Defining teaser trailer
For our project, it is essential to understand exactly what a teaser trailer is and its purpose in the process of film production, and so to begin I will look at a range of definitions and use these to mould my own.
This task has effectively informed me of the type of product I have been briefed, and I feel confident that I have a proficient understanding of what I will be producing. I was able to come up with my own definition, showing my understanding of this new knowledge of mine.
The genre of film that I would like to produce a teaser trailer for is horror. Therefore the next step in my project is to look more into the genre, finding out about typical themes and what's popular with the audience.
Genre introduction
The genre of film that I would like to produce a teaser trailer for is horror. Therefore the next step in my project is to look more into the genre, finding out about typical themes and what's popular with the audience.
After completing this task I feel I now have developed a deeper understanding of what the horror genre constitutes, and having this knowledge of the themes will be useful when devising suitable ideas for my production.
Types and conventions of teaser trailer
In film promotion there are commonly two main types of trailers: teaser and theatrical. My project is focused upon the creation of a teaser trailer, and so it is necessary to be able to distinguish between the two similar types of products. I am conducting this research task to learn more about the structure of film trailer. The research presented within this task was gathered through extensive searching online. This involved picking out key information and commenting upon my findings to inform myself about the conventions of teaser trailer. This will result in research that is accurate to the highest degree so I can progress further into my project with greater confidence.
After conducting this research task I feel I have gained a much more developed insight into what differentiates a teaser trailer from a theatrical trailer. For example I corrected myself on the length of the trailer. This is something that will be key for my future coursework so I can ensure my work follows the conventions of teaser trailer as to satisfy the brief.
Teaser trailer timelines
This piece of research will enable me to look further into the structure of teaser trailer. This will be useful when constructing our trailer so that we can learn from established and successful conventions used by conglomerate institutions. By doing so I intend to discover and comment upon the use of key elements including sound, camerawork and editing etc. to see how this is utilised in teaser trailer to effectively fulfill the purpose of giving the audience a 'teaser' of the main film. I will be watching and recording the contents of two teaser trailers; Oculus (2014) and Annabelle (2014), two films produced by well-known producers and companies. I chose to look at popular and successful films so I can get a feel for how it has been executed by professional companies.
Analysis of similar texts
For this task I watched and analysed two teaser trailers for popular horror movies. I chose to look at these two for reasons including their involvement of female protagonists, and as our production is likely to star female characters and I would like to look into potential themes we could adopt. Both have plots involving the paranormal which I have found is typical of the horror genre as its content is often derived from our dark and disturbing fantasies. I looked at two rather recent and popular thrillers; The Conjuring 2 (2016) and Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015) to observe the key techniques used.
Please navigate your way through the slides by clicking the arrow to the right on the presentation (rather than pressing play).
This task has enabled me to recognise elements of successful horror teaser trailers; and I will look back at my findings for inspiration when we are amidst the planning stages.
Please navigate your way through the slides by clicking the arrow to the right on the presentation (rather than pressing play).
This task has enabled me to recognise elements of successful horror teaser trailers; and I will look back at my findings for inspiration when we are amidst the planning stages.
Genre conventions in teaser trailers
The genre we have decided to base our film upon is horror, and so in this task I will look further into conventions constructed through the key elements of length/pace, mise en scene, editing, titles, camerawork and sound. It is important to have good knowledge of this so that we can shape our production to be recognisable for the viewer, or oppositely challenge conventions to create something that is fresh and original. I was able to carry out this task through watching a selection of horror teaser trailers online, and identified elements which I found to be recurring, allowing for the collection of thorough results.
This task has enabled me to identify key conventions of horror teaser trailer that will be highly useful in the planning stages of our A2 production. I intend to follow the conventions which I find to be effective; including natural and low-key lighting in order to create an eerie and realistic atmosphere to instil verisimilitude within our production, and allow the audience to recognise our piece's genre. When it comes to camerawork I think it will be effective if we follow conventions as to inform the characters of important detail such as setting, but also perhaps attempt to create new and different shots to challenge convention, therefore overall learning from Neale's theory of repetition and difference as discussed in the presentation.
