We decided to change our characters, so instead of using a heterosexual couple (Charlie and Bella) we are now using a homosexual female couple (Lily and Bella). The reason for this was because it was difficult for us to find a male actor that fit the profile of Charlie. Therefore, it was easier for us to use female actors and change our storyline.
This new idea makes our trailer more unique and contemporary as more recently homosexuality has become widely accepted. It will attract a wider audience as well, as there are so many films based around heterosexual couples, therefore we will have more unique selling point.
The actors we are now using are called Isobel and Adara, we had to change the names of our characters as although Charlie could be a unisex name we wanted to have more stereotypically 'girly' name. Therefore we changed the names to Bella and Lily.
These are our hand drawn storyboards that we used to create our motion filmed storyboard.
This is our motion drawing storyboard, we edited it on final cut pro and added a voice over to explain more details and camera shots that we are planning to use.
Throughout our trailer shots of reviews from previous audience members will appear on the screen, this will excite the audience concluding to getting a larger audience.
The only small issue that presented itself was that of the drawings not looking very high quality and possibly not being the best representation of our ideas and plots.
We created a survey on SurveyMonkey to collect results and opinions from our friends and family. We wanted to create a survey to find out what our target audience (females under 25) enjoy in trailers. To work out what aspects we need to include in our trailer to appeal to our target audience. We chose the questions with our genre and storyline in mind.
We found that mainly females aged 16-18 filled out our survey, this was useful to us as our target audience is females under 25. Therefore from these results we will be able to see directly what young females enjoy in trailers.
We found that participants least enjoy horror trailers, yet this is not an issue as we don't want to produce a horror trailer. Romance, Drama and Thriller trailers were all quite popular, this is good as we want to create a drama and romance/thriller trailer.
Participants prefer drama and thriller genres and think they go well together, which is helpful as we are creating a drama and thriller based trailer.
The ideal length of a trailer that most people picked 30- 1min 30. We also agree with this, as we feel it is the perfect length to fit everything in without giving too much away.
People we asked looked for the aspects tense music and creating suspense, which is to our advantage as we were looking to include these things in our production
Household setting was picked as the best location for a drama, this is good as we want to film in a household and local park. This may have been chosen as people can relate to it better as they live at home and can imagine this happening to them.
We believe that out of the four quadrants that our trailer will appeal to younger females (<25). This because: We are interested in producng a drama, and typically the target audience for dramas and emotional films are young females. We did a survey and found mostly females preferred dramatic trailers. We want to cast a young female as the protgonist, this will appeal to young females as it will be more relatable. Our trailer will appeal to a large mainstream audience. However we want to use a distressing subject, therefore this may not be suitable for very young children.
2. Film Concept Inspiration
Perks Of Being A Wallflower:
This particular drama is a worldwide success and was very popular for both males and females. However, it was slightly more popular with females, especially females under 18. This is good as the target audience we are aiming for is females (<25). Therefore we know that our genre and storyline will be a hit with this particular group of people as it is similar to The Perks Of Being A Wallflower.
Stuck In Love:
Stuck In Love is more popular with females and has a larger difference in ratings between males and females than The Perks Of Being A Wallflower has. This may be due to the fact that this particular film is more romantic than the other, this may appeal more to females. We are thinking about making our trailer more about romance, rather than friendships, therefore this film gives us a realistic example of who enjoys these types of films. Stuck In Love also deals with a lot of the issues that we have discussed, such as death and dealing with loss, therefore it can help inspire us in ways that will help it look professional.
If I Stay:
If I Stay is a lot more popular with females than males, especially in the under 18 category where males have rated it 7.1 and females 8.0. This may be because of the strong female lead character which makes it more relatable. It is also a romance which females are typically more interested in.
3. Are there any other audience groups that your film may appeal to?
Our film will specifically relate to heterosexual couples or individuals as its based around a heterosexual couple. It will also attract British people as it is set in Britain, using British actors.
4. What other 'niche' factors could be considered about how you might appeal to an audience?
5. What different 'tribes' of youth may be especially interested in your film?
6. Would your film be limited to a UK audience or might it have a global appeal?
This is our mood board for thriller. We used photoshop to make the collage; we received the images from google. The tools we used on photoshop were, the 'Lasso Tool' to cut a background from some images, this allowed us to layer some images over others. After we used the 'Lasso Tool' we clicked the 'Refine Edge Tool' to fade to background slightly. We mainly used the 'Free Transform' button to move images around and to increase the size of them as well. All these images are from famous, well-known films that are considered as a 'Thriller' genre. The images above will help us create a trailer that gives a thrilling vibe.
