Film
Trailer – Generic Conventions: • The
generic thriller conventions used in our film trailer is that we will have our
two main characters be partners, both playing the stereotypical roles of a
young rookie (who tends to bite off more than they can chew) and an older, more
experienced veteran (whose role is the leader and to keep the rookie in check).
The main antagonist will be male and will most likely be psychotic. A film that
uses these particular conventions is Se7en.
• The
key things for our trailer will be that quick cuts and low key lighting will be
used in order to build tension and make our audience become invested in our
film.
• Later
on in our film one of the protagonists will be outsmarted by our antagonist
(E.g. they will be framed for his crimes), causing conflict between the good
characters.
Film
Trailer – Main Characters:
Peter Stone – A rookie reporter. Gets themselves too involved in solving the series of
murders that are central to the film’s plot. Is young, eager and intelligent
(despite being underestimated). Partner to the Detective.
Detective Maria Jones– The main lead
of the film. Is a seasoned detective who is very independent and incredibly
determined to solve the murders. While initially she and the reporter did not
get along (due to the fact that the reporter was doing his own investigation in
her case, causing her to become irritated) they eventually grow to trust one
another.
Mr Dark Dark – The film’s antagonist. Is cold, calculating and
ruthless. The main theme of his murders is that always leaves one survivor (he
likes to target families) so that they can suffer from survivor’s guilt for the
rest of their lives.
Survivor (female) – A young girl who was left alive by Mr Dark Dark, manages to
escape his clutches in order to contact the police.
We chose to scrap this name for the killer as we considered it to be far too immature for a thriller.
•What makes our film trailer unique compared to other crime thriller
trailers is that we have a strong female lead as the detective; we did this in
order to challenge thriller conventions as they usually have male lead roles
and female roles are usually just secondary characters.
•We also have a young
male as one of the lead roles, we wanted a large age gap of the lead roles
because they will have different life experiences and different perspectives in
life. By having two different ages in the film, this may attract an older and a
younger audience.
•These are two actors
who are the inspirations for our lead characters, FBI agent Dana Scully from X-Files
and Cartoonist Robert Graysmith from Zodiac.
Target Audience:
•Males and females
aged 18-30
•Thrillers appeal to
young adults, due to their complex narratives, violence, gore etc.
•Crime thrillers are
usually rated 15 at the lowest, this is because of the violence, sexual
references and many other things. So a crime thriller film would be
inappropriate for anyone below the age of 18.
•Our film trailer will
be rated 15, as there will be violence and gore as expected with most crime
thriller films.
Plot:
·A family murder occurs in Cambridgeshire.
·Only one survivor is left in each murder as the murders continue.
·It’s been 10 years since the last murder and a man was imprisoned all
those years ago by detective Maria Jones, but now the homicides are happening
again and so someone has been falsely accused and imprisoned for a decade.
·Detective Jones must start all over again from the beginning to catch
the real killer in order to preserve and protect her reputation of her career.
·Young journalist and photographer Peter Stone arrives at the most
recent crime scene to find out information and take pictures to get a story, he
meets and attempts to speak to detective Jones.
·Peter begins to ask Detective Jones a series of questions and is
determined to find out more and they end up working together to find the real
killer.
·Peter manages to figure out the killers next target is and tries to
tell detective Jones, however she thinks he’s wrong and dismisses what he has
to say so he goes on his own to find him.
·Peter arrives at the next targets house and tries to help a dying
victim, the killer is still there and frames peter for the crime, the trust is
lost between Peter and detective Jones.
Conventions used in the film trailer for ‘Shutter Island’ are that the two main leads are male and are partners, both playing the stereotypes of the experienced, snarky Teddy Daniels (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) who has a dark past and the younger rookie Chuck Aule (played by Mark Ruffalo). Much like the previous trailers I’ve analysed, this trailer is using star power in order to attract the audience (since both Ruffalo and DiCaprio are incredibly popular actors). The antagonist is heavily implied to be Ben Kingsley’s character due to his appearance (his shaven head makes him appear intimidating), cryptic nature and the fact that in most thrillers, psychiatrists are often portrayed to be evil and/or untrustworthy (a prime example of this trope is Anthony Hopkins’ character Hannibal Lector from ‘The Silence of the Lambs’). There is also a lack of women in the film; the only ones we see are minor characters (E.g. two female inmates as well as glimpses of another woman and a young girl) This helps to establish that the world in Shutter Island is male dominated, therefore suggesting that the film’s target audience is mostly men.
The mise en scene for this trailer is different to both Se7en and Zodiac because instead of the settings being city streets/crime scenes, it is all one location; an asylum. However despite this is appears to have a variety of areas (E.g. the entrance, an interrogation room, a dining room, dark hallways and prison cells). Most of the lighting is low key and the colours are dull and dreary. The costumes clearly set the protagonists/antagonists apart from the rest of the characters, with the main leads wearing long brown trench coats and fedoras (stereotypical for ‘detective’ characters) along with the antagonist wearing a full suit and bowtie (which ties in with the trope of villains always dressing professionally, examples of this would be the ones from the James Bond franchise). Meanwhile the background characters are dressed in what appears to be sleepwear (E.g. dressing gowns).
