Demographic Overview

We began thinking quite early on about our target audience. The police/crime thriller genre has quite a specific demographic of adult males, but what else do we know about them? What do they eat, what music do they listen to? This brainstorm we've completed is our attempt at narrowing down the exact sort of person that our viewer will be.

The Pitch - Feedback

After handing our pitch in for review by our teacher, we got some useful feedback on what we need to focus on.

Now we know that we need to think more deeply about what our trailer will look like with regards to cinematography. Despite having details everywhere else we need to narrow down exactly what it will look like.

Genre Research

Institutional Context

We want our police/crime thriller trailer to look and feel as realistic as possible, so to get a good taste of what to do and what not to do we've had a look at the best crime films out there right now and the best films ever - as well as their IMDb rating and profits. These will give us some good ideas as to what ratings our genre usually gets.

IMDb Top Rated Crime-Thriller Feature Films:

1. The Dark Knight (2008) 9/10 (Action)
2. The Pulp Fiction (1994) 9/10 (Drama)
3. Inception (2010) 8.8/10 (Action/Mystery)
4. Gravity (2013) 8.8/10 (Sci-Fi/Drama) 
5. Goodfellas (1990) 8.8/10 (Drama)
6. Se7en (1995) 8.7/10 (Mystery)
7. The Silence of Lambs (1991) 8.7/10 (Drama)
8. The Usual Suspects (1995) 8.7/10 (Mystery)
9. Memento (2000) 8.6/10 (Mystery)

IMDb Highest Grossing Crime-Thriller Feature Films:

1. The Dark Knight (2008) $533,316,061 
2. The Dark Knight Rises (2012) $448,130,642 
3. Skyfall (2012) $304,360,277 
4. Inception (2010) $292,568,851 
5. The Beverly Hills Cop (1984) $234,760,500
6. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) $227,137,090
7. Sherlock Holmes (2009) $209,019,489
8. Batman Begins (2005) $205,343,774
9. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) $186,830,669
10. Oceans Eleven (2001) $183,405,771

The most popular Crime Thriller films (such as Inception and The Dark Knight) are distributed by Warner Bros. in association with Legendary Pictures. The Warner Bros. Pictures Group brings together the studio’s motion picture production, marketing and distribution operations into a single entity. Warner Bros. Pictures International is a global leader in the marketing and distribution of feature films, operating offices in more than 30 countries and releasing films in over 120 international territories, either directly to theatres or in conjunction with partner companies and co-ventures. The company produces and distributes a wide-ranging slate of some 18-22 films each year.
In 2012, the Warner Bros. Pictures Group grossed $4.3 billion at the worldwide box office ($1.66 billion domestic, $2.67 international) with both its domestic and international divisions crossing the billion-dollar mark for a 12th consecutive year.

Legendary Entertainment has co-produced 29 feature films. In addition, the company is also in the process of producing an additional four films and is developing various other projects. Of the 29 feature films produced, 28 have had theatrical releases and one has had a direct-to-video release. All films that were theatrically released were distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures (except for Watchmen which was distributed by both Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures) and the direct-to-video film was distributed by Warner Premiere. Note that in all cases the distributor or distributors are also co-producers. Also, in all cases the film listed is a work of Legendary Pictures, unless the film's name is followed by a subscript "E", indicating that Legendary East is the production company.

Within the last 10 years, it is evident that police-orientated plots have made a gradual move from films to TV series. Dedicated police/crime films are very rare – many current films are classified as ‘Crime-Thrillers’ and have minimal federal involvement. In the late 90s and early 2000s, police/crime films were quite popular, however, the protagonist was usually involved in the ‘under-cover’ unit of the authorities; therefore, the inclusion of law officials within the plot was declining. Current Crime-Thrillers such as ‘The Call’, ‘Tunnel Vision’ and ‘Single-shot’ have less police-oriented plots.

The Pitch

Group members:

Daniel, Iuri, Lizzie, Victor

Chosen genre:

Police/Crime, Thriller

Title of film:

Playing Judas

Outline of Ideas:

Tagline of film:

Think outside the law.

Basic plot synopsis:

Detective Alex Hudson has a new Chief Superintendent. When his niece, Katy, is kidnapped and he is not allowed to investigate the case, he has no choice but to go outside the law to ensure it is handled properly. Hudson finds credible evidence that incriminates a fellow colleague, Harry Shaw, but Chief Superintendent Adams is dismissive as she thinks it’s simply a personal vendetta between the two detectives.