Drama Mood Board
This is our Drama mood board,we used the same tools from photoshop to create this collage. The drama genre will allow use to add emotion and depth to our trailer to attract a wider range of an audience instead of just having an audience that enjoy a thriller genre. This also will allow our trailer idea a storyline so we can really have a clear and understandable trailer to advertise our film.
Our trailer idea is based on 'Mental Issues', and both of these genres will allow us to capture that Psycho/Emotional atmosphere that we are aiming for. We want our audience to get a chill yet have a sympathetic and a slight sadness when they watch our trailer.
We are using this trailer as structural inspiration for our trailer, as it doesn't give away too much of the plot, just enough to keep you intrigued. Each scene transition fades to black, this adds more suspense to the trailer and insinuates that the film will be fast paced. Throughout the trailer there is a voice over, from what you assume to be the main character, this creates a sense of realism rather than a cliche, overly dramatic voice over. The trailer starts off slow, with a voice over and dramatic music then cuts to action scenes continuing with a voice over. We like the composition of this trailer as it gradually builds up tension through the use of music, fading to black, and quick cuts linking scenes. We want the overall mood of our trailer to be tense and full of suspense, this has been very successful in this trailer, as throughout the audience is gripped and on edge wanting to know more.
Room
The genre of this film is mainly drama, yet we feel it has thriller aspects. You can tell this is a drama due to the unusual events happening leading to a dramatic climax in the trailer. However, there are certain elements such as the quick cuts and tense music during the more distressing scenes which elude to the idea that this could also be a thriller. We will explore the drama and thriller genres in more depth as we are interested in producing a dramatic trailer. However, we want the thriller element to be subtle, as it is not our main genre, we would prefer to produce a drama. We love the music in this trailer, as it can be perceived as creepy, but also sad at the same time. This works perfectly with the drama/thriller genre, and we hope to use a similar style of music when producing our trailer.
Freeheld
This film is set in a typical everyday situation, which we want to use as we want our trailer to be as realistic as possible so it can focus more on the psychological aspects. We like the use of costume as they're simple and don't distract the audiences attention, this links into the genre of drama, as dramas typically revolve around everyday events. The use of emotional contemporary music, moves the audience and creates an uplifting mood which contrasts with the genre and storyline of the film. Over the shoulder shots are used in scenes where conversations are taking place. These are used to show everyday conversations taking place, making it more believable. We are interested in using over the shoulder shots in our trailer as we want to film scenes that involve conversations and this is the best way to capture them. There are many close ups of characters facial expressions in this trailer, these allow the viewer to see the intense emotion of this dramatic situation, making the viewer feel more connected to the character therefore more interested in the storyline. Establishing shots are frequently used to show the idea that the characters are travelling, they also create a sense of realism as its made to suggest that this could happen in any town. However, we don't want to use establishing shots in our trailer as we want it to be set in one area making it easier for us to film as we can't travel and we don't have the professional equipment to be able to film it well.
What is a trailer?
A trailer presents important and intriguing parts of a new upcoming film. It allows viewers to understand a basic storyline as well as the genre of the movie; a trailer is a perfect way to target the correct audience. A trailer is meant to portray the essence of the film, however, its primary purpose is to intrigue the audience into going to view the media product, rather than simply watching the trailer and knowing the entire plot of the film.
The Shining- Trailer
What is teaser trailer? A teaser trailer is a short clip of the full trailer. this short clip reveals very little about the film/series, yet gives the consumer a taste of what the product will be like rather than giving specific details. Teaser trailers are usually produced for big budget and popular movies/series. Teaser trailers add hype to the upcoming film, these can be more effective than a full trailer, as it leaves more to the imagination.
The Shining- Teaser Trailer
The Secret life of pets
The upbeat instrumental music creates a fun and energetic atmosphere, clearly targeting a young audience. The animation used creates the atmosphere of a child's imagination and interests. The trailer mentions popular films like 'Despicable Me' which were created by the same company, this will attract fans from 'Despicable Me' creating a wider target audience; this already sets this film up to be a successful movie. The trailer overall, is engaging and humorous without giving to much away.
