Target Audience Profile

When selecting a core buyer for our media products, we need to not only consider those who will be interested in the genre, but also, those who will be interested in our particular narrative. We have decided to target those between the ages of 15 and 25; the main reason for theses ages is due to the appeal of the cinema as a frequent social event. To ensure that our productions meet the needs and expectations of our target audience the results of our questionnaire were gathered by those ranging from 15 – 17. Although this is the younger end of the age range, we fill our results are still valid. The reason we made it to 25 is access of a larger target audience, however we feel that are product is one which can be enjoyed by older ages. I have found it difficult to target just one gender. I would expect that males are more interested in the horror aspect of our production, i.e. the blood and violence. Whereas, females are likely to be attracted by the psychological/thriller side of our production. Also, are main protagonist is female so therefore, they may feel more obliged to relate to her and therefore take a keen interest in the narrative of the production. The social class of our core buyer is not particularly important. However, our film is set in a small village, a location which is typically associated with middle to upper classes. Therefore, this is likely to appeal to an audience of this social class as they feel they are able to relate to the characters. In contrast, cinema is an experience typically related with the working class. So therefore, we can provide no primary social class our production aims towards. When taking into account ethnicity it takes no ethnic bias what so ever, we will attempt to demonstrate a range of ethnic groups within are trailer.

Themes of Horror/Thriller

After taking into account my personal experience of our genre I have concluded four main themes that are shown.

·         Torture – An example of this is shown consistently throughout the Saw movies. The main protagonist Jigsaw inflicts a frequent pain on the proposed victims in order to teach them a life lesson in order to improve their life. This is also an example of the theme of moral philosophy.

·         Mind games – This is particularly evident in the thriller genre, examples of this is in Batman, here the audience is constantly processing events and predicting later events, the film attempts to make this prediction incorrect.

·         The Supernatural – The most recent example of this film I have recently viewed is Wolfman. The story is about a man who turns into a werewolf once the moon is full.

·         Death and Murder - Chainsaw manicure is a great example of this. However, although it may seem like the character is killing pointlessly. The story reveals that there is reason behind his actions. This can also be related to the area of revenge.

Our Stages of Narrative. . .

After great discussion in our group we have shaped the narrative structure which our moving image production will follow. My previous research into narrative structures demonstrated that most mainstream production follow the five stages of narrative proposed by Todorov. However, my research also highlighted that most horror/thrillers do not follow this structure chronologically although still including if not all, the majority of the stages. As our narrative follows such a structure it conflicts typical narratives although demonstrates the convention of a horror/thriller film. Our narrative should leave the audience in the up most anxiety and show know predictable path.  

Equilibrium
- Rural village establishing a close net community, all is well and normal.
- Traditional social event where the majority of the village attend (families, shop keeper, priest etc).

Disruption
- Suddenly when all seems fine, a little girl disappears inconspicuously.
- The ‘abduction’ becomes known (screams, panic etc).

Recognition of disruption
- A week on and the sister of missing child becomes suspicious of the disappearance (she believes her sister is still alive).
- The investigation begins

Disruption
- During her field investigation molly walks past the park where a group of young children are playing. A young boy goes through tunnel and as he comes out all his friends have disappeared, another abduction has taken place (this time witnessed by the audience)

Attempt to repair
- Molly finds out about the missing boy that evening, and her intuition develops.
- She goes to the scene of the crime, where she finds a symbolic religious cross necklace (boy pulled of priest during taking) “it’s the priest”
- Molly rushes to the church where the door is left slightly ajar.
- Molly looks in fear. Breaths deeply, bell chimes begin.
- Door slams in time with bell, molly gets dragged away into the darkness (a prayer being chanted)
- Revealed to missing children, Sunday school idea.
- The unholy appears on the final chime.

Classification and restrictions. . .

