Assignment Bank 2: Film Promotion - Mock Up Poster.

Assignment Bank 2: Film Promotion - Brainstorm For Making A Film.

Assignment Bank 2: Film Promotion -Trailer Analysis

The typical codes and conventions of film trailers include key moments from the film which are not necessarily placed in the same order as the film and do not give away any crucial plot details. The title of the film is not usually put on screen until the end of the trailer, and that is followed by the release date of the film. Also the names of man starts are usually put on screen near the beginning of the trailer, this is important because it lets the audience know who to expect to see in the film, sometimes audiences decide to go and watch a film just because of the people starring in it. Usually the names of the director and the producer are included in the trailer, with a phrase of “from the director” or “from the makers of” then it will go on to say the other films that the directors have made. This is so that the audience can see what films the directors have previously made and how successful they were. On screen text gives important information about the film, including stars, producers, tagline, and title and release date. Also music is essential in trailers as it can suggest the genre, style and plot of the film.

The target audience for this film are teenagers aged 15+ and adults of all ages. The actress Courtney Cox is a unique selling point because she is a famous actress and this attracts the audience. In this trailer, it makes it obvious that it’s a horror/thriller movie, that there is going to be a killer and that all the people are suspected of being the killer. In the trailer the main star is visible and there is information about the director of the film. The narrators’ voice is over-used in this trailer; this is used to make an effect.

The camera shots help us understand the genre of the film because they are set from different angles. The lighting is quite dark but then some scenes are flashy.  The colours are also quite dark, this creates a scary atmosphere. The trailer also consists of sayings such as “don’t answer the phone”, the narrator will say this but it will also come up on the screen as it is being said then it will drip down in what looks like blood. The characters pictures flash up which is quite thrilling. Also the movements in the trailer are very quick which makes you feel jumpy.

I got a better idea about what the film is about by the trailer than by the poster, this is because the trailer gives you a lot more clues than the poster does and also you can actually seen bits of the film and have that bit or fear. Whereas with the poster it isn’t really scary and doesn’t make you jump like the trailer does. In the trailer you’re introduced to all the characters and you get to have an idea about the actual film and what there is to be expected from it. This makes the film more desirable to the audience because it gets you more interested and more engaged to actually go and see the film.

The advantages of using an internet trailer to promote a film over a poster campaign are that the film company gain attention from a larger audience. Also most people would rather watch a trailer so they can have a better idea about the film, if you see a movie poster in the street, you are most likely to walk past and not pay much attention even if you think that the film looks good, whereas on the internet, if you see a good fim trailer then you are most likely going to watch it.

Assignment Bank 2: Film Promotion - Poster Analysis

The typical codes and conventions of  film posters are; eye catching image/images e.g. the stars in the film, the title of the film, a tag line for the film, a catchy slogan, the names of the main people in the film, critic review, giving their comments and the production blurb. The audience expects to find the title, the names of the actors/actresses, a slogan, images of either the key people in the film or the main point of the film.The genre of this film is horror. I figured this out by the name of the film ‘scream’ sort of gives it away, also on the cover there is a image of a young girl that is extremely pale, she is half covering her mouth with her hands as if she has just seen something shocking/scary or if she is in shock, it looks like she is about to scream. Also the images of the other characters in the film are very blank, they hardly have any expression on their faces and they look very serious, it seems like one of them could be the killer/villain. Also they are all wearing black. The main colour on this poster is black; this shows that this film isn’t going to be a happy one as it is very dull coloured.The title has been designed this way because even though it is just plain, it stands out from the background because it is white. Also it is all in capital letters and the letter ‘m’ is slightly different. It has a point, which indicates something shape, such as a knife. So just by changing that one letter it gives you an idea about what the film is going to include. Therefore the audience can suspect that there is going to be a killer/villain and his weapon is going to either be a knife or something sharp.I think that people that enjoy scary, jumpy, frightening, thrilling movies would be interested in going to see this film. This is because you can tell it’s a horror film just by looking at the cover and also in the bottom left corner it says ‘the thrills start soon’ and it also says ‘clever hip and scary’. By using a famous actress on the cover, it engages more people to go and watch the film, and it also attracts attention. The film company that produced this film was ‘dimensional films’, they are an independent company, it was previously a part of ‘Miramax’. The film company placed the posters on billboards, on bus stops, on buses, on television, on other film adverts and also on magazines.