TRAILER ANALYSIS- The Wolf of Wall Street

 Here is a link to the Wolf of Wall Street Trailer: Here is a link to the Wolf of Wall Street Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pabEtIERlic

The trailer opens with non-diegetic sound of the drums being played loudly, at an upbeat tempo. This makes the audience feel content and ammused by the trailer before any footage is actually shown on the screen. Having an up-beat sound track is a successful way to really engage the audience into the film. We are then presented with three establishing shots of what looks like to be New York. New York is a large, indipendent and well known state, and is known for its positions of employment and money making. Many people there are buisness men, and work in large, tall buildings. New York is also known for having yellow taxi's which we are able to see in the background of the establishing shits. Through a cut, we are presented with a close up shot of a sign stating "Wall St" idicating "wall street" to the audience. This is effective, as it shows a direct link to the title of the film, which helps make the audience feel enagged as they are able to piece together parts of the trailer to the name of the film. We then see titles being placed onto the screen. The background of the titles is in yellow and the font is in black. Having a yellow background is brght and colourful and connotes the idea of happiness, which helps to make the audience feel relaxed. HAving a yellow background and black font also creates a strong contrast in colour, which helps the font to stand out. As with most trailers, the music is synchronised with what is happening on screen. The titles appear in coordination with the beat of the song, 'Black Skinhead' by Kanye West. Actors Leonardo dicaprio and Jonah Hill are presented in the titles which gives the film a unique selling point. They are both very well known actors and are very successful, and popular. Thus, audiences will be attracted towards the film, as there are successful actors in the film. I feel that having well known actors/actresses in the film is a really effective way to reach a global audience. In addition,  Multiple quotes that sum up the plot and tone of the film are included in the trailer in order to draw and captivate the audience in with the premise. Moreover, it highlights its star-studded cast and the accolades won by its director through the titles in between clips, which is another common theme in Hollywood film trailers. After the three establishing shots, which help set the scene and location of the film, we are presetned with a medium, front-tracking shot of our protagonsit walking down a hallway of a building. Regarding mise, en scene we can see that he is wearing a suit. Suits are seen to be powerful and hold connotations with domiance and authority, which helps to show characteristics of our protagonist.  In the opening quote of the trailer, the protagonist states non-diegetically  "My name is Jordan Belfort, the year I turned 26, I made $49 million, which really pissed me off because it was 3 shy of a million a week" . The use of the colloquialism "pissed" shows that the protagonist can sometimes be seen as rude, and disrespectful. The audience are left to interpret that this could be because of the sheer amount of money he had earnt when he was 26, which could make him seem stuck-up and very money orientated. These personality traits can also be witnessed later on in the trailer, where the protagonist is shown throwing a wine glass containing an alcoholic beverage away in his garden, while he is also seen throwing money into a bin.. This also helps to attract the target audience as it gives them an insight into the protagonists's lavish and action packed lifestyle. The trailre then cuts to a long shot of an office, and many people that are working in that office to be the employees. All the workers are cheering excessivley as the protagonist walks into the room. This happens as he states "$49 million dollars" which suggests to the audience that the employees are congradulating him on his huge success of his earnings. The use of the long shot is an effevtive way to show the audience the amount of people that are congradualting him, which suggests that the protagonist is a well known and likeable guy, whichh helps make the audience feel an attachement towards him.  We then cross cut to a long shot of a sports car pulling up outside of a very large house. The long shot allows the audience to see the grand scale of the house, and the whole appearence of the car, rather than just one part. The house has 4 long white polls attached to the celling, with 5 steps leading to the front door. Towards the left of the shot, we can see that there are other cars parked in a car park, which helps to reinforce the powerful and wealthy characteristics that the protagonist has. We then see a medium shot of our protagonist realaxing on a large yacht. Yacht's are very expenive, and are commonly associated with the elite members of a society. This again emphasises his earnigns, and how wealthy this individual is. It almost helps to engage the audience, as anyone would want to live this lifestyle that he is living, which helps them become more engaged into the film. He then states diegetically "We are making a name for ourselves" which gives the audience an explanation as to why the protagonsit is spening his money on unesecarry things, and why he is just throwing away his money. 

We then cross cut to a close up shot of the protagonist looking directly into the  camera. This is effective as it makes the audience feel like the protagonsit is talking to them directly, making them feel part of all the action. His body language and posture appears every relaxed, with his shoulders down, and hand gestures of pointing and shrugging. This helps to make the audience feel more engaged, as its like he is having a realistic conversation with the audience. He then states diegetically "Was any of this legal...? Absalutley not!". This suggests to the audience that he is a wealthy and rebellious individual, as his huge earnings of money is not entirely legal. This helps bring suspense and annticiaption to the audience, as illegal acts can have serious consequences, which are ideas that may be shown in the whole film itself. We are then introduced to a female character in a medium,two shot. The female lead is represented in a sexual way in the trailer which is often the case in the modern age of film. The 'male gaze' - the idea of women being sexualised in film in order to attract a male audience - is clearly taken into account in this trailer, as the only scenes in which the female lead is shown, she is presented in a seductive manner. She is wearing a pink dress with black high heels on.The colour pink can symbolise romance and relashtionships, which emphasises her seductive attitude.In the trailer, Leonardo Dicaprop has a voice over feature to help explain the narrative. In this case he informs the audience of his name,age and background of his life ambition ( money).  The trailer then shows quick close up shots in a sequence showing money being stacked into boxes, money being thrown in the air off of boats, and money being chucked at individuals. Inbetween these shots, the titles come up saying "MORE". At the same time, the music is becoming higher higher inbetween each shot. This suggests that the director is trying to create this idea of a dramatic climax, and create suspense towards the audience. I feel that this is a really successful way of getting the audience involved into the trailer, making them want to see more and more. 

TRAILER ANALYSIS- Insidious

here is a link to the Insidious trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuZnRUcoWos

Insidious is a horror film which was released on the 29th April 2011. The film is rated a 15, due to the dramatic and aggressive nature presented in the film.

