A2 coursework

What’s the definition of a Teaser trailer?

• After watching some trailers I can now define what the difference between
a teaser trailer and a trailer is.

• A teaser trailer is a short clip used to advertise an upcoming film, TV
program or video game. The teaser trailer is shown usually in advance of
the film being released. It is made to tell the audience about the upcoming
film, rather than showing the actual footage. This creates hype and entices
people into seeing the film. Teaser trailers are usually up to thirty seconds
or a minute. Teaser trailers are universally used by big budget films such as
‘Lord of the Rings- Return of the King’.

Two examples of Teaser Trailers

• Taken
• I am using ‘Taken’ as a teaser trailer to analyse as it relates to what I am doing for my
coursework, which is an action thriller. I feel it is suitable due to the conventions used.

The trailer starts An
with the company establishing A low angle shot is The scenes are all The trailer ends
logo which is that shot is used used to allow the quite dark which with the title of
of 20th century Fox to show trailer not to give relates to the the film, this
this shows who where the away to much about genre which is an gives it more of
published the film. film is set. the film, it also gives action thriller, this an impact. The
the audience a sense tells the audience background is
of mystery. that it may be black, again
quite a dark film hinting that the
in terms of the film has a dark
story. side.

Two examples of Teaser Trailers

• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
I have chosen to also analyse ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ as I want to show how I can make
my trailer suspicious in terms of its genre, it uses conventions that I will use in my
trailer, for example it is very dark and it doesn’t give that much away in what is shown.

The trailer starts with There is an over the There is a two shot The trailer then
Titles come up through which shows a
the production logo shoulder shot, which out the film asking the ends with the title
which is ‘Working shows who is in the very dark of the film, it is
audience questions e.g. atmospheric place,
Title’ this instantly film, they are dressed ‘How do you find an written in white to
tell the audience that in black suit which this relates to the make it bold
enemy’, this instantly characters that are
this is a British film. tells us that there is no tell us the genre as it to against the
variation and that shown as they all background.
is an action thriller, this wear very dark
there maybe also links to the music
something bad about clothing. The
as it uses very sudden setting also
these characters. violin notes which plays reinforces this idea
through out the trailer. of suspicion.

Marketing Campaign

• Film
Cloverfield
Teaser
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2zG4ClnL9c
Website
http://www.cloverfieldmovie.com/
Posters/billboards

Marketing Campaign

• Magazine features
• http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=135091
Radio/TV appearances
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MAZWQN0aDc
This is a radio interview done with the cast and the actors of the movie, they
talk briefly about the story line and what it was like to film in this point of
view.
Viral Campaigns
The film ‘Cloverfield’ used web 2.0 to advertise there film, user based
websites such as YouTube and Face book were a main marketing point for
this film. Characters from the film were given there own Facebook
accounts to which the audience could click onto them and find more about
there character and story. YouTube allowed viewers to access trailers and
videos of the film. The movie even launched an official website as featured
above and another website called

Marketing Campaign

• This research is very important to my production of my own marketing
materials, I learnt that I could build hype for my movie by launching a
teaser trailer that could use web 2.0, this means that user generated content
such as YouTube could be used freely to advertise my movie. I have also
learnt that posters and billboards can be also used in a visual way, to
market a film. These are both very effective ways in which the film
‘Cloverfield’ marketed and advertised its movie before release date, as a
result it was more widely known and already had an audience, this perhaps
allowed the film to gross a large audience as well as money made from the
tickets bought. I shall consider these techniques when creating my own
teaser trailer and poster.

Masthead

• The masthead (also referred to as an imprint) is a list, published in a
newspaper or magazine, of its staff. In some publications it names only the
most senior individuals; in others, it may name many or all. Some
mastheads also include information such as the publication's founding date,
slogan, logo and contact information.
• In newspapers the masthead typically appears on the editorial page; in
magazines it is frequently found elsewhere, often in the first few pages of
the publication.
• In the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, the word is used to refer to the
nameplate of a publication, its designed title as it appears on its front page.

