changed their logo to represent the audience of the film that they have made. The first of the film productions above is a Summit logo, which represents the genre of horror for the film Sinister. The logo is still the same shape and style; however it has changed to a black and white image, which makes it spooky and also adds the effect like its being played by an old projector. This represents the audience more than if it was sweet and cuddly. The cracked effect around the outside of the logo adds effect.

The next image is of the film production Summit again; however this one is a lot brighter than the horror genre one as this one is a romantic thriller. The film it’s representing is twilight. Summit uses gold on a black background to make it stand out. They use gold to show the audience that it is precious and should be cherished thus representing a romantic thriller.

The final image of Disney is for a little children’s film called monsters Inc. The use of pretty colours makes it stand out to the younger audience that it is trying to represent. The name Disney is in the shape of bubble or blow up balloons, which will attract the eye of the younger audience. The shooting star over the castle also represents the younger audience and also can connote for them to make a wish for it to come true.  The castle of the logo is an iconic figure, which younger children will look and ask their parents if they can go to it, this ties in to the shooting star so they wish that they could go there.

Overall film productions change their logos so that it can represent the genre of the film as if it was a horror film and it had pink fluffy stuff coming off of the film production it wouldn’t look right.

 Here is our own BBFC film certificate for our film trailer Remembrance Day. We developed it by changing things on an original BBFC film certificate. We added our name and age certificate to it. This makes our film look much more realistic and professional.

 Here is our film production logo called Jackal. We created in our group of four different types of logo in the end we decided on who's was better. The one on the left is what we choose as it looks the most professional and suits our film trailer at the start. With this production logo it starts off with a black screen then three lights appear one by one in different colours.

Then the texts replaces the lights saying Jackal. We had this lasting for a while until we started editing and we needed to cut it down a little bit so you don't see much of the film production name.

Film magazine analysis - Entertainment weekly

I have decided to analysis front covers of film magazines so I get a good idea of how one is created before I create my own. I decided to analysis the film magazine ‘Entertainment weekly’ as it has a wider target audience, relating to most ages. The title again on this front cover sticks to common conventions taking 1/8 of the page. The title is very bold and is a sky blue colour, which more stereotypically seen as a boy colour. The ‘weekly’ word in the title is again hard to see like the ‘total film’ magazine. There is also a date at the top of the page telling the audience when the magazine was issued. However nomally the masthead would have its own seperate colour however here it doesn't there is also the number 39 in the sky blue. The masthead is the biggest piece of text but not by much as holiday movie preview is almost the same size and is quiet close to the masthead, this could confuse the audience.

The image on the front cover is a close up of the star vehicle in the film he is in. The image is very well light helping the audience to be able to recognise the actor. The image has the characters actual name underneath thus helping the audience even more. It would also help them if some of the audience didn’t know who he was. The key characters in a film are usually white, male, straight, middle class which was said by Medhurst this links to this film magazine front cover. The character in the image looks angry which could tell the audience more about the film they are advertising. However the magazine is missing the common convention of the bar code, it may be on the back but is usually found on the front. Although this magazine could be free thus meaning it doesn't need a bar code.

Some of the text is in bold lettering which is the key information. This makes the key information stick out to the audience without having to focus to read it in small writing. The text is laid out around the image to make it not to complex and so we can still see the star vehicle. The text is mostly laid out around the side and underneath in common conventions; this is exactly what ‘entertainment weekly’ have done. There is also text under the stars name which is compact together however tells the audience what else is inside the magazine thus making the audience have to pick it up to read it. However I don't like this feature as it is very small and compact which makes it hard for the audience to read it without picking it up. The other two magazine I have looked at have had much of the text around the outside of the magazine and image, this one however seems to have more down the bottom. Magazines main purposes are to entertain which is links to the theory of uses and gradification. The entertainment weekly sticks to common conventions well apart from the bar code.