What type of characterisation will you have?

Detective Alex Hudson: Good cop, nice guy. Loves to do his job and do his job properly.

Detective Harry Shaw: Stereotypical ‘bad cop’. Not afraid to hurt others to get to where he needs to be, and very good at his job. Everyone knows it.

Chief Superintendent Adams: Alpha female. New head of department, obviously knows what she’s doing and strict about her rules and regulations, but is untrusted by some others.

Katy: Little girl of 11-14, Detective Hudson’s niece. Looks sweet, unassuming, and gullible. Kidnapped for ransom, kicking the whole plot off.

Describe Mise En Scene to be used or any visual motifs?

We’ll need to have lots of police-related props and costumes, meaning police badges, guns and holsters, and suits. Luckily our police officers are detectives and so usually wear plainclothes, meaning we won’t have to rent or buy full police outfits, but the actors will have to wear suits. We will also need a car and a girl’s backpack to set the scene for the kidnapping.

What are your ideas about cinematography/photography?

Due to the nature of the genre, we’ll need to have lots of fast panning and tracking shots for the inevitable chase clips. We’ll have lots of close-ups to establish the main characters and emphasise the significance of things that would, in a long shot, go unnoticed. We’ll have a low-angle establishing shot of Scotland Yard near the beginning of the trailer, too, to let the audience know where they are and what the main setting is. This will also introduce the genre.

Conventions of trailers/posters/film magazines you plan to reinforce or reinvent?

Our film trailer will hold the most conventions of a police/crime, thriller film. We’ll have our story being told by voiceovers from various characters throughout the trailer, and music to accompany it that increases in volume and pace to build the trailer to a climax. We’ll also have lots of close-ups of the main characters and significant objects to draw attention to who the viewers should be paying attention to. There’ll be lots of past-paced editing, as usually seen in action-based trailers, and, at the end, we’ll try and make the title transition from the climax, as in other trailers such as Inception.

What resources will you need?

(include actors, props, costumes and settings)

We’ll need many props for our trailer in order to make the police theme feel realistic. We will have to acquire fake guns, holsters, and police badges, as well as a girl’s backpack (to mark the scene of the crime). We will need two actors to play the protagonist and antagonist, and one actress to play the Chief Superintendent. We’ll also need a Katy, a small girl, to get kidnapped. All of the police officers will have to wear suits, as, luckily, Detectives aren’t supposed to wear police uniforms, and the girl will have to wear some sort of uniform to make her age clear. We will need settings such as Scotland Yard and an office/police station interior to film the majority of the scenes at.

Justification of ideas in relation to genre and recognisable film influences, also what is your Unique Selling Point?

Our USP is our female Chief Superintendent. Little to no police/crime thriller films have female main characters and, although our main protagonist is not female, the most powerful protagonist by status is. She is the commander of the situation and she controls who goes where, much to the male protagonist’s contempt. Our case-oriented plot, however, is very typical of police/crime films, as is the police department setting.

