1. Star Wars Episode
VII: The Force
AwakensRelationship between Producers & Audiences Assessment

2. Poster
• Content of images
– The primary protagonist (Rei) and antagonist (Kylo Ren) both feature the
most prominently on the poster, taking up the majority of the top half in a
battle-ready position. The most prominent secondary protagonist (Finn)
appears close to the main one, also appearing battle-ready. On a smaller
portion are many secondary and some tertiary characters, also appearing
battle-ready.
– Very few locations are clearly shown apart from the weapon, the setting of
the climax of the film. While this does not give away much of the plot, it does
raise a few questions. Several vehicles are also featured, particularly Rebel
Fighter jets, setting up the tone for some intense action. Another prominent
vehicle is the Millennium Falcon, providing some nostalgia for older
audiences.
– A constant repetition of appearing battle-ready sets up a serious tone for the
film, which appeals to the slightly older demographic that enjoyed the
original series. It also appeals to a younger demographic, who enjoy action.
The presence of a starry sky and futuristic technology also targets general
science fiction fans.
• Colour
– The colours used are mostly bright against a black background, consisting of
red, blues, yellows and occasional greens. Red and blue are used to
differentiate between good and evil on the poster. Yellow brightens the tone
with the presence of explosions to excite any potential moviegoers. Faded
colours are sometimes used to unsettle the viewers.
– The poster makes use of the standard blue for good and red for evil, a colour
scheme that is common in mainstream Hollywood cinematography and
especially commonplace in the Star Wars franchise. These colours are placed
upon a black background to help all of them stand out.

3. Poster
• Text/fonts
– The film’s title is most prominent in terms of text, featuring the iconic “Star
Wars” logo and the title of the chapter in the series. Below that, the most
important credits are displayed in a significantly smaller size. Afterwards,
the release date is shown next to the variety of ways the film is shown in
cinemas and the release companies, Lucasfilm and the Walt Disney
Company.
– The “Star Wars” logo, which is iconic throughout popular culture, is left
unaltered save for black text and a gold border to give a more fresh
appearance. The chapter text is in a clear font similar to that of “Arial”,
which is common in computer documents as it is an easily readable font.
This font is carried onto the release date, as it is also important to the
viewer. Less important information, such as the credits are shown in a
narrow font to take up less space.
• Layout
– The text is all arranged in the bottom portion of the screen to put heavier
emphasis on the imagery of the poster. Of the text that is present, the title
of the film is the largest to draw primary attention to it. On the image, the
main antagonist and protagonist take up the majority of the poster to show
the potential audience who to look out for.

4. Poster
• Listing of stars/previous films/directors
– Nobody is listed on large lettering, meaning this poster relies
entirely on its respective franchise to attract audiences to
cinema seats. However, the presence of credits in fine print
shows the most important people in the film. Director J.J.
Abrams appears at the end of the block to clearly show his
name and point out he is the most important person in the
entire production. The main actors are also shown near the
top of the credits. Familiar actors are shown first to attract
long time fans to the film, with Harrison Ford marking his
return as Han Solo from previous “Star Wars” films, followed
by Mark Hamill who also return from previous films as
former protagonist Luke Skywalker, and Carrie Fisher as
General Leia, formerly Princess Leia. John Williams also
returns to conduct the film’s orchestral score.
• Tone created
– The tone created for the poster is serious, thereby appealing
to a more mature audience, particularly one that grew up
with Star Wars. It also shows a restructuring of an existing
franchise that would help it appeal to a younger
demographic, as well as presenting several scenes of action
for a general demographic.

6. Trailer
• Content of the video clips
– The trailer is a series of clips arranged into a climactic order to excite
the viewer. It starts with scenes that establishes the two major
protagonists as a way of introducing them before the film starts. It
then showcases the “Dark Side” and their basic motivations before
building into a series of fast cutting action scenes stitched together in
no apparent order of story progression. At one point, this is
interrupted to showcase a character from previous films in the
franchise to clearly show that this is a continuation of said franchise.
– The building to a climax with fast-cutting action scenes appeals to a
more male audience. Presenting drama also appeals to an older and
more female demographic. Having a black and a female protagonist
together also attracts a more left-wing audience, which is ideal since
action alone appeals to more right-wing audiences.
• Music
– The music starts off suddenly to immediately attract attention, then
becoming ambient and minimalist, but soon builds up to an
exhilarating and full-orchestrated soundtrack. This suits the structure
of the trailer, with more emphasis on drama at the start and more
emphasis on action nearer the end. Dialogue in the trailer is present
in the actual film itself and is arranged to raise questions but not give
anything major away. It is the same case with the sound effects, as
they are used to attract long-time fans of the franchise.
– The song present throughout the trailer is part of the orchestral
score of John Williams, one of Hollywood’s most critically acclaimed
film score composers. This attracts some of the more discerning
filmgoers, who tend to judge films based on their content. Also, as it
is a classical score, it will attract a wider audience as classical appeals
to most people, sometimes with persuasion by playing it to them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=sGbxmsDFVnEto

