Captain Philips: market research film trailer

Captain Philips was produced by Columbia pictures, and based on a true story, which is uncommon, but an interesting idea. It is selling the actor Tom Hanks, as well as the interesting plot, with an uncommon story line. What is most interesting to me was the sense of realism, as it is a possible situation (hence it is based on a true story) but this is what caught my attention. The genre seems to be realistic thriller, and the mood gets darker as the film trailer goes on. The target audience is a very large audience that which I am uncertain of, but imagine it could appeal to many ages from 12 to 60. The format is different from those before, being slower, but this builds more tension, and the entire trailer mainly sets up the threat of the pirates, while not giving too much away. It consists of two acts, the first being longest, as it presents the threat, and then the threat following through. (That being the pirates boarding the ship). The next act then presents a montage of shots later on in the film. The dialogue is mostly Tom Hanks, as he calls in a 'pirate situation', however the pirates are shown to be aggressive with small amounts of dialogue. The camera shots start of as long shots, as Tom Hanks looks out to see. Though this quickly changes as the pirates board the ship, it immediately becomes more of a closed frame, with close ups and extreme close ups on the characters. This trailer is very unlike looper and iron man that have been discussed previously.


EL

Iron man: market research film trailer

Produce by Paramount pictures and Marvel, iron man was a huge success, and was sold successfully partly due to Robert Downey Jr. The use of explosions, technology and ego of ‘iron man’ was what was most attractive about the film to me. It sells the futuristic possibilities, making them seem realistic. The genre is created by the use of pyrotechnics, and again the suggestion that there is a war between the good and the evil, presenting the film to be a thriller. The mood changes throughout as it changes from upbeat and satirical to sinister and dark. The expectations are high, expecting it to be incredible visually, and have a great plot. The target audience, much like The Dark Night, applies to younger generations as it is much like a superhero, however also appeals to older generations as it is an interesting plot, and more serious than in the comics. The music consists of heavy guitar throughout the trailer, making it fast pace, though slows at times such as towards the end when he is stuck in his armour. The trailer uses a lot of close ups on iron man, to focus on him as a selling point, though uses a few longer range shots such as the explosion in the dessert. There are also a few shot reverse shots, presenting 'Tony Stark' at a high angle to make him seem more powerful, which is reflected by the music. The dialogue involves mostly Robert Downey Jr to present small pockets about the plot, and the over all format of the trailer is very similar to looper. That being that it consists of three acts, the first being a major incident in the film, and revealing a small bit about how the film starts. This is then followed by the view of 'Tony's' normal life, and how he begins to build iron man. The last act ends on a montage of fight scenes and key moments of the film while the music is heavy and exciting.


EL

Scream film trailer: market research

The scream trailer (1996) opens with a shot of the phone going, while quickly cutting to the dimensions production logo. This immediately sets up the production company, as it cuts back to the opening scene where the girl is on the phone to a killer, and shows the glass smashing to immediately setup the sense of threat. The rating, nowadays, seems to be a 12+, and the mood is dark and thrilling, as the genre is definitely horror. The form is simple, in that it opens with a setup of the threat, and then the middle presents the characters in the form of a montage while the voiceover occurs. There is then a series of red texts on black backgrounds, with connotations of blood and death, as it states 'don't answer the phone', 'don't open the door', and the last one presents the director.


EL

Film Poster - Man Of Steal: market research

The poster presents the connotations of the classic superhero film, that being a man flying. This immediately sets the mood of the film while also depicting the genre to be action. The anchorage of the title is broken up with the logo of ‘superman’, making it obvious which super hero the film contains. The text also anchors the background image, which is the most spectacular part of the poster. This is much like the inception poster, where the background image attracts audience due to the element of the supernatural. The blur around the entire piece draws your eye towards the character himself, who plays superman. This is an obvious selling point, as he is clearly young and attractive, which is highlighted in this poster.

            The target audience is clear, applying to most ages 12+, due to the classic superhero attracted younger generations, and the more grown up plot. The colours are dull blue and grey, contrasted by the red of the cape, which is what symbolises superman. This, alongside the blur draws attention to the actor as a main feature, whilst looking strong and muscular. The red also stands for connotations of death, but also romance, which are both suggested within this poster.

