The media product I have chose to analyse is the trailer for Philadelphia.

The purpose of the trailer is to

persuade people to go see the film by showing the main theme, overview of the storyline and main
actors. This trailer was made to be viewed before another film at the cinema. When this trailer was
released it wouldn’t have been uploaded to the internet and watched as this was not common in 1993.
The purpose of this film was to overcome the stigma of HIV/AIDS, educate people on the disease and to
make money from it.
Philadelphia is a courtroom drama. The trailer for Philadelphia uses several of the conventions for
courtroom dramas and trailers. The trailer starts with ratings advice from The Motion Picture
Association Of America because this is an American trailer and fades into the studio logo which is Tristar.
This is a convention of all film trailers. There is a lot of fade in’s and out’s in the film trailer whereas the
film doesn't use many. This is also a convention for trailers also. Another trailer convention is that there
is a voiceover near the end of the trailer which tells the audience the director, main actors and gives a
summary of the film. Also dialogue from the film has been edited together so that the story is told
through it. At the very end of the trailer, the title is shown then after another scene the cast and crew
are shown. The last thing that is shown is text saying “Coming Soon”. The text at the end of the trailer,
which normally tells the audience the release date or says “Coming Soon” is also another trailer
convention. There is also background music throughout which is a trailer convention. Another trailer
convention is that the stars of the film are shown lots in the trailer. A drama is modelled after normal
life with the boring parts taken out. As this film is a drama there are many conventions in the trailer and
film to make it look realistic, this includes: relatable characters in everyday jobs, normal clothing and
characters that show emotions suitable for the situation: not making them too over the top when not
needed. A courtroom drama trailer convention is to set up the story and case before showing any shots
in a courtroom. A convention of dramas is that there is a consistent flow and rhythm to the editing of
shots.
A technical code with the camera techniques is that most shots are either mid shots or close ups.
Characters that are talking are often framed in the centre of the screen. There is not a lot of contrast
between scenes lighting as most scenes are not really light or really dark but there is shot of the main
character-Andrew Beckett-,at the end of the trailer, in darkness doused in red light which is very
different to the other scenes. This shot juxtaposes the rest of the trailer due to the low-key lighting
being so extreme. Symbolic codes within the trailer would include when Beckett is sat in anger in the
dark and red light. The red light is used alongside his facial expressions to convey anger. Setting is an
important symbolic code as it shows the downfall of Andrew Beckett. He starts in a skyscraper in a
luxurious room and ends up in a hospital bed. Another symbolic code is the way Beckett looks via the
use of makeup on Tom Hanks. It shows the worsening condition of Beckett and also helps represent his
downfall. Makeup was added to make him look more ill as the film progressed. Also as the film
progresses Tom Hanks’ body language looks more tired and worn out.
A written and verbal code in the trailer is that the speech is all formal and there are no colloquialisms
throughout. The text that comes on screen, at the end, showing the title, cast and crew and coming
soon is a masculine serif font. As the film is serious this font reflects the film and the masculine text
targets males.
I think the demographics for the product is 15-24 and 24-35 males. This is because the film would appeal
more to males as there are alot more males than females in the film and males play the most important
roles within the film which is also reflected by the amount of males in the trailer. Also HIV/AIDs is known
for being a disease that gay men often get and as it affects males mostly then they are more likely to go
see it than women. I think 15-24 year olds and 24-35 year olds is the age demographic the film is
targeting as the main character - Andrew Beckett- looks like he is in his 30’s therefore children or older
people may not want to see the film as they won’t relate to the character as much. Also under 15’s are
not likely to enjoy the film as it’s not an entertaining film because it is about a serious issue. Younger
people (15-35) normally want to make change more than older generations as they are not as
accustomed to the conventions as older people and might challenge them due to this. Therefore they
might want to watch this film as it shows how change is needed to address the injustice caused by
prejudice. The geo-demographics that this film and trailer target are western countries - especially the
USA- as the story is set in Philadelphia, the biggest city in the USA state of Pennsylvania, therefore the
environments that the characters are in and their values are more understandable and relatable to an
audience that is from western society. I also hypothesise that the product is aimed toward the socio-
economic groups of C1, B and A. These groups are most likely targeted by the product as they are more
academic roles than the other groups -like Andrew Beckett’s job- subsequently meaning that people in
these roles might relate to Beckett more. Another reason these socio-economic groups are being
targeted by this trailer is because the film doesn't contain much simple entertainment such as fighting
or comedy so it requires a higher attention span and education to be able to follow the plot because the
narrative follows a court case. The psychographics my product targets are the innovators, thinkers and
experiencers as these are the psychographics most interested and supportive of change. Innovators are
on the cutting edge of change as they believe expression of themselves is important and don’t follow
the status quo. Thinkers have a high level of knowledge so are likely to accept change due to this
whereas believers are conservative so are not likely to change their values or beliefs. Achievers and
strivers follow the status quo and strivers try to emulate people they admire therefore these
psychographics are not very likely to help instigate th change the film is trying to accomplish so the
trailer is not targeted towards them. Experiencers are the youngest segment and they are self
expressive consequently they would be targeted as they are likely to change their views if persuaded
however makers would not be targeted by the film as they don’t have much interest in the wider world
meaning that they would not care about the issue unless it directly affected them. Survivors are the
oldest psychographic group therefore they are not likely to change their views because they have been
set already and are not likely to change. Other groups of people the film targets is the LGBT community,
families who have been affected by HIV/AIDs and people who have been diagnosed with HIV or AIDs.
I conducted a survey to show who the audience is for this product. Below are the results:
Age of survey participant:

Most of the participants of my survey were 16-30 year olds.

Gender of participant:

I mostly interviewed males in my survey.

Do people like watching films about problems in the world?:

Most people who took part in the survey liked to watch films that involved problems about the world.
Whilst a quarter of people only like watching films about problems in the world sometimes. A female 16-
30 year old put “depending on the circumstances”. I put recorded this response into the sometimes
group. It shows that a person might only watch a film about real life issues depending on the actors or
what the topic is. This person later put in the survey that they could be persuaded to see a film based on
the actors that is in it. The same person explained why they liked to watch some films about problems in
the world, saying “it's nice to be more aware of these problems”. A participant agreed with this girl
saying “it is beneficial to know what is going on in the world”. Another participant said that “positive
change comes from viewership” even though “we still get a good film”. Someone else just liked
watching them for entertainment value saying they “enjoy watching films based on true stories”. One
said the complete opposite saying they “don’t enjoy movies with problems about the world. The second
oldest person(46-60) agreed with the previous response and said they “see enough on TV every day”.
They might of answered this way as they have more experience of life and over the years have heard so
much about world problems that they are now bored of hearing about it. An audience theory - The Uses
and Gratifications theory- is based on the audience being active and that media is subjective and people
consume media according to their needs. This film contains two uses : the surveillance use and the
personal identity use. The surveillance use satisfies a consumers need for security as it educates them
about the world around them. The surveillance use is proved in these questionnaire results as most
people said they liked films about problems in the world.

Real world subjects that would interest people into watching a film:
Mental health and world conflicts are the most voted for subjects that would persuade someone into
watching a film with 11 votes for each. The next most voted subject is terrorism with 8 votes. This may
be because these issues are the ones most often covered on the news. Mental health is a very new topic
that is widely talked about within media recently. Therefore the results might suggest that people
believe that issues talked about and covered by the media are more important than others. This maybe
due to the hypodermic needle model in which a passive audience can have ideas implanted into their
heads as the media selects the news and decides how they will present it to us. A good example of this is
how quickly terrorism and muslims have become a widely covered issue in the media. Over the years
since the 2001 attack on the world trade centre in American, muslims have been the target of the blame
for terrorism whereas incidents of western countries committing terrorism in other countries have been
omitted from media. Incidentally a stereotype of a terrorist, in the western culture, is a muslim. This is
due to the idea that “all terrorists are muslims” has been planted inside our consciousness.

Can people be persuaded to watch a film based on actors from them?:

Would Tom Hanks or Denzel Washington starring in a film persuade people to watch it?:
Most people say that they can be persuaded into watching a film based on the actors in it. However in
the next question most people said that if the actors were Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington it
wouldn’t persuade them into seeing a film. This may be due to both actors being more active and
popular in the 1990’s and most of the surveys participants were 16-30 therefore they may not be as
familiar with the actors as older generations. A person who said they would be persuaded to see a film
because Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington was in it said it was because “they are talented” whereas
another simply said because “they are well known”. The Uses and Gratification theory applies to Tom
Hanks and Denzel Washington in this film. The personal identity use satisfies value reinforcement if
either an audience member has the same values as a character or if an audience member has the same
values of the message of the film. Therefore a person might come see the film because they support the
values that Hank’s and Washington’s characters portray. Another personal identity use is that the film
would appeal to someone modelling themselves on the real life celebrities Denzel Washington or Tom
Hanks. This would satisfy them in finding reinforcement for personal beliefs and finding models of
behaviour.

