The group chose to research the crime thriller film Zodiac (2007) as their example. Zodiac is about a real serial killer who stalked victims in the 1960s-70s and taunted investigators with cryptic messages. They felt it followed genre conventions well to inspire their own teaser trailer and poster. Their analysis found the teaser trailer used fast editing, closeups, fades, and mysterious text and imagery typical of thrillers. The film poster also used common thriller elements like a night setting, low-key lighting, the characters' faces, and colors of black, red and blue that connote fear, blood and the police investigation.

1. Group Research Task
By Lucy Napper, Sophie Dixon,
Merrie Buckley-Sheldon

2. Our choice for campaign
research
• We have chosen a film called Zodiac (2007) which is
a Crime/Thriller. We have chosen this example
because we feel like it follows many of the common
conventions for the genre, and can help us get
inspiration for when we have to create our own
teaser trailer and poster.
• The film is based around a serial killer, who stalks
residents. The investigators who are also main
characters, "become obsessed with learning the
killer's identity and bringing him to justice.
Meanwhile, Zodiac claims victim after victim and
taunts the authorities with cryptic messages,
cyphers and menacing phone calls. We feel like this
storyline is stereotypical for this genre.

3. Teaser Trailer for zodiac
• Props used- Guns, Cars, police cars
• Coding- use of symbols creating element of mystery. Symbols also used
in the titles of the movie on the movie posters (common branding)
• Set mainly at night
• Used the same named actors on the poster and trailer
• Short shot duration (fast paced editing)
• Montage editing
• Low key lighting
• Use of close ups on main characters (main characters faces on posters
too)
• Fade in and out transitions. Use of fade mirrored in the movie
posters.
• Plain and spaced out text- same font as poster (doesn't give much
away about film- leaves it as a mystery)
Watch trailer here

4. Film Poster for Zodiac
• Use of low key lighting- typical
• Set at night time- sense of danger at
night= typical
• Colour scheme of black and red that have
connotations of fear of unknown and
death.
• Black blue and red links to the idea of
police.
• Red has connotations of blood that could
be at a crime scene which is a
stereotypical narrative in crime thrillers
• Characters faces
• Same name style
as all other
posters
• Use of bridge
• Same colouring
• Red = blood
• Blue colouring = common
convention of thriller
• Same font for titles
• Use of bridge