Film Treatment

Being True 

The title of my film is going to be called ''Being True'' , in my trailer I have to show the begging, middle and end adhering to genre conventions meaning that I have to show cliches and/or give the audience a clue to what is going to happen and make it clear what the film is about so I really have to be selective with the target audience .  

The start of the trailer is going to begin with something that represents the UK. I got the idea from a fake nail I saw on the ground with the Union Jack on the floor and I walked over it when going to the bus stop.
The meaning of this is that the main charecter is a foreigner and him walking over the Union Jack represents the arrival in the U.K and stepping on English soil.  The foreign lifestyle is carried out as the main charecter proceeds on to getting on the bus.  

Basketball Court wide shot of younger version of the subject growing into an older.

Youtube video of Teaser Trailer

 

The teaser opens with the soundtrack over the production company logo, with a non diegetic sound of the main character speaking after the music pauses, and he is saying ‘ it exploded upon the American culture like an atomic bomb, started in Hollywood and made its way East in no time, everyone was doing it, I mean everyone.’ Then we hear a clip from the actual film where a character says ‘I can’t feel my face’ then the main character says life passes by as most people make grand plans for it, waiting was never my strong signal’’ ‘freeze’’ ’I guess I went too far’’ Johnny Depp’s name appears on screen on ending titles of the film followed by the production company..

This teaser trailer is excellent because there is lots of editing throughout the whole trailer we see shots on screen that show us more than one frame, but the main one in the middle always has a shot of the main character, this trailer might have helped selling the film because it has a voice over it of the main character who is well known talking about the film and introducing what movie genre it is and he is pretty much saying this is me and this is what happened. The lively music added to the trailer was done to give a happy vibe to this and it makes the lifestyle seem wild and fun.

Also we see the ups and downs by seeing the main charecter in the middle frame all the time and everything else is sort of just happening around him except the shot of the police saying freeze they fill all the three squares on the screen making the main charecter look trapped and saying there is no escaping from the police.

Sountrack Research (Non Copyright Music)

 

I was thinking to just do a voice-over but now I have decided to mix it up a little and have both, a voice over and a soundtrack playing during the trailer at some point. I was thinking to have the main character listening to his headphones and when he pulls them out this song stops playing, then later on in the trailer I have the chorus playing, 'be true to yourself' is what it says and as I am thinking about doing a film based on a true story this fits in perfectly and the name of the film might be called 'Being True' as the soundtrack states and because it goes with it and the movie genre I am thinking of doing I think I have found the right soundtrack, now I just need to ask for permission and then go on to start using this track for the editing of my trailer. the diegetic sound is going to be the soundtrack and the non diegetic is going to be the narrator talking over the trailer.

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)

Crime / Thriller

The trailer starts with the introduction of the production company we hear the bass and this really mellow sound, then we see a mid close up of a charecter on the phone saying ''we are on''then we see over the shoulder shots at a poker table and see all the people that are sitting down, then the music starts again and we see a group of men putting their jackets on in a bar, followed  by a mid shot of a man bleeding from the arm picking up a machete this tells the audience that this is a crime film, after we see a shot of a man with his nose covered and his hair smoking which and his face expression suggests he is in shock because it is a close up I can tell this, then over the music we hear a female voice saying ' and dont fuck around fellas' followed by a wide shot of a man inside the lift dressed in a suit rubbing his hands together this indicates he is up to no good and his smart clothes make him look like a mafia associate, once again establishing the genre. then the woman appears in a close up saying ''you all know the rules and you know I wont stand for it'' after we see the a wide shot of a boy standing next to the lift and when the doors open we see that the man who was rubbing his hands together has beaten up the other two who were in the lift. The next shot is a birds eye to make us look down on these charecters as we see someone slamming a car door on a mans head, this is a way of picking the target audience, through violence. afte we see a shot of a luxury car pulling up and a voice over talking about the case being in the back of the car which is parked outside and then we see a shot of men at the table arguing and after we see the weapons this is the unique selling point because the guns are in the movie title and this automatically sets out the mood for the target audience and makes them want to watch this film, then we hear a voice over saying that 'you take those guns and throw them of a bridge' then another charecter says 'throw yourself while your at it' this adds a sense of humour to the trailer that makes the trailer funny to watch, this indicates that the film is also going to be funny, shortly after we see a mid shot of a man ironing cash and in the background there are cannabis plants, followed by a mid close up of a man firing a shotgun from underneath a bed, after we see a shot of the main charecter relaxing on a chair and after that there is a shot of a man knocking out a ticket inspector in the back of a van, after we go back to the shot of the main charecter in the chair and he is not relaxed at all as we see a cut in shot of him playing with the cards on his hand really nervously, the crime and comedy is carried out until the screen blacks out and the music is mixed up a little then we see a close up of a charecter blowing smoke and a voice over saying ' not a bad day' 'can we lock up and get drunk now please' I think this is the unique selling point because this film is made to be very British, the sense of humour and the lifestyle carried out in the trailer is on that some people can identify themselves with and this is what can really help selling the film, then the fast tempo music starts as we see the charecters drinking alcohol and having a good  time, the effect used is one that combines the speed of the music with the speed of the camera shots changing and going upside down and fliping around as the charecters go through a stage of jumping of tables and throwing beer at one another and playing the piano until they fall asleep, so party until we drop which is followed by a the ending credits that show the movie title, I also think that being a Guy Ritchie production is another unique selling point because he is a well known director.

