Film Trailer research
The group chose option 5 which was to create a short film. This was because we could use the facilities to our advantage as well as offering experience and knowledge to help make a successful short film. Short film: Usually defined as a motion picture that is no longer than 40 minutes in running time. However, the duration of short films these days are usually recognised to be between 5 - 10 minutes.
Short films are simple to find on the internet, especially on websites such as http://www.youtube.com/
Once we had chose our final main production piece, I then went and researched different types of exiting film trailers for my selected genre. I researched three clips from a similar time period to achieve an accurate analysis so that we could benefit when it came to the main production of our short film. Each film I have chosen is beneficial for our use. The three movie trailers I have chosen to analyse are The Hurricane, The Usual Suspects and various clips from some TV crime drama's such as The Bill and Touch of Frost.
Each of these 3 movie trailers replicate parts of what we hope to portray in our movie. Each contributes in giving us guidance on how to create various murder scenes and police interviews. Throughout these clips I will be analysing the camera angles/shots, props, editing, mise en scene and acting. I will also identify the different techniques that each clip has used to make them stand out from others.
Below are some examples of short films and my analysis of them:
The Hurricane Trailer
Story about 1960s world middleweight boxing champion Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. A man whose dreams of winning the middleweight boxing title were destroyed when he was arrested for the murders of three white men in a New Jersey bar. Wrongfully accused.
The main purpose of this trailer is to present the storyline to audiences in the order of events in the film. The voiceover played by Denzel Washington is 1st person were he refers to his past and present, informing the viewers of his previous history and to what he is doing in the present moment. This gives the audience a good understanding of what the movie is about and the background of it.
From the start of the trailer we are shown Rubin Carters past from when he was a boxer to when he was wrongly prosecuted. As the viewers watch the trailer it is though Rubin Carters is reading from his published book. During the murder enquiry prosecution they use various camera angles and shots to portray Rubin's reactions and discussions by using over the shoulder shots, two shots, close ups and medium close ups. This enables the viewers to see the discussion up close as thought they are there. The audio used and the various noises illustrate the mood. For example at the beginning the music is very tense and thrilling, however then the music changes to a dramatic and chilling soundtrack with police sirens, gun fire and the slamming of cells. Once understanding that Rubin Carter is actually innocent the music changes to a sad and dramatic thrill.
From this trailer I have been able to analyse their camera angles/shots, props, acting, sound and editing techniques so that I can forward it to my movie and use them as ideas, all of which are reasonably easy to replicate.
The Usual Suspects
When a truck loaded with stripped gun parts is hijacked, five notorious thieves become overnight guests of the NYPD. But that's all they need to hatch a plan that brings them to Los Angeles for the ultimate take, $91 million in hard cash. In a surprise plot twist, a pitiable con man is being outwitted by an eager Fed. Or is he?
The Usual Suspects trailer gradually builds up from the start as the audio and characters intensify what is to become a plot with a twist. The audio throughout the trailer is filled with drama. The audio portrays various moods and suggests what may be occurring with the sound of gun fire, shouting, smashing windows, quick and snappy noises to make the viewers on edge.
The trailer includes various clips from the movie to help the viewers understand what it is about, without giving any clues away to what may happen. Again like The Hurricane trailer this also has a voiceover played by Kevin Spacey portraying his fellow thieves as hard minded, resilient people. Throughout the trailer they use various camera angles/shots such as establishing shots, wide shots, close ups, mid-shots, two shots, high and low angles. With this wide spread variation, it allows the audience to see the events unfold up close, as well as characters reactions etc.
During the start of the trailer as the interviews take place the names of each character appears on screen, identifying the characters identity. Finally the mise en scene of this trailer portrays the background of the film correctly. The characters used and the locations of the trailer are correct for the film genre.
This trailer includes an interview which helped me analyse the people's body language and tone as well as the setting such as dimmed lights, and props such as folders, paper, tape recorder etc. I have understood that using as many different camera shots/angles is a great benefit for viewers.
TV Crime Drama's
To help us further I researched many clips from TV crime drama's such as The Bill and Touch of Frost. These two programs have spanned out for many years, but having analysed modern techniques from The Bill I have been able to gather new information for our movie. Again I took great attention in observing the location, camera shots, acting and props to gain an understanding of what we could replicate for our main production.
Main Production Research Conclusion
Using a variation of camera angles/shots can have a huge effect on the audience, making them feel as though they are there. An effective audio can make the event(s) even more appealing and thrilling. Choosing the correct type of audio is crucial, making sure it fits with my chosen movie genre. It is also important that you get the audio correct, for example during a murder scene you want a chilling soundtrack and for police interview scene you want a dramatic, tense soundtrack. When it comes to the recording of my movie I will ensure that I get all my camera angles/shots spot on so that when it comes to the editing I can simply follow others police interview scenes and murder scenes to learn their editing techniques. And finally I will ensure that the characters, props and locations are all suitable and will portray an accurate crime drama.
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