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC)

I am carrying out this research in order to distinguish my target audience and provide a suitable certificate for my media advertisement campaign. This allows me to develop a greater knowledge and understanding in what we can include and exclude from our teaser trailer.

The company was first established in 1912 and still remains strong to present day. The BBFC can be described as “A highly expert and experienced regulator of the moving image (especially film, video/DVD and video games), and also a service provider for new and developing media.”

The BBFC provides the competent classification of moving images into age and advisory related categories. So therefore, the companies’ main focus is to provide the public with information of whether or not moving image content is appropriate for viewing. They illustrate the significants of protecting those who are vulnerable within society, e.g. young children from unsuitable content such as blood and violence. They also have an influence on the inadvertent breaches of UK law and maintain to provide media industries with security and confidence publicity trusted.

One issue that the company has acknowledged is the change in culture diversity. With this, they have not chosen to simply ignore it but instead embrace change and meet requirements accordingly. A key example of this is the newly developed 12A, allowing the viewing of certain movies for those under 12 as long as accompanied by an adult. Whereas, before if you were not twelve, then you could not view it.

One of the key ambitions of the company is to

• Respond to changing social attitudes

This demonstrates that the company will continue to change and develop and will last meet the needs and expectations of society and be a continuingly trusted company.

List of certifications. . .

U – Suitable for all, more specifically those four and older.

PG – Parental Guidance, here most of the moving image is suitable for children but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children.

12A – A cinema certification whereby, viewing is promoted to those over the age of twelve unless accompanied by an adult. It is still not recommended that those under twelve watch the moving image but leaves the decision up to the accompanying adult.

12 – Only suitable for those older then the age of twelve. This is because it contains material that may cause distress to someone younger or what parent may perceive as unsuitable.

15 – Suitable only for those fifteen years and older. In this classification close attention should be paid to the content of; discrimination, drugs, horror, imitable behaviour, language, nudity, sex and violence.

Are primary concerns;

·         Horror – Although tough peril and threat is allowed we can not relate these to any forms of sadistic or sexualised behaviour.

·         Imitable behaviour – If we included any form of dangerous behaviour, it should be shown in no great detail. For example, if self harming is shown, do not glamorise the weapon and only show briefly.  

·         Language – Strong language is acceptable but the continuous use of the strongest words will be questioned. Attempt to justify use.  

·         Nudity – Nudity is permitted but not in strong detail.

·         Drugs – Taking of drugs is permitted but in no way should they be encouraged in misuse. The misuse of easily accessible dangerous substances such as aerosols is not acceptable.

·         Violence – This can be strong but not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. Any reference of sexual violence must be discreet and be clearly justified.

18 – Suitable only for adults.

R18 – Only shown in specially licensed cinemas, or supplied only in a licensed sex shop and to adults not less then eighteen years. Usually associated with strong fetish and sex of adults.

www.bbfc.co.uk

Typical narratice structure of my chosen genre and character types

 Propp’s character types

Vladimir Propp (1969) studied 100 tales and as a result developed a character theory that identified 7 broad character types. He argues that these character types could be applied to any other media. He stated that ccharacters have many functions within narratives and each serves a purpose to it.

Propp’s character types -

1.  The villain (struggles against the hero)
2. The donor (prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object)
3. The (magical) helper (helps the hero in the quest)
4. The princess (person the hero marries, often sought for during the narrative)
5. The father
6. The dispatcher (character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off)
7. The hero or victim/seeker hero, reacts to the donor, weds the princess

www.worldlingo.com

After getting to grips with these character types are then watched two horror/thriller films and identified the character types suggested-

Batman the Dark Knight

·         The villain – The Joker and Two Face, these characters work together as they both share the same enemy (Batman), they cause constant disruption.

·         The donor – Alfred the butler, helps batman in the preparation of his quests and supplies him with fighting equipment.

·         The Princess – Rachel Dawes, she prevent Batman from fighting and the villains use her as an asset of Batman in order to get to him.