• Sourced from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masthead_(publishing)

Strapline

• A strapline is a British term used as a secondary sentence attached to a
brand name. Its purpose is to emphasize a phrase that the company wishes
to be remembered by, particularly for marketing a specific corporate image
or connection to a product or consumer base.
• Some slogans are created just for specific campaigns for a limited time;
some are intended as corporate slogans, to be used for an extended period;
some slogans start out as the former, and find themselves converted to the
latter because they take hold with the public, and some are memorable
many years after their use is discontinued.
• Examples are that of the drinks company Coke Cola which slogan is ‘It’s
the real thing’

• Sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strapline#Effective_slogans

Cover Lines

• Cover lines are catchy headlines or slogans that are used to advertise and
sell the magazine, it is done by publishers to entice an audience into
wanting to buy the magazine and to read the article. In this case they can be
put on posters, such as movie posters to try and get the audience interested
into going to see there movie.

• Here are some examples of cover lines

Screamers

• A screamer is a headline that entices people into wanting to read the article
below the headline, they are on the front cover of the magazine and usually
are eye catching, so they are much bolder and may even be underlined to
make them stand out.

Analysis of Film Magazine front covers

The main colour The main figure is that
scheme used in this The messages of a man dressed all in
magazine front cover, are primarily black holding a
is red and grey. The red both visual and machine gun,
connotes that of death verbal as there is everything is centered
the grey writing gives a lot of actors around this character
the cover a gritty dark names and a few and this puts the focus
side. dates to when the on him. He is hence an
magazine was important main
published. character and is
Images of holding a gun which
upcoming films makes him look
are shown (right authoritive and strong.
hand side). The
main message of
this front cover
being that you
should watch this
film.

Analysis of film magazine front covers
The main
character is
pictured in
The front cover the centre of
has a screamer the
which is bold publication,
and all in this shows
capitals, its font that he is of
colour is red importance,
which makes it he is seen to
stand out and There is a be wearing
entices people cover line a black suit
into wanting to under the title suggesting
read it. of the film, he is strong
this is done by and
the producers powerful.
to try and get
people to buy
the magazine
and read the
article inside.

Analysing film posters

The main figure is The main
centred in the primary colours
middle of the are black, white
poster, its almost as and red. The
if it’s a silhouette, black connotes
he is wearing a that of a dark
black suit which shady character,
shows that he is a while the red can
main character and connote that of
is of great fear, romance,
importance to the and danger these
movie. The image could be some of
is portrayed the themes in the
photographically. movie.

The poster is both visual
The poster uses famous and informative as it tells
actors as its selling point the audience key
(USP) as this will appeal information e.g. that its
to an audience who like based on a bestselling
the actors. novel, and who the film
was directed by

Analysing film posters
The film uses a The target audience is
USP as Tom cruise for those who like the
is shown to be in war genre.
the centre with a
red arrow pointing The poster uses the mainly
down upon his black, red and white
character, this colours. The black makes
shows that this the characters bold and
films selling point stand out against the white
is that of famous background, it also gives
actors. them a militant look, this
refines this idea that this
The poster is mainly
movie is about WWII. The
visual but also tells
red connotes this idea of
the audience key
Nazi Germany and the
information, for
danger that is within the
example its is based
characters positions. The
on a true story and
white and the grey are used
tells the audience
to show what appears to be
when it comes out.
a map of a military base,
this tells the audience that
this film depicts a historical
story about project
Valkyrie.

BBFC

• What is BBFC?
• The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), originally British Board
of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film
industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the
United Kingdom. It has a statutory requirement to classify videos, DVDs
and some video games under the Video Recordings Act 2010
Sourced from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Board_of_Film_Classification

What are the different certifications?

What are the main issues they are concerned with?
The BBFC are in charge of issuing certificates they stop any films from being
released in the UK if they have to much violence, sex, drugs,
discrimination.
What possible ways could the BBFC intervene?
They can potentially ban any material they rate as to bad for viewers to watch.
They can reclassify any film they feel has not been given the right
certification.
How many films were cut last year?
There were nine films cut last year.

