Introduction
I chose to do 2. A promotion package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer, together with two of the following three options:
Ø A website homepage for the film
Ø A film magazine front cover, featuring the film
Ø A poster for the film
I am going to be doing a package for a new film which would include a teaser trailer, magazine front cover and a poster. It is sometimes difficult for an audience to state a genre for a film as the generic conventions may not have been met, however Carolyn Miller indicates that 'the number of genres in any society... depends on the complexity and diversity of society' (Miller 1984, in Freedman & Medway 1994a, 36). This means that the number of genres in any society depends on the differences in society, we as consumers are the main people who would be watching the film, as a result we like our expectations fulfilled as we differentiate and move on in society.
The genre of my product is going to be slap-stick comedy. My comedy trailer would be similar to 'Mr Beans Holiday' as it follows many of the comedy conventions. The first product I have looked at is 'Mr Beans Holiday'. 'Mr Beans holiday' is a slapstick farcical funny comedy aimed at all age groups that enjoy a bit of a laugh, as it targets a wide audience (Family) this allows the production company to invest a large amount of capital in the advertising and promotional elements at the beginning in return for the likeliness of high profitable figure in the end. My trailer, poster and magazine cover have to look visually comical as their genre is slap stick comedy they have to look funny not horrific other wise it would not meet my audiences requirements thus the film itself may not be profitable. Slap-stick comedy is a distinctive genre itself which differs from a huge selection of other genres it is enjoyed by a vast number of audiences globally. Slap-stick comedy has its own conventions whereby large production companies have to follow when producing a slap-stick comedy trailer. A Slap- stick comedy genre is very difficult for a production company to succeed in as it is aimed at a wide audience. Comedy itself is a genre within itself or it is a feature of hybrid generic films.
The slap-stick conventions include:
Ø Creates humour
Ø Usually a comedy with one actor
ØUsually a happy ending
Ø Zoom to confuse the audience
Ø Off screen sounds to create humour
Ø Impossible situations
Ø Editing to turn a non-realistic to a realistic event
Ø Full of visual actions
Ø Usually silent comedy
At least one or more of these conventions are used during the creation and development of slap-stick comedy, if these are not used then it would be impossible for the audience to identify the genre thus would give up decoding the trailer and the film may not be very successful. Hence the fact that these conventions are very important for the development and creation of my trailer.
A trailer is an influential device in the marketing campaign. A poster is an imperative device utilised in drawing my wide audience to watch the film, but it cannot express the mood, atmosphere, and cannot create stimulation and excitement in exchange of this a trailer is able to deliver this to my audience. The mixture of sound and moving image enables the audience to receive an 'essence' of the film, which creates stimulation amongst the audience to watch the film.
The aim of a trailer is to provide us with a slight insight of the film; therefore genre is a very important element in the promotional cycle of the film. A trailer's genre can be easily identified by the audience through the repertoire of elements exhibited within the trailer, however in some trailers genres are difficult for the audience to identify as some trailers are made up of hybrid genres making it harder for the audience to identify. There is also another technique audiences can use to identify and recognise the genre of the film through the stars acting in it, for example a character like Daniel Craig would not be acting in a comedy but rather be acting in an action film.
The (USP) unique selling point of the film needs to be identified easily by the audience as this allows the audience to discover the differences between other films and our film which also allows them to see which one is better to watch as a consequence of a USP and a strong marketing campaign being held by the company which allows them to be greatly successful in terms of the profitability of the film.
Magazine and Poster Research
Mr Bean's First Poster
1.) The main colours used on the main poster are:
Ø White
Ø Red
Ø Blue
'Mr beans holiday' words connote that it’s something to do with holiday and Mr Beans
2. The main image on the front is showing a tropical sandy beach and a train with Mr Bean stepping out.
3. The foot and his leg acts as an arrow towards the sandy beach so the audiences eyes roll towards the beach. The comic posture shown by Mr Bean signifies the trade mark by the look of his funny acting this easy identification allows the audience to identify the genre
4. Mr Bean wears old fashion clothes which gives us an idea of his goofiness and he's not up to date with the modern world and looks funny wearing a heavy hot suit coming out towards the beach which indicates that he is going on holiday in the sun with a heavy suit on which is not usually done on holiday this therefore allows us to see that this is a comedy genre as characters usually live an abnormal lifestyle as opposed to people who live normally and carry out normal activities as people usually wear shorts and t-shirts on holiday
5. The bold capital lettered title gives us an idea that this is a humorous slapstick poster thus gives us an idea of the main film.
6. The quote 'disaster is just a small step away' illustrates to us that this is a comedy poster as it is also written in small blue letters which is written by film critics describing the film and the humorous actor and the usual funny acting in different situations
7. 'Rowan Atkinson' Mr Beans name is written on top of the poster, as he is well known and is attracted by billions of people all over the world including India, people who know that the main actor is Rowan Atkinson will physically line up in the cinema to watch it.
Mr Bean's second Poster analysed
This is a second Mr Bean poster which I analysed. It has a simple close up facial image and a fair amount of text around the image this is done, because the audience do not require much information about Mr Bean, as they know what to expect. This is a Mr Bean poster his name is written at the top to make the audience aware that he is the real actor that makes people laugh. If people see the actor’s name, immediately they would like to go and watch it. For example if someone sees that Johnny Depp or Leonardo Di Caprio is featuring in a film many viewers would physically go and see the film. The main image of Mr Bean is popping out at a tilt from the left hand side corner. The lighting is very bright in the face to make it stand out. The bright lighting connotes to us that it’s a one man comedy poster.
The quote 'Be afraid, be very afraid Mr Bean has a passport' this implies to us and reminds us of his typical hazardous acting which can turn to a disaster. The jacket that he's wearing indicates to us that Bean is a geeky and funny individual who dresses sensibly; this goes well with 'Times New Roman' 'Bean' text written in the blank space below. The straight curls at the end of the block letters look neat and straight just as his jacket does. The colour of the word 'BEAN' is written in red which goes well with the colour of his lips and the text at the top near 'Rowan Atkinson'. The ultimate disaster movie written in capital block letters written below the title this implies to us that he's back with his usual hilarious acting. Small grey text is written at the bottom the names of the people involved in the creation and development of this film, they are written in small letters so the audience can easily be attracted by the name 'BEAN' rather than the small text below it, as the audience would not be interested if the other text was written in a large font style.
