Trailer Analysis: A Quiet Place Part II (2018)

A Quiet Place Part II is an American horror film, and the trailer for this film effeciently shows the type of film this is using visual codes and stereotypes of horror films. The trailer also helps introduce the chronology of the film with inter-titles showing the day since a supposed incident. This helps to add suspense to the film and aids the mystery factor to help entice audiences to watch the film. the clever use of sound and editing helps to pace the trailer and also let the viewers feel the scene as the characters are experiencing it. A very important skill in a trailer is the ability to establish an emotional connection between the audience and the characters involved. I think this trailer executes this very well, as audiences will take the side of the protagonists (the family) and want them to survive the rest of the film. 

A large USP to this film will be the cast, with prestigious actors like Emily Blunt taking the forefront of many of the scenes in this trailer. The extended screen time she has in the trailer emphasises her position as a main character. Another USP would be the type of film that it is, with dialogue being a small aspect of the film and the hair-raising close calls being a large part of the film. This differs from most other horror films which tend to be much more gore based and frequent 'jump scares'. This will entice an audience as it is a new type of horror and this specific film being a sequel will also retain an already gained target audience. 

Emily Blunt is the key actor.

The camerawork in this trailer aids to portray the scenes in a post-apocalyptic fashion. In the trailer we see a low shot of  a tripwire that is set up to an alarm. This low shot allows the audience to follow the movement of the characters and helps to build anticipation and fear as the alarm sets off. It is obvious in the trailer that there is a threat, and the view from the sniper's scope on the running family also gives the impression that there is someone watching the family, possibly with the intention to kill. This followed with an over-the-shoulder shot of the family being 'kidnapped' This is very effective as it adds further to the "every man for themselves" lifestyle of a post-apocalyptic world. There is a large emphasis on birds eye view shots of the family. This accompanied with the sniper scope further suggests that the family is not only prey to the unknown creature, but also the people around them. Wide shots of the surrounding scene also help to portray a post-apocalyptic scene as there are derelict buildings, ivy on the sides of buildings and there is a lot of rubbish strewn on the floor. This connotes a sense of carelessness as people are caring more about their own safety and survival over their surroundings. Only in a location of security will you find buildings that have been up-kept. 

The dialogue and the sound used in the trailer is also a key aspect as the name of the film gives away some of the premise. Lots of the dialogue is whispered after the initial action of the first sequence. This allows the audience to come to the conclusion that the creature in the film is sensitive to sound and that the characters need to stay quiet in order to survive. There are small mise-en-scene indications to this as the family doesn't wear shoes in this to decrease the amount of sound they give off by walking. The dialogue also helps to inform the audience who is friend or foe. It is made clear that the initial threat of a lone sniper is quenched as he is established as a friend later on. The dialogue also helps to give context to the story and how the main characters can survive the mysterious beast. The key aim for the dialogue in a trailer is to develop the context of the story being told without giving away too much. I think that this trailer expertly does this and is able to entice the audience with enough information. 

RESEARCH: FILM TRAILER ANALYSIS: JOKER (2019)

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RESEARCH: DIFFERENT KINDS OF TRAILERS

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RESEARCH: HOW THE CAMPAIGN IS PROMOTED

RESEARCH: WHAT SETS THE FILM APART?

I have researched how Entertainment One UK thinks distributors pick out the film's Unique Selling Point (USP) or hook.

Kezia Williams describes how that when deciding what the USP is, a distributor will look at many elements of the film; for example: how the story line differs from other films, other key elements of the story, who stars in the film, what were they in their most recent film, where was it made. These questions are all compiled and are highlighted in the films trailer in order to entice an audience to want to go and watch their film. 

The distributors can start working with the film campaign at any stage. This could be as early as from the conception of the film script, so the distributors can get a sense of the film and what parts of the film are most powerful. They could start when the footage is first seen, or even when the film is finalised. 

When the film is finalised this is the most important part of the distribution phase of the film. This is what helps to develop the film's hooks and what they can focus on when trying to market the film. 

