Analysis of 3 film posters

Analysis of 2 film magazine covers

Wolverine - International Trailer Analysis

As a part of my research & planning, I shall analyse the International Trailer of the upcoming production, Wolverine, which is set for release 24th July 2013. The marketing for the film is widespread, with numerous examples of convergence across different platforms of media. By analysing and researching this film, I will allow me to compare the marketing and production tha goes into blockbusters, which will allow me to compare to productions of different genres and of a much smaller scale, that is a closer representative of my own production peice later in the course.

Wolverine stands as the sixth installment of the X-man Series, with Hugh Jackman reprising his role as the titular Marvel superhero. As well as being the main star, Jackman, along with his company, Seed Producions, also produced the film. The film was produced on a budget over $100 million, and was shot in a variety of locations all over the globe, including Japan and New South Wales, as well as other Australian locations. Wolverine follows Logan as he travels to modern day Japan where he encounters a prominent figure from his past, who offers him mortality in gratitude for a long lasting debt. Vulnerable for the first time Logan must face new mental and physcial extremes to overcome his struggles.

This trailer is an excellent example of how advancements in technology have heavily influenced film trailers, with Wolverine showing excellent uses of CGI throughout and a massive 134 cuts, which would have been unprecedented when the first film trailer was released almost a century ago.

As with many trailers, Wolverine consists of three, quite identifiable acts. Act 1 0:00-0:32, introduces the audience to the main protagonist and their background. Act 2 0:35-1:15, establishes the premise of the film and gives a general overview of the plot to the audience to start to entice them in. Act 3 1:16-2:10, introduces a twist in the plot, something that will leave the audience with a lot of unanswered questions, with the only way of answering said questions is watching the final theatrical release of the film.

The primary camera shot of the trailer is an establishing shot of a mountainous region, to introduce the setting and location immediately to the viewer. After the protagonist is shown for the first time, we are shown a close up of an aged picture. We know this is of some significance as binary opposites of black and white are used to
make it stand out, as well as a voice-over tie-in of 'losses' which establishes the link of this character to Logan. The camera then pans over a small town show the main

character's isolation and altogether loneliness. We are then given an over the shoulder shot that shows someone recording the lead character, which allows the audience to begin to think about the plot and increases their interest as there is a possible threat. Once Logan enters what is to be revealed as a bar, and confronts the other men, we are given a medium close up of the weapon on of them is carrying. This again introduces an element of danger, and shows the prominence of the weapon, giving it significance. Soon after we see the iconic feature of the titular super-hero, Logan's blades, through a medium close up, with them being centralised in the frame. We then go on to see an effective way for portraying travel, a single second long clip consisting of a long shot of a private jet flying. During the flash back to WWII, we are immediately greeted with a two shot of the two characters in question, of which one of them if Logan, the main character. This allows the viewer to quickly understand who, when and what is going on. During this same flashback, following the explosion, a close up is shown of Logan's face to emphasise the pain he is suffering while

sheilding the other character. Followed breifly by a low angle shot to show the dominence of the main protagonist and a close up of the other man's eyes to show his shock at the impossibilty he had witnessed moments ago. Later on, we are shown a distant focus over the shoulder shot of Logan, as this sort of acts as an unconventional POV shot which allows the identity of the character in the foreground to remain a mystery. Following a close up of a futuristic computer diagram (which furthers the plot), we recieve a close up of the previously hidden old man, in coordination of the him delivering the word "mortal". This is a significant part of the trailer as this acts a 'turn line' that swifly rolls into 'the rise' as the action intensifies, which is a frequent aspect of modern trailers. As it does so, Logan is attacked, which is where we see blurry dutch-angled camera shots, which portrays the disorientation the character is feeling, to the audeince. As the trailer begins to near its end, and it has been established that Logan is weak, we see a close up to then medium-long shot of him in some sort of device. We also, see a medium shot and pan of Logan being kicked back and forced into a slide.

Both of these examples show the character's new found vulnerability, that the viewer will be eager to discover the true extent of. The trailer ends with a medium shot of Hugh Jackman's face, he offers a pained expression and looks directly into the camera/ at the audience with the voice-over link of "what I am...can't be undone" "Don't be so sure". This combination leaves a lasting image in the viewers mind, and does the last bit to try and encourage them to watch the full film.