Film magazine analysis - Total film

I have decided to analysis front covers of film magazines so I get a good idea of how one is created before I create my own. I decided to analysis the film magazine Total Film as it has the target audience of teenagers which I can relate too. The masthead of this film magazine again sticks to common conventions as it is at the top of the page and takes up 1/8 of the page. The masthead on this magazine is white and stands out as it’s bold however the piece of the title that said ‘Total’ doesn’t stand out and is quite hard to read. The masthead has buildings in it which relates to the film which it is promoting on the front cover. The colour of the masthead suits both genders making it unisex. The tag line above the masthead is in red which could be seen as a femlae colour as it sometimes connotes to love. This like the Empire magazine could subvert Laura Mulvey's theory of the male gaze turning it into female lust after the lead character in Inception. The tag line helps the audience remember the magazine and could even make them want to read it as they say its mind blowing.

The image is a medium shot of the star vehicle of the film that the magazine is promoting. The space around the character is very well light however on his face it’s quite dark on one side and light on the other, this could connote to the audience that he has two sides. The image hides his identity well from the audience and may lead the audience to believe that they can find out more about his character inside the magazine. The sticker is another piece of advertisement, real or not it’s still telling the audience more information about what’s inside the magazine. Many stickers tell the audience they have the chance to win something however this magazine has gone down a different route just telling the audience what else is inside the magazine. The mist around the character also connotes that he is hiding his identity being misterious. The bar code in the bottom right corner is also a common convention.

On the front cover ‘mind blowing’ is mentioned twice and both times it is it’s in red making it stand out to the target audience and feeding the audience information. The other text is all around the image making the lay out a bit confusing. The main text is in the middle with a bit of colour and boldness, whereas the other text is smaller and harder for the audience to read around the outside of the magazine. The magazine uses mainly just three colours red, silver and white which are mainly unisex colours linking the film magazine to both sexes. Inception is the second biggest text on the front cover telling the audience that this magazine is mainly about the film Inception. However underneath this title it said about 27 most mind blowing movies which tells the audience that there is something in this magazine for every one. Magazines are mainly used for entertainment which links to the uses and gradification theory. This magazine also sticks to common conventions. 

Film magazine analysis - Empire

I have decided to analysis front covers of film magazines so I get a good idea of how one is created before I create my own. I decided to analysis the film magazine Empire as it has the target audience of teenagers which I can relate too. The first thing I notice on the magazine is the bold masthead at the top of the page. The masthead takes up 1/8 of the page which sticks to common conventions. The masthead is bold which makes it stand out to the target audience and is also red which suits both sexes making it unisex. The red however can connote love towards the audience, which could be seen to be trying to relate more to the female sex. This could subvert Laura Mulvey's theory of the male gaze as it could be the females lusting over the character (Harry Potter) on the front cover. The magazine only uses red on the masthead thus making it stand out more and making it unique on the front cover. The slogan underneath the masthead gives the magazine its own piece of text advertising the magazine more. This also gives the audience something to remember the magazine by, as if they heard the slogan they would instantly think of Empire.

The main image is a close up on the star vehicle of the film they are promoting. This makes it easier for the audience to recognise the star. The image is very well light on the characters face; we can actually see blood on his face which may connote trouble or danger for the star vehicle. There are many signs that show that Harry Potter is in danger the text even reads "bloody hell" which relates to the image as he has blood on his face. Another sign that the star vehicle is in danger is the yellow and black line going up the side of the page, this may also connote that it’s a warning of this films excitement. This links to the uses and gradifiication theory of many reasons why people would read a magazine in this case the main reason entertainment. There is also another smaller image at the bottom of the page which is advertising more films, this also gives the audience a wider taste of what is actually inside the magazine without reading it. This could also make a different part of the target audience want to read the magazine as they might want to read about that film and not Harry Potter. The bar code at the bottom of the page is also a common convention. The background of the image is a dark blue which makes the text on top of it stand out and makes it easier to read.

