The first trailer I am going to analyze is the film trailer for Law abiding Citizen. This film came out in 2009 and is directed by F Gary Grey. It has an 18 certificate and is a Thriller film I am going to watch this trailer and comment on Genre, Representation, Narrative, Audience and Media Language throughout it.
Genre
The genre for this trailer is thriller. However it also has an element of crime to it and some action scenes. I can tell this from watching the trailer as it has lots of past paced music with is a common convention of this genre of film, Also there is lots of short fast takes all the way through the trailer which helps maintain the action and tension in the trailer. As well as this according to Steve Neale's theory, genre is a repetition with some kind of underlying pattern and a few differences. This theory can also be seen in the trailer. For example in this trailer there is conventions of thrillers such as famous american landmarks and action scenes. Both of these elements are repeated time and time again and can be found in lots of other thriller films. However a genre difference in this trailer is that it shows the main character's family such as his daughter and wife. The family is not normally shown in a thriller trailer and this is a variation in accordance to Steve Neale's theory.
Representation
In this trailer the black man is represented negatively and is shown as the villain. This fits with the mainstream negative stereotype associated with black people and so the trailer supports this stereotype. I think that the black man in this trailer is shown negatively because this is what america is used to because of what they are fed through the media. Also the police are shown as the bad guys and Gerald butler's character is the good guy. Laura Mulvey says that all cinema is from a males perspective. However this trailer doesn't fit in with this as woman are hardly seen in the trailer and are not objectified.
Narrative
The story of this trailer is a man is ambushed in his home, his family are in danger and he is trying to find out who is responsible. As with most films there is a clear protagonist character which is Clyde (Gerald Butler). Also there is binary opposites (good and bad). The police are the bad guys and Clyde is the good guy. Moreover some of Todorov's theory can be applied to this trailer. For example we see about 3 seconds of the equilibrium at the start of the trailer and then we see lots of the disruption during the rest of the trailer. As well as this during the trailer we see both passive and active characters. For example we see Clyde being very active throughout the whole trailer but we see his wife who is quite passive and is just dragged along and doesn't have any control or influence in the narrative.
Audience
The target audience for this film trailer is teenagers above 18 years old. However I think that it could also appeal to people from the age of 15 even though it has an 18 certificate.
- this trailer is mostly aimed at a male audience
- they could be either students or employed people
- interests they have could include cars and action films
Media Language
Cinematography
- From the very beginning of the trailer you can tell straight away that everything is not as it should be. This is because the camera is very shaky and this makes the audience scared and a little disorientated.
- Also at the beginning we are already looking down at the villain character from the film as he is instantly show using a high angle shot which makes him look inferior to us.
- Then later on in the trailer the main character/hero is shown using an eye level shot. This is used because it helps us/the audience to identify and relate to him and this shows we are on his side right the way through the trailer and the film
- Also during what looks like a pinnacle/important part of the trailer the protagonist character is shown using a low angle to show he is superior to the rest of the character and will inevitably win against the villains/baddies
- Even when Clyde is being accused and being arrested and when he is prison he still looks superior as though he is comfortable and happy. This is shown through the use of wide camera shots that show he is kinda free even though he is in prison.
- During the beginning of the trailer a few black outs and straight cuts are used to go from on shot to another and the pace of the editing and action is quite slow and calm because not much is happening on screen. This lasts for about 16 seconds
- Then after this the action very quickly picks up and as a result the pace of editing gets faster and the take get shorter
- Then after the production company logos are shown the trailer begins to show the disruption in the film. This edited together with lots of straight cuts to show continuity from one scene to the next.
- After this a blackout is used before the trailer goes to the villain. This blackout tells us straight away that something bad is going to be happen and that everything is not as it was before. Also the editing gets bit faster around this part of the trailer.
- Then some quick white outs transitions are used when Clyde realises what the villain is up to. The white is used to signify the hero and to show good.
- Then some text that says "A man who loses everything... is capable of anything" is used in the trailer to help push the narrative along
- After this the trailer gets darker and shows an execution. This is shown through the use of black out transitions that go from one scene to the next. Then later on white outs are used to show the hero again during more important parts of the film. Then blackouts are used from this point till the end of the trailer.
- During the beginning of this trailer the sound is quite quiet and slow. The first diegetic sound we hear is the door bell ringing that comes from within the film world.
- Next we hear the voice of the protagonist as he is talking to his daughter telling her to get ready for dinner. The music gets louder and more suspensefull during this scene.
- Then the music builds up to a climax point as Clyde (the main character) is beaten with a baseball bat.
- Then when the disruption is shown there is tension music in the background that is played in steady beats.
- Also as the trailer is played there is extracts of dialogue from the film which helps the audience understand the narrative.
- Then at the pinnacle point in the trailer where Clyde realises what the black man is up to the music changes and we get a few bars of loud high pitched beats
- After this there is some more tension music in the background for the rest of the trailer but this time the music is faster and has a sense of urgency about it.
- At the beginning of the trailer, during the first 16 seconds the house looks quite normal and normal high key lighting is used to show this.
- Then as soon as something strange happens we see objects in the scene that we are not used to such as a baseball bat and gaffer tape on Clyde's mouth.
- The villian looks quite respectable. We can tell this by the fact the is wearing a suit and tie and is dressed very smartly.
- Also in the trailer we can see that his daughter is very important to Clyde. we know this because we see a bracelet that she made for him that says "daddy" on it.
- Then later on in the trailer within the mise-en-scene Clyde is seen using a syringe to inject a guy with something.
- Also clyde looks trapped when he is being interviewed in the police station. This is shown through the use of bars as this makes him look like he is literally in a cage.
- As well as this high key lighting is used throughout most of this trailer apart from the bit where he is being executed. In this scene low key lighting is used to show the darkness of what is happenin and to show horror and make us a little scared.
- Also this trailer fits in with the Kuleshov method as it has a montage of scenes. This montage is used in the trailer to tell the audience about the key parts of the film in a very short space of time without giving away to much of the film plot.
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