Theorys - Linked back to own trailer

Blumer and Katz - Uses and gratifications theory. There are 4 uses and gratifications and they are

• Diversion - Which is the entertainment pleasure that the audience get from the programme.
In my trailer diversion was used when the character Millie falls over the banana skin infront of Jack, this is funny for the audience as they know they she has just fallen over and embarrased herself in front of him.
• Surveillance - All of the recent news stories and articles.
In my own trailer teenagers are shown as being bitchy and arrogant, this represents what some teenagers now a days are like as they are growing up.
• Personal Identity - Something that you can relate to as an audience for example the characters or the situations that are happening within the programme.
The relationship narrative of my storyline between the characters Millie and Jack is a very stereotypical one, Millie (the new girl) falls for Jack (the most popular boy in school). She tells him that she likes him and he doesn't know how to respond so he doesnt which upsets Millie, they dont talk for a few weeks, then Jack goes after Millie at a party to express his feelings for her, however she is with another boy, they fight and it ends up with Millie and Jack leaving together. They go off and talk then, they then fall in love. This is relatble for our target audience as they may have gone through similar experiences themselves.
• Personal Relationships - Social, for example discussing programmes with friends

Barthes theory - Barthes believed that all stories and films included certain codes, these codes are enigma codes and action codes. His theory was that an enigma code was a clue towards something that is going to happen and an action code is something that tells you what is going to happen next in the story. The enigma code in my own film is the uncertainty of Jack will pick to go out with, with all of the girls after him and trying to win him over it.  

Levi Strauss - His theory was binary opposition, for example good vs bad, old vs young and urban and rural. He believed that the word did not depend on the direct meaning of them, but by our understanding of the word and its opposite. Which he knew as binary opposition.

Stuart Hall - 
focused on the audience positioning and the interpretation of media texts from different social groups. His theory was that there is three ways in which we read texts. Dominant/preferred reading, negotiated reading and oppositional reading. Dominant/preferred reading means that the audience will read the text in the way that the author wanted them to. Negotiated reading means that the audience or reader will partially believe the code but they may change it slightly to reflect their own interests and experiences. Oppositional reading means that the audiences social position will put them in a position where they are in an opposite relation to the dominant code.
Vladmir Propp - The Villain - Charlotte, the popular female character. Tries to prevent Millie from speaking to Jack.

The Hero - Jack, as he tries to rebuild the connection between himself and Millie after he realises that he messed up before.

The Donor - The character Jack when he goes to look for Millie to tell her how he really feels towards her.

The Helper - The character Ben would be known as the 'helper' in my film, he is good friends with Jack all the way through until the very end of the film where the pair fight over Millie.

The Princess/Reward - Millie, the new girl within the school.

The Despatcher -In my own film there isn't really anyone that sets Millie off to try and get Jack's attention and likewise there isn't really anyone that sets Jack off to try and get Millie Back at the end of the film. If there was to be a despatcher it would be Jack as he goes after Millie when she goes to the party to tell her how he feels.

The False Hero - Ben, the boy that Millie goes to the party with. Tries to convince Millie to go out with him rather than Jack.

Tzvetan Todorov - Equilibrium - All of the girls around school love Jack, Charlotte(the popular female) sets her mind on going out with Jack and also going to prom with him. Disruption - A new girl named Millie moves to the school, Millie notices Jack and begins to realise who he is and she falls for him. The pair then get put together in a group to work on a science project. Reaction to the Disruption - Millie tells Jack that she really likes him, Jack doesn't know how to react as he thought that they were just good friends. This leads to Millie ignoring Jack and hiding from him for a few weeks. Attempt to Repair - After finally realising that he does like her back Jack goes to talk to Millie, however she has already gone to a party with Ben. Jack then goes to find Millie to express how he feels towards her. Jack finds Millie with Ben and then a fight breaks out between Jack and Ben. Millie then decides to leave with Jack so that they can talk. New Equilibrium - Jack and Millie express how they feel towards each other and decide to start going out.

Propp and Todorov

Vladimir Propp was a russian theorist who analysed folk stories. He argued that whatever surface differences there might be in stories, it was possible to group together all characters into eight characters roles. The eight groups that he believed characters could be sorted into were the following;

• The Villain - Who is known to be the character that tries to prevent the 'hero' from reaching their target or goals.
• The Hero - Commonly known as the main character within the film, will set out on a quest/mission. Usually in an attempt to save someone or something.
• The donor - Is the character that provides an essential object within the film that helps to reveal things that the audience may not know about.
• The Helper - Character that is with the 'hero' throughout the film, helps the hero along the way and sticks by them.
• The Princess - This role could be represented in various different ways, the character could literally be a princess, for example like Maid Marian in Robin Hood. However the princess could also be the prize for the hero at the end of his quest/mission, or she could be the object of the villains bad deeds.
• The father of the princess - Father of the princess within the film who presents the hero with his reward at the end of his quest.
• The despatcher - This is the character that sets the hero on his quest at the beginning of the film.
• The false hero - The character that tries to prevent the hero from completing his quest by attempting to divert him away from his task. 

 I have used Propp's theory and applied it to the characters within the film Shrek and these are the roles that i have given to the characters.
The Hero of the film is Shrek. This is because it is quest to try and find out why the fairytale creatures are illegally camping outside of the swamp.

