Radio Trailers

I've been listening to radio trailers on YouTube though they are not always easy to find and so below I have managed to gather a few trailers for the BBC popular family sci-fi/drama 'Doctor Who':

By listening to these I have gained an understanding of the typical styles and conventions that are used when making a radio trailer. The first observation is that they are each under one minute in length showing me that radio trailers should typically be short and to-the-point in order to grab the reader's attention like a 'shark-bite' effect. other conventions I picked up on are:

• Use of a voice over to narrate the trailer by clearly introducing the film title along with it's slogan, if appropriate, followed by any other vital information such as release time and date
• Use of direct dialogue/sound effects taken from the film - usually of an engimatic nature such as, "Don't go in there!" which intrigues the reader's interest and entices them to discover the film's mysteries.
• Some radio trailers also include quotes from critics reviews and star ratings to show that the film has recieved a positive response.

This has been a very useful learning experience and I plan to use this knowledge I have gained of radio trailer conventions during the process of making my own. 

My 'The Help' Rottontomatoes review

Adapting Kathryn Stockett's 2009 best-selling novel 'The Help' for the big screen was always going to be a risky move considering the difficult subjects that it tackles. That being said, Tate Taylor delivers a witty and charming insight into the lives of black women living in 1960s America from a refreshing perspective that manages to stay true to the novel as well as respectful of those affected by its events. Taylor builds relationships between characters that have the audience both laughing and crying and ultimately, eating out of the palm of his hand. And whilst, at times, the plot may seem a little lost and with no direction, the lovable leading ladies Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer manage to hold the plot together until the film finds itself again. 'The Help' also provides chance to view rising star Emma Stone in a completely new light away from her usual comic typecasting. Stone delivers a sensational, heart-warming performance as journalist Skeeter displaying a breath-taking amount of compassion and sincerity proving herself to be a mature young woman and sealing her future spot on the Hollywood A-list. All in all - a top watch!

- Neil Readman

Film Reviews

Investigation: I'm Here

I'm Here

Investigation: How They Get There

By looking at the opening sequence of 'How They Get There', I plan to classify the short film in terms of genre, discussing the conventions it portrays.

Classifying 'How They Get There' in terms of genre is difficult because it does not directly conform nor rely on the coventions of a specific, mainstream genre. However, as Christine Gledhill proposed, 'genres are not definite systems consisting of a fixed number of listable items', supporting the idea that 'How They Get There' produces its own unique genre.

The film begins with a close-up of a shoe standing by the curb which then leads into a sequence of close-up shots centring around a male character. Whilst sugnalling him out as a significant character, this also creates the enigma as to who he is and why he is important. The ambient lighting provides the appearance of natural daylight, whilst matched with the ordinary setting of a street and the casual clothing, gives the feeling of a drama genre. The stance of the male character, leaning casually against the hood of a care gives impressions of him being very cocksure and confidnet and is overtly cliche, reminiscent of scenes from other films such as 'Grease'. With this is mind, the introduction of the female character instantly provides connotations of a romance genre, particularly as through the use of a shot/reverse shot, it is evident tat the male is instantly fixated on her. Though the female's red jumper carries symbolism of danger, foreboding the events to come.

The sequence of shot/reverse shot creates a sense of humour as it is shown thast the male and female begin mimicking each other which conforms to comedy convention, introducing elements of yet another genre. This supports Steve Neale's theory that 'genre are not systems, but processes of systimisation' as already, 'How They Get There' has demonstrated conventions of three separate genres.

Investigation: Across The Hall

Across The Hall

‘Across The Hall’ typically falls into the ‘thriller’ genre category though could be argued as a ‘thriller/action’ hybrid due to the familiar conventions of action films such as the ‘gun’ and ‘car’ references; as Gledhill proposes, ‘genres are not discrete systems, consisting of a fixed number of listable items’ allowing for conventions of two or more genres to combine. But primarily, ‘Across The Hall’ relies heavily on the film conventions that we typically associate with thrillers such as the clever use of mise-en-scene to enhance both the mood and atmosphere of the action on screen. In particular, ‘Across The Hall’ uses music of a threatening tone to build tension and increase both the danger and the fear leaving the audience sat on the edge of their seats. There’s also high use of lighting for effect such as the limited lighting throughout the shots of the ‘guy with the gun’ to create shadows and mystery, indicating the dark side of his character as well as producing connotations of the motel being dark and dim as well as the sickly red and green lighting bathing the scene in a creepy and eerie glow.

Genre Task: The Outsider

Using the knowledge we have learnt from studying genre, we have been set the task to convert the same simple narrative into two separate film concepts using the conventions of two completely unrelated genres. The storyline, entitled 'The Outsider' consists of a character stumbling across a new kingdom where they are considered an outcast and are instantly caught up in the battle zone of a rising war.

 

For our first concept, we have decided to convert the narrative to suit a science-fiction genre. Considering the typical sci-fi conventions and our own expectations of sci-fi, we devised the idea that the film could be set on an alien planet and that the character considered an 'outsider' could be an astronaut who has crash landed. He becomes cought up in a long-standing battle between the two inhabitent alien species of the planet, 'the red people' and 'the blue people'. Believe we have created a mock-up idea of how the film poster may appear for such a film as well as a quick breakdown of the narrative:

 

Considering we had already selected science-fiction as our first genre, we knew for our second film concept we needed to choose a genre with very different conventions. As our first concept was set on another world, the most likely scenario seemed to be to set our second on earth and because our first appealed to an older audience due to its graphic scenes of violence during the alien battle, we decided the second should reach a younger age category. Therefore, we decided to produce the concept of a tennage high school comedy using exactly the same narrative as the previous sci-fi. In place of the astronaut we created a new girl who's first day it was at school and therefore was considered an 'outsider' as she did not have any friends. We then, constantly refering back to our knowledge of the typical conventions and expectations of the chosen genre, created the idea of having a rivalry between two gangs; the 'cool' kids and the nerds which our protagonist instantly becomes swept up in which results in a battle to decide which team she will join forces with. Below is our interpretation of the narrative to suit the conventions of our genre along with a mock-up of a possible accompanying film poster: