As I'll have to make a magazine front cover that links into my film trailer, I thought it would be useful to do some font research on other magazine covers. This will help me establish the norm for the titles, allowing me to follow the conventions so that it may be more attractive to my target audience. I have printscreened the titles for magazines, 'Empire' and 'Film Ink'.
Both have block and bold prints, and use one colour of two, unless they are trying to link the title to the movie. For example, one of the titles for 'Empire' is bright blue to link in with the feature, which is the Iron Man 2 movie. This is a technique I will use when creating my own magazine front cover, as linking the title to the main feature could grab the readers attention more.
One scene in our trailer shows what we assume to be Lily's abductor walking up the stairs, but he is covered by clothing to hide his identity, while his shadow appears on the wall, making him seem more sinister and menacing as he is surrounded by an eery orange light created by the lamps. "Nosferatu" is a 1920s horror film about a vampire, and one scene shows him walking down the stairs, but you only see his silhouette against the wall. We took inspiration from this clip and decided to dress our abductor in dark clothing that hid his true identity, and recreated a similar scene to show the kidnapper getting closer to Lily.
Before properly beginning our filming for the first complete shots, we felt that it would be a good idea to research the weather in preparation for the day. Knowing the weather throughout the day would benefit us greatly, as we would know when it would be appropriate to film without the distraction of having to cover equipment from rain, for example.
Despite the website suggesting miserable weather, the complete opposite happened, which actually caused more problems with filming. It was incredibly sunny when we filmed, and so as we needed it to be a little darker when we filmed, it meant that our shots did not work completely. Shadows could be seen in our shots when the scene was supposed to be taking place in the dark, which is something we will take into consideration when filming again.
A definition of a reaction shot: Reaction shot is a term used in motion pictureproduction and cinematography referring to a basic unit of film grammar. It is a shot which cuts away from the main scene in order to show the reaction of a character to it.
A reaction shot usually implies the display of some sort of emotion on the face of the actor being shown, and is thus most commonly a close-up shot (although a group of actors may be shown reacting together). A reaction shot is also generally bereft of dialogue, though this is not an absolute rule. Its main purpose is to show an emotional response to the immediately preceding action or words of another character in the scene, or to an event in the immediately preceding scene which may or may not involve another actor (e.g., an explosion, monster, empty room, etc.)
As we have begun to really immerse ourselves into filming various parts of our film trailer, I thought it would be useful to do some research into different reaction shots. This would provide us with tips that we could provide our actors with, when directing the video. I decided to evaluate different film trailers from the ones that I used for my research into the techniques used in thriller trailers, as I felt evaluating different films would help me with recognising various techniques. I chose to look at three films - Unknown, Limitless, and Hanna, which are all popular thriller films released in 2011.
A man awakens from a coma, only to discover that someone has taken on his identity and that no one, (not even his wife), believes him. With the help of a young woman, he sets out to prove who he is.
A biochemist and his dishy wife arrive in Berlin for a conference at which a scientist and his controversial Arab funder will announce breakthrough research. While his wife checks into the hotel, he grabs a cab to return to the airport for his briefcase, left at the curb. En route, an auto accident puts him in a coma, from which he awakes four days later without identification and with gaps in his memory. He goes to the hotel: his wife refuses to recognize him and another man has claimed his identity. With help from a nurse, the cab driver, a retired Stasi agent, and an academic friend, he tries to unravel what's going on. Is the answer in the briefcase?
A writer discovers a top-secret drug which bestows him with super human abilities.
An action-thriller about a writer who takes an experimental drug that allows him to use 100 percent of his mind. As one man evolves into the perfect version of himself, forces more corrupt than he can imagine mark him for assassination. Out-of-work writer Eddie Morra's (Cooper) rejection by girlfriend Lindy (Abbie Cornish) confirms his belief that he has zero future. That all vanishes the day an old friend introduces Eddie to NZT, a designer pharmaceutical that makes him laser focused and more confident than any man alive. Now on an NZT-fueled odyssey, everything Eddie's read, heard or seen is instantly organized and available to him. As the former nobody rises to the top of the financial world, he draws the attention of business mogul Carl Van Loon (De Niro), who sees this enhanced version of Eddie as the tool to make billions. But brutal side effects jeopardize his meteoric ascent...
