Research

AUDIENCE
Since I’m drawing a lot of inspiration from films predominantly aimed
at teens and young adults, that’s what I’m going to mainly tailor it to
the young adult age range. However, some of the other products I
took inspiration from are also popular with older adults too and
teenagers so while the main audiences are young adults but will also
have a few things to hopefully attract some members of other age
ranges too.
As with some typical young adult dystopian sci-fi story in a kind of
post-apocalyptic setting, the story introduces a main character and a
few supporting characters, often during the point where the conflict or
main plot point is presented. This main character is often around the
similar sort of age for the main age audience, often 16, 18 or early
twenties. In the case of my film, my main character is a 17 year old,
which could make the character more relatable to the main audience
as they’re probably around a similar age.

AUDIENCE SURVEY
Out of the twenty
three people that
responded to my
survey, 16 of
them identified as
female, five as
male and 2 as
being other.

AUDIENCE SURVEY
Most of the
responses were
aged between 16
and 21, with three
people just on
either side of this
age group.
This is really good
for my film as
those are the age
ranges that my
product will be
aimed at.

AUDIENCE SURVEY
The genres of: action,
sci-fi, fantasy, superhero
and crime/mystery all
got the majority of
results for popular
genre. The dystopian
genre was chosen by
five people. This is still
good for me however as
my trailer will fall into a
few different genre,
some of which being the
more popular choices.

AUDIENCE SURVEY
When asking about
what draws a
person to a film
trailer, these four
results talked about
teasing the plot
points with clips but
not revealing too
much that the movie
is spoiled while
keeping with typical
conventions of the
genres and type of
film it would be.

AUDIENCE SURVEY
These responses
said that seeing
familiar actors and
actresses, how the
setting all helps, as
well as the
characters
seeming
interesting and the
plot is developed
and captivating.
Music is definitely
something I need
to look into more
too.

AUDIENCE SURVEY
These
responses also
mentioned the
soundtrack
along with what
other people
have said about
it. Humour is
mentioned which
is something I
should try to
include, even for
a moment.

AUDIENCE SURVEY
These responses
also said similar
things about being
drawn to the
music, characters,
popularity and
actors. The actors
won’t really be
possible for me in
that sense, but I
may give off that
impression that it
is.

AUDIENCE SURVEY
One response out of
these last few said
that creating the
mood while staying
accurate to the
content of the film
was something that
drew them to
trailers. This is
something I should
be aware of but I
don’t need to be too
concerned since I’m
not actually creating
the feature film.

AUDIENCE SURVEY
From the
responses here,
some suggestions
were to have a
shorter trailer too,
as if those would
be for television
adverts etc. This
could be quite a
good thing to do.
Social media
related content
could well also,
especially to do
with the posters
and shorter trailer.

AUDIENCE SURVEY
Again social
media is often
mentioned,
teasing facts
and potential
occurrences
through short
videos or
tweets for
example.

AUDIENCE SURVEY
One of these
responses
mentions making
sure that the main
point of the plot is
clear but not
spoiled so that the
audience isn’t
confused just by
the trailer and
therefore would be
less keen on the
film. The idea of a
short story is
interesting too.

AUDIENCE SURVEY
Voice overs and
slow motion
shots are good
suggestions to
use in my
trailers. They’re
common in
trailers of this
style and the
slow motion
could be really
effective if used
in the right
place.

MARKET – EXISTING
PRODUCTS
The Hunger Games is a well known film
series based from the books by Suzanne
Collins. The trailer for the first film, to which
was released in 2012, built up the tension of
what the world the main character has
grown up in. The trailer doesn’t give away
much, other than the main plot point and
introducing the
lead character and supporting characters. We aren’t actually shown any footage of when
Katniss starts to participate in the games except during a brief moment right before the
end of the trailer where it cuts out to the title. This is a good way of drawing the viewer in
because they know that Katniss is going into the arena to fight to the death, but they
aren’t given anything about what happens once the games begin. The opening shots
introduce us to the main character where we are shown what could be the norm for her,
using a bow and arrow to shoot small animals for food to show she’s already skilled in
some type of weapon. But they’re quickly interrupted and the shots get shorter to show
the rush and confusion as as soon as Katniss leaves the bright green of the forest, and
blends in with everything else in a steely blue shirt. The green of the

MARKET – EXISTING
PRODUCTS
forest represented her freedom whereas the
blue was to show the cold reality that she
lives in. More of Katniss’ personality is
shown as she volunteers to protect her
sister for the games that still doesn’t have
much revealed about until she states that
only one in 24 comes back but people watch
it for
entertainment. The stakes for the main character are really shown then, revealing that
she can’t consider dying because she needs to get back home. This is something I need
to make sure I include in my trailer, giving my characters meaning and a drive to stay
alive. The easiest way I can probably do this is through dialogue or a voice over
narration. While this trailer doesn’t include a narration, it’s something I can consider if I
think my trailer requires it.

