Ill Manors broadcast: film trailer analysis

Ill Manors trailer analysis

What are the typical codes and conventions of film trailers - what information is usually provided?

There are many codes and conventions used inside film trailers to help advertise the film and create popularity and hype for the film. A key code is an enigma code created by the trailer revealing the equilibrium and disequilibrium providing elements of narrative, which is shown through the most intriguing clips from the film, grabbing the attention of the audience and raising anticipation for the film. Also, how the genre is represented, this is significant as the audience of the film is reliant of the demographic of which the genre is aimed towards.  The reputation of the film production can benefit success of the film, as if the audience are familiar with the production company i.e logo and have enjoyed films from them, they are more likely to watch it.This is done in order to create more hype over the film and to generate Brand Loyalty, as people who enjoy a certain director's work will trust the film to be just as great.  This links to another convention of film trailers is the relevancy of popular actors presented in the trailer, more popular well known actors will be shown more or have their names in the trailer to boost popularity or hype for the film being advertised. 

Furthermore, music is a key feature because they show the pace of the film, a film trailer will consist of parallel or non-diegetic sound but also diegetic sound through character dialogue, which created enigma codes. To that, voice-overs are important as they guide the audience through the film plot and characters. Editing in trailers is typically fast-paced, in the form of a montage, in order to show many aspects of the film, but also to create excitement and a fascinating visual image. Another piece of information generally shown is ratings, quotes and accolades. Ratings and quotes generally come from magazines and newspaper critiques, or even film critiques in general, which are promoting the film by giving a positive review because the audience may trust a certain critiques or newspapers/magazines reviews and opinions to others. Another code and convention of a film trailer are the typo-graphy, for example, the titles to help you understand parts of the film that the clips can’t convey and other titles, as tension and anticipating builds throughout the trailer through the fast-paced editing and enigma codes. A film trailer will also usually have more than one trailer with different sections of the film edited together but there is an official trailer which has the duration of 1-3 minutes. A more recent convention is the use of social media to promote a film i.e Twitter or Facebook to engage the audience and will enable sharing of a film creating awareness and availability for it. Lastly, the release date, like the title, is shown near the end and is essential to attract larger audiences to the premiere and grab the attention of the audience. 

How are trailers usually distributed? 

Distribution of trailers is dependant on the film itself, the franchise it belongs too and the budget of the film. For example, a less well known low British film will get less exposure the public than a bigger Hollywood film with a well-known distributor, they are more likely to have the money to buy advertisements of the trailer on TV as well as on the internet. So, the main way the trailers are distributed is through mobiles and online, this is the distributes blinding awareness by updating on information i.e teaser pictures, mini-clips and interactive poster to build awareness of the new film and grab the attention of large audiences. 

How does the Ill Manors trailer use film trailer conventions?

ill Manors use typical conventions of a trailer, throughout the whole trailer non-diegetic music is used which is the voice over by Plan B, the voiceover used in the trailer is very effective as the audience don't see who is speaking though would know it is the director which is Plan B. This creates synergy between the film and his song (soundtrack). There is also fast paced editing and so creating an interesting trailer to view.

Watch the trailer carefully and discuss how it might attract an audience. Firstly, think about who the target audience for Ill Manors might include. Does it have a unique selling point or use particular techniques to appeal to the audience? Consider the way the scenes are edited together – does the trailer give away any clues about the narrative? Are the main stars visible in the trailer? Is there information about the director of the film? Is there information about the release date? Is a narrator’s voice-over used? Why?

