Media Evaluation

Media Evaluation

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Teaser Trailer Analysis Evaluation

After analysing 5 teaser trailers, the convention I found that the majority of them used is the weather and lighting to create the mood, in which I think is one of the biggest influence on the audience's decision on whether or not to go and see the movie, as the mood always depends on the genre and storyline, in which different audiences have different preferences. The majority of trailers I analysed were for horror movies, in which all of them had dim lighting, or if any was to be light, it would be from a fire or a thunderstorm, both of which are related to disaster.



I also found that in "The Haunting in Connecticut" and "Nightmare on Elm Street" trailers they both used a child's voice over reciting a poem. This created a creepy effect as children are seen as innocent, so is more frightening when they are involved in a horror movie. I thought this was a good convention to use as the tone and rhythym of the children's voices went along with the slow transitions which was a good build up to the peaks of the trailers.



All of the teaser trailers I analysed included their date of release at the end. This is a clever idea to put it right at the end as it will be the last thing stuck in the audience's mind, and it has let them judge the film before knowing when it's out, whereas if the date was shown at the beginning, the audience might ignore it and then when they realise they would like to go and see the film, they probably would have forgotten when it said it was going to be released. It's also just a tidy way to end the teaser trailer, and I will do the same for my own.



"Alice in Wonderland" was the only trailer that included a title for who stars in it. This is a convention that is used in many trailers, however not many teaser trailers as it's more about just getting a sneak peak of the storyline. However as Alice in Wonderland includes many famous actors, this is a convention this certain trailer has used to get audiences to go and see the film on its own, just simply because Johnny Depp is starring. The other trailers I analysed didn't have as well-known actors in, therefore there was less need to include these individual titles.

"The Legend of Bloody Mary" Teaser Trailer Analysis

The music in this teaser trailer starts off modern and rocky, relating to the teenage boy in one of the opening shots. This also relates to the storyline, as the girl Amy finds out about the legend of Bloody Mary on a website, showing that these events all include normal teenagers that are around today, aiming at the audience, as it's a teen horror there will be teenagers watching making it more frightening for them as they may relate these characters to themselves. The trailer's aim is to give these teenagers more of a drive to be daring and go and watch the movie. The music is stopped by what seems a power cut, followed by a scream, and the only sound that can be heard is creaking and the storm, as the boy slowly goes up the stairs to see what's happened, creating a suspense. The music starts to build up as he opens the door, however it stops again, teasing the audience with a peak, making them want to go and see the movie, as the trailer hasn't given much away.

Different titles appear during the trailer, instead of using a voice over, bringing more mystery and curiosity into the trailer, as the movie is all about finding out about the legend of Bloody Mary. As the titles appear, the text is in white, however one letter is in red, and is always a letter that is in Mary's name. The red represents the blood, and by this convention being used, it brings her more alive in the trailer, instead of her being a myth which most people would believe.

Like most horror movies, the lighting in this trailer is dim and gloomy, which is conveyed in the trailer as it needs to set the mood and atmosphere, which is important for the audience to see as they need to know what to expect, and if this is a movie they would want to go and watch. If there is any bright light in this trailer, it comes from the thunderstorm which is not realated to anything bright or happy, as bad weather in movies means bad atmosphere.

"A Nightmare On Elm Street" Teaser Trailer Analysis

The trailer starts off in silence, showing long shots of an abandoned setting, this immediately creates the effect of being alone. The music very suddenly begins when the trailer shows a man running, which is soon discovered that he is being chased. The upbeat music reflects his running, and his mood as he must be frightened, as there's so many of them and one of him. Only a few seconds of the trailer have passed and it's already leaving the audience wondering why he is being chased, wanting to know more. This first section of the trailer leads up to a peak which is helped by the suspense of the music. The transition occurs after this, and the music then slows down and becomes creepy, which is accompanied by a child's voice reciting a poem, however it's echoey and also creating a creepy effect. However, every several seconds the child's voice stop and the jumpy music cuts back in. This all builds up to another peak and the fast-paced music overpowers again. I think this is a good convention to use as it teases the audience with suspense.

At the beginning of the trailer, everything starts off very grey and gloomy, although it's set outside, no sun can be seen, only dark clouds. This again reflects the mood and creates the dark atmosphere of which the movie includes, which is a giveaway a teaser trailer must include. The lightest shot in the trailer is of the little girl's playing on a skipping rope, this is to reflect the child's voiceover, and although the shot is bright, the voiceover makes it give out a more abnormal impression, rather than a happy one. For the rest of the trailer, the only other bright light included is the fire, which represents death and disaster, so again not bringing across a happy image.

