Location Shots

Examples of storyboards

Script of my film Trailer

Synopsis of My Film Trailer

Synopsis for Choosen Idea

A manufactured disease which could destroy millions has been created. Nobody knew about it’s existence, that is, until now. CRPL JACK JOHNSON from the US army goes against everything he has ever known and trusted and takes a walk on the wild side of life when he uncovers the production of the virus.

Take $65,000,000 or leave the army and the only life you have ever known for good. Adapting to his new life being a Civvie Johnson is determined to prove to the world of his findings, however hot on his trail is a government assassin. Sean Black is a patriotic man. Living for the past eleven years on the mean streets of New Orleans’s he is no stranger to violence, fighting to stay alive. Black now has a purpose, a beautiful home, with running water, electricity and a roof over his head. To keep it, he must turn his talents on Johnson.

Johnson races across America constantly being pursued by Black who misses a lot of narrow attempts at finishing Johnson off for good, however Johnsons superb military skills is helping to keep him alive. Until he see’s his face plastered across the city. ‘Wanted. Believed to be Armed and Extremely Dangerous’. With his mug shot staring at him wherever he goes, being watched by his own eyes it is not long before the police are hunting him down along with the F.B.I and Black.

With the odd’s stacked heavily against him, Johnson takes the only things he has left, the files, to a man who was his fathers friend. Still grieving over the death of his father who was shot by the same government he swore to fight for, Johnson meets with Attorney General Cole Hennessy. However it isn’t Hennessy who shows up. Johnson is taken hostage and tied up in an unknown location and pleads his case with Black who pulls a gun on him and sets up a video camera with a direct link to the governments offices. Black is convinced by Johnsons argument that the two are in fact brothers who where separated at birth after their mother and father split. Together they band together to rescue Hennessy.

Jack Johnson fulfils his mission to save the life of Hennessy who in turn releases the file, leading to the arrest of certain corrupt and dangerous men in the government. Johnson goes to lay flowers at his fathers grave before he moves to California.


Old Synopsis for Previous Idea

Over ten years ago there was a man who stalked the nights. A deranged killer. After brutally killing over 100 students he was finally captured. He died in jail in the year 2009, but now he’s back. As a group of students gather together over Christmas for a new years eve party, the fun begins. As night falls, the party continues. However there is somebody watching them. Suddenly the back door is found open in the house. Then an upstairs window. A party goer shuts the window before going to the loo. However the shower curtain is swaying. I am going to show her peeling it back when she suddenly screams. The rest of the partying students fail to hear her pleas for help. As the party continues into the early hours of the morning, more of the partiers meet an untimely end. Suddenly it is a desperate fight for survival as the doors are locked tightly shut, The windows nailed down and no way of escape. In the end two students manage to escape the house and flee into the night. The police detectives arrive the next day and the house is completely back to normal with no signs of any of the events which happened last night.

- Romance

Love Actually

Pride and Prejudice

- Comedy

Shaun of the Dead.

Comedy trailers generally are fast paced before stopping suddenly for the audience to hear the joke or to witness a funny scene, before the action tends to speed up again. Following conventions, the usually have a jovial and upbeat soundtrack playing over them. The storyline is usually serious with the characters behaving in a comedian way.

In the Shaun of the Dead trailer, some of these conventions are used. The trailer starts with the effect of television interference 'Please pay attention, this message is for your own safety.'



The Hangover

Hot Fuzz

Spoofs - Scary Movie 3

After researching into comedy film trailer i discovered some of the general conventions which are incorporated in most comedy films, for example i discovered that in most comedy trailers, their is a jovial and upbeat music track in the style of 'Benny Hill', which creates a happy and sound track which has the general effect of putting the audience in a happy and good mood which sets them up for enjoying the film and the humour. I also discovered that most film trailers tend to use slapstick moments such as men walking into lamp posts etc and also tends to leave a gap between the verbal jokes to give the audience time to take in the joke, laugh before they move onto the next one.

Scary Movie 3's film trailer begins with the intertextual reference of the horror film 'the ring', by starting with the text 'There is a videotape', the scene then switches to show a womans legs walking towards the camera, this is then interrupted with interference 'the snowing effect', from the tape which suggests to the audience that what they are being shown now is footage from the videotape, whilst also possibly is just another reference to the tape to keep reinforcing the narrative of the story to the audience. The audience are then shown another piece of text saying 'If you watch it', straight away this indicates to the audience that this is inevitable as people are obviously going to watch a videotape if they have gone out and got it. Highlighting to the audience that this element to the film is going to happen, throughout these sequences more interference is shown again referencing the videotape and leaving the audiences wondering whether they are watching the videotape or if the film are just again making references to the tape which the narrator doing the voice over is referring to.

The scene then cuts to a mid-shot of a young woman putting the tape into her television recorder. The scene moves slowly with eery music playing over the top as she slowly puts the tape into the recorder, the effect of the blue tint to the scene also creates a cold image and gives the audience the impression that they are possibly watching the events on a hidden camera, almost like a fly on the wall, watching the character secretly to see what is going to happen. During these scenes and relying on the audiences knowledge on the film 'The Ring', a tense and spooky atmosphere is created which builds anticipation in the audience as they believe something scary and sudden is about to happen which is conventional of the horror genre, therefore the audience become excited and tense waiting for the climax of the scene. 'Seven Days later will be one week from today.' This text is then shown after a quick sequence of shots showing a woman screaming and a girl emerging from a well, these are shots that are intended to be spooky, however the trailer is taking the previous media construct of 'The Ring' and is parodying the narrative structure in Scary Movie 3, by doing this they are relying on the audiences knowledge of the horror conventional elements and also the knowledge of the film 'The Ring' which builds up their expectation of something scary and dramatic being about to happen when suddely the audience are shown the woman diving off the high cliff and landing on a branch at the very top of the cliff, this slapstick comedy immediately turns the audiences expectations of the previous conventional elements of the suspected horror genre and provides them with the knowledge that this film is going to be satirical and make a joke of a serious film, the audience are then providing with the knowledge that the film genre is a spoof.

