Trailer
1.This is a good example of how our genre (spy / techno-thriller hybrid) can be shown in a single shot. It shows aspects of mise-en-scene like the clothing is typical for a journalist with the long jacket. The camera is a key prop to represent the photographer. The location is a deserted place where they can talked and not be heard. They are talking about the main plot point of the film (the kidnapping) which will also reveal the genre.
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| Classic spy meeting in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" with long coats as conventional spy wear |
2.Jess being thrown in the boot of a car shows us that she is the princess in this story.
The kidnappers, even though they can't be seen, represent the villain. Along with the hero and his sidekicks (shown in 1), these are the main archetypes for any action genre including our sub-genre.
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| Similar archetypes from Mission Impossible 4 Russian version |
3.The fight scene shows action in our film and gives us idea of who the third character is. He is dressed all in black making him mysterious and he is clearly a savage ally like the hacker from The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo.
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| Lisbeth Salandar from "Girl With Dragon Tattoo" |
The shot also shows editing techniques and good use of sound. The editing had to be right so the continuity was right and the entire shot flowed. We had to use punching sound effects and stabilize the volumes of the sound track and the diegetic sound to it all could be clearly heard.
4.This shot shows a relationship between the two characters - this uniting of very different characters ina team is typical of the genre. It also has extra mise-en-scene aspects: the journalist has his long coat and glasses which is extremely typical for journalist in crime films, and the bag around the third characters neck has computery things in it like a laptop and wires which shows he's a hacker.
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| Hacker Equipment |
5.The slow-mo hero shot is a typical shot for action movies - a low mid shot of the heroes walking towards camera which is slowed in post. It is not specific to our genre but is associated with the action thriller, of which our hybrid could be considered a sub-genre.
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| Hero shot from Ocean's Eleven |
6.This news report is a common technique in spy drama to move the action out of the enclosed world of the narrative and make it seem relevant to a wider world out there which then does not have to be shown.
7.8.9These shots show the enigma code the most, the narrative code that is mose relevant to our genre which has a strong element of mystery to it. In
7 we can tell that someone is dead but it is hard to make out - it looks like the girls from the earlier shots but we cannot be sure because the shot comes and goes too fast.
In
8, the tied up scene shows us that the hero is in trouble and we want to know if and how he gets out of a situation like that.
9 The blog being deleted also enhances the enigma code and has a symbolic value as it might connote the 'deletion' of the characters behind the blog.
10.Shows the main character blogging - in the techno-thriller, computers and gadgets and communcation across cyberspace are common elements.
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| Technical equipment background |
11.12.13.14.15: Formal elementsThese are all formal conventions that we have stuck to to make the institution look professional and gives the viewer trust in our films. We do this in a number of ways. By drawing on previous success 'from the maker of...' Not only that but having a ratings card makes the view think there watching something made by a big company which the credit slide also does.
The name of the film and the 'coming soon' slide are two slides that are normally used in real film trailers. We have followed the convention of placing the title towards the end of the film where it will probably stick in the audiences' memories and coming soon is an important signal to watch out for the film.
Poster and Magazine
Poster1.Muted colors shows the genre of crime mystery thriller. General layout is conventional of that of a film poster.
The main image was chosen because the person is looking directly at the camera, very conventional for a film poster from a genre like this. It makes the viewing of the poster more intense which is what our films would be like.
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| The poster we took most inspiration from |
2.Lighting on Luke's face looks like its coming from a computer screen which links with him using a computer a lot because he does in the film, another hint at the techno element of out thriller.
3.The computer in the background shows a screen from the blog in our movie. The pictures on the blog show evidence of the Action and Enigma codes - it helps to convey the genre more clearly than the close up alone could do as we see that significant action will need to be taken to resolve the problem of the body, and we wonder who she is and what she is doing there.
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| Main figure with more action-based photos behind |
4.The title of the film is laid out in a typical place of a poster, it is bolder and larger than any other text on the page so it stands out the most like it would on a real film poster.
5.The billing block and the coming soon also conform to layout conventions for films posters which allows it to look more authentic. Coming soon is a key element that estabvlishes that this is a film poster rather than any other kind and the billing block, although rarely read, gives institutional credibility.
Magazine CoverThe magazine cover is the most difficult product when it comes to genre. We found it easy to follow formal conventions as these are quite clear cut and do not vary much for magazine covers. However, it is much harder to convey the genre as the magazine has its own agenda (selling copies) and will want to show a variety of content. So we have gone for making our magazine a special edition devoted to the techno-thriller genre so that we can increase the genre elements of our cover.
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| Bond special edition Total Film |
The main image is of the three main characters. We have composed our shot in a way that is conventional when three characters feature on a cover with the main character in the centre directly facing the camera and the other characters slightly behind and facing in slightly different directions.
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| Grouping of three characters |
1,6These are small features of layout that are present on every magazine cover - a strap line, price, issue number etc. We have given them a computer influenced feel to suit the genre.
2This is not conventional for a magazine cover but making the while magazine center around our themes of technology and computing and draws more attention to our genre.
3The masthead is very conventional. It is in a colour that is not similar to the overall colour scheme so it stands out aclearly. It is bold and takes up a large amount of space. Also the heads of the characters on the cover are overlapping which is a common convention of a magazine cover.
4These are stills from films that are in similar genre to ours to make the special edition and also show the reader the variety of content on offer.
5The main teaser text for our film is in the same font through out all our products so the audience knows that it is the same movie being advertised everywhere. It is also larger than the other teaser text to show that our film is the main attraction for this issue of the magazine.
7The teaser text is in the style of a right click button menu. This is another thing that gives us a like to the theme of computers showing this issue is all about our film and films in the same genre.