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1. The method of film promotion

Distributors promote films as it connects to their audience and helps to establish how popular there film will be, this is more common with major distributors like; universal and Disney, it is very important for these companies to promote their films as they are part of the big 6 which means thy are all fighting for the top spot so each film they make they want to make the highest box office possible.

There are many ways distributors can promote, and they can be cheap to do which means they can do a large variety of promotions. The internet is very widely used to promote films by sites like twitter and facebook, they can create pages and twitters for the films which there audience can like or follow which means they can share and retweet parts of the films like cast names or dates and so on, so they use word of mouth to promote but by using this method it is free to do so. They can also create websites which are not free but can be used to connect to there chosen audience also on websites they can personalize them as much as they would like for example the ‘dark knight rises’ website is very well known for promotion as it is high tech and connects very well to the audience and is personalized towards them. When on the website the trailer automatically comes up which is using many promotion methods together this is a good idea as then it will make people watch the trailer. Trailers are also a very widely used method and they are put on YouTube which is free, this website also counts all the views which will give the distributors a rough idea of the amount of people who are interested in the films. Posters and billboards are also still used but are not as common as the ones above as this generation are more focused on technology. However a film which was successful by using posters was ‘cloverland’-2008

Above are the posters used to promote this film I believe they were very successful as they stand out and make you want to know what happens in the film. Heritage of promotion- before magazine articles and posters mainly promoted social media films, and rarely the trailer may have been shown during adverts on the television or at the beginning of films at the cinema.

2.Definition of trailers and teaser trailers

A trailer is a piece of advertisement to promote the film which is used before the film is released to show what the film is like usually the trailer shows the best parts of the film so it connects with the audience, without giving the plot away. Trailers are used at the beginning of similar films in the cinema this is so it attracts the correct audience. However more recently trailers are put on YouTube as well so that it is shared by word of mouth and can be shared over Face Book and twitter. Trailers used to be shown at the end of films but changed to the front as it was noticed that people would leave at the end of the film and would not wait to watch the trailers. The maximum length for a film trailer is two and a half minutes long. Each distributer is only allowed to exceed this limit once a year.

The difference between a trailer and teaser trailer is that a teaser trailer is a short trailer that is often used to help advertise an upcoming film or other media form. It can be released months before the due date of the official film to help create anticipation and interest from the target audience. A theatrical trailer is a much more in depth well revised longer trailer which tells us more about the plot of the film and gives us exact dates when it will be out. Where as a trailer is the first proper show what the film includes with out giving away the ending.

Distribution of trailers are mostly shown over YouTube however full trailers are still shown at the cinema but aren’t as popular the good thing with using YouTube is that the people that watch it are more likely to want to watch it which gives more of an accurate amount of people who will go out and watch the film.

Conventions of trailers are the following; Voiceovers are used to tell the story and give credit information. The stars of the film are shown, and key points of the film are conveyed through titles. Conversations between characters consist of one-liners. Dramatic camera angles are usually used for character action or chosen specific events. Which is likely to include credits on screen whilst the music plays an important role as it creates atmosphere. The film title is more likely to appear at the end of the trailer as it builds to a climax. It is very common that it ends with a montage this is used to highlight the ‘best bits’. Including these conventions there are also genre specific conventions.

Technical convergence of trailers;Editing and transitions can vary with different trailers but many use cuts so that it is fast paced dissolves may also be used but these two are the most common as they are good to interlink different clips together and making it smooth. It is edited a lot so that only the best bits are put in the trailer to entice the audience. Inter-titles are used to tell the story they can add seriousness or mystery to the trailer. It may be

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the only word in the trailer it can reinforce the name of the film and release date. E.g. “only in theatres this June”

Time line of shutter island 1sec-4sec: At the beginning the first thing it shows is the green certificate.

5sec-8sec: this shows he distribution

company.

10sec-11sec: shows the main character.

11sec-13sec: shows setting on a remote island so far all is gloomy which creates an atmosphere.