Chris Besseling, the director of marketing at Pathe UK puts emphasis on the market and the marketplace for certain types of films and what should be considered when trying to promote a film. 

Things to be considered when promoting a film would be:

• The Unique Selling Point (USP) of the film which can be targeted to entice and audience
• Who is the target audience? this has to be done as early as possible to maximize the efficiency of the marketing campaign
• What are the key strengths of the film that the distributor will look to exploit in every which way possible in order to make the campaign for the film to be as effective as possible
• Any potential challenges that could be encountered upon the weekend of release for the film

Once everything has been thought out and the strengths and challenges have been outlined, the position of the film come week of release will be determined and the marketing campaign will be outlined. The key selling points of the film will also be worked out, this could include:

• Director (what films have they previously directed, were they successful?)
• Awards (if applicable)
• Reviews
• Cast
• Has the film been based on a novel or true story?
• The storyline, in terms of genre, is it a blockbuster or indie film?

In terms of blockbuster films, the use of CGI can also be used as a key selling point for the film. Indie films have the more challenging task of establishing themselves as a breakthrough film, and therefore must work harder to convince their audience it is a must see come week of release. There are some methods Indie films can utilise to help: emotional resonance and/or the thought provoking message behind them, like the film I, Daniel Blake has as it challenged the social system.

RESEARCH: WHO IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE

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RESEARCH: THE ROLE OF THE DISTRIBUTOR

The major role of the distributor involves acquiring a film. 

What?

Distributors have to work out what kind of film this is going to be, and this means that as well as find out about what genre it is going to be, they also need to find out how well similar films have done, how well the directors last film did as well as the actors and cast involved. The big question they need to answer is What is this film? What is it based on? This is all compiled to figure out what the purpose of the film is. Each individual film has to be looked at with its merits and that is what will help the distributor.

Who?

Distributors have to consider WHO will watch the film. This is a key part to working out the target audience to the film which is broadening all the time. According to Mark Batey of the FDA audiences can range from 8 to 80 years old. Older people are going to the cinema more frequently, with 40-50 year olds being the most common in the older age group. The FDA has observed that there is a growing divergence in the viewing ages of certain mediums. For example, the TV audience ages are rising with over half of the TV audiences in the over 54 category. This is in contrast to the OFCOM survey which found that 48% of 12 to 15 year olds chose YouTube as their favourite platform. 19% chose Netflix too. This will influence how distributors will market their films, depending on their target audience. Films like Trolls: World Tour will be marketed more on YouTube than on TV due to the target audience. Audiences comprise a complex mosaic of consumer segments, varying substantially film by film, week by week. 

When?

Distributors decide when a film will be released in cinemas and on other digital formats. This is key as in the UK about 700 feature films are released every year. Choosing the right time is very important to ensure that the film isn't lost in the backlog of all the other films released in the same year. For example, it wouldn't be wise to release a smaller film on the same weekend as a Marvel film as it will be looked over very quickly. Distributors also struggle with clashing events, for example the 2018 World Cup quarter final between Sweden and England cause a major disruption in the cinemas as many people opted to stay inside and watch the game. There was also excellent weather which also dissuaded people from going to the cinema. These are all examples of unexpected events that can cause issues with cinema releases.

How?

Distributors also govern how they will market the film and how much money to spend on marketing and promoting the film to a wider audience. Based on this they will create trailers, and display materials in order to help garner the audiences attention. They will create interactive material like twitter Q&A's as well as TV interviews and premieres and news stories. This process will also include developing promotions for the film with media partners to engage all possible audiences. FDA estimates that UK film distributors’ investment in bringing 916 new titles to market in 2018 exceeded £350m.  Around half of this is paid-for UK wide advertising, using many social and physical media outlets. The remainder is formed of many components, for example publicity, premiere costs and cinema packages. The FDA assert that although the UK is a large cinema territory in terms of box office receipts. The high cost of marketing results in a lower return for the distributor. It is hard to 'cut through' in a congested marketplace and the fact that it is so crowded makes decisions on release dates very tough.