In
the poster for Gravity, costume, through mise-en-scène, helps us know that it
is an astronaut in space with their tether being disconnected from the
spacecraft in the right corner. This raised enigmas such as ‘how it happened’
and ‘what will they do next’. The enigmas are essentially what creates an
audience for the film, and makes then more likely to go see the film. The space
craft in the bottom right corner had a lot of motion blur with a lot of broken
pieces surrounding it. This suggests that it is going extremely fast and it may
have hit something. This add a sense of thriller/action to the film, increasing
the target audience the film can attract.
We
can see from this long shot what it is set in space, with which seems like the
Earth in the background - indicating to the target audience that the film is
likely a science-fiction film. Over all, the poster follows a deep blue and
white color scheme. We associate dark blue and black shades with coldness and
loneliness. There is only one astronaut shown in the poster suggest that they
are only there by themselves. The general lighting in the poster uses a low-key
lighting which is associated with mystery, danger and a thriller genre.
In
the top right corner of the poster, the slogan ‘Don’t Let Go’. The positioning
of the astronaut in the poster follows the rule of thirds because it is
positioned in the left third of the poster. The rule of thirds allows this poster
to be visually more interesting because objects and people are not all
positioned central. Even all the text is position the left third making the
reading experience more interesting. This subverts from conventional posters
were all the text and titles are position in the center of the poster.
Underneath the astronaut is written ‘Sandra Bullock’ and ‘George Clooney’. This
indicates that these are the main characters for the film and that are also
used as a unique selling point for the film because they are both well
regarded, academy award winning actors. Underneath the main actors we have the
director for the film, Alfonso Cuarón, followed by the title of the film –
Gravity. The title is written in a bold white, sans serif front making it stand
out among the dark black background and the other greyer text.
In
the bottom credits for the film poster, we are given all the information for
the film just as the release month, age restriction, website address, the
institutions involved and the it is in RealD 3D and IMAX 3D. The release date
is the boldest and uses the biggest font out of all the credit texts. This is
because it is the information that the audience will most want to know as it
shows them when the film is released.
In the
first shot of the Jurassic World trailer, we see what seems like the parents of
a young boy and teen. The medium shot of the parents turned away from us and
the boys facing towards the camera indicates that they important characters in
the film. We’re next shown a close-up shot of the little boy and the teen. From
their facial expressions, we can determine that the young boy is more excited
about the trip however the older teen doesn’t seem to glad about going. From
the medium shot, we can see they are in a busy location like an airport or a
train station. This may be a genre indicator as this shows that the characters
will be going to different locations in the film linking towards an adventure
film. Next, we are shown a close-up shot of their mum saying ‘remember, if
something chases you, run’, in a joking manner. This may be obvious for
returning audience members but the irony is that the Jurassic Park franchise is
well known for its dinosaurs and several dinosaurs chase scenes.
The next
shots are the production shot of the institution – Universal Studios and
Legendary. As the camera dollies towards the earth, the editing technique
dissolve is used to transition to an aerial, medium shot of a yacht in the
middle of the ocean. The next shot is another aerial long shot of the yacht
shown moving towards a large island. This raises enigmas, such as ‘what is the
large island’, ‘where are they’ and ‘what is on the island’. The large island
in the middle of the ocean, and is a genre indicator for an adventure film
because it is in an exotic location which takes the audience away from where
they are. The island is still a mystery to the audience, suggesting that there
could be dangerous creatures on the island, linking to a science-fiction and
thriller film.
During
these two shots of the yacht, we can hear the non-diegetic build-up of the
music. The orchestra music builds to a climax, the sudden stop is matched by
the sudden fade to black transition of the video. After the release date for
the film dissolves in. The next shot is a medium shot of the young boy from the
beginning, and the camera is shown tracking him as he rushes to the front. Then
we get a medium shot of the boy looking out of the front window and with the
editing technique, eye line match, the next shot we see is what he was viewing.
