Identify the Unique Selling Points of a film

trailer

7.

The Deadpool trailer has various Unique Selling Points of the film that it exhibits to the audience. It does this by using various techniques. The most prominent unique selling point is the presentation of an antihero. This is the main concept of the film and so is presented throughout the trailer through the character’s personality, his actions and much of the on screen text. This USP is made obvious to the audience when the main character Deadpool says, ‘surprise, this is a different kind of superhero movie’ towards the beginning of the trailer. By stating this, the audience know that the movie is not going to be a conventional superhero movie where the protagonist is always portrayed as the good guy. This is different from other super hero movies that Marvel, as well as other producers such as DC comics, has introduced. Because it has become so conventional, we can almost expect these movies to have a similar ‘hero saves the day’ outcome with only the story telling it being different.

The major difference that we can see between this movie and other superhero movies is that with this hero, killing people is not a problem. Where as in other superhero movies, the hero creates pledge to save the world from notorious villains. On top of that, they seek to stop them on their antisocial rampages without actually getting any of them or their henchmen killed. The story in the Deadpool trailer is different however. We can clearly see that Deadpool is willing to take out anything in his path that tries to stop him from saving his girlfriend, who has been kidnapped by the villain. This leaves him open to kill whoever he wants whenever he wants and so sets this story apart from other superhero movies.

The Antihero

MARVEL

The fact that this film is produced by Marvel can also be seen as a unique selling point. We see, very often throughout the trailer, references to other Marvel characters such as Spider Man with the quote ‘With great power, comes great irresponsibility’, and the inclusion of two X-Men characters. This can be done because these characters are presented within the same universe and so are given the ability to interact with each other. This enables the audience to realise that this is a Marvel movie, despite being shown the Marvel title sequence. By mocking these other characters, the trailer is able to pin point a specific target market as only fans of marvel films and those who may have seen them before will understand the references made and will be able to find them comedic. On top of this, the audience will assume that this film will be good as the expectation that Marvel have created previous film productions, is very high. Because of this, the audience know that they are in for a high quality exhibition if they go and see this movie and so already this is a great incentive to watch the film.

Breaking the 4th Wall

Another Unique Selling Point that is displayed in various points throughout the trailer is where Deadpool breaks the 4th wall. This is when he interacts with the audience by speaking to them, making them aware that they are watching a film. The monologue that is said by Deadpool is directed towards the audience throughout the trailer, explaining and narrating what will go on in the story of the film. This is not the only way Deadpool is breaking the fourth wall however. In some points of the trailer, there are shots of Deadpool looking at the camera and talking to the audience from the scene that he is in. This USP grasps the audience’s attention and encages an element of interaction between them and what is happening in the film.

This feature is used mostly for comedic effect as the audience often receives a ‘behind the mask perspective’ from the character. We are able to receive the main character’s thought process and so therefore it gives us a closer relationship with them. This can be seen as a USP as most other films do not include this feature. The fourth wall is never broken and the director is left to tell the story by use of what is happening on screen. However, with the collapse of the fourth wall, the main character them self can tell the story and can create the feeling that this film is not being directed as such. Rather the character is dictating the story as they are aware they are playing a role in it and so provide us with information that may not necessarily be transferred over if the audience were left to figure it out on their own.

Comedy

Comedy is another USP that is characterised in this trailer. As mentioned previously when I was talking about breaking the fourth wall, this can be used to comedic effect. The audience is often provided with what the character really thinks about a situation or person, and the joke is left on the other characters in the movie. Apart from this, there are a lot of moments where the comedy plays a large role in engaging the audience. A lot of sarcastic comments and rude jokes are made by Deadpool, intended to offend other characters, but really creates a sense of comedy with the audience in turn making them laugh. The use of comedy has also been targeted towards a particular audience as many of the jokes made in the trailer are hinting towards adult type jokes and themes. For example at the end, ‘Oh, I so pity the dude that pressures her into prom sex’. This is something that only adults and teenagers would really understand. This is something that would engage a particular audience and so acts as a unique selling point towards these types of people as they would watch this film over others because of the use of such comedy.

Conclution

In conclusion, I have established that I should exhibit certain unique selling points in particular fashion so that it

reaches the intended target audience clearly. By displaying the USPs in such a way, the film will be set apart from

other films that only follow conventions and so provide the

audience with an incentive to go and try something new and exciting. Even

though the film must have its own USPs, there should be some elements to the trailer and film that are strictly conventional so that audiences that are unwilling to take risks with new

movies will watch the film because of the selling points that may not set the

film as far apart from other films as most unique selling points do.