·         The hero – Batman, constant attempt to overcome the villain(s)

The Hills Have Eyes

·         The villain – The deformed people living within the mountains are attempting to feed on the characters on their territory.

·         The helper – One of these deformed people living within the mountains however, she attempts to help the family by caring and protecting their child.

·         The Hero – the man who attempts to save his family from the villains by going into their homes and kill them.

So it is evident that not all the character types are typically used within horror/thriller movies but more attention should be spent on the villain, hero and helper. I have also noticed that the villains ever just include one character or a group of. These villains have typically experienced trouble events themselves and show no real reason for their evil. The helper often only plays a minor role in the scheme of things, however, makes a large difference in the success of the hero. The hero, is often part of a group and is the last to survive and comes close to death themselves until they demonstrate a final stand against the villain.

 Todorov’s Narrative Structure

A story can be described as a sequence of event typically known as a plot. This sequence of events are then put together and become a narrative, all media texts have a narrative. So when identifying the narrative we do not look at the story, but the way in which the story has been put together.

Tzvetan Todorov’s Theory of Narrative is a key theorist in media; he outlined five stages of conventional narratives. This is a typical narrative structure and is evident in many mainstream and independent films.

There are as follows:

1. a state of equilibrium at the outset

2. a disruption of the equilibrium by some action

3. a recognition that there has been a disruption

4. an attempt to repair the disruption

5. a reinstatement of the equilibrium

www.longroadmedia.com

I then analysed one the media texts associated with my chosen genre outlining the stages of narratives it follows.

The Hills Have Eyes

The film begins and we are established with a State of equilibrium. The family seem to be on their on the way to a holiday destination in a caravan. A Disruption of the equilibrium then takes place as the car towing the trailer breaks down in an isolated area and the creatures begin to prey on the characters, the young boy is the first to be murdered. This disruption continues for a long period of time as these creatures access the female characters within the caravan. However, there is no real recognition that there has been a disruption instead the male main character attempts to repair the disruption which he assumes is only the broken car as he is not yet aware of the murders some of his family. However, he then reaches a location where these creatures are living and then Attempts to repair the disruption. He realises the threat of these creatures and tries to kill them. There is no Reinstatement of the equilibrium.

So therefore, typical Horror/Thrillers narratives will include the majority of Todorov’s stages of equilibrium. However, disruption of the equilibrium and attempt to repair are likely to make up to majority of the film as this is the stages the build anxiety and excitement to horror films. As shown in this example, reinstatement of the equilibrium is not always apparent. This leaves the audience on a cliff hanger, causing the audience to be left guessing and related to horror it maybe may suggest that the cause of this disruption can’t be stopped and may still be living.

However, in terms of our media production, we are producing a teaser trailer so while we may include elements of these stages they are likely to follow no chronological order in order to not give the plot of the story away.



First steps to developing my website. . .

After earlier research of navigation keys i now feel highly capable of creating my own. This will entail one home page and then five sub-pages. The pages i have included are those that both my secondary research and questionnaire results both demonstrate. I have made it so on each page of my website you have access to the navigational box and therefore, navigation around my site will be easy. 

Questionnaire Analysis. . .

1)      This graph shows that more females have filled in the questionnaire then males.  Ideally we should have given the questionnaire to equal numbers. However, due to the random sampling technique used, this did not happen. Nonetheless, it is only a 3% difference so should give no real bias to our results.

2)      This graph demonstrates that our target audience ranges from 14 – 19, this means that our results will be suited to them, representing their views and opinions on what they want from our trailer, poster and website.

3)       This graph clearly shows that the vast majority of population asked do participate in watching films so therefore be able to provide individual knowledge, experiences and opinions.

4)      This graphs shows that the majority of people watch films at the cinema monthly, while very few people watch them weekly and yearly. This gives us an idea of when we would release our teaser trailer. So, results would suggest that the trailer should be released around a couple of months before full length release.

