Short films research (The Grey Matter)

This short film lasts 17 minutes and tells of a man who's fallen victim to an act of cannibalism which has left him with an unusual injury (a hole in the back of his head). He is an office stiff who has some luck in pulling the attractive girl at work, when his previous attack appears to have turned him into a cannibal who takes bites out of peoples heads, the attraction turned fatal.

The first few scenes the camera is stiff making the actor do all the hard work of portraying what's actually happened, so the importance of good acting is very highlighted.
The camera angles capture facial expressions very well as the actor is very important in telling the story in such a small amount of time, the audience also need to connect with the actor as much as possible so facial expression focus forces the audience to understand the character and sympathise/relate.
The props are exaggerated in this shot as the shirt is soaked with a huge amount of blood, getting the point across that this man has suffered a huge injury but facial expressions appear to be painless but confused, so again, highlighting the need for a good actor as facial expression opposes the first impressions.
The camera focus focuses on the actor, manipulating the audience to focus on the actor, the camera cleverly controls the audiences point of view through this technique.
The lighting is very natural, adding the real life element to a very fictional film, using the mellow street lights to cast his face.

The title of the film is shown after the initial few scenes as the audience get a taste of what the atmosphere of the film is like. The cameras extreme long shot finishes the initial explanation to the audience of the attack the actor has experienced; a ferocious one, in a dark alley way, at night, in his work clothes so suggests a random attack (not involved in a gang of any sort).

Camera angles used

A selection of camera angles in used in the early stages of the film and throughout for example this over the shoulder shot. Which shows the point of view of the actor, further increasing the relation/connection with the audience.

This point of view shot, which suggests to the audience someone is lying on the floor as buildings are within the view point, as this is not an idyllic shot for it to just be a low angle shot.

A birds eye/ high angle shot creates an automatic power shift into the audiences hands as they are dominant to the actor, he is lying on the floor, inferior, covered in blood.

This point of view shot further makes the audience feel superior as they have blood on their hands.
The actors background is also slightly revealed as the small bathroom, skinny hallway, basic sink suggests he doesn't have much money, enhancing the audiences relation and connection with him as they will sympathise with him.

This two shot long shot allows the audience to completely get the characters life through the setting and the props used. Stapler, files, paper, computer, pencil pot, storage, cheap shirt and tie, sleazy office friend who talks about women in derogatory ways (as sex objects), it is obvious to the audience that this character is an office stiff with nothing really going for him in his life. A very powerful camera shot.
The dialogue in the scene also makes apparent the hierarchy in his life as his chances of getting the girl are laughed off by his higher status/ more confident college. This adds to the audiences sympathy.
The story also develops fast as this scene is not very far since he was on the floor after his attack which is attractive to the audience as they know they will have to keep up with the story instead of it being dragged out.  
The era of his film is shown through the 90's computer,

The symbolic iconography of a doctors is heavily featured in this scene for example the anatomical  pictures on the wall, which proves in short films the need for the audience to understand what's going on is a must as the film is such a short period of time. The colour in the scene is predominantly blue which gives a very cold tone which adds to the dark humour of the doctors and the mysterious dialogue.

Blue, again is the dominant colour in the scene which further carries the theme of cold, dark confusion through the film. The full extent of the injury is revealed by a close up eye level shot. Before this shot it is shown that he refuses health care for an extra 15000£ to explain to the audience why he has to use a bandage to cure his huge injury, which further increases the sympathy of the audience. This highlights the importance of dialogue in making the audience feel emotion as they can see this character has bad luck as they know he passed up the opportunity in having health care.

This shot is semi-humerous yet it is dark humour as the audience see a man who's computer wont work in his mediocre job with a horrendous hole in his head without medical care topped off with a top hat. This places emphasis on the importance of mise en scene as many props that convey the same reaction from the audience can cause a big emotional effect.