The film trailer also plays on the stereotypes of 'dum blondes' this is highlighted in the scene when the two women are discussing the videotape which has been hyped up throughout the beginning sequences of the trailer and one of the women instantly believes that the videotape is a pornography about people having sex in lots of different places and then the other woman states that it is a film that as soon as it is over your phone rings. The trailer then switches back to the conventional elements of a horror film trailer showing a CU of the ringing phone and the shot which shows the depth of field as the female character slowly walks over to the phone, the voice tells her she is going to die within seven days however the dumblonde is shown as mishearing her and believes the speaker is talking about somebody being gay again highlighting the humour is coming from some verbal jokes targeting social stereotypes such as the 'dum blonde' whilst also some of the humour is also coming from the slapstick area of comedy which has been shown in the way in which the woman dives off the cliff and hits the branch.

The film then places text in the trailer in connection with the voice over saying 'Three times the Terror.' This is ironic and again satirical as there is no terror in the film, this again highlights how the trailer is playing with the typical comventions which are associated with the horror film genre and are parodying them in this spoof film. The film then uses juxtaposition in the way in which it shows the horror film sequences and then immediately follows this with the slapstick humour of the man sitting up in bed and banging his head on the light everytime the woman screams again telling the audience that this film isnt a horror film although it is interpreting the conventions of a horror film in their narrative structure. The film also adds addition humour by taking realistic horrifying events such as crop circles which is an intertextual reference with the horror film signs, and taking the seriousness out of it by making a joke out of the scene, this is seen clearly in this case in the way that the crop circles have been chaped to read 'Attack Here', with an arrow pointing at a house in the countryside, this turns the dramatic situation humourous and again hypes up and tenses the audience by using the horror conventions to give them something completely unexpected which creates the humour of the film by playing on the audiences expectations.

The film again makes humourous references with the blonde stereotype by showing the woman talking about how she can sense when danger is nearby and then ends up walking into a microphone and knocking herself out, this slapstick event creates humour yet again and adds more humour to the stereotypical view which is being displayed on 'dum blonde women'. The trailer also uses the stereotypes of disabled people and mutes to be a fuel for the humour which is created in the film. For example the scene in which the president of the US played by Leslie Nelson believes that in the conference there are aliens and these are the mute who speaks with a machine and the disabled man with a head brace on as he deems them to be weird and so must be an alien, this creates humour as the characters ignorance and lack of knowledge as he strikes disabled men as he deems them to be aliens. The trailer also plays on the media images of Simon Cowell and Michael Jackson and interprets the media representations, such as Simon Cowell as being the harsh media critic who gets shot by gangsters and Michael Jacksons media image of being involved in child sex abuse scandals which has been interpreted in the film in the way in which he says he wouldnt have touched the male characters young daughter as she was a girl.' This creates humour as people have knowledge of these reality stars and their personalitites and the humour is caused because of this and the way in which the film has represented them.

The trailer then follows the typical conventions in the way that it shows the films main title, release date and who has starred in the film for the audience to view.



Scary Movie 3

- Action

Bad Boys 2

The trailer starts with a two second CU clip of the two main stars of the film. The camera pans across their faces, instantly showing the audience the two big stars Will Smith and Martin Lawerence, this is one of the films main selling points and so throughout the trailer they continually use the technique of CU shots of the stars faces to reinforce to the audience the big star actors who they have got in their film. This two second clip of these big stars could instantly encourage the audience to continue to watch the rest of the trailer as any film associated with their names must be good. A clue is also given to the audience as both characters are shown wearing bullet proof vests with the word 'POLICE' written on. This tells the audience a snippet of information about these characters occupations and gives links as to what the film is going to be centred around.

The next scene starts very quickly and instantly jumps into the action of the film. By displaying the wheel of the very expensive and nice looking super car the audience can immediately make the connection that there is going to be fast and tense action packed chase sequences. The CU of the wheel reving and the car racing off down the road highlights this. Will Smith is heard saying 'Nobody is getting away from me today' again suggesting that this is his job and given more background on the characters. It also displays the fact that the character is prepared to go to great lengths in order to catch this person which suggests that the person is a serious criminal and it could also suggest the action and impending violence which is about to happen as he will stop at nothing to catch him.

During the chasing scene the camera is CU inside of the car making the viewer feel as if they are in the driving seat with smashed up cars and boats hurtling towards them as the car swerves narrowly to avoid them, this is the first time we also see the characters shooting machines guns. This highlights the fact that this is a dangerous car chase with shooting and violence. Instantly the film has shown the main concepts which are associated with action in order to define the films genre. The use of machine guns suggests gun fights, fast car chases and the constant screaming and shouting of the two main characters highlights the high levels of testosterone and adrenaline which indicates that this is a film targeted at a male audience. The idea that a boat is hurtling down a motorway towards them also shows to the audience the craziness and dangerous situation that these two characters are in, this effect immediately draws the audience in prompting them to want to know what is happening, who they are chasing and whether or not they will achieve their goals.

The trailer then uses juxtaposition in showing both the characters sitting in a quiet office. Neither are speaking and look calm and relaxed, showing the two contrasting sides to their jobs. A third character has also now been introduced. His questioning of the two police officers and their respect towards him indicates his authority and displays to the audience that this character is a police chief. This scene also switches to MS. Showing the story from the two different sides of the table. On one side is the pencil-pushing boss who wants to look good and doesn't like mess and on the other side is the police on the streets who are fighting against crime. This could also suggest a potential for altercations.

In between the sort of interrogation scene where they are explaining to their boss what happened is yet more, really fast paced, CU action sequences, of cars blowing up, guns ripping through the air and kicking up mud and smashing glass, and the character played by will smith shouting 'Police' whilst doing a forward roll behind cover. This fast paced continuity editing builds the excitement and tension which in turn excites the audience involving them in the incidents and not allowing them time to look away, it constantly keeps them hooked in the film. At the end of the interrogation where the character played by Smith says that they didnt cause all of the damage and the character of Lawrence says he was at a family bbq highlights the element of comedy in the film and shows the laid back nature of the police officers.

