What is a film poster?

What is a film poster?

A film poster is used to market a film during the distribution process. They tend to correspond to the visual film that has been made through synergy. Colours, font and images should relate to the film to promote ideas such as genre, cast and narrative.

Codes and Conventions:

Font:
The font on a poster can have a huge impact on how the audience perceive it.
For example, 'The Hobbit' uses gold font that corresponds with 'The Lord of The Rings' font. This instantly links the two films together as 'The Hobbit' is a prequel to 'The Lord of The Rings'. Also, the font is in gold, this represents the colour of The Ring which is the centre of the narrative. Moreover, the font it quite old reflecting not only the stylistic writing of J R R Tolkein but the time in which the book was written and set.

Another example of the font would be on the 'Herbie Fully Loaded' poster. the font is curved around the edges resembling the Volkswagen Beetle. The font also has a red glow around it, corresponding with the colours of the car. Moreover, the font is quite cartoon-like which will please the audience as it is a film aimed at children.

Main Image: 
The main image is the biggest picture on the poster. It can represent the genre, narrative, cast and more if used cleverly. Here is an example:

The main image for 'Gravity' is of the astronaut and an explosion. The darkness on the left of the image, suggests isolation for the character as he is on the opposing side of the earth. The explosion/light also suggests that something has went wrong due to the broken chord emphasised by the bright light.

Institution:
Just like a trailer, a poster may mention the institution. Usually it can be written in the small print at the bottom, however it can be written elsewhere on the page.
For example, 'The Great Gatsby' poster has the distributors and producers 'Warner Bros' written within the small print unlike 'Monster's University' which has 'Disney Pixar' written fairly big above the title. This could be because 'Disney' wants their audience and parents to know it is a children's film as 'Disney' is often associated with a 'U' or 'PG' certificate.

Cast/Crew:
The cast and crew tend to be written within the small print if they are not major roles or well known actors/actresses.The director's billing may be mentioned somewhere else on the poster, however it is not essential as it may not help to sell the film in anyway.  Famous celebrities such as 'Keira Knightley' and 'Brad Pitt' may have their name written at the top of the poster (A-list positioning) as it may be the film's USP (unique Selling Point.)
An example of this would be 'Les Miserables':
Actors/Actresses such as 'Anne Hathaway' and 'Amanda Seyfried' are placed at the top to help promote the film.

Reference: 
Sometimes, references can be used on a poster. For instance, a poster could say 'From the Director of...' or 'from the producers of...' . This can include audiences who have seen other films by the same director or producer and influence them to want to see this film.

Title:
The title has to be clear and readable on any poster. Titles are often thought out for many connotations and meanings that can relate to the film's narrative, ideas or  genre. The title is vital to any poster as it lets the audience know what film they can research, look for or go and see.

Release Date:

A film poster tends to have a release date that is easy to read. This is for people who may drive past the poster and only get a glance at it. Depending on the poster, the release date can vary from dates such as 'This Autumn' to '22nd October' as it corresponds with the type of poster: teaser or main. A teaser poster uses a vague date as it wants to 'tease' the audience by not giving much away. However, a main poster will usually say the exact date as the poster will be released closer to the time.

Here is an example:
 The poster, on the left, for 'Star Trek: Into Darkness' says 'coming soon' whereas the other states the exact date. This could be due to the time of each release. One may aim to tease where the other gets straight to the point. The date is obviously vital for nay poster as it lets the audience know when it is going to be released.

Genre: 
Just like a trailer, the genre can be shown through many things.This could be due to things such as:

Cast- The cast can show the genre as certain actors/directors can work in a specific genre. 
E.g 'Johnny Depp'  tends to act in fntasy and family films, and voice in thriller/animation films. This could show the genre as he is associated with those sub categories. 

Colours:
A film poster should use colours that correspond with the visuals of the film, to help to promote ideas such as the genre through connotations. For instance, a horror film may use the stereotypical colours of black and red to represent blood and darkness. Black can suggest fear as children tend to be afraid of the dark. Also, red could represent danger and lust as Gothic texts tend to have romance within them. However, a red coloured poster could be used for a happy Christmas or romance promotion. Red can symbolise Santa Clause or romance. Here is an example:

The 'Love Actually' poster uses the colour red to represent both Christmas (it is a bow like a present) and love as the word 'love' is too coloured in red.

Colour can also be used to suggest character traits and personalities. For instance, two characters may be on a poster but one could be on a black background and the other on a white. This would suggest that the one surrounded by black is the antagonist whereas the one placed on the white is the protagonist as white suggests innocence and purity.

Reviews:

Sometimes, a poster can show reviews to promote the film; this tends to be used in the main theoretical rather than the teaser poster. This is to promote how good the film is as the audience may believe professional comments from places such as 'The Sun'. 

