Concrete Sequence of Events/Narrative for my Teaser Trailer

Beginning –

Set the scene: establishing shot of road victim lives in – pretty, quaint, decent sized family homes, cul-de-sac. Wide shot of her walking down the drive from school, opens the front door, throws her bag on the floor, kisses her mom and runs up stairs. She’s sitting on her bed, drawing an anime figurine listening to her rock music, flash back to school and what happened that day – laughter with friends, name calling from the idiots in her year etc. This builds up empathy for her. She’s normal. Some dialogue over dinner with her family and then cuts to food shopping with her mom – introduce stalker. He’s in the background, blurred at the beginning, then camera focuses on him, turning into their aisle/walking past. Neither victim or her mom notice – he them bumps into them ‘Oh sorry lovey’ and picks up the tin that the victim drops in shock and hands it to her – uncomfortably long eye contact between them, she calls him a freak as he walks off and her mother laughs.

Middle –

Victims phone starts to malfunction every so often – she receives a phone call where nobody talks, it’s just breathing and then the person hangs up – she thinks it’s the boy she likes messing around but every time he calls her phone switches off and won’t turn back on for a while. It happens once or twice and she thinks nothing of it. Various dramas are introduced – bullying, grandmother dies, auntie’s wedding, outings with friends – but there’s a growing unexplainable uneasiness. Whatever she does, wherever she goes she always feels watched. There is a sinister presence felt everywhere except in her home. His blurred disguised figure is everywhere she goes, watching. She goes to her mom for help, but she laughs it off and says she’s daft, but the victim is always so jumpy – scene on the bus where an elderly man taps her on the shoulder and she screams frightening him half to death – and it’s effecting everything in her life. One by one she loses the people dearest to her – her friends no longer want to put up with the crazy, her family just leave her to her room, teachers give up on her etc – she’s left with no one. Completely ostracized, she enters her house after school one evening – nobody is home. She dumps her bag, goes up to her room, shuts the door and draws with her iPod on. He walks into the house after her, quietly, she hears nothing. He rummages around downstairs, knowing full well her music in on too loud to hear him. Suspense is created because he draws it out so much. She starts to feel uneasy – even though her home is her safe haven. She turns off her iPod and goes into the bathroom, taking her phone as some source of comfort. It starts to ring, the same breathing and then hang up – phone switches off. She’s panicking, there is no way she can call for help because her phone is off. He leaves the house just minutes before she builds up the courage to go downstairs. The door opens – it’s her mom and dad coming home from work. This then cuts to a news report, a young girl, stolen from the street on her way home from school, parent’s plea for help. It’s the victim’s parents. Flashback – to victim walking from the bus stop, music on, oblivious to anything. The stalker bumps into her again and she drops her school bag. He apologises as she bends to pick it up – he covers her mouth with his hand and she faints – he’s knocked her out with a drug. She awakens in a dark cellar, light flickers, drips are heard. He comes down the cellar door – creepy dialogue – she’s scared. Tries to cry for help but he gags her after a nasty struggle. She is tied to a chair. He proceeds to violate her and humiliate her culminating in a nasty drawn out murder, of which he has been planning for ages. Blue prints of his plans on the walls.

End –

Her body is never found, he is never caught. Her parents stare at the closed door of her bedroom but everyone else carries on as normal. Cuts to another girl, in another city in the supermarket with her dad – the stalker bumps into her ‘Oh sorry lovey’ BLACKOUT. Credits

Set/Props/Costume/Actors: ideas

Set

I have 3 main ideas for set; The Lickey Hills (woods), Skate Park and also a house.
     I like the idea of the Lickey Hills and a Skate Park because those are typical haunts for teens in a group of friends, so the victim of my film could realistically spend a lot of time here. However, because they are public areas there is no stopping a stalker from walking through them or passing by/watching my victim, because there are no laws stating certain people cannot pass through.
    The house is a more obvious one, but I think the Stalker does need to come into her home to create a lot of fear within the audience.

Props

I think that props should include; mobile phone - she could keep getting strange phone calls where nobody talks on them and they become more and more frequent; rope/knife/leather gloves - for the stalker, these could be what he brings with him for his final act of cruelty towards my victim.

Costume

Victim: Lots of black eyeliner, messy hair, mainly dark clothing with some fluroescent bold statement colours- show she's an outcast from "the norm", but fits in with her friends
Victims friends: similar to the victim
Stalker: Dark clothes. Greys/Browns/Blacks. Longish hair, face is always mostly covered; hoods, hats, scarves etc. Gloves.

Actors

Victim: 13/14 yr old girl.
Her friends: 3 - 4 other people, mixed, around the same age
Stalker: Tall, large maile

Research Conclusions

From my reasearch, I can conclude that my teaser trailer will be for a certificate 15 thriller. My target audience will expect, from my teaser trailer, to see who is in the film and a piece of vague plot detail that entices my target audience to ask the questions, 'What's going on?' and 'When can I find out?'. My trailer HAS to be good, as all the people from my primary research questionnaire said that they don't go to see a film unless the trailers are good, and also that they do not go to the cinema very regularly, so when they do, it's to see a film that they have high expectations of - because of the teaser trailer/trailer.

My trailer has to be fast paced and edgey, with a good soundtrack to match the action. I will need numerous shots, that are mainly close ups or in low key lighting to hide the full story from the audience, and also they will need to differ in length in terms of the pace of sequencing. The start of my teaser trailer should be slow paced and as the tension builds it needs to get quicker and quicker. The most popular editing technique in teaser trailers, I have found, is the fade to black, so I could try and encorporate this into mine too.

Initial ideas

At the moment, I am toying with the idea of a 14 (ish) yr old girl having a stalker, but being unaware of it untill it is too late. I can see a high angle mid shot of a girl with her friends, laughing and joking, but in the distance a figure watching in the background. In the trailer I want to communicate to the audience that this stalker is always there, bidding his time and she is completely unaware. I think that maybe the whole film will be this build up to their final meeting. Possibly, she will meet him beforehand, unaware he watches her every move, be her sweet polite self and think nothing of it.

I am considering never revealing the stalker's indentity because I think that will create more suspense for my audience, because they can never quite see what he really looks like. I think that the girl should also be an outcast from the majority of society, but a have a small group of close-knit friends. She is the kind of girl that comes home from school and locks herself in her room and draws/listens to music instead of interacting with her family. She doesn't have major problems with her family, she just prefers to be alone or with her friends.

In the plot, there should be numerous things going wrong because of the stalker. Such as powercuts, phone lines down, mobile phone mugging etc, that ostracizes her from everything, leaving her with nothing so he van swoop in for his final act.

