Shifty is the third film trailer I have looked at which is from a British independent company. Below is the trailer.
The distribution company wanted Shifty to be able to relate to younger audience who are badly influenced as well as showing how you can get through it with friendship.
Shifty shows Chris his stash of drugs in his house and both are known for always being together even in drug deals and when getting caught by the cops shown in the screenshots.
The theme of friendship has been shown throughout the trailer and one of the best example is at 1:05 and 1:25.
At 1:05, Chris tells Shifty, "smartest kid in class look at you now" implying that he is ruining his life through his bad choices in life.
As well as at 1:25 when Chris tells Shifty that "we should go". Overall, we could say that the trailer not only showed their friendship but accentuated it more by having Chris help Shifty out of this situation.
Juno
Juno is the second film trailer I analysed which is from an American independent company. Below is the official trailer for Juno.
Overall, Juno has an underlying theme of pro-life, portraying teen pregnancy in a postive way which has been portrayed in almost all scene in the trailer. The following are screenshots from the trailer.
When Juno announces she is pregnant, her parents gave the opposite of what an audience would expect. Instead, the dad asks curiously, "Who's the father?" to which Juno replied is her friend and both of her parents gave a comedic response to it.
Here is a screenshot of her independently going to get the pregnancy test on her own.
As well as being able to travel on her own in the next three screenshots.
On the left is the picture of the couple who are willing to accept Juno's baby.
Some teen mums are afraid to show off their pregnancy, however, Juno on the other hand shows it off to the screen.
Hello!
Task 5 asks me to upload the trailer and see if the distributors highlighted the key features I identified.
Gone Girl
Above is the official trailer for Gone Girl which is from a Hollywood company. Regarding my previous which is "Why these films were made", I tackled reasons why I though Gone Girl was made.
Author Gillian Flynn is known to be interesting in exploring the psychology and dynamics of long term relationships and the trailer managed to capture this idea. Below are the screenshots of scenes shown in the trailer.
From 0:20-0:25, Amy's voice over narrates, "Everyone told us and told us, marriage is hardwork. Not for me and Nick." Showing the audience an idea of Amy and Nick's marriage.
From 0:54-0:59, Amy contiues with her narration, "I will practice believing my husband loves me but I could be wrong." And it also show Amy looking terified after her husband walks past.
At 1:25, Amy says, "I feel like I could disappear" and it shows her even more terrified of her husband making audience question about her relationship with Nick.
Another reason why I thought the film was made was because of Flynn's self-promoted title of being a feminist which she has adapted both in the film and book which is also highlighted in part of the trailer at 1:51-1:53 when Amy and Nick are having an argument.
Lastly, Flynn wanted to explore the sense of baknruptcy of the two characters. Below shows how Nick is all alone and all his neighbours can't be seen which could connote that because he is 'responsible' of the murder, all his neighbours would not want to be associated with him.
Also in addition to 0:20-0:25, when Amy narrates, "Marriage is hardwork. Not for me and Nick. " and it contradicts to their current situation where Amy goes missing as a perfect example as it shows how Nick is dazed and confused as to what to do .
Today I looked at the website goodinaroom.com 's How To Pitch A Movie – A Movie Pitch Example. This gave me an idea and insight on how to pitch a film trailer.
Hello! Task 3: Keeping to the same three films research information about the film – demonstrating why you think the film was made.
Gone Girl
This film is based on author, Gillian Flynn's, best-selling novel (of the same name). Flynn is said to be interested in exploring the psychology and dynamics of long-term relationships and wanted to examine how people within marriage lie to each other. She explored different themes in the novel which has appeared in the film respectively. The theme of feminism has made appearance. Flynn is self-identified feminist and Amy's 'pragmatically evil' character and non-conformity to the traditional perception of women being good characters are the epitome of feminism which she defined as 'the ability to have women who are bad characters'. She also wanted to express the sense of bankruptcy that both individuals, Amy and Nick, feel when economy falls. Both characters have lost their jobs and moved to town slightly populated by poverty. "I wanted the whole thing to feel bankrupt ... I wanted it to really feel like a marriage that had been hollowed out in a city that had been hollowed out and a country that was increasingly hollowed out," said Flynn. One of the film's executive producers, Leslie Dixon, read the manuscript of the novel in 2011 and following the release of the novel in June 2012, 20th Century Fox optioned the book in a deal. Flynn wanted to be responsible for the first draft of the screenplay and submitted her first draft in December 2012. David Fincher, the director, expressed his interest on the project. Fincher has agreed to work with Flynn on the making of the film and Flynn expressed that "... he [Fincher] responded to the first draft and we have kind of similar sensibilities. We liked the same things about the book, and we wanted the same thing out of the movie."
Juno
Juno is a film that the younger audiences may relate to. Diablo Cody, the film's writer, has adapted the film from her own personal experiences as well as her close friend's who got pregnant in high school such as mistreatment from an ultrasound technician. Some critics have interpreted the film as having pro-life theme. Critic, AO Scott from NewYork Times, thinks Juno has "an underlying theme, a message that is not anti-abortion but rather pro-adulthood". Ellen Page, who played Juno, and Cody have openly stated they are pro-choice and Jason Reitman, the director, strongly agrees that it was "fantastic" that pro-life and pro-choice groups were embracing the film and states "Juno seems to be a mirror, and people [on both sides] see themselves in it." The theme of feminism has been shown as well as Juno is portrayed as a confident and intelligent teenager. Antifeminist Phyllis Schlafy commented that this theme "isn't love, romance, or respect for life, but the triumph of feminist ideology, i.e., the irrelevancy of men, especially fathers" therefore young adults who are dealing with the same situation are seen in a positive light which was Cody's aim and Page praised the film for this and describes her character as "honest but original, completely devoid of stereotype". Most importantly, this film shows teenage pregnancy in a positive light which helps teenagers dealing with the same problem feel enlighten.
Shifty
The producers wanted to create a film that teenagers who are dealing with gambling, drug addiction, those who live in poor areas and more could relate to, hence, the creation of Shifty. Shifty not only show these but also explores the universal theme of friendship in order for the audience to further relate to as well as making the location familiar to cinema goers. Nina 19.09.17
This is my first post for my 2017-2018 A2 Media Studies course. This year we are asked to prepare a promotional package for a new film. It has to include theatrical trailer and a poster for the film. Over the course of the year, I will try my best to be able to follow the criteria needed to complete this as well as maintaining work ethic!
