Thursday, 16 December 2010
Downton Abbey ITV1 promo
Downton abbey is a period drama (mid 1800's) being shown on ITV1 at the moment. The trailer for which uses many features and conventions that are key in television dramas to make them how they are.
The zooms used in the trailer are both fast and slow, and are used throughout the clip. A fast zoom is used to show the shock on the girls face when she sees the body being carried through the dark. This accentuates the horror and suprise she is feeling and helps the audience to empathise with her emotions. Slow zooms are also used on some of the more boring shots (shots where not a lot other than a conversation is happening) to add intrest and also draw the audience into the scene.
Non-diegetic music has been added in post production in a choral style, but a fairly modern song. This is so that the period drama targets this generation whereas it might not have if it had chosen an older song. The haunting choral voices give a sense of unease about the clip, especially with the clever choice of words "i'll be watching you" in the song. The cuts of the shots are quite slow at the beginning, however when the music increases in tempo, the cuts get faster and faster until the music slows again and we are left with a closeup of the "main characters" face. The fast cuts are here used to build tension and create a sense of excitment in the audience, without actually telling them anything that is going to happen in the series. This makes them want to watch the drama and therefore makes this clip an effective trailer.
Many different shot types are used in the trailer, although most of them are tracking shots. I think this is for two reasons. Mainly, to give the viewer a sense of following the characters through a very quick synopsis of the programme, so it is almost like a continuous path through the clip. Also, I think that it corresponds nicely with the lyrics of the music; "I'll be watching you", making it seem as though the viewer is literally watching the characters when they arent supposed to be. I think the lyrics have shaped the trailer quite a lot, because most of the clips seem to be people looking at each other and conveying a lot by what their facial expression is.
A long shot is used when a couple of characters are walking outside of the abbey.
shakey shot when boy is carried into house.
text
blurred forground
fast cuts
soft lighting in the romantic bits
graphic frame shots, door mirror window
blurred edges to create period feel
period costumes - sets the time period
long shots to set scene
extreme close up
close up on characters facial expressions
tracking
follow style due to tracking
90210 [UK Season Two Spot #4]
Editing: Overall, the editing of the whole piece is very fast, with only short, relatively unrelated clips. I like the editing style used in this trailer, and hope to let it inspire my own work.
Lighting: The lighting of the whole soap has a warm yellow glow to it. This is because, although the main atmosphere of the trailer is negative, it is still set in "Hollywood" and the lighting conveys a sense of unrealistic happiness, wealth and 'sugar-coated' situations that are stereotypically common in "Hollywood".
The establishing shot at the beginning is used to let the audience know where the soap is set. Also, the image is very heavily representational of a lot of media created connotations of glamour, rich people and celebrities. The establishing shot is followed by a weather shot, and it is the lightning which implies the tone of the whole trailer through use of pathetic fallacy.
The next shot is a two shot of two women comforting another woman. The colour pink in the background makes the viewer associate the scene with many girly connotations, such as high emotions, 'love' and fashion. The fact that the first characters we see in the trailer are women is due to the fact that the programme is part of what would be called a "feminine" genre; its target audience is largely female. The short hair and slightly garish costume of the woman on the right, compared to the frilly blouse and long, wavy blonde hair of the woman on the left, is indicative of the levels of femininity in the two characters, with the blonde woman being clearly more feminine than the brunette. The camera is at a low angle here because the audience is supposed to be empathising with the girl lying on the bed (see next shot) and this way the camera is on her level.
There is then a fast cut to the girl lying on the bed being comforted. Her eyes are puffy, which suggests to the viewer that she has been crying. Also, the dialogue "I would do anything to make my heart stop hurting" is a clue to the viewer about what might be happening in that storyline, because as it is only a trailer, they may not necessarily understand the plot at this time. The eye-line of this character, also, is quite near the camera, so as to give the audience the maximum chance of empathising and connecting with the character, without breaking 'the fourth wall'.
There is another fast cut to a wide angle shot of a man throwing something in a bin, and a woman in the background. The force at which he throws the item into the bin is indicative of the emotions that the man is portraying, and although the shot is only 1 second long, if that, the general theme of the shot is conveyed effectively. The costume of the girl stood behind him suggests that she is a fashionable, professional person.
The next shot is a very wide two shot, with the characters graphically framed within two vertical sheets of corrogated metal. This shot relies on the knowledge of the viewer to understand that they are stood infront of the "Hollywood" sign; the view of LA, the colour of the sign, and the hill they are stood on. Combine this with the prior establishing shot and the producer of this clip can be pretty certain that the audience will 'get it'. The characters are both wearing similar colours, which lets the audience know that they are connected in some way. This is reinforced by the body language/proximity of the two.
The next shot is a close up two shot of the two characters from the previous shot. This is clear because the characters are of a similar proximity. The girl here is crying, and this, as in the other shots, lets the viewer know a little bit about the general atmosphere of the scene, without telling the plotline.
This trailer has really inspired me in my planning of the final trailer. I really like many of the conventions that it has used and hope to recreate them in my own trailer.
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