TRAILER ANALYSIS

 FILM TRAILERS:

MAIN TRAILER

TEASER TRAILER

TRAILER RESEARCH:

AMERICAN SNIPER (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99k3u9ay1gs 

The trailer of American Sniper is an extremely climactic trailer, with a heavy rise in tension. The genre is immediately established as the first shot is a sniper gun being set up. This shows that the film will be thrilling and tense. The trailer starts off with no non-diegetic sounding and only natural noises heard such as breathing and footsteps, tension is created here as there is a contrast between the images on screen e.g. soldiers storming a building and setting up a sniper attack, to the sounding the audience can hear. the shots are quiet for an intense environment, heightening the tension leading focus onto what is shown onscreen. The shot of the sniper makes the audience on guard as it is expected that the gun will be shot, the lighting is natural, humanising the soldiers as we see their faces and therefore as people. The shot through the scope of the gun heightens tension more, as we see what the sniper is seeing. the audience see a man on a phone, unexpected as he looks innocent. The man is dressed in ordinary clothing, showing the soldiers are not fighting other soldiers and instead seem to be killing innocent civilians. We hear the voice of another soldier over the sniper's radio, stating that the sniper has the 'green light' and that it's his 'call'. This increases tension even more as the pressure of murder is placed on the sniper's shoulders, as the audience has the context that he is not sure whether his target is a threat or just a regular man. The cut shots of the sniper's past, of his wedding and daughter are threaded between the shots of him preparing to shot, this creates a contrast of life, as the shot flick between his child being born to him holding a gun towards a woman and child. This also creates emotion to the situation as the audience are reminded with the sniper that the woman and child have a family too. Title shots cut up this montage and show the cast names, including Bradley Cooper who is a well-known actor. Diegetic music plays and rises the tension as a close up of his finger edging towards the trigger is shown. Non-diegetic sounds such as heavy breathing and heart beats grow louder as the sniper contemplates his decision to shoot or not. The trailer ends with a cut to black and silence, as the audience never find out is he took the shot or not.

GRAVITY (2013) 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1454468/ 

The trailer for Gravity is incredible emotional and tense. The trailer starts with a title scene showing text stating that space is an incredibly scary place, as there is no sound, no air pressure, no oxygen and that 'life in space is impossible', this immediately sets the tone for the film to be thrilling as it shows that space is an environment unfit for human life. This title is immediately cut off by a shot of an astronaut in space, immediately fastening the pace with fast pace music and heavy breathing, the wide shot shows an astronaut in trouble, speedily flying around a destroyed space ship in the void of space. This creates a sense of tension and distress as the previous information stated that space is dangerous, and now the audience is aware of why. There is a sense of panic introduced as the astronaut is placed in a life and death situation, clearly in need of help, but the dialogue is frustrating to here; as she franticly asks for advice on 'what to do' the voice of the other end of her communicator states that they have 'lost visual' and tells her to 'focus'. This increases the sense of helplessness as she desperately tries to find a solution stating 'I'm trying'. The trailer is kept fast paced as there are many cut off scenes and cut screaming, followed by silence, perhaps representing the endless silence in space interrupted by her desperate situation. A wide shot shows her drifting into this endless void of space - a terrifying situation made scarier as she exclaims she 'can't breathe', and her space suit states that oxygen is low. The tension is risen as the music intensifies and there is a close up shown of her tear filled eyes. This tension increases as more shots cut in time to her hyperventilating, as dooming music plays. an emotional aspect of the film is introduced as we see a shot of her holding a picture of her family. text cuts show the names of the cast to be Sandra Bullock and George Clooney - both well-known actors.

CLOVERFEILD (2003) 

The trailer for Cloverfeild creates a very personal and dooming atmosphere. The first shot is a titke sequence that allows the audience to gain some context for the film. There is no music or dioguge which creates a very still feel. The title shows text stating that there are multiple sightings in America of something dooming. Shown next is a still scene of a party. The camera is hand-held, so the audience can see that it is a recording. To further make this apparent the recording of the party is rewinded, the tone created is playful and cheerful, until a fast cut to black is followed by a wide shot of a distant explosion of a building shot by handheld camera, with concerned grainy diologue whch adds to the homemade movie feel. Various cuts of hand held camera shots are montaged. The camera work is shakey creating a personal feel to the trailer, as if the audience are veiwing it from first person perspective.