Teaser trailers and narrative
In this task I observed the narrative structure of teaser trailer. I produced a video to display my thoughts and findings.
Links to texts referenced:
- http://filmmakermagazine.com/37093-first-impressions/#.V9Z5rvkrLct (12th slide)
- http://classroom.synonym.com/narrative-strands-3175.html
- 'Introduction to Film', Nick Lacey, 2005 (5th slide in)
Representation of characters
With the creation of characters within media texts, producers will represent groups of people in a particular way. Commonly, stereotypes are used so that the audience are able to identify character types, and relate to characters. Stereotypes are widely accepted views of a particular group of people, for example that the British love tea. They are exaggerated versions of reality and so we must be careful that we are not promoting negative views through our characters. For this task I will be observing the representation of key characters in 3 teaser trailers: The Woman in Black (2012), Blair Witch (2016) and The Grudge (2004).
Regulation (BBFC)
For this task I will be carrying out research into the regulation of teaser trailers (film content) in the UK. Gaining an understanding of the process would be useful for my project as I can see which standards we are looking to meet when deciding upon the age rating of our product. This is important as to protect audiences, particularly as the horror genre often contains content that some viewers may find disturbing, and I believe regulation is put in place to attempt to guide audiences so they can watch products that are suitable for them.
This task has been useful as it has enabled me to become more informed about how film content is regulated by the BBFC. When producing our film (particularly coming up with ideas for scenes in the script) I will ensure to consider content which is appropriate for the classification of ages 15+.
Film studio research
I will be looking into a range of production companies that have made successful films that are similar to our film concept. This is to identify one that we would propose our idea too (in return for support for our film) if we were to go about getting our film made fully. Also I will be discussing each stage of the production process to understand further about what steps we would have to undertake.
This task allowed me to identify Blumhouse productions as a studio that possesses a similar audience appeal, and an innovative creative pallet of films. I believe their expertise and advice would be highly valuable to our production.
References:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blumhouse_Productions
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3713166/?ref_=nv_sr_1
- http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Unfriended#tab=summary
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_House_Pictures
- http://www.haxan.com/films/
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2450186/?ref_=nv_sr_2
- http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Exists#tab=summary
Genre market analysis
In order to find out what elements of the horror genre are particular successful and currently popular; I will be conducting secondary research into last year's most profitable films. I will be assessing their success in terms of box office profit, ratings and critical acclaim, to see how these compare.
The commissioning process
Commissioning involves the organisation of the production of a product. In film this concerns the selection of ideas to be put into production. All films go through the production process which consists of 5 stages: production, post-production, distribution, marketing and exhibition. It would be helpful for me to gain a better understanding of this to develop my knowledge of processes in media that would be required for the publication of my product in real life. Films are commissioned in order to decide upon ideas that can be put into production. They are commissioned by specialised organisations known as commission bodies who offer the service to film makers in order to discover talent and films with potential which they can offer their expertise to, and benefit from profits made if the film is successful. Commissioning bodies include corporations (e.g. BBC), independent production companies (e.g. Film Infinity) and competitions etc.
A company entitled the British Film Commission (BFC) is dedicated to supporting the commissioning of films and television within the UK. This is promoted by them as bringing the production of blockbuster films to our country encourages tourism. Numerous production companies including Film Infinity provide smaller creators like myself with the necessary instructions to initiate the commissioning of a film. I will use my research into these to construct an educational video which describes the process of commissioning.
As film makers with limited experience; I am taking this knowledge from Film Infinity, a Hertfordshire-based commission body who produce high standard videos at budget costs. If we were to really commission our product, this company may be a potential choice and so I think going by their suggestions would be useful.
