critical review

1. Critical Review
How do your products represent social groups or issues?
Social groups are a type of stereotype. A stereotype is an over-generalised belief about a
particular category of people. The media, specifically television, use stereotyping practices to
present viewers with easily recognisable characters, however they are often presented with
one-sided and negative images.
The theorist, Stuart Hall suggests that stereotypes are a powerful means of constructing
symbolic violence, and, moreover, that they demonise key social groups. He also states that
stereotypes are repeated so often by the media, that audiences interpret stereotypical qualities
to be fixed or natural.
In film it helps audiences understand that certain events will happen to certain characters, for
example, the princess falls in love with the prince and they live happily ever after.
My film trailer portrays the typical stereotype of someone who is ‘mad’ in the sense that the
illness schizophrenia is exaggerated and not accurate, by including signs of extreme
hallucination and delusion. Not everyone with this disorder experiences what is presented in
my trailer.
My main character is young, and naive making him even more vulnerable to the illness,
however because there is no signs of a parental figure, it reinforces he is alone and been made
to grow up fast. There is also a stereotyped stigma that because there is no parental support at
home, his illness stemmed from a bad childhood and home life.
There is also a typical bad and good guy illustrated in my trailer, however it isn’t your normal
villain and hero storyline. The bad guy in my story is the figure which he hallucinates, it is a
metaphoric representation of the disorder he cannot escape, consciously and physically. The
good guy is himself, we see him doing normal everyday necessities like washing his face and
brushing his teeth, there are signs that he so badly wants to live a normal life and without his
illness he is able to do so, but it comes back to haunt him, just like in every hero and villain
film sequel, the bad guy never gives up a fight but neither does the good guy. Just like in the
mind prisoner, it is a constant battle between the two.
I decided to include specific stereotyping in my trailer as it enables my audience to identify
types and the psychological genre that it is, rapidly and effectively. It also allows for my
viewers to connect with my characters through visual codes and build audience empathy
quickly, by putting oneself in the shoes of the main character.
How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’?
Branding is an important way of boosting recognition, increase the reach to audience as well
as help build trust and support advertising. When it comes to film production, branding is
used in many different ways such as, creating merchandise, websites, social media pages,
posters and so on.

2. My films social media page (Instagram) has the catching profile picture of the films
production logo, which also appears in my poster and film trailer. It is recognisable, sleek and
simplistic. Through the logos visual imagery it clearly shows the company is film based as
well as the name ‘Watergate Media’. The film tagline features prominently on the social
media page and poster. The main image used on my films poster is also seen as a post on the
Instagram page. The image signals the films genre through its dark tones. The black
symbolises mystery and sophistication which reflects the films complexity and shows it isn’t
targeted towards a younger audience. It also evokes emotions of anger and sadness which
reflects the emotions seen in the trailer. In contrast, the film title is red and in the font
‘anonymous pro’, which features consistently in the poster and trailer. I specifically chose
both the font and colour, because red stands out and connotes danger which relates
accordingly to the film being a psychological thriller. The font is capitalised and italic,
however in the title ‘The’ is significantly smaller to project the rest of the text. The cast are
also an important part of creating recognition of an audience, so my Instagram page includes
exclusive ‘behind the scenes’ photos. There is a QR code, to give the audience easy access to
the trailer, as well as a link in the bio which takes you straight to the trailer on YouTube.
Other ways I would promote brand recognition for my film, would be to design merchandise
such as, T-shirts, hoodies and other articles of clothing, as well as notebooks and pens all
with the main poster image. This would create, higher profit, more satisfied shoppers,
increased audience loyalty and recognition. I would also create a website and Facebook page,
alongside my Instagram page to reach a wider audience, as Instagram is mainly used by
people the ages of 18-34. Both google and Facebook are used by people older in age. This
would increase engagement of different age groups and create audience variety.
How do your products engage with the audience?
Audience engagement is crucial, it helps you learn more about your audience which allows
you to gain their trust and attend to their needs by maximising the value of your content. Here
are a few steps I took in order to engage my audience.
Firstly, my poster creates a sense of the thriller/psychological genre through visual codes
such as its dark colour tones and style, specifically the dull lighting and the vignette of the
main image. The centre of visual interest is the main character who appears the most in the
trailer, so the audience can recognise him easily when viewing the trailer. This image is
gripping because there is a sense of realism in that it gives the illusion that the poster is 4D,
by the shallow depth of field I used when taking the photo, to create depth and blur the
background to illuminate the hand to give the hallucination of it reaching out to the audience.
There is no sense of location, because in my trailer it is hard to tell what is reality and what is
not. I manipulated the use of a tightly confined box, I had the model lie in. This was to create
the sense of the character feeling trapped and unable to escape which reflects him being
unable to escape his own mind. This also creates a sense of danger, as well as the title being
the colour red to convey signs of anger which mirrors the dark side of his illness. The title
also arrests the audience’s attention, by effectively contrasting the dullness of the image. The
tagline attracts audience attention with the words, ‘Ever known what it feels like to be
trapped inside your mind, isolated with nothing but you deepest darkest thoughts?’. This
hooks the audience by addressing them through a question. Star talent is placed clearly at the
top and essential information, such as ‘coming soon’, social media links are clearly

