2. Existing Product
Use of lighting/ composition/ mise en scene/ costume/ props/ location/ colours/ fonts etc.
– Appeal to audience
The Hitman’s Bodyguard
Props- There are lots of weapons in this film
How does it make the audience want to watch/buy it?
I think that one way the movie makes the audience want to watch it is through star billing. The movie includes two popular
actors (Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L Jackson)as the main characters. This will suggest to anyone watching that it is going to
be a good film as this would require a big budget.
I think that the trailer appeals to more than one audience. It appeals to fans of action movies as it features lots of action
and violence through things like explosions and guns being fired etc but it also appeals to comedy fans as it includes scenes
that are funny, such as a scene where Samuel L Jackson is singing along to a song on a bus full of nuns.
3.
4. The first product I have chosen to look at is the trailer for the movie Leon the Professional. I chose this movie trailer in
particular because the movie is about a hitman and I want to do a movie trailer where the main character is a hitman as
well. I also chose this trailer because I have watched Leon the Professional before and I enjoyed it.
Location: From the trailer we can assume that the setting for this movie is a big city as in two of the shots you can see
skyscrapers.
One of the main locations shown in the trailer is inside a block of flats. I think that these flats are meant to look a bit sleazy
and run down as in a few of the shots you can see that wallpaper is peeling off the walls and some of the walls look as if
they have lost colour over time. This may suggest that the main characters are living in a poor area.
Existing Product
5. Effects: There are not too many special effects used in this trailer but there are some used. For example one effect used is muzzle flares to
show when guns are firing.
There are also special effects for explosions used in the trailer. Perhaps by not including too many special effects this could be showing that the
movie is not just based around action.
Post production: The trailer uses a voiceover to narrate the plot of the film. This helps the audience know what the movie is about.
Sound effects: There are the sound effects of gunshots when guns are fired. These sounds could have been made using foley methods.
Soundtrack: There is music played during the trailer. Late on in the trailer the music changes to fast paced and dramatic opera music. This music
stays in time with the constant cuts in action packed footage
At this point in the trailer there is no dialogue so the music is there to really create tension in
As the trailer reaches the music gets more dramatic. This helps create tension and excitement in the viewer so that they will want to go and see
the film.
Costume: Leon is often seen wearing dark clothing, such as a black coat, a black hat and sunglasses. This would suggest he is trying not to stand
out and is trying to keep his identity sealed.
6. Leon: The Professional
Use of lighting:
Angle:
Effects:
Costume: In the trailer the main character, Leon, is always wearing dark clothing and often wears a hat and some sunglasses. Considering his
profession is a hitman this is probably to keep his identity sealed and to make sure that he doesn’t stand out.
Post production: The trailer uses a voiceover to narrate the plot of the film.
Sound effects: There is the sound effect of a gunshots when guns are fired. These sounds could have been made using foley methods.
Soundtrack: There is music played during the trailer. Late on in the trailer the music changes to fast paced and dramatic opera music. This music
stays in time with the constant cuts in action packed footage
At this point in the trailer there is no dialogue so the music is there to really create tension in
As the trailer reaches the music gets more dramatic. This helps create tension and excitement in the viewer so that they will want to go and see
the film.
7. Appeal to audience: I think this movie has two main
target audiences: fans of action movies and fans of
drama movies. This movie obviously has an action
element through the violence and shooting etc but
from the trailer we can tell that this movie will have a
lot to do with the characters
8. Appeal to action fans Appeal to drama fans
From the trailer we can tell that Leon is going to be an
exciting film to watch. We can immediately tell that
there is an action element to the film as the first scene
in the trailer a man is telling Leon about a man coming
into the city. He asks him “Are you free Tuesday?” and
the video quickly cuts to a bag full of guns. This makes
sure that the audience know right away that the reason
he needs to be free on Tuesday is to
Something I think will appeal to drama fans is the
relationship between Leon, a hitman and a young girl
called Matilda. These two characters are almost exact
opposites of each other so fans of drama will want to
watch this film
One of the reasons that people watch drama films is
that they want an interesting storyline with lots of
emphasis on the plot and I think that this trailer appeals
to them since it is quite a unique story of two characters
that are very different.
