In what way does your media product

develop or challenge forms and

conventions of real media products?

Teaser TrailerThe genre of our media product is a psychological thriller, with it being a sub genre of a thriller, it meant that it had its own individual conventions, in which we conveyed through our media products. Influenced significantly by psychological thriller 'Gone Girl' and various other trailers like 'Shutter Island' and 'The Machinist', we looked closely at the elements featured within them, in order to get an idea of what the common conventions for this particular genre are and of a teaser trailer in general. 

Once watching numerous trailers, and analyzing the micro and macro elements of 'Gone Girl', I noticed several features in which were demonstrated throughout each trailer. By firstly discovering that the majority of the teaser trailers had the duration of 1minute 30seconds, we decided to create our trailer of a similar length. By doing so, it meant that the audience aren't able to view too much of the film, giving too much of the narrative away. Instead, having our teaser at 1minute 43 seconds, it ensured that the audience saw an outline of the film, in which allowed them to see important 'snippets', that if they liked, they would go and see the whole film, creating enigma. 

EditingAn important element featuring in teaser trailers is the way in which it is edited, often through continuity, montage pace adjustments, filters/colour changes and typography, editing is used in order to highlight key parts of the narrative, resulting in the audience being enticed towards the anticipation of the film.

When researching psychological thriller teaser trailers, we found that they tended to feature a combination of montage and continuity editing to be as informative as possible within the short amount of time, yet in a way that is effectively capturing the audiences attention. We decided that following these conventions within our teaser would achieve a similar effect.

The sequence above demonstrates the use of continuity editing , generating a fast pace within our teaser trailer . Our general idea behind this certain sequence was to emphasize the anticipation , desperation and speed in which our antagonist has in order to find the missing protagonist, illuminating a feeling of suspense and triumph within the audience. A similar mood was produced through the style of contiunity in ‘Gone Girl’, as the male character searches frantically for his missing wife.

Editing

As well as continuity, we included montage editing, a convention for this particular product. By doing so, we established a progression in time, allowing the audience to understand the narrative briefly through a variety of shots, without exposing too much of the plot. Above, the audience can see that as the trailer develops the missing protagonist is still alone, suggesting that she is never found. Although, this isn’t entirely clear, therefore creating a sense of enigma and enticement, resulting in the audience eager to view the rest of the film.

Likewise, ‘Gone Girl’ features montage editing within their teaser trailer, conveying various stages of the two protagonist’s relationship with each other as the trailer progresses. This again, is showing the development of time and information on key characters, however through the use of the continuous switch between past and present, achieved with flashbacks. We also incorporated a flashback within our trailer, as it is a common technique demonstrated in the psychological thriller genre to highlight the characters state of mind. However, we portrayed ours simply through a black and white filter added within the editing stages of our product, which appeared to be not as effective, obvious and dramatic as ‘Gone Girls’ way of intertwining it within montage editing.

EditingA conventional technique displayed within teaser trailers is the use of ‘Fade to black’ transitions, as they reinforce an element of intensity and suspense between two clips. Within our trailer, we introduced this specific transition between almost every other clip, resulting in a contrasted and dramatic flow throughout. In some parts, we timed them in sync with the repetitive, loud ‘booms’ heard, as a dark, mysterious, back screen would accompany a fierce, powerful noise, demonstrating parallel sound.

Additionally, we applied the ‘fade to black’ editing style towards the end of our trailer to subtly present the title of our film, slowly drawing a close to all of the tension and fast paced action previously shown. By doing this, a contrast is created, making the title of the film one of the most impactful and memorable moments of the trailer. Again, following the conventions of general teaser trailers, this successfully enables the audience to remember the film name, therefore more likely to go and view it in cinema and/or do further research of it on social media, film posters and magazines.

This is hugely similar to ‘Gone Girl’s’ teaser ending, as they too feature a fade to black in order to softly yet beneficially present their film title.

SoundIn teaser trailers, sound is something in which is used to set the genre and atmosphere of the trailer, adding to the action taking place. Either non-diegetic or diegetic, sound within teasers is featured through various forms, commonly as voice overs, sound effects and music, all in which go towards establishing the genre. For example, in ‘Gone girl’ the sound in which is displayed is mostly through a non-diegetic soundtrack and voiceovers, both distinguishing genre conventions, making the trailer more interesting and tense to watch. The voiceovers are of the characters involved, and are all about the missing protagonist Amy, linking to the psychological thriller / crime genre. By including voice overs, it reinforces the face pace of the trailer and makes it easier for the audience to be narrated through the brief storyline, demonstrating a fearful and guilty tone within the character’ voices. The music Soundtrack is played in coordination with the voiceovers, through the use of a slow and calm pace, emphasizing the tension evoked through contrapuntal sound. There is a small amount of diegetic sound included through dialogue, but only short exchanges of words, in order to avoid giving too much of the narrative away to the audience.