 

The text is mostly down one side of the page which makes it an easier layout for the audience to read. There is also not much text on the front cover thus not making it to complex for the target audience. This actually suits the target audience. The text is bold which also helps the audience read it. The text along the bottom is advertising more films thus making the target market wider, adding different genres of films to the magazine. The exclamation marks emphasises the text thus making the magazine a must read for the audience. The Empire magazine suits its target audience very well and sticks well to common conventions. The text on the front cover advertises whats inside the magazine very well. Having just white text doesn't connote anything about the magazine if anything its telling the audience that the magazine is about all genres.

Film poster analysis - I am legend

The film poster of the horror 'I am legend' is used to tease the audience into wanting to see the film. This links to the theory of Blumer and Katz where the audience can escape from reality as he is the last man alive and there are zombies. At the top of the page is the star vehicles name 'Will Smith' which entices the target audience to come and see the film. The typography of his name is written in a simple style adopting white on a black background. This makes it easier for the audience to read as the bold white writing stands out. It should be noted that the star vehicles name is bigger than the title of the film. This suggests that the production company values Will Smith more than their actual film.

Underneath the star vehicles name is the tag line "The last man on earth is not alone". These words connote fear and shapes the mood and tone of the film. It also sets the narrative of the film by insinuating that there may be heroes and villains present in this story. These would be key characters from Propp's theory. The title of 'I am legend' is near the bottom of the page, which sticks to common conventions. The title is in a bold simple style text, which makes it easy for the audience to read. The title starts of small with each word getting. The word Legend is prominent making it stand out the most. The title is in a yellow/gold colour which connotes victory, it is also a unisex colour so it can represent both genders. The star vehicle is stood just above the title which connotes to the reader that he is the legend.

The background has been made by using Photoshop CGI. The darkness around the image connotes that the star vehicle is isolated/alone which relates to the film. The colour of the sky on the poster makes the audience uncertain on if it is dawn or dusk, this links to Barthes enigma codes. Will Smith's character could reinforce Alvrado's theory of coloured people are portrayed as being dangerous. Will could represent this as he has a gun in his hand. In the background of the image is a broken bridge which could represent there is no escape. Will Smiths character subverts Medhurst's theory. Medhurst quoted that the key characters are normally 'White middle class, straight males', which is subverted by Will being coloured.

At the bottom of the poster there are credits and production logos. This tells the reader who were involved of the creating of the film. This could lead the audience to research the production company and other films they have created.

Film poster analysis - The Final Destination

The film poster of the horror 'The final destination' is used to promote the film to the audience and tease them into wanting to see it. This links to the theory of Blumer and Katz where the audience can escape from reality and place themselves into the shoes of the characters in the film. At the top of the page we can see the caption 'Rest in pieces'. This relates to the image below the text really well as it shows a skull with smashed glass around it. The typography of the caption is written in simple text and has adopt the white writing on a black background. This makes the text stand out towards the audience, as it makes it easy to read.

 

Below the caption is the image that I described above. It has been created by using Photoshop CGI. The image is very dark around the edge of the skull which could link to isolation of the key characters/death. The skull also connotes that the film is about death. However the skull itself has definatly been edited to stand out more by adding a bright white. The smashed glass as I've mentioned above relates to the caption 'Rest in pieces'. The skull could connote to the audience that there is no way the actors can escape death.

 

The title 'The final destination' is below the image. The text again is very simple written in white on a black background, which makes it easier for the audience to read. The text has been given an extra special effect with an inner glow so again it stands out on the poster. Even the film title 'The final destination' connotes death to the audience, saying its the last stop in life. Underneath the title there is more typography saying 'Death saved the best for 3D'. This text gives the audience information that the film will be in 3D which may explain why the glass is coming towards you in the image.

