Ill Manors broadcast platform: trailer analysis

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

The typical codes and conventions that are present in a film trailer would be interesting segments of the film. these would feature segments such as disequilibriums that the protagonist faces and some action codes such as the use of weapons and the police being prominently featured. Other action codes could include the use of drugs and prostitution that could suggest a crime genre film. Barthes enigma codes are also present in the film with the use of phrases such as "Every action has a reaction" which could question an audience as to how this would link with the film and its narrative. Another element of a film  trailer could be the text and graphics that are used in trailers. If a film has some accolades, it would feature them in the trailer to present the the film with greater status. especially if the quote came from a recognisable brand, this would make the increase the chances of a greater impression on the film as they would see this as a film that they might want to watch. Another aspect that is also features in the film trailer would be the  film title. This would mainly be present in the end so that an audience isn't thrown off by the title and so this would then make the scenes used in the trailer question an audience as to what film they are watching. The credits are also present in the end which credits the production team and actors who are featured in the making of the film. At the bottom of the film would generally have the logos of the producers and the distributors who were apart of the film. Another feature that would appear at the end of the film would be links to social media. This can promote their social pages as well as their official website which could also promote the film further. There is also the use of narration in the film from the beginning and the use of dialogue that would be used to explain the story to an audience so that they have a basic understanding as to what the film would be like

2. How are trailers distributed? 

Trailers can be distributed in various methods. The most used place for distribution would be YouTube since this wouldn't cost as much as distributing the film in cinemas as this might cost a lot since cinemas would have an audience who would've paid to watch a film in cinema. This would be presented to an audience which age rating is appropriate. In this case since this is an 18 certificate film, then they would present the trailer before the actual 18 film that would be presented. Trailers can also be arguably distributed by social media when it gets shared. This could also demonstrate the distribution of the trailer in multiple social media platforms for an audience to look at.

3. How does the Ill Manors trailer use trailer conventions?

Ill Manors uses a variety of trailer conventions. One of the first and most used would be the disequilibrium. This can feature different codes under Barthes' enigma and action codes. Enigma codes can link with the disequilibrium as the audience may wonder how the hero will overcome these obstacles. For  Ill Manors, there are many uses of enigma and action codes. For the action codes, there is the use of drugs, weapons and the police force that would be seen as elements of action codes. The enigmas could be the different scenes and how each scene came to be. The trailer presents different troubles and dangers which make the audience question how this all came to be. The quote at the beginning can also make an audience question how this would link with the film's  narrative. Another convention that was used is text/graphics. The use of graphics was used to present the sentences from reviews that would be seen as highlights for them and which could also recommend the film. This can be helpful for the promotional value of the trailer if the statement came from a recognisable name, then an audience might trust the review an go watch Ill Manors which is reminiscent to the two-step flow model. Scenes from the film is also used in the trailer to try and promote the film without giving away too much. The scenes selected would be seen as visually interesting for an audience/ their target market. An example of this could be the use of violence which might be intriguing to a male audience.  