Therefore I have learned that the purpose of commissioning is to organise and execute the production of a media product to allow it to reach the final stage of the production process, ready to be presented to audiences. If our product required commissioning we could submit our ideas to a company such as FilmInifity. We would go to an independent company or institution for assistance with commissioning, being amateur film makers with little experience as their guidance would be of great value, as well as the financial support provided.
References:
- http://www.britishfilmcommission.org.uk/
- http://www.filminfinity.co.uk/commissioning-a-video/
Target audience profile
I will create a target audience profile to outline the characteristics of our target audience group which will allow me to easily identify their needs and wants as consumers of our product.
Target audience research
When forming the basis of an idea for a media product, conducting audience research to gain an insight into the interest of the consumer is vital. Identifying key features and tastes of our audience will allow us to build a product that is appealing to them which is ultimately the purpose. Data generally comes in the form of quantitative (figures and numerical data) and qualitative (peoples' opinions). Audience research methods can be sorted into two categories; primary (field) and secondary (desk) research.
Primary research: First-hand methods of gathering data about your target audience; for example focus groups, interviews and surveys.
Advantages - Information gathered will be specific to purpose (as you are the creator of the questions and can shape them to find out exactly what you need to know) and the information will be up to date.
Disadvantages - Time consuming process, may be hard to find willing participants, those involved may not give completely accurate answers.
Secondary research: The collection of information that is previously collected and published by other people.
Advantages - Quick and easy to retrieve, less costly and saves time.
Disadvantages - May not be able to access information that is completely relevant, possibility of it being out of date depending on how long ago it was collected.
After considering the benefits and drawbacks of each of these methods; we decided that primary research is most suitable for our target audience research.
We discussed briefly the various methods we could possibly undertake, and decided that a focus group and an online survey would be most appropriate and achieve a good range of results for us. I believe that successful research would allow for us to obtain a mix of both theses types of data; and so we will devise questions that fit well with the methods of research used. I think that the focus group will allow us to collect qualitative data as it encourages discussion, and the survey will be more focused upon the quantitative data which we can assess and then apply the responses from both to the creation of our product. We will be ensuring that our sample (of 100 people due to this being a sufficient amount to make a judgement on, and the amount we are limited to by the survey maker we are using) is representative of our target audience by having it sent via email to years 12 and 13 (sixth form) of our school. We will include a question inquiring about the participant's age so we can filter through any unnecessary results.
We held a group discussion to devise the questions and came up with these:
Primary research: First-hand methods of gathering data about your target audience; for example focus groups, interviews and surveys.
Advantages - Information gathered will be specific to purpose (as you are the creator of the questions and can shape them to find out exactly what you need to know) and the information will be up to date.
Disadvantages - Time consuming process, may be hard to find willing participants, those involved may not give completely accurate answers.
Secondary research: The collection of information that is previously collected and published by other people.
Advantages - Quick and easy to retrieve, less costly and saves time.
Disadvantages - May not be able to access information that is completely relevant, possibility of it being out of date depending on how long ago it was collected.
After considering the benefits and drawbacks of each of these methods; we decided that primary research is most suitable for our target audience research.
We discussed briefly the various methods we could possibly undertake, and decided that a focus group and an online survey would be most appropriate and achieve a good range of results for us. I believe that successful research would allow for us to obtain a mix of both theses types of data; and so we will devise questions that fit well with the methods of research used. I think that the focus group will allow us to collect qualitative data as it encourages discussion, and the survey will be more focused upon the quantitative data which we can assess and then apply the responses from both to the creation of our product. We will be ensuring that our sample (of 100 people due to this being a sufficient amount to make a judgement on, and the amount we are limited to by the survey maker we are using) is representative of our target audience by having it sent via email to years 12 and 13 (sixth form) of our school. We will include a question inquiring about the participant's age so we can filter through any unnecessary results.
