Research - The Sub Genre Categories 8 Thriller & Suspense

• Thriller/Suspense-are hybrids from the horror genre. In any case these types of films are designed to promote suspense, heightened expectation, tension and anxiety.

Research - The Sub Genre Categories 7 Supernatural

• Supernatural- films are a sub genre from horror and sci fi film genre. They have themes consisting of spirits, miracles, ghosts, devils and demons as well as witchcraft.

Research - The Sub Genre Categories 6 Sports

• Sports - these films will feature sports and lead roles of sports players, this category can be a hybrid of comedy or drama.

 

Research - The Sub Genre Categories 5 Fantasy

• Fantasy- films are the sub genre of the science fiction film genre. This genre works on taking the viewers to different universes where different laws govern nature and reality. Generally the fantasy sub-genre includes elements of magic and medieval or ancient settings. Some may be set in alternate versions of our reality where portals may lead to fantastical realms, recent examples include "Chronicles of Narnia" or "Pans Labyrinth".

Research - The Sub Genre Categories 4 Disaster

• Disaster - is the sub genres of action film genres. This genre works around an impending crisis, it may draw alot of suspense and sense of peril.

Research - The Sub Genre Categories 3 Detective & Mystery

• Detective & Mystery- are the sub genres of the crime/gangster film genre. This genre focuses on unsolved murders or crimes. This genre may include plot twists or shock reveals, examples include "LA Confidential" and " The Adventures of Tin Tin".

Research - The Sub Genre Categories 2 Chick Flicks

• Chick Flicks ­- are the sub genre of the romantic comedy genre. These films are targeted mostly at women, however many husbands and boyfriends get dragged along too, as such this sub-genre is a clever to ploy to appeal to a wider demographic. 

Research - The Sub Genre Categories 1 Biopics

Looking at the main genre categories has helped to identify each of the topics, but I feel I need to do more research into genre because I have seen films that have more than one combination of a genre. This will help to choose which genre combination I might want to do for my own project.

Film sub-genres are identified as the sub classes of the main category. The following list will show the many sub-genres:

• Biopics - the word biopic came from a combination of biography and pictures. Biopics are the sub genre of the main drama film genre. Biopics were really popular during the 1930s and still are, "The Iron Lady" is a recent example.

Research - The Main Genre Categories 9 War

• War- these films are based around real war, they tend to be dramatic, try to be meticulous in period detail. Some will an anti war stance such as "All quiet on the Western Front" or simply be entertaining action pieces such as "Inglourious Bastards".

 

Research - The Main Genre Categories 8 Science Fiction (Sci-Fi)

• Science Fiction (Sci-Fi) - These are a broad category of films are often very creative and imaginative. They will have one thing in common though, that is some scientific or pseudo-scientific premise. Examples of Sci-Fi include "Aliens" and "Inception".

Research - The Main Genre Categories 7 Musicals

• Musicals - are narrative films that include dance and music set pieces. For example "Fame" and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang".

Research - The Main Genre Categories 6 Horror

• Horror- films are created to thrill, shock and frighten while entertaining us at the same time. For example "Alien" or "Let me in"

Research - The Main Genre Categories 5 Drama

• Drama- films are always portrayed seriously with a realistic narrative, characters, settings and life situations. These films don’t generally have special effects; an example of a drama film is "Babel" or "Benjamin Button".

Research - The Main Genre Categories 4 Crime & Gangster

• Crime & Gangster- films consist of criminal activity, most of the time the criminal activity is based around Mafioso, bank robbers, underworld figures or coldblooded thugs. They are seen breaking the law and fighting or bribing them to. An example of such films is The Godfather or Scarface.

Research - The Main Genre Categories 3 Comedy

• Comedy - films are intentionally designed to make us laugh, most of the time through exaggeration, language, action or relationships. For example A Death at a Funeral (2010) or "Bridesmaids". Comedies may come in all sorts of flavours, slapstick or parody some examples.

 

Research - The Main Genre Categories 2 Adventure

• Adventure – films have more exciting plots and twists. Generally they tend to overlap with the action genre. They tend to show unreal places, may involve elements of the supernatural or fantastical, for example "Pirates of the Caribbean" or "Journey to the Center of the Universe".