The awkwardness of the character is shown through the hand movements which signify a lack of confidence, this compliments the close up shot which emphasises this lack of confidence as the next scene uses this lack of confidence to full effect.

The camera has a slow motion effect when an attractive co worker walks past, switching back and forth from reaction shots to show the audience that there is mutual attraction and a possibility of something happening between them, the change in scene speed also make this event major in the audiences mind.

Her red hair signifies danger and lust which the audience sort of guess will cause the main character who already has no self confidence problems. The appearance of the woman makes the audience urge the main character not to go near her because she is portrayed at the common office promiscuous woman the was she flirts with everyman. This portrayal of a woman is very good in engaging the audience and making them connect with the main character.
The lack of confidence in asking another office worker to help him with his broken computer is highlighted further in this scene as he needs confidence to get the woman. This urges the audience to keep watching to see if he will overcome his lack of confidence in getting the girl.

The abrupt end to this fantasy comes in the form of reality hitting the desk... more paperwork, the huge isolated slam wakes the audience up and the character. It keeps the audience awake and adds a different dimension to the film as the audience get shocked.

Two shots can be very effective when two people are having an intense conversation as it captures body language which the audience can base judgements upon

 

The colours of clothing signify a lot about a person, for example all through the film we have seen the main male character in plain coloured clothing which blends into the background which signifies his coasting life and boringness, however the woman in this shot certifies to the audience she is dangerous as she is in all red, even her lips are red, meaning she is looking for sex and danger. The colour red prepares the audience for an event to happen. 

The low camera angle also puts her in a position of power, a dominatrix.

What media effects theory do trailers manipulate?

The hypodermic needle theory 

The Hypodermic needle theory states that the audience are subtly induced messages into their minds passively, a teaser trailer (if you believed in the hypodermic needle theory) is an example of this as the content in a teaser trailer is full of 'the best bits' and intriguing sounds and merged scenes to make the film look better, which is technically manipulating the audience by 'injecting' them with information about the film. 

However a negotiated audience would be able to interpret for themselves what the film is actually about and not believe the force fed, exaggerated information in a teaser trailer. Whereas a dominant audience in the words of Stuart Hall would be passive and fall victim to the manipulation of the film trailer producers. The audience positioning theory would explain the effectiveness of teaser trailers on the position of the audience.
So for my short film or trailer to induce messages of information or moral elements, I will have to rely on the audience being dominant because

Uses and gratifications theory (blumler and Katz)

The audience/consumers of media texts such as film want one or more of their needs to be filled, this can be escapism into the film relieving the daily stress, identification with the characters, to be informed and educated, entertainment or just to feel involved and to be able to interact on social media.
Personally, I like to watch dramas as a way of escapism as I cannot relate to the situation in the programme however I get wrapped up in it and my mind is completely distracted from my worries and daily grind. If the drama is exceptional then I will tweet about it to let my followers know about it and to also see if anybody else is watching it and to get there reaction. Also by watching dramas it gives me an insight into police and criminal minds, educating me about the justice system and the world in which we live in.
Trailers manipulate audiences needs in trailers as a trailer teases and infers that the film contains all of their needs by showing glimpses of factual, escapism and other needs in a short amount of time.

Research

I asked an opportunity sample of 15 people why they watched films to inject the uses and gratifications theory in my planning of my production and audience's needs to be able to manipulate those needs to enhance the amount of viewers;

This is quite a predictable result as many young adults want to escape from the stresses of school and home life when watching a film which is reflected as 9/10 17-21 year old's watched films to escape.
I will take this into consideration when producing my production as I will be targeting this age range as my audience. So I will have to make the films plot realistic enough for the audience to relate to yet drastic enough they can escape within the storyline and become the character not themselves.
Only older people like to be educated when watching a short film so to be able to educate 17-21 year old's in a shorts film would be a task as I would have to make the contrast of escapism and informality.