The trailer then switches to different establishing shots of the city skyline showing the towering buildings, setting the scene for the next piece of action. In these fast snippets we are shown a team of swat getting ready to go into a building, a helicopter in pursuit of a boat and a CU shot of lots of pills. This indicates some of the narrative of the film highlighting the fact it has something to do with drugs and the amount of pills prompts the idea of drug distribution. The SWAT team shows another element of gun fighting and violence indicating that there is a lot more action to come. The CU shots of the helicopters, the flashlights on the special forces heads who are submerged in the water, the weaponry and super cars indicates the high levels of technology which again indicates that this is intended for a male audience.

The excerpts of dialogue provide the audience with enough information to form the plot. For example when Lawrence says 'I cant get in a gun ight everyday' This suggests he is used to constant gun fights which highlights the dangerous nature of his job and portrays the area in which they police as been rife in criminal activity. It could also indicate he is becoming irritated with his job and wants to leave. Also when in the middle of a fire fight when Lawrence says 'we just wanna talk' to which Smith replies 'Well they cant hear you 'cos they're still shooting at you'. Again this shows the dangerous streets and the fact that one of the characters may have had enough of his job. It also however shows a comical element again to the film as in the middle of a dangerous gun battle the police officer asks if they can talk. Towards the end of the trailer Marcus talks about the fact that they have killed everyone. Lowery replies saying that they didnt kill every one. The clip then shows the one man they didnt kill being pushed by them underneath a moving train. Marcus describes this as being the most emotional cop week of his life. Lowery replies 'yeah it has been a little rough'. These comedy one or two liners give the characters a cool macho look.

2:02 minutes into the film. The camera angle switches to a low angle long shot. The main characters walk towards the camera slowly with dramatic, powerful and heroic music playing over the top. This gives a feeling of power and loyalty which is backed up the the conjoining scene where Lowry repeats their motto of 'We live together, we die together. Bad boys for life.' This highlights the strong bond of friendship and loyalty these characters have formed whilst also portraying them to be justice fighters, who are strong, macho and powerful and will stop at nothing to fight crime. After this sequence The title of the movie is shown towards the end so the audience will remember it. If this was at the begining the audience would likely forget it by the end. After this the action packed, fast paced editing of explosions, gun fights and car chases speeds up to a crescendo at the end where all of the action suddenly stops like the eye of the storm. At the end Marcus and Lowery are seen laughing and joking with each other in CU again reinforcing the stars in the film.




Terminator Salvation

This trailer takes a different approach. As this is the fourth film in the terminator franchise the audience already know the terminator films and associate them with the Action genre and the fighting, chasing and explosions scenes which have been in the previous three, therefore this could be the reason why this trailer has chosen only to show a few fast paced adrenaline pumping action packed sequences.

The film trailer uses many different camera angles which has the effect of keeping the viewers interested and involved in the film. The use of the Over the Shoulder Shot at the begining looking out onto the landscape of destruction, buildings and the city has crumbled and is in complete devestation, there appears to be no life. A character says 'Judgement day is what happened.' Followers of the film know what judgement day is and will know the general storyline. The main character is wearing military style clothing suggesting he is a resistance fighter and a soldier. The CU shots of the robots and terminators highlights the sci-fi element of the film and creates the futuristic setting. The CU shots also emphasises the size and powerful machines that are destroying the earth and taking over humanity. By placing a shot of the terminators straight after the shot of the destruction to the city the audience who have not followed the franchise can easily see they are the cause of the devestation. The logo for Warner Bros then appears with some computer like beeps and static as if the connection from some computer broadcast is being lost. This gives the feeling of new technology and an advanced society with high tech machinery.

The use of the extreme LS is effective as it shows the main character looking very small driving down a small road surrounded by a desolate and sparse, flat environment. The small figure surrounded by the destruction shows the vast scale of the problem and indicates a David vs Goliath type struggle as to how this one small man can save the world. The sound track playing over this trailer is again heroic and powerful to fuel the adrenaline of the audience and it also highlights this character is the leader, he is powerful and that he is the hero who is going to fight and save the day. Throughout this trailer the colours are all quite dull and faded to give a worn out, destructive look of the world which has been anhilated by Judgement day and the terminators. The colours are all dark and dismal to create a mood of depression and of defeat and constraint as all of the humans are being taken prisoner and they are being wiped out.

The trailer uses CU to show the faces of all of the characters which are shown. This has both the effect of showing their emotions whilst also showing the humans are becoming rare and the use of CU symbolises that they are special and important in the battle against skynet. The trailer uses a LS to show Skynet. It is shown in the dark with bright lights surrounding it and huge towers with spotlights. This gives the feeling of it not only looking like a prison, with the dull colours highlighting the characters feeling of being trapped, but it also shows skynet as being futuristic.

The trailer again uses continuity editing and straight cuts so the action continues from shot to shot. This has the effect of increasing the speed of the footage which in turn adds excitement and tension as all of the action is exloding out of the screen, one thing after another which excites the audience and fuels their adrenaline. This excites them about the film, encoraging them to want to see it.

The use of a CU on the face of a terminator before it fades to reveal a CU shot of John Connor shows the direct battle between man and machine, john connor and skynet.

Towards the end of the film trailer the iconic music of terminator is played. Fans of the films will instantly recognise this and associate it with the terminator films.

2012

Die hard with a Vengence

- Thriller

Phone Booth:

Thriller film trailers are all common in the way that they all use a mixture of short, quick CU shots in order to show quick snippets of dramatic events, which has the effect of exciting the viewer and immediately drawing the audience into the action and the storyline.

The film trailer opens up with a high-angle long shot of the streets of New York on the roads which are filled with cars moving up and down and people wakling along the streets, straight away this has an effect on the audience and suggests that the world is a big place with millions of different people all going about their daily business at the same time, highlighting the unusual idea that one man out of all of these is going to be singled out and chosen to face this dramatic and dangerous ordeal, it creates a sense of it could happen to anyone which creates an excitement in the audience, whilst the shot also carries out its purpose in setting the scene and showing the location of where these scenes are going to be set.