                                                                                                                                   

Tag Line:

Film posters generically have a tag line. A good example of this would be the 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2' posters. Many posters were released for this film, each with their own character and tag line. For instance, the poster on the right (with Sam Sparks) uses the pun 'Fruit Loose' as apposed to 'Foot Loose'. This will portray the genre of comedy and make the audience laugh as it is aimed at children.

 Moreover, the colour of the font is white. This could be to represent innocence. However, the poster is rather colourful so the white font helps it to stand out. It is also quite a plain font. This is effective as it stand out from the chaotic image and colours.

Age Rating:
Sometimes, the age rating is shown on a poster to tell the audience what the film may contain and who the demographic is. This is useful a it advises people whether they are old enough for the film and how strong the gore, violence or sexual content may be.It is often very small on the poster, if on the poster at all, as it is not as important as other codes and conventions. Also, if a poster does not have an age rating, it may be because it has not been decided yet or they do not want to tell people yet as they want to draw in a larger audience than their film is aimed for. This could be so word of mouth is used to market the film.

Two types of posters:
There are two types of posters, both are released at different times and for different reasons.

Teaser Poster: 
A teaser poster is released before the main theatrical. It generally  tells small information such as the title, a vague release date such as 'coming soon' or 'this autumn' and the institution. The aim of the teaser poster is to 'tease' and let the audience know that a film is coming. It is often released to compliment the teaser trailer through synergy.

Disney's 'Tangled' has a great teaser poster:

Disney is a very popular institution and their iconic characters, colours and images sell their films well as they are popular to their audience. This teaser trailer for 'Tangled' does not show the characters (Rapunzel and Flynn) fully, their faces are the only things visible. The well known big-eyes, pretty faces and animation already suggests that it is a Disney film. The institution is mentioned very small at the bottom, as the poster already sells itself as a Disney film. The release date is almost mentioned very vaguely. It states, 'thanksgiving' to briefly give the audience an idea when they can see it. This teases them and causes word of mouth to market the film. The title 'Tangled' is big and bright. This is useful as people will remember that if they pass the poster briefly when driving in a car. The gold also represents royalty suggesting the film will be about the usual princess and that the film is in high quality. Moreover, even though the film is not called after the Princess (Rapunzel), the long hair wrapped around them both suggests that this is based off the original fairytale Rapunzel. Also, the hair wrapped around the characters suggests that they are trapped, corresponding to the narrative of the film (Rapunzel is trapped in a  tower.)

Main Theatrical Poster:
The main theatrical poster is released closer to the film's release date. It gives much more information than the teaser trailer using codes such as a title, a clear release date, tag line and more of an image. This is so taht the audience knows the exact details about the film so they can see it when it is released and gather more of an understanding about the film.

Here is Disney's 'Tangled' main theatrical poster:

This poster shows much more than the teaser trailer. The characters are fully shown so it is clear that the film is about the fairytale princess Rapunzel (due to her hair length and the tower in the background.) The tag line 'They're taking adventure to new lengths' is a pun that refers to Rapunzel's hair. This is funny and will appeal to the audience: younger children. The release date states 'see it in 3D only in cinemas' suggesting that the film is already out or soon to be released. Moreover, there is now a horse within the image, which will relate the audience as younger children can often relate to animals. More colours are shown within this poster and they are bright and vibrant, once again pleasing the audience and reinforcing the idea that this is a Disney film. Actors and crew are not mentioned, possibly because it is an animated film or due to the fact that this is a children's film so the audience will not be interested in the actors/directors. The title is the same as the teaser trailer , corresponding to each other. This helps to link the posters and allow the audience to see a similarity and remember the upcoming film. The institution logo has moved for this poster; it is more central suggesting that Disney wants to be recognised within this poster. The poster also focuses on two main characters (Flynn and Rapunzel) which also compliments the trailer for the film as that too revolves around those two characters.

Here it is:

The colours, characters and font all correspond to the posters, creating a successful marketing process for the film.

Trailer Influences

Trailer Influences

To inspire our own trailer ideas, we decided to watch some trailers in the area we were interested: teenage survival. 

The Hunger Games:

The first long shot begins with the main protagonist: Katniss. This instantly tells the audience that Katniss is an important character as she is introduced straight away. As the clip progresses, Katniss shares dialogue between Gale. Quick reverse shots are used as Katniss and Gale share hints towards a problem to the audience: 'they would catch us' and 'we wouldn't make it five miles'. Hand held shots are soon used after this, representing urgency and panic, implying that their problematic dialogue is now becoming a reality. We liked the idea of hand-held shots as it suggests problems and can even give a point of view shot.

