POTENTIAL PRODUCTION COMPANIES

Potential Production Logos

In this post I have chosen some logos that would be used to produce my film. My reason for choosing these production logos is because they have been involved in making other horror films such as 28 Days Later, Dawn Of The Dead and American Haunting.




After looking through many production logos for independent films and mainstream Hollywood films this has helped me to have a clearer picture of what companies will produce mine. Something that I have noticed is that although independent film might produce a film, a mainstream company could pick it up for distribution which why some of them prove to be such a success.

POSTER GENRE CONVENTIONS

After looking through a number of different zombie/horror posters I can see conventions that come up time and time again:

- Isolated setting

- Red font

- Previous horror films

- Central image is of a zombie or something scary

- Darkness

This will definitely help me when I come to making mine and I will make sure that my poster holds some of the same conventions.

POSTER GENRE CONVENTIONS

From this poster I can clearly see conventions coming up in many horror/zombie posters. The red font, isolated setting and tag lines with a direct mode of address.

POSTER GENRE CONVENTIONS

I have noticed that in this poster there is something that symbolises isolated setting which is something I noticed 28 days later poster and this seems to be something that is associated with horror films. This is a convention that I will most likely be using in my own poster.

POSTER GENRE CONVENTIONS

I can see certain similarities in these zombie posters which will in the end help me into developing my own zombie poster. The tag line of the this movie is directly addressing the audience, this is to create threat and intensity. The colour red is splattered on the poster to represent blood, red is the colour that people associate with danger. The main picture of this poster is a zombie and you can tell this my his physical behaviour. After looking at a number of zombie posters I know I will have a much greater understanding of the kind of things to include in a zombie poster.

POSTER GENRE CONVENTIONS

After looking through poster conventions i then decided to look through genre poster conventions. I found many similarities in the way they address the audience. This is done through colour, through quality of the image and the setting and background.

ZOMBIE POSTER TAG LINES

After looking through different posters i wrote down a number of tag lines to see the conventions that they hold. There were a lot of similarities between these tagline in the way that they address the audience with a direct mode of address.

Poster Taglines

28 days later – Your Days Are Numbered

28 Weeks Later – There Is No Escape

American Zombie – We’re Here. We’re Dead. Get Used To It!

Autumn – The Beginning of the End

Day of the Dead – D-Day is Coming

Day of the Night – You’ll Go Bump in the Night

Survival of the Dead – Survival isn’t just for the Living

Diary of the Dead – Where Will You Be When the End Begins

Land of the Dead – The Dead Shall Inherit the Earth

Dawn of the Dead – When there’s No More Room in Hell, The Dead Will Walk the Earth

I Am Legend – The Last Man on Earth is Not Alone

Resident Evil – Survive the Horror

Back From the Dead – She Lived to Destroy

Planet Terror – The Last Hope for Humanity Rests on a High-Power Machine Gun

Dead Girl – Your Never Forget Your First Time

House of the Dead – You Won’t Last the Night

White Zombie – The Dead Walk among Us

TEASER TRAILER SHOT LIST

This is my shot list for my teaser trailer

Shot List

1. EST SHOT – Big Ben & Parliament from the bridge
2. Fade to black then fade in
3. EST SHOT – Bank station, bustling crowds
4. Fade to
5. MEDIUM SHOT – Protagonist sitting at work desk, women walks past (L to R) and dumps pile of papers on his in-tray – (“I hate my life”)
6. CU – Papers dumped in tray
7. CU – Protagonist looks down, then looks up, with a sigh – (“I’ve always hated the 9 to 5, I suppose it’s better than, before”)
8. Long shot from opposite side of road, protagonist centre frame, bus going past with him still at bus stop zoomed in already
9. Cut to black
10. MEDIUM SHOT – Protagonist in kitchen facing the kettle with a pot noodle next to it.
11. CU – kettle popping
12. CU – Protagonist ripping the lid off the pot noodle
13. CU – Hand lifting the kettle and poring it into the noodle cup
14. Cut to black
15. CU – Protagonist putting toothpaste on his toothbrush
16. MCU – Protagonist brushing his teeth
17. Cut to black
18. MEDIUM SHOT – the main bed and an arm lifting the quilt open
19. MEDIUM SHOT – Protagonist getting into bed
20. Cut to black
21. MCU - setting his alarm
22. CU – Going to sleep – head hitting the pillow
23. Cut to black
24. MCU – person in a park turning around in shock (impact sound)
25. Cut to black
26. MEDIUM SHOT – person in a school turning around in shock (impact sound)
27. Cut to black
28. MEDIUM SHOT – person on a walk in a residential area turning around in shock (impact sound)
29. Cut to black
30. LOW ANGLE – looking past ‘zombies’ leg on to the street with people running straight ahead while looking back (impact sound)
31. Cut to black
32. MCU/CU – person sitting along hiding from zombies with a spot of light on their face with someone running past the light
33. Cut to black (noise of the zombie at his front door)
34. CU – Protagonist turning his head in slow smooth shock at the door (impact sound)
35. Cut to black ‘not again’
36. MEDIUM SHOT – Shadow of zombie through door (impact sound)
37. Cut to black

