The Impossible - Theatrical Trailer Analysis

The trailer to this movie begins happy and normal; a family vacation which is presented as innocent and memorable. The over the shoulder shot we see of the family looking out at the beach shows their close relationship making them likable to the audience as they are all friendly to one another and none of them are causing any difficulties. This over the shoulder shot of the family also shows the location which sets the scene and also shows how close this family really is which will make the audience feel sympathy when the disaster happens.



A unique selling point for this movie is that it is based on a true story making the shock factor more intense as the audience will be re living the tsunami from a true point of view which may intrigue a wider audience. The actors and actresses are also a unique selling point, people like Naomi Watts playing the mum shows that this would be a good movie as she is a higher paying actress and has been in many popular, successful films which would've created a fan base for her also drawing in people that like her. This is the same case for Ewan McGregor who plays Henry (father).

The trailer begins to get serious 23 seconds in when text is shown saying 'In 2004', the font of this writing is very formal which shows through the seriousness of the plot, having a less formal and more fun wouldn't be appropriate for the film as the subject is meaningful and real. Once this text has faded out the shots begin to get more thrilling and suspicious of whats about to happen such as the one of Maria (Naomi Watt) losing a page from her book because of the wind and the red ball being blown away again because of the wind. The text then says 'Tragedy stuck South East Asia', again showing that this movie is based on a true story and giving more of an incite on what the plot will be about.

The over the shoulder shot showing the tsunami approaching makes the audience feel scared as they feel like they are in the characters position knowing there is no where they can run. The other interesting shot in this sequence is a high angle shot which shows the contrast between the devastation the tsunami will cause and the happiness the holiday should have created, it also shows the location which the family were staying at, again showing the contrast between the natural disaster and the relaxing holiday. These two shots are then followed by more text which says 'This one families true story on survival' which fades in slowly from black, showing seriousness and devastation of the film.

Once the text has faded out it turns to the next shot of a man walking, presumably the dad walking towards a car after the tsunami hit, the lighting get a lot darker from this point in the trailer to reflect on the mood of the film. The trailer then goes on to show the dad finding two of his sons which makes the movie's plot more of an eye opener because it would be a miracle to find the people you are looking for almost straight after an incident as big as this. Continuing on we are shown the mother and other brothers experience through the tsunami in which they also find each other which creates enigmas because we wonder if they all find each other again or if the mum survives as she is shown as very injured and in hospital. 

To conclude this trailer they add a lot of different clips of people being reunited with their loved ones as well as the family we are following the story of which creates an emotional ending for the audience. 

Donnie Darko - Theatrical Trailer analysis

The trailer to Donnie Darko begins normal and realistic because it begins with a male character jumping out a school bus, this character is introduced first as he is the lead role, the shot also reflects on his personality and troubles throughout the film as it is spinning which shows the confusion the film brings to the audience because there are many things they have to find out for themselves as the genre is mystery/drama/sci fi.

Donnie is presented in a school uniform at first which shoes a lot about his characters background - a middle class teenager but the sruffy uniform shows he could be quite rebelious. Also the medium shot of him in class looking uninterested in learning and the shot straight after of him hitting something with an ax proves that he is troubled.

A lot of enigmas are created in this trailer asking why all these bad things are happening such as the writing on the floor that reads out 'they made me do it', the audience will wonder who made them do it and why. After this shot the trailer then returns to a normal surrounding and events for a part, this is Todorov's theory, he said trailers begin normal and realistic then throughout something happens which creates a lot of questions for the audience and also a cliff hanger for them to feel un certain about which leaves them wanting to watch the film to find out what happens.

 

When we get to 1 minute 11 seconds into the trailer you can see a contrast between the beginning to this point, things begin to happen. The lead role starts waking up in random places and is asking himself about time travel as though it can happen in reality which would intrigue fans of this genre to watch it because it shows this movie has deaper meanings than just the day to day life of a normal school boy. The clips begin to speed up at this point as well showing different things that would stand out to the audience which happen in the film, this builds aderenaline and it also shows the audience things that happen briefly so it doesnt give too much away about the plot.