5)      This clearly indicates that people do research about a film before viewing it. So therefore, it shows that there is a need in the market for advertising techniques such as the website we will create as well as being effective.

6)      The most popular of film poster highlighted by these results are Pirates of the Caribbean and The Crazies. Surprisingly, these two posters follow very different conventions. Both show no real image of any characters however; demonstrate an iconic image of the film. So this is defiantly something I will need to consider in the production of my poster. Both of the posters have placed the text towards the bottom of the page and follow a sinister theme, suggested by the use of low key lighting. This shows that horror/thriller posters are an effective method of advertisement, building confidence in our genre choice. However, looking at similar posters of these genres from the questionnaire results are low. Looking at these posters, they include more text and reveal an actual image of a character. Suggests that this should be avoided.

7)      This graph tells me that when producing my film poster I should spend a lot of time and high levels of detail in the creativity and production of the main image. However, while results suggest this, I will be sure to still take as much pride and care in all aspects of my film poster.

8)      These results highlight the features of a magazine people find least important. I found these to be font and background. So therefore, I may include less text on my poster as it has little influence on the success of my poster and draw more attention to areas such as the main image.

9)      Again these results show me that my final productions of my film poster, website and teaser trailer are affective methods of advertisement within the real industry. However, 13% said that it depends on the advertisement. Proposing that for my productions to be effective I will need to meet the standards expect and a level of professionalism.

10)  This graph shows me that maybe we do not need to have our production on the name of a major production company so gives us the option of creating our own individual production company and logo.

11)   This result again backs up the value of the website I will be creating and its influence within the real market. Also, we can see that television has the greatest result suggesting that the teaser trailer we create should also be distributed on the television as well as cinemas. His enables us to access a larger audience and therefore, an increase in the potential target market of our film.

12)  Looking at the most popular choices we can see that all are male. This leads us to believe that maybe if not the main character then one of the leading roles should be a male. Each of the character also has in the past been associated with the main stream productions of horror/thriller. Providing us with an idea of what an audience wants to see from actors from such genres.

13)  Prior to this questionnaire we as a group had already decided on the genre of horror, but we felt that we should ask this question as it would identify what genre a larger number of people are interested in. Fortunately, results showed that horror was the most popular. This shows us that we had made the right choice of genre and that it is one that people will be interested in.

14)  This demonstrates a number of various feelings an audience expects to encounter when watching a film. Out of these I selected ones which related the genre of horror/thriller; suspense, scared, fear, surprise, excitement and confusion. Knowing this would allow us to focus my and the groups productions around these emotions and best attempt to create these feelings from the audience.

15)  Trailers, pictures, cast and synopsis were the highest results of this question. This tells me that these pages will be essential to include in the production of my website, meeting the demand of the target market. However, in my website I would also like to include something not mentioned in order to add something new to the pages in order to stand out that bit extra.

16)  Results of this question demonstrate that genre, cast, recommendations and narrative are the most important criteria when choosing a film. Thinking realistically, the cast of our cast are likely to not be known at all due to expenses. However, we will be sure to have included those who are highly capable actors/actresses in order to meet the requirements of such standards as best we can. The genre we have already established as the correct decision due to our groups and the peoples asked most popular choice. The narrative of our production will have to be to the best of quality; however, as we are producing a teaser trailer, we should give no chronological narrative away.

17)  This demonstrates that red, black and white are all very popular colour schemes. Luckily, this relates very well with our chosen genre and should be taken into consideration in the production of our poster and website.

18-23) These graphs demonstrate what the audience see as most important in a number of aspects of the advertising campaign as a whole. Looking at these results the importance of iconography and soundtrack has been highlighted. This proposes that close attention should be paid to the codes and conventions of my chosen genre and that they should be demonstrated throughout my advertising campaign in order to illustrate the effectiveness of my productions.

Our Questionnaire. . .

Final Title. . .

