Trailer Deconstruction.

Film Trailer Deconstruction: 'The Purge: Anarchy'.

Specific Elements.

 0:01 information to the audience about the trailer and whether it is suitable to watch.

0:08 production company

1:04 release date incorporated into the tag line of the film.

1:07 writing of tag line (broken up)

1:11 writing of tag line (broken up)

1:14 writing of tag line (broken up)

1:23 Film's title

1:27 release date

1:28 all of the information about the film
        links to social media
        release date
        production company





The main thing I noticed throughout the trailer is that the types of shots that are used are mainly close ups, extreme close ups and establishing shots. These can be seen to be used to create a narrative to the audience but it doesn't show the main part of the narrative but sets up an image in the audience's mind so that they are intrigued and want to watch the full movie.

The main characters, protagonists and antagonists, are introduced to the audience so that we know who the narrative is about.

The sound included in the trailer is both non-diegetic and diegetic, such as the male protagonist trying the start the car, dialogue between characters, music, tires screeching etc. This all goes alongside the images to create a narrative for the audience and to also build tension and suspense.

Genre Investigation

I researched into the different sub-categories that are included in horror films and also the common conventions found within urban drama films.

Horror

Slashers.

• usually involve a psychopathic killer.
• stalking involved.
• killing a sequence of victims in a violent manner. 
• often has a tool/weapon of choice.
• the killer is usually masked.
• lots of blood and gore.
• Examples: 'Friday the 13th' and 'the Texas chainsaw massacre'.

Gothic.

• may have a romance that develops within the horror film.
• elements of both goth and horror.
• Examples: 'Let me in'.

Psychological.

• relies on characters' fears, guilt, beliefs, emotional instability.
• eerie sound effects.
• 'facing demons'.
• mystery contained which builds tension throughout the film.
• emotive.
• contains plot twists.
• relies heavily on the main characters' psychological state.
• Examples: 'shutter island'.

Supernatural/Paranormal.

• demonic presence, e.g. demons, ghosts.
• possession.
• usually stars a 'normal' family at the beginning or 'normal' characters.
• mystery and suspense.  
• lots of non-diegetic sounds e.g. doors and floorboards creaking. 
• themes including ghosts, spirits, demons etc.
• Examples: 'Insidious' and 'the exorcist'

Thriller.

• narrative to create enigma and make the audience jump.
• quiet scenes with sudden diegetic and non-diegetic sounds.
• suspense and anticipation.
• may be located an isolated place.
• a mix of slow and fast paced editing to create tension.
• Examples: 'the cabin in the woods'.

Science Fiction.

• often deals with paranormal elements.
• not just limited to scientists and experiments.
• can deal with the fear to technology.
• Examples: 'alien and the mist'.

Zombie.

• portray viral, reliving corpses or mindless humans.
• tension and suspense.
• apocalypse. 
• Examples: 'night of the living dead' and 'day of the dead'.

Urban Drama.

• drugs and weapons e.g. knives, guns etc.
• main character will usually be from a troubled background and/or dysfunctional family.
• gang violence.
• lots of tracking shots. 
• typically filmed in a run down, urban area e.g. London estates.
• main character is typically young and male.
• lots of diegetic sounds.
• colloquial dialect spoken between characters.
• non-diegetic sound used mainly for transitions of fade as memories or flashbacks.
• Examples: 'adulthood' and 'fighting'.

Children used within Horror Films

I researched into why children are so commonly used in horror films. A lot of my research led me to paranormal films and the element that children are seen as innocent and so the fact that children are used as the antagonists and usually embodying a sense of evil flips this expectation of them being the face of innocence on its head and this subversion in conclusion usually shocks and scares the audience.

In films such as 'Orphan' and 'Insidious' both use children in their films to display demonic presence to the audience through children to give a underlining innocent tone to the film up until the children are shown as not innocent and quite the opposite.


In some cases children are also used to connect with the audience if the target audience is of an older group as the audience may be able to relate to the parents of the child if they have children of their own.











In conclusion the main reason that children are commonly used in horror films is to shock the audience with the stereotypical idea that children are innocent and placing them in horror films flips this idea around and has a bigger impact on the audience rather than an adult being shown as the main antagonist in horror films.

