Summary - Common Techniques in Vampire Film Trailers

During my analysis of the 3 vampire trailers I chose, there were a number of techniques used throughout that were common between them. The first main feature was the use of voice overs to help briefly explain the narrative and add to the tone of the film depending on the direction it wants to take in terms of genre. "Blade" was a key example from the way the main character explained the story of how vampires have been hiding in society which creates a very uneasy and dark tone from the sudden realisation that vampires were among us in that world the film created whilst also explaining the film's storyline. Its a very common feature in a majority of trailers and suits a specific purpose for these reasons so during my planning of my trailer, I will see if a voice over would be suitable for the mood and style of film I want to create.

Another main feature is the use of captions and titles which is also used as a narrative device to help give glimpses of the plot but not as much as a voice over so it makes the audience pay attention as they need to read it for themselves and see what kind of scenario or feeling its trying to create when combined with the following shots. They tend to be stylised with the overall style of the film of itself like in "Daybreakers" which fitted in with the desaturated colours used with the rest on the film world to help connote the darker and more depressive tone expressed throughout.

In terms of colour and setting, they share similar features as well. They tend to be set at night in most scenes or cloudy midday so there is less sunlight or none so the vampire characters can be presented much more menacing by combining the fear of the supernatural with the fear of the dark as the atmosphere present in these films is easier to create at night is. It is also set in this level of light so the vampires are not harmed in terms of the vampire "lore" discussed in an earlier post about vampire film codes and conventions. This maybe be problematic during the filming of my trailer as the cameras we use have poor or no lighting so nothing will show up on camera with its too dark but the cloudy midday shots similar to "Twilight" do provide a work around in terms of lighting but another possible fix could be the way I decide on the lore I will use and could introduce something there. It may be a little cheap but its one possible way to fix the situation. The colours used tend to be dark so blacks, greys, the monotone style colours or the desaturated colour scheme seen in "Daybreakers" which have greater connotations of evil and a secretive society which vampires are usually represented as in most of that genre of films, making it the reason they are usually dressed in black to make them instantly identifiable as the antagonist within the film. Red is another predominate colour used, either in the film itself for obvious reasons (connoting a number of things like the destruction the vampires leave in their wake which can literally be represented a trail of blood if wanted to give it the pure shock factor or more subtle in terms of it being a reminder to the curse they have been forced to live and is used to remind them of it by it being the same colour as the thing they need to survive) or the titles as a clear sign to what type of film it as like in "Blade" and "30 Days of Night" which use it for the actual title of the film and credits. It is now a well recognised sign to use red as the audience immediately identify it to be part of the vampire film codes and conventions essentially.

Research Task - Analysis of 30 Days of Night Trailer

In this trailer,  the audience are immediately shown the style of the film. In the first scenes, we see a normal couple in their house acting out what seems to be a daily routine with the wife washing up and the husband sitting in the living room. This immediately connotes the normality of the place the couple live and also that the life itself is dull by the bleak look on their faces and how they are presented in silence, connoting how they are trapped within this normal life until the windows breaks.

This act signifies the break in routine as their whole world begins to change, especially for the man who watches as his wife is dragged out the window and under his house in mere seconds while he is powerless to do anything. The silence from before makes this scene particularly shocking since it is the first noise the audience hear which puts them edge immediately and only grows as they watch the thing kidnap the woman. All these represent the classic horror style and genre which shows the direction this particular vampire film has taken as we don't actually see what takes the woman. The audience are left shocked and guessing what it was in the space of a few seconds so assumptions start being made and questions asked about what the creature was and looks like with the answer actually not being revealed to half way through.

Next we see a series of titles and short scenes which are used to establish the area where the film is set which is Alaska. These shots are used to increase the fear within the audience and enforce that it is a horror style film since we see how barren the environment is and how the vampires are stalking the area in the brief scenes, all of which mean that there is no one around to help the people of the town. Even more when we see that night lasts for 30 days in one of the title screens which the audience knows is beneficial for the vampires and increases the fear tenfold. We see the vampires circling a member of the town which used to enforce that these vampires are truly evil and are the sole antagonists within the film as when we see the actual appearance of the vampire, the black eyes and savage styled teeth all connote an animalistic side to them and also takes away any emotion from them to increase their evil qualities further since they are obviously void of them as we see them tear a victim apart at the end of the trailer. 

Yet we also them as clever when they use a human as bait to lure others out, representing them as much more twisted versions of vampires compared to films like "The Vampire's Assistant" or "Twilight" which are teen genre films so this film wants to make these vampires appear negatively as possible so the audience become more afraid of them throughout the trailer. An example when we see one using their claw to play a record player, displaying some sick sense of humour that the creatures have as they massacre the village.