Pulp Fiction (1994)

The trailer beggins with the production company saying the awards this film has won, then there are special effects of three gun shots being fired on to the screen, then the action music begins as we see a cut in camera shot of a gun being put down on the table, then we see a mid close up of a well known actor, Bruce Willis. followed by a close up a cash register being opened then a close up of the well know John Travolta so if you have seen these two in any other film you are going to watch this one. shortly after we see a mid shot of John Travolta and Samuel Jackson point their pistols, this establishes the film genre, then titles appear on screen saying that this is a Quentin Tarantino film and after that the credit that appears on screen says LOYALTY after the charecter of John Travolta says that he has to look after a female, his bosses wife during a short dialogue. after that we see the charecter talking to himself in the mirror about the situation he is in being a moral test after that we see another credit that says BETRAYAL followed by a over the shoulder shot of her husband saying this has never happened then a credit saying CRIME, the background music has slowed down and we hear a charecter on screen saying ' we are in a lot of danger ' followed by a credit saying ''YOU DONT KNOW THE FACTS'' then a close up of Samuel Jackson saying 'did I break your concentration' then another credit saying 'UNTIL YOU SEE THE FICTION' then the music completly changes and we see a shot of a man saying that there is a corpse in a car then there are split second shots of fun filled action after that the commentator starts saying the names of all the stars in the film, this is the unique selling point aswell as who the director and producer is and the trailer ends with one of the shots we first see where Samuel Jackson and John Travolta are holding a gun each and we see how they came to be in this position then we see the name of the film in large letters.

Paid In Full (2002)

 

Drama / Action / Crime

 

The trailer beggins with intertitles that show the audience who the procution company are, then we see very quick flash shots on a city and then a charecter shortly after that the first special effect is used and that is 'Harlem' writen on the side of a building, this automatically shows the audience where the film is set, which is known to be a notorious neighbourhood in New York so its seeking out for the target audience, deprived youth driven by poverty. Then there is a small dialogue that says ''you know it is hot in the streets'' then the special effect comes along with the upbeat happy hip hop music and the screen goes orange and we are shown ''1986'' which we presumme this is the year these events are set in. As the music continues we see another special effect that say ''three best friends'' having a picture of them taken in a nightclub so once again this is the production team seeking out for the target audience, who are people I believe to like nightclubs and be involved in some sort of illegal activity with their ''best friends''. The we hear dialogue that says'' this is the best product, this is the wave of the future'' which indicates they are refferring to drugs, then we hear the music being scratched and the see a special effect that says ''the baller'' and shows one of the main charecters sitting by the basketball courts sitting on his luxury car, then we see cash being shown on screen. folowed by another special effect showing ''the dreamer'' followed by a dialogue saying ''life is good in harlem'' then we see him laying in a hospital bed. then we see another special effect that shows ''the soldier'' being questioned by police which shows the target audience the movie genre, then we see ''they do what it takes to get paid in full'' this shows the title of the movie and what the main charecters are all about.

