WHAT I’VE LEARNT FROM LOOKING AT DYSTOPIAN

TRAILERS

CharactersThere are two main character in ‘The Maze Runner’, one a boy who comes in first, then the girl enters second. Both in the same way, through the elevator. Both of whom don’t remember how they got there, nor do they remember anything about their lives before entering the maze. The girl thinks they have been sent there for a reason as if to insinuate that they are better then the rest of the people their and they have powers to finally relive these people from being stuck behind this maze.

Then there is the rest of the group that has been assigned different jobs such as the ‘group leader’, the person who maps out routes, the cook, people who build things, people who slaughter the food and a councillor to get people through the trauma.

Both The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner have elements in the plot of a romance. In the dystopian trailers I have researched , I have found that there is always a woman behind the man in any situation. I believe film makers do this as it is a general and stereotypical relationship combination, where the relationship is a partnership and shows the help one another can give each other, as with the typical nature of a dystopian film, the characters need support and words of encouragement. However, in mine I definitely want to portray the woman as the stronger character.

The Hunger games, Catness is the strong protagonist, who keeps the man, Peter, going with words of encouragement that if they stick together, she will look after him. We see this conveyed through the way this shot is composed

(above, left) as it shows her shooting her bow and arrow, against a body formed target. She is out of focus and the body is outlined with red and in focus. This

suggests she is rootless in her attacks, and she is willing to do what is needed to stay alive.

Comparing the above to the maze runner is similar in it’s plot, the girl is rootless and proactive about wanting to get out of the maze, however she gets penalised because of her controlling nature (above, right). She is the only woman, like in

The Hunger Games, in this maze surrounded by bold and strong men, who feel it necessary to take it upon themselves to sort out the mess, they need to know that she will play by the rules and not on her own accord. This shows that the dominate male is stepping up as the hero, even though it teases the audience

that in actual fact, she may be the hero.

Camera shots our trailer could mimicIn the maze runner, through out the trailer, shots that where included where: 1. Panning a 180 with a mid shot transitioning into a wide angle when the boy, Tomas, has his first glance at the maze and surrounding area. This gives the audience an idea of what the maze camp site looks like and the enormity of it in comparison to the boy size. The camera is set slightly lower the Tomas's face first of all, which would normally give the illusion of him being powerful, however in comparison to the wall it makes him look intimidated and overwhelmed. When the transition occurs the camera moves slightly up to his high, with reduces the fear feeling and instead enhances where he is, in a field, with a ball as a barrier.

2. Over the shoulder shot, when one of the men are describing to Tomas where he is. This is a typical shot for any genre to include. It is a great way in showing conversation and emotional reactions of he characters. As they can change the camera to the oppositee face to capture their expressions.

3. Close up, Showing the gunk on one of the tools, describing what the monsters traces lift behind. The reasoning behind this is to describe to the audience further what the monsters are like, enabling them to build a clearer image of what they are like in their minds, without actually having to show a monster.

4. Another momentous close up is when Tomas sees the maze shut on someone’s body for the first time. Seeing this shocked face, adds emotion to the characters and the audince can then sympathise with them as they have seen what the character have seen.