These trailers are good to watch for inspiration as the trailers are of the same genre that our trailer will be. Also the films are both independent and was produced on a low budget, just like our trailer will be. They are both a zombie horror film trailer which is the genre our group plan to create. We have been discussing how the zombie should look, these trailers will help us with this decision.
Bad trailers to watch for inspiration...
World War Z (2013)
This would be an example of a bad trailer to watch for inspiration as the film is a 'blockbuster' therefore was produced on a high budget. Also the trailer uses lots of effects which would be difficult for our group to create due to the lack of budget.
Warm Bodies (2013)
This would be an example of a bad trailer to watch for inspiration as the film's genre is zombie and contains romance and comedy, this is not the genre of trailer we would like to create. Our group has decided to create a zombie horror trailer.
The mass media has a direct, immediate and the powerful effect on it's audience. The media 'injects' audience with an appropriate message designed to trigger a desired response.
Cultivation theory
George Gerbner and Larry Gross states that the more time people spend 'living' in the TV world, the more likely they are to believe social reality on TV.
Desensitisation
Prolonged exposure to media violence may have drip-drip effect on young people and they become desensitised to violence.
Modelling or copycat theory
The copycat theory is something that is publicised in the media that creates lots of attention, this can result in other people imitating/ copying this.
Uses and gratifications theory
Blumler and McQuail (1967) stated that the media satisfies four basic needs, these include;
I have looked on IMDb website to find out what is the most popular horror and zombie films there is.
I first looked at the horror genre, here are the most popular horror feature films.
Here are the highest rated horror film, the top US grossing horror titles and the lowest rated horror feature films all voted by the users.
I then looked at the most popular zombie horror films. The majority of the films are rated R which is the equivalent to rated age 18, we plan to our film to be an 18 however our trailer will be appropriate for under 18's.
The genre of the trailer is a post-apocalyptic horror film. The theory that relates to this trailer is Andrew Sarris'; the genre of zombie/ horror is recognised throughout the film trailer from the colours used, costumes, locations and many more. The colour scheme used in the trailer is red, white and black which is associated with this genre, the locations used in the film are abandoned which is a recognisable style of the genre. Another theory that relates to this film trailer is Levi Strauss and Roland Barthes' theory of binary opposites as the trailer shows good (humans) versus evil (zombies), this appears in most zombie/apocalypse films. The trailer uses titles between montages, one of the titles says 'scary as hell' this tells the audience that the film is a horror.
Representation
The trailer uses the typical stereotypes for male and females, the trailer relates to Laura Mulvey's theory of the 'Male Gaze' as the protagonist is male therefore the film is from his perspective. The trailer looks at women as stereotypes this is shown through the females in the trailer are represented as vulnerable and weak, a female is a big red 'princess' dress portrays the 'damsel in distress'. The male protagonist appears to be hopeless and lost as he is wandering around abandoned London, however this changes when become the hero to save the female character.
Narrative The film's narrative is about a virus that is created in a chimp and the chimp is then released by an animal rights activist and infects the activist, the virus then spreads around the UK. The male protagonist Jim, then wakes up in hospital 28 days later to find the hospital deserted and tries to find out what has happened, he joins a group of survivors, they plan to travel to Manchester to where they have been told the 'answer to infection' is. The narrative is shown through a montage of clips, which is mostly in chronological order this gives the audience an idea of what the film is about. Propp's theory features in this film as the trailer uses the character types that Propp suggested such as hero which is the male protagonists role, the villains which are those who are infected, the princess would be the female character in the dress as she appears to be the 'damsel in distress' who the hero will rescue, also usually a father figure/ donor is used in a film who is stereotypically a priest however in the trailer it shows the protagonist turning to a priest for help however he is already infected. Audience
The film is rated 18, therefore the target audience of the film is primary for those over the age of 18. The director of the film is Danny Boyle, his name and other films that he has directed have been used to 'sell' the film as it appears in the titles, this has been done so existing fans of the director or his previous films will be encouraged to watch the film. The horror is usually seen as a male genre due to the high levels of violence, language and stereotypes used within the genre. The film will also appeal to those who are already a fan of the horror genre, however will not appeal to those who are easily frighten. The plot seems to be straightforward and easily to follow, however the audience when watching the film will still need to be active so they do not miss key moments/scenes in the film.