Interestingly, the trailer opens with the title of the film, rather than the title being presented at the end of the film. This is an effective way to draw the audience in, as they would expect the name of the film to be shown at the end. It gives them a direct insight into the name of the film and what it might be about. The adjective "Insidious" means "proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with very harmful effects."- Google. It brings to mind thoughts of mystery and deceit, which are emotions that the audience will feel, due to the name just being shown on the screen. The font is in white, which brings positive connotations such as purity and goodness. The background however, is black, with a subtle hint of red around the font. These colours connote negative factors such as death, evil and mystery which creates a strong contrast against the fonts colour. It almost cements the idea of good vs evil, which is a common convention expected in horror films. The trailer then cuts to a medium shot of out protagonist sitting in a chair. He is wearing a red checked shirt,with a black top which seems very simplistic clothing. This makes the audience think that he is an ordinary guy, just relaxing in his own home.  We can see photographs hanging in the background, with a piano on the right hand side, which helps to set the scene of an ordinary house. A sound bridge is used here, where someone calls "are you ready?" in which he responds "yes!" This builds tension and anticipation towards the audience as they are unaware of what they are talking about. It brings the audience into the trailer,as it is shown at the beginning rather than at the end. The protagonists expression and desaturated grade of the shot creates suspense and an uneasy atmosphere. Through a fade, we are presented with a metronome is shown. The use of the diegetic and non diegetic sound is a pace setter for the trailer,it engages the audience into the film, and creates suspense. The metronome is going at a fast tempo and the transitions between shots are synced with it which makes the trailer continue on a fast speed and menacing pace. Through a fade, titles are placed onto the screen saying " from the makers of Paranormal Activity and Saw" These films have been huge successes all over the world, so by including that this film is created by the same people, the audience already know that the film is going to be good and either up to or exceed their expectations. We then cut to the beginning shot of the protagonist sitting down on the chair, in the same position, closing his eyes. Through the camera movement of a zoom, we begin to zoom into the protagonists face. This is effective, as it makes the audience feel like they are getting a close up and interpersonal relationship with the protagonist, which helps make them more engaged into the film. It could also suggests that the audience are reviewing and looking at his thoughts. Through a cut, the audience is presented with an establishing shot of what seems to be their house.There are palm trees in the background, which gives the audience an indication that the film is set in a hot location. The camera is tracking towards the left of the house, at an uneasy and un-naturalistic pace. This gives the idea that someone is watching the house, which adds a creepy and sinister vibe to the trailer, which is a common convention of horror films. In addition, the establishing shot is at a slightly low angle, which brings in the idea of power and dominance. 

We are then presented with medium shots of a family inside the house. This indicates why we saw an establishing shot of the house, as we can now see the family living inside. We see a two shot of a mum and a child playing together with their toys. We then cut to a scene in the kitchen with a mum and a dad. The dad is wearing a suit which connotes being wealthy and powerful. Due to the composition of the shots and cardboard boxes in the background it is insinuated that the family have just moved house, and that the dad is starting a new job. We here diegetically a lot of shuffling and sighing which suggests that the characters may be feeling stressed and overwhelmed at moving into a new house, which is a common emotion to feel. We are then presented with a long shot of an attic. Dark colours such as black, brown and grey's are used in these scenes which are scary which creates unease as they have connotations of evil and horror. The music in this scene is deep and mellow, which adds to the idea of a scary atmosphere.  We then cut to a two shot of the parents looking confused and terrified at something. They are looking downwards, which suggests that they are looking at something small, rather than something big and powerful.  The composition of the shot illustrates that they are behind a window, connoting that they are looking at what is unknown and therefore needs to be controlled.  The lighting throughout the trailer is an important and interesting factor to look at. The lighting is very soft in daytime and calm scenes of the trailer, such as the hospital scene, which creates a reassuring nature that the audience can feel relaxed about and also relate tot he film.. In the tenser and darker scenes, the lighting is harsher, with lots of shadows This creates a darker atmosphere and harsher tone so creates horror. This is a typical convention of a horror film. Through a cut, we are presented with a long shot of the boy lying on a hospital bed attached to OSS-operational support system This reveals to the audience what the parents were looking so terrified about, and indicates to the audience emotions of distress and terror. The use of the OSS reinforces the idea of "The unknown" . The parents are placed far away from the boy, which suggest that they do not know what condition the boy has, thus they have to stay away. This gives off an uneasy and scary atmosphere towards the audience.  The camera then cuts to a close up shot of the mother looking into her sons eyes. The close up shot is effective, as the audience are able to see the sheer  and distressing emotion presented on her face. It also means that the audience are able to relate to the way that she feels. In addition, her upsetting emotions shown here, directly contrasts with her emotions at the beginning of the trailer. 

We then cut to a dark, medium shot of a staircase. The camera is at a low angle, looking upwards which makes whatever is on the staircase to be more powerful. The lighting here is very low key, which brings fear and terror to the audience.The soundtrack here, dips slightly and becomes much deeper, much like the sound of a cello. Having deep music in horror films is a common convention and is expected from the audience. It brings a dramatic climax to the film, and suggests that something is about to happen. The audience can see shadows moving past the staircase, due to the dim lighting. The un-natural movements has connotations with the supernatural. The fact that we can only see the shadows, connotes that we the supernatural is outside the house, trapping and captivating the family inside. We then quickly cut to an armchair rocking, which gives connotations of old fashioned and old toys, which the audience naturally associate with horror. We then cut to an extreme high angle of the woman looking upwards which suggests that she is being watched. The lighting here is also low key, meaning the audience cannot see much, giving a uneasy and spooky atmosphere. This shot directly contrasts with the previous shot, which was a low angle, which suggests that the power struggle has been overturned. The colouring in this shot is de-saturated which  creates a stylistic theme and illustrates a bleak, unusual atmosphere which creates fear towards the audience. The screen then cuts to a long shot of a boy sleeping in his room. The long shot is effective as it means that the audience can see the whole landscape of his room, meaning that they can spot any mysterious movements that may occur. We then hear the door creek open, which is a common convention used in horror films, which suggests that the supernatural is in the room and something shocking is about to occur. The music changes here, from low, deep music to chimmey, child like music. This kind of music is seen as old fashioned, and is also a common convention shown in horror films.  Finally, we are shown a medium shot of a girl looking towards the camera. The music and editing here is really fast pace, which brings suspense to the audience and suggests that something is about to happen. We then see a red figure come up behind her shoulder, which only the audience can see, and not the character. This gives the character vulnerability and innocence, as we are aware of what could happen and not the character. The colour red connotes blood and danger, which are aspects that the director and makers of the film want the audience to feel.

