To answer this question I have annotated my film trailer on youtube.
To watch with annotations please click the settings button on the youtube video and press annotations on.
Below is my annotated video for my film trailer. Or click HERE to view online.
We annotated our film trailer as a group, but in case the examiner is unclear of who did what, here are a few points I personally made on the annotations:
- I noticed that in film trailers, the title of the film tends to be near the end of the trailer as it means that audience are more likely to remember the name of the film. I believe that my group and I stuck to these genre codes and conventions as the title appears just before the social media page.
- I also believe that the beginning of the film trailer is very effective as it starts off with an establishing shot, thus clearly setting the scene and location for which the majority of the film is going to take place in - London. This therefore informs the audience about the location. It is here when the soundtrack starts playing. In my opinion, the music sounds slow-paced and therefore sets the atmosphere for the rest of the film trailer. The subtle music allows the audience to clearly read the text that appears on screen - thus not diverting their attention away too much.
- The way the text appears on screen for the establishing shot of London, I believe, is very effective. This is because is sets the pace of the trailer (slow to start off with) and I like the way it slowly fades in and then out - letter by letter (as this is a more creative way to present the text). Furthermore, the clouded/greyish background on London makes the black text stand out more - thus making it easier for the viewer to read.
- Another way we fulfilled the genre codes and conventions of film trailers was by including inter titles. For example, "Jay is The Ghost". Intertitles are a key aspect to include in trailers as they inform the reader of the people involved in the film, such as the actors, directors or producers. Therefore, I believe that by including these inter titles we have stuck to the genre codes and conventions for film trailers.
- I also believe that the killing of Sydney scene was also very effective. The use of the special effects of the flashes both before and after each image was a creative and visually eye-catching way to present this scene. In my opinion, this scene therefore helps entice the audience and will keep them watching the rest of the trailer.
- I noticed, from my research, that film trailers nowadays included social media pages at the very end of the trailer. Therefore, to stick to genre conventions we added in our own social media page - including a Twitter, Facebook and Instagram page that my group and I created. This is effective as it will encourage the viewers to go on to these pages and even "follow" the page - thus gaining a wider audience to watch our film. Therefore, I believe we have fulfilled this genre code and convention of adding a social media page.
FILM MAGAZINE COVER
After researching and analysing magazine covers I had a much better idea as to what the genre codes and conventions are for a film magazine cover. My magazine follows the codes and conventions for an action/ thriller magazine cover as this is the genre for my film trailer.
MASTHEAD
My group and I came up with the masthead "TopFilm" for our magazine. I positioned the masthead near the top of the magazine cover, ensuring the title was the biggest text on the cover - as this will be the text that will attract the viewer the most. To enhance the title I capitalised the text, made it bold and gave it a dark red colour - all of which makes the title stand out more. I also ensured that the title spread across the width of the cover (leaving a little space either side for the margin) as this is what the majority of film magazines do. By doing this, I am able to stick to the genre codes and conventions for magazine covers as this is professional magazines do in order to attract an audience.
COLOUR SCHEME
The colour scheme of my magazine cover is slightly more complicated than my film poster (which was made up of black, grey and white colours). From carrying out research of film magazine covers, I noticed that the colours in film magazines tend to be more colourful than the film poster as this attracts the audience more easily. Bearing this in mind, I wanted to include the colours of a black background, with blue, white and red text. This gave the magazine more colour - thus standing out much more easily which will then draw in the audience. I kept the text, which was the name of the film, a red colour (as this is the colour I used in my film poster). By keeping the colour the same, I was able to better link my two ancillary products together - thus creating continuity. The red colour also connotes danger and blood, suggesting what type of genre the film is likely to be (action, thriller). This means that I am better able to draw in my audience and stick to the genre codes and conventions for an action/ thriller film magazine cover.