Then, as the audience question what the problem is, the institution logo is shown. This is cleverly used as the demographic will want to watch on so they will take into account the logo without it putting them off. After this, reaction shots and close-ups are used to represent the emotional state of the characters. This helps the audience to create an attachment with the characters and allows the characters/film to appear realistic.The trailer then switches to a two shot of Katniss and Prim hugging, showing relationships and a family bond. Katniss' dialogue is then carried as a narration through to the picking of the tributes, hinting that herself or Prim may be picked. When the tributes names are being pulled from the glass bowl, extreme close-ups and close-ups focus on the paper. This suggests to the audience that this is going to be an important part within the film and that it may cause a problem. We liked the idea of having a focus on a n object to signify a problem, theroefore, we wanted to use this idea within our own trailer.The mise-en-scene worked nicely within the trailer. The clothing, towards the beginning consisted of white and blue. These could sugegst innoncence and purity to show the personality of the charcaters. However, the clothing did not seem elegant or expensive, suggesting that Katnis may be from a poor background and that the film maybe target the idea of class and status/political issues. Moreover, as the trailer progresses, Katniss' clothing changes to red. This then suggests that she could be faced with danger, love, lust and death/blood as the colour red connotates these ideas. Dramatic dialogue is sued through close-ups of the characters. Katniss says, "There is twenty four of us Gale and only one comes out." This builds up suspense and hints towards violence. The demographic will question whether Katniss can survive or not. The trailer then uses copy to interest a wider audience. It states, 'from the best selling epic novels", promoting the books as well as engaging the people who have already read the books. As the pace quickened, quick cuts were used to keep the trailer moving. This is effective as it helps to keep the audience 'on the edge of their seat'. Throughout the trailer, violence is hinted at. Weaponry such as a bow and arrow and swords are used, however, they are not used on humans. By showing violence on 'practice dummies', the trailer hints towards violence without being graphic, enabling a wider audience to see it and keeping the audience intrigued as to what may happen in the actual film. Symbolism and iconography are used on a close-up of the mockingjay pin. People who have read the book will understand the reasoning of this, unlike others. This makes the readers feel included so they will want to see the film and it will also intrigue the other audience. At the end of the trailer, a countdown is used. We liked this idea as it creates a sense of urgency and panic, causing the demographic to want to see what happens next in the film. The whistle at the end adds a nice touch as it sounds like birds whistling as it calms everything down after the fast paced ending. Next, the tile appears on screen. By leaving it till last, the audience are more likely to remember it and want to watch the trailer right through to find out the title.Within the trailer, the music begins quite slow but picks up the pace towards the end.This helps to build up tension. Also, non diegetic drum beats are used. This could represent heart beats, however, the sounds are harsh creating a dark tone to the trailer as it could suggest violence (beating of the drums as the beating of people.) At the end, both the website and release date are shown. this helps the audience to remember them both.
Finally, the whole trailer is tightly framed suggesting intimacy and entrapment, foreshadowing not only the social issues within the narrative but the yearn to be free. 

Things we liked about the 'The Hunger Games' and what we want to consider for our trailer:

1. A sibling bond

2. Hinting towards violence without anything graphical

3. The countdown at the end

4. Hand-held shots

5. Clothing/colours to symbolise emotions, feelings and themes 

6. The use of the institution logo part way through the trailer

7. Close-ups of important objects

8. Leaving the title till last

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

As a group, we didn't really focus on the sequel trailer to 'The Hunger Games' ('The Hunger Games: Cathching Fire'.) However, we looked at it briefly to see how trailers can promote a sequel through iconography, camera shots and copy. We found that this trailer was rather clever as it ended in a very similar way to the first trailer; Katniss was raised to the battle field and runs/swims. It also uses the same whistle at the end, however, most of the demographic should understand the whistle in this trailer unlike in the first (this is because the first film explains the whistle and most people will see the first film before the second.) 

Lord of the Flies:

Lord of the Flies was a book that the three of us studied during secondary school and we were quite intrigued with the story line. 'Lord of the Flies' targets mans true desires and creates a world without adults. The two main boys within the story- Jack and Ralph- become rivals due to the fight for authority when no adults have control. We liked the idea of having two main characters that strive for power. 'Lord of the Flies' uses nature as a key to survival and we decided that locations such as forests would be a nice idea to show the deterioration of man. Although 'Lord of the Flies' works well with no females in the story line, we decided that we would want females to feature within our film trailer. Just like 'The Hunger Games', 'Lord of the Flies' uses a symbolic object: the conch. This is once again an idea we like as it can be used to cause rivalry, show symbolism and help to focus the story on something. 

