LOOKING AT TRAILERS -RESEARCH

THE BREAK UP
Im going to look at all genres first and then make up my mind with which genre i would like to do. This one is an example of a romantic comedy.

Instantly we are presented with a high angle shot to emphasise the length a tall building-that is the characters home. It seems as if the area is wealthy and the people may be from a high social class, maybe middleclass. This particular shot was one I found very interesting and after watching the rest of the trailer it was clear to see that all of the main events happened in this particular building. I think to show the main setting first is a simple way to show where the action is going to take place, however in most trailers for films there are several settings and not one fixed place.  

The cuts are obviously important as it helps show a lot, in a short time frame, a trailer is on average around three minutes long not giving much time for a lot of information and acting to take place. I believe that a trailer has a lot of potential to involve a lot of creative editing and for it not to look abnormal or unnecessary and help me gain the marks needed. If you notice the three cuts are on average six seconds that means two seconds of each shot, obviously this paces the trailer up and looks interesting.

Eyelevel angles are used a lot in this trailer, this is because it is a romantic comedy and usually in this type of genre simple shots are used when conversations are being healed to let the personalities of the characters shine through. It also reveals that the characters are on the same level. Over the shoulder shot of the man sitting down at the bar was used to show a classic filming skill done when two people are having a conversation/interaction. Thoughts are being exchanged and the flow of the camera helps to keep up with the each characters facial expression.  Close ups reveal emotion because romance is intimate and emotive, a main convention of a romcom.

A voice over of a narrator is used in this trailer to explain the story line and let the audience make sense of everything, but also this is done as a hook to keep them interested on what is coming up next...much like an actual film. The split second shot of the women standing in front of the mirror is done very cleverly, I personally will test and learn how to construct a mirror shot without the camera being in the reflection, I will have to acknowledge what angle works and I intend on testing it all out. I will keep you updated with how it all goes.