The mise-en-scene of the trailer, as with many, plays an important role in truly defining the character and setting/location of the film. Only a couple of shots in, we get our first glimpse of the main character, he is shown to have a beard and long, scraggley hair.

This gives us the impression that he's been away for a while, with little interest in his appearance. Soon after, we see Logan walk towards a bar, this is however done at night, during heavy rain as this adds to the atmosphere and builds up the reveal of the character's unknown intentions. During the flashback, we are immediately shown that it was sometime ago, due to the WWII Military uniforms, and Logan is clean cut and has only his signature side burns. Part way through the flashback, the screen is consumed by a white flash, this shows the furiousity of the explosion, which in itself acts as a historical reference. Throughout this scene, a long with many others in the trailer, CGI has been used to make the scenes as good as possible. When Logan is taken to japan, the unknown character's wealth is shown through suits, expensive cars and rooms filled with gold decore. Later on, when Logan is attacked, the disorientation of the character is portrayed to the audeince through a blurred effect on the background. CGI is shown again to some extent, when a woman appears to tear her face off, which is clearly computer generated to add effect to the scene. Around the 1:34 mark, we see typical screen text, stating "This year". These are used to make the release date of the film clear to the viewer. The following scenes include a fight in which Logan is shirtless, this is used to portray the physicality and power of Logan. After another CGI scene, this time a fight upon the top of a high-speed train, everything cuts away to leave Logan hanging from a building, with the voice-over tie in of "can't be undone"..."don't be so sure". This acts as the 'button' of the trailer, that leaves that last little bit of interest in the mind of the viewer.

In relation to edits, the trailer offers a variety, but with the main choice beinh fades to black to ensure an element of fluidity between clips. This is seen several times at the beginning of the trailer, switching between the Voice-over parts, as well as moving from the car into the night-time raining scene...in this instance it shows the passage of time. We also see a pull focus during the over shoulder shot of the person in the car. This is used to clarify the position of the character and how he's watching Logan. Quite typically, we see the use of jump cuts during the bar fight, as this allows for action scenes to be filmed in a way that looks more ferocious but can still be filmed safely.

We soon see the trailers idents of the film, 35 seconds into the trailer, which is often a tactic used in lower budget films, where footage is shown immediately to entice the audience.  This is followed by a quick succession of fades, including a second-long shot showing a plane flying. This is an effective method for showing travel. Sepia effects are used during the following flashback scenes, with a rapid string of jump cuts used during the explosion scene to emphasis the panic and pace of such an event to the audience. Fades are also well used to seamlessly flow between the 'struggles' of Logan's life, to coincide with the voice over.

Following Logan being shot a few scenes later, slow motion and blurring are used to show his disorientation and pain to the audience. This is furthered by unsteady-handheld shots, including cantered angles. It is this action that marks a change in direction for the trailer, with the line 'we can make you mortal' from the now identifiable voice-over acting as a turn-line and leading to the rise in the trailer as events take a turn. After a prolonged build of fast-paced action, the trailer finally slows at the end, with the 'button' of 'don't be so sure...' from the ale voice-over. As this slowly fades to black, it allows the audience to reflect on the trailer and plot itself, leaving them interested in the film.

Lastly, the sound in the trailer plays an important part, as with any trailer, in creating the correct atmosphere. The trailer begins with a voice-over given by an elderly man, he talks about how 'eternity can be a curse...' which offers a direct character link with Logan, the only character on screen, as his immortality has turned against him (as seen in the X-men series and past 'Wolverine' films. For the first twenty seconds of the trailer, there is very little diagetic sound, instead only a combination of the voice-over with heavy bass-type music that helps to create tension and mystery as anything is yet to be explained. The first obvious piece of diagetic sound comes in the form of the glass bottle smashing and guns being drawn in the bar scene. This is soon followed by some dialog, relieving the tension or air of danger due to the characters sarcastic tone.

The iconic metallic noise of Logan's 'claws' being drawn, this creates an instant link of familiarity with the audience. We go on to hear the voice of a Japanese lady in the form of a voice over, this lady appears briefly in the bar scene and prevents the confrontation. She says 'I've been trying to find you...' and goes on to further explain the plot to the audience as she talks about her employer dying and that Logan had previously saved his life. The voice-over soon switches back to the elderly gentleman from the very beginning of the trailer, allowing the audience to create the link that perhaps he is the woman's grandfather. He says 'I can make you mortal' which is very interesting to both established and new audiences, as previous fans will realise that the process preformed on Logan was supposedly irreversible, and newer fans will make the link to the stated downfalls of immortality stated at the start of the trailer, and realise why becoming mortal may be very enticing to Logan.