Secondary Research II

The theme I have imagined for my teaser trailer, very much coincides with theme within The Lovely Bones, in terms of a young teenage girl is victim to a peodophillic act. However, I have found an interesting clip by Mark Kermode, that he posted on his film blog on the BBC website, where he explores peoples fear of children/young people. He basically says that parents fear their children because they are more intelligent, or 'wised up' to things than they were themselves at their child's age or even now in some cases.

Here is the link to this page: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/markkermode/2011/10/scary_kids.html
He uses the recently released horror/thriller/drama film 'We Need To Talk About Kevin' (2011)to explore this idea. In this film, directed by Lynne Ramsay, Kevin goes on a high-school killing spree and his mother tries to deal with her grief and feelings of responsibilty for him by writing to her estranged husband.

Shutter Island - Teaser trailer analysis

    Opening with a quick fade out to a close up of Leonardo DiCaprio lying horizontally with a furrowed brow , accompanied with non diegetic ominous chords suggests that this will not be an easy film to watch; this is designed to confuse, thrill and leave the audience thinking 'that was an epic film!' We then see a wide shot of a building with big iron gates the front , the camera zooms as the gates open and there is a jab of non-diegetic music. This then straight cuts to a mad gruesome old lady holding her finger to her lips as if to say 'shhh' as we hear the diegetic sound of a guard saying 'Welcome to Shutter Island'. The old lady also has hand cuffs on, which gives an idea about what kind of institution 'Shutter Island' is. This then straight cuts to a mid shot of DiCaprio brow furrowed as he walks, clearly thinking about why the old lady did what she did.

    This then straight cuts to a two-shot of a man's black shoes and a woman's (toenails painted red) feet as there is a jab in the non-diegetic music. This jump cuts to a two-shot of the woman smiling with her hands on a gentleman's (assumingly DiCaprio's) back. This then jump cuts to a flash of lightening, which jump cuts again to another mid shot of DiCaprio as he looks up with his brow furrowed, possibly highlighting some confusion as to what is going on. This then jump cuts to a three-shot of 3 men in white in a scuffle, as one (diegetically) calls out. Another jump cut is used, as the sequencing is getting faster and faster to create more tension, to show an extreme close up of a match being lit accompanied with it's eerily loud diegetic sound. This also jump cuts to a close up of someone's tattooed back behind bars with a jump cut to a close up of a little girl lying down on the rocks, ice in her hair indicating that maybe she is dying.

    Yet another jump cut is used to show a mid-shot of DiCaprio as he jumps back from an arm shooting from between the grates in the cell door (so shot-rev-shot). This then straight cuts to along shot of the little girl, dressed dully in brown, walking along staring at the camera (possibly indicating that this is a PoV shot). As she has cropped up for the second time here, the audience are left wondering what her significance is. This then jump cuts to a two shot of DiCaprio (right) throwing his arm across the table towards someone, annoyed, and a man in blue (left) who, when realizing what DiCaprio is doing, grabs DiCaprio by the arm as he tries to stand. A jump cut is used again to show an over-the-shoulder shot of a bald man giving DiCaprio a piece of paper which DiCaprio looks very distraught at. Another jump cut is used to show a close up of a child's hand rising into the shot eerily, which causes a lot of suspense for the audience. This then jump cuts to a tracking shot of a topless haggard man running through a dark damp underground passage with the diegetic sound of bare feet slapped across the floor.

    This then jump cuts to DiCaprio (low angle shot) clinging to a rock face, which jump cuts to a high angle shot of the same thing, revealing that he is dangling above a raging sea. Another jump cut is used to show a wide shot of DiCaprio holding a woman (seemingly a lover given his desperate body language) as the room and her melt away from him. This then jump cuts to the same woman and the little girl holding hands, staring at the camera as a fire rages behind them and they do nothing to run to safety. This suggests that they are DiCaprio's family. Another jump cut is used to show a close up of DiCaprio reaching out his hand as he clings to the rock face, with yet another jump cut to show a close up of legs running up a spiral staircase as the camera tracks the movement.

     The Non-diegetic music creates tension throughout the trailer through its use of loud ominous chords and musical stabs to emphasize an editing technique or occurrence on screen. It increases in pace as the editing sequencing increases in pace. A jump cut is used to show a mid shot of DiCaprio standing in a burning room staring down at his hands which jump cuts to DiCaprio running and diegeetially screaming towards the camera. He is all in white, which implies that maybe he is a patient. Another jump cut is used to show DiCaprio kick open a door in a white shot, followed by a jump cut to shot a close up of DiCaprio shooting upwards from a bed as if from a nightmare with the diegetic sound of his gasp/exhale. A fade to black is used here with a fade out to an island in low key lighting in the middle of the sea. The words 'Shutter Island' appear on the screen as the shot morphs into a paper drawing with the Island looking like an ink blot.

Secondary Research

Certificate
Most thrillers are 18+ because their content can include; violence, pyscological issues, scenes of a sexual/explicit nature and, more generally, scenes that potentially are distrubing for younger viewers. However some are 15s like Black Swan, or even The Lovely Bones which is a 12A. Roughly, thrillers target 15-25yr olds.
Usually there are warnings on the DVD cover stating why the film has the particular rating.

Plot
Most plots, for any film not just Thrillers, will follow Todorov's narrative structure. His structure says that there is Equilibrium at the beginning of the film, and then Disequilibrium occurs when something happens, and then at the end of the film re-equilibirum occurs when the chaos has been restored to normal. For example; in The Lovely Bones, the equilibrium is that Susie Salmon is an ordinary 14-yr old girl who had normal concerns/interests/problems. The disequilibrium is that she is raped and murdered by her neighbour and is watching her family fall apart from 'limbo'. The re-equilibrium  is when the murdered gets his come-upance and her family are able to move on with their lives and Susie goes to Heaven.

Here are some links to informations about films with a similar target audience;

• The Lovely Bones (2009) 12A http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0380510/
• Shutter Island (2010) 15 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1130884/
• Inception (2010) 12A http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1130884/
• Black Swan (2010) 15 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0947798/
• Leon: The Proffesional (1994) 18 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110413/

Questionnaire results - Primary audience research

The majority of people that completed and sent me back the questionnaire were in the age range of 15-17. Only 3 people in the age range of 18-21 handed in their forms. 20 people in total completed the questionnaire.

1. Do you enjoy watching films?

15 out of 17, 15-17 yr olds, said that they enjoyed watching films. This is the age range I would like to target with my products, so it's important that 88% of them enjoy watching films in general.

