Deconstructions of Existing Trailers - Thriller

Before creating our own trailer, we feel it would be largely beneficial to do research and analyse existing trailers to improve our knowledge of what is needed to create a successful trailer. 
Our chosen genre is Thriller, therefore we are going to deconstruct trailers for Thriller films. Also we are going to deconstruct trailers of a different genre to compare and contrast the different techniques used on the basis on their genre.


Shutter Island (2010) is an American psychological thriller film. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iaYLCiq5RM
This trailer is shot in high definition (HD) which is becoming a more common thing which improves the quality of images within a trailer and therefore improves the overall trailer which may be something we would want to think about to create a aesthetically pleasing trailer to attract our audience. 

First Still:

The first still of this deconstruction displays a close up shot of the main character played by well known actor Leonardo Decaprio, already appealing to a wide audience as many enjoy films which star this well known actor. The look on his face invites the audience as it is a confused and intriguing facial expression which already makes the audience curious about this film and build suspense, which is the usual conventions of a thriller. Also this still is very dull and grey which are colour's which convey the feelings of sadness and terror. During this still, there is dialogue between two characters acting as a voice over for this part of the trailer: "Did they give you a briefing about the institution?" "All i know is it's a mental hospital." This starts to construct imagery of the setting and where the characters are. After a slight pause, the first character who spoke states: "For the criminally insane." In a much deeper and different tone, almost a warning tone to the other character which immediately builds suspense.

Second Still:

This second still captures the use of editing, showing the fading of the text that reads "a Martin Scorsese picture" into an image of large metal gets which gives gives strong imagery to the audience of isolation and solitude. As discussed when researching the Thriller genre, some characters, especially in psychological thrillers experience problems with their mental and emotional state which links to the isolation that they may experience from society.

Also, the trailer very early on introduces the director, Martin Scorsese who is a well known director which again appeals to a wide audience as those who have watched previous films of his will in theory want to watch this film. 

Third Still:

This still shows a character in the film and by the use of costume, make-up and facial expression they have managed to create a women who looks rather 'scary' and already gives the idea of psychological thriller. Her stance that she is displaying seems as if she is telling someone to be quiet and warning them of something.

"We take only the most dangerous, damaged patients. Ones no other hospital can manage." This combination of the frightening imagery of the obviously ill woman, along with this dialogue continues the build in suspense and raise questions. 

Fourth Still:

This next still uses a high angle to view a character who is on the ground wearing an army uniform which gives the audience an idea of the context of this film and when it is set in which is in 1954. His hand his surrounded by a pool of blood along with him reaching for a gun which suggests that there will be a theme of violence within this film.

Fifth Still:

This long shot is used to show the landscape and give the viewer an idea of the setting which we can assume is important to the film. This shot, i feel it illustrates the idea of a psychological thriller very well, its enclosed nature gives us the idea that it is isolated which may link to the isolation of certain characters within the film which would show the psychological and mind element of this film. Although it is a large building, the contrast of small windows gives us the idea that those in this location are trapped, this shot also displays a wider idea of the location by showing the ocean that surrounds the building, again giving us the idea of isolation. By using this imagery, it interests the audience to discover more about this setting, thus 'drawing' them in to go and watch the film.

Sixth Still:

This still is a low angle shot which displays the main characters closely. It shows them in a dominant and superior position through this shot which suggests that they are vital to the plot of the film. The dullness of the lighting adds  to the creepy and thrilling atmosphere which is conveyed throughout the trailer and this theme is conventional in thriller film. This also shows us the costume choices of the film which is very old fashioned,  which convey the time of which this film is set and therefore provides more details for the viewer about this upcoming film.

Seventh Still:

This focuses on a vital message that appears to be trying to convey by the focus on the word 'run', this suggests a warning which raises questions and creates tension, and encourages the viewer to go and watch the film as they are curious about what this little details are referring to. As the build up to this still continues, the non-diegetic sound increase in pace and sound until sharply stopping as the character reads the word 'run.'

