This is a film magazine cover than I created on Adobe Photoshop promoting my teen angst film I made at AS Level last year. I chose to use Photoshop as I have already learnt how to use the tools I need such as the magnetic lasso. I also used Microsoft Powerpoint to make the smaller images on a larger scale and then transferred them to Photoshop as this was easier than creating them directly onto the cover.
I chose a colour scheme of bright pink and purple as these are stereotypically feminine colours to catch the demographic's eye of 15-25 year old females. The main image on the magazine is of Megan, the main character of the film which immediately indicates what film is being advertised.
Four other teen angst films with the same target audience are advertised on the cover too. This is to promote further interest in the magazine for the people we are targeting and create an interest to make them want to read the magazine.
I decided to study an Empire magazine cover to help and inspire me for when I make my own film magazine cover promoting my teen angst film created last year at AS Level. I focused mainly on the layout of the front cover and how it appeals to it's demographic of males aged 18+. I also compared it to other film magazines I have previously annotated to see what is common and more important to include on the cover. I found that colour is very important in targeting the right audience and the main focus on the cover is the promotion of a single film, but still advertises other films of the same genre which can be found inside the magazine to draw people in.
Carrie is a horror film produced by Misher Films and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Screen Gems. I chose to study this particular trailer as it is a high budget film of $30 million which I can compare to the low budget trailers that I have already studied. I also chose it because it is a horror film which I can take inspiration from when creating my own horror film trailer.
There were 2 Carrie trailers produced, the one I studied being 2 minutes 33 seconds long and made up of approximately 134 shots with very quick cutting in areas. There are 4 main characters in the trailer; Carrie, her mother, her prom date and the 'mean girl' of the film, along with many other characters which only appear quickly such as teachers and other students. However, it is clear that Carrie is the main character as she appears most throughout the trailer and clearly portrays that the film plot surrounds events in her life.
There are approximately 9 settings shown in the trailer; Carrie's house and garden, outside her high school and inside the school corridors, classroom, library, swimming pool & changing room, the prom hall and a street. Although most of these setting surround Carrie's house and school, the trailer still shows a large amount of places within which connotes the film is action-packed and always moving forward.
Throughout the trailer, there is only one music track used, the same as The Gallows horror trailer which I have previously annotated. The music is non-diegetic and begins playing over half way through the trailer at 1:38. The music is calm and slow with a female singing, occasionally pausing to show several quick shots of destruction which contrasting with the atmosphere portrayed by the music. In addition to this, the trailer begins with the mother slowly singing a calm and happy song. It is diegetic with no background music and is not a music track, yet it still contributes to the eerie atmosphere along with the slow camera work leading up to the house which is just as effective.
Non-diegetic sound effects are also added to make the trailer seem more scary and dramatic. For example, screaming, drums, crackling of fire, sirens, buzzing of lights etc and synchronous bangs, crashes and cracks to emphasise something happening on screen and to draw in the demographic.
Overall, there were 14 inter titles in the trailer. They include the name of the main actress "Chloë Grace Moretz" as star power, short sentences that give suggestions to the plot and information on the film, such as "In every neighbourhood there is one family with a secret" and "Based on the acclaimed novel by Stephen King". By telling the audience it is based on a successful book and has well-known actresses helps to build good expectations for the film, encouraging people to watch it.
By studying this high budget horror film trailer I am able to compare it to the low budget horror film trailer of The Gallows that I have already annotated. I found that both trailers used fast pace editing to build suspense although this trailer did it much quicker with a total of 134 shots whereas The Gallows trailer only had 86 shots in a similar amount of time. On the other hand, they are both similar in the fact that they both only use one music track which is unusual yet effective in adding suspense for both horror trailers. By comparing the low budget and high budget trailers I can use the similarities and differences to inspire my own horror trailer and make it look better quality like the high budget trailer.
Catfish is a documentary-style film produced by Relativity Media and distributed by Rogue Pictures. I chose to study this trailer as the film had a low budget of $30,000 so I will be able to take inspiration from it when creating my own low budget horror trailer. I have already annotated the trailer of a horror film so I decided to study another genre of film to see how they compare.
The trailer is 2 minutes 21 seconds long and includes a total of approximately 71 shots. There are only 6 characters shown in the trailer; Nev and his 2 friends who work the cameras, Megan, and her mum and sister who are only shown briefly on Nev's computer. Nev is clearly portrayed as the main character as it follows his story and he appears on camera most, however despite rarely being on camera, Megan is also portrayed as an important character as she is the main focus of the trailer and film.
Throughout the trailer there are approximately 9 settings shown; Nev's house and bedroom, a dance studio, a street, inside the car, an office, an airport, Megan's house, a beach and a theatre stage. This is a wide range of setting which makes the film seem action-packed and busy, connoting that there is a lot of travelling in the film due to a lot of shots in the car, this also gives an insight into the plot.