In conclusion, i feel that this trailer was highly successful in keeping the audience engage. The mise en scene of lighting and the fluctuation of sound levels helps make the audience feel suspense and terror as the trailer progresses. 

TRAILER ANALYSIS- Maleficent

Maleficent is a 2014 American epic dark fantasy film directed by Robert Stromberg from a screenplay by Linda Woolverton and starring Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning. The film is base on the tale of sleeping beauty, which was a classic Disney movie known by many. Within the first two seconds of the trailer, we can see that the institution of the film is Disney. Disney is a very successful and well known company making millions of dollars every year. By placing this at the beginning of the trailer it immediately creates a buzz and excitement to the audience, due to their huge success and good reputation. Disney has made loads of films over the years, which means that it has a well established audience, thus it guarantees a large audience for any upcoming films. Through a fade, we are presented with an establishing shot of a castle. This type of shot is a successful way for the audience to understand the setting and location of the film. Castles are often associated with princesses, so it already creates a positive atmosphere towards the audience. The camera pans around the castle, possibly through using a helicopter or a crane. This gives the audience a much wider view and gives them a bigger opportunity to interpret the film.  On the left hand side, we can see soldiers moving. Soldiers can create an idea of danger, as they are known to fight. This already sets to the audience that there might be some kind of battle to be seen in the film, which adds excitement to the movie. Next, an extreme close up of candles being blown out is shown. When candles are lit, it means that individuals are able to see, which brings to mind positive thoughts. When candles get blown out, it usually means that there is darkness. Darkness brings negative thoughts to mind, which makes the audience feel apprehensive and scared as to why the candles had been blown out in the first place. By this point, the audience are aware that something bad is about to happen which adds suspense to the trailer. Through a fade to black, we are presented with a dark and sinister looking room. We can see chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, which have sharpe points on them with little light being shown, again introducing this idea of darkness. Through editing, a Montague of three clips of the same room are pasted together, each with a cut to a black screen therebetween. This is effective, as it brings to mind the idea of distortion, which will make the audience feel on edge. The music here builds, suggesting that something bad is about to happen. The music is deep, with the sound of gusts of wind being blown, with a light chiming sound in the background. This type of sound is commonly associated with small children in horror movies, so it also brings a sense of fear to the audience. The darkness, low music and quick cuts, makes the audience feel that something bad is about to happen. We are then finally presented with out main character Maleficent. Here, we see a medium shot of her. The medium shot allows the audience to see her outfit and facial expressions. She is mainly wearing black,which again brings in the darkness, but black connotes danger,evil and mystery, which makes the audience assume that these emotions are attached to this particular character. She has two long horns attached to her head, surrounded by a black-hat like material circulating the perimeter of her face. The lighting in this scene has significantly changed, and has become more low key lighting which reflects the characters ora that is given off. On her left hand side, she hold a long stick, with crow resting on top. Crows are also black, and are symbolised as being an object of death and evil, which further reinforces Maleficent's ominous ora that is created. She has bright red lips, which makes her seem alluring to the audience and to characters in the film. This could be a subtle way to attract victims into her, and make her seem powerful through the idea of beauty.

Next, we are presented with a long shot of Maleficent constructing her power around a room. She is in the center of the frame, which makes her seem the most dominant person in the room. Her composure looks powerful. She holds both her hands out, widely spread making herself seem that she is trying to take over the whole room. Her power is in the colour green. Green is seem to be ugly, alien-like and exciting, which further enhances her dominant style.In this scene she is creating a curse on the castle, suggesting a sense of hatred and jealousy which is a common theme and  convention shown in fairy tales. Through a fade, we are presented with an extreme long shot of a woodland with spiky, sharp trees pointing out aggressively to the right. The branches almost appear like they are guarding something, which inter-veins the idea of protection and jealousy. Previously in the trailer, it was spring/summer, which can be shown as there was leaves on the trees, and flowers on the ground. In this long shot, it can suggest a change in the seasons, which helps to show the development of the film and how it is continuing. We then see a two shot of a girl with long blonde hair with flowers in it. Long blonde hair is stereo typically seen as attractive in film, which makes this girl seem innocent and likable to the audience. Her representation is juxtaposed by Maleficent's dark clothing, at spooky Ora. This differentiation of characters captivates the audience into the film, as its uncommon to see a dark/mysterious character sitting next to a sweet and innocent child.  The lighting in this shot is high key which connotes a pleasant and satisfying atmosphere. The composition of the shot shows the two characters having the same amount of space on the screen, suggesting that they are seen as equal and even. 

Next, we are presented with a medium shot of our protagonist attempting to touch a needle on a spinning wheel. Earlier in the trailer, Maleficent states that when she does this, she will fall into a "death like sleep" which makes the audince feel tense and on edge, as they can predict what is about to happen. The lighting behind our protagonist is high key, which contrasts with the negative concept of the sharp needle.The needle is lit up, which brings the audiences attention direcltytowards the tip. It engages their eyes to look directly at the point, which is the begnning of where things start to go down hill. The girl is wearing a dress, which reinforces her vulnerability, making her look weak. This is because girls are commonly seen in dresses, and are known as the weaker se

TRAILER ANALYSIS- Casino Royale

Here is a link to the Casino Royale Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36mnx8dBbGE

Casino Royale is part of the James Bond franchise, and was released during 2006. the film is based on a game of poker, where individuals lives are at risk and danger is right around the corner. The film consists of numerous killings,punch ups, drag races and exotic locations. Daniel Craig is James Bond, followed by Vesper Lynd playing Eva Green.

