summer project tasks:

1) Research: Film trailer analysis:



Film trailer 1: Narrative and genre:

The trailer 'truth or dare' establishes narrative through the trailer as it conveys a storyline through the use of dialogue. This is significantly used within the trailer to convey what is happening to the characters the audiences are able to relate and get intrigued as we know that this game is not letting them go. The audience realises that from the beginning of the trailer the guy had tricked the girl into this which demonstrates the disequilibrium within this trailer as suggested by Todorov's theory. The trailer has many actions and enigma codes that establish the horror and thriller element of this trailer like the killings of these victims that lose the game. This means that it could be reiterating Roland Barthes theory as audiences are presented with this enigma as a puzzle or riddle to be solved. The audience knows that this is based on some past events as props like old pictures are used to convey this. This trailer could also be applied to Propps character theory as it establishes different roles of each character as we see the donor and Villian element as it all begins from one character who betrays another and gets them stuck in this game. The genre is made obvious through the use of characters that duplicate each other and the fact that their faces change and the horror element is portrayed through the things it makes them do. This is also made clear through the trailer is very fast paced and a lot going on all at once with so many different characters.

Film trailer 2: Mise-en-scene

The trailer it follows establishes mise en scene by showing different elements of costumes, setting, props, lighting, actors and makeup. The trailer begins by a girl depicting a story of herself and who she wished to be. The mise en scene used like low key lighting conveys the idea that she is young and vulnerable still finding more about herself. Audiences instantly know that this is a horror trailer as she is shown semi-nude all abandoned outside in a chair tied up and is then also left on the road struggling. The costume is significant as it highlights the vulnerability and the fact that someone is after her. The fact that she is in a hospital alone and scared highlights the settings that are chosen are deliberate to heighten the tension for audiences and along with this, we see an abandoned house which is also indicating the horror and thriller element of this movie trailer. The trailer has different lighting which is normally low key as it emphasises the fragility of the characters and then moves on to being fast-paced and builds enigma for audiences as audiences do not actually know what is following her.
The ending of the trailer is remarkable as she is alone in a car and it is uncontrolled highlighting the fact she could have been taken over but audiences still remain unsure this intrigues audiences more as they would want to watch the movie and know what will actually happen to her.

Film trailer 3: Camerawork

This trailer uses camerawork significantly as the trailer begins by establishing the setting with skyline shots to audiences and showing past events of two specific characters. and audiences realise that the narrative will play among these two characters as a result. Furthermore, there are various mid shots used to convey the differences between the characters and how they are unknown to each other. Then audiences are shown a conversation which is quite close up between the characters and the narrative builds from there as she wants a revenge from her ex-boyfriend. The significant camera work is when she tells her story and the camera is constantly moving to indicate the time pass and change in her character. They are shown spending more time together and audiences now realise the two main characters are these and become fast-paced when they start doing more things together and shots change a lot more than before. The second part of the narrative is shown again with the establishment of shots that show the setting and audiences now don't see these characters together but instead just shots of them by themselves and then a journey is shown in search for the girl and the camerawork establishes the road trip. The camerawork is used significantly as it helps establish the narrative and characters within this trailer helping audiences to understand more.

Film trailer 4: Editing

This trailer uses editing in conventional ways as it presents audiences with a strong narrative and a interest about the movie. The shots edited in the beginning of this trailer are quite fast which is like a montage scene showing the males life story and background. The shots change quite quickly which shows change and tie passing as a result to establish the narrative of the movie. The trailer then introduces another character whilst talking to the male as a shot reverse shot without any dialogue showing the power between the characters. The trailer also speeds up and there are various amounts of match on action shots used whilst the conversation so audiences don't focus on them but the conversation which is effective as it makes it more intriguing.There is tension that builds up as the women is attacked and there is fading used by jump cuts to convey that she is unconscious and vulnerable. The editing is effective as it provides visceral pleasures for audiences and gives a sense of diversion from daily routines as applied to Blumler and Katz theory of uses and Gratifications (1974).