100% of 18-21 year olds said that enjoy watching films, which is good for my product because it means that although I'm not aiming to make a Rated 18 film, they may still be interested in my product because they enjoy to watch films.

90% of the people who did the questionnaire said they enjoy watching films, and only 10% said no. This is good because they are all within the age range of my target audience.

2. How often do you go to the Cinema?

The majority of people go to the cinema monthly, or every few months, which means that they are very picky about what films they actually go and watch. They will be persuded by oustanding teaser trailers, not just ones where the films seems OK.

I received similar results for the 18-21 year old range, as 100% said that they only go to the cinema monthly. This means that my trailer has to be really good for my target audience to want to see the actual film.

Overall, 50% of particpants said that they go to the cinema monthly.

3. What genre do you prefer?

I allowed people to circle more than one for this question because not many people just like one particular genre.

Out of the 8 examples (excluding the 'Other....' option), only 6 genres were chosen.

Overall, the most popular genre was Comedy (9 votes) with Thriller as a close second (7 votes). 3 votes went to both Rom Com, Horror and Action. Just 1 vote went to Fantasy.

This is good because it means that a lot of people within the age range I am using as my target audience like to watch Thrillers.

4. What would you expect to see in a teaser trailer?

Most people said pretty much the same thing. Overall the results looked like this;

I expect to see:

• basic plot and main actors - 4 votes
• General plot, not giving too much away - 7 votes
• General plot - 2 votes
• an identification of the genre - 1 vote
• enough to entice without revealing the whole plot - 4 votes
• explosions - 1 vote
• fast paced edits - 1 vote

This was really useful, because it's interesting to see how people's opinions differ from my own. I can conclude from the data received from this question that people want to see the general plot outline in a teaser trailer, but not have the best parts given away, they want to be left questioning, but persuaded that they care enough to see the rest of the film.

5. Does the trailer for a new film decide whether you go and see the film? Why?

100% percent of participants overall all agreed that it's the trailer that makes them decide if they go and see the film. When asked why, these were the results;

• Gets me excited for the whole film - 1 vote
• Persuasive if it's a good trailer - 5 votes
• A good trailer is crucial because if it's bad, I won't watch it - 1 vote
• First opinion of a film (impression) - 1 vote
• Creates interest - 6 votes
• Makes the decision as to whether to go and see the film - 6 votes

From these results I can conclude that my target audience will only go and see a film if they like the trailer, because it heavily influences their opinions of the film. I also know that a lot of people in this age range like to watch thrillers.

Inception - Trailer analysis

After the green screen informing the viewer about the certificate/target audience a fade to black is used before a fade out into a shot of the Warner Bros symbol. This zooms in at a medium speed accompanied by the non-diegetic sound of eerie distorted percussion, setting the scene of Inception – already the audience know that this is going to be edgy and gripping. A fade to black is used again as the camera zooms into the symbol, as it fades out into a black screen with silver typography saying ‘Christopher Nolan’ (director). Fade to black is used again with a fade out to reveal a close up of a spinning top which means nothing, but with the non-diegetic sound that mimics the fades to black and fade back outs, the audience is drawn in because they are forced to question the significance of the spinning top – and they want to know why it’s significant. The spinning is almost hypnotic but then the top starts to fall, but we are robbed of what happens next because another fade to black is used to show a black screen with silver writing on it, this time saying ‘the director of The Dark Knight’. This puts a meaning to the previous name (Nolan), because people are more likely to recognise a previous film, than the director’s name.

Yet another fade to black is used, which fades out to reveal and establishing shot of a grey spaghetti junction as an violin is introduced that rises in pitch in the non-diegetic music. The low-key lighting and the speed at which the camera pans up and over creates a sense of action, but as a viewer, we are not sure what is happening; this then jump cuts to a close up of Leonardo DiCaprio so that the audience can associate the main plot of the film with his character. Another straight cut is then used to link the close up with a PoV shot of a man in grey being restrained/forcibly removed by two bodyguards. As an audience we have no idea what the link between DiCaprio’s character and the man in grey is, however, with the non-diegetic music getting tenser. Fade to black is used again, and the fade out is much quicker showing ‘Leonardo DiCaprio’ in silver lettering on a black screen confirming that he is the main character – it also passes on his credibility because he is a well known actor. A fade to black is used again, with a quick fade out to a close up on a glass of water on a flat table, but the contents is tipping horizontally and rippling seemingly of its own accord which is gripping to the audience because it appeals to the imagination.

A straight cut is then used as the pacing gets much quicker revealing a dynamic CGI long shot of a street, as the camera pans forward quickly (like it’s literally flying) and tilts to one side to create this sense of warped dimensions. a fade to black is used again, fading out to reveal a close up of DiCaprio turning around with a concerned expression (still in low key lighting) with a jump cut back to a continuation of the roller-coaster-like pan through the CGI street. This links the sense of a warped dimension to DiCaprio’s character and we wonder, as an audience, what exactly he has to do with it. Does he control it? Is he a victim of it? Is he mad? As a black angular hole opens up, match-on-action is used to show a long shot as a man (man1) drops from the ceiling into a long hotel corridor where there is another man (man2) at the end. As man1 starts running at man2, more drums are introduced in the non-diegetic music to build up the tension, further emphasised by the quickening of shot sequencing. This straight cuts to show the view of man1 running from the opposite end of the hall way, followed by another straight cut to reveal DiCaprio in a mid-shot rising in slow-motion from a bath tub – fully clothed and with water droplets suspended everywhere, suggesting he has possibly been pushed in. Cross-cutting is introduced, as the previous frame straight cuts back to the long shot of the corridor, expect the man are wrestling on the ceiling. We only see this for a split second, so the audience are likely to question what they just saw and be more attentive to the following shots to see if this is explained. An extreme close up of a clock with the hand almost reaching 12 reveals the sense of ‘time running out’ emphasised by the frantic non-diegetic music. Cross-cutting is used again back to the men wrestling in the hotel corridor. In this long shot, the camera pans quickly upwards emphasising the men’s movements as they are shoved upwards into the ceiling. A straight cut is then used to show man2 falling down as the corridor has tilted upwards, again emphasising this idea of distorted/warped dimensions. This then straight cuts to a close up of DiCaprio as his eyes abruptly open (mimicked with a thud from the non-diegetic music) in a way that suggest he has just awoken from a nightmare. This quickly straight cuts to a close up of a building and the camera pans upwards and over the building, revealing a cityscape which then starts to zoom out. As the camera zooms out we see the buildings get smaller and smaller, until all we can see is a maze pattern with the film title ‘INCEPTION’ embossed into it. This fades to black and then to ‘SUMMER 2010’ in silver lettering, with a thud from the non-diegetic music. One last thud is heard as the other notices about the film come up and the trailer ends.

