RESEARCH: TRAILER ANALYSIS

Upon researching what genre my film could be, we learned that trailers are a genre of themselves. I decided to choose trailers from three different genres: 'Annabelle'- horror, 'Guardians of the Galaxy volume 2'- superhero/action, and 'To All The Boys I've Loved Before'- Rom-com.

When analysing these trailers, I looked at the questions below:

• how does the trailer signal its genre through visual and sound codes? 
• how does the trailer draw attention to the roles taken, particularly star talent? 
• what essential narrative elements are explained in the inter-titles? 
• how does the trailer use dialogue? 
• what institutional information does the trailer contain, such as names of production company, talent, director, release date? 
• how does the trailer utilise accolades ("five BAFTA nominations") or other key hooks ("from the director of Gravity") 
•  what many different elements make it a good trailer?
• why does it inspire you?

TRAILER ONE:

ANNABELLE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCxm7cTpBAs

Annabelle clearly belongs to the horror genre as it shows all the common tropes- an empty rocking chair, a creepy doll that goes missing, and even a haunted music box. The music it uses is also indicative of the horror genre, using quiet pauses and sharp violin notes out of the blue, accompanying the jump scares within the trailer. The trailer does not announce who is in the film as it is part of an existing universe, that of 'The Conjuring', but uses a lot more shots of the characters Ed and Lorraine Warren, as the audience will immediately want to watch the next story from the Warrens, especially as the Warrens were actually real people, who collected haunted objects, including the real Annabelle doll. 

Annabelle's trailer shows that the plot starts with her being released from her cabinet, and that the characters will have to find her and put her back before too much damage is done. The trailer also shows that there are certain characters in the story who don't know who she is and that this will be part of the downfall of the characters in Annabelle.

There is not much dialogue within this trailer, as a lot of the suspense in horror comes in the form of the absence of dialogue. What little dialogue there is, is essential to the story line, like the creepy "Can Annabelle come out to play?" or the line that sends the characters into doom, "I touched everything." In trailer, dialogue must be used to move the plot along, but in a dramatic way, which gives another plot point away as a tease.

What information that is given, is given very rarely, in very quick bursts. These are presented as a black screen with white lettering, only giving out essential facts like Release Date 28th June, or the Warner Bros. logo which only flashes up for about 1 second. The only hook used in this trailer is the information that it belongs to 'The Conjuring' universe, as it already has a target audience, and to fully understand the Annabelle film, you have to have watched the other Conjuring films, as they give away bits of information leading up to the Annabelle film.

Annabelle is a good trailer as it doesn't focus on accolades to create a target audience. It shows off some of the scary sequences used in the films but doesn't give away all the key scenes. The score is used in a brilliant way, using the Annabelle's Music Box theme throughout to ensure the audience is constantly on the edge of their seats. This is partly why this trailer inspires me but there are also many other reasons. There are so many horror films in the industry and its hard to make them unique, using the tropes but not becoming predictable. Annabelle has the unique perspective of being based on real life events whilst still being a work of fiction, as there were liberties taken with the type of doll Annabelle is, but still making the material true to the majority of its source material.

TRAILER TWO:

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cv2ueYnKjg

GOTG is a sequel and the visual and sound codes are used to link it to the first film. Similar songs from the 80s are used in reference to the soundtrack from the first film as a key plot point of the first and second film is that of protagonist Quill's parentage. The colour palette is full of oranges and blues, mimicking the space ship within the story. Peppered throughout the trailer, there are title cards which alert the audience to the talent within the film, such as Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementiff and Zoe Saldana, but referring to their character names as they have already been introduced in the first film. As this film belongs to the MCU, many of the actors are A-listers and will have a following for the talent itself.

GOTG's trailer shows that the plot will contain a big battle, as is common with films in the MCU, but hint that Baby Groot will have a vital role. The trailer mainly shows off the VFX used within the film as this will encourage an audience to see it in the cinema as opposed to staying at home to watch it. It also shows off Baby Groot for the majority of the trailer as the audience will have been given a hint that Baby Groot exists from the last film, and provides light comedic relief from the arrogant and rude Quill.

The trailer uses lines such as "I wanna put some tape over the death button." and "Show time, A-holes", to give the audience a taste of the characters from the first film, without giving away the majority of the plot lines. It also shows the characters still have the same personality, with the exception of Baby Groot, as it was confirmed that Baby Groot, while being related to the original Groot, does not contain the same personality or memories from the first film.

