Trailer Analysis
At what point in the trailer are we told the name of the film? Why is this?
Throughout the trailer the audience is teased with plenty of suspense as the nightmarish vampires slowly reveal themselves by showing scenes of them feeding on the characters, attacking them and so on, as well as the vampires there are also some brief scenes of action from the human characters, such as where one character cocks his shotgun and another swinging an axe. This all combines to create anticipation within the audience, which is why the name of the film is presented last, it's a way of rewarding the audiences anticipation by revealing the name of this horrific film, also the anticipation allows for the name of the film to be imprinted in the audiences minds as it is the last part of the trailer they see.
Why are we told who is starring in the film?
How is this information given to us? Why?
At the very beginning of the trailer there are implications that the threat to these characters is supernatural,it isn't until midway through the trailer that the creatures are confirmed as vampires,however,the audience is helped to draw their own conclusions before this because of a quick clip of the vampires teeth.The beginning is tense since it straight away shows a man being surrounded and killed, this keeps the tension high for the middle of the trailer where one of the characters is talking to a mysterious prisoner, the prisoner himself increases the tension further by saying "board the windows, try to hide,they're coming"this also creates fear as you want to find out who "they" are and why they are considered unstoppable.The action picks up more towards the end of the trailer and shows the desperation of the characters to survive featuring clips where a man cocks a shotgun and another swings an axe this shows that the characters will try to fight back the creatures, however, this does not mean they are show as the strongest as there are clips where the vampires drag people off, leap, and bite people showing how they are terrorizing the characters despite their attempts to resist, this gives a feeling of hopelessness and despair as the characters have little chance of escape.
The trailer makes use string instruments in order to set the eerie atmosphere as well as some drums. The music makes use of mostly piano, guitar and drum music towards the end so as to set a feeling of desperation and fear. Sound effects include the use of a police radio calling one of the characters, this is done so as to make the audience think that this character is heroic as he is a Sheriff and upheld the law before the vampire attack. There's also a scream sound effect which is used, this is common in horror trailers as it creates fear.
What information and feelings are we given about the film using ‘camera techniques’ and ‘Mise-en-scene’?
The mise-en-scene is particularly useful in this trailer, for example when we see a shot of the vampires teeth as this helps to introduce the threat. Other helpful pieces of mise-en-scene include a shot of a character wielding a gun to show the characters will try to fight the vampires, also another (and more obvious) piece of mise-en-scene is the blood that is shown both around the vampires mouths and pouring along the floor, this clearly shows the level of violence that the film will contain.
Camera techniques are also greatly used to increase the tension, for starters when a high angle shot is shown of the vampires looking down over the town, this symbolises how the vampires are predators who are closing in on their prey which is the unsuspecting town. Another effective shot is the two shot of one of the human characters and a vampire who is rising up in the background this creates fear and tension as the audience knows the character is clearly in danger.
What type of audience is the trailer aimed at? How can you tell?
I suspected that the age range for the film would be males from 18-24 years old due to the films violence and horror which men are usually more attracted to. In order to find evidence for my theory I did research on the films audience the Pearl and Dean website. However, information on the audience for "30 Days of Night" was not available and so I decided to research a much similar films audience, the film was "Ghosts of Mars". This managed to prove my theory correct as 30% of the audience were aged 15-24 and 61% of those people were male. The BBFC also confirms my theory as they rated the film as an 18.
We are told the names of the actors so that if the audience likes their performance they find them in other films. Also it's so that credit goes to the people who acted. The complete opposite of a comedy or action trailer, horror trailers typically put the names of the crew at the end of the trailer this is so as not to distract the audience from what they are seeing on screen as it draws out of the horror by continuously cutting to text unless the text itself is used to increase the fear. However, the Producer is shown during the trailer and not after as he is a bigger selling point of the film since he is well known for his work on films such as Spider Man 3 and Army Of Darkness, the actors on the other hand are not as well known (except for Josh Hartnett who played parts in films like Black Hawk Down and Pearl Harbor, http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001326/) so there is little reason to include their names during the trailer.
What type of action from the film do we see?