We held a group discussion to devise the questions and came up with these:
Audience Research questions
The next stage was to organise the focus group and design the survey, and beginning to search for possible participants. We were able to email out the survey to years 12 and 13 within our school, and the focus group involved a sample of people from our year (13). This was lead by team member Grace, and me and Abi also participated with filming.
This summary of our findings was put together by team member Abi.
In conclusion I found that the methods of research we used we effective in gathering both quantitative and qualitative information from members of our target audience. We will apply this research throughout the production of our project to ensure that it effectively targets our desired audience.
This summary of our findings was put together by team member Abi.
In conclusion I found that the methods of research we used we effective in gathering both quantitative and qualitative information from members of our target audience. We will apply this research throughout the production of our project to ensure that it effectively targets our desired audience.
Techniques I like
In order to produce a successful production, I looked at professional examples and recorded several elements that were commonly used, what I liked about them so that I know how I could possibly incorporate them into my own production.
Test footage
Evaluation of footage
I find this piece of test footage to be rather successful. Having learnt from professional examples; I decided to place the cut-to-black screen after the subject is seen encountering something that seems to surprise them. Cutting off at this moment instills a sense of tension and anticipation: the audience can infer that there is an anonymous threat to the protagonist, and will have to show an interest in the film to find what happens. In relation to Barthes' theory; this works as an enigma code as it conceals details about the plot. This is conventional of horror genre; having the threat to the protagonist remain anonymous until later on. Therefore I think the use of a fade to black is effective in creating tension within a teaser trailer. To improve this scene I think it would look better if I filming the subject walking with a separate shot e.g. tracking shot to break up the action make it more interesting for the viewer. Therefore next I will trial a tracking shot.
Evaluation of footage
Having filmed this shot with a tri-pod, I achieved a smooth turn that successfully follows the subject's path. This technique will help me produce a production that is professional looking and aesthetically pleasing. I think that I could try a hand held shot, as this would perhaps reflect the unease of the horror genre, and make the viewer feel more involved.
Evaluation of footage
I took several shots of scenery of the school and edited them together. I cut each scene to 2 seconds in length and I believe this duration allows the viewer to observe the setting. These set of shots present the school as a peaceful, or perhaps lonely place. To improve this I think I could incorporate transitions between changes of scene; e.g. fade to show the passing of time. Also; noticeable within the footage is the frame shaking. This is likely due to pressing the button to end the shot which results in the camera moving. To avoid this next time perhaps I need to film each shot longer and then cut it to parts where the scene is stable, for a more professional outcome.
Evaluation of footage
I believe this piece of footage well reflects the genre of horror as I decided to film a running scene depicting the subject as being at the forefront of some kind of chase. To improve this perhaps I could have included the subject looking back behind them to gauge their pursuers distance. My decision to feature the piece of paper in the subject's hand successfully adds to the audience's curiosity about what is going on. What I find effective about this shot is how is conceals the character's identity, as well as making the audience feel involved as the hand-held action reflects the tension and panic of the character.
Evaluation of footage
Experimenting with filters has allowed me to realise the potential of colour alteration and its effect upon the mood of scenes. The black and white filter gave a more solemn look, and if I were to change the ambiance to perhaps a piano piece, a sense of melancholy would be induced. In the second edit, I darkened the lighting slightly as well as enhanced the blue colours within the shot, achieving a cold tone. Finally, the final edit involved enhancing of the red tones within the image, resulting in a burning look, evocative of an evening. We will consider using filters (if we find the original tones to be dissatisfying) within our production, to help reinforce the dark (and maybe even spiritual) mood we intend to create in our horror trailer.
To conclude, I have benefited greatly from carrying out the Techniques I like task as it has enabled me to identify elements of productions that I find to be particularly effective, and recreating them has prepared me sufficiently for when I will be using editing skills within my teaser trailer production. I have become more aware of how to use technology to my advantage to enhance my production, adding increased professionalism as well as more strongly communicating the themes and genre.
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