Explore the genre and conventions of your chosen media text. How do you plan to
adhere to or develop these conventions?
The genre I have chosen is thriller/horror. I
have researched multiple trailers including big budget productions such as
‘Alien’ and also smaller budget productions such as the ‘Blair Witch Project’.
The research I have done into various trailers which focus on the thriller
genre will be invaluable in my later work.
I want to create a thriller trailer, because I personally admire their ability
to be able to evoke such strong feelings of horror in the viewer, thus making
them want to continue watching. It will
be set in London at night, and possibly inside a house to create a sense of
claustrophobia. Having the part of the
trailer set inside a house, also allows me to film multiple scenes without
extraneous variables affecting the continuity of the shots where I need
them. I would also try to cut internal
scenes with external to create a varied portrayal of the piece.
Throughout my research I found certain
similarities between the thriller trailers. All of them began with an
establishing shot, identifying the location, and progressed to a disruption of
the storyline around a minute into the trailer. This allows the audience time
to become involved in the meaning of the storyline, but also doesn’t allow
their attention to change as it jumps to the plot rapidly. Furthermore we see
that in certain trailers, the same skeletal form is followed with an
introduction, a disruption and a suggestive possible bad ending. All
of them had variable lengths of shots which shortened in length after a minute
as tension increased. In this way,
thriller trailers can be seen as following the same conventions of format,
exempt from a few deviants. The ‘Blair
Witch Project’ is one of these. The
trailer is short at one minute long, and rather than beginning with an
establishing shot, text is used instead.
Moreover, nothing can be seen for the first twenty seconds of the
trailer, only a frightened voice can be heard. This is successful because if
the text appeared straight away, the audience may be uninterested to read it;
whilst having the screen remain black, it builds curiosity and a subtle
tension. In my own work, I would like to
involve a sound bridge, like in the ‘Blair Witch Project’, as it creates an
unusual tension that can be combined with specific scenes or none at all.
In my trailer research I have found that the
sound plays a large part in the tension created when watching a thriller
trailer. This is especially emphasised when it includes a beat that increases
in tempo throughout the trailer, such as in the trailer for
"Alien" and "Whiplash". The trailer for
"Whiplash", which is not necessarily regarded as a thriller, creates
such tension that I believe it can be viewed as a thriller. This tension
is primarily created through the use of a continuous drumbeat-backing track, increasing
in tempo, throughout the trailer. The trailer subverts the conventions of
the thriller genre, as although the film contains no horror, is still
proves to thrill the audience. I plan to
use music in my own trailer that plays throughout, possibly creating a
regulated increasing tempo, much like that of ‘Whiplash’.
The trailer of ‘Alien’ influenced me, as I found it was able to evoke discomfort
even though the length of the trailer was short and was made in 1979. The
slow entrance of the title letters at the beginning are contrasted by the
rapid fast paced cuts between shots after.
In my own work, I would like to take inspiration from the title entrance
most specifically and contrast it with fast paced shots afterwards. As the trailer needs to be three minutes
long, I can only take slight inspiration from the ‘Alien’ trailer, which was
just over a minute long. Additionally, influenced by ‘Alien’, I would like to have a
minimal script and instead have strong backing music. I believe this will make the trailer less
complicated to watch and allow the viewer to feel more involved by the visual
images.
I would
like the location of my trailer to been within urban London at night. Setting
the trailer at night allows greater chiaroscuro to be made between the
characters and the setting. This can be seen in the ‘Cloverfield’ trailer,
where it begins with a party at night and progresses to darkened scenes out
side. This therefore becomes a very
successful tension creator, however this would be hard to use in my own work as
it involves large amounts of CGI.
Furthermore a large cast is used, although this would be possible in my
own work, I would rather maintain a smaller cast as it is more versatile, and
creates more suspense as no comfort can be taken as being safer, like in a
group.
The common conventions of
successful thriller trailers are that they must include a short display of
action or horror without giving away the main threat for a sustained period of
time. This creates suspense as the subject or object that is the cause of the
horror is unknown. To do this, a short shot of the threat could be shown near
the end of the trailer. I want to try to use this technique in my own work as I
believe the key is to make the audience want to continue watching after they
have seen the trailer, therefore encouraging them to go and see the media
product.
My
target audience for my product would be 15-35 years of age. This is because I
am within that age range and so am more likely to be able to identify what the
audience is looking for. I will
initially begin by conducting market research with questionnaire to my friends
and relative within the age group to identify what the majority look for in a
thriller. Using survey monkey I will be
able to reach a wider participant pool thus increasing the validity of the
results I will collect. I am currently
unsure as to what the USP of my product will be, however I believe that after
data collection I will be able to market it successfully
EJ
Explore the genre and conventions of your chosen media text. How do you plan to adhere to or develop these conventions?