At the very beginning of the trailer there are implications that the threat to these characters is supernatural,it isn't until midway through the trailer that the creatures are confirmed as vampires,however,the audience is helped to draw their own conclusions before this because of a quick clip of the vampires teeth.The beginning is tense since it straight away shows a man being surrounded and killed, this keeps the tension high for the middle of the trailer where one of the characters is talking to a mysterious prisoner, the prisoner himself increases the tension further by saying "board the windows, try to hide,they're coming"this also creates fear as you want to find out who "they" are and why they are considered unstoppable.The action picks up more towards the end of the trailer and shows the desperation of the characters to survive featuring clips where a man cocks a shotgun and another swings an axe this shows that the characters will try to fight back the creatures, however, this does not mean they are show as the strongest as there are clips where the vampires drag people off, leap, and bite people showing how they are terrorizing the characters despite their attempts to resist, this gives a feeling of hopelessness and despair as the characters have little chance of escape.What clues does the music give us as to what type of film
the trailer is advertising?
The trailer makes use string instruments in order to set the eerie atmosphere as well as some drums. The music makes use of mostly piano, guitar and drum music towards the end so as to set a feeling of desperation and fear. Sound effects include the use of a police radio calling one of the characters, this is done so as to make the audience think that this character is heroic as he is a Sheriff and upheld the law before the vampire attack. There's also a scream sound effect which is used, this is common in horror trailers as it creates fear.
Does the trailer come with a voice over and if so, what can you tell about the voice being used?
Why do you think this voice was chosen? What effect does it have?
Why do you think this voice was chosen? What effect does it have?
There are only three brief voice overs throughout the trailer, the first two are used to create the idea that this unstoppable evil is coming and the characters will be helpless to stop it, for example when the line: "they're tearing through every ones homes" is mentioned it shows how these creatures will not stop or have mercy especially when this line coincides with a clip of a person being dragged off by a vampire. The final voice over is to show how the characters don't give up even in the face of these nightmarish creatures and will do anything to survive, this gives the idea that there will be plenty of tension in the eventual movie as the characters will constantly be on the run from the murderous vampires.
How does the speed of what we see compare to watching a clip from a film? Does the speed alter through the trailer or does it stay the same?
The pace of the trailer starts of quite slow using fades to transition from scene to scene this is to build up tension for when the vampires are finally revealed. As the vampires begin to show themselves the trailer begins to speed up similar to how a heartbeat speeds up when under stress, the fades begin to transition much quicker and the trailer uses cuts a lot more, this all to emphasise the desperate struggle that the characters are going through in order to survive the onslaught from the murderous vampires.
The pace of the trailer starts of quite slow using fades to transition from scene to scene this is to build up tension for when the vampires are finally revealed. As the vampires begin to show themselves the trailer begins to speed up similar to how a heartbeat speeds up when under stress, the fades begin to transition much quicker and the trailer uses cuts a lot more, this all to emphasise the desperate struggle that the characters are going through in order to survive the onslaught from the murderous vampires.
What information and feelings are we given about the film using ‘camera techniques’ and ‘Mise-en-scene’?
The mise-en-scene is particularly useful in this trailer, for example when we see a shot of the vampires teeth as this helps to introduce the threat. Other helpful pieces of mise-en-scene include a shot of a character wielding a gun to show the characters will try to fight the vampires, also another (and more obvious) piece of mise-en-scene is the blood that is shown both around the vampires mouths and pouring along the floor, this clearly shows the level of violence that the film will contain.
Camera techniques are also greatly used to increase the tension, for starters when a high angle shot is shown of the vampires looking down over the town, this symbolises how the vampires are predators who are closing in on their prey which is the unsuspecting town. Another effective shot is the two shot of one of the human characters and a vampire who is rising up in the background this creates fear and tension as the audience knows the character is clearly in danger.
What type of audience is the trailer aimed at? How can you tell?
I suspected that the age range for the film would be males from 18-24 years old due to the films violence and horror which men are usually more attracted to. In order to find evidence for my theory I did research on the films audience the Pearl and Dean website. However, information on the audience for "30 Days of Night" was not available and so I decided to research a much similar films audience, the film was "Ghosts of Mars". This managed to prove my theory correct as 30% of the audience were aged 15-24 and 61% of those people were male. The BBFC also confirms my theory as they rated the film as an 18.