At the bottom of the page there is the date telling the audience when the film is coming out. This pieceof typography is in red which relates to the audience as it is a unisex colour. The red could also connote to blood connoting even further death again. Finally there is 'The final destinations' website, which the audience can get more information on the film from or even leading to more promotion products for example film trailers. Also in the bottom right corner there is the companies logo which is selling the company to the audience. Enticing the audinece to look at more productions of theirs. There are no credits added to this poster so not telling the audience who is acting or involved in the film.

Film poster analysis - Alien Vs. Predator

The Alien vs. Predator film poster is used to tease the audience into wanting to see the sci-fi film. This links to Blumer and Katz theory where by audiences are allowed to  escape from reality.  There are many aspects on this teaser poster that makes it stand out. An example of this would be the film title in neon glowing blue, this tells the audience straight away that this film is the genre of sci-fi. The neon blue could also target the male demographic audience. The typography used on the poster is a simple text which is easy to read. All of the text is in capital letters making it stand out towards the audience. Underneath the title is the date (Coming Autumn 2004), this gives the text a chronological order so that the audience read the main pieces of text first. The final piece of typography shows the films tag line "Whoever wins. We lose.", this creates fear for the audience as it connotes that their is no chance of us beating these two sci-fi villain creatures. This links to Propp's theory of key character that there is always villains, heroes, etc, obviously the audience want the humans to survive however they have two villains to escape from.

This film poster of Alien vs Predator is very dark and misterious which connotes to the audience that this is a horror film. It also connotes isolation which could lead to audience believing that the humans are trapped, especially if they add the isolation with the tag line. The darkness links to Levi Strauss's theory of Binary opposition of the contrast between the light and the dark. The light on the two creatures reflects off of them towards the reader, however you cant see the creatures eyes. This hides their characters as you can't be sure if they are both evil as one may be fighting to save the human race instead of them being villians. However this changes especially with the Alien as we can see its shinny dark teeth this denotates fear into the audience, showing that the creatured should be feared.

Film analysis - 28 days later

28 days later
Box office: $44.9 million
Budget: $5 million
Distributed by: 20th century fox
Genre: Horror
Certificate: 18
Release year: 2002


At the start of the horror film trailer '28 weeks later' we see the film trailer certificate on a green screen. The certificate then disappears and the film logo of Fox search light production, however this is a play on words the actual company is just Fox. The search lights are used as a pun as the longer the logo stays on the screen the search lights turn off until we have a completly black screen, this tells the audience that the trailer is horror as black could be linked to the genre. Whilst this is happening we hear non-digetic sound of the search lights switching off. This sells the production company to the audeince telling them that they were involved.

Straight away we have simple white text on a black background appear which reads 'On the first day', whilst this is on the screen we hear non-diegetic of a siren which you could relate to as warning the audience of danger. The text half fades on the screen and then appears fully again, this happens numerous times. When this occurs we hear non-diegetic sound of people screaming, this connotes to the audience that the people are underthreat. The screen then flashes white before the word 'Exposure' appears. The typography of the text is bolder than the other text which makes it stand out towards the audience. The camera then seems to be in the perspective of something running at a women. She appears to be scared. The camera runs at the women until we get to a close up of her. This could explain the screams we heard earlier. Then the scene turns to black and more text appears. This text reads 'Day 3' it is in the same text as 'On the first day'. The screen again flashes white and more text appears which reads 'Infection' and yet again it is bolder. We hear non-diegetic sound it sort of sounds like a monster/zombie. The further the film trailer goes on the audience start to understand the story behind the disease which turns people into zombies.

