BLK feedback

Super choice of trailer and high quality analysis notes - well done Mia

Extended 'Atonement' Trailer Analysis

I think this trailer (for Joe Wright's Atonement, 2007) is really effective, and the different shot types and distances are a big part of creating such an impact.
The trailer opens with an ELS of a large country mansion, used as an establishing shot to reveal the setting and the characters likely to be involved.
The camera tilts down towards the garden and there is a fade into the next shot, emphasising the size of the garden. This is an ELS and shows two girls
lying beside each other on the lawn.
0:10 is a high-key lit MCU of a pretty young woman, one of the protagonists, wearing a bathing suit and cap, looking to her right, perhaps to or away from someone.
At this distance we can see her expression, a little of her costume, and, from the background and the previous shot, we can deduce she is swimming in a lake.
This then fades to a LS of a bathroom, with low-key lighting, and we see a man sit up in the bath. There is a cut (rather than a fade, to signify it's the same
scene) to a MCU of the man lying back down in the bath and looking at the ceiling or out of the window. At this distance the audience can see his expression,
which is quite purposeful. He is evidently another protagonist in the story.
0:16 is a MS of the same young man, intently typing on an old typewriter. From what we have seen so far we can assume the film is set in the past. This shot allows
the audience to see not only the man, but, being from a side angle, the typewriter and the background clutter of the room too. The room is quite dark, and he is
wearing a white vest. There is then an ECU to the paper with the letters being typed onto it.
There's a cut back to the girl who is diving in the lake - it's an ELS in order to show this.
In the next shot, a new character is introduced properly (she's the other girl who was sitting on the lawn) with an ECU. She's facing the camera but looking down
at something we can't see. Presumably it's what's in the next shot - it's an ELS showing the young woman stepping out of the fountain wearing a skin-coloured slip, while the man stands in front of her watching. His back is to the camera and he's dressed in a shirt and trousers. Here, the ELS shows us the whole picture that the girl looking out of the window is seeing, so we know what's going on.
We then see a MCU of the woman, frowning slightly (presumably) at the man.
The trailer continues this way - there is almost no dialogue, apart from at 0:35-38, 0:52-55.
A wide range of shots is used throughout, e.g. an ECU at 0:33, a LS at 0.40, and an ELS at 1:37.

There is a large variety of shots put together and shown in quick succession which gives the audience a lot of information to take in, but doesn't give away too much of the story, instead enticing the audience to see the film to find out more.
As well as variety in shot distance, the director has made use of different angles and camera movements too.
For example, the second shot of the trailer, at 0:07, is a crane shot. At 0:45, a high angle is used, as it is from the perspective of the girl looking out of a window. On the other hand, 1:24 shows a low angle shot.
The trailer also demonstrates the use of pans and tilts, such as at 1:13-18, where a tilt is used effectively to slowly reveal something to the audience.
Towards the end, a lot of the shots are also slowed slightly, making them more dramatic and having a greater impact upon the audience.

BLK feedback

Excellent analysis and reflections on your horror shot , Mia although don't forget to explicitly mention the shot distance/ angle in your analysis.

I'm looking forward to seeing your choice of film clip and your analysis notes too. Great blog, it's really looking good - well done so far!

Film Industry Video Clips Notes

These are notes taken from some short video clips on the website http://www.launchingfilms.tv.

Release of a film

• marketability - audience?
• -> develop campaign to best communicate to that audience
• how much money spent on marketing -> work out what film can take from box office in UK - appropriate budget level to reach box office potential that film has
• marketing and promotions, publicity, talent (actors) in films and what they're happy with doing e.g. interviews, promos, premieres
• what to spend budget on - posters, newspapers, radio, online, TV
• choose primarily who film will appeal to best and best communication channels to use to reach that audience most effectively

Positioning and Audiences

• define who audience is
• - does film have specific genre?
• - does it speak to a certain age group?
• - to whom the directors and actors will appeal

Target Audience

• with smaller titles it's very important to really identify target audiences and focus on them
• - use research data from past films - who has been, the frequency of their visits, age, gender, what kind of cinema (local multiplex, cinema down the road..)
• - pinpoint target audience as best you can
• e.g. over 45s will take a week or two to go and see something at the cinema - advert needs reinforcing - with teenagers they might just go to the cinema and see if there's anything they fancy which may have just come out
• - different audiences react differently, and need to be targeted differently - their decision making processes are different

