The Hunger Games - Trailer

The Hunger Games comes under the genres of Adventure & Fantasy with the sub-genre of Si-Fi.

Looking at Vladimir Propp's Theory of Narrative he set that every film will include a certain base characters that are used in every film:

To start off we already get an idea of who the Hero within the film is going to be, Katniss Everdeen, although they break the general idea that the Hero is going to be a male role. This tells us that men are no longer considered the dominant role for survival anymore, that due to the world that the people are forced to live in women have had to become equally as strong and fit for survival as their male counterparts.
The villain character seems to be, although only seen very briefly, Seneca Crane. This is just from the atmosphere that is given to the trailer when he is on screen. He is show turning around with a shocked expression upon his face, but also a hint of anger. This gives the idea that he doesn't like what has happened and wants to do something about it.
The donor this character would be Haymitch Abernathy. Haymitch was a previous winner of the Hunger Games, he then gives some tips to Katniss about what is going to happen within the games. The gives her a pin that use to belong to someone in her family, this would be used to give Katniss hope when she thought all was lost.
The helper, this character will assist Katniss in winning the Hunger Games and getting her back home to her little sister. Who else would this be other than fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark. Peetra is the male tribute for the games from District 12 meaning that him and Katniss would be on the same team and able to help each other, although the games rules are only one may come leave. This already gives us the idea that he will be killed in the midst of all the action.
The princess would be Katniss's little sister Primrose Everdeen (Prim). Although very brief we see that Prim is chosen at random to be District 12 female tribute to the Hunger Games, but is replaced by her older sister Katniss when she steps in as a volunteer.
The trailer does not show any sign of The dispatcher and The false hero.


If we look at Tzvetan Todorov's Theory of Narrative he says that the convectional structure of a narrative is structured in five stages: (Stage 5. will never be shown within a trailer as it is the ending of the film.)
1. We see that the world that the people live in has turned into a apressive and controling state. This sets up the basis of the story letting us know that people are going to be craving and searching for freedom.......

Now You See Me - Poster

The Now You See Me poster shows the cast of the film walking threw what looks like mirrors that form the name of the film. The cast are not fully shown as some of them disappear behind the gaps between each letter while others don't. This gives the audience the feeling that this film is about illusion, this follows the name of the film as it is a known saying used my magicians when they do their famous disappearing trick.
The poster allows the audience to see some of the actors that are going to feature within the film. This gives them something else to look for when looking for films that they want to go to watch, as some people aren't fans of the films but mainly the actors that are within the film, for instance fan of Michael Caine would see that he is going to be one of the key characters within this film and so they will want to go and see what he brings to the film as every actor brings something different.

This poster does not give a lot of information about the film other than the names of the people that have had something to do with it and the name of the film. When it comes to when the film comes out the poster simply says 'Coming Soon' this will then allow people to go and find their own information about the film if it is truly something that they are going to be interested in watching, and by doing so it will allow them to look up the trailers for the film to see what the film is actually going to look like.

Now You See Me - Trailer

Now You See me comes under the genre of Thriller & Crime and Sub-genre Caper Film.

Director - Louis Leterrier
Louis Leterrier is known for making such films as The Incredibal Hulk, Clash of the Titans which are both filled with action packed scenes that will leave you sitting on your seat with suspense. The suspense that he knows how to create within a film will add to the atmosphere of this film as we know it tell the story of people who are on the run from the FBI, meaning some extremely suspenseful scenes are bound to be used.

Actors - Jesse Eisenburg, Mark Ruffalo, Woddy Harrelson, Mélanie Laurent, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman.
This films sets up a range of different actors known for their appearances in different film, some of which include more than one of the actors mentioned above, You range from some of the bigger names such as Michael Cain and Morgan Freeman who are known around the film industry, one of which for both of their roles within the Batman trilogy, and some less known names such as Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenburg who both played a role in Zombieland, a film where four unlikely survivors find each other and survive together. This film includes actors from different generation and different parts of the industry coming together to make one amazing film.

Special Effects - Of-course this film is going to use visual effects... It's a film about illusionists that pull of reality defying stunts, such as telerporting a man from a performance in the US to a bank in France... making him disappear in the middle of the stage on show to all of the public. This means that a lot os visual effects are going to be used within the film and so they want to show the public that this is going to be one of the key features and they do so within the trailer by show spectacual visual editing............ But because this is a film about magic they are keeping in some of the simple magic tricks which do not need and visual effects to perform such as making a card change in plain view.

