Genre Research Summary

The first feature on this page of my blog is the annotated video of the vow trailer. This video was made on movie maker and it is part of my build up of genre research towards the romance genre. The video plays ‘The Vow’ trailer through once and on specific scenes I have talked about either the use of; Camera Work, Editing, Mise En Scene and Sound .

I have also addressed the use of high key lighting which I have learnt connotes happiness which can represent the couples relationship in the trailer. This trailer uses strong mise en scene to represent the femininity and masculinity of the characters by having a wedding scene where the female is in a feminine dress and the male is in a suit.

The trailer also uses long scenes which captures the romance between them. These scenes are faded to the next scene with a soft transition fade which connotes femininity because of the gentle transition. This looks extremely effective and is conventional which is why I am using this in my own trailer.

This is an analysis of an ancillary example of a romantic film magazine. I have analysed the features; camera work, layout, mise en scene, font type and the route of the eye and positioning of the couple.

This magazine is a prime example of use of colours and house style to keep a feminine and romantic feel across the cover. The font type is sans serif which is unconventional for a romantic movie but it allows it to be flexible toward both genders.

Ancillary product analysis

This analysis shows me looking in depth at a product that I will have to produce for my own trailer and by analysing a successful magazine, I am able to take the research I have learnt and take this to enable me to create my own ancillary product in a similar way.

I am planning on naming my magazine ‘Premiere’ which is conventional for a ’film magazine’ and it is similar to this title ‘entertainment’. I also plan to use light pastel based house style colours to continue with the gentle feminine tone. I also want to produce a similar image to this one because the mid shot two shot really expresses the intimacy and romance.

Trailer shot analysisThis slide share word document I have screen

shot frames from ‘the Notebook’ trailer and have analysed them giving description on each shot. There are six different shots all together of my choice which I believe are most conventional for genre. I have looked particularly at camera and mise en scene and also editing as in some shots they have used a graphic match fade between each character to represent the romance and intimacy between them.

This analysis has allowed me to look specifically at separate frames of the trailer instead of the entire trailer and has enabled me to understand the specific use of mise en scene and camera work that produces successful outcomes in a romantic film trailer. The notebook is an extremely successful romantic film and this is why I have chosen to analyse a lot of this film in my genre research page of the blog.

Ancillary product AnalysisThis is another ancillary product analysis on a romantic film magazine. I chose this film magazine to analyse because of its layout and the picture that looks very effective. I have analysed this magazine so that I can look at this analysis when I am producing my own romantic film magazine.

I have looked at the image and in my analysis I have explored why this looks effective. Foe example; the love and hate triangle between these three characters causes an issue within the relationship of the two main characters and that is why they are positioned in this way, because the male in the middle is the catalyst.

When I produce my own ancillary product magazine I want to create a similar product to this twilight magazine. The image represents the issues within the relationship and the text and font are relevant to the genre. The colours stand out against one another and are conventional to the hybrid genre because the romance is dangerous and is based upon fantasy. I want to use a similar layout for my magazine as well.

Romantic film poster analysisWhen I create my own trailer I am going to have to produce an ancillary film poster for my trailer and so I had to research into what previous films have produced for their film posters. This is the official film poster for ‘Friends With Benefits’ which I decided to analyse. This power point covers the analytical features that have been used on this poster such as; the editing of the image such as the high key lighting and the key light between them which draws attention to the couple.

I have talked about the route of the eye and have analysed the optical and terminal areas. I have also studied the use of house style colours across the poster and the positioning of the models. As well as this I have written about the use of text and font and the positioning of the black line down the centre with the text along it. By analysing this poster it has given me an insight of how to plan my poster and to how the colour scheme, positioning, route of the eye etc. can all be used to produce a successful piece of work.

Content AnalysisThe content analysis was a word document consisting of columns including; shot no. shot type, shot length, scene no. and description. I based my content analysis on the trailer ‘The Lucky One’. This took a long time to complete but it was a huge insight into the detailed work of a trailer such as the length of each individual shot which allowed me to really study the length of the important scenes which highlight the romance between the couple etc.

By completing this content analysis, I was able to refer back to this and plan how long each scene of mine was going to be. For example, scene number 11 from this trailer, this is the scene where the couple meet for the first time and this is a particularly long scene switching to four different camera shots. This scene is important as it represents the first time they meet. I used this in my trailer as I think this is really symbolic in a romantic trailer as it reflects the beginning of the relationship.

Trailer AnalysisThe final analysis on my genre research page is the ‘Dear John’ trailer analysis which reflects a detailed understanding of the trailer and by looking so in depth at the; camera work, editing, and mise en scene really enabled me to learn a lot.

The ‘Dear John’ trailer is a successful contemporary film trailer which was very successful when released. The trailer is really reflective of the predicaments within the relationship and it uses the contrast of the strong admiration they have for each other to create an engaging final product. I think this is really effective and I am going to use this is my stimulus for my own trailer. The non-diegetic music over the trailer builds up as the trailer goes on which is mirrored by the use of particular scenes during the trailer. This is in order to produce a dramatic trailer and in return an emotional response from the audience by the end which will make the audience want to see the film.

Summary

Overall, I believe I have analysed the most successful contemporary romantic film trailers available and therefore I have allowed myself a clear understanding of the camera work, editing and mise en scene used to represent the genre. Additionally, I think I have learnt a lot about how to use conventions within my trailer. For example; the conventions of female and male- the stereotypical female appearance and vice versa. I think this creates a more effective and aesthetically pleasing trailer and therefore I want to use this within my own trailer.

I have also looked in detail at the length of each camera shot and the camera angles used to represent specific things such as when one character is attracted to another. This is really important as this is what enables the audience to feel the emotion and understand the plot of the trailer. I have also looked thoroughly at ancillary products such as film posters and film magazines which I have analysed and will use as stimulus for my own ancillary products. By looking at existing products, I have been able to identify conventions of form in order to make my products as successful as possible.