 

Research - The Main Genre Categories 1 Action

The following list is to show you the main film genres that are frequently seen in the cinema:

• Action – films are mostly a big budget with a lot of physical stunts and thrilling car chases. This may also include bare knuckle fighting, vehicle explosions, and some rescue missions. Often with a hero figure going against a villain for example Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader. Many actors become synonymous with the action genre if they do a few films in that genre. The "Expendables" is an example of a film with multiple famous action stars, the film parodied the rivalry that audiences imagine must exist between different action stars.

Research - What Is A Genre

Now that I have looked into what a trailer is and consists of, it has given me a lot to think about for my own trailer. This is why I thought it would be best if I did a little research into what a genre is, so I can choose properly instead of rushing into it. This will give me more of an in depth understanding of what kind of genres there are and which one is best for us to work on.

Film genres have a variety of categories, classifications or groups of films that have recurring or obvious patterns, language rules, filmic techniques or conventions that include;

• Settings - Props, Costumes etc.
• Theme - Happy/Dark.
• Mood - Frightening/Pleasant.
• Period - Present/Past/Future.  
• Plot - Whole narrative.
• Central Narrative Events - The main action.
• Motifs – The image it gives off.
• Styles – Black and White, Silent.
• Situations – Climax Scenes.
• Recurring Icons (James Bond - The Bond Films)

After the silent film era had ended most genres were already categorized into the following:

• Melodrama
• Western
• Horror
• Comedy
• Action Adventure
• Musicals (Talkies)
• Science Fiction (became popular in 1950s)

Many films are well thought out hybrids, they include several film genres. According to Jim Collins since the 1980s Hollywood films were largely influenced towards ironic hybridization. This meant that directors would choose to combine more than one genre for example Cowboys Vs Aliens. Andrew Tutor claimed that any genre of film can be defined in four ways: 

• The idealist method judges films by predetermined standards.
• The empirical method identifies the genre of a film by comparing it to a list of films   already deemed to fall within a certain genre.
• The Apriori method uses common generic elements which are identified in advance.
• The social conventions method of identifying the genre of a film is based on the  accepted cultural consensus within society.

Genre is constantly seen as an unclear term with no permanent restrictions. There are many film theorists that question the term genre for example Robert Stam argues that does genre really exist or is it just the creation of critics. While some genres are based on story content (the war film), other are borrowed from literature (comedy, melodrama) or from other media (the musical). Some are performer-based (the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films) or budget-based (blockbusters), while others are based on artistic status (the art film), racial identity (Black cinema), location (the Western), or sexual orientation (Queer Cinema).Various genres come with a specific target audience as well as publication support from film magazines, adverts, merchandise and websites. For example statistics show that men are more likely to view a horror or action film than a romantic film. 

(Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_genre)

Research Into Trailers 10

This film is the third in the series, and may even be the funniest.This time they want to get back home and they need the penguins help. 

• The trailer begins with the production logo 
• follows with a sequence of text with serious background almost militaristic music, next we see them emerging out of the ocean slowly with a wide shot of all of them together. This gives the impression the animals are on a mission.
•  the next scene shows the monkeys and the penguins misbehaving in a hotel room, the scene cuts to the penguins where a gag is rapidly delivered. This establishes the film is comedy for those that may be unfamiliar with the previous films
• The films genre is a family comedy animation it’s a film that is intended for the whole family to enjoy especially children. 
• The trailer reveals some plot elements, particularly that the animals become wanted by the police and tries to include some of the characters that audiences will recognise from the previous films.
• The background soundtrack switches appropriately to "I Fought the Law" by The Clash once it becomes obvious the animals have become fugitives

Research Into Trailers 9

We have all played the game now it’s time to watch the film. The film just takes the title of the game and involves aliens fighting naval forces. 