The hair on Mr Beans head all look smooth, silky and shinny all combed in a sensible manner like he's a very hard working mannerful individual, when actually he is dangerous in a humorous manner rather than sensible. He smiles to represent his geeky face which reminds us of his bizarre horrendous actions in his comedy films.
Charlie Chaplin - Poster
There is an image of a male person with a dog sitting their posing like he's sad. The man's head is tilted for the audience to see the quote easily ' the one and only' this evokes to us of his silliness and his hilarious actions. He dresses in a sensible manner similar to Mr Bean, as this character takes the key role in performing in slap- stick comedic texts similar to Mr Bean. He is sitting on a wall with his dog looking very sad like the trick they have tried to do have just failed. The male has red rosy cheeks this implies to us that he as been up to some mischief and knows they are tired of failing. The title at the base of the poster imitates their staidness and can't seen write his own name neatly. At the bottom in grey it says 'in his first Million Dollar picture' this indicates his asinine and idiotic pose shown on the poster which reminds us of his foolish acts and what he gets up to with his mate. 'A DOG'S LIFE' signifies to us that Charlie feels he really does live a boring life that keeps failing every time he tries to do something mischievous. 'A DOG'S LIFE' is written in a red colour similar to the red colour on the Bean poster, the red colour helps to divide the importance of some elements. The main colours used on the page are brown, black and red; blue and yellow colours are not used, because it clearly shows that Charlie Chaplin is not going on holiday but is just being silly. The quotes reflect the genre which helps us to identify this easily.
Magazine Cover Research
Famous Magazine Cover - Analysed
The Pug at the top makes it look like the end is peeling back this is written to persuade the audience to look further into the magazine. Large letters of the title are straight edged to make the title stand out as it is well known. Large centralised image is behind the main title as the face itself is bright enough to attract its audience; they usually have a large close-up of the main comedic image in the centre of the magazine. The centralised image is a mid-close up shot which forces the audience to focus mainly on the main image The strap lines written in large bold letters and in different sizes is made up of three different sections slightly away from the main image as they are trying to persuade the audience to view the film. The famous directors names are written in huge bold letters to persuade the audience to watch the film as some people know that some directors create good films and are worth watching for example people like Johnny Deep and Cameron Diaz create excellent films which creates a buzz amongst audiences to view certain films specific to their tastes. The main title is written at the bottom of the front cover and the main word in capital bold letters to attract the audience as the audience already recognise the face through a range of ways they have promoted the film for example through trailers, billboards, posters. Therefore capital letters to make it standout and makes it easier for the audience to read as usually on comedic magazines there is a close-up of the main image. The audiences eyes roll down from the main title of the magazine, to the main image, to the main title of the film which alarms the audience what the magazine is trying to convey.
TIME Magazine Cover - (Charlie Chaplin)
This is a magazine cover featuring Charlie Chaplin it was released on the 6th of July 1925. Due to the limited amount of intellegence, creations and developments of new technology the magazine cover was black and white not distributed in colour as the print was unavailable at the time? The title is displayed at the top in a clear neat format which functions very well with the genre and the conventions of a slap-stick comedy. Below the clear title there is a short quote written ''The Weekly News Magazine'' this suggests to us that this magazine is released on a weekly basis so the audience know Charlie Chaplin well and now what to expect thus why his name is written in small letters at the bottom of the image. There is a main image of the male in the centre posing out wards directly at the camera, and the male is looking to the left to the page to make the audience purchase the magazine and take a peep inside the magazine as he is doing. There is a lot of white light shinning in his face to make him centralised. There is a pattern which acts as a border around the image which makes Charlie Chaplin the focal point for the audience to be focused upon and persuades them to purchase the magazine hence watch the film. There is a dark outline of the whole magazine to make the magazine stand out as a whole compared to other magazine on the line.
First Mock-up of Poster
'Harry' written in block CAPITALS at the top in 'NEW ROMAN TIMES' - the audience are able realise and recognise the main actor as a result attracts the audiences that enjoy watching really funny comedy- the style of text is important as it should connect in well with all the other elements on the poster which creates an overall co medical image in the minds of audiences that wish to watch this film. Mr Beans name is written 'Richard Andres' with the same initials as 'Rowan Atkinson' - in order to attract the audiences that love to watch slap-stick comedy as my character is well known for his acting in comedies thus represents to us the importance of the actors involved in acting in trailers as audiences understand the genre easily through the characters acting. For Example Craig Daniel would only be seen acting in action films not in comedies as that the field he specialises in. Large close up of his face on the front cover - implies he is the main individual character acting in the film thus why it is sensible to have the main character acting in the trailer too for the audience to recognise him as they have seen the poster and the magazine. 'Comedy aeroplane' in the corner flying to the top away- suggests to us that he is going on holiday. With the name 'comedy' indicates the message that this is a funny farcical acting comedy film. White capital letters near the head its says ' DISASTER IS ON ITS WAY' - indicates he is considered as a disastrous hilarious person.