 

The titles explain that the movie is based around time travel and the effect given links to one of the main characters that seems to be a big part of the movie - Frank, a man sized rabbit that Donnie Darko can only see. The colour of the text (blue) is the same colour as this character. The text says 'sacrifice, the only way to unwind the future, is to follow the path', this explains the plot in a way that wouldnt be obvious for the audience making them interested in seeing the full film.

The Ring - Theatrical Trailer analysis

The first shot in this trailer is of the iconic ring that symbolises this film, the black contrasting against the white shows freedom from something dark and haunting. The dialogue is used a bridge sound as soon as the trailer begins, it is of one of the characters explaining the basic plot of the film - "Theres this video tape that kills you when you watch it, you start to play it; its like somebody's nightmare and as soon as its over your phone rings and what they say is, you will die in seven days". Conventions of the genre is being shown as the girl explaining the plot is a teenager that ends up rebelling by watching the tape, resulting in being the first to die, the audience wouldn't have much sympathy for this character as she is presented as a typical teenager which stereotypically people see as annoying and idiotic. 

Sounds and music sets in as the ring appears on screen which means it creates effect straight away, this non diegetic sound turns into music 27 seconds into the trailer, the sinister piano and violin playing would appeal to horror movie fans as they would feel intrigued to go and watch the new film in cinemas, this target audience is usually young males aged around 17-25 because they are known to enjoy being scared and feeling that adrenaline. Die hard horror fans would also want to see this film as it is a remake of the Japanese version created in 1998 called 'Ring'; the horror fans would want to see if it is up to the expectations that they have and to see if it is better or worse than the original. Another unique selling point is the actress Naomi Watts because she is very successful in other movies such as King Kong, although The Ring was created before King Kong, she would still be a unique selling point to the young male target audience, her character also subverts the stereotypical blonde woman in a horror movie because they are usually portrayed as weak and innocent which is what she is presented as but her personality and courage says differently; the blonde hair would be a connotation for vulnerability and unintelligent. 

The child in the movie is also a convention of this genre because he is shown as an important person to the protagonist and is in a way possessed by them by sending messages that relate to whats going on for example, the creepy drawings shown 1 minute 14 seconds into the trailer to which it then goes onto a medium shot of the little boy drawing these images. Although there are reasons why the audience will think the relationship between the little boy and female role are mother and son, the boy addresses her by her first name (Rachel) which would create enigmas for the audience because they would wonder why their relationship isn't presented in a strong, obvious way. 

Ending the trailer in a way which will leave the audience on edge is a way of keeping them interested especially if they are a fan of horror movies; a close up of Rachel screaming but covering the diegetic sound with a non diegetic sound leaves a haunting effect and is the climax of the entire trailer as it builds up over time making the shots of the tape and parts of the film faster paste to build up suspense for this moment, this also makes the audience feel like they can relate to the characters more because they are also watching parts of the tape creating a connection between them. Some of these shots are of the lead characters going through things you wouldn't expect to happen to them such as Rachel  The shots at the beginning are slow paste to make the audience feel as though something will jump out at them unknowingly but also so they can learn more about the story and plot. 

The Great Gatsby - Theatrical trailer analysis

The Great Gatsby is a drama/romance thats based in the 1920's which has been shown through the opening titles of the trailer already giving the audience an idea on the movies theme. The gold and conotes wealth which can indicate the type of characters that are in the film, the black conotes mystery which makes the audience feel intrigued to see what this film will be about. Thet time period this film is set in is shown clearly in the first and second shot, through the extreme long shot of New York which sets the setting for the film, the undeveloped looking buildings and cranky old bridge indicates that this film isn't a modern day one. The second shot is of a group of people in  car going along the bridge allows the audience to see the clothing and style of the characters as well as the vehicle they are travelling in, these things all show the time frame for this movie as the 1920's are known to have a very obvious fashion that is easy to recognise.