The film uses many different special effects in order to keep their audience interested in the film trailer; the first of these is the many different photographs which are all drawn together to fit the whole screen full of small images of many different people talking on their mobile phones, this displays to the audience that this is a modern and technoligcal society and most people have mobile phones, this is reinforced by the use of the text '22 million phones', this is bringing to the audiences attention that the film is going to be something to do with a phone call and suggests that due to most people have phones, you do not know who is going to ring you, or who you are possibly speaking to, or even who out of the millions of people has your telephone number. The many pictures also suggests the unlikely odds that this phone call could have involved anyone, however it has involved this central character. Making the audience wonder why it is that the main character is being chosen. Further on in the trailer the text '1 Billion Connections a Day.' This again highlights to the audience that there is 1 billion phone calls between people every day, this huge number shows to the audience that there are a lot of people who own phones and their a loads of phone calls made to people each day indicating again that this film is going to be about a phone call, which links in with the title 'Phone Booth'.

Constantly throughout the trailer there are references to phones, for example with the two main characters of Stu Shepard and his assistant walking along the streets of new york talking on their mobile phones, the many small images put together showing lots of people talking on mobile phones, then there are numerous shots of people walking down the street talking on their phones, stall keepers talking on their phones, and the satellite in space as a symbol to where the phone signals come from. All of these references reinforce to the audience that this film is obviously going to involve a phone call which is obviously going to cause the thrills and narrative of the film by affecting Stu Shepards life forever.

The dialogue 31 seconds into the film trailer gives an indication into this characters life, his mention of britney spears and of being able to get the man a 'truck load of celebrities', suggests to the audience that this man is a big and powerful character and has a lot of influence in the world of hollywood stars, again possibly suggesting that this is Shepards job. This is also indicated by the way the main character is seen wearing an expensive looking suit and shirt, hinting of the characters wealth and again suggests he has a powerful job.

However as soon as the phone call rings and the voice over says, 'someones got his number', the camera. Up until this point the camera has been tracking to follow Shepard as he has been walking forward on his telephone and it is appeared as if the camera has been having to keep up with him, as if the camera represents the media and paparazzi and are constantly having to keep moving back to get their footage of Shepard as he confidently marches forward, it also suggests that this character is important and has a fast paced and chaotic life in which he feels he has got everything he wants, this is highlighted by how the character is shown to be shaking peoples hands and being confident in telling people that he can get them a truck load of celebrity.

However the camera angles then change once Shepard had answered the phone call possibly to symbolise to the audience that the characters life is about to change for good. The camera switches to a high angle shot which has the effect of looking down on Shepard and making the man who thought he was on top of the world, look as if he is small immediately highlighting the change in events by just the simple use of a high angle camera shot. The high angle shot makes him appear small and on the same level as the other people on the street highlighting the fact that he is no better than anyone else. The use of the POV shot from inside of the phone box looking around at all of the high towering buildings surrounding the main character is effectively used here as it creates a sense of mystery along with creating a trapped feeling of the character. For example the speaker could be anywhere in any of the hundreds of buildings surrounding the character creating a sense of mystery as to where this man is who is watching Shepard and prompts the audiences interest as they wonder where abouts he could be along with Shepard. A sense of entrapment is also created as although he is out in the open in the middle of the city he is trapped in the phone booth as the unknown speaker will kill him if he tries to leave.

The effect of the high angle shot looking down on Shepard with the crosshairs hovering over his chest creates an exciting shot as the audience can see that the speaker is actually telling the truth and it lets the audience sense the danger which Shepard is in, which in turn has the effect of helping them feel sympathetic towards Shepard. By showing that Shepard has got crosshairs on him it creates a sense of excitement as the audience now know the danger is close and wonder what is going to happen to Shepard whilst still wondering how the man on the phone knows him and wonder why he has been chosen. This leaves the audiences interested and wondering what is going to happen which keeps them interested and attracted to the film.

The use of the loud gunshot which is followed by a black screen is again effective as it tells the audience that the unknown speaker has shot and by taking away the audience from the scene for a few seconds it leaves the audience desperately wondering if it is Shepard who has been shot. This is effective as it is again another device which excites the audience and pumps their adrenaline keeping them interested in the film and leaving them wanting to know what has happened.

When the police appear with guns and people are shown to be shouting and screaming calling Shepard a killer due to the belief that he killed the man who has just previously been shot by the unknown sniper which again creates more excitement with the audience due to the fact that they now know that this unknown danger will kill which turn the stakes up and create an even greater sense of danger which adds fuel to the audiences excitement as the stakes are constantly being raised. The use of showing three different shots on the same screen is effective at 1:48 - By showing Shepards wife alongside another young and attractive woman who the audience are told is another woman whom Shepard is possibly dating, suggests a bit more about Shepards life and possibly some of the wrongdoings which may possibly be the cause as to why he is in this situation. It also helps the audience by giving an insight into the main characters personality.
The flashing shots shown at the very end of the film work effectively as due to the crescendo in the music and the sound effects which had all grown louder, this suggests to the audience that the ultimate outcome is approaching and that the dangerous climax is about to happen which again has the effect of pumping their adrenaline and keeping them entirely focused on the action. This is accompanied by the loud gunshot and the flashing, subliminal shots of Shepard's face rolling as if he has been shot, suggesting to the audience that this is possibly the outcome, however not stating whether he dies or actually gets shot, leaving the audience hooked to the film and desperately finding themselves having to know what happened to Shepard, meaning the trailer had the desired affect as it encourages the audience to go and see the film.

Text is used to split up the shots 'NEW YORK CITY' '12 million people' , '22 million phones', '1 billion connections a day', 'No Options', 'No Lies', 'No Fear', 'No Deals', 'Just....Keep....Talking.' This text is used to split up the action and provides the audience with a structure as to what the film is about and also provides just phrases to add more information to the audience whilst also keeping their excitement levels high, as phrases such as 'No options' and 'No deals', creates another sense of being trapped saying there is no escape he must tell the truth and do as he is told or die.

The sounds included at the end of the film trailer leave the audience pondering over the possible outcome. At the very end there is the sound of a man wickedly laughing, the audience can associate this characters voice as the unknown speaker and due to him laughing, it indicates to the audience that the character is happy suggesting that he has achieved what he set out to do which would indicate the previous sound of the gunshot. There is also the voice of a woman saying 'If you would like to make a call please replace the handset.' This suggests to the audience that the phone call between these two characters which is what all of this film is about has now ended indicating the end of the film again suggesting that as Shepard hasn't been able to hang up the phone that it could possibly suggest that he has in fact been shot, however due to the fact that there is no firm outcome it leaves the audience wondering what happened and encourages them to have to go and see the film to find out what happens.



