Codes and Conventions Evaluation Task

Generally in any genre of film the trailer follows codes and conventions. The first main convention is showcasing the main characters and actors, short titles giving the audience an idea of the storyline through words rather than images, one line conversations between characters, dramatic camera angles to give the audience an idea of what type of character people are, music in the background creating an atmosphere and mood to the film, a montage of key clips in a fast pace, a build up of clips and music and voice over.
In our trailer we used the majority of these codes and conventions but in different ways. In the trailer we introduced the audience to the main characters straight away to make it clear to the audience who the film was going to be based around. However we didn't make it very clear of the names of the character as this didn't come up in the short clips we used. We first introduced the characters in positive scenes expressing their youthfulness and excitement for the days to come, but later on in the trailer we introduced the antagonists which lead to us showing the protagonists in more negative and destructive scenes. This will help show the audience the experience the characters go through, throughout the film.
We used title in two different ways, firstly using them to inform the audience about the film. When its coming out, other films from the same makers and awards its won. But we also used titles to give the audience an idea about the plot of the film, by using just 8 words "The more they know..." "...The less they care.". We decided that we didn't want to give to much away because then less people will want to see the film because the wont be as intrigued if they know the whole idea/plot. But we think that the slogan we chose will make the audience think which will make them more intrigued and interested into ultimately what it means.
We chose to have very little speech in our trailer because we thought that small snappy clips would be a lot more affective. However we didn't go for the traditional and stereotypical choice of one line conversations we had two bits of dialogue which were linked together. One part showing one of the girls picking up the phone and the other a narrative placed over a black title screen. These two pieces of dialogue were used to start the more dark side of the trailer which lead to around 20 seconds worth of fast paced editing. before these two parts of dialogue there was no reason for the audience to think that something bad could happen due to the type of clips and music chosen.
We used a wide variety of camera angles and techniques however we didn't use as many dramatic camera angles and most horror movies used, instead we use normal angles/shots such as long, medium and close up in a more effective and creative way. The three most stereotypical shots we used were a close-up of the antagonists walking away from the camera dragging a axe across the floor. This was the first time we were introduced to any of the antagonists which made the shot even more interesting. The antagonists was wearing dark clothing and it was filmed when the sun had fallen so the shot was a bit more dark and gloomy. The second shot was a mid shot of one of the girls walking past a tree. What was most effective about this shot was that the camera was placed to look like someone was watching her tucked up behind the tree. This will make the audience wonder who is watching her, this creates enigmas. The last shot I will discuss is a low angle shot of one of our antagonists whacking something with their axe. The low angle makes them look dominant and powerful.  What the antagonist is hitting isn't in the shot so again it will create enigmas for the audience. Although we didn't use a massive amount of the typical low and high angle shots we used our other clips in a fast passed montage that was very effective. This mirrors the chaotic manor of the plot and film and also means that we can show as many clips to the audience as possible without giving too much away.
Throughout the trailer we used sound effects more than music because the worked better with our clips however to start the trailer off we used a hip hop song, although this isn't very stereotypical we wanted it too seem like everything was okay at the start but also use the music to demonstrate the youthfulness of the protagonists but also their optimism for the next couple of days. The juxtaposition between this and the of the rest of the trailer was effective because it emphasized the change in mood. When titles appear we used a sound effect that was deep and sounded like a gust of wind/air. This made the titles seem a bit more dramatic and more important to the trailer. Just before our montage starts we have a 6 second clip of one of the antagonist walking away form the camera, over this we added the diegetic sound of someone breathing in a gas mask. Over our montage of clips we added non diegetic sound effects such as a heart beat but also a hollow slow paced calm sound effect. The heart beat is in sync with the change of clips but also creates an enigma for the audience because they will wonder who's heart beat it is.