Tuesday, 23 December 2008

How film trailers attract an audience- Dawn of the dead trailer

The aspects of the film which are explored in the trailer are a group of people fighting for their survival against hordes of zombies in a shopping mall, and the problems they encounter on the way. The trailer mainly focuses on the story of the main female character, and how she is thrown straight into the action after her family turning into zombies and attacking her.

The genre of the film is established mainly through the make up used in the beginning of the trailer, which is used on the little girl signifying that she is a zombie. Through out the later stages in the trailer, the make up also gives away the genre as the zombies are shown through the use of blood mutated bodies. Other things like screaming, violence and quick editing which helps bring out the genre are used to create a more dramatic effect, showing the audience what to expect in the film.

The target audience is given away through things like the sound, which includes screaming, shouting and sounds which zombies make along with people getting attacked from zombies. The information which we see includes people getting attacked, herds of zombies trying to attack the survivors, along with people getting chased. Altogether these things show us that the film includes scenes of horror and violence, and the fantasy idea that zombies take over the world and people have to try and survive until a cure is found, so the target audience would be teenager aged from 15 and above to adults who also enjoy watching these type of films.

Film Language Essay- Saving Private Ryan(first 2 minutes of the extract)



The scene starts with a tracking shot of two soldiers running away from enemy fire and taking cover behind sand bags. We can easily tell the two men are soldiers from the military equipment they are using as props, which was from the Second World War. The tracking shot is used to put us straight into the battle, and puts us in a position where we are behind them and see everything that’s going on clearly. Also, from this position we are able to see the enemy which they are attacking and the battlefield tactics which they are using. This again puts us straight into the heat of battle, and we feel as if we are there fighting with them. There is a lot of diegetic sound used in the first 30 seconds of the extract, which includes battlefield sounds like rifles being fired, commands being issued and the explosions of grenades and other explosives. This diegetic sound creates a greater atmosphere of the battle, and livens it up making it exciting for the viewer to watch, and also put them into the battle themselves.when one of the soldiers leaps across the cover to retrieve a detonator, a close up and a tracking shot is used to focus on the detonator, signifying its importance and showing that the soldiers need it to fight of the Nazis. At this point the close up also shows the characters expressions and make up. We can see that he is panicking while he is trying to set up the detonator and there is a lot of stress from the enemy. His face and hands are covered in a lot of dirt showing that he has been fighting in a rough area and has probably been fighting for a long time.

Straight after, a medium shot showing a solider with a rocket launcher is shown along with another solider giving him orders, with the shelter in front of them and the background. This shot helps us to see whats going on, and along with the diegetic sound of the commands being ordered, a little suspense is created before the soldier launches the rocket as we wait for it to explode. This medium shot helps us to see what the soldier is doing, and then after a reverse shot is used to show what the solider was aiming at, which again puts us into the middle of the battle. The camera movement which is used up to this point is hand held, and it helps make us feel as if we are the camera man, putting us into the shoes of one of the soldiers which is there and fighting along the other soldiers.

After the soldier shoots the rocket launcher a long shot is used to give a overall view of the battle. The diegetic sound of the dialogue helps us to understand the reason for their actions in the battle so far; that they are defending the other side of the bridge, and are about to blow up the bridge so the Nazis can’t reach the other side. Alot of special effects like explosions and ricochets from bullets are used to create a greater atmosphere of the battle. So far there hasn’t been any contrapuntal or parallel sound used as no music has been played. I think the director chose to do this to put us in the heat of battle, and see everything clearly without being distracted by the music, so we feel everything from what we hear and see in the battle. Also I think the director wanted to create a dramatic effect from the battle itself, and not the accompanying music.

Just when one of the soldiers is about to take cover special effects are used to show the bullets hitting the little vehicle. From the long shot used we can tell that one of the soldiers is about to get hit. Straight after a medium tracking shot is placed in front of the soldier and we see him getting hit by a number of bullets. Special effects are used on the soldier to show the bullets flying through him, and to show the impact of the bullets on his body as smoke comes out. The camera then tilts upwards and moves away from the solider showing where the enemy fire was coming from. A close up of the soldier who was hit is then shown so we can see his facial expressions and we can see that he is hurt as hes gasping from air, and his mouth is wide open showing that he can feel the pain. The fact that he lost his balance and had to be carried by his team also shows us that these wounds are serious, and he may die. There is not a lot of dialogue used in this extract, and I think the director chose to leave out the dialogue but only include it for parts which were needed to emphasize that this was a war, and during wars soldiers only have time for commands to issue. Also the dialogue was in the form of a lot of shouting, which shows us theres a lot of other noise like explosions and gun fire which means they have to shout loudly in order to be heard.