A 16-year-old who was raised by her father to be the perfect assassin is dispatched on a mission across Europe, tracked by a ruthless intelligence agent and her operatives. Hanna (Ronan) is a teenage girl. Uniquely, she has the strength, the stamina, and the smarts of a soldier; these come from being raised by her father (Bana), an ex-CIA man, in the wilds of Finland. Living a life unlike any other teenager, her upbringing and training have been one and the same, all geared to making her the perfect assassin. The turning point in her adolescence is a sharp one; sent into the world by her father on a mission, Hanna journeys stealthily across Europe while eluding agents dispatched after her by a ruthless intelligence operative with secrets of her own (Ms. Blanchett). As she nears her ultimate target, Hanna faces startling revelations about her existence and unexpected questions about her humanity.
Below is a gif of many reaction shots from these three movies, where an emotion can be seen clearly. Shock, surprise, anger, happiness are some of the emotions that can be seen, which are obvious choices for ones to be shown in our own trailer. Using this research into different reaction shots, hopefully we will be able to direct our actors in a way that will help them to create a certain expression, as it will have to look as realistic as possible.
When thinking about our film trailer, we decided that our characters needed names so that not only could we identify each one, but so that the audience would be able to as well. We originally thought that our main girl who goes missing would need a name that suited her personality. As we had agreed that she would need to appear quite innocent and vulnerable, we researched into names that are commonly associated with those traits.
Below are a few names that we thought would be quite suitable, and their meanings:
Emily -Meaning: rival. Having already discussed the fact that this character would appear to be innocent and quiet, we feel that this name wouldn't quite suit her characteristics.
Alice - Meaning: of a noble kin/noble. The meaning for this name also fails to describe our character, despite the name sounding as though it belongs to a shy and harmless person.
Isabel - Meaning: God's promise/My God is a vow. This name is incredibly spiritual, and having researched into its meaning, we feel that it would not really stick in the mind of the audience as a name for someone who is very gentle and almost powerless, having no control over what happens to her.
Kate - Meaning: pure/blessed. As our characters is kidnapped, we feel a name that means 'blessed' would not suit someone who experiences something that makes her seem the complete opposite, almost as if she is cursed.
Lily - Meaning: innocence/purity/beauty. This is the name that we decided truly represented the character that we wanted to present to our audience. When we first began thinking about her characters characteristics, we imagined a girl who could be viewed as innocent and vulnerable.
Below I have included a printscreen of the webpage that provided us with the information concerning the meaning of the name 'Lily'. Doing this research really allowed us to gain a clearer image of how we wanted our actress to act, and what we thought her character should act like.
Lily (played by our friend Georgi) is the films protagonist, and is also the girl that disappears at the very beginning. She's an ordinary 17 year old girl, who enjoys meeting her friends regularly at social events, such as parties. When we are first introduced to her at the beginning of the trailer, although the audience has not been given a description, it is clear that she is walking home from a party. She is seen walking down a trail in a secluded, forest area, away from the houses and street lights. She is still in her outfit, meaning that her shoes are hard for her to walk in down the bumpy trail. Additionally, her outfit, which is a dress and a small jacket fail to keep her warm at night, resulting in her looking considerably more vulnerable, as she hugs herself to keep her warm.
I thought that it would be helpful to research into costumes that vulnerable characters and those greatly involved in the movie have worn in other films, to give me a better idea of what would be suitable for our characters to wear. I will look at various images from different 'thriller' movies, and note important things about their clothing. I decided to look at two films that were released within the last 10 years, which feature a girl being kidnapped.
The two films I chose were:
Taken Taken is a 2008actionthriller film.A former spy relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been forced into the slave trade. After reluctantly agreeing to let his 17-year-old daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), go to France with her best friend, Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is horrified to hear that she is kidnapped by an Albanian gang whose specialty is prostitution rings. With only 96 hours to go before he'll never find her again, Bryan rushes to France to save her. As a former CIA agent, he has all the skills necessary to rescue her - if he can only find her.
Man On Fire Man on Fire is a 2004 American thriller film. In Mexico City, the former CIA assassin and presently an alcoholic decadent man John Creasy (Denzel Washington) is hired by the industrialist Samuel Ramos, with the recommendation of his old friend Rayburn, to be the bodyguard of his young daughter Pita and his wife Lisa. Pita changes the behavior of the cold Creasy, making him live and smile again, and he feels a great affection for her. When the girl is kidnapped Creasy swears to kill each one responsible for the abduction.
TakenWhen looking at this particular film, I focused on the character Kim, as she is the main character that becomes vulnerable and defenceless when she is kidnapped. She is the same situation as our main character in our own thriller trailer, as she seems quiet because of her seemingly sheltered life. When she is finally granted permission to travel to France with her close friend, her guarded life comes to end, unfortunately leading to tragedy.
