This is the website for Gone Girl, the 2014 Psychological Thriller directed by David Fincher.
The media plays a big part in the plot of the film thus it is incorporated into the website design, as it is made to look like a news announcement on a television screen. The photos in the background are the audience's main focus, and this is an idea we might use for our own website. The photos change often, to show another shot from the film, giving the audience hints about the plot but never giving away the plot twist.
As the focus is on the photographs, the rest of the website is quite minimal- to prevent the audience getting distracted by anything else. The typography of the buttons at the top of the website are the same as the title on the poster- that specific typography is associated with the Gone Girl franchise. The word 'gone' is always written in the same typography, it is used as a trademark of the film.
The release date of the film is made to look like the date on the TV screen, to once again fit in with the theme of the media. It is underlined in yellow, to make it stand out. The majority of the photographs have quite low key lighting, and often blue tones, so the subtle use of red and yellow especially at the bottom of the screen, is effective.
The links to the other social media pages for the film are included in the top right corner, in white which stands out against all of the photos in the slideshow. Other links such as to the trailers, and the synopsis are disguised as part of the Breaking News bar at the bottom but still accessible. The website also has quiet non-diegetic music playing in the background, from the soundtrack of the film.
For the film, a second website was also made called findamazingamy.com. This was made as part of the franchise, as the film centres around Amy, who goes missing. Her parents set up a website for anyone to leave information and to spread the word.
Once again the photos are the main focus, and match the photo used in the main poster. The words 'Gone Girl' don't need to be used on either the website or the poster, because people already know the film from the large amount of promotion.
Under the Skin is a 2013 Science Fiction-Horror film directed by Jonathan Glazer. The darkness and psychological disruption of this film was a prominent inspiration for our teaser trailer.
Within the narrative of this film one of the most important aspects is the ambiguity and mystery behind the protagonist, mystery is a common convention within Psychological Thrillers, therefore it can be argued that Under the Skin has elements of a Psychological Thriller, along side Science Fiction-Thriller. We took inspiration from this ambiguity for our teaser trailer.
This website is very minimal, with only part of Scarlett Johansson's face showing, as you scroll down the website the typography moves and changes, but the picture remains still. The colour lit onto the protagonist's face slowly shifts through several bright colours, such as red, pink, and blue - these colours are very bright and are the most prominent feature of the website. The stars in the background are very slowly, almost unnoticeably moving. Due to the film's Science Fiction side it can be suggested that the protagonist's face is presented in the middle of the dark night's sky in order to suggest the vast expanse of the universe, which leads to the idea of extraterrestrial life.
However, although the dark sky indicates the infinite nature of the universe, the pivotal aspect of the website is the protagonist's face, due to its central framing and large scale, demonstrating that she is the most significant aspect of the film. However her face is partially shadowed, suggesting a duplicitous nature. Additionally, the vividity of the red lighting on Johannson's face contrasts the stark black sky behind her, this connotes danger, and causes her to stand out against the mundane nature of humanity.
When on the website, once the audience has scrolled down, there are very clear media links to purchase the product. This is explicit advertisement, and allows easy access for the audience.
There is a common typography seen throughout the website, this is a very clear and easy to read font. It can be suggested that this font contrasts the abstract nature of the film.
The pastel blue colour scheme of the typography contrasts the black background, making it stand out.
Once the audience scrolls down further, reviews are presented on-screen. Unlike the media links, these take up the majority of the page, becoming the central focus, additionally, use of contrasting colours of the green typography against the red light on the protagonist's face makes the reviews stand out further.
This follows the conventions of a website, as its aim is to entice and persuade the audience, so by displaying all of the positive reviews and feedback across the whole of the screen, this reiterates to the reader just how good the film is, persuading them to watch it themselves.
Laura Mulvey coined the term "Male gaze" in 1975. She believes that in film, audiences have to view a character from the perspective of a heterosexual male. The Male gaze consists of three different Gazes.
1. That of the person behind the camera
2. That of the characters within the representation or film.
3. The Gaze of the spectator.
The man man emerges as the dominant power within the film. The woman is portrayed as passive to the active gaze from the man. John Berger:
"Men look, Women appear"- He suggested that women are there solely for objectification of men within all platforms of the media. We are subverting this stereotype in our film trailer, as the protagonist does not appear in the film to look "attractive" as we are not focussing on the looks of the character, but her actions instead.
Jib Fowles:
"In advertising, males gaze and females are gazed at"
The Carol Clover Theory:
In slasher movies, the killer is finally stopped by a character who Clover (1992) calls the "Final Girl". The " Final Girl" is always a pure innocent girl who abstains from sex. She sometimes has a unisex name (e.g. Laurie, Sidney.) Occassionally the Final Girl will have shared a history with the killer. Sidney Prescott from the horror film Scream, is a common example of Clovers theory.
In our film trailer, we chose to subvert gender theories because we didn't want to comply with the audiences expectations. In our film opening, the girl shown to be the dominant character, subverting the "Male Gaze Theory" (Laura Mulvey) who suggested that the man emerges as the dominant power within the film. However she could be viewed as the perfect "English Rose". the term "English Rose" is a description associated with English Culture, that may be applied to a naturally attractive woman or girl traditionally with a fair complexion who is from or associated with England. The description has a cultural reference to the national flower of England, the rose, and its long tradition within English symbolism.