The shot is of the well-known Jurassic park gate, or in this case – the
Jurassic world gate. As the shot of the gate opening appears, the quiet,
non-diegetic, orchestra music in the background becomes loud and energetic as
we are shown many shots of the Jurassic World park. During these shots, it cuts
to black to black to show text. The first text is ‘The Park’ and the second is
‘Is Open’. All the text in the trailer so far have had the same design and
colours used to help create brand identity. The text is a grey, stone looking,
font on top of a black background. The shots we’re shown include a van, filled
with people, driving through a large field with dinosaurs and long shot of
people canoeing down a river as large dinosaurs sit on either side. These shots
of dinosaurs are a strong genre indicator of a science-fiction film and maybe
also a thriller because the target audience of these films will expect to see a
scary and dangerous dinosaur.
The
music orchestra music suddenly builds up to a climax once again, and suddenly
turns quiet as we can only hear a high pitch sound. As it reached its climax,
we are shown a low angled shot of a dead shark being moved along a suspended
cable. As the shot changes to a bird’s eye view of the shark hanging down, the
is no music playing for a second. Then suddenly a large crocodile like dinosaur
emerges from the deep blue ocean and eats the hanging shark. When it suddenly
appears, we also hear a loud diegetic roar. The use of the sound in these shots
are very effective; when there’s no music playing, the audience feels safe but
the loud sudden roar may frighten them – connoting a thriller film as it may
contain jump scares. The next shot we see is credit shot, which shows the
audience the executive producer for the film – Steven Spielberg. This is a USP
(unique selling point) for the film because Steven Spielberg is a well-known
and well regarded director. Directing famous films such as Avatar, Titanic and
he was also the previous director for Jurassic Park and The Lost World:
Jurassic Park.
Through the
next few shots of the amber stone and the eggs in the lab, we can hear a voice
over of a female saying ‘we have learnt more in the past decade from genetics,
than a century of digging up bones’. Then we’re shown a medium shot the female
character saying ‘we have our first genetically modified hybrid’. Through
mise-en-scene, we can determine that she is an important character in the film
due to her formal, clean white, clothing and her straight hair. As she finished
her sentience, we hear a loud rumble sound effect followed by a shot of a spine
encased in a water filled tube. This is an indication that the film will
contain a hybrid dinosaur and that it is most likely going to be the creature
that will cause the most mayhem in the film. The significance of the loud
rumble sound effect is that it makes the creature she was talking about seem
scarier and feared.
We are
shown a long shot of the Bryce Howards and Chris Pratts characters. We can hear
Chris say rhetorically, ‘you just went and made a new dinosaur’. Then we hear
him say ‘probably not a good idea’ as we’re shown a close-up shot of his face;
emphasising the point. The next shot is of a tall wall with large claw marks
all the way up, suggesting that the dinosaur is very large and strong. The very
high angle shot of Chris Pratts character suggests he is very vulnerable and
may be a target for the dinosaur. As the camera moves closer to Chris, we can
see on the ground behind are the bones of a dead creature suggesting it was the
meal for the large dinosaur.
We’re
shown a close-up shot of a cracked hard hat on the floor being picked up by a
person. We can see blood on the hard hat which connotes danger and death and
then we’re shown a shot of Chris’s character say ‘evacuate the island’. From
this point to the end, we shown multiple shots Chris and Bryce searching for
the dinosaur and then running from it however the audience never gets to see
that the dinosaur looks like. They are left with questions like ‘what does it
look like’ and ‘how will it be defeated’. This attracts the audience and makes
then want to go see the film. Throughout these sequence of shots, we only hear
a voice over of Chris’s voice. Near the end, we hear Bryce shout ‘RUN’. Through
mise-en-scene we can see he has had a rough journey because of here messy hair
and dirty cloths. The last shot is the little boy with his face lit well but
then is covered up by a dark shadow. Wear can hear the rumble of the dinosaur suggesting
he is close. The low-key lighting used here makes it look frightening and
thriller.
In the first shot, we are shown a high angle, aerial
shot of The Batman on top of a high skyscraper. This if followed by a bird’s
eye view of The Batman as he jumps off and dives into the city below. Through
mise-en-scene we can analyse the clothing and the lighting in these scenes.
From the first few shots, we can tell he is wearing dark black clothing which
is expected by the audience due to previous Batman films. A low-key lighting is
used, this dark look links well with the title of the film and is a common
colour used in these thriller, crime and action genres. As the Batman dives from
the building and falls further and further, the non-diegetic music volume
increasingly builds up until it suddenly cuts to a huge explosion and a loud
drum sound effect. As the explosion appears and slowly fades, the logos for the
film institutions are also displayed. The colour scheme during this first few
shots of the Batman and the institution shots are all blue and black. These
dark colours connote death, crime, action and mystery - indicating to the
audience that these are the main genres for the film directly from the start.