16sec-18sec: first credit.

24sec-27sec: extreme close up of badge which shows high importance and must be an important part of the storyline?

29sec-30sec: close up of passing of the gun, which shows its significance.

34sec-35sec: shows what type of people this film can include.

36sec: the pace of the editing is now becoming a lot fast and is a montage of clips.

1:22-1:24- this is an important clip as it creates horror in the audience, which will make them want to see the film, and answer the questions like; “why does he need to run?” “What is going on in side the building?” and so on.

1:35-1:37- after this shot it blacks out so you cant see what happens next to get to this it creates a lot of tension which gives you a good idea of what the film will be like.

1:43-1:44- it uses the star rating system by putting the most famous actor first.

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1:58-2:00- this clip is a part of a very fast montage but it slows down slightly when it gets to this which shows this must be an important part of the film.

2:01-2:03- this is significant as the lady in his arms turns to ash which shows a hint of romance.

2:05-2:06- this is the first time the title has been shown the sound cuts out after this goes.

2:11-2:12- this makes the audience jump as it was unexpected and it is fast edited so you cant see what happened after.

2:16-2:17- the release date this is put at the end so that the audience will memorize it and it is more likely to stay with them.

2:18-2:19- this is the first big credit and on this one it shows the most important people.

2:19-2:20- this is the second and final credit

3) Technical analysis of at least 3 trailers. This should include one timeline analysis. You could take screen shots of specific elements you are discussing

Last song (2010)- http://youtu.be/WwLmQqRanvM

This is a coming of age film the trailer sets this up well as it shows you the main character straight away who is played by Miley Cyrus (using star persona) during the trailer it shows you the main points of the film which gives you a feel of the film. During the trailer it shows many emotions like; happiness and sadness, which shows that things can change in a blink of an eye. There are a lot of inter-titles during this trailer.

The above screen shot is of one of the inter-titles in the middle of the film I think this stands out because it is during a montage of clips. This is an important message, which will link into the film when it is released.

Thee above inter titles all link in with each other and speak to the audience and leave the audience asking questions like; ‘what happens?’ ‘What will lead her back home?’ the font of the writing is very plain which links to the film.

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The first screen shot uses a different, very popular film to help sell the last song as it shares the same author which gives people the idea that it may be slightly similar. This will create a larger audience. The title its self is also shown just before the end of the trailer this is so that the audience remember the name as it one of the last parts they see.

Editing- the editing throughout this trailer is very slow paced and uses fades (as shown in screen shot above). The editing is effective because it shows how the film will be (slow paced) during the trailer there are handful of black outs which show importance and a change of mood with in the trailer.

Structural conventions-this trailer is stays to the structural conventions as it begins with greeting the most important characters then it gives you an idea of the story line and then finally it leaves you with some questions and confusion which will make you want to watch the filmCamera shot, angle, movement- there are a variety of camera angles and shots used in this trailer including mid shots which are the most common used and also it set the scene to the new environment that was being shown. This trailer follows the codes sand conventions to every trailer there is nothing overly special with this trailer. There are a few tracking shots which go from the characters feet up to their head which shows you more of an in depth look at the character. There are many wide angle shots which show more of the surrounding location which helps the audience understand the location and to feel like they know where it is when they watch the actual film as they will recognize it.

Sound elements- during the trailer the song that is played is a song that is distinctly sang my Miley Cyrus herself which connects it even more to the characters and also helps the films stay vertically integrated with the people in the film so they wouldn’t have to pay to get someone else to sing. I also believe it has a stronger connection when it links to the character as it sounds like she wrote the song to do with her experiences she had which will be shown in the film. Non diagetic sounds were also used as she was playing incidental music which was her on the piano.

This trailer doesn’t tell you the name of the actors until the end which isn’t using the star system which is usually one of the first things in a trailer but I think this reinforces the simplicity of the trailer and shows that star persona doesn’t necessarily need to be used to sell a good film.