Competition

• HUGE amount of films out there
• - need to stand above others to be noticed
• - affecting facctors include: holidays, weather, audience patterns
• - e.g. not much TV advertising in July and August - people watch less TV - in summer big outdoor posters are better
• - e.g. 2. October half term there are lots of films out - it's dark early, rainy, boring... teenagers tend to go to the cinema

P&A Budget

• includes: all costs of prints (actual film itself)
• all various technical elements that go without shipping backwards and forwards etc.
• advertising costs - most important part, inc. designing posters & press adverts, to making TV spots, to making a trailer for the cinema - then where they're advertised
• target marget - banners on internet sites? TV ads?
• - might not have a high enough budget for what you want - e.g. TV ads can be very expensive - radio ads are much cheaper, and have a huge audience around the country

Word of Mouth

• critical - when you want it to happen depends on the film
• - sometimes word of mouth will be very strong from start & so if they have the film early, they run audience screening programmmes -> free screenings before release
• - that audience will tell their friends how great it is (if it is) and that they should see it when it comes out
• - e.g. screening for 100 people and each tells 10 people that it's really good and they should go and see it - this multiplies the word on that film
• - more likely to believe it from friends than seeing/hearing about it
• word of mouth - when film is acquired late, they rely on advertising films - opening weekend, and then it's in the hands of the public -> if the word of mouth is bad, the life expectancy of the film is greatly reduced, and vice versa

Marketing Plan

• main publicity = through advertising and press
• advertising is expensive - adverts, magazines, newspapers, TV, radio, internet
• more free forms of advertising = press etc.
• - place features about films in magazines, set up interviews with directors, TV shows, radio...
• outdoor advertising - expensive
• screenings (word of mouth)
• internet - email, viral campaigns etc.
• word of mouth - especially important in specialised films - not as much money for big advertising

Film Trailers

• trailer is most important key to selling film - public's first and only exposure in cinema to what they're going to buy into
• - same environment etc. as when you'll see it
• trailer must have right impact and message, down to the way graphics, sound, concept of film, are portrayed

Link Between...

• must convince cinemas to take film - first major step
• must sell to exhibitors first - find somewhere to put it

Digital Marketing

• viral marketing = v. simple -> creating something, like element of a game, video, quiz, that, because it's so good, you will send it on when it's sent to you
• most effective = word of mouth - best communication is someone saying their [good] opinion - you value their opinion, you know them etc.

Test Screenings

• research - in advance, e.g. testing poster ideas, trailers, concepts of films -> meeting people's expectations, delivering to right audience in way you want it to
• recruiting audience of target market - fill in questionnaires after the film, some people talk to them about issues - likes/dislikes etc.
• studios might use this & change the film, maybe change the ending etc.

Persuading Cinemas

• convince exhibitors to take film -> more difficult, independent films
• first sell the film to the cinemas

Opening Weekend

• VERY VERY IMPORTANT
• 3-day-figure -> opening day (always a Friday) - Friday, Saturday, Sunday figures
• - Monday = make-or-break - film must have been successful, and made more money than other films in that cinema as a rotation - if it's last, film is taken off
• - films that are out for just a week = hold-overs
• - based on how much money you made in that cinema in that weekend -> determines whether or not you get another play date

Piracy

• escalated in UK over past 5 years
• 2006 - piracy accounted for 20% of all DVD sales in UK
• - British consumer may feel they're getting a bargain but are actually being ripped off by inferior quality
• - money they spend on those pirate DVDs goes to various criminal elements they may not be aware of

Horror Still Shot Analysis

Our shot consists of two shadows, one of a girl, one of a boy. The shadow of the girl is smaller than that of the boy, and shows her hands out in a defensive position, as well as her mouth open in a scream. The boy is taller and has his arms and hands stretched out, claw-like, towards the girl, and he is also leaning towards her in a threatening posture. The postures of both characters in the shot help to create a scene connoting the genre of horror. The fact that it is dark and that the characters are shadows also adds to this.
To achieve this, we positioned the girl further away from the light source than the boy, so that the shadow of the boy was bigger and so more threatening and sinister. We held the light source tilting upwards to elongate the shadows further. The camera was positioned so that the shadows were in the frame but the actors creating the shadows weren’t. We had also gotten rid of any other light sources, in turning off all the lights and closing the curtains.
Our shot is successful in that it’s mysterious because you can’t actually see the figures involved, which makes it more sinister, bringing in the sense of the known. The whole shot is lit by low key lighting anyway, which is conventional of the horror genre. The hands of the boy are claw-like, and because he is so much taller than the girl he looks like some kind of monster. The girl’s expression, which you can still discern, implies that she is very afraid, and that there is something to be scared of, which is a feeling that would be transferred to the audience.
In hindsight, I would have found a more suitable background, but we were quite limited in places in which we could take the shot. Generally, I would have done more with the setting and costume as well, and put in more signifiers to connote a scene from a horror. I would also have tried to make the shot in sharper focus, and have more contrast between the characters and the background so they're more clear.