Eight Still:

When doing audience research we found that many of our demographic were curious as to who was starring in the film and is influenced to go and watch a film by this. In this still, text is shown saying "Leonardo DiCaprio" who is the main character within this film. This actor is largely popular and well known and therefore is shown to star in the film to try and encourage and expand the audience who would want to go and see this film. By attracting more people to go and see the film by doing this, the trailer is fulfilling its purpose. 

Ninth Still:

This still is slightly blurred, which is what we wanted to capture when deconstructing this trailer, to allow us to  show the fast pace at which this trailer is going. As this trailer progresses the pace is largely increased and is shot is quickly cut to the next, as the pace is increased, the tension and suspense that the audience feel increases. Trailers for Thriller films conventionally use quick cutting to build up these emotions and combined with the pace of the non-digetic music used, we think has created a successful trailer for this genre. The advantage of using the conventions of a thriller already in the trailer allows the audience to immediately know that it is a thriller and make them want to go and watch this film at the cinema. The character who's arm is in the still states "This is a game." This adds to the thriller genre as we can now assume that there is some kind of twist within the film that is unknown to us which is conventional in thriller films. 

Tenth Still:

This still in particular shows the high level and clever use of special effects in this film combined with the emotional theme throughout this film. This still shows the main character holding someone who is obviously important to them very lovingly, but also looks very upset due to the special effects of the trailer showing his loved one turning into ash with shows the drama and emotions which is also conveying in this film. The main character of thriller conventionally suffers from situations which he has to solve or achieve something, often loosing something close to them as a result. 

Eleventh Still: 

This simplistic nature of just displaying the white font 'Shutter Island' against a black background, not only stands out, but creates no distraction away from the title of the film. The audience will purely focus on that text and therefore stick in their minds which is exactly what is needed to create a successful trailer. They must encourage the audience to go and see the film, therefore by making this trailer memorable it will achieve its purpose.

Final Still:

This final still continues the black and white color scheme and displays key information about production and distribution concerning the film. It shows a list of those involved in productions, and two small logo's in either corner of the distributors. In the centre, a website is shown to allow viewers to find our more about the film if they want to know more details. From our audience research we found that some people find out about upcoming releases online and therefore this would appeal to them. 

Research into chosen Genre - Thriller

The genre we have chosen to do is thriller, we decided that we would do research into this chosen genre so we would have more knowledge of the genre, thus making our trailer a conventional Thrilling trailer. Before researching into thrillers, we did our own mind map to show what we think a thriller film includes and what makes a successful film for this genre:

Thrillers includes many sub-genres:
Conspiracy Thriller: This genre of thriller often involves and amateur investigator or journalist who find themselves accidentally stumbling across a piece of information of small thread that unravels a vast conspiracy that ultimately continues all the way up to the top. In a detective like way, the character often find it hard to convince others of their information and have to deal with the situation independently.


Crime Thriller: Often focuses on a character who has committed a crime in the past, either successfully or failed, it is a hybrid genre of crime films and thriller films. There is usually a psychological insight into the mind of a criminal or even a policeman. For example, Reseviour Dogs and Seven


Legal Thriller: Characters such as lawyers find themselves in a situation where they are defending a client in the courtroom but also becomes personal and their lives become endangered. They may be blackmailed based on the fact that they are defending someone that may have conflict with others on the outside, For example, The Juror.  


Political Thriller: This sub-genre often involves a heroic character who must ensure the stability of the government that they work with. Sometimes combined with the idea of conspiracy, possibly a conspiracy within the government that one character must get to the bottom of for the sake of the country. For example, the Sentinel and State Of Play.


Psychological Thriller: As within many thrillers, physical strength may be needed to overcome a situation, however in psychological thrillers, they are now reliant on their mental resources, battling with characters through emotional and mental ways. Psychological thrillers are very much dependent on a characters mental stability, or lack off. A situation may occur when the characters mental state is being diminished and controlled by someone else. Characters may also have past problems that affect their present life. Examples of this genre is Shutter Island, Nick Of Time, The River Wild and Phone Booth. All of which show someone else controlling someone's mind and action.


