This is the draft to our storyboard of the sequence of shots which will be used in our teaser trailer. This isn't quite in the right order as we haven't quite decided the sequence, but we have included our protagonist, Richard Smith, in nearly all of our shots in the sequence we have drafted. This is because we want the spot light to remain on him to show a different story and so the audience do not ask many questions on our other characters who will be hidden from this. In many teasers there is a object or symbol that is shown throughout the teaser which is explained in the film. For our film, this object will be a suit case and a car. We haven't come up with the exact meaning to the car, but the brief case is being used to create mystery as to what is in the brief case which will help us create suspense which is a convention of a Thriller genre. Our main objective is to create mystery and suspense and I believe that our drafted storyboard does that.
In my group, We developed an idea of making a Thriller film for our film production. In this thriller, a businessman plays the protagonist and has difficulty with his boss, who is doing illegal things within the company. Our protagonist gets wrapped in a conflict between his firm and a competing firm which leaves him being kidnapped. Our protagonist is going to be called Richard Smith and his life is not the only thing in danger in our production.
This is the magazine cover for one of Empire magazine X-men first class edition. The magazine composes 3 protagonists of the film in the centre of the magazine behind the heading of the film which is composed in the centre of the page aswell. This indicates to the audience that these 3 protagonist of the film are going to have major roles in the film. The centre protagonist out of the three has his back to our audience, this could indicate he has a double identity and his character hasn't got a clear path in the film. The background of this poster is red, which is associated with bad and evil. This magazine cover is suggesting that the protagonist shown on this cover are evil. The magazine cover also shows captions that encourage readers to by the magazine commonly known as hyperbolic wording. The captions state other big films that are coming to cinemas and special interviews with celebrities. Also in the background is the X-men symbol. This symbol relates to all comic book fans and so draws the attention of other readers. The poster is quite conventional and so meaning it is formal. However it breaks conventions in the masthead of the cover where the magazine title is no longer in red but in white. This could be done so that the heading of the title doesn't class with the background which is trying to tell the audience something. The magazine coevr also has a sell line which is also conventional. In the sell line there is something which would attract the attention of the reader. There is a selling point which says that there are two covers for this edition of the magazine. This is a key selling point which many magazines do so that collectors of films buy more copies. This is similary shown in there other edition which I shall analyse next.
This is the second magazine cover for this film. This edition shows a different selection of protagonists composed on the centre of the magazine. This edition has the same amount of protagonist on the magazine cover, but they are postioned differently. The centre protagonist on this cover has been positioned straight and is looking towards us. This in comparison to the the other edition shows this protagonist is more certain about his characteristics in the film and doesn't change from good to bad. The background on this edition is blue which is associated with good. This indicates that these protagonist are good in the film. The magazine cover has the same features as the other edition but the background and characters have changed.
These two magazine covers are for the same film but show two different sets of protagonist and they show this by using a different background colour. We can use this idea of making two magazine covers for our production as our film has sets of good and evil characters.
This is the poster of the final Batman film made by Christopher Nolan. The poster composes a protagonist of the film Bain, the villain, walking away from the front of the poster. This creates a sense of mystery from the character as the audience is unable to see his face and he leaves no signs to what kind of person he is. The poster also consists of a broken batman mask which Bain is walking away from which indicates to the audience that Bain has something to do with the batman mask being broken. Also, the mask being broken has also indicated that the Batman is either defeated or even killed by the Bain character. This effect is helped by the dark, gloomy, rainy background chosen as it creates a negative mood for the audience and adds to the indication of a bad ending for the Batman. The poster also has a phrase composed in the top centre of the poster adding on to the negative effect of this poster as it states ' The legend Ends'. The final part of the poster is conventional just like all posters. It has the date of release with the production company composed on the bottom line in the centre. This makes it easy to see for the reader and so does it purpose effectively. From this poster we could use the gloomy atmosphere used as the background in our film poster as it is the atmospher created in our own film. We have a gloomy and revengeful atmosphere which is like the one created by this poster.
In our film, we sort of have a hero figure and he is a protagonist for the film. This poster shows a dark and mysterious atmospheres. Also, it composes the back of a character which creates a lot of mystery and this is the kind of poster that we can use for our production as it helps convey the mysterious theme about the film.
