Lauren+Jacobs



FILM TRAILER ANALYSIS'



media type="youtube" key="RdumGs1qoXM" height="273" width="477" align="center"

__SHUTTER ISLAND (2010)__ Shutter Island is an American psychological thriller based on a Dennis Lehanes novel with the same name. The films unique selling point is that it is the first movie production of the book so it is somewhat original. It is also directed by profound film director Martin Scorsese whose work has always been innovative and unforgettable.

I believe the film appeals to a more mature audience as the plot is very complex and contains disturbing scenes unsuitable for younger viewers. It stars famous actor Leonardo DiCaprio whose name is included in the trailer. This is to increase the profile of the film and attract fans of his work. One unusual thing about this trailer is the fact that there is no voiceover, the narrative consists of purely dialogue. This emphasises the intensity as we hear the panic in the characters voices. It’s a period movie as the costumes and iconography are reminiscent of the 1940’s-1950’s. This is shown by the dialect of the actors and actresses, from this we can also conclude that it is set in America. There is a close up shot of a gun which creates a sense of danger and violence as well as suggesting a murderous plot within the movie.

It is set in an isolated mental asylum and there are an array of shots of prison bars creating a sense of entrapment and menace. This sense of menace is continued by a scene in which a obviously disturbed elderly lady motions 'shh' to Leonardo as he enters the asylum. There is also a close up shot of a huge needle along with an impactful crescendo, this emphasises the sense of horror and panic. The music is very dramatic and fast paced and there are a lot of pauses and discordant instruments which stresses the genre the film belongs to. The editing is very fast paced, there are many short cuts as well as long cuts abruptly interrupted by quick cuts and flashes. The effect of this is that it is very jarring and there is a sense of action and danger. A sense of danger is continued when there is a freeze frame half way through of a notepad with the word ‘Run’ on it along with another dramatic crescendo. Themes of mystery and malevolence are expressed through the excessive use of fade transitions which create a sense that something is lurking in the darkness. Apart from the music score, the trailer features pure diegetic sound. This suggests a sense of rawness and brutality, we gather that the plot may be disturbing and unsettling. At the end of the trailer Leonardo is pounced on by a derranged old man and the music reaches a loud crescendo. This seals the genre of the movie as being a thriller, at the same time reflecting themes of horror.

Overall, the trailer is unusual as it doesn’t follow all the conventions of a typical movie trailer. Its full of cliff hangers and climax’s which make the viewer eager to go watch the film.

media type="youtube" key="mQd3MwT2fAM" height="280" width="493" align="center"

__THE THREE MUSKETEERS (2011)__ This release of The Three Musketeers is one of many remake s of the original 1973 film. What differentiates this version from the others is its conventionalism and its use of special effects. Its also made to be watched in 3D which gives a new life to the story and appeals to the modern day market. However, the mise-en-scene used maintains its period features and remains authentic to the 19th century iconography. The director is Paul WS Anderson, a British movie maker famous for the Resident Evil trilogies and other action packed violent movies such as Death Race. This adaptation is a depart from his usual work however he puts his stamp on it by the fast paced action packed nature of the fighting scenes within the film. However, there are no mentions of the director/producer or main stars in the trailer, the familiarity of the plot and impressive effects speak for themselves. The voice-over is British with a deep dramatic and powerful voice which reflects the genre of the movie as well as its location/setting. The music begins slow but as the voiceover reveals more and more of the plot and the trailer progresses the music becomes more fast paced and packed full of crescendo's. This creates anticipation not only to see what happens next in trailer, but also to go and watch the movie. The voice over introduces each important character within the movie, along with this is a close up shot of the chacters face. By familiarising the audience with the actors they are able to acknowledge the impressive cast used such as established actor Orlando Bloom. This draws in possible fans of Orlando and make them more enthusiastic to watch the film. At the beginning of the trailer there are alot of long cuts followed by fades but as it progresses they are replaced with quick cuts and seamless transitions. This reflects the flow of the music and the progression of the plot. The trailer features many sword fights, some in slow motion whilst others are slighty sped up. This emphasises the viscious nature of their battles the extend of the musketeers skills and bravery.