Near the end of the institution shots, we hear a non-diegetic voice over of
character saying ‘where do we begin’. This adds more mystery to the trailer
because now we don’t know who is saying this and why.
A brief pause later, we also hear the non-diegetic
voice over of the same character saying ‘a year ago these cops and lawyers
wouldn’t dare cross any of you’. From this we could determine he is talking to
criminals or dangerous people and this also indicates that the location
previously used to be filled with crime but has now been mostly eradicated.
During these scenes, we also hear the non-diegetic soundtrack in the background
of quiet orchestra with drums. This helps add more atmosphere of the sequence
of shots. The first shot here we see is a bird’s eye view of a skyscraper and
then a high single shot, while the cameral tilts down, of hundreds of police
officers walking in the streets. From the tall building at the very start of
the trailer and during these shots, the audience can figure out that The Dark
Knight is set in a city with large buildings and streets. As the voice over
says ‘cops and lawyers’, we are shown a medium shot of a cop and a lawyer but
from these we can also conclude that these are important characters in the film
and play a significant role. After the shot of the lawyer and the cop we hear
the voice over say ‘what happened’. We are long shot of the Batmobile as is
demolishes a wall followed by an over the shoulder shot of Bruce Wayne as he looks
at this Batman suit. This shot shows the audience actual character of Batman.
From mise-en-scene we can see that he is wearing a formal suit and his hair is
combed back – suggesting that he is wealthy and an important figure. The sound
at this point suddenly becomes louder and higher until the shot suddenly cuts
to black. This quick cut to black connotes a thriller and action genre because
the build ups create suspense and the sudden cuts create moment where the
audience feels tense. The editing technique dissolve us used here to transition
from black to a behind shot of person who was voicing the voice-over earlier.
In the shot the camera slowly pan from left to right. The character in frame is
in the shadow and is hard to see. This adds mystery to the shot because people
want to know who it is. The very next shot is a close up shot The Joker as he
says the words ‘Kill The Batman’. From the shot of the Joker, the audience can
conclude many different things about him, such as that he’s the main antagonist/villain
in the film by the way he looks. Through mise-en-scene we can tell that he is
wearing a worn out and scruffy looking blazer, he has green hair and the face
paint he’s wearing makes him look crazy and insane.
At the start of this shot we hear a loud,
non-diegetic, drum sound effect as the same time as rows of cop’s break
formation. By the way everyone in the shot is acting, we can see that they all
seem frightened. This is also backed up by the sound of the diegetic screaming.
The screaming is followed by a loud non-diegetic laugh, from The Joker, which
sound creepy and almost haunting. This could relate to the genre, as thrillers
contain moments that make people worried. In the next sequence of shots, the
audience see a long shot and an aerial shot of a huge building exploding. Big
explosions link towards an action and adventure genre, meaning that the film
will also contain these and making it appeal to the target audience.
Throughout these next minute, the audience gets to
find out the heroine or love interest in the film - Rachel. In the shots that
contained the love interest, the colours used are mostly warm colours like
orange - which is typical for a romance film. Having a love interest/heroine in
the film will help the film appeal to a larger target audience because the
romance parts will appeal more to women whereas the action and fighting more
appeals to men. Women stereotypically prefer romance and love because it suits
their stereotypical innocent personality whereas men prefer violence because of
their masculine and aggressive convention. In some of the shots, we see Rachel
hang out more with Harvey Dent. Most audience members could conclude that Bruce
has feeling for Rachel however Rachel is with another man. A medium shot of a
car is suddenly crushed by the Batman as he falls from above and then it cuts
to black. As the Batman crushes the car, we hear the diegetic sound of glass
smashing and we also hear the non-diegetic sound of an echoic rumble. During
this moment, we hear the familiar voice of the Joker, then a medium shot of the
Joker shooting into the sky. We first hear the loud diegetic sound of the gun
shot and in the background, we can hear the ambient sound of people screaming
like they are scared. We then see the Joker walk up to Rachel with a knife and
start walking around her. As he’s walking around her, the music suddenly builds
up and abruptly stops as it cuts to the next shot. This will leave the audience
with questions like ‘is she safe’ and ‘what is going to happen to her’. The use
of these enigmas is effective because it makes the audience go see the film as
they want to know what happens.
