Conventions of a Film Magazine

The main film magazine i decided to analyse the conventions of was "Total Film" as it is probably the most well known and popular film magazine there is. I found that often the covers are quite busy, and contain a picture of the protagonist (sometimes antagonist) of the film on the front. The colour scheme is usually quite refined and only contains a few colours, red, white and black being the most popular. There is often a lot of text on the front cover and this is often layered so that some is on top and some appears to be behind the portrait on the front. The masthead "Total Film" is usually the text that is positioned behind the photo of the protagonist/antagonist.

This is a cover from the same type of magazine, however this is a much more simplistic version. This image stood out from the others of the Google Image search for "Total Film". Among the other editions of Total Film with their busy and cluttered covers, this edition stood out and certainly caught my eye so i'm going to try and make mine more like this in hope of the same effect.

Completed Questionnaire Copy

The following is a copy of a questionnaire I have produced in order to gain outside opinions on the conventions and styles of film trailers

Age- 17

Gender- Male

What is your favourite genre of Film? - Action

What makes a good film trailer? - Dramatic, good looking shots that doesn't give too much plot away

Do you think music is important in film trailers? - Yes

How long do you think a film trailer should last? - Around 2 to 2 and a half minutes.

Questionnaire

The following is a copy of a questionnaire I have produced in order to gain outside opinions on the conventions and styles of film trailers

Age-

Gender-

What is your favourite genre of Film? -

What makes a good film trailer?

Do you think music is important in film trailers?

How long do you think a film trailer should last?

Camera

The camera im using to film my trailer on is a Canon EOS 550D, which inlcudes the following specification.

Headline features

18 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor

DIGIC 4 processor with ISO 100-6400 (Expansion to 12800)

Continuous shooting at 3.7fps

Full HD movie recording with manual control and selectable frame rates

7.7cm (3.0”) 3:2 Clear View LCD with 1,040k dots

iFCL metering System with 63-zone Dual-layer Metering Sensor

Quick Control screen to change shooting settings

Exposure compensation +/-5 stops (although viewfinder scale is still +/-2 stops)

Select maximum value for Auto ISO

External Microphone socket

Movie crop function

Eye-Fi connected functions compatibility

Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment
What hazards could be involved	How will these hazards be prevented
Bridge Side
Debris and Rubble	Make sure the area is well lit and any loose debris or rubble are made aware of to avoid tripping hazards.
Drowning	We will stay away from the water in the harbour when filming; there is also a large collection of water right next to wear we are shooting which we must be constantly aware of.
Sand and Grit	I will have to make sure no sand or grit gets in the equipment because it can cause damage, therefore I will keep the equipment either of the floor or in a case when it is at all times.
Other Locations
Car	I will have to be cautious when filming a shots involving a car, insides shots I mustn’t distract the driver and outside shots I must stay clear of the vehicles path. Placing the camera further away and zooming in will put me in less danger.
Guns	One shot with a gun in will be filmed on private property, using a toy gun and out of the view of general public.

Text in Trailers

The text used in trailers can vary a lot, the most noticeable use is in the film title. Most of the big blockbuster films, not to mention most other films, have a specific and unique title text. These can even be used to recognize the film just by the font, like in Harry Potter for example. The other main use of text is for a narrative, or the commonly used "From the director of.." as seen in the first picture, from the "End Of Watch" trailer. My trailer will include both the text of the film title, as well as narrative text, in which i plan to include rhetorical questions along the lines of "What if..." and "What happens to...". I feel that these make the viewer think about the trailer, which in turn better ingrains it in their memory.

Film Trailer Idea

The main idea for my film trailer is as follows:
The film is about a teenager who crosses paths with a serious gang, that dress in black suits and wear white masks. The gang are involved in major drug trafficking, prostitution and murder. After the teenager accidentally finds himself as their primary target and a "marked man" due to the fact he inadvertently took a briefcase of money that belonged to them, he needs to keep himself alive, as well as his friends and family.

The trailer will consist of shots of the teenager as he mistakenly picks up the bag as the music is playing (Classified- Run With Me), this will be the beginning of the song.
The music will then cut and the shots will cut to black. It will then fade from black into a scene from the film, where the protagonist is tied to a chair and one of the three villains is giving a monologue.
The monologue will start with the question "Are you a religious man?"
It will consist of the villain describing what they will do to the protagonist and his friends/family for taking the money.
The after the monologue the main leader of the group will put on a ring and say "You better start praying, you're a marked man now"
The villain will punch the protagonist in the face with the ring on leaving a mark. As the impact occurs the music will start again and will start cutting between action shots of him and the villains throughout the film, accompanied by shots of texts, some asking rhetorical questions.

Costume

The costume for the main villains in the film will be fairly basic, they will be dressed in black suits. Suits are a classic symbol of power and respect, commonly used in gangster films. The will also be wearing plain white masks, the main reason for this is because the only actors i can get hold of are around my age (17-19) and i feel this will hinder the effect of the villains being sinister. Also like with reservoir dogs, i like the aspect of anonymity, the cold emotionless face of the mask adds another level of fear, and power.