AS Coursework Reflection

Digital Technology

•I used Adobe Elements, this allowed me to use precise timing to cut and edit my videos together, making them look smooth. This also allowed me to see edit sound files precisely so they came in a the moments when needed and not too soon or late.

•I used a HD Camera. This allowed me to film in high detail so the audience can see clearly what is happening on screen.

•With the Adobe Elements the videos would not always run smoothly, it would run the video smooth for around 2/3 seconds and then would start jolting about making it difficult for me to see if sound/video files ran smoothly.

•Technology was used in every way possible when creating the product. from the actual filming of the clips to the editing of each clip and the uploading to YouTube.

Creativity

•To create the idea of my opening two minuets, I looked at different action films and what they focused around, the two main types of action are either where there are a team who are all guns blazing running into the battlefield or a lone man who is faced with the task of taking down an entire gang. I liked the idea of a loan man being full of suspense, where every could lead to his possible demise.

•As I was working alone it was purely my idea, but I did ask other peoples opinions about what they thought what would work or not work within my film, to get a general idea I asked both Media and non-Media students.

•When it came to creating the film I saw that there were a few problems with my idea that either did not make sense or didn’t add or take away from the film meaning they were unneeded. So to improve the outcome I either changed what I had in mind or I removed it completely.

•Adobe Elements allowed me to use a feature that slowed down what you saw on the screen. I used this to make the death seem more significant and shocking due to what they saw before hand.

•From seeing action films that focus around a single character I saw that they like to use shots that make the main character seem like they are at a point in which the only out come is death, but always find a way to survive and still beat the bad guy.

Research & Planning

•The focus audience I observed was mid-teens to adults. By looking at different rated action films you can see what makes the appeal for each of the targeted audience. For my audience it was more around the use of high risk factor. When an audience watches a action film they want to escape the everyday boring life that they see and be captivated by this amazing, adrenalin pumping life that these secret agent/rebels have every day of their life.

•From looking at this information I found that when creating my final product I should keep in mind that the audience want to see things that are dangerous, such as near death experiences. They want to see something that will keep them gripped on the edge of their seat and keep them there for the entire of the film.

•Recording the research was easy, when I was looking at the different information that I had been given I was picking out key features that I thought would be useful for me and put them into word documents that I emailed myself enabling me to view both inside and out of school.

•When we stared our research and planning we looked at the opening two minuets of different films of different genres, so we got a good idea of what the clichés were and how they were used effectively, it also gave us the opportunity to explore genres that we hadn’t thought about creating and gave us ideas that we would be able to use if we came to that genre.

•Once this had all been completed we looked at more than just what we saw, we looked at what we could hear within the clip and how it was used effectively to effect the audience, we looked at what we could see in the background of different clips and what they were used for and if they did their job, and also the key thing of looking at what different camera angles and shots they used and how they effected how we felt about what we were watching. We found that by simply changing the angle of which the camera is looking at a camera would effect how the audience viewed the character.

•From looking at all the different techniques and things that we’re able to use allowed us to broaden our ideas and create an even bigger picture of what we wanted to create. Allowing us to look at different shot types and how they effected the scene and if they would work within the idea that we were creating. All of this was useful to us as it gave us professional help to make our products as good as they could be.

•The effectiveness of looking at all these different aspects was high, it allowed us to see where we were going wrong with work and how we would be able to improve it. This allowed us to make our work as good as we possibly could.

•Different results allowed us to get an over all opinion of what works for each genre, allowing us to get a good idea of what we wanted to do for out product. One of the hardest parts of this project was the starting idea and getting a good grip on what you wanted to do. Because the options were so vast it was difficult to pick one and stick with that idea. But from what we researched it allowed us to see what we wanted to do and if it would work allowing us to see if that idea was one that we wanted to keep and continue throughout the project.

•Storyboards allowed us to get a general idea of what we wanted to be seen on the screen. This allowed us to play around with different shot types and see what would work and give the best effect for what we intended the audience to see. The shot lists gave us a variety of what we could use and how we could use it, this allowed us to get more out of a simple shot. Writing the script was easy to do but was difficult to fuse with what we wanted to see of the camera screen, for many different shots would work for that scene but we needed to find the ones which did the job that we really needed.