3. displayed. These conventions engage with my audience, by successfully applying attractions
that appeal to them.
At the heart of my promo pack are my trailers. They use thriller/psychological conventions
through visual and sound codes such as, the intense thrilling music and focus on solely the
music and sound effects instead of dialogue. My trailer introduces Isaac and his hallucination
figure the central characters, presenting them as opposites, controlling and vulnerable,
through scenes that are engrossing, such as when Isaac runs away from the figure and falls
and the screen goes black, leaving the audience captivated. In this scene Isaac is seen as
vulnerable and trapped, making the audience feel empathy and scared for his character. The
central issues in the trailer are conveyed when Isaac is seen taking medication. Because the
audience get a better understanding that there is underlying problems as to why things are
happening. Sound is very significant when engaging my audience especially when key
events are happening, like when the figure reappears. Sound is used to build tension, also
when he wakes up the alarm clock keeps on ringing, to create unease and tell the audience
something unsettling is about to happen. The trailers editing builds climax through, short cuts
and snappy scenes to construct fast pace, as it is a thriller. The inter-black-screens engage the
audience, by leaving them tense and on the edge of their seat.
Lastly, my social media page has a strong impact because of its visuals, which include, the
company’s logo as the profile, which is attracting to my audience because it shows its
legitimacy and branding. The films genre and synopsis are clearly presented through, the
tagline, ‘could you survive a life sentence with your thoughts?’. It gives the audience an idea
that the film is psychological, but doesn’t give too much away by making them think and
engage. My page is inviting for audiences to use because it is easy to navigate and Instagram
is familiar to most people. Links and QR codes are easily accessible. The gallery shows
interesting images of the main characters and poster. The images are engaging because they
are exclusive and authentic, by giving the audience behind the scenes, bloopers and
interviews to make them feel involved in the making of the film. My social media page also
offers several interactive features like, the #MindPrisoner which followers can interact with
and use to ask questions as well as taking advantage of the ability to comment under posts.
People can also tag @the.mindprisoner to post anything relating the film. These tagged
photos are also made public to every other follower. There is a post after the release of the
trailer, where people can write reviews as well as under the official trailer found on YouTube.
Reviews, accolades and pull quotes such as, build up my film's credentials and reassure
audiences about the film's quality and ensures maximum audience pleasure.
How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions?
The main conventions of a trailer consist of the following: credits and intertitles, dialogue,
music, genre, narrative, pace, special effects, shots types/camera angles, narrative, target
audience, unique selling points and finally voiceovers. The ways in which I used some of
these conventions are by the following; firstly I incorporated aspects of relevant trailers with
the same/similar genre types that I took inspiration from to create my own trailer. I looked at
the trailers of ‘Black Swan’ and ‘Split’. Both trailers, like my own include intertitles, that
show director as well as the release date. I also took inspiration from their music, both of
which is creepy to create a sense of fear, the volume gradually increases to build suspense
and unease. I also used sound effects like they did, to reflect how the character is feeling, by
adding a fast paced heartbeat. Black Swan has various cutaways, like my own of multiple

