Task 4: Research in 6x Film Trailers

USP (Unique Selling Point)One of the USP of this film trailer is the two main actors which are shown.

The main two actors who play the two main characters within the film are – Simon Pegg & Nick Frost. Both are two famous British actors/comedians and are best known for their role in previous films such as: Hot Fuzz & The Worlds End. Meaning when fans of the film see both actors in the trailer, they are likely to be persuaded to watch this film.

Another of the film trailers USP is the way in which it connotes stereotypical ‘American Action Films’ but is located in a sleepy English village as the setting.

Sound

Music (Soundtrack) The soundtrack of the film trailer converts well to the genre of the film which is ‘Comedy Horror’. At the start of the trailer the music is tense, and try's to build suspense of what appears to be a ‘zombie’ walking. However the music quickly changes to a more quirky tone, converting to the comedy aspect which is put across in the trailer – with the “Zombie” actually being the character ‘Shaun’ who had just woken up.

As the narrative of the trailer progresses the quirky comedy comparison of humans to Zombies reflected in the music, turns to a more stereotypical horror soundtrack as real Zombies are introduced to the narrative – which connotes the fear factor of a horror film.

With the narrative introduced and the trailer reaching its climax, the music changes to a fast paced rock song, converting with a series of fast clips of the main characters fighting the ‘Zombies’. This energetic, action feel of the music towards the end of the trailer helps to attract the audiences attention.

Voiceover The voiceover in the trailer is not your typical ‘American’ blockbuster voiceover which sounds very dramatic and in actual fact is a ‘British’ Voiceover. This adds to the ‘British’ comedy vibe and goes with the tone of the trailer.

The voiceover is used to establish the setting & the main characters and asks various rhetorical questions which help gain the audiences attention and attract interest:

“Do you ever think that modern life is not for you?”

“Do you do the same dead end job everyday?”

“Is your love life dying on its feet?”

“Have you ever felt that your turning into a …. Zombie, maybe you’re not alone.”

The audience can relate to these questions which apply to every day life – giving the comedy aspect. However words such as ‘dead’, ‘dying’ & ‘zombie’ which are used in the voiceover link to the horror aspect of the film and create suspense and conjure fear.

Dialogue There is limited dialogue in this trailer from the main characters and most dialogue that is heard converts to the comedy side of the film trailer, with clips from the film providing the ‘horror’ aspect.

The two main parts of dialogue from the film which are used in the trailer to create the fear factor, are both from news reporters.

“With no one official prepared to comment, religious groups are calling it judgement day” – news reporter.

“It is vital that you stay in your homes, avoid all physical contact with assailants” – news reporter.

Words such as ‘Judgement day’ & ‘assailants’ will further engage the audience and make them want to find out more, whilst creating the fear factor.

Dialogue is one of the main ways comedy comes across in the film trailer and its through the main characters, Shaun & Ed. The trailer shows funny parts like below to give the audience a laugh and attract them to watch the film.

Ed: “Why have we go to go to Liz’s?”

Shaun: “Because I love her!”

Ed: “alright……gaaay”

Sound EffectsThe sound effects that have been used in this trailer are mainly used to help enforce genre conventions of horror and help to create a sense of fear and suspense – stereotypical of a horror film.

Within the trailer sound effects have been used for things such as the sound of Zombies and the sound of hitting them over the head. The use of these sound effects emphasize the generic conventions of horror and help to create fear within in the narrative.

Sound effects were also used at the start of the film trailer when ‘Shaun’ was getting ready for work, for things such as: flushing of the toilet, brushing teeth, spreading jam on toast and making a cup of tea. The sound of these basic day to day tasks, which the audience can relate to and the fact that are emphasised creates a sense of humour – linking to the comedy side of the film.

Editing

PaceThe pace of the trailer is relatively slow at the start, this connotes conventions of a zombie, who stereotypically are slow & stupid and this is what the trailer is trying to get across, that the characters in the film act like zombies in day to day life – linking to the films narrative and adding to the comedy aspect. The slow pace also helps to establish the setting of the film and introduce the characters.