This parody is a satirical imitation of Harry himself portrayed as a funny and an unusual character that stands out from the crowd. This allows the audience to pick up the fact that this is a hilarious comedy with 'Disaster' acting. 'HARRY HAS A PASSPORT AND IS NOT AFRAID TO USE IT' - implies that Harry is seen as an uncontrollable individual with a passport doing humorous activities to make us laugh 'HARRY HULBERT'S HOLIDAY' written near his face helps the audience to comprehend that this poster is Harry and his new comedic film. The 'H's would be written in red, similar to both of Mr Beans posters and Charlie Chaplin, to make them stand out from the slight overlap of the face, which helps the audience to easily recognise this alliteration of the 'H's. Alliteration of the H's -help people to remember Harry's poster hence watch the film, which is the main idea of this poster, persuading people to come and watch this film The 'COMING SOON...' written in capital letters at the bottom in a bright yellow colour to force their eyes to roll down, so it persuades them to watch the film. The quote itself creates stimulation too to watch this exciting comedic film. Small writing at the base in grey helps the poster to come to life and look visually realistic with names of the Producer, Writers, Actors, Assistant Directors, Photography Directors, Sound Designers, Location Managers, Choreographer, Story board artists. Background colour consist of a mixture of blue colours in the sky with clouds in the sky and a sun coming out just behind Harry's head to create an effect of realism and show that he is really going on holiday to somewhere summery. Overall this mock-up poster designed follows the codes and conventions of a comedic poster which follows a comedy genre thus allowing the production company to attract a wide audience by investing heavily in the marketing campaign. I showed this poster to a number of people they laughed at the image of this poster this clearly demonstrated the fact that this poster followed comedic codes and conventions. As Harry is displayed as a humorous character on the poster this easily helps the audience to classify the genre as a slap-stick comedy.
Second mock-up of Poster
Most of the top of the poster is at a slant its typed in italics bold 'HARRY HULBERT'S HOLIDAY' then below it fades into a train below and harry just entering the train and posing holding his usual brief just like Beans brief case for the poster. This blend helps the audience to think that this is a normal holiday for Harry and he is going to be really wierd. There are other people queing up behind him to go into the train on holiday similar to him they are going to France. On the train it says 'HOLIDAY COMEDY RAILS' , which implies to us that the train is for people that do comedic acting. The main image altogether is tilted and positioned at a slant to make it look like its going in with the flow and like he's really going on the train. There is a quote at the bottom 'Be afraid be very afraid Harry has a passport' this makes us look back at Harry and his hilarious pose similar to Mr beans pose in his poster, this not only helps the audience to identify the genre but also helps to create excitement for watching this exciting comedy. There is grey writing at the bottom the names of people involved in the creation of the film, poster and magazine cover, this creates a sense of realism and makes the poster come to life.
Overall this poster grabs the audiences attention straight away from the main individual posing in the centre of the poster, his funny pose helps to create humour thus helps the audience to identify the genre of the trailer thus the film.
Second mock-up of my magazine cover
The title of this mock-up is 'POWER' it is written in large bold block capital letters which hits the audience straight in the face and creates a memorable magazine cover simila to the 'Alice in Wonderland' magazine cover the title is at the front the main image is behind the title, other wise the whole head would then cover all the title and make it difficult for the audience to view the magazine cover easily. A sky and the sun in the background to make it look as if Harry is going on holiday. A short tag line on the sides to set a small border. The title of the film being advertised would be positioned at the bottom to make the audience look inside and read more about the film. A small Barcode at the bottom would be positioned to make it look realistic and look like its really being sold in a supermarket. The title would be in Yellow at the bottom written in bold to make it stand out competing against the other elements on the page. The main character would be wearing smart yellow shirt to go well with a visual holiday look. The yellow shirt would be worn to imply to the yellow sun on holiday. The clear blue sky in the background would be positioned so that its darker at the bottom which make the main title of the film contrast thus stand out against the dark background. The lighting would be straight in the face of the main character positioned in the centre.
Second Mock-up of the magazine cover
The title of the magazine cover is 'POPULAR' and is written in large block capital letters in bright red color. There is a main close up of the face similar to the 'FAMOUS' and 'VOGUE' magazines this makes the magazine come to life and similarly in my mock up I drawn a close-up image of Harry.
There would be taglines surrounding Harry to make him stand out.
There would be a tall tagline along the bottom of the magazine cover to make it look more aspiring and unique compared to other magazine covers.
There is a bar code at the bottom to make it look realistic and to make it come to life along with website and issue number along with a price positioned in different places to make them stand out.
The title of the film would be written in a dark blue colour similar to the title of the poster on the side of the main image to make it stand out well. There would be an item free to attract the audiences to buy my magazine cover.
Overall I believe the second Magazine mock - up is better than the 1st magazine mock -up because it has better realistic features. It has better elements which make the magazine follow the comedic generic conventions in order to attract the correct target audience. Without comedic conventions the magazine cover would subvert itself and would not be very successful no matter how much capital the production company invests on 'Harry Hulbert's Holiday' the genre needs to be directly recognised by the audience to see if the film itself would be a good film and fulfill their expectations through watching the trailer.
As 'Harry Hulberts Holiday' is made up of a slap-stick comedy genre which is a zeitgeist spirit, as it depends on the kind of mood, society, culture and lifestyles of people as they may not find certain things funny therefore it is good to keep changing the humour to meet audiences expectations as tastes change however this does not mean that the genre itself has to change to meet the audiences expectations as the comedy slap-stick conventions would be continuously the same and would never change.
I tried to create my poster based from my research on Mr Bean. Mr Bean was a huge success and still is therefore if the production company 'Universal pictures' was to market my film through the excellent trailers, posters and magazines produced for the audiences may achieve a high profit margin, as they would market and promote my film heavily similar to the 'Mr Bean's Holiday' consequently 'Harry Hulberts Holiday' may be a success too.
