Analysis of Shutter Island trailer

Camerawork:

Long shots are used to establish environment and also cause intrigue/mystery as the LS captures the mist surrounded boat as well as the isolated island, suggesting that this environment is vulnerable.
Close ups are used to capture significant moments, eg, the close up of the gun being passed to the officer suggests that the two men are now vulnerable, their safety is in jeopardy. Another Close up of a small piece of paper 'who is 67?' makes the audience question what the significance of this note means, and the close up suggests that it has a high level of significance furthering the audiences intrigue. Low angle shots are used to make the audience feel inferior to the situation, we don't know what is going on and what we are supposed to know. I have noticed that there are many long shots used throughout the trailer to constantly reiterate the fact that the island is isolated and this links to the idea of the island having significance to the narrative of the film and certain characters. The camerawork draws the audiences attention to specific elements of the narrative shown through the props (gun/paper) and the set (island/cell). There is a dominance of long shots, 2-3 shots and close ups to indicate that the location has great significance to the plot, that the characters have great significance to the mystery of the storyline and that particular aspects of the mise en scene have great significance in enhancing audience intrigue, for example, the piece of paper and the gun.

Editing:

What I have noticed is that the editing begins quite ordinary regarding pace, it is relatively slow paced to establish a storyline or a main part of the narrative so that the audience can grasp an idea of what the plot is about, for example, when DiCaprio is on the boat approaching the island and when he is about to enter through the gates. As the trailer continues, the editing begins to become more fast paced with a variety of jump cuts and fast straight cuts building up the tension and mystery as well as the excitement and energy of the trailer. This suggests to the audience that this plot has a lot more to offer than what can be seen at that moment, adding to the intrigue. Throughout the trailer, the pace of the editing could be at a calm pace and then all of a sudden a fast paced straight cut would occur revealing another camera shot linking to the complex narrative, this contrast in pace within a few seconds also adds to the excitement of a thriller film and the mystery and some what frightening aspect to it. For example, when the 3 men are approaching the gate and the editing is slow paced and then all of a sudden there is a straight cut to a CU of barb wire and a LS of papers flying in a room. Another thing that I noticed in analysing Shutter Island is that there are a number of fades to and from black used in particular places, this could show how the audience are in the dark about certain situations in the narrative and how some characters are in the dark about their position within the narrative. The fades to and from black could also be linked to memory, how memory is a large theme within the plot and the black used could signify how a character's memory is in jeopardy. The main thing about editing regarding the genre (thriller/horror) is that it adds to the build up of tension/excitement/intruige and mystery.

Sound:

The sound is probably, combined with editing, the most important aspect to a teaser trailer of the thriller genre. The sound evident in Shutter Island is a mixture of diegetic dialouge which reveals key mysteries to the plot, for example, 'who is 67?' and non-diegetic sound of bursts of music occuring in sequence to the transition of camera shots through editing to enhance the ambience a trailer of the thriller genre can offer. A few examples of key moments that sound enhances the atmousphere is when Ruffalo says 'all I know is that it's a mental hospital' and there is a series of camerashots seperated by fast paced straight cuts, these are combined by a non diegetic screeching sound and fast paced drum like beats in the background. This music combines with the other technical codes to intruige the audience and suggest a complex/frightening narrative. What I have noticed about this trailer in particular is that it has a number of sudden bursts of non diegetic music after a character reveals dialouge of significance, for example, when Dicaprio says 'for the criminally insane' there is a drop of non diegetic powerful, drum like music to suggest the complexity of the plot and the tension evident. Fast paced non diegetic bursts of music with various layers (a screech and a drum beat) are evident when the editing becomes fast paced. As the trailer progresses the background non diegetic music occurs of slow beats accompnied with diegetic dialouge to show that as the trailer is progressing so is the tension, mystery and complexity of the narrative. In the last 25 seconds of the trailer the non diegetic music quickens in pace constantly until the end of the trailer combined with the editing being at its fastest. This adds to the extreme build up of action/mystery/tension that a trailer of the thriller genre has to offer.