The fast paced elements of the trailer early on are a series of shots showing simple everyday tasks such as: flushing the toilet, brushing teeth and getting ready for work – connoting a busy yet repetitive lifestyle for one of the main characters ‘Shaun’.

The pace of the trailer picks up as soon as the first Zombie enters the trailer – this connotes and represents the fear factor of the film. It also helps to engage the audience and keep them interested and leaves a lasting impression to watch the film.

TransitionsThe main transitions that are used within the film trailer are – fade, cut and wipe. At the start of the trailer a fade transition is used, which is a typical convention of a horror film trailer. The transition begins after the ‘universal logo’ showing what appears to be a ‘Zombie’ but is actually one of the main characters ‘Shaun’. The black fade out connotes mystery & fear and helps to build tension and suspense – linking to the sub genre of the film, horror.

After, several cut transitions are used to show different clips of everyday life for one of the main characters ‘Shaun’. These series of transitions help to represent ‘Shaun’s’ repetitive life which gives him attributes of a zombie – giving the comedy aspect.

At the climax of the trailer and towards the end cut transitions have been used to put fast intensified clips from the film together. Mainly the main characters fighting & trying to escape the zombies. This helps to sell the movie and keep the audience really engaged in the trailer so that they want to watch the actual film. Fast cut transitions also help to build suspense, typical in horror films.

Special EffectsAfter doing research into the Background of ‘Shaun of the dead’ I have found that it was a low budget film and therefore not much ‘Special Effects’ have been used.

However towards the very end of the trailer there is a clip of Shaun & Ed singing in tune with a ‘zombie’ - the smoke behind it will be coming from a ‘smoke machine’ and helps to create a sense of mystery and fear with the contrasting shadow of the ‘zombie – it also helps to make the Zombie stand out and leave the audience with a vivid image.

Credits & Intertitles

Opening Credits

Before the actual trailer starts the studio production logo is shown, this is a typical convention of all trailers and is a way of promoting the film. ‘Universal Studios’ is a worldwide famous movie studio and are used for thousands of films such as ‘Ted’ ‘Johnny English’ and ‘The Bourne Legacy’. When the audience see this it helps to persuade them to watch the film when they know a worldwide studio production company is behind ‘Shaun of the Dead’.

Intertitles

IntertitlesThe Intertitles start in the middle of the film trailer when the climax of the narrative is being introduced to the audience. They help to build suspense and fear typical of horror trailers. The main background colour of the Intertitles is black with white text in block capitals placed on top, with the letters looking like they have blood stains on them – these two colours are binary opposites and help to draw attention. The colour black is typical of horror trailers because as a colour it connotes ‘death’ and ‘fear’ and helps to make the white text stand out.

Looking at the screenshots of the four Intertitles that are used on the previous slide – the background of each Intertitles slowly changes. The background of the first Intertitle starts purely with a solid black colour and on the other intertitles a light flickers. Then on intertitle 4 it is clear that the text is placed on wall with what appears to be bloodstains – this creates fear amongst the audience and a sense of mystery – typical horror convention.

Closing Credits

Closing CreditsIn the closing credits of the film, the stereotypical conventions of a trailer are shown. Firstly ‘coming soon’ is shown, suggesting that the film hasn’t yet got a release date which means the audience will have look out for the movie.

Second credit is given to Actors/Actresses/Producers/Directors etc. – which may further persuade the audience to watch the film if they see someone that was involved in another successful film.

Lastly the address to the films website is shown at the very end of the trailer – this is a type of marketing and further promoting the film – typical convention of film trailers.

Camera Shots & Camera Angles

Camera ShotsThe main type of camera shots that are used in this film trailer are mid-shots and close ups and this is because as one of the sub genres of the film is horror – it’s important that the audience see the facial expressions of the characters to project fear.

At the start of the trailer a ‘close-up’ is used to show feet walking like a ‘zombie’ which then changes to a ‘close-up’ of ‘Shaun’ and his face – who is one of the main characters. This type of shot is really effective so early on in the trailer because it portrays both sub genres of the film – comedy & horror and helps to identify the genre of the film to the audience.

As the plot of the film is introduced in the film trailer, wide shots and mid shots are used to show the zombies – which shows the scale of the narrative the characters have to overcome. Close up shots are used in line with this to further create fear and suspense, such as a close up of a door handle being twisted and turned; something which is typical in horror films.