Jaws (1975)

The film trailer straight away starts with an underwater shot showing underwater corals and plants and straight away in the opening seconds of the film trailer sets the idea to the audience that possibly the ocean is going to play a big part in the film. The iconic image of the womans feet kicking in the water just 26 seconds into the trailer is instamtly recognisable and the audience can make the connection between this image and the Jaws film. The camera moving upwards closer towards the woman also suggests that something is moving closer to her, it creates a sense of impending danger which the woman is oblivious to however the audience can sense coming which creates dramatic irony as the audience know something is about to happen, whereas the character does not.

The well-known sound track which is iconographic with the Jaws films is played during this scene and gradually becomes louder as the shot moves closer towards the womans legs suggesting that the danger is getting closer as the music reaches its crescendo as the action reaches it's climax. The shot suddenly then switches to above the surface of the water to show the head bobbing up and down before she suddenly disappears under the water, suggesting straight away to the audience that the thing which had been moving closer to the woman underneath the water has struck and dragged her underneath the water. This suggests to the audience that there is something in the water which has attacked this woman.

The scene then switches to show a man playing on an arcade game named 'killer shark', controlling a pretend shark on a game to move the display of the shark around the screen and get it to eat people, as these two scenes are so closely juxtaposed - the scene of the man playing the arcade game and the events which the audience have just witnessed in the sea helps the audience to make the assumption that the thing which attacked the woman and killed her in the sea was a shark.

The scene which follows this is a completely juxtaposed shot of families on the beach and children running down to the sea, laughing and splashing around in the water, the sound of the water splashing is emphasised so as to be a constant reminder to the audience of the scene which has just happened to keep the danger in their attention as they visualise the children playing in the sea, this creates an excitement in the audience as they are watching people playing in the sea with the knowledge that there is something dangerous in the waters which has just killed the woman in the previous scene.

The camera continually switches to underwater shots to switch to the POV of the shark again accompanying these shots is the iconic jaws theme tune symbolsing when the shark is about to strike which in turn excites the audiences everytime they hear this music as they know the shark is about to attack again and that there is going to be danger which excites the readers and compells them to watch in order to see what happens.

The film trailer has a voice over playing over the top which is spoken in a deep voice which sounds as if he is very knowledgable and has a serious and authoritive tone. 'It lives to kill. a mindless eating machine.it will attack and devour anything it is as if god created the devil and gave him jaws'. This provides the reader with an insight into the storyline of the film and by associating the shark with evil such as the devil etc it excites the reader as it creates an image of the shark been a symbol of evil and powerful destruction which excites the audiences and provides them with thrills which has has the effect of encouraging them to want to go and watch the film.

2012 -

• As for my production i decided to produce a hybrid film trailer using conventions from the Horror, thriller, Action and drama genres, i decided that i would like to analyse another film trailer which covers more than one film genre in order for me to discover how the different conventions from the different genres can be taken and work together to create a good production with all of the different exciting and interesting elements from across a range of genres, therefore i researched into some different films and discovered that the modern film which has only recently being released '2012' covers a wide range of different genres; drama, thriller, action, adventure, sci-fi, so therefore i decided that this would be a good film to use in order to establish how they have interpreted the different aspects of the different conventions into their media construct and how effectively it works.

The film trailer starts off with a bright golden light shining casting a bright glow over the scene before the first text appears, after researching many different film trailers i discovered that usually the film shows some footage of the film first and then shows some text to support the scenes from the film, however interestingly, this trailer has opted to do this the other way around and place the text first and then go to the images which is effective as it sets the scene before the action is showed to the audience. Firstly the text 'Mankinds earliest civilisation' appears before fading away to reveal an image of an aztec temple indicating to the audience that this is what the text is referring to. Then the text 'Warned Us' appears on screen, again linking in with the image of the Aztec temple which has just been shown to the audience suggesting that the Aztecs where the ones who warned us, the audience, about something which the film is going to show us. By using the plural 'us' it indicates that the film is referring to the audience as part of the film giving them the impression that they are part of the storyline which has the effect of making the audience feel included and want to know what it is that they have been warned about. Immediately interesting them in the film.

The film trailer then shows a brief image of space and the planets with this possibly being a reference to the world, suggesting to the audience that they where warned about something in connection with the world and the planet. 'This Day Would Come'. Behind this text is an image of a solar exclipse, showing the moon moving in front of the sun and descending into darkness. This indicates to the audience that due to the descending into darkness it symbolises possibly the sun failing, whilst also the colour black has connotations with death and mystery suggesting to the audience that the audience do not know what is about to happen and it is all a mystery of what is happening and why. During the first 20 seconds of the film trailer there are strange and eerie sounds that gradually get louder and quieter until they suddenly completely stop and a mans voice is introduced, indicating to the audience that the narrative to the film trailer has now begun and that the first few scenes which they have just scene, has given them a taster and prepared them for the main narrative structure of the film trailer. The first few scenes engages the audience with the trailer and provokes their interest, getting them involved in the film before it starts to develop its plot line, this is effective as sometimes, if a film jumps straight into the action, the audiences become confused as to what is happening and lose interest.

The scene then moves across to a reported on a television screen who is stood outside the Aztec temple which has just previously been shown to the audience talking about a mass suicide which has happened there is predicted by the mayan calander which predicts the end of time to occur on the 21st of December, this year', the reporter continually repeats 'this year' three times, the effect of the repition adds emphasis to what the reporter is saying and reinforces to the audience that the end of time is predicted for the year in which the film is in, highlighting the fact that the end of the world is predicted to occur soon and this immediately tells the viewing audience where the action and drama is going to come from.