Media Language Cinematography
A variety of shots have been used in this trailer, long shots and wide shots have been used on the protagonist when he just wakes up to show him isolated and lonely, high angles and crane shots have also been used to show the characters vulnerability as he is confused and does not have a clue what is going on. Medium shots and close up's have also been used to demonstrate the characters emotions. Throughout most of the trailer the shots are framed with one person per shot, the infected are mostly not framed with those who are not which could express the contrast between the two. There is a high angle shot of a cross which is a religious symbol this is a common object used in horror films, as the cross in some horror films is usually used to defend against evil however it does not in this film. Editing
Fast cutting has been used in this trailer to create drama and capture the panic of the characters, this is a convention of the horror genre. At the beginning of the trailer, title cards have been used showing taglines, this has been used to build up tension and give the audience a basic understanding of the plot. These title cards have been used in a montage with intervals of footage from the film, this again builds suspense. Each clip has a different shot from a different angle to the previous and is
taken in a different location giving a sense of progression of story. Towards the end of the trailer fade to black have been used to create drama. At the end of the trailer a tagline has been used saying 'the days are numbered'. Jump cuts have been used in this trailer, which are unusually featured in horror films, this expresses the sense of disorientation that the characters feel. Mise-en-scene
The trailer uses low key lighting throughout the trailer which is a recognisable style within the genre of horror. The trailer has numerous locations such as; hospital, church, gas station and abandoned city, which is usually associated with the zombie horror genre, also these locations are seen to be places of safety that people turn to. The locations have rubbish covering the ground, a bus on its side, abandoned cars, phones off the hook and many more which suggests that there was chaos and that people left in a hurry. The clothing of the male protagonist when he is first introduced wearing scrubs, this is because he has just woken up in hospital and also could show his confusion. There is a female dressed in a big red 'princess' dress, the colour red indicates danger which could suggest that the character is in danger. The font of the text used on the screen would usually associated with horror/zombie film genre. the colours of the text are white and red on a black background this is because these colours are associated with the genre and red symbolises danger and blood (infected) and white symbolises pure and good (human) this could be done to tie in with the binary opposites theory of good versus evil. The make up used in this trailer to create the infected makes them took scary so they are feared by the audience, contacts have been used to create the evil yellow eyes that appear through the window at the end of the trailer. Sound
The trailer begins with a non-diegetic sound as sirens are playing this indicates a warning. Also crashes, explosions and screams can be heard suggesting disruption. All the diegetic and non-diegetic sounds used create a sense of chaos. Then trailer then cuts to an abandoned London, where it is silent with the use of dialogue from the protagonist as he shouts 'Hello' which echos and creates and spooky atmosphere, this reinforces the loneliness and vulnerability of the character as he is alone. Non-diegetic music starts to play after the protagonist jumps as he see something in a car, along with the music dialogue from the film is played however this dialogue is not from the scenes shown in the trailer, this could suggest disorientation. The timing of the sounds are quite short, the transitions between each sound is quick which matches the fast cuts used in the trailer. In contrast to the rest of the trailer, peaceful music plays towards the end of the trailer until a female character says "They're dead, and you're going to be next" then a scream can be heard.
The genre of this film trailer is Zombie apocalyptic. The theory that relates to this trailer is Levi Strauss and Roland Barthes’ theory of binary opposites as the trailer includes good versus evil, humans versus zombies. Also the trailer has used the idea that the genre has a recognisable style that draws in an existing audience, this is the theory of Andrew Sarris; the genre of zombie is recognised throughout the film trailer from the colours used, costumes, locations and many more. The colours in the trailer are dull such black and grey, the text on screen is grey on a black background this is used to display name of the film, actor and release date, these colours have been used as they are associated to the genre of zombie. The film is located in a city which could be used to express the fact the virus is spreading as a city has a large population. The trailer also features footage and clips showing that the virus has spread to other countries such as Germany, this may be a recognisable style of the zombie genre as lots of zombie films have used this idea of including news footage and video recordings.
Representation
The trailer uses typical stereotypes for a male and female, the protagonist played by Brad Pitt is shown to be brave, strong and heroic, as this character was asked to help save the world. The female who plays the protagonists wife is also represented as a stereotype of a female which is usually caring, emotional and weak, this is shown when her husband stepped out of the car she was shown to be caring about her husband’s safety also reassuring her children that everything is ok, the female character was never shown as the hero in the trailer.
Narrative
From the trailer we see the theory from ‘Todorov’ as at the start of the trailer it is calm and we see a family playing a game in a car which is the equilibrium, then there is a disruption when the policeman on a motorbike smashes the wing mirror and there is an explosion, the events then escalate as the trailer progresses. However the trailer does not show the equilibrium restored this is so the audience will want to go and watch the film to see what happens, also the trailer only shows a ‘sneak peak’ at some of the scenes during the disruption but it does not give away the whole plot, for example the audience still do not know how the disruption occurred. Another theory that features in the trailer is Propp’s theory as the trailer uses the character types that Propp suggests such as a hero who is the protagonist, the villains’ would be the zombies and the princess would be his wife and his children as the protagonist appears to be trying to ‘save the world’ to protect his family.
