The document summarizes three film trailers: 1) 127 Hours uses clips from the film out of order and voiceovers from the film instead of a narrator. Music focuses on the soundtrack rather than lyrics. 2) Into the Wild uses key scenes and lines with a voiceover to explain the story. Music fits the mood and imagery. Text is limited but provides credits and release details. 3) Touching the Void uses significant clips without a narrator, instead using interviews and documentary audio/video. Music is almost non-existent to maintain realism, using diegetic sounds like nature instead. Text is only used minimally.

1. Case Study Presentation By Manon Hodges

2. Film 1 – 127 Hours http://www. youtube .com/watch?v= OlhLOWTnVoQ

3. How have they used the conventions of a trailer? Like every trailer, 127 hours includes key moments from the film itself , most of which are not in the correct order so as not to give too much away to the audience before they see the real thing. The have selected the best clips from the film , to highlight parts which are most important when trying to understand the main storyline. These clips are also effective because they create a wide range of different ambience, from excitement to near death experiences. One of the most common conventions of a film trailer is the ‘powerful voice-over ’ which is used to draw the audience’s attention to the key points of the film. However, unlike most film trailers, 127 hours has used a clever alternative. Instead of the typical ‘American voice-over’ they have used parts of speech from within the film itself to create the general story line. Music is one of the parts of a film trailer which is essential for success and is, if not the most important and influential aspect of any trailer. In this trailer in particular they have decided to use more soundtrack music instead of a song with lyrics, so the audience can focus and hear what the story is about. Text is another dominant feature for a trailer. It is normally used for the film title, the release date, the actors names; especially big names, memorable quotes, websites and also if possible some positive reviews to encourage people to watch it. The main text used in this trailer is for reviews from film festivals and of course the title and websites/ places you can find out more information.

4. How the conventions of the genre are incorporated into the trailer in terms of: Location/setting In terms of the location of this film, it is based mainly in canyon land USA. This creates the perfect atmosphere and provides an excellent setting for the adventure genre. Characters This film is all about going into the unknown; and like many other films of the same genre it contains one main actor with the others there to contribute to story of the main characters journey or expedition. Props/costumes To make this film realistic they costumes used are very normal, to enable audiences to be able to relate with the characters. Obviously depending on the circumstances in the film , the costumes change appropriately. As for the props used, the film makers have decided to use a limited number of props to create the best atmosphere possible, this could be for financial reasons or just for effect. Sounds/lighting Lighting is extremely important in this type of genre and especially this film as the scenery and landscapes used are incredible and the correct lighting is essential for the film to look right. For sound, there is obviously music in some parts and then the diegetic sounds from the story itself to create the correct ambience. Camera angles For this film and for many others from the same genre, a vast range of camera angles have been used for creating a certain effect and to impress audiences with the modern visual effects the camera angles generate.

5. How successful was this film trailer? I think in terms of creating a film trailer which would encourage people to go and watch the film itself, the trailer was definitely successful. However, because of one scene in particular which was quite graphic, audiences weren’t completely prepared when they went to see the film.

6. How could this trailer be improved? I don’t think there are many aspects to this film trailer which needed any improvement. Obviously all the main action is limited so nothing is given away, although it is slightly misleading as to how graphic the film actually is. But overall, I think if audiences aren’t prepared to watch something with a little bit of blood then they shouldn’t be watching this type of film in the first place!

7. Film 2 – Into The Wild http://www. youtube .com/watch?v= taFaFEuwHLQ

8. How have they used the conventions of a trailer? This trailer like most others, has also used the key scenes and lines from the film itself. The clips that have been selected, have been chosen for the purpose of attracting the audience and gripping them so that they will want to watch it. The most effective scenes are the ones with the most emotion and action and these are the type of things which draw people in when it comes to advertising and promoting. Into The Wild follows the typical convention of having the American voice over to explain briefly the story in a direct way in which the audience can hear and understand easily. It is used mostly in the middle section of the trailer to give a vague idea of the rest of the story, leaving the rest down the imagination of the audience and letting them create a story from the speech they hear and the images they see. Obviously music is impossible to not include in such a genre of film, because without it the atmosphere would be completely wrong for the mood the director is attempting to create. The music is upbeat and relevant to the type of imagery presented to the audience. It is also varied to fit in with the emotional aspects of the various scenes chosen for the trailer. The amount of text used in this trailer is limited but is used to the extent it is needed. Firstly it is there to tell the audience that this film has been produced by a well known director – which will instantly attract certain people who recognise the name. Secondly, it is used to give credit to the author of the book which was the origin of the story – enabling people to directly find the book. It is extremely important as well because this film in particular is ‘inspired by a true story’ and therefore will have some impact on people. And also it is used to emphasize the parts of the film that are most significant in connecting the audience with the main character in the film and his emotional journey. Lastly, it is used to tell the audience when they can expect the release of the film.