In the trailer, there is also elements of psychological horror within the trailer. Its much subtle then the shock tactics of the majority of the trailer as most stems from the man in the jail cell who taunts the survivors about the approaching vampires by speaking cryptically. He says things like "that cold aint the weather, its death approaching" and "board the windows, try to hide" which make it seem no matter what they do, the vampires will get them evident by the out of focus shot of a vampire pressing against the police station window.

Another example of this psychological aspect is when one of the characters says they must be vampires but another says they don't exist. Obviously the audience know they are vampires by seeing them throughout the trailer and by how they look yet these scenes are used to make the human characters more vulnerable as it would be hard to accept the fact they are actual vampires. It is used to make the audience more scared for themselves and the characters since in human nature we are afraid of the unknown and the new which is what these vampires are to the characters as they don't know what they truly are, how to kill them etc. All these unanswered questions just lead to panic and fear as they begin to doubt themselves because vampires shouldn't exist but yet they do and are tearing through their homes wanting to kill them, making them feel helpless and hopeless as they try to survive.

The overall tone of the trailer creates a really bleak image as there is no surrounding towns, only barren frozen wasteland so they are unable to call for help. Sunlight won't return for 30 days so the vampires can walk freely throughout the town. The situation for the characters looks incredibly hopeless so this makes the audience form a stronger bond of believability with them as it makes the audience think what they would do in that situation themselves and want to sit through to the end to see if they make it out alive, fitting in with the codes and conventions of this horror/psychological horror by making the audience ask questions about what's going to happen. But the roots of the film lie very closely to traditionally horror through the use of a clear antagonist, use of shock tactics to startle the audience through events that you expect to happen but still jump and some events that you don't expect along with the dark tone created though the lack of colour whilst heavy on reds and blacks. In the title for example which is stylised like blood splatters and in clear red which is used to connote the nature of the vampires within the film as they leave a trail of blood wherever they go and also is used as a recognisable symbol for vampire films since the technique is used for a variety of films so when we see the title stylised like blood or uses red, we immediately associate it with a horror or vampire film by the message it connotes which can range from the carnage caused by the creatures to the nature of the film itself depending on if the writing is archaic like it was in this one from the messy splatters of blood to from the title.

Research Task - Analysis of Daybreakers Trailer

In the Daybreakers trailer, we see subversion of the traditional vampire film yet again. At the start, titles are used again to give a brief idea of the world displayed in the film which is somewhere in the near future represented the stylised buildings which are not like traditional bulidings of today. The most interesting part however is the second title which says "where almost everyone is a vampire" in this world the audience are imagining. This instantly spins the usual templates of vampire films with a primary protagonist being human or like "Blade" half human and the antagonist being the vampires but in this film, almost everyone on earth is a vampire. So when we imagine this world almost void of humans, it creates a unique situation of who to side with as the general population are the things we would normally see as the villains while humanity is scarce. We start to see other scenes of one person saying he is better at being a vampire and never was any good at being human, again picking up on this situation of maybe vampirism itself is the next step or not such a curse, supported by the next title "no one grows old" and one character saying their blessed with immortality. However, when we see the scenes of being hunted down and farmed for blood in labs we start to see the traditional view of vampires being evil but the world is more bleak in this film since humanity is much smaller and easily outnumbered by the vampires.

We the audience begin to see how this film is completely different in terms of genre and message as it has elements of post apocalyptic style with the whole humanity going extinct and the majority being science fiction when we see one of the main characters is a haematologist and tries to work on a blood substitute so his species can live on as the post apocalyptic side is strengthened by the underlying dilemma of the blood remaining will only last one more month. In all, the initial view of this world created in this trailer just becomes bleaker and bleaker as both species are on the verge of catastrophe  but we then get to see the haematologist as our protagonist when we see the guilt he feels over using humans as he wants the substitute to stop the need for farming humans and when he actually helps the remaining humans work on a cure.

So when we watch the full trailer, while it was unclear at the start the usual good guy and villain template is actually followed but in a much more complex way if compared to "Blade" we it was clear if a little subverted through the half human hero. It also takes a much more science approach then action or horror as the vampires where created through a virus and focuses on creating cures and blood substitutes, all key codes and conventions of that particular genre. An interesting scene we see is how the ex-humans have turned their back on their once fellow humans by introducing propaganda for all people to hand over humans (seen in the screenshot below) which includes the picture used for recruitment in the army, representing how the priorities have changed as they want people to join up to hunt down the remaining humans instead of fighting global conflicts since the majority of people are now vampires and only care about one thing.