However, we thought that the trailer didn't give the consumer enough information or clues to actually know what will happen in the film or to get a clear idea of what the storyline is.
Synergy
Universal have used synergy in the example of the successful film, 'Despicable Me'. Which has been used to advertise and add hype to this upcoming film. The recurring use of 'Despicable Me' imagery, such as the world famous minions, are used as a way to attract fans of Despicable Me and as mentioned earlier set the film up to hopefully become as successful and popular worldwide as Despicable Me was.
Target Audience
Above are examples of the type of humour this film will involve, clearly showing how this film is suited to a young target audience. However, as young adults we also found this trailer entertaining and quite humorous, suggesting that it may appeal to all audiences, not just small children.
Use of colour
Bright and vibrant colours are used in this trailer as they attract the audience's attention, especially the attention of young children who are drawn to vibrant colours. The colours are also very positive, there are a lot of bright pinks and yellows which suggest positivity, which is good for a children's film.
Music
Upbeat, instrumental music is used throughout the entire trailer, this excites the audience and puts them in a positive mood. The music used is uplifting and lighthearted which is perfect for a children's film. It changes towards the end of the clip to match what is happening on screen, this change in music adds to the humour of the film and makes it more exciting as it ends on one loud note giving the trailer a punchy and rememberable ending.
The Hateful Eight
Music which sounds like a heart thumping begins to get higher in pitch, it then cuts off for Samuel Leroy Jackson's character to say "got room for one more?", this creates a humorous anti-climax. Throughout the whole trailer there is a western/pop accompaniment which is played in the background while there is brief clips of the film played on top, this gives a short description of what the film is about. In the trailer short clips of humor, action and violence are shown to attract the correct target audience; also the western time period is portrayed by the music, costume and set which also can attract the right target audience. The trailer also flashes some facts that can help increase the amount of viewers, by presenting Quentin Tarantino briefly on the screen. The trailer overall was intriguing as there was a lot of action clips yet there were humorous parts as well which helps break up the danger and seriousness of the film as a whole. Although the film had a story line the description wasn't clear which allowed some viewers of the trailer confused to actually what the film was about.
Costume,Set and Time Period
The film is to be set in the western period where every man walked around with guns and cowboy hats on, these two examples are both frequently shown in the trailer. Throughout the trailer a horse and cart is portrayed a few times to hint to any viewers what period of time it is set in, furthermore, a old wooden house/cottage is used to film most of the story line, again it all links in with a western style.
Target Audience
By showing the directors name in bold (Quentin Tarantino) allows fans of his previous work interested as he has created another film in which he thinks his viewers would be interested in. Also by showing clips of action, Violence and humor can allow anyone to view if it that is what they want to see in a movie.
Music
To begin a thrilling note is held until a break of silence for a anti climax, this gives away a hint that there may be some moments where there is moments of clarity and moments where the audience will hold their breath. Majority of the trailer has a western/pop type of music to have a fast beat to keep the trailer at a good constant speed, this keeps the trailers story line interesting for viewers so they don't get bored.
Spectre
The trailer begins subtly with an undertone of suspense music until the words 'you have no authority' is heard through non diegetic sound. This is followed by sudden snippets of the familiar Bond theme music, bursting out and making it's mark as a Bond movie. This immediately adds suspense and mystery into the trailer as it raises questions to the viewer, followed by a loud explosion and the full James Bond theme begins to play. Throughout the trailer, the cutting and editing is particularly fast, adding to the thrilling, fast paced feeling of the media production they are trying to portray. Short, quick flashes of various scenes are shown one after another, allowing the viewer to get the feeling and essence of the film, while not giving away too much of the plot - a key feature in a successful trailer. While regular Bond fans will be happy to see all the familiar elements they know so well, there are enough exciting teasers in this trailer to entice a wider audience of thriller and action movie fans alike.
Costume & Set
The main role in the film, James Bond, is seen throughout the film in a formal suit and tie, which is a well known trait of his character. This impacts the film as it stays true and traditional to past films, making his character more relatable to people who may have seen, or know about the Bond films. Other characters holding lead roles also seem to wear highly formal clothing for the majority of the scenes presented in the trailer.
We see multiple settings within the trailer including what appears to be the HQ of the agents and a number of other cities and countries. This adds to the adventure aspect and allows the audience to see that the film is more nationally extensive.