The genre I have chosen is thriller/horror. I
have researched multiple trailers including big budget productions such as
‘Alien’ and also smaller budget productions such as the ‘Blair Witch Project’.
The research I have done into various trailers which focus on the thriller
genre will be invaluable in my later work.
I want to create a thriller trailer, because I personally admire their ability
to be able to evoke such strong feelings of horror in the viewer, thus making
them want to continue watching. It will
be set in London at night, and possibly inside a house to create a sense of
claustrophobia. Having the part of the
trailer set inside a house, also allows me to film multiple scenes without
extraneous variables affecting the continuity of the shots where I need
them. I would also try to cut internal
scenes with external to create a varied portrayal of the piece.
Throughout my research I found certain
similarities between the thriller trailers. All of them began with an
establishing shot, identifying the location, and progressed to a disruption of
the storyline around a minute into the trailer. This allows the audience time
to become involved in the meaning of the storyline, but also doesn’t allow
their attention to change as it jumps to the plot rapidly. Furthermore we see
that in certain trailers, the same skeletal form is followed with an
introduction, a disruption and a suggestive possible bad ending. All
of them had variable lengths of shots which shortened in length after a minute
as tension increased. In this way,
thriller trailers can be seen as following the same conventions of format,
exempt from a few deviants. The ‘Blair
Witch Project’ is one of these. The
trailer is short at one minute long, and rather than beginning with an
establishing shot, text is used instead.
Moreover, nothing can be seen for the first twenty seconds of the
trailer, only a frightened voice can be heard. This is successful because if
the text appeared straight away, the audience may be uninterested to read it;
whilst having the screen remain black, it builds curiosity and a subtle
tension. In my own work, I would like to
involve a sound bridge, like in the ‘Blair Witch Project’, as it creates an
unusual tension that can be combined with specific scenes or none at all.
In my trailer research I have found that the
sound plays a large part in the tension created when watching a thriller
trailer. This is especially emphasised when it includes a beat that increases
in tempo throughout the trailer, such as in the trailer for
"Alien" and "Whiplash". The trailer for
"Whiplash", which is not necessarily regarded as a thriller, creates
such tension that I believe it can be viewed as a thriller. This tension
is primarily created through the use of a continuous drumbeat-backing track, increasing
in tempo, throughout the trailer. The trailer subverts the conventions of
the thriller genre, as although the film contains no horror, is still
proves to thrill the audience. I plan to
use music in my own trailer that plays throughout, possibly creating a
regulated increasing tempo, much like that of ‘Whiplash’.
The trailer of ‘Alien’ influenced me, as I found it was able to evoke discomfort even though the length of the trailer was short and was made in 1979. The slow entrance of the title letters at the beginning are contrasted by the rapid fast paced cuts between shots after. In my own work, I would like to take inspiration from the title entrance most specifically and contrast it with fast paced shots afterwards. As the trailer needs to be three minutes long, I can only take slight inspiration from the ‘Alien’ trailer, which was just over a minute long. Additionally, influenced by ‘Alien’, I would like to have a minimal script and instead have strong backing music. I believe this will make the trailer less complicated to watch and allow the viewer to feel more involved by the visual images.
The trailer of ‘Alien’ influenced me, as I found it was able to evoke discomfort even though the length of the trailer was short and was made in 1979. The slow entrance of the title letters at the beginning are contrasted by the rapid fast paced cuts between shots after. In my own work, I would like to take inspiration from the title entrance most specifically and contrast it with fast paced shots afterwards. As the trailer needs to be three minutes long, I can only take slight inspiration from the ‘Alien’ trailer, which was just over a minute long. Additionally, influenced by ‘Alien’, I would like to have a minimal script and instead have strong backing music. I believe this will make the trailer less complicated to watch and allow the viewer to feel more involved by the visual images.
I would
like the location of my trailer to been within urban London at night. Setting
the trailer at night allows greater chiaroscuro to be made between the
characters and the setting. This can be seen in the ‘Cloverfield’ trailer,
where it begins with a party at night and progresses to darkened scenes out
side. This therefore becomes a very
successful tension creator, however this would be hard to use in my own work as
it involves large amounts of CGI.
Furthermore a large cast is used, although this would be possible in my
own work, I would rather maintain a smaller cast as it is more versatile, and
creates more suspense as no comfort can be taken as being safer, like in a
group.
The common conventions of
successful thriller trailers are that they must include a short display of
action or horror without giving away the main threat for a sustained period of
time. This creates suspense as the subject or object that is the cause of the
horror is unknown. To do this, a short shot of the threat could be shown near
the end of the trailer. I want to try to use this technique in my own work as I
believe the key is to make the audience want to continue watching after they
have seen the trailer, therefore encouraging them to go and see the media
product.
EJ
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