Shot Sequence Analysis - 'Sin City'

Shot 1

Low key lighting, black & white
High angle/overhead medium shot (MS) of man (C1), lying on wooden surface, suggesting he was pushed down or he is hurt. He is holding a gun, and looking just to the (audience's) left of the camera - he is pointing the gun at the same place where he's looking, so this is presumably a person with whom he is in some kind of confrontation. He has a pained/despairing expression, and seems to be clutching his ear, which suggests that perhaps he has been injured there. The man is wearing a dark jacket, shirt, and tie. The high angle shows it almost from the point of view (POV) of someone looking down at the man, which is more involving for the audience. The framing and shot distance means we're focused only on the man, and can also see his expression.

Shot 2

Black and white, low-key lighting
Very long shot (VLS) high angle (HA) of two men, one is C1, the other is standing over him (C2). The VLS shows water around the wooden surface which we can deduce is a pier.
C2 is standing over C1 and pointing a gun at him - he has the power. However, his back is to the camera so we can't see his expression, but we can see what's going on and how vulnerable and helpless C1 is. He is no longer holding a gun, and has perhaps been shot, as there seems to be a splatter of blood to the (audience) left of C1, illuminated by the lighting. It is quite dark and there is a moonlit effect to the scene, which suggests it's night time.

Shot 3

Low-key lighting, black and white.

Extreme long shot (ELS) -> more establising of scene - night, on a pier.

City lights in background & outline in background.

This shot shows two more characters - a young girl (C3), who is just about visible, seemingly tied to one of the posts, having to watch what's going on, and another man (C4) standing further left in the shot, behind C2. C4 is very sinister-looking, in a long black coat. C2 doesn't seem to be holding the gun any more and is leaning slightly towards C1, possibly talking to him. C4 is standin a little behind C2 and looking at him/C1, and also looks like he could be speaking. He might be telling C2 to do something. C1 seems to be moving, possibly trying to get up - his head and knees are up. The light is reflecting off of the main characters outlining and drawing attention to them, and there is still the effect of moonlight over the scene.

Shot 4

Low-key lighting, black and white.

VLS, closer than shot 3. More of the cityscape is seen in the background. Three characters are shown - C1, C2, and C3, and the girl can be seen more clearly as the shot is a bit closer. C1 is still lying on the floor, unable to move, and helpless. C2 is standing over him again holding a gun pointed at him - one of his feet is more faced towards the camera and the girl -> body language showing he has turned back to C1 almost as an afterthought or without much care, or that he is about to go to the girl - she is more important. His coat is blowing in the wind or with his movement, which would suggest it was swift and with purpose. C3 is facing away from the camera.

Shot 5

Low-key lighting, black and white.

Medium close-up (MCU) of girl's (C3) face. The camera is showing her right side (audience's left) more, and she is watching something off camera - the men with guns - perhaps C1 has just been shot - and she has a distressed expression and is crying. The MCU lets the audience see her expression, so it's a much more dramatic and effective shot. Her hair is also a bit ruffled, suggesting she's not been at home with her mother/father looking after her. You can see water in the background.

Shot 6

Low-key lighting, black and white.

ELS, slight low angle (LA). Camera positioned at end of pier - audience has a new perspective. Background shows some kind of factory chimney? with lots of smoke/fumes/mist. C4 looks very calm and still, and seems to have one hand in his pocket, and is watching from behind, facing the camera but looking at the body of C1. C2 is leaning over/bent slightly towards C1 again, but at audience right. He seems to have quite a pained expression on his face. C1 is lying completely down, still, and presumably dead. The girl is facing the body but seems to be looking away (as you would!), and possibly looking at C4.

As a sequence...

The different camera positions for each shot reveals to us the scene slowly, though the main event of the scene (C1 being shot) would really be very quick. All the different angles and positions and shot distances give the audience different perspectives, and we learn more in each shot. However, we still don't know who's who, and whether the good guys or the bad guys prevail - and which one's the protagonist of the film (unless you've seen it). It's a very intense, dramatic sequence, and is very stylistic in that it's all black and white, which, no doubt, makes it very memorable.