British Board of Film Censors

Otherwise known as the British Board of Film Classification, this institutions aim is to try and protect children from unsuitable or harmful content in films. They decide which age rating is most appropriate for a film and therefore society, mostly parents, use these as guidelines as to what is appropriate for their child/children to watch. There are several types of categories for the age ratings which are:

• U
• PG
• 12A and 12
• 15
• 18

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/u - image accessed on 13/10/14

Firstly, 'U' stands for Universal. A U film means that the content within a film is suitable for all ages. Despite the board deeming a film suitable for all they cannot predict what may or may not upset of scare a child so it is for the parents to have the final say in whether it is suitable for their child to watch. If a film is rated U, then the symbol above will appear alongside it. In terms of my own work, I will have to give it a target audience and then give the trailer a classification to show that it suitable for them to watch. I will only be able to give my trailer this rating if the content is suitable for children. Genres that are made with children in mind such as animations tend to be popular with this rating due to films such as Finding Nemo and Shrek.

The board only allow mild language such as the word 'damn'. There also is no focus on sexual behaviour as acts such as cuddling or kissing is the most that they show.

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/pg - image accessed on 13/10/14

This symbol represents films that are classed as needing 'parental guidance'. This means that the film is suitable for children to watch although they may require a parent present during some scenes which could possible be upsetting. PG films are not suitable for children under the age of 8 and therefore just like the Universal guideline, parents will have to decide based on their child alone that it is suitable for them to watch it. I would give this rating to my trailer if the content was not likely to upset children over the age of 8. Therefore, genres such as thrillers and horror would not be in this category. Examples of films that have the PG certificate are The Chronicles of Narnia and E.T.

Films rated PG will not contain any disturbing or strong narratives. There is no strong language or scenes that are unsuitable for children's nature. They don't deal with inappropriate issues as they will only maybe show clips that could involve bullying or bereavement. An example would be Finding Nemo, it deals with bereavement as Nemo's mother is killed and it has issues of bullying when others pick on him because of his different fin. Despite it being rated a U it has PG themes which is why it is up to the parents to decided if their child is able to watch it. 

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/12a-and-12 - image accessed on 13/10/14

A 12A film contains material that is not suitable for any child under the age of 12 unless they have an adult watching it with them. Film's rated 12 are available for children of this age to go see it on their own unlike a 12A where they would have to view with a relative or another adult. There is some language used in 12A and 12's but only moderate swear words. Sex is not shown in 12A's or 12's , however, it is briefly and discreetly referenced or implied such as kissing scenes e.c.t. Sexual violence can be implied yet it must have a strong justification and context for it to be happening. 

Some horror films can be classed as 12A's and 12's however these are usually a children's version of ' horror' and do not contain any frequent scary scenes or a disturbing story line. These films are usually thrillers and involve children going on an adventure and are only called 'horror's ' because adult horrors are enticing to children and by giving them their own version of horrors it can make them less likely to want to watch ones rated 15 or 18.

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/15 - image accessed on 13/10/14

According to the British Board of Film Classification this is what is included in a 15 rated film. 

What might I see in a 15 rated film or video?

Any of the following:

•   strong violence
•  frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***'). 
•   portrayals of sexual activity
•   strong verbal references to sex
•   sexual nudity
•   brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence
•   discriminatory language or behaviour
•   drug taking

As you can see from the list, people under the age of 15 are not permitted to view films with such content. There can be a lot of scenes involving sex and frequent use of profanity as well as violence and even 'gory' scenes when it comes to thrillers and horrors.




http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/18 - image accessed on 13/10/14

18 rated films are not suitable for children in any way - they are strictly for adults only. There are a variety of issues included in 18 films such as:
18 works are for adults and can contain strong issues including extremely strong violence, frequent strong language, sexual activity and violence, strong horror, disturbing story lines, strong horror with blood and gore and offensive language and behavior.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Board_of_Film_Classification