Codes and conventions overview of trailers

Social media 

A way of connecting and engaging with the audience in their everyday life is through social media especially twitter with the inclusion of a specific hash tag or @ address. This is an important tool as the word of mouth can build up more of an audience for the film and build up interest by 'sharing' or if the film gets enough users talking about the film it will 'trend' on twitter where every single user can see what people are saying about the film. It can gain interest from millions of users. 

How does social media promotion appeal to the audience?
As the figures show in the image below, 89% of 18-29 year old's use social media, this is a huge platform to reach alot of people very quickly, it appeals to the audience as it is an easy way to watch a trailer without breaking sweat as it is at a touch of a screen.
So when producing my film I will make a twitter account for my production to appeal to my audience.

Also at the end of the trailer there will be instructions about what hash tag to tweet under and the Facebook page.

            Production

• Trailers begin in almost every time with the production information, institution and age restrictions, the company logos can instantly make a viewer decide if they want to view the film or not. This can even mean a decision on whether they will enjoy the trailer/film before even watching it, this is because big companies often have higher budgets and usually higher quality productions so audiences once they see who made it will make up their mind whether it will be good or not. Reputations are massive in the film industry and production companies such as Universal and 20th Century fox have built huge ones with their worldwide audiences and can ultimately be a deciding factor in someone going to watch a film. So the success of a film usually relies on the reputation of the creators. 

Production logos are a huge indication to the audience about the genre of the film. For example a Warner bros film is not associated with a horror film, but family films such as Harry Potter and Loony Tunes.Production logos will adapt to the genre of the film as well as for example in each Harry Potter film the Warner bro's logo reflected the situation in the film. This appeals to the audience as if the films production is recognisably affluent then they will want to see the film as alot of money has gone into it to make it worth watching.  High concept films will have a very well known storyline,it can be based around a past historical event like the titanic and they will have a very high budget as they know there audience inside out.

• Film Title

The film title is in every trailer and almost every time at the end so that if the audience are captivated by what they see they will remember the name of the film.

The font and colour of the title are a huge clue into the genre of the film as horror films usually are dark and the title is ominously contrast to that, whereas light hearted comedy's usually have bright colours complimented with friendly font. 

The font appeals to the audience of that specific genre lover, as when they recognise the font genre signifier's they will automatically want to watch the film.

At the start of the trailer the age rating given by the British board of film classification will determine the audience that can watch the film and also determine what time of day the trailer can be shown and to what extent is shown on the TV, such as the censored, shorter version before the watershed.

Before the Title of the film trailer the official classification is shown 

Characters

The audience need to connect to the main character as they are more likely to watch the film, for example, a young teenage female main character is more likely to attract the same audience.

Also if the characters are famous then the audience know they like their work, therefore giving an extra incentive to watch the film. benefiting the films income. Sex appeal is one of the main factors in the characters popularity and the one of the main lures for the audience,if the actors are attractive then the opposite sex are more likely to go and watch the film to keep up there social representation as 'lads' or 'straight girls'. For example the hit film 'friends with benefits' connected with the audience as the characters represented the modern relationships of many people in the 21st century aswell as this narrative connection the actors were extremely attractive which made the box office figures tremendously high. As a film about sex with attractive actors such as Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis will be a hit in the cinema. The film trailer plays on the sexual attractiveness aspect of the film continuously to appeal to the audience of young men and women and lure them in.

Sound

The music or voice overs are essential in film trailers as it shows the genre of the film, the speed and the budget as the film producers might ask a specific artist or music producer to produce a piece of music for the film as the producers cant use just any song as copyright laws infringe it so if a producer wants a certain song they have to contact the artist themselves to buy the song if the artist feels like their song is being used in a correct way e.g. not harming their reputation or if they pay the artist to sing a completely new song or re make a song they will have to pay alot of money, showing the audience the quality of the film production, the bigger the artist the bigger the budget essentially. Just like Baz Lurhmann's The Great Gatsby had Jay Z produce the soundtrack which included new music from the recognisably voices of Beyonce, Lana Dely Rey and many more stars which automatically shows the negotiated audience that expense and excellence has been intricated into this film.
 The voice over can create tension in the trailer it can either be an external voice or extracted voices from the dialogue in the film. An effective convention of a trailer is when dialogue from a scene is played over continual scenes, creating visual and audio interaction, intriguing the audience. 