Things we liked about the narrative of 'Lord of the Flies'  and what we want to consider for our trailer:

1. Two main characters who strive for authority
2. A symbolic object
3. No adults
4. Forest locations

The Road:

Both me and Iain study English Literature and one of the books we had to study at AS Level was 'The Road' by Cormac Mccarthy. We watched the film and realised that the trailer may be a good influence for us as it focuses on a world gone wrong/post-apocalypse. 

The beginning begins with cuts using a television static effect. This gives the impression that it is a news report on television. Copy comes on screen and states, '10 years from now' suggesting that this film is based on what the future entails creating it to be much more believable and thrilling.  Panicked dialogue is used when the female states, 'what's happening?' suggesting that something has gone wrong and nobody knows exactly what or why. This questions the audience making them want to see the film to find out what has happened. We really liked the empty location shots as the non-diegetic booms built up the tension and made the world feel really alone. This helped to hint to the narrative that there are not many humans left. The quick use of copy on screen with words such as, 'wake', 'search' and 'move' adds to the pace and almost instructs the audience. By doing this, it is almost telling the demographic quick survival tips if this happens. The copy is then followed by clips complimenting the copy. This builds up the pace as quick cuts are used and we felt as if our trailer should use this technique. A group shot is used when people are searching the forest with torches. This hints that the main characters are being hunted, suggesting that human-kind has become quite animalistic. Also, the torches are used with fire and not battery powered suggesting that it has been a long time since the world faced an apocalyptic event as batteries have been used. This helps to show the time frame within the film. We thought it would be useful to show time using something like this. Within the trailer, violence is hinted at but no graphic details are shown. the main protagonist is holding a gun and a diagetic gun sound is used. However, the trailer does not show whether the man is killed, making the audience want to see the film to see if he survived. Also, the age rating of the trailer would be lowered due to the lack of graphic detail  'The Road' trailer mentions the author of the original book (Cormac Mccarthy.) This promotes the book as well as including a wider audience who may have read the book. As the trailer begins to reach the end, quick cuts are used to build up the pace. This is to help to reach the climax of the trailer to involve the audience and keep them on 'the edge of their seat.' Once again, copy and clips are used. Imperatives such as 'kill' and 'survive' are used almost telling the audience to do so. Thi will help to involve them so they will want to see the film. At the end, the cast and crew are mentioned briefly. This allows the audience to quickly see an actor/director they may know, making them want to see the film. The release date is the last thing that is shown, showing that that is what should be remembered. It says 'everywhere' which could be promoting the film so that everyone anywhere can see it. However, 'everywhere' could refer to the film because the apocalypse will happen 'everywhere'. Throughout the trailer, the music is used effectively. It begins with a piano playing to keep a slow steady pace. However, when the trailer moves on, the pace of the music quickens. Drums and loud music are used to quicken the pace as the drums could represent a heartbeat or bullets. The costumes within the trailer are rough, dark and old suggesting that a lot of time has passed. The dark colours can also connotate death, sadness and grief. and death. We liked the idea of a family bond between the father and son as it created sympathy and an emotional attachment. Finally, we thought the low key lighting as it represented a dead world and sadness.



Things we liked about the 'The Road' and what we want to consider for our trailer:

1. A family bond
2.  Empty shots with boom sounds
3. Dark clothing
4. Suggestive time frame
5. Suggestive violence
6. Imperative commands via copy
7. The idea of being hunted (torches)


Tomorrow When The War Began:

'Tomorrow When The War Began' begins with the institution 'Paramount'. It is really quick so that the audience know who it is without dragging it on too long. The beginning begins with happy scenes such as establishing shots, group shots and reverse shots. This helps to build the setting that everything in the world is fine at this point, causing the audience to feel calm. Everyday objects such as 'make-up' are mentioned showing the usual teenage girl and normal everyday life. To compliment what is happening on screen, happy music is used with a song that is within the pop genre. This helps to create a happy normal feel to make the audience feel like nothing is wrong. There are many group shots used to show friendship and the relationship between the people. It also suggests that there will be many main protagonists within the film. After showing normal life, copy states 'and it was all about to change' and shows jets in the sky. This is suggestive of the problem that the narrative faces. Just like the other trailers, quick cuts and boom sounds are used. This begins to set the pace to reach the climax of the trailer. Dialogue such as 'hello' and 'papa' suggests that people are missing so that the friends are alone. Also, the trailer states, 'from the best selling novel'. We noticed that this was a recurring convention so we decided that it may be useful to use it within our own trailer. Within the trailer, narration is used via a radio voice. This could be sued to suggest that the teenagers are facing a war as people used to listen for information via the radio during WW2. Once again, weapons are seen but no graphics are shown suggesting violence and death. This will make the audience want to see the film as they may like action and want to see more graphics within the film to see who dies etc. As for transitions  fades are often used. This could be to suggest that time is passing within the films narrative. The copy uses the colour silver. This could be to represent armor and weapons as swords tend to be silver in colour. Moreover, the colour stands out from the black background suggesting that the characters within the film are the light within the dark (the heroes).  The music, within the trailer, begins to die down to allow the female protagonist speak. this is ready to reach the climax of the film as the music comes straight back in. The music also dies down when the girl whispers 'run'. We liked the idea of someone whispering as it suggests secrecy, hiding and allows a pause before the music comes straight  back in. This trailer has hints to romance with a clip of two people kissing; we once again liked the idea of a relationship or family bond between characters. Finally, the trailer ends with the title, then the cast/crew and lastly the release date. This is quite effective as the title and release date are close together so they will be much more memorable.