This is the Empire magazine cover for the film Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows part 1. The cover composes the protagonist Harry Potter, in the centre of the magazine and quite large holding a wand. Below Harry, 3 other protagonist are composed in an arching line. They are Voldermort, Hermine and Ron. Harry is composed onto the background whilst the others are composed on pieces of glass. This could suggest that these 3 protagonist in the glass have troubling moments in the film as the glass is breaking which could mean that their characters lose their plot. Harry seems to be the only stable one of the 3 and with his wand out, he could be having a battle in the film. This magazine cover breaks and follows conventions. The magazine cover has a masthead which is conventional to all magazine covers. The colour of the magazine title is red which is the conventional colour for the magazine. However, this magazine cover doesn't have a sell line which most magazine covers do. This may have been done because this film has made a big name for itself and so the magazine company do not wish to have the sell line in a easy conventional place. Instead the magazine cover has decided to put the sell line in an unconventional place which is on the right hand side. The main colours on the page are red, white and yellow. These colours represent the colours of his house dorm at Hogwarts. Also these colours are associated with mystery, violence and danger which is what the film is about. This poster is targeted to those audiences that have followed the Harry Potter films from the beginning, which is why the title of the film is shortened to Potter 7. Under this is a very eye catching and questioning statement which would encourage a reader to purchase the magazine. The line states 'The End Begins'. For those who haven't read all the book, this could put questions in their head like, who's end is it? As usual, there are other stories that lure readers into purchasing the magazine.From this magazine, we can use the quotes like 'The end Begins' to create other questions in the readers mind, making them want to read more.
This magazine cover composes a main protagonist on the centre. This helps draw attention to the audience as they can recognise there main protagonist. This idea can help us in drawing the attention of our audience to our protagonist. Furthermore, the use of broken glass could indicate a twist or unconventional which is similar to the plot of our film.
This is the magazine cover of I am Legend by Empire. The cover composes the protagonist (Will Smith) in the centre of the magazine cover. He is composed behind the film title but in front of the Empire logo. This indicates that he is hiding or staying out of trouble from something. The background of the poster is light around him but dark everywhere else. This could suggest to the audience that he is alone and he is the light. Will Smith is also a very prestigious actor and many people will recognise him on the magazine cover so he is being used to attract customers to buy the magazine. The character played by Will Smith is also holding a gun. This could indicate to the audience that he gets into danger in the film. The magazine cover also has other features like celebrity facts which will make people buy the magazine cover. These are all positioned in the sell line. At the bottom of magazine cover shows images from other films. This is another way to get people to buy the magazine as they may be interested in other films which have will get them to buy the magazine. In the masthead, we have the magazine title which is in its conventional colour of red. The other colours used on the magazine cover are white and red. This is to show contrast of mystery and warfare which are the connotations of the colours. In the sell line, the magazine uses a lot of hyperbolic wording to draw the attention of the like '25 world exclusive!'.
From the magazine cover, we can use the idea of having other film images on the magazine cover so people will be interested in buying the magazine cover. Also, one of our character is converted from good to bad and when he turns bad, he feels alone and isolated. This magazine poster shows Will Smith's character as being alone and isolated and we can use the fades and background for our own magazine cover background.
In this poster for Law Abiding Citizen, we see the faces of two protagonist for this film. On the poster, composed in the top left area are the names of the characters, this indicates that these are two well known actors and it is a marketing asset for this film. Jame Fox, the character at the top, has a white background behind it which means he probably has a good or clear roll in the film. Gerard Butler however is in the half of the poster in which red is used as the background. this indicates he has a more dangerous and revengeful. The title is in a white font colour which indicates to the audience that there is a neutral effect caused by these two characters. There is also a phrase which creates suspense and tension for the audience as it states, 'Justice at any cost'. This is a rhetorical question as the audience start thinking about what cost are these characters having to pay to achieve justice.The final part of the poster is conventional as it shows states the cast that are involved in this production and the release date for cinema viewing.
This relates to our own production as we have to characters that act in opposite ways, (good and bad), so we can use this colour system for our own backgrounds.
The start of this teaser tariler is different from other teaser trailers. After the green screen which means the teaser is a valid teaser trailer for this film, the two production companies are shown for the film which aren't normally included in the teaser trailer for a film. The audience is then introduced by a tracking shot of an falling city. The shot is very dark and a slow deep soundtrack emphasises the fact that the city has fallen into darkness. This could indicate to the audience that there maybe a not to promising endidng to the film as the opening has created a dark and glummy atmosphere.
As you can see from the still, the mood set from the beggining of this trailer seems like something bad has happened to the Batman. The next set of frames are frames from the previous 2 Batman films by Christopher Nolan to refresh the memory of the viewers. These don't influence the veiwers in any way but by refreshing there memery. We then are introduced to a scene where Gordan is in intensive care. In this convosation we learn that the Batman had been missing and that an evil had spread. The soundtrack was very low and sadding in tone which is the effect which is created on the audience at this time. After this, a rather perculiar shot is used. The shot is the Batman logo been made by tall buildings. To those who follow Christopher Nolan's work will be able to see that this is a link between Christopher Nolan's other film recently released which was Inception. This to the audience, this seems like a good idea of representing the Batmans rise but this idea has come from another film by the same director.
The teaser ends with a fight between Batman and Bain. The background music used again has a low pitch and is creating suspense. The teaser ends with Batman on the back foot with more suspense and tension created by everything going on in the teaser.