This trailer contains the ident for Marvel Studios and the release date, however, this is it for institutional information and accolades. As it is part of an established universe, the trailer doesn't need to boast about who is in it or who it is made by as the audience trusts that it will be a top quality film, based on the previous GOTG film and other MCU films as well. 

This trailer is one of the best I've seen, mainly as it acknowledges the best parts of the previous film that the audience picked up on, and improved on those, and showed the audience the new plot lines. It gives enough away to the audience, without leaving the audience annoyed that they knew too much about the film or that they knew not enough to be convinced to watch GOTG in the cinema. I personally love the balance between switching from Baby Groot's comic relief, and Quill's struggles, especially concerning his parentage. I also loved the brightness of the colour palette and the soundtrack as the Guardians of the Galaxy films are almost the comic relief of the MCU, which works so well within the universe, in my opinion.

TRAILER THREE:

TO ALL THE BOYS I'VE LOVED BEFORE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=555oiY9RWM4

TATBILB is a Netflix original and belongs to the romance genre although it could also be described as a coming of age film. The music really signals this through an upbeat score while still carrying the story forward. The colour palette consists of mainly pastel and whites to show that this is a film from the perspective of a teenage girl. This film was the first of a line of similar Netflix originals and introduces Noah Centineo and Lara Condor in a series of pink panel slides throughout the trailer, but also introduces the characters in the trailer effectively through the showing of who the letters were written for.

The first parts to the plot have been revealed in the trailer, showing Lara Jean's coping mechanism and security in knowing the letters will never be see by the intended recipients. However, we are shown that the letters did get sent, although we don't know who sent them yet. The trailer shows the start of the deceit from Lara Jean when she gets into a fake relationship with one of the five letter holders. The dialogue shows it as it unfolds, as well as some cheeky comments made by Lara Jean's dad. The dialogue also reveals Lara Jean's mum has died, which doesn't seem significant in the trailer but becomes a bigger plot device in the actual film.

Netflix keeps their logo in the bottom left hand corner instead of putting a single slide in crediting them, so the production company slide is not present. The main actors are not named on a slide but the release date is announced through the signature font upon a shot from the film. As the film was created by Netflix, it is not eligible for any major awards and so cannot boast of any accolades, but hooks the audience in with the unique plot.

I find that the trailer instantly makes Lara Jean relatable by showing her flaws and the impossible situation she is in. Shots such as the last, where Lara Jean rolls out of her window, and off the roof just to avoid a boy she once used to love, allow the audience to feel sorry for her, which also is supported by the romantic but goofy score underneath. This trailer inspires me because when I saw this film, I very much felt the trailer managed to encompass the film in a succinct way without giving away the big plot points, which is what I want to achieve with my trailers.

RESEARCH: WHAT SETS A FILM APART

To learn more about what sets a film apart, I looked at http://thefilmspace.org/fda100/distribution/what , which shows Kezia Williams and Chris Besseling who go into the topic more deeply.

Kezia Williams starts off by highlighting that distributors need to pick out the key themes, and to find what will interest your audience. This will shape the marketing campaign, whether the distributor is there through the scripting of the film, or when the first footage is filmed, or even in the editing room, as the distributor is able to get a sense of what might excite or emotionally captivate an audience.

Chris Besseling then explains the distributor needs to market and find the unique selling point as well as the target audience. Selling points include how the storyline differs from other films, the key elements of the story, the talent, the talent's latest works, the source material, the vfx, key crew and team, and whether it is part of a franchise.

Taking these into considerations, the distributor has to choose what will intrigue an audience on a poster, in trailers and advertisements.

HOOKS:

The hooks of a film will help the audience understand what they should expect when seeing a movie. The visual campaign should emphasise these to give the audience a narrative image.

GENRE:

An understanding of genre is shared by the audience and the film industry, which will mean the audience will expect certain tropes and conventions within the movie. These elements are expected so the creative team with draw on those during the production, writing and casting. However, the promise of a genre film is to provide the familiar whilst still providing something new.

