Shutter Island Total Film magazine cover

The masthead of this magazine is original and instantly recognisable, this connotes to the reader that this magazine is professional and will have entertaining content because Total Film is known to be successful, although not as successful as Empire magazine. The banner 'Greatest movie art ever' is in capital letters and in a bold red colour, this will capture the attention of the reader because at first glance it stands out. The banner has been used to capture the attention of a film magazine reader because they may want to find out what Total Film deems 'the greatest movie art ever' and then compare it with their opinion. This attempt to make the reader challenge the statement in the banner will entice them to read the magazine because it engages them, making them feel important.

The colour scheme combination of red and white shows what the magazine deems important, for example the banner and the cover line are both in red and will therefore stand out. The cover line lets the audience know that this issue will focus on Shutter Island and may include an interview with the director or the lead actor. The Tagline 'INSIDE MARTY'S MADHOUSE' suggests that Shutter Island will have psychological themes and will be exploring the psychological states of the main characters, this appeals to movie goers who are interested in psychological films. The tagline also feels like an open invitation for the reader.

The composition of this magazine places the main image of Leonardo Dicaprio in the centre, this has been done to make him stand out. This reminds readers that Total Film is an established magazine because it can afford to use a high profile actor on its cover, increasing the likeliness that a casual reader will buy the magazine. Dicaprio is holding a gun in his right hand, this will hint to the readers (who through years of watching films, have been conditioned to recognise film genre conventions) that Shutter Island might be a action film. However the clothes that Dicaprio is wearing ( long grey coat with a matching grey trousers) suggests that he may be a detective hinting to the readers that Shutter Island might also have themes of drama. Dicaprio's white shirt matches the colour of the masthead, this helps him to stand out. Dicaprio's eyes are looking down not making eye contact with the reader, this use of body language makes it appear that Dicaprio's character is keeping a secret from the readers. This successfully makes Dicaprio's character mysterious making him appear more intriguing and mysterious. By analysing the main imagine it has taught me that through the use of colour coordination, I can make my main image colour stand out and appear more aesthetically pleasing . I have also learnt that the clothes that the main image wears is important because they portray what type of character the main protagonist is. However since the readers are only given certain clues that they can use to reveal the role that Dicaprio is playing this makes him enigmatic; the target audience is left hanging with unanswered questions and will be feel compelled to watch shutter island to satisfy their curiousity.
The barcode has been placed horizontally on the bottom right hand side, this has been done to not distract the reader from the cover line and banner. 

My focus group and what I learnt from the results.

During the process of filming this focus group my main objective was to understand the perspective of the average teenager living in London.  The questions I decided to ask range from their taste in clothes to their opinions of the realism of my teaser trailer storyline.

During the creative process of making the concept of my teaser trailer I was conflicted with my idea of staging a mugging because it seemed cliche and unrealistic. However the response from my focus group has given me confidence in this idea because they said that it was realistic and reflective of society ("within the society we live in now it happens a lot").

They recommended that we keep the teaser trailer exciting by making it unpredictable ("You have to find out how to balance the violence with emotion because if you do too much emotion we will find it boring") this piece of advice is very important and will influence my teaser, especially when it comes to making my shot list. For example now that I'm aware that my audience wants a balance between emotion and action I will use a mixture of close ups and long shots.

To me it feels like using London as the main setting has become a cliche but I wanted to know whether or not my focus group also held this view and it turns out that they did ( "instead of using london you could use the countryside or the seaside"). Although filming in the countryside is a good idea because it breaks the monotony of just using central london, the countryside is not local and therefore filming there is not practical.  The most important part though is that I understand that using different locations can be more aesthetically pleasing and engaging. During the filming process I will use different locations because it will keep my audience engaged.

Originality is hard to come across in films nowadays, my group and I were unsure whether or not to let our influences (Adulthood and Shank) be shown in our teaser. "It wouldn't really hurt to take aspects of Adulthood" this has shown me that my audience won't mind if I demonstrate my influences.

Now I don't feel the need to change the concept of my teaser trailer because they seemed to gravitate towards it very well.

Empire magazine cover for Inception

 

The masthead title of the magazine 'Empire' is both iconic and widely known, making it easier for film fans and casual readers to recognise what content this magazine will have. This iconic masthead connotes that empire is both a professional and original magazine, reassuring the reader that the content will be entertaining and well written. For example the tagline 'The matrix meets 007 on steroids!' is a bold statement which entices the reader to find out more information about the main cover line of the film 'Inception'. The tagline would even gain the interest of a casual reader since it is comparing two universally acclaimed films to Inception. 

The colour scheme of white and red is used to highlight what the magazine deems important, for example the masthead and main cover line are both bright red. This makes the main cover line stand out against the black and grey background of the magazine and Leonardo Dicaprio's suit. The font of the main cover line is also the biggest after the masthead, this signifies to the reader that this issue will have a big article on Inception, since its the same colour and almost the same size as the masthead, it is therefore important. The presence of the main image of the protagonist Cobb played by Leonardo Dicaprio reinforces the idea that this issue of Empire will revolve around Inception. Leonardo Dicaprio is wearing a black suit which makes him stand out against the grey background of the magazine indicating to the readers that he is the main imagine and may have an interview inside the magazine.  

Leonardo Dicaprio is an established actor who is recognisable by film fans around the world for his roles in Titanic and Catch me if you can, by using Dicaprio as the main imagine this will remind readers that Empire is an established magazine that can afford to use high profile actors.  Dicaprio's focused and somewhat aggressive face shows readers that he is playing a serious role in the upcoming film Inception. Dicaprio is also holding a gun, this connotes that inception will have themes of action. Using Leonardo Dicaprio as the main image lets the readers know that Inception will have a big budget because it has a high profile actor in the cast, this will generate interest from the readers because they want to know what is was about Inception that convinced Dicaprio to star in it.

The pug is included to grab the audiences attention to the extra information supplied in it, it uses buzz words like 'dream' and 'access' to engage the readers imagination to how it would feel to be at the 'movie event of 2010'. The tagline, banner and text on top of the main cover line are the only text in white ( with the exception of the pug along with the extra in the left bottom half of the magazine) this signifies to the reader that this information is important.  The banner of this magazine  'The Dark Knight Returns...' and Christopher Nolan's name is placed above the main cover line, this has been included because it will immediately hook fans of the batman franchise since The Dark Knight was critically acclaimed by fans and critics.  The barcode is placed in the bottom right hand side corner of the magazine in a horizontal style so it does not steal focus from the main imagine. 

The layout of this cover isn't formal in the way it is organised instead it is entertaining.The aesthetically pleasing colours suggest that Empire may be targeting a young audience.

Film posters analysis

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Avatar film poster analysis

The composition of the Avatar poster sees the film's main protagonist, Jake Sully and his avatar, in the very centre. This suggests that the narrative may concentrate soley on the main protagonist. However Jake Sully is placed aside his avatar to reinforce the epic science fiction genre of the film. Jake Sully is played by Sam Worthington, who was a rising acting talent when this film was released in 2009 and by placing him on the cover it would have attracted his growing fanbase which would have increased the likliness of the films box office success. The color scheme of bright blue and light yellow is a passive colour suggesting that this film will have not have a lot of violent themes. Jake Sully looks like he is in deep thought, suggesting that there will be some type of character conflict in the film.

This poster does not present a clear narrative, instead it is ambigious adding an engigmatic element to the films main protaganist. The text at the top of the poster showcases two critically acclaimed films Titanic and The Terminator made by James Cameron who also directed Avatar, this also may have contributed to the box office success of the film because it attracted James Cameron's fans to watch Avatar.
 

Transformers: Dark side of the moon teaser trailer analysis

This teaser trailer is for the third instalment of the Transformers film series. Transformers: Dark Side of the moon is an American science fiction action movie and it was released in 2011. It performed well in the box office and has now grossed $1,123,746,996 however the film was not received well by critics, who panned the film for focusing its attention more on the 3D technology and action sequences, instead of the script. Michael Bay directed all three Transformer films , both his impressive directorial record and experience contributed to the success of all three films. The young cast suggests that a young audience is part of the target audience along with science fiction action movie fans.

What I found the most intriguing about this teaser is the absence of the main protagonist Sam Witwicky played by Shia LaBeouf because it demonstrates that the Paramount Studios have not decided to use him as the unique selling point in this teaser trailer. Instead the teaser trailer focuses more on the narrative, it begins with a montage of the american moon landing. Slow transitions are used to build up tension which increases with the atmospheric soundtrack playing in the background. This lets the viewer know that there might be approaching a pivotal moment in the narrative. The pace of the editing slows down down even more half way through the trailer. The narrative is now diving into some conspiracy themes with the astronauts being told that they have '21 minutes' and 'the mission is a go'. Suddenly there is a shift in the soundtrack to a more up tempo beat which lets the audience know that the pivotal moment in the film has only just begun, this is reinforced through the use of fast fade to black transitions. The screen remains black for 3 seconds leaving the audience in suspense.

The 3 seconds of the black screen along with the shift to a more epic soundtrack is an effective method to build the suspense and toy around with the viewers curiosity because they're left hanging with unanswered questions. The action resumes, after a couple dolly shots of the astronauts walking around a ruined spaceship, one of the astronauts utters the words 'no sir we are not alone'. At this point the audience will feel engaged because they what to know the rationale behind the astronauts statement.

