Semiotics using the two magazine cover

Comparison of Harry Potter Empire Covers

There are many differences about these two covers. Firstly a noticeable difference is that in the cover on the right the characters are in costume this therefore has the connotation that the story is about the movie. However on the cover on the right the characters are not in costume this gives the connotation to the reader that the story would be an interview in the perspective of the actors/actress based on their view of the up coming movie- or its a story about them as celebrities.

Secondly you can notice the distinctive colour scheme that "Empire" use. This colour scheme being red,white and beige. And the other edition is clearly limited edition as it does not follow this scheme (the fact that it is limited edition may be the reason people keep it as it could be the last time these actors are featured together). The cover on the right makes use of the features of magazines such as pugs, puffs, main image, headline, tagline, strapline etc. These are all noticeable for the regular readers of this magazine (keeps a house style).

Both of these magazines make use of synergy the idea of two separate media format merging together to create a product. In this case using Harry Potter the movie in a magazine is the idea of synergy.

I have also noticed in both covers they are in the same stance with the lead role "Harry Potter" in the center showing he is the focus of attention this also relates to the movie for the cover on the left linking to its use of synergy.

Semiotics

Semiotics is a study of signs, the idea that a sign is something that stands for something other than itself. An example of semiotics is a open sign which represents free to enter. There are two man approaches of this theory these are;

Ferdinand Saussure 1857 - 1913.

Saussure said that signs are purely psychological.

He also said that signs only make sense in a formal abstract system. A one word language us an impossibility.

He believed that signs don't represent reality but they construct it.

Signs reflect the system they are found in.

"It is because the sign is arbitrary that it knows no law other than tradition.

Charles Sander Pierce 1839 - 1914

Pierce had many different types of sign but the three most important are;

Indexes

Icons 

And symbols

Therefore this applies to posters because as a sign a stop sign represents for a driver to stop, mood/dirt on a actors face shows the representation of the actor/actreses being in distress. This shows that semiotics is important as it can reveal part of story and this is why the production company spend so much money and time gettin these posters right.

I am now going to analyse two poster from the harry potter movie focusing in on the use of semiotics:

Poster 1:

 In this first poster i noticed that the characters facial features and hair represent that she is in distress for example the mood on her face shows that she is not posing for an award but for the movie also giving away some detail of the movie for the audience. Also her hair also creates the same illusion for the audience. Her facial expression (looking serious) shows that she is for lack of better words "in a messy situation". The embers in the foreground also represent that there is something explosive in the films plot. Also there is an image of the iconic wand that represented throughout the films history therefore thats a sign for the prior audience.

Poster 2:

This poster also features the use of the embers in the foreground of the image this relates all the poster i have seen released for this film. The light that is used in the poster is coming from the sky in the distance showing that the battle is in Hogwarts. The clothes the character is wearing appear dirty this shows he has seen his battles in the movie by this point. In the background ofg the image you can also seen distroyed buildings this represents the battle and encloses detials about the movies plot for the audience. The bolt coming from the characters weapon appears to be coming right at the audience.

Analysis of two trailers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EC2tmFVNNE

Here I am going to study both trailers closely and identify there similarities and there differences,  each trailer goes through the same process although they are all unique. This is created through the use of mise en scene - Lighting, costume, setting, props and finally positioning. And also there other similarities. 

Trailer 1:

Lighting: The first couple of seconds use a lot of low key lighting as the camera travels down the river.  This lighting creates an effect recognizable to the audience that something mysterious/dangerous is about to happen. Natural lighting is also used during a  view of the river this would suggest normality in this type of film.

Costume: A costume used is also iconic to the Harry Potter series also iconic to the theme of wizardry, this piece of costume/clothing is a black gown that looks dirty inking to the previous Harry Potter. Harry Potter is dressed in casual clothing (jeans, t-shirt) this suggests that he is a normal teenager but as the audience will know he is not. The makeup used is very effective for  action scene for example dirt on the face has a connotation of confrontation. Also messy hair would suggest that a confrontation has taking place also.

Setting: The first couple of seconds really set the scene, this is done by using this iconic image used through out the series of Harry Potter movies of the camera moving fast across the surface of the river. Out in the woods with low key lighting gives the effect that there is confrontation and something lurking in the darkness.

Props: Props used are your stereotypical items such as wands, archaic books and the iconic Harry Potter glasses etc.

Positioning: Two of the characters are lying on the floor looking up towards the camera this is known as a low angle shot showing the vunerability of someone and the power another character has. Another example of this is the high angle shot used on Voldemort as it shows his power.