When over the next few scenes we hear and see Logan shot, the pounding music followed by the immediate break indicates to the audience that something has changed, there is a problem, and perhaps Logan has gone through with the reversal. This is immediately confirmed when Logan says 'I'm not healing like before',  this adds an unexpected twist to the plot and gives the viewer some insight to the danger and troubles that Logan will face and battle to overcome in the film. Towards the end of the trailer, Logan says that 'what I have, cannot be undone' which is replied to by the old man who has offered him mortality, but only after a prolonged pause, he says 'Don't be so sure...'. This builds tension and leaves the audience with many questions that they are eager to have answered. Who is the old man? Will Logan survive? Will he seek revenge? This is an effective ending and leave the viewer with these questions long after watching the trailer, with the only way of obtaining answers through watching the film itself.

Questionnaire - Results

As a part of my research & planning, I created a questionnaire to allow me to gather information related to the task, that can help sculpt my final products. After I had received an acceptable number of responses, I compiled and compared the results to look at the opinions on film trailers themselves. The results were clear, with 26% picking Drama as their favourite genre, with Horror not close behind with 26% and 58% of people choosing 'A good plot' as their favourite aspect of trailers, I know which areas to focus on when creating my trailer. The results of my questionnaire have helped to reinforce some early ideas for the my trailer. I shall focus around the genres of Drama and Horror as these were the two most popular and while not neglecting other important aspects, such as cinematography, I will ensure the plot is prominent and professional in the final product. With each respondent giving a reason for their choices, it is important that I use the information carefully to make my trailer as effective as possible.

The link to the full set of result is below:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1SKFXzkeMZF8TBvtKPBlAw6zTQmLbDtrMx2W6_HLIKSM/viewanalytics

Trailer Research - Horror Trailers

As a part of my research into the genre of Horror, I watched the films that had been nominated under that category for the golden trailer awards. I believe that the trailer for The Possession is the best of nominees. The use of fades rather than just using sharp cuts towards the beginning of the trailer helps to create smooth transitions that allow for a a gradual build up of tension. Also, the lighting of the footage shown is quite effective, and in several ways. At the start of the trailer, most of the shots are light, to help portray the 'happy family environment' that is effectively later ruined through the events of the story. This light is swapped for darkness as to reflect the turn in events as more supernatural/ dangerous things are shown. The music of this trailer also plays a large in why the trailer is effective. The song is cover of Rammstein's 'Engel' which ultimately creates an eerie atmosphere and feeling which is useful for a trailer of the horror genre as it often intensifies what is felt by the audience when watching the clips on-screen. Just as important as the use of music, is in fact the use of silence. Horror trailers, including 'The Possession' often has all sound cut...leaving the audience on the edge, captivated in what will happen next.

The History of Film Trailers

The first ever film trailer was made for a film called 'The Pleasure Seekers' and was first shown in November 1913. From then on, trailers have evolved and adapted to be formed into what we see as an important part of advertising for films today. Although a rare feature for many years, now we are surrounded by trailers, becoming a distinct part of the modern cinema experience.

One of the oldest examples of film trailers is that for the 1937 animation, Snow White. Obvious and immediate traits of the trailer, as with many early creations, are the heavy focus of large text and the use of superlatives. This is something that was very common in the beginning but was slowly replaced by the advance in technology which allowed the focus to switch more to effects. The Snow White trailer is also unusual in the fact that no moving image is actually shown, which is uncommon for a film trailer. It also featured the creator, Walt Disney, part way through the trailer delivering dialogue on each character. These features are clear in portraying just how far trailers have changed.

Just a couple of years later, the trailer for the 1939 film 'Gone With The Wind' shows major developments from Snow White. Although large bold text, and superlatives (inc. voice over) are still all very prominent, the trailer is made up of moving images from the film. Even more interestingly, some of the clips aren't in the final production, as the trailer was compiled before completion, this is something that is still very common today but sometimes goes unnoticed. Furthermore, although the characters and the actors/actresses playing them are introduced, it is not through speech delivered by the director, but through text and voice over, a stark contrast to Snow White and something that is not too dissimilar to modern trailers.

