Opening shots of trailer - Shows the streets of New
York- Urban areas- Shows a contrast between
the day and the night in such areas.
- Setting the scene before any characters are introduced
- Narration proclaims “Mean Streets is about…” before moving on to the next shots.
Character Introduction- Freeze frame on each character as they are introduced- often in a dark setting such as a bar or club- Several are shown playing pool- Every character is seen wearing a suit- Lines of dialogue followed by freeze frame- gives a sense
of the characters personality/their role in the film- A follow up to the previous “Mean Streets is about…”
each characters name is said as they are introduced- “Tony, Michael, Giovanni, Johnny and about Charlie”
- Implies that Charlie is the main character
Introduction to main character- Narration continues from previous
shots - “Charlie who…” and then goes on to
describe what the motives of the main character are
- Shots are once again taken in dimly lit places, such as a car at night and a restaurant
- Each shot now revolves around the main character
- The actions of the main character coincide with the narration
Introduction to main character (continued)- Narration once again continues from
previous shots - As the narration describes more of
what the main character does, the shots reflect this
- Shots are taken in dark places, such as a road/car at night
- Each shot continues to revolve around the main character
- The actions of the main character still coincide with the narration
- Narration of main character over shot of dark road at night- keeps the focus on this character
- Dimly lit shot of main character fighting sets the tone of violence for the film
Title Card- Title of the film does not appear until
halfway through the trailer- Follows the theme of dark/dimly lit
shots- Title is written in yellow in a bold font
and so stands out- The appearance of the title coincides
with the narration “Mean Streets”
Out-of-context scene (Plot introduction)- Conflict is introduced between two
characters on screen- Other characters mentioned but not seen- Scene is shown out of context to reiterate
point made in narration “Charlie cared for his friends”
- Shots are once again dark/dimly lit- can make it difficult to see what is going on but implies the dark tone of the film
- Narration pauses while scene is going on but then resumes, repeating that “Charlie cared for them all”
- Singing can be heard behind the dialogue of the two characters
- Both characters are once again seen wearing suits
Actor Credits and End of Trailer- Actors names are shown on-screen, over
a key scene of the film- Actors names are only shown, not read
out by the narrator- Main character is not in a suit, which
breaks the convention that has been set up and as such this leads us to believe the scene shows an important change
- Narration continues “The critics say…” over the top of the scene and its dialogue, however it pauses over some parts of dialogue, giving the impression that these parts are particularly important
- Breaks the theme of dark/dimly lit scenes which adds emphasis to the importance of the scene
- Same “Mean Streets” logo shown at the end of the trailer (with same dark background as before), in addition to the Warner Bros logo that has now appeared along with copyright information