media coursework

1. QUESTION TWO
Compare and contrast three
trailers from different genres
and how they reveal its genre

2. THREE CHOSEN FILMS

3. ICONOGRAPHY
Steve Camsall suggests in his film analysis guide that:
Iconography is an important aspect of genre. We expect to see
certain objects on screen when we see a particular genre, for
example, in a Western, dusty lonely roads, saloon bars,
cowboy hats and horses, jails, sheriffs badges, guns, etc..
In a modern horror film, we expect young girls, ‘normal’ objects,
use of dark and light, etc. These ‘genre indicators’ are called
the iconography of the mise-en-scene or genre.’

4. ICONOGRAPHY IN SKYFALL
The idea of iconography is prominent in all three of the trailers
as for each genre there are certain elements such as props
or events which tightly correlate to the genre of film.
The film Skyfall falls into the genre of action and this is immediately evident
from the film trailer. The trailer begins with loud, fast paced music and
quick shots of the main character, his location, and a shot of him holding
a gun
The gun that he is holding is called a Walther PPK, and is one known to be
used by James Bond therefore helping his characterisation
The fast pace of the music along with the fast shots link to the possibly fast
pace of the film. The fast pace is created by often beats of a drum and a
fast melody being played by an instrument that sounds similar to a violin.
The shot of the gun demonstrates that the film is most likely one of the
action genre as we are immediately drawn to the conclusion that the
character we have seen is a spy.

5. ICONOGRAPHY IN SKYFALL
The next shots are of a car chase and one car is seen to lift up over
the over, fast cars once again link to this idea of iconography as
they are mostly always found in films
of the action genre. This connotes danger and thrill, as does the
dramatic stunt of a man falling off a very tall bridge into a large
lake, this would make the audience excited to watch the film
Shots of the main character practising his shooting and
showing a range of weapons would once more hint to the audience
that this film was potentially one of the action genre, as would
the continuous explosions at intervals throughout the trailer
All of these things are what are commonly thought
to make up a film of this action genre

6. ICONOGRAPHY IN 22 JUMP STREET
22 jump street fits into the genre of comedy, however it too features
elements and components of the hybrid being action-comedy
For this reason the iconography for this film is almost a mixture of that
found souly in comedy films, with that found only in action films.
However as action is only a sub genre for this film, most of the
iconography links in with that of the comedy genre.
Typical action comedy films include lots of dangerous stunts and
excitement. There is often thought to be weapons and explosions
which demonstrates the action side of the genre
The producers may have chosen to create a hybrid film as it will
attract a bigger audience, as fans of both genres may want to
watch the film

7. ICONOGRAPHY IN INGLORIOUS BASTARDS
Something that all three of the trailers have in common
is their use of iconography to alert audiences of what
particular genres their trailers fit in to
Such as, in the trailer for Inglorious Bastards, there are masses of
explosions and weapons and shots of soldiers depict the genre to
be that of war
Shots of war damaged locations and of men obeying commands
shouted to them by their captains also make this trailer fit into the
film genre of war
Therefore making audience members who were interested
in that genre, be interested in this film

8. BACKGROUND MUSIC
A similarity that all three of these trailers have in common
is that there is background music of different
paces and styles to keep the audience interested and
to fill space where there is no speech from
the characters
In all three of these films coincidentally the music is loud and
fast paced and although of different music genres, it is
used to keep the audience on their toes and follow along the fast
paced action that the trailer features
A film of the romance genre for example may feature much slower and
quieter music to suit the tone of the action

9. CHARACTERS
Characters play a large role in representing the genre across
to the audience whether it be in the film as a
whole or simply through the trailer
As known to commonly be included in action films, the film Skyfall
revolves around the main character is a spy, this is made clear
to us from the very first shot as he is holding a gun,
whilst dressed smartly and appears to be
talking to someone through a communication device
disguised as a watch
The actor playing that of a spy in a film of this genre is thought to
be quite attractive and of a slender possibly muscled build,
and again from the first shot of the actor (Daniel Craig) we
think of him as a believable spy

