Film trailer analysis

I chose three action film trailers to research to prove the codes and

conventions.The Avengers AssembleLucy 2014 The Hunger Games 2012

In my initial research I found that the production company logo is usually found at the start of the trailer. In the trailer for The Avengers it is at 0:40, Lucy is at 0:06 and The Hunger Games is at 0:28. The production companies usually make certain genres of films, meaning their logos reflect this. For example, Universal Studios produce mainly action, adventure and sci-fi films like Fast and Furious, Back to the Future and Jurassic Park and their logo uses lots of blue, the main colour used in these type of films.

The Avengers

Lucy

The Hunger Games

Titles: The AvengersThe titles in The Avengers are written in metallic black with a blue tint and with a glowing white outline over a

black background. This makes it look stereotypically “sci-fi” and suggests the

use of futuristic technology. The marvel logo is also included near the start of the trailer so the audience will

recognise the company name and want to see the film. The titles in this

trailer do not reveal excess information about the narrative as the voice over explains everything that the audience

needs to know.

The titles in the Lucy trailer are written in white over a black background as this shows the opposite of normality. The titles in this trailer do not reveal excess information about the narrative as the voice over explains everything that the audience needs to know. The titles in this trailer are only shown towards the end of the trailer so the main part of the narrative, Lucy having drugs implanted in her stomach and gaining psychokinesis powers, is not interrupted. They are placed between the fast paced shot of the action to break up the rest of the narrative.

Titles: Lucy

The titles in the trailer for The Hunger Games are written in

metallic gold over a black background with the glowing of

the flames on the bottom of each title. This links all of the screens

to the title of the film as it is shown to be on fire. Like in Lucy,

the titles in this trailer are only shown towards the end of the trailer so the main part of the

narrative, Katniss volunteering as tribute, is not interrupted. They are placed between the

fast paced shot of the action to break up the rest of the

narrative.

Titles: The Hunger Games

Mise-en-scene: The Avengers

In the trailer for The Avengers, Loki is shown in green clothing

with black hair. Green is the colour associated with villains (Lex

Luthor, The Joker, Green Goblin and Doctor Doom etc) as in the

'60s green was a cheap colour to print and the contrast between the typical red and blue of the heroes and the green of villains is easy to

distinguish during fight scenes. Loki is given black hair as

Mise-en-scene: LucyBrown and purple make-up has been used under

Lucy’s eyes to create bags, showing that she has not been sleeping.

Her hair is untidy showing that she is not looking after herself and that she does not care

about her appearance.

Mise-en-scene: The Hunger GamesThere is a blue tint through out the trailer, including the costumes of the crowds (blue, gray, white and brown). They are all in the same colours and “uniform” to show that everyone is the same, whereas the woman on the stage is in bright pink, showing that she is above everyone else.

Shots: The Avengers

When the heros of the film are first shown, they're in low angle shots to show the power and authority that they have.

When the villain is shown, he is in an extreme close up and he has tilted his head down but is looking up slightly, this look makes him look evil and crazy, showing that he is the villain.

Shots: LucyWhen the drugs start to effect 'Lucy', an extreme close up of her eyes is shown as they change shape and colour to show that something unusual is happening to her and it is making her body change.

As she is being transported, an extreme close up of her lip quivering is shown. This shows that she is scared about what is happening and what will happen next.

Shots: The Hunger GamesAt the start of the trailer, the main protagonist and the place she lives are shown in a long shot. The town looks very run down and looks like the people that live there are very poor.

A high angle shot shows everyone in the same colours. This shows that they have no power or authority and that they are not important.

Through doing this textual analysis, I found the following set of codes and conventions.

● Within the first part of the trailer, the production company logo is shown. The reputation of the company can help sell the film as people may see the logo and have liked previous films they have made.

● The film title is shown at the end of the trailer. The background and font show the genre of the film e.g. dark for horror, colourful for comedy, blue and silver for action.

● Film trailers have started to put social media links like hashtags, Twitter accounts, Facebook pages to 'like' and website URLs at the end of their trailers. This allows people to follow these and find out more information about the film and to interact with other people who are also interested. This is a good marketing technique as if the hashtag 'trends', people all around the world will know about the film.

● The music sets the pace and connects with the genre of the trailer. The music can either be something created specifically for the film or something already in existence.

● Voice overs help the audience understand the narrative. They can either be an external voice or from the dialogue.

● Name captions of actors and people from production are shown throughout. Actors names are shown when their characters are first introduced to the trailer. The directors name is shown to draw in more people, especially if they are well known like Quentin Tarantino as fans of his films will see his name and want to see his new film.

● The trailer should be no longer then 2:30, however, two of the trailers exceeded this limit, Lucy being 2:31 and The Hunger Games being 2:38.

● The release date is shown at the end of the trailer so audiences know when the film will be in cinemas. This attracts large audiences on the day of the release as many people will go to see the film on release day