Unlike ‘Gone Girl’, in our teaser trailer we didn’t include a separate voice over, instead we used dialogue to explain key elements of the trailer, such as where the missing protagonist was last seen. However, to create a stronger sense of enigma and suspense within the audience, we firstly began displaying the dialogue diegetic- ally, demonstrating parallel sound, which we then, as the dialogue progressed, displayed non-diegetic – ally over visuals of the protagonist. We found that this was an extremely effective way of producing the dialogue, as it portrayed a contrast significantly within one vital speech, emphasizing the importance of it. It also made the audiences imagination and interpretations of the protagonist come to life visually, as the use of the diegetic dialogue meant they were unable to see the character in which the detective was describing, but did allow them to see who was talking, something in which voiceovers in gone girl potentially didn’t do.

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Our first shot features a close up shot of the male protagonist, demonstrating diegetic sound- dialogue. The use of dialogue results in the character explaining key aspects of the narrative, allowing the audience to figure out what genre the film is going to be and instantly capturing their attention. Often, in teaser trailers a Voice over is used to achieve a similar effect, but as 'Gone Girl' featured dialogue instead, we decided to do the same.

This particular character is shown numerous times throughout our teaser trailer, similarly to 'Gone Girl''s male protagonist who is the first character in which we see properly through the use of a low angle shot. Compared to our female protagonist, the male's face is clearly visible and exposed, allowing the audience to understand his facial expressions, establishing a connection with him. In this case, he is represented as being stressed and under pressure, common conventions of portraying a detective. 

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Whereas, our female protagonist is first seen through the use of an establishing shot, positioned central within the frame, yet with her back to the audience. By having her placed central, it emphasises the fact she is an important character within the narrative, though her identity remains covered , with the audience are unable to see her face. This connotes an element of mystery and suspicion, challenging the audience's first opinions on the character. As well as this, it evokes a distance between the protagonist and the audience, foreshadowing the fact she goes missing.

Contrastingly, the female protagonist in 'Gone Girl' is first seen through an close up, point of view shot, which instantly exposes her expressions and emotions. We do in-fact later demonstrate this, though decided to include it later on within the trailer, in order to keep the mysterious tone generated and to build suspense within the audience. In this case, our trailer follows and develops

the conventions of a psychological thriller substantially more than ‘Gone Girl’ as the idea of a hidden identity is something in which appears frequently within this particular genre.

PropsProps are a vital part of mise en scene within our trailer, and also signifiers of the narrative. The use of keys, a diary and a necklace indicate that they belong to a female character. Although they are ordinary possessions, it is where they are located and how they are portrayed in which is significant. Located in an empty woods, a sense of enigma is illuminated, with the use of close up cuts, extreme close ups and pans signifying they're important props in the narrative. This works effectively, as it follows the conventions of a psychological thriller. Props are often displayed as misplaced, reflecting the character's state of mind, and urge to escape their reality.'Gone girl' also does this, by displaying props, labeling them as 'clues'. Similar props such as a diary, missing posters and police tape are featured, again in order to symbolize the female protagonist has gone missing and a detective is attempting to figure the problem out. Although, within 'Gone Girl' the 'clues' are shown less prominently, and for a shorter shot duration. We decided against this, and wanted to feature our clues / props as often and for as long as we can, emphasizing the significance of them, enabling the audience more likely to recognize and remember them. For example, the diary within our teaser trailer is reoccurred throughout, which is then is portrayed within our magazine cover, effectively demonstrating a form of synergy and establishing a strong brand identity. 

Texts and graphics To begin with, following the conventions of a teaser trailer, we included the green age rating screen, ensuring that the audience were aware of the appropriate age in which can view the teaser trailer. This is common in most teaser trailers, in particular American, mainstream ones. Following this, we featured the two company idents ‘20th century fox’ an ‘Regency’ in which appear in Gone Girl’s’ teaser trailer

The titles within our teaser closely follow the conventions of a teaser trailer, as they appear striking, eye-catching and simple but effective. They present crucial information about the film, most importantly the film name at the very end of the trailer. By placing it here, it means the audience have to watch the full trailer to find out the name, and are most likely to remember it as it is the last thing they see. We followed our text as close to ‘Gone Girls’ as possible, however we unfortunately didn’t include the release date of the film. This is one of the weaknesses within our product as the audience are unaware as to when it comes out and not giving them enough information as where to find out more about the film through social media links, a convention of most teaser trailers.