There is no diegetic music in this trailer, which is significant because it grabs the audience’s attention. They are not hearing what they expect to hear and so they concentrate more fully on the shots that they are seeing.

Shutter Island - Film magazine analysis

Director: Martin Scorsese
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Mystery
Lead roles: Leonardo DiCaprio, Emily Mortimer and Mark Ruffalo
Plot: Drama set in 1954, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding nearby.

Masthead:
In the top third of the page, is dominated by the main image, but is in bold white.  Issue number/date/price and also the Total Film website is with the masthead, this is to show the reader that this is where they need to go if they want further information on Total Film.

Main Image:
Shows the main character of Shutter Island played by Leonardo DiCaprio. The film is more associated with him than anyone else, so to any readers that have already heard of Shutter Island they will immediately know which film it is because of their association with Leonardo DiCaprio. No eye contact is used, which creates mystery and draws the reader in because they want to know what the film is about. It also could imply that DiCaprio's character has a lot of emotional/personal conflicts that are on his mind. He has one fist clenched and one fist wrapped around a gun, emphasising that this film is a thriller, because the character himself is unrelaxed. Also, he is dressed in dull grey colours, which also creates a sense of mystery and darkness, and implies that the content of this film will be quite dark and mysterious. The lighting is low-key and seemingly comes from the direction of the lighthouse covering the 'M' in the masthead. This emphasises the theme of the entrapment within the film, because he is trapped in a high security prison on an island.
The back ground is eerie, blue and smokey, which emphasise the idea of mystery/thriller, because we can't see what's behind him very well. This also ties in with the theme of the film.

Main Coverline:
SHUTTER ISLAND - Synergy between the main image and the main coverline, lets the reader know what this issue is about. Above this, 'Leo takes over the asylum!' implies that there will be an interview with DiCaprio about the film and also, the reference to 'asylum' ties in with the concepts of the film 'Shutter Island'.

Coverlines:
'Inside Marty's Madhouse' - a link to the director of Shutter Island, there are more stories to do with the film featured on the cover.

The image of Avatar in the middle of the right hand side is also a coverline, because it informs the reader that there will be a feature on Avatar in this issue.

At the top of the magazine cover, 'Greatest Movie Art Ever - top filmmakers show us their sketchbooks' is another coverline, that draws the reader in because it is likely to cause the reader to want to see if they agree with what total film has published.

Pugs/Puffs:
At the bottom of the page: 'Plus Iron Man 2, Transformers 3, Whip it, Prince of Persia and... are you a robot?' shows that the magazine covers a range of genres and therefore that readers interested in films other than Shutter Island will still enjoy this issue.

Colour Scheme:
Red/White/Blue
Red - connotes danger. It is a bright bold and eye-catching colour and so draws the reader's attention.
White - stands out from the background, therefore is a good colour to use on the masthead, because it is always visible.
Blue - connotes eerieness and mystery here, which ties in with the main themes of the film 'Shutter Island'.

Inception - Film Magazine analysis

Director: Christopher Nolan

Genre: Psychological -Thriller, Sci-fi, Action, Adventure

Lead roles: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ellen Page

Plot: In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a highly skilled thief is given a final chance at redemption which involves executing his toughest job to date: Inception.

Masthead:



In the top third of the page. Blends in with the background which is made up of building which ties into the film and the main image, which is more interesting for the audience and eye-catching. The website is underneath (left) in small font, so that the reader knows where to go if they wish to subscribe or find more out about Total Film. The issue no and price is underneath (right) the masthead in small typography.

The caption above the masthead 'The Mind-Blowing issue' ties in with the theme of the film, and also is persuasive because of the phrase 'mind-blowing' which is connotes that the film is uncomprehendably good.

Main Image:

The main character of the film, played by Leonardo DiCaprio is the main image because he is the person the reader would associate with Inception. The actual image is a shot from the film, and he has a concerned, determined facial expression emphasising the fact that he has a difficult job to do, but he's GOT to do it nonetheless. He is in a black suit and tie, which is smart and businessman-like. It also looks quite imitimidating, suggesting that he can be intimidating when he needs to me. In addition, the colour black connotes mystery (one of the sub-genres), because we don't know what's going to happen and neither does he. The whole film is definitely very mysterious and as an audience we never quite know what's going to happen next, and we are never quite certain what has just happened either!

He in central to the cover, which draws the readers attention, however there is no eyecontact, resulting in no direct address, which emphasises this theme of mystery and keeping the reader in the dark. The use of low-key lighting also emphasisses the idea of mystery and darkness however; it could also connote the difficulty of the job, his emotional baggage, conflict within his own mind, and also the fact we are never quite sure if he is the good or bad guy even though we empathise with him anyway.

The background is of a surreal, distorted cityscape and it's unrealism  suggests it's within a dream world, which of course ties in with the theme of Inception.

Main Coverline:

 'INCEPTION' - the film title, emphasises the themes of this issue and what it's about. We don't actually know what Inception is, (unless you've watched the film) so it's quite gripping from the mystery that surrounds it.

'Inside the Ultimate Head Trip' - This links to the main image and the themes of the film, because Inception is recreating original inspiration and the concepts introduced in the film are literally awe-inspiring for the viewer and between the characters.

Coverlines:

'Predator - Reboot of the year?', 'Clash of the (toon) Titans - Toy Story 3 and Shrek 4' - polar opposites in genre, highlight that this magazine does not just target Mystery/thriller lovers, but also animation and Sci-fi lovers.

'The 27 most MIND-BLOWING Movies Ever' - to a movie lover this would be appealing, because he/she would like to see what they agree with in regards to Total Films suggested films. However, the repetition of 'mind-blowing' from the caption above the Masthead also acts as a persuasive technique, emphasising that this is a really good issue of Total Film magazine.

'Meet the Master of Mind flicks' - The alliteration in this coverline is persuasive because it sounds appealing to the readers senses.

Pugs/Puffs:

'TRON - everything you need to know' - for film lovers. People who have already seen Tron and loved it will be persuaded by this. People who were unsure about going to see it, and perhaps didn't, may think to read this and then that could decide whether they both or not.

'FIRST LOOKS - Immortals, Let Me In, Thor' - brand new films, advertising them. Film lovers who love new releases will look at this. This has the potential to make a readers decision of whether they go and see the film or not.

'(Plus sign) The A-team, The Girls of Twilight, Comic-con preview, Chris Rock' - all very different in terms of genre and target audience. Shows the range of the demographic that Total Film appeal to.