The screen then flashes quickly three times and we can make out people running into their vehicles. There seems to be something after them. As the camera is at foot level we can see rats running a long the floor, this suggest that the rats are infected and are spreading the disease. 'Day 8' appears on a black screen then and we can hear diegetic sound of someone breathing heavily. The scene then changes to a young adult female lying on a bed, she seems dazed. We can tell this as the camera seems blured, which adds an effect to the audience, feeding them information maybe suggesting she has been biten, etc. The black screen appears again with the same bold typography as before however this time it reads 'Epidemic'. This disappears and we see a quick scene of people running, the camera again is at foot level. This turns black and then we see another quick scene of someone shinning a flash light, this links to the search light production from fox. 'Day 15' then appears on the screen in the same font as it has done during the whole film trailer. When this is happening we hear non-diegetic sound of the siren going off again. Then more fast flowing scenes occur going straight from black to scene to black to scene. The scenes seem much more lighter however are still scenes of people running away. The screen goes black again with text reading 'Evacuation'. When this is on the screen we hear non-diegetic sound of police sirans (This siren isn't the same as before however and is much more identafiable). This text seems to half disappear before being replaced. The word evacuation tells the audience that they are evacuating the city trying to save everyone.

The screen stays dark with the text 'Day 20' written on it. We then see numerous explosions which tell the audience that they are trying to distroy the disease by what ever cost. The word 'Devastation' then appears on the screen and comes from out of the darkness towards the audience. We then see a man get out of a hospital bed the camera looks down on him, this could state that he is a lower class. The screen then turns black with the words '28 days' this then fades to black and comes back reading '28 days later' this reminds the audience of the film title. It also gives the indercation that the film trailer is about to pick up the pace. When this occurs the film trailer is silent. We then see this man looking around trying to find people the scenes change and sometimes fade to black. Again fading to black could relate to the genre of horror. We see phones swinging, we don't know if the man has touched them or there is someone there with him, this teases the audience. When all of this is happening the film trailer remains silent. The man then exits the hospital and looks around outside, there are numerous images of the devastation in the town and close ups on the mans face, thus showing the audience features in the film. This establishes the scene for the audience. We hear the man shouting 'Hello' down the streets this tells us that he is looking for someone to help him as he doesn't know what is happening. This dialogue echos down the streets. As the word evacuation had already appeared on the screen it tells the audience he has been left behind and will have to try to escape to save his life.

We then see a close up of the mans face which looks like its covered in blood, the title of the film is written in the middle of his face. So this doesn't tell the audience if this is part of the film or not. This fades to black. We see more text appear telling the audience who is involved in the film and what other films they have created. This text is white on a black background and is very easy to read for the audience. As this is happening we hear non-diegetic sound which could be related to a horror film/zombie film. The scene then goes to a close up of the mans face, he seems as if he has been alone for ages and is starting to struggle. The non-diegetic sound continues. The scene change to a black screen with more text on it saying 'The days are numbered' this connotes to the audience that if he doesn't escape he will die. This text travels away from the audience into the darkness. We then see a quick scene of zombies against glass, however this happens really quick. There is no sound when this happens, this doesn't stick to common conventions as normaly we would hear an attack to scare the audience. The screen then turns black for the final time with text on it saying soon. The screen also has the film logo again in the bottom right hand corner and there website to find more information in the bottom left. This text disolves into darkness as we hear a zombie scream. Then lastly more text appears to do with copyright.

Film trailer analysis - Jaws

Jaws
Box office: $470,653,000
Budget: $9 million
Distributed by: Universal pictures
Genre: Horror
Certificate: 18
Release year: 1975



This Jaws film trailer is used to sell the film towards the audience. At the start of this horror film teaser trailer "Jaws" we just see a black screen which connotes the genre of horror towards the audience. This then fades into an image of a person swimming in the sea. We are looking up towards the person so we are in the perspective of the shark. As this is happening we hear the conventional non-diegetic sound of a shark coming. This then again fades to black when this happens the sound stops/takes a breather inbetween scenes.

The next scene is of the person in the sea from above the water. The scene fades from black into this establishing shot. The sun is setting in the background thus telling us that it is getting close to night time. We can't tell what gender the person is as the light on their face is hiding their identity. We then hear the diegetic sound of the waves moving as she comes up from underneath the water. We then realise it is a women as we hear her breathing as if she as been holding her breath for a long time under water. This could also connote that she has seen something under the water and that she is scared. The scene then fades to black and the diegetic sound stops again.

