The Lost Boys (1987)
In the trailer it started with a clip of a roller coaster
ride, it signified that the characters in the film and the story will have ups
and downs. After the roller coaster ride scene, they showed a man playing a
saxophone, a fire and people (crowd) enjoying the music, however, the vibe is
dark, dark vibe can signified danger but there is a glimmer of hope- the
balloons in the crowd can signify hope.
The narrator stated "Michael and Sam have just moved to
Santa Carla California", this can be seen a form of Post Modernism. The
narrator then continued "They are about to discover its secret",
people who move to different place often look for jobs and to start a new life
to a different place but there’s nothing for them no jobs available for them. In
this case (film) it is different the character will be facing danger. Danger
from the vampire and the place itself.
When the vampire was attacking the car of the couple, they were
both together however as the trailer/clip progresses the man was gone and the
woman was left alone in the car to be killed. The use of colour red represents
dead and danger. (Patriarchal society)
(Generic Conventions) The Lost Boys have the same
common characteristics of a typical vampire film. They can fly, they vanish in
thin air, animals fear them, they suck blood, fangs, scary eyes, they have
super powers, people's ideas that a sign of cross can make them go away, there
is a head of the vampire, they are pale, wear black clothes, theme of love and
there is a vampire leader. However, it was set in a town not in a dark
eerie forest. Also in the trailer there is no black vampire showed (Post
Colonialism)
In the film Michael have a love interest a common thing for
most vampire movies a common convention you can found in vampire films.
The setting/mood/characters/music
Setting
-Santa Carla California
-Festival/party, in a home
Mood
-intense
-dark
-trill and excitement
Characters
-Michael and Sam- who moved to Santa Carla
-Michael was turned into a vampire and his brother Sam
refused to help him at first.
Music
-The music use at the start of the trailer was fun and
exciting since the first seen was at a party or an amusement park. But as the
trailer goes on the music started to change, it became more intense.
Theoretical Approaches
Feminism- Male Gaze, male dominated film, Michael's love
interest is very pretty and attractive.
Post Colonialism- There is no black vampire shown in the
trailer
Post Modernity- the character moved to Santa Carla
Interview with the Vampire Movie Trailer (1994)
At the start of the trailer showed a vampire came to San
Francisco to tell his story and what trials and tribulations he's been through.
The films contains the generic conventions you
can find in most vampire films.
At the few seconds of the trailer, the vampire played by
Brad Pitt turned on the lights without touching the lights button (super
powers), use silver to kill vampires, they only come out at night. Then the
character stated "I haven't been human in 200 years" this is a
typical generic convention of a vampire in vampires films. There is also a love
affair going, the vampires in the film also eager for blood, attention and
money as well as being young forever.
Other generic conventions
- Very pale
- Fangs
-They have super powers (switching on the lights)
-They live forever
-The main vampire was locked
- Husky voice
-They wear black clothes.
-Theme of love
-Very dominant eye colour
Setting
At the start of the film the setting was in San Francisco in
a hotel, then it showed a forest, an eerie place. The film is a flashback of
what happened to the main character played by Brad Pitt hence the tittle of the
film "Interview with the Vampire"
The use of music, colour and characters
- Similar
to the Lost Boys there is a use of flog to create intense situation and
eerie feel, the film contains a lot of use of the colour grey, black,
yellow and red.
- The
background music used in the trailer is simple but very eerie, as the
trailer progresses the background music builds up along with the scene
being showed.
- The
characters were dressed really well, in black Victorian outfits.
The film contains the theoretical perspectives of
Marxism, Feminism, Post Modernism and Post Colonialism
Marxism- In the film trailer it showed how wealthy the
vampires are, they have everything from servants to fancy clothes. They can be
seen as the bourgeoisie since they have people working for them which can be
seen as the proletariat.
Feminism- The film trailer indicates that men will give
anything that the women needs e.g. eternal life. It shows how women are
dependent to men.
Post Modernism- At the start of the film trailer the vampire
(Brad Pitt) was in San Francisco, he moved from where is from to San Francisco
to start a new life, possibly rule there or just to tell his story.
Post Colonialism- In the trailer they did not show not a
single black vampire, instead the blacks were fighting against the vampires.
This can again linked to Marxism.
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) Trailer
At the start of the trailer they showed a book which might
contain the story of the Dracula in the film, it can also signify that the film
will be a flashback on what happened before (History of Prince Dracula and the
woman he loved).
Similar to the film The Lost Boys, the trailer of Bram
Stoker's Dracula contained some sort of ride, TRAIN to be exact. It signified
that the film will contain a lot of curves, different speeds, sceneries, and so
on that the characters in the film will experience as well as for the audience
to see.
The main character in the film (trailer) said to the woman
laying (probably the love of his life) said “I have crossed oceans of time to
find you". This line signified one of generic conventions of
Dracula/vampires. Vampires lives for hundreds and hundreds of years, they do
not die unless they are killed using a silver weapon such as a sword or a
knife.
