Mood Board for Comedy Thrillers

I found images online from comedy thrillers to look at props and cinematography.These images help with shots and settings that I can use as well as the type of characters. There seems to be a lot of weapons, some that are silly, and low angled shots as well as two shots and stedicam shots.There are also bright colours, lighting and a contrast of serious with comedy.

Analysis of Kingsman the Secret Service Theatrical Poster

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I analysed this poster since it's a comedy thriller to see how it's been marketed and laid out. They've marketed the film more as a thriller with small elements that it's a comedy too. There won't be so many characters in my film so I won't use this as a guide for the layout but perhaps as a guide for props and poses to use.

Class fake rom-com trailer order vs Comedy Thriller trailer order

For class we made up a fake trailer and wrote several scenes. I then ordered this in a way I'd expect to see the scenes in a rom-com trailer. I then chose to look at the actual order for "Deadpool" since I am looking at comedy thrillers, to help me understand how to order my own trailer.

Kick-Ass Teaser Poster analysis

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I analysed two similar posters from Kick-Ass since together they share conventions which is interesting to analyse. I looked mainly into the first poster at it implies more that the film has thriller as well as comedic elements. Since my film uses only two main characters, if it were possible I could make one for each character. On the other hand I could make a teaser poster for just one of my main characters and focus on the scenery as well as a tagline for them.

Shaun of the Dead Theatrical Poster Analysis

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I have begun to look into the sub genre of comedy thrillers. Though this is considered a romantic horror it is still helpful in deciding how to lay out my theatrical poster by showing how you can combine the genres together by using different colours and a contrast of imagery. This is interesting in the use of layout of text but the overall imagery cannot inspire anything for my poster since I have two main characters and not many other characters.

Generic Conventions of a Comedy Thriller

This is where I've started to think of making a comedy thriller. I designed a list on easel.ly of some conventions that you can find in a thrillers, comedies and the sub genre of the two. Making this has helped sum up the conventions and areas of ideas that I can look at. Comedy thrillers largely differ from each other so the list is very generic and simplified. I added imagery to show the main features of a comedy thriller. By creating this I can begin to decide on and narrow down my idea .

The Hangover Theatrical Poster analysis

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I looked at the Hangover which helps me with how to layout text and how to fit a lot into one image. The poster only slightly shows the thriller side and focuses more on comedy so I want to look at other posters that may show both. From looking at this poster I may think about taglines or slogans to put into my poster as well as a different way of saying "Coming to Cinemas" since this poster breaks conventions by reading "Feel it".

Legend Theatrical Trailer analysis

Genre

• The genre of the film is still a historical gangster crime film, however the theatrical trailer shows that there is also romance and an element of humour. The reason to only show these two other elements in the theatrical trailer may due to the fact that they develop the film and are not necessarily needed to sum up the film in the teaser trailer. 

Narrative

• The narrative of the film is also further developed in the theatrical trailer as there is a clearer difference between the brothers since more of Hardy's scenes are shown. The audience now knows that there's rivalry between the brothers and that one has a love interest in a female character that wasn't even shown in the teaser trailer, and that the other brother is psychotic yet has desires for men which was controversial in the 50s, causing the audience to wonder more about the two characters and how well Hardy is able to portray two different people. 

Unique Selling Points

• The unique selling point is still the same, that Tom Hardy plays both brothers. However the theatrical trailer dwells on this more as the credits towards the end reads "Tom Hardy plays Reggie Kray" and "Tom Hardy plays Ronnie Kray" which are shown separately. Marketing an actor as if he's two people himself hasn't been seen before which interests the audience. Other selling points also include supporting actor and actress Christopher Eccleston and Emily Browning which are known for other large roles in films and on TV.

Target Audience

• This still entices predominately white males aged 18-50 and females but the longer trailer which surprisingly has a romantic storyline will engage mainstream audiences.

Music

• There are three songs used in the theatrical trailer. The first is a relaxed, fairly old fashioned song to fit in with the 50s style and acts like an equilibrium to the film.It is used to introduce the characters.  However it jumps into a faster, contemporary song with a serious tone which engages the audience and shows that it's not a mundane film but is a crime film as this is where scenes of action and violence are shown. Lastly the tone changes again with a calmer, sadder song played as the struggle of the brothers rivalry and troubles with the love interest are shown which reminds the audience that the film is based on reality. The different music shows different tones to the film as well as lay out it's plot which engages the audience who want more of a 'ride' as opposed to something easy to watch or constantly exciting. 

Shot Types/Camera Angles + Pace

• A larger range of shots are shown such as a slow beginning establishing shot of London to introduce the audience and engages British audiences. Slower paces are used as the trailer is 2 minutes 24 seconds and has time to develop the narrative. This is not to say that good cinematography isn't shown. Each shot shown is still artistically engaging to show more prestigious audiences that effort was put into each shot. There is still some fast editing to show the aspect of action. 