The camera view changes yet again back to the perspective of the shark from underneath the water. We see the female trying to keep afloat by moving her arms and legs. Again we can't tell what she looks like as the camera is still trying ti hide her identity. Whilst this is happening we can hear the dramatic sound of which you would connote to a shark attack. It seems much louder than it did before thus connoting to the audience that the film trailer is about to climax. The scene then fades to black again.

The film trailer than flashes the women being dragged under the water, we can't tell if its a shark but it definatly drags her down with some force. When this happens the camera is from above the surface of the water and we briefly get to see the females facial features. When this occurs we hear the diegetic sounds of the waves hitting her body still, however after the brief second when she gets pulled under the orchestral non diegetic sound occurs again. The sound is much louder before as it is at its climax. After the flash of her being dragged under bold red text appears on the screen. It reads 'Jaws' this tells the audience for the first time what the film is actual called. The text appears from out of darkness and comes towards the audience, the orchestral sound is still playing. This makes the text seem as if it is the shark. However throughout the whole of the film trailer we can't actually know it is a shark as we don't see it. This could be down to the fact that it was created in 1975 and the right technology wasn't as big for example CGI.

Film trailer analysis - Alien Vs. Predator

Alien Vs Predator
Box office: $172,544,654
Budget: $60 million
Distributed by: 20th century fox
Genre: Sci-fi/Horror
Certificate: 18
Release year: 2004



At the start of the Sci-fi/Horror film trailer "Alien Vs Predator" we see the film trailer certificate on a green screen. This then disappears and the film production logo (20th century fox) appears, however it isn't in its usual form as it appears to be much darker which tells the audience straight away the film trailer they are about to watch is the genre of horror. We also don't hear the usual 20th century fox non-diegetic sound instead we hear other different non-diegetic sound that sounds like a horn which gets louder as the logo stays on screen, which builds tension before the film trailer has even began. Throughout the rest of the film trailer the film production logo of 20th century fox stays in the bottom right corner, the logo is in grey which doesn't stand out to the audiences eyes however they would be watching the film trailer. This sells the production company to the audience. The screen then turns to black.

After the screen turns to black we have numerous shots which fade in towards the alien/predator after every shot we see it then fades out back to black, this connotes the genre of horror. They use close up shot on the alien/predator so we can't tell exactly what they look like thus teasing the audience to watch on. The camera pans when these close ups are shown so that the camera is moving over the bodies of the alien/predator. These close up shots include the likes of claws from the predator etc. Whilst these close ups are happening we hear diegetic sound of the alien or predator, you can tell the difference between the two creatures. Half way through the sound gets more intense building up towards the end of the film trailer, the scenes get quicker and more movement is seen during the fade ins and fades out of the pan shots. The diegetic sound of the creatures gets louder and more aggressive. We can also hear the normal intense sound for horror films as it is building up towards the end.

We start to see flashes of the creatures faces, which leads to the audience starting to know what these creatures look like if they hadn't seen the spin of films of "Alien,1,2,3,4" and "Predator,1,2". These flashes of their faces don't even last for a second which tease the audience even more, these scenes fade straight to black like the rest of the trailer. After numerous pans, close ups of the alien/predator the screen fades to black. White texts appears on the left of the screen which reads "Whoever wins..." the camera zooms out slowly from this before the text disappears. As this happens more white text appears on the right side which reads "We lose" this carries on zooming out. This text tells the audience that we have no chance against these creatures. The text is also in capital letters which emphasises how important this text is for the film. When the first bit of text appears we still hear a little bit of diegetic sound from the alien/predator however this becomes silence by when the second part of text appears.