Things we liked about the 'Tomorrow When The War Began' and what we want to consider for our trailer:

1. Relationship/bond between two people
2. Silver Font
3. Group shots
4. Mentioning the novel it was based on
5. Whispering to build up tension
6. Suggestive violence but no graphics 

Eden Pictures: Logo

Eden Pictures: Logo

 For our AS Media work, we created our own institution: Eden Pictures. Therefore, we decided to create our own logo, using Serif DrawPlus, to use within our pieces.

If you click the link below, you will be taken to my AS blog so you can see the decisions behind our first logo and the steps involved into making it.

http://lizziesmediablog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/eden-pictures-logo.html

We decided to take a new approach and create an updated logo. Institutions like Paramount and Universal have recently celebrated their 100^th anniversaries (Universal in 2011 and Paramount in 2012) so we decided to take inspiration from this. Since it was a year anniversary for Eden Pictures, we decided we wanted to alter our logo and add a ‘1 year anniversary’ at the bottom. We thought this would add a nice touch and allow us to explore our creativity further when using the Serif Software.

Just like in AS me, Iain and Daniel sat down and sketched out a new logo design, using the old as a base. We wanted to keep the structure of the logo, including the letters, vines and central flower so it was still recognisable. 

Since the old apple blossom looked flimsy and washed out in colour, we decided that the old edit needed a new ambitious idea. We thought about making the colours on the blossom stronger but we soon felt that it wasn’t enough of a change and that it would still look too flimsy. Therefore, we decided to choose a well-known flower that is both beautiful and strong: a rose.
                Due to our choice of flower, we thought that we needed to change our vines to ones with thorns. Moreover, we contemplated having a bite mark out of our apple, to create a rustic look. We added minor details to the font, creating the letters to be harsher. Finally, we wrote ‘1 year anniversary’ at the bottom in a fancier font to add a personal touch.

This was our drawn design:

Next, we added the image onto the computer so we could use it as a template in Draw Plus. Using the ‘pen tool’, we traced over our design so we could start to add colour and effects.
     For inspiration, we looked at the Warner Brother’s logo; they change their colour/theme to match their film. For instance, for the Harry Potter films, Warner Brothers created a darker logo.
This began to get us thinking about how we too could use colours to complement our genre. As a post-apocalyptic film, we felt that darker colours would be suitable. Starting with the font, we found two that we specifically liked. Instead of gold, we turned to a different shade of metallic: silver. I preferred the silver colour with a rusty effect whereas Iain and Daniel liked the plain silver look. After a short debate, we came to the conclusion that the plain silver worked better as it was more visible. Silver suggested that our work was going to be much stronger this year as it had a sleek finish and a professional appearance.
      Furthermore, we began to work on the rose. By getting an image of a rose off the internet, we began to use the pen tool to trace around every petal and detail.

 This took a while as we worked on every fine detail. This made the logo much more ambitious as our AS version was just a few petals unlike the complex design of the new. After adding different red tones and shades (by using the ink tool to replicate the colours from the image) we began to add shading to the rose. This helped the flower to look realistic in comparison to the apple blossom.

Here is a link to a video of us making the rose:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TJAYwPO54k

After this, we decided to make the vines darker and add a light, faint glow around the edge. We initially planned to add thorns but they did not stand out so we decided to change that idea. Then, we decided to keep our old apple, rather than taking a bite out of it. This was because the apple is a symbol that represents Eden Pictures so we felt changing it would not be as recognisable and iconic.

Finally, we added the italic font for our one year anniversary. It added a sophisticated and elegant effect which we thought contrasted with the logo itself. Also, we added a light glow effect to help it stand out. I feel that our new logo has worked well ad had helped me to improve my attention to detail when using design software.