What genres of films do people watch?:

People mostly watched comedy and action over any other type of film. They both had the same amount
of votes however superhero films are often action films therefore action films could have another 4.8%
of votes. Family films are also normally of the animation genre therefore animation could gain another
4.8%. The percentage of people who like True stories, Thriller, Superhero, Mystery, Family, Drama and
Animation films, is equal to the percentage of people who enjoy Horror and Comedy films. Only
action,comedy,horror and sci-fi have a different amount of votes than the other genres here.

Platforms people watch films on:

As seen on this graph, streaming is the most widely used form of platform for people to watch films on.
It has overtaken DVD/Blu-ray, which was the most popular way to watch films before. Younger
generations mostly use streaming services as they provide a large amount of films that are
instantaneously viewable for considerably less cost than buying each DVD/Blu-ray for the films they can
watch on a streaming service. As streaming services are often a subscription fee, not a fee for each film,
people might think that they are getting more value for money as they don’t have to make a payment
everytime they want to watch a film. Cinema is the joint second most watched platform as it is common
for many generations to visit the cinema.
The screenshot is from the first scene of the trailer. This scene is juxtaposed to the rest of the trailer in
the fact that Andrew Beckett (played by Tom Hanks) has power. You can tell this by his surroundings and
the people around him - sat on the top floors of a skyscraper in a wood clad room with men drinking and
smoking cigars. This scene is made to show Andrew Beckett at the height of his power and fortune
before the way people reacted to his illness made his world collapse around him. The scene is created in
a way to make the situation Beckett is in feel safe. This is so that when everything goes wrong for him it
has a larger effect on the audience because as an audience they thought he was safe. The people around
him are made to appear as his friends as they are all congratulating each other and laughing together.
Also, the lighting in the scene is low-key and warm therefore the room conveys a safe and cozy feel.
However, the scene is made in a way that conveys a slight sense of uncomfortableness. Several things
convey this sense such as how the camera zooms into Charles Wheeler (Jason Robards), the camera
lingers on Tom Hanks seeming as though the shot has been slowed down and the pause and emphasis
on Andrew Beckett as he says faith and shakes Charles Wheelers hand. I think they used editing to
create an uncomfortable atmosphere as it suggests that something is not quite right and that something
is about to happen. In this case it was that Beckett ends up losing his job because his employees found
out about his contraction of AIDS. I think they emphasised the handshake and the word faith as it
demonstrates how quick people changed their mind as a result of their prejudice against AIDs. It shows
that people who held Beckett in great regard immediately changed their opinion of him just because he
had AIDs.
The two most popular actors in the film -Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks- are shot in this scene
using a two shot. The editors have tried to include this shot as early on in the trailer as possible, whilst
being in a good order, because they will have wanted to show the two most famous actors together as it
might persuade people into to seeing the film because they star in it. At the start of this scene the mood
is comfortable and relaxed, this is indicated by the laughing and smiling. The two characters shake
hands, as a greeting, and Andrew Beckett tells Joe Miller that he has AIDS. As soon as he mentions that,
Joe Miller lets go of his hand and a concerned look emerges on his face. He also wipes his hand on
himself to try and clean his hand of Andrew Beckett’s germs. When Joe Miller realises what Beckett said,
the shot of both of them changes to a high angle long shot. I think they chose this shot as it shows Miller
trying to distance himself from Beckett. This scene is a manifestation of the fears of the public at the
point in time the film was made. People didn’t want to be anywhere near someone who had AIDS and
feared touching them in case they got it as well because people didn’t understand the ways it could be
contracted.
In this scene, Beckett is made to appear weak and tired. This can be seen by the hair colour and style
change, pale skin and accentuation of bags under the eyes using makeup. This is done to show the
audience the terrible effects AIDS can have on the body. At the time film was realised there was still
stigma surrounding AIDS and the depiction of Andrew Beckett progressively getting weaker and iller
might of been so that people watching the film would then feel sympathy and understand the
difficulties of living with AIDS and therefore be more accepting of it. This scene might have been put in
the trailer as the first court scene because the frail appearance of Beckett makes him seem very
vulnerable as opposed to the giant company Wyant,Wheeler,Hellerman,Tetlow and Brown making the
audience feel more sympathetic. His appearance could also represent the emotional pain he has inside
him due to him knowing he will die, the betrayed by people who he thought were his friends and that
people treat him like he is a monster.
In this scene, something in the courtroom has obviously gone Becketts way and you can see a relieved
look on his face and joy from Joe Miller. As seen earlier in the trailer, Miller was worried about touching