Overall I think this trailer is very simplistic and all the attributes contribute to it another point I want to pick on is with the text it shows simplicity which links in with the storyline as the font is very plain and is constant throughout the trailer but I do think the inter titles are a very important part of this trailer.

Black hawk down 2001- http://youtu.be/tnV6wM-vd9s

Black hawk down is a war film which has a very large audience but especially connects to soldiers or ex- soldiers as they can connect to the character more however this genre is mostly to do with what people like and not a specific age range but if I had to have an age range it would be 30-50.

This screen shot is the first thing that comes up after the indents. This grabs the audience attention as the first thing you see is that it is based on a real event. This makes everything feel more real.

Editing- the editing starts off slow paced by using fades but as it starts the montage it builds up and uses cuts which add to the feel of the film as it becomes almost like a riot.

Structural conventions- this does stand by the structural conventions as it starts slow paced then fasten up to give as much incite as possible.

Camera shot, angle, movement- there are a variety of these used including setting the scene, mid shots which introduce you to characters, extreme long shots which shows you the severity of what is happening, bird’s eye view which again shows you the location and gives you a feel of it.

Sound elements- at the beginning there was a tribal sound to it which again linked to the location. And in the middle when the montage started there was a wide range of gun shots which added to the tension.

Inter –titles- there was a large range of these which added to the film and gave you a lot of information which helped your understanding there wasn’t too many either which created a good balance otherwise it could have got boring.

Reliance on star system- this film does rely on the star system as it shows the famous stars first even though they may not be the main characters but it helps to wow the audience as the actors used are very popular in war films.

The font used is very effective as it uses a type writer which is generally stereotyped to be used in the forces.

High school musical 3-2008

In the first 20 seconds of this trailer it shows all of the main characters which are from all of the other high school musical films this connect to the audience straight

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away because one of the main reasons people would watch it is because they feel they had a connection/relationship with some of the characters.

Structural conventions- because it is a musical it starts out with a song right from the beginning which you will expect in the movie this trailer again does stick to the structural conventions.

Camera shot, angle, movement- there are a variety of camera shots including long shots which emphasis the relationships between the characters. There were also a couple of low angled shots to show the superior of some characters.

Editing- at the beginning there were many uses of fades to black which grabs the audience’s attention which leads up to the montage and after that it mainly uses cuts to create effect of fast pace. Shows all of the main locations which people will remember form the other films.

Sound elements- diagetic sound is used of a track which is sung by the characters this is important to have in the trailer as it is a musical so using this shows originality, accidental sounds were also used as cheering could be heard.

Inter titles- there are little use of inter titles but they are still present yet they aren’t used as much as people already know information about this film as it is part of the trilogy but what is present links to all 3 of the films.

Reliance on star system- this is not used as nowhere in the trailer does it mention names of actors however it does show all the big stars in the first 20 seconds of the trailer.

4. Decision on a specific genre you wish to work onSocial realism is a type of genre which focuses on topical modern issues such as abuse, drugs and alcohol. These types of films are very common in modern society. Audience- social realism films can relate to different age groups depending on the narrative of the film the most common audiences are 13-19 years old and 50+ years old, there is a huge difference between these groups but both watch this genre so when choosing a story line for our film we will mostly be linking it to 15-25 year olds however we know it will grab a larger audience due to our research which would be very helpful if we were making a proper film because we would have a very large target audience.

We have decided to do a social realism trailer we have chosen this genre, as we believe it relates to our age range, which means we have a personal connection to it.Our audience would be 15-25 years old as it would relate to this audience better than others. Are film will be very relevant to our audience as the story line should speak to them.

