Civil War Trailer Analysis

• Opening Shot accompanied by ambient noise - building tension - bleak shot of garage looking set - gritty tone
• Conversation between characters slow and soft - cross cut with contrasting shots of explosions and soldiers - conversation is voiced over - giving indication of plot
• Builds dramatically - shots become parallel with sounds used - shows action shots - dramatic shots - builds tension - suddenly changes to calmness 
• Soft piano music paralleled with helicopter noise - effective in creating tense atmosphere - gives feeling of things falling apart. - Cross cut with dramatic shots - voice over giving indication of plot line - dramatic sounds paralleled with shots 0:43 - effective
• Dialougue voiceover gives further indication - words used such as Vigilante and Unlimited power / no longer tolerate
• Close ups on documents - gives official agency indications
• Music gradually builds - minimalist - adds instruments
• Shot of Ironman opening door - dramatic - no longer main character 
• Voiceover crossed over with shots gives further plot indications
• Music increases in pace along with shots - edited closer together - less fades to black
• multiple chase scenes
• slow motion - builds tension
• Final shot of fight scene demonstrates the Versus in the movie

8 mile Trailer analysis

• Opening sounds of Eminem rapping - shows him with child - indicates sentimental part of the movie
• Multiple shots of people telling him he's bad at his life - indication of movie plot ' can never save enough money to get out of this place ' ext
• Fast paced shots of character with his friends - violence - contrasts with shots of family life - paralleled with his original music
• Shots of him with a crowd - element of success
• shots with female - suggest element of romance
• Shows the film is about a story 

Top Boy Trailer

• Opening shot of character - main character - voiceover gives us indication of plot 
• Second shot of explosion - suggests violence
• close ups of drugs and money - suggests gangster life
• Shots of men with guns - getting stabbed - violence
• Voiceovers cross cut with relevant shots - 
• Music calm - builds gradually throughout trailer - gets more tense

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer analysis

• Opening music - swelling synthesisers - suggests aggressiveness / war / tension - builds on the epic concept of the film ( Batman vs Superman) - Blasting of horns accompanied by synthesisers suggests classical dualism - reference to the Batman v Superman versus being a recurring comic book theme since the beginning of comics (1940s)
• Voice overs during a black screen refers to the darkness of Batman whilst multiple voices give hints as to what is the cause of the tension - the use of multiple voices instead of purely one in a radio format suggests the matter is a worldwide crisis and not local dispute - further adds to the epic concept of the film.
• Slow zoom on large statue shows Superman to be a God like figure - whilst occasionally cutting to clips of Superman being worshiped - followed by an image of FALSE GOD written on the statues chest - this combined with the voiceover gives us a clear indication as to the plot of the film - thus gaining interest from the audience as those who were not aware of the comic book plot now have an idea, whilst those who have read the comics now begin to guess the details of the film - throughout the trailer : slight indications are shown to suggest upcoming villains for those who have knowledge of the comic book series such as the riddler symbol spray painted at (1:21). - These indications allow for viral marketing over websites as superhero audiences (a huge audience) share insight about the trailer, which spills over to none superhero audience effectively exposing everyone to the trailer.
• Medium shots of Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill are used to promote the film with the use of famous actors as fans of the actors will want to view the film regardless of their genre preference.
• Similar shots are used to show the new Bat Suit - another cause for attention from superhero audiences as it is reviled that the suit closely resembles that of the original comic book suit - another plus for the superhero fan base.
• The return of the intense swelling synthesising music towards the second half of the trailer accompanied by striking visual images of Batman and explosions reminds our audience that this film will be action packed and visually exciting. - The use of the camera gliding around the Superman emblem also further builds the tension between the two characters.
• The end of the trailer then reviles a face to face battle between superman and the armoured Batman - long awaited

Get Rich or Die trying trailer

• opening shots accompanied by Gunshots - immediately sets tone as violent film -screaming - men with guns
• Shows gang leader - voice over 'I want to make this very clear' - crossed over with 50 cent walking down road looking gangster
• Quick edits of men with guns - fast paced movie - music builds on this fast pace
• Mob leader acting wise 'violence does not get more money' - above the street violence
• Edits accompanying blue makes it appear like crime watch - fitting with the style of the movie
• Cross cut conversations with scenes of violence 
• Multiple shots of money
• Shots of robbery going wrong - people getting killed
• Graphics give further plot indication 
• Fades to white as opposed to black
• Conversation voiceovers give to much indication as to what will happen in the movie
• Original music build on the fact it is a real story
• shots about 0.5 seconds long each