1. Who is the target audience? 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 could arguably be young teenagers who live in London. This is due to the setting that the film is based in. Although it has a certificate of 18, I could argue that a younger but slightly mature audience would be able to watch this film considering that it can be relevant to them since they might recognise similar situations so it could also target a social class of C2DE. The target audience could also relate to a male audience since this is a crime drama that a male audience may find intriguing. Especially considering the characters are all male which might make it seem like a male audience would understand. There are other segments that also indicate that this film's target audience is male with the screen time that the gender is presented in the film trailer. The scenes which have a female in it make brief appearance of a few seconds which is shown in the fast pace editing at the end to tease that action that is shown in the film. Meanwhile, the men in the film take up most of the screen time and makes the female characters look like they are just characters with small roles in the narrative. There isn't really a unique selling point in the film. However, since this was Plan B's first film at the time, this could attract fans of Plan B to watch the film. Arguably this could be seen as a unique selling point since Plan B hasn't directed any feature length film prior to Ill Manors. In addition to this, Plan B also creates the music that is used throughout the trailer which could suggest that fans of Plan B might appreciate the film since it uses his music and this might attract an audience into watching the film. The narrative isn't clear in the trailer as an audience would infer non-diegetic dialogue that was specifically created for the film. The techniques used to appeal to the audience would be the tease of the action that is featured in Ill Manors. The film would include fast pace editing ton try not to spoil much of the film and only showcase the disequilibrium of the film. The fast pace would make it difficult for an audience to understand much of the narrative. This can be proven with the use of narrative with the text that talks about "Every action has a reaction" quote which questions the choices with a rhetorical question to the audience. This could give away some of the narrative but there was some fast paced editing which would make it hard to distinguish what happens in Ill Manors. The main stars are featured in the trailer but they aren't featured as much since the fast paced editing near the end teases some of the action for an audience to figure out who the main stars actually are. There is some information about the director which is a basic name drop for an audience who would recognise him. This is enforced with the idea of "From the visionary artist Plan B" could suggest that Plan B has had work in the past that he is recognised for so an audience might recognise him and may want watch the film making him a unique selling point for the film to an audience. The release date is featured at the end after the credits probably to let an audience watch the whole trailer so that they can have an understanding of the film maybe about. A narrative voice-over is used in the beginning of the trailer to probably give some information as to what the film is about. This is shown with "are you sitting comfortably" which could suggest that this film would have some action involved. The direct address to the audience could also suggest to an audience that this film would involve the use of narration through the film. However it stops after he said that sentence which could suggest that there may not be any voice-over for the film and that it was only used to introduce the trailer which can be inferred from the perspective of the audience.

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

The characters that are seen in the film are shown as quite dangerous. This can be inferred with the use of drugs, weaponry with pistols, and the sexual content that shows the genre of crime as a dark atmosphere. The characters shown are all seen as living in a rough neighbourhood as the use of slang throughout the film can suggest that they are located in an urban London. In addition to this there is also the different sorts  This genre is representing the film's location as quite a dangerous area. The graffiti that is displayed on the walls for where the teenagers are seen just standing around in gangs could also correlate with the genre of crime. The lighting that is used in this has mainly used low-key lighting as this can be presented in the dark areas that the characters are in. The shadows also present urban London as a mysterious area due to the low visibility that is shown. However there is some shots where there is some high key lighting that is shown in the trailer with the brighter areas that highlights this run down urban London. The colour that is used in the trailer has presented London as quite grim. This could be due to the use of a monochrome colour scheme filter in some scenes that would make London look like a dangerous place. Music is also used in the background as non-diegetic and fits the theme of crime. Considering that the director is a music artist, this would demonstrate that his music take an urban feel and so the film that he directed would make use of the soundtrack that he composed. The music used is parallel to what is happening on scene which could show that the trailer is conveying a "gangster-like" atmosphere for the audience to suggest that the film would be about crime. The use of music in the trailer also represents the film with the suggestion of an urban narrative for an audience. The dialogue that is used is also quite strong as they present the genre as a grim and aggressive genre due to the sharp tone that is accompanied by the dialogue. The camera shots used have some close-ups for the tension filled scenes such as the gun in an extreme close-up that would make an audience think that they should get ready for a gun shot but ends up cutting away to the next scene in the trailer. Another use of tension could be the close-up which introduces the antagonist in an intimidating way which could show the danger of London since the film presents intimidating characters like the gang that are near a parked car possibly doing a transaction. The camera movement is also quite steady as it would mainly focus on characters that are seen in the film as well as focus on characters when they are in difficult situations. The angles that are used in the trailer can show odd angles such as angles from below that could depict the character as powerful. This is evidenced with Chris' smile as he looked pretty psychopathic when he looked down on the camera which suits the genre of crime since criminals are mainly seen with no morality in them. The editing is another factor within the trailer that would suit with music. The slow paced editing was parallel to the music that was used which had suggested an urban London. This had only presented London as dangerous and the genre as dramatic. However later on in the trailer there was a track that had a faster pace within it. And in correlation to this, the editing increased in paced with had represented the genre of crime as quite action packed with the use of violence which is an action code that would be appealing to an audience.