           

            The poster does not present any previous credits, and has minimal test, though does promote the production companies and some of the actor’s names. It is clear that the actor on the poster is the lead role, and the star, but faces challenges throughout, as the poster almost hints at the plot due to the uneasy expressions on his face. All in all this poster is particularly striking, drawing my attention as the red moves my eye around the piece, and hints at what may come in the film itself.


EL

Film Poster - Inception: market research

Upon first sight, the Inception film poster does not present any immediate connotations, though suggests the dream like, supernatural feel that the film contains. It uses anchorage to sell the film, such as the catch phrase: ‘The dream is real’. This suggests a genre for the film, that being a scientific thriller, which is also shown by the use of the background image, presenting a sense of the supernatural. The tone seems to be mysterious, represented by the contrast between the foreground characters seeming so calm, while the background presents the city to form towards the sky. The characters are spaced, suggesting they are not associated to one another within the film. This further builds the tone, thus giving a more sinister feel, as there is a suggestion of conflicts between the characters.

The target audience is not clear, it could be said it is aimed at a predominately male audience, with a middle-aged target. However the film is rated pg, suggesting it could be a wider than expected target audience. The poster represents society to be conflicted, shown by the contrasting colours and light, as the bottom of the poster is darker, with a blue overlay, contrasting the warmer yellow colour in the middle of the poster. Leonardo Dicaprio is in the foreground holding a gun, this suggests a sense of threat, which defines the film to be thrilling and action packed. The poster does achieve what it is suppose to, as the mix of colours and light on the background image presents a supernatural aspect to the film, which immediately draws the audience’s attention, as it is something impossible. The characters then suggest conflicts, while the star, Leonardo Dicaprio, draws further attention. I particularly like how the background image is central to the poster, as the element of the supernatural draws attention, as it is part of the imagination to explore what is not physically possible.      

The poster includes previous credits, stating that the same people who made ‘dark night rises’ produced it. The films star, Leonardo Dicaprio, is in the foreground of the poster, making him obvious to see, whilst his name is also large and centred at the top of the poster. As for the title, it contrasts the blues and whites and stands out in bold red, directly underneath Dicaprio. This makes it very obvious to the audience, while still associating the star of the film. The colour saturation is generally blue, which gives a darker tone, and makes the film feel colder.  The certificate, being pg is barely readable as the main part to the poster is the background image.


EL

Film Poster - The Dark Knight: market research

                 The Dark Night teaser character poster is one of my favourites, with connotations of thrilling and slight horror, which is suggested by the use of red writing, which represents blood. It is meant to represent this character as evil and creepy, with his catch phrase in bold red being a dominant part of the poster.  The use of the smile on the fog glass is used to give a little bit away about the character, while keeping his actual identity hidden. These together make it clear that this character, known as the joker, is the ‘bad guy’. The anchorage presented by ‘why so serious’ further suggests the genre of the film, that being an action thriller, which is also shown by the use of the blur over the characters face. This also presents the tone to be more sinister and cold, shown by the blue with the bold red to resemble death. 

                    The target audience appears to be 12 +, as there is a sinister feeling to the poster, which may not be age appropriate for younger kids. The coldness of the blue overlay and then purple jacket is contrasted by the red, suggesting a sense of danger and threat, which is why the film may not be age appropriate for younger people. Besides this, the poster does appeal vastly to older generations, with its sophisticated feel and upmarket selling point. This threat shows that the film is action / thriller genre, and is a particularly interesting teaser poster as in reveals very little about the villain himself. This is done through the use of the fog blue, meant to be glass, which leaves the audience unsure who he is, only knowing his catch phrase, which is what really attracts me to the poster.  It includes no previous credits, and a small title with the Batman logo, and so makes certain that the key selling point of the film is indeed the mysterious character of ‘the joker’. This is then anchored by the title and production companies, as well as the timing ‘summer 2008’.

                   Again, like the inception poster, it is the image that is central to this poster. However instead of the attraction of the supernatural, this poster is selling the villain of the film, which works extremely well. The overlay of the blue gives the poster a feeling of threat and coldness, mirrored by the use of blood red to show the jokers catch phrase as though he wrote it. All in all, this is my favourite poster I have seen.

EL