At what point in the trailer are we told the name of the film? Why is this?
As is typical of most horror trailers the title of the film isn't revealed until the very end, this is because the title becomes more memorable to the audience this way as they have spent the last minute and a half being shown very tense and heart pounding scenes from the movie the rush that they get from this makes the title stand out that much clearer, if the title was placed at the beginning then it would likely have not been as effective as the action in the clips would probably cause them to forget the title of the film.
Why are we told who is starring in the film?
How is this information given to us? Why?
Information regarding the actors is not show during the trailer since the majority of them are not well known, Dennis Quaid is the only actor within the trailer who is recognisable without the audience being told who he is, this is due to him playing parts in big name movies such as "The Day After Tomorrow" and "Vantage Point" allowing him to be used as a selling point (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000598/). The Producers are also used as selling points when the trailer reveals they also produced the "Resident Evil" films, this works as it proves that the Producers have some experience with horror films and also attracts the attention of "Resident Evil" fans.
What type of action from the film do we see?
There is plenty of action within the trailer mostly used so as to highlight feelings of fear and desperation that these characters are feeling. For example clips where the protagonist is running, jumping and even falling, this highlights the characters fear as he is clearly trying to escape from something that is hunting him, the creatures hunting the protagonist are also hinted at with silhouettes of creatures running on all fours increasing the fear factor and tension as you don't know what those things are. One clip in particular highlights the fear that these characters and the audience will feel as it shows a man desperately calling out for help. Violence is also shown to be a key part of the story of "Pandorum" since the trailer shows a clip of one character attempting to attack another as well as clearly showing objects such as knives and other sharp objects.
The most thrilling part of the trailer is when it is hinted in some narration that the film will contain psychological horrors as well as physical ones, this makes the film seem all the more terrifying as not only will the characters be fighting off the horrific creatures to survive, but also they will have to battle their own minds to keep their sanity.
What clues does the music give us as to what type of film
the trailer is advertising?
The music has clearly been specifically designed to drastically build up tension and it succeeds, starting from simple quite tones and then exploding into fast paced high pitched sound giving you a feeling of fear, of desperation, of being on the run, this combined with the clips of the characters trying to escape the creatures significantly increases the tension and clearly conveys that the films genre is horror. As well as the music certain sound effects are also used to increase the tension such as an alarm, used to indicate the danger that these characters are in, and an inhuman shriek causing a big feeling of fear as you do not know what the creature that just shrieked is.
Does the trailer come with a voice over and if so, what can you tell about the voice being used?
Why do you think this voice was chosen? What effect does it have?
Two different voices are used for voice overs during the trailer. The first voice is a very grizzled and deep, this has obviously been chosen as the voice is very unnerving especially when it is speaking the its lines, for example: "what if you awoke with no memory?...what if you discovered you were not alone?" the voice increases the tension of these lines greatly as the lines are already there to introduce mystery but the voice adds fear to it.
How does the speed of what we see compare to watching a clip from a film? Does the speed alter through the trailer or does it stay the same?
The pace of the trailer is typical of most horror trailers as it starts off slow so as to build up suspense and mystery using fade as it is a slow edit and can be used to transition to a black screen and out again. Then the trailer suddenly jumps into a faster pace using cuts and quick fades to emphasise how the characters are running for their lives from some unseen creatures showing clearly the fear that the characters are feeling. This editing allows the trailer to keep building up momentum meaning when the trailer reaches the end and the loud scream is heard it can make the audience jump from fear.
What information and feelings are we given about the film using ‘camera techniques’ and ‘Mise-en-scene’?
Usually in sci-fi movies mise-en-scene can only be used to establish that the movie will be set in space or in the future as the technology used in the clips is clearly unrecognisable in the modern world. This is used in the trailer for example when we see that the film is set inside a space ship as well as the very beginning where the protagonist awakes in a glass chamber, however, despite "Pandorum" being a science fiction film there are also clear pieces of horror mise-en-scene used such as blood and blade weapons used to show how the film will contain much darker and mature content.
Establishing shots are used frequently near the beginning of the film so as to show that "Pandorum" will be set inside a space ship. The camera also does close ups of the protagonists face to clearly establish that he is a lead character. The camera also increases the tension by showing an obscured two shot of the creatures chasing the characters as well as close ups on certain characters in order to highlight the fear on their face's.