In terms of the colour used, it beaks the tradition of using red which is a key symbol of the vampire genre and instead uses many dark monotone colours. This is used to connote the state of the world and the mood displayed by the characters as dark, depressing and hopeless from the earlier idea of both species on the edge of dying out for closely related reasons due to vampires needing blood so capture humans, bleed them dry which then lowers the human population drastically etc. It resembles the acts of predator and prey scenarios in nature, giving the film a much more savage undertone as its like that between the two groups and it has ended up with their own extinction from "over eating" so to speak and not letting the population pick back up. It also shows the audience how if vampirism was a real life scenario, it wouldn't last due the reasons shown in the film as we, as a species, consume resources too fast without thinking of the consequences which could be seen as a hidden message to us as a whole since we are suing up most our resources and damaging the world through excessive use of fossil fuels etc. When we see the human hide out there is much more colour with greens and sandy colours, connoting that there is still hope for them but their life is in taters from the sandy colours symbolising the archaic lifestyle they have been forced to endure from being hunted down.

Another part wroth mentioning is the use of music towards the end of the trailer. It is the song "Running up that hill" by Placebo which strangely has been associated with a number of vampire media as well. The most recent being "The Vampire Diaries" and the reason it is used is because of the message it conveys through it's lyrics. It talks about wishing to change places like the vampires may wish to be human while humans wish to vampires, sparking the debate between viewers of what would they prefer to be human or vampire and if its a curse or gift. It also the title itself "Running up that hill" suggests its a struggle if we choose to be a vampire as literally running up a hill takes a lot of strength to do it and if we begin to give up we fall all the way back down, making us regret the choice we made. So it helps convey the message of the film and questions that typical fans of vampire films ask when watching these types of films through the supernatural connotations of its lyrics.

Research Task - Analysis of Blade Trailer

From the start of this trailer, the main interesting feature is the use of a voice over almost immediately. It is used in this particular trailer to give an idea to the style of the film by explain portions of the narrative which is that our world is "just a sugar coated topping" while "the real world" is beneath it. This sudden idea of us needing "to wake up" and see the truth behind our supposed world is quite jarring for the audience as we are hit with this big wake up call that something mysterious and sinister lies beneath our accepted reality, made clear when we see the inhuman leap made by the titular character to connote the real world involves the supernatural.

This horrible feeling of that something has existed and we haven't noticed it is strengthened by the second voice over which says they have been around for thousands of years and among us creates a unique atmosphere to the film. Its not like traditional horror by literally showing us monsters etc. but instead plays on the rational fear we have of the unknown since "they are everywhere" and "we may have seen one without knowing it" in this film's universe. So the main technique employed by this film is the use of voice overs and dialogue to imply certain things about the world and create this rather frightful world where most humans are blind to the actual going ons in the world as they apparently have their fingers in every part of the world.

Half way through the trailer we begin to see glimpses of the main antagonist, Frost, who wants to rule the humans mercilessly, This represents him as actually more evil then the rest of the vampires as there power relies on them blending in according to one so this shows the audience a divide between the villains in this trailer. This portrays the world as even more bleak as if his plan to rule over the world comes to fruition then our whole species is enslaved by these monsters in the film.

Decon Frost (main antagonist in the film)

Yet we then see the introduction of the protagonist Blade soon after and this instantly makes the audience side with him, mainly down to him being the only one who can stop the vampires. However, we see an interesting him also that he is in fact half-vampire himself so the audience would be inclined to feel afraid of him also as he has this hidden monstrous side to him but the scenes of him taken out vampires without any difficulty easily make the audience side with this anti-hero of sorts. Mainly down to he seems to be the only one who can save the world from potential decimation and this flaw in his life makes him a much more complex and believable character which balances out the supernatural part and creates a darker more gritty down which will have a stronger feeling of verisimilitude so we forget that its based off a comic book like the recent Batman films which were made with this idea in mind. Also an interesting note is the colours used on the characters outfits which is predominately (if not entirely) black which has connotations of evil like for the vampires themselves but for Blade it is used to connote the damning secret of him being half vampire which he tries to keep to himself throughout the film as he himself does not to be associated with the things he hunts even though it is the thing that makes him able to hunt them in the first place.

Blade, half vampire protagonist of the film.

Another main factor of this film unlike in the others above is that is uses "name dropping" since Wesley Snipes plays the main character so fans of his previous films would be more likely to come see it and along with Stephen Dorff to ensure a larger audience. Also the fact it is not like traditional vampire films in terms of genre as instead of plain horror, it is much more action orientated through the use of quick cuts of action scenes particularly in the final shots of a sword fight and including of explosions which are all common signs of action orientated films especially the close up shots of the actors.

