To get a better idea of the audience who would watch our film as well as to establish a definitive genre and storyline for our film, I did some research into other films with a similar genre and narrative for inspiration.
As we wanted to primarily focus on the drama genre however add elements of sci-fi to make our film stand out, I looked at other films that combined these two. Similarly to our idea, a lot of these films combine the dystopia/utopian element which is the plot we were following.
1. Never Let Me Go (2010)
- Drama / Sci-fi / Romance
- 12A
- Budget: $15,000,000
- Gross Box Office : £1,473,603 (UK)
The diagram to right is taken from IMDB and shows the user ratings for the film. The film score a weighted mean of 7.2/10 and the data shows that the best response was from females aged under 18.
The IMDB user report for The Host shows that the best response for this film was once again females under 18. The next best response was then from females aged 18-29.
From this we can see that the typical audience for these types of films seem to be females aged under 18. Therefore I was able to gather a better understanding of the target audience for our film; we will be aiming our product at, generally, a young female audience from the ages of 14-20.
A trailer is a product that is used to advertise and promote a film to a potential audience. When looking at film trailers there are some conventions that we expect to see in a successful trailer such as;
Sound- Music in trailers are key to feature film trailers, giving the audience a sense of the mood, pace and genre of the film as a whole, combined with moving image can create a variety of atmospheres.
Voice over - A voice over can be used to tell the story and aid the audience understanding of the action on screen . However this has become a less common feature in trailers over the years.
Short clips - The trailer consists of short clips edited using jump cuts, these sequence of clips show fragments of the whole plot not just setting the scene like an opening sequence. These clips are not always in chronological order allowing the audience to be unaware of the whole story line but understanding what the film is about, the trailer should make the audience want to find out what actually happens in the film rather than get everything from the trailer.
Production company logo - Production company logos can draw in audiences because of their reputation. For example Disney is known for making good quality family films that can be trusted to be worth viewing. A production company logo may also give an indication to the genre of the film from association, such as Film4 you would expect a gritty social realism film. The logo can also indicate the genre of the film by being adapted. Such as in the Harry Potter films the Warner Brothers logo was adapted.
Text - Depending on the film, there are a variety of levels of text used, some using the minimum of film title and release date and others stretching to names of the main cast, especially if this will actor will attract a larger audience, or even on screen text that breaks down the plot for the viewer. If the director is known for success in other films, their name may appear in the trailer, in some cases it is presented as 'the director of'
Character Introduction - In the trailer the main characters are introduced, the audience begins to learn their relevance to the story and relationship with others
Editing - In trailers editing is mostly fast paced to allow a large amount of clips to be included in the trailer and show off the film, however a common technique is beginning with longer clips to build suspense and then use short clips
Social Conventions- A new convention in trailers is that we are starting to see links to social networks and even hashtags that fans can use to talk about the film, these are often in the hope that many people will use the hashtag and promote the film to their social media followers.
In trailers, conventions are usually typical to the genre so you would expect to see different conventions from each. By recognizing these conventions the audience can understand the genre of the film.
The importance of a good trailer being able to convey to the audience the mood of the film and what it will be about, this can be seen with this fan made trailer where The Harry Potter series is portrayed as a Teen Comedy, this has been achieved simply by a change in music and editing and the selection of the clips used.
In a trailer we expect to be told why we should watch the film, and especially why it is worth paying the money to see it in the cinema when it is so easy to access films for free online. This is why Trailers are so important as part of the promotion of a film, due to the rise in piracy, trailers need to work harder to make an audience want to watch the film in a cinema rather than the comfort of their own home.
Hanna is probably one of the youngest female protagonists and is quite an unexpected character. 15 years old, she lives in rural northern Finland with her father an ex-CIA operative. Her father knows a potentially dangerous secret that cannot be revealed to the public and has been training Hanna in target shooting and hand-to-hand combat since she was two to become a skilled assassin. Both being hunted by a CIA officer Hanna most venture on her own to kill the officer and reunite with her father. She is quick thinking, skilled in physical combat and can retain encyclopedic knowledge.
2. Miss Congeniality -
Although a comedy action film, Gracie Hart as Miss Congeniality sets the role for strong women working as F.B.I agents. She goes undercover as a beauty pageant contestant and proves that she is smart and physically strong and not afraid to break the rules for the greater good. When the rest of her team abandon the case she stays undercover risking her job because she believes their is still a potential threat. At first, she comes across as boisterous, independent and very unladylike however as the film goes on we are able to see a more caring side to her character which makes her more warming to the audience.
3. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo -
Lisbeth Salander, a computer hacker in the film, portrays a slightly more unconventional role and perhaps wouldn't be associated with the typical strong female role. The film entails her being enlisted to help journalist Mikael Blomkvist's to solve the disappearance of a woman forty years prior. Her character, associated with a 'gothic' category, shows many more dimensions to her as the film develops from her diagnosed mental incompetency, naivety, intelligence, vulnerability but vengeful personality.
4. The Hunger Games
Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence, from one of the opening scenes we know is a brave character. She volunteers to take her sisters place in the arena, where she will have to fight to the death amongst the other competitors. This character would never have been initially considered to win the games although her volunteering does make her stand out. Her bravery throughout the games and quick thinking allows her to stay alive through the games and the love for her family keep her going making her a strong figure.
5. Salt
Evelyn Salt, played by Angelina Jolie, is a secret agent who is being set up as a Russian spy. Her character goes rogue to find out who is setting her up, even pretending at one point to be the spy she is made out to be to get further information. She is a strong personality, quick thinking and good in physical combat and her actions make the audience question her true identity at times, such as when she nearly kill the American president however later she explains that if she had want to kill him she would have which makes her a complex character, playing a double agent role
Often when a female is the lead role in the film, they often have something distinguishing about their appearance that makes them memorable. In the examples above, Hanna's extremely blonde hair, Gracie's Hart transformation into a beauty pageant contestant, Salander's gothic edge, Katniss's braid and Salt's dyed jet black hair. Therefore I will consider this when casting for my film and how the character should look in the opening scene to make them memorable.
The U symbol stands for Universal. A U film should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over. However, it is impossible to predict what might upset a particular child, especially at this lower end of the category range.
PG stands for Parental Guidance. This means a film is suitable for general viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. A PG film should not unsettle a child aged around eight or older. Parents should consider whether the content may upset younger, or more sensitive, children
Films classified 12A and video works classified 12 contain material that is not generally suitable for children aged under 12. No one younger than 12 may see a 12A film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult. Adults planning to take a child under 12 to view a 12A film should consider whether the film is suitable for that child. To help them decide, we recommend that they check the BBFC insight for that film in advance.
No-one under 15 is allowed to see a 15 film at the cinema or buy/rent a 15 rated video. 15 rated works are not suitable for children under 15 years of age.
Films rated 18 are for adults. No-one under 18 is allowed to see an 18 film at the cinema or buy / rent an 18 rated video. No 18 rated works are suitable for children.
Taken directly from http://www.bbfc.co.uk/
This has allowed me to see the requirements of what makes a film a certain age certification to give me an understanding of what age classification my film would fit into.
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