Editing varies between quick cuts and fades to black throughout (though during the beginning there is slow motion when the two protagonists enter the asylum), syncing with the dramatic 'boom' sounds and the music (which initially starts off as slow and eerie but switches to fast paced around 1 minute 6 seconds, somewhat resembling a ticking clock). Sounds include a sound bridge where one of the inmates goes 'shhh' to one of the protagonists and an amplified gunshot followed by a scream. There is also voiceovers of the dialogue between the characters (alternating between matching and not matching with the scenes).
Nightcrawler (2014)
While the settings (E.g. city streets/highways, crime scenes and a news station) and uses of fast cuts are similar to both the trailers for Se7en and Zodiac, in regards to the main character Lou Bloom (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) he is not very stereotypical. For instance he is not a cop trying to solve a crime but rather a stringer who does morally questionable things (E.g. filming live accidents/crimes without permission, arriving at crime scenes before the police and endangering his partner whilst driving) in order to make a living. He also seems to be mentally unstable, since we see him in one scene towards the end screaming at himself whilst looking at a mirror. This makes him more of an antagonist instead of a protagonist since he only seems to care for himself, while most protagonists are selfless. Another difference from the other trailers (including Shutter Island) is that there are women with major roles, a news director (played by Rene Russo) and a detective (played by Michael Hyatt).
The music is split into three parts, the first being the slow, repetitive piano notes at the beginning which only lasts up to 27 seconds before switching to the louder, electric rock. Later towards the end it changes to the haunting song 'I'd Love to Change the World' by Jetta. This gives the audience a subtle hint that not all is quite right with the main character in regards to both his personality and psyche. All these different types of music seem to represent the protagonist's growth; he starts off as an eager but unlucky man (E.g. always getting turned down when he asks for work) before transitioning into a controlling and manipulative individual (E.g. making sarcastic remarks whilst being interrogated).
Most of the camerawork is panning and close-ups (common thriller tropes) in order to establish the world/setting (which is modern day Los Angeles) and characters for the audience, much like what the trailers for Se7en and Zodiac did.
For most thrillers they have a range of age groups that are
interested in the genre; yet they are most commonly aimed towards young adults
(people between the ages of 15 and 25) due to the fact that they are old enough
to be able to watch violent scenes without being frightened but still young
enough to not be put off by them. The main nationality that this genre seems to
aim towards more is American, possibly because that most thrillers are set in popular
American cities (New York being the most common choice).
Although both genders seem to enjoy thrillers, the majority
of the films appear to be set in a male dominated world. This is indicated by
how the main characters are almost always male whereas the female characters
are either portrayed to be villains or are simply part of the supporting cast.
Thrillers that have this stereotype are Shutter Island, Zodiac, Se7en and
Memento. All of these films are crime/mystery thrillers, which suggest that
this is the main sub-genre men are interested in.
However there are some thrillers that seem to break this
stereotype by having the main protagonist to be female, examples of this are
The Silence of the Lambs (a crime thriller), Alien (a sci-fi thriller) and
Black Swan (a psychological thriller). From this I can tell that the female
demographic enjoy a variety of sub-genres and not just one.
The trailer conventions for the film ‘Se7en’ begins with a deep voiced narrator (which was a popular
thriller trope during the 90s and early 2000s) introducing the main characters,
Detective Mills (played by Brad Pitt) and Detective Somerset (played by Morgan
Freeman). These characters appear to follow the stereotypes that are often
associated with ‘cop’ characters, one being the young, cocky rookie (Pitt) and
the other portraying the old, wise veteran (Freeman). By showing that these two
popular actors (as well as a third; Gwyneth Paltrow whom plays the
stereotypical concerned, supportive girlfriend) are in this film, this will
encourage the audience to go see the film (this is known as star power).
Mise En Scene consists of a variety of settings/locations
(E.g. police HQ, crime scenes and city streets), low key lighting and dull,
dreary colours (a mixture of greys and dull greens). There is also the use of a red filter whenever
one of the crime scenes is shown, which appears to symbolise danger and evil.
Overall the mise en scene helps to create a pathetic fallacy (emphasised by the
fact that rainfall seems to be always present in each scene), which is
appropriate for a thriller since it is supposed to represent the grittiness and
brutality of humanity.