Here she can be seen wearing a fairly plain dress with a small print, and a pastel coloured jumper. She is also wearing an Alice Band, which we tend to associate with younger girls. Additionally, she is only wearing a few accessories, one being the headband, and the other being the small necklace.
These two pictures show her wearing a small denim jacket with plain white jeans and a blue top. Her entire outfit features fairly pale colours, with no outrageous patterns or bold colours. Her style seems to reflect her sheltered upbringing, as her outfit would not be one we would associate with 17 year olds in this modern society. Clothes usually allow modern teenagers to express themselves, resulting in whacky styles and trends, while Kim's is rather plain and safe.
Here we can see Kim wearing no makeup, which also reinforces her fairly quiet and reserved personality. Furthermore, her hair always appears to be down, requiring no styling, which is something that we would probably use in our own trailer. Kim's clothing really represents her vulnerable personality, as the clothing is what you would associate with a younger girl.
Man On Fire
Although the main character that is eventually kidnapped is younger than our own character, I felt that she would still have the same characteristics of someone who is vulnerable and helpless. Pita is the daughter of a wealthy family that requires a bodyguard to keep her safe.
Like the main character (Kim) in Taken, Pita (Dakota Fanning) can be seen wearing very little makeup. While some would have been required, her appearance has been kept very plain, to represent her innocent and young personality. Her hair, like Kim's, has not been styled, and has been left to fall down naturally to frame her face. The same technique was used in Taken.
Her jacket is a simple denim one, which matches her bag. Her entire outfit has been kept fairly basic, which emphasises her vulnerability during this particular moment. Her hair remaining down allows it to blow in the wind as she runs from danger, adding to the sense of tension and suspense. This is something that we could consider doing with our own actress.
Her dress is plain white, with a simple pattern printed on it. All of the colours used for her outfit are dull and plain, which could put emphasis on the fact that despite her family being well-known and in danger, she is just a normal girl. As our own actress will be in a similar situation, we could try and reproduce the same elements with her appearance.
Both characters, despite the difference in their ages, wear similar outfits that show their quiet, and innocent personalities. As both characters are subjected to being kidnapped, they experience the same traumatic situation, resulting in those they love becoming involved in finding them.
When creating a costume for our character that is kidnapped, (Lily, played by Georgi) I will take into consideration my research. For example, we could:
Keep the clothing light in colour, and possibly use pastel colours to imply innocence. Other colours like red and black could also be used, to imply danger.
Ensure that the amount of components to the outfit itself are kept to a minimum.
Apply little or no makeup to the actress, and keep the hairstyle simple.
I have decided to research into various different trailers that have been placed within the 'thriller' genre. The information I collect could then be used for ideas when we create our own film trailer. The movies that I have chosen to look at are fairly recent, having been released in 2010, and underneath the film title, I have included a brief summary of each film.
The films are:
The American Alone among assassins, Jack is a master craftsman. When a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, he vows to his contact Pavel that his next assignment will be his last. Jack reports to the Italian countryside, where he holes up in a small town and relishes being away from death for a spell. The assignment, as specified by a Belgian woman, Mathilde, is in the offing as a weapon is constructed. Surprising himself, Jack seeks out the friendship of local priest Father Benedetto and pursues romance with local woman Clara. But by stepping out of the shadows, Jack may be tempting fate.
Abandoned Mary Walsh delivers boyfriend Kevin to a hospital for routine outpatient surgery. But when Mary returns to take him home, he's mysteriously vanished. An administrator can find no record of him, and a police search turns up nothing. Increasingly frantic, Mary's taken to staff psychiatrist Dr. Bensley, who pronounces her unstable. Now she must not only find her missing boyfriend, but prove her own sanity as well. When a stranger informs her he knows Kevin's whereabouts and demands a $10 million ransom, she has one hour to comply... and her boyfriend's life hangs in the balance. Forced to embezzle the money from the bank where she works, Mary soon discovers the shocking truth behind the disappearance. Now time is running out and she must take matters into her own hands to save herself.
Buried Waking groggy in pitch darkness, Paul Conroy, an American truck driver working in Iraq in 2006, slowly realizes he is trapped inside a wooden coffin, buried alive. With his cigarette lighter, he can see the trap he is in, and he quickly realizes that there's not enough air for him to live long. He finds within the coffin a working cellphone, which allows him contact with the outside world. But the outside world proves not to be very helpful at finding a man buried in a box in the middle of the Iraqi desert. Paul must rely on his best resource--himself.