Audience
The film is rated 15, however the trailer has a lower rating as the trailer has appeared on pre-watershed advertising slots on TV, however the target audience of the film is primarily people over the age of 15. Also the trailer will appeal to both a male and female audience, as the trailer uses lots of explosions and is 'action packed' which is stereotypically favoured by males in a film, however it could also appeal to a female audience as the protagonist is played a attractive big named star, Brad Pitt, so previous fans of the actor may want to watch the film. The film is based on a book with the same title therefore fans of the book may also want to watch the film to see how the film compare to the book. The audience for this trailer is passive as the trailer is easy to follow and does not require a great deal of concentration to understand what the film is about.
Media Language Cinematography
Long shots are used a lot in the trailer, especially used on the zombies, the zombies fill the frame to show that there are more zombies than humans and the virus is getting much worse. however in contrast close ups have been used on the humans, usually one human per shot to show their vulnerability and emotions. The protagonists family is also framed mostly together which suggests that they are stronger when they are together. A crane shot has also been used to show the location and the large mass of zombies.
Editing Fast cutting has been used in this trailer to express the panic of the public. There are montages of clips and in between a title appears on the screen saying "This Summer", "Brad Pitt", "World War Z" and "June 2013", this has been used to 'sell' the film to the audience and to show the audience who, what and when. The montages have been used to show the equilibrium and the disruption, also to show the audience clips of the film and and character which gives the audience a basic understanding of what the film is about. When the zombie is chasing the protagonist a long shot of the zombie has been used, this shot flashes on the screen several times and in between each shot the screen appears black, this could show the emptiness of the zombie but most important creates a dramatic scene. Mise-en-scene
The clothing throughout the trailer are either a grey or black colour, this may have been used as these colours are associated with grieve as many people are lost to this virus in the film, the colour black is mysterious and dramatic which the reflects the trailer as it is not yet known what has caused the apocalypse. Other costumes used are police and military. Also the colour grey is associated with solitude, this may have been used to convey how the characters feel when they are split up from their family. The trailer mostly shows clips which are located outside in the city, the first shot shows the location and it appears to be cloudy therefore by suggests something bad is lurking/ about to happen. In some of the shots low key lighting has been used, in one shot the protagonist and his family are hiding, the shot has a red tint which suggests that they are in danger. Sound
There are both diegetic and non-diegetic sounds used in the trailer. A non-diegetic sound which has been used is a score which creates tension and suspense, the score plays in intervals with the sound diegetic sounds such as screams and chaos in between to create suspense, also dialogue is used when the score is no present.
In our group we discussed ideas and plots for our film trailer. We came up with two plot ideas, we have decided that we are going to use plot 2 however use aspects for plot 1, for example we have decided that we would like to use the tribute wall idea from plot 1.
In our group we have discussed what certificate our film and trailer would be, we have decide that our film will be an 18. We looked at other films from the zombie/ horror genre and the majority was 18 as they include violence and disturbing images.
We have decided the trailer will be a 12A, the reason we decided to on a 12A certificate is because the trailer is likely to be seen by a younger audience as trailers that are rated 15 or 18 are still shown on pre-watershed time slots on TV. The trailer will also not want to show a lot of the storyline and "gory"scenes as it would ruin the suspense in the film.
Group: Amy Jenkinson, Aimee Barwick and Sarah Goodwin
In our group we have discussed which roles each of us would like to carry out when creating our film trailer, as a group we have decided we will share the role of sound. Also we have discussed what genre our trailer such be and at the moment we are going to create a zombie film trailer, so we are going to focus our research on this genre.
Here is the questionnaire that I will use to gather information about the target audience for my film trailer. The results will help me to create a zombie film trailer that will appeal to the target audience.
In our group we created a list of questions to help us with our research for the film trailer we plan to produce. In our group we have discussed about creating a zombie/horror film trailer therefore we created questions to target this genre. We then asked the questions to people in the target audience age range.
Here are the answers we were given:
Question 1: Do you like horror films and why?
Yes, special effects, creative, likes to see justice when the bad guy is caught
No, doesn't find them interesting, prefers films with explosions, nothing new, stories are re-used, jumpy
Yes, they never follow the same story
Question 2: What do you associate with horror films?
Guts and gore, scares, monsters, dark creepy locations
Paranormal activity, scares, murders, violence, gore
Scary stuff, ghosts, zombies
Question 3: What horror creature frightens you the most and why?
Serial killer as it can happen
The girl off the ring, saw
Zombie, most likely to happen
Question 4: What character traits would you like to see in the main character and why?
Nerdy, social outcast, not a coward, not too brave
Common sense,
Brave, not stupid
Question 5: In your opinion, What gender should the main character be?
Female, should be unstereotypical
Male
Female, attracts a lot of attention
Question 6: What locations would you associate with a zombie film?
We was set the photoshop challenge to refresh our memory and knowledge of photoshop from last year. The task was to create a film poster using photoshop.
I used a range of different tools to create the poster such as; the text tool, gradient tool, added new layer, magnetic lasso tool, crop tool, changed the contrast and brightness.