Something that will appeal to fans of action movies is
that the trailer features a lot of the violence in the film
The main character of Leon will definitely appeal to fans
of action movies.
Action movies typically appeal more to men that women
so having a very masculine character such as Leon a
pro hitman
However I think that the fact he is training a kid up
9. Posters
These are two posters I found for the movie.
I think from the tagline alone you can tell that this movie is probably an action film. The fact that it doesn’t say what job he is a professional in makes us
assume that he is a professional at a job that wouldn’t usually be considered ordinary; Perhaps something illegal.
The poster is entirely coloured in red and black. These are colours that often symbolise danger and violence so without it directly saying we can assume that
the main character is a professional in an illegal violent job.
Since the name on the poster says Leon and there is only one person on the poster, we automatically assume that the main character is called Leon.
10. Existing ProductKill Bill
Costume: Many of the costumes used in the movie are influenced by martial arts movies. For example, the yellow tracksuit that the bride wears
is inspired by one worn by Bruce Lee in a martial arts movie called Game of Death. (according to http://whatculture.com/film/quentin-tarantino-
definitive-guide-to-homages-influences-and-reference) The tracksuit is seen to be covered in blood suggesting that the bride has brutally killed
people.
Also in the trailer in one scene the bride is wearing robes worn in combat sports such as judo and karate.
Effects: There is some use of animation during the trailer
Props: There are many weapons shown in the trailer such as samurai swords, knives and guns.
Use of lighting:
Locations: Although it doesn't directly say in the trailer, one of the main locations shown by the trailer is Japan. We know this as the bride asks
an Asian man for “Japanese Steel” meaning a Japanese samurai sword and also because some of the buildings seen are in the style of
traditional Japanese architecture, featuring thing such as sliding doors.
Also you can see that the location is in Japan as all of the people she is fighting are of Asian ethnicity.
11. Post production: (Sound design, sound effects, music,)
There is a voiceover of the main character, The Bride, and she is narrating the trailer and is explaining who she is and why she wants to kill a
man called Bill. This provides the audience with information of what the film is about.
Sound effects: The sound effect of an aeroplane is used when she is sat on the aeroplane.
There is music playing during the trailer. The music changes as
explaining that she was in a gang that tried to kill her and she wants to take revenge on the leader of this gang called Bill.
Appeal to audience: I think the two main target audiences for this film are fans
This trailer will appeal to fans of films directed by Quentin Tarantino as his movies are known for their strong often bloody violence and this
trailer shows that there are a lot of fight scenes. One of the weapons was a
Another way that it will make fans of his movies want to watch is that the movie features actors from some of his previous movies such as Uma
Thurman from Pulp Fiction and Michael Madsen who was in Reservoir Dogs. This may make them want to watch as they will recognize these
actors and will also like them as they have proven themselves in previous films.
I think that Kill Bill appeals to fans of pop culture since it takes a lot of inspiration from old martial arts movies.
13. A thing that I have found from a lot of movie
trailers is that the speed gets faster and faster
and right at the end of the trailer it slows right
down.
14. Research Analysis
• What common features do the researched products have?
• One of the key things I have found when analysing these trailers is that they often have a catchy song playing during
the trailer. I think they do this so you get the song stuck in your head and therefore will automatically associate it with
the movie you have just seen the trailer of.
• Another feature I have found from watching these movie trailers is that the trailers often have scenes showing the
character and the name of the actor in the film.
• Something that these trailers have in common is that there is often a monologue in the trailer where the main
character in the film or a narrator is talking. This narration goes alongside the video to display to the viewer the plot of
the film.
