Insidious Movie Poster

This is the film poster for the 2010 horror film 'Insidious'. The poster consists of dark colours which relates to the genre and the theme of the film suggesting that it is going to be dark and mysterious. The main image of the poster is the little boy suggesting that he is the main person throughout the film, however they have scratched out the eyes which leaves the audience asking why. They have also included information about previous films which have been produced by the same company such as Saw and Paranormal Activity, therefore this is an insight for people who see the film poster as they will get a sense for the film as they can compare it to Saw and Paranormal Activity. This has also been done so fans of those films will be more likely to go and watch Insidious as it is of the same genre and same producers. The background image of a house which gives an insight to the setting of the film and makes people question is that where the little boy lives, this also links into the text under the title of the film which states 'Its not the house thats haunted'.

The Dark Knight Rises Magazine Front Cover

This is a magazine front cover which features the Joker from The Dark Knight. This image is just simply however effective because it doesnt give away to much information about the character. Also the background of the magazine gives away clues to the type of character he is and the gun which he is holding in his left hand. The house style consists of dark colours, suggesting that this character is mysterious and dark. The green text has been used to highlight the character as he is wearing a green waistcoat under his jacket, this has been done to draw the attention of readers as the colours link to the character. The position of the character suggests that there is something strange about him by the way he is stood and his positioning. The background of the image and the gun suggests that the genre of the film is going to be action packed as there are tall buildings in the background with sparks of fire next to the Joker. The anchorage of the cover is that the main image is in front of the masthead suggests that the actor and character are bigger than the magazine and will sell it. This magazine front cover is effective because it makes you ask questions about the character therefore making you want to see the film which is the aim of the magazine cover. It is also effective because of the image used as it doesn't give away to much information about the character making you want to find out more for yourself.

 

Spiderman Magazine Front Cover

This front cover is for the Spiderman movie. The house style of this magazine is red black and white which links into the costume of Spiderman and the red has been used as that is the colour of the original Spiderman costume. The main attraction of the magazine is the hand which has been set forward before anything else, this suggests that this is a main focus point to what the film is going to be about, also by the positioning of the hand. The look on the character face suggests that he is serious and has an important role throughtout the film. The image has also been placed over text therefore suggesting that this character is important as there are no other images on the page to draw the attention away. The magazine also includes puffs and tags such as free posters. This cover is effective because it doesn't give away to much about the character therefore still makes you want to see the film. It is also effective because of the layout of the front cover as it makes you focus on the photo which is the most important part.

History of Trailers

The first trailer clip we watched was 'Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs' which was from1937. This was the first time Walt Disney had produced a cartoon film, along side of making a trailer for the film. This film was the first full length feature film. The trailer seemed to be longer than 2 minutes and lacked a lot of information. For example 'Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs' is a family film; however this was not portrayed in the trailer. The trailer consisted of a loud voice over which sounded like an announcer in a deep tone of voice as he described when the film was coming to cinemas and who had produced the film etc. The trailer didn’t include clips from the clip, however included the producer who talked you threw the 7 dwarfs and told you there names and there reason being. Over all, the trailer included large text and a loud voice over with poor graphics comparing to the technology we have now.

We then watched the same film however they had remade the trailer in 1987, this trailer was different from 1937 as it included actual scenes from the film, therefore giving the audience and insight to what the context of the film was. This trailer also made the target audience for the film clearer as you could understand that it was a family film. However they remained with the same loud voice over, this may have been used to represent the original trailer.

From 7 dwarfs we moved onto another Disney classic. The trailer for 'Cinderella' was made in 1950, however the technology hadn’t changed. The large text was used throughout the trailer with the loud voice over announcing sound. The trailer lasted 17 seconds, therefore not giving a lot of information about the film. Also not at one point of the trailer did you actually see Cinderella as you was behind the big bold text that they used. This trailer again did not give the target audience.

We then watched the trailer for the film ‘Gone with the Wind’ this trailer was made in 1939. The trailer consisted of loud music over the top of scenes from the film; however they still remained on including large text over scenes therefore not seeing the full scene. However in this trailer they had edited scenes so that it showed the faces of the actors which then included large text with the name of the actor. The trailer also included information about how popular the film was.

From this clip we watched 'Casablanca' this trailer was from 1942. The trailer was in black and white however the remained the big thick text throughout which gave information on actors. The trailer also explained the plot of the story; this hadn’t been done in the previous trailers. They also included music over the top of the trailer at the last few seconds.

We then watched a trailer from 1960 which was for the film ‘Psycho’. The trailer still remained to be in black and white, however this trailer seemed to last longer than 2 minutes. The trailer consisted of an older man, who explained the context of the film however he walked round from different parts of a haunted house which was used in the film almost like a tour guide effect. There was horror music used on certain words which he spoke. Over all this trailer didn’t make any sense and didn’t explain what the film was going to be about.

A commentator was then used again throughout the ‘Star Wars’ trailer in 1977. However this trailer consisted of more scenes from the film, they had also attached music to the scenes which was a loud and tense sound, therefore giving a feel of what the film would be like. The trailer was also now in colour, however you could see that technology had not yet developed from the certain parts of the clips.

 

In1981 the trailer was made for ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’. However in this trailer you could see that technology had changed as they had ran the characters voices over the scenes that the audience could see, however they kept the style of having a voice over with the loud music over the top of the action. However this trailer showed more scenes from the film comparing to previous trailers.

 

We then watched the trailer for ‘Terminator’which was from 1991. From this trailer you could see how technology had improved as during the trailer they used special effects which seemed better than previous years. The whole trailer consisted of scenes from the film which was better as the audience could understand what the film was going to be about, however some of the scenes from the trailer were not featured in the final finished product of the film.

We then watched the trailer of the ‘Titanic’from 1997. The trailer included footage from the film therefore allowing the audience to understand the story, however narration was still used over the scenes to explain certain parts and give information about the success of the film. The trailer included fast editing and highlighted the special effects that were used therefore this showed a transformation in technology.

Then finally we watched the most recently trailer of 'Snow White and the Huntsman' which was released 2012. The soundtrack which was used linked the scenes that where being shown, this was different from the other trailers that we had seen. Also footage was shown throughout the trailer from the actual film itself and the trailer was exciting comparing to the others.

Codes and Conventions of Trailers

Graphic captions: To give the audiece information such as release dates, plots of the film
Reflective of genre: To see wether the right audience is attracted to the film
Non-diegetic music: Assists the trailer on telling the audience what genre the film is
Narrative enigma: Explains some of the films plotline to the audience
Close ups: Show actors that take part in the film
Production company logo: To show people what company has produced the film
Editing: Exaggerates the genre of the film

What is a Trailer?

A trailer is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited at the cinemas. The purpose of a trailer is to attract audiences so that viewers come and see the full film. A trailer should leave the audience wanting more meaning that they come and see the film; a trailer should consist of excitement and suspense to gain viewers to the feature film.

Summary of Coursework Brief

We have been asked to create a trailer for a film which has to consist of different types of camera shots and angles. The trailer has to be 2 minutes long and to be catchy and draw the attention of the audience. We have also been asked to create a poster for the trailer we create and a magazine front cover which will feature the trailer that we have produced. Along side drawing up story boards and analysis other posters/trailers.