Production Company Research: Paramount.

Paramount.

I researched into the production company Paramount to see whether it may be a suitable production company to distribute our film depending on its genre and if Paramount has already produced and distributed similar films that are within the same genre as our own.


I researched into horror and urban genre films as this is what we have been thinking into for our own film trailer.

I found that Paramount has distributed many horror films in all sub-categories such as slasher, supernatural, psychological and thriller, such titles include 'Friday the 13th' series, 'The Haunting', 'Shutter Island' and 'Paranormal Activity'.



 I also looked at what urban (drama) films Paramount distributed and did not find any obvious urban drama films. I found a few just drama films but none that specifically displayed the typical conventions of an urban drama such as gang crime, drugs and knives.

Website Deconstruction.

I looked into previous film websites to see what they commonly have displayed on them and the content that they have to see what conventions I could draw from my research.

http://www.insidious2-movie.net/site/

•  The loading method at the beginning already creates an enigma and sets a tone already for the website.
•  Moving images keep you on edge.
•  Scratchy red and writing contributes to the films genre.
• Has links to ‘about’, ‘cast and film makers’, ‘photos’, ‘videos’ and ‘game’.
•  Film title is in bold and is placed at the top in the middle.
• Main colours of the websites scheme are red, black, grey and white which are traditional within horror films.
• When you click on each sub heading between pages it shows a 5 sec (approx.) clip to keep interest between changing of pages, makes it interesting. – Promotional, make you want to go and watch the film to see what is happening within these clips.
• Tag line, ‘It will take what you love most’.

http://theconjuring.warnerbros.com/downloads.html

• The use of moving images and diegetic sounds of screams and clapping make you more on edge about using the website but also more intrigued to see what will happen on the net page – memorable.
• Uses main colours of blacks and whites.
• Use of film footage and images on each page intrigues the audience about the film – promotional, want to see the film more.
•  Links to all three of its different trailers – promotional.
•  Has links to ‘gallery’, ‘home’, ‘about’, ‘videos’, ‘downloads’, ‘soundtrack’, ‘your haunted stories’ – promotional.
• The link to ‘your haunted stories’ where you can submit any haunted stories you have included the audience even further.

http://www.mamamovie.com/site.php

• Main colour scheme of white, black and grey.
• Main back picture made to look old and grainy and almost like an old painting or photo.
•  Has links to ‘home’, ‘cast and crew’, ‘video’, ‘about’, ‘gallery’, ‘downloads’ and ‘production notes’.
• Initially comes up with a 30 sec video of the film, interests the audience about the film – promotional.
• Has links to twitter, google plus and Facebook.
• Also has a link to a blog about real life situations of lost children which inspired the film and others – memorable.
•  Links to its trailer.
• Logo of Production Company, ‘universal’ and its age rating in the corner – promotional.

http://www.thepurgeanarchy.co.uk/

•  Main colours are black, red and white.
•  Title of the film at the top, bold, big front, scratchy writing, unpredictable.
• Main feature a clip from the film.
• Displays the films Production Company at the bottom, ‘universal’, ‘blum house’, ‘platinum dunes’– promotional.
• Has links to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
• #survivethenight
• Has links to ‘home’, ‘story’, ‘images’, ‘GIFs’ and ‘videos. 

http://www.paranormalmovie.com/intl/uk/

• Main colour scheme of black, red, white, typical of a horror film.
• Haze around the title, paranormal, enigma.
• Promotes the DVD to the audience as well – promotional.
• Has links to Facebook and Twitter for you to share the website with other people – promotional.
•  Has links to ‘enter the experience’, ‘buy now’ and ‘watch video’.
• Basic layout but can go on further by ‘enter the experience’ which has links to ‘watch trailer’, ‘the wall of fear’ and ‘experience the fear’, intriguing the audience to go further into the website.
• Interactive experience.
• ‘Paramount pictures’ logo is displayed – promotional.

Conventions of a Film Website.