Extras: I think it is very important to recognize how much money Harry Potter has as a budget this is due to it being a Warner Brothers production, this is instantly recognizable through the fact that trailer 1 has its own iconic ident created just for this movie. Title pages are also used for example "The finale of the worldwide phenomonan" these are used to brake up the trailer and also give more insight about the movie. Jump cuts are also used in the trailer more so towards the end a the tension picks up and comes to a dramatic  conclusion, and representing action based scenes. The sound throughout picks up towards the end of the trailer with short breaks to show key significant events for example the lighting strike in the background and Voldemort voice. The shots used are long shots close ups medium shots varying throughout. For example a long shot is used when going down the river showing the scene annd also used with the castle/Hogwarts in the background. What I gained through this is noticing that all shots must be included to keep it exciting.

From this trailer I have gained insight in what to include to make a successful trailer. For example a variety of shots needed to be included as well as edits, mise en scene, audio these all complete a trailer and therefore the whole movie.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35cYvwjEvUI


Trailer 2: The next trailer I have selected to use is in y chosen genre, this genre is Horror, So I have chosen to analyse Paranormal Activity 4 trailer.


Lighting: The lighting at the start is natural lighting this is used to suggest normality which links to the scenes that are family footage. Then key lighting is used coming from the lights in houses etc this is important to note as this suggests that without the light things will be  dark which relates to the scene where the light flickers and then dims out into the darkness which is then  when bad things happen linking to the connotation that darkness brings no good. This is what the audience will use to know something is building up. Also used in this trailer is night vision style camera work this is so that it give the impression its at night time.

Costume: For a horror film the clothing doesn't follow the codes and conventions however this is because paranormal activity is set as its in a normal persons house therefore costume is jeans, t-shirts etc however one costume that does follow conventions is the figure is in a black cloak concealing his/her identity.

Setting: The setting is in the general stereotypical suburban household. With horror films this is regular really as horror can be based anywhere.

Props: The props used in this trailer are your regular conventional props for example play area for children, toys, birthday hat, laptop. These props are used as they match the setting which is in a regular suburban household.

Positioning: The daughter and mother are both standing next to each other although the camera appears  more focused on the mother as she is center to the camera this is because as the daughter is telling the mother about the happenings in the house they want to see the reaction of the mother. Another example of positioning is when the figure is stood behind the girl over the  shoulder shot is used to show the figure looking at her and she does not realize it.

Extras: This trailer also uses title pages sued to the same extent as in trailer one to break the trailer up and in this one it tells dates. Action match cuts are used for example as it goes from the girl looking out of the window and the lights going out to the lights going out in her house. Jump cuts are also featured as these are used to build the tension and shows action and excitement. There are  several shots used in the trailer for example one I found very effective was the extreme close u that was caused by a person looking directly into the camera lens this  goes  against convention as normally this would be done by the camera zooming in not the character moving into the cameras lens. Another camera angle used is the low  angle when the girl is looking out of her window at the child this then changes to a high angle as she becomes powerless to the figure in the background, this could be known as a over the shoulder shot. The sound it quite until the concluding scene as it picks up this is done using unexciting sounds which makes the tension build and also shocks the viewers - this makes it more scary objective for horror movies.

After looking at both of these trailer you can see how it applies some theories such as Todorovs narrative this is the theory that suggests there are five stages to a film.
1. All is  as it should be (equilibrium)
2. The disruption
3. The recognition that something has gone wrong
4. The attempt to repair the damage
5. Everything returns back to normal
However in most trailer they miss the last two stages out normally to show how will they fix the problem and will it be resolved.

Trailers through the decade

These trailers are all trailers from different decades I have selected these trailer as I can now analyse each one and examine how trailers have developed over the decade to where we are now.

Horror trailer from the 40's - Triple Horror 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0ING5qhUnE

The first trailer is Triple Horror made in the 40's, the trailer is in black and white this is the most obvious difference. In this trailer you can also see the flickering on the screen lacking in "high quality" as like todays trailers. It also features a character creating the voice over this is still used to this day but in a different format for example in this trailer the voice over read out a list of the actors/actresses in the film.

Cactus Flower trailer - 1969
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTOT1UnY8eY

This trailer is the cactus flower which is a trailer created in 1969. This trailer already has the massive difference between colour and black and white. This trailer also mentions the actors but in a different way because in this trailer they are featured using text. Also the voice used is a actual footage not a voice over.