The editing used in this extract is mainly built up of jump cuts, as there are a lot of things going on in the battle, and I believe the director chose to use jump cuts so the audience’s attention is focused on a lot of things in a short period of time, so they get a greater sense of the war and they can see more things in a shorter period of time. Also the jump cuts help give a greater understanding of the story as the audience are shown more clips of different things, but all of the clips shown are related to one another as they are all part of a battle. Most of the editing is continuity editing, as the shots are placed after one another to give away the narrative of the film, as different clips of the soldiers fighting of the Nazis is shown to create the narrative of the war.

At the point where the commander of the enemy side tells the person in the tank to shoot at Tom hanks, there is a great explosion and the building collapses on him. The shot starts of as a medium shot, and slowly zooms into him and focuses on his face ending up with a big close up. We are then shown a number of shots, point of view shots and then reverse shots. So we are shown his expressions before he focuses on something, then we see his point of view at what he is looking at, and then we see his expressions and reactions of what he has just seen. This helps us identify with the character as we are put into his shoes, and we start to feel what he is feeling. The rest of the background sound is blurred out, and the noise of his eardrums popping is used to relate back to the explosion and the effect of it on him. All of this helps create a dramatic effect, as we can tell he is a little lost from the explosion, and while all of the gun fire and fighting is going on around him he is just crouching in one place over looking the situation. During his point of view shots, the camera image is a little blurred to show the effect of the explosion on his eyes, and the camera movement is very rapid which again puts us in his shoes.

There isn't a lot of lighting used in this extract as its set during day time, and we can see everything clearly as the natural lighting is good enough. Also I think the director chose to leave out key lighting and back lighting to emphasize the action seen on screen, and to remind the audience these are clips during war, so the soldiers wouldn’t need key lighting while they are fighting as the director would want it to look as natural as it could.


Sunday, 14 December 2008

dawn of the dead trailer analysis

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zvbQcOGsSwU

Dawn of the dead is a 2004 horror remake of the original George A Romeros 1978 classic ‘Dawn of the dead’. It tells the story of a group of survivors trying to fight of a ward of zombies while taking refuge in an abandened shopping mall. It was released in America and the UK in March 2004. The trailer lasts for a total of 2 minutes 32 seconds, and it gives a wide view of what the story is about in this short period.

Firstly, the beginning of the trailer focuses on the daily life of a woman. We can see what she normally does after a hard days work, but we do not receive any other information about her other than that she has a partner who she is sharing a house with, and that she lives in a suburban area in the USA.from this we get a sense of normality, as people can relate to what she does and we get a sense of feeling that everything is alright. Along with the various clips of her daily life shown, words in the following order ‘Evening, Night, and Dawn’ are shown on the screen. Clips are shown in an order where once the word is shown, a clip of that time of day is shown, once again focusing on the women and her partner along with the city they live in. straight away this gives us the impression that something bad is going to happen, as the director wouldn’t just make these words appear in this sequence for no reason, so it kind of creates an enigma.

However, straight after the word ‘Dawn’ appears the use of diegetic sound of a clock ticking away creates a lot of tension and suspense. Time is being used to build up to something big, and we are forced to hear the seconds which build up to this event. Also when the word dawn is shown, the music deepens a little which makes that word stand out, and the way the director connected the words and music makes us feel as if something is going to happen. There is then a long shot of the door, which is shown a little open leading into the ladys room, and there are long shots from both behind the door, and infront of the door where the couple are sleeping. This type of shot creates a lot of tension as we can guess that something is behind that door,and the shots used to show the couples happiness in their photos contrast the life before what is about to happen, and their life after what happens.

While the long shots are being shown, a sound bridge of the clock ticking away is present, to build up the tension and suspense. It could also represent time, and how quickly the virus had spread overnight turning infected humans into zombies, but up to this point in the trailer the audience are unaware of this. The use of a big close up on the door and the creaking of it tells us that something bad is going to happen, as all the events previous to this helped build up the tension so the audience are fully engaged in the trailer. The use of low key lighting around the door and key lighting on the door makes it stand out, showing that the door should have been kept shut or something. Once the door is open, a little girl standing there is shown. She is wearing a normal night suite to show her that theres nothing suspicious about her, but low key lighting is used on her body and face, and her image is kind of blurred out so the audience can’t see. This type of shot appears to be a point of view shot, and her image is blurred to put us into the mans shoes, as he has just woken up because of her opening the door so his eyes would be all blurry.