Why do you think this voice was chosen? What effect does it have?
Two different voices are used for voice overs during the trailer. The first voice is a very grizzled and deep, this has obviously been chosen as the voice is very unnerving especially when it is speaking the its lines, for example: "what if you awoke with no memory?...what if you discovered you were not alone?" the voice increases the tension of these lines greatly as the lines are already there to introduce mystery but the voice adds fear to it.
How does the speed of what we see compare to watching a clip from a film? Does the speed alter through the trailer or does it stay the same?
The pace of the trailer is typical of most horror trailers as it starts off slow so as to build up suspense and mystery using fade as it is a slow edit and can be used to transition to a black screen and out again. Then the trailer suddenly jumps into a faster pace using cuts and quick fades to emphasise how the characters are running for their lives from some unseen creatures showing clearly the fear that the characters are feeling. This editing allows the trailer to keep building up momentum meaning when the trailer reaches the end and the loud scream is heard it can make the audience jump from fear.
What information and feelings are we given about the film using ‘camera techniques’ and ‘Mise-en-scene’?
Usually in sci-fi movies mise-en-scene can only be used to establish that the movie will be set in space or in the future as the technology used in the clips is clearly unrecognisable in the modern world. This is used in the trailer for example when we see that the film is set inside a space ship as well as the very beginning where the protagonist awakes in a glass chamber, however, despite "Pandorum" being a science fiction film there are also clear pieces of horror mise-en-scene used such as blood and blade weapons used to show how the film will contain much darker and mature content.
Establishing shots are used frequently near the beginning of the film so as to show that "Pandorum" will be set inside a space ship. The camera also does close ups of the protagonists face to clearly establish that he is a lead character. The camera also increases the tension by showing an obscured two shot of the creatures chasing the characters as well as close ups on certain characters in order to highlight the fear on their face's.
What type of audience is the trailer aimed at? How can you tell?
Due to indications that "Pandorum" will contain mature content as well as the majority of the characters being male I came to the conclusion that the films rating was an 18 and that the audience would be males aged from 15-24 years old. After researching the film on Pearl and Dean I discovered that my theory of the audience was correct as 40% of the audience were 15-24 and 60% were male, which again was likely due to male dominance in most of the acting roles as well as the mature content, however, I was surprised to learn that the rating for the film was actually a 15 as rated by the BBFC.
At what point in the trailer are we told the name of the film? Why is this?
Just like the with "30 Days of Night" and "Pandorum". the trailer for "Rush Hour 3" shows the title of the film at the end of the trailer as this makes the name a lot more memorable to the audience after all the intense action that they just witnessed. It is also because of the action that the title is not shown at the beginning as it would be easily forgotten during the action. The title itself looks like steel which could be a reference to the car chases and gun fights that will happen in the film, the background picture is of the Eiffel Tower clearly showing the location of the film. Lastly the colour of the background is mostly yellow a colour usually associated with positive emotions such as joy, this is a helps to convey the films comedic and light hearted tone.Why are we told who is starring in the film?
How is this information given to us? Why?
The most easily recognisable actor within the trailer is without a doubt Jackie Chan. Jackie Chan is a huge selling point for this movie as he has been featured in so many films dating back as far as the 1960s meaning that he has a huge fan base which can brought to this movie. Jackie Chan is also a clear symbol of action within a film as he is a martial artists and usually stars in film which include fight scenes using martial arts such as "The Tuxedo" and "Shanghai Noon" meaning that audience members who are looking for films with good action scenes will be attracted to "Rush Hour 3" due to Jackie Chan's role. All this is why Jackie Chan is one of the first few characters shown in the trailer as it immediately catches the audiences attention.
Chris Tucker is also mentioned within the trailer and is seen around the same time as Jackie Chan, but he is less of a selling point than Chan as he has been in very few films besides the Rush Hour movies. However, at the same time he is also a symbol that the film will contain some comedy as he has been nominated for awards in the past for his comedic performances such as an MTV Movie Award and Kid's Choice Award.
