Film Poster Research 1

 

The main image on this film poster is a low angle shot of a dark intimidating house which looks as though it is towering over the man in the image; this tells us that the house in this image will be a significant part of this film. The colours used on this film poster follow the conventions of this type of film genre black is to show darkness and fear and red is to show danger and blood, this reveals the genre of the film without actually writing the word horror. The writing is underneath the picture and its quite small, smaller than the house this again shows that the house is the most important thing on this poster suggesting it will be important in the film. The fact that the writing is red on a black background helps it to stand out even though it is small. The title is a name of a real existing town which suggests to the audience that this could be a true story. The producers of this poster have included a small skyline which reads ‘From Michael Bay the producer of The Texas Chainsaw massacre’ this is for people who may be a fan of Michael Bay or the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, if they see that this film is also from this producer they may be persuaded to also go and view this film, for the same reason there is production credits at the bottom to show who may have been involved in producing this film.

Trailer Research 3

House at the end of the street

Directed by:   Mark Tonderai

Written by:   Jonathan Mostow

Stars:   Jennifer Lawrence, Elisabeth Shue, Max Thieriot

Released:  21^st September 2012

Age Rating:  15

Genre:   Horror

Institution:  Relativity Media

The house at the end of the street trailer stars with a sting of sound to build tension while zooming in on a young female, this tells the audience that she is the main character which is why the trailer starts with her, the sting of sound suggests something significant and bad is going to happen to her during the film, this creates suspense.

 

 

 

The camera pans into her quite slowly with some slow incidental music to again create tension, once it shows a close up of the female the screen turns to black where it then goes on the show some key bits of action that occur in the film, after a short clip of an event the screen turns to black it does this 3 or 4 times this again adds to the tension and builds up suspense, it makes you wonder what will happen to this girl and when.

 

The clip comes to show a part where the young woman is opening  a box, the camera starts to shake as though it is being filmed by someone who is watching her , there is some incidental slow music before a sting of sound which builds up to something jumping out at the woman and attacking her , the sting of sound builds the tension to this moment which may make the audience jump slightly and feel as though they want to see more.

 

The trailer then goes on to display the institution and Logo this ensures the audience that this film has been made by a trusted company, if the audience recognise the company this may entice them to go and see the film if a film they have previously seen and thought was made by this company. This trailer breaks the conventions of usual trailers as the institution would usually be displayed at the start or end of the trailer, this one has been slotted in between clips of the movie.

 

The trailer shows everything to rewind this may make the audience be in suspense and wonder why this is happening as it is unusual for a trailer to rewind itself and go back over what it has already shown, it then shows a message on the screen which may tell a little more of the story to make the audience either understand the plot a little more or make them feel as though they want to find out more. There is also a hand print behind the writing this could be a clue as to what may happen in the film.

The trailer then plays a sting of sound to re- build the tension, it then goes on to fast paced cuts of events that happen to the girl in the film , this increases suspense as you don’t know what or who is doing the things to her, this again leaves you wanting to see more. Throughout the fast paced cuts you can hear voices and screams from the characters this again adds to the build up of tension to keep the viewer hooked.

 

The producer has also added some dialogue between two of the main protagonists this may help the viewer understand who is who and also it may help them to understand the plot a bit more as the characters talk about the girl who the terrible things are happening to.

 

 

The trailer then goes on to show an equilibrium scene this again breaks the conventions of a normal film trailer as the equilibrium is usually shown at the start of the trailer before any of the bad things start to happen, so the fact that the equilibrium is so close to the end of the trailer may raise a few questions in the audiences heads.

 

It then goes on to show the audience more fast paced cuts which switch between some equilibrium scenes and some scenes where the bad things in the house is happening this again raises questions. The equilibrium scenes help to tell more of the story as it shows us life before everything that happens and it also reveals how the girl came to be in this haunted house.

 

 

 

The camera focuses on a house which is believed to be the haunted house that the main protagonist is in, there is also a voice over which tells the audience more about why the girl was in this house. This may help the audience understand the plot.

 

Incidental music is added throughout this trailer to build suspense. There is a sting of sound which builds up to another significant moment in the film trailer, at the end of the sting of sound something attacks the man in the same way that the woman was attacked previously. There is more fast paced cuts before the name of the film is revealed, the film title is usually revealed at the end so it is the thing that you remember most from the trailer.

 

The film trailer ends with the words ‘Coming Soon’ this leaves the audience waiting making them hungry for more and impatient to see the full movie.

 

 

Trailer Research 2

ZombieLand

Directed by:   Ruben Fleischer

Written by:   Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick

Stars:   Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson

Released:  7th October 2009

Age Rating:  15

Genre:   Horror

Institution: Columbia Pictures

 

 

Zombie Land Trailer starts with an establishing shot of the earth, while this establishing shot is being displayed there is also a voice over telling the audience facts about the earth, this may capture the audience’s attention as they may be wondering why this trailer starts like this, it almost throws them off the scent that this will be a horror/ thriller film.