As you can see I have chosen to follow my first mock-up of my poster as I felt that it followed many of the slap-stick comedy conventions as I want my audience to identify the poster easily in terms of genre. My poster has a close up image of a male persons face coming up from the bottom left hand-side similar to the Bean poster. The main close up on my poster has lighting straight in the face and has added effects on it to make it stand out from the rest of the page as the Beans poster is displayed, it also done to make it look as if its a one man comedic film. There is a sky image in the back ground to make it look more like a holiday poster. The sky had effects added to it in order to make it look effective with two tone coloured sky. It was made lighter at the top to make it look like a natural sky as the main close-up image was bright at the bottom the light sky with clouds makes it look natural. The sun near the end of his head makes the main image stand out as the light is shinning from behind which also makes the audiences eyes roll across towards the aeroplane, the aeroplane really implies to us that he is going in the 'COMEDY AEROPLANE' on holiday'. Harry Hulbert's real name is written at the top of the poster 'Richard Andress' similar to Rowan Atkinson, with the same initials to make it slightly similar to the Bean poster. I have made it sligtly similar to the 'Mr Bean Holiday' because the film was a huge success which made a total Net Profit of $204,736,344 as a consequence of this I thought similarly my film would be a huge success. 'Richard Andress' is written in a 'New Times Roman' font with added tails at the ends of the letters to make it look as if Harry is as neat as the letters express. 'Disaster is on its way' is written in huge white capital letters to make it look as if disaster is really on its way, as he is considered as a hazardous, disasterous individual. During the production and development of my poster I used all the repertoire of elements to make the genre of my poster more prominent. For example for the iconography I had to make sure my character was wearing a clean yellow shirt with a black tie to insinuate that he is going on holiday and that he is a funny actor who is geeky in the way he dresses.
The trailer had to be set(setting) in his hotel in France, his hotel garden, French hills, French Church, in a French restaurant where his tie gets stuck, however for the poster and magazine the images could be taken anywhere as they would be cropped out using the lasso tool on Adobe Photoshop but the lighting had to be specifically on the face. The character was selected as he looked a bit like Mr Bean pale skinned with large eyes and large smile and funny acting along with him being a male as it would not be suitable for me to choose a female to create a film similar to Mr Bean. The narrative was similar to Mr Beans Holiday it had to be closely related to make my film a success too. The text had look visually comedical as it fits in with the other elements the font needs to be different inorder to make it look visually amusing. The slap-stick comedy genre is reflected through the main image and the style of the text visually, as this element alone is enough to help my target audience recognise the genre easily. The image itself attracts people from all over the world of different ages as this is a very broad genre whereby anybody is able to identify if it is a horror poster, magazine cover trailer in contrast to a slap-stick comedy genre. Magazine cover This is my main magazine cover, which displays a close-up image of the boy in the centre to make it stand out similar to the 'Alice In Wonderland' magazine. The different coloured texts surrounding the centralised image delivers different messages in different ways to us some relating to the poster, cast of the film, the 20 must see comedy movie exclusives and the film itself. For example on the right hand side of the magazine cover there is hardly anything in that space apart from the main large title and the 'free posters' along the side. My target audience for my Magazine cover and my comedic poster is aimed specifically at families, young/old females and males this wide audience makes it harder to advertise as a lot of money would need to be spent by Universal pictures to promote this film in different media texts to attract their wide audience and as a result make the film a success. Comedies attract a wide range of audiences from all over the world, for example Mr Bean is very popular in India, Arabia, America, Canda, U.K nearly all over the world which causes a comedy film to raise huge sums of revenue. If a slap-stick comedy is to be released universally the production company would have to think carefully on how to attract their audience through the different types of medias avaliable to them as their are not many comedic magazines sold in shops thus makes it difficult for the production company to market a slap-stick comedy genre.
Genre
How have you considered genre in creating your media text?
Before deciding on the type of genre for my trailer, poster and magazine cover I firstly carried out research looking at other media products similar to slap-stick comedy that had inspired me. There were many similarities between slap-stick comedic trailers which mainly consisted of bright colours, funny acting, many close-ups, fast editing and a voice over. The bright colours were applied and close-up shots were used in order to create humour and a relaxed feeling amongst the audience to grab the audience’s attention. In contrast to the dark colours generally used in horror trailers and fade in and fade outs used to create suspense, anxiety and build up of tension amongst the audiences which also creates excitement and stimulation just as a comedy trailer does.
The genre of my poster and magazine cover is a slapstick comedy which includes exaggerated actions which go beyond the common sense of our daily activities subsequently creates humour.
From my research on Charlie Chaplin 100 years ago the target audiences are the same there is not much change and there is no fluidity as the expectations are the same, however the settings, characters, style of texts, costumes, locations and acting (repertoire of elements) have slightly modernised due to the change in consumer tastes and due to the level of demand for these exciting films as a result of this production companies have to compete in order to meet consumers requirements. The costume of my character portrayed to us that he was a geeky person (Bore; Nerd). The character acted in many different locations including: The Hotel in France French Hotel Garden French Church French Scenery French Restaurant The character who acted was being stereo-typical to nerd's, as it portrays some people similar to Mr Bean and Harry Hulbert who are nerd's act in a bizarre manner; they wear smart clothes where ever they are. The movie title 'Harry Hulbert’s Holiday' suggests to us the characters name is Harry and he is going on holiday and what adventures he gets up to. The title itself is written in a funny looking manner in the trailer, and on the magazine and poster to convey the message that the film is a comedy film this as a result reflects the slap-stick comedy genre.
As quoted by Neale;
‘Genres are instances of repetition and differences'
this clearly explains in a simple sentence that genre is not fluid and is always made up of 'instances of repetition' throughout the film industry for when a film is produced, but genre itself is also made up 'differences' as it depends on society, culture and consumer tastes consequently film producers need to stick to their specific generic conventions to help the audience identify the trailer genres easily. There are many 'differences' between genres as a horror trailer would not hold all the same generic conventions as a comedy film and be advertised as a comedy film this as a result allows us to see the 'differences' in genres but how they can repeat as times go on in the film industry.
What signifiers pinpoint the genre?
My magazine cover, poster and trailer directly pinpoint my genre. As I have followed the slap-stick comedy generic conventions to make my package really look like slap-stick comedy film is going to be released. I have done this to help the audience identify my genre quickly easily from one glance of looking at my production work. For my poster I have used yellow and blue colours mainly to convey that it is a holiday looking poster. I have made the character act in a funny manner doing weird stuff to make it meet the consumer’s expectations of a funny actor thus easily reveal the genre of the trailer.