The trailer begins with a medium shot of James looking out in the distance. Regarding mise,en,scene, we can see that he is wearing sunglasses which indicates that he is possibly in a hot location. He is also wearing a suit which connotes the idea of power and authority, as its seen as respectable and honorable clothing. Suits are also expensive to buy,so it could also indicate to the audience that he is a wealthy individual. This wealthy idea can also be interpreted by the the background of the medium shot, we can see a plane. This suggests that James has just gotten off the plane, suggesting to the audience that he is in a new location, further in the distance of the shot, we can see palm trees waving. Palm trees only grow in hot locations so this further enhances the audiences understanding that the trailer is filmed in a hot location. The first part of the trailer is in black and white, which adds a historic feel to the trailer. Historically, movies were filmed in black and white until colour was introduced in 1967. By the trailer opening in black and white, it adds an historic atmosphere to the film, as the audience are restricted from any colour, thus cant interpret any emotion. Over the top of this, we hear non-diegetically "Your file shows no kills Bond..." The voice is from a man and is deep, which makes it sound superior. The idea of murder is introduced to the audience just 5 seconds into the trailer, which tunes audiences into the conventions of an action/thriller film. The screen then fades to a scene with James bond sitting down in a room with an older man talking about how to become a "double o" (007). James then pulls out a gun and shoots the man, with no facial expression shown at all. This suggests to the audience that James is good at his job (being a spy) and does not show much emotion when he does kill people. Through fast pace cross cuts as James pulls the trigger, snippets of men being shot are shown quickly onto the screen. The men fall backwards over buildings and fall into rivers. we then flash back to a close up shot of James sitting down, as he mutters diegetically "considerably..." and places the gun back into his pocket. This intense and dramatic actions engage the audience into the film well. It submerges them into the "Spy world" where killing,hunting and stealing are common factors that occur. A shooting is shown very early on in the trailer, so it engages the audience straight away into what they are expecting, making them want to carry on watching the rest of the trailer to find out what else James gets up to.

The James Bond soundtrack then interplay's where "COLUMBIA" is faded onto the screen. The James bond soundtrack is effective, as its iconic to every film. This suggests that there is the presence of a sound motif which makes the audience feel part of the film and the action, as they know that when this particular music is played, thrilling action is about to take place. We then see a long shot of a rain forest, with army trucks moving boxes on the road. The street is muddy and wet, which suggests that in this location it rains a lot, with makes the audience feel negative, as rain makes people feel down. (Pathetic fallacy. There is few people here, which indicates to the audience that it could be an area suffering from severe poverty. We then see a medium shot of a man with grey hair in a suit. One of his eyes is a different colour to the other- blue and brown. His left eye has a cut down it vertically, and this eye is the blue one.This makes this man stand out from anyone else. Facially, he almost looks abnormal to the others, which gives him a sinister appearance. He is wearing a black suit, which again shows power and authority. His mise en scene also makes him stand out from the others, as the other individuals in this locations are wearing almost like cloth clothing, with no shoes and headscarves, again, reinforcing the idea of poverty. The screen then fades to a panning camera movement of numerous boxes being opened with a stacks and stacks of money inside. Again,this creates a contrast between the poor individuals living in the forest, to the rich man in the suit with boxes and boxes of money. We are then introduced to another character named "M" played by Judi Dench, who is James Bond's manager. She explains that this man is planning a leader of a terrorist organisation, and a poker game in Montenegro is going to be planned. We then see numerous close up shots of a poker game, consisting of chips, cards, dealing and the poker table. M then states diegetically " if he looses this game, he will have nowhere to run." This suggests that James is going to be playing the poker game in order to save his country from various attacks. Through a fade, we are presented with a two shot of M and James walking together in a hotel garden. The setting here is relaxed and peaceful, which juxtaposes the dramatic punching and killing scenes presented in the beginning of the trailer.  M is wearing a white blazer. The colour white symbollises purity and goodness, which are traits that are expected to be seen in her character, James is wearing a blue polo top, with sunglasses tucked between his shirt, with grey chino-like trousers. This suggests that this location is relaxed and the characters are too. Next, we fade to a long shot of the casino. the main colour scheme shown is red, which connotes ideas of wealth and royalty. Many of the characters are dressed up very glamorous and alluring, possibly to distract the opposing male poker players from their game. The trailer then shows a fast pace montage of clips of cars racing each other and people getting beat up. These are effective in showing the audience all the action and common conventions of a thriller/action film.

Through a fade, we are presented with the opening of a gun about to shoot. The guns opening part, is filling the frame of the screen, and is pointing towards the audience as if the audience are the ones that are about to get shot. This is effective as it makes the audience feel part of the action. Its important that in thriller films the audience are kept engaged. By pointing a gun directly at them, it makes them feel like they are in the shoes of the characters in the film. By showing this in the trailer, it gives the audience a taster of what they are to expect in the whole film, making them feel more persuaded to go and watch the film. Through a lens flare, we are shown a two shot of James Bond and a girl in a shower sitting down. James is comforting the girl, by wrapping his arm around her. Interestingly,they are both wearing clothing, which seems odd especially when being in a shower. The fact that James has his arm around her suggests that the girl may be feeling emotional and upset. This type of behavior contrasts with the high and aggressive nature presented in the car chases and killing scenes, so it adds a sense of variety to the film. Having this type of behavior would attract female audiences, as females tend to lean towards romance and emotional scenes, as they feel that they can relate to that character. By showing a "romance" scene in the trailer, it suggests that there is content for everyone in the film.

We are then presented with a low angle shot of James looking at his phone. Having a low angle shot is successful, as it means that the audience can see James's body language and facial expressions. Furthermore, a low angle shot makes James appear taller, resulting in him appearing more dominant and authoritative to the audience. He appears puzzled when glaring at his phone, which adds suspense to the audience, as the main character doesn't appear to be in control of a situation if he looks confused at something. Regarding MES, we can see that James is wearing a suit, which connotes power and authority within his character, which juxtaposes his facial expression. In his right arm he is holding a gun. Although his face appears to be confused, his body language seems to make him appear confident as he is holding the gun with one hand. Guns are usually held in two hands, to get precision and accuracy when shooting someone. Within this shot, it appears that he is careless about the gun, and doesn't see it to be an issue that he has a dangerous object capable of killing an individual with little effort needed. In addition, the gun is larger than usual guns, suggesting that it may be more powerful. This will make the audience feel tension, as it suggests that the film has a high amount of killings and thrilling fight scenes, which are common conventions of a thriller/action film. 