Sundays Child poem AKA Mondays child

Mondays child is fair of face, Tuesdays child is full of grace, Wednesdays child is full of woe, Thursdays child has far to go, Fridays child is loving and giving, Saturdays child works hard for his living, And the child that is born on the Sabbath day Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay.

The name of our production relates both to the religious and childhood focus of our film plot.

The name is influenced by the nursery rhyme above, intended to teach children the days of week. ‘Sabbath day’ refers to the religious day of rest whereby God had finished creating the world and respites. This is ironic as it is as though Gods creation of human life is being undone i.e. death of the children. This therefore relates to the religious theme of our plot without giving too much away, captivating the audience to find out more.

Before we had decided on this title we had a number of initial film names with to suit our story and genre, the option are as follow:

The Unholy
The Crucified
The Haunting of Molly Bell
Unholy
The Reaping
Unsanctified
Illuminati
Sunday's Child
Sinners

However, after much though we decided that many of these names would give too much away about the plot of our film, i.e. the religious reference. We also faced a problem, as ‘The Unholy’ was already a film made during the 1980’s which meant we were unable to use it. After further discussion we carried out a small scale questionnaire asking people which they thought best suited our plot and worked well as a film title.

Editing Process

We downloaded the original font style from the website Datfont, we choose the font 'pieces of eight'. As you can see the style of the font itself resembles a Gothic representation with its bold letters and sharp edges. We then copied this font into the program Fireworks. We chose this program as we all had previous experiences in the editing of both text and images from our previous year studying media. As you can see below we applied a vein texture onto the lettering, this texture resembles a torn tissue, especially due to the layer colour of a bloody red. The title now clearly represents the genre of the film as well as an indication to its content, ie. blood, gore etc.

BEFORE

AFTER

Choosing a logo. . .

After researching a number of production companies’ logos, I have gained key knowledge and understanding of the typical conventions and how it represents the institution. 

After a group meeting we came up with a number of logo titles, these included:

• Predator Productions
• Sinister Studios
• Unhinged Pictures
• Dark Path Productions

To decide on the final name of the production company we carried out a small scale survey, collecting a tally count of people’s opinions of their favourite title.  The findings showed that “Dark Path Pictures” was the most popular choice by a substantial amount.  Trusting this quantitative data, this is the chosen title we have decided on. 

As our media production genre is focused around horror and thriller we can see “Dark Path Productions” relates strongly to this.  The representation of “Dark Path Productions” suggests that the production will have a sinister and dark nature.  The “Path” suggests that the main protagonists will have an extensive journey ahead of them. As well as not giving the audience no clues to what lies ahead and proposes that the audience are proactive in this journey.  

We have recently begun developing illustrations of potential logo imagery.  We have found it difficult to create an image that we feel truly demonstrates the institutions implication. . . 

Finally we have created our production company logo

Creativity

Creativity is:

A unique selling point

Imagination turned into reality

Changing the emotion/ big impact

Un-original ideas

Confronting stereotypes/ deviating from codes and conventions

Attention to detail

Progress on genre/ an adaptation of an original idea

Something the audience does not expect to see

Film Production and logo institutions

These logos all represent mainstream production companies that have some of the largest influences on the film industry. Looking at these institutions logos enables me to get an idea of the type of logo we can create for our media production.

Looking at the Universal logo we can see that there is gold surrounding the text. This colour demonstrates that the company produces high expense films, meaning they will be of a high standard. Gold also refers to the valuable metal, proposing that their productions are seen as precious and an asset to the audience. Gold is also used in Paramount and Columbia pictures again indicating their high status and place within the industry. Another common colour is black, representing the boldness and power the institution holds within the market. We can see that the Lionsgate logo consists mainly of red. This has countless both positive and negative connotations; love, passion and sexiness all indicate that the films they produce attract the audience and will always get pleasure from the films.