COVER LINE
I included a cover line at the very top of my magazine cover. The aim of this was to provide the viewer with information about major articles in the magazine. One of my cover lines here was "Top 10 Must See Movies". This cover line was short and to the point - thus attracting the viewer. The capitalised, bold font made the text stand out more to the viewer. Next to this piece of text are 3 small pictures which relate to the text - as they are some of the "Top 10 Must See Movies". Including these pictures gives the audience an insight to what films are going to be included in the magazine. Furthermore, since they are very big and currently popular films (Deadpool, The Revenant and Allegiant) this is likely to really draw in the audience - in particular, fans from those films. The slight tilt in the image makes the magazine look more informal, which draws in the younger audience - thus allowing me to successfully attract my target audience for my film and stick to the genre codes and conventions for an action/ thriller film magazine cover. 
CENTRE OF VISUAL INTEREST
The CVI in my film magazine cover is the main character in my film - Aaron. With Aaron being the CVI this highlights his importance in the film. I also made sure the main image of Aaron was a mid shot - allowing the picture to be bigger on the cover. Thus attracting the viewer more easily. The character has an angry and serious face - further indicating the genre of my film trailer - action/ thriller.
Furthermore, I ensured that the character was looking directly into the camera lens and this gives a direct address to the audience - allowing them to have a connection with the main character in the film. I did this as I noticed that this is what many professional magazines covers do - in order to attract the audience more. Therefore, this allows me to stick to the codes and conventions of magazine covers.
LAYOUT
There is a clear layout in my magazine cover. The main image, of Aaron, is placed in the centre of the cover - taking up the majority of the space, thus emphasising his importance in the film. The masthead of the magazine (TopFilm) spreads out across the width of the magazine at the top. This makes is obvious and clear to the viewer what the magazine is (and what sort of magazine aswell). Around the main image of the character are different pieces of text (including the puffs and sell lines). The barcode is position in the bottom left hand corner of the magazine cover. It is small in size because it doesn't have anything to do with the content of the magazine. It is just needed for the actual product to be sold.
SELL LINES
One of the sell lines in my magazine cover is "Exclusive Interview With Demi Collins!". By adding this in the cover, this provides extra information about our new film - A Question Of Identity. This therefore attracts the audience and sticks to the codes and conventions for a magazine cover.
PUFFS
I also added in puffs such as "Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Johnny Depp, Tom Cruise plus more!". This really attracts and draws in the audience as they are provided with information about what will be featured in the magazine. It can also draw in a new web of fans - people who are fans of actors such as Tom Cruise. Thus, allowing me to successfully draw in my audience.
FILM TITLE
The title of my film, A Question Of Identity, is placed just below the characters face. Thus, making it obvious to the viewer that the image and title link together. I made sure that the text was bigger than the other pieces of text (apart from the masthead) as this is an important piece of information. Therefore, I wanted to make sure that this text stood out clearly for the viewer. I also achieved this by not only increasing the size, but also by changing the colour to red (when the rest of the text surrounding it is blue - thus making the red colour stand out more. Therefore, this sticks to the genre codes and conventions of an action film magazine cover.
FILM POSTER
After researching and analysing film posters I had a much better idea as to what the genre codes and conventions are for a film poster. My poster follows the codes and conventions for an action/ thriller poster as this is the genre for my film trailer.
MAIN IMAGE
To make it clear to the viewer what sort of genre my film trailer is, I wanted to make sure the character was holding and aiming a gun - as if he were about to shoot someone/thing. This would indicate that it is likely to be an action/ thriller film.
The character also has a serious and solemn face - making the poster come across as more of an action film. His dark clothing makes the poster seem more dark aswell - giving the poster a more dark and mysterious feel to it.
I chose to add Aaron (the main character) in my film poster because, from studying the codes and conventions of action film posters, the main protagonist is almost always the main image - taking up the most space in the poster and being positioned in the centre of the poster. This makes it more clear to the viewer that Aaron is seen as the "hero" in the film (according to Vladimir Propp, who believes that there are always 8 types of characters in a film).