Media Theories Part 6 - Male Gaze

Media Theories Part 5 - Barthes 5 Narrative Codes

Roland Barthes (1915) was a French literary theorist, philosopher, critic, and semiotics (study of cultural signs and symbols) Barthes suggested that there are 5 codes that can be used to describe a text. He said that texts are either open or closed. Open being that it is unraveled in a lot of ways and closed is described as there only being one thread to pull on so to say. Although Barthes used these codes for written text they can be applied to film trailers. The 5 codes are as follows:

Enigma Code
Barthes stated that if a text had enigma codes then it had mystery. There are clues given but no clear answers are given. This sort of code in a text builds the audiences anticipation and leaves them wanting more. Enigma codes can be frustrating to viewers, for example, usually horror and thriller trailers have these as they can show disruptions and murders although you do not know what has caused them e.c.t. This code can solve and set puzzles within a narrative.

Action Code
This code builds up tension, similar to the enigma code. An action code refers to any other action or events that indicate that something else it going to occur, this makes the audience guess as to what will happen next. The enigma and action code usually work together to develop the anticipation being created within a text which keeps audiences interested. In terms of trailers, we can see examples of action codes as in a variety of genres we see several scenes building up to one big main scene, for example, in a horror there could be a scene that it relatively quiet yet the music is building up followed by some suspicious behavior in the clip where the audience might think that something is going to make them jump.

Semantic Code
The semantic code refers to the connotations within a text that give extra meaning to the literal meaning of something. There are endless semantic codes within trailers, particular costumes characters, objects and settings represent something beyond the visual aspect. For example, what does the costume of a particular character say about them? Why are they dressed like that? e.c.t.

Symbolic Code
The symbolic code is similar to the semantic code although it is more diverse. It looks further than semantic codes and looks at deeper meanings of things.

Referential Code
Also known as the cultural code, it deals with texts that refer to common bodies of knowledge which could be scientific, cultural or historical.

Media Theories Part 4 - Audience - Uses and Gratifications (unfinished)

Media Theories Part 3 - Application of Propp's Narrative & Character Functions

Media Theories Part 2 - Vladimir Propp's Narrative Functions

'Vladimir Propp was a Soviet folklorist and Scholar who analysed the basic plot components of Russian folk tales in the 1920's to identify their narrative elements' - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Propp

Propp broke down the tales that he studied into the smallest parts he could, he called this the narratemes, or the more common phrase, narrative functions and claimed this was necessary for a narrative to exist. Each narrateme is an event that drives the story forward and can take it in a different direction. The functions he came up with do not appear in every narrative however, they always appear in the same order. Propp gave 31 functions that make an appearance in every narrative he analysed and these functions were as follows:

1. A member of a family leaves home. This is where the hero is introduced as a unique person within the village or tribe, whose needs may not be met by remaining.
2. A command to not do something, for example, "Do not go there" is given out to the hero.
3. The hero ignores the command.
4. The villain of the story appears and tries to find the jewels/treause/children and intended victim encounters the villain.
5. The villain gets information about the victim
6. The villain tries to deceive the victim to try and take possession of the victims belongings i.e - tries to trick the victim.
7. Victim ends up being fooled by the villain and therefore the victim mistakenly helps the enemy.
8. The villain causes harm or catastrophe, which in the folk tales Propp studied could have been abduction, stolen magical agent, ruining the village, casts a spell on someone, commits murder, threatens everyone, imprisons someone or even provide nightly torments. However, there is an alternative here which Propp replaces with this with a member of a family lacks or desires something (magical potion e.c.t.)
9. Misfortune or lack is made known and hero is dispatched or hears calls for help e.c.t, or alternatively the victim/hero is freed from imprisonment.
10. Seeker agrees to, or decides upon counter-action.
11. Hero leaves home.
12. Hero is tested, interrogated or attacked. Prepares way for the receiving of the magical agent or helper (donor)
13. The hero reacts to actions of the future donor.
14. The hero gets the magical use of the agent (it is either directly given, located, made, purchased, suddenly appears, is eaten or drunk, or even offered by other characters.  
15. Hero is transferred or led to the whereabouts of the object of the search.
16. Hero and the villain join in direct combat.
17. Hero is wounded.
18. Villain is defeated.
19. Initial misfortune or lack is resolved (object of search distributed, spell broken)
20. Hero returns.
21. The hero is pursued (pursuer tries to kill hero)
22. Hero is eventually rescued from the pursuit.
23. Hero unrecognized, ends up somewhere else, lost.
24. False hero presents unfound claims.
25. Difficult task is presented to the hero.
26. Task is resolved.
27. Hero is recognized most likely by an object given to them.
28. False hero or villain is finally exposed.
29. Hero is given a new appearance.
30. Villain is punished.
31. Hero marries and ascends the throne or is rewarded/prompted.