The Villain of the film is Lord Farquaad because it was him that sent the fairytale creatures to the swamp. Lord Farquaad then sends Shrek to save the princess from the castle, promising him a reward of his swamp back.

The Donor of the film is not a specific character however it is a magical dragon who prevents the wedding of Farquaard and Fiona when Shrek realises that he is in love with Fiona and that she is an ogre aswell. 

The Helper of the film is Donkey who sticks by Shrek and supports him throughout the duration of his quest.

The princess of the film is Fiona who is saved by Shrek, who she then believes will be her prince. However Shrek tells her that Farquaad is to be her prince.

The father of the princess is Fiona's father who suggests that Fiona should marry Farquaad rather than Shrek.

The despatcher of the film is Farquaad as he is the one who sets Shrek off on a quest to save the princess Fiona.

The false hero is also Farquaad. He earned the princess although he sent Shrek off to save her rather than him going to save her. However Shrek and Fiona fall in love.


The next theory that I have looked at is Tzvetan Todorov's theory on narrative. 

Todorov believed that all narratives, eg; books, films, plays etc.. have 5 main stages in them. These 5 stages are;

• An Equilibrium - Story begins, shows the normal life of the characters in the story
• A disruption to the story, this could be an event that changes something in the storyline.
• A recognition that the disruption has taken place.
• An attempt to repair the disruption, someone trying to sort out the situation in the story.
• A new equilibrium - a new storyline begins, alternatively the old storyline could go back to normal after the disruption has been resolved. 

  

Illuminati Film Poster



Illuminati Film Trailer

This is the trailer for our film 'Illuminati'

Film Trailer Conventions

Chariots of Fire: The genre of this film is a documentry/drama type film, that is filmed in a reality type way.The target audience for this film is between the ages of 40-60, middle aged adults, I thought this due to the fact of the age of the people that are shown within the trailer. Also the slow pace of the trailer could relate back to the age of the characters. The conventions that are used within this trailer are;

• "Winner of 4 academy awards", "5 Star Rating From Empire" - Awards won and ratings from film magazines,shows the success that the film has had.
• Transitions used to connote the slow pace of the trailer and also it divides the images so that we only see small clips from the film. What this also does is allows the producer to be able to show the film but in a non chronological order so that the main storyline of the film is not given away.
• Intertitles are used, the writing is white on a black background which again makes it clearer for the audience to see and it will also allow them to focus on one thing at a time rather than trying to look at lots of names appearing all at once.
• There is a billing block used at the end of the trailerm this displays some of the mian actors and actress' names. It also displays the production companies, the producer and the directors names.
• Most trailers include a voiceover or dialogue from the films.The stereotypical voice that is used in voiceovers is a deep, american male.
• Trailers will also have a USP within them, for example the USP of the trailer for Chariots of Fire is the soundtrack of the film, this is the USP because it is known globally and recognised from the original film.

Skyfall: The genre of the film is action. The target audience for Skyfall ranges from 15-50, this is because of the legacy of the other James Bond film that were produced before most of the younger audiences today were born meaning that the adults will also recognise this legacy and therefore be interested in the latest part of the sequel. The trailer for Skyfall includes the following conventions;

• Transitions such as fade to blacks, this is done to again shows small sections of the film without giving away themain storylines and focuses of the film.
• One thing that was easily noticeable within this trailer was that the music that was playing was in sync with the images that were appearing on the screen. For example when they're was a key part of the film appearing such as car crashes or gun fights the music would drop and become louder and deeper building up suspense for the audience watching.
• There was dialogue from the film used within the trailer. This was used at the beginning of the trailer,it began with Bond being interviewed and asked questions which he has to respond to with the first word he thought of. This is important as the last thing that it said to him is 'Skyfall'. Bond hesitates and then replies with the word 'Done' Which signals to the audience that this is a key part of this film.
• The USP of the film is the iconic '007' logo and the name 'James Bond'. This again relates back to the legacy of the James Bond sequel.

Diary Of a Wimpey Kid - Dog Days: The genre of this film is a documentry/comedy type. It follows the lifes of a group of young boys as they grow up and experience new things a long the way. The target audience for this film is between the ages of 8-14 due to the storyline focusing mainly on the younger children, however it may also be watched by an older target audience due to the comedy within it. The following are the conventions that are included in the trailer for the film;

• There is a voiceover used in the trailer, this voiceover descirbes small bits of the boys lives and things that they do each day. The voice that we can hear is a middle aged, american male voice, which is very stereotypical of voiceovers.
• A different technique that is also used in this trailer is that of the introduction of the characters, in most film trailers now a days we see many main characters but we do not meet them or find anything out about them until the final film product is released. What this technique does is allows us as an audience to be able to learn about the characters and what sort of people they are. This also links in with the books of the films which are released before the film itself.
• The introduction of the characters makes them recogniseable to the audience aswell which can help with further film advertisements as they will know who that character is and what they are like within the film.
• The USP of this film trailer is the cartoon characters that we see at the beginning of the clip. This is because they relate back to the books of the film therefore meaning that the audience will be able to easily recognisethem and think of the film.

The Amazing Spider-Man; The genre of this film is action/adventure. The storyline of the film is based on the life of character 'Peter Parker' who is also Spiderman, it follows his life and his quest to find out information on his father. The target audience for this film is between the ages of 10-14 year olds. The conventions that are used within the trailer for 'The Amazing Spider-Man' are the following;

• A narration voiceover is used, this voiceover