Then the screen flashes white before numerous of really quick scenes happen. We hear the diegetic sound of the alien/predator scream. The scenes we see are still dark and misterous but we can see more features of the creatures, for example the equipment of the predator. The quick scenes make them seem as if they are in battle against each other which leads the audience to be excited. This links to one of the uses and gradification theory from Blumer and Katz, that audiences watch films, trailers, etc. to become thrilled or excited. The scenes are also very jumpy especially when the alien goes to attack near the end this relates to horror. When the alien attacks the screen the flashes white again with the film title Alien vs Predator appearing. The text drifts backwards just alittle bit before the screen flashes white for the final time, before we see the words "On earth summer" this tells the audience the setting etc, feeding the audience information. Behind the text we see the earth with the camera panning in towards it. Finally they have added their website to the bottom of the screen so if the audience want any more details/spoilers they can go to their website.

From this teaser trailer there hasnt been any actual film footage seen, however they have introduced both of the creatures.

Technology improvements

Many recent improvements in technology have made it easier to edit/produce video content. We can even get close to the same standard of an actual film production company. Apple macs have allowed us to gain the equipment to produce and edit such things as sound, video and images on programs such as garage band and final cut pro. We can even edit images to a very high standard that they can corrupt people, an example of this is a person that looks really fin (Which has been edited on a mac) who actual isn't so can make girls/boys do extreme stuff to become like the model. This is easily done on Photoshop however people still believe that these are true images. We have even improved our camera quality for reording moving images. They apear much more clearer and detail now in HD quality. Many of this equipment isn't very expensive and is available to many people around the world. This is a key factor in why I choose to create a film trailer as it seemed a lot of fun and we now have the equipment to create such a product in a high quality standard.

Film trailers are much easier to distribute to audience now than what they were ten years ago this is because over the last decade many people have started to use the internet and go on sites such as Youtube and Social websites such as Facebook. Social networking sites can be used to share things you find interesting for example a new film trailer that has been distributed on Youtube. This makes it easier for the disributor to distrubute their film thus the advance in technology has helped them. Also technologies such as Final cut pro, Phtotshop have become updated and easier to use for the audience thus making it easier to go into film production as people can edit what they are creating for example a film trailer or a short movie.

History of film trailers

Movie trailers have changed over the past 50 years. They have developed there own styles and have changed pace and shortened over the decades. There are many things which define a film trailer for example their personalities or characteristics, what I mean by this is is that you would expect to see blood, gore, etc in a horror film trailer.

During the 1950's film preview trailers were very long and would tell the audience most of the plot/story. This ruins the whole movie for the audience however could tell the audience that they would enjoy the film. They also flashed words on the screen such as terrifying to scare the audience.

During the decade of the 1960's film trailers still flashed bold words to scare the audience. They would also often show the ending of the film which would reveal the exciting effect thus ruin the film. They tried to build actors names more in this decade trying to make them big names. Finally the used narration to summarize the story for the audience making it easier to take in.

Over the period of the 1970's film trailers were still very long, however got tightened a bit thus not showing the audeince the whole film. This shows us that they revealed less of the plot to the audience, however they still showed many key spoiler scenes. They also went against common conventions as many film trailers have a little bit of an order for example having establishing shots first, although in the 1970's they didn't do this so they could confuse the audience.

During the 1980's the film trailers were even tighter again which would tell very little of the story to the audience. The trailers would often include scenes which were cut from the actual film. Finally they would also not include spoilers thus not revealing anything so it would be a total mystery about the film.

From the 1990's onwards film trailers tend to use rock music in the background and zoom editing styles are used. The whole plot of the film are mainly kept quiet and we only get to see some fast images put together. Some people even say that the film trailers are better than the actual film itself.

