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This Is England – Trailer Analysis

A2 MEDIA STUDIES – JADE MELADY

Before the initial establishing shot of the trailer, we are immediately given the production company names and logos, these are called ‘ident’s. Having the production company names at the start promotes the name, makes it rememberable and as such, ‘gets it out of the way’. By this, I mean, it leaves space at the end of the trailer to have the title of the film, and leave a cliff hanger ending before the billing blocks, making the trailer more effective in appealing to an audience.

The production companies of This Is England is IFC Films and Red Envelope Entertainment. Their ‘idents’ only appear for a short period of time, around 1-5 seconds put together. It allows the audience to familiarize themselves with the names.

In this establishing shot they’ve included an award the film has won, ‘Best Film’. Including this is their trailer helps provide information to the audience about how successful their film is. It is in bold black and white lettering, making it stand out over the urban background setting. Also, including this shot at the start of the trailer gets the audiences attention from the start, making them want to continue watching. This shot shows the typical conventions of any trailer by featuring an establishing shot of a location to familiarize with the audience as to where the film is set.

Using a fade in and out transition, in the next shot we are introduced to our main protagonist, a young boy walking through a rough estate on his own, presenting him as lonely and possibly a bullied character. We as an audience automatically begin to feel sorry for him. In the shot below, We see our main character walking through the streets in the early morning, as shops are only just opening. It presents the area as rough, and our character is in simple, working class clothes.This immediately relates with the target

audience, as they automatically relate with the area and the style of our character. For those not from a working class area, it presents a feeling of escapism when watching, and makes them feel even more sympathetic for the character. Using a working class area and less well known characters increases the verisimilitude of the film.

The next shot shows the character at home, throwing off his jacket, this is very representative of most teenagers and is shown in a realistic setting, with family pictures, washing lying around and dirty pots on the side, and is also very stereotypical of a working class flat. His costume also reflects where the film is set, 1983, for example, flared chord trousers and a brown satchel.

Next, we are introduced to the main narrative point, our character is being bullied. The bullies are grouped together, showing their power and size above Shaun, and also emphasizes Shaun’s loneliness. Shaun then launches at the bully, starting a fight, which is stereotypical of a working class, urban area lifestyle. This wide angle medium long shot of Shaun starting the fight, reflects the type of character Shaun is, showing he isn’t afraid of them, or links to Shaun being used to that kind of behaviour.

A cut then introduces us to the location and time setting of the film, ‘England, 1983’. By using the colours black and white, it could link to the main issues raised in the film, which is racism, again, linking back to the common problems seen in a social realist film. The non-diegetic music increases in volume and tempo when the titles appear on the screen, uplifting the previous atmosphere of the scenes.

The next several clips are featured using an editing transition of montage editing. Following from the previous clip of the title ‘This Is England’, the montage shows various different famous events that happened in England in the 80’S. By including this, it helps connect with an older audience, because they can relate to that time period, but it also helps educate the younger audience as to what life was like in the 80’s and the major events that took place.

After the montage we see Shaun taking to his mother, where Shaun says “I don’t like it here mum, his Birmingham accent allows the audience to know the location of the film, Birmingham. It also allows the audience to connect and sympathise with the character. The next clip takes us back to the titles, using the same design. The titles say ‘Shaun went looking for a friend’, this instantly makes Shaun appear vulnerable, and lonely, which is a common issue which teenagers suffer from, making it more relatable to its audience.

Followed straight after the title clip, it shows Shaun with his new ‘friends’. This becomes comical to the audience as it is far from what we expected, as the friends he finds are grown men(shown in the screen shots above). As we see from the characters costumes, all of them are ‘skin-heads’ which, in the 80’s meant you were part of a particular gang or culture. They all seem to be wearing similar clothing too, such as skinny jeans, boots, shirts and brace, juxtaposing against the appearance of Shaun. Making him still seem like the outcast. In the clip the main man he meets(the one he shakes hands with) introduces him to his ‘main men’, Milky, Pukey and Gadget. All having nicknames, this again signifies that they could be part of a gang. They are all smoking and/or drinking, and are hanging out in a graphitized alley, all implying they are trouble fro Shaun.

After he meets these people, the trailer shows us this text, ‘he found a family’, instituting that these people have helped him become someone better and made him happy. Before he went looking for ‘a friend’, but now he has found a ‘family’, it implies that he is now part of their ‘gang’.

The next clip shows Shaun getting his head shaved by some girls. This could show the fact that he is ‘joining the gang’ and trying to fit in and be like his new found role models. After this shot it also shows Shaun with a completely different style, with a voice in the background saying “what a transformation” implying that maybe Shaun was pressured into changing his style.

This shot shows a black screen with a ripped newspaper effect text over it. ‘Shane Meadows’ is a well known director, putting his name in the trailer helps distribute and appeals to his already growing fan-base. They call the film an ‘international smash hit’, this helps promote the film from within the trailer, sort of bragging about how much of a success their film is.

These shots show Shaun enjoying himself with his new friends, and fitting in. This makes the audience feel happy for Shaun. However, after these shots we are introduced to another character, the leader of their ‘gang’ who gets Shaun into trouble and gets him deeper into the gang lifestyle.

The background for this shot is Shaun with his new ‘friends’ in an estate walking, acting ‘tough’. This shows what a bad influence these people have been on him. However, in front of this negative image, shows the positivity the film got, with awards in black and white lettering covering the image, just like in the establishing shot.By showing these shots it

shows how successful the film is, and why they should watch it. This shot (right) shows that the young actor won an award for ‘best newcomer’, this promotes his talents and makes the audience want to see how he won that award, and also makes the actor more popular.

This quotes shows opinions from well-known magazines and newspapers such as Premiere Magazine and New York Daily News, showing that the film has gone global, therefore must be a success. The text is displayed on a ripped newspaper style design, making it look like its come straight from the paper. This makes the review seem more realistic and believable, and persuades us to watch the feature.

Including quotes from the public and highly respected reviewers it allows the audience to see others opinions on the film, encouraging them to go and see it themselves so they can agree with or criticize the review. The reviews are situated over graphitized alley ways or flats ect. Which symbolizes the conventional ‘hubs’ which city teenagers hang out in, increasing the verisimilitude. It also highlights the films small budget.

With classical non-diegetic music playing in the background, a slow fade take sus to a close up of Shaun, then follows another fade transition used to have the text appear the left of Shaun’s face. The colour scheme of the title(red, white and blue) reflects the colours of the English flag, relating significantly to the title of the film ‘This Is England’. The close up shot of Shaun looking directly at the camera makes the audience feel like he is directly looking at them, making it seem intense and dramatic, which could reflects the narrative of the film. The breaking of the fourth wall with the audience makes the storyline more personal, and helps the characters form an intense relationship with the character and makes them feel as though they are part of the film.

As standard at the end of every trailer we see the ‘billing blocks’. This highlights and recognises all production

companies and film crew. It allows the audience to realize that the trailer is over, and allows them to

identify with who made it.