• The trailer begins with the opening of the production logo, 
• then wide shots of the navy and its weaponry. 
• There is some narrative development where we find out a young man is in love with his captain’s daughter, which is the captain of the naval ship he intends to work on. 
• The next shot is of their first naval drills out in the open sea and they come across a strange wreckage in the sea, some crew in a small boat go and search the wreckage, as one of them touches it they get electrocuted which seems to have activated the robotic alien. 
• This is where we can guess starts another "Transformers" movie clone, or a "War of the Worlds" type premise, but this one is based on the ocean.
• The quality of the CGI is shown off towards the end of the trailer, where the spectacular sequences are glimpsed. This what draws the audience in.

Research Into Trailers 8

 

• The trailer opens by showing the production logo first 
• followed by wide shots of New York City and a person narrating over.
• The camera takes a long shot of a girl in the underground subway; she’s trying her best to hide from the Russian mafia. 
• this is followed by an action sequence between them and Statham begins. 
• Throughout there is a musical score that is both loud and urgent in style, this adds to the atmosphere.
• The trailer is built up from a quick succession of short 2-3 second shots

Research Into Trailers 7

• The trailer begins with the camera focusing on rushing waves and then zooming in on an island, 
• in between this we see text explaining the story further. The camera angles are mostly long shots of the areas on the island. The pace of non-diagetic music gets faster as we as we race through different shots. 
• Then a close up shot of the infamous Scrat and his acorn causing a mountain to break apart, which triggers all the continents breaking apart. This signature scene is a form established in the trailers of previous films.
• Some plot elements are given away. Manny and the crew drift apart from his wife and daughter,  he tries to get back to them, unfortunately while doing so he comes across some animal pirates. 
• The mis-en-scene is recognisably CGI and the animation follows a style that is unique to the Ice Age franchise, this being the fourth series.

Research Into Trailers 6

This trailer has to be the funniest I've seen because all the main actors give away that it’s going to be a comedy. The film will be released on 27^th July 2012, 

• the trailer begins with non-diagetic music, a Dr. Dre song, 
• The mis-en-scene is a bright sunny day, in a residential middle class neighbourhood, we see a car driving slowly through, every one stands still to stop and stare. 
• We then see the characters in a saloon car and we find out that they are the neighbourhood watch guys, they are the ones who keep the order. 
• The song is meant to make them look cool and fearless but they look geeky and funny. We find out that they get assaulted by a teenager and they detain him unsuccessfully trying to intimidate him.
• This establishes the type of humour we are likely to see in the film

 

Research Into Trailers 5

 

When I heard of this film it only appealed to me in a weird and comedic way. Then I found out who the director and producer were Tim Burton who is known for his weird style of filming and Timur Bekmambetov who is well known for his action films such as “Wanted” with Angelina Jolie. The film is also based on a novel by Seth Grahame Smith. 

• The trailer begins with the production logo moving onto non-diagetic narration as well as shots of Abraham Lincoln from when he was young to when he was older, showing different parts of history. In between the scenes we are shown text indicating the directors, producers names. The trailer also shows that Abraham Lincolns mother dies from a vampires bite; from here we learn this is what had driven him to become a vampire hunter. 
• We see a close up of his main weapon and how he makes himself agile with the weapon and fast. 
• Trailer uses an epic music score throughout the trailer, which emphasis the battle scenes in particular, non-diagetic sounds are employed over the musical score to add more atmosphere.

Research Into Trailers 4

 

I haven’t seen all of the resident evils but I do love the actress Mila Jovovich. She is known for playing tough lead roles in films. For example Fifth Element is one of the films where she first made her name into the film industry. I am a big fan of the Resident Evil games I generally like watching others playing them, because I hate surprise attacks. This film another sequel and carries on where the last film left of. The trailer is for a mature audience in the above 18 category due to the violence and the gory special effects. 

• The trailer starts off cleverly with a well known advert which shows the earth at a long shot view, and then zooms in to show a city and a person promoting a Sony electronic device, 
• the background music is an instrumental version of Baba O’ Reily, The Who. 
• The trailer mis-en-scene looks like an advert and later when it becomes clear its a trailer it is an unexpected and pleasant surprise. The shot then turns into a mid shot of the earth and then zooms in on America showing us what the world will look like tomorrow, eventually zooming in on the main character Alice and she tells the viewer “My name is Alice and this is my WORLD”, the tag line from the advert. 
• From here we see various camera angles showing us different scenes in the film including some of her clones. Nearing to the end we see a character that was killed in the first film so the trailer has revealed a twist for us to be intrigued by. 
• The film trailer is also promotes its USP by advertising it is in  3D.     