What is my certification for my film

• My teaser trailer is going to be a fifteen due to some of the scenes which
include moderate violence, it also would allow me to add in some content
that would be suitable for this genre. Because my film is a thriller I will
have to certify that it is a fifteen due to some scenes being scary and not
suitable for a younger audience.

Target Audience

• My target audience is going to be a mainly teenage male audience who
like action/thrillers, they also like cars and guns. This is what this film will
include, they are of a middle class who are of the age of 15 to 20 years old.
I could get this information using demographics, I could see how many
teenagers like action/thrillers via social networking sites using web 2.0. I
could also ask friends of the same age range and get information on what
films genres they like.

What is the difference between primary and secondary research?

• Primary Research
For my primary research I carried out a questionnaire to see what type of
audience would watch my film. This told me about there age what class and
social categories they come from. I handed out twenty of these questionnaires
to increase the validity of my information I get, from this I could then make
my teaser trailer with what the audience associates with the thriller genre. Here
is my questionnaire.

Secondary Research
• I have carried out secondary research to find out who would watch my film
and what audience of people I should be aiming my trailer at, I used the
UKFC to find out what are the most popular genre of film and I found that
action was the leading film that was published in 2009. from this I gathered
that my film would appeal to this market or area as it is a action/thriller,
however I found that the genre thriller had fewer releases in 2009 with just
28 films being released in the UK compared to the action genre releasing
50 films.

Secondary
Research

I also used the UKFC website to search for what
percentage of men and women of a certain age like
watching action/thrillers, I found that the most
popular films were shown in the table.

My storyboard for the teaser trailer

This is my
storyboard for
my teaser
trailer, I have
sketched in a
sequence of
shots to which I
will follow or
change when
filming.

Planning location

• The location I shall be using for my teaser trailer is the wood in Waddesdon
due to its easy access as I live there. It also has the right settings I need one
being a vast area of woods to which my teaser is entirely set in, I can easily
film here without any disturbance due to it being quite, I can also get my
cast in and out as they live nearby, this also makes it a reliable location for
me to film my teaser trailer in.

Risk Assessments

• There are a few risks that I need to consider when carrying out my filming.
Due to it being quite a heavily wooded area I need to make sure when
shooting scenes that contain running that my cast has a safe route to run
through as to ensure they do not trip on any broken tree trunks or branches.
• There is also a scene where one of my cast members must perform a dive to
make it look he has fallen over, I shall avoid any injury by making sure that
the area that he falls on will be clear of any sharp objects.

Cast

• My cast will include three friends from the surrounding area this will
enable me to have a reliable cast as they are nearby and should be able to
get to the location easily. I have two characters all of which are males, I
will only show this many people due to it being a teaser trailer as I don’t
want to give to much detail about the film itself.

Props and Costume

• The props I will being using are that of a tree branch that will act as a
weapon which will be used to strike one of the main characters, the
costumes will be mainly dark clothing which relates to the genre of the film
which is action thriller it also shows that there is a sense of mystery about
the characters and the setting.

My film poster draft
This is my film
poster draft, I
have made my
title of the film
bold to make it
stand out. The
text will be in
white as the
background will
be black this will
emphasise that
this film is an
action/thriller.

My magazine front cover draft

This is my draft of my
magazine front cover, I
have divided my page into
separate boxes, as this
follows the conventions
due to it having headings
like straplines and
screamers with the main
topic in the middle of the
page.

My magazine front cover
This is the I have used a cover line in
Masthead my magazine as a slogan,
for my which is designed to try
magazine and make the reader by the
front magazine.
cover, its
bold and
stands
out, this Screamers have also been
shows used as titles, to try and
who the persuade the audience into
magazine wanting to buy the
is made magazine, and read the
by. rest of the articles.

I have got pictures of my
actors in my teaser trailer,
which is the main selling
point of my magazine and
film.

My film poster’s
I have created
two film
posters and
they both use
a black
background
which creates
an
atmospheric
look.
The fonts of my
title are in white
and are in a bold to
make them stand
out, the font also
represent the idea
of this sense of
mystery that my
film has.

