The results here show that the majority of the people we asked in our questionnaire were 20-30, followed closely by 10-20 year olds.
This result indicated that most of the people we asked were males, which
will understandably sway the answers we get from them, but works to our
advantage because our film is aimed at a predominantly male audience.
The results here show that the majority of our audience are white Caucasians. With a larger amount of Asians and Middle Easterns than Africans.
The results here show that the majority of people we asked about films were either students at public school, university or working parents.
The resluts of this pie chart show that when we asked people about their favourite film genre the majority said that they enjoyed horror/thriller films, with drama following closely behind. This was a great result for us as our film is a crime thriller.
When we asked people how they normally watch a film, most answered saying they commonly watched films online, which was of no surprise. As a large number of the people we asked were working parents it was also of no surprise that they watched films on DVDs at home. Very few used LoveFilm, a popular film renting site and portable devices such as ipods.
Results from this pie chart indicate that most people learn about new and upcoming films from trailers, and on the Internet. Very few said they found them through newspaper's and magazine articles, implying that the Internet is becoming increasingly favoured over reading newspaper's and magazines, a lot of people now check the news and read articles online.
When we asked people what their favourite way of watching a trailer was we found the result was predominantly people watching them on you tube which again was of no surprise considering most of popular answers so far have been Internet based. No body said they saw trailers on DVDs, which was surprising considering a number of them were working parents who watched films on DVDs.
Half of the people we asked suggested that the main aspect they look for in a film was the entertainment factor. Next down from that was comedy, and then drama and intellectual stimulation, with originality holding the lowest amount of votes.
Results from this line chart show how half of the people we asked about the element most likely to attract and grab their attention towards a film was if there were big stars involved. As our film is very small budget this will not be an option for us. Reviews were also a key element of what attracts people to films.
Results from this bar graph imply that the majority of our audience say that the most annoying thing about a movie trailer is if it is unclear in regards to what the film is about and does not show the type of clips that will demonstrate the genre of the film.
The results of our questionnaire help us with the making of our film because they suggest to us what these age groups particularly like and want to see in a film and what aspects most attract them. When asking about trailers we noticed that a large amount of people said that a trailer being unclear is especially irritating. Giving too much away was also a problem, therefore we will aim to make a trailer very simple to understand without giving too much of the story away to please our target audience which is 10-30 in a broad spectrum but focusing more closely on the 18-25 year olds.
We have completed a number of various tasks. We have completed a trailer analysis where we have discovered what a trailer should include and the various information that would be relavant in a trailer. Some of this information includes Stars, director, genre, critics and release date. We found that many trailers will push the names of the stars, this is because stars in a film are able to bring an audience to see that particular film. This can be used a specific type of marketing. We also looked at how a trailer is targeted to specific audiences. The trailer that I personally studied was Silence of the Lambs. This genrally would have been aimed at about 25-45 year olds. Nevertheless there would have been an interest from older viewers. The reason for this may have been that there are some challenging and intricate conceptes behind the film and seen in the trailer. They are more advanced compared to a teenage thriller that may have been aimed at 15-20 year olds perhaps. An example of this may be Scream, a movie in which there are teens that are at a high school. Because there are teens in the movie, teenagers are able to relate to that. Therefore will be interested in the film, the producers will try to market to this age group for that reason.
What we can learn from this as a group is that our film would be aimed at probably midway in the two groups. There are some concepts that 'make you think' along with a thrilling plot that would bring suspense into the film. Our genre of the film would be thriller and horror, being that there is a focus on a killer and a murder.
We can see early on that the main character or the 'villain' is flickered in front of us. This makes the viewer instantly think 'What was that?'. Suspense is a powerful tool in thrillers because it creates tension and that is scary to the audience.
The fact that Dr. Hannibal Lector is at the end of the group of cells, symbolizing how dangerous he is and that it is almost as if it is the 'best 'till last'. At about 0.45 into the trailer we see the that there is a reflection in the glass in front of the female actor this is followed by the caption 'Don't let him get inside your head'. The narrator and the character talk about the new killer, we hear a screaming pig this is an eerie sound and is almost sickening and scary. The fact that in the trailer Hannibal is behind glass, this suggests that Hannibal is more dangerous. We can see in Hannibal's cell, there is very little for Hannibal to use, in addition his clothing is very basic with only a basic jump suit. There are a lot of close ups. These help the audience identify the characters and their reactions to the dialogue. Hannibal's tone is calm and collected. This is almost contrary to what we think a serial killer might be like. He rarely shouts and almost whispers what he says. There is also the dialogue, ' do you spook easily?' , where she responds 'not yet sir'. The next cut we see that there is the prison cell gate shut closed. She jumps slightly. This suggests that she may not get spooked, however Hannibal Lector is able to spook her.
There is also good use of sound within the trailer. We see that there is a constant synth humming. This constantly builds tension in throughout the trailer. When it stop we automatically think something is wrong or peculiar. The editor and sound designer would have collaborated to achieve this effect on the audience. In addition there is a loud and abrupt screaming of pigs it seems. This creates a scary effect.
The narration is almost contradictory to what the dialogue says. 'I'll help you catch him Clarese' and shortly after the dialogue says 'believe me you don't want Hannibal Lector inside your head'. This contradiction gives the viewer a insight into hannibals character. We also see this contradiction in the visuals. 'So rare to capture one alive' and a flash scene of someone supposedly being killed. These obvious contradictions can make the viewer feel uneasy because they identify that there is something wrong.
At the end of the trailer we are shown the title text, the 'silence' appearing in a blood like way morphing into text. This small hint also hints at us that there is blood in the movie clearly. The title text is bold in white and red, it is followed by the stars of the film. This is a common but effective thing to do in a trailer. It can make an audience watch he film because one of the actors is of their liking. It is then followed by the director and the producing company's.
The lighting within the trailer helps to create a dark theme throughout. This helps the audience identify what the movie will be like. The locations that the trailer was shot in were also dark or reflected a dark place. For example the criminal prison cells. And the the night time scenes.
The editing plays an important part in this trailer. With the flickering of of Hannibal's face throughout the trailer. This is like a startling effect that makes it seem shocking. The colour correction on the trailer is also fitting. Dark and grainy that highlights the brights bringing a contrast into the clip.
Representation -
The main character, Clarice Starling shown as a young agent who is keep to impress in her ranks. It is clear that she is keen to do well and solve a big case as this could get her promoted. We see that she is desperate to get her brake in the FBI and this case is her opportunity, however from the trailer that she needs help with this. Its clear that Clarice needs help from Hannibal. She seeks help from a criminal, this possibly further suggests her inexperience in the FBI. The criminal, Hannibal Lector is represented is a non aggressive light, almost calm and collected, seemingly thoughtful. The fact that Hannibal Lector is this calm and thoughtful personalty but is a serial killer is deceiving and cunning. This can make the audience feel uneasy about him.