Looking at the text throughout the logos we can see that most only reveals the name of the film, all of which written in a very clear bold font. This allows the logo to be easily read, and to remain vivid in the viewers mind. However, Paramounts text is really quite small and written in an italic style. This is effective as it sets itself aside from the other institutions creating originality in their commodities. The italic font also suggests that their films follow prestigious standards.

Each of the five logos gives a representation of their productions and the institution itself. Universal logos iconic image is the world surrounded by space. This suggests that their films are known and enjoyed world wide. Columbia and Paramount pictures logo both include a powerful and influential image, the mountain peek represents that the institution has carried itself to the very top of the industry and now overlooks all, the stars surrounding the mountain may relate to the star rating critics of films, by consisting so many it proposes that their productions are to a whole new standard. The lady holding the touch draped in the American flag represents the state of Columbia and stands for the American dream, suggesting that the institution gives the audience a chance for there dreams to come true. Lioinsgate logo contains no real image only a cloudy background. This suggests this institution is the silver lining in the clouds, meaning their productions will beat all around them and what they offer is just what the audience was looking for. The last logo, twisted pictures is the one that relates most to horror/thriller movies and this is immediately recognised due to the barb wire graphical feature. Barb wire, a sharp metal usually used to keep something in or out is wrapped around the text. This suggests that within the movies they create, there is not much hope for the innocent to escape and pain and hurt is likely to be inflected upon them. The name ‘Twisted pictures’ proposes the content of the film will be bitter and cruel, unsettling the audience when first recognised.

Final Teaser Analysis

The trailer begins by presenting the production company of the movie, ‘Warner Bros. Picture’ logo, in time with a non dietetic heavy beat of a drum.  By first establishing the studios of the film, the audience are reassured that the following film will follow the high standards of the company, acting as a form of a stamp of approval. So from the very beginning of the trailer, the audience are settled and have great expectations. The logo itself has been edited as the outline appears to be filled in with high raised building, representing a city. The camera then zooms into this logo suggesting that the upcoming film is one the studio is most proud of, within the heart of the company as well as being centred in an urban environment.  This then gradually dissolves out to reveal the text ‘from Christopher Nolan ’ again in time with a drum beat, through listing director of the production the expectation of quality is maintained in the viewers minds.

Alongside the heavy beat as the trailer edits from scene to scene and echoing throughout sinister music is played, at this point it is very minor, only consisting of a screech of a violin. This immediately establishes the genre of thriller, and tension is being built from the very beginning of the trailer. This opening scene fades in and consists of a close up shot of a spinning top spinning unbalances on a table top. This suggest that within the film not all will run as expected and there could possibly represent an imbalance between good and evil. The camera then quickly edits before we see the spinning top land giving no clues to the outcome of this imbalance. ‘From the directors of the Dark Knight’, is shown over a black background. The Dark Knight is one of the most recent and most popular of thrillers so again just increasing the expectations of this film even greater. As the trailer straight cuts to the next scene, a more thunderous sound effect is used as we are revealed to a bird’s eye view of a city location through a helicopter shot. This city may relate to the logo earlier in the trailer suggesting that this is where the centre of upcoming event is likely to occur.

The camera then straight cuts to reveal a mid shot of the main character. In time with this, the sinister music becomes more dominant and at a lower tone. This suggests that this character is one who will encounter or be the main source of disruption within the film. The next scene is very short and consists of a character being taken away by two male character wearing black suits. It is also raining, following pathetic phallic is the character scrounges to escape. This then dissolves out and the text ‘Leonardo Dicaprio’ is shown for a shot period. This is a world famous actor known by most, so by displaying his name it attracts fans of his previous films to the movie, widening the potential target audience. The next scene is very brief where we see a half full glass of water of a table surface. However, unexpectedly the water surface is not level or settled, this is the audience first encounter with unexplainable causes and leads suspicion to how this is happening, enticing the audience deeper into the trailer.  