TRAILER ANALYSIS - Twilight

Here is a link to the twilight trailer:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxjNDE2fMjI

Twilight is an American romantic vampire film which is based on the novel by Stephanie Meyer. The basic plot-line sees the development of the relationship between the two characters Bella Swan, who is an ordinary human teenager and Edward Cullen, who is a vampire. The film focuses on Edward and his family’s efforts to save Bella from an evil coven of vampires. In the Twilight trailer it is revealed that the male protagonist is a vampire and that he and Bella both fall in love, from the moment he saves her from the almost accident involving the van in the car park. As the trailer progresses we see the couple run into trouble with nomadic vampires, where the main antagonist James wants to hunt Bella for sport, being so intrigued by Edward’s protectiveness over her. It is revealed that there is a final death struggle between Edward and James.

The trailer opens with an establishing shot of mountains, with a lake and clouds moving in the sky. The establishing shot is effective in setting the scene of the trailer. Although the initial setting is seen as ordinary, the audience, myself included can feel and see something different about the opening shot, and this can be emphasised through the sound used. The music used is eerie, orchestral music accompanied by a ghostly female choir voice; this then morphs into a futuristic and technological type of song, as the trailer fades into a black screen. Black connotes danger,wealth,power and mystery which are early emotions that are absorbed into the audience before much footage is actually shown on the screen. "November 21st" is then faded into the screen in a blue,futuristic typed font. The blue directly contrasts with the black background helping it stand out more. The date is placed into the trailer just 11 seconds in, which gives the audience a direct indication of when the film is going to be released, making them sub-consciously want to go and watch the film,as the date is then memorised in their brain. Next, we see a long shot of a school, and a young girl placing her bag on top of a truck-like car.The pavement is wet, suggesting that it had been raining at this location, which develops a pathetic fallacy of negativity. The camera then zooms into the girls face, so that the audience can see more in detail of what the girl looks like and what she is doing. We can see that she has headphones in, which suggests to the audience that she is a quiet individual, and blocks herself out from everyone else. Listening to music is a common thing to do for young,teenage girls, which makes her conform to her stereotype.  We then see a long shot of a guy (Edward) staring at the girl (Bella) and then through a fade, we are presented with a close up shot of Edward. This editing is the same used when showing Bella- a long shot and then a close up shot. This camera work suggests a relationship between the two, without any dialogue or intimate scenes shown between the two. 

Through fades between both of the characters, we are able to see what they are wearing. Bella is dressed in casual attire consisting of minimalistic clothing such as jeans, hooded jumpers, long sleeved tops, converse trainers, typical teenage dress. Her costume mixes elements of tom-boyish items with feminine details, for example she wears a brown duffle coat with a headband in her hair, a brown blouse with white embroidery around the neck and also wears fitted long sleeved tops of neutral tones. This indicates to audiences that she is a sweet, innocent and natured girl, who builds a tough yet feminine exterior. Bella is the type of girl who doesn’t like to be centre of attention; she doesn’t follow the crowd, but simply does her own thing. Edward on the other hand is dressed very differently to Bella. Being a vampire, his skin colour is naturally a lot lighter, which immediately sets the two characters apart.Edward is dressed in formal attire and appears to always be well presented and polished, somewhat resembling the appearance of a gentleman, unlike the typical teenagers in our society today. This assumption demonstrates a lot about the background of Edward’s character, having been changed into a vampire during an era (1918) in which men were accustomed to behave accordingly, treat women with the utmost respect as well as present themselves the best they could. It’s interesting to acknowledge that Edward appears to have carried these morals, values and personality traits from his old life into his new one. He portrays these characteristics and mannerisms in this modern age which causes him to stand out to the target audience, making his character appear classically unique and diverse.


We see Bella innocently walk towards her car, placing her backpack on the bonnet, to only turn around and experience the sight of a van swerving towards her. The camera pans at the same pace that the car is moving, making the audience feel part of the action. The car is moving fast, and if it were to hit Bella, it would have killed her, or been left with fatal injuries, especially at the positioning of her body to the car. Bella’s eyes are wide with disbelief and her mouth drops open in shock. The next scene shows Edward diving in between Bella and the van. He brings the car to a halt with one hand, as he crouches down holding her in his arms. We then see an over-the-shoulder close up shot of Edwards face. As he looks into Bella’s eyes, his expression is completely composed; the emotion communicated is one of sheer desire.

After this, "SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT" is placed onto the screen, which shows the audience that the film is authentic and genuine. The music then changes, from the ghostly female choir voice to a drum beat and electric guitar sound, a more modern and contemporary vibe is introduced into the music, indicating that the trailer is promoting a teen movie with a supernatural twist. As the trailer progresses, the orchestral theme is joined by a tribal beat, which reflects the concept of a predator hunting its prey, and in this case, a vampire hunting a human.  We then see a long shot of Bella and Edward on a mountain together, which conjures up emotions of a romantic setting. Bella then states "You're impossibly fast and strong" suggesting that Bella is curious about Edward and intrigued by his diverse appearance and strong ways. Her curious develops in the trailer, when she states “You’ve got to give me some answers”,  “I’ve considered radio-active spiders and kryptonite” and “I know what you are. You’re skin is pale white and ice cold. You don’t go out into the sunlight.” After various flashes of Edward jumping from cliff to cliff, and climbing up extremely long trees, it clear that Bella now understands what Edward is, ( A vampire) but doesn't seem to be afraid of him. The trailer continues with romantic close up shots between Bella and Edward, making the audience assume that there is a romantic love story in the film. Next we see a match-on-action which shows Bella and Edward by a lake-side area, the first shot is an extreme long shot, the second a slightly low-angle long shot as the characters filmed from behind. This type of edit and shot is used to show the vast unpolluted landscape, in which they can breathe and be free from their usual suffocating and suppressed surroundings; in this place they are open and free to be themselves.

Overall, i feel that twilight was a successful trailer in engaging the audience into the film. However, i feel that the director shouldn't have revealed what Edward is in the trailer, as it would leave the audience engaged and want to find out more by leaving the film on a cliff hanger.

TRAILER ANALYSIS- Taken

Here is the link to the Taken trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPJVJBm9TPA

Taken is a crime thriller and stars the famous actor- Liam Neeson. I have previously looked at Taken 2 during the research of my AS coursework, and found it very interesting to write about. 