Camera Shots ContinuedOnce the plot of the film has been introduced in the film trailer, there are more wide shots used in order to further establish the setting and reveal a bit more of what the film is about. There are wide-shots used to show the main characters fighting & escaping from the ‘zombies’ to show that the film has a lot of action – used to persuade the audience to watch the film.

There is also the use of a cutaway in the last clip of the trailer showing Shaun standing at a door – but the audience can see 3 zombies walking towards him. This shot quickly connotes that ‘Shaun’ is the main character of the film who is fighting the ‘zombies’. The shot also goes with Vladimir Propp’s theory which suggest that’s every narrative has a ‘hero, villain’ and ‘Shaun’ in this clip is being represented as the ‘hero’.

Camera AnglesThe main type of camera angles that I can see have been used in this trailer are ‘Eye-level’ angle & ‘high’ and ‘low angle’.

Eye-level angle has been used to show the expressions of the main characters – which is mainly fear as it’s a horror film. However the use of this angle also means the audience feel they are able to relate to the characters seen in the trailer which may persuade them to watch the actual film. It also suggest that the characters are on a “level playing field” and are part of a group – which they are.

Towards the end of the trailer there is a great example of a clip using both high & low camera angles. Two of the main characters ‘Shaun’ & ‘Ed’ are sitting on the sofa when a ‘zombie’ enters the room. They are shown using a high camera angle representing them as vulnerable characters. The zombie however is shown using a low camera angle using the fear factor to make it seem more powerful – typical structure in a horror film.

Mise En Scene

LightingThe lighting at the start of the trailer is relatively light as the main ‘character’ Shaun is being introduced – linking in with the quirky comedic feel of the voiceover.

However when ‘Zombies’ are introduced to the trailer the lighting goes dark in order to connote a sense of fear & terror typical of horror film trailers.

A great example of lighting used to create fear in this trailer is in the pub when ‘Shaun’ & ‘Ed’ look up at the window. Lighting has been used to create a shadow of what looks like a ‘zombie’ to create fear, and keeps the audience engaged and guessing.

Another great example is when ‘Shaun’ & ‘Ed’ are sitting on a sofa when a ‘Zombie’ walks into the room but the audience get to see a shadow on the wall first – which creates suspense and fear amongst the audience.

Costume & MakeupThe white shirt, tie & badge connote that ‘Shaun’ is just an everyday ‘working’ man and is a character that the audience will be able to relate to. The comedy comes from his costume which represents him as the ‘unlikely’ hero.

The ‘Zombies’ are made to look very realistic through the use of ‘make up’. They have stereotypical pure white eyes and are covered in blood and cuts & gashes all which represents them as the ‘villain’ within this narrative and the character which brings the fear & terror. There costume of ‘ordinary clothes’ also makes them more ‘striking’ to the audience.

PropsSome of the most notable props that are seen in this trailer add to the comedy side of the film.

In one of the clips ‘Shuan’ & ‘Ed’ are seen chucking Vinyl records at two zombies in order to kill them by aiming for their heads. This is a very unusual and somewhat funny object/prop to be using to kill a ‘Zombie’ which adds to the comedy side of the film and will make the audience laugh.

Stereotypical props are also used such as: baseball bats and a shovel – this adds to the gory ‘horror’ side of blood and killing.

Another ‘prop’ seen in the trailer which adds to the sub genre of the film ‘comedy’ is a wind up camera. ‘Ed’ is seen using it when ‘Shaun’ is being attacked by one of the ‘Zombies’ which agains will make the audience laugh. Overall ‘props’ within the trailer have been used to create a sense of humour.

Location

The location of the trailer somewhat subverts to the genre conventions of horror and is based in a ‘sleepy’ village in England. The fact its set in a village adds to the comedy side of the film, because its not somewhere the audience expect a ‘zombie’ invasion to take place.

There are various clips of the main character ‘Shaun’ at different places such as his work, girlfriends house and on the bus and the mood of these clips is very ‘calm’ & ‘sleepy’ and the location is represented as somewhere where nothing really happens – making the location even more unusual.