However, as the man wakes up we are able to see the use of make up creating her into a zombie. The phrase ‘Honey are you ok’ is spoken in a soft tone showing that the man is not fully aware of how she looks as hes just woken up. Right then a large pause is used, where the clips fade and everything turns black. This helps build up a lot of tension, as we want to see why all the events previous to this were shown and what the purpose of the make up was for, as we don’t really see that shes a zombie but she does look ill. When the editing is used, the sound bridge of the clock ticking stops and straight away a loud scream is heard coming from the man and a big close up of himself in agony is shown.

Straight after, the use of high pitched strings are used to build up the tension even more along with the horror shown in the clips. The low key lighting which is used on the little girl in combination with the long shot of her getting up shows us the evil inside her and the zooming in of the lady helps show us her reaction of what she has just witnessed.the sound bridge of the high pitched strings help related to the horror which the women is facing, and this type of music is used in a lot of horror movies to create the same effect.

When the lady leaves her house in an attempt to run away, the camera once again fades away when she goes out in search for someone else and says ‘Help’. A long shot of her at the front of the camera and the background shows us what she is seeing, which is the chaos around her. The funny thing is when she went out for help, she realised that every one else was also in need of help and she wasn’t the only one. The long shot also lets us see what else is going on around her area, and we can see that the threat of zombies has spread everywhere. The heavy breathing coming from the lady and the chaos around her shows us that this threat is really big, and from that point it seems impossible that shes going to survive and we can see her reaction of panik. After that the following words are used ‘When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth’. The second line ‘the dead will walk the earth’ fades in and comes out, which makes the audience take in the information stated, and this line helps give the overall plot of the film where zombies try to take over.

The next clips show a medium shot of the lady driving her car, and the camera is behind the car following it through the chaos on the streets.with the help of the non diegitic sound of the newsreporter, we are able to understand what is goin on as much as the lady understands what is goin on, so both the audience and the character receive the same amount of information about the situation.a long shot of a mall’s name is shown after the reporter states find a safe place, showing us that this is the place she is going to go to in order to stay safe.during this point another sound bridge is used when the reporter states their station is goin off the air, and different close ups of other characters are used to show their identity, and also their reactions. On the close up of the women, high key lighting is used, and key lighting is placed on her hair to show the setting of where they are, and where the lights in the mall are placed so it looks normal. Fast edits are used to quickly show their uncontrolled emotions of the situation.also, the long shot used helps us to see the range of characters present, and we expect their will be some sort of fight against the zombies as the whole narrative unveals, with survivors trapped in a mall, with a security guard present so we expect they would have guns and other equipment to defend themsleves. Once this clip finishes, it fades out and pauses for a second, and unexpectidly a zombie rushed to a door which is barracaded, and a young black man reacts terrified while holding his gun. Straight after another fade is used, along with even higher pitched strings showing the shadows of quick running zombies.the long shot after shows the mass number of zombies waiting for the survivors, and the words used by the police officer ‘Maybe their coming for us’ which is said in a calm herioc voice shows us that he is the type of character that will look out for the rest of the people.

A series of other shots are then used to help give the narrative of the story away and a combination of the lighting, sound, make up, props and costumes help bring out the genre of the movie, while making the trailer entertaining for the audience to watch.for example a shot where the young black man helps his girlfriend give birth while shes a zombie relates back to the genre as clips like these are only shown in horror movies.the use of low key lighting and a close up of the ladys pregnant stomach makes the audience feel like pucking up, as a natural procces of life which suppose to be beautiful is broken up with this filth.

Towards the end of the trailer, fast edits of clips are shown from different parts of the movie in combination with a sound bridge of high pitched strings and voices rising as they sing. Then the camera shakes rapidly as clips are shown 3 times relating back to the chaos in the movie as everything is all over theplace.straight after the 3rd time, the clips freeze and start burning up. The screen then goes white and titls down onto a glass frame of zombies behind it which signifies their large numbers and the fact they they are unstoppable. The title then appears as a special effect, and the colours used are red and orange, to signify the colour of the sun at dawn, which related back to the title, and the blood which gets contaminated from the spread of the virus, and all the blood and gore present in the movie.