Insidious 3
This trailer starts off with a slow moving and typical horror scenario, where the audience is left waiting for it to become intense and get to the horror scenes. The first creepy scene is very clever, as it makes the audience think one normal thing is happening, however you then discover something unnatural is happening. This is very subtly done and is more of a psychological scare than a typical jump scare. The use of creepy instrumental music adds to the drama and intensity of the scenario. This music comes to a stop after the knocking stops and it becomes very silent. This is a clear give away that there is going to be a jump scare, when the hand comes down a loud scream plays and the tense music comes back. Even though the audience may have guessed this was going to happen it still scares the audience and makes them jump, which is the purpose of horror movies, therefore this trailer has been very successful in being able to scare the audience.
The jump scare, hand grabbing scene.
The trailer then becomes much more fast paced and uses quick cuts which fade to black in-between each clip. These quick cuts and fades add suspense to the trailer as you're left wanting to see more but only being shown a small clip. This will entice viewers to go and see the film to find out what happens.
Over the shoulder shots
The use of over the shoulder shots eludes to the idea that the protagonist is being watched, which adds to the general creepiness of the trailer. We are hardly shown scenes from her point of view, she is always in the shot which hints at the prospect of her being followed.
Music
The famous 'Tiptoe Through The Tulips' song comes on right after the jump scare of the hand grabbing her. This song has been connected with this movie franchise and is used as synergy to advertise the Insidious movies, as when viewers hear it they automatically connect it with the Insidious movies. It has a very creepy and sinister tone, yet was first produced as a children's song which completely contrasts with what's on screen.
'Zoolander 2'
The new trailer for 'Zoolander 2' is completely unexpected for this type of film. the film is a comedy and the trailer only hints this at the end of the trailer so they don't give to much away which for some viewers is good but for others it isn't. The trailer mainly a animation of the galaxy which forms into a human brain which turns out to be Zoolanders star character 'Derek Zoolander'. The trailer has to a lot simpler than the trailer for their first movie yet its completely different and intriguing as there is a big suspense when the animation finishes to reveal what the movie is.
Animation and Target Audience
This animation takes up most of the trailer; the animation has this amazing traveling effect which makes the viewers feel like they are traveling through the galaxy and through the brain. It's a clear and HD so the audience know that the film is going to be in good condition with good visual effects. However this sci-fi opening may attract the wrong target audience creating confusion and disappointment. When the end is revealed the correct target audience is attracted from the comedy aspect found at the end of the trailer. To add on, if the viewers watching the new trailer haven't seen the first 'Zoolander' they might not understand the comedy scene at the end and might not go and watch it from not understanding the stupidness portrayed. Also, most people like to see parts of the film in the trailer so they can have a rough idea of what the film is about, but this new trailer doesn't give any parts of the film away except the genre (Comedy) and the main character (Derek Zoolander played by Ben Stiller). Some people may like to know nothing about the new upcoming film as they are intrigued to go to the cinema knowing nothing about the film and watching the whole movie by only being intrigued by a trailer that gave nothing away. Furthermore, the 'Paramount' logo is shown briefly before the trailer begins this can also attract more viewers that have found a liking to other Paramount films so showing the companies logo is an important and effective way to attract a wider target audience.
Sound and Comedy
When the trailer begins a voice-over travels with the audience explaining how the earth evolved and what the brain can allow humans to be so bright or stupid.the voice-over is by the smartest man know 'Steven Hawking's' this helps with the comedy scene at the end as the brightest man on earth has a conversation with the not so bright man. this instantly give away the genre and stop the confusion some may have. other than the voice of the Steven Hawking's and Ben Stiller's Character the only noise heard is a 'whooshing' sound effect which is played when the viewers are "travelling" through space and the brain, this allows the animation a realistic effect to really attract the audience and get their attention instantly; also the sound track 'Relax' is played in the background of the comedy conversation at the end, as it was played in the first movie and this can also attract the correct target audience as that track is well know from the first film.
What makes a good trailer?
After analysing these trailers, we found that successful trailers are 1.30 - 2 minutes long, this allowed them to fit enough in to attract a large audience. Also they have a clearer story line to explain their film so that more people go to watch it as they know a little more information about what the film may include. A lot of successful film trailers include voice overs as the voice over can explain the film as well giving the audience a clearer understanding of what the film may be about.