 

 

 

Throughout the beginning of the trailer the audience are constantly exposed to the party life style that is being portrayed which may excite some of the audience and intrigue others as they could enjoy watching things based in a certain time/place. The main target audience for this movie would be women as they are stereotypically attracted to watching films about romance whereas men tend to avoid this genre of film. The unique selling points of this movie is the actors and actresses such as Leonardo DiCaprio who is known as a heart throb to many as well as a very successful actor that has been in a lot of popular movies such as Titanic and Shutter Island. Another unique selling point is that the movie was brought to us from the makers of Romeo and Juliet and Moulin Rouge which will attract people that are fans of those two movie.

The dialogue and music builds up the reveal on who Mr Gatsby is as the characters at the party continue to mention his name making him come across as an important person which he is. Revealing Mr Gatsby in this way is a good idea to tease the audience as Leonardo DiCaprio is playing this role which means introducing him like this shows his importance as an actor and the character he is. The build up also shows Mr Gatsby's expensive lifestyle and popularity because it is his party everyone has attended. The long shot of the crowd of people looking up, leading on to a medium shot of Gatsby makes him look powerful to everyone else because he is the main attraction looking down on everyone else while holding a cigarette in one hand and the other hand in his pocket which shows he is a calm character that would be idolised.

The contrast between this clip of Mr Gatsby and the next time we see him is very noticable because he is shown looking nervous instead of relaxed which could change the audiences perspective of him, creating enigmas as we want to find out why his character has changed in such a drastic way to the first time we saw him. The clothing he is presented in also projects this characters change in characteristics because the black suit we saw him wearing first conotes mystery and even courage but the white suit conotes innocence and vulnerability suiting the state he appears in the second time we see him.

The convetions of the romance genre is shown through the trailer, the obvious one is that theres a man and a woman as the main characters, the man is deaply in love with the woman and tries to win her over, but a different man is getting in the way and doesnt want them to be together for particular reasons we find out when watching the film which is what will make the audience feel intrigued to find out what is going on.

Taken 2 - Theatrical trailer analysis

Seeing as this is a sequel of the first Taken movie, the film would already have an audiene because the first movie did so well already giving it a good selling point as well as the leed role - Liam Neeson who is very well known when it comes to action movies; he was in other movies of this genre such as The Dark Knight Rises and Batman Begins.

We are introduced to the settings of the movie in the opening shot which fades in from black, viewing an exteme long shot of a foreign country - Istanbul, choosing a foreign location for an action movie is one the genres conventions. The clip of the buildings then faced into a medium shot of a man standing infront of his daughter to which she says "dad", letting the audience know the relationship between these two characters which could be an important part of the plot. The medium shot that was used makes the man appear as the more dominant character as he is standing infront of the girl as though he is shadowing her, the clothes he is wearing also makes his come across as a powerful, wealthy man because the suit proves that he has a significant role.

After being shown a group of short clips showing the relationship between the daughter, dad and mum, we are then taken to a different scene of what looks like a funeral taken in a high angle shot to show the surroundings, this thwen leeds onto passed clips from the first movie to re cap what happened and to show why these characters end up wanting revenge on the father and daughter. The group of clips are shown as flash backs which is effective to the audience as it shows the previous events. A couple of seconds before we are shown this, a close up shot is used to show the symbol on one of the foreign mens hands revealing that this group of people are part of a gang hinting key parts of the film to the audience.

We are shown many conventions of the genre such as the use of guns and fast cars, also the violence presented, this would mainly attract a male audience as they are labelled to enjoy the adrenaline rush they get from watching explosions and fast car chases, the young girl would also attract the male audience because she is presented in a way that will make the target audience want to see the film. The girl being in the film and being shown doing dangerous things such as climbing on buildings subverts the stereotypes of the girls role in an action genre movie because they are usually known as the damsel in distress, needing someone to save them.

