Nikol Maciejewska

NARRATIVE ENIGMAS IN TRAILERS

TRAGEDY TRAILERS

- Usually shows real life situations, with realistic characters, settings and stories.

- Shows a characters journey and their development.- There is usually conflict- Audiences can relate to the character in some way - Structured to keep the audience interested- A form of realisation at the end

WHAT ARE THE NARRATIVE CONVENTIONS? (STORY

CONVENTIONS

- The narrative is not always chronological.- Usually shows main character happy at the beginning (usually successful,

popular). - Main character usually look like someone who would never have

problems (always happy).- Voice overs are usually used to give brief points as to what happened or

comment certain situations they thought nothing of before. - There is a change of pace usually from normal to slow to emphasise the

tragedy. - This is done to show the audience what the character is like and how

things go for that specific person and others around them.- Usually shows good moments against bad this again is used to allow the

audience to relate. - The end of the trailer is usually a tragic moment (where something is

about to happen or you only see the characters reaction).

-WHAT IS THE NARRATIVE STRUCTURE? (HOW ARE THEY

PRESENTING THE STORY TO YOU AND WHY IN THIS ORDER?)

- They usually introduce you to the characters- Show their lifestyles before and after- They want you to know how a event effected them

WHAT UNRESTRICTED NARRATIVE IS THERE? (WHAT DO THEY WANT YOU

TO KNOW)

- They do not want you to know what exactly happened to the character

- They do not want to show whether someone actually dies- How the ending may look like- What the most important part is - Do not want to reveal any secrets - They do not what to show some relationships between

characters

WHAT RESTRICTED NARRATIVE IS THERE? (WHAT DO THEY NOT WANT

YOU TO KNOW AND WHY?)

The enigmas the audience is left with usually at the end of a tragic trailer are:- What happens to the characters? - What role does a certain character represent?- What is the meaning of a specific action in the trailer?- Does anyone die?- Will there be a happy ending?

WHAT ARE THE ENIGMAS THE AUDIENCE IS LEFT

WITH?

- They create those enigmas by arranging the shots in a non-chronological order

- They also cut the shot before too much is revealed (to make the audience want to find out more)

- They may also only show certain character reactions (only anger filled scenes/ sad scenes)

HOW DO THEY CREATE THESE ENIGMAS?

This connects the expectation of the genre as from tragedies we usually expect bad things to happen. By

creating these certain enigmas the audience is aware that it will be a sad movie which may end tragically. The audience

is then able to connect with the movie more as they are aware pf a basic story line and in a way know what to

expect from the movie.

HOW DOES THIS CONNECT THE EXPECTATIONS/CONVENTIONS OF

GENRE?