Supernatural Thriller: This sub-genre may combing elements of suspense and plot twists in Thrillers, along with conventions of Horror, like fear of the unknown or a character may have the psychic ability to communicate with supernatural. For example What Lies Beneath. 


Iconography

We are going to do research into our chosen genre to get a better and more fuller understanding of the genre and its typical conventions. Iconography is certain iconic imagery and symbols which we associate with certain genres, for example elements like certain settings, characters, objects, costumes and lighting which are subconsciously expected by the audience when watching a certain type of genre. In terms of the Thriller genre:

Settings and Location

- Cities: Thrillers often take place within a city as it is closer to the home of a realistic character. Thrillers often contain characters that are realistic and are facing more dramatic problems of life, therefore taking place in a city gives a sense of realism for the audience. 
- Confined Spaces:
- Isolated Areas: Especially used within the psychological thrillers as it often mirrors the mental isolated and solitary state of a main character within this film.


Characters and Costumes
Thrillers often involve a character who is in a difficult situation that needs to be solved through various means, therefore a typical character is a heroic male protagonist who has to solve this problem whilst ensuring the safety of others involved. Other characters can include criminals, stalkers, assassins, terrorists, psychotic individuals and many more.


Lighting
Depending on what kind of atmosphere that is wanting to be achieved, the lighting will change, but typically a dimly lit setting shows a negative situation which is often the case within a thriller. 


Camera Angles and Shots
- Very commonly used in thriller films are jump cuts and quick camera angle changes to illustrate a number of different things or problems which are occurring within the film and build up the pace to create tension. 
- Close up shots are often used to give a focus to main characters that are going to be of some importance, but us as the audience are yet to know why which gives an element of suspense.
- The main character will also be shown through a number of angles, often high or low angles to show the situation they are in. For example when a character is in a helpless state, a high angle may be used to show their status and that they are inferior to others, similarly when characters are in power, a low angle will be used to show as if they are looking down upon someone or thing to display their superiority.
- Point of view shots, commonly used in psychological thrillers to give us an insight into the mentality of the character.


Themes and Plots
- Edge of your sit cliffhangers that build towards a climax as the character progresses through life threatening situations
- Other people being controlled or blackmailed to do something against their will.


We want to include aspects of each one to ensure that we create a trailer that conveys the Thriller genre successfully.

Deciding on Genre

  Before making a final decision on what genre to do for our trailer, we felt it would be best to do a little research into various genres to give us a clear understanding of each one. By doing this we can assess each genre individually and choose one that we feel we can create a capativating trailer and story line. We did a mind map of genres, then looked into each one along with examples of films for each type of genre to give us an idea of what requirements need to be met to create a successful film for that genre. 

Adventure: Films of the adventure genre often include fast pace action

 scenes that display an expedition or exploration of an exciting places.

For example a jungle, desert or unknown locations. Often follows a heroic character on a quest to find something of importance in a race against the clock. One example of an Adventure film is Indiana Jones, this film revolves around Archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones. Although the adventure genre is one that is well-liked, we feel it does not attract a large audience as it is not the most popular of genres. Also, setting would be an issue as we would need to find a location that could convey the typical fast pace and excitement of a Adventure film.

Action: This genre is similar to that of Adventure as again there is a hero who is thrown into a series of challenges which need physical strength, fights against villains, violence and high speed chases. The hero is often facing life threatening situations, but over comes all difficulties with victory achieved at the end. Explosions, guns, and car chases are often the key parts of an action film. One example of an action film is Die Hard, revolving around a man who is trapped in a building where terrorists have taken over and are holding people hostage. 
The die hard franchise was even responsible for the creation of a sub genre 'Die Hard Scenerio' which takes place in a limited location like a tower block or plane. Along with this, other sub genres include action comedy, disaster films and sci-fi action.





Comedy:  This genre of film's main emphasis is on humor, comedy films are designed to create laughter from the audience by exaggerating situations, having characters with comical mannerisms and humorous personalities. Often being light hearted dramas that are amusing, often having a happy ending. Comedy is one of the oldest genres, therefore has formed many hybrid genres, including Action comedy (Hot Fuzz), Comedy horror (Scary Movie), Romantic Comedy (Four Weddings and a Funeral) and Sci-Fi Comedy (Back to the Future). 


