This poster for Percy Jackson follows a similar circular layout to The Golden Compass main poster but without so many layers. The boy is the main focus of the poster and framed by the water. The only layer is the background which shows a modern setting accompanied by his contemporary clothes.
The water looks as if it is coming from his hand which hints to the audience that he might be controlling it.
It is almost certain that this character is Percy Jackson and the lightning in the background is in correlation with the title of the movie.
The other posters for this movie are mainly character based ones. This could be because the film was based on a series of books so the audience would be looking out for these characters and would recognise them, also it creates more of an interest in the characters and consequently in the movie.
Many of the posters for The Golden Compass follow a circular layout which we see regularly in posters for a fantasy film. There are generally more characters in a fantasy film that need to stand out and the layout of the poster give the focus to the main character but also fans out to show other characters that will figure in the movie.
This poster promotes the movie’s cast, as it has well known actors in it such as Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman, by displaying the cast names along the top of the poster. It also has both these actors behind the main character so they stand out.
It is clearly shown that this poster contains layers as it may also be in the film. The main character is at the front and lit up in a warm and important light which is consistent with the name of the film.
The next layer is not as lit up but appears to be showing up clearly from the glow coming off the first layer. This shows they are less important but still must be recognised in the film.
The third clear layer makes the suggested outline of the circle and also adds a dramatic backdrop to draw the audience in. The final faded layer simple shows the setting of buildings and mountains to give it depth and interest.
There are also other posters that show each individual character to attract interest.
Analyse the posters for your 3 trailers, do they follow a consistent theme?
The posters for The Last Airbender follow a consistent theme of mystery and the suggestion of good against evil. This is done using the contrasting colours next to each other as with the poster here and the way the two characters are facing away from each other and also away from the camera.
Everything in it is centred and symmetrical and we can see in this poster and similarly in others that there are images in the same colour as the side of the poster below the two characters which gives the impression that they will be involved with the particular character they accompany.
Finally, we can also notice that the fire and air swirls appear to be coming from the character’s hands. This teases the audience about the powers the characters may have and gives us an insight into the fantasy genre.
Which trailers do not give you a great deal of information about the narrative? What do they convey and what elements are needed to do this?
Percy Jackson and the Olympians does not give much information about the narrative of the film but it does convey that the film may be centred on the young teen who is the main focus of the trailer. This implies that he is Percy Jackson.
The elements used to show this is the camera action following him and he is on his own which makes the audience watch him only. There is also a sense of mystery as to who he is at the beginning of the trailer which further focuses the viewer’s interest in the character.
Which of the trailers you have seen gives a strong indication of the narrative in the film? List the features that are needed for this to happen.
The Last Airbender trailer gives the best indication of the narrative of the film because of the narrative in the trailer. It gives a personal view of the Airbender told by an unseen voice. It indicates that the narrative will be an overview of what is happening in the storyline of the movie possibly showing all the characters views and feelings. It suggests an omnipresent narration for the film even though the teaser trailer is focused on the one boy.
Music- The music is slow then becomes increasingly fast then slow again. It creates an atmosphere of anticipation making the audience want to see what is coming next.
Plot- There is a lack of plot to this trailer which makes it the more conventional teaser. What little information we can guess at is that the boy in the trailer is Percy Jackson and that to get to the city in the clouds you have to go to the empire state building and the city will be important to the movie.
Editing- At the beginning of the trailer there are only fades used and no cuts till near the end of the trailer in accordance to the music tempo when the anticipation is reaching a climax and the action of it is increased.
Graphics- The graphics are shown mainly at the end as with the other trailers and are very modern in style and look realistic.
Five events in the trailer and the questions each raises-
Views of contemporary New York and a taxi pulls up on the street
Who is in the taxi and why are they there at night
Boy walking along the corridor of the Empire state building
·Why is he at the empire state building
Gets handed the keys from the security guard
·What are the keys for and why did the guard let him pass unquestioned
The lift moves right to the top of the building lighting up
·Is it going to stop and why is it lighting up
He steps out of the elevator and looks at some Greek style buildings in the clouds.
·Who lives there, why is he there and where is it if it is in the clouds
Style- It had a fantasy style in its costumes and settings and is shot in a fast and exciting way.
Music- Dramatic classical music with no lyrics but an accompanying choir which fits in with the fantasy setting and genre.
Plot- From the trailer the plot seems to be that a young girl is given a compass she has to keep hidden and a woman is trying to find her because of a prophecy. Also there is some sort of battle which she wants to fight for and she is helped by a warrior polar bear.