The very first shot in this teaser trailer is an off centre still shot of the television, from behind the sofa, the mise en scene in this shot initially appears to be depicting normality, as an average living room setting is displayed, with a comfortable sofa, a table lamp and tea cups, which all connote comfort. However, the low-key lighting of the room creates an eerie feel, which is harshly contrasted by the bright colours on the television screen. The vivid colouring of the TV causes this the become the central focus of the shot, even though it is not central on the screen. This depicts the significance of the media, and television throughout the narrative of the film. This significant is also presented throughout the trailer though various other shots:
Such as this 'We got a winner' shot, which displays a television presenter and an audience to a TV show, as the bold typography mirrors that to one that would pop up on a game show. Additionally, the non-dietetic voice over of the character saying 'I'm going to be on television', reiterates this importance of the media and specifically the television.
The next shot is a central still shot of a dimly lit fridge. Similarly to the previous living room shot, upon an initial glance one may analyse this shot to connote comfort and an average life, do to the family photos, fridge magnets, and untidy side counters. This shot depicts normality through the mise en scene. However, the low key lighting changes this, as the room is very dark all apart from the white fridge, which stands out in the shot, becoming the pivotal factor. This demonstrates an aspect of the narrative, as the fridge is displayed as somewhat daunting, this is because of the character's anorexia, as within the plot she develops a fear of the fridge as it will tempt her to eat.
One of the main factors to the plot of this film is the use of drugs, this is depicted all the way through the trailer. One effective way in which this is done is through the use of extreme close ups, such as:
Extreme close-up shots of the characters' eyes, which convey the physical effects that drugs have on their bodies; as the shot displays their pupils dilating.
Various extreme close up shots of drugs, such as a syringe, a lighter, and pills. These illustrate to the audience that the characters are using a dangerous amount of different drugs; it depicts how their lives are arguably drug-orientated, due to the sheer amount of it all.
Love is an theme which is displayed throughout this teaser trailer, it is depicted through various different shots:
A sexual love is conveyed through this elevator shot of the two characters kissing. Simultaneously, there is a non-diegetic voice over of the female character whispering 'I love you', which adds to this theme of love.
This shot has a post-effect over it which causes it to appear as if it is footage from the elevator camera, this could suggest that the characters are willing to express their love no matter who is watching.
Furthermore, the same sexual love is presented though this extreme close up of the characters kissing, the kissing effect mirrors this at the same time. The indiscreet nature of the shot is very apparent, as it is straight in the audience face and leaves them nowhere else to look, and the sound effect also makes this shot very explicit.
Similarly to the previously discussed shot this suggests that the characters do not care about hiding their love, but want to express it regardless of the audience.
Familial love is also portrayed through this trailer, as it explores the love between the mother and son. This is conveyed through this close up of the two characters embracing. This is an important aspect of the narrative as their relationship is weakened as they are both caught up in drugs and addiction. The contrast between the bond they have prior to the drug use and their isolation after the drugs have taken their toll really emphasise the negative effects of drugs.
This shot depicts a romantic love between these two characters. Here they are displayed to be running together, holding hands, through a bright, sunny park. The high-key lighting of this shot connotes their happiness together, and contrasts the low-key nature of the rest of the drug-filled trailer. This suggests their happiness before their drug troubles.
These shots are contrasted against the shots that are displayed in the later part of the trailer, which depict the very negative effects of addiction
This is close up shot is very low-key and presents the female character in a negative light. Her make-up is smudged, she is sweating, and looks very exhausted. This displays the character craving the drugs she is addicted to. Money is another theme that is a apparent through the trailer, which is depicted through various close up shots of money. From this it can be suggested that the character has run out of money and is therefore suffering from withdrawal symptoms. This is also displays through the blue lighting on half of her face, which causes her to appear sickly.
These are some of the shots from our trailer that could be used for our movie poster. Due to the shape and size of these images, this would mean having a landscape poster. If we decide to have a portrait poster, we will need to do a photo shoot with Bethan. The first image- although from the opening montage- is of the protagonist facing away from the camera which initially creates a sense of mystery and something to hide. The normality of the shot rejects the main theme of the Teaser Trailer, so it may not be the best choice- as we ideally want to display the theme of addiction and distortion in all our ancillary texts, including our Poster.
The second image is the last shot of our Teaser Trailer. It is at the peak of the protagonist's insanity which suggests it would be a good shot to use. However it is quite different to the rest of the Teaser, and it used at the end of the trailer in order to shock the audience and subvert their expectations. While it is an effective photo, using it as the photo on our poster might take away some of the mystery behind the plot.
Most movie posters are portrait, so if we wanted to follow convention we would need to reshoot Bethan.
However, some movies use horizontal posters.
We have decided to do something similar to Before I Go To Sleep, and use three images of our protagonist before, when and after she takes the drug for the first time. This is a rough first idea of our poster made simply by combining the three images. If we decide to pursue this idea, we will reshoot the protagonist and use Photoshop to edit it.