The trailer begins with Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) who is our protagonist. We 

see a medium shot of himself coming out of the car with a large present in his hand. We then hear diegetically "Dad!" and the camera shows a teenage girl wearing a dress and goes to hug Bryan. This immediately suggests to the audience that there is a strong father, daughter relationship, which conjures up feelings of comfort and warmth to the audience. This can be further interpreted through the use of editing in the trailer. When Kim and her dad hug, slow motion is used. This suggests that there is a strong bond and connection between Kim and her father, which triggers of prevalence and sympathy towards both of them.  Through a dissolve, the audience is presented with a short scene of Kim and her dad in a restaurant eating ice cream. This type of setting is seen as relaxed and seen as childish, which again creates a sense of vulnerability towards Kim. Kim diegetically states "Dad guess what?" To which Bryan responds "what?" "Amanda has tickets to Paris and i really want to go!" While she is saying this,montage clips of her and Amanda are shown in slow motion to the audience. This suggests that her and Amanda have a strong friendship and are excited to go and visit Paris. Meanwhile, Kim's mum is at the airport taking photographs of them before they leave. Again, this shows the strong bond and connection that they have between Kim and her parents. The girls are both wearing normal,everyday clothes such as jeans and jackets. This suggests that they are ordinary girls that shouldn't be seen different from anyone else. Next, we see an establishing shot of Paris, this is effective as it helps to set the scene and invite the audience into a new location. Paris is known as "The city of love" which would automatically make the audience feel comfort and at ease as Paris is seen as a laid back area. We then see abrupt flashes of "20th century fox" and then a flash back to Bryan taking a photograph of her daughter before they left to go to Paris, and then a flash again to a plane setting off at an airport. This fast pace editing almost shows the audience a quick memory of Kim's from where she left to where she is now, which suggests a sense of traveliing to the audience. It also makes it clear that Kim was allowed to go to Paris with her best friend, which creates tension as the girls are young and on their own in a large city. 

Through a cross cut, the screen turns black, and the camera pans into Kim's bag where we can hear her phone ringing. We then flash back to her Dad on the phone, which suggests that Bryan is ringing her daughter to ensure that she got their safely. At this point, the music dramatically changed, to lower and thud like sounds. The thud like sounds could be seen to sound like a heart beating. This effectively creates suspense and tension towards the audience to make them assume that something bad is about to happen.  Kim answers the phone and says "Hi daddy". This type of language can be see as slightly childish, as teenagers at 17 have connotations with being careless, lazy and independent and calling someone "Daddy" will make the audience feel sympathy for her and stereotype her to be seen as innocent. While Kim is on the phone, we see short flashes with a close up shot of two men's black boots. Black connotes danger,mystery,evil and power which immediately strikes emotions of suspense and terror to the audience. We then see a close up shot of Kim looking out the window towards the other side of the room where her friend Amanda is. The close up shot is effective,as we can see Kim's facial expressions, in which her face starts to look scared and confused. The director (Pierre Morel) has cleverly worked this part of the trailer, where he has shown Kim's facial expressions before the  audience can see whats actually happening. Its an effective way to draw the audience in so that they can feel the suspense of what is going on in the scene, and what to expect from the whole film . 

Next, the tension of the trailer sets in, and the screen is split into three sections. On the left side, we can see Kim on the phone to her dad in a close up shot. She is looking at Amanda (her friend) and diegetically saying "Oh my god they got Amanda!" The use of the emphasise on "Oh my god" explains to the audience how stressed and scared Kim is, especially if she gets -"taken". On the right of the screen, we see Bryan on the phone to Kim. He looks worried and apprehensive of what might happen to his daughter. He states diegetically "Kim,Kim listen to me!" the use of him repeating his daughters name suggests that Kim is panicking down the phone and making a lot of noise. Due to Bryan's experience and knowledge in the CIA, it is clear that he is trying to calm his daughter down, to avoid negative impacts. He carries on to tell Kim to go into the bedroom and hide under the bed. The camera pans around Kim and follows her every movement. Through editing, fast pace cross cuts are used to show Kim running, then shows her feet in a close up and finally shows an extreme close up shot of her under the bed, still on the phone to her dad. The fast pace editing is effective in creating suspense to the audience. It almost resembles how Kim is feeling. She would be frightened and scared of getting caught, therefore the fast pace movements almost makes the audience feel part of all the action so they can really experience how Kim is feeling. Also, this part of the trailer gives Kim prevalence in the seen, which makes the audience sympathise with her.

The soundtrack at this moment is very effective in enhancing the suspension and terror of this scene. Ultimately, this part of the film could be seen as the most important, purely because this is where Kim actually becomes abducted. The director has cleverly worked the sound levels in this scene, from fluctuating from high pitched music, all the way down to low. The music is a violin sound, and becomes extremely high pitched to the point where its almost painful to listen too. This creates tension towards the audience, as it sounds like the music cannot go any louder, and therefore is about to drop. When music suddenly drops it indicates that something negative is about to happen. The music does drop, and the sound effect of a "thud" is placed in when Kim is dragged out from under the bed. The onomatopoeia of the "thud" makes the audience actually obtain what has actually happened, and almost snaps them back to reality that a young girl has actually been abducted. Once Kim has actually been removed from the scene, the music changes to a piano. Piano's conjure up emotions of sadness, which again shows the audience the negative and upsetting impact this has had on Kim's relatives. We see a close up of a sound machine/radio and heavy breathing coming from it. This heavy breathing creates suspense, as the audience cannot see who the breathing is coming from. Its already been indicated that whoever these people are, they are not likable people, thus it creates a sense of mystery and doubt towards the audience which will engage them even more. Having the idea of mystery and a "who done it" typed scenario is a successful way to make audiences go and watch the film. Including it in the trailer, will make audiences want to find out what has happened to the unfortunate girl, and the only way they can is to go and watch the film. I feel that this part of the trailer has been done well, and cleverly planned out to get the optimum impact possible.