TITLE
My title, A Question Of Identity, is positioned near the bottom of the poster - but above the credits and promotional logos/text. Therefore, by doing this I am following the codes and conventions of film posters. The title is also the biggest text on the poster as it is the most important piece of information there - since it is the name of the film. Therefore, I made sure it stood out most by making it a bigger size with the text being capitalised and bold looking. This allows me to stick to the genre codes and conventions of film posters as this is what most professional posters do.
My title is also of a red colour, which connotes danger and blood, suggesting what type of genre the film is likely to be (action, thriller). This means that I am better able to draw in my audience and stick to the genre codes and conventions for an action/ thriller film poster.
CREDITS
My credits are positioned at the bottom of my poster - thus sticking to the codes and conventions of film posters (as this is what most professional film posters do). I made sure the colour of the credits blended in slightly with the grey background, as I didn't want them to stand out more than the tile - which is more important. I also downloaded a font which is similar to what the professionals use and I then slightly distorted it to make it look more realistic. Therefore, by doing this, I am sticking to the genre codes and conventions of film posters.
PROMOTIONAL LOGOS
For distribution purposes, I also added in the logos from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram since my group and I have made a special page on each of these social media platforms solely to promote the film trailer. Next to the logo pictures I also added in the address for each of the social media pages. I did this as it informs the viewer what to search when on these social websites. I also included the URL for our website - "www.aquestionofidentity.com". I changed the blending mode on the logo pictures to "luminosity" since I didn't want there to be any bright colours such as yellow or blue as I thought this would distract the viewers attention to the main character - who is supposed to be centre of attention in the poster. By adding in these logo pictures, plus the address, I am sticking to the codes and conventions of film posters as I am informing the viewer about are social media website.
RELEASE DATE
I also ensured that I added a time as to when the film would be release. This would therefore inform the viewer when the film is coming out in cinema. After doing my film poster research, I found that every poster is different. Some say "Coming soon this summer" or some simply say the date of the release of the film e.g. "07.8.16". I have chosen to go for "Coming Soon", which is what a lot of film posters say if they are not sure exactly what month it will be released in. Therefore, I found it appropriate to use since my group and I don't know when it will be released yet.
I also made sure that the colour of the text was plain white and was capitalised as this made the text stand out from not only the dark grey background, but also the other texts on the posters - such as the credits. I wanted this text to stand out in particular since this will inform the viewer when abouts the film will be released - even if it hasn't got an exact date.
TAG LINE
I then came up with a slogan (The Time Is Now) and then placed it near the top right hand corner of the poster. I also wanted this text to stand out clearly from the background so, again, I made the colour white and capitalised it. The white font colour against the black background makes the text seem more bold and clear, hence why I positioned it there. This allows me to stick to the genre codes and conventions of film posters as many posters ensure that the tag line stands out more.
BACKGROUND
I added in the smoke as part of the background in my poster because it gives the poster that mysterious feel to it. It makes it feel as though there is going to be something dark and eerie in the film - thus drawing in the viewers.
For the top part of the background the colour is black. However, I also added in two small pictures of the characters: Aaron and Sydney. I added this in to fill in the poster more. I put the pictures either side of the main picture of Aaron. I edited the colour of the photos and made them slightly more black and white. I did this so that the original colour of the photos wouldn't distract the viewers eye from the main attention - Aaron.
Overall, the background of the poster doesn't reveal much about the film. I feel this attract and draws in the viewer more since they will want to watch the film in order to find out what the film is about. When making the poster, I felt that I didn't want to give away a lot about the film - so I kept it simple, by just adding a picture of Aaron aiming a gun. This, in its self, draws in the viewer enough to want to find out more about the poster. Therefore, by doing this, I am sticking to the genre codes and conventions of action film posters - as many don't give away much from the background.
COLOUR SCHEME
The colour scheme of my poster is very simple - with mostly black, grey and white colours. I wanted the poster to be made up of these colours as I felt it made the poster more mysterious and dark. These colours can also indicate the genre of the film - which is an action, thriller film, thus allowing me to stick to the genre codes and conventions.
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