Colour scheme:

Red/White/Silver/Blue

Red - connotes boldness and danger. It appeals to the readers senses because it is a physically gripping colour.

Silver/Blue - Both very cool colours and the synergy of the two emphasise how 'cool' Inception is, because it's so far 'out there'. The whole concept of Inception is mind-blowing so these colours are edgey and uncommonly used on big films (normally black and red), so it draws people in. Also blue/Silver connotes technology, which is ultimately a huge part of this film, so it draws a lot of sci-fi/techno lovers in to the film.

Buried - Poster Analysis

Director: Rodrigo Cortés

Genre: Thriller, Drama, Mystery

Lead Roles: Ryan Reynolds, José Luis García Pérez and Robert Paterson

Plot: Paul is a U.S. truck driver working in Iraq. After an attack by a group of Iraqis he wakes to find he is buried alive inside a coffin. With only a lighter and a cell phone it's a race against time to escape this claustrophobic death trap.


Visuals:

Type of shot: Canted high angle medium shot. This distortion makes him seem further away, which emphasizes the fact that he is trapped. The extreme low-key lighting and the fact Paul is only small at the bottom of the page creates an atmosphere of claustrophobia and being trapped, which of course is the topic of the film. With Paul holding up a light, looking up (and to the left) with his hand to his mouth shows the stress/panic/distress that he must be feeling. Also the lack of dynamism enphasises how he is trapped and feeling extremely claustrophobic, which we as an audience mimick.

Text:  The text is used as levels/steps to represent how deeply underground Paul is trapped. It physically boxes him in, within the poster, emphasising this feeling of entrapment. 'Buried' (in red) runs along side his 'coffin' which emphasizes that this is physically what he is - buried alive - but also that it's the film title, in relation to Paul.

Colour:

The colour scheme that has been used is Black/White/Red, which are edgey bold colours symbolising that this film will be edgey and it will be bold.
The title is in red, which connotes danger/anger/passionate emotions (desperation). This could represent all the emotions that Paul experiences during his ordeal, or what the audience is made to feel with him. However, it is an eye-catching colour, and the only use of colour on the poster, so it more simply draws the attention of the audience.
The black background connotes impending doom/death/mystery. He's literally in an immense hole with no/little hope of survival, he (and the audience) have no idea what will happen, which is what the use of black implies to the audience.
The white text (binary opposite to black) could suggest at Paul's innocence of character, because he was unsuspecting of the attack, he was only a truck driver so he hadn't actually done anything wrong either. However, white can also mean death in other cultures, which, together with the use of black, foreshadows the ending of the film.
The use of Grayscale on the image creates a sense of mystery, because we can't see his facial expression, leaving a lot of work to the audiences imagination. In addition the darkness/colourlessness could represent the fact that there is no hope for Paul.

Linguistics

"A brilliantly twisted suspense thriller that would have made Alfred Hitchcock proud" - Firstly, what a compliment! Hitchcock is well known for his top class (at the time) classic thrillers, such as Vertigo, so this is very persuasive to a film loving audience who will recognised that this must be a good film to be compared with the likes of Alfred Hitchcock.
The lexical field is very persuasive because of all the descripters, 'mezmerizing', 'crazy-good', 'enthralling', 'ground-breaking', 'awesome', 'gripping'. All of these words appeal to the senses of the audience, thus making them more likely to go and see the film.

Target Audience research - Questionnaire

I have put together a Questionnaire to find out what kinds of films people watch, what they expect from a trailer and also how trailers influence their decision on whether to watch the film.
This is my Questionnaire;

Data to follow...

The Lovely Bones - poster analysis

Director: Peter Jackson

Genre: Thriller, Drama, Fantasy

Lead roles: Rachel Weisz, Mark Wahlberg and Saoirse Ronan

Plot: Centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family - and her killer - from heaven. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal.

Visuals

Type of shot: Long shot / two shot. The framing of Mr Harvey in the foreground compared with Susie Salmon in the background walking towards him, emphasises the power that he has and the fact that a 14 year old girl is no competition. She is on the right hand side, which has heavenly connotations 'on God's right hand', this also ties into the theme of the film, as she watches her family from Heaven to see how they repair slowly after her tragic death. Our eyeline is drawn to her because of the way Mr Harvey is diagonally facing her, but then we trace the invisible line between them and notice him, turned away in darkness which creates a sense of ominous mystery about the connection between the two characters. Her stance with one leg infront of the other creates a sense of movement and we feel nervous for her and she walks towards him. There is also a determination/curiosity in her step, which implies to us that although he is a stranger to us, Mr Harvey is not a stranger to her.

Background: with the light on her side, with the pink clouds and yellow sun, Susie Salmons innocence and also the heavenly aspect of her being is portrayed. Mr Harvey is in darkness so his intentions towards Susie seem very ominous and dark. From the way his body is turned, it seems he is looking at Susie, but as we cannot see his face, the lack of light makes us think he would be looking at her with perverted hunger or something dark along those lines.

Text: The film title is in the top 3rd of the poster, more towards Susie Salmon, emphasising the fact that the film is about her and that she forms the main plot. The directors name is above the film title in a small font as recognition that this is his work. 'Coming Soon' is also in bold medium font at the bottom of the page, so that the viewer knows when he/she can see this film. The clump of text at the bottom of the poster contains details of the actors/sponsors/writers and Alice Sebold who wrote the novel this film is based on.

Colour

Susie: She is dressed in primary colours, mainly yellow and blue with some red, which highlight her youth and innocence. This is further emphasised through the lighting and how she is in an unrealistic light that could symbolise the fact that she is innocent, died in horrible circumstances and is now on her way to a heavenly place.

Mr Harvey: The greys and blacks used for his costume emphasise the innate darkness in his character. It merely hints at the darkness of the secrets he has to hide from the world. The whole essence of his character radiates sinisterness and ominousness which makes the audience feel extremely uneasy at the fact Susie is walking towards him.

Background: The background colours are quite dull, so the focus is immediately drawn towards Susie. This could also suggest that background things don't matter any more, particularly to her family, because the only thing that matters is Susie and the fact she is no longer with them. In addition, there is the cross over between dark greay clouds and blue sky, which could connote that Mr Harvey's dark grey clouds descended over Susies happy life and those clouds linger over her family and friends lives because of him.