There are 3 separate music tracks used in the trailer, which is common for trailers to do. The trailer begins which non-diegetic background music that is upbeat with a simple melody and suggests a happy atmosphere. Around 45 seconds into the trailer the music transitions into another non-diegetic track. It sounds as though it is being sung by a choir and is slower than the last song, which fits with the trailer as it reveals there is something suspicious happening, however it remains happy sounding. The final track begins about 1 minute 30 into the trailer when the first footage of Megan's house is shown at the end of a long, dark drive way. The music is still non-diegetic and slower than the last track. The music is low and quiet to seem mysterious and emphasise the eerie atmosphere.
Non-diegetic synchronous sound effects such as phone beeps, typing, camera clicks etc are used which particularly emphasises that the film is focused on online events which is why the sound of these devices are made to stand out. Diegetic voices of the people in the film talking to the camera is what informs us that it is a documentary-style film, breaking the verisimilitude as well as the hand-held camera work which also suggests this. Additional sound effects such as hisses and mouse clicks are used when inter titles appear on the screen to catch the audiences attention and draw them in.
There are 13 inter titles overall in the trailer. They include reviews from well-known magazines and newspapers, for example; "A shattering conclusion. - New York Magazine". Positive reviews from reliable sources people are familiar with helps build good expectations for the film. The inter titles also give key information on the plot to give the audience an idea of the basic story that the film follows.
By studying this trailer after The Gallows horror trailer, it's helped me to compare the differences between a horror trailer and a trailer of a different genre which will be useful for when I create my own horror trailer. The Gallows trailer had quicker cuts between shots than the Catfish trailer to help build the tension, something that is very important when advertising a horror film as this is what people want to feel. As a result of this, the horror trailer also had a larger amount of shots altogether. I also found that The Gallows trailer used only 1 music track throughout it, whereas the Catfish trailer used 3. By using only 1 song it helped keep the eerie atmosphere of the trailer, on the other hand the mood of the Catfish trailer changes from happy to mysterious which is why it was suitable to use more than 1 song. In addition to this, the music in The Gallows trailer cuts and pauses in certain places to emphasise the tension which is also why only 1 song was suitable, unlike Catfish which has music playing throughout the entire duration of the trailer.
The Gallows is a horror film, coming out on July 10th 2015. It had a low budget of just $15,000, produced by New Line Cinema, Blumhouse Productions, Management 360 and Tremendum Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros Pictures. We will later be creating our own horror film trailers so we annotated this particular trailer because it is horror and therefore we may be able to take inspiration from it, especially as it is low budget.
There are several different trailers for The Gallows, the one I studied being 2 minutes 18 seconds long. Overall, it is made up of approximately 86 shots with quick cuts between each which builds the suspense, typical of a horror film. A wide range of camera shots such as close ups and aerial shots also helps build the audience' interest as it emphasises the speed and makes it seem full of action, rather than dull to draw them in.
There are only a few characters in the trailer; 3 teenagers, 3 policemen and the spirit who we barely see at all yet is portrayed as the most important character in the film. We know this as the trailer informs us of the plot which revolves around the spirit being discovered by the teenagers. By revealing the plot it lets people form a judgement of whether they would enjoy the film or not. The trailer suggests one narrative and doesn't inform us of any sub-plots that take place throughout the film.
A cover of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' by Nirvana is the only music track played in the trailer which is rare as there are usually at least two, however the well-known song helps it to be noticed. The music is non-diegetic and cuts and pauses several times to build suspense and emphasis on other important sounds such as loud bangs. The music begins at a slow pace and gets faster throughout before fading away at the end, to build suspense which is especially important when advertising horror as this is what the audience wants. Synchronous, non-diegetic sounds effects such as bangs, drums, clattering of locker doors, screams, creaks, shattering glass etc are used throughout the trailer to add to the tension and scary atmosphere which the film wants to convey to the audience.
There are 6 different settings in The Gallows trailer; the school hallway, theatre stage and backstage area, school hall, town streets and outside of the high school. From this we can presume that most of the film is set in and around the teenager's school but is kept action packed from the amount of different settings within it.
Inter titles in the trailer show reviews of the film and the names of other popular horror films created by the same makers of this film. This draws in an audience as it helps build good expectations for the film due to these previous successes and positive reviews.
My next task is to create a magazine cover promoting my own film so in order to help me with this process I annotated an already existing film cover of Total Film promoting 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier'. This will help me to decide on a good layout for my own cover with the right conventions to appeal to my demographic. I used a Total Film cover as this is the magazine I have previously done a replica of so I knew more about the layout of their covers.