The story is driven by the choices of the protagonist of the narrative, however, the narrative functions are shared between the main characters. Therefore, Propp proposed alongside the narrative functions, the character function. He claimed the majority of these appear within a narrative although they can obviously vary: 

• The hero - essentially the one who saves the day. 
• The villain - tries to overcome and get rid of the villain. 
• The donor - prepares hero by giving object of some sort. 
• The helper - helps the hero in their quest. 
• The princess - a sought-for person and usually her father. 
• The dispatcher - tries to make the lack or problem made clear and send hero. 
• The false hero - claims to be the hero.

Despite Propp's theory being based on folk russian tales in the 1920's they can be applied to modern films today. The narratives of films obviously appear in their trailers and therefore the Propp's narrative and character functions can arise. 

Media Theories Part 1 - Levi Strauss' Binary Oppositions

Conclusion of Existing Trailers Research

Existing Trailers - What If (Romantic comedy genre)

'What If' is a new romantic comedy released in 2014. I want to analyse this trailer in particular because it does a good job of clearly showing the codes and conventions of the hybrid genre of romance and comedy. This trailer will give me a good clear insight into what this genre entails and some of the things I will need to achieve if I were to pursue this genre for my own work. The mise-en-scene, sound, editing and camera techniques work together to bring all aspects of the genre into the audiences focus.

Firstly, the mise-en-scene plays a big part in the trailer, as it does it in every trailer for a film. The lighting throughout is bright placing the characters in a positive atmosphere in every scene. It is extremely conventional within a romantic comedy story line to have a barrier between the two lovers in the film - which in this case is the fact that the female protagonist has a boyfriend. Despite the first half of the trailer showing the main two protagonists agreeing to be nothing more than friends, it is explained further through other characters that this is basically just a test to see if the man and woman can be friends without falling in love. Even though that is a big part of the story line the audience already know before the trailer introduces it that the two characters are going to fall in love. Even though this seems like a spoiler, the typical audience for romantic comedies (teenage girls and women) go to watch the film at the cinema with the intention of seeing a film with this ending. They want to see a film knowing that the two protagonists end up together because it's not so much the ending that is the part they want to see, they want to see how the characters get to that point.

All the characters wear simple and original clothing which so called 'normal' people wear every day, this adds a sense of realism drawing the audience into the film. The props used are nothing more than ordinary items that you would find in the various settings, there are normal items in the kitchen, living rooms, bedrooms and in the city and streets they pass through, further creating a realistic situation. Moreover, the settings are also ordinary for the setting of New York with scenes taking place on the streets, in restaurants and apartments and baseball games which is one of the main conventions of New York.

The sound throughout the trailer is extremely conventional and portrays the romantic comedy genre clearly by having a mix of light upbeat tones and always more rhythmic fast paced sounds. However, the trailer does not start off by sound straight away. We see the the 'CBS Films' name first transition onto the screen while a timer sound plays in the background, it moves off the screen to the rhythm and then as the timer sounds reaches it's end and 'chimes' we see the first clip of the trailer. This sound is a quirky way of opening the trailer as the first scene is one of the characters making himself nachos which he does as the sound of the timer goes off, giving the impression that the sound is linked obviously to that scene. No music plays as the character says "I've just had sex and I'm about to eat Nachos - it's the greatest moment of my life" which emphasizes the comedy of this line and therefore introducing the comedy and lightness of the film straight away. It is extremely important to show the genre of your trailer as soon as possible to allow yourself the opportunity to grab your target audiences attention as soon as possible.