The teaser trailer includes many close ups and slow transitions. This suggests the intimacy the 'monster' or whatever the trailer is suggesting is after the victims, has with the characters. It shows that it's up close to them, and creeping around them with the slow transitions, which is frightening for the audience as they get carried away with the movie, start to believe it could be up close to them too. There is also a close up of the street name "Elm Street" this shows setting, and as Elm Street is in the name of the movie and that this shot is included in the trailer, shows the audience that it's mainly set down this street, targeting a group of characters that the audience are likely to attach to, again making it more frightening.

"Saw VI" Teaser Trailer Analysis

The music in this teaser trailer is fast, loud and upbeat. This is to reflect the events during the film and suggests that is going to be fast-paced and the audience will gain a rush. The music goes along with the camera movements, which makes the viewer feel like they are being taken along on a ride, although a scary ride as the setting is dim and gloomy, also abandoned, so you feel pretty much alone, however the screaming and shouting suggests many people are going to go through this "tough ride" in the movie.

As the title states "Saw IV", it's a sequel of many before, therefore this trailer is aimed at an audience who will know what to expect, so it hasn't much need to tell the audience about the background, this is why the trailer is made up of computerized images, and only small snippits of the film are displayed on the television screens which the camera passes. However, although the trailer doesn't need to tell the audience about the background story, it still needs to explain to the audience why they should go and see this particular movie, and why it's different to the others in the series of movies. It does this through text and as the camera moves through the building, big writing such as "6 choices", suggesting that there will be dilema in the film. All of the text that appears begins with "6" to really put in the audience's minds that it is all about "Saw IV" and not about any of the others.

The lighting in this trailer is dim, which relates to the mood and genre of the film, and suggests that it contains no happiness, and the dark is always a more frightening setting than the light.

At the end of the trailer it states that it will be realeased on halloween. This suggests to the audience that it's a movie to be afraid of and brings out the horror effect, instead of just stating that it will be released in October, as the audience won't then relate it to halloween. I think this is a good convention to use, as it persuades the thrill-seekers to go and see it as everything is typically more frightening on the night of halloween.

"Alice In Wonderland" Teaser Trailer Analysis

The music starts off slow at the beginning of the teaser trailer, this is when Alice is still in the normal world, and as soon as she falls into the rabbit hole the music is more upbeat and loud. This shows the contrast between the two worlds, suggesting she is safer where she comes from, and is about to be taken on an adventure to where she is going. This invites the audience in to know a bit more about what type of place Alice is going to be in.
The narrator also tells the audience about the land with quotes such as "some say to survive it, you need to be mad as a hatter". The narrator is then revealed to be the mad hatter, who the audience can see is played by Johnny Depp as his name is shown. Making the mad hatter the narrator of the trailer tells the audience that Depp is going to be playing a big part in the movie, which would instantly draw Depp fans in making them want to see the film. This trailer also draws in fans of Disney films, by showing the Disney castle at the beginning of the trailer, and Tim Burton films, as at the end the film is introduced as a Tim Burton film.

At the beginning of the trailer, we can also see that the sun is shining through the trees. This creates a bright happy picture, making it easier for the audience to notice the contrast when Alice is in the land where the moon shines through the trees. Suggesting again that Alice could be in "danger" as the narrator says.

The camera is often moving around characters or follows their movements. This suggests the characters are intriguing and unusual, and that nothing is still and that there is always something going on to be watching. It shows a few long shots in the trailer, introducing the land to the audience so they can catch a glimpse of what it's like, making them want to see more. On a couple of occasions, the camera is looking at Alice from a high angle. This suggests that she is inferior in the land, helping the audience to understand how she could be feeling in an unknown place surrounded by superior characters.

Before Alice falls down the rabbit hole, faded transitions are used from each shot, this shows that where she is everything flows smoothly and is simple. However, after she falls down the hole, many quick jumps from each shot are made, showing everything is happening fast. This tells the audience there's alot for Alice to take in and suggests that she has trouble keeping up with everything that occurs.