It then straight cuts to reveal a street view level camera shot as the camera tracks through an urban street slowly canting horizontally, seeming to follow the text ‘your mind’. This now suggests that rather then looking at the city from above we are now in the depth of the coming events. Low key lighting is used to create this sense of fear of the unknown. The camera gradually canting along with ‘your mind’ suggests that what you would first think or expect will be turned on its head. The scene then slowly fades exposing the main character once more as he turns to face the camera in this low key lighting. In this shot of the character we can see in the background, a city environment possibly suggesting that it is this character that is causing the unexplainable events. The camera then straight cuts back to the street view only this time, the camera tracks from a horizontal canted angle running alongside the side of a large city building following the text ‘is the scene of the crime’. This following the prior text featured suggests that the film revolves around power of the mind.

Still the music is building and the rhythmic thunderous strikes as edits are becoming louder and louder bringing even greater anxiety to the audience, preparing them for what’s next. We are then introduced to a new location within a hotel where two characters seems to be struggling for balance in attempt to run towards each other. This can be related to the previous scene of the glass of water as although their surrounding seems normal, there actions indicate an unmanageable and unpredictable environment. It then straight cuts to show the main character gasping for a breath as he pulls himself out of a bath. A slow motion effect is used here to allow the audience to configure just what is happening. We can see that the character is wearing a suit placing further questions into the minds of the viewers. Then it suddenly straight cutting back to the previous scene within the hotel where the two characters are now floating in mid air and grapple each other. This may represent the struggle and fight between good and evil within the film, as well as emphasising this paranormal imbalance. The trailer then briefly edits to a close up of a watch where time seems to be moving at a faster rate then expected. This gives the impression that the good are running out of time. It then instantly cuts back to the fight where they are now falling from ceiling to floor stilled grappled followed through a tilt shot. Then, editing to a canted angle where one of the character holds onto the wall while the other appears to be falling. This shift in gravitation may suggest the possibility of a new world, or a disruption in the equilibrium of our world. The next straight cut reveals us again to the main character, but this time it is as though he has woken up. This proposes that the mind weapon mentioned earlier in the trailer is his and he is the cause of such explainable events, or even that this is all the witnessing of a dream.  Throughout this final section edits became much faster and music becomes even more sinister along with the recurring beat getting louder and faster. All this techniques overwhelm the audience, emphasising the fast paced impression the trailer puts across.

The trailer then again straight cuts to a close up of an urban building in low key lighting to then track really fast up the sky scraper and continues to zoom away until this city landscape spells out the title ‘Inception’. This then looks to represent a maze, suggesting that it will be no easy path and that every move may be a wrong one. The text ‘Summer 2010’ is then featured over a black background, this advertisement of the film release time gives the audience something to look forward to. This is then followed by listing of actors, cast and production companies.

Teaser trailer Analysis - The Strangers

When the trailer begins, we are first shown the production companies allied in the making of the film. Although these are only exposed very briefly, it establishes and reassures the audience of the standard of quality of the movie itself. Determined through the current existing productions the companies are associated with and the reputation created.  Both of the companies listed are well recognized in the production of horror movies, so viewers’ expectation will be high.  A unique technique is used to display and edits between these scenes. The only way I can think to describe it, is that it represents an old slide illustrator projector, parallel to edits a clicking sound effect is used to identify the change in content on screen, upcoming edits rolling over from top to replace previous scene. This instantly creates a sinister, quirky feel, establishing the genre of the movie.

