I had 3 initial ideas, which were the buddy-cop action comedy, the slapstick Mr. Bean comedy and the horror parody. I have analysed the trailer which represents the buddy-cop action comedy (The Nice Guys) and the trailer which represents the horror parody (Scary Movie) and a clip from Mr. Bean. I have picked up several of the techniques that were used by the producers to make the genre of the pieces specific and clear, and have gauged how mise-en-scene is used to help also identity what the genre is.
Idea 1: Buddy-cop action comedy
Editing
I have learnt that the genre (buddy-cop action) requires a fast paced, dramatic atmosphere in order to work. I know this from watching the trailer for "The Nice Guys," as well as "Cop Out," which is another genre specific film. Having also seen "The Nice Guys," at the cinema, I picked up several of the techniques that were used that ultimately made the film a success (remember the film was quite highly regarded by critics, receiving 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and 70% on Metacritic.) These techniques again include the fast paced narrative, dark environments juxtaposing with dialogue from the characters (to show somewhat that it is a dark comedy), and a dramatic, highly energetic atmosphere. If I were to go ahead with this idea, I would have to make sure to incorporate these ideas in order for the media to work. From my timeline analysis I found out that the trailer makes good use of close shots and reaction shots, as well as also having an establishing shot. Long shots were not used very much in the trailer. This is perhaps because the attention in the trailer is largely on the props and the individual conversations between characters.
Mise-en-scene
The film takes place in Los Angeles. This can immediately be seen from the establishing shot that is the first shot within the trailer. After this initial establishing shot however, the shots within the first 30 seconds are quite closed off. For example the inside of a front living room can be seen, as well as the inside of a restaurant and the inside of a car. This can be linked with the lack of long shots in favour of close shots and reaction shots.
Quite a lot of props can be seen within the first 30 seconds of the trailer. For example a car, a gun, a razor and a notepad, amongst more. I think this amount of noticeable props within the first 30 seconds is useful as it gives the trailer more context, and thus may make watchers more likely to go and see the film. I think the closed off environments that can be seen in the trailer help to give it more context as well, as we are focusing on individual things that are happening and so our understanding of the story is clearer from watching the trailer.
Lighting
The trailer for "The Nice Guys," features a number of different lighting techniques. For example at the start of the trailer it is day and a lot can be seen, however as the trailer progresses it suddenly becomes night, and the shots are generally a lot darker. I feel this mixture of light and dark shots helps to make the trailer more visually pleasing, as well as dramatic. I think the fact it is night in certain shots helps to make the trailer more exciting, simply because it is dark which makes it more intriguing. I think the mixing of the light and dark shots helps to show that this film has both dramatic and comedy elements to it. This is important, as this is something I will need to consider as I am making in a sub-genre of comedy. This juxtaposing of shots to help establish genre will be important when I make my trailer, and will be something I need to consider. I have ultimately learnt from analysing lighting within this trailer that the lighting of the shots does help with establishing the genre and making the trailer easier to follow.
Sound
The sound within the trailer is very noticeable and loud. There is music playing in the background from the first shot, which kicks off immediately and instantly sets the tone of the film. However, this music does stop briefly quite early on when we listen in on the first conversation, between one of the cops and an old women. This is so we can concentrate on the conversation, as the conversation is humorous and as such is important for the effect of the trailer to work. However the music does pick up again after this, with the same upbeat tune as before. As previously mentioned this music does set the tone, as the tone of the film is very dramatic and "in your face." I feel that the music helps to portray this idea and as such is successful within the trailer. There are more conversations between the characters in the trailer, however the music does not stop for them and keeps blaring away. Again, I think this helps to show the mood of the trailer, as in the film (which I have seen) there is a lot going on, with a lot of things happening at once. In other words, the film is very high octane and full of energy, and the trailer definitely helps to present this idea.
Narrative structure
Unlike some trailers, this trailer does not follow a linear structure. Instead, random parts of the film are interspersed throughout. However the dialogue of the trailer does follow a rough order, as from the conversations we can hear the two detectives when they are first introduced to each other and when they are explaining their jobs. However the action we can see from the trailer is interspersed throughout, perhaps to make the trailer feel more high octane to help represent the film better.