The soundtrack continues to stay up beat to gain momentum. The title credits showcase both Michael Bay's name ( the director) as well as Steven Spielberg's (the executive producer) name, this is the unique selling point of this teaser trailer. Steven Spielberg is a universally acclaimed director and producer, showcasing his name is the perfect opportunity to raise the awareness of Spielberg's massive fan base to watch Transformers: Dark side of the moon. This increased the likelihood that transformers was going to perform well at box office, which it did. Another dolly shot is used at the end of the trailer revealing a big transformer, the camera zooms into his eye and through some animation it reveals the title of the film.

Although trying to emulate some scenes in this teaser would be too ambitious (due to our low budget), I did find the constant shifting of the soundtracks very interesting because it had a profound effect on me while I was watching the teaser trailer, for example when it shifted to a more suspenseful soundtrack It was successful in making me feel that suspense. I will definitely try to incorporate this use of sound to move my audience, making them feel suspense and the other emotions that I want to convey like sadness and shock.

Star Trek: Into darkness teaser trailer analysis

Director J . J. Abrams is back with the new Star Trek sequel Into Darkness. Star Trek Into Darkness is an American science fiction action film. Following the first successful Star Trek film which was both well received by fans and critics ,grossing an impressive  $385,494,555 worldwide in 2009, fans of the franchise have been patiently waiting and this teaser trailer does not disappoint. 

What strikes me the most in this teaser is the attention to detail of every building, uniform, explosion and spacecraft. This not only shows the fans that the Paramount studios haven't compromised their big budget on creating an authentic looking Star Trek universe, it also provides the fans with an immersive experience which will build the anticipation leading to the release of the film. Since this is a sequel the majority of the teaser is dedicated to showcasing the original cast ranging from Spock played by Hero's star Zachary Quinto, to James T.Kirk played by Chris Pine in order not to lose the support of the core audience of Star Trek fans. 

This proves to be an effective strategy in reinforcing a feeling of familiarity felt by the fans who watched the first film, gaining their interests because they either enjoyed the cast or hated it, either way it could result in a feeling of nostalgia since the first film was released in 2009 and this sequel was released in 2013. This feeling of nostalgia could possibly help to convince a lot of fans to attend their local cinemas to watch Into Darkness because they may want to re live their experience watching the first film. 

However along with a few familiar faces the fans are also introduced to a new character Khan played by Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch. Benedict Cumberbatch is a new rising actor and has developed a big fanbase due to his role as Sherlock Holmes in the successful British show Sherlock. The decision to cast Cumberbatch as the villian in this film is a smart move by J. J. Abrams because it takes advantage of Benedict's popularity and big fanbase, increasing the likeliness of box office success. On the other hand though this is Benedict's first major role in a big hollywood blockbuster movie which seems like a risky move. Although you could argue that his lack of experience on the hollywood scene is indeed a risky move, its nice to see Paramount Studios taking risks on a fresh new acting talent instead of playing it safe. This gamble seems to have payed off since Into Darkness grossed $466,978,661 worldwide. Critics and fans also praised Benedict's performance demonstrating his contribution to the films box office success.  

The combination between fast and slow fade to black transitions in this teaser builds some momentum because it bombards the audience with different images of the characters and the scenery,adding to the immersive experience. The target audience for this film are fans of action sci-fi and die hard Star Trek fans, this is reinforced with the constant establishing shots of a futuristic and advanced city along with a 4 second shot of a spacecraft. This teaser , like many teaser trailers, is ambiguous and leaves the audience wanting more, what makes this a successful teaser however is its ability to display a lot of detail in establishing shots while also showcasing famous actors and special effects. The editing is also slick and smooth.  

As far as incorporating any elements of this teaser trailer in my own teaser is debatable, I do not have neither the budget or the resources to recreate the special effects or the scenery in this teaser however I could incorporate the slick editing through the use of fast and slow fade to black transitions in my own teaser. I also like the idea of using a V.O to add an element of mystery to who the voice might correspond to and what that character might be like according to what he/she is saying in this V.O, like they did in this teaser trailer. 

Story pattern for our teaser trailer.

In todays lesson we discussed different trailer patterns to use which included Character-driven (This trailer pattern focuses on the main characters), Plot-driven ( this pattern focuses on the plot throughout the trailer), Trigger-event ( this pattern focuses on the element that changes and theme-centered trailers which focuses on the films theme throughout the trailer.

In my group we decided that we're going to use the character-driven trailer pattern along with plot-driven pattern because in order to make our storyline's twist impactful on the audience we have to spend time on the character development. However one disadvantage with using the character-driven pattern trailer is that if the dialogue isn't engaging enough this could bore the audience. So in order to avoid the audience from losing interest while watching our trailer because of the heavy amount of dialogue we decided that we're also going to use the plot driven pattern because this way it will allow the trailer to gain some momentum while keeping the audiences attention

Initial ideas