The target audience of Ill Manors would be young adults, mainly males, from the ages of 17-25+.  However, it may not be suitable for the younger audiences, due to the subject matter of the film, and featuring drugs, sex and violence. The genral demographic is young adult males, they would direct advertisement to magazines such as Men's Health, which have a predominantly male demographic. The film soundtrack may directly target the male audience due to the subject matters rapped about and urban genre with words about violence and sex. To add, Strugglers would be targeted at for the film, as they are more likely to enjoy it as they seek escapism from the real world. Some strugglers may relate to events in the film. However, it may also be aimed at explorers, as they like to experience new things, and due to the film being directed by Plan B, a renowned music artist, they will most likely be the first to see it. Plan B has enables the use of his soundtrack to tell the narrative of the film, engaging the audience and creating identification as many of the audience would be people who have come from the same rough background which Plan B raps about in the film. This may lead to the theory of stereotypes and how Plan be may reinforce those known stereotypes of the negative images of young people living in estates, even when he, himself. wants the film to be an educational insight into the life of people in the working/lower class. 

In the trailer itself there is a lot of endorsement of PLAN B's music, which was used to raise awareness of the movie due to his popularity. The endorsement features in all promotions, and there is even a music video for some of the tracks that feature in it. Featuring the track in the trailer is significant because it acts as a narrative voice over, relating to the story. Many of the characters in trailer are revealed but as the film itself has intertwine story lines with each other it would of been difficult for the advertisers to reveal the plot line. So, effectively, they use quick editing to show some character, but also use the most easiest and simple character plot which subtly doesn't reveal the whole story. This itself, is a trailer convention used to create curiosity in the audience viewing, so they are interested and want to see the film. The general idea of the film is there, urban gang, drugs, warfare and sex  and how it is based around the under privileged of East London. Through montage, key elements of the film's narrative are seen , due to iconography, as shots of drugs, cut to shots of violence and sexual behaviour. Key elements have been given away about the main character's past through the use of flashbacks in the form of monotone cinematography and super 8 shots, which depict kids growing up in social services but also the harsh upbringing of other characters. This can be seen as an element of iconography, as generally, in urban crime drama's, the character's have gone through harsh upbringing's, resulting in their lifestyle of drugs and violence, making it clear that these are central themes of the narrative.  

Interestingly, the main characters of the film do not have a much screen time in the trailer, the multi-strand narrative is revealed with short shots of characters with little one lined dialogue. This doesn't give too much away plot wise for the film, creating enigma codes and mystery and tension makes it ever more interesting for the audience.

How has the genre of the film been represented through characters, settings, lighting, colour, music/dialogue, camera shots/movements/angles and editing?

The genre is a teen urban crime drama. The setting is based in a council estate in London, the reinforced stereotype of 'thug' is shown in the costume of hoodies and snap backs. It is apart of inner city youth culture but we closely associate sportswear and hoodies with youths up to no good. This is a negative representation of youths, linking to Medhurts theory of stereotypes being shorthanded. There were close up's on characters faces and expressions showing the different camera shots, movements and angles in the trailer. Also, the low angle shots on characters convey power and puts the audience in an inferior place and so will identify said character with being the most powerful one. 

The non-diegetic music that is within the clip is produced by Plan B and his words act as a narration - like a voice over as well as a soundtrack. The fact that he says 'I am the narrator, allow me to take you back and fourth through time,' reflects the idea of the whole film being a story that Plan B raps his link between an urban crime drama and guns, drugs, violence and sex, representing urban lifestyle negatively, which reinforces the negative stereotypes of youth and estate people. It also gives us key insight into some of the characters, specifically Kirby, who has the most dialogue shown in the trailer. We see a shot of Kirby walking out of prison like a dominant character due to his stance and the way that he nonchalant  grins - which links to Propps theory of the 'villain.' The narrative structure of Todorov's disequilibrium is presented in this trailer too as we saw all the dysfunction of the urban life - revealing the negative representation of the genre within the film, the dysfunctional nature of urban life is presented in the film, through shots of chaos, violence, prostitutes and drugs. The use of dark and cool colours also there to show the gritty life of urban life and also has connotations of crime too. This goes against Plan's b use of his rapper platform to want to educate but also unwittingly reinforces those stereotypes he wishes to move from.