POSSIBLE TRAILER TITLES

After noting down about 20 possible titles for trailer thinking about the kind of words that are used in other titles i conducted a tally to see which would be the most popular

Trailer Titles Table

TEASER GENRE CONVENTIONS

Genre Conventions

Resident Evil Extinction
- Happy settings – party life, zooms out to a tv in a waste land
- Music becomes more sinister
- Abandoned and destroyed cities
- Quick editing
- Fast pace
- Quick camera angles
- Physicality is shocked, scared, heroic, brave
- Dark settings


After looking at a number of different zombie teaser trailers I have spotted a number of similar conventions which I have named in the last few posts. This has definitely furthered my understanding of their conventions and will certainly help towards creating my own teaser trailer.

RESIDENT EVIL : EXTINCTION - TEASER TRAILER - GENRE CONVENTIONS

TEASER GENRE CONVENTIONS

Genre Conventions

I Am Legend
- Dark setting
- High angles
- Low lighting
- Sad lonely music
- Explosions
- Crowded setting/abandoned setting
- Wide framing
- Voice over of his situation
- Bird’s eye view of empty cities

I AM LEGEND - TEASER TRAILER - GENRE CONVENTIONS

TEASER GENRE CONVENTIONS

Genre Conventions

Dawn of the Dead
- Happy music with people having fun, sudden change of music to sound effects of car crashes and mayhem, screams
- Low lighting
- Abandoned areas
- Impacts sounds
- Fast editing
- Quick camera movements

DAWN OF THE DEAD - TEASER TRAILER - GENRE CONVETIONS

TEASER GENRE CONVENTIONS

Genre Conventions

28 Days Later
- Slow dramatic music to begin with, with hard thumps
- Sound effects of madness, screaming, animals running wild
- Words on screen – 1st day, exposure, infection, epidemic, evacuation
- Fast editing
- Fast camera movements
- Darkness
- Low lighting
- Superimpositions to reflect state of mind
- Silhouette
- Flashing lights
- Sound effects of violence – smashing windows – destruction
- Abandoned Cities
- The colour red
- Mise-en-scene – ripped clothes, blood

28 DAYS LATER - TEASER TRAILER - GENRE CONVENTIONS

The reason why I am now looking at Horror (zombie) trailers is because I have now chosen to do a zombie teaser trailer for my A2 project, so the next posts will be looking at conventions of zombie trailers.

REEL STEEL

After looking at many posters I can a number of similar conventions that they all hold such as:
- a tag line.
- the title is usually in the biggest font.
- there is a central dominant image which consists of certain iconography telling the audience the genre the film belongs to.
- billing and credits usually come at the bottom of the poster.
- the actors name is usually the second biggest font depending on the kind of poster.
- there is usually a release date depending on whether it is a teaser poster or theatrical poster.
- there is always a website for the movie.

knowing all this information will help me extremely when I come to creating my poster as I will know the certain conventions that will be in my poster.

BLACK SWAN

After looking at this poster I can many similarities from the last poster. Both of the titles seem to be in the biggest font on the poster, this is to catch the audiences attention and there is usually a central and depending on what film it is it will have an A'list actor on the front. There also seems to be billing and credits and members of the cast on the poster with a film website. This poster also has a review on it.

TEASER TRAILER CONVENTIONS

This post is to look at the conventions of teaser trailers so when I come to making my own I will have a better understanding of the things it must contain.

TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

This teaser trailer unlike other teaser trailers that I have looked at seems to have the production companies in the trailer and are the first things on screen. There is very little dialogue with little narrative information and is mainly dominated by the sound and camera work with big explosions and fast moving images. Most sequels seem to have a teaser trailer due to their existing audience. Through out the trailer blackouts and fade outs are used frequently to move the story along. The director and executive producer are also named in the teaser trailer something which is not common in the teasers I have watched. There is also a tag line in the teaser 'revenge is coming' and at the end there are billing credits which is something I have noticed in other teaser trailers.


TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN PART 1 OFFICIAL TEASER TRAILER



This teaser trailer is also mainly dominated by music and quick edited shots which don't really seem to give out a lot of narrative information. This teaser trailer does consist of a release date 'November 18th' and there a lot of on screen captions. This will definitely give me an incite into what I would put in my teaser trailer and the what certain structure to keep to.

LIMITLESS TEASER TRAILER



This is teaser trailer is not a sequel and does not have any existing audience. This trailer has no narrative information and it completely music lead. The shots are very quickly edited together. If my teaser trailer was not a sequel then it would most  likely share a lot of the same conventions as this trailer. The trailer does contain production logos at the beginning, 'Rogue'.

KUNGFU PANDA 2 TEASER TRAILER



The production logo is the first thing on screen 'Dream Works'. The trailer has no narrative information as it one long shot of the panda on screen but people will still know what it is due to the title at the end and the fact that this trailer already has an existing audience.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN:  ON STRANGER TIDES



The trailer starts with 'Captain Jack Sparrow' on screen which is the same  for the entire trailer. It contains very little narrative information but does give the basic story line away. This trailer is mostly dialogue led and it already has an existing audience. It does not contain any production logos.

After looking through many teaser trailers, I know have a better understanding of the conventions in a teaser trailer such as:
- little narrative information
- production logos come usually at the beginning
- there is sometimes an ambiguous release date
- teaser trailers can be music and actions lead

When I come to making mine I will keep all of this in mind.

Poster Annotations

In the next few posts I am annotating posters to understand their conventions so when I come to making mine I will have a better understanding of what to put in it.

After looking through this poster I can see a number of things that I will most likely put in to my own poster

Comparison of Cars 2 Teaser/Theatrical

Cars 2 – Teasers/Theatrical

In the trailers I've looked at, Cars 2, teaser and theatrical, it seems typical of this kind of film to have a teaser as it is part of a sequel. This can also be seen in my other post looking at the trailers of Spider-Man 3, teaser and theatrical. In Cars 2 trailers there are many differences and some similarities. These differences are:
- The teaser trailer seems to have no images from the film apart from one shot at the very end which might not even be in the final cut of the movie. However in the theatrical trailer it is made up from scenes from the film.
- In the teaser trailer there are mostly words on screen and this could be because the film hasn't been made yet whereas in the theatrical trailer there are very few words on screen and mostly full of scenes from the film.
- In the theatrical trailer you get a much better sense of the narrative as it has a lot more information from the film in the trailer whereas in the teaser there is very little narrative information apart from the brief words put on screen throughout.


These trailers do have some similarities, which are:
- They both show the production company which is Disney and Pixar.
- These two trailers also have the release date of 'Summer 2011', this could because they still haven't picked a release date because the film has obviously not been finished yet.

Comparison of Spiderman 3 Teaser/Theatrical

In this post and the next i am comparing the difference between theatrical and teaser trailers to understand their conventions and layouts so i will have a better understanding of what to put in mine

Spiderman 3 – Teasers/Theatrical

It seems typical of this type of film to have a teaser trailer as it is part of a sequel so already has an existing audience.

Some of the things that I have noticed in this teaser trailer is that it is mostly captions on screen 'how long can any man fight the darkness'. The trailer already has a lack of narrative information unlike the the theatrical trailers which usually consist of a heavy amount of narrative information.

The music in this trailer seems to be quite dominant in telling the story with 1/2 second scenes from the film quickly edited. The trailer doesn't seem to give any specific date release, it only seems to say 'next summer' which is quite ambiguous but is normal for a teaser trailer. There is also hardly any dialogue in the trailer. 

In the theatrical trailer, I can already see in the first few seconds that the takes are longer, the  music seems less dominant in telling the narrative story. Near the beginning of the trailer is already tells you the company that produced it 'Columbia'. In this trailer it is also apparent from the beginning that there is a heavy amount of dialogue, more so than the teaser trailer which gives away much more narrative information. The end of the trailer also gives away some billing credits.

Introduction

My name is Daniel Marsh and for A2 project I am creating a campaign which entails me making a teaser trailer, poster and magazine front cover. Over the next few months I will be developing ideas and creating an in depth research project into how to create these three things finally ending with a finished project.