 

The camera then zooms into the earth onto a street where it then shows the audience fast paced cuts of zombies chasing normal people this reveals what the film Genre is, While the fast pace cuts are screened there is a voice over from the main character, this tells the story to the audience to give them an idea what the story is about, this may gain their interest as they won’t have any confusion as to what this film trailer is all about. Between the voice overs there is a sting of incidental music to add to the tension and make the trailer seem more thrilling and exciting.

 

 

(Fast Paced Cuts)

 

 

There is then some incidental music added before the institution name and Logo is displayed on the screen, the Institution and Logo tells the audience that the film has come from a trusted institution this may increase their trust and help to entice them to watch the film.  The institution is Columbia pictures, Columbia pictures is a huge institution used by many big films.

 

The trailer fades out to black and then fades in on each of the main characters in turn this may help the audience to gain more knowledge as to who is important within the film. There is some incidental music while it fades onto each of the characters to make the trailer seem more energetic and to increase the tension making you think something big Is about to occur.

 

 

After showing the main characters a sting of sound can be heard, the sound seems country – like which tells us that one of the main characters is from the country, this helps us to again understand more about this character. There is also a voice over from the character which helps to tell the story to help the audience understand a bit more of what the trailer is about.

The music once again changes, this time it changes to some rock type music again this adds tension, the trailer then displays the release date of the film this may encourage the audience to go and see it before the cinema dates end.

The Trailer Finishes with the title of the film making it the last thing that the audience see, this will help the title to be remembered as it is the last thing displayed on the screen apart from the release date of the film.

 

 

Trailer Research 1

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xHJOG03eDE&safe=active&noredirect=1

What is the difference between a teaser trailer and a trailer?

A teaser trailer is a shortened down version of the normal trailer and contains less detail and information, this is so it can show one of the good points in the film to get the audience intrigued and excited for the film’s release. A teaser trailer is often released months in advance of the main film coming out.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xHJOG03eDE&safe=active&noredirect=1

The Amityville Horror Trailer

The Amityville Horror

Directed by: Andrew Douglas

Written By: Jay Anson

Released:  July 27^th 1979

Age Rating: 16₊

Institution: Dimension Films

 

The institution logo is displayed at the very beginning of the film trailer this is because the audience may recognise this institution from another film previously made by them which lets them know that this institution is trusted, also if they have seen a film made by this institution which was good then chances are this film is good too which will help persuade them to watch this film. While the logo of the institution is displayed on screen there is some non diegetic sound being played of some dialogue.

 

 

The Amityville horror starts with a sentence displayed on the screen, the sentence reads “Based on a true Story” this will automatically get people intrigued and interested as people want to know about true thriller story’s  and people are always interested to find out more if they know that it has been based on a true, real life story, so this line is quite powerful. It then goes on to show fast paced cuts between news articles and police who look as though they are searching the house , it also shows the real faces of the people who the story is based on , this proves to the audience that it is based on a true story and this will help to keep their attention. The trailer then goes on to show a date, this again proves that this film is based on a true story. It also goes on to give us a little information in words to tell us how the family happened to be in this certain house.

 

 

On the next part of the trailer it shows us clips from the movie, it first shows them moving into this house that is haunted; it shows this first as it wants us to recognise that this house will be a significant part in the film as it is where most of the drama happens. The clip of the family moving into the house makes it look as though the viewer is watching a home video that someone has just filmed as the graphics are slightly distorted and the camera is shaking making it look as though a child has filmed it, this increases suspense as it looks as though we or someone else is watching the families every move.

 

 

 

When the camera moves away from the family the mood changes as it turns to darkness with some lighting strikes, the camera then slowly pans out revealing the house which again makes us think that the house is a very important part in the film , straight after the shot of the house a sentence appears with the words “they only lasted 28 days” this increase tension and makes the audience want to watch the film to find out what this could mean and also to find out what exactly happened to this family. While showing this equilibrium scene there is some incidental soft music that sets a nice mood making you think all is normal, the director then added a sting of sound which builds up to fast paced cuts of bad things that happen in the house.

 

The trailer then shows a lot of fast paced cuts between scenes to show some of the terrible things that happened to this family, this adds to the tension and suspense as it only shows a glimpse of some of the things that happen which entices the audience to continue watching. The screen then suddenly turns black leaving the audience in complete suspense wanting to know what happens. There is some non-diegetic sound in the form of lightening to add to the sinister atmosphere. Throughout the trailer the time of 3:15 am keeps appearing , this keeps the audience intrigued as they may want to know why 3:15 and not any other time, this may make them feel as though they want to watch this film so they can find out.

 

The trailer ends with the name of the film ‘The Amityville Horror’ this is so it is the thing that you remember from watching the trailer as it is the last thing that appears on screen making it memorable.