The trailer then depicts some quick and short shots of some episodes of destruction for instance rioters tipping over a car, followed by a scene of a huge statue crumbling and falling into the ocean which is then followed a wild forest fire sweeping through the trees. These episodes of destruction one after another whilst the reporter is repeating that the end of the world is predicted for this year. The short and snappy scenes is a typical convention of most action and thiller trailers where the trailers are edited tightly so that its one scene constantly after another to keep hold of the audiences attention and to not lose it due to a scene being too slow. This trailer is encorporating this in their trailer as the quick scenes of destruction and panic which is shown among the general public also create a sense of fear and panic in the audience viewer, which creates an excitement in the audience and draws them into the film as they want to know what is going to happen and begin to feel more excitement through the dramatic events which are being shown which is pumping their adrenaline and keeping them hooked to the action which is appearing on the screen.

These scenes are followed with again another set of quick shots, showing a lot of birds flying together in a long line, animals are thought to have a sense of danger and birds fly away when they sense danger around them suggesting that their is danger looming as the animals are fleeing, it could also be a reference to birds migrating when the weather gets cold, as the audience have already seen a reference of the sun failing this could indicate that there is a connection between the two. The references to the pope and of the huge numbers of people gathered to pray and the reference to religion indicate to the audience the moral panic of the people and they are all praying to their different religions for salvation and to be saved which again suggests to the audience the possibility of the end of the world and the peoples panic, again this has the effect of making the audience feel as though they are experiencing this too and feel the panic which the characters are feeling. Also during the religious scene, they are all in darkness holding candles which reinforces the possibility that the sun has failed and that the world is ending, the colour black having conotations with nothingness and blindness as the people are blind in the darkness and are panicked and confused, by showing all of the vast numbers of people gathering together it also creates a more serious feeling to the threat as everyone is being affected by it and it reinforces to the audience the point that this is the end of the world, this is peoples fear and desperation to find a way to survive, it highlights a fight for survival, the collapse of humanity and the anhilation of the world which sounds like an immensely dramatic event which is what creates the excitement and panic in the audience whilst watching the film which is what encourages them to watch the film. This sequence of shots is ended by the effect of a television switching off. This is a clever effect in two ways; firstly it could represent light and the world slipping away into nothingness and blackness and then the picture disappears showing simulating the end of the world, or it could be the idea of somebody turning off their television set and thinking what the reporter is saying is not true and they dont believe the impending events which are set to end the world.

The next scene is started with a creepy voice of a male character saying 'oooh what are the odds.' Showing a farther mocking the whole idea. His young daughter is laughing whilst his son plays on his psp not really bothered. The film than instantly turns this scene on its head and mixes sci-fi elements of meteors shooting out of the sky to create a dramatic action and thriller scene. The visual effects used here are amazing which encapsulates the audiences attention by the breath taking special effects of the meteors tearing the ground apart. The loud explosions sounds which accompany them create a cataclysmic end-of-the-world-moment, the loudness and CU shots of the meteors and destruction pumps the audiences attention at this highly dramatic and fast moving scene which has got a lot of action conventions, the whole mixture of these elements creates an excitement in the audience and makes them alert and completely engrossed in the action which they are seeing.

The trailer again uses conventions which are incorporated in both genres Action and Thriller with the fast and CU shots, showing the road almost ripple as it starts cracking up and crumbling away into nothingness, bridges are shown collapsing, cars flying everywhere and crashing, buildings crumbling to the ground, huge holes opening up in the floor, the vatican crumbling up and falling to the floor. The fast sequence of scenes comes to a halt when the top of the vatican comes hurtling towards the screen almost as if it is going to come out of the screen and strike the audience, again having the effect of keeping them involved in the action. These scenes, shown in quick sucession create a sense of panic and of all of these end of the world events happening in a really short space of time which creates a sense of fear within the audience as they empathise through the characters and it has the effect of them putting themselves in that position and wondering what they would do and how they would feel, whilst all the time the CU shots of amazing CGI graphics with holes opening up in the ground and the vatican hurtling towards you, the audiences adrenaline is again pumped and all of these exciting and dramatic events hold their interest as they want to know what will eventually happen.

The audience are then taken away from the action by the text 'From Roland Emmerich', the audience are given the directors name here so that they will remember it if they are liking what they are seeing so far. Then the voice of the main character speaks again saying 'I thought we'd have had more time.' This reinforces to the audience just how quickly these end of the world events are happening and also makes the audience think as these events are predicted in real life, and although people dont believe they are true it makes people think how fast it could happen and again creates a sense of panic in the audiences at the prospect that it could happen to them. Again the trailer uses great CGI effects to show burning and destroyed cityscapes, using long shots to capture the anihalation of the city and the vast extent of the devestation. The audience are then taken away from the action again with the text 'From the director of the Independence Day', this is another promotional feature as people who enjoyed the well-known and big selling blockbuster film the 'Independence Day', will be encouraged to go and see this film as it is by the same director and they have seen some of his work before and liked it, however if they didnt like his last film, the audience will still be encouraged to come and view this film due to its intense, exciting and fast sequences of action and thrills which is conveyed in through the trailer. This is also followed by the text 'And the Day After Tomorrow', again people who liked this film may be encouraged into seeing this film, it also tells the audience that this director has been behind these two well-known blockbuster hits which indicates that this is a good director and that this film will be good.

The trailer makes references to the technological society we live in in the way that all of the big screen tv's on down a street in America at 1:08 with all of the screen showing the presidents face highlighting he is saying something important, again reinforcing that this is serious as the president of the US is even telling people of it.

The trailers constant use of CU shots, for example at 1:10 where the plane is shown to be flying over the ground which is just falling away into nothingness below is effective as it suggests the whole world is literally just falling apart, highlighting the characters desperate panic and confusion which creates the excitement in the film as the audience and the characters alike develop a tension and a fear of the unknown and what is about to happen. At 1:12 the male character is shown to be covering his small daughters traumatised and scared face, even this small shot creates a feeling in the audience of whether there is going to be another generation of humans, or whether this is the end of the entire human race, which again provokes though into the audience.