MARKET – EXISTING
PRODUCTS
The Divergent trailer is the first movie in the
series adaptations from the books by
Veronica Roth. The trailer starts with
opening to the world that the characters live
in and introducing the main character Tris.
The factions and society of living is loosely
explained so we have a basic
understanding but
not so much that watching the films wouldn’t reveal anything else about the living
systems. We’re then showed that Tris has encountered a problem that she doesn’t fit
into the different factions and she needs to hide this from the people in charge. That sets
up to show that that is what the main plot will be about. As the trailer gets closer to the
end, the length of shots get shorter and the amount of action and conflict shown
increases, pacing the music between cuts to black to increase the tension and including
titles. This is something I should definitely use when it comes to my trailer as it seems to
be common with lots of film trailers but especially ones in this style, giving enough
information so that the audience have a basic understanding of the main plot but hinting
at other side plots and conflict the character will face and if they will survive it. Another
thing I noticed is

MARKET – EXISTING
PRODUCTS
that the shots become more varied as the
trailer progresses. The beginning is
predominantly faces in close ups, especially
the main character Tris and her reactions to
what the other characters and when she
discovers herself to be divergent which
leaves her in danger. Once she’s shown to
have
joined Dauntless, the shots widen to medium, wide, and long shots with the introduction
of other characters. However it does jump back to close ups for reactions and insert
shots to purposefully limit the viewer’s sight of what was going on. It could work well for
my trailer to do this as it really draws the viewer into the rest of the story which is
definitely what I want to do.

MARKET – EXISTING
PRODUCTS
The Maze Runner trailer is also the first film
in the film series adapted from the books
by James Dashner. Unlike how The Hunger
Games and Divergent trailers start, The
Maze Runner opens with quick, dark shots
and introduces the main character in this
situation. We’re then introduced to the
other
characters as he finds out he’s now in the Glade, surrounded by a maze. It then starts
as a setup similar to how the others are shown, showing how these characters
generally live and what their normal is, captive inside this maze, which gives all the
characters their motives. Then we’re introduced to the conflict and how our hero is
going to change their normal for better and worse as a result. Then the clip lengths
get shorter again and the music builds with titles splitting up action and conversation
that all add to building tension. We’re shown and told about these monsters named
Grievers as the main threat to the characters’ lives but also given some speculation
and questions as to what they actually are that viewers have to watch to find out,
which is a good way of drawing viewers in and something I should definitely consider

MARKET – EXISTING
PRODUCTS
including in my trailer. Colours are subtly
used too, with the green of the Glade being
used to represent the safety it provides and
the maze being dark. However, when
Thomas is shown to be in the maze, there’s
ivy along the walls and the green of it is
quite prominent. This could be to represent
that the
safety the other characters feel in the Glade is a false, fragile safety that’s broken
after Thomas discovers something new. Subtle additions like that could be something
I should definitely consider trying in my trailer if it’s appropriate and if I get the
opportunity.

MARKET – EXISTING
PRODUCTS
The Fifth Wave is a science fiction film in a
post apocalyptic setting. The trailer sets
this up by explaining that it came from an
alien attack in waves that wipes out most of
humanity. Based on a book, as with a lot of
dystopian Sci-Fi's in this style, it is a good
inspiration of how to set out how different
life is
from our normal one is through a narration. However with mine, I’m unlikely to use
a narration throughout all of it to explain everything because I want to be able to
convey other parts of the information through the cinematography but have the
narration as a confirmation and to give some extra clues as to what the main
character and other characters are like. But as the other trailers do, we’re given a
sense of what normal is for our main character before the plot of the film begins.
The stakes for the main character are raised from not just surviving but to rescue
her little brother and goes off on her journey to get to him with various problems
and side plots along the way, all of which are hinted at throughout.

MARKET – EXISTING
PRODUCTS
As with the other trailers that I have
watched, the shots start at a typical length
for a scene but quickly progress into faster
paced clips, focusing on action and
character reactions. I felt it gave quite a bit
of insight into the characters that are
introduced but especially Cassie to
establish that she’s
the main character and that we can trust her but the others are not as certain. It
leaves a mystery that the audience wants to find out about, especially characters that
are hinted at having a big part in but don’t actually have much revealed. It’s definitely
something I should do in my trailer, leaving enough but not too much mystery around
the characters and even the main character so the audience feel like they’ll find out
things about herself as she does.

PRODUCTION
TECHNIQUES
Looks
fantastical/sci-fi
like? Would fit with
my genre,
especially if I
lessen the
saturation the
colour a little bit to
suit the overall
colour gradient of
the film or to
provide contrast.
Has a
cinematic
look and
could work
well for the
title
sequence in
my trailer to
show that
there would
be sci-fi
elements to
come if the
film was
actually
being
released.
I’ll test this tutorial out during the experimental stage
to see if it is something I’ll be able to do and like for
my trailer.
I could always use a different font as I’m not sure if I
like the example font that was used in the tutorial.

PRODUCTION
TECHNIQUES
Definitely fits
the style of film
trailer that I’ve
decided to
make and has
some
similarities to
existing titles of
this genre such
as The Maze
Runner,
especially the
Scorch Trials
sequel.
I like the font and colour scheme that is used
though I will also experiment with different fonts
and colours to see what I like best and which I
think will be most cinematic and effective.
I really like the
effect of the
smoke and
how it adds to
the
atmosphere to
make look
potentially
post-
apocalyptic.

