Analysis of original and recut of 'The shining' trailers

The shining- official trailer

In the original trailer for the shining the editing makes it clear to the audience that the genre of the film is a horror.  They do this from the beginning of the trailer by starting off with a voice over as well as showing the setting of the film with an establishing shot. The trailer shows the film to be set in the middle of nowhere with no people around. The voice that is talking to the audience says that the main character seemed to be ‘completely normal’ however this could make the audience think otherwise. There is juxtaposition between what the voice is saying and the action on the screen. The trailer then shows the main character walking down the corridor of an empty house holding an axe. This shows a typical convention of a horror film.  The voice over is matched to non-linear narrative shots, which implies what is going to happen during the film. However this wouldn’t be as affective without the voice over as it is this that provides the hints.  As you get further through the trailer the music starts to change and becomes atmosphere becomes tense. This suggests that the genre starts to become more obvious as the conventions of a horror film start to become clearer. The trailer also shows the characters with axes, knifes and blood which are the typical icons of a horror.

In the recut version of The Shining they have firstly changed the name to just ‘shining’ this is because it makes it sound more positive and helps it to match the new genre of the trailer which is a family drama/ romance.  The music in the new trailer has been changed to an upbeat happy song to imply positivity and happiness within the film.  The voice over has been total rewritten to change the narrative and other subtle changes have also been made such as the voice talking in a completely new tone. This is done as it is in harmony with the music so that they can work together to create an overall positive feel of the trailer. The new trailer has purposely been made to show many moments of a father and sons loving relationship in order for it to fit the typical conventions of a family/romance film.  In the original trailer at 0.29 seconds and in the new trailer at 0.06 seconds the same shot of the main character in a brightly lit office is used. However the voice over of the second clip overrides the original genre even though the shots that are used are the same in both of the trailers.  In the original clip it shows a shot of ‘Murder’ written on the door in what looks to be blood, which is an iconic moment of the film. However in the recut version of the trailer they have edited the same scene however it makes it look like there is just a child innocently drawing.

Crime and Gangster film presentation

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this is a prezi presentation which shows the different conventions of crime and gangster films as well as some history and background knowledge.

film analysis- The Matrix

Opening-

The opening of the trailer you see a city skyline, which gives the overall view of where the film is going to be taken place.  At the beginning it also shows characters just doing everyday things that you would do on a normal life.  Throughout the opening of the trailer writing flashes up on the screen talking about normal life and different activities, however after about 35 seconds of the trailer the message changes saying that ‘ you live life as a salve’. This could suggest that there is going t be an unexpected twist within the film.  The film title does not appear till the very end of the within the last 3 seconds. This could be done to encourage the audience to watch the full trailer and by the end be enticed to know what the film is.  This trailer does not include any credits, as they have no characters that would really stand out to the audience or characters that they want to promote.  

The matrix trailer is a full 2 minutes and 30 seconds, which means that it is a full-length theatrical trailer. These trailers are often shown closer to the release date of the film as they show more footage of the film. This can entice audiences even more as it gives them more of an insight into the film and the plot.  From the trailer you can gather that the film is a sci-fi however people may also say that it involves elements of action and fantasy.

You can see from the trailer that it is sci-fi as it from the trailer it doesn’t look like it is set in the normal world. This is shown with the green text which is commonly associated with sci-fi that is shown in the trailer as well as them talking about the future. You can see this at 0.38 seconds into the trailer as the editing of the trailer shows things happening that cant actually happen in real life. Although it is mainly related to sci-fi people may also say that it is fantasy as it takes you to a new world and has an element of magic, escapism and wonder.  People may also say that is has an element of action as it involves scenes with weapons such as guns and fight scenes. 

During the trailer you can see the plot start to build up, and you start to get an idea of what may happen throughout the film. However the trailer doesn’t make it too obvious, as this makes more people intrigued in the plot therefore more people will want to watch it.  The trailer shows a man throughout his intense training living too separate lives. He seems to be in another world where t shows actions that a normal human would not be able to do.

The main character is also faced with a problem that he doesn’t really know who he is or his true purpose and identity. He is told that the world is not real and it has just been created to hide the truth from people. The trailer suggests that his purpose is to save the world from a secret or an unknown event.

Film Genre- information

Horror 

• ·       Tense music
• ·       Ability to manipulate audience
• ·       Gore/ jump scares
• ·       Jaws
• ·       Roots- literature (Frankenstein)
• ·       Silent films – universal films
• ·       Iconic psycho shower scene
• ·       1960’s Hitchcock- the shining (psychological)
• ·       Hybrid- comedy/teen/monster/slasher
• ·       The rocky horror picture show- combines horror, comedy and musical
• ·       Old horrors are now being remade to a better standard
•      Supernatural is now seen as scary

    Action and adventure 

• ·       Fast plots with excitement
• ·       Recognisable structure
• ·       Good vs. evil
• ·       Hero is usually male
• ·       Overcome odds
• ·       Characters work towards goals
• ·       Special effects
• ·       High budgets and large amounts of merchandise
• ·       Great train robbery- first action film
• ·       60’s James Bond style movies
• ·       80’s big Hollywood blockbusters
• ·       Fast and furious/ avengers/ James Bond
• ·       Include sub genres e.g. Mr and Mrs smith includes action, comedy and romance
• ·       2000’s females started to have bigger roles creating a wider appeal

Romantic comedy 

• Appeals to mainstream audience

·       Usually involves a relationship between a male and female character

·       Film progresses and the characters fall out and then fall in love

·       Usually has a happy ending

·       Witty jokes

·       Usually a mentor character

·       Funny best friend

·       Light hearted

·       History relates back to Shakespeare  ‘much ado about nothing’

·       First romantic comedy ‘ trouble in paradise‘

·       Iconic examples,’ breakfast at Tiffany’s’, ‘Pretty woman’

·       Popular genre

·       Not many changes in the genre over time

·       Usually all have a similar plot

·       A few films flip the main conventions such as ‘500 days of summer’ and ‘pitch perfect’

·       Deal with more serious issues within the film- making people more aware

·       Hybrid genre itself- often combined with tearjerker sub-genre as well as fantasy.