The codes and conventions of social realism are;Location shooting (not in studio) – should be filmed on actual, real life locations for examples parks, streets and council estates not made up in but Hollywood studio sets.Shots – Wide shots: They use these to get a good understanding of what is going on or even where the setting is. Close ups: to help the audience understand the characters emotions to familarise and follow them in their journey. Establishing shot: Predominately set in ‘gritty’ council estates, urban cities. Panning shots: are used to follow again the protagonist’s journey. Mid-shots: these are used to connect the audience to the characters- the viewers are only shown part of the object but feel as if they are looking at the whole subject.Non-professional actors – Social realism films use non-professional actors or unknown actors as it adds to the realistic look. They also use this because they would be a small independent company, which means they wouldn’t have the money or budget to be able to have big well-known Hollywood actors.Semi improvised scripts – These are used to create a realistic dialogue to achieve the genre.Humor and seriousness – Social realism show the everyday issues that people go through every day this shows the seriousness and they try to incorporate humor in the film.Sound – Urban music usually such as ‘RnB’ and ‘hip hop’ is used to go with the Mise-en-scene of the ‘gritty’ council estates creates a sense of fear to the audience and relate well to gang culture, which is typical theme used in many British Social Realism films. Dialogue: is also used in this genre with a very ‘chatty’ tone. To add, swearing is a genetic convention of this genre and is used widely in many films.The erosion of regional identities – Depends where the film is set and based around, they need to make sure the accents meet the correct settings and local issues in the region.Wider social issues explored via emotional and dramatic individuals stories - This is used in this genre as a wide issue that affects many people is told throughout an individual and their life.Editing – The editing style used in British Social Realism is mainly upbeat and fast placed cuts, mainly towards the end of the trailer, which are commonly the highly dramatic moments of the trailer. This is effective as it is trying to create an emotional response from the audience in addition to creating suspense and tension. The use of montage is also used in these film genres as it creates an artistic device to create a message with short cuts edited together with transitions rather than telling the whole story.

5) Specific genre analysis of at least 3 trailers. Again, you could take screen shots of specific elements you are discussing.

These codes and conventions are very specific to the genre and that s why we chose it because it s a unique genre

This is England 2006- http://youtu.be/H0jkv2bRFgQ

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This is one of the most common social realism films to come out of England it is set in the rain of Lady Margaret Thatcher. This film is about how society reacted about war at this certain time it follows a group of skin heads.At the beginning of the trailer it shows the location of a play ground which is backed by diagetic sounds which you would find in a play ground, you can see that the main character is being bullied this is done with the use of several point of view shots. We were then introduced to other characters which gave you a feeling that they would play an important role in the film. After another main character was introduced you could see that he was the protagonist by the way the other characters acted around him this was made very obvious as the camera was from near him so you could see him and the expressions of other character which looked like he over ruled them all. The tempo during this trailer of the non diagetic sounds increase which build on tension. Diagetic sounds which were heard were mostly of voices. There was a variety of shots shown which added to the complexity of this story line which gave it an edge over other films. There was not a large amount of use with typography as there wasn’t many inter titles used apart from the title which stands out as it is in the colour of the Great Britain flag. Also re-enforcing the main character.

It is located in an urban environment showing that the characters are of working class back ground which adds to the story line. Tyrannosaur 2011-

http://youtu.be/nvyqXFmV-LIThis film is a very modern social realism film throughout the trailer they use ratings to help sell you the film. It also shows what awards it has won.The location of this film is also in an n urban run down community this is shown from the beginning where the first thing you see is the main character.This trailer uses voice over to create mystery of the trailer which gives you an insight to the story line it also shows you some disturbing scenes but blacks out when the violence happens which makes you want to know what really happened. The protagonist is not that clear during the trailer it does drop some hints but it is not solid so it can lead you in many directions. The antagonist is shown as the lady who also appears to be a main character you can tell she is being abuse but it is not clear who by. The characters are represented in different ways which confuses the audience which makes them want to go out and watch the film.

The editing used is low key as if too over the top then it would take away from the story line so it mostly fades used throughout. There is some non diagetic sound but you can tell it is not by a well known artist which also adds to the story line. Typography isn’t over the top as the main inter titles used are reviews but t they are in a simple font which adds simplicity to the trailer. All though there are no well known names in this film they do name the main characters which will help them get known in the future and by their names it has a sentence on their performance.