Blow (2001)

True Story

George Jung -  Johnny Depp

Crime / Drama / Biography

Voice-Over: The Narrator starts by stating that these events have happened and at the same time setting out who the target audience are. He says "At the time when America was ready to party" so the target audience watching this trailer can identify themselves with what they are seeing and
hearing on screen and figure out that this film is for people who like to party and people that are
interested in finding out what happened during the time period the narrator refers to. Meanwhile we
see seven camera shots that describe the partying lifestyle the narrator is referring to, the first shot
being an over the shoulder showing us a beautiful woman calling the main character (Johnny Depp)
 towards her at the beach, followed by a wide shot of a group of people jumping in a swimming pool
 Enjoying the sunshine, then a mid close up of them in the air and after we see a close up of the main character kissing the woman from the first shot at the beach, the upbeat, happy playful music carries on as the narrator begins to speak. Then we see a shot with red lights in a dark room with a woman blowing a powder in the air and then a woman starts speaking over the music and says that if he wants to score she knows the guy, by this she means that she knows where to get drugs from. Then the narrator says that 'one man knew what to do about it' referring to the main character and stating that his drugs empire was about to begin and this is the last time that the narrator speaks through out the trailer, the rest of the trailer are just dialogues from the film between the main character and other well known celebrities who help to sell this movie.


At the end of the trailer we see these celebreties that I am referring to in the credits, these have been put on this film to help sell it, so by the end of the trailer we know what this film is about and who the main charecter is but now we have all the information needed and know exactly who those faces are.
The whole trailer sets out what the genre is, by showing dialogues and scenes from movie mixed with credits, at 0:43 the upbeat happy music stops and it appears on screen 'based on a true story' then this action music kicks in showing that at this time the main charecter was active and opperating within the drugs bussiness. then it stops where there is dialogue because a charecter asks where he gets this stuff from and he answers 'Colombia' as everyone knows this is the biggest country for cocaine production then a shot of the infamous Pablo Escobar appears on screen, this could have been done to seek out for the target audience it bassicly says if you know and are intrested in this man, you have to watch this film about George Jung to find out why the cocaine industry was so big.

Then we see lots of quick shots that look to have been taken with a camera to show how the lifestyle from the beginning of the trailer by the swimming pool drug dealer developed into the casino, upper class, 3,000,000$ cash counting tuxedo George Jung, then we are introduced to a new female character who already knows who he is due to his infamous reputation as a drugs kingpin then after we are introduced to who the director is by a credit that appears on screen the music switches again to a more mellow militant music that describes that what goes up must come down then right before the end of the trailer we see the main character sitting at the table with two of his associates and they get up and the a special effect comes on and that is a spot light to show us that this character has been put on the spot.

Then the unique selling point is the main character who is in it and that is Johnny Depp who is the first one to appear on the ending credits but the woman who we are introduced to last, on this trailer she appears before the blonde woman in the ending credits, it is Penelope Cruz whom I am referring to and this could have been done to leave the audience puzzled and wanting to watch the film. But also another unique selling point as she is well known and may attract a wider range of people.


 

District 9 (2009) Trailer Analysis

Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Film
Narrative: A story about aliens that live in South Africa and humans are fed up and think they don't belong on earth but are glad they are being separated from them, but soon people start living in fear as the aliens get out of control.
Unique Selling Point: This film is based on Xenophobia and events that actually happened in district 6 in South Africa. But this is the extreme version of it and with aliens.
Target Audience: Anybody who is into science fiction and like weapons and people who are often discriminated against can easily relate to this movie.
Music: Creepy electronic alien futurized music.
Shot Types/ Camera Angles: Video from surveillance camera in a part-mock documentary style format   Pace: Very fast so as we get to hear from both sides of the story as this is a part-mock documentary style format film.
Dialogue:  It is both sides of the story and people being interviewed by the man who later on becomes infected but the trailer does not reveal this.
Voiceover: The narrator talking and commenting on the occuring events.
Special Effects: The whole film is about artwork and visual effects as aliens do not exist but the trailer shows us detailed graphic image of an alien.
Credits And Intertitles: THEY ARE NOT WELCOME HERE.

The Link To My Year 12 Blog

http://nunopereiramediag321.blogspot.co.uk/