Trailer Analysis - Man of Steel
The Man of Steel trailer starts with an
over the shoulder shot of a man looking off into the distance as explosions
cover the sky and areal battles take place all over. The design and aesthetics
of the flying vehicles instantly indicates that Man of Steel will be a Si-Fi,
action adventure film. The six second shot pans to the right and almost sets
the starting scene of the film - giving the audience a back story for the Man
of Steel. No diegetic sound is used in the opening six seconds; we only hear
the non-diegetic soundtrack playing in the background. The piano music makes
the audience feel sad. We see a shot of a baby being carried by his parents as
they go to put him in a capsule. We the capsule being fired into the sky and
then we get a shot of the capsule headed towards Earth. Superman fans can
instantly determine that the baby was Superman, but other audience members may
not catch on quite easily. The shot of the Moon and Earth from space is very
effective because it shows us that there will be a lot adventure in the film
which will appeal to the target audience. During this opening we get many shots
quickly cut to black - creating suspense and tension as the audience wants to
find out more about the film.
After a shot of all the production
companies, we get a few cinematic shots of a young child playing outside, and
through mise en scène we can analysis his clothing and we can see that he is
wearing a red cape suggesting that he's the Superman as a child. The use of a
teal and orange colour scheme here makes these sequences of shots look
extremely cinematic and this colour scheme is also closely linked to an action
adventure genre. Colour schemes used in films are generally effective when they
complement each other like the teal and orange which are also complimentary
colours. The teal and orange colours are very commonly used in many action and
adventure films such as the Transformers, Iron Man and many others. A non-diegetic
voice over is also used here, along with a non-diegetic soundtrack, and from
the man’s voice we can determine that it is his farther speaking. As the young
boy clenches his hands into a fist and rises then up to his hips, the
non-diegetic music suddenly uses a drum snare to make the shot more dramatic as
it leads up to the next shot.
The next several shots show a build-up
of the boys like (Superman) as he goes through his teen and young adult years,
saving people but still not in his superman suit. This indicates to the
audience that many different events must have led to who he is now and this is
what attracts a target audience to go see a film. For this film, the target
audience will most likely be males aged from 12 -25’s. Throughout these shots,
we are shown only a few seconds of each events. Enough to make the audience
interested but not enough to give away the whole story and this curiosity
creates different discussions in the community as they try figuring out what
may happen. Throughout this sequence, we hear many non-diegetic voice overs of
different characters as they allude to Superman but never said his name
directly. One of the female voice over characters said ‘For some, he was a
guardian angel. For others, a ghost that never quite fit in’. This is effective
because it tells us that he was a hero and a saviour to many people but he also
never brought too much attention to himself. The female voice also hints to a
heroine or a love interest in the film. This may also make the film more
appealing to a female audience because females prefer romance and love more
that action. Many of these shots relate to an action adventure film as many of
the shots can been seen in a different location and some of the shots included
burning building. One shot shows Superman on a boat in the middle of the ocean
and other is in a snowy location.
A close up shot of the Superman logo is
followed by him walking out of opening doors. As the doors open, the bright
white backlight leaves a silhouette of the Superman as he walks out - making
him look mysterious but also heroic at the same time. This followed by a
tracking shot from behind Superman as he walks along in the snow. From mise en
scène we can determine he is in his Superman outfit because of his red cape and
red boots. The colour red connotes danger and violence however it also connotes
strength and power. An over the shoulder shot of the Superman as he looks off
into the snowy mountains indicates the scale of the film – telling the audience
there is a lot of adventure to many different wild and wonderful places. The
sense of escapism from this trailer makes people feel they are in a new world
and this is very appealing to audiences that enjoy adventure films. The colour
scheme in this sequence of shots is quite blue and the lighting is generally a
high key lighting. The blue colour scheme here gives the illusion that it’s
cold and freezing there because of its connotations. The audience is also shown
the first actual close up shot of the Superman’s face while he’s in his outfit.
This gives us a good idea of what he looks like and the actor he is played by.
During these shots, a non-diegetic voice over of his dad is used here as he
talks about his son. We also hear the non-diegetic music in the background and
at this point the drums get louder and faster. This build up leads to the
Superman suddenly shooting up into the sky and then into space. A canted shot
of the Earth makes the audience feel uneasy, and the Superman flying past the
camera links to the science-fiction and fantasy genre of the film.
The next shot is a black background with
a metallic steel textured text, which faded in. The use of the metal textured
text links well with the title of the film, Man of Steel. The black background
and metal text theme is used throughout this trailer and this consistence
design will mean that the audience can easily recognise where it comes from.
The text includes the director of the film as well as a few names of others
successful films he has created. This is a unique selling point of the film
because a successful and well regarded director can mean a film is more likely
to be viewed. Later, we also see text which says the name of another famous and
well known director, Christopher Nolan. Another great director that helped
create this film may mean that his followers may watch the film, making the
film more successful. The last sequence shots use a lot of fast editing and
action shots which link to the action genre. We can see a lot of visual effects
from CGI (computer generated imagery) is used here for the explosions,
spaceships and fighting. The music in the background is also very fast paced to
match the fast pace of the editing. The very last shots include the Superman
Logo, then the title of the film and the release date. The logo, title and
release date also use the black and metal theme which adds to the branding for
the film.
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