Here is a picture of our final logo design:

After the image was complete, we decided not to add movement/animation to it like our old logo. We noticed that in trailers, the logo is shown briefly or the animation is very quick to move unlike in film openings (our AS task). We thought that having our logo as a still image would work better. However, we felt it needed something to help it flow and stand out ready for our trailer. Iain had recorded a thunder sound earlier in the year so I suggested that it may be interesting to add the sound to our logo. To compliment this, we also added a flash to the beginning so it represented lightening. The overall finish looked sleek and much more professional to last years and it corresponded to our chosen genre well.

Choosing a Genre

Choosing a Genre

Before looking at influences, we wanted to decide on a genre that interested us. This is so we could focus our ideas and analyse trailers that corresponded to our chosen genre. Due to lack of older cast members, we decided to narrow our genres down to either a coming of age or a teen apocalypse. This was because we are teenagers so cast would be easy to find and we could also relate to the genre itself. 

Moreover, we wanted to vary the areas we had already experienced as we had already worked in both a comedy and a thriller at AS Level. therefore, we decided to change our genre. 

Coming of age film:

At first, we were keen on making a coming of age film as we could relate to this genre. After watching films/reading books such as 'Perks of Being a Wallflower' by Stephen Chbosky, we thought that a teenage film would be a good idea. We researched ideas and books such as 'The Summer I turned Pretty' by Jenny Han to gain insight into narratives, characters and themes. However, when we researched further to find narrative ideas, we found that this genre focused on locations such as America and the hot weather/beach. this then made us question our genre as finding locations and a USP became difficult.
        To help us decide we sat down and dew out a few designs for film posters. We began with a coming of age poster and then tried to sketch out ideas for teen apocalypse. By doing this, we began to sway towards the teen apocalypse idea.

Teenage Apocalypse:
After watching films such as 'The Road' and 'The Hunger Games' we decided to explore the action/apocalyptic genre. Whether the film is based during the apocalypse such as '2012' or after like 'I am Legend', we found this area to be interesting.  We decided to look at narratives from literary works such as 'Lord of The Flies' and decided that the themes of rivalry, loss and betrayal were good starting points for narratives. We also liked the social criticisms, for the book. and how the island is a microcosm for the world. Finally, we decided that a teen apocalypse trailer would be good as we can use dark locations near winter and use teenagers as cast.

Overall, since we wanted Eden Pictures to be a Hollywood institute, we felt that a teen apocalypse film would be a good way forward as it can be dramatic and involve social criticisms. We also thought a USP would be easier to find as a teen apocalypse had not been covered as much as the cliched teen movie.
After deciding this, we decided to analyse trailers for this genre to get ideas for our own trailer.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

What is a trailer

What is a trailer?

A trailer is a moving image that promotes a new upcoming film. It is aimed to inform the audience that a new film is soon to be released. A trailer can be shown via the television, internet, the cinema and even the radio to ensure that the film is well marketed during the distribution process. When showing a trailer that has an older certfictae. e.g 15 or 18, the trailer will have to be shown at a later time in the day, unless they cut the trailer to be a lower certificate. By using many codes and conventions, the audience is given hints such as the narrative, genre and the title of the film to interest them so that they will see the film when it is released.

Codes and conventions:

Title:

The title of the film is vital in any trailer. The title is most commonly shown at the end of a trailer or even repeated so that the audience remembers it. The title has to be memorable and cleverly thought about (this is created during the pre-production/production stages) so it will stand out on the trailer. 

Narrative
A trailer has to push forward the narrative, of the film, so that the audience knows what the film will be about. However, it does not need to give too much away. This is often portrayed by hinting towards ideas and leaving it open ended so that the audience is left to guess what will happen; ultimately leaving them to want to see the film.
Example:
For example, there could be a hint of violence towards the protagonist but you would not see what finally happens to him. This would leave the audience questioning his survival and what the consequences may be, making them want to see the film.

Production Logo

During a trailer, the production logo is often seen at the beginning of the sequence. Usually, it appears for no longer than four seconds, unlike an opening to a film, as the trailer needs to show what the film is about rather than focusing on the institution   By doing this, the audience knows who has created the film, without focusing on it; rather they focus on the actual film that is about to be released. 
E.g In 'The Hobbit' trailer, the production logos are shown very briefly to allow the trailer to move at a good pace and interest the audience straight away.

Genre

The genre of the film is shown through a number of things, throughout a trailer by their semiotic meaning.  This could be due to many things such as:

Cast- The cast can show the genre as certain actors/directors can work in a specific genre. 
E.g The films 'Pretty Woman' and 'Runaway Bride' both star Julia Roberts who usually stars in the romance genre.

