Primary Research Survey

My Survey

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Target Audience

My Target Audience

I will develop my target audience similarly to the target audience of other psychological thrilllers. My target audience is both males and females aged 18-25, due to some mature themes which appear within the genre of the psychological thriller. More males than females may watch my film due to psychological thrillers being more male orientated seen through the use of male stars and the theme of violence and mystery. My typical audience members will think of themselves as "alternative" and enjoy activities such as going to the cinema, watching television series and expressing themselves through social media. Some other films my target audience may enjoy include Shutter Island, Kill Bill and Fight Club along with TV shows such as Game of Thrones, Teen Wolf and Supernatural. They may also position themselves politically as left wing.

My target audience will typically have a career in advertising, allowing them to spread the word of enjoyable places or things around them. They dislike when people disagree with their opinions, when trailers reveal too much about a films plot and also when a films plot moves too slowly.

To find out more about my target audience I will conduct an online survey to learn which elements of films and trailers they enjoy the most so that I can ensure their inclusion within my trailer.

Trailers as Multi-modal Texts

What does Multi-modal mean?

If a text is multi-modal, it means that it incorporates more than one form of communication whether its written text, spoken language, music or moving image. These forms of communication, or modes, create messages, and for a film audience a trailer is a multi-modal text full of messages about a certain film.

Example of a Multi-modal Text: Being Charlie (2016)

TITLE OF FILM: Being Charlie (2016)
FEATURES OF MULTIMODAL TEXT	DESCRIPTION OF FEATURE IN TRAILER	ANALYSIS OF IMPACT ON AUDIENCE
Written text on screen	"Castle Rock Entertainment" "Charlie is Reckless" "Charlie is Defiant" "Charlie is adrift" "From the director of Stand by Me" "Being Charlie"	Castle Rock Entertainment is a subsidiary company of Warner Bros. which could be why a possibly risky independent film was  produced by this subsidiary company rather than a major production company. The different descriptions of Charlies well being allow the audience to feel different levels of sympathy for the character, leaving the audience to want to know him more to know how he got into his "reckless" position.
Spoken language	"if they say you only have a year to live, do it sober, it will seem like an eternity." "six months of sobriety, anything you wanna say? // do i smell like weed?" "if you refuse to accept the disease that brought you here you will continue to be a repeat offender// dont you mean repeat customer?" "you had plenty of choices charlie" "i know what your thinking, who's this kid with the silver spoon in his mouth and why does he keep cooking heroin in it? what a waste of a perfectly good utensil."	With the first piece of spoken language in this trailer being about being sober, it makes it clear to the audience that this film has a thematical focus on drugs and possibly the abuse of them. The second quote ive chosen from the trailer highlights this theme of drug abuse and brings humour to with the contrast of sobriety and talking about drugs. Within the trailer there is clear conflict between father and son in  this trailer, which may draw an audience in to see if Charlie's behaviour is related to the relationship he holds with his family. The repeated humour applied to a serious subject such as drug abuse may draw the audience in to see Charlie's journey through humour to disguise his troubles.
Moving images	The moving images within this film give a visual to the drug focus as well as a verbal one. Through the trailer we see parts of Charlies personality through his actions such as the following:	through visualising Charlie's rebellion against religion and his parents, the filmmakers want to draw the audience in to interest of Charlie's life and begin to question why charlie is the way he is. Through the lack of "major"shot types and camera distances show how this is clearly not a high concept film but indie.
Sound effects	Smashing of glass	The only sound effects featured within the trailer are those which heighten the diegetic sounds within the trailer such as the smashing of the church window.
Music	Don't Follow me Down- The Boxmasters	This slow tempo song towards the end of the trailer emphasises the sympathy the filmmakers wants the audience to feel for Charlie.

Sound In Trailers

Strauss Narrative and Film Trailers

What is Strauss' theory?

Strauss' theory of binary opposites states that in order for a story to progress there must be two opposing sides of conflict within the narrative, and one of these opposing sides must over power the other to bring the narrative to a close. Examples of these opposites are:

• Good vs. Evil
• Light vs. Dark
• Past vs. Future
• Human vs. Magical

Applying the theory:

Within the trailer for Time Lapse (2015), there are binary opposites clear within the themes of the film itself and between the characters. Some of these opposites include:

• Present vs Future
• Love vs Lust
• Knowledge vs Ignorance
• Male vs Female
• Fate vs Desire
• Science vs Realism

The trailer does not show the side of opposition which over powers the other, this will be to create tension and excitement within an audience to make them want to see the film. 

How will this effect my trailer?