This teaser trailer starts off with the green screen like every trailer and then shows the two production company logos, one after the other. This is just to show the audience the production companies involved in the production and probably due to legal issues, the teaser trailer companay had to put the production companines into the trailers beggining. The follow on shot to this is the films protagonist, James Bond, in the centre left of the frame. This illustrates that he has a huge part in the film as he is the protagonist and because he is positioned at the left centre of the frame. As you can see from the shot below, James Bond seems powerful. The next sequence of shots in the trailer are shown over a voice-over of James Bond and a man who is questioning him. Some questions are asked whilst the audience see a mixture of shots with James Bond changing or running in them. This sequence of events also has a non-diegetic sound of violins which create a moarnful atmosphere. These all lead up to one question asked by the man questioning James Bond which is 'Skyfall'. This question grabs the attention of the veiwers not only because the actual scene of teh convosation is shown at this point, but because the question involves the title of the film in it which creates suspense for the audience. James Bond is the main person on show at this point as everyone in the film and the audiecnce are waiting for his response, his response is 'done'. This creates a lot of tension and questioning for the audience. Questions like 'why has he said done if the film is based on Skyfall?' and other rethorical questions arise.
Once the interveiw finishes with James Bond responding to the question, the audience are introduced to a fast flow of short cuts showing a lot of action which could happen in the film. This action does not attract the audience, but it gives the insight to show that it is a Action Thriller genre. During this period of shots, the music is a loud pucution sound increasing in pase with the teaser trailer. This enforces the effect of suspense and helps create the Action Thriller genre.
After the fasted pace shots, the teaser slows down completely and a black screen appears. The film title appears over a 4 second time period with the sound changing to a sort of enchanting sound. This creates suspense as the teaser seems to haev become slower as the trailer comes to a sudden stop and teaser hasn't shown the audience enough which is what a teaser is meant to do.
After all these shots, we are introuduced to a voice over of James Bond saying 'They are coming to kill us'. This creates a lot of questions for the audience as they wonder who is going to kill them and it is a good way creatung suspense. James Bond then says 'We are going to kill them first', this is followed by a rush of fast cuts and the sound goes back to the loud purcution sounds made earlier in the trailer which leaves the film on a cliff hanger.
I think this teaser trailer is quite conventional as a Action Thriller teaser trailer as it creates a lot of suspense and tension through out the teaser. Also, it doesn't give a lot away about the plot but teases the audience well and so has the right conventions of a teaser trailer.
The films I think will have a teaser trailer are mainly films that have a big budget. Along with a big budget, the film must be relavent to some form of story like comic books. Most teaser trailers are made for books or comics as they already have a major fan base. The reasons they are made are:
Along with the poster and teaser trailer, we also have to make a magazine cover of a film.
Above is a magazine cover of the Empire magazine for the film Captain America. There are conventions in this magazine cover that all magazine covers have but other editions don't. Some of the conventions are:
Image of a main character
Slogan linked to the film on the cover of the magazine
Title of Magazine
Extra info about whats in the magazine like upcoming films and reviews
Attacthment in magazine are mentioned on the front cover
Along with making a teaser trailer, we must construct a Poster for the film. There are some key conventions of a poster which we need to include which are:
Title of film
Image of the key character/ monarchs in the film may not be the main character)/ key bit in the film (mainly an action shot from the film)
Date of the film's release
Names of the main actors in the film
Sometimes a slogan or phrase which is linked to the film
If the film is available in 3D and IMAX
Some show the production company
If the director is well known then their names are also shown on the poster
Today in lesson we presented our ideas to the class. As I am already in a group, we came together and discussed the idea we are primeraly going to use for our actual teaser trailer, poster and magazine cover. Our idea is about a boy who has had a normal life up to college and then something happens in his life, possibly a death, which leads him into a life of crime and drugs. The film will most probably end with him dieing. Our idea was liked but we haven't got a real plot which happens through the film and our feedback from the classs was that we needed to develop our idea into a whole film. We will be doing this in the upcoming lessons.
Films may have teaser trailers for any reasons. A teaser trailer is a prequel to the actual trailer of the film to generate a hype about the upcoming films. Recent teaser trailers that I have watched are: The Avengers teaser, The dark Knight Rises teaser and the Men in Black 3 teaser. The reasons these teasers were made are:
If the film is a sequel to a previous film for example The Dark Knight Rises is a sequel to The Dark Knight
If the film is an adaptation of a game or a well known novel
If the film is linked to other films in some way like The Hobbit
I have reasearched a few teaser trailers and there are some key similarities. A teaser trailer is a small grouping of clips from a new film, TV show or game which is used to alert the audience that the product is coming soon and giving them a little insite into what they are going to watch or play. The conventions are:
A teaser trailer is from 30-90 seconds long
A teaser trailer has small amounts from the actual film, TV show or Game as footage as the trailer is to tease the audience
A teaser trailer is also released much earlier than the actual trailer
This is the teaser trailer for 'The Dark Knight Rises'. It is 1min 36 seconds long and so is just outside the usual teaser trailer length. It has little footage from the film and was uploaded on the 18th July 2011. This is much earlier than the actual trailer which was released on the 20th December 2011.