Lighting- The lighting can imply the genre as it can have different connotations. For example, low key lighting could represent the horror genre as we subconsciesioly associate darkness with fear and the unknown. On the other hand, high key lighting could be used in children's films as light can portray happiness and innocence.
E.g The film 'Frozen' by Disney uses high key lighting throughout suggesting that it is a happy film aimed at children.

                                                                                                                                      

Sound- Sound can be just as important as lighting. Stringed instruments and a fast pace could be used in the thriller genre. For instance, Alfred Hitchcock used stringed instruments in his film 'Psyhco' to portray the suspense. This type of instrument could be used within trailers to show the genre. For other genres, such as a rom-com, chart pop music may be used. This adds a romantic contemporary feel to the feel to suggest that the audience can relate the film.
E.g 'The Vow' uses Taylor Swift's song 'Enchanted'. Not only do the lyrics portray the genre, but the instruments do too. 

Cast/Director
Within a trailer, the director or major cast members can be named via copy or just shown within the shots. By doing this, people who like the actors/directors may want to see the film. Also, the copy can usually say something such as 'From the director of Jurassic Park', including the audience who have seen this film.

Release Date
The release date is vital for any trailer. It has to be shown so that the audience know when the film is going to be available to watch. Usually, teaser trailers give away a rough idea of the date (e.g 'Coming this November' or 'This Halloween') unlike the main theatrical which has a set date such as '2nd November'. The release date is often shown at the end of the trailer. This keeps the audience eager to know the date and makes them rmemeber it more if it is the last thing they see.

Iconography
Iconography can be used during sequel trailers or for popular icons/characters. For example, seeing a bat logo on a trailer would make you think of Batman. This is often used in teaser trailers to hint at what it is about. It is also used within sequel trailers to include the demographic/target audience and to keep the theme of the first film. 
Example:

This Dark Knight Trailer uses the batman logo and the Joker card to portray the iconography. The audience will instantly know what the film is even without the title being shown. 

Reviews

Occasionally, if the film has had good reviews, the trailer may portray this within the trailer via copy or voice over. This makes the audience think that the film is a 'must-see' and will want o see it themselves (because they think it will be good due to reviews or even to decide for themselves.)

Tagline

A tagline can be used to make the trailer memorable. It is usually a small line that can use phonetic features such as alliteration or assonance. Taglines can also be questions which involve the audience, making them want to see the film to have the question answered.

Rating Cards
At the start of a trailer, usually a green or red band will appear by 'The Motion picture Association'. This is to clarify who can watch the trailer. By doing this, the audience know the rating before they watch the trailer so that they knwo it is suitable.

Here is a picture of them:

Rating:
Just like the rating card, a rating can be shown at the end of the film by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification). This is to reinforce the rating and give an exact certificate  Sometimes, the rating can be 'TBC' meaning 'to be confirmed', however, this is often only in early teaser trailers.

Credit to a book
If the film is based on a book, the trailer may mention this in the trailer. This is to gain a wider audience as there will be fans of the book. This also helps both ways as the film may promote the book and vice versa. 

The Hunger Games trailer does this:

USP
A trailer needs to market itself by finding the unique selling point. This will vary from each film, as they all have different genres an narratives. The USP will attract the audience and should make them want to see the film as it is something they haven't seen before.

Camera Shots:
The camera shots used within trailers vary for different genres and narratives. However, some shots are used quite often. For instance, these shots tend to be used a lot within a trailer:

Close-ups/Extreme Close-ups: 
Both of these shots are used to build characterisation  Close-ups can be used on the characters faces so that the audience can see what and who they are. Extreme close-ups can be used on specific items so that the demographic can see the importance of them for the films narrative. It also helps to question what they are.

Establishing shots:
Establishing shots are essential in any trailer. The use of these shots set the scene, place and time of the film so that the audience can get a rough idea of when/where it is set. For example, if a film is set during WW2, establishing shots are needed so that the audience understand the time period. Moreover  for fantasy films, establishing shots are used to show a whole other world. Without them, the audience may find it hard to imagine another world, therefore visual shots of the area is needed.

Here is an example (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe):

A few establishing shots are used within this trailer to show the new world: Narnia. Not only does it shows the genre, but gives the audience a sense of place.

Reaction shots:
Reaction shots can be used to build an emotional attachment with the viewer. By showing close-ups of the characters faces, when they react, the audience can see the emotion behind each person. This portrays the emotions withing the film and gives the characters a deeper personality that the audience can relate to.

Pace:
A trailer has to set a good pace to keep the audience interested. Generically, trailers begin with a slow pace by using establishing shots and dialogue. However, as the trailer progresses the film's pace can become quicker and slower before reaching the climax. After this, quick cuts tend to be used to speed up the pace to get the audience 'on the edge of their seat'.