As well as the voiceover there is alot of dialogue used within the tralier. Key phrases are 'All for one, one for all' and 'we're the musketeers and its up to us to put an end to the cardinals plot'. These portray a sense of war, bravery and responsibilty. The unity of the musketeers are also reflected by the multiple three shot scenes of the trio used, there is an obvious sense of commradery and friendship. Towards the end there is a close up slow motion shot of a canon ball being fired, the ball almost looks as it is flying through the screen and gives the audience a glimpse of the impressive 3D effects of the film. There is a sequence of dialogue towards the end in which one musketeer comments on a battle between them and 4o other men, he is asked 'was it 40 or 400?' and replies 'just 40, it was an off day'. This provides comedic value and shows the audience the multi-faceted aspects of the movie and how its much more than just a action film. By ending with making the audience laugh the trailer is constantly engaging the the viewer, thus making them more enthusiastic to go and watch the movie. Overall, this trailer follows the typical conventions of a movie trailer yet manages to detach itself from the possibilty of being monotonous and boring, instead its fun and action packed making it a perfect family movie. However, it can be argued that the excessive use of fighting scenes could deem it unsuitable for young children and more suited for an older male centered audience.

THE PITCH











__**PSYCHOLOGICAL CRIME THRILLER**__


 * The typical thriller production uses suspense, tension, and excitement as the main elements, provoking moods such as anxiety, excitement and tension.
 * Crime films focus on the lives of criminals. They vary from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to fictional imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are usually glorified in these movies.
 * Psychological thrillers involve aspects of mystery and drama, focusing on the experiences of characters in particular. Often depicting the conflicting thoughts within someones mind. They usually include themes of reality, perception, the human consciousness, existance, identity and death.

<span style="background-color: #ffff00; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: center;">Early psychological crime thrillers __<span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Alfred Hitchcock - The pioneer of psychological thrillers __

Alfred was a British film producer and director who paved the way for many techniques in suspense and psychological films. He used innovative film editing and framed shots to provoke feelings of anxiety, terror and suspense. His stories usually feature fugitives on the run from the law and many of Hitchcock's films have twist endings and thrilling plots featuring elements of violence, murder, and crime. Hitchcock's films also borrow many themes from psychoanalysis and feature strong sexual undertones, for example, his work often reflects incestuous themes relating to the Freud theory.







<span style="background-color: #ffff00; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: center;">Modern Psychological Crime Thrillers

Modern thrillers are predominantly ones that deal with obsession, domestic violence, revenge, mentally ill characters and the protagonist's goal of escape. Often take on the detective-hunt-for-serial-killer template. However, due to the less restrictive nature of today's film industry they now feature more graphic displays of violence and contain more disturbing content such as paedophilia.







<span style="background-color: #ffff00; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: center;">Psychological crime thriller remakes A large proportion of modern day releases are in fact remakes of previous movies. They often have different names and slightly different plots but follow the key themes within the original. Remakes almost never gain critical acclaim and are too often compared to the original. Remakes of psychological thrillers tend to be more graphic and violent than the originals to create a bigger impact.





<span style="background-color: #ff0000; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 27.2px; text-align: center;">MARKET ANALYSS



<span style="background-color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 190%;"> SKETCHES









After consulting with my teacher I realised that these images were too out of focus to use as in my final products. This error was due to my lack of undertanding in terms of how to use an SLR camera and caused alot of inconveniences as I had to rearrange another time to take pictures with the main character from my cast.



These images came alot alot better as they were in focus and I used my own digital camera to avoid any more discrepancies.





















These two drafts were very similar as I was happy with using this image at this point and just wanted to experiment with different fonts and borders. Unfortuneately I was unable to use this image in my final ancillary task as one of the characters in the photo was unable to be a a part of the trailer and therefore could not be used. I did really like the font used in the draft on the right hand side though so was definate in the idea of using it on the poster.



In this draft I experimented with photoshop and become more technically adapted to using the software, resulting in my advanced photoshop skills being used. I decided to place two images together to portray the two sides of Jennifer and how they over lap eachother. I also decided to include a comment from the editor of my 'FLIX' magazine at the top of the poster to add credibilty to the film.



I decided on using this poster out of all my other drafts as I really feel it showed Jennifer's powers and the two sides of her character. It also showed that the film is a supernatural movie as well as urban drama. I also decided to include the release at the top to create a sense of anticipation.



nnnnllmk





<span style="background-color: #ff0000; display: block; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 170%; text-align: center;">LOCATION SHOTS

media type="youtube" key="3e0nBlFFrXc" height="315" width="420" align="left" media type="youtube" key="_qy_Jr0eKsA" height="315" width="420" align="right"