Analysis of Different Genres- Comedy

By Nicole McClelland

http://youtu.be/8YBlnHxkCJcTEDThis poster is very simplistic as its main colour scheme only ranges from green to do with text, white and beige with a black representing the smaller text. Where we see the text as green it is used with differential sizes of which to publicise what they are trying to sell and associate the film with a TV series, this also gives away the genre as well as the ironic live beat with a beer bottle in its paw sitting next to a live, adult human being. The background is very plain but makes the image more plain to see and not busy suggesting that the film is going to be easy to watch, so you can almost resemble the image on the poster to sit back and relax during the film. We have the smaller text which is black again contrasting against the white which makes the text easier to read to the onlooker. We have the usual conventions seen on a typical poster i.e. the release date the key actors, but surprisingly no billing block which is unusual.

The trailer is extremely effective as the use of dialogue and shots work well together. However, the beginning of the trailer comes across as being a family film. It’s all very soft and quiet. Also, the voice over seems very smooth and calming. The editing of this particular piece works really well, especially the transition of one shot to another. The category this particular film falls into is comedy. This is shown through the trailer as some of the funny scenes are shown; this attracts its target audience as a lot of the humour is aimed at an older audience. However this trailer does challenge it’s genre’s conventions at the start of the piece as the clip comes across as being a family movie. We are under this impression because of the trailer starts off with a young boy at Christmas time and the voice over is similar to that of other family films. The target audience for this piece would be individuals over the age of 15 due to the contents of this film. This trailer appeals to its target audience because it contains a lot of adult humour and innuendos. The trailer doesn’t give too much of the storyline away which is good because people don’t always want to know the story line before watching the actual movie. The use of the text overlay is very basic yet effective. It’s a simple bold font which stands out against the plain white background. The transitions of one slide to the next works really well and the trailer has a nice flow, its continual oppose to choppy. The props and costumes work well and appear to be very comical. This is due to attempting to appeal to an older audience. Finally, the use of the camera angles and shots all work extremely well together and bring the trailer together.

http://youtu.be/sCFDdokjAnQIdentity Thief This poster is very cleverly composed. The Identity Thief title has been placed to split the two actors apart in what could be seen a police like tape, and also symbolises the plot of the film by showing the split identities. The use of the cropping of the 2 actors goes nicely within the poster almost like the awkwardness of which your going to experience in the film or when reading the plot. The mise en scene is simplistic to do with the costume i.e. the man typically wearing a suit to represent he has a highly paid job and the casual type clothing the woman is wearing, shows that she's just a normal person to what you don’t believe by her innocent face that she's a fraud. The colour scheme is mainly yellow and white symbolising maybe the flashing lights of the law. The tagline Is quite ambiguous but suggests to the onlooker that she is in fact the criminal. The important text is seen in yellow telling audience what films have been previously made by the people of this film. No actors names seen on the poster indicates the irony of the title i.e. the stolen identity and the fake name of which the woman is under, almost like she has no real name.

As a comedy, the trailer is effective as the transitions of the shots alongside non-diegetic sound and dialogue works well together. However, the trailer tends to dip towards the middle. This was where the main character held a conversation with his family. This was the point in the trailer where the comedy seemed to die off. However, the producers of this film are the same as those who produced ted; there wasn’t a voice over within this trailer. The way in which these particular pieces were edited works well together. This is due to the smooth transition from one shot to the next. This trailer is also a comical movie trailer; this is shown through the humorous scenes shown throughout. These scenes were used to attract its target audience. However the target audience for this trailer is aimed at a wider array of individuals. This trailer doesn’t seem to challenge it’s genre’s conventions; however the humour seems to fade off in the middle. This is due to the producers inform the audience of the storyline. This trailer appeals to its target audience because it contains a lot of adult humour. The trailer gives several clear cut snippet of the storyline. This leads to the audience wanting to watch more which means the trailer has fulfilled its purpose. The use of the text overlay is almost non-existent but still appears to be very effective. It’s a simple, one colour, bold font which stands out against the plain white background. The transitions however of one slide to the next works really well and the trailer has a nice flow, although the trailer still appears to be choppy. The props and costumes are very basic as it is meant to be a naturalistic piece of drama that mimics reality. Also, the use of camera shots works well together and smooth’s the trailer out. The mise-en-scene for this piece was also very naturalistic which makes the characters the focus of the trailer.

