Trailer Analysis

By Shannon Leahy

21 Jump street21 Jump Street trailer

• The trailer starts with a ratings card and have intertitles of the production and distribution companies as the trailer gets into the story. The titles towards the end of the film give you information on when its coming to cinemas and also gives information like its website if you want to find out more about the film or cast. This shows that it is not a short film as it breaks up the trailer, which wouldn’t happen in a short film.

• The pace begins slowly, but speeds up as the trailer goes along and the action increases to create a sense of danger and chaos as the dynamic cuts are changing all the time to different explosions and car chases.

• As it is a comedy dialogue is needed as comedy is shown through what the characters say, so the trailer is mad up of a lot of the main characters dialogue. Music is played underneath the trailer and sound like hip-hop which relates to the film as they have to act as high school students.

• The trailer is shown in chronological order as it starts when the two main characters are in high-schools and follows them through their careers as police men. Parts of the trailer are divided into themes, at the beginning of the trailer it is about joining the police and then it moves on to drugs and ends with action and danger.

• This trailer acts like a advert for the film as it shows some of the funniest parts of the film in order to hook the audience onto it. Also it shows a lot of the main characters to try and make a connection/relationship between the audience and the characters to try and hook them onto watching it.

The Five Year EngagementThe Five Year Engagement trailer

• This trailer again starts with a ratings card and has humorous intertitles as the trailer goes on. As the engagement gets pushed back the title of the film changes until it becomes ‘The Five Year Engagement’. In the end credits it just tells the audience what date it will come out and the website of the film which is named after to two main characters Tom and Violet.

• The pace of the trailer is quite slow as there is a lot of dialogue that needs to be presented to get the story across clearly to the audience otherwise they may get confused. Also as it’s a comedy, to show the funny parts of the film it cant be fast paced as you wont be able to show the humour of the film.

• The narrative is conveyed to the audience in chronological order as it shows when they met and got engaged, and what happens as the engagement gets pushed back. It also shows us about their family life so we as the audience feel as if we really know the characters, creating a connection between us.

• A couple of tracks are used as backing music, they are quite upbeat and light-hearted which reflects the nature of the film and makes us see dangerous things (such as Violet being shot in the leg with an arrow) as funny which perhaps if music want involved it wouldn’t be funny.

Night at the MuseumNight at the Museum trailer

• Intertitles are used in this film to show well known actors name who have taken part in the film, and also to show their fan bases that they are in it which may want them to watch the film. The end credits show the name of the film as it is not shown at the beginning at tells the audience the month of release.

• The pace at the beginning of the trailer is very slow, which allows you to be shocked when the pace starts to increase as the exhibits come to life. When the chaos begins many dynamic shots are used of Ben Stiller running away or trying to get everything under control which creates excitement and tension.

• The narrative is conveyed to the audience in a chronological order as we see him turn up for his first day of work and how it spirals out of control once he realises what really happens in the museum. This is good as it means the audience can follow his story from the beginning so they feel like they have gone through his journey with him.

• The trailer is also divided into themes with the p=first part being very calm and normal and with the rest of it being action pack and tense to hook the audience onto wanting to watch it.

Shutter IslandShutter Island trailer

• The pace of the trailer varies as it goes through slow periods and then very quick dynamic shots begin towards the end which increases the tension and as the situation they bare in becomes more risky and confusing.

• The narrative isn't conveyed chronologically which I found to be odd as all of the trailers I've watched have been shown chronologically to almost show how the plot Is structured. However in this film it is very different as there are shots from all parts of the film jumbled up. We are shown the basic story line but there will be random shots put in-between to create a sense of confusion, which is what the film is about. This could also be done purposely to reflect the nature of the film as it is in a mental institution by making the trailer confusing the audience is left confused and vulnerable like the characters in the film.

• The music reflects the psychological thriller genre very well as it makes the plot look even creepier.• The trailer acts as an advert for the film very well as it leaves the audience confused and wanting problems

to be solved. Also, they may make assumptions on what might happen and the only way to verify them Is by watching the whole film and finding out.

Just Go With ItJust Go With It trailer

• The film begins with a ratings card and has constant intertitles splitting up the scenes we see telling us what is happening. This helps the audience to keep up with the information being told and also breaks up the scenes to make them more manageable.

• The pace of the film is slow as it is a comedy and therefore needs to be slower to show the audience the humour in it and to also give them enough time to get hooked onto the film and to get to know the characters.

• The music used is very upbeat and light-hearted again to reflect the comedy genre and makes us see things as funny. A voiceover of the main character is used at the beginning of the trailer in order to give us access to his opinions of what is happening in the film. A lot of dialogue is used again as it is a comedy to get across the humour that is in the film.

• The narrative is conveyed chronologically so that the story makes sense to the audience and so they understand the basic storyline of the film so they can judge whether its worth watching or not.

What Happens in VegasWhat Happens in Vegas trailer

• The film starts with a ratings card and had end credits telling you the name of the film and the date of release as these weren't shown at the beginning so that the trailer flowed right from the beginning.

• The pace is slow when the trailer begins as cross-cutting is used of the two main characters which is very unusual as we don’t see this happening often in trailers. This also allows the audience to firm a relationship and to feel sympathetic for both characters. The pace increases when they go to Vegas as it is a very busy lively place s the pace reflects that.

• Again, as it is a comedy a lot of dialogue is used to try and make you laugh as to show you the funniest bits in hope that you will pay to watch the whole film. A voice over is used for the majority of the trailer, telling us what happened. The voiceover isn't of one of the characters from the film so it gives us an outside perspective on what's happening or on what might happen.

• The narrative is again conveyed chronologically as it needs to explain clearly what is happening and the storyline so that the audience don’t get confused and from that are put off watching the film.

BridesmaidsBridesmaids trailer

• Intertitles are shown throughout the film acting as a wedding invitation, inviting you to take part in the wedding by coming to watch the film. This is clever and also a good way of marketing the film. Also the font that the intertitles is in is like a stamp you would find on a legal document such as an arrest document or something that has been stamped in court, which leads the audience to presume this may not be the average wedding film.

• The music used is rock which also goes against the typical; wedding music which would be associated with classical music and so on, which also leads us to this that this may not be a typical wedding film. From the dialogue we can find out about each of the characters and their personality which allows us to make a connection with them and judge whether we like the, or not.

• The narrative is conveyed chronologically from the engagement and throughout the main characters maid of honour duties, which shows us how things slowly spiral out of control and how the wedding party develops.

• This acts as a good advert to the film as you feel like you are being invited too crazy wedding, and it is shown as different and people may be intrigued by that and want to watch more.

• From my research I saw patterns that are necessary for a good trailer. For example, it is best to have the narrative being shown to the audience in a chronological order so that they can grasp the basic story line. They also need to be introduced to the main characters so they can forma relationship with them.

• However if you want to create a horror/thriller film it is best to create the trailer in a random order to leave the audience confused but wanting to know more, which will lead them to want to watch the film.

• Also, rating cards and intertitles are very common and I have seen them in most of my trailer, as they show that a trailer isn't a short film but just a preview into a film that’s coming out to give the audience an idea on what it will be about.

• I especially liked the ‘Bridesmaids’ trailer and the ‘What Happens in Vegas’ trailer as they both had different characteristics that no other trailer had. For example the intertitles in Bridesmaids where very lever and worked well advertising the film and the cross cutting in ‘what Happens in Vegas’ trailer was very different but gave insight into the main characters lives before they met each other. I will try and take there and put them into my trailer as I think they really made the trailer looked professional and worked best t to showcase the film and to get people to watch it.