The magazine cover, poster and the trailer imitate a comedic slap-stick genre as it consists of repetition of existing media texts as this helps all audiences to recognise and identify my comedic genre. There are different types of comedy genres including: Melody Serio-comedy Stand-up comedy Practical comedy Parody Gallows Humour Black humour/Dark humour Blend word Blue Humour/off-colour humour There are more types of comedy genres than this. Slap-stick is therefore classed as a sub-genre of comedy itself as quoted by
Bordwell
'Are animation and documentary films genres or modes? Is the filmed play or comedy performance a genre? If tragedy is and comedy are genres, perhaps then domestic tragedy or slap-stick is a formula'
this easily implies that slap-stick is a sub-genre of a comedy as comedy itself is the genre. Genre itself is made up of three elements including: Institution, Text and Audience which constantly keeps changing.
The repertoire of elements helps the audience to easily recognise the genre as everything exhibited within the scene of the trailer helps the audience to recognise this. For example the funny acting in my trailer (style of text) helps the audience to identify that it’s a slap-stick comedy. The narrative of this trailer whereby Harry takes a holiday to France and does some unexpected things compared to what a normal person would do (Narrative) pinpoints the genre for the audience. As the character himself is a male where males usually act singularly similar to Mr Bean’s character this helps the audience to pinpoint the genre. The genre of the trailer can be identified through the repertoire of elements. The background colours used were blue and a sky on my poster, because it makes it look like my main character is going on holiday. The characters name is Harry his face was brightened as on the Mr. Bean poster is to make it go well with the comedic genre, as it makes it look funny. There is a close up on the face just like on the Mr Bean poster this close - up makes it look hilarious. The text is written in slanted funny shaped letters which go well with the generic conventions and makes it suitable for wide variety of audiences. This poster and magazine cover which imitates a comedic genre helps to meet audiences expectations. Our genre consists of repetition of existing media texts as this helps all audiences to recognise my comedic genre. However society’s expectations are always manipulating but my genre is consistent and similar to Charlie Chaplin that was around 100 years ago and still holds the same conventions.
Have you subverted any conventions? If so why? If so How?
My poster and magazine cover looks similar to the Mr Bean poster as light colours are used, as the face on the poster and magazine cover are very bright for example a hue/saturation tool was applied to make it brighter and the image was made brighter through the adjustment of the contrast and brightness levels.
I added this effect on in order to make it looks realistic and to make it look like a professional looking poster and magazine cover similar to the 'Bean' poster. However if I was to subvert any conventions then my comedic package would not meet the comedic generic conventions as a result the package may not be identified easily by my audience and may feel like they do not want to watch the film as a result of the poor generic conventions implemented in the trailer as exhibited to a wide audience who feel their expectations of slap-stick comedy may not have been fulfilled. I had to pursue the slap-stick generic conventions so that my products do not subvert any slap-stick comedy generic conventions at all, consequently allowing the audience to identify the genre easily.
Although films usually consist of hybrid genres, I decided not to take that route as I thought that a slap-stick comedy itself attracts a wide mass audience. What kind of media producer and distributor would produce and distribute your kind of media text? The media producers for my trailer, poster and magazine cover would be Universal Productions Ltd. a company which produced Mr Bean a really popular film well known universally. The Studio Canal, Working Title Films and the Tiger Aspect Ltd. Company together would distribute my trailer, poster and magazine cover and make it a huge global success with Net profits soaring as high as $205000000 a net profit figure just above the ‘Mr Beans’ film. The company’s specialise in similar genres to ‘Mr Beans Holiday’ a slap-stick comedy whereby they implement the slap-stick comedy generic conventions to make it a growing success in the U.S, Canada, U.K, India, and Australia.
My text only has a slap-stick comedy genre and has no hybrid genres involved as it allowed me to focus more on my mass audience who enjoyed watching slap-stick comedy and allowed me to focus greatly on making it more hilarious for the audience by congregating their requirements and hopefully(optimistically) persuading them to watch my film creating a huge succession rate. Mass market-Target Audience My slap-stick comedy is aimed predominantly at a wide audience that have an interest in humour. The mise en scene of Harry himself reflects the smart geeky men that act in such a peculiar way in today’s society. Harry acts wildly in his hotel in France doing extremely wild foolish acting for example he does yoga in his hotel, and dances eccentrically imitating his weird, uncharacteristically acting that creates a build up of humour which is the whole idea of following the generic conventions to meet the audience’s requirements.
Slap-stick comedy contains a lot of physical acting usually by a single actor without the necessity of speech this helps to engage a mass audience who are able to easily guess what the actor is physically doing and usually mock's human behaviour in a more hilarious exaggerating manner which is ludicrousness and helps to create a humorous atmosphere for the audience. Harry who is wearing a yellow shirt most of the time and smart trousers mocks the geeky men who do weird things in smart clothes. The slow editing consisting of fades in and out of clips, dissolves at him beginning which then moves onto fast transitional movements, transitions, fast wipes, fast cut always in the middle to create excitement as well as allowing the audience to engage with the comedical trailer. The slow editing at the beginning with short clips of green French scenery creates stimulation and excitement amongst the mass audience and then the build up of fast editing as the trailer goes on which shows the audience what sort of actor and setting Harry is in. Furthermore the variance in editing helps to magnetise a wide target audience and to meet there needs of providing them with hilarious footage.
Purpose of a Trailer- The purpose of a trailer is to grab the audience’s full attention and use this powerful marketing tool to persuade the audience to watch the film. The trailer helps the audience to get a sense of what the film is going to be about, the genre of the film, the main stars featuring in the film and what kind of film this film is going to be. During the viewing of a trailer the audience usually tend to be decoding the narrative of the trailer for them to identify the genre of the film.
As Vladimir Propp said that a good narrative structure is made up of a beginning middle and end which all helps the audience to decode the trailer and engage within the running of the trailer.