Altogether, the use of sound, props, lighting, costumes and make up along with the camera angles and shots help relate back to the genre of the movie, and really engage its viewers into staying focused throughout the trailer. The whole setting helps us to relate to the movie, and brings out the terrifying horror as these events are shown in places that we live in, so we get even more scared as we feel that the zombies can get everywhere which leaves us very vulnerble.

Saturday, 6 December 2008

Cinematography comparison of two different eras




Film from the 1960s- Psycho

Film from the 1990s- Die hard 2

In the extract for Psycho, there is a key aspect of high key lighting which is used even though the film is in black and white.there is presence of high key lighting coming onto the top of the womens hair, and there is front key lighting placed onto the man. The director has purposely done this and not used any back lighting so that a large shadow is created belonging to the man. Shadows often connote darkness and evil within a character which may be the reason for this type of lighting. It’s a coincidence that the man has bright key lighting placed onto his face so we can see his expressions and facial features while talking to the lady, and then he has a large dark shadow behind him, as he draws his hand to his pocket. The rest of the room is brightly lit, so we can see the surrounding and everything else in the room. There also seems to be a glance of key lighting placed onto the woman's top half of her back, to show that there are other sources of light around the room.the type of shot used in this extract is a medium shot, so both characters are placed into one shot, so we can see how both characters act when they are next to each other, and how one may intimidate the other.the shot used makes us feel that we are with them watching what they are doing, and even though we are not at a high angle we feel like we are playing God by over watching the situation.

The extract from die hard 2 has a great deal of low key lighting, but key lighting is placed directly onto the two characters so they stand out from the rest of the background , showing that they are important in this scene and something may happen to them. Key lighting is also placed directly onto both characters faces so we can see their expressions easier.there is no back lighting used so that the rest of the background remains mysterious. The type of shot used in this is a medium shot, which puts both characters into the same picture.

Something which is similar in both images is the type of shot used, as they are both medium shots and include 2 characters in there so we can see how they react with the other character present. However, unlike the image from psycho we do not feel as if we are a part of the action in die hard 2, as we don’t feel like we are there and instead we feel like we are just watching the movie. Another difference is that in die hard 2, both characters are looking in one direction so we can see both of their expressions and facial features. However in the image from psycho, we can only see the mans, as the women has her back to us. Another difference is that both images use different lighting, as the 1st one used high key while the second used low key.

Analysis of four still images






Different camera angles and their effects-

For the 1st poster, a scene from Saving private Ryan, a medium shot is used which focuses on his face and the the rifle which the character is holding. This type of shot helps us to see a number of things within just one shot. Firstly, we can see the characters expressions, and we can see that he is shouting as he’s seen something in his sniper scope. He is probably telling his team of soldiers that something is heading their way, like reinforcements of the other army. From this shot we are also able to tell that the movie is set in a war, and most probably people will realize that it’s World War 2 from the army uniforms and the old rifles.Another thing which we can see from the shot is the weather, which connotes the fact that war is grim, useless and dull from all the casualties and consequences which arise both during the war and after the war.This type of shot puts us right into the action as we feel that we are right there next to the soldier in the war.

The second poster is from a scene from the film Heat. The shot used in the picture is a long shot, which helps us to see the surrounding of the characters and what impact their actions have on the people around them since they are committing a robbery and we are able to see how their actions are scaring the people around them. This type of shot also helps us to see what the characters are wearing, which tells us something about the characters; that they are not low life criminals, as they are wearing suits and have powerful weapons so they must be quite experienced with what they do as they look like professionals. Even though this shot is a long shot, we can still see the characters expressions on their faces, and one looks like he is getting ready to shot something in front of him, while providing some covering fire while the other one runs to another place.

The third poster is a scene from the new Saw movie, and it shows some of the torture scenes shown in the movie. The shot used is a medium shot, so we can see both the surrounding and the character. The genre of the movie is horror, so it would focus on both the surroundings of the character, and there feelings and expressions. We can see that the character is being tortured from this picture, and it makes us feel sick and scared, which horror movies tend to do.