The next shot is an aerial shot of the Batman on top
of a tall building and the camera is moving closer towards him. We can hear a
non-diegetic voice over of the Batman saying ‘I’ve seen now what I have to
become to stop men like him’. This implies that the Joker is a hardened
criminal and is very hard to defeat, and may also suggest that something bad
happened to Rachel or someone close to him. For the next few seconds, we are
shown shots of the cops, Harvey Dent, The Joker and several things burning and
exploding. There the director has used fades to black between every shot that
sync with the loud drums beat of the music. The pace of the beat gets
increasingly faster and creates tension as it builds up to a climax. A couple
shot of the Joker is shown with no non-diegetic music playing. This breaks the
tension created by the previous build up then we are brought back to the action
as the music suddenly comes back along with the pace editing used. The fast
paces editing is a strong indicator that there will be lots of action in the
film.
By the end of the trailer, the audience and clearly
determine the protagonist, antagonist, the heroin and other significant
characters within the film. This trailer if very effective in drawing in the
audience with its many action shots and fast pace editing to show that this is
an action adventure film. It gives the audience a clear picture of some of the
main characters in the film however it doesn’t tell us or show us the whole
story. These raises enigmas like ‘what’s going to happen’, ‘will the antagonist
be defeated’, ‘will there be a happy ending’ and much more. Questions like is
what makes a movie trailer become more popular as people want to theorise and
talk about what may happen. This makes them also go and see the film so that
their enigmas can be answered.
The trailer begins with a pedestal shot moving
downwards inside a prison. Many guards are standing in rows with large weapons
connotes violence throughout the film and is also a genre indicator for an
action/adventure film. As the camera pedestals down, we can hear the
non-diegetic sound of the music in the background. When the music stops playing
for a few seconds, we hear diegetic sounds from within the film. The first
diegetic sound we hear is someone in a prison cell shouting “let me out of
here” as the guard closed the prison door hatch. From this medium shot the
guard, we can tell through mise-en-scène that she’s wearing a lot of protective
gear and is holding a gun in her hands. This shows us that the people in the
prison are very dangerous. The next shot used is a close up shot of Harley
Quinn sitting on her bed drinking from a small cup while reading a book. Then in the next shot we see a medium/long
shot of her in her open prison cell. From mise-en-scène we can tell she’s also
a prisoner due to her orange jumpsuit. Her hair is dyed a creamy white with
pink and blue highlights on either side. This could indicate that she may act
unusual compared to others because of her abnormal hair colour choices her
attitude. All other prisoners seem angry and wanting to get out whereas she is
very calm about being in prison. The shots of Harley Quinn use both diegetic
and non-diegetic sound - the music in the background plays while we also
faintly hear the screaming of the character at the start. Throughout we are
shown different many different shots of the dangerous prisoners and throughout,
we also hear the non-diegetic sound of the screaming man at the beginning. The
very last shot of this sequence shows us a close up of a CCTV feed of the
prisoner screaming into the camera.
From these opening shots, the audience may be able
to determine that the Suicide Squad is made up of these criminals but to make
sure the director, David Ayer, included a shot of a meeting that tells us that
they want to “assemble a task force of the most dangerous people on the
planet”. This task force includes the people at the starting sequence of the
trailer. The two male and female characters in this two shot seem like
extremely important people due to their clothing. Through mise-en-scène we can
deduce that the two characters are wearing formal clothing - the female is
wearing a smart blazer and the male is wearing a suit. On his suit, we can see
several badges suggesting he’s a high rank suggesting he could play an
important role in the film. The trailer opening uses a lot of low key lighting
to make the prison location seem more dangerous and scary because of the
connotations of the dark.