At 2:09 - there is the first sign that the two protagonists have a romantic moment together and this is when the music slows down and changes from the lighthearted tone. It then begins to pick up and has a more dramatic feel to it as the trailer shows several text scenes and in between them a snippet of footage - the more dramatic music is suitable as these scenes are showing the more romantic side of the genre rather than the comedy as the more serious disruption of the equilibrium is shown (the female protagonist leaving).

Examples of the text scenes they use between the scenes.

 The editing throughout is smooth and calm reflecting the genre. Quick cuts are used at the end to build up the audiences anticipation once the disruption of the equilibrium is introduced. Different interpretations can be made about the quickness of the editing here as to a person who regularly or prefers horror and thriller genres would see the quickness of the editing in this trailer as slow because they are used to seeing a lot faster movement in horror and thriller trailers that they see. However, to the usual audience that go to see rom-coms, which tend to be teenage girls and women of any age, they understand that pace of the editing reflects the problem occurring on the scene - they know it is to make the drama of the narrative more apparent. The target audience will want to see the film once they have watched the teaser; once the quick cuts and fast paced scenes have built up to a certain point.

There is a variety of shot types, particularly close-ups and  medium shots. The close-up shots in the trailer are used to convey the emotions of specific characters and their reactions to things that happen in the film. The trailer chooses to show the close-up shots of characters in the scenes that they include because it allows the audience to connect with the character on a more personal level as they can see traits of their personality in their reactions and body language. It also gives the viewers a clear idea on what the characters look like so they have a vague idea of the main cast before they see the film. Moreover, medium shots are used to show situations between characters at a closer level. For example, a medium shot of the main two protagonists walking down a street is used as you can see them interacting more closely.

As we can see from the previous analysis's, appearing text in the trailers are normal conventions that the audience expect to see. They help make the trailer for dramatic and also help aid the viewers understanding of the genre and story line. The typography is very simple and uncomplicated to fit in the with the scenes more naturally. As you can see from the pictures further above, the colour scheme and font remain the same for each text scene to keep up the smooth continuity. The pale choice of colours represent the lightness and comedic aspects of the genre as well as being seen as more 'feminine colours'.

Overall by analyzing this trailer I have had an insight into the conventions and the style of a romantic comedy genre trailer. This will help me profusely when it comes to making my final decision for my genre which I will do after analyzing a couple more of the genres that I need to cover.

Existing Trailers - Pirates of the Caribbean 4 (Adventure & Fantasy Genre)

Pirates of the Caribbean is a film series based on the adventures of the main protagonist, Jack Sparrow, portrayed by film star, Johnny Depp. The genre of the film conforms to both adventure and fantasy mainly with other sub-genres such as comedy. The film trailer shows the conventions of all these genres clearly by choosing certain scenes, editing techniques, shots and music to get this across to their audience.


The film trailer includes everything you would expect from this genre, the narrative contains mythical and supernatural creatures such as zombies, the undead, mermaids and also mythical narrative elements such as treasure maps, trying to find magic potions and trying to find spells e.c.t. Furthermore, the setting fits into this genre given that it is set in exotic locations which this one clearly is. Overall, the trailer has made it extremely obvious to the audience that the genre is a hybrid of fantasy and adventure through their combination of establishing and long shots of the locations as well as close-ups and surrounding the narrative with all the mythical elements you would expect to find.

The mise-en-scene in the trailer is consistent with the content and story line. The costumes are authentic with the era and they are realistic when it comes to specific characters, for example, they pirates that are lower in rank than the captain wear less clothing and wear simpler garments with plain colours, whereas Captain Jack Sparrow is dressed more 'fancy' clothing to show he is higher up and has a more important role in the film. Moreover, the female characters are dressed the same as the male characters which is conventional; at that time given that women did not usually appear in those situations with gender roles being tight and strict.

The lighting throughout is various as it depends one which parts of the film they are showing. In the scenes where they are showing humorous parts the lighting is bright to represent this tone, however, at parts such as 1:01 and 1:58 the lighting is dimmer and darker with the surrounding colours being bland and dark to convey the seriousness as well as the tense atmosphere as the scenes involve fighting and discovering.