Linguistics

Caption: 'The story of a life and everything that came after' sounds like a fairytale which emphasises the fantasy side of this hybrid-genre film. It sounds pretty even though the subject matter is hellish, emphasising the fact that this film is about how Susie watches her family fall to pieces and then picks back up the pieces after her death. It also makes a comment on society, because if someone has been raped and murdered, all we ever hear in the media is exactly that; someone has been raped and murdered. This caption informs the audience that, actually, the trauma doesn't just end with the actual occurance, it carries on for the family and friends and will have an effect on them forever.

Black Swan trailer analysis

I have to chosen to analyse this trailer to establish the differences between teasers and trailers. In addition, I really like the mise en scene in this trailer and it has therefore made me mindful of how important mise en scene is within any film.

Camerawork

The first thing we see is 'Cross Creek pictures' which is one of the sponsors of the film, importantly placed before any footage is played. A wide shot of a Ballerina dancing on stage is then shown, to put a theme to the thriller so that the audience knows that the film will involve ballet. This is further emphasised by the following close up of her feet as she dances and then the medium shot as she stands tall with her arms outstretched into second. As a change in the narrative happens, we see facts about the film presents on a rippling black feather background. We are then introduced to the character of Nina, in a close up as she dances with her troupe, which makes the audience associate the main plot with her. The following close up of her stretching her feet and then the long shot of her stretching emphasizes this further. The audience has now been given the theme and main character, so we now see another black feathered background, telling the audience who directed this film (Aronofsky). Then we see a wide shot of Nina on the stairs at a celebration of her being given the lead role in Swan Lake followed by a close up of her smiling face, which makes the audience tense because we are wondering 'how could this possibly go wrong?' Another black feather screen is then shown, with the names of other films that have been directed by Aronofsky, 'The Wrestler' and 'Requiem for a Dream' so we can associate Black Swan with other very good films which gains the trust of the audience. Then, we see a close up on Lily, smiling, followed by a close up on Nina, looking distressed, so we automatically assume that there will be some rivalry between them. We then see a wide shot of Nina dancing, using a whip pan as she turns, reflecting her distress and movement; this creates suspense as we are now starting to see that things are going wrong from her facial expression. The close up of the sore cut on her back reveals how she is now tainted with the black swan and her purity cannot cope with it. Her fracturing mental state is further emphasised through the mid shot of Nina infront of the mirror, as her reflection turns around. Her mental fragility is confirmed with the close up on the broken ballerina figure followed by the close up of Nina's leg as she is spinning on pointe, as we link the physicality of the broken figurine to Nina. It also foreshadows her death at the end of the film when she is quite literally broken because of the emotional demands playing the black swan has had on her. A further confirmation of the fact that her role in Swan Lake has taken over her is the two shot of Nina in pink with her hair tied up as she passes herself dressed in black with her hair down, symbolising both the white and the black swan. The two shot of the kiss between Nina and Lily shows the black swan's desire filtering through Nina's reality. Nina is drowning into the world of the swans and drowning into maddness, which is emphasised through the close up of her panicked with her head under the water in the bath. The audience feels extremely tense as there is a midshot of Nina with her hands over her ears, clearly distressed as she sees the paintings on the wall move and scream too. It further shows her descent into madness and the audience really sympathises with her here. A close up of Nina's face reveals that she is in the real performance, with her full face-paint on, revealing that possibly the transformation is complete. Another black feather screen is used here to rob the audience of 'what comes next' instead showing them the names of the actors/actresses with the star roles. We then see a close up of the cut on her back that has gotten much worse, as she (eye-wateringly!!!) pulls out a black feather out of it, further emphasising that the transformation into the black swan is complete and it has now fully taken over her mind. This is then confirmed by the closing close up of Nina, staring at the black feather with blood shot eyes. The final thing the audience sees is another black feathered screen, with 'Black Swan - coming soon' followed by other credentials.

The exessive use of close ups highlights the fact that this is a trailer, because they do not reveal a lot, but reveal enough to make the audience want to know what will happen in the whole film.

Editing

After the opening frame of 'Cross Creek pictures', a fade to white is used symbolising the fact that in the start of the film, Nina is pure like the white swan. Throughout the duration of the trailer though, any other fade cuts, of which there are multiple, are faded to black symbolising the mystery and the darkness that overwhelms Nina to the point of suicide in the end. Fade to blacks tend to be used before a black feathered screen is shown with information on it. This is a way of creating suspense for the audience because they are shown so much of a clip and then it fades away from them and is interupted by words. As the trailer shows more disturbing scenes or scenes of hightened emotion, the sequencing becomes faster, we see less of the shot but more shots in total, which acts as a tease to the audience as we can see a lot of things quickly but we crave to see them in context and with more detail in them.

Sound

Non-diegetic music -  this is played throughout the trailer, creating many sound bridges throughout. At the start of the trailer, the music sound relatively normal for a ballet dancer to be interpreting, however, as the trailer progresses and the shots become sequenced more quickly the music becomes more tense, as an ominour bassline is heard with the more dominant violin sound leading the track. As we see the last fade to black the music has one final loud boom and then the non-diegetic music stops.

Diegetic music - in the beginning of this trailer, Nina narrates as the ballerina dances. She tells the story of a dream she has which ends with the ballerina killing herself, which foreshadows the ending of the film. Sound Bridges are created by speech between characters, 'sweet girl', 'new swan queen' and 'you've been dancing long enough', which show how everyone plays a part in ruining Nina's mind and pure spirit. There is a particularly disturbing piece of diegetic sound, as Nina's mom cuts her nails. The abruptness and loudness of the snips makes the audience coil back because it sounds so harsh and horrible. Also, there is a particular line Nina says 'she's gone!' that sounds so harsh and unlike the character we come to know in the first minute and a half that we as an audience know that she has cracked under the pressure, in more ways than just a temper. However, the most effective piece of diegetic sound, in my opinion, is at the very end; after the final fade to black, we just hear Nina's heavy breathing after she has just pulled a black feather out of her back, creating an uneasy and intense atmosphere that the audience will be highly intrigued by.

Mise-en-scene

Throughout the trailer, during the time when Nina is scared or herself, she is dressed in pale pinks/whites symobolising her association with the white swan, purity and innocence. Any times that Nina is experiencing desire, disillusionment and jealousy, she is depicted in black or with dark lighting, emphasising her growing but fragmented relationship with the black swan. Lily is always in black, even in the ballet rehearsal studios, which shows how she is passionate and desireable - and therefore more fitting to being the black swan than Nina in the beginning.

