Film companies release a film trailer months before the film is officially released to cinemas. A film trailer is intended to give the audience enough information to excite them but make sure not to give away the plot. I will begin analysing my three chosen film trailers.
Trailer One: The Amazing Spiderman - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atCfTRMyjGU How does the trailer introduce us to the main character(s), plot and genre? The genre of the film is super hero, action adventure and fantasy, this is shown from a longshot of a male in a suit, the identity is revealed with a following 2 shot showing the audience who the protagonist is. The female in the 2 shot is shown to have a big significance as the protagonist goes to see her. How does the music change during the course of the trailer? During the course of the trailer, the music gets more intense as the scenes get more intense at the same speed. What information does this give us on the direction of the movie? The music becoming more intense as the scenes get more intense gives the audience a sense of understanding of the film, showing that the film is leading to some sort of disaster. How do elements such as lighting and editing work with the music? The lighting helps set the mood massively along with the music as the tension of the music and the dark lighting effect create a response the director was probably trying to achieve. How do they change over the course of the trailer? During the course of the trailer, I noticed that when the hero is in the suit, the background and lighting seems to always be dark. When the hero is in normal day to day clothing the background and lighting is always sunny and bright. How is montage or other editing techniques used? Montage is used in the trailer to show an exciting movie with action scenes which are energetic.
What taglines are used and how effective are they?
The taglines used in the trailer are “His research has just begun” giving the audience a sense of suspense provoking there thought of what he might discover. Another tagline is “The untold story…. Begins” this also intrigues the audience and also provoking their thought as to what the story is. What are your expectations of the film? My expectations of the film are that it will be an exciting film with a lot of action and intense scenes. What questions are left unanswered? The main question left unanswered is if Superman succeeds in destroying the green lizard. Would you consider yourself to be the target audience for this film? If so, what elements in the film particularly appeal to you? I would consider myself to be the target audience as the main character is a teenager. The use of the teenager having super powers and involving families, gives this film a universal appeal therefore more than one group of people can relate to the film.
Trailer Two: The Sweeny - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuYj4q7s8rc How does the trailer introduce us to the main character(s), plot and genre? The trailer introduces us to the two main characters with a medium shot of one character who due to being shown first suggests he plays a bigger role than the other character that is also shown in a medium shot. The trailer shows the plot with different shots and montage. It shows the genre from the diegetic sound and establishing shots. How does the music change during the course of the trailer? As the film is an action film, the music changes to intense, energetic when there are scenes of fighting and shooting. What information does this give us on the direction of the movie? The information it gives as to what where the film is heading, shows that there are intense scenes of violence to excite the audience. How do elements such as lighting and editing work with the music?
Elements in editing such as crosscuts are very fast in the trailer. This works very well with the music as the music is also at high speed therefore gives the audience a sense of energy to the film.
How do they change over the course of the trailer? The editing and music does not change much during the course of the film. How is montage or other editing techniques used? The montage in the trailer shows a fast and energetic film with action scenes. What taglines are used and how effective are they? The film involves police officers in London using hand guns, as hand guns are banned in England the audience might be confused. Therefore the tag line “To catch a criminal… you must act like a criminal” is used to justify for the scenes. This shows that the tag lines are effective. What are your expectations of the film? My expectations of the film are that it will be an exciting film due to the new idea of police with guns excites me as a British citizen. What questions are left unanswered? The questions left unanswered are… Is the man in the car in the last shot the man they wanted to catch if not where is he or what happened to him. Would you consider yourself to be the target audience for this film? If so, what elements in the film particularly appeal to you? I would consider myself to be the target audience as it is a film located in Britain as we can see from the iconography in the beginning, what makes me the target audience is the use of guns from police officers/detectives which would fascinate the British public.
Trailer three: Adulthood – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj9Ec7ZUmHI How does the trailer introduce us to the main character(s), plot and genre? The trailer begins with close medium shot of a young boy who is the main character. The plot is shown with narrative from the young boy. The genre is shown from the diegetic sound such as speech and iconography which shows London slang and views of streets of London therefore showing that it’s a gritty British realism genre
How does the music change during the course of the trailer? The music in the trailer begins intense and carries the same intensity throughout. What information does this give us on the direction of the movie? This gives the audience the information of the film being an intense film with a lot of violence. Therefore suggesting that the film starts at its peak and doesn’t go low but remains the same. How do elements such as lighting and editing work with the music? Editing techniques such as montage really work well with the music as the crosscuts are paced like the music. How do they change over the course of the trailer? The music starts of intense and remains intense throughout the trailer. How is montage or other editing techniques used? Montage is used to show an exciting film. The faster the cuts and the more energetic the music the more excited the audience will get. What taglines are used and how effective are they? Taglines such as “From Kidulthood… comes… Adulthood” is used. This does not have much of an affect as the audience already know. What are your expectations of the film? My expectations of the film are for there to be a lot of kids committing crime and violence. I believe the film will be exciting and full of drama. What questions are left unanswered? The main question left unanswered is if ‘Sam’ gets killed or not. Would you consider yourself to be the target audience for this film? If so, what elements in the film particularly appeal to you? I believe I am the target audience as I can relate to the film and I live in the same surroundings.