Did the distributors highlight the key features I mentioned? Codes and Conventions

X-Men First Class

I said that the film would appeal to an audience through building upon the already established fan-base of superheroes and comics. This is clearly true in the trailer as they reference a character, saying 'before he was Professor X'. This is evidence that the producers expect you, the viewer to know of the characters already, proving they are attempting to appeal to an already created audience. Another aspect I considered was the public's sudden fascination with superheros in what I referred to as a 'superhero boom'. In the trailer we see many indications that there will be more superheroes to appeal to this audience; for example the woman with wings, and the other woman with blue skin. As the trailer we see more people with superpowers. Finally, visual effects are used in the film to appeal to an audience who wants to see action. An example of this is the scene showing 'Beast' dodging missiles in a fighter jet. The distributors have highlighted key elements to attract an audience which will best appeal to the film, this is primarily for young teenagers, mainly male. This audience typically enjoys action and adventure, the superheroes will intrigue them and make the film interesting to them.

Key Codes and Conventions

• 20th Century Fox Logo- Institution
• Music- building tension and intrigue
• Narrative Tool- text "before he was professor X".. "He was Charles"... "Before he was Magneto".. "He was Erik"
• JFK talking- second narrative tool- links to Cuban Missile Crisis
• Flashing between characters
• "You ready for this?" first action of the characters speaking
• X-Men logo- 'Xavier's school for gifted youngsters' 'first class'
• 'The story begins June 3" typical of a trailer- showing the audience how long they have to wait
• Reference to the website- potential for more information

The Maze Runner

I said that the film would already have a number of fans from the best-selling book series. To appeal to this audience, they would just have to show the film was a good adaptation, which in my opinion, they did this to a high standard. I said the film was unique in the fact that the film revolves around the characters being trapped in maze, with no understanding of why they were there. The dynamic created by this strange situation is very interesting and would hence create a great amount of appeal.  Another aspect I mentioned was the fact that the audience are also given little information about the maze, we can empathise with the character Thomas as the story is told from his perspective. This gives the audience a connection with Thomas, which would make them more likely to watch the film. The dystopian genre is relatively popular, with films like Divergent and The Hunger Games becoming extremely popular over the last few years. It appeals to a huge audience as this to see this kind of high-budget action is a spectacle regardless of age, the trailer shows a great amount of action for this reason.

Key Codes and Conventions

• Darkness to create intrigue and build tension
• "Can you tell me your name"- narrative tool to show the character is new to the rest of the character
• "I can't remember anything"- more narrative tools
• Sound effects to create more drama
• "This is the glade"- giving information
• 20th Century Fox logo- institution
• Further information- characters asking questions, blunt answers- building tension
• Fast editing to build up to introduction of villain- flashing to create tempo
• Grievers- flash of how menacing they are
• 'based on the best-selling novel'- targeting an already established audience
• Introduction of new character- knows name of main character- builds plot and audience knowledge
• End shows protagonist risking life
• 'enter the maze.. unlock the mystery'- reference to the audience
• Maze runner title
• Release date- 19 September
• Reference to the social media websites avaliable

 The Blair Witch Project

Surprisingly, I found that the trailer for the film failed to showcase the originality of The Blair Witch Project. I said that the 'found footage' element of the film was unique because the audience would be able to empathise and engage with the characters in a new and exciting way as you can see their situation from their view. The trailer has no mention that the film was done in this style, which, in my opinion was a major opportunity missed. The film however is still interesting as it shows the story as it was true, which makes the audience more intrigued as they believe the scenario is actually real and not fictional.

Key Codes and Conventions:

• Artisan Entertainment- institution
• Whimpering of character- no video, just audio
• "I want to apologise to Mike's mum"- makes the audience wonder why he is apologising and who is Mike?
• "I am so, so sorry"- sounds sincere- why is he so apologetic? Makes the audience become interested
• "It is my fault, it was my project"- what was his project about?
• Text shown- used as a narrative tool- showing that 3 students have gone missing
• News report- typical way of showing how events unfolded in a horror movie
• Odd images being shown to create interest
• Police officers showing they have run out of options- refer to it as a puzzle
• Handprints- potential violence, may be blood, typical of horror genre
• 'This summer'- showing when the film is to be released
• "Im so scared"- first showing of the protagonist
• The title is shown as well as a symbol which is affiliated with witches
• Whimpering continues
• Running and screaming to end- typical of horror genre
• Website shown- gives audience the chance to find out about the film and the story
• Odd noises to end with- creates lasting feeling on the viewer