Post-production

•When editing there were many thing in which you needed to consider for the clip. You needed to think about continuity, because if each small clip didn’t flow smoothly into each other then the audience would be able to pick that up and single it out, even the smallest misplacement would ruin the whole two minuets. Another thing you needed to think about was if you can hear what was going on within the scene, if the audio wasn’t loud enough then you needed to increase it. This was a challenge for me as the audio was very quiet even when I had increased it to the maximum of what it could go. Finally we needed to think about weather that shot did the job that we needed, if you wanted one character to feel like they had dominance then the best shot type to use was a low angle shot making the actor higher than the viewer, making the actor on screen seem like they have the power within the scene.

•The main tool that I used within editing was the simple cutting tool. The shots which I used I didn’t want to alter much so I just wanted them to flow smoothly from one to the other. The cutting tool is easy to use but everything needed to be precise to make it look good.

•I think that the post-production process helped the end outcome as it allowed me to take all of the best bits of filming which I had done and put them together in the right way that made them flow and look smooth.

Using conventions from real media texts

•Within real media products I found that when at high rick moments there is a lot of quick cutting from shot to shot, allowing the audience to get the idea of the confusion and desperation within the scene. Another aspect which I used would be the slow motion death, when action films was to make a death look significant or dramatic then they will either have a team mate run over to their dying body and have a heart to heart convocation that ends with the person using his last breath to say something that will stay with the team mate, or they turn to slow motion. One thing about slow motion is that it can be used in many different ways to make different out comes. For me I chose the slow motion as the person who dies is alone.

•Within my product I didn’t challenge the conventions much, I chose to stay close to what is used as within the action genre.

•I believe my work to be more experimental as when creating my product I found that there were many things which I would have liked to do differently but because of what I was doing I found that they fit the most. If I was given the chance to redo my final product I would do a lot of things differently.

•I do not believe I have yet developed a style as my product was only an experimental one. But I am able to look at what I have used and see what I do like and don’t like.

•When thinking about the action genre I take inspiration from Zack Snyder, but I don’t believe I put much of his work into my final product.

Man of Steel - Magazine Cover

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1. Strait away our eyes are caught ina trance from the chaous of the city behind Superman and of course the caped hero himself. The contrast of colour makes Superman stand out from his background as we go from light brown, grey smoke and fire to the dark red and blue of Superman's suit.
   Superman is shown to be important by being infront of the Empire name, this shows that he is going to be an important feature of the film, but that was already guessable. But from the carnage behind him this shows that he is going to be in a great struggle, but suggests that he will emerge victorious.

Man of Steel - Poster

 

 

The poster gives us a brief look into content of the Man of Steel film, showing us Superman in his most effective state, flying above the city of Metropolis. The poster looks at Superman from an equal level, looking down towards the city. This gives the audience the feeling that they are equal to Superman and feel as if we are as indestructible as Superman himself.

By putting the audience at an equal level to him it allows them to connect with the character, as they don't feel that character is above them nor do they feel that they are better than him, we see Metropolis in a blur below him, suggesting to the audience that Superman is flying at a high speed, and from the serous expression on his face we get a sense that danger is about. We see a bright light behind Superman, which could just be the sun shining past him but from the colour of the light and from seeing that the sky does not look like a nice sunny day it gives the idea that Superman is being followed. Which will automatically make the audiences start asking questions about the danger that Superman is in. What will happen to our beloved superhero? All of the above will be leaning the audience towards wanting to go and see the film, for nothing screams at an audience more than the hero being in danger.

 

Looking into the content of the poter towards details of the film we see the release date, who are staring in the film and of corse the name of the film.
By including the names of the staring roles within the film allows the people who are maybe not superman fanatics but actor fanatics, they could see that there is a actor in the film that they think really adds a lot to the films that they feature in, making them want to go see the film to see how and who they are within the film.
Date is an important feature for how succesful a film is. If a film such as Superman man was to be shown around september then not as many people would probably have the opertunity to go seeing as a lot of the audience that they want to capture would be in school and would find it difficult to go and see due to work, exams and such things as that. Where as showing the film in June means school is coming to an end and people are going to be more relaxed and looking for enjoyment, and what better way to get that enjoyment than to see the latest Superman film Man od Steel.

