Research Feedback

A very strong start Sophie - evidence more analysis of trailers from your chosen genre and analyse some trailers and magazine front covers - and mention how they link to their respective trailers to create a brand identity.  Mention representation, genre, narrative, mise-en-scene, camea, editing and sound in your approach to analysis of trailers to add to posts and evaluate those in your chosen genre.

TRAILER Analysis - Ouija: Origin of Evil

There are many conventions that indicate the genre of this film; being a Horror/Thriller. Firstly the dark lighting tends to be quite conventional of a horror; sensing the fact that we are unable to see whats going on and where sounds are coming from, realistically making it more intense. The reason for creating this atmosphere is that as a result, we tend to focus more and look closely if we cant see something; creating the perfect opportunity for something to jump out the screen and scare us. Other conventions are the diegetic and non-diegetic sounds; diegetic sounds such as screams create the sense of fear. On the other hand, non-diegetic sounds such as a door creaking entices the audiences into questioning themselves.. where is it coming from?

There are many elements of Mis-en-Scene that are presented throughout the film; indicating the genre but also representing the kind of characters and the kind of film we are to expect. Firstly, the lighting of the film is particularly dark, not allowing us to see clearly what is going on; and as result, enticing us more and making us more focused. There is alot of low-key lighting used which is actually conventional of a horror film, and is also effective in creating a shadowy effect being quite eerie in a horror. In this trailer, the low-key lighting is used in the first establishing shot of the house setting where there is very dim light reflecting down, however not enough for us to see clearly all around. It is also used whilst the three characters are sitting round the dining table and candles are used to light up the room. The specific use of these candles are effective as they create a shadowy effect which is creepy and with them not lighting up the whole room; as the audience, we tend to focus more on trying to see what is going on around them. This actually creating the perfect opportunity for something to jump out on us, again this is very conventional of a horror. The location is significant in the film as it is set in a house, supposedly haunted. This kind of location is conventional of a horror and is also effective in scaring the audience as typically, your home is a welcoming place and you are supposed to feel safe. However, when watching this trailer and seeing that it is located in a house; it would potentially scare the audience and with this being the aim of a horror... the trailer would've been successful.

There are multiple camera techniques that are used for effect throughout this trailer. The different camera shots and techniques that are used are significant in revealing the representation of characters. The initial shot that is made is actually a quick point-of-view shot which was filmed through looking into the mirror. In this POV shot, we are revealed the young girl looking through some sort of microscope, looking into the mirror. This shot lasts for only a few seconds until a shot reverse shot is used, switching to a mid shot of her face-on, then back to the reflection from the mirror. 

In a horror, the eerie diegetic sounds tend to be very conventional as they trigger more of a fright to audiences. For example, in the trailer of Ouija, we hear the creaking sounds of the doors which is shown as a non-diegetic sound throughout. The reason for it being non-diegetic is the whole idea of the suspense for us, as the audience, not knowing where the sound is coming from. This idea of using the non-diegetic sound is most effective in a horror through scaring the audience and it is quite jumpy; these factors are both conventional of a horror/thriller. The trailer initiates with the diegetic sounds of bones breaking as the so-called spirit breaks the young girls neck. This sound is quite breath-taking and is not a sound people typically warm to hear. It is also quite unrealistic in the sense that breaking a bone doesn't make an exaggerated sound like they presented as such. Another effective diegetic sound used near the start of the trailer was lighting a match. This sound was significant after breaking the streak of silence before; also it creates quite an intense atmosphere in making us think about what the character is lighting as it is shown to be lit in front of a women's face. However soon after, we see that candles have been lit and over this mid shot of the characters sitting round the table, we hear the diegetic voice of the women speaking. Again this creates an intense atmosphere as there eyes are closed and she is speaking to something that is supposedly haunting the house. During this slow panning shot, the non diegetic sound of the door creaks again, which is quite daunting as we dont know who or what has opened/closed it. The women then says "if that's you, blow out the candles". Of which follows, the sound of the candles being blown out happens. The sound increases as a window is broken through and we hear the diegetic sound of a women screaming, immediately making us feel worried of whats happening/going to happen next. Unexpectedly the soundtrack changes to something much more cheery as it is daylight. This certainly subverts the expectations of what we expect to hear in a horror however, again, this is seemingly used for effect as it soon changes back to the quite, eerie atmosphere. As we hear another diegetic question being asked saying "Spirit, can you hear me?". From hearing this question, we automatically expect there to be a response, whether this is from the 'spirit' or not; this essentially keeps the audience on the edge of there seats and that exactly is the aim for horror films to do so. 

Nearer to the end, there are alot of overlapping sounds; as you typically expect from a trailer where they aim to combine multiple scenes all at once. Throughout there are alot of diegetic and non diegetic voices, which are effective as some are voice-overs as we see other shots being taken but someone continues speaking over it. This gives the kind of effect that is telling a story, which is significant in this trailer, where it seems to be a general repeat of events every time they play the game. The primal sounds in this trailer are tending to be the natural sounds such as voices, doors creaking, screams, etc. These are all extremely conventional of a horror/thriller as they are either quite eerie and intense or they're daunting and jumpy.