This trailer also uses continuity editing that builds up gradually and moves on to being fast pace but also slows down as it shows the breakdown of these characters within this trailer.

Film trailer 5: Sound

This trailer uses sound to create enigma for audiences and feel the suspense as the trailer begins whispers are heard very loud from the tape and is the use of diegetic sound. This is very effective as audiences can feel the eeriness of this trailer and moves on to voice-overs that establish the narrative of this trailer. Along with this the trailer also has used non-diegetic sound to establish the horror genre of this trailer and voice overs are typically made louder to make audiences feel scared and sense the spirits that are being conveyed within this trailer. When many alarming scenes are shown the sound is used very effectively as it gets louder and louder until something pops up which is very conventional for horror trailers to have. The use of loud screams and shouting whilst other characters talk or different scenes are shown is also very common in horror trailers and in this trailer especially as loads of scenes are shown as sound and sfx sounds added to it makes it have more suspense added to the trailer. The use of diegetic sound with heavy breathing of characters is highly effective and the uses non-diegetic sounds so that audiences can build relations with the characters as they also do not know what is going on. There is vulnerability established with the use of these sounds as characters are shown to be very scared and their voices are not heard as much when something is happening until the end where it ends in a cliffhanger and all the characters seem to be everywhere. There are Foley sounds that are used within this trailer as breaking glass is heard at the end of the trailer suggesting that more things have become out of control and things are deteriorating even more.

Film trailer 6: Trailer conventions, intertextuality, graphics, text-on-screen etc.

This trailer establishes the storyline very effectively by using quite a sinister storyline. This intrigues audience as there is no use of dialogue throughout the whole trailer but  just eerie sound which is effective in heightening the tension for audiences providing visceral pleasures. The conventions of this trailer are very typical of what would be shown in the majority of the horror trailers as the camera is constantly moving very gradual making it seem filled with more suspense. The text that appears on screen is sans serif and has horror element attached to it as it appears as being quite dull and disappears every time it appears. There is constant fading of scenes which is also very conventional for these trailers. This trailer seems to be set in a post-apocalyptic phase and this could indicate the fact that it could be an intertextual reference to the walking dead or movies like the mist as they are both quite sincere types of entertainment for audiences to watch. This could also be signified through the use of graphics but not too many are used which means it is kept simple for audiences and more relatable.

Film Pitch:

Title:

The unexpected demise

Tagline:

Absolute immobility.... 
Motionless and confined...
Their Bond is Ceased....

Genre:

Horror

Log line:

other successful films that are similar to yours:
A quiet place because the trailer and film storyline has elements of a constraint of characters in just like this movie does.
Another film that is similar to mine is It Follows as the character within my movie becomes tormented and even controlled like some of the characters from this movie.

narrative structure-what happens in the film and what order: 

• The narrative of my movie is that there are two girls are very close friends and one of them buys a new house and asks her friend to stay over and weird things being to happen in the house to a point where they can't even find each other at times.
• The film narrative starts with calmness until they both realise something is happening inside the house and also builds conflict between them because the friend that buys the house thinks her friend is doing it.
• The truth is that a couple lived in this house before who passed away because of a spirit within the house that started to dominate over them.
• The friend who's house this is becoming very tormented because she wants her friend to be safe as possible and gets to a point where she does not want her friend to leave her house and has a sort of obsession over her.
• This then begins to affect the friend that has come over to stay and she becomes traumatised a lot throughout the movie.
• Her friend constantly thinks something is becoming wrong with her and her friend becomes locked out her own body as something is trying to control her. 
• This deteriorates their relationship as she begins to have this sense of compulsion over her and she tries to escape many times but something always stops her.
• This leads to her paralysis and her mind is completely shut.

hero/heroine, desires, a conflict they encounter:

• There are mainly two girls that are close friends.
• They start to have conflicts between each other gradually and becomes worse.

other characters, their narrative role and their audience appeal:
Other characters may include some neighbours in the surrounding area and another presence within the house. 