The slap-stick comedy genre easily allows the audience to identify and recognise this genre as the codes sand conventions are easy for the audience to follow as the acting, sounds, editing and camera all help the audience to recognise the genre. Frequently films have hybrid genres where the film is made up of more than one genre which means it takes a longer period of time for the audience to identify the genre of the film. Hybrid genres also allow the producers of the film to attract a greater audience where the producer’s payback from the investment of the film may be higher. A unique selling point is also crucial as it helps a film to be differentiated from competitors, and helps to separate their film from other films (competitors) and helps them to compete against competitors during fierce competitive phases. A Unique selling point also helps the audience to understand the differences between other films and because the producers have done their market research and know what their audience requires they are able to be more successful than their competitors. The trailer provides an insight in the film and gives a sense of what the film is about, this amplifies the audience’s expectations for the film.
The trailer is designed to be fast for the audience but the audience would enjoy the mental cyclone as it gives them a ‘flavour’ of what the actual film is going to be about. Sound is a very important element which helps the audience to recognise the genre of this trailer. For example if there are slow violins, cellos and drums playing this may suggest a horror trailer. Sound creates tension and a mixture of emotions depending on the type of music played and the kind of feeling the producers are trying to create during the trailer. Producers try to play a specific melody specific to the genre of the film to create a specific feeling for the audience. In some cases trailers have voice over’s which acts as a guide to audience in order for them to follow the narrative which helps the audience to heighten their expectations for the film as the trailer is so amazing that the film must be really good too.
Further more it is important for the producers of teaser trailers to abide the codes and conventions specific to their genres. I am known going to be listing a number of conventions that can be taken into consideration during the development of a trailer:
Famous stars are highlighted - to attract a wider audience and to keep the audiences attention and create an excitement as well as stimulation amongst the audience which creates a high demand for the exhibition of the film · Best parts of the film are selected to create a heightened sum of emotion for example in a comedy trailer the most capricious and amusing bits would be selected to contrive excitement amongst the audience Voice over’s frequently provided for the audience to follow the narrative and also create a feeling that they are not alone finding it hilarious as an audience for them to engage Music used to create emotion as well as engagement, the music utilised also helps the audience to easily identify the genre of the trailer, as it is one of the elements of the generic conventions Short glimpses of title cuts words come in usually as wipes to create a break for the audience and for the trailer to create humour, as a result allows the audience to identify the genre Trailer usually ends at a dramatic end to create stimulation amongst the audience – so the audience think what’s going to happen to Harry next while he is on the floor drunk in France. Purpose of a voice over
The voiceover usually:
Helps the audience to follow the narrative the tone of the voice over also helps the audience to identify the genre this way they are able to engage as they know exactly what the fast trailer is showing Information is provided about the production team for example: producer, music writer, editor, production work, script writter this information as a result helps the audience to know what actors are acting in the film, as some films feature certain characters to attract a wide audience as those characters help the film to be a success as people want to watch the film with tehir faviourite characters involved. Builds up emphasis on the title of the film and makes the trailer stick in the minds of consumers for a longer period of time which then persuades the audience to watch the film as it keeps reminding them to watch it Mr Beans Holiday - Trailer ResearchMr Bean Trailer Camera Shots and representations.
There is a pan of a typical family in the countryside everyone acting all friendly representing the customary culture and tradition of France. The camera fades to a train station this illustrates that someone is coming to France and then a side cut of Mr Bean is taken with him directly looking at the camera and begins to make funny facial expressions this demonstrates his bizarre actions and what he is well-known for. Long shots- illustrated the smart suit he was wearing most of time even during a hot holiday, the smart suit and his funny acting together made him look geeky as a result the geeky character is stereo-typing geeks who go on holiday and wear heavy hot unconfortable suits.
There is a sudden close-up shot of some peculiar looking sea food that Mr Bean has ordered for himself at a restaurant this in return reflects his peculiar drama and allows the audience to discover the genre of the trailer this the genre of the film After he has ate some funny looking food at mid-close-up shot he pulls a alleviated face in a French restaurant to represent his peculiarity, as he is wearing smart clothes in a posh restaurant however he acts in such a proficient manner where his actions become reality due to the setting he is in. There are short clips in between to keep the audience attentive 'He's Back' exemplifying that the typical 'Mr Bean' is back to share some of his ludicrous acting and part of his everyday life. There are some average close-up shots when he is doing some funny acting in France for example in shopping centres, and in the middle of town centres, which creates humour and helps us as an audience to identify the slap-stick comedy genre easily. There are mid-close-up shots of when Mr Bean is riding his bi-cycle this demonstrates that Mr Bean is trying to act normal in France but actually creates humour. Mise en scene Mr Bean is wearing a dark brown suit with shinny black shoes and carries a smart brief case which is unexpected from him if he is going to go on holiday to France in a hot location, the smart costume along with his funny acting reveals his funny, geeky acting in many situations this creates a funny hilarious atmosphere as a consequence of this it allows us to identify the genre Lighting is normal- because the main focus of the audience would be on Mr Bean any way therefore the uneven lighting is not required. The uneven lighting also represents that Mr Bean is trying to act ordinarily while he is holiday. Mr Bean was mainly seen in the railway station posh restaurant and in France during the trailer these are unexpected locations for Mr Bean to be seen at, as he is single and in the restaurant there are couples around him this generally creates humour Text is written in between the video transitions in a funny style font vibrant bright orange with an image of the sky in the background, this makes us think that Mr Beans imagination of funny acting comes from out of space, and his mind wonders of most of time The trailer is set in different places so that we get an in sight of where his destinations in the film are going to be set, the diverse locations help us to get a buzz of how Mr Bean is going to be acting in different locations Mr Bean makes many facial expressions which emphasise what he is doing, what he is trying to achieve, how he's going to achieve it and how it feels in the process and how it feels after the problem, as there is very little of Mr Beans voice heard during the trailer, therefore facial expressions are essential in a comedy like 'Mr Beans Holiday' Sound Parallel music - creates a humorous atmosphere as the music goes in melody with the actions of Mr Bean. · When he is eating langoustine in the French restaurant a famous funny song begins to play called 'I will survive' as he looks at the langoustine he makes a funny face conveying the message that he does not prefer eating that and the song emphasises that Mr Bean would survive even if he eats a Langoustine · There are also sounds of some birds and goats creating a sound of realism and illustrating the fact that France is a normal cultural country until some one disastrous comes along for a holiday. The classical piano instrument played at the beginning illustrates to us that Mr Bean is acting in his usual classic manner, as old people mainly prefer listening to classical piano music but because he is a geeky man the classical piano music suits his actions.
