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Magic in the Moonlight Trailer Analysis

The trailer begins with the ‘Warner Bros. Pictures’ ident showing for a couple a seconds, clearly establishing how the film is from a major film studio. This cuts to a black screen swiftly followed by the words ‘Gravier Productions’ appearing in the centre in white font. This is quite conventional for the ident and Production Company to be shown at the start as it gives them some credit. As this happens, suitable non-diegetic incidental quirky music comes in. This quickly sets the atmosphere for the audience and the comedic element of the genre becomes established (through the music).

The words ‘Gravier Productions’ fade out as an establishing shot of the outside of a theatre fades in (they fade into each other). This shot is still but slowly zooms in. From it we can tell that it is

currently the night and with the use of props likely to be set in the past, as the car looks old fashioned. The following medium shot of a poster outside the theatre is incredibly short but tells the audience a lot. The act in the theatre is ‘Wei Ling Soo’ and the poster shows him in traditional Chinese clothes, this matches the oriental music still playing in the background.

We are then introduced to one of the main characters (who is also a main star), the master magician (Colin Firth). This is a key moment in the trailer as it draws in potential target audience who are fans of Colin Firth. Various long shots show him and other people on stage making an elephant disappear. Between these shots are medium long shots of the audience who seem upper class as they are dressed formally. This shows that ‘Wei Ling Soo’ is probably considered very good even for richer people to see (although it is probably also very expensive to see him making it only rich people who would be able to attend his events).

While hearing the diegetic sound of the audience clapping and cheering as ‘Wei Ling Soo' takes a bow we also hear the words, ‘Stanley you are still the best in the world’. As we hear this a medium close up of Stanley is shown taking off his wig. A lot can be said from this shot. As well as him deceiving the audience with his tricks on stage he is also deceiving them through his identity as he clearly is not Chinese as you would assume from the name ‘Wei Ling Soo’ and the stereotypical mise en scene of his character. The red outfit, moustache, eyebrows and wig are all a facade. He is instead a British man named Stanley Crawford. This, however, only entices the audience to watch further to find out more about the character.

The use of a character talking in a scene over different shots is much more conventional now. In the past, typically a low, booming voice over would be used to describe the film but in this case by using a character I believe the story seems more believable and doesn’t remind the audience about how this is only a film that the people who made the film want them to go and see. It creates a sense of reality and gets the audience really invested in the character. The long, idyllic shot of the south of France is cut to from a long shot of a family playing tennis. This suggests that

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the family lives there and that it is likely the two characters will be going there. The use of grading (a subtle, red warm filter) makes the place seem hotter and again, a very idyllic place to

visit. This could be seen as the first hint at the genre of the film (romantic comedy) as in France there is Paris which is known as the city of love. This shot fades out to black and then fades into a medium long shot of the 2 characters still conversing.

An over the shoulder shot showing Stanley in the mid ground is shown as the character in the foreground says, ‘there’s a woman’. This is another hint at the

romantic element of the genre. By saying the word woman while showing Stanley automatically creates a stereotypical link between him and her even though the audience does not know who she is. As the characters talk shots are shown that relate to what they are saying. For example at 0:24 as he says ‘a spirit medium’, a medium close up of a woman is shown looking up as if she believes in the spirit medium. This type of editing is called montage editing as it is non-linear and shows various shots from different scenes that without a linking voice-over wouldn’t make much sense.

Mise en scene is also used to enforce the idea that the characters and situations are real. In this medium close up of Stanley Crawford we can see he is wearing a black suit which is an icon of power, giving the idea to the audience that Stanley is the character who has the power in the film. Although, this may not be true it is likely he may archetypally have power over women since it is set in the 1920s. The decor in the room also supports

the 1920s look. Orange lampshades, women in dresses wearing lots of make up and smoke in the room are examples of icons from the 1920s.

At 0:27 the audience sees a key moment in the trailer as Stanley speaks. As this dialogue is spoken the non-diegetic music cuts out, putting more emphasis on the words spoken. The words he says are, ‘she won’t fool me’. This immediately leads us into France where we will soon be introduced properly to the woman that ‘won’t fool’ Stanley. That small part of dialogue is crucial in leading the trailer properly into shots of the south of France an without it the audience may have been confused by the change of location. Again, it links the two people together (possibly romantically) as the audience know that they will both meet.