Copy:
Throughout a trailer, there is usually copy (writing) on screen. This can be used to tell the audience something as it is or even to question them. Copy can also be used to break up scenes within a trailer to allow the audience to think about what they are seeing on screen.

Narration/voice-over:
Sometimes, instead of or alongside copy, narration/voice-over can be used. This can be to give a characters point of view or to recount something that has happened. It is often effective to explain things that is hard to portray through visual image, in a trailer.

Social Media
Links to social media sites can be shown at the end of the film so that the demographic can keep updated virally. These can be sites such as 'Facebook', 'Twitter' or even the film's official website.

Three Types of Trailers:

There are three types of trailers that all have different purposes and are released at different times.

These are:

Teaser Trailer:

A teaser trailer is the first trailer that is released. It is usually very short and does not give the audience many clues as to what the film is about. It 'teases' the demographic and hints towards conventions such as the genre, production company, release date, title and main cast/crew. This trailer is often shown months in advance of the upcoming film, and can even be shown a year before. This gets the audience interested and allows word of mouth to market the film. 

An example of a teaser trailer is:

This trailer is very simple and uses iconography to sell itself. 'Marvel' is incredibly popular and well known so by using its logo, the audience will already know that the film will be based upon superheroes. The title 'Avengers' is also surrounded by darkness, suggesting that the characters that are part of the 'Avengers' will be the light within the dark; they will save people form evil. 
A voice-over is also used by Samuel L Jackson, hinting that he may be a main character/cast within the film. This teaser trailer does not show a release date, 'teasing' the audience making them eager to find out when it will be available to watch. 'The Avengers' trailer is only forty two seconds long, showing that it only wants to give the audience clues for the upcoming film.

Another example would be:

This trailer is a lot different to 'The Avengers'. First of all, it is one minute six seconds, unlike the other teaser trailer. 'Star Trek Into Darkness' begins with the institution logos, leading onto an establishing shot, using the codes and conventions of a teaser trailer. Just like 'The Avengers', this trailer also uses a voice-over. No speech between characters is shared, suggesting that the main focus is what the narrator is saying. Close-ups are used on characters faces to show the cast without using copy. Furthermore, the director is mentioned. The soundtrack behind the trailer uses loud bangs and diagetic sound from the film, this creates tension as sound such as screams are used. Conventionally, the title is shown at the end of the trailer to make it more memorable and a quick cuts are used to credit cast/crew, institution etc. Finally, it tells the exact release date which is unusual for a teaser trailer.

Main Theatrical Trailer:
A main theatrical trailer is the longest of the three. It is often shown near the release date of the film and during its first opening weeks in the cinema. The main theatrical tells the exact release date as it is aiming to inform as well as entertain. Cast, director and other important people will be shown via copy or visual image as well as things such as institutions and its book base (if it has been based upon one.) Moreover, this trailer will have more detail unlike the other trailers such as reviews and a rating. The main theatrical tells more about the narrative and builds upon characters,

Here is an example of a main theatrical:

The 'Hunger Games: Catching Fire' trailer uses many codes and conventions. The beginning uses a rating card to instantly show that it suitable for most audiences. 
The sound uses stringed instrument during the first part to build up suspense and is accompanied by a narration from one of the characters. Throughout the trailer, iconography is used. Since the trailer is a sequel, most of the audience know that the mocking-jay symbol is associated with the 'Hunger Games'. There is also a whistle used at the end which is associated with the first film. 'Lionsgate' is clearly shown so that the audience knows who the institution is and the release date is shown clearly 'November 22nd'. Many more scenes are shown in this trailer in, whether they are in order or not. in comparison to the others and dialogue is often shown between characters. Katniss is developed as a character through close-ups and reaction shots and other characters are brought in throughout the trailer. Copy is used nearer the end, when the pace picks up, to split the scenes and keep the audience involved. It says 'the world' involving everybody,showing how big this film is. 

Short theatrical trailer:
The Short theatrical trailer is the last to be released. It tends to be shown once the film has been released for quite a while so it just reminds the audience that thy can still see it. It briefly shows the narrative and may change the release date to 'out now' or 'in a cinema near you' as the film has already been released.
It may show awards and reviews but it will not cover all codes and conventions.

Here is an example:

This 'the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2' trailer could be used as a short theatrical or teaser trailer. It briefly mentions the release date and ends with the title. This trailer gives a quick overview of the narrative and focuses on the main character: Bella. It is a lot shorter than the main theatrical but much longer than the teaser, giving it a good length to show after the film has been released. The pace becomes fast quite quickly, gripping the audience within a minute. This is a successful short theatrical trailer.