10. CHARACTERS
The ‘bad guy’ character is another thought to be prominent
in all James Bond films, and other films of this genre. In this
trailer we are introduced to the bad guy and we find out a
little about him. We are left however unaware as to
how the conflict between the two of them will pan out
This pre-judgement of what a spy character would look like is also
used in the film ‘22 Jump Street’ however it is used for the
opposite reason. In this film due to its genre of comedy, they
have completely gone against this stereotype, once again
done for comic effect

11. CHARACTERS
The main or one of the main characters of films in the comedy genre is
thought to often fit the bill of quite short, unattractive, and slightly over
weight. In this film again
and evident in the trailer the casting directors have cast
someone who fits this description and is seen as the archetypal actor for
a role in a comedy
In this film binary opposition is used in regards to the two main characters,
one for example being tall and of a slender build while the other is short
and quite chubby. This is done for comic effect
As in Skyfall, the main characters of the film ‘22 Jump Street’ which fits into
the action-comedy genre, are male. In this particular film the main
characters are a double act however this is not always the case which is
uncommon in genres other than comedy
The two main characters are the first two characters seen majorly in the
trailer apart from a brief shot of a male
whom they are having a conversation with

12. CHARACTERS
Once again stereotypes are used in the film ‘Inglorious
Bastards’ as the first character we see appears to be a
captain shouting an order at a strict
formation of obedient soldiers
The captain is dressed well and looks smart, and is in
better and more intricate uniform than the soldiers
This immediate depiction of role and the difference in
uniform show to the audience the difference in power held,
and the depiction of soldier and captain links to the
genre of war films

13. LOCATION
Although the locations for each of the films and their trailers, they all
help to indicate the genre of their film
The trailer for Skyfall example includes shots of train-top action, and
scenes occuring on top of a high bridge and
on busy roads, to add thrill and excitement
The film ’22 Jump Street’ is set in a high school, immediately this
provokes a comic response from the audience as the two main
characters are around the age of fourty therefore making their
task of blending in with the students quite difficult
The use of this location may attract teen viewers as they can relate
to the representation of school life
The trailer for ‘Inglorious Bastards’ shows locations that are run down
and look as though they have been ruined by war, once again
correlating with the genre it belongs to

14. PRESENTATION
The presentation of the shots is extremely different in the three trailers
as they all portray their genre in a different way
For example in the film Skyfall, the non stop motion of the
trailer correlates to that featured in the film once
again drawing fans of the action genre into the film
There is too a lot of fast paced editing to keep the trailer moving
and keep the audience on the edge of their seat
This film includes high-energy, big budget stunts which is one of the
main elements thought to be key in action films
These are demonstrated in the trailer through quick shots
of each to let the audience know that this film
fits firmly into the action genre

15. PRESENTATION
In the trailer for ‘22 Jump Street’ there are no quick shots, just a compilation
of different clips highlight brief moments of comical happenings or
conversations
With films in this genre is the comical aspect of the film that will attract an
audience, therefore unlike in Skyfall
where big stunts and many shots of action are needed, in
this trailer they just aim to include as many jokes and pieces of humour as
they can
The trailer begins with a counsellor speaking and the genre is not
immediately obvious until the two main characters are shown, the text
spoken between the two in this short clip makes it immediately obvious
that even if this film wasn’t entirely a comedy, it definitely included
elements of it
This is contrasting to the trailer for Skyfall, where the main character is
immediately shown and it is obvious to us that the films revolves around
him and his doings

16. PRESENTATION
In action and war films there is often an underlying sense of time
running out, or a rush for something to be done and that is
prominent in both the trailers for Skyfall and for Inglorious
Bastards
Although not immediately, a way into the trailer for Inglorious
Bastards the action is shown to us through a number of quick
shots changing from different locations and different
characters demonstrating a sense of urgency and a climax to
a pivotal point in the film