Differences between trailers and teasers:

The most obvious difference is the length of the clip. A trailer is normally between 1:30 to 3:00 long, whereas, a teaser trailer can be 30s - 1:00 long. In this trailer for Black Swan quite a lot of the plot is given away. It shows the basic infrastructure of the film. However, in teaser trailers, all that is revealed is a hint of the plot and the main character(s), leaving the audience asking far more questions that a trailer does. However, both are aimed to wet audiences appetites and spark interest for the film, so both do need an element of mystery but teasers will have more mystery.

Black Swan - Magazine front cover analysis

Masthead: Central to the top quater of the page, not dominant at all. This shows that the issue is dominated by Black Swan, that Little White Lies are providing this, but that they want you to focus on Black Swan, not who published the magazine.

No pugs or puffs: This is to avoid distracting the readers focus from Black Swan, again emphasising the dominance of Black Swan in this issue

Image: The image is a sketched close-up of Natalie Portman with a lost expression on her face, hightlighting how her character loses the sense of who she is and her grip on reality within the film. The feathers look light and dynamic, as if they are falling gracefully, which further represents how reality is just falling away from the character of Nina

Main Coverline: This takes up the whole page, therefore emphasizing the fact that the whole issue is dedicated to Black Swan.

Colour Scheme: The colour scheme is monochrome, which puts emphasis on the theme of black and white which is very dominant in the plot of Black Swan, as Nina is the perfect white swan, but stuggles to become like Lily who is a very good portrayal of the black swan

Black Swan (2010 - Film Poster analysis

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Genre: Thriller, Drama, Mystery

Lead roles: Natalie Portman as 'Nina Sayer', Mila Kunis as 'Lily', and Vincent Cassel as 'Thomas Leroy'

Plot: A ballet dancer wins the lead in "Swan Lake" and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan - Princess Odette - but slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like Odile, the Black Swan.

Type of shot

A close up has been used to show her dark expression. This creates mystery as we don't fully know what to expect from her character except that we will see the demise of her sanity in the film.

Lighting

The right side of her face is in the light which symbolises the white swan. She is a very pure character and that is why she is a good portrayal of the white swan. The left hand side of her face, however, is darker, representing the black swan. This is also the side of her face with the crack running down it, suggesting that the cracks in her sanity only occured when she tried to be the black swan.

Use of colour

The black background has connotations of ominous mystery and from this we can tell that the film content will be hard-hitting and more than likely disturbing. The white feather on the light (right) side of her face, further emphasizes her character purity and connection with the white swan. Contrasted with the black background and shadows though, we can conclude that because of her pure character she cannot cope with the dark demands of being the 'black swan'.

Conventions I have noticed

• The main image is most dominant feature of the poster
• contains a quote praising the film 'An extradordinary intoxicating masterpeice'. Excessive use of syllables creates emphasis and also communicates the fact that this film is aimed at people educated in art (ballet) and also that it is not aimed at children.
• Main actors names are given. Advertising technique, showing off either a newcomer or someone that is well known for being a good actor/actress
• Film title
• other credentials e.g. editors, producers, writers etc and also studios it was filmed at/sponsorships
• Directors other works 'from the director of "the Wrestler" and "Requiem for a Dream". This is an advertising technique, as not everyone will know the director by name, but they are very likely to be familiar with the films he has produced. Persuasive technique.

Mise en Scene

Mise en Scene literally means 'everything in the scene'. It is visual information that the viewer subliminally decodes and through this communticates essential information to the audience. There are six elements to mise en scene that will be relevant to my teaser trailer in the genre 'Thriller/horror'

Setting/Location - these are fundamental to the audience's understanding of the message being sent out by the director/cinemotographer, because they are not just a 'background'. Choosing my setting/location for my teaser trailer will be essential to the success of my product, because I need to make sure it fits in with my chosen genre of thriller/horror. Setting it in a house and/or park would be ideal because I can play on a lot of things especially with editing e.g. doors slamming/villain entering the house when victim is unsuspecting upstairs.

Props - like setting and location, props are essential to the audiences understanding. In my project, props such as mobile phones/watches are acceptable because it will be a modern thriller. However, because it is a thriller, I could use props such as knives or rope or other sinister objects that have a clear message that they send out - that the audience should be tense/scared.

Costume/Hair/Makeup - all three of these work in unison to tell the audience about the character's personality, status and job - and sometimes what they think about themselves but what everyone else sees. In my project, I don't want to reveal the identity of my villain, so his costume will probably involve a hood or something that will always keep his face in darkness. However, I want my victim to be a bit of a social outcast so she would wear something like bright skinny jeans and a band t-shirt because that isn't mainstream fashion.

Facial Expressions and Body Language - facial expressions are the main indicators of how someone is feeling. Body language can reveal how characters feel towards each other or in a situation or can reflect the state of a relationship. I can use this to my advantage in my project, because facial expressions will show how my victim is feeling and `the body language between her and my victim will show their power struggle relationship.

Positioning of Character/objects within a frame (blocking) - positioning within a frame is a way that a director can draw the audience's attention to either a character/object. A film-maker can use this to an advantage to idicate relationships between characters/objects. In my teaser trailer I can use this to establish the relationship between my characters.

Lighting and colour - Lighting is used to highlight import characters or objects within the frame. It can also be used to make characters more mysterious through the use of shading, and it's used to reflect a character's mental state e.g. bright = happy, dark = myseterious, strobing = confusion

Low key lighting - is created by using only the key and back lights. It produces sharp contrasts of light and dark areas and deep distinctive shadows/silhouettes are formed for effect. This will be the style of lighting that I will aim to use in my project because it fits in with my genre, and it also has connotations of mystery,  which is what the villain's identity will be - a mystery.

High Key Lighting - in this style of lighting, more filler lights are used so that the lighting is more natural and realistic to our eyes. It produces brightly lit sets or can emphasize a sunny day. This would be an inappropriate style of lighting to use in my thriller/horror teaser trailer, because it won't give off a sense of mystery and would therefore lose it's credibility.

Colour can be used to shape a meaning or understanding to the audience. It can have either a connotative or denotative meaning;

Conotation: the set of associations implied by a word in addition to its literal meaning.

Denotation: The most specific, literal or direct meaning of the word.

So, the denotation of any colour is that it is a colour. But the connotations can imply much more and shape the audiences understanding much more fully.
E.g. Black has connotations of darkness, mystery, funerals, death, enigma and evil.
Blue: Calmness, saddness, loneliness, peace, authority, coldness
Green: Sickness, new life (Spring), jealousy, nature, eco-issues
White: Purity, innocence, death (china/italy), Sterility (hospitals), cold, blank, desolate, goodness
Red: lust, romance, love, passion, danger, anger, hatred
Purple: peace, royalty, power, holiness

I can subtly use colour, in my project, in things like props/costume/lighting to emphasise the message I want my audience to recieve at any particular moment within my trailer. The shade of which colour can have so many connotations, that if I used an ECU on the whites of my victims eyes, and changed the contrast so they looked a pure white it could emphasize the fact she is pure and has done nothing wrong, but that that is about to change when my villain steps in.