7. Trailer
• Listing of stars/previous films/directors
– No cast members are listed in the trailer despite
the presence of their faces in the trailer. This is a
clear sign that the trailer relies entirely on the
franchise name to sell the film to audiences.
• Genre codes and conventions
– The trailer establishes itself with several shots
depicting fantastical landscapes and some shots of
space with futuristic technology. This establishes
the science fiction that is present in the entire film.
Towards the end of the trailer, there is fast cutting,
intense music and action scenes, which is standard
when action is a major part of the feature film.
– By establishing a genre in the trailer, a film
company can attract the attention of fans of that
genre of film. Sometimes, as is the case here,
elements of multiple genres are incorporated to
appeal to a larger audience.
https://www.youtube.com/wa
tch?v=sGbxmsDFVnEto

8. Trailer
• Relevance of release date
– The film was released on December 18th 2015 and the
release date was present in the trailer, giving people the
opportunity to arrange to go see the film upon release.
Deciding on the release date is also important, as it is
important to release at a time when people are most
likely to be off work.
• Tone created
– The tone created in this trailer is serious. It uses a
variety of methods throughout its runtime: starting with
showcasing the inner thoughts of the three most
important characters of the film, the two main
protagonist and the main antagonist. It then built up to
a series of fast cuts and action scenes with dialogue
from the film that raises questions but does not give
much away. This high-octane action appeals to a
generally male demographic while the dark undertones
give the trailer some older appeal.
https://www.youtube.com/wa
tch?v=sGbxmsDFVnEto

10. Interview
• Relevance of who its with
– ABC News is a general news channel. However,
they appeal to ages 45+ in the US, so it still needs
to appear formal for presentation. As a result, the
interviewer and the four actors present: Daisy
Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver,
are all dressed in smart casual clothing.
– This choice of who is interviewed was also
important, as the actors who will be focused on for
most of the film have to be presented to give the
general public an idea of the tone of the film. Three
of the actors present play the main protagonists
and antagonist while Oscar Isaac’s character’s only
important moment is at the start of the film before
being apparently killed off, only to appear again to
take part in the climax. As Isaac is a white male
playing a protagonist, it gives the nostalgic
audience some firm grounding before entering the
film, while the presence of a female lead and a
black supporting protagonist appeals to ABC News’
mostly Democratic fanbase.
ABC News
https://www.youtube.com/wa
tch?v=s0CU6EGiJ64

11. Interview
• What time of day was it broadcast?
– The interview was aired on ABC News’ “Nightline”
programming, a late night news show that runs from 12:35-
1:05am EST. This night-owl slot appeals to a slightly older
audience than general ABC News, appealing mostly to 65+,
though some of ABC’s 45-65 demographic still watch this show.
Since it is mostly the elderly watching at this time, smart casual
clothing is in order as well as a very welcoming atmosphere for
the viewers.
• Discussion points
– The interview starts off by detailing Star Wars as a whole and
showcasing the new characters. It then talks about how the
actors got their roles and how they tackled their roles, as well as
the actors noting the differences from Star Wars and other films.
Then, the characters and basic plot details are discussed,
followed by some interesting moments in the production of the
film and reactions to the finished product. The costumes were
then presented and wrapping the interview with some of the
intense training the actors had to go through for some of the
harsh climates they had to work with.
– The mature audience, as well as some younger viewers, likes to
understand significant details of the production of films and
other products. However, they also intend to be surprised by
some of the film’s less predictable instances, so details had to be
carefully chose
ABC News
https://www.youtube.com/wa
tch?v=s0CU6EGiJ64

13. Marketing Strategy
• Discuss relevant notable information you have
noticed regarding the marketing strategy of
the film, e.g.;
– When the trailer was released (along with other
trailers)
– When the interview was broadcast
– Any viral marketing
– Merchandise/Franchising/Partnerships
(McDonalds toys, product placement, etc.)
– Placement of adverts