Idea 2: Slapstick comedy
Editing
From studying this genre (slapstick comedy) I have learnt that a more basic approach is needed in order to make the media successful and funny. From studying the popular clip from Mr. Bean (which has over 6 million views on Youtube so is obviously regarded as a classic scene - good to represent the genre), I picked up on the fact that the clip is very slow paced and is very subtly edited. This contrasts strongly with the trailer for "The Nice Guys," inferring that these are two very different sub-genres within the comedy genre. The editing is slow as only 3-4 shots are used throughout the entire clip, including the predominant head-on shot and the side shot, as well as occasional cuts to the invigilator who is telling them how much time they have left in the exam. I feel this slow editing is used as to not distract people from the actual action that is taking place on screen. As slapstick comedy is a very subtle genre (meaning one often needs to pay attention to the small details to find the content funny), the editing should not be distracting or over-the-top in any way.
Mise-en-scene
This basic style carries over into the mise-en-scene of the clip as well. The props used are only designed to help identify the environment clearly for the audience (a classroom.) The lighting is quite dim, and the characters wear dark, unremarkable clothing, again as to not distract the audience. Other people can be seen in the background behind the two central characters, to help establish that it is a classroom environment.
The props that can be seen include a desk, a pen, and an exam paper. These props all help to show that it is a classroom environment, and ultimately helps to establish the genre and the mood of the clip. I think the rather basic approach to mise-en-scene within the clip is successful, as it is not distracting and instead serves to simply add to the context of the clip. For this reason, I think the mise-en-scene is a success within the clip.
Lighting
The lighting of the clip is quite dim and not very eye catching. I think this can be linked with the lack of props in the scene, as in it is trying not to distract the audience from the action that is taking place between the two characters. As what the characters are doing, plus their facial expressions, is of great importance for the sake of the comedic value of the clip, then it is important that the audience are not distracted by what can be seen around the characters and how the lighting is portrayed.
Sound
There is little of the way of sound in the clip. The clip, as it is from Mr. Bean, obviously does not exploit much dialogue, with the attention mainly being on the actions of the characters and their facial expressions. This is true for all of Mr. Bean, not just the clip I am analysing. There is also little to no music in the background. Again, this is a convention of the Mr. Bean franchise.
As the dialogue is scarce and there is no music, the result is a clip that is very low in sound. What can be heard however is the sound of laughter in the background, which is a classic sitcom convention. This laughter can be heard quite frequently throughout the clip, and is often all we can really hear. We do hear however the sounds of other characters speaking, such as the exam invigilator. We can also hear other sounds such as Mr. Bean rustling his exam paper, and people coughing in the background. These subtle sounds make the clip more comedic by allowing us to pay attention to the small details. As the slapstick comedy genre as a whole is a very subtle genre, the audience being able to pay attention to the small details that are taking place is crucial.
Overall I think sound is effective within the clip, and manages to be subtle and add to the comedic aspects whilst at the same time sticking in the background and not distracting from the actual action on screen.
Narrative structure
Unlike the other two genre specific mediums that I am analysing, this clip is not a trailer and is instead an extract from an episode, meaning the narrative structure is likely to be different. Indeed, the clip does pan out very differently to the other two mediums that I am analysing, which are both trailers. The clip is linear, meaning things are shown in the order that they happened. This contrasts with both the trailers, which both have non-linear narratives and instead use montage editing to show a selection of random clips. I think the narratives contrast so strongly because they both have very different purposes. The clips from the trailers are deliberately placed to make the audience want to go and see the film, however the clip is simply made to entertain, as it a section of an episode.