The Haunting In Connecticut Teaser Trailer Analysis

The lighting in this teaser trailer is dim the majority of the time creating a gloomy atmosphere, which straight away tells the audience the genre of the film which is horror. This can also be shown in the long shot of the house which is lit up but surrounded by trees and darkness which suits the stereotypical horror film. The shot that is most lit up in the trailer is when the boy is surrounded by the fire which also tells the audience that this film is dark and scary.
The first sound that the audience's attention should be drawn to is the beat that is loud and echoes. It could represent footsteps or a heartbeat, both of which create suspense, helping the audience again to understand the genre of the film. There is also a voice-over of a child rehearsing a rhyme, which mentions dieing before waking. This tells the audience death could be involved in the movie, without giving away how the death occurs, if the death occurs. The slow, echoed sound of her voice creates an image of a scary child, rather than a regular one, although we cannot see her, but just gather this from the sound of the voice. The beating noise also creates suspense, which is followed by a couple of jumpy noises. This also tells the audience the movie contains suspense and jumpy moments, a couple of which are shown in the trailer. One of the jumpy moments is built up by a rattling noise when there is a close up of the bed sheet shaking. This leaves the audience wondering - is it a creature? is it a person? It tells the audience what to expect, without telling them what happens. The teaser trailer also uses some of the characters lines, most of which are yelled, showing that the characters are distressed, such as "what have you done to yourself?!" and "leave me alone!". One of the characters also mentions the house, and there is a shot of the house lit up through the trees, this tells the audience that it could be the house that the storyline is based upon, this then helps the audience to tell if this is the sort of movie they would like to go and see.
The camera eases slowly across each shot, in time with the slow beat, and creating a creepy effect. The majority of the shots are medium close up, so we get to see the characters in the trailer which tells us a bit more about the movie. When the trailer reaches the climax, close ups are used, so the audience get a glimpse of the scary moments and detail in the movie. When the sheet rattles beneath the bed a close up is also used so the audience feel like they are just inches away from whatever is behind it, making them feel vulnerable as there is no distance. The gives the audience an idea of the experience this movie brings. A long shot is also used in this trailer of the house, which is lit up between the trees. This is also to set the scene as it is a typical shot of a scary house lit up through the dark woods.
Writing appears on the screen along with the beat, this keeps the audience's attention and eyes fixed to the screen as they are reading instead of listening. The trailer starts off with slow transitions which fits in with the slow beat and voice of the child. During the climax of the trailer quick jumps from each shot occur as it reflects the frustration of the characters helping the audience learn more about them. Quick jumps from each shot also means the audience's eyes don't focus properly making them feel vulnerable as it's unclear to see what's going on.
The Mise-en-scene in this trailer all fits in with the scary genre of the movie. There are no bright colours, which represents negative rather than positive. Many lamps and candles are also used instead of lights, this helps to darken down the room, so less things can be seen. Also, the trailer uses many shots of the characters in beds, this shows their innocence as they are helpless when they sleep, and tells the audience that alot of the activity in the story occurs at night time which is always more scary than in the day.

Evaluation for Movie Poster Analysis

All of the movie posters I chose to analyse were all movies with similar genres, most of them including horror and thriller, but with a lot of fantasy and adventure. Therefore, I was expecting a lot of the same conventions, which there were. I found that all the colour schemes on each of the posters used very dim colours, this helps majorly on creating the atmosphere and the feel of the movie. The only light that lit up the posters was fire for “All the Boys Love Mandy Lane” which represented disaster, and for the “Gothika” poster the title of the movie was lit up in a blue light, suggesting that something supernatural was going on. This shows that light cannot always be related to good.
I also found that a large majority of movie posters I came across had the date of release on them, usually placed at the bottom. This would be a good idea for my poster as I feel it doesn't take too much attention away from the main focus of the poster, but it's still there for people to notice.
In only two out of five of the posters I analysed, the names of the actors that starred in the film were written at the top. This was a convention I expected to see more of, however, in my opinion Halle Berry, Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley are all well-known stars so this would help majorly in drawing audiences in, whereas the main character in "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane" is less popular, therefore it wouldn't be drawing many people in by having her name on the top of the poster as an unknown name wouldn't make any difference to the audience.
In four of the posters, the characters are looking at the camera, therefore making the audience feel like they are being watched when they look at the poster. This could help the on-looker feel connected with the characters, and more involved in the film. The only poster in which the character is not looking directly out of the poster is the one for "Transformers", however he is a rival in the film, so maybe a character that the audience wouldn't want to be connected with. Also, with him facing the other way, it creates the effect that you are being ignored when looking at the poster, maybe because he has greater things on his mind such as evil plans, all helping to make the audience not like him already.

Pirates of the Caribbean Movie Poster Analysis

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane Movie Poster Analysis

Transformers Movie Poster Analysis

Twilight Movie Poster Analysis

Gothika Movie Poster Analysis

Brief

A promotion package for a new film, including a teaser trailer, with a film magazine front cover, featuring the film and a poster for the film.