I have made a billing block in I have sourced these images
publisher, with all my actors and from Google Images as I I have got images of woods as this is the main
production name . This follows could not get the shots I setting of my film, its also links to the title
the conventions of film posters. needed due to them not ‘Suspicion’ , they are both in the centre of the
looking as professional as poster to show that they are of importance in the
the ones shown film.

My production company logo

I have named my
production logo Frontier
Productions, I have made
my logo using Microsoft
word, and I will put this
into my teaser trailer so
that the audience know
who it was produced by
this will follow the
conventions of teaser
trailers.

Audience feedback

• I have given out a questionnaire to
gain some audience feedback and
see what people think about my
teaser trailer. This has been very
important as I can emend any
thing that my class feels needs
working on here is my
questionnaire.

Audience Feedback

• I have now got some feedback and have found that there are a few things
that I am going to change with my teaser trailer in response to the feedback
I have been given. These are the following.

• I am going to edit the hand held camera shots as certain parts of it were too
shaky.
• Add more audio sound effects to my trailer.
• And add more titles to give more information about my film, this will avoid
any ambiguity about the trailer.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products?

This is my hyperlink to
my final teaser trailer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqk8PJem65o&list=UUGnUHVGJAQG2X
G5TPFMOv4g&feature=plcp

How effective is the combination of your main product and
ancillary texts

I have used a lot of
I have also used the same
continuity through out my
font in all of my shots for
coursework, I have used
example title of the film,
the same production logo
actors, the date when its
in both my magazine and
coming to cinema’s and
posters this has also been
certain information are all
used in my teaser trailer
in the same font to How effective is the here is an example.
maintain continuity.
combination of your
media product and
your ancillary texts

I have used an image of the
main actor on my magazine
front cover as a selling point
for my film, this same image •My media products are similar
is in my teaser trailer. to that of my case study as I have
used magazines, posters and a
teaser trailer to advertise my
film.

What have you learned from you audience feedback?
I have managed to change
the music I used as
previously as I had a lot of
heartbeat sound effects
which overpowered the
piece, so I used a lot more I have learned a lot from
variation in my sound my audience feedback,
effects which were sourced it has helped me
from a copy right free What have you improve my teaser
website. trailer, I sent out a
learned from your questionnaire with
audience feedback? questions that could
help me find out what
could be improved upon
in my teaser trailer.
I have also made the fonts the
same to maintain continuity.
The feedback has shown me
that my main audience is
that of a teenage audience
and that it is a fairly popular
genre amongst this type of
audience.

How did you use media technologies in the construction and
research and evaluation stages?

I used Publisher to
make my magazine I have used programs
front cover, as it ranging from editing
allows you to software such as Imovie
choose from designs How did you use and publisher. I used
and you can change media technologies Imovie to create my
the fonts and use in the construction teaser trailer for my film
word art to create and research and and edited the scenes into
your magazine title. evaluation stages? the right sequences, the
software allowed me to
add effects such as sound
and transitions such as
Imovie allowed me fade to black, which
Publisher also allowed me
to cut out certain allowed my piece to
to use images and put
shots that were too maintain continuity.
these on my front cover,
shaky or did not fit and a text box that I could
in with the rest of write about what my
my trailer. magazine contained. The
software Publisher
allowed me to do this.

How did you use media technologies in the construction and
research and evaluation stages?
I also made another
questionnaire to
gain audience
feedback this
enabled me to edit I have also used
my teaser trailer Microsoft Word to
where the audience do documentations
thought things could for my primary
How did you use
be improved, due to research, this was
media technologies
this I have managed my questionnaire
in the construction
to change the sound which I carried out
and research and
effects and add in to find out what
evaluation stages?
more inter-titles. type of film genres
people like and
what my audience
would be for my
genre of film.
I used demographics to
find out certain
information about my
intended audience for
example there age and
gender which showed
me who would enjoy
my film and trailer.

Evidence of time management

This is
my
checklist
I used to
make
sure I
handed
work in
on time.

A2 coursework

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