A stark contrast and clear example of evolution from above if not all previous trailer comes over two decades later in the form of the trailer to the film Psycho. This trailer is one of the most famous, allbeit for its extraordinary length of 6.5 minutes or for the guided tour of the infamous motel by Alfred Hitchcock himself. These were both and remain to be unusual features for film trailers. The decision to place the title screen at the end of the trailer also had a lasting effect, now a common feature in most modern trailers, it had been previously thought that the optimum place for the title would be at the beginning. 

A somewhat extraordinary and unique example of its time would be the film trailer of the 1964 film Dr.Strangelove, directed by Stanley Kubrick. The trailer incorporates a mixture of fast jump cuts (136/minute) with dialogue that is partly delivered through text/voice over and then finished with words cut out of the actual film footage. The combination goes well to leave the viewer with an overall disorientated feeling, that suites Kubrick's style.

One of the most ground-breaking trailers of it's day came in the form of that for the 1977 Star Wars film that started the iconic film series. By this time, technology had began to advance enough to allow for a greater, more professional use of special effects in the film than had ever been used, which the trailer was not shy of showcasing. Although a voice over is still featured, Star Wars: A New Hope, marked a significant point in film-making technology, that would continue to evolve into the SFX and CGI filled films (and trailers) that we see today.

Trailer Analysis - Pain & Gain (2013)

Theatrical Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRtXB0_Caws

Pain & Gain is the latest film by Michael Bay, due for release this summer. Famous for his Bad Boys and more notably Transformer series, Bay is a well known and often well-loved director who is used to far bigger-budget blockbusters. Based on true story, Pain & Gain depicts a group of bodybuilders who enter a kidnapping and extortion ring after hatching a plan against a wealthy 'crook' to obtain his assets, when the plan fails, events spiral out of control.

The Theatrical trailer has a length of two and half minutes, which is very common with trailers as that is the limit which is only allowed to be exceeded once a year, so in a bid to show as much footage as possible, many companies make their trailers 150 seconds long. This film fits under the genres of crime/comedy/thriller/action but judging by the trailer and in relation to the 'Save The Cat' genres, it would most likely come under 'The Fool Triumphant' as although whether the main protagonist, Daniel Lugo, is successful or not, he and his partners are clearly established as the underdogs.

Within the first 12 seconds of the trailer, the premise of the film is already established to a generous extent. This is a common feature of trailers, the idea of truly condensing things as much as possible, to feed the audience information to help build interest.

As with a lot of modern trailers, specifically for films that contain action, slow-motion is used to prolong that particular part of the scene, which allows the audience to concentrate on what is happening in that small snippet, where detail would have been missed if played at normal/expected speeds. In this trailer, it also allows for a voice-over to be given by the main character. This is a common feature seen in the codes and conventions of trailers as it immerses the audience immediately, without any out-of-character details as a distraction. The voice-over is reoccurring throughout, broken up by intermittent pieces of dialogue. This is also a common code and convention of this genre, as dialogue from key scenes in the film builds interest and understanding.

The 'turn line' of the this trailer appears around the 1:10 mark as Lugo states 'I got a plan to change that'  and the music alters to intensify and build a higher pace of action, that will ultimately lead into a number of jump cuts as scenes progress. The use of jump cuts is a common occurrence for films that contain action scenes as they build tempo and within this trailer, are also used to show the passage of time as events unfold, which is not an uncommon technique for this genre.

As the main characters plan is somewhat foiled, the music alters again, with the transitions and cuts also altering to fit the beat of the song. This adds an element of fluidity as the trailer starts to near its end and more of the plot is revealed, this is a common technique for this genre as a threat to the 'underdog(s)' essentially thickens the plot as well as interest. This could be referred to as 'The Rise' of the trailer, as it acts as a finale just before the ending scenes. However, within this crescendo, there is a pause for a calmer/comedic scene to be delivered. This pause reinforces the comedic side of the film, and a pause midway through the finale is often used in 'comedy' trailers like this as it is when the audience least expects it. Similarly, 'The Button' appears in this trailer as a comedic exchange of dialogue, which references 'going camping' even after all of the destruction of the trailer beforehand.

Large Text appears in the trailer only a hand full of times, to emphasise the most important elements, such as it being based on a true story, and the name of the director, as mentioning that it's made by Michael Bay is guaranteed to sell the film to more people who are fans of his previous work. The text appears at the start and end of the trailer, which is not uncommon in trailers as informs the audience of things such as when the film is released etc.