Reflection 2

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Research
Teaser Trailers
From researching the various different teaser trailers, this has enabled me to hone in and focus on the genre
conventions of a psychological thriller. A prime learning curve for me was being able to understand the themes within
perception
(distorted), reality, death and identity.
the genre which are played with throughout each of the various trailers, these being;
In relation to the actual production of the teaser trailers, there is heavy focus on several various shots being
used in one scene, edited in a quick pace to increase the anxiety of the audience and play on the psyche of
the demographic. The most common use of shots are extreme close-ups to cause discomfort and wide-shots
to establish thrilling locations as well as to create suspenseful scenes such as in Gone girl where the male
character appears to be watching his wife in a concerning way.
There is a very prominent focus on the lighting choices throughout the trailers in order to increase the
element of suspense and tension throughout the various trailers. For example The Gift uses dark and
shadowing lighting In order to create discomfort as the audience watch Gordo strangely obsess over this
couple. It also helps evoke a heavy sense of enigma as the audience are left questioning the characters and
their true intentions, as well as experiencing their own kind of distorted perception as they are unsure of what
is distorted and what is reality.
In learning this from the teaser trailers, I have been able to research further and plan my teaser trailer
according to these themes, shots and elements. This has allowed me to grasp a solid understanding of what
the psychological thriller genre consists of and what is needed in order to produce an effective trailer.
Film Posters
From researching a variety of film posters I have been able to learn and understand about the colour schemes
and images which are essential in producing an effective film poster. For example, I have been able to
understand the use of colours such as blue which is not a colour typical of the genre convention, this helps to
emphasise the psychological aspect of the poster as it plays on the mind of the audience. Colours such as
this in combination with the stereotypical genre convention colours such as red and black help to create a
sense of discomfort and unease as the audience is left confused and asking questions, which makes the
poster effective in being enigmatic and doing its job of selling the movie.
In terms of image use, I have found that using one strong image with one or two less subtle images blurred or
faded out for relevant significance makes the poster far more intriguing as it does not give away much of the
movie but still again plays on the idea of the psyche of the audience. For example in Gone Girl the poster
uses one strong image of the male protagonist standing alone and then a faded image of eyes in the sky
which suggests the idea that he is being watched, this is immediately uncomfortable and creepy which are
two typical conventions.
Overall, in terms of posters there needs to be a mixture of both challenging and conforming to genre
convention in order to create the thrilling element of the poster and also to connote the psychological
element through this. When coming to produce my poster, I have been able to adopt different ideas of colour
combinations alongside image editing and effects in order to create the expected chilling poster.
Magazine Covers
Over the course of my research, I have looked at different film posters in order to gage an idea of what is
necessary in order to produce and effective magazine cover for a film. Typically the key features include
using the main protagonist or celebrity in order to draw immediate appeal- normally with this actor in
character to further sell the movie. For example on the cover of the magazine Empire, Harry Potter star
Daniel Radcliffe features in character, alongside the dark colours and lighting which are prevalent
throughout both the movie itself and the teaser trailers.
Also, mode of address, dress and colours also have a direct impact on the appeal of the magazine covers.
This research alongside my AS Media coursework has allowed me to develop an understanding of what I need
to include. All of these various elements can be adapted in order to create different effects, for example such
as diverging from the convention of the actor using direct mode of address on the magazine cover, as this
immediately indicates that the movie being shown is different and also does not fit the genre stereotypes. As
the standard demographic of a psychological thriller is a teenage+ audience, it is essential that they are
always being shown something different as being able to discuss something which is not part of the
mainstream discussion allows them to have a social element (Uses and Gratifications) and also a sense of
escapism for this particular movie.
For my own magazine cover I think there is a necessity to follow the general theme of the movie in the way
of colour schemes, dress etc or to completely diverge from the conventions of the movie purely just to create
sense of enigma which will act as a bait for the movie anyway.

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