As the classical music is played this shows clearly that the trailer producers are trying to target a wide audience where old people to young people can view this film. The digetic music creates further humour as it all fits in well and also helps us to keep up with the fast transitional movement of the camera and the funny actor himself. There is also a male (voice over) narrator talking to us through the scenes and telling us the chronological order of the exciting events shown - this is not required as we fully well know through Mr Beans expressions what the trailer is telling us, however the voice over provides us with some sort of guidance of what the narrative of this trailer is thus helps us as an audience to understand what sort of film this is going to be.
Editing There are fades and dissolves at the beginning to represent a typical cultural country with tradition and customs it also allows the audience to take a good long look at the scenery in France. Wipes between the scenes which lead on from the previous to the next these help us to identify the different scenes and a new topic has begun. The shots become faster as the trailer continues to create stimulation and excitement amongst the wide audience Mr Bean is trying to reach out to.
There are quick cut away's that demonstrate that Bean is up to no good and need to show the audience that he is an endless funny actor full of surprises Pink Panther- Trailer Analysis Camera The trailer begins with a zoom out from the pink panther which is in the centre of the clip this enables the audience to focus on him, this also creates attention amongst the audience.
There is a zoom with the camera spinning around the diamond to make sure the audience understand the purpose of this film. There are fast clips showing the diamond from different angles, showing it being worn on a man and then shown on a large football pitch screen this makes the audiences attention to be on the diamond as well as Pink Panther himself and his hilarious acting throughout the investigation of the lost diamond.
There is a spinning camera showing panther himself with the American buildings in the background from a low angle expressing his power over his hilarious acting and is as powerful as America It then cuts to a straight mid shot of a Panther in a smart suit doing his duty as an investigator, this shot is clear at the beginning of the narrative this demonstrates he is in America straight on his duty not relaxing It then shows a second clip of the investigator showing who he is by showing his badge and unexpectedly the badge goes spinning towards the opposite man shirt, this introduces his funny acting and that he is the investigator the main character. As there are many close-up’s on the hilarious parts these are done to create hilarity.
There are far shots of the panther trying to park his car and bumping into a police car behind, this build up of fast shots builds up excitement and stimulation for the viewing of Pink Panther. The camera shots not only uses mid shots during the investigation of the lost diamond it also uses close-up shots and mid-close up shots during the comedy trailer, this illustrates the differences between the camera shots and how they represent the type of genre through the type of shots they are. As the two different types of shots are used they help the audience to distinguish between a comedy trailer and a serious investigation scene. Usually in comedy trailers there are mainly close-up and mid close-up shots to emphasis certain elements on the trailer, therefore as a consequence of the generic conventions of a comedy that are applied to the Pink Panther trailer it helps the audience to pick up on the fact that this is a comedy trailer thus a comedy film would be released shortly after the release of the trailer.
Over the shoulder shots- allow the audiences to hear directly during conversations what they are saying. Reaction shots - help the audience to see the reactions of characters which not only creates laughter and absurdity but also creates stimulation where by the audience cant wait to see the film.
Mise En Scene -- The investigator is conventionally wearing a smart suit which connotes his geeky manner as Mr Bean is represented this way, he wears this to represent his genre and in order for Pink panther to attarct a wide audiences requirements. The lighting is uneven as it tends to focus greatly on the investigator as he represents 'The Pink Panther' The investigator acts in a funny manner to represent the trailers genre and so that the genre of comedy can be easily identified by a wide audience. Sound Voice over -to help the audience follow the narrative of the trailer and also helps the producers to keep engaged with the audience.
Drums - used for the audience to keep up with the continuous beat which creates stimulation between the audience and the trailer which then goes beyond and persuades the wide audience to watch the Pink Panther Film it made a gross revenue of $759,466,15 which illustrated a clear success through the success of a good trailer that follows the comedic generic coneventions.
The normal ' Pink panther' melody was played during the trailer to help attract the audience as this tune is well known. The Voice of the characters helps the audience to maintain an engagement throughout the Pink Panther trailer then the audience can hear what the characters are saying and keeping their full attention on the trailer.
There was great digitise music in the background this helped the audience to keep up with the fast speed of the characters actions Towards the end the trailer the music becomes non-digetic this illustrates the fact that 'Cruzo' the main panther actor is comically all over the place, and representing his funny acting which relates back to the slap-stick comedy genre and helps to attract a wide audience. Editing there are slow fades and dissolves between the clips at the beginning for the audience to see that 'cruzo' is a normal man living in the U.S, this creates excitement amongst the audience as they want to know whets going to happen next in the trailer, and kind of receive a sense of what the film is going to be like. During a comedy trailer one of the generic conventions is having slow fades and dissolves at the beginning and the speed picks up of the trailer thus having fast cut aways
Fast Wipes- many comical trailers contain a lot of wipes as it allows the audience to see that the scene of one continues by the same actor through the scene of the next. Cut away- Helps the audience to realise that the scene is moving onto another incident or scene which creates stimulation in the midst of the audience of whats going to happen next in the trailer as many audiences feel pleasure when they are watching something comedical as they can tell automatically through the types of edits their are.
The Dilema - Analysed Camera The trailer begins with a fade into the scene of a motorway where cars are all driving in America; the taxis are yellow indicating it’s an American setting.
The camera then cuts to two men having a conversation in a car at mid shot level in suits indicating they are smart just like Mr Bean was and they are both and equally funny this then allows the audience to identify the comedy genre easily through the types of shots utilised during the development of this trailer
There is a shot showing there waste from above on a side view and them clapping with each others hands implying they are trying to be funny and automatically allows the audience to identify that this is a comedy trailer, from the type of shot it is, as many comedic trailers outline mid, mid-close up shots, far shots and shots above the waste line, which allows us as an audience to identify their comedy genre.
· Mid close up of 'Nick' from a mirrors view in the car he pulls a direct smart face to the camera illustrating that the camera was positioned inorder for 'Nick' to pull a hilarious face easily helping us to empathise the genre through the use of facial expression on Nick’s face through the mirror
· Two shot - to make us think that both of the characters are comical as each other
· Medium long shot- while they are dancing in a peculiar manner in a club, the medium shot allows the audience to keep their main attention on the central character to make sure it looks visually humorous through the dances he does as a result allowing us to easily identify the genre as a comedy
· Hand held camera - helps the audience to know that this is a reality and they are really doing this, this also allows the audience to keep their main attention on the characters as the audience is physically following the characters in the fast moving scene
Mise En Scene Two main characters - Acting in a drolling manner wear smart suits for office work; this illustrates to us a funny comedy as most characters acting in comedies wear smart suits which is a stereo typical element representing geeky men however at the same time may be seen as a generic convention for a slap-stick Lighting is kind of even because the main characters take up most of the space in the camera this depth in field allows the audience to focus on the funny acting of the characters which means that uneven lighting on the characters is not required, as the characters focus more the more they engage with the trailer and .
The acting is very funny as they carry out unexpected activities throughout the trailer which helps to grab the audiences full attention which allows them to instinctively distinguish the genre, which is the key element we are trying to make out from the audience in order for tem to easily recognise the genre, furthermore the acting enables us an audience to do this.
Editing There is a lot of editing between the shots which help o cerate a humorous atmosphere and allows us to identify the genre of the trailer.
Transitional Wipes Fades - to create excitement as the audience just want to get on with it and watch it quickly thus why the fades create stimulation amongst the audience.
Cut always - during the conversation of the two characters there are immediate cut always used so that the audience know what they are saying cut always are usually used between conversations.
Over the shoulder shots - when Nick goes for an interview and is talking to a black woman who is also doing funny acting which is unexpected and causes the audience torah at her funny facial expressions, the over the shoulder shot allows the audience to believe that Nick is in conversation with the woman Transitional wipes in of titles- helps to develop a catalyst stimulated feeling amongst the audience these transitional breaks allow the audience to interpret quickly the trailer is about and creates further laughter.
After the breaks there are fast close-up cuts to the faces of the funny characters which create humour within sudden cuts and breaks in between.
Overall from the Research I have carried out I have felt that I have become stronger after this process as it has helped me to think more about the generic conventions in conjunction with the genre of my products. It has made me plan for my products appositely helping me to generate greater ideas and creating a more extravagant and a spectacular package as well as making it meet consumers tastes consequently making ‘Harry Hulbert’s Holiday’ a huge success.
My Trailer Analysed Camera I had used
· Pan shots – to make it look like a normal French city with a culture this creates stimulation amongst the audience of what’s going to happen next similar to the Mr Bean trailer · Over the shoulder shots- to make it look real that Harry is really in a restaurant eating funny food
· Point Of View shots (POV) – to create laughter of his facial expressions
· Close-up’s – create hilarity and absurdity amongst the audience
· Mid-close-up’s – able to see comfortable what is actually going on within the scene
· Long shots – helps the audience to see Harry;7’s full body language when he is drunk
· Far shot – helps to keep the audience at a distance and helps them to continuously have a break from the close shots in their face
· High angle shot – to see what he is doing in the pantry bending down doing something silly getting up to no good in France while he is on holiday I had used these specific shots as during my research of other trailers I analysed, I found that these were the most obvious shots used as a result I thought that these shots would be the most suitable for my trailer. I found that a close-up shot was used mainly to create humour and laughter which would help the audience overall identify the genre easily.
Mise En Sene I had made Harry wear a yellow shirt, black tie on, and a dark smart casual trouser, this costume overall helped the audience to understand that this is a slap-stick comedy trailer. I had to use bright lighting on his face to make it stand out in the scene and make him in the main focus on the trailer screen I had made Harry carry out stupid activities to create humour and laughter which helped the audience to acknowledge that this is a slap-stick comedy I had made the character wear glasses at hilarious close- up shots to create humour It had to be set in normal like locations to make it seem that he is realistic location acting in a horrendous manner
Sound There was voice over used throughout the trailer to help the audience follow the narrative of the trailer Music was played throughout which consisted of violins, cellos at the beginning and then a fade of a piano when he is exhibited in the screen which is consistently played throughout the trailer Editing There were continuous fades in and out of scenes so that the scenes run in from one to the next to make it look like a specialist trailer similar to the mi bran trailer which mainly implemented many fades throughou the trailer to make it look effective.
As shown from my questionnaire I found that the audience enjoyed watching my trailer as they felt that it ‘meets the generic conventions fully on’ suggesting that they identified the genre easily from the moment they saw the poster, magazine covers and the trailer. They felt the text on my poster and the main close up image if Harry had given it away and through that it was completely conveying a slap-stick comedy genre, through the way the elements were displayed on my magazine cover and on my poster. The effects applied to them both they thought were ‘Fabulous’ and thought that ‘it met the generic conventions’ through the ‘style of the text, image, lighting effects, colours, props. The audience also felt that the trailer had fully met the generic conventions as it was ‘Killing in it’ suggesting that it was really funny and hilarious. They thought the actor I chose was good because ‘he looks similar to Mr Bean, through the way he acts and performs. ‘He really brings out the humour of the whole trailer’ as he is funny and they easily guessed that it was a ‘slap-stick comedy genre’ this easy identification of the genre meant that it would be a success as a whole.
On the whole this research and planning helped me to create and build an effective magazine cover, poster and slap-stick comedy trailer which meant I had to connect every feature on my products to comedy so that the audience are able to easily identfy and classify this text as a slap-stick comedy product, persuading consumers to watch 'Harry Hulbert's holiday' the film itself.