Idea 3: Comedy-horror
Editing
I have learnt from this genre (horror parody), that horror and comedy elements need to be scrupulously placed together to make it clear to the audience that the said media is horror-comedy. From analyzing the "Scary Movie," trailer, I have observed that the editing is fairly fast paced and jumpy. It immediately incorporates the genre-specific conventions from the very start of the trailer, having a dark opening immediately preceding a laughable, slapstick moment. The first scene of the trailer is a parody of the opening scene from "Scream," where a woman answers her phone with a voice on the other end asking her increasingly strange questions. This should be clear to fans of the horror genre. The trailer helps to show the coming together of horror and comedy by having a mixture of light and dark scenes in the trailer (as in light/dark lighting.) It goes even further than this however, by literally putting comedy sections from the film side-by-side with horror sections, such as a crying woman running through a wood in the pitch black with a piano falling down a staircase.
There is also text in the trailer which basically spells out that this is somewhat a comedy film. This is because it gives away several horror movie cliches to avoid, one of them being "Don't talk to reporters."
The shots that are used include an establishing shot, tracking shots, and a mixture of close shots, medium shots and long shots.
To summarise editing, the trailer has fast paced editing, a clear juxtaposition of horror and comedy scenes from the film in the same trailer and text which adds to the comedic value of the film.
Mise-en-scene
Quite a lot can be seen within the trailer. Props include a phone, a car, a knife, a villain with a full costume and a swing. I think these props all help to add the genre, as for example the knife and the swing help to show that this film belongs somewhat to the horror genre. For the most part, the props are necessary in expanding the story within the trailer, such as the phone and the knife. Some of the props however, such as the swing outside the house, do not expand the story and instead serve to build atmosphere.
Within the trailer we can see the interior and exterior of a house, as well as numerous other outdoor/indoor shots. I think this range of interior and exterior shots makes the trailer more visually exciting as well as perhaps showing the divide between the comedy and horror genres, as the exterior shots tend to be darker in nature than the interior shots.
Lighting
I think lighting is closely related to mise-en-scene for this trailer. As previously mentioned, there is a mixture of dark and bright lighting in the trailer to help show the divide between comedy and horror, which also links with the interior/exterior shots that I picked up on in mise-en-scene. Within the first 30 seconds all the shots take place at night time, however the interior shots are noticeably brighter in lighting than the exterior shots. After this however, some of the exterior shots take place at day time. These scenes are typically showing the comedic side of the film, rather than the horror side. This again shows that the brightness in lighting represents the comedic aspects of the film, which juxtaposes with the darker shots (such one of the characters running in the woods and a women getting run over by a car) which represent the horror aspects of the film.
Sound
At the start of the trailer, up until the 22 second mark, there is no music. Instead, we can hear a conversation taking place between one of the protagonists and the antagonist, over a phone. I think this lack of music helps to build tension. A lot of horror trailers often start with no music for just this reason; it is unnerving and helps to build tension. There may also be no music so we can simply concentrate on the conversation that is taking place between the two characters. This conversation is quite important, as audience members who pay attention and know the horror genre well will know that the scene is mocking the opening scene of "Scream," which is a popular horror movie. If they know this, then they already know that this movie serves to mock the horror genre.
However at around the 22 second mark, some quite cheesy, upbeat music suddenly begins as one of the characters gets chased by the villain. This is a very quick way of telling us that this movie should not be taken too seriously, and instead of being purely horror it is a comedy-horror.
I think the sound is effective as, like the lighting, it cleverly shows the mixture of horror and comedy elements. The lack of music in the first twenty seconds shows that there are horror elements involved, and that the movie does build tension, however the music afterwards tells us that the comedic elements are there as well and ultimately dominate. The same can be inferred from the conversations that the characters have. Some are serious and some are very comedic.
Ultimately, I think the sound in the trailer does a good job of showing the mixtures of the genres, and I think I should refer to this use of sound when I make my own trailer within the genre.
Narrative structure
This trailer follows a somewhat linear style. The shots that we can see are more linear than the trailer for "The Nice Guys," however they are obviously not as linear from the clip from "Mr. Bean."
The opening scene that we can see in the trailer is the opening scene to the film, and the shots that follow take place in roughly the correct order. However as the trailer progresses, the shots become more and more spread out and interspersed. I think this is necessary as it helps to make the trailer more dynamic. However the first 30 seconds (which is specifically the time period in which I based my timeline analysis), the shots are shown in linear style, which I think helps to build tension and make the trailer funnier as we understand the story and the subtle references.
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