To make the change of location more smooth new incidental music is introduced. When we see the woman (Sophie) for the first time we can see the mise en scene has been carefully thought about to give her a specific preferred reading (a sweet looking, delicate, feminine woman). Her hair is in the perfect position and she is wearing minimal make up giving her the ‘natural beauty’ look. The location itself (by the sea as the sun is setting) works in her favour to make her appear more beautiful to the audience. It also sets us up for the fact

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that Stanley will soon be seeing this beauty with his own eyes which for people who love romantic films could make them more engaged. However, from the body language in this medium shot above you could infer a possible romantic relationship between Sophie and this other, younger (than Stanley) character. Although, this shot is only shown for less than a second so the audience is likely to not come to that conclusion until they have seen the film. Therefore, we can again see another technique (misleading shots) used in this trailer to entice the audience to see the film.

At 0:35 after hearing a couple of the characters talk about Sophie a medium shot of the younger man fades to black and the incidental music gets louder. This builds suspense and although only lasts for a lot less than a second makes the audience more excited (possibly without realising) for what they will see next. A medium long shot fades in of Sophie and another woman walking away from the cars (one of which Stanley previously arrived in).

Another car can now be seen which suggest that she has arrived and is eager to meet/see people.

This is followed by a shot-reverse-shot between the 2 women in the previous shot and Stanley with the person who asked him to meet her (Howard). The location is again incredibly romantic and idyllic possibly with lot of help from the lighting. High-key lighting would have been used so the audience cans see the characters easily and in a flattering way. Personally, I think the romantic element is given from the sun in the background, which puts a nice light (and also gives shadows) on the location of the background. During this shot-reverse-shot another key moment takes place. As Sophie says, ‘I’m getting a mental impression.. Are you from the orient, far east?’ you can see Stanley and Howard’s face go from smug and not expecting much to anxious and worried (as the information Sophie offers is correct and there is no way of her knowing it).

Later on it cuts to a medium long, two shot of Sophie and Stanley sitting at a table, by the tennis court, eating. Connotations of romance are given here as the audience sees Stanley look over at Sophie. In addition to this we can see that they are wearing different clothes suggesting it is a different day meaning they have probably spent a lot more time together by now. The following 5 seconds cut to various shots of Stanley and Sophie together in different locations. Here, we can see that non-linear editing is still being used and that the relationship between Sophie and Stanley is likely to be important to the film as a lot of time is being spent on it in the trailer. This makes the film even more appealing to people who like romance films as they will be eager to see how their relationship develops.

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Todorov’s theory is generally applied to short films but I believe it could easily apply in this trailer. At 0:49 the audience gets hinted at a disequilibrium (something gone wrong) as their potential romance won’t be as smooth as some of the audience may think it will be as, ‘Stanley doesn’t believe in spiritualists, thinks you’re all scoundrels’ is said by the older woman in the long shot of them (this woman, Stanley and Sophie) walking along the grass in front of what looks like a pond. From Sophie’s body language the audience may be able to see how she thinks of Stanley when this woman talks about him and as she listens intently and turns towards the woman at the end it suggests that she finds this information interesting, possibly foreshadowing that she wants to be involved more with him. This is followed by a medium long shot of the older woman and Stanley now inside. The woman says, ‘she’s quite likeable even if she is a fraud’. This very much adds to the comedic element of the film and by putting these two shots one after the other makes it even more clear that the genre of the film is romantic comedy.

A medium shot-reverse-shot of Sophie, her friend and Stanley sitting at a table on what looks like a fresh morning is now cut to. Sophie accuses Stanley of making fun of her but it is all kept very light hearted, again to add to the comedic element. The incidental music fades out before this happens to give emphasis on the joke.

This makes us, the audience, even more aware as new incidental music comes in when a long, slightly high angle shot of a car driving by is cut to. A medium close up of Sophie and her friend is shown as her friend talks about Stanley. The audience can again see from her body language

that the thought of Stanley (for Sophie) is a comforting one as she plays with her collar and looks down with a smile on her face. By keeping the shot at a straight angle (not going for low or high) it doesn’t make us think of Sophie as a dominating figure or a vulnerable one. This allows the audience to completely make their own opinion of her without being persuaded by how the shot preserves her.

A medium close up is cut to later on showing Stanley smiling, looking at Sophie. The location, lighting, miss en scene and mood/atmosphere is set up to be very romantic. They are at what looks like an upper class restaurant, and high key lighting is again used to put flattering light and shade over Stanley’s face. He is still wearing a suit, an icon of power, but maybe now with context of what the trailer is about, the suit is more of a formality simply to look smart in-front of Sophie. It is likely that in this time men wore suits all the time but I think it helps to romanticise the relationship between him and Sophie. This fades to black and then fades into a medium close up of Sophie and Stanley. All of these shots being shown for a short really gets in the audience’s head that for the majority of the film these two characters will be with each other and we will be able to see their relationship progress, an exciting thought for romantic film lovers.