Dialogue + Voiceover

• The dialogue gives the largest indication to the plot and establishes each of the main characters. Similarly to the teaser trailer, the theatrical trailer laps the dialogue over some of the imagery. However since longer shots are shown there are scenes that show the true dialogue with it's own shot. Through the dialogue we learn that one of the brothers is more suave whilst the other is psychotic since in each performance, Tom Hardy gives one brother a posh voice and the other a grouchy tone. The dialogue also suggests some subtle verbal humour in one scene where one brother is calming down the other. This suggests that the film isn't fully serious and has it's light hearted moments. This time there is not voiceover as a longer trailer should draw in the audience alone. 

Special Effects

• The special effects shown is the same as the teaser trailer as the genre of the film does not need them so largely. This choice may have been to spend more budget on duplicating the twins as the main special effect.

Credits and Intertitles

• The credits span out more across the whole of the trailer and read differently than those of the teaser trailer. In order they read, "Based on the true story".."of the twins".."who ruled the city".."from the academy award winning screen writer of  L.A. Confidential and Mystic River".."Tom Hardey is Reggie Kray".. "Tom Hardy is Ronnie Kray".."Legend". *Journal and magazine 4/5 star ratings*.."in cinema sep 9"..*Social media with links*. With some of the credits comes a change in music to add drama and a serious tone to the vibe of the film, which also draws more attention to the messages as well as imagery. The credits have little words and are cut quickly to fit in more imagery and plot line.

As I want to make a comedy thriller, this trailer as a thriller is helpful to understand the change in tones I will have to incorporate as well as a decision to use several songs. It also helps guide me to know how much storyline to tell the viewers without ruining the story for those who do not know it's historical background. It is clear I will have to use the best cinematography and many locations.

Legend Teaser Trailer Analysis

Genre

• Legend is a historical crime and gangster  thriller which is immediately obvious through the mise en scene such as 50's costumes, guns and classic cars. 

Narrative

• Only being a 30 seconds teaser trailer, the narrative gives the gist of the movie; the autobiographical story of the Kray twins and how the police worked towards their capture. There isn't much detail on any side stories or other characters other than the brothers. However Tom Hardy's performance shows a clear difference between the twins, that one is more violent than the other.

Unique Selling Points

• The unique selling points of the movie is firstly the fact that this is a movie about the twins and not a documentary, and secondly that Tom Hardy plays both twins. Usually two similar looking actors would have been chosen but to maintain accuracy, the production company opted to use one actors that could show two performances in one film.

Target Audiences

• These draw in a target audience of 18 to 50 year old white males, since this is a British historical gangster film. However Tom Hardy as a well known good looking actor will draw in female audiences too. Other audiences would not be as interested as this is a historical film and since there is indication that there will be violence through the stereotypes of Gangster film and imagery of guns.

Music

• The teaser trailer only uses one song which is an instrumental upbeat and contemporary song which contrasts the genre of the movie. The song continues to draw younger audiences and gives the film a sense of action and adrenaline opposed to the stereotypical vibe that a historical crime documentary gives.

Shots types/Camera Angles + Pace

• Since they have to show a lot to the audience to draw them in in time, the teaser trailer uses a wide range of shots and different pacing such as long shots and two shots. Some shots have been edited faster or slower than others too switch up the pacing which keeps the audience engaged. 

Dialogue and Voiceover

• The dialogue consists of mostly cliché gangster talk such as "we can handle it" with references to Western shoot-outs. The dialogue mostly overlaps the more interesting imagery as voice overs to fit in more information on the film narrative. The dialogue introduces the brothers, the man who gives them a 'muscling' job and the head officer that is trying to catch them. 
• Another voice over is used at the end of the trailer as a voice says "Legend" as the name of the film is simultaneously shown. This is used to keep the name of the film in the audience's head in case they weren't constantly watching.

Special Effects

• Special effects include a constant use of split screen to duplicate Tom Hardy into twins as both brothers are shown in shots together. Other technical effects include smoke and fireworks in one scene. Other than the use of split screen, other special effects are less likely to be used due to the genre of the film. 

Credits and Intertitles

• In order, at first the two logos for Studio Canal and Working Title are shown. 3 Seconds in a title card reading 'Based on a true story' is shown to entice the audience. 7 Seconds in a title card reads that the film is from an academy award winning screenwriter, and names 3 other thriller movies for explorers and reformers. 13 Seconds in a title card praises Tom Hardy's awards and shows 4 stars each from 3 different magazines to convince the audience into watching and to use Hardy as a selling point. 23 Seconds in 4 title cards flash in time to the music that say "Power", "Fear", "Family", "Legend" which sums up the movie as well as give a sense of excitement. Afterwards there is information on the date as well as "#LegendFilm" so that explorers can follow the film. All the title cards are their own shots; no information is shown over imagery. 

This trailer helps me understand that if I were to make a teaser trailer I would have to show the most enticing shots and cinematography as well as only show dialogue that gives a gist of the movie. It also shows where to place title cards and what to show on them. The use of lapping dialogue over imagery to save on time is also key to keep audiences engaged as well as fast editing shots. In the teaser their is not much action shown, only scenes leading up to action which entices the audiences to want to see what happens, which is important to keep in mind despite not wanting to make a crime film, but perhaps taking some of the thriller and drama elements from it. 

Link to Year 12 Blog

http://katieknowlesg321.blogspot.co.uk/