The next part of the trailer, is possibly one of the most iconic and memorable parts of the whole film, and takes up the majority of the trailer. Bryan is on the end of the phone to an unknown individual. Bryan is fully aware that they have taken his daughter, and quotes this through the phone to this individual: 

"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom I can tell you I don't have money, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you, but if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you."
This sentence is effective, as it almost suggests that no footage is actually needed, as it speaks more than what it portrays. The sentence shows that Bryan is willing to do whatever it takes to get his daughter back, even if it means killing other people, or even getting himself killed. Its clear that Bryan is fully equipped and able to fight people, due to the reference of his long career. The end utterance is possibly the most important, The repetition of "you" suggests that this individual is not worthy of being named and is therefore catagorised as a person, not by their name. All of this, is filmed in a close up shot. This is possibly the most effective way to film this part, as the audience can see all of Bryan's facial expressions. It engages the audience too, as the closer the audience are to an individual, the more they can relate to that character. After this, we hear a long pause, which again creates tension and suspense, as the audience haven't seen the person on the end of the phone, or heard of them, again, creating this idea of mystery. After a 3 second pause, in a deep and manly voice we hear "good luck..." being said. This then suggests that the individual on the other end of the phone doesn't care about what Bryan has said, making this person be portrayed as a careless and dangerous individual. After this, the phone makes the sound of when it has been hung up, and then "TAKEN" is blasted onto the screen. This is a very effective way in making the audience be fully engaged with the trailer. It makes them want to go and watch the film so that they can find out who took Kim, and if she will be found. 

I feel that this trailer is one of the best iv'e ever seen. I feel that it engages the audience so well, through the music and the violent and extreme footage shown. 

TRAILER ANALYSIS - War of the Worlds

Here is a link to the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJYnHA2OzfA

War of the worlds was released in 2005, starring Tom Cruise. The film is a sci-fi thriller centering around the concept of robotic tri-pod like aliens invading the world. the teaser trailer war a highly successful way to engage a wide audience to go and watch the film. The opening of the trailer begins with to cruise in a close up shot talking to the audience. He states diegetically "keep your eyes on me". This dialogue immediately suggests that thee i a sense of danger that is about to erupt. The use of the close up shot is an effective way to engage the audience. It almost cements the idea that the audience is having a close and interpersonal conversion between himself and the audience. The director ( Steven Spielberg) successfully did this in order to create a sense of reliance and dependence on Tom Cruise, making himself be portrayed as a powerful and authoritative individual in the film. We then see a high angle shot of a girl looking upwards towards Tom cruise. This successfully highlights the vulnerability and innocence portrayed by the girl, as it suggests that she is depending on Tom Cruise- or what seems to be her dad. Regarding the MES, she is wearing a pink,fluffy coat and a rucksack. This particular appearance makes her appear to be vulnerable and innocent. The colour pink is commonly associated with girls, and girls are mentally and physically, stereo typically seen as the weaker sex, and the girls representation through MES can be adhered to this stereotype.In addition to this, the girl does not use any dialogue, and therefore remains silent. This would also suggest to the audience that she is scared and frighted about the unknown, and what her dad is telling her to not look at. It is clear that from the first 7 seconds that the audience are engaged and captivated into the film, through the close up shots, dialogue and Mes en scene. 

The soundtrack in the background is an eery, church like music, which creates an ominous atmosphere amongst the trailer. The music almost subverts to the genre of the thriller, as a thriller film you would expect to have fast paced and a dramatic soundtrack. However, the slow paced music almost captivates the audience as the soundtrack is different to what should be expected. Next, subtitles of "June 29th" are put onto the screen, through a slashed-like transition. The transition creates a sinister and dangerous effect, which invites the audience into the genre of the film. The fact that the date is shown near the beginning of the trailer, automatically makes the audience want to g and see the film. It gives them an indicator of when the film is getting released, so that they can make time to go and see it. We are then presented with a low angle shot of a building with firefighters spraying water at a burning building. There is also many people there, stressing and shouting in despair, suggesting that the are in a panic to escape and be liberated from whatever is causing their town harm. Through a dissolve, it shows the antagonist through a close up shot looking around at his town. The use of the close up shot is effective in showing his facial expressions, in which he appears shocked and scared. This makes the audience feel on edge, and be captivated into that character. Thus, this triggers prevalence within the trailer, as the audience sympathize with him, which will result in them wanting to see the film, to see what happens to the antagonist in the ending. 

We are then presented with a montage of fast paced flashes of close up shots of victims. Again, the close up shots are effective in showing the individuals facial expressions. Regarding editing, slow motion is used when the individuals turn around and look upward. This successfully makes the audience feel the tension and suspense within the trailer, as the audience and drawn in, as they would want to find out what is behind the individual and what the characters are looking at. The camera is placed at a low angle too, which suggests that the object/thing/person that the characters are looking at, are dominant,powerful and authoritative. Next, the music dramatically changes, to fast pace and thrilling music. The music corresponds with the footage presented on the trailer,where there are buildings being smashed and ships being capsized in the sea. This footage conforms to the thriller genre, as stereo typically, dramatic and explosive scenes are shown in thrillers to truly captivate the audience, War of the Worlds successfully does this, which keeps the audience on edge and involved in the trailer, which is ultimately what the trailer is initially created to do. 

Towards the end of the trailer, we are presented with a medium shot of the girl turning around to look up behind her (much like at the beginning) . At this moment, the music stops. The silence of the soundtrack creates suspense and tension towards the audience which will make them more engaged into the trailer. The trailer does not show what the girl is looking at or why the scene went silent. Leaving the audience on a cliff hanger is an effective way to persuade the audience to go and watch the film, as they are left to find out what is causing the sheer terrifying look on the girls face, and the huge destruction that has happened to the village. 

The font of "War of the Worlds" bursts onto the screen towards the end of the film. The background is black and the font is white. The colour black connotes negative aspects such as Death, mystery and evil, whereas the colour white connotes purity and goodness. This suggests that the colours and their meanings juxtapose each other, creating a strong contrast on the screen. The font is large which grips the audience into the name of the film, which will ultimately help them remember it more clearly. The idea of black and white or monochromatic can create the idea of good and evil which are aspects that can be witnessed in the film. This is a subtle way of bringing ideas and conclusions about the film without giving too much away. Having the right colour scheme and fonts in a trailer is just as important as the actual footage shown. 

