Focused Genre Research

Film Trailers - Drama

The genre I have chosen for my teaser trailer is Drama. I will attempt to conform to the typical drama codes and conventions, for

example, the setting will be dark and gloomy which is typical of a drama genre film trailer. The plot of the film will be dramatic throughout constantly building to a intense conclusion. Another convention of the drama genre is the Narrative Structure it has, which is in steps;

Exposition which is the introduction to the ‘normal world.’ The start of a story where the characters and setting are established. 1st Turning point is when the event or decision which kick-starts the main action of the story and the key Narrative Question is posed. 2nd Turning Point is when the story takes a new twist or is complicated in some way. Climax is the point of highest tension where the outcome of the story is decided. Coda: Tension subsides and the loose threads of the story are tied up. The ‘normal world’ is re-established. (How ever in very good well written dramas this does not occur, as in reality, when something starts and has changed they will have to deal with that change). This is all a change up from the normal equilibrium. Most Drama films won’t just be all dramatic, they usually include other

conventions from other genres such as, crime, comedy or Horror. This is what I will aim to achieve in my trailer, as it gives the drama genre of films a twist of something different for the audience that other genres of films don’t offer.

Real Time (2008)The Trailer starts with text being shown telling the audience a little about the background of the main character and furthermore, the plot of the film. The way the text is presented is clever as they revealed the text in a way that you would scratch of a scratch card, which all links with the plot of the film that the main character Andy likes to gamble.

The trailer uses different shots to create suspense for the film making the audience asking questions about the trailer and wondering about the outcome of this film. Shot types such as Close ups, Two-man shots and Over – the – shoulder shots and a gloomy setting create the suspense for this film making the audience believe this film will be a typical drama. These close-ups are key to drama films as it shows the expression on the characters faces showing the seriousness of the situation. Although this film is not only a drama but a Drama/Comedy and contains funny lines, which lightens the film from the situation that creates the drama.

…Real Time (2008)The main characters were introduced into the trailer earlier to give the audience a sense they know the characters by the end of the trailer and they would want to go to the cinema to find out the conclusion of these characters that they now believe know and have a concern for possibly.

The Actors in this film were also introduced by a long shot of the car they’re driving in with text above, expressing the gloomy situation they’re driving down. The Actors being Jay Baruchel and Randy Quaid.

The target audience of this film would be around the age of 16+ of both genders. The character of this target audience is for someone who can handle a dark drama and has the intelligence to keep up with all the twists and plots in this film. This film is also for people who follow these actors careers and enjoy the films they par-take in. The target audience wouldn’t have necessarily paid to have seen this film not only because it’s a very niche film but because the target audience maybe couldn’t afford to go see this film in the cinema and would rather watch it online illegally.

Mise-en-sceneThe setting of Real Time was a gloomy, almost deserted town. As the film was located in Canada there is patches of snow around giving the audience a sense of emotionless place to be which reflects the plot of the film of one man going to kill another as he didn’t pay the money he owed. The drama genre is meant to exhibit real life situations and real characters, the film Real Time does achieve this as ‘loan sharks’ and people owing money to them, this is a typically convention of the drama genre although a director will exaggerate the situation to make it even more exiting and emotional for the target audience.

SoundDrama film trailers tend to use very similar sort of non-diegetic soundtracks or scores. Starting out with a soft monotone sound so the suspense can build. While this is happening it softens for the diegetic dialogue to go over it, which is key to the drama genre. When the twist in the trailer appears the sound starts to speed up and become more high-pitched with several over instruments playing rather than just one, this increases the suspense of the film constantly building to a dramatic climax. This diegetic soundtrack gets the audience excited about the film and makes the ask questions about it, wanting to know what will happen.

The Production Company, awards and Film title are all shown through the duration of the trailer.

Good Neighbors (2010)The film Good Neighbors is a Drama but also combined with the thriller genre due to the plot and setting of the film. The trailer starts to set out the basics of the film early, settings, characters and the plot. The setting is very dark making the audience feel that this is a dark drama/thriller, which is what I intend to do for my teaser trailer. The setting also shows the type of location the film and shows how it is cold and gloomy resembling the film and the genre it portrays. This trailer uses a variety of shots, such as Close ups, Long shots, two-man shots, mid-shots and also high and low-angles.