The trailer has included the fast car element which is associated with the action genre, in the scene where the main character is shown to be driving a nice looking fast car alongside a plane which is beginning to take off, people generally associate action films with having desperate and dangerous car chases with expensive looking fast cars and this element of the genre has been incorporated into this hybrid film again to create action which the trailer uses to keep propelling the story forward at such a pace that makes everything seem as if it is happening so fast and creates a nervous excitement in the audience who want to know what is going to happen. Also other conventional elements taken from the Action genre are the many explosions, fires, cars smashing, the aeroplane crashing into the ground etc. These are all typically associated with the action genre and it is clear to see how this film has borrowed some of the conventional elements from this genre, they have also created the thrills by suggesting this is the end of the world, the end of humanity, and highlights the desperate panic which in turn creates the thrills along with the exciting effects of the world collapsing around the main characters who are racing around to desperately try and stay alive. There are also certain elements of drama in here such as saving the human species, the main heros young children, will there be a future for mankind and humanity, these issues prompt thought into the audiences along with the drama which is created by the family who are trying to stay together no matter what happens, who all love each other, with the father doing everything he can to protect and save his family. There is also an adventure element to this film which is seen by the way that the world is collapsing and will soon be no more, so if people do manage to survive where are they going to live, and set up homes and create a new world, this creates the sense of an adventure ahead, of new and different discoveries to be made and choices to be decided.

The trailer also follows the typical conventions of the thriller genre by the dramatic operatic music track that they have chosen to play over the trailer. The dramatic operatic singing creates drama in accompanying this with the dramatic scenes of planes crashing, the waves splashing up, the dramatic winds, the world collapsing all of these elements create a dramatic and tense atmosphere to the trailer which again creates an exciting and thrilling film trailer which generates excitement in the audience and encourages them to go and see the film.

'The end is just the beginning' - This text is played through the film trailer. This again creates an excitement within the audience as it symbolises the end of the world is just the beginning of the troubles for the characters.

Analysis of Current Movie Trailers - Horror

Paranormal Activity.

Horror films generally have fast paced trailers with different shot sequences in quick succession. This hast the effect of exciting the audience.

The trailer of paranormal activity has challenged the typical conventions of movie trailers by showing the film trailer actually being shown in a cinema with a real live audience. The trailer opens with a LS showing a long line of people all cueing to get into the cinema. The trailer uses simple word art which appears on the screen saying 'In 2009 a screening was held in Hollywood California'. This shows a huge number of people then piling into the cinema highlighting it is going to be a great film because all of these hundreds of people have come to see it. This real life effect with a live audience encourages the audience that the film is going to be good and that they should to go and see it due to the huge numbers of people going, it gives the feeling that the film must be good.

The effect of the live audience also has a huge effect on promoting and advertising the film. The use of CU shots on the audience showing them holding each other with terrified expression on their faces, the way which some of the jump out of their seats and some are screaming and hiding their faces away. Again due to thelive audience been affected in this way, the audience immediately believe it is not fake and that the audience where really affected in that way which excites them into wanting to see the film as it must be scary due to the audiences reactions. This encourages people, specially fans of the horror genre to see the film due to the live audiences response.

The effect of the camera being positioned at the back of the cinema and capturing the heads of the audience sat in their seats with the film starting on the screen in front. Again this is realisitic to the normal world and defies conventions by showing the trailer as people watching the film in the cinema rather than just showing the film. This shot is also a POV shot and gives us the feeling that we too are sitting in the audience 'experiencing the movie paranormal activity'. the use of the word experiencing also makes it sound as though te film is great and that the audience are lucky to be experiencing this movie.

The effect of the shooting this with a hand held camera again reinforces the realism. Whereas other film trailer such as The Mist, the audience know immediately it is a film with special effects, however, Paranormal activity, being shot with the hand held camera, makes this look like a home video and gives it the powerful effect of looking real and this alone is one of the factors that immediately excites the audience and provides some of the terror as whilst watching the film the realistic look it gives influences the audience into thinking what they are experiencing is really happening.

The sound effect of the film reel turning and the projector firing up and paramounts logo appearing on the screen again gives the audience the feeling that they are sitting in the cinema watching a film.

The sound effects provide an eerie and tense atmosphere to the trailer. When the male character starts listing off 'door locked, windows shut'. it immediately gives the sense of night approaching and the two characters locking the house up. It excites the audience as it gives a feeling of seclusion and isolation and night time falling creates excitement as the audience know something is about to happen. During the night eerie and mysterious noises are also heard, like the howling of wind and creaks and bangs, again scaring the audience and exciting them that something is out there. The characters speech also becomes quieter and they whisper to each other showing their fear. 'There are footsteps in but no footsteps out.....If you do try and play games with it, thats inviting it in.' This dialogue tells the audience the spirit is now in their house and again creates a tense feeling leaving audiences wonder what is going to happen. During these sequences, loud bangs are heard before the camera cuts back to the cowering and screaming audience, putting the film across as being 'jumpy' and scary which again excites people viewing the trailer that the film is going to be scary and make them jump which is what fans of this genre want.

The trailer follows conventions by the pace speeding up to build a big crescendo of tension and fear at the end to leave the audience excited and needing to see more. Clips of the door slamming shut on its own then shows a CU of a bruise, bite mark on the womans back, before a clip of a white bright light flashing past the camer. During these fast scenes the audience are shown screaming and the music is building up. The excitement builds up, up until the point when all appears still, until the male characters body suddenly appears out from the blackness and hurtles towards the camera. As he appears out of nowhere and flies towards the camera is has the effect on the audience that he is going to hurtle through the screen and instinctively makes them jump and gets their adrenaline pumping leaving them excited about seeing more of this film.

Throughout the end sequences quotes from various reviews by media companies appeared. This technique is typical generally of film trailers. 'Paranormal activity is one of the scariest films of all time.' - Bloody Disguisting
'Genuinely Horrifying,' - Film Threat
'The entire auditorium was freaked out of their minds....People where physically shaken.' - Dread Central. These again, help to influence the potential audience to see the film as it shows great reviews saying how horrifyingly scary it is. These influence people to see the film. As is normal with trailers the title of the film appears at the end in order for people to be able to remember the name and also note the release date.