The title for the film also contains some text saying: "A Brett Ratner Film" so that the audience know the name of the director if they like the film and may become interested in his later work.
The title for the film also contains some text saying: "A Brett Ratner Film" so that the audience know the name of the director if they like the film and may become interested in his later work.
What type of action from the film do we see?
Unlike the previous two horror trailers, the plot in the "Rush Hour 3" trailer is not revealed slowly. Instead the plot is revealed almost straight away as in the first few seconds of the trailer the audience hear talk of a "criminal organisation" and the location is clearly revealed to the audience to be Paris through text which fades into view. The reason for this is the films genre which is action-comedy. This type of genre does not focus on a well done narrative as its strong point, but rather the comedic moments and great action scenes. This is why the majority of the action show during the trailer usually involves an intense fight/chase scene followed by a witty one-liner. The trailer also shows how it might contain some adult humour as there is a clear symbolism of women as sex objects, showing scenes with them revealing outfits. This is also a convention of comedy films in that it shows that the film will not take itself too seriously increasing the comedy when unfortunate events befall the characters as you are not as attached to them.
Does the trailer come with a voice over and if so, what can you tell about the voice being used?
Why do you think this voice was chosen? What effect does it have?
Why do you think this voice was chosen? What effect does it have?
How does the speed of what we see compare to watching a clip from a film? Does the speed alter through the trailer or does it stay the same?
What information and feelings are we given about the film using ‘camera techniques’ and ‘Mise-en-scene’?
What clues does the music give us as to what type of film
the trailer is advertising?
The music is another aspect in which most comedy trailers differ from horror trailers. "Rush Hour 3" is a prime example of this as it uses a soundtrack from already existing music artists while trailers like the one for "Pandorum" mainly use the films soundtrack and usually rely on really haunting and sad music. Comedies on the other hand use much more positive and joyful music so as to highlight the films light hearted tone and lack of seriousness, for example the trailer from "Rush Hour 3" using the music "Hair Of The Dog" by Nazareth and "Lady Marmalade" by Christina Aguilera which are both enjoyable uplifting songs as opposed to the frightening tones used in horror trailers.
The most pieces of mise-en-scene used within the trailer are used in order to highlight the films action elements, for example the trailer shows scenes with gunfire and martial arts fights which are obvious convention of the action genre, there is also a clear representation of women as sex objects in the trailer as the majority of the women shown within the clips are wearing revealing clothing that mostly only covers their chest and lower. The colours used are also mostly yellows and reds used to represent both the films action and comedy elements as they are both bright vibrant and active colours.
The trailer shows that their are two main characters to the story of "Rush Hour 3", the trailer emphasises that these to are a duo by having plenty of two shots showing how the two men are clearly not only friends but also partners. There is also a heavy use of medium shots and close-ups, this is because the comedy show throughout the trailer is usually due to the lines spoken by particular characters and their actions and facial expressions meaning that the closer the audience is to the character the more they can focus on what they are saying and so find it easier to understand the trailers jokes and one-liners. There is also a clear use of an establishing shot at the beginning of the Eiffel Tower to set the stage for the film.
The trailer shows that their are two main characters to the story of "Rush Hour 3", the trailer emphasises that these to are a duo by having plenty of two shots showing how the two men are clearly not only friends but also partners. There is also a heavy use of medium shots and close-ups, this is because the comedy show throughout the trailer is usually due to the lines spoken by particular characters and their actions and facial expressions meaning that the closer the audience is to the character the more they can focus on what they are saying and so find it easier to understand the trailers jokes and one-liners. There is also a clear use of an establishing shot at the beginning of the Eiffel Tower to set the stage for the film.
What type of audience is the trailer aimed at? How can you tell?
Due to the film being a comedy-action and the clear references to sexual content the film is likely to be a 12 as it will contain some adult content, however, the trailer is also very light hearted never becoming too serious for too long which means it will not be as high rated as any other acton film, its likely the audience will be males aged from 15-24 years old as the humour is not very complex relying on jokes and one-liners to get laughs which appeals to a younger audience as well as women being made sex objects. Pearl and Dean confirmed my theory on the audience as 56% of the audience were aged from 15-24 and 63% were male, the BBFC also confirmed that the rating was in fact a 12.
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