Another interesting feature is the final credits screen which has all the names in red writing, a very common feature used in vampire films as the colour red is a typical signifier of the vampire style since it immediately connotes blood and the atrocious actions caused by vampires in their pursuit for their only source of nourishment so this colour is basically a universal sign for vampires themselves.

Early Research - The Codes and Conventions of Vampire Films

While most genres of films have more clear codes and conventions as they are not completely set in stone but act more as guide lines, the ones for vampire films differ depending on the route taken by the director or writers. Originally, vampire films started of firmly in the horror and supernatural genres. Films like "Nosferatu" portrayed the vampires as monstrous beings to provoke fear in the audience so they would identify them as the antagonists in the film. This side was also seen in Universal's "Dracula" but the Count was displayed more sophisticated and cunning compared to the previous depictions as grotesque monsters, changing the horror slightly as the audience may have known he was the vampire, a monster, but he looked and acted human. This gave early rise to subtle horror presented films and could be debated some form of psychological horror but if a incredibly basic level.

The next step they took was into science fiction where the vampire curse was now explained by scientific means (e.g. a virus etc.) This was displayed in films like "The Omega Man" and "The Last Man on Earth" which explained the virus wiped out most of humanity and only one person was left. This retained the horror elements too as it created the feeling of isolation throughout the film since the main character was forced to try and survive but was slowly driven mad like seen in the latest adaptation "I am Legend" even though they aren't called vampires. Another film to sort of use this method was the film "Blade" which changed the codes and conventions again as it took a more action inspired route due to the source material being based of a comic. It also made the lead character part vampire himself (half vampire - half human) which was new to films but common in literature, this created a different feeling with the audience as they supported someone who was like the villains in the film but they could believe in the character as vampires were displayed as much stronger then normal humans so he was the only one who could really fight them.

Apart from the mash of genres vampire films tend to blend together, the most important thing that influences them is the "lore" of the vampires themselves. The lore is the rules the vampires follow in the media form they are in which can also change from product to product. The original Dracula wasn't harmed by sunlight in the book but in the film he was and other television shows like The Vampire Diaries, but not if they have a certain ring etc. The lore can vary wildly so it keeps the creative potential open for my trailer but also makes it more complicated as I will need to set my "lore" and pick which possible genres to include so I can be more concise with my trailer.

Brief Plot Outline

In my previous post, I mentioned the characters and elements of the plot of my intended trailer. Since my project is a trailer, I need to choose certain parts to film that will give a small overview of the plot but be rich with enigma so the audience will want to see the film.

So established in my previous post, the basic plot revolves around the two characters, Matt and Dacrual, who have been locked in a centuries long struggle over Dacrual's desire to awaken an entity known as the Damned Queen who will devastate the world with revived. To do so, Dacrual needs the blood of a descendant belonging to those who sealed the Queen away last time and that person is Rose Nightley. She is an FBI agent who became a cold and bitter person after the death of her twin sister, Celina, on their birthday one year (which also inconvenienced Dacrual which leads him to needing her for the ritual instead). She becomes involved in the world when she is attacked one of Dacrual's vampires and is saved by Matt. This upsets Matt as he holds himself responsible for "a mistake that cost him everything" which he made a year ago and now has dragged Rose into this secret battle. So he has to try and stop Dacrual whilst keeping him away from her, resulting in numerous battles and stand - off's between them and other creatures.

The trailer will try to convey this storyline and also include other extra characters which would appear in the full version to create the sense of it being a full film and not just focused on these 3 characters alone which would make it less interesting (actor list will be published when full planning begins).

When research of trailers and the genre itself for codes and conventions begin, it will give me a better idea how trailers for this style of film works and may require to alter or change elements of story completely so it fits to the codes and conventions better or makes a more visually appealing to how trailers should look.

Initial ideas - Trailer for a film

The idea I have for my trailer is to do a vampire film. I chose this type of film as its open to interpretation as there is no vampire genre, it instead falls into a number of genres depending on the route taken. It originally started out as horror when done in the early films by Universal which adapted Bram Stoker's Dracula. Yet it moved into science fiction in films like The Omega Man and the recent Daybreakers when vampirism was explained through biological means in these titles. So this gives much more freedom to subvert the genre into how I want and also blend it with other messages or genres that would help it appeal to my target audience.