The sound in the trailer is varied. At the beginning of the trailer the main character, Captain Jack, addresses the audience personally however remains in his role in the film and keeps the narrative going. He explains how he is looking for a new crew to go on an expedition, the way he addresses the viewers and talks to them brings them into the film and grabs their focus instantly. This is a unique technique as it interests the audience and starts the trailer off in a light-hearted way by not starting with action and violence straight away. Whilst the character is talking there is slow and faint music playing in the background, it is an upbeat tone and progresses in volume as the trailer moves on. At the end of his monologue there is an example of caesura - the use of a dramatic pause in music and often a fade to black transition to emphasize something, which in this cases it is used to emphasize the start the adventures shown in the rest of the trailer. After this fade to black and silence there are several intense 'drops' of sound and as each one starts an image appears to make the introduction to the settings more dramatic and atmospheric. The music changes to a slow, intense sound as a dark voice narrates. This narration is accompanied by a series of establishing and medium shots of scenery to focus the audiences attention on the setting of the film. They choose to show establishing shots of islands, medium shots of waterfalls and close-up shots of the ocean to make it clear that the story takes place in a tropical setting.

The editing towards of the end of the trailer is short and fast as the music grows to a faster pace which is conventional as they are showing a lot of scenes in a short space of time to build up the viewers anticipation. The editing pace is slow and steady at the start of the footage as it is easing the the audience into the trailer and introducing the story. Towards the end, the music has built up and the scene cuts to a sudden logo hitting the screen. The logo is a conventional one for pirates and therefore is viewers can make this connection with the film. Also, an editing technique has been used as the title of the film has a sudden reflection along with a matching sound of swords to conform to the pirate theme and the pirate logo in the background (this is at 2.58).

Moreover, the typography conforms to the genre as it is a script, rough, handwriting font which matches the way people used to write in them days. They have used the silver to match the colour of swords, other weapons and possible treasure further matching and hinting at their genre. The last scenes that are on are a list of names of the well known actors that are featured in the film as people will more than likely know who they are and it may make them want to see the film more.

To conclude, by analyzing this trailer as my adventure and fantasy genre research I am now confident in what this genre includes and the type of narrative it involves.

Existing Trailers - The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Comedy-drama & coming-of-age)

If the trailer in the presentation does not work, please watch here:

Existing Trailers - Se7en (Thriller Genre)

Existing Trailers - As Above, So Below (Horror Genre)

This is a film trailer for As Above, So Below. Released in 2014 it is a fresh, new horror and thriller which I am going to analyse to help further my understanding of what the conventions are for this genre.

The film is classed as a thriller as there is little 'guts and gore' so to say. However, it is partly horror due to the frightening nature throughout. This makes As Above, So Below, a hybrid.  

The film trailers shown on YouTube slightly differ from the trailer of the film that they show on the television. Although the content is the same, whilst watching it online there is an extra clip of text right at the start before the footage is shown. The white text sits in front of a green background - it appears the exact same on every trailer shown on the web. It essentially for more legal reasons by saying that the Motion Picture Association of America has deemed the trailer acceptable to show. This is obviously important to show as it allows us to see that the trailer has been examined and verified so we instantly know that it is suitable for watching.

Straight away we see an editing skill as at 0.06 - as soon as the trailer begins - an effect has been used to make the screen 'crackle' and 'flicker' as if you have just switched on a video, this idea is further supported by the non-diegetic sound effect which people relate back to the idea of something technological crackling. It is followed by a close-up shot of a young female presenting herself which relates to the effect they used to introduce her in the scene as it all makes the viewer feel like they are being directly spoken to. This immediately immerses into the scene and keeps their attention because they are focusing on this character. Furthermore, it is followed by a medium shot of her dancing around however the camera films her from a direction which makes it clear that she isn't focusing and is being caught off-guard, giving it a documentary, amateur style. There is no sound support this short sequence which ensures that attention is fixated on what is being shown and also to make the start of the music more dramatic. As the trailer goes on the music gets more intense as more sounds within the piece are introduced. The composition continues to build up in pace fitting in with the more intense and scary clips that they are showing from the film. The music played within a film trailer is important as it is a major contributor to the audiences emotions and reactions to what they are seeing. The music used can give the viewers the exact atmosphere you want them to experience and evoke the emotions you are wanting them to feel - in this case the music is attempting to evoke the 'on edge' feeling from viewers.

