Reflection from the BFI trip
The trip to the BFI which took place on the 5th of February gave me a detailed insight about posters and trailers.
We looked at a range of trailers and looked at key features in a trailer by commenting on the mes-en scene, sound, camera shots and the way editing was used in trailers, one of the trailers we collectively looked at was Frank audience members were required to comment on the various features such as the colours used alongside the type of sound, pitch and tone of the sounds used that made it effective and catchy. One feature of trailers that is very important is the continuity editing- the fast paced and montage of shots that are placed together in a rapid motion are very important to film trailers. We also looked at how trailers appeal to specific target audiences for example, we looked at The In-between 2 and how all the scenes induced humour to appeal to it's existing target audience.
We also looked posters and what makes a good and bad poster, commenting on the negative parts of a poster we were aware of what not to do which helped us keep a good focus on what we should include in a poster. We analysed various posters such as The Queen, and Submarine. I learnt that depneding on the type of story that iis being told and sold the types of colours, composition of subjetcs on a poster is vital. The fact that in the poster The Queen- the colours red, white and bloye werer used connote that the story will be about British history and the monarchy, I was able to point out specific techniques used by the editor- the colours used on the quotes, author and title were in sync with the picture of the Queen- started off as grey, (Queen's hair) then blue (her eyes) and then red (her lips) this is an effective way of editing as it's stylistic and has a unique look to it.
I learnt that the use of colours in a horror poster is often dark with low-key lighting, there are simple and minimal photography.
During the Q&A with guest speaker Hannah, who creates advertising products for various block buster films. One of the main things that caught my eye, was when she was asked why posters appeal to the second generation, her answer was thought provoking, she believes that posters are typical for thos who enjoy the art of photography and appreciate the traditional methods of marketing than our (21st) generation who prefer to watch and listen to trailers and enjoy getting a thrill off of the visual medium. Also, when asked about the conventions of male voice overs- Hannah said that there reason why there isn't really a shift in the male voice overs and the reason it stays as a convention is because it's something that is a cultural norm for film makers also a shift in the paradigm will not be as appealing to conventional audiences, she does however, hope to see a change in this and wants to hear more female voice overs in trailers!
One of the things that I will defiantly take away from this experience is the ways in which I chose to position my poster, the colours I use and the composition of all my items on the poster, also I will make sure that when I am producing my own trailer I use continuity editing and a range of sounds to make sure I meet my audience expectations. Also, I may chose to challenge the convention a female voice overs on trailers by using a female voice over.