The last poster is a clip from the movie Walking Tall, starring the famous wrestler The Rock. The shot used in this picture is a medium shot, and we are able to see what the character is wearing, along with the things which are next to him, and the background.it helps create a clear picture, as we can see he is the sheriff in the town from his vehicle, his sunglasses and his badge on his belt indicating that he is a sheriff.we can also see his facial expressions, and we can guess that he has just stopped another person as he doesn’t look too pleased.

individual still image analysis- lighting and its effects



Lighting- The Sin City poster demonstrates common characteristics of the Neo-noir genre, the lighting in particular highlights power in the individual characters. As seen Bruce Willis, the central figure is shown to be more superior to the other characters as his position in the poster is looking down on the audience. The lighting on his face which is low key and shadowed again connotes power as does the positioning of his eyes. The low key lighting also emphasises darkness in the central character, as does the background scene. The background characters, Jessica Alba for example is shown in high key lighting particularly on her face, this represents her character as a whole to be of purity as light in this particular genre represents good and low key equals bad. The weather in this poster combined with the lighting show pathetic phallcay as they show the tone or mood in the story line just with colour. Altogether this poster as a whole uses much of low key lighting to highlight the genre but also show individual characters in their own light.

comparison of the mise en scene





The 3 film genres are: action thriller, horror and comedy

Costumes: the costumes from each film differ from one another. The costumes shown in each poster show what the film is about and what type of genre it could possibly be. For example in the poster for Swat, the character is wearing armed police uniform, which straight away tells us that the film will include scenes from law enforcement, as the costume includes a helmet, a pistol holster, a bullet proof vest with swat embroidered in the back, elbow pads and a tactical overall. This shows us that the genre could be action as law enforcement are involved in a lot of crime, and swat units are called in when things get too hard for normal law enforcement to handle. The audience may also think that the genre could include a parts which are tense which are shown in thriller films, as law enforcement officers come under a lot of situations which are thrilling and tense. This poster differs significantly to the poster of the Hills have eyes 2. We aren't shown much of the costumes in this poster, as in horror movies the costumes normally get ruined anyways due to the scenarios which the characters are put under. The costumes tend to be the same anyways in each horror movie, with the characters having normal clothes to try and relate to the audience and show them that these things happen to normal people like themselves to scare them more. The costumes shown in scary movie 3 include a variety of different costumes as there is a range of characters in the movie, but the main focus of costumes are clothes which older teenagers would wear so the movie can relate to the chosen target audience.

Lighting-
The character shown in the Swat poster is put in low key lighting, maybe to indicate the dark pressures he is put under during the film, but the rest of the poster is in high key lighting as there has been an explosion, once again giving away part of the genre of the movie as an explosion indicates that scenes of action will be present.however the name Swat on the bullet proof vest is in high key lighting to make it clear for the audience to read the name of the film.The lighting for the Hills Have Eyes 2 is low key lighting to indicate the dark creepy gore seen in this film, but it is in a darker contrast to give a greater sense for the setting of the film which is in a desert.There is high key lighting used in the final poster so we are able to see all of the characters expressions in the poster which will make us laugh as we can see what each character is doing as well relating to the genre of the movie.

Actors-
The actor shown in the Swat poster seems to be a young middle aged man walking away from the audience into the explosion. We cant really see his face or front figure but we can see that he is walking tall showing that he is brave as he walks into the explosion.The same is for the hills have eyes 2 as we cant really see the actors present in the movie, but it seems that the person on the floor being dragged along is a female. There is a range of famous actors in scary movie 3, as this series of films is very famous so the audience would be expecting a great range of well known actors. The age range of the actors is quite large as well maybe to relate to a greater audience range.

Make up-
There is no make up used for Swat as we cant see the characters face.The same is for the hills have eyes 2 poster as the characters are in the distance so we don’t really focus on their face.however there is a great deal of make up used for Scary movie 3 so we can see their facial expressions clearer, and so that they stand out in the poster.

Props-
For Swat, the use of law enforcement material like gun holsters, helmets, bullet proof vests and a rifle itself are used to give away the genre of the film. The prop used in the second poster is a rope tied to one character on the floor with the other dragging them along. This gives away the genre of the poster as scenes like these are shown in horror movies: a person dragging someone with a rope tied to their head across a desert. In the scary movie 3 poster, there is a great deal of props used to relate to the narrative within the movie, for example the video tape held by the girl is used to relate to the film ‘The ring’.

Setting-
The setting for the first poster is in a city as we can see tall sky scrappers and buildings. The setting for the second poster is a desert, which gives away some of the genre as well as most abductions shown in the poster take place in deserts where no one else is there to help. The setting for the last poster is in a cinema theater, just like scary movie 1 and 2. This shows they don’t want to stop the flow of the poster shown in the other 2 previous movies in the series.