Names of cast and directors/producers

Famous actors, directors, producers and recommendations will be included in a trailer for the audience to guess the style of film and more than likely it will inspire them to want to watch the film, if it was made by a producer they like previous films that they made. For example if Steven Spielberg directed a Sc-Fi film, his reputation would guarantee big box office numbers. 

The BBFC

The British board of film classification certifies each UK film with an age rating that is usually shown at the end of the film trailer. If the film is awarded a U or PG then the audience is mainly aimed at children which means that anyone can go and watch it as the content is very mild and child friendly. Conversely if the age rating is 15 younger children won't be lead on thinking they can watch the film or if their scared of the trailer they are safe knowing that their friends aren't going to persuade them to watch it. 

An age rating can also deter or entice a member of the audience to see the film as the age rating signifies the content of the film eg. an 18 contains sexual scenes, horrific violence and swearing, drug use etc. So this age rating will appeal to some and deter some. 

Trailer research (Scream 1996) (Historical)

Horror trailers are the most important feature of the whole film as there is only one thing it has to be. The scarier the better.
Scream is a 1996 American slasher film written by Kevin Williamson and directed by Wes Craven. The film stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Drew Barrymore, and David Arquette. Released on December 20, 1996, Scream follows the character of Sidney Prescott (Campbell), a high school student in the fictional town of Woodsboro, who becomes the target of a mysterious killer known as Ghostface. The film combined comedy and "whodunit" mystery with the violence of the slasher genre to satirize the cliché of the horror genre popularized in films such as Halloween and Friday the 13th. The film was considered unique at the time of its release for featuring characters who were aware of real world horror films and openly discussed the cliché that Scream attempted to subvert.

The poster for the film is an extreme close up of a reaction shot of a woman looking very scared and alert which automatically indicates the genre. The lighting is very clever as the woman is made to look very 'stereotypical' as the film subverts, typical bright, sparkling blue eyes, plump lips, flawless skin (a typical victim in a horror movie). The black and white effect has connotations of death which further induce the genre into the poster. The font in the text is all in the same font and colour which creates ownership and recognition for the audience, the white signifies the Scream mask and purity of the victims, it also highlights the stark contrast between murderer and victim as in the trailer the characters are in the real world and are very adapted to horror films and know alot about them which in my opinion is signified in this poster as the unlikely hood of it happening to you sends the woman as white as a ghost. Another interpretation of this poster may be the fact that the effect of the lighting on the woman creates a 'Scream-like' mask which suggests the murderer can be anyone. 
The conventions of a poster are the inclusion of the main cast, title of the film, main image (usually a close up), creators and a slogan of some sort that is individual to the film. 

The trailer is introduced with an unconventional establishing shot of a close up of a land-line, which is the main focus of the whole film as it is the line of communication (the main horror of the film, suspense builder, indicator to the audience) between the victim and murderer. 

A breakage in the trailer just before the sinister introduction is essential in a good horror trailer to build suspense. 

breakage 

The lighting is very reflective of a real life house lighting e.g., just the living room lounge light.

The cuts in the trailer get quicker and quicker once the narrative is known, the speed of this trailer is extremely quick, which reflects the chasing effect within the film. 

Cuts quickly to destructive, dangerous things such as broken glass door which scares the audience as the trailer is going that quick they haven't got time to take in that sense of un-realism. 

The non diagetic sound in this trailer is so effective (blasphemy-immediate music) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuQYngLEeY0, this in my opinion is the main feature of a horror trailer, the music has to build tension and compliment and intensify the chase. 