Editing involves a large amount of quick cuts (typical for
most trailers); flash cuts (which are also synced with a ‘boom’ sound effect,
increasing the tension each time it is used) as well as captions that are
repeated towards the end (E.g. listing the names of all the seven deadly sins,
which are a key theme for this particular film). Some of the editing seems to
be non-chronological, since during the middle of the trailer it appears to show
scenes from the film that are related to the ending (possibly because that
these scenes are the most interesting and it will make the audience become
invested in the storyline). As for the sound, there are amplified sounds
throughout (E.g. a gunshot, a door slamming open and police sirens) and fast
paced music that grows in intensity towards the trailer’s climax. The majority
of the camerawork consists of close-ups on the main leads and establishing
shots of the locations/crime scenes, this is to keep the film’s plot shrouded
in mystery as well as maintain the audience’s interest.
The trailer is broken down into three sections, the intro,
the action and the tense ending. The effect this has on the audience is to keep
them in suspense while watching the trailer, so that when they’re finished with
it they’re compelled to go see the film in order to see the outcome.
Zodiac (2007)
Similarly to ‘Se7en’,
the film ‘Zodiac’ is directed by David
Fincher and uses star power to attract the audience. By revealing that popular actors
Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo and Jake Gyllenhaal are the main leads, the
public will automatically become interested in the film regardless of whether
or not they like the genre. Plus much like Se7en,
Zodiac appears to be male dominated
due to the fact that there is only one woman shown in the trailer and she seems
to only be part of the supporting cast (the same role Gwyneth Paltrow had).
During the beginning of the trailer it clearly sets the dark
tone of the film by starting off with showing a scene of a woman being shot in
cold blood by someone hidden in the shadows of the night. Both establishing
shots and wide shots are used to establish the film’s setting and environment,
letting the audience know that it is set in San Francisco (whereas Se7en was set in New York). This links
in with the mise en scene. It is a common trope amongst thrillers to have the
main setting be a large city, since it is a more likely location to have
crime/murderers occur than a small town/village. Zodiac uses both low key and high key lighting, while Se7en’s lighting was mostly low key.
Editing ranges from slow motion, slow zooms, fade to blacks
as well as quick cuts. The pacing of this trailer is especially different to Se7en as it is much slower and tries to
include more detail and information for the audience to take in; this is
because there is no narrator to do so (narrators in thriller film trailers had become
more or less obscure during the late 2000s). Most of the film’s plot is
described in the dialogue between the characters in each of the scenes. The
trailer seems to follow the same formula as Se7en did, it had an introduction,
the action sequence (however the action was less obvious) and the tense ending
(E.g. the final scene was one of the characters asking “Are you sure there is
no-one else in the house?” while there was creepy humming in the background).
The soundtrack initially begins very low and tense
(appropriate since the opening scene was a person being murdered) however
around 1 minute 18 seconds it switches to cheery 70s rock music, which provides
the audience a hint to what time period Zodiac
is set in. It also suggests that it may include more light-hearted/comedic
moments than Se7en did, since the
majority of Se7en’s scenes were
serious (the only time when humour was included was when Gwyneth Paltrow’s
character asked Morgan Freeman’s character how long he had lived in the city,
his answer being a dry, sarcastic “Too long”).
Throughout the trailer for 'The Girl on the Train' there are various thriller conventions. This is most evident in the media language. Mise En Scene consists of dark/dull colours with high contrast (which help establish the serious/gritty nature of the film) and a variety of locations (E.g. a house in the countryside, the main character's living room, the inside of a train, a street, woods and a dark tunnel) that possibly give hints to the film's plot. The actors' performances are also portrayed to be serious and very dramatic, since the majority of the dialogue is a discussion /interrogation about a girl's death as well as other suspicious events which add to the film's mystery. The voiceover is especially dramatic due to the fact that on a number of occasions during the trailer it is synced perfectly with a scene (E.g. When the line "I saw her from the train" is spoken, it is immediately followed by a scene of a train going past). The editing involves a series of fast cuts which are synced with the slow piano notes of the soundtrack at the beginning of the trailer and later on to the exaggerated 'boom' sound effects, which is a common trope for thrillers because it causes the audience to get excited. There are also what appears to be flashbacks at the start, which suggest that the film's narrative is non-linear.
Camerawork involves a large amount of establishing shots (of both the locations and the characters), pans and tracking shots. These are used to help build the film's world/setting in a limited amount of time since the trailer is only 2 minutes and 28 seconds long. Closeups of the characters' faces are used to emphasise their emotions and body language, in the case of 'The Girl on the Train' the majority of the characters' facial expressions/body language indicate that they are scared, worried and tense. This makes the audience empathise with them and want to know the cause of the characters' (the main character Rachel in particular) distress (plus this ties in with representation, in which there seems to be more female characters than male). This is a similar instance with the soundtrack, while the music starts off slow and calm (albeit a little eerie) towards the end it gets louder and grows in intensity.
Sub-Genres may consist of psychological thrillers, 'chillers' (which is a combination of horror and thriller), action thrillers, mysteries and comedy thrillers.
Due to the fact that most thrillers like to provoke a fear response from the audience, they proceed to play on their fears by making them come to life within their film. An example of this would be that if a person was afraid of being followed, this would most likely be included in a thriller.