• Often the trailers either end on a cliffhanger ending making you want to see more or sometimes they end on a
lighthearted ending to bring down the tension after exciting clips.
• What aspects of the research will you include within your own production work?
• I think that I will include a narration in my trailer. To do this I may need a good microphone so the speech is clear.
16. Secondary audience research
Gender: Crime movies are typically enjoyed more by a male audience. This is mainly because
the type of action and the majority of the characters are all designed for a more masculine
audience so women will find it hard to relate to. Also in crime films the main protagonists of the
film are usually male and are often usually powerful so men will like watching this as they like
being represented in such a way.
Age: Whilst I couldn’t find a specific age, the target age is people that are old enough to handle
the violence and swearing so are usually over the age of 18 years old. However crime movies
can be interesting for a wide audience.
Uses and gratifications: One of the recurring reasons I found as to why people watch crime
movies is that they use it as a form of escapism. By watching crime movies it is as if they can go
into the dangerous yet somewhat attractive world of crime without actually doing it
themselves.
17. Social Grades:
Lifestyle/Psychographics: From my secondary research I have found that
the viewers of gangster movies generally tend to be achievers and
succeeders.
Sexuality: I think that crime movies appeal more to straight people than
gay people as in crime movies criminals often have an attractive wife
and the main characters are usually straight men.
18. Questions the audience may ask themselves when
watching:
How will they kill them?
What happens when they meet?
What are the police going to do?
19. Secondary Audience research
• Observation:
• What this says about my audience:
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
20. Secondary Audience research
• Observation:
• What this says about my audience:
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
21. Secondary Audience research
• Observation:
• What this says about my audience:
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
22. Primary Audience research
• Observation:
• What this says about my audience:
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
23. Questions
1) How old are you?
1) What is your gender?
1) Are you a fan of movies in the crime genre.
1) What things would you want to see in a movie to do with crime?
1) What things during a trailer attract you to go and see a movie e.g lots of action, the movie being funny, good camera shots etc
1) What sort of characters would you want to see in a crime film?
1) Do you prefer seeing short teaser trailers that only tease elements of films without giving too much away or longer trailers that reveal a
lot more detail of the plot, characters etc.
1) Can you give any examples of movie trailers that you like?
1) What things do you think make a movie trailer memorable?
24. Primary Audience research
• Observation:
• What this says about my audience:
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
25. 1)
2) If you were watching a movie, would you
want the time setting to be modern day or in
the past?
26. Primary Audience research
• Observation:
• What this says about my audience:
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
27. Primary Audience research
• Observation:
• What this says about my audience:
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
28. Primary Audience research
• Observation:
• What this says about my audience:
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
33. Practical Research
After effects-Friday 5th April
Today I used after effects for the first time to create the effect of a
gunshot. I watched a tutorial on youtube explaining how to do this.
Learning after effects will be important to me as I plan on using it in
my trailer.
I didn’t have a prop gun with me so I just used my hand in the shape of
a gun. I filmed this with a camera from College. I then took the video
from the sd card and begun to edit using After Effects.
For the effect of the gun firing, I got an image of a muzzle flare (this is
the blast that comes from a gun) from google images and I added it to
34. At first the image came out with a black background
so you couldn’t see the video behind.
I got rid of this by going to blending options and
pressing screen.
35. After I had done this, I added the sound effect of
a gunshot. I downloaded this sound from
youtube.
This is the link to the experiment.
https://youtu.be/8Ka_iDU7tOg
36. Practical Research
Adobe After Effects-Alpha video matte
The next experiment I tried with After Effects
was making an alpha matte. This is a way to
overlay video onto your text. I think it is
important that I learn techniques with text
using after effects as I will be guaranteed to
use some of them in my trailer.
37. The clips I used experiment I did is not related to
my trailer but I got a video of a footballer called
Steven Gerrard scoring a goal and overlayed a
video of the stadium into the text saying his
name.