…Good Neighbors (2010)The plot of Good Neighbors is that, Victor is new to Montreal and attempts to make friends with the wheelchair-bound Spencer and the cat-loving Louise, but everybody is on edge with a serial killer terrorizing the neighbourhood.

The actors that are in this film (Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire, Scott Speedman) have done many Drama films before and are starting to become recognised with the genre, so people will assume a film will be a drama if one of these actors are in the film. The Target audience for Good Neighbors is 17+ that could be for both genders, although this film is a very dark drama, which some females and males may not be able to cope with, there are scenes which lighten the mood with a romance between two of the characters which may appeal to the female audience. This film I believe though is targeted primarily at a male audience as the dark drama with a lot of twists and such a heavy plot would appeal to 17+ year old males. These people would be film goers that do enjoy thinking about a movie and are also quite intelligent to keep up with a complicated storyline.

Types of shotsThis trailer uses a variety of shots, such as Close ups, Long shots, two-man shots, mid-shots and also high and low-angles. The director has used close-ups to show the audience the characters facial expression of which it could be many so that the audience can gather the feeling of the character, and possibly share that feeling with the character in shock or horror.The use of Long-shots is to show the audience the general setting that the character is in, in this drama film it is typical of the setting as it is dark, gloomy and cold with piles of snow scattered about, giving the audience a sense of an unkind surrounding, which reflects the film well as there is a murderer out there and no-one can trust each other.

Magnolia pictures is a production company that produces many niche drama films.

The final clip is the film title so audiences watching will remember the film and want to go watch it.

Night Moves (2014)The trailer for Night Moves starts with a two characters driving down a dark long stretch of road, giving the audience a sense of the genre early as a drama due to the dark, gloomy setting which portrays most drama films. The trailer for this films starts off very slow moving and is primarily showing the audience the scenery, setting and characters of the film, working in non-diegetic dialogue and long shots to express the scenery. This films uses the Narrative structure.

There are a variety of shots used to create suspense for the drama of this film, shots such as Two-man shot, close-ups to certain items or facial expressions and also long shots and point-of-view shots. What is key to drama films, including this one, is the dialogue between characters, which I believe is what creates the most suspense during a drama film trailer as that is when you tend to find out about a twist in the film.

… Night Moves (2014)The plot of Night Moves is that Josh (Jesse Eisneberg) and Dena (Dakota Fanning), two young environmental activists, are planning a large scale act to force the world to think about what they're doing to the environment. They pull in Harmon (Peter Sarsgaard), a man with a sketchy past, to help them pull off their big plan. However, unforeseen consequences bring a whole host of guilt, paranoia and other problems, and their ultimate act will change themselves more than the world around them.

The actors weren’t revealed until later in the trailer this could be because they are all very recognisable therefore they didn’t need to be revealed until later on. All three actors have done a number of drama films so are possibly seen as drama actors and are associated with the genre.

The target audience for this film would be 17+, the reason I think this is because anyone younger wouldn’t fully understand the severity of the topic of how dams are destroying the environment and its wildlife. The target audience for this film would have a passion for the environment but, people who have a cause to fight for and protest for would appreciate this film, as that is the plot of the film.

Types of shotsClose-ups have been used on certain items that are key to the plot of the film and also that may give clues to twists in the film e.g. close up of the fake ID for the character meaning that they are up to something that could affect the movie. Close-ups have also been used to zoom in on facial expressions of the characters during a crucial scene to give an audience a sense of how the character feels and give an instruction to the audience of how they should be feeling at that point in the film, as drama should be emotional and very hard-hitting towards the audience.

A two-man shot has been used a lot in this film as it allows for the audience to also see the dialogue between two characters, which is useful for the audience as certain dialogue can come from certain characters so the audience think they know who will create the first turning point.

Mise-en-sceneThe majority of this trailer is set in darkness giving an eerie feel to the audience that something could happen at anytime.As the film is very directed to an environmentalist perspective the scenery is key as the beautiful scenery reminds the audience what these environmentalists are trying to save. The clothes worn by the three main characters are torn and tacky, which is what would be typical of three environmentalists who possibly wouldn’t be able to hold down a job as they are always fighting for the environment and may not want a job if it means destroying the environment they love so much and want to save.