LO1: Comparing Two Other AV Products

Game of Thrones (Season 5), HBO, the purpose is to entertain the audience and make a profit, the audience was 18 - 30 year old males, as they are the demographics most likely to want to watch an action/adventure/fantasy genre show.


Titles and Graphics

Throughout the trailer graphics and titles were used to create effect and to inform the audience. For example at 0:09, the title informs the audience of the new season of the show, which is connotes by the theme of the title - fantasy. This also creates effect and makes the trailer more entertaining, as all parts of the trailer add to the mood of the show as a whole.
However, other titles are also used to subtely tell the audience the general plot of the season. For example at 0:56, the title says 'Justice', connoting that the season is going to be based around this concept.
Titles were also used in the more traditional sense in the trailer, to tell the audience what the product is and who made it. For example, the name 'Game of Thrones is shown at 1:22, while the production company is shown at the end (1:59) to inform those more interested in the trailer who made it, as they would be most interested in the production company.

Use of Transitions

Fade to black was frequently used throughout the trailer to create effect, which it succeeded in doing. It gave the trailer a dramatic feel, cutting from scene to scene to connote darkness and mystery - the events in the trailer have unforeseen results etc. For example, a man drawing his sword at 0:11 before fading to black at 0:12 creates mystery around the action - who is he fighting, is he good or bad etc? In addition, a crossfade was used 1t 1:21 to transition between video and the main title  - 'Game of Thrones'. This connotes to the audience that both the scene shown and the video as a whole is closely connected to the title (which it is), and as this is only used once in the trailer, it creates importance around the cut and the title, making it more important.

Editing Techniques
J and L cuts and used frequently throughout, for example at 0:35 an L cut is used effectively. This is because it showed the characters in the dialogue but in a different scene, connoting who it was to the audience while still garnering dramatic effect.
Action was included heavily throughout, and as a result action matching was an effective way of creating a fast paced theme to the trailer. 1:46 - 1:52 is a good example of this, as the shot switches from different perspectives to show the statue's impact as effectively as possible, creating a more dramatic sequence.

Narrative

This trailer is primarily used as a compilation of interesting shots in the season instead of showing one or more scenes of a narrative. So although this trailer isn't completely focused on the narrative, it still uses techniques to create one. For example, using J and L cuts mentioned previously use dialogue (narration) to connect the scenes it goes over, hinting at events and stories in the season by how they're connected. This is also true for editing, as clean cuts are used to connect shots together that can be assumed to be in the same scene or scenario, and so create a narrative, while more advanced edits such as fade to blacks and dissolves are used to end 'scenes', which can also be seen as a form of crosscutting between separate events that could be happening simultaneously.

Performance

Using the most visually impressive scenes (and so providing visual pleasures, Altman 1999) was effective in this trailer, because it creates a compilation of attractive scenes which are effective in attracting the target audience to watch the season, as the demographics are very likely to be interested in action. For example, 1:10 - 1:12 shows a soldier getting killed, which is especially effective as it uses action matches and shaky camera movements to create pressure and a fast paced scene which makes the action appear more intense.

Use of Non-Diegetic Sound
Music was used all the way through the trailer, stopping and starting to allow dialogue and narration to be heard. This was effective in creating an appropriate mood for the trailer (as the music was rock but clearly had emotion in it, effectively summing up the trailer that had action and emotive scenes in it). This can be seen at 0:48, where the music dips out to play narration that transfers into dialogue, before music starts again. It draws attention to the words spoken, connoting the audience that those words are impactful to the season.
Sound effects were also used to enhance actions, especially violence. This choice is effective as action is a primary interest of a lot of the target audience, given the demographic's interests, so making the action as visceral as possible (Altman 1999) will succeed in attracting more people to watch the show and enjoy it.

Use of Diegetic Sound

As is common with narration in trailers, it often shifted between being diegetic and non-diegetic. For example at 0:48, the narration's source was revealed, making the point more impactful and dramatic, which is effective as the show's plot is connoted to revolve around that point.
Sounds of violence and action (e.g. war cries, sword fighting etc.) and dialogue were synchronised with the music to create a more meaningful trailer. This is characterised by fast, loud music joined with action and the sounds that go with it (1:01)  and quieter dips in the music with dialogue (0:37).

Modern Family (Season 5), ABC, the purpose is to entertain the audience and make a profit, the audience was families, 10 - 50 year olds of both genders, as they are the demographics most likely to want to watch a show about families, in the comedy genre, which shows its appropriate for a young audience.

Titles and Graphics

Contrary to the norm, a large percentage of this trailer is made up of titles. For example, at 0:01, where a title instantly states the date the program is returning. This was effective in informing tha audience as it use the house styles of the show in the title to denote to fans that it was that specific show. This allowed them to introdue the name later (0:04), informing the audience of all the important info very fast. This was continued at the end, 0:13, where a title showing all limportant info was shown (date, name, production company) to quickly inform the audience. As the trailer is very short, this fits the length effectively, being short and informative as opposed to long and entertaining.

Use of Transitions

The only transition used in the trailer was a clean cut, used to switch between both titles and a scene, and from scene to scene. As the trailer was simple and short, with the intention giving the appropriate information to watch the show, this is effective, as it allows the trailer to be short and fast, the style it aimed for.

Editing Techniques

Likewise, in order for the promo to be fast and efficient, editing techniques were limited. Crosscutting was used, showing different scenes with the same content (cast saying 'yes') to create a message. 

Narrative

As the trailer is designed to be short and informative, there is no narrative to the trailer. This is effective in getting all the aimed information across, as well as inserting one joke, to make an effective promo.

Performance

A compilation was used, cast saying 'yes', to combine the narration and acting to create a joke to show audience that its a comedy show, which was effective as this way easily gathered regardless of prior knowledge, making it effective at targeting a new audience for the show, as well as established fans.

Use of Non-Diegetic Sound

Narration was used to tell the audience the information on the screen, in order for the message to definitely be received, which is important as thats the aim of the promo. Music, inspirational and upbeat, was also used to connote to the audience what genre of TV this show belonged to, comedy, which was perceived perceived easily and effectively, adding to the other aspects of the trailer to create an overall message.
In addition, sound effects ('whooshing') was used when the titles were moving into place (for example (0:12) to create a more entertaining effect to the less interesting part of the trailer, making it more fun to watch and so more effective, as people are more likely to watch a trailer they were interested in.

Use of Diegetic Sound

The only diegetic sounds used the characters in the compilation's dialogue, which was used for comedic effect. as the rest of the promo was solely titles, this is appropriate.


Comparison

Titles and Graphics
Although both trailers use titles to show important information to the audience (0:09 and 0:04 respectively), for example what the show is called or the release date, Modern Family uses them far more extensively to Game of Thrones. MF uses trailers to show all vital information, with the accompanying video only used for comedy (and so not revealing the season's content), GOT uses scenes from the season and editing to connect events to show a rough outline to the audience of what the season is about.

Use of Transitions