After the institution shots, we see a sequence of
shots of all the different characters in the ‘suicide squad’ being taken out of
their prison cells. This could raise questions/enigmas like ‘where are they coming
to be taken’, ‘After having been shown the sequence of shots of then being
removed from their cells, we can hear a non-diegetic voice over in the
background naming all the characters. For most of the characters, we are shown
a medium or a close up shot of their faces. This gives the audience a little
more information about the characters, and we also get to know more of the
characters and like who plays them. The audience will want to know which actors
are in the films because if the film contains good actors then it may make a
certain audience go see the film, even is it may not be their favourite genre.
During this sequence of shots, much colour scheme to this point a teal and
orange colour schemes. This reoccurring colour scheme is used in many other
films like Man of Steel, Transformers and The Dark Knight because these colours
indicate an action and adventure film. This indicates to the audience that
Suicide Squad is an action and adventure film.
As he’s naming all the characters the non-diegetic
background music is slow and quite calm at this point. This may be unusual for
an action film because we expect it to be fact but then, as soon as the man
starts talking, the music suddenly becomes loud and face paced with electric
guitars and drums. Between the man’s diegetic speech, we hear the non-diegetic
speech of the music. During this non-diegetic singing, we are shown quick
action shots like helicopters shooting and people shooting guns. And when it’s
the diegetic sound of the man speaking, we get a slightly less violent shot
such as a long shot of everyone. This quick back and forth between the
non-diegetic music and voice over of the man is very effective as it draws the
audience’s attention a lot better that if it was one long winded action shot.
At the end of this back and forth sequence of shots, we are brought back to
equilibrium where there is no background music. In this shot, we see an over
the shoulder shot of a person who is being interrogated by the Joker. The words
he says and the things he’s doing to the person makes the audience feel uneasy
and that is what the Joker is known for. During this point of equilibrium, the
audience may start to calm down, thinking the action shots are over but then
the non-diegetic music suddenly starts playing fast and loud. Medium and long
shots of people shooting guns, fast sports cars driving in the streets and lots
of explosions are shown. The use of fast pace editing and the many actions
shots tells the audience that the main genre of this film is action, and there
will be a lot of it in the film. Near the end of the trailer we are once again
brought back to equilibrium with the sound and then the sudden music plays. Throughout
this period, with all the action shots, the video has been edited to cut
between shots as we hear a beat in the music, or the movements of a character
have been synced up with the loud beat. This emphasises their actions, making
it seem like what they’re doing is more powerful and violent. For example, at
time 2mins and 2seconds, we see Will Smith’s character, Deadshot repeatedly
punches a punching bag. As his fist impacts the bag, we hear the loud
non-diegetic beat from the music.
During all the action shots, we are shown 3 words
separately - Worst, Heroes, Ever. This seems a bit ironic because their mission
is to save the world, and having the worst heroes to try saving it may seem
silly. The colours used for all the fonts and title in the trailer are very
similar, using bright/neon colours like pink, yellow, lime and light blue. This
helps create brand identity meaning that is someone were to see these similar
colours on some text, they will think of the Suicide Squad film. In the title
shot, we can see the names of all the main characters at the top. Names such as
Will Smith and Margot Robbie can be a unique selling point for this film
because they are well known actors that have a good reputation in being in
successful films. In the next shot after the title shot, we are shown the month
and year of when the film is being released. The release date is also big and
bold, like the Suicide Squad title, as the directors will want the audience to
know when the film is coming out. Underneath the release date, it says ‘See it
in RealD 3D and IMAX 3D’. This is also a big unique selling point for the film
as these usually make the film more immersive because of the 3D, making people
want to see it in IMAX 3D and RealD 3D.
The very
first shot of the trailer is an establishing shot of New York City at night,
and this is evident because of the iconic Empire State Building in the shot.
This shot instantly shows the audience where The Amazing Spiderman is going to
be set in, and gives them a small insight in what to expect. The establishing
shot is followed by a long shot the Spiderman, as he swings from building to
building, and a bird’s-eye-view of New York. All these shots are high up in the
sky and this may play with the audience’s feelings because it makes them uneasy
as some may have a fear of heights. Using mise-en-scène, we can see The
Spiderman is wearing is usual red and blue Spiderman costume.