Editing- There are many fades and cross over of scenes. Also cuts are evident in the trailer. There are voiceovers that cross scenes and the scenes are short and fast paced.
Graphics- The graphics are very up to date and are mainly shown at the end of the trailer for dramatic effect and interest of the audience to make them want to watch it. The audience can see that it is realistic and watchable.
Five events in the trailer and the questions each one raises-
She gets given a clock and told to keep it secret
Why does she have to keep it secret and where did it come from
A woman is told about a prophecy told by some witches
What is the prophecy and who are the witches
She is stood with children behind her and spits at an army
Why are there children against an army and why is she spitting at them
She falls of a flying ship and a woman flies after her
How can the woman fly and is the girl caught in time
A polar bear hits another polar bear in the face
What is the purpose of this and what will it lead to.
Style- Very simple with little writing, mainly narration
Music- Japanese style at the beginning matches the narration, the setting and the action that is happening then changes as the action and view changes which gives it a tense and exciting feel as the audience sees the ships against one boy.
Stars- No star cast is shown off so the film must stand as its own.
Plot- Very clearly and simply portrayed in the narration, someone who is the last of their kind who can control air has many people wanting to kill him and he is going to try defend himself.
Editing- Only a couple of fades when writing is on. Has very smooth camera movement to focus on the character and also controlled which gives the feeling of his characterisation also in the controlled way he moves.
Graphics- The graphics are shown at the end of the trailer when the army coming to destroy him is revealed. It tells of action that may happen in the film and about how important this one boy is.
Five events in the trailer and the questions each one raises-
He blows out some of the candles with his hand
How did he blow out the candle without some sort of device.
He blows out all the candles in one go by slamming down his staff
How far does his power go and why is he there alone
He takes off his hood showing his face
Is he as young as he looks and why does he have marks on his head
He blows all the people off the edge of the cliff they are climbing
Why do those people want to kill him
Lots of ships fire fireballs at the temple where the Airbender is.
Who is in charge of those ships if anyone and why are they trying to destroy the Airbender.
I have chosen to do a trailer of a fantasy genre because I think it would be interesting to do and different. Also it gives alot of options to the plot, characters and camera angles I could use.
The style of the film that follows the normal features of that genre. Each genre has it’s own style concerning the settings story lines and characters. Genre conventions are the ‘rules’ that are followed by each genre. Breaking these conventions could be considered breaking the genre style.
Where might a trailer be seen and how do different formats affect the viewing of the trailer?
Trailers can be seen mainly on television and the Internet. By watching it on the Internet the trailer can be watched more than once and have links to websites and related news that can be followed by the audience of the trailer. Also, as with the example below, websites such as youtube can use cookies to target the intended audience of the movie.
In comparison, by viewing it on television, the trailer's screening time has to be very specific to gain their target audiences attention and as well as that it has to be interesting enough to make the audience want to go and find out more or watch for when the movie is coming.
Trailers can also be screened in the cinema. Here it is easier to target the intended audience by showing the trailers in films specific to that genre, also it is definitely known that the audience will be watching it by putting it on before the film.
The above screen shot shows how trailers can be viewed on cinema websites, this advertises the film as well as the cinema.
What is the difference between a teaser trailer and a full trailer?
A teaser trailer is much shorter than the main trailer and is intended to grab the audience’s attention and have them looking out for the film or for the main trailer. It is usually between 60-90 seconds long and are released far in advance to the film, sometimes even years. They usually contain very little actually film footage if any and their main purpose is to tell the audience that the film is in production.
Spiderman is a good example of this whose teaser trailer was released two years before the movie.
A full trailer is longer and contains actual film footage and also tells more of a story to entice the audience to watch it and usually has a more exact date of the movie release unlike a teaser.
The main trailer has more substance and gives a clearer idea of the storyline without giving too much away for the audience to decide if they like it.
In the above example of the 1991 film 'Hook' the teaser trailer is very simple and is mainly used to show off the star director Stephen Spielberg and the star cast of Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams and Julia Roberts. There is no actual film footage and it lasts for only about 90 seconds.
Whereas the full film trailer contains all actual film footage and starts to reveal the general storyline even though it is only 30 seconds longer than the teaser.
A trailer is a preview of an upcoming film. It contains clips of scenes that are within that film, put together to create interest. It tries to entice people to go and watch the movie when it comes out so aims to heighten the excitement and anticipation of the film.
A teaser trailer is short, usually about 1 to 1.5 minutes, and is released far in advance to the film’s release.