With my trailer, I want to take a more "Blade" style approach by instead having either a horror orientated plot where the vampire is seen as nothing more then a monster by the audience or one where a virus infects the world, changing it into a word filled with vampires. I want to show a world where vampires have actually blended into society but are secretly plotting to take over like in "Blade" where the world may look fine on the surface but if you dig deeper, you see the truth and how things that should belong in fiction actually exist. However, I don't want to portray all vampires as villains and monsters but I want to show how vampirism itself is either a curse or a gift, depending on how its used. This will be shown in my clip by the two characters, Matt and Dacrual. Matt is the one who portrays it as a curse as he had committed various evil acts when he was first turned, revealing in the chaos he brought thanks to his supernatural abilities. He is later changed when after killing someone who was preventing Dacrual's plan to revive a sort of messiah for vampires, he has a change of heart when Elizabeth, the one he killed, showed him how to be human again and proceeds to be haunted by all the people he has killed over the centuries. Now a regretful man, he decides to use his powers to prevent Dacrual ever raising the Queen by protecting Elizabeth's bloodline who are the only ones who have the power to. So the audience will this broken state to the character by his more archaic attire, his jaded personality and disturbed past that follows him around when he failed to save one of the descendants. This makes the audience emphasise with the character as he tries to atone for his past crimes but finds it hard as his nature is not meant to be one filled with regret and sorrow.

In contrast with the Dacrual character, the audience will a much more monstrous side to vampirism. This character utterly reveals in this "gift" which allows him to live for forever, doing whatever he wants when he wants. While Matt despises killing unless he has to or it's a monster, Dacrual does it for the thrill and enjoys the suffering he causes. This creates a dilemma with the audience as while both are monsters themselves, one fights to stop the more evil and rejects his nature but the other is simply following his so it creates a question as how you can blame the character when he is programmed to do this as they need blood to survive, creating the gift and curse debate. Also another part of his character is hinted at by his desire to raise the Queen even though it will damage humanity which is food source. The character has been around for centuries and it is to suggest that maybe he is tired of living for so long, connoting some humanity is left within him but maybe he hates humanity completely and wants to see it end with his own eyes.

The other character that will predominately be displayed in my trailer will be Rose Nightley who is an FBI agent and a the descendant of Elizabeth Nightley. She used to a more caring person until her twin sister was murdered a year ago on her birthday, turning her an angry, bitter mess. This makes her more reckless which leads to her discovering the truth about vampires. She is the one who Matt watches after he failed to protect Rose's sister Celina who knew all about the hidden world. Unlike most female characters, she is not the usual victim all the time as she is more highly trained and independent making her more capable compared to some characters in vampire films like in "Twilight" the female character falls in love with the vampire and it all resolves about her doing whatever it takes to be with him, creating an awkward romance style vampire film as she is depicted as single minded in her pursuit and rather frail. I didn't want this, I wanted a more headstrong character who will appeal to a much greater audience and do something different with the genre as most vampire films usually have a male lead. I wanted to create two characters both male and female which show they are alike in terms of their qualities and also humanize Matt as he sees Rose willing to put herself on the line without any abilities because its the right thing to do, not just for revenge even though it motivates her to a degree which shows some flaws to her and making her a more believable character in the process. This strong female character also creates a positive role model and would attract more female viewers whilst also attracting male audiences with the more grown up style of film, similar to "Blade" rather then "Twilight" but less focused on gore and on the thriller style action as vampires want to raise the Queen which will decimate humanity.

*Update*
After scanning various pieces of work, I found a mind map I did of potential ideas with me choosing the Vampire idea due to obviously sounding more interesting to do and if somewhat challenging as it is very easy to make it look cheap and unconvincing if not planned or simply rushed and no thought put into props as they can make or break the versimlitude of a vampire film.

A2 Media - Introduction

In today's lesson, we have been given the choice of 3 briefs for our coursework task. A music video, trailer for a movie or a short movie with two extra media products for them ranging from posters for the films to radio adverts. For my brief, I have chosen the trailer with a magazine cover and film poster for the supporting documents and have decided work individually to avoid any clashes with originally ideas between group members. I have already thought about possible ideas with my main focus on a supernatural vampire style film which provides oppertunity for an interesting varity of shots and possible effects without becoming too complicated or cliched if for example the fangs are cheap looking  compared to some sets which look much more realistic and the same in price. I know shooting a trailer can be quite difficult due to prior planning of the majority of the plot needed for the film then only choosing pieces to film and edit together but I have a reasonably clear idea of the plot for my film and the right parts to actual shoot for it. I will upload my storyboards so far on my trailer and also intial ideas with a plot overview when the sheets have been scanned in.