The fast paced shots and build up of music creates suspense in the audience which makes the movie come across as an exciting action that would appeal to many people. By not using much evidence on what this films plot could be creates enigmas leaving the people watching with questions that they want answered, such as "where is she?", this dialogue can mean many things, as we have already been shown the main female characters in the film and the possible antagonists who are foreign which also conforms to another actions genre stereotype. 

An interesting use on non diegetic sound is used from 1 minutes 44 seconds, as it is the only sound you are able to hear until Liam Neesons character says "If I kill you, your other sons will come and seek revenge", to which he gets a reply of "they will", to when Liam Neesons character makes a courageous responds "then I will kill them too", leaving the trailer on a cliff hanger and again creating newer enigmas for the audience to be unsettled on.

Targets for Film Trailer Analysis

Target: try and use key terminology such as, technical, verbal, symoblic and engima codes.

Are there puzzles and questions left unanswered in the trailer that create an enimga for the audience?

Are there symoblic codes that create certain connotations and impact the audience?

Could you comment on the narrative structure of the trailer according to Todorov's theory of narrative?

12 Years A Slave poster analysis

The contrast of using a pure white background shows the characters dominance in the film especially as he is the only person on it which also helps him stand out massively due to the different tones of colour as he has been shown behind a shadow which can also reflect the type of character he is - an important individual that is trapped behind others power. Something else that also shows he is trapped is the position his body is in, appearing as though he is running; he could be running from or to something making this shot type interesting because it shows nearly the whole characters body as it is a medium shot, but still keeping important hints to the plot such as the location a secret from the audience which creates enigmas. 

 

There aren't many obvious unique selling points in this poster except in the text, by mentioning the more well known actors in the movie such as Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender will draw in a wider range of audience. Another unique selling point in this poster is what it mentions under the main title - 'The extraordinary true story of Solomon Northup',  adding this into the poster will make the movie seem a lot more worth while to go and see in theatres due to the shock factor of how society used to portray black people as 'slaves'. The use of font in this poster is very important because it is the main way to present the genre of the film - historical; using a different font for the number '12' and the words 'years a slave' shows the time period of this movie as the '12' has the effect to look like it was written with a quill, which was what they used to write with all those years ago making the overall poster look more authentic. 

The simplicity of the background and colours lets you focus your attention on the only character on the poster which shows his importance in the film as the leed role. Showing the main character on the poster also allows the audience to feel sympathy and happiness for this person in the film as we are only shown life from his point of view although the plot of the movie would make the audience feel a range of negative emotions for him anyway because it was such a devistating time for many people.

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Uploaded YouTube videos of 15 trailers – analysed Key Terms: genre conventions, mise-en-scene, camera shots, sound, editing, unique selling points (USP), target audience, verbal codes, technical codes, symbolic codes, enigma codes.		Complete this task, focus mainly on a genre that interests me and that can benefit the rest of my work in the future.
Posters analysed – 5 Picture, costumes, font, captions, text, colours, target audience, symbolic codes, enigma codes.		Complete 12 Years A Slave poster analysis to complete my five posters, then present on blog.
Magazine Covers – analysed - 5 Key Terms:  font, layout, picture, target audience, verbal codes, technical codes, symbolic codes, enigma codes. Typography • What font styles are used? • What are the connotations of the font (what do they suggest)? Layout • What effect does this have? Why is the page laid out like this? Colour •What do the colours connote? Images • What shot types and angles were used? • What is the effect of the shot type and/or angle? • What effect does the mise-en-scene have? • Why were the props, costumes, locations, etc. used? • What do they signify? Mode of Address • How does the magazine ‘speak’ to its audience? • What language is used? • What impression do the fonts, colours, etc. have?		Need begin analysing more magazine covers which relate to my genre and present on blog.
Reflection of Year 12	Completed
Exemplars read and reviewed		Comment on old blog posts to get a better idea on the quality and quality on year 12 media work.