Inspiration from 'We Are Your Friends'

We Are Your Friends (2015)

Typography Inspiration

Within the trailer, animations are used paired with a voiceover, "My friends and I, we're from the San Fernando Valley, that flat stretch of land on the other side of the Hollywood hills". The voiceover is the voice of the main character of the film. The animations show the same information in a diagram-like way. I like the cartoony typography used:

• 'San Fernando Valley' is in a cursive red font. The typography imitates the font seen on many souvenirs from the valley. It is also the typography that many people relate to America, typically American diners, which sets the location and works well with aerial shots of the town.

• The 'Other Side' is in block capitals in a bold, white font. The font is a reproduction of the Hollywood sign typography which can be seen on the top of the hill in the shot . I like how the typography is partially blocked by the hills, it could be a play on the Hollywood hills being the main focus of attention within their neighbourhood. This is further evidenced by "other side", as if the audience knew that there are two sides, and the side the voiceover is talking about is not the important one.

 

• The San Fernando Valley typography is repeated. The Hollywood sign is shown in a wide shot, with the addition of 'Hills'. The Hills font is an imitation of the Hollywood sign typography. The letters are at different heights and angles to create the effect of it being the actual structure. I like this effect, it is really well edited into the shot.

 

Editing Inspiration

There is a very effective scene of the trailer, in which the main character is running in the foreground of the shot. The background of the shot changes with each beat of a non-diegetic song - 'Shine' by Years and Years.

The shots give the audience a view of what the location of the film is like in a short length of time, considering the changes happen over one and a half seconds. The editing is sharp, and the changes happen at the exact time of the beat.

The shots are perfectly framed to ensure that the character running at the bottom of the shot runs on the exact same line in all of the frames. The character moves from the left to the right of the frame at the same pace, this means that the shots must be edited in a way to ensure that the match on action is created well i.e. the actor's feet hit the floor in the same place at the same pace.

 

Filming Inspiration

A few extreme close-ups are used within the trailer. This is an inspiration as the quality is very high, and the shots are very effective. The shots are used to show the reaction of the audience of the DJ within the film. The shots show the hairs on a person's arm raising and the pupil dilating. When edited quickly into a series of clips, the close-up shots, if clear, could look really effective.