The opening
shots are followed by a medium shot of a teenage girl in the foreground and
then a teenage boy in the background who had just jumped onto the balcony. From
the view of the window, it seems as if her room in high up in the building. The
audience may be able to predict that this is The Spiderman because be he jumps
onto a balcony ‘20 stories’ high. The editing technique shot reverse shot is
used as the two characters’ exchange dialogue, as well as the 180° rule because
the camera never extends beyond the imaginary 180° line. The audience can guess
that the female character is the heroine or the love interest in the film. This
tries to make the film more appealing to females who prefer romance within
films. After the first sequence of shots in the trailer, this is followed by
the institution for the film, Columbia Pictures.
A long
shot of dinner table with people sitting and eating is used with a voice over
with someone saying ‘tell us a little bit about yourself Parker’. Then this shot
is suddenly followed by a high angle shot of The Spiderman sitting down and
staring at his mask. We then hear a Peter Parkers voice saying ‘not much to
tell really’. This is a clear indication that The Spiderman is this characters,
and that he is trying to keep his Spiderman identity low-key and hidden. We
hear a voice over of a young boy saying ‘did you catch the spider guy yet’,
with an older adult replying with ‘no, but we will’. This indicates to the
audience what The Spiderman is being hunted by the police for things that he
may have done.
The next
scene shows a medium shot of a man stealing a car in the darkness of night,
when suddenly The Spiderman appears in the back seat of the car, spooking the
thief. The use of low-key lighting in these shots makes for a mysterious
looking scene, and the darkness also connoted danger and horror. This is then
followed by The Spiderman shooting webs from his wrist to stop the thief. We
then are shown a close-up shot of The Spiderman indicating to the audience that
he is the main character. From the beginning till this point, it is still
unclear whether The Spiderman is the protagonist or the antagonist because he
is wanted by the police however he’s also shown stopping a car thief. In this
case, he could be a vigilante due to him working alone and away from any other
protagonist and antagonist groups.
We see a
medium/close up shot of a small boy with what looks like his mum and dad moving
away from him. This and the next shot uses a black and white effect to indicate
that it is a memory of an event from the past. From this shot, we see that his
mum seems sad and almost about to cry indicating that something terrible may
happen or will be happening. The next shot is then an over the shoulder shot of
the young boy as he looks at his own reflection in the window. The editing in
the trailer then uses a dissolves effect to transition from the over the shot
of the young boy to an over the shot of an older teenager, Peter Parker,
showing the audience that the young boy was Peter Parker as a young boy. During
the dissolve transition, we hear the voice over saying ‘I know it’s been rough
for you Peter’. Suddenly as the voice over finishes, a medium shot shots Peter
being hit in the head with a basketball and then a medium shot of three teenage
boys laughing at him.
In this
shot we see a long shot of Peter walking down the street with his hoodie up and
looking at the ground. This shot makes him look mysterious and suspicious at
the same time. A voice bridge of an older male adult is used to transition from
these two shots to a long shot of peter in a room with his uncle and aunt. In
this long shot we see Peter looking at an old brief case as uncle ben says ‘it
was your dads’. Eye line match is used as he pulls an object out of his bag,
then we are shown a close up shot an ID cars, presumably his fathers. The
following sequence of shots shows Peter meeting up with Dr Connors and other
close up and medium shots of devices with a voice over in the background.
During these shots we see someone inject themselves with device then a few
shots later we see Dr Connors reacting like he had just injected himself. As
this happens, a voice over of Dr Connors is used saying ‘there’s a rumour of a
new species in New York’. This is instantly followed by a shot of an green
clawed hand tearing through a hole and then an extreme close up shot of its
eye. This shows that Dr Connors injected himself with a chemical that has
transformed him to a lizard like creature. This green lizard-like-creature is
now shown tearing through a car roof and then grabbing a passenger inside
through the use of a medium shot. Low key lighting is used to make the scene
scarier for the audience. The abnormal creature is a strong indicator for a
science-fiction film as its not usual to have half human and half lizard
character.
The next
45 seconds increases the pace of the trailer by including more action shots and
by using pace editing. This suggests to the audience that the film will contain
a lot of action and fight scenes. Some shots medium and long shots included
weapons such as guns which also are prevalent in action films. During this
section, the sound track music also increases in pace as it utilises much
louder and faster paced drums than before. The use of a choir can also be heard
with their quick bursts of vocals during fast and energetic scenes. This is
usually a reoccurring theme within other sci-fi and action films, and indicates
the type of genre for the film.
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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