• Links to social Medias such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google plus etc.
• When it will be released/DVD release dates.
• Production companies’ names, tend to be small and at the bottom of the page.
• Age ratings.
• Clips and images from the film itself.
• Soundtrack or diegetic sounds from the film.
• Interactive moving images to intrigue the audience further.
•  Links to trailers.
•  Links to photos from the film and information about it e.g. synopsis, the cast and crew, games etc.
•  Title of film always tends to be at the top of the page, bolder and bigger than the rest of the writing on the website.

Previous Blog Posts

I looked at past blog posts from previous AS and A2 coursework groups under different titles to look into the content and effectiveness of each one. I picked one blog post for each type of blog post I had written down which was the best out of all the blogs I looked at.


Deconstruction of a Film Opening. 

http://llbcmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/dawn-of-dead-deconstruction.html

I chose this blog post as it contained lots of screen grabs from the first five minutes of the film opening that was watched. It also contains a lot of detailed points which fully deconstructs the film opening and allows them to access lots of information that gives them information into what is needed in a film opening.

Deconstruction of a Trailer.

http://llbcmediatrailerblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/zombieland-trailer-deconstruction.html http://theklinger.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/containment-trailer.html

I couldn't choose between these two blogs for this title as they both contain lots of detailed information even though it is only a film trailer being deconstructed.

Production Company Deconstruction.

http://www.ellalucychar.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/non-professional-production-company.html

This blog post is a very good example of deconstructing non-professional film companies as it lists more than one company and screen grabs of the footage as it changes over the length that it is shown at the beginning of the clip.

Genre Investigation.

http://media-chem.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/genre-investigation-psychological-horror.html

For genre investigation I chose this blog as it concentrates on one genre of psychological horror and just one film so that it can get a deep insight to the features and elements that are used within this genre of film, the information contained in the blog post is very detailed and accompanied by multiple screen grabs to display further the information they have researched into.

Previous Film Opening Deconstruction.

http://www.townlymedia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/the-bunker-deconstruction.html

I chose this blog post as it splits up its deconstruction into the key areas of camera angles and sound, editing, genre, target audience, mise-en-scene etc. This allows it to contain a lot more information in an organised way and is very user and blog friendly.

Deconstruction of Mise-En-Scene.

http://media-chem.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/deconstruction-of-one-hour-photo.html

This blog post focuses on one element of mise-en-scene found in a film and it includes great detail on the one element.

Deconstruction of Costumes. 

http://www.cragmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/deconstruction-costumes-of-victims.html

I chose this blog post over the others as it features multiple different characters instead of just concentrating on the main antagonist and protagonist within the film. It also contains lots of detail on each costume that is mentioned in the blog post. 

Deconstruction of Editing.

http://www.gauravmiajakeholly.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/deconstruction-on-editing-effects-used.html

This blog post contains lots of screen grabs from the scene that is being deconstructed and a very detail evaluation summing up all of the points that have been made previously.

Deconstruction of a Specific Film or Scene.

http://natdanrebclo.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/dark-water-trailer-deconstruction.html

This post contains lots of detailed deconstruction points and so gives the audience a lot of in sight into what the certain elements within the sequence show and put towards the overall impression.

Deconstruction of Titles.

http://media-chem.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/film-opening-titles-deconstruction.html

I chose this blog post over the other blogs I looked at as for each title that appears on screen there is a screen grab, a description of what the text is and how it is placed on the screen and the timing of when it appears which allows more specific detail to be pulled from the film's opening titles.

Deconstruction of Typography.

http://www.gauravmiajakeholly.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/title-deconstruction.html

This blog post contains lots of different film typography of their titles and underneath each there are detailed bullet points showing the key elements of each type of typography.

Film Poster Deconstructions.

I looked into 3 professional posters and 2 amateur poster and deconstructed them based on their typography, choice of image used, positioning of their elements, tag lines, colour schemes, if they had a clear indication of their genre and target audience and the golden rule.

Orphan.