War of the Worlds has a unique selling point due to the director- Steven Spielberg. He has directed some of the worlds most famous movies of all time such as, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Indianna Jones, Transformers and many more. As soon as audiences find out that Spielberg has directed the film, they are more likely to go and watch the film due to his huge success with other films that he has created. However, War of the Worlds was released during 2005, when other major films such as Batman Begins,King Kong, Star wars and The Ring two were released. These huge and successful films made it harder for the film to be marketed and achieve higher box office hits, so having a successful director involved was highly important for the film to be a success. It is evident that the film was a success as it made a whopping $606,836,535 at the box office!

In conclusion, War of the Worlds was a successful trailer, and conforms to the conventions expected of a sci-fi thriller film. The careful use of the tempo of the music and the camera angles shown on screen help to successfully engage the audience into the action that is expected to be shown in the film. The trailer gives a useful taster into the film, without giving too much away which i feel makes the trailer highly effective and conventional. 

AS coursework reflection- Digital Technology

AS reflection page- Digital Technology
Throughout our AS year, we were introduced to various new technology, from technology we have never used before to technology we have used previously, therefore allowing us to develop our skills and abilities using these. We used vast amounts of different forms of media technology during the construction,research,planning and evaluation stages, providing us to produce a high quality opening two minutes.

What software was used?

The research page was vitally important for uncovering the foundation of what genre we wanted our film to be, the props we needed and the particular shot types that we needed in order to make our film as successful as it could possibly be. This meant that we had to use the world wide software, google, which provided us with all the information and knowledge we needed to create a successful opening two minutes. We decided to use Adobe Premier Elements 10. We used this to construct our entire opening two minutes, from the cropping of the clips to inserting the photographs and images. It was quick and easy to understand and use, which meant that all the group could help participate in the construction of the opening two minutes. The complexity of the software was fairly high; there was a numerous amount of different special effects where you can alter the saturation of the video to where you can crop sections of the video out; which tested out ability of editing. Also during the editing stages, we used a font website called "Groovy fonts" This software allowed us to manipulate with the colouring, size and type of font we wanted our film title to be. This software was easy to use and download as different files to ensure that it was a high resolution on the font when we inserted in into our film. Paint was also a very friendly piece of technology, which was ideal for the template of our fonts, however, we needed to use a more high tech software which is why we converted to the template of our font to "Groovy fonts." After finalizing our film, we used another type of software which was Youtube. This was another type of website meaning that we could publish our film onto the web, which would be seen as a marketing campaign strategy as it would intrigue our target audience to wanting to watch the whole film. We also uploaded behind the scenes footage and images for our audiences. It also provided us with data and information about the reactions from our audiences, which we would take into account and work on the feedback we received. The final piece of software used was blogger. Blogger demonstrated the development i of our production, which illustrates a step by step process from start to finish of our opening two minutes "The Alley."

What Equipment was used?
We used a high quality amount of equipment during our entire filming process. The main piece of equipment used was the we used a Nikon D3000. The D3000 is primarily aimed at anyone who wants to take photos or videos without having to worry about what the camera is doing. The Nikon D3000 also features a 10.2 megapixel sensor, expeed processing system, 3-inch LCD screen, 3 fps continuous shooting and 11-point autofocus system. All these features made filming easier and more understandable for all of us to use. We felt that using a camera which was simple, was very important during filming, as It meant that we weren't standing around trying to work our particular camera functions. However, three of us, myself included, take photography as a subject, so we could get the correct camera settings and angles quickly and precisely, without many problems. By turning the camera's lens left to right, we were able to focus a character/object in the camera frame, this meant that our images on our film had a high resolution, making our shots look more professional. The camera also had a function of allowing a 9x9 grid to appear on the screen. We felt that this was extremely effective, as it meant we could incorporate "The Rule Of Thirds" in our production. This means getting a characters face into 3 of the boxes on the grid. This is used in many current films today, thus making our production look more professional. It also made the shots look more focused and effective. Changing the aperture value or more commonly known as "f number" on the camera, meant that we could control the amount of light coming into and out of the camera's lens. As it was winter when we were filming, the lighting was naturally quite dark, so we needed the correct amount of light needed to make our shots look effective, but also not too overexposed. We felt that using the NikonD3000, was a very easy, simplistic and effective piece of equipment to use. It allowed us to film quickly and easily, with certain settings that helped to our advantage also. During filming, we used a tripod, which provided stability for the camera, meaning it avoided shaky and blurry shots, which would have affected the continuity and quality of the film. During the filming process, we had to make the shots as realistic as possible, meaning we had to use clothing which would, firstly, suit the genre of the film, and secondly; clothing which would make the antagonist as scary as possible.All the pieces of clothing were vitally important as they connote different things, meaning we needed to portray the right connotations for our audience. To further provide a realistic atmosphere within the film,, for example we used a bag cut out in specific places to ensure the actress could breathe functionnally . The bag we all felt was a clever way to kill someone, as it diverts from normal thriller stereotypes such as a gun and a knife which added diversity to our film. The final piece of equipment we used was obviously a computer, which was used during the editing, research, planning and evaluation stages.

What were the technical pros and cons of the software and hardware?
There are many pros about the software we used, and one example of this is YouTube; this allowed us to broadcast behind the scene footage, which would have increased the popularity of our film, as this would be part of our marketing campaign. Although, the disadvantage of this type of software is that when uploading a video to YouTube the quality and resolution of the image decreases and becomes very pixelated, meaning it would disrupt the atmosphere which we created within this film. 
 Another software used was Blogger. Blogger was highly effective as it enabled us to show a step by step method on how we made our production, from minute details, for example the behind the scenes footage and images of the plastic  bag and how we managed to work around the suffocation, without anyone being harmed in the process.Another technical software we used was Adobe Premiere Elements 10, which is where we edited and added special effects which would make our opening two minutes fluent and high quality. This was high successful as it enabled us show what we are capable of as we could apply various editing techniques and special effects, such as the additive dissolve which made our production effective and ideal for our target audience.  The hardware we used in the film production was a NIKON 3000 camera and a tripod. We all wanted to use a camera that had a lot of megapixels, as it meant that the colour and resolution pixels would be much stronger. The NIKON camera was effective because it gave us a much more  high defined image, with no pixelated disturbance, which was perfect for when making a film.