Over the next few lessons and homeworks, you are going to undertake key research into your chosen genre to help you with your production task. For each task, you need to produce your research as a video clip, podcast or animatic with a voiceover. Each task must go onto your Production Blog by the given deadline.
TASK 1: HISTORY: Research the history of film trailers for your chosen genre. Look at at least five trailers from 10 years ago to the present and comment on how the trailers (and product) have developed. Click here to find lots of examples.
DEADLINE: 15th January
TASK 2: AWARD-WINNERS: Research two or three award-winning trailers for your chosen genre. Check out the two main awards given for trailers: The Golden Trailer Awards and the Key Art Awards. Analyse their taglines, catchphrases, music, characters, use of celebrities and anything else you can think of.
DEADLINE: 20th January
TASK 3: CONVENTIONS: Research the key conventions of film trailers.
DEADLINE: 24th January
TASK 4: COLLAGE: Use found images from the Internet to make a collage of iconic images from film trailers for your chosen genre.
DEADLINE: 24th January
TASK 5: NINE FRAME ANALYSIS: Produce a detailed analysis of the first nine frames of two trailers for your chosen product. This task can be written up as a blog post or in a word document and attached to your blog.
DEADLINE: 31st January
TASK 6: AUDIENCE EXPECTATIONS: Interview at least five members of your 'target audience' about what they expect or would like to have included in your chosen genre (e.g.tension, celebrity actors, scary music...)
DEADLINE: 31st January
TASK 7: TYPICAL SYNOPSIS: Take four different trailers of your chosen genre and write a paragraph summarising each.
DEADLINE: 2nd February
TASK 8: ICONIC SOUNDS: Choose at least four sounds (and/or pieces of music) from trailers for your chosen genre and explain why they might attract people to see the film. Extension soundtrack task: Compare this clever sync of the soundtrack from the trailer of the latest Batman film to clips from 'The Lion King'!
... and the Batman trailer...
Now do it yourself: find a movie in your chosen genre, take the soundtrack from another film, and try putting them together!
Here's one I made earlier. Please let me know why it doesn't quite work...
Beauty And The Beast Contagion
DEADLINE: 4th February
TASK 9: FILM MAGAZINE FRONT COVERS: Take three well-known film magazines, ideally linked to your chosen genre, and analyse in detail for use of fonts, colours, layout, language, photography, etc. You will eventually create your own as part of your assessed production portfolio.
DEADLINE: 18th February
TASK 10: RISK ASSESSMENT: Just as for AS, you need to do a risk assessment for your filming work. For guidelines on what to consider, click on Staffordshire University's Media Centre.
You need to asssess any risks of damage to property or you/your actors, or any passers-by and ensure you take appropriate measures to avoid any potential hazards. Make a Risk Assessment for each different location you will be filming at, and upload it to your blog. A sample template is here:
DEADLINE: before you start your filming
CHOOSE BETWEEN TASK 11 AND TASK 12, DEPENDING ON WHICH YOU CHOOSE FOR YOUR OWN PRODUCTION WORK.
TASK 11: WEBSITE HOME PAGE: Choose two or three film home pages for your chosen genre. Analyse them in detail for: design; content; connotations of images, fonts and colours; characters portrayed; atmosphere; the message the page is giving. You will eventually create your own as part of your assessed production portfolio.
DEADLINE: 1st March
OR
TASK 12: FILM POSTER ANALYSIS: Choose two or three posters from films of your chosen genre. Analyse them in detail for: design; connotations of images, fonts and colours; characters portrayed in the poster; atmosphere; audience expectations created by this poster.
FOR IDEAS ON POSTER ANALYSIS, CLICK HERE TO SEE A PODCAST ANALYSIS OF THREE THRILLER POSTERS FROM A-LEVEL STUDENTS.
Also click here for advice on how to create the perfect promotion poster for your film. Record any ways you might use ideas from this for your own project.You will eventually create your own as part of your assessed production portfolio.
DEADLINE: 1st March
