Analysis of a teaser trailer - Paul

I am now going to analyse a teaser trailer for a recently released film - Paul. I plan on looking at the camera angles used along with the lighting, editing, sound and mise-en-scene.



Camera angles
Many different camera angles are used throughout this trailer and I am going to analyse some of them; the first camera shot used is an establishing shot of the road and the camper van, this gives the audience an idea about what the film is going to be about and where it is taking place without giving away too much information (sets the scene).

The second camera shot used is a mid shot which shows two of the characters, this gives the audience an idea of who the main characters are going to be. using this type of shot gives the audience no clue into the characteristics or emotions of the characters. This keeps the sense of mystery which makes the audience carry on watching

A close up is used to show 'Extraterrestrial Highway' signpost; this gives the audience the idea that the film has something to do with aliens. Also a use of a blur has distorted the background slightly so that the full attention of the audience is on the signpost.

A long shot is used to show the car chase scene, this gives a long enough shot to fit in everything that is essential for the car chase and also shows the audience the setting of the chase and everyone who is involved without showing too much detail to spoil the film itself.

A mixture of mid shots and close-ups are used in order to show critical scenes and other characters that appear in the film. This gives enough detail for the audience to decide whether or not to go and see the film.

Editing
Very slow editing is used at the start of the trailer as the action has not yet started, A series of fades are used in order to show a scene then a black screen with text (relating to the next clip) and then the next clip, this makes the scenes seem very relaxed which then further helps to give the up-coming fast paced editing more exaggeration.

Once 'Paul' is introduced and the action begins the editing becomes very faced paced, and through the use of Cuts the scenes become more action filled and exciting to watch and puts the audience on the edge of their seats.

Sound
A very slow paced relaxing soundtrack is used in the first set of scenes. This fits in with the idea of two best friends on a road trip together and having a great time. Suddenly the music cuts out and loud car brakes and crash sounds are heard this makes the audience very interested into finding out whats happened. Having the music change from very slow calm music to loud sound effects has a great effect as this will help grab the audiences attention.

Then all music stops and the dialogue ' Hi I'm Paul' is heard, this makes the audience interested into finding out who 'Paul' is. Then all music and dialogue cuts out as the alien in shown, this is when laughter is heard as the main character tries to take in what he has just seen. This is very effective as there is no other noises but the dialogue so that dialogue has the full attention of the viewer.

The next soundtrack is played which is a very heavy rock soundtrack. this fits in well with the on-screen action and the fast paced editing and along with this soundtrack helps to make the trailer so much more exciting.

The music then cuts out again as the comedy scene is shown, this again grabs the audiences attention as the loud music has stopped and dialogue is being spoken again all of their attention is what is being said and this makes the comedy sketch much more effective.

Mise-en-scene
The main prop used in the trailer is the camper-van. This is because the characters are on a road trip this means that a vehicle is very crucial.

The costumes for the characters are very important as they add to the comedy value. The two main characters are dressed in casual clothes and have longish hair. This makes them look like 'average joe'. this makes is more funny when the stumble across an alien and have to defend him against the police as they are just average people. Also the costume where 'Paul' is dressed like a cowboy is very funny as they are walking down the street in normal clothes; holding hands with an alien dressed as a cowboy, this gives the scene much more comedy value.

 Lighting
Natural light is mainly used throughout this trailer, this is because the story is based on a road trip out in the desert so artificial light could make the scenes become fake looking. Both night and day scene are both screened throughout this trailer this could be to help show the passing of time and to emphasise that the two characters are on a road trip.

In the scene where they meet 'Paul' the two main characters can't see who 'Paul' is as the scene is totally pitch black, once they turn on their head lamps the alien becomes visible. this is very effective as the audience can only see what is being lit up by the head lamps and the car headlights. This makes the scene look a lot more natural compared to if artificial lighting was used.

Trailer analysis - War Horse/Mission Impossible 4

I have conducted a short analysis of two trailers (shown below) I went through shots, editing, sound and mise-en-scene in order to cover the main areas that we need to think about when making our own trailer.

Trailer 1 - War Horse

Analysis of advertising methods (smurfs)

Here is a PowerPoint that we made on the new Smurfs film in order to learn about different advertising methods that companies use ...

Here is the trailer

The smurfs (3 d)

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We wanted to research into the different methods of advertising that distribution companies use in order to market their films, We chose the smurfs as it is targeted at the younger age market, however some of the marketing methods do show possibilities that they could be attracting a family audience such as the 'Facebook' pages that have been set up even though this is mainly used by teenagers.

We firstly looked into the cast for the film, as we wanted to see if they would have any impact on the demand for the film. We noticed that major star such as Katy Perry (singer), Emma Mays (Glee star) and Neil Patrick Harris (How I met your mother star) had been picked to star in the movie. This makes fans of these particular famous faces more likely to go and watch the film, This is a marketing method within itself and a very good way to attract an audience.

We also thought about the old TV series that used to be shown when many teenagers and adults were younger, this may attract an older age range as they may want to see their favourite characters again along with their families in order to enjoy it together.

We also researched into the official website and 'Facebook' and 'Twitter' pages. At first we thought that this was a very strange way to market a film to a young audience as very few 5-10 year old have a 'Facebook' or 'Twitter' account. However after some more research we found that the company had released the film as a family film so these were a great way to market the film as teenagers and adults could find out about the film and tell their family to go and see it, also as 'Facebook' and 'Twitter' are both free it makes sense to use the resource as a marketing method in order to spread your film out to a wider audience. We also thought about the peer-to-peer marketing as if one person likes the film they will be able to tell their friends about it over the networking sites, another free source of marketing.

Finally we also looked at the 'Smurf Day' that is happening at the O2. This will mainly attract families to have a fun day out, whilst at the same time it is marketing the film. The organisers are giving out free costumes and also screening the trailers and parts of the film around the venue, this will get the audience interested and gives them a reason to go and watch the film. It is a very unique way of marketing and as it is fun and lively it will attract the target audience of families.

Introduction

I am creating this blog in order to record and track the process of creating my promotional package. I will show my research and the creating stages in order to produce the final outcome and evaluation. I plan on creating a teaser trailer for an original film (along with Emma Terry) and also creating a promotional package for the marketing side of the film using methods such as posters, magazine covers and a website.

Emma's blog - http://emmaterrya2mediablog.blogspot.com/