The first title appears after the drastic occurrence of the girls neck being broken. There is an immediate close up before of the girl, with her mouth wide open, whilst slowly screaming and trying to breath. This is an effective moment to introduce the title of in this case, the film itself as the audience would essentially be enticed by the first event they had just seen. Through introducing the title here, it is likely that the audience will remember what they see after being engaged with what happened before. The title itself is very bold and stands out; the spacing of the letters where it says 'Ouija' is effective and quite original.... also the fact that it is a relatively short and simple title, yet important for audiences to remember will be effective and will be a selling point for the film. An institution title is displayed in the first half of the trailer and this again is a significant point to display it as the audience will still be engaged with focusing on the trailer and a result will recognise the title. The next title that is displayed is about half way through the trailer saying 'This Halloween'; by having this title in the middle of the trailer, it is likely that it will be remembered and it is also quite an important title to have (the release date). Linking to that title, at the end of the trailer, another title saying 'Coming Soon' was the last screen that the audience would've seen and this would therefore make them remember the title during the film actually displaying more of a specific time of the release.

More effective titles are displayed during the trailer which are partially guiding us through and actually relating to the film's story-line rather than its creators. The titles specifically said 'It was never' 'just a game'. This is quite an effective title to use as it would essentially make the audience actually think about the meaning behind that as it may not make much sense from what we have only seen. The trailer ends with the title of the film again in bold letters, making the audience actually remember it as it is one of the last screens of the trailer they see. This is then followed by saying 'coming soon' which is also another important title to inform the audience about.

The first unique selling point of this film/trailer would essentially be the first, original film. For a film to have previously been successful and been viewed alot, it is likely that this sequence would continue for the second and third, etc, viewings of a film. Also many films often continue or follow on from the ending; for example there is sometimes cliff hangers at the end of films or just a general statement saying 'too be continued'. Just from knowing or seeing this, it is likely that those viewers will be aware of the new film coming out and as a result they would watch it. Another unique selling point is that both films were released around Halloween time (the first Ouija film was actually released on Halloween '31st') which tends to be a time that people will be looking to watch horror films and these kind of films. 

Conventions of Horror Films

Horror films are typically designed to scare the audience as well as captivating and entertaining us. A few of the best places for a horror film would be abandoned houses, graveyards, woods, cabins, basements, etc. Camera shots are very expressive in horror films as they tightly frame characters emotion. Also, they use different sounds such as diegetic, which is things the characters can hear such as footsteps and trees rustling, and non-diegetic, which is things the characters cant here, such as a heartbeat. The target audience for horror films is often 15+, however most of the time they are 18. Reasons for this are sometimes because of swearing, sexual scenes, etc.

                            

Conventions of Action Films

An action film essentially consists of a long mission, either being dangerous or considerably impossible. The idea of action films are to build up tension up until the point of action. The setting is typically in a city, this is so that we are able to get a better feel of the action genre. Things such as car chases and robberies tend to be more successfully done in cities rather than derelict land. However any setting that keeps the audience engaged and are able to build up tension are successful, for example climbing up mountains (Mission Impossible 2). This kind of mission keeps the audience intrigued and make them want to carry one watching. The age certificate for action films would normally be 12 or 15 depending on how explicit the action in the specific film is.

The kind of shots that would be used tend to be fast paced which immediately keeps the audience on the edge of there seats and more engaged throughout. Establishing shots would typically be used to establish the setting/landscape where the action will be taking place. As well as this close up shots would be used quite a lot to show the emotion and expression on the characters face. Tracking shots are also used a lot as they follow the action (typical in a car chase) which yet again  keeps the audience more engaged.

                     

Conventions of Romance Films

The typical conventions of a romantic film are things like happy endings, love/hate relationships, boy meets girl, sexual scenes, emotional scenes, etc. The setting of romantic films would usually be in a big city or well know romantic place such as New York. They are usually set here as it just makes it seem realistic as a place like New York has got everything a typical romance fanatic would want. Alternatively, it could be set in the countryside or an isolated area in a house. This is a possibility as it seems to be more romantic when they are alone with no one around. Yet again, mis-en-scene is very important within a film as it gives us a clear understanding of the character as well as fitting the genre of the film. For example in a romantic film you would see natural lighting coming in from the outside and soft sound and romantic music. The sound being diegetic or non-diegetic would always be soft and calm as we do not usually expect anything major to happen. However often there could be one of those love/hate relationships which involve arguing therefore could possibly require some more dramatic sound although this is very unlikely.

The rating for these kind of films vary quite a lot as they are often just those inevitable 'happily ever after' films which would be acceptable for the younger audience however it could reach the stage where there are explicit sexual scenes and swearing which would obviously be available to adults. The gender for this would be females as they are more likely to be interested in the romantic stories and the 'happily ever after' scene. You typically wouldn't expect males to be interested in this kind of thing.

Film POSTER (analysis)

I chose to analyse this poster as it is such a popular film and was extremely successful; as well as the characters being so well known. The main feature of this is the overlap of pictures. This stands out as, obviously, they are two different pictures however have been edited and overlapped so well that the two merge together into one. This is also significant as it shows the two 2 main focuses in the film, the first being the titanic (the ship) and the second being the couple; Jack and Rose (Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet).

The title is near the bottom of the page so that the images are the main focus. This tends to be the case on many posters as they are not bought for the text, they are bought for the image and also the title of the film. The title is the biggest piece of text on poster, showing how it is the most important bit of information. The bold silver writing of the title stands out in front of the blue waves.

Other text on the poster includes the name of the lead actor and actress. This is significant as fans of these actors will know that they are the main characters of the film and would therefore be more likely to watch it.

The genre of the film is evident from seeing the picture of the couple and also the small caption below the title saying "Nothing on earth could come between them", suggesting how the film is based around their relationship; and a relationship being the main focus in the romance genre. Also as well as this the titanic and the rough looking sea suggests something dramatic may happen and therefore establishes the drama genre.