Research into Trailers 3

I have just watched another trailer, this one is called Colombiana, I really liked this trailer because it has a woman in the lead role of an action film, I like watching action films that empower women for a change, makes them the main protagonist that take charge and are portrayed as ‘stone cold killers’. This way it makes the film more appealing towards women. The trailer is 2 minutes and 27 seconds long; 

• it starts off with showing the audience two police officers on their lunch break when out of nowhere a car collides into theirs, inside the car is a woman (Zoe Saldana). She is drunk, she gets arrested and thrown into jail, then she appears to be sober and starts changing her outfit, 
• the next scene jumps into a flash back showing us a little girl in a house assuming she is the so called drunk woman. 
• We hear shooting in the house, from here it’s quite predictable the drunk woman is the girl in the flash back and in the house there are shootings safe to say her family were murdered she goes and lives with her uncle who teaches her how to be a killer, which will eventually lead her to taking revenge on the people that killed her family. 

The trailer is very complex, some of the scenes it shows the woman doing complicated action sequences. 

• The music in this trailer definitely engages the audience more because it wakes you up, you feel like dancing to it and also it fits in with the films culture, so its music that fits in with the films name and the location of the films setting adding to the mis-en-scene. 
• To give the film better recognition it reveals text that shows the audience that it’s the same writers of the famous Liam Neeson film Taken, this a unique way of appealing to the fans of Taken to also consider this film due to it having the same writers. 
• There is a wide variety of camera techniques used such as close ups, long shots, bottom up shots etc. 

I like this trailer because I enjoy watching Mafia, The Godfather, Scarface, Drug lord type films and the best thing about this film is that it has a woman encompassing similar traits from those types of films, she is a woman that is in control and ready to kill. 

Research into Trailers 2

The next trailer I looked at was ‘Immortals’, this is very different from Mrs. Doubtfire. This trailer is based on Greek legends and myths; the actual film is based on the legend of Theseus. The trailer has many complicated and detailed scenes as you watch it you see how much work is done on the visual effects and how Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) has been seamlessly incorporated into live footage, to the extent that it is indistinguishable to the viewers save for the impossibility of certain shots. 

The movie is made by the same producers of another film based on Greek legend called ‘300’. People, who have seen 300, will recognise the similarity of style to ‘Immortals’. 

• In the first scene we see a bird flying over us then a narration is done by a man called Hyperion played by Mickey Rourke, basically saying that he is going to start a war with the gods and to do this he needs to release the Titans. 
• In the next scene we see Hyperion and his large army slaughtering innocent people while this is happening a character is introduced who we as the audience can assume is Theseus played by Henry Cavill, the main protagonist of the film, he is shown in extreme close up as well as long shot so the viewers can see the man’s physique and heroic looks. 
• This shot links in with the hero giving off that raw sex appeal which can also link to how they wanted to market the trailer. 
• The film was also released in 3D which fits in with another well known marketing strategy, that of unique selling point. 
• The trailer is not at all ambiguous it does give out enough of the plot for the viewers to be interested, and maybe more to those who are big enthusiasts of the Greek mythology. The first thing the viewers will notice straight away is the genre, the setting (Greece), the plot and when the film will be released; which is traditionally given at the end.

The genre for this film is action/fantasy, this means it’s a combination of two genres that have been put together to make one genre. There are many films that are hybrids, for example ‘Hot Fuzz’, ‘Evil Dead’ and ‘Cowboys & Aliens’. Another good trailer technique used is the text coming in between certain scenes which helps the audience to draw even more information out about the plot. Also the scene where Theseus cracks open the rock to find The Epirus Bow, reminded me of the welsh legend of Excalibur the sword of King Arthur which was also known for being plunged in a stone and had magical powers just like the Epirus Bow. 