Man of Steel - Trailer

 

 

 

 

Man of Steel comes under the Genre of Action and sub-genre of Superhero film.

The Director - Zack Snyder
Zack Snyder is known for making some of the most action packed films that we know today. Such films as 300, Sucker Punch, Watchmen, all of these films have amazing action sequences and moments within the film that really make the audience sit on the edge of their seat. By having Zack direct the film you already get the sense that this film is going to be packed full of exciting scenes with amazing moments that are going to make you gasp with awe.

Actors - Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Laurence Fishburne, Antje Traue, Ayelet Zurer, Russell Crowe.
All names above are known for their acting skills and what they bring to the movie industry. They each bring something different to the playing field and you know they are going to be playing the characters to their full extent.

Special Effects - Super Man is known for having many spectacular powers which to humans are physically impossible. Such as Flying, Super Strength, Lazer Vision ect. All of these powers would need to be created with special/visual effects. Special effects would be such things as pulley systems connected to a bus so when Clark Kent lifts it up it looks like he is doing it with his incredible strength when in reality people off screen are making the bus lift. Visual effects would be Superman's lazer eyes, this would be done post-production, using computer software the team who edit the film together would add in effects that make Superman look like he is really shooting lazers out of his eyes. All of these, when seen on screen, seem amazing to watch, they make the films look even more spectacular than before. Special effects don't make a film what it is, but they sure do help make it all it can be. The well put together combined special and visual effects allow the audience to see no different from real life and what has been edited in, allowing the audience to become fully amerced within the film.

Being Part of a Franchise - The Superman films are one of the biggest superhero franchise around, meaning that because this film is about the well know character people are going to want to watch it, weather it's because you love Superman, because you want to see how it is different from the other Superman film, or just because you think it looks good you are already going to have that feel of excitement because of the franchise that it is apart of. This also add to the advertisement of the film, as begin apart of a franchise allows you to play of previous films and products of those films.

Genre - Action, this is one of the main genres that are known and loved by many different people, action give the audience that moment of release where they can just sit back and watch something that is going to show them excitement, risk, love, hate, and many other things. Action is used to escape the boring life that we live and be replaced by a world of pure adrenalin. Moving into the sub-genre, Superhero films, Superman is one of the biggest superheros known to man, you can ask any person if they know who superman is and the answer will most likely always be the same. Superhero films allow us to see the impossible, people are always saying that 'you can't do this' or 'you can't do that', superhero films take those statement and chuck them out the window, because that's what makes them great. People want to see something that is going to amaze them, make them want to be that person that they see on the screen in front of them. Using the world of imagination and bringing people out of their everyday life and giving them something to think and wish about. Giving them that excitement that we want everyday in our lives.


When watching the trailer, the first thing that we notice is the music. The first thing that grips us is this deep meaningful music that sets a calm/sad mood, setting up the audience seeing the character we all know to be superman floating in the water with rubble and wood all around him, from this we get the sense that chaos has won, Superman has been beaten. This makes the audience question everything within the film, Who beat superman? How was he beaten? ect. Making the audience want to see what fate has been pus toed upon the loved character.
The trailer jumps around from Clark Kent's adult life and his child life, indicating that his younger life is just as important as his life as Superman. We are restricted by the trailer not showing us many of the iconic things of superman, such as the the cape, or his ability to fly. This builds suspense for the film, allowing the audience to get their blood pumping for what is to come within the film, towards the end of the trailer both the cape and Superman flying is shown, this allows the audience to relax, but still want more, they know that this is going to show the life of Clark Kent and his change into Superman, but it will also show the Superman that we all know and love. This is going to make the audience want to see it. Other Superman films have gone over his life as a child but only briefly, we never fully know what life was like for him as a child. This allows us to find out, this is one of the key USPs of the film, that we get to see weather Clark found it easy to hide his powers or if it was very difficult, was he one of the populars or was he left out. All these questions will be answered in this film, and that is what people want to see. They know the story of superman, they want to see something new, something never before seen, something that they can walk away from with a smile on their face and a topic of conversation for the weeks ahead. This trailer give this atmosphere to Man of Steel.