Evaluation Question 7

What have you learnt since your preliminary task

After re watching our preliminary task, it is clear that our filming techniques have massively improved. When filming the preliminary tasks, we learnt basic techniques on how to use the camera and tripod effectively to produce good shots, and camera rules that must be applied such as the 180 degree rule. We also learnt basic editing techniques on final cut pro, however at this stage our knowledge of the extent of how editing can develop a production was limited as I did not attempt to use a lot of the software that was available. When filming the real production, we put a lot more effort into the shots we used, taking full advantage of the tripod, making sure it was steady for each shot unless we wanted to apply the shaky handheld effect (used frequently in the party sequence). We were not aware of how the shots we used would effect the end production however when filming the final production we were very aware of how we were using the camera in order to make the audience feel as part of the film, such as the party sequence, we had one cameraman with a dolly on a tripod taking wide shots to capture the whole party, and another cameraman walking around with a camera for close up shots and a handheld effect to capture the party as well make the audience feel as part of the production. 2 cameramen were essential in this to collect a large range of shots, unlike our preliminary task where we did not take enough shots and had to improvise what shots we used. After each production filmed, the importance of having as many different shots in the same scene largely increases, as it allows for more effective editing to occur as there is a wider range of shots to chose from. In the next production I film I intend to take many more shots to allow a constant flow of angles tightly edited together in continuity editing. I believe we managed to achieve this in our latest production, especially in the party sequence.

Many of the shots we used in the preliminary task were out of focus and tilted. The pans, tilts and rolls were unsteady and shaky. We were only made aware of this during the editing process and could not re-film, so we were forced to use the shots we filmed with. From this I learned the importance of spending time to achieve a good shot, instead of taking one without making sure the camera was steady, even and including everything I wanted to include. This was an important lesson to learn as the frustration when editing the production and realising the shot didn't work was greater than the effort into the time spent into making the shot an effective one. Underestimating the importance of shots like I did in the preliminary task cannot occur in the making of a real production where shots need to be perfect and there has to be many of them. Also this way I can show the scene from different angles and perspectives and edit them together into one scene so that it appears as a continuous flow. Continuity editing is vital in presenting a good production, I have learnt the importance of this since my preliminary task.

Before shooting the preliminary task, we had an idea of what the plot would be and where we were shooting and the actors we would use. We were relatively blind in what we were doing and the plot changed several times during the filming so the shots we used would make sense. We learnt from this when editing the preliminary as it seemed almost comical to how much we lacked planning.When filming the real production, we undertook weeks of planning, organising everything from the costumes used, to the locations, to the shots, and the music and many other things that needed planning. This extensive use of organisation massively improved the result of our production as we required a relatively large range of actors and it was vital that we scheduled our shooting to include everyone that was willing to take part. This involved a great deal of having to re schedule as our lead actors kept dropping out, involving huge amounts of organisation on our part to ensure everyone was available. We also had to be aware of the time of day of our shooting, for example our opening scene had to be timed so that the tide was out so the beach was available, the weather had to be sunny and the time of day had to look like it could be morning. Our scene following the club also had to be timed so that it would appear as though it was the middle of the night. Although it was only around 7pm, we managed to achieve this by not including shots of any background characters so that it appeared as though the streets were dead and the girls were alone.

The preliminary task made me realise that in a way, simplicity is key when shooting a student production. The attempts to complicate plot lines and achieve a 'real' movie feeling usually results in the production appearing more amateur and unprofessional. Although not achieving this in my final production due to the fact that I had to join a different group, I would have taken advantage of the fact that we didn't have the equipment required to achieve a professional looking film, and made it clear that it was a student production, but a good one. Minimal camera movement to prevent unsteady pans, tilts and rolls, but a multitude of shots used to allow for fast paced editing as well as a relatively simple plot line easy to follow along. Unfortunately the group I joined did not want to achieve this element of simplicity and our end result seemed more like a 2 minute student production instead of the opening 2 minutes to a film, however when filming my next production I will fully be aware of my limitations and the way my production will feel.

Evaluation Question 6

What have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing this production

 
To conclude we have learned a lot about the technologies from the process of constructing our product, as many we had never used or had little experience with before.  Our greatest advancement in skills was with Final Cut Pro, as we quickly learnt the most effective and coherent ways of editing our film. However we also learnt a great deal from the cameras, aiming for the most visually stunning shots using the rule of thirds and shooting from various angles.
While filming we struggled the most with lighting, as the batteries ran out very quickly. Luckily, due to our past experience, we remembered to bring multiple battery packs, which allowed us to continue filming.
Reflecting on our filming day 2, we also greatly struggled with sound as we found out after the shoot that our camera had not recorded any. This made us realise the importance of using an external mic recorder, to have a clearer, extra layer of sound.
From our experiences in the project, I believe that we have learnt a lot, and so in our future ones we will not make the same mistakes.