The Goonies - 1980's
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlGVDe4lPes

There is not a massive difference between the 1969 trailer an this 80's trailer both are in colour both use actual footage etc.

The boy from lebanon - 1990's
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGpKnm39Ux8


Hurt Locker trailer 2000's
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGpKnm39Ux8

This trailer shows the many advances in the technology field for example the camera angels used in such a way that the camera can almost play a role itself using the amount of camera angels high angel, low angle, long shot, close up etc. It also shows the difference in quality as it looks more realistic and a sharper image.

Through looking at each of this trailers and seeing what's makes them I can see the massive differences between the decades and the technological advances in the field for example I could see the development in the camera use going from black and white to colour then to high quality (with a sharper picture). Also changing was the use of sound in the trailer for example in the 2000's Hurt locker trailer there where more realistic sound effects used linking directly to the genre (used many explosive sounds gun shots etc).

Chosen Genre

Myself and my group have decided that with the constrictions we have on low budget film making that it is best to stick to a genre that we feel comfortable with and can do justice to the genre, the selected genre we have chosen to do is horror.This gene was a good choose as we have all inputted creative ideas and we have a selected location etc.

What is the Golden Trailer Awards?

The golden trailer awards is an annual award show that pays tribute to the achievement in motion picture marketing, including film trailers, posters and television advertisements. The first golden trailer awards  ceremony was held on September 21, 1999 in New York. The 9th Annual Golden Trailer Awards, in 2008 were at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. The Dark Knight won three awards Best Action, Best Summer Blockbuster Poster and Trailer of the Year in the public vote held in America. Trailer of the year winners: 2012: The Dark Knight Rises 2011: The Social Network 2010: The Cove 2009: Star Trek 2008: The Dark Knight 2007

Investigating the Genres

In order to find the correct genre that I can make a successful trailer for I have done some research looking at different trailers on the web. By the end I hope too of picked a genre that I will be satisfied with along with my co-workers.

Zombieland trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=071KqJu7WVo
This seem more like a spoof taking a real situation and putting a twist to it to make it more entertaining and bringing a comedy factor to it.

The Walking Dead:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1v0uFms68U
This trailer has certain scenes for example the basic ident at the beginning, it also has a scene i like where the zombies fingers are appearing through the crack in the door. There are also long shots used of deserted public areas e.g. major road. It also uses camera angles such as close upon the zombies faces to show clearly the horror in the series realting back to the theme making it a connotation. However this is a series but some parts could be encorparated into a film trailer.


Bourne Legacy trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/user/universalpicturesuk?v=yZ0QG8BNRTE
This shows the use of the ident, it also shows the use of fast pace scene that if i was to go down the action genre alley then this is what would need to be encorparated. I also like the music used with the dramatic build ups etc.However i think that this genre can only be completed successfully using that high budget equipment due to the danger risk for those acting in it.

Black Hawk Down trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnV6wM-vd9s
If i was to go down the path of an action genre trailer I would definelty use this to develop ideas. This is because i like its use of camera angles and the cuts used for example the use of the jump cut to signify the fact its an action genre movie therefore its fast paced. I also like the sort of costumes used and the colours used linking to the conventions of a typical army film.

The Roommate trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mUDIohiK2I
The roomate is a thriller based genre. I found that this trailer reveals its self as like a movie would in chronological order as you see the scene is set and then it shows the problem. Once the trailer develops (1 minute in) the film codes and conventions and the lighting becomes dark with key lighting coming from gaps in doorways etc there was know natural lighting used - typical of a thriller.

Sinister trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGjQ7Pwz0dw
Sinister is a horror movie/trailer that is coming out soon just judging by this advert i can see that its quality, i like the jump cuts used and the dark lighting used. I also like the camera angels used for example extreme close ups on important significant items. For this reason my decision to create a horror is swaying this way.


127 Hours:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlhLOWTnVoQ
Although this is not a genre I plan to use i like they way it focuses on key props or facial expressions this is done through the use of the extreme close ups i also like the soundtracks use relating to the situation along with the voice over of the main character.

I have not yet decided on a genre as it is not just me I have to decide this with my group so in a near future post I will identify the chosen genre of my group.

Introduction to brief

My name is Josh Filson in this blog I will show the progress myself and my working team make on the task that has been set. This task is to create a eligible trailer of a particular genre for example this genre could be horror, action or comedy - these are just some examples. I hope this blog successfully keeps you up to date on myself and my teams progress throughout the process.