The American
The trailer uses many different tactics to ensure that tension and suspense is created. The sound is loud, increasing in volume throughout. The clips are of various lengths, but towards the end of the trailer, shorter video clips are shown to add to the tension.
Another thing the trailer does is use light and shadows to its advantage, as within the first few seconds of the trailer, you can only see the silhouette of the man in the car, as the light at the end of the tunnel becomes incredibly bright.
Additionally, the trailer uses a colour filter on a few of the clips to indicate the change in atmosphere. Here we can see a red filter that adds to the feeling of passion and urgency shown in the clip. The blue filter is used when the actor suddenly realises that someone outside is watching him, to show a hostile atmosphere.
There are a range of shots that are also used, as we are given many long shots, as well as close ups. The long shots create a sense of time passing, reinforced by the lack of sound, while the close ups signify an urgency.
Abandoned
Like the previous trailer, sound is used a lot here to create suspense and tension, which would ensure the watchers interest.
Throughout the trailer, effects like a quick cut into black are used. Many different camera angles are used, which becomes very noticeable as during one shot, the camera will move to a different place a few times before the next clip is shown. Close ups are also used here to indicate a sense of urgency.
At one particular moment in the trailer, the same medium long shot is used, but the situation changes. The people around the main woman begin to move quickly around her, as she stays in the same position. This continues until she is left on her own, showing the passing of time, ending when the clip blurs into the next one.
The colours used are mostly dark and dull, except for when bright lights are used, creating a contrast between the hospital and the outside world. The hospital wards are quiet and empty, highlighting her isolation, while the outside world is busy and full of life.
Shadows are also used here, as you can see her outline as she stands in front of a wall, and the shadow created from someone holding a gun up. The use of shadows adds to the tension and suspense created in the clip.
Buried
Unlike the other trailers, the sound does not escalate throughout the movie, but is used in a subtle way. Most of the sound is created by the actor - his breathing, him moving around frantically inside the coffin - but there is also a sound like a quiet bell, ringing in the background of the entire trailer. Short clips create suspense and tension because they cut to a black screen immediately, and all you can hear are his screams.
Throughout the clip, the screen shows bits of text, explaining the actors situation, and gaining the attention of the viewer, who becomes eager to understand what he is experiencing. The unusual predicament that he has found himself in ensures we stay interested.
The camera uses many different shots, never staying on one particular shot for a long period of time. Close ups, mid shots and long shots are used, and a long shot can be seen when the camera moves up away from the coffin, so that we get a clear shot of the amount space he has.
Lighting is used effectively, as darkness surrounds him, while his face is often lit up, exposing his wounds and bloodied face. The colours used are very dark, adding to the trailer, as it adds to the sense of danger, as well as adding to the feeling that there isn't much room in the coffin, and that the actor truly is buried six feet underground.
All three of these trailers use very useful tactics to ensure that the watcher is interested in the film, and that suspense and tension is created so that the likelihood of someone going to pay to see the film is more of a possibility. It is clear that a lot of planning has gone into all of them, and so when creating our own film trailer, it would be a good idea to use different aspects from certain 'thriller' trailers.
For example:
The cuts are often quick, with sound effects accompanying them, building suspense.
Black screens are used frequently as well, leaving the audience anticipating something dangerous or scary as the audio continues to play in the background.
Text is often used to provide the audience with valuable information, such as what the situation in the film is, or reviews from magazines and websites.
Except for the natural light provided from outside, the trailers have a dark colour scheme, using dismal colours and shadows created from artificial light to make scenes seem sinister, or characters appear menacing.
The cuts are usually straight into another clip or onto a black screen. Occasionally fades or a blurring effect are used to show confusion or lack of energy.
Sound can add to the feeling of danger and suspense, if used effectively. In the first two trailers for 'The American' and 'Abandoned', the sound grew in volume into the trailer reached the point when what was being shown was incredibly significant. For example, in another trailer this could be when someone was being kidnapped or shot. In 'Buried', the sound was almost non-existant, but the sound of a quiet bell playing constantly added a sinister element to the trailer.
As I'll have to make a magazine front cover that links into my film trailer, I thought it would be useful to do some font research on other magazine covers. This will help me establish the norm for the titles, allowing me to follow the conventions so that it may be more attractive to my target audience. I have printscreened the titles for magazines, 'Empire' and 'Film Ink'. 
Both have block and bold prints, and use one colour of two, unless they are trying to link the title to the movie. For example, one of the titles for 'Empire' is bright blue to link in with the feature, which is the Iron Man 2 movie. This is a technique I will use when creating my own magazine front cover, as linking the title to the main feature could grab the readers attention more.