Rec:

This trailer follows most of the same principals towards the end of the trailer. However it has challenged the conventions by starting off slowly. It shows the fire brigade running around in an apartment block trying to find the room they have been called to. Whilst clips are shown of them moving around, messages split the clips up. The last of these messages says Unexplained 4 before it suddenly switches to 5. Immediately this tells the audience that this incident the fire brigade have been called to is going to be number 5 on the unexplained list. Immediately this excites the audience as they know something is going to happen. The tower block is dimly lit with shadows to create an eerie, mysterious setting to the location. Most ofthe trailer isnt scary, however it is the end few seconds which hook the audience and encourage them into going to see this film. A LS is used showing a small shadow of a girl stood in the dark. None of her features are visible which again shrouds her with mystery. As the fire brigade move closer to the small girl they tilt the beam of torchlight towards her. Suddenly the camera switches to a CU showing the decapitated and evil looking face of the small girl, who suddenly charges towards them screaming. This horrifying image comes almost out of nowhere as the previous scenes in the trailer had been quite relaxed and natural. This horrifying image suddenly results in the audience jumping and being completely caught off guard which in turn pumps their adrenaline and their levels of excitement shoot up, which in turn excites them and encourages them to want to see the film.

The first minute of the film trailer follows the conventions of a television documentary, with the camera following the fireman about their daily duties and the reporter explaining about their careers and what they entail to the audience. Although this isnt typically frightening and fast which is expected of a film trailer it sets the seen and the narrative structure for the audience to follow. Immediately this indicates to the audience that this film is about a young woman reporter - which this in itself is stereotypical of most horrors, as the characters tend to be young adult women who are the victims, who is filming a documentary on the fire brigade. Immediately providing the audience with a little bit of background knowledge as to the plot of the film. The shots during this first sequence are using a hand-held camera suggesting it's shot in the form of a fly on the wall documentary.

The audience are giving their first taste that this film is going to be quite scary and 'jumpy' when the trailer is 24 seconds in and the fireman breaks the door behind the woman who instantly screams. Not only does this suggest to the audience that there is going to be more scares to come it also provides the audience with an insight into the womans 'jumpy' personality which incinuates to the audience that this woman isn't strong or fearless, she is an easily scared and 'jumpy' young woman which instantly suggests that there is going to be far more scary things heading in this womans direction as she is vulnerable and this is where most of the horror from the film will most probably come from.

Most of the scenes are dark and some are complete blackness with just the characters speaking or noises in the background such as the static on the firemans radio. This adds a sense of mystery to the film as the audience are shielded and left out of the action, although they are told it is still happening without them by the sounds which are continuing even though the audiences involvement in the scene has been prevented. This has the effect of making the audience want to know what is happening and want the blackness to go and be allowed to re-enter the scene so they can observe the events again. The effect of the darkness also creates a sense of danger as the scenes are shrouded in the darkness of the shadows suggesting to the audience that things could be hidden in the darkness where they cannot see, the idea of danger lurking in the shadows and the mystery which evokes excitement in the audience and fuels their adrenaline which gives the audience a good feeling about the film and encourages them to want to see it. The dark and shadowy scenes also creates a sense of being trapped in the unknown with lots of places the characters cannot see which creates a sense of panic and isolation which is a common feature in most horror film trailers, showing that this film is complying with the typical conventions in order to try and excite their audiences and encourage their interest and expectations of the film.

The scene 42 seconds into the trailer shows the woman recoiling in fear from something, she is screaming and the camera is racing through the darkness to watch her, the trailer has then chosen to show the woman standing in the torchlight recreating the image of a deer caught in the headlights suggesting to the audience that she is going to be a target of the evil or horrifying thing and that she is going to be involved in the films main action. The handheld camera used throughout the trailer is effective as it creates a feeling of a 'gritty' and 'realistic' image highlighting to the audience that the film is going for the effect that this is similar to real life, for instance by filming this with a lot of expensive cameras in HD would have made this film look un-natural and unrealistic whereas the hand held camera which creates some of the blurry and gritty effects suggests that this is really happeningto the audience which again creates an excitement within the audience as the action doesnt look staged and the horror and action look realistic. The use of the hand held camera also gives a sense of events moving in a fast space of time, with pictures zooming in and out of the scene and the wobbly and shaking camera highlights to the audience that all of these horrifying events are happening right now and the events are moving quickly and loud which again suggests the panic of the characters, which provokes an interest and excitement in the audience.

During scenes when the action on screen suddenly wobbles and goes off suggests the realism to the audience as the cameraman has sometimes dropped the camera or is only recording certain events in order to make sure they capture the horrifying incidents for the audience to see.

After about 50 seconds into the trailer the audience are introduced to some men walking around wearing full body suits with gas marks, suggesting to the audience that they are obviously protecting themselves from some form of danger, again reinforcing to the audience that possibly some dangerous chemicals have been released in the building or there is some sort of contageous illness or disease which they are protecting themselves from, thus, providing the audience with possible storylines of the film. Also dangerous storylines such as contageous diseases which have been released creates a sense of danger and again excites the audience at the prospect of danger which encourages them to see the film as it gets their adrenaline pumping.

The effect of having some of the shots taken being upside down or facing in the wrong direction again creates a sense of panic and desperation as the reporter doesnt have time to position the camera properly and position herself in front of it to report her information like she did earlier, suggesting to the audience that a lot has changed since that moment, now she is in a desperate rush, hastily grabbing the camera and reporting what is happening to the audience which highlights the character is not bothered about reporting the piece professionally as she normally would, she is scared and desperate to tell people what is happening and so is quickly grabbing the camera and recording when she needs to.

The film trailer constantly plays echoing sounds in their music and banging sound effects to suggest open spaces of the apartment they are in and also suggests the bare walls of the building where the noises are echoing from. The loud bangs and the eery music add to the eery and scary atmosphere which this film trailer creates throughout in order to scare the audience whilst at the same time provoke an excitement within the audience about the film.

The films title is shown at the end which has been created to look like the recording sign on a film camera, which links with the title 'REC' highlighting to the audience that these events are being filmed and are being shown not through the eyes of the characters but through the lens of the film of which the characters are recording the events, this also suggests that the recording is going to be on a less expensive (handheld camcorder which in turn suggests that this is a ameteur filming the events.





it
rec
the mist
The Happening
Halloween
Saw IV
The Eye
Teeth
The Unborn
Trick or Treat
A nightmare on elm street
the strangers
eden Lake
Doghouse
Paranormal Activity
funny games