Second Choice: Heist

Third Choice: Urban Drama

Trailer Analysis

In order to fully understand what makes a trailer a trailer, I've analysed this trailer of Sci-Fi film Ender's Game. I'm hoping it'll give me lots of clues as to what will make my trailer look more realistic. The trailer opens with a green screen from an American film rating website so viewers know immediately who the trailer (and, by extension, the film) is suitable for. The trailer opens with jolty, fast-paced action shots of fighter jets and gunshots accompanied by sounds of engines and machinery. This introduces the first theme of the film: war. Once this drops into black the voiceover begins, making it more obvious that the film is about war by the use of the words “strategies” and “weaknesses” and the interspersion between that and the engine noises. The next shot of the Earth brings forward the setting and begins to introduce the genre of the film, Sci-Fi. As the commanding voiceover continues, we see the first full face of the trailer, implying that it’s his voice. This puts him in the place of the commander and makes it clear that he will be a very important character. The short break and the Summit Entertainment film company logo create a moment of eerie quiet before the action happens. After this, the fast-paced editing continues with action shots and lots of fades to black between them. There are panning shots across skies and of the Earth, adding to the speed of the trailer even without the quick switches. The next shot lasts only a second, and the two metallic drum beats in the accompanying soundtrack are in time with the soldier’s steps on the stairs. It is strongly implied that these are the “new kind of soldier” in the voiceover.
As the trailer continues, the note that the strings in the soundtrack are playing rises in pitch, increasing the tension in the atmosphere. The voiceover continues describing the situation they are in, it ties in with the visuals again. As he says ,“One who doesn’t think the way we think,” we see a woman studying a holographic image of a brain. There is more correspondence between audio and visual in the next line, “Fear as we fear,” as the trailer shows a “new soldier” flying forwards on just a rope and spinning in mid air, displaying bravery as he supposedly completes a mission. This continues with the lines, “One the enemy,” where we see a different ship with less metal and more red – the implied enemy – and “would never expect.” After this there is a fast-forwarded zoom into the main protagonist’s face for the first time. This makes is clear to the audience who the most important person is.
Next comes the first subtitle: “Based on the worldwide best-seller,” informing the audience that it is inspired by a book and therefore widening their audience further. It is written in a silver metallic font, reinforcing the themes of war and spaceships, with a small flash of light behind it. The next few voices we hear aren’t designed to sound so much like voiceover, but rather the scenes cut into the trailer. The protagonist is told he “will be the last,” telling the viewers why he’s special and drawing attention to him. The next shot is of a rocket going up and the main character looking down on Earth from a ship. His grave face makes the audience question his loyalty to the cause at hand and whether or not he’s ready for his mission, thickening the plot further. This questioning is short-lived, however, as the next line we hear is the protagonist saying, “I’ll do everything I can to win this war,” highlighting his obedience. The subtitles return with the accreditations for the actors, because if an audience sees a good actor, they’ll know they’ll be seeing a good film.
Then more characters are introduced as we reach the climax of the trailer. The boy and the girl make eye contact and walk together, showing their friendship and unity. There is more relation between what we hear and what we see when the commander says he will be “remembered as a hero,” alongside showing a clip of the protagonist moving things and working with his hands and, possibly, his mind. This gives the illusion of superpowers and adds to his “hero” view. There is another increase in tempo and volume of the music along with an increase in the pace of the shots, speeding up as the film will. Various action scenes and space shots are cut together to add to the plot and reinforce the Sci-Fi and wartime themes. The tone of the music rises as the protagonist zooms in on a planet, piling the tension for his imminent “Now,” and the planet explodes into the title of the film, Ender’s Game, in the same font with the same beam of light behind it, this one a reminder of the light from the explosion.
Finally, there are more accreditations along with the director and actor names, along with a final release date and information on social networking links to keep viewers involved and informed. The trailer ends with the film’s website to give viewers a way of finding out more and keeping active with the film.

Website Analysis

One of the most effective forms of advertising to the masses is through the internet, and official film websites are incredibly good at reaching huge audiences. Featured is the official website of the recent Monsters University, the long-awaited sequel to Monsters Inc..

 The design style of this website is incredibly unique and entirely consuming. This film is a sequel (or, in this case, a prequel) and so recognition is very important for drawing in audiences. The gap between the first film and this second film was a shocking twelve years, and, because of the legend that is Monsters Inc., designers will have had to work to ensure that the second reaches the bar that the first set. The Monsters University website has kept the logo established in the first film – a blue “M” with eye in it – meaning the audience know exactly where they are. This website also corresponds to the themes present in the posters and trailers for the film, with lots of similar colours and images of the distinctive scenery and characters. These images, in that particular style, work with the logo to bring the viewer to the understanding of what the film is. The presentation of the film in this website is also very different to other film websites as instead of introducing viewers to the characters and plot from an external viewpoint, the Monsters University website makes the viewer feel like they are part of that world, or, perhaps, gives the exciting illusion that the fiction they’ve been watching might be a little bit real. This is especially effective when considering a main plot twist in the film where the characters have a clash with the human world. They do this by having the layout and writing style of a real university website with information about alumni, applying, clubs, and events. This makes the target audience of the website very clear: students.

The website entices its readers by creating the possibility that we are in this fantastical world as much as they are, and offers all of its student viewers a potential place in the world it’s set in. Despite this clear student audience, however, there are no links available to share it through social networking sites. This may be to keep up its appearance of being real, as having a Facebook or Pinterest logo may ruin the illusion of reality that has been so carefully set up. The balance between fact and fiction has been struck very cleverly with this website, because not only is the setting and background of the film all available in the form of a handy ‘university’ guide, but all of their university merchandise is available for purchase to further wrap the reader in their world. They even offer four-sleeved hoodies and fake options of having two collars or even up to six sleeves so buyers can even bring a little bit of monster back with them.