Application of Theories to my Trailer (EXAM QUESTION)



Application of Theories to my Trailer (EXAM QUESTION) 


Cameron Elliott

The 5 theorists that I researched recently, analyse characters and roles more than the actual story ir narrative of a production for the most part. As my trailer did not contain an abundance of characters, many of the following theories will not apply. However, there will be some that are relevant to my trailer, as I'll explain throughout the course of my essay. 

The first theory I would like to talk about is Propp's character theory. Propp argued that there were various character types in cinema. The first example of this is 'the hero', 'the villain', 'the false hero' etc. My trailer actually reflected this theory by portraying a clear hero and villain. While it didn't contain any of the other Propp-endorsed character types, it contained enough to suitably reflect Propp's theory. 

The next theory and theorist I'll be looking at is the famous Todorov theory, written obviously by Todorov. Todorov argued that there's 5 segments to films, but for the sake of this essay, I will be talking about the 3 key segments (the Equilibrium, Disequilibrium, and the Solution). There's not a clear equilibrium or solution in my horror trailer, only a clear disequilibrium. To improve the trailer, I would clearly add in the two missing segments to make it applicable to Todorov's theory. 

Moreover, another theory applies to my trailer. This theory is created by Levi Strauss. He claimed that binary oppositions are the key foundation to a film. This isn't heavily featured in my trailer due to a lack of understanding at the time of shooting. Good vs Evil is loosely hinted at and referenced, but there is no real solid evidence for it. If I was to re-shoot the footage, I'd utilise clothing and mise-en-scene to create a clear conflict of light and dark. 

Finally, the last theory that I will be looking at in this essay is Barthes' theory of codes. He believed in 5 codes, named the 'Action Code', 'Enigma Code', 'Semantic Code', 'Symbolic Code' and the 'Cultural Code'. These all have different meanings, but only the 'enigma code' is relevant to my summer trailer. I used sound and camera effects, for example, a close up, to build up a serious tension, and to leave an audience unsure as to what happens next in my elusive, nonexistent 'film' that the trailer is for. While I briefly touched upon the 'Symbolic Code', as shown in my intentionally ambiguous trailer. However, it is not prominent enough to analyse. 

Overall, I feel my trailer related to a moderate amount of the narrative theories, however, it is not done clearly enough in many cases. If I was to re-shoot, I would make my trailer reflect the vast majority of, if not all the theories, in order to make it scarier and more recognisable as a horror trailer. 

Comments

  1. ctkmedia10 October 2017 at 08:03

    "As my trailer did not contain an abundance of characters, many of the following theories will not apply. However, there will be some that are relevant to my trailer, as I'll explain throughout the course of my essay. " - (P) WHY is narrative and structure important when looking at a Trailer? (A) WHAT is the purpose of a Teaser Trailer and HOW does this distort a Linear structure?

    "My trailer actually reflected this theory by portraying a clear hero and villain. While it didn't contain any of the other Propp-endorsed character types, it contained enough to suitably reflect Propp's theory. " (E) HOW was it apparent these were the characters - MES, CAM etc? (P) WHAT types of narratives was P looking at and HOW does this relate to your SUBTEXT as a MORALITY story? WHAT about REALISM? (A) ARCHETYPES is the terminology - WHAT makes yours recognisable?

    " Good vs Evil is loosely hinted at and referenced, but there is no real solid evidence for it. If I was to re-shoot the footage, I'd utilise clothing and mise-en-scene to create a clear conflict of light and dark. " - (P) DOES this clearly create CONFLICT? (E) Be specific about WHAT MES you would include to create opposition on screen? HOW would CAM be used to show opposition (ie Low angle vs High angle?) (A) WHY is B.O. necessary in a narrative, and WHY so important in an edited Teaser Trailer? HOW successful was your film in achieving this?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Digital Technology Essay

Digital Technology, as we know it, is generally the means of which the creation of media is accomplished on. Digital technology covers a large spectrum of different types of technology, ranging from programs like Final Cut Pro and Photoshop CS6 to actual hardware such as the Macs we have been using to edit and develop, and the cameras that we use to record the actual footage. There is a noticeable relationship between the digital media technology and the idea of creativity in media. It's a well-known fact that creativity is enhanced by the access of greater digital technology, for an abundance of different reasons. My work has changed very noticeably over the 2 years due to a greater accessibility to digital technology and understanding of it. An example is my understanding of social network accessibility to promote my ideas and get a gauge of what the audience want to see with regards to my product. Moreover, My skills developed significantly across the two years because
Read more