The target audience for your film (age, class, gender, interests etc):
I would say the target audience for my film is a young audience as the film is quite dense and filled with quite a lot of drama so ages would include from 16-25 years. The audience can be of any class to understand the film really as it does include some deep issues and any Gender too. 

  Statement of Intent:

For my coursework I am going to be establishing the horror Genre: 

Narrative: 

The narrative of my Film is based on two friends who are young adults one of which decides to buy a new house. They have known each other for a long time and their names are Nyrah who is an accountant aged 25 and Aria a primary school teacher. Nyrah asks her friend for advice on buying this house as it was previously owned by a couple who did not get along and eventually died as an unknown spirit dominated their lives. The house has not been bought from anyone and Aria is getting a discount as a result. Nyrah claims she should not take the deal and Aria does. Ultimately, Aria asks Nyrah to help her renovate and stay over to keep her company. Nyrah gets very tormented after buying this house and does not want her friend to leave her and this starts affecting Aria as she begins to get traumatised a lot throughout this movie. Their relationship begins to deteriorate as Nyrah has a sort of compulsion over her. She begins to control Aria until she becomes locked out her own body and she is unable to leave the house. Stereotypes are reinforced in my trailer as my characters are female and will be shown as being vulnerable and one of which will also be the hysterical character who is going to be saved till last or left behind.

Genre:

My genre conventions will be conveyed through the use of my characters as some makeup will be used to show the character of Nyrah deteriorating by making her face look dull and lighting will also be kept low. I am going to be adapting the Genre as it will include elements of Repetition because there will be a scene which conveys someone struggling to sleep, voices being heard and sudden sounds like breakage of glass to alarm audiences. This means that my Trailer demonstrates the ideologies of  Steve Neale's theory as he states that genre is constituted by specific systems of expectations and hypothesis, which spectators bring with them to the cinema like repetition. This will be further illustrated as 

Camerawork and editing:
I will be using low angle shots to show the superiority of characters and extreme close-ups to show the importance of fear. I will include Point of view shots to allow audiences to connect with the fear and intensity, as well as handheld shots to help audiences experience the action. My trailer will also have mystery codes and semic codes to build up the suspense and purge audiences emotions (catharsis). I will also have visual signifiers with colours like black and red to connote evil and darkness. As this trailer will include continuity editing it means there will be shots like eye-line matches, for example, my character looking at something outside the window. Lastly, my trailer will include cross-fade and dissolve in 1-2 shots to convey some time pass e.g after some time of buying the house.

Film posters:
For my film posters, I will be doing three separate posters all aimed at different audiences that will go with scenes from my trailer. Firstly I will have a character opening the door and having a dark sky with darkness behind the door. For my second poster, I may have one of the characters present and in search for something in a dark room. For my last one, I may choose to establish the characters quite confused and bewildered about this house.

Mise en scene:
For the Mise en scene in my film trailer, I will convey horror genre by the lighting being kept dull and having the costumes changed at different times. For example, evening shots will be shot in pyjamas and during the day in their work clothes. I will have shadows also present whilst characters are walking around the house and backlighting and spotlighting. For example, Aria searching for something in a dark room. I will be using Props like a knife and elements of blood e.g the character trying to save them self and walking to the door. I may also have characters looking dull with sullen eyes to convey the lack of sleep and trauma. The locations I have chosen are a road, house and places within the house. 

Audience:
I would say the target audience for my film is a young audience as the film is quite dense and filled with quite a lot of drama so ages would include from 16-25 years and will be targeted at a young audience who are mainly students that need some escapism from their daily routines. This will provide Diversion (Blumler and Katz) to audiences due to the entertainment provided.

Distribution/funding:
I believe that Microwave film fund would help fund it and as they are very well known and help young filmmakers to create a platform in the media. As a result, my audience will increase and help my film get more popular. For synergy within my posters and Film trailer, I will use #motionlessandconfined to convey interest to audiences as the characters are going to be feeling trapped in this environment.