Million Dollar Baby analysis - Sound/Camera/Editing

In this extract, Maggie is fighting Billie ‘The Blue Bear’ for the world title. Frankie is her trainer and manager with the support of his friend Eddie – who is watching the fight at home. We join the film as Billie lands an illegal punch on Maggie; which, eventually leads to her being paralysed. The scene then shifts to the hospital where Maggie is being cared for and where she is visited by Frankie.

How have camerawork, sound and editing been used to create meaning in this extract?

                The establishing shot id a mid-shot of Billie throwing the illegal punch, followed by match on action as Maggie’s head turns with the force of the blow followed by her body. Accompanied with ominous non-diegetic chords, this shows the audience that this wasn’t a legal punch and foreshadows the fact that this punch will be damaging. Shot-reverse-shot is then used to show Maggie falling in slow motion and then to Frankie with a look of pure shock on his face, providing further evidence that Billie threw an illegal, damaging punch. Shot-reverse-shot is used again from Frankie in a long shot, revealing the ring and stool foreshadowing her being paralysed, back to Maggie falling towards the stool. Shot-reverse-shot is then used a third time to show a mid-shot of Frankie grabbing the stool in a bid to move it, then back to Maggie who is falling too quickly for him, as there is a close up of her neck-to-stool collision. Throughout this, all of the diegetic sounds e.g. Frankie grabbing the chair leg, the neck collision, crowds gasping etc... are echoed and loud, emphasising the fact everything is in slow motion physically and also for the bystanders and Maggie, because this is such a serious event, time has slowed down. From the neck collision, a straight cut is used to show an extreme close up of Maggie’s arm falling limply to the floor, showing that she has been paralysed. A cross-cutting technique is then used to show a close up of Eddie, gasping in shock at what has happened as he watches the fight on TV. A mid-shot is used to show Billie looking on with curiosity as to what has happened to Maggie. This then uses a straight cut to Frankie in a mid-shot staring in disbelief, showing to the audience that the situation is dire. Cross-cutting is used again to another close up of Eddie, worried as he watches, helpless, the TV screen intently, again creating this sense of severity because Maggie is seriously injured.

The next shot we see is a bird’s eye view shot of the ring, with Maggie sprawled in the left-hand corner as a non-diegetic solemn violinist piece of music is heard, emphasising the severity of Maggie’s fall and the fact this fall has cost her; her career, freedom and ultimately her life as she knew it. As the non-diegetic music gets louder, the camera zooms out and spins getting quicker and quicker emphasising the characters’ distress and the fact that slowly but surely each character is being hit hard with the realisation of what has happened. The camera movement could also reflect how Maggie’s life has suddenly spun out of her control, as she is now paralysed and will need help with the simplest of daily activities.  The framing of Frankie, guy 1, paramedic and a torch holder, in arguably a POV shot, emphasize the severity of the situation. The diegetic sound of the torch clicking is loud and echoey and the diegetic sound of the paramedic talking is distorted emphasizing that this is what she is seeing/hearing and that she is very confused at this point.

We next see a close-up on the lights over-head, as the camera spins and the diegetic sounds of chatter become whirly and distorted, reflecting the way Maggie must be feeling; her head is spinning from the force of the punch, the distress of the fall and the pain in her head and neck, she is also very confused and probably too dazed to grasp fully what has happened. As the spinning gets faster and faster, a fade to black is used, to change scene, but also to indicate that Maggie has probably passed out.

The black screen then fades into a mid-shot of Maggie lying in a hospital bed, as we hear the diegetic sound of a heart monitor and a ventilator, emphasising the seriousness of her condition. As she opens her eyes, we hear an indistinguishable faint squeak, highlighting her confusion and the fact that this is a nightmare situation for her to be in. There is a slow fade to black, which suggests how slowly time must be going for her, as she realises the full extent of the damage to her body. The black screen slowly fades into a close up of Maggie asleep, with the diegetic sound of the monitors quite dominant throughout, showing the audience that all she can do is lie there listening to the monitors and fall asleep. The diegetic sound of Frankie speaking is heard as a straight cut is used to show a mid-shot of Frankie looking down at her, showing us that he feels a great sadness and sympathy towards her. This then straight cuts to an over-the-shoulder high-angle shot of Maggie, showing how frail she is and how he now sees her - broken. Shot-reverse-shots are used between them, as she faintly tries to crack a joke, showing the audience that their relationship is like a father/daughter relationship. The diegetic sound of the monitors becomes more noticeable as the speaking stops and the scene fades to black, emphasising the fact that there is no hope for Maggie anymore.

I really like absence of non-diegetic sound when Maggie falls and paralyses herself because I think it's really effective. I will bear this in mind for my own teaser trailer.

Editing

Editing is used to control the sequencing, the pace of sequencing, the pace of a frame and the transition between frames. It is the technology that makes a film a film, and the editing on my teaser trailer will be absolutely vital for a successful project. Here are some editing techniques with an explanation of how they could be used.

Straight cut - probably the most common and simple cut, it is where a frame changes to another frame quickly. In my project, I could use this in the opening to change from an establishing shot to a wide shot of my main character.

Fade (up/down/black/white/etc) - when a scene grows duller and then brighter as another scene is shown. I could use this in my project to create a sense of chaos, because I could have fast paces frames fading to black to hide thingd from my audience, leaving them tense and uncertain.

Dissolve - when a scene dissolves into another. If i used this in my project I would use it to cross-cut between the 'villain' and the 'victim' to show how they are merging paths.

Jump cut - similar to a straight cut, but is much quicker. I could use this to show a sequence of horror-enticing shots that will cause my audience to be scared/tense.

Continuity editing - this is a technique that is seemless and virtually unoticable to an audience. I won't use this in my project because I don't think it will create the sense of uneasyness that is fitting to my genre.

Cross-cutting - this is when two scenes are running simultaneously showed by cutting from one scene to the other and back again. I could use this to demostrate how the villian's and victim's lives are intertwined.

Graphic match - this is where a shape from one frame is matched to a shape in the next frame. An example would be a cake that dissolves into a sun in the next frame.

Shot Reverse Shot - a really popular technique, this is often used for conversation turn takings, where we will see one shot, cut to the next, and then cut back to the previous. I could use this in my project between the victim and villain to create a sense of unease for the audience.