The main character

Within the film Sydney is who the narrative is based around and the audience are following her throughout the whole ordeal. However how this main character is shown is by frequently appearing in the trailer as the masked murderers main victim as he knows her name with the iconic "HELLO SYDNEY".

So in my trailer I need to make sure my main character comes across as the main character through dialogue, frequency and sympathy to connect them with my audience. 


Another way in which horror trailers connect with their audience is by showing them their worst nightmare and things they can relate to e.g. being chased up the stairs 

The cuts often fade to text that increase the audiences knowledge and fear of the film, without having a voice-over, sometimes it can be more effective as it draws the audience more deeply into the trailer, causing attachment. 

Another convention I noticed in this trailer was that another scene can be heard whilst another scene is playing, which creates two complimentary horrors in the eye and ear, whilst increasing the tension. This non diagetic feature allows the audience to digest sound and visually which entices the audience. 

Trailer research (500 Days of Summer 2009)

The next trailer i am going to conduct my research on is the romantic comedy "500 DAYS OF SUMMER". I am exploring a range of genres to open my mind to the different genre specific conventions trailers consist of. 

First of all, the MPAA is the American regulatory classification body, the age rating of the film trailer is shown, warning audiences of the nature of the trailer and what it contains, eg, aged PG-13 indicates there's material in the film that may not be suitable for children under the age of 13. A PG-13 movie could go "beyond the PG rating in theme, violence, nudity, sensuality, language, adult activities or other elements, but does not reach the restricted R category.".
This is a convention i must include in my trailer if i choose to make one. 

The introduction of the main characters in a romantic film is essential in the opening scenes of a trailer as it shows the audience automatically that the theme is love as for example in the opening scene of 500 days of summer, there is immediately a common interest between the two, in this case it is a love of 'The Smiths'. 

The close up on the typical girl/boy flirting facial expressions are also a convention in trailers of the romantic genre as they are very stereotypical of flirting, so the camera capturing these facial expressions (with a two-shot) is essential in signifying the genre to the audience. 

Another convention of a trailer is the institution being shown to give the trailer authenticity. And to also show that this is the company that produced the film. Fox are a well known, reliable film producers who have built up an excellent reputation which attracts the audience when they see the logo. 

One of the main conventions in a romantic trailer is the focus on the characters, this creates a bond with the audience and a connection which gives further persuasion to go and see the film, as the trailer connects emotionally with the audience. 
This film switches through time unconventionally as it skips through 500 days backwards and forwards, so the camera shots reveal throughout the relationship who has the balance of power.

 As here for example the relationship has just started so the camera is eye level which represents equal love and passion. Conversely, when the film shows 'Summer' (the woman) breaking up with the man, the camera emphasis's her power position using a low angle and a high angle for the mans reaction.  So the use of camera angles in a romantic trailer is essential in getting the narrative across to the audience in limited time.
Reaction shots are also a convention of a romantic trailer as the focus is on the two characters, which also further creates emotional bondage with the audience who feel emotionally involved as they might relate to the story (/reactions/loss of power/wanting an ex back/outside perspective) so feel implored to watch the film at the cinema.


The speed of the cuts increases as the trailer goes on, which reflects the intensity of the relationship and the build up to the climax, further intriguing the reader.

A major convention of a trailer is at the closing cut there is information for the audience on the release date or 'coming soon'. Usually when the trailer has an actual date for release, the trailer is a theatrical compared to a teaser 'coming soon' trailer. 

The length of a theatrical trailer is around 2-3 minutes  

Trailer Research (Godzilla 2014) (Contemporary)

I chose the 2014 re-make of Godzilla to include in my research, as I personally found it the best trailer I have seen, so I'm going to analyse it to see why is was so effective in making people take notice of it and go and watch the film at the cinema as the viewing figures were very significant ($508,176,069 made worldwide).