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We then see various medium close ups of a scene inside with less lighting and the illusion that the room is only lit by candlelight (although high key lighting is still likely to be used). At this point the music gets a little more distorted to add to the comedy element as the candle lifts in the air and Stanley and Howard (especially Howard) look very surprised. Howard quickly pulls it away in a slightly annoyed, confused manner as what he believed to be nonsense

(spiritualism) is looking more and more real.

As Stanley says (as if it is a voice over since it is said over a number of shots), ‘could she be real?’ we see an interesting dark shot of him sitting up in bed. This subverts the archetypal role of a man who would be emotionless and not in connection with his feelings. The audience can clearly see here though that Stanley has a soft spot for Sophie as the thought of her is keeping him up at night. For lighting this shot only relies on the window of light most likely coming from the moonlight through the window. This is perfect for obviously showing that it is the night time in that split second but as it is only for a short amount of time it isn’t intended to be creepy in any way. In addition to this Stanley’s costume here are his pyjamas. This is the most casual the audience have seem him so far. This could suggest that he is becoming more comfortable around Sophie (even though she is not in the shot with him).

The next various shots provide another key moment in the trailer as Stanley comes to realise that Sophie must be genuine in some way as she tells him something about his Aunt Vanessa’s colourful past that Stanley thinks she ‘cannot possibly know’. This emphasises the idea of having disequilibrium even more as for Stanley as all his efforts to show up this spiritualist is failing.

It’s only up until now that we see some titles (except for Gravier Productions near the start). These titles are designed in a way that is stylistic of the genre as the overall look to me looks classy (and could be interpreted as romantic), as well as quite quirky (the comedy element). We are told who the writer/director is and then given names of the cast. Note, that the word ‘starring’ is not used as it is much more conventional now to simply write the actors and actresses names without a word before them.

In between these two titles it cuts to various romantic shots of Stanley and Sophie together (walking, dancing, etc.) as we hear Stanley’s voice telling Sophie how beautiful she looks.The mise en scene is done very well in these shots with a great deal of professionalism and

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attention to detail (as if you look closely in the medium long shot to the left you can see all props fit in and look relevant). The fact that these shots are set in the evening when it is darker again sets the atmosphere to be more romantic.

From the shots above (of Stanley and Sophie) you can see the final key moment in the trailer. The car breaks down in the rain and lighting so they hide from the rain in a building when the roof can open up, a romantic ending to a romantic comedy film trailer. Their body language (proxemics) in the two ‘two-shot’ medium close up shots in the middle and right clearly show the audience they are interested in one another. Especially in the right one as you can see Sophie looking at Stanley as he looks in another direction, this is often used in romantic films to let the audience clearly know what one character is thinking or feeling.

The non-diegetic sound is still playing at this point and as the final titles appear they dominate the trailer (as no voices are being heard). These final titles are incredibly conventional as they show the main title of the film, lots of detail about production companies etc. in very small writing and finally the film’s website and hashtag to use on social media. It’s very important for films like this to try their hardest to promote themselves online as it’s free and has the potential to draw in a lot more potential target audience. In addition to this, the film (or a marketing stunt for the film) could go viral, in turn increases the

audience and potential profit. The titles cut between each other pretty much in time with the music. In addition to this the main ‘Magic in the Moonlight’ title is slightly animated as the two sides pull apart to reveal the title more and make it better. This emphasises it so that hopefully the people watching it will remember about the film and see it at the cinema. The font itself is slightly white gold colour which in my opinion matches the idea of ‘moonlight’. It is all in capitals and against a black background which makes it stand out more.

I personally feel that this was a useful trailer to analyse as it brought to my attention how much detail there is in one shot, both physically (props, costume, etc.) and in a way that helps links all of the shots together. This was also helped with the use of sound bridges, to make the sudden change of scene smoother. I did however notice that there wasn’t a massive range of shots, angles or movements but for me the cinematography and the composition of the shots made up for that. I saw connections with Todorov’s theory throughout however as that theory is intended for short films I will not necessarily apply it to my own trailer (or I may take aspects of the theory like this trailer did). The trailer alone has made me want to go and see the film (and the fact that Colin Firth is in it may have helped a little).