CHARACTERS:

Some genres like romance require an audience to feel an attachment to certain characters and wanting to see them take on new challenges. In franchises especially, it is important to have those sort of characters so that the franchise will remain popular due to the return of certain characters. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Baby Groot, the child of Groot from the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, is a fan favourite as he was introduced as a child and many of the audience wants to see Baby Groot grow up throughout his involvement in the franchise. The audience likes to come back to the familiarity of the character, their behaviour and attitudes being revisited as well as offering something new. This can be challenging, however, and costly. The involvement of Baby Groot and his popularity means a heavy amount of CGI, and that is a financial burden. The storylines cannot repeat either, which means constantly bringing in new creative teams.

RESEARCH: CREATIVE CINEMATOGRAPHY

As I start to research ideas for my own trailer, I looked at what Kezia Williams and Chris Besseling recommended focusing on for USPs. Although not an option with my trailer, talent is the first usp distributors focus on, even if they are only acting in a cameo role. However, I may be able to use a friend with a distinctive talent such as playing the violin or a dancer in a cameo role to impress. A prop can also be a feature. One example is Villanelle's costume from Killing Eve.

Framing shots can also impress, and using locations that are spectacles in themselves can make a shot look much better. An example of this could be the old lift cage located in the Mansion of my school. Reflective surfaces like mirrors or a shiny piano could help to reveal more in a scene which is vital for trailers, as there is limited time to excite your audience.

Using a green screen I can achieve putting characters into locations filmed prior, so that it is much easier to film reshoots and film during lessons. Although there are regulations about usage in a public space, drones are a good way to film narrative shots and establishing shots.

Vilanelle's costume BAFTA showcase

RESEARCH/PLANNING: WHO IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE

I completed several tasks on the FDA website for this post as well as classwork tasks.

TASK ONE:

The unique selling points of a film must be highlighted in a way that appeals to the target audience. The distributor must look at the age, gender, lifestyles and potential activities the audience might partake in.

TASK TWO:

Kezia Williams, Entertainment One UK, highlights the importance of knowing your target audience. She asks questions like "what drives them to the cinema" and "what interests do they have". She also says distributors will compare data of films that are similar in their genre, selling points and story. The target audience and budget is formulated from what box office take was like with previous films and the types of audience that saw those films. The target audience can be analysed to find the gender gap, and which cinemas the target audience usually frequent.

TASK THREE:

From what I have researched, with the help of tips from Kezia Williams and Chris Besseling, I looked at the FDA website to look at my own predictions for target audiences from 5 released films.

TASK FOUR:

Lastly, I took the FDA videos to help me in trying to market a film. As marketing is the only way to find your audience and inform them of the new release, it is extremely important, as well as finding the life span of your film, (will people buy the DVD, or watch it on a streaming service?).

RESEARCH: HOW THE CAMPAIGN WORKS

PRINTS AND ADVERTISING:

Types of Release:

The majority of UK films are launched on fewer than 100 digital copies, and limited releases will not have the huge marketing campaign that big blockbusters do. Only 5% of films are released with over 500 copies with huge marketing campaigns.

Over £350 million was spent on film advertising in 2014, and around £190 million was invested in above the line advertising, with the remainder being spent on production, trailers, materials, premieres, press junkets and delivering copies to cinemas. Usually, the bigger the movie, the bigger the box office intake, leading to a bigger budget to market the film.

Advertising: 

The majority of marketing budgets will use avenues like websites, trailers, posters, tv and press spots, radio spots, merchandise, social media and cross promotion.

The Poster:

The poster must inform an audience of the unique selling points, the reviews from critics, famous actors or directors, and must give a sense of what the film is about.

The key art is central to informing an audience of the identity of the film, and if done properly, will catch the eye, and appeal to the audience, promising an experience they could miss by not watching the film.

Certain rules also apply to sequels and franchise posters. The posters must make it recognisable and fit in with previous franchise films. The original in the series is often very flashy to create an audience, which will carry on to watch the rest of the franchise. Often franchise films focus on large ensemble posters with credits to the most famous on the poster.

A poster has a set few ways to interest a target audience: images used on the poster, using talent in the film, sizing of captions, colour, graphic style and the certificate rating.

Poster Analysis:

Trailer Types:

The film trailer is probably the most cost effective advertising technique available to the film distributor. It can give audiences a sense of genre, what the story is about, who is in the film and when it opens. 

There are usually 3 set trailers a campaign will release: the teaser trailer followed by the full trailer, which is supported with tv spots.

I watched and analysed a trailer for 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies', using questions from the FDA film space.


Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has a building score, which starts off as an average romance film would, but then adds a drum to develop the score into one that imitates an action movie. This is also reflected in the clips used in the trailer. The usual literary adaption scenes are included, such as a dance, and clips of open scenery, before shifting focus to a zombie, to spark the stereotypical action sequences.

Task 3 on the FDA website shows three different trailers for the film Mr Holmes, starring Sir Ian McKellen.

The teaser trailer, lasting 50 seconds, mainly highlights Ian McKellen, the release date and some hints at the plot. It cannot give away too much so it reveals the character of Holmes is much older than expected for it's hook.

The TV spot lasts 30 seconds so is even shorter than the teaser trailer. This very clearly states Ian McKellen is Holmes, and implies something went wrong with his retirement case and so has to sort that out.

The full trailer is the maximum amount of content the audience will see before watching the film. It encompasses what is revealed in the TV spot, but more fleshed out. It shows what characters may be supporting cast alongside McKellen's Holmes. It also shows off critic reviews, and more details about the release date.

Online Marketing:

Often, films will have a website to provide a base for the marketing campaign, where trailers, posters and many behind the scenes segments will be posted to make a fan's experience easier when viewing trailers. For big franchises, these websites may encompass several films, even with individual websites for certain films within the franchise. This can be seen in Marvel's campaign for Captain Marvel, where the websites for Spiderman Homecoming and Guardians of the Galaxy started to release Captain Marvel sneak peeks. This is usually done to appeal to their target audience, which is calculated by looking at other films in the franchise, without having to create an audience from scratch.

RESEARCH: THE ROLE OF THE DISTRIBUTOR

To research the role of the distributor, I looked at The Film Space (from the FDA) where Mark Batey, the Chief Executive of the FDA, explained in a number of videos, the majority of what a distributor's role entails. I also used the 2019 FDA Yearbook, a downloadable pdf that shares a rich source of information on the film industry, audience and trends. Batey's first point in his introductory video is to emphasise that it is the connection of films to their audiences. The caption for the initial video explains that if the distributor is a 'major', it is connected to one studio and distributes every film made by that studio and might occasionally acquire the rights to an independent film. However, Batey also points out that an 'independent' distributor will have to buy the rights to a film, often from film festivals, seen at script stage or at the production phase, to be able to distribute the intended film.

Batey then breaks up the distributor's role into WHAT, WHO, WHEN, and HOW.

WHAT:

"One key question when either acquiring a film or financing a film is what the distributor thinks are the best selling points of the film are - WHAT type of film it is."

Occurring at the earliest stage they can, the distributor must determine the genre of film, whether there is a market for the film, if there are any similar films out recently, if it is a sequel or part of an established universe, any source material used and how the actors and director's latest films have done. These need to be clear, every individual film needs to be assessed, regardless of whether it is part of a franchise or not.

In one of our case studies, Captain Marvel, the Unique Selling Point was very clear; this was the first female led superhero movie in the film industry. As a superhero film, and part of the largest superhero cinematic universe, Disney knew they had an established market. Because it was the first of its kind, with a female protagonist, and the comics the film took inspiration from were already hugely popular, Disney decided Captain Marvel would prove to be a box office hit. Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, the directors of Captain Marvel, had seen large success in previous hits like 'Sugar' and 'Mississippi Grind'. Brie Larson, the actress playing the role of Captain Marvel, was not as mainstream, but had given brilliant performances in films like 'Room' and 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World'. Disney knew they would be very comfortable distributing Captain Marvel to an already waiting audience.

Mark Batey brought to attention the individual distribution plans made for each film. I looked at Lionsgate UK, a leading UK distributor. They had a variety of films and different genres. 'Anna' is an action film with a female protagonist, whilst 'Angel Has Fallen" and "John Wick 3: Parabellum" are action sequels. They also distribute horror films like 'Spiral' and mockumenturies like 'Farming'. Lastly, they also distribute TV shows like the comedy 'The Goes Wrong Show'.

WHO:

"In acquiring the film, the distributor will have considered that there is a viable audience for the film, i.e WHO might pay to see it."

Batey puts a clear emphasis on who the audience will be. A distributor would look for who the most frequent cinema go-ers tend to be (usually young adults and teenagers), and the target audience for the film in question, as well as the broadening of the stereotypical cinema go-er, to include an older generation frequenting the cinemas for certain films.