The ‘Immortals’ trailer definitely interested me because I’ am a big fan of Greek myths and legends, after watching the trailer I definitely wanted to brush up on my reading of the Theseus story and try to remember how it is written in the book compared to how much the film may have followed the story. This is a good trailer for me to be quite imaginative when it comes to making our own but again it maybe too ambitious to think we could pull off something similar. But what is good for us to analyse and try to adopt are the different camera techniques used, camera angles and also how the trailer was consistent with their action sequences. Not only are we analysing the camera work done, but also how the music changed its tempo and rhythm according to each scene, this can be said for both diegetic and non diegetic sounds. 

 

Research into Trailers 1

 

For a better overview into what trailers are and how they are constructed, I’m going to look at a few trailers. If I was to define the word trailer I would say it consists of a few basic and easy interpreted plots with ear opening music. The first trailer I looked at was Mrs. Doubtfire, the opening of this trailer shows a man defending his marriage this is the first introduction we have of the main character or so the audience assume, 

• next we hear non-diagetic music alongside a narrator introducing us to who the man was and what the problem is, 
• we see a collection of scenes of him moving out, at a job centre looking for a job, and then at a house or apartment that is really cluttered with boxes and clothes.
•  Next we find out that his ex-wife needs a housekeeper, the next scene shows Daniel Hillard wanting to be a woman. 
• We see the transformation and find out he gets hired to be the housekeeper which he only did this so he could be closer to his three children. I enjoyed this trailer because it has a collection of comedic scenes with a few technical shots. This is a film that can be enjoyed by the whole family. 
• The trailer is also peppered throughout with songs from the soundtrack.  
• Montage editing is used in order to emphasise the main characters and themes of the film. There are also some examples of continuity editing used when the characters are having a conversation in order to reveal a small section of the narrative. The pace of the editing begins slowly in time with the slow music but then as we get further through the trailer the editing speeds up significantly to keep up with the beat of the musical soundtrack.

 

Trailer Vs Teaser

Teasers and Trailers are two kinds of promotional tools for a movie that differ in duration, nature and characteristics. It is important to know that a teaser is shorter than a trailer. In general a trailer runs approximately for three minutes. A typical teaser trailer is around a minute.Generally they don't  rely on an ordered narrative and give only glimpses of  actors, so as to give the audience only a hint  of what the film is like, without giving too much away. Teaser trailers try to determine genre which then decides the target audience.

A teaser by its nature gives away very little about the movie, since it is very much likely to contain only a few clips from the movie. On the other hand, a trailer can give and provide us many details about the movie, since it is likely to contain quite a few clips from the movie. Sometimes tease may have been filmed a long time before the film shoot. Teasers begin the task of generating interest in an upcoming film, sometimes almost a year before the film is scheduled for release.

On the other hand, a trailer is usually completed only after the entire film is completed. A trailer therefore cannot be made before the completion of the movie. This is one of the important differences between a teaser and a trailer.

A trailer will have some of the musical score of the movie, details about key members of the crew such as director, cinematographer, assistant director. Also the studio in which the film was shot, these are details which are unlikely to be shown in a teaser. In most cases a trailer allows you to get an outline of the film, teasers don't generally follow this convention. Trailers give much more in the way of plot details and will be filled with more actual footage  of the film.

Reference: http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-teaser-and-vs-trailer/   

Research Into Teaser Trailers 10

 

I have been watching the Batman films since I was a child and the recent new ones that I have just been watching have surpassed the originals. The obvious thing is that the special effects are much better now than they were then, 

• the teaser begins with a sequence of the production logos and then it shows some scenes from the previous films. 
• While we are watching the scenes we can also hear the narration from Ras-al-Ghul.
• The trailer gives almost nothing away, builds a menacing atmosphere through the use of diagetic sounds and music. 
• The shots are almost all in low light conditions, emphasising the "dark" in "Dark Knight". 
• The pace of the trailer is slow and measured, allowing the viewer time to take in and savour what might be on the horizon. 
• I would say most of the atmospherics are achieved by the music and sound effects