PRODUCTION
TECHNIQUES
A style of
colour grading
that could
work well for
a dystopian,
post-
apocalyptic/sc
i-fi genre of
film trailer.
With the colours having a very low saturation and
being dark, it really gives the impression that life
is a lot more desolate for these characters than it
is for us.
I might not
use this
exact
colour
grading
setting but
experiment
with this
kind of
look, using
this as a
base to see
what I like
the look of
best.

PRODUCTION
TECHNIQUESI looked at this
because I
thought it
would be
helpful to get
some extra
advice on how
to set out my
scenes to
maximise what
I can include in
them.
While I’m not making the full film, I still have proper
scenes throughout and I want to hint at different potential
plot points without it having to be told or in the foreground
which I might not have time or want to include there.
Especially in
scenes involving
multiple
characters, I can
think of this to
work out how to
set up my shot to
emphasise who
holds the power.

PRODUCTION
TECHNIQUESFor my film
trailer, being
the genre
that it is, I
definitely
want to hint
at the action
that will be
included.
With only
being a
trailer, I
shouldn’t
have to
create a
whole scene
but add bits
in throughout.
Having a series of fights throughout my trailer
could be a really good way of splitting up the
clips, such as using an incoming punch to cut the
screen to black and then back to a clip as a way
of pacing the trailer to build tension.
If I feel that it’s
necessary then I
may consider
using some
weapon props but
I will have to be
extra cautious
when filming and
choreographing
so that my actors
and crew
members aren’t in
any danger.

PRODUCTION
TECHNIQUES
I found this video
on YouTube and
thought it could
be really
beneficial to
have some tips
before I started
planning and
filming on
recording sound.
I don’t have
access to the
exact
equipment that
is used in the
video but I can
still use the tips
with regards to
microphone
placement and
movement.
If I need a close up sound while doing part of my filming but
the main microphone I’m using is already recording, I could
hide in an earphone mic nearby connected to a phone with
a sound app to get some extra sounds or simply record
them separately with the main microphone.

RESEARCH SUMMARY
After looking at various different products that already exist relating to what
I have in mind for my project, I’ve definitely found them to be a huge help in
making decisions on choices I should make when both filming and editing.
I’ve been able to get some opinions from my target audience on what they
like and don’t like. From my results for example, the sci-fi genre is popular
among my selected age range so I know that adding sci-fi elements or at
least hinting that themes and sci-fi film conventions would be involved in
the film if I were to be making the whole thing. Looking at different
techniques helped too, finding out how I can subtly hide references and
direct the audiences eyeline without them realising so that I can convey a
message without just telling them and it’s definitely something I want to try
to include. Getting tips for colour grading helped too. I’m still not sure how
heavy I’ll make the colour grading, though I’ll see how my footage looks
and what mood the changes would set but I look forward to seeing what I
want to include.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Lionsgate Movies. (2011). The Hunger Games (2012 Movie) - Official
Theatrical Trailer - Jennifer Lawrence & Liam Hemsworth. Available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfmrPu43DF8. Last accessed 6th Mar
2019
2. Summit Screening Room. (2013). DIVERGENT - Trailer - Official [HD] -
2014. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sutgWjz10sM. Last
accessed 6th Mar 2019
3. 20th Century Fox. (2014). The Maze Runner | Official Final Trailer [HD] |
20th Century FOX. Available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sutgWjz10sMhttps://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=AwwbhhjQ9Xk. Last accessed 6th Mar 2019
4. Sony Pictures Entertainment. (2015). THE 5TH WAVE - Official Trailer (HD).
Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmxLybfGNC4. Last accessed
6th Mar 2019Effect For You. (2018). Cinematic Movie Trailer Title Effect |
After Effects Tutorial | By Effect For You. Available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sutgWjz10sMhttps://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=AwwbhhjQ9Xkhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXe9RZ-Ot_8.
Last accessed 6th Mar 2019

BIBLIOGRAPHY
6. Jd film & art. (2018). Premiere Pro cc Tutorial Cinematic Title Animation in
Premiere Pro cc 2018 - Download Free. Available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WugrFqnLphE. Last accessed 6th Mar
2019
7. YCImaging. (2017). Vintage/Faded Color Grade Tutorial (Adobe Premiere
Pro CC). Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHEF6lZSrIo. Last
8. StudioBinder. (2018). Vintage/Faded Color Grade Tutorial (Adobe Premiere
Pro CC)Film Blocking Tutorial — Filmmaking Techniques for Directors: Ep3.
Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AGaECt9j4g. Last accessed
6th Mar 2019
9. Tomorrow's Filmmakers. (2015). How to Film a Fight Scene - Tomorrow's
Filmmakers. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Tv6EXSqyZI.
Last accessed 6th Mar 2019Cinecom.net. (2018). 5 SOUND RECORDING
HACKS. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pTgSri7MAo . Last

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