The trailer then goes on to show a number of various homes in what we would expect is within America. These are shown still using this slide show technique. In time with the first house being shown, traditional 1930’s American music begins. This is unexpected as at first it gives no indication of how this could be related to the genre. However, if you listen closely you can hear that the music has been slowed down ever so slightly suggesting something just isn’t right, the ‘norm’ has been meddled with, so could be related to the disruption of an expected equilibrium. The theme of the past is also emphasised as the muffle of a record player is heard, proposing that history of characters will be made i.e. death of. Under each of the homes shown there is a short piece of text featured explaining characteristic reason why people choose a home. Images of the houses are only small and centred on the screen. As these slides continue, a more sinister music begins and the following text under the next few homes slides, put together reads ‘but some people choose homes for a completely different reason’ As this is broken down into section showing a number of various houses, the lighting becomes low key and the background track becomes ‘stuck’ as well as the music more sinister. This builds tension as well as setting a darker tone to the trailer, the idea that the track becomes stuck suggest that those within this house are trapped, unable to escape. As well as this, there is a circle with a cross placed over the houses; this gives the impression that these last houses revealed to us are targets to someone.

As the last house is shown the music echoes to an end while the image flashes, zooming to full screen as the cross symbol vanishes. This suggests that a target has been selected and this will be where dark intentions will take place. The fact the image also gets bigger suggests that they face a greater evil then those previously selected.

The screen then goes blank for a couple of seconds empathising tension built upon the audience. The trailer then straight cuts between a number of shot ranges and angles where we are established with a couple, where the dietetic sound ‘I love you’ is heard establishing an equilibrium between the two character. Edits are slow as it enables us to become familiar with the two characters. However, this is soon disrupted by a thunderous knock on the door. In time with this we see the characters reaction to this and through expression and body language we predict that they were not expecting anyone and almost startled by the great knock. It then quickly straight cuts to show the door in full sight, all seems normal however; an ever so quite flow of wind is heard. This suggests that the characters are within an isolated area, putting them in even more of a vulnerable situation. The camera then straight cuts to show the female character placing her ear to the door with caution and uncertainty, as she makes contact with the door, a harsh voice whispers ‘your gonna die’. We as an audience now feel unsettled and even frightened for the characters of innocents.

The trailer then goes black for a short period and sound is completely stopped to build intense apprehension, instantaneously it then straight cuts to expose an axe pasting into the door, the dietetic sounds of the axe smashing through the door in one hit is intended to put the audience on full alarm. The idea that these ‘strangers’ have broken the only barrier between we get the impression that the characters are now completely exposed and helpless. The trailer then carries out a number of the fastest edits I think I have ever seen. Sinister music has now re-begun get louder the closer we come to the end of the trailer. The technique they have used is like the very beginning slide illustration method, however much more anxiety is built due to high impact sound effect and the fast passé edits. Each of the edits will reveal about five different still pictures demonstrating the struggle between the good and evil and then pause on a motion picture in time a an ear piercing screech. This repeats three times until finally ending the sequence on the iconic image of the movie shown on the poster whereby the couple are tied up sitting facing the three introduces as they surround them standing. As this happens the music echoes out indicating the end of the action. This last image is one that is likely to stick into the viewers’ mind, where they will remember the film on a distressing ending where the characters were trapped, surrounded, with no hope left. This cliff-hanger gives no evidence to whether they survive or not and leaves the viewer to believe that these killers are still out there, leaving them to feel vulnerable themselves and unsettled even within their own home classically conditioning the viewers to think about the film relentlessly.

The sound then finally fades to an end and there is a slight delay in the straight to show the title of the film on a hand printed cloth canvas, this marking may be used to suggest that real life identities out there are capable of such acts and evidence is closer then you think. Again corresponding to this a theatrical beat sound effect is you to keep the viewers in a state of shock. ‘Inspired by true events’ is then displayed on the screen in order to reassure the audience that they are in just as a susceptible position. The trailer then unexpectedly goes on to show a number of fast passé edits where we see the female character on the floor struggling to crawl away from something, this proposes that maybe the character did escape, leaving the only way to find out being to watch the film.  Just before the teaser comes to an end, the two main protagonists’ names are featured. This means that current fans of these actors or actresses may go to watch to the film as they have enjoyed previous productions they have performed in. Maximising a potential target market.