Although the comedy genre is very popular, we feel that we would not be making the most of all our resources, it would be difficult to incorporate an special effects into a trailer for a comedy as many films of this genre very much depend on acting and the script.  




Drama:  A drama film is probably the most broad in genres, as it includes many sub-genres like romantic drama, sport films, period drama, courtroom drama and crime. This genre creates very realistic and emotional characters that are in situations that are realistic, often allowing the audience to sympathise and even connect with the film. The themes among this drama include Alcohol and Drug addictions, infidelity, racial prejudice, class divisions, violence and moral dilemmas. Drama's often follow a character who is going through a difficult period in their lives, and often having conflict with themselves, friends, family and society. They often have tragic events that lead to the struggle of a character in overcoming the consequences.
My sisters Keeper is an example of a powerful drama film, which shows the tragic story of a girl with Leukemia and needs a transplant from her sister, who is being pressured to agree. We see the sister struggle to cope with her decision and seeks help to overcome her problems. 


Western:
Westerns often revolve around the lives of those who lived in the latter half of the 19th century in an area that became known as American Old West or Wild West. Western films include The Magnificent Seven and The Great Train Robbery. 
 Although many westerns are very popular, in the contemporary film of today it does not have as larger audience. It would be difficult to create a successful trailer as this genre requires the location and props that are conventinal, for example the Wild West scene and props like horses, guns etc. Therefore we feel we would not be able to meet the conventions well enough. 




Musical:
The Musical Film is a film genre in which songs are sung by characters as a way of narrative in the film. The songs are you used to develop characters and advance the plot, they are also often adapted from the stage musical version. Examples of this genre include Moulin Rouge!, Chicago and Mamma Mia. 


Although the musical genre is well loved, the trailer would obviously have to revolve around singing and acting, and we feel we would not be making the most of our resources like special effects. 






Thriller:

This genre uses suspense, tension and excitement as its main elements. Simply, if it thrills the audience then it is a thriller. A very common and popular sub-genre of thrillers are psychological thrillers, and themes that are included in this sub-genre are mind games, psychological themes, stalking, confinement/deathtraps, horror-of-personality and obsession. Examples of thrillers are, Sleeping with the Enemy, Panic Room, The River Wild and Misery.

After researching various genres, and thinking of both the disadvantages and advantages of the genres, we've made a decision to create a Trailer for a Thriller Film. We as a group are fans of thriller films and we enjoy watching them, therefore we feel we can put our enjoyment to use to create a thrilling trailer. Thrillers also allow us to use special effects and editing to make a fast pace trailer that will excite the audience.

Time Plan

As a group we felt it would be beneficial to create a time plan so that our project would have a clear structure and guide to it to ensure we cover every detail that we need, in order to complete this project successfully. One of the key things we learned from AS was that sticking to the time plan is essential, and also giving ourselves enough time to complete each task. Last year we realised that certain things can delay us during our project, for example last year we had difficulties with the software that we were using to edit and complete our footage. We have given our selves a sufficient amount of time to complete each task, and if we should encounter problems again, it will not delay us to much and have an impact on the rest of the project. 

Every week we are going to refer back to the time plan to ensure that we are on track.  

A2 Media Studies - Film Trailer

The first thing we did was decide what groups to work in this year. During our AS media course, the team that i was working in felt that we worked very effectively together. We each had different strengths that contributed to creating the final product, therefore we felt it would be beneficial to stay in our current group and continue to work together as a team. We felt our coursework last year was completed successfully, due to the fact that we have similar opinions and interest, therefore making it easier to agree on what we were going to do. For this project myself, Becca and Sarah will work together to complete this task.


This year for A2 Media Studies, the OCR brief asks us to produce
A trailer and two from these three:
- Home page for the film
- Poster
- Magazine cover featuring the film
We have chosen to create a poster and a magazine cover along with the trailer.