Generic conventions used in the film
- Very pale skin
- Hypnotic (with super powers)
- Very pointy nails
- Fangs
- They have eternal life
- The Dracula have a lot interest
- Wealthy
- Blood
- Animated eyes
-Theme of love
-Vampire leader
- Crucifix to make the Dracula/vampire go away.
- The characters in the film were dressed presentably, the
colour black and brown are dominant in their clothing.
The setting, music and colours
In the trailer the film indicates that it is set in a very
gloomy, dark and isolated place where only few people live. Similar to Lost
Boys and Interview with the Vampire, the film used fog to create an effect
or an eerie feel
The colours that they used are typical to most vampire
movies, the colour black, red and yellow are very dominant in the film.
The background music used in the trailer is very simple
(using string instruments and a little bit of the drums) but the pace of the
background music started to get faster along with the intense scenes showing.
Theoretical approaches
Marxism- the Dracula used his money to attract his love
interest in the film.
Feminism- Male gale, the love interest of the Dracula is
very attractive
Post Colonialism- no black vampire
Post Modernism- “I have crossed oceans of time to find
you" the Dracula travelled to see and be with his love interest.
Near Dark Trailer (1987)
Trailer
The film in general contains a lot of violence such as kill,
abduction, arson, getting hit by a truck and so on. It has this idea that crime
and all sort of violence will appear as soon as it's dark.
The trailer started out with the sunset, it suggests that as
soon as the light is gone the danger will come. At the start of the trailer
they showed a van chasing a man and eventually got and abducted him, then a
girl who was left behind probably related to the abducted man screamed.
Then it cut (trailer) to a man (who's presented with less
light/dark background) who said to the man who was abducted "I want to
separate your head on your shoulders", the man (killer) was then
encouraged by his friends to do it, then the friend of the man pleaded "No",
then the young lady who pleaded "No" was put in his situation as well
and she said "might as well just kill me then". This part of the
trailer shows who is the dominant one just like in a family household, father
are in charge of all finances while their wife do everything that their husband
asks them to do (Feminism) Fran Ansley - "women are takers of
shit" BUT as the trailer progresses it's the woman who encouraged a man to
kill!
The setting/mood/colour/characters/music
Setting
The film was set in a small town with very low population,
at the start of the trailer they showed a deserted place but as the trailer
progresses the setting moved to a small town (Post modernism).
Mood
Very eerie, scary and dark
Colour
In the film trailer they used colours such as black, yellow,
red and brown...they used very dull and dark colours to give an impression that
they film will be very intense.
Characters
At the start of the film trailer we can see the man who
abducted the man and the young lady is the leader of the vampires because the
people around him fear him.
Music
Very intense background music
Generic Conventions
-The characters have very dark clothes on minus the
cloak/cape.
-The characters are pale, they only go out when the darkness
strikes.
-The use of fog to create the atmosphere/feel of the film.
-Very aggressive characteristics of the characters
-They don't die
-Vampire leader
-Animated eyes
-Blood
-Fog
The vampires in the film aren't very pale, no fangs, no
capes, no special power, no pointed nails compared to the common presentation/conventions
of vampires in films.
Theoretical Approaches
Feminism- the woman in the film was controlling the man and
persuading him to kill, the woman in the film was in charge just like most
feminists theorists like.
Post Colonialism- No black characters in the film trailer
Marxism - the use of weaponry and violence to get what the
vampires want. The film trailer also showed hierarchy e.g. the police
interrogating one of the vampires.
30 Days of Night Trailer
The film is about a town invaded by a group of vampires,
killing/hunting animals and people for food (blood). The trailer starts out
with a woman abducted and killed by a vampire (of course the woman gets killed
first because she is seen as vulnerable). For 30 days of night, the village was
doomed with vampires committing killings and taking over the whole town. The
police/main character in the film saved the village by sacrificing himself to
be a vampire to kill the master of the vampire group/gang.
The setting/mood/colour/characters/music
Setting
-Winter
-Town
-The setting is very unusually, usually vampires lives in
forest and invades populated towns and cities.
Mood
-Cold
-Very mysterious and eerie
Colour
-Black, white, grey, yellow and red.
Characters
-Vampires invaded the town and killed majority of people
there, the saviour of the town was the police, he sacrificed himself to be a
vampire to kill the leader of the vampire group, then he died at the end, he
vanished into the thin air as the sunrises.
The music
-very intense and it builds up along with the scenes shown
in the trailer
Genetic Conventions
-Pale skin
-Animate eyes
-Black clothes
-Super powers e.g. fly
-They die if exposed in sunlight, metal weapons
- Pointy nails
-Theme of love
-There’s a leader of the vampire group
-They kill people and drink their blood
Theoretical Approaches
Marxism- There’s a leader of the vampire group, the police
saved the few people left in the town from the vampire (hierarchy).
Feminism- The woman who is the love interest of the police
can be seen as the sidekick while the police can be seen as the hero.
Post Colonialism- The vampires moved to the town to colonise
and make it their own but they failed to do so.