I, Daniel Blake, another case study, tells the story of a Newcastle upon Tyne worker who becomes unemployed due to a heart attack. BFI, the distributor, knew that the cinema's usual audience would not be the target audience for I, Daniel Blake, and decided to screen in local areas similar to the Newcastle shown within the film. This allowed I, Daniel Blake to be shown directly to the target audience, before a nationwide screening in cinemas to allow the broader cinema frequenter to view the film.

In the FDA handbook, it is made clear that the 'largest audience sector is from the 16-34 age bracket'. This group made a total of 77 million visits within 2018. The FDA observed a growing divergence on age viewing patterns. The average TV audience is getting older (over half are above 54 years old). An OFCOM survey found that 48% of 12-15 year olds preferred YouTube, and 19% picked Netflix as their main platform for viewing media. Distributors have noticed this trend and this can be seen in Disney's Trolls World Tour release. Instead of having only a cinematic release, Trolls World Tour was also released on the same day, on Disney's own streaming service, Disney+, a rival to the streaming giant Netflix. Increasingly, distributors like Hallmark also are now releasing tv only movies, to market to the older audiences, with tv only movies tending to fall into the period dramas and rom-com categories.

The FDA also made the observation that certain genres can hold 'various different appeals to people at different times'. A girls' night out might see the group going to the cinema to watch the feminist 'The Fabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn', whilst an evening with a partner or a friend might end in a rom-com viewing of "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" on Netflix. "Audiences comprise a complex mosaic of consumer segments, varying substantially film by film, week by week."

WHEN:

"They will also decide WHEN to release the film in cinemas and on other digital formats."

Batey explains that distributors acquire films for release, and must make a key decision on when to release the film. This is based on a number of factors: how many feature films have been released at the time (usually in the UK, about 700 feature films are released each year), the balance within those 700 in terms of genre such as niche documentaries, foreign language films, and the bigger films like blockbusters or franchises, and the traditional seasons.

As seen with two of our case studies, Captain Marvel and Rogue One:A Star Wars Story, both distributed by Disney, the superhero and action films tend to come out around the summer season from about March to September. However, networks like Hallmark, that are known for original seasonal programs, will usually pick a date just before the appropriate holiday, such as Christmas. Christmas movies will usually come out end of November, which can also be seen in Disney's Frozen. Although it is not themed around Christmas, the winter themes in the movie meant Disney released it on 27th November, 2013, in order to catch the Christmas season and capitalise on the gift giving season.

 

In the FDA handbook, the Christmas season is highlighted with films like 'The Grinch' and 'The Nutcracker and the Four Realms' being specifically released in late November, in a move similar to Disney's Frozen, in order to catch the family Christmas buzz.

There are also occasions where factors outside distributors' control ca affect box office takings despite careful planning. This was seen when FIFA world cup fixtures disrupted cinema audience numbers on many weekends in 2018, due to the population wanting to watch the live football rather than attend a cinema movie showing. Weather can also affect cinema audience numbers. The third weekend in April, 2018, had unusually hot and sunny weather compared to the long cold winter, and many British cinema go-ers opted to stay in parks and attend BBQs instead of visiting the cinema.

Lastly, genre can affect the timing of a cinematic release compared to the trailer release, as shown by a graph designed by the FDA below. Rom-coms tended to have the shortest release period, closely followed by period pieces, and drama. However, animated and family orientated films tended to have a longer period between trailer release and cinematic release. This is a ploy used by distributors to capture the attention of the target audience and drip feed clips of the movie to garner excitement and market the film to create anticipation for the movie, especially seen within Disney's originals, Marvel and Star Wars films.

HOW:

"This will govern HOW they will market the film and how much to spend on advertising and promoting it. Based on this they will create trailers and display materials to promote the film, create publicity through such things as interviews with the stars online (e.g. twitter Q&As giving public as well as media access); on TV, radio and in the press, premieres and news stories. This will also involve developing promotions for the film with media partners- all to engage particular audiences as the release of the film approaches."

Batey talks about the last decision a distributor makes, which is that of how will they distribute the film. The distributor needs to keep in mind what is this film, who is it for, how much can we afford, and how many cinemas will be interested in showing it. This again must be worked for each individual film regardless of belonging to a franchise or not. The distributor must predict how much a film might make at box office in order to create a budget for marketing.