Secondly, we see the iconography of the Universal Studios trademark. The audience will usually instantly recognise this if they have seen films by the Universal Studios company before. As this is being shown we experience our first sound. A piece of slow music starts off in a deep pitch making the feeling more intense, this juxtaposes the happy, energetic female we were shown in the previous scene and therefore this introduces the idea of a darker narrative. After the Universal icon there is a fade to black to make the transition smoother as they move into more of the footage from the film. The fade to black is followed by an establishing shot of Paris which the director has made obvious by showing the iconic landmark of the Eiffel Tower. Now the audience know where the film is set they start getting more of a feel for the film. The same piece of non-diegetic music is being played throughout ensuring the audience are still immersed and keeping up their senses.

All throughout the trailer there is an alternation in the camera style, showing footage which has been filmed by the camera men on set and then scenes which have been filmed using the handheld technique to give the impression of one of the group members filming their adventure. You can tell when the handheld technique is being used as the camera is more rough and unsteady, also, the characters look directly into the camera as they know they are being film whereas they don't make eye contact with the regular cameras on set for it would make the entire film unrealistic.

Constantly throughout the trailer the genre is never lost. We are always being reminded of what the film entails and what genre they are giving off. An example is the fact that at 0.37 seconds, there a shots, one after another, of human skulls and bones.

At time 0.20 some text appears on the screen.This is extremely conventional for any film trailer to have text flowing through the trailer as it gives extra information that gives the audience more of an understanding about the film and its content. Typography is also cleverly used and planned as the way the text appears on screen keeps up the continuity of the trailer - it fits and keeps the same feel as all the previous scenes by abruptly flashing on screen, the same sort of flashing effect we saw at the beginning on the footage. The sentences flash up on the screen which resembles a light flickering on and off, this is complimented by the greenish yellow colour of the text supporting the dark theme occurring throughout. This is giving the sign of the horror genre as is it conventional for both slow and quick editing within scenes and their transitions to appear as it reflects the narrative ideas of sanity and insanity, calm and frantic e.c.t.

Subsequently, at 1:54 we see another example of text shown. It reads 'This August' which obviously tells the audience when the film will be coming out in cinemas for them to watch. It is appropriate to put this information in the middle of the scenes as this screen on text is usually followed by another scene from the film quickly, before another set of text comes on reading a follow on sentence to try and get the more of a reaction from the people watching. The follow on sentence in this specific case is, 'your past', followed again by a quick scene before the sentence carries on to read 'will haunt you'.

Furthermore, there are a lot of fade to black transitions which reflects the genre as it not only allows for a smooth movement yet makes the different scenes have a more tense ending and way of starting. Consequently, there is a varied use on camera shots including:

• Establishing shots - used to show locations.
• Close-up shots - used in a lot of horror genres to show reactions of characters to events, the audience can interpret the oncoming scenes based on a characters face/body language/reaction.
• Extreme close-ups - these can be used to show aftermath of a situation such as blood, bodies, weapons e.c.t.
• High angle shot - one of the most conventional and most used shot types in the horror and thriller genre. Used mostly in murder scenes or attacks to place a character in a vulnerable, weak position in opposition to another character. 
• Low angle shot - used in this trailer to give the characters power in the situation. 

Towards the end of trailer we see the title of the film appear. The typography conforms to what we have been shown already. The words 'As Above...' are in  chalky white which contrasts with the blood red colour of the rest of title, '...So Below'. At the same time, behind the text we see a red symbol appear which is known for the representation of the supernatural. A trailers job is to give the audience a tease of the film which is exactly what this does, it conforms seeing as it gives off the idea that the film is based around the idea of the supernatural.



In conclusion, this trailer has taught me that it is critical to maintain continuity all the way throughout. It is only by achieving this, that I can truly conform to my genre and attract the audience which I want to appeal to. It has also shown me the directly what a horror genre entails and has given me a clear view about what is expected from me if I were to choose this genre for my production work.