Why I am doing a film trailer and why I have chosen blogger

For my A2 coursework I have decided to produce a film trailer, poster and magazine front cover for my final product. I choose this as I would like to look into this side of media as last year I created a music magazine. This year I think I will enjoy looking at the technologies available to me for creating such things as a film trailer, production logo and the common conventions in how film trailers are portrayed. I have chosen to upload my work onto blogger to record the progress I make with my final productions. I used blogger fo my AS coursework and it has been very useful as I can use it from anywhere which has internet connection, whereas if I were to just keep it on a memory stick it could be easily lost. Blogger also allows me to imbed many things such as videos, so when I go to look at different film trailers for common conventions I can imbed them onto blogger so I can show my work clearly.

A2 starts here!

A2 Advanced Portfolio 

For my A2 Advanced Portfolio I have decided to undertake the film promotion brief because having studied the film industry for the AS Media exam I have developed a keen interest in this area and wish to learn more about practical film making. In terms of the ancillary tasks, I am going to create a poster and a magazine cover as I wish to improve on the print skills I developed at AS. Another reason this brief appealed to me was the opportunity to work creatively/collaboratively with three other people as I feel this experience will be very different to working alone like I did for AS.

My final magazine

Evaluation of the project

These two links below are to my evaluation videos. They explain my projuct as a whole and what I did through the making of my magazine.
Part 1

http://youtu.be/XkJF0ZiJjfU

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Part 2

http://youtu.be/7CydyI0aNqo

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Institutions of magazines

The whole class made a prezi about institutions of magazines. My input to the prezi was the information about Bauer. In total there were four companies we had to research, these were Bauer, Hearst, IPC Media and Conde Nast. Some piece of key information I inputed are what genres of magazine they do, how many employees they have and its sister company, plus more. Here is the prezi

 

The NME magazine was made by IPC MEdia. There is numerous sections of information on the prezi. One of the key fact I found from the IPC Media was that in 2011 IPC Media had to shed their circulation year on year because of decline sales of music magazines NME and Uncut. Also recently Uncut published old NME interviews.

I believe my magazine is mostly mainstream. I believe this because it sticks to all of the common conventions. If a company had to make my magazine it would most likely to be Bauer or even IPC Media as they make mostly mainstream magazines, for example Q and Kerrang.

There are many advantages of using new technology whilst companies make there magazines, for example using the ipad to sell their magazines. This can save paper and trees which most of their audience will support. As if they only had it online they would only have to make one copy instead of hundreds. Also having a magazine on a piece of technology makes it easier to carry, as you can carry numerous magazines without it being really heavy or them getting crushed by luggage. However with that plus there are also negatives, for example K-Composite sell their magazines online only for free. This makes more people buy there magazine instead of others, making companies that make magazines with a price have less sell sales. Running another company out of a business or making a company sell their magazine for less money. Another disadvantage is that a magazine can't run out of battery where as media technology can. 

Double page construction

Here is my construction of my double page spread. I stuck to common conventions and also listened to my target audience, however sometimes didn't follow what my target audeince wanted.

Here is my background of the Photoshop double page spread. I got this image to play on the fact that the star is called George England.

Next I made the flag look faded which I thought would make my writing stand out easier from the background.

After this I added page numbers to the bottom right and left this stuck to common conventions because every magazine tells the audience what page they are on. I also made sure that these numbers were the same as the ones on the images of the contents page. This makes the font stand out to the reader.

I then got an image of star and cut the black background out from around him to make him stand out next to the flag. This wasn't my plan at the start as I had planned to have the star out and about, not in the studieo however this didn't work out and I had to use an image that I had taken before hand.

After that I added text around the star telling the audience what the interview was about. Again I had to outline the text to make it easier to read off of the background. I made the text go around the star because as the audience read the text they can also see the image.

Next I added a title which I made blue. This colour again is unisex, however could be seen as a boys colour. I put this at the top of the page so it is the first thing that the audience will read.

Finally I added my interview with George onto a back of a guitar. I thought this was a really good idea to show what instruments George can play, giving the audience more information about the star. Taking the photo of the guitar was hard however as I had to edit the background of the image and it toke along time as it is a hard shape to work with.