Distortion is a common theme throughout this teaser trailer, various aspects manipulate the shots in order to convey this, and the content of the film is highlighted in several ways. One very effective and common way in which this is done is through the editing; many of the editing techniques effectively exaggerate aspects of the trailer, such as split screens. These split screens emphasise the effect of the drugs and suggest that this is how the mind is effected. Additionally, as the drugs are presented on screen simultaneously with the characters, it suggests that they are losing as sense of self and allowing the drugs to take over.
A fish-eye camera lens is used throughout the trailer to reinforce the impression of distortion, it is presented as a point of view shot, and indicates that this is a mirror of the character's mental state.
Pace is used for effect in this teaser tailer, aspects of it are cut and overlapped to result in multiple shots being displayed on screen within a very shot space if time. This could be mirroring the internal chaos that is occurring within the characters. This fast pace is made to appear even faster when is it immediately juxtaposed by a following longer, slower shot. This draws attentions to these slower shots. signifying their importance and creating intensity.
The post-productions editing, such as layering, again reiterates this theme of distortion, as it physically distorts the onscreen images, making it difficult for the viewer to distinguish between images and be sure of what is happening.
Post effects such as the one seen on the right, are used to exaggerate the character's emotions, the onscreen action clearly conveys their distress, and the effect on top of this further demonstrates it.
In the first montage, the character gets dressed in business-wear, for a day at school. This represents a normal, teenage life- black is a mundane colour often worn for business purposes to appear professional.
When the protagonist takes the drug, and is at the party, she wears a simple grey jumper but is engulfed in red light. Her clothing had to be simple to emphasise the effect of the lighting.
We distort the colour black, from something smart and professional, into evil and darkness. To highlight the aftermath of the protagonist's addiction to drugs, she wears black from then on. As you can see, the character starts by wearing grey, then black, as she spirals down into the drug world. Grey is worn at the party to show her tipping point- the first time she takes the drug.
Black symbolises loss of hope and death which may foreshadow the end of the movie, as we can see the character's health and mental well-being deteriorating.
One thing that we believe makes our trailer stand out is the use of creative filming techniques. The theme of distortion is prominent in our trailer and film package so we wanted to portray this in the way we filmed. It is easier to distort footage in the post-production stage but it is more of a challenge to shoot creatively.
Many of our most creative shots were filmed using the Go-Pro. This added creativity as we were able to film from unconventional angles. An example of this is when we filmed underwater of our protagonist screaming. For this shot, we really didn't want to shoot it from outside of the bath, because we wanted the reason for her being in this situation, to be unclear- leaving the audience with unanswered questions. We felt the best shot would be a close up of her face as it perfectly demonstrates her strong emotions and mental deterioration.
We also attached the GoPro to the bottom of the glass bottle as the protagonist drinks from it. This creates a dark, distorted effect that symbolises the consequences of drugs and alcohol.
We were inspired to use the Go Pro to film some of our shots by Edgar Wright, who typically makes comedy films. His films often contain montages, like the one in the beginning of our trailer, and his shots are filmed in unconventional ways.
Another tool we used to shoot creative shots was through the use of a fish eye lens. For the party scenes, we wanted shots that were distorted- once again to give the effect of someone who is under the influence of drugs.
The lighting also helps to create the distorted effect, as it is multi coloured. The lights were placed on the ground, so dark shadows were cast around the ceiling, giving the seemingly fun and innocent party, an underlying sinister ambience.
As Teaser Trailers are typically less than 2 minutes long, it is a convention to use fast-paced montage editing, in order to fit in a variation of shots and parts of the movie. However unlike most teaser trailers this Teaser Trailer is made up of one shot, which automatically makes it interesting to watch. The screen starts off black, and soon there is a fade into the shot: a corridor with two bright red elevator doors at the end of it. There is a chandelier attached to the ceiling, and paintings on the walls- signifying this is quite a luxurious hotel.
The credits roll upwards and it is more reminiscent of the ending of a film, rather than a teaser trailer. The non-diegetic sounds starts quietly at first and it is difficult to determine what the sounds are. A high-pitched melody plays over the buzzing, creating an eerie, tension-building soundscape. The typography is simple, so that the audience can read it easily and quickly. The shot is still motionless- it is only the music that continues to build suspense. The lack of movement makes the audience feel uneasy- as though something shocking will soon happen. The non-diegetic buzzing sounds get more aggressive and the melody gets faster.
As the elevator doors are also red, when the blood first spills out of the wall, it is unclear what is happening. There is a contrast between the deep red of the elevators and the pure white of the walls, which is further illustrated by the gallons of blood that sweep through the corridor- staining the white walls. The source of the blood is left unexplained and the sheer amount of it is enough to make the audience feel uncomfortable. It fills the corridor and even has the strength to drag one of the sofas towards the camera. Blood engulfs the screen and the audience can see the shapes of furniture moving, as it is appears to float away in the river of blood. The screen turns to black- although not in the gentle fade that the audience is lured in with at the start- a blunt straight cut that leaves the audience guessing the possibilities of the teaser trailer and what the full film will be like.