him and even being breathed on by him. The joy on Miller’s face, for the slight victory, suggests that he
is starting to support the cause and therefore Beckett as well. This shows that the character of Miller has
developed into a more acceptive person. Miller could be the manifestation of how the public was
starting to change their mind on AIDS throughout the real life trial of Geoffrey Bowers which is what
Philadelphia is based on. Due to stigma surrounding gay people, at the time this film was released,
Miller could also represent the audience on how their prejudice towards gay people could reduce as
they watch the film.
Low key lighting and red lighting is used in this scene. This creates the semiotic of anger. It works with
Tom Hanks facial expressions to convey sadness and anger. The darkness around him adds the feeling of
despair and sadness. In this scene he is obviously experiencing many emotions. He may be looking
ahead and feeling emotional because his life is coming to an end and he is going to miss out on alot or
he may be reminiscing and thinking about the people he will never get to see again.
The production process of every film is similar. For Philadelphia an independent producer called Scott
Rudin initiated the project. He then brought in the writer Ron Nyswaner. The idea of the film was
originally published as original however Rudin and Nyswaner met up with the family of Geoffrey Bower,
a lawyer from New York whose story is very similar to the story of the film, and completed several
interviews with him. After the interviews they said that they was no longer going to write about his
experience and follow a different plot instead. In 1996 the family of the late Geoffrey Bower’s won a
court case because the film was heavily inspired by Geoffrey Bower and he was not given any
acknowledgement to his involvement. Rudin, as producer, will have then worked on creating the
treatment and pitch so that they could get money for developing the script. When the director Jonathan
Demme started working on the film he didn’t want Rudin on board. Rudin left the film and was never
credited in the film credits. After Rudin left, the producers on this film was the director and Edward
Saxon. As producers they would have managed production as the film progressed. As this film is about
real life issues there would have probably been a team of researchers that helped Nyswaner write the
script so that they portrayed AIDS as accurately as possible. The producers then will have checked that
the script is finished and that they agreed with the events of the film. Then Demme and Saxon will have
decided what they want the film to be like and if they want any stars to be involved in acting. After this
they will have had a better idea of how they want the film to turn out and therefore they will have gone
to different companies to see if any of them would finance the film. The studio that they got to finance
the film was Sony. Once they had the financing secured they would have employed the full crew: artists,
cameramen and sound. They will have then casted the actors. Casting of actors is normally done by 4
roles: director, producer, casting director and studio executive. The casting director would have
compiled lists of actors for each major part and held auditions for more minor parts. He would have
probably cast all the minor parts by himself however for the larger parts the director, producer and
studio executive will have worked with him and conducted several rounds of auditions in order to get
the actor for the right part. After all the actors and crew have been employed the process moves into
pre-production. The first steps in the pre-production is creating a storyboard which transfers the script
into pictures that displays the shot types and what happening in the scene-the production designer does
this. After the storyboard is created the other work in pre-production can begin. Locations and sets will
be chosen and decorated by the art director who will create a recce of the locations they are going to
use. The art director would then sort out and order any props that they wanted. A risk assessment
would have been needed for each location also. A budget would have been devised by the producer and
financial team once the locations had been confirmed as they need to factor in renting the locations so
therefore cannot make a budget before they have been confirmed. The last bit of pre-production to
complete would have been the production schedule. The producer would work on this and it would
outline deadlines of the production. The film would then move on to the production phase of the film.
Another crew member called a cinematographer is important in this phase as they make sure the
director gets what they want from a shot by using lighting and the cameras technical abilities to achieve
it. When shooting a scene they would have had several cameras because this gives them several
different shots to cut between and choose in a scene. They would have recorded the audio of the scene
via a boom mic that is held above the actors. After production is finished the next stage- post-
production- is entered. The editor is the most crucial role in this process and has a huge impact on the
final film realised. Craig McKay was the editor for Philadelphia. The editor often works closely with the
director so that they both get the film they want. An editor assembles all the footage by choosing which
clips to use, what scenes to use and even the sequence of scenes and events in the film. Other jobs in
post-production include adding music and film scores, sound mixing and foley sound. Foley sound is
when sounds are reproduced and then added onto the film. Several edits are made - including an offline
edit which is just assembly of the clips- before the final online edit is made.