http://youtu.be/YhOWtVElqfwGrown UpsThe title 'Grown Ups' is at the bottom middle of the poster in a large dark blue font, it stands out from the poster as it is one of the darkest colours, also the release date underneath the title is in red which stands out even more, because that is the odd colour in the poster which makes it eye catchy. The colour red connotes warning or danger; however this poster is a comedy film therefore the red colour for the release date may connote a warning for when this movie is coming out so the audience should watch it.

There is also a slogan above the title in a smaller font and black colour saying ' Boys will be boys... Some longer than others.' This slogan can be a stereotype towards men as women tend to use this phrase more often against them. Furthermore the image only shows males no females showing that the males in the film are the dominant main characters. The colours used in this poster are mainly different shades of blue, yellow and black, the colours blue and yellow may connote happiness, excitement and fun as they are bright cheerful colours.

The composition of the poster is a low angel long shot as the camera seems to be looking upwards at the characters also framing their whole bodies making it a long shot. It also shows the setting of the poster which seems to be a water park this is an establishing shot.

The mise en scene in the poster shows a denotation off five male adults coming out off a water slide; the scene clearly shows that they are in a water park having fun. The main person represented in the poster is Adam Sandler as he is the main character out of the five friends, he is more noticeable to the audience hence he is a fantastic American comedian.

The clothing worn by the characters are dark black, blue shirts and shorts, as they are in the water their clothes are wet. I think they have used dark clothing colours to make the characters stand out from the other things behind them, the poster is very bright, looks like a cheerful and fun place therefore to make the characters stand out to the audience they are wearing black which is easier to identity. As I said previously the lighting is very bright and cheerful, thus there are bright colours used such as blue and yellow also this image is captured during the daytime. The props used in the image are big yellow do-nuts for the characters to sit on the water slide. The colour yellow usually connotes danger and safety however as this is a comedy film the colour yellow can be suggested as a fun, laughter mood also it is for there safety to keep them safe in the water.

The poster shows each off their facial expressions showing different emotions which connote happy, cheerful, excitement, and laughter relating back to the genre comedy as there should be laughter. Furthermore their body expression connotes the characters are having fun and laid back on a break. The main character 'Adam Sandler' is more revealed in the poster than the other four characters this may connote he is like the leader of the group of friends.

Grown Ups, the final comical piece is also yet another effective trailer due to its consistent well put together transitions. The use of diegetic and non-diegetic sound also works well together. A bonus of this particular trailer is that the humour appears to be reliable; the trailer doesn’t dip towards the middle. The way in which these shots were edited works well in collaboration. This is due to the smooth transition between shots. This trailer also falling under the comedy genre means the humour is shown throughout of all the scenes. The trailers main purpose is to attract its target audience. And the target audience for this particular trailer a wide variety of individuals. This trailer doesn’t seem to challenge it’s genre’s conventions; however it merely brings in the element of it being a family film. It has humour for individuals of all ages, meaning it appeals to an even wider audience then first targeted. The producers have been very tactful here as they have only shown some of the comical highlights, they’ve also managed to avoid giving too much of the story line away. The trailer will then appeal to its target audience because they are intrigued to find out more. This trailer has therefore fulfilled its purpose as it has caught the eye of its audience. There isn’t much use of text overlay so it doesn’t distract from the audience. The transitions however of one slide to the next works really well and the trailer has a nice flow, due to the choppy style selected shots. The props and costumes are very basic yet effective; they give the comical vibe and catch the attention of the audience. Also, the use of camera shots works well together and smooth’s the trailer out. The mise-en-scene for this piece was also very naturalistic yet different to typical scenes which make the characters the focus of the trailer.