Binary opposites are important to include within a trailer as they provide narrative structure and create the conflicts needed within a story. Within my trailer i will ensure i use clear examples of binary opposites include reality vs illusion within a psychological thriller. This will allow for the conventions of a psychological thriller to begin to show within my trailer. 

Propp Narrative and Film Trailers

What was Propp's theory?

Propp's theory was that each narrative had 8 main characters who were vital to the story's progression. Each character has their own purpose within the narrative. These characters are:

• The Hero- the protagonist. Traditionally a male character who's main task is to defeat the villain and rescue the princess. 

• The Villain- the antagonist. the source of disruption within a story. This characters purpose is to provide obstacles the hero must face and defeat in order to reach their goal.

• The Donor- this character traditionally provides an object with magical powers to help the hero with his task. In a more modern world, the object may have a more symbolic meaning than magical. 

• The Helper- this character travels alongside the hero to help him with his task.

• The dispatcher- the dispatcher is the character who sends the hero on their journey, traditionally this character is the princess' father to see if the hero is worthy of the princess.

• The princess- the princess' role is as a prize for the hero for succeeding in his task. in most modern stories, the princess isn't a princess at all, but a female character of whom the hero desires. 

• The princess' father- as the character name suggests, the princess' father is the one who presents the princess to the hero once the task is complete.

• The false hero- this character portrays themselves to be the hero when they are quite often working against the hero, sometimes with the villain, to try to win the princess for themselves.

Sometimes the characters in a film do not fit to Propp's theory. Sometimes a character may fit to two or more of the character types whereas some characters do not fit to any of the character types.

Applying the theory: Fight Club (Spoiler Alert)

• The Hero- The Narrator
• The Villain - Tyler Durden
• The Princess- Marla Singer
• The Helper- Robert Paulson
• The Donor- Robert Paulson
• The Dispatcher- The Narrator
• The False hero- Tyler Durden

Due to the cross over between Tyler Durden and The Narrator and them being the same person, some of the character roles are filled by both of them, for obvious reasons. Fight Club is a clear example of a film in which multiple characters have multiple roles. Robert Paulson (Bob) holds two roles as an example of this. Bob has the role of both helper and donor, by helping the narrator find a way to sleep by crying, giving him an "object" to help with his journey. Bob is also the helper by wanting to stay close with the narrator through his journey so taking part in project mayhem. 

How Will this effect my trailer?

Propp's theory is more difficult to apply successfully to a film trailer however I will ensure to include as many of the character types as possible in my trailer, ensuring that includes a clear hero and villain.

Todorov Narrative and Film Trailers

What is Todorov's theory?

Todorov's theory of 5 stages of narrative states that each narrative follows the same 5 stages...

The five stages are as follows:

• Equilibrium

This first stage is the beginning of the story, a level of normality and the introduction to the story.

• Disruption

This is the "climax" of the narrative. This is the part in the story where a drastic action , character deaths as an example, pushes the narrative in a different direction, forcing the characters to find a solution. 

• Recognition of the disruption

This is where the characters within the story recognise the dilemma within the story and begin to plan a solution. 

• An attempt to repair the disruption

This is where the solution is executed, usually successfully. and the disruption caused is completely repaired, for example with justice ( finding a killer).

• The new equilibrium

The end of the story is usually left with a "happily ever after", a new level of normality to end the story with a sense of closure for the audience.

Applying the theory: Kill Bill vol. 1 (2003)

The first stage of narrative within this trailer is clear when Uma Thurman's voice over states that her and the other characters were once friends who worked together until she decided to leave which then leads to the second stage of Todorov's theory, the disruption. The disruption stage in this trailer begins when Uma Thurman's character is shot during her wedding, leaving her comatose in the hospital. The third and fourth stages are present when the voice over says "its kill or be killed." This point is then emphasised by a discussion between two characters about getting even. Leaving the fifth stage unknown to the audience. However, the end of the trailer presents a release date for Kill Bill vol. 2 (2004), giving a clear indication that even at the end of the movie, the story isn't over.

How will this effect my trailer?

In a similar way, I will incorporate the first 3, maybe 4 stages of Todorov's narrative theory in my trailer. This way i can include as much plot information as possible into my trailer without giving too much away about the ending of it. Todorov's theory of the 5 stages of narrative is a crucial theory to be applied to my trailer. 

Barthes Narrative and Film Trailers

How will this effect my trailer?

Barthes' theory of enigma codes will be especially useful within my trailer and poster as I am looking at the psychological thriller genre for my trailer which revolves around mystery. Barthes' theory of cultural codes may be slightly more complicated to ensure is applied to my trailer however with planning it may be possible to apply the theory with consideration of its attributes. 

Forms and Conventions of Film Trailers