Critical Reflection

 Within the two trailers for the Thriller film “Teddy”, different portions of what the actual film would include are revealed, both with the intent to create suspense. Through recurring motifs, sounds, and symbols, the products create a cohesive feel for Teddy, the film, to attract a curious audience.

Within the film, the main character, Jane Doe, is a victim of kidnapping by a middle-aged white man. Many of the covert details represent the typical demographic of those who are kidnapped, and those who kidnap. With the use of the name “Jane Doe” for the main character, a name typically given to people whose identity has yet to be confirmed, it is almost to say that the situation that she is in could be anyone. However, depicting a teenage girl, dressed in casual clothing, represents the demographic of those who are typically victims of kidnapping: females over the age of 12. Additionally, as reported by NISMART, 71% of kidnapping occur in outside areas, such as a park or the woods, also accurately represented within the trailers. While many of these statistics are not overtly represented in either the poster or the trailer, the social media page for the film of Instagram highlights a “Resources” story that includes infographics and resources to learn more about this issue nationwide.

The social media page has also been an integral part of creating a consistent brand. Towards the beginning of this process, I created a specific color palette to focus on consisting of blacks and greys for the darker tones and yellows for the lighter tones. This color palette is consistent within the Instagram page as well, most notable when you first visit the page and see the grid view of all of the posts. There is a stark pattern alternating between black and white photos, and more yellow-toned photos, creating almost a checkered pattern. Additionally, this is represented within the poster as the main image is black and white, and the title color is a yellow-tan tone. Being that the title is the only part of the poster that is that warm tone, it is meant to stand out from the black and white image and the other white texts. Finally, arguably one of the most time-consuming portions of this project for me, was color grading the trailers in order to highlight the cool-toned yellows and greys within the set and costume. By sticking to a consistent, simple color palette from the beginning, they have become representative of the film as a whole, allowing for cohesive branding of the film.

Moreover, many aspects of the final project were meant to be seen as direct communication with the audience. Especially with the target of a Generation Z audience and fan base, creating different ways for the products to seem interactive was integral in keeping their attention and intrigue. One way this was done was through the voiceover narration of the trailers: by having Jane’s voiceover speaking to Teddy throughout both trailers, it is almost as if the audience feels that they are being addressed, taking on the role of Teddy. Dialogue between the kidnapper and Jane is extremely limited, not only to create suspense behind the character of the kidnapper but also to highlight Jane’s direct communication with the viewer. Additionally, taking advantage of the many interactive features on Instagram, a social media platform popular within the target audience, helped enhance the sense of intrigue. By introducing the cast as “Meet my family”, rather than “Meet the cast”, and the use of leading questions in many of the captions furthers this idea that the products are communicating directly with the audience.

Notably, many decisions made for this project were formed on the basis of research. I initially wanted to pursue the fantasy genre, but upon researching many conventions, such as the use of CGI, I realized that it was not within my reach at the moment. Once I narrowed it down to the thriller genre, it was much easier to mold a story from those conventions. Inspired by both Room and Split, Teddy delves into the psyche of victims of abuse, kidnapping, and other traumas, representing how one would cope in those situations. The title also reflects these tropes, as one-word titles focused on a main theme or symbol within the film are popular within the genre, hence the name “Teddy”. Research upon the posters for these films also heavily influenced the one for Teddy, as they were simplistic and featured a dark vignette around a close-up image of the main character. Other posters that express this convention include the one for the film Us, a thriller by Jordan Peele. Research within the Thriller genre also helped in choosing the correct music, especially since the Youtube Music Library allows you to search by mood or genre. Knowing that I needed to find an ominous, suspenseful, slow song to be in the background of the trailers helped narrow down the search to just two songs until I was able to pinpoint the perfect one. Within this project, research into case studies especially aided in the process of capturing the essence of a thriller film, consequently resulting in a final product that is more in line with conventions rather than challenging them.

Finally, understanding the target audience was the hidden key to this project. Once I was able to pinpoint who I wanted the film’s audience to be, it was much easier to work around it. For example, I knew that I wanted the audience to reflect my own demographics: Gen Z, curious, female, and mature enough to have the discussions the film touches on. Understanding the behaviors of this target audience especially, such as understanding that many have extremely short attention spans, aided in many decisions: length of the trailers, length of the clips, how to make the Instagram page more intriguing for the audience, etc. Research was the driving factor within the entire project.