Godzilla is a 2014 American science fiction monster film directed by Gareth Edwards. It is a reboot of the Godzilla film franchise and retells the origins of Godzilla in contemporary times as a "terrifying force of nature". The film is set in the present day, fifteen years after the unearthing of two chrysalises in a mine in the Philippines. From the pods come two giant radiation-eating creatures, known as "MUTOs",which cause great damage in Japan, Hawaii and the western United States. Their awakening also stirs a much larger, destructive, ancient alpha predator known as "Godzilla", whose existence has been kept secret by the U.S. government since 1954. Godzilla is thriller film, so I will discuss and analyse the conventions in this thriller trailer. 

The trailer itself has a predominantly dark effect as the darkness represents how in the film Godzilla has been hidden for years and the film producers are still trying to hide Godzilla from the audience to make the mystery to much to handle so they go and see the film. The darkness is achieved by clever shadowed lighting, which hides the audiences view of Godzilla, creating frustration also by slow fade to black transitions from scene to scene, another way the secrecy is portrayed in the film is how you see destruction being caused by Godzilla but you never actually see him, he is hidden in his own destruction, which therefore builds audience fear regarding the monster, making them want to go and see the film. The representation of the unknown is very clever and extremely effective by keeping Godzilla in the shadows yet showing the chaos surrounding him. 

Here we see the slow, progressive fade to black transition which signifies a build up to something sinister as within the scenes there is chaos but the editing of the transitions is slow, slowing down the revelation of the next destruction, giving the editors all the power as it comes across in the editing that they know what's coming. 

Another way in which suspense is created in this trailer is that everybody seems to be running from something, this is how the main character is shown as he is running towards the problem whilst the entire population is running away. Also the army aircraft are captured travelling with intent to further show the importance of the problem (Godzilla). So the chase element/speed to resolve the problem in thriller trailers is a traditional convention. 

The one thing that trailers must give you is goosebumps and the one major point were this happens is when there is a silence, fade in from black were the main characters diagetic voice is heard, saying "Something is coming... and its going to send us back to the stone age"

This for me, highlights the importance of dialogue within trailers as short and sweet, little but alot.  

The representation of the people in this trailer causes tremendous connection to the audience as the trailer shows the film is set in the modern day america which is shown via clothes and iconography shots so the audience will relate to that automatically, so when a disaster strikes the way that events unfold is very much real life to the audience.

Blackouts are used very cleverly in this trailer as it separates scenes and fades in slowly to the next scene, creating tension and builds up the Godzilla reputation and hidden effect, prolonging the reveal of Godzilla.

The camera positions are good at creating the realism effect for the audience, for example, a camera shot is from inside a car but not from a persons perspective, its is kind of from a hidden perspective, making the audience feel as though there are in the film. 

Many birds eye shots are used in this teaser trailer in order to set the scene as different terrains are used and the iconic new York places can be seen from this shot. However, another reason why these shots are used is to put the audience in Godzilla's point of view, which would show them how tall the monster i, this therefore makes the audience connect with Godzilla instead of just being against him all the time by seeing the humans point of view, this intrigues the audience into wanting to see the film. 

Trailers of films usually show the best bits of the film to catch the audiences eye. 

A big budget would enable a directer to produce such special effects as a nuclear bomb, this would be out of my reach when producing my project as i have a very small budget, however, this big, extravagant event makes the audience sit up and take notice as they know the scariest most powerful thing in the world is a nuclear bomb. It makes the audience ask questions, what are they trying to destroy? 

Information about when the film is released is usually in the same iconic font of the film title. 

The characters are recognized as main characters via how many times they appear in the trailer, the professor features in the trailer more than anyone else and says the quote that is more important than any other. This is how the main character is revealed. 

As the trailer comes to and end, the rate in which scenes are shown speeds up and the action looked packed to the audience. 

At the end of the trailer the audience gets a glimpse of Godzilla however it is still restricted bu the sound hits them full force. Terror is inflicted onto the audience which the last shot, increasing the urge to see the film. The point of view shot really connects the audience with the film.