9. How the conventions of the genre are incorporated into the trailer in terms of: Location/setting As for the location of this film, it is mainly set in the USA, with shots from places like the grand canyon rapids and Alaska. This provides huge amounts of varying landscapes at which the audience will marvel and enjoy. Characters The beginning of the film shows quite a few characters, most of whom are the family of the main guy on an adventure. Throughout the trailer you meet new people who he meets along the way, which makes it more personal as we meet them at the same time he does. Props/costumes In order to make sure they create the best atmosphere possible, the costumes have clearly been thought out well. They are quite normal to begin with so that people can relate to him as a young, cool guy. Then as the trailer goes on you see how his appearance changes, along with the landscapes and climates he experiences. Sounds/lighting Because of the extent of the huge scenery which the director has chosen to use, the lighting has to be made perfect for the effects of it to be efficient. There are huge contrasts between scenery that is included and this is there to inspire the audience and this is enormously effective. Like the music, sounds have been used to add to the reality of the film and for connotations with certain areas which need highlighting. Camera angles Again with the sound and lighting and music, camera angles have been used to highlight certain aspects of the film. For example, the camera will focus of objects or people to show the audience the importance of this within the overall storyline.

10. How successful was this film trailer? Due to the film first of all being a true story, it has an automatic attraction because it is the type of film which will be inspiring and something which people might aspire to do. Another feature which makes it successful and popular is the name of the director. Sean Penn is famous and therefore will attract one type of audience alone for the sole reason he’s involved, not only this but then the audience who are interested in the action/adventure genre will also see it because of it’s content.

11. How could this trailer be improved? This is another film which is hard to find anything to comment on in terms of what could be improved. It is quite similar to a lot of other films, but then that is to be expected because it is a certain genre. I think the reason it is a true story enhances it’s attraction and emotional content which then has a huge impact of people’s way of thinking and their moral and world values.

12. Film 3 – Touching The Void http://www. youtube .com/watch?v=0slYY_ YaCrY

13. How have they used the conventions of a trailer? For a film like touching the void, the content of the trailer and content is slightly different to normal film trailers, as this one is a documentary. It still contains all the significant clips enabling the audience to understand as much of the basic story as they can. Because this is a documentary there is no t any use of a voice over to explain all or part of the main story. Instead they use either clips from interviews of the cast which help to give details about the film or things which are said in the actual documentary. This also adds a more personal and serious edge to the trailer as you know none of the actors are putting on accents or trying to be funny. The use of music trailer in particular is almost non existent . This is because of the context and reality of what people are watching. The director wants what is on the screen to be as close to the real thing as possible, and with the use of music people might not take it in the right way. There is a big use of diagetic sounds like ice, water, harsh winds and significant speech from one character especially. Here the use of text is only used for effect. Again, because it is a documentary styled film the text seen is not used for reviews, release dates or actor’s names. It is there to highlight the essential aspects of the film, for example, friendship, strength, trust, courage, loyalty and fear. Another use of text is rhetorical questions to get the audience thinking before they see the film about what they would do if they were in that situation, and this is what makes it so relevant to viewers and the conventions of a true documentary.

14. How the conventions of the genre are incorporated into the trailer in terms of: Location/setting The main location for this film is Mount Everest, which immediately makes the audience aware that it is a serious documentary which involves adventure and danger. Characters The characters in the film are never focused on close enough to see their faces, and therefore are unrecognisable. However, we do know from the voices that we hear there are likely to be about 4 or 5 men involved. Props/costumes Since this film is a documentary, the props and costumes used are things that audiences would recognise easily and be able to relate with or connect with certain objects and activities. A lot of the props and outfits used are the type of material you would expect experienced climbers to use when climbing a mountain such as Everest. Sounds/lighting This relates back to the use of music in the trailer. Like I said before, the use of music was almost non existent and therefore other sounds such as diagetic sounds and sounds effects had been used to create a realistic atmosphere. The lighting was as you’d expect to see if you were in the film being filmed on a mountain with snow. Colours were bright, mostly white and then dark implicating the more dangerous moments or serious parts of the film. Camera angles I think for this type of scenery it would be hard to have too many intricate and varied shots. However, audiences could assume that a helicopter would have been used for a lot of the scenes, so we are able to see the action from various different areas.

15. How successful was this film trailer? As the film is set in a different context to others of the same genre, it is hard to define the success of the trailer. It has had good reviews, in terms of its reality and how it portrays the actual life story. It is also popular due to the book being published beforehand and so already had some promotion to help it be successful.

16. How could this trailer be improved? The fact it was a documentary makes it a difficult trailer to try and improve as it is trying to portray something in a specific way, and there’s likely to only be one good way of going about it. However, I would say if it wanted to be more of a popular film then they should have used more music to emphasize the emotions in the trailer as this is a form of how people like expressing themselves and many can relate to it easier than maybe speech.