• Typography: 'Orphan' title, sketchy, white, imperfect, of a younger character, spooky, child or paranormal like.
• Choice of image: frames the main antagonist (character) who the narrative is based around, looks innocent at first, the dark clothing and hair makes you think otherwise.
• Positioning of Elements: main element of the antagonist in the centre.
• Tag line: tag line placed more in the golden rule rather that the title itself, gives more of a narrative to the audience, plain, white, bold, still creates enigma around the antagonist.
• Colour Schemes: mainly uses dark blacks, reds, blues, greens to create a horror feel to it, psychological elements as its not all black and red, the greens and blues make it seem more clinical, psychologically.
• Clear Indication of Genre: the colour scheme contributes to the idea of the film being psychological horror film, the look of the antagonist and the underlining idea from the tag line on the poster.
• Clear Target Audience: can see that from the colour scheme and overall feel of the poster that it will be quite dark and more appropriate fir a 15 or over age certificate rating.
• Golden Rule: main antagonist, main elements, staring back at you, tag line, enigma.

Friday the 13th.









• Typography: gothic, bold, dark, red, black, white, spooky, misty
• Choice of Image: masked antagonist framed, dark, enigma, foggy background, not able to identify anything.
• Positioning of Elements: main antagonist framed in the golden rule, tag line and title framed at the bottom and top of the page, eerie, enigma.
• Tag Line: 'welcome to the crystal lake', very enigmatic, ironic as it sounds friendly but the image on the poster suggests otherwise.
• Colour Scheme: black, white, grey, red, clear indications of a slasher horror film.
• Clear Indication of Genre: colour scheme, masked antagonist, weapon in hand, enigma, mysterious background and location.
• Clear Target Audience: reds, slasher, horror, gore, age certificate of 15 or 28 and above.
• Golden Rule: main antagonist framed in the golden rule section, main focus to target audience, enigma, mystery, most important element.

Dead Footage.



• Typography: bold, red, broken, use of low battery sign, matching to title of 'dead footage'.
• Choice of Image: use of normal street, hands in top left corner, look of abandoned, dangerous, smoke, photo shopped into photo, dark, eerie.
• Positioning of Elements: main focus of smoke and hands and camera, looks like you're on the floor or through the camera lens looking up.
• Tag Line: 'where will you be', questioning, directly addressing the audience, making them think.
• Colour Scheme: dark, grey, black, red, some blues and other colours but very minimal, gore, makes it feel cold and ark and eerie, creating enigma around its narrative.
• Clear Indication of Genre: hands, red and blacks, zombie horror film genre, modern setting, modern genre.
• Clear Target Audience: dark, enigma, eerie, gory, 15 or 18 age rating depending on the level of gore and horror throughout the narrative.
• Golden Rule: mainly the building and hands in the golden rule, focuses on the zombie and genre side of the film and its narrative, titles placed towards the bottom of the poster.

Klinger.

• Typography: urban, dirty, bold, dark, metal like texture to it, some in shadow and some in light
• Choice of Image: girl standing by a fence, hand showing, only main centre part shown in light, enigma, dark, mysterious.
• Positioning of Elements: main focus on individual shown in the middle, title at the top almost give the effect that it is labelling above the gate, other text is placed at the bottom, tag line placed in line with the fence parts.
• Tag Line: 'they thought they were alone...they weren't', enigma, makes the audience think, something out of the ordinary.
• Colour Scheme: dark, black, brown, dirty looks, run down, abandoned location, not meant to be there.
• Clear Indication of Genre: tag line, hand behind fence, enigma, something paranormal or zombie like horror based film and narrative.
• Clear Target Audience: enigma, not sure on level of horror, although not as much of a slasher, 15 age certificate rating.
• Golden Rule: main focus in the golden rule is the protagonist from the film, hand behind the fence, tag line, lightened up part of the title.

Sinister.

• Typography: gothic, smudged, blood, red, bold, capitalised, whites.
• Choice of image: enigma, woman covered, cannot see identity of the individual, blood, face in the blood, paranormal.
• Positioning of all elements: title is main element in the golden rule, picture further down, main focus initially put on the title and writing at the top referring to previous films.
• Colour schemes: mainly red, white, grey, black, spooky effect, enigma, shadowing, smudged, drips.
• Clear target audience: blood, dark enigmatic colours makes it seem of a more appropriateness for an age certificate rating of 15 plus.
• Clear indication to genre: the face on the wall made of blood, paranormal, supernatural, unusual, the masked identity of the individual included in the image.
• Golden rule: predominately the title and the references to other films made by the producer.