Richard Dyers Star Theory

Dyer has written a large amount on celebrities within music and film. What he states is that a Star is an image but not a person. This person is 'fake' and is designed to be extraordinary and different from the 'average' person. This star is often published via advertisements magazines famous events etc. The Star uses all technology to promote him/herself, such as the internet, TV, movies magazines etc. Dyers star theory is based around 2 paradoxes.

Paradox one - The star must be ordinary and extraordinary

Paradox two - The star must be simultaneously present and absent to consumer (private life that audience wants to know more about)    

Propps Theory

In the 1920's Vladimir Propp published his morphology of the folk tale. He said that most storys have the same basic struggles and have stock characters.

Characters to Propp always seem to follow this pattern.

The Hero – a character that seeks something

The Villain – who opposes or actively blocks the hero’s quest

The Donor – who provides an object with magical properties

The Dispatcher – who sends the hero on his/her quest via a message

The False Hero – who disrupts the hero’s success by making false claims

The Helper – who aids the hero

The Princess – acts as the reward for the hero and the object of the villain’s plots

Her Father – who acts to reward the hero for his effort

Also he says that the storys are always basic and follow the same storyline.

      Prepartion - A warning is given
      Complication - A state of disorder
      Transference - The Hero leaves home
      Struggle - There is struggle between the hero and villian
      Return - The hero returns
      Recognition - The hero is recognised and recieves award of some type.

Queer Theory

The queer theory revolves around sexual minorities within mass culture/media and an intellectual extension of the Gay & Lesbian rights movement. The queer theory recognizes queers as a disadvantaged class in society whose voices are obscured, misrepresented in, or omitted from mainstream popular culture. Also television upholds mainstream values (dominant ideology) and “normalizes” them and television upholds mainstream values (dominant ideology) and “normalizes” them and homosexual/queers positions challenge societal gender roles.

Strauss

Claude Levi-Strauss
Strauss is a Social Anthropologist and studied myths of tribal cultures. He examined how stories unconsciously reflect the values, beliefs and myths of a culture. These are usually expressed in the form of binary oppositions.His research has been adapted by media theorists to reveal underlying themes and symbolic oppositions in media texts.

Roland Barthes

Linguist Roland Barthes described Five Codes which are woven into any narrative.

Hermeneutic Code: the voice of the truth

The Hermeneutic Code refers to any element of the story that isn't full explained and becomes a mystery to the reader.

Proairetic Code: empirical voice

The Proairetic Code builds tension, referring to any other action or event that indicates something else is going to happen, and which hence gets the reader guessing as to what will happen next.

Semic Code: the voice of the person

This code refers to connotation within the story that gives additional meaning over the basic denotative meaning of the word.
Symbolic Code: the voice of symbols

This code refers to connotation within the story that gives additional meaning over the basic denotative meaning of the word.
Referential Code: the voice of science

This code refers to anything that is founded on some kind of canonical works that cannot be challenged and is assumed to be a foundation for truth.

Trailer Terminonlogy

Plot Summary
Most trailers have a three-act structure similar to a feature-length film. They start with a beginning (Act 1) that lays out the premise of the story. The middle (Act 2) drives the story further and usually ends with a dramatic climax. Act 3 usually features a strong piece of 'signature music' (either a recognizable song or a powerful, sweeping orchestral piece). The last act often consists of a visual montage of powerful and emotional moments of the film and may also contain a cast run if there are noteworthy stars that could help sell the film.

Voice-over
Voice-over narration is used to briefly set up the premise of the movie and provide explanation when necessary ('In a world...'). Since the trailer is a highly condensed format, voice-over is a useful tool to enhance the audience's understanding of the plot.

Music
Music helps set the tone and the mood of the trailer. Usually the music used in the trailer is not from the film itself (the film score may not have been composed yet). The music used in the trailer may be:

• Music from the score of other films
• Popular or well known music, often chosen for its tone, appropriateness of a lyric or lack-there-of, or recognisability
• 'Library' music previously composed specifically to be used in advertising by an independent composer
• Specially composed music
• Songs, which may include knock-offs of recognizable (but expensive to license) songs

Cast, Crew, and Studio Information
A cast run is a list of the stars that appear in the movie. If the director or producer is well-known or has made other popular movies, they often warrant a mention as well. Most trailers conclude with a 'billing book', which is a list of the principal cast and crew. It is the same list that appears on posters and print publicity materials, and also usually appears on-screen at the beginning (or end) of the movie.

• Studio production logos are usually featured near the beginning of the trailer. Until the late 1970s, they were put only at the end of the trailer. Often there will be logos for both the production company and the distributor of the film.

Technical Elements

• Sound Mix: many movie trailers are presented in Dolby Digital or any other multichannel sound mix. Scenes including sound effects and music that are enhanced by stereophonic sound are therefore the focus point of many modern trailers
• Video Resolution: movie trailers, preceding feature films are generally presented in the same format as the feature, being in the general terms 35mm film or a digital format. High bandwidth internet connections allow for trailers to be distributed at any resolution up to 180p

Film Trailers Definition and History

Definition

Trailers consist of a series of selected shots from the film being advertised. Since the purpose of the trailer is to attract an audience to the film, these excerpts are usually drawn from the most exciting, funny, or otherwise noteworthy parts of the film but in abbreviated form and usually without producing spoilers. For this purpose the scenes are not necessarily in the order in which they appear in the film. A trailer has to achieve that in less than two and a half minutes, the maximum length allowed by theaters. Each studio or distributor is allowed to exceed this time limit once a year, if they feel it is necessary for a particular film.

