Trailer Analysis - Jurassic World

July 31, 2016 Unknown 0 Comments

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.