4. scenes to show a fast pace, to represent anxiousness and fast breathing. I did this in time with
the music, to show the audience snippets of different scenes to add suspense and consistency.
I also incorporated inter-black-screens to leave the audience on edge.
I utilised my knowledge on camera angles and shots when shooting my trailer. I used high
and low angles to show height, over the shoulder shots to show point of view, rack focus to
highlight focus on an object, pan shot to show surroundings and hand-held cam to enforce
unease. I also took advantage of my cameras 24-70mm lens to zoom in and out when
changing focus of one object to another. My camera has a large aperture of F/2.8 which
allowed me to capture shots with a shallow depth of field and allow me to improve the impact
of my trailer by adding quality, by utilising the focus of my shots. I used natural lighting from
the sun, to add shadow and highlights in my shots, I also used editing techniques such as
decreasing the exposure and increasing vignette to make my trailer overall darker to make it
look sinister and creepy. I used mise en scene and movement in the foreground and
background to make my trailer multi-dimensional. I did this by adding movement through
walking, running tap, elements that show a foreground and background by changing focus of
different objects. I also used outfit changes, to show change in location and time.
I created an enigma in my trailer, through the sudden change of location and confusion in the
actor. It fits the conventions of a psychological thriller, in that it includes themes of mental
illness, by showing hallucination and multiple realities. I believe it is clear who my target
audience is, through its clear age rated bbfc certificate and that it includes themes of violence
and disturbing characters with a psychological illness. Both my trailers demonstrate
continuity, in terms of sound, settings and mise en scene as my shorter trailer is taken straight
from the original trailer. The ideal movie trailer is usually 90 seconds, mine is just under. My
trailers demonstrate a high level of technical competence and a secure awareness of the
conventions of film trailers, by including the movies title, release date, starring characters,
music and sound effects, etc. My trailer links to my social media page, by its direct link to it
and QR code as well as its featured post of the shorter trailer.
However, my trailer challenges some main conventions. It doesn’t include any dialogue, it
relies solely on music and sound effects to create atmosphere as well as rely on the characters
acting to capture the narrative, as there are no intertitles that give explanation as to what is
happening.
Moving on, the main conventions of movie posters include: narrative, colour, written codes,
mise en scene and BBFC rating. In my poster I have used narrative through the image of the
main character, by him reaching out for help to enforce he is trapped, as well as through the
tagline which gives a deeper insight into what the movie is about. This links to the trailer
content, as both include the production logo and by the posters colour pallet which reflects
the colours in the trailer. For instance both use red font, dark imagery and editing and black
vignette. The written codes on my poster consist of, actors names running long the top of the
page, which is a way of trying to entice people to watch the film as if they like an actor they
may want to watch them perform. The tagline and title give away the type of film it is. It has
typical conventions such as, name credits in small at the bottom and signs of it ‘coming
soon’. The layout is typical, with one main image and the title placed in large at the bottom.
However, there is no BBFC rating as it is clear the it isn’t targeted towards a younger
audience, by the way in which it is fairly sinister and creepy by its visual imagery. There are
other signs of it not being suitable for children, like the title being red and the context of it. It
reflects the violence of the film.

5. Finally, the conventions of film social media pages include, interactivity, convergence,
release date and tagline. I used Instagram as my social media page, #MindPrisoner was used
in order to interact with my audience. I also used interactivity in others ways, like
encouraging my audience to use the comments to ask questions and /or any other comments.
A link to my official trailer is seen in my bio, alongside a tagline and release date to inform
my audience and give easy access. Access to my trailer is also made by the featured post of
my QR code that links to my trailer. Convergence of media forms was also considered as part
of these linked productions, as such links to the other products in this package should be
apparent to my audience. When viewing actual film Instagram pages, I found they post
behind the scenes of the cast and filming, as well as interviews of the actors, which you’ll
fine I’ve also featured on my page. Many accounts also chose to have their profile picture as
the films production company, which I have done to show legitimacy. Conventions I have not
followed is including location in my bio and make stories which some accounts did that
showcased videos of the actors and fans attending events and art/merchandise.