History

Some trailers use "special shoot" footage, One of the most famous "special shoot" trailers is that used for the 1960s thriller Psycho, which featured director Alfred Hitchcock giving viewers a guided tour of the Bates Motel, eventually arriving at the infamous shower. At this point, the soft-spoken Hitchcock suddenly throws the shower curtain back to reveal Vera Miles with a blood-curdling scream.

The people who create trailers often begin their work while the movie is still being shot. Since the edited movie does not exist at this point, the trailer editors work from rushes or dailies. The trailer may be created at agencies such as;

• The Cimarron Group
• MOJO
• The Ant Farm
• Aspect Ratio
• Trailer Park

while the movie itself is being cut together at the studio.

The first trailer was shown in November 1913. The short promotional film was for the musical The Pleasure seekers. Up till the 1950's most film trailers where created by the national screen service, film trailers normally consisted of large descriptive text consuming most of the screen and the video in the background and most trailers had some form of narration and those that did featured stentorian voices.

In the 1960's motion picture trailers changed significally. Text less, montage and quicker edits where featured a lot due to the arrival of new Hollywood. From this time on, trailers consistence of quickly edited scenes. Then in 1964, Andrew J Kuehn distributed his trailer for Night of the Iguana using stark, high-contrast photography, fast-paced editing and a provocative narration, his format was the start of modern day trailers. From that time on, trailers production companies emerged such as The Cimarron Group (Chris Arnold), Ant Farm, Aspect Ratio (Mark Trugman), Trailer Park (Benedict Coulter) and Motor Entertainment, run by Greg McClatchy.

Many home videos contain trailers for other movies produced by the same company scheduled to be available shortly after the legal release of the video, so as not to spend money advertising the videos on TV. Now trailers can operate as a bonus feature instead of having to watch threw them all.

Conventions of Film trailers, magazines and posters.

Conventions of a film trailer typically to create a successful trailer include a suggestion into the storyline as well as introducing some of the main characters. Also it should set the genre of the film and create a feel for the setting but it mainly has to attract an audience into watching the full film. It should draw the interest of the audience by displaying attention grabbing footage which should normally slowly build up from the beginning and should consist of quickly paced clips. It should also usually contain graphics like the film title and opening dates and may include music and voice over.  A careful point to look out for is not to include too much of the main points of the film as you may spill too much info and render the film pointless as the main points are already in a short trailer

Conventions of a film poster typically have to be eye catching and captivating as well as have a focal picture that will be intriguing. It also has to display a large title that is easy to read and include a suggestion of the film genre. The film poster may include the most famous/well-known actors to promote the film and attract a target audience. The tagline is usually evident of the poster and the age certification, coming soon or release date displayed, directors and production company is displayed.

Conventions of a film magazine front cover generally include the magazines name, clearly displayed. The cover has to be noticeable to the audience and stand out from other magazines. Famous actors/images generally used as a focal point or other recognisable features to the audience. Images on the front have to target a contain audience and the graphics and colour are used to create a mood for the magazines. Font size, shape and colour are also used to creatively suggest different ideas. Several cover lines dotted around the page to promote other good content inside and the price and barcode are displayed

The BBFC

The British Board of Film Classification is an independent, non-governmental body which has classified cinema films since it was set up in 1912 and videos/ DVDs since the Video Recordings Act was passed in 1984.


The BBFC was originally set up in 1912 by the film industry and an independent body to bring uniformity to the classification of the film nationally.


Also in 1984 the government passed the Video recordings act which all videos to be tested for suitability for home by the BBFC.


Also the BBFC is a non-profit organisation. Its only income is of the fees it charges to class its products

The current BBFC system is:

• U (Universal) Suitable for all. (The board states that while they cannot predict what might upset a particular child, a 'U' film should be suitable for audiences aged 4 and older).
• PG (Parental Guidance) General viewing but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. (It is the board's policy that movies rated 'PG' should not disturb a child of about 8 years of age or older; however, parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset young or more sensitive children).
• 12A (12 Accompanied/Advisory) Recommended for 12 years and older. People under 12 years must be accompanied by an adult. (Exclusively for cinema, '12A' was first implemented on The Bourne Identity and, contrary to popular belief, not on Spider-Man, which was first released months before, under the previously fully restrictive 12 certificate, and then immediately re-released to take advantage of the new guidelines).
• 12 Recommended for 12 years and older. Nobody younger than 12 may rent or buy a '12' rated video. (Until 31 August 2002, this mandatory certificate used to apply to cinema exhibitions as well).
• 15 Suitable only for 15 years and older. Nobody younger than 15 may see a '15' film in a cinema. Nobody younger than 15 may rent or buy a '15' rated video (these films may contain offensive or emotionally harrowing scenes or strong language and violence).
• 18 Suitable only for adults. Nobody younger than 18 may see an '18' film in a cinema. Nobody younger than 18 may rent or buy an '18' rated video (These films may contain extreme gore/violence and/or sexually explicit content).
• R18 (Restricted 18) To be shown only in specially licensed cinemas, or supplied only in licensed sex shops, and to adults that are older than 18 years old. (These films contain sexually explicit, pornographic content.)