Rogue One:A Star Wars Story had an already established audience because of the link into the Star Wars Cinematic Universe. As an action film, it would have to be released in the summer to make the most amount possible at box office, although Disney would not be worried about cinemas turning down showing Rogue One:A Star Wars Story. At box office, Rogue One:A Star Wars Story made just over a billion dollars worldwide, the fourth Disney film to do so in 2016. However, Disney suffered a loss with Rogue One:A Star Wars Story, although not major, partly because they spent 40 million dollars in marketing costs. Rogue One:A Star Wars Story is an example of when a distributor estimates too highly initially for box office revenue and spends a reasonable amount on marketing for their estimation, but is considered too high a cost for marketing when the estimation falls short.

The FDA handbook explains the different types of marketing strategy as well. UK film distributors' cost in marketing 916 new films was over £350 million. About half of this was spent on nationwide advertising, which includes digital, social and physical media outlets. The other half is spent on advertising with post and trailer production, publicity and premiere cost and digital cinema packages to be supplied to cinemas in many formats. Like with Rogue One:A Star Wars Story, these excessive costs of marketing mean that the UK has relatively low returns for the distributor. Because there are so many films being released in the UK every year, there is a tough decision to make in terms of release dates, especially with large marketing campaigns.

RESEARCH: MOVIE TRAILER WEBSITES

Trailer websites are widely used by film lovers to find out about news releases and to view film trailers. I looked at the website LifeWire who has reviewed several of the most well-known movie trailer websites.

YOUTUBE 

YouTube is a highly unfiltered site, where most production companies will post trailers or bonus content, as it is widely accessible. YouTube is where I consume most of my trailer watching as it is free, and offers the widest spread of trailers across all genres. Most recently, I have watched the new Black Widow trailer as the Marvel Marketing team traditionally only post their trailers on YouTube, Instagram and their official website. However, it is not jut film trailers that are available on this platform, often Netflix will offer trailers to their original tv series on YouTube, as the majority of viewers are also active on YouTube.

iTunes Movie Trailers

Specialist trailer websites often do more than just host trailers. They may offer a variety of different services such as browsing and categorizing options. iTunes Movie Trailers is a high quality site dedicated to trailers. It is well organised and has no adverts to spoil the page layout. It offers several ways to browse; it has links to buy and opening dates and it lists the 'top 10'. I have not personally used iTunes Movie Trailers as I don't own any Apple devices. This is a limitation, as although non-Apple consumers can still access the site, they most likely will not have heard of it as Apple does not advertise services like iTunes Movie Trailers very well to a large market.

IMDB

For every movie lover, IMDB offers a reliable and comprehensive source of information on trailers and on all other aspects of film, so if I want to search by 'trending', 'most anticipated', 'recently added' or 'most popular', it supplies several streams of information.

On the free IMDB account I use, I can find links to trailers through the website page. I have not found that I have been recommended trailers directly, but I have been recommended shows and films based on my search history which are very accurate.

INTRODUCTION TO TRAILERS

HOW DO YOU FIND OUT ABOUT A FILM?

I use trailers to find out about films. Usually I will watch the trailers before a film shown in the cinema, or shown in ads on YouTube before the main video. This allows me to get a taste for the film and to judge whether or not I want to commit to watching it.

WHAT MAKES YOU WANT TO SEE A FILM?

I like big franchise films as I like the continuous story-line, and the evolution of the cinematic universe, which can be seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I also watch for actors that I know are good performers, like Tom Holland, Darren Criss, and Meryl Streep. I will occasionally watch for the directors like the Russo Brothers, as I know their work is always top quality.

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT FROM A FILM?

The way I know what to expect from a film is to watch the trailers. The trailer usually give a taste of the film, and introduces the main characters and storylines. Usually the moments featured in the trailer show the big name stars and existing story line continuations/references if it is part of a series. I can also see what to expect from the posters. It will show you the protagonists and the genre in a concise way.

WHAT AM I PAYING FOR WHEN I BUY A CINEMA TICKET?

You pay for the movie itself but mostly for the experience. Most cinemas now have the highest quality screens and sound system, which make the experience much better. The environment within a cinema is so different to streaming at home as everyone there wants to watch the same movie. There are also trailer about similar film to the one you are watching, and there are snacks.

ARE THERE FILMS I HAVE TO SEE IN CINEMA OR DOES IT NOT REALLY MATTER?

Some franchises do work better on a wider screen. I have found my watching experience is better in the cinema when I am watching a Marvel movie, because the action sequences contain so much detail. However, you don't miss much by watching at home, and it is definitely personal preference.