Initial Film Trailer Analysis

For our AS production, we started our production plan with a completely different idea to our final result. We originally had a plan of the character being killed in a barn. We realised this idea was impractical due to lighting issues as it was too dark in the barn and the cameras couldn't record. This led to us deciding to think and use a different plan. This was when we came up with the idea of using a swimming pool and being strangled to death and then thrown into the pool. After we decided on our plot, we filmed some different camera angles that we could then use in our opening. This gave us good knowledge about what angles would look good for our opening and what angles would give the effect that we wanted. Its also gave us an idea of how to position the cameras for our opening and tips on where to place the cameras in the room to create these angles. We then filmed our production with the majority being on the first day with a bit more filming completed on a second day. We then edited it all together to create our final production in which we then uploaded it to YouTube.

Whilst creating our AS production, I really enjoyed being able to experiment with my creative ideas when positioning the cameras trying to create interesting angles. I also enjoyed editing the clips together as I learned a lot whilst doing it and got to try new things ideas. It really did give me a big insight to how films are actually made and produced which I found very interesting to get a first hand experience of it, but just on a much smaller scale.

Creating our own production really showed me the difficulty of creating a production. We spent many hours just filming the opening scene. This made me realise the extent film companies have to go to in order to make a full length production. It also presented the issue of having small budgets with the filming. Big conglomerates can spend vast amounts of money on costumes, lighting, sound and various other pieces of equipment where as small independent companies will not have as much budget to do this so might find it harder to make the best quality films. This showed to me what it was like to have a small budget and put us in a similar position to Warp Films who have very small production budgets in comparison to the "big six". It also made me understand the time needed for a production to be made. We spent multiple hours filming, and even more editing it to a good standard for what we are capable of. Film companies will spend months on creating films, if not even longer in order to perfect their product so it is ready for the audience. This experience made me see the difficulty that small independent film companies face on a regular basis and helped me understand the movie industry better.

My first thought about the two options was that the movie trailer would be a lot more interesting to produce as we can use lots of very interesting camera angles, editing methods, sounds and fonts; making it very different and unique compared to the short film. The trailer will enable us to show off what we can do and use the skills we have.

I think the best, most dramatic and gripping trailers are those of action, thriller and horror genres. The issue with doing an action trailer is that good trailers such a 'James Bond' require lots of funds to make them amazing. These funds allowed Eon Productions to use lots of special effects making the trailer more intense. These special effects, such as explosions, make everything in the trailer so much more dramatic and spectacular, creating excitement for the audience. They are also able to use helicopters to film the car chases meaning they can have lots of interesting camera angles giving them a diverse look at the action. However this is very unrealistic for us as we do not have the budget to produce such a high spectacle trailer using so many special effects. James Bond is such a large franchise that it appeals to nearly all audiences and will attract every age group from young to old. It was well advertised and used synergy on its release, synchronising the release with the song featured in the film, 'Writing's on the Wall'.

A horror film trailer consists of darkness and mystery which create tension and suspense as well as making the film scary for the audience. Horror films tend to have much lower budgets than many other genres and are usually the genre used by small independent film companies because they can be produced to a high quality. 'The Conjuring 2' was produced with a budget of $40 million which is relatively small compared to films such as 'Spectre' which had a huge budget of $250 million. A trailer for a horror film will include lots of quick cuts and lots of jump scares in order to show that it's a horror film and to entice the audience to watch it when it comes out. 'The Conjuring 2', produced by New Line Cinema, creates loose ends when it talks about the plot so the audience want to watch it to see how the issues get resolved, if at all. The trailer is creepy, scary and has lots of mystery and surprise by having multiple jump scares. However, it doesn't show any build up to these jump scares so the audience are in mystery to when they will happen and so they are still a surprise in the actual film.

'Pontypool' is a very low budget film produced by Shadow Shows and Ponty Up Pictures. The trailer is very simple as it is some people hosting a radio show for the majority of it. It uses intense, dramatic music combined with an eery silence in the background towards the end of the trailer as bright, vibrant red words come on to the screen. The trailer has a few clips of a car and people attacking it but leaves the audience in mystery as they are given no reason why. It creates lots of tension for the audience in this very short, 1 minute trailer. 'Pontypool' had a target audience of males aged 30-44. IMDB states that 16,581 males rated the film; 10,525 of them were aged between 30-44. 'Pontypool' begins with a scene of the radio presenter asking lots of questions but lacking a response from the reporter. The trailer ends with the radio presenters and the building being attacked by something unknown to the audience. The trailer shows the very basic outline to the plot; showing the audience a setting and an introduction to the plot, a few clips from the middle, and then the potential end to the film but still leaves it un resolved. If we were to choose a horror film genre to produce a trailer for, then it would have to be kept very simple with lots of quick cuts to build suspense and create tension for the audience.