Trailer Song

The song i have decided to use in my trailer is a song called "Gonna Get You" by the band "The Circles". The reason why i have chosen this song is because it because it doesn't really conform to to the traditional conventions of an action trailer song, however i feel it very much fits with the trailer, its upbeat and helps carry the feel of the trailer.

Music Genre

I analysed a group of 20 film trailers for action films and plotted the results in a pie chart. The most popular genre of music was rock, followed closely by hip hop, with a few trailers using different genres of music or no music at all. Seeing as the majority of trailers use rock music i have decided this would be a good opportunity to break a convention of action film trailers, which statistically shows that rock is the most popular. instead i am planning to use a hip hop song because i feel it will help make it stand out but is a less risky move than using a genre such a classical.

Dark Knight Rises Analysis

The trailer for "The Dark Knight Rises" uses a variety of different aspects that both conform and challenge the traditional conventions of an action film trailer. The trailer uses a large variety of shots, a number of which quickly cut between each other towards the end of the trailer after the tension has built up. This conforms to the conventions however at the beginning of the trailer the shots are long and slowly cut together, challenging the same convention. The use of text is also used minimally yet it still fits with the feel of the trailer. One of the biggest challenges to traditional conventions comes in the form of the music. Action films tend to have upbeat Rock and Roll or Hip Hop music in the trailers to get viewers more excited. however "The Dark Knight Rises" uses a choir boy singing the national anthem. This gives the trailer and eerie feel and an immense amount of suspense which will keep the viewer interested.

Expendables Analysis

The expendables trailer is very heavily action packed, using long takes of scenes from the film, along with quick action shots. it uses rock music in it, one of the most popular choices for action trailers. In similarity to mine it has parts of music and no music, which i think gives a very good effect and certainly helps in building suspense and tension, making the viewer think "i wonder what happens next" and making them want to see the film.

End Of Watch Analysis

The trailer for this cop film, is shot almost entirely hand held, this gives a definite feel of being more intense and makes the viewer feel more involved in the action. The music cuts in and out throughout the trailer as it does with most film trailers, a popular convention and one which i intend to follow. The music genre for this trailer is hip hop, similar to mine. The song used is "In The City" by Kevin Rudolf, a very high energy song which  think is certainly important for an action trailer as it definitely helps get the viewer more pumped up while watching it, and will make them more likely want to see it.

Skyfall Analysis

After reviewing a group of film trailers (listed below) i have decided firstly upon the use of music in my trailer, whether or not to use it, and secondly what song(s) to use.
As my trailer would be for an action film, i looked more closely at action film trailers and what kinds of music they use as well as how they integrate it with the video.

Movie Posters Continued

As part of the media package i have chosen includes the creation of a poster to accompany the movie, i decided to look at some of the posters that were released to accompany a group of films that relate to the genre/style of mine. From what I've first noticed about the posters is that it barely gives away any information of the film. From the majority all i can tell is a rough idea of the theme. All of the posters i have chosen aren't vividly coloured and are particularly minimalistic. However they all seem to have a great impact on anyone that looks at them and have a sense of awe and look particularly dramatic. The pictures are very high contrast which i think certainly makes them bold and stand out, a vital feature for a poster that is promoting something.

For my film poster i will try and keep it traditional, it will contain minimal text and minimal information regarding the films plot, however it must give the impression that the film is interesting, exciting and worth watching. I intend to use little to no colour, unless it is the highlight something important as i feel black and white adds a sense of drama to it.

Movie Posters

Mood Board

This is a mood board of different ideas and conventions associated with gangster films and violent films in general.

Inspirational Movies

Reservoir Dogs - 1992

Reservoir Dogs is considered a cult hit and a classic gangster film. The film is about a jewel heist that goes awry after a member of the group is an undercover cop who sets them up. The factors that inspire me about this film include the costume, the use of characters names (Mr. Blonde, Mr. Pink, Mr. Brown etc) and also the raw and unforgiving nature of the film. The film doesn't hold back and some scenes are considered shocking, yet these are the scenes people remember and talk about.

James Bond Collection - 1962 - 2012

The James Bond franchise is a big inspiration for my film trailer as like the whole Bond style. The fact that the main character (James Bond) has a side of class to him, he wears suits and expensive watches. I want to incorporate this portrayal of class within my film trailer for my main character.

Copyright Letter

Hear is a copy of the letter is sent to the copyright holders:

Dear copyright holder,

I am an A-Level student and i am writing to request your permission to use a track by The Circles. The track i wish to use is Gonna Get You.

With your permission, this task would be used in our current A-Level Media studies project, which involves creating promotion package for a new film, including a trailer, a poster and a film magazine front cover, featuring the film.

If i revived your permission, this track would only be used in an educational context and be viewed in my media class, my teacher and the OCR exam board moderator.

The artist and your company would be fully recognized throughout pre production and the video itself. 

I look forward to hearing from you

Regards

Morgan Reeves