Mise en scene

The mise en scene in the trailer of shutter island is overall what you would expect to find in a trailer of that genre - horror/thriller. For example, the set/location throughout the trailer is an isolated island, dark confined spaces and rooms with minimal detail which could mirror Leonardo Dicaprios state of mind within the film. Props include cruxifix's, uniformed officers and doctors, reinforcing status therefore suggesting that something is evident which needs to be dealt with seriously - in this case 'the criminally insane'. Guns are a significant prop which inforces danger and fright as well as a defensive attitude. Handcuffs, photographs and peices of paper are all props which suggest that there is some kind of mystery evident, something is missing, the peices of the puzzle do not fit together. This causes intruige from the audience. It is important to note that the costumes change significantly throughout the trailer, Dicaprio starts off wearing a costume similar to that of a police officer/detective inforcing his status and ensuring the audience are on his side, but then we see him wearing white overalls suggesting that his individuality and authority has been stripped and he has more to do with the storyline than first predicted. These subtle costume changes cause mystery and add to the conventions of a trailer of the thriller/horror genre.

Conclusion

In the construction of my teaser trailer I plan to use some techniques that I have identified here. I will use LS to establish location, CU to show character facial expression and reaction. For the pace, I plan to begin the teaser trailer with a slow pace and build up in pace throughout to parrallel the build up of tension/mystery/suspense. Another idea that I am going to use regarding pace is, in the middle of the trailer, the pace will suddenly slow down revealing a significant/scary event to enhance audience fright/interest. I am going to use a similar idea of set, isolated, dark rooms and I also plan to use the idea of a significant costume change. I am planning to have the main female character wearing light colours initially, but as the trailer progresses she will be wearing dark coloured clothing to portray her change in character.

Trailers

These are the four trailers that I am going to analyse. I am going to analyse trailers so that I can establish how the genre is portrayed in each trailer so that I can apply these techniques to my teaser trailer.'The Strangers' and 'The last exorcism' are trailers of the horror genre and 'Shutter Island' is a psychological thriller.
I am going to do an analysis of each trailer for camerawork, sound, editing and mise en scene. I am also going to analyse how each trailer uses graphics (typography, logos) and how each trailer established genre through lighting, colours and the pace of the trailer. I am also going to be looking out for any representations evident, for example of gender. This links to binary oppositions (a narrative theory). I am going to look out for any of these, for example, good vs evil, man vs woman to see how conflict and plot originate.

Researching genres

For my teaser trailer I am going to research the two genres, action thriller and horror.
2 definitions of 'action thriller' are:

'Thrillers are characterized by fast pacing, frequent action, and resourceful heroes who must thwart the plans of more powerful and better equipped villains'
'In which the work often features a race against the clock, contains lots of violence, and an obvious antagonist. These films usually contain large amounts of guns, explosions, and large elaborate set pieces for the action to take place'

An example of a trailer of this genre that I will be researching is 'Shutter Island'

2 definitions of 'horror' are:

'Horror films are movies that strive to elicit the emotions of fear, horror and terror from viewers. Their plots frequently involve themes of death, the supernatural or mental illness. Many horror movies also include a central villain'
'In Horror plots, evil forces, events, or characters—oftentimes of supernatural origin—intrude into the everyday world'

Some examples of trailers of this genre that i will be researching are 'Paranormal activity', 'The Strangers', 'The last exorcism'

A2 Course outline and Teaser Trailer information.

For my A2 Media Studies coursework I am going to be creating a promotion package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer (1-2 minutes) as well as two of the following three options: a website homepage for the film, a film magazine front cover, featuring the film or a poster for the film.
When I have completed these tasks I will then be creating an evaluation via powerpoint. In this powerpoint I will be explaining:
1. In what ways does my media product use develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products
2. How effective the combination of my main product and ancillary texts are
3. What I have learned from my audience feedback
4. How I used media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages.
I am going to be producing a teaser trailer along with a film magazine front cover featuring the film and a poster for the film.

What is a teaser trailer?
The wikipedia definition is 'a short trailer used to advertise an upcoming movie, game or television series'
There are conventions of a teaser trailer and some of them include:
- they are short in length
- they evoke intruige and excitement
- they establish some form of narrative
- they are released a long time in advance of the actual film
- the pace is usually fast or is slow and then picks up



This is the teaser trailer for 'Inception', this teaser trailer was released a long time in advance of the actual film. The teaser trailer is used to evoke intruige, touch upon the narrative by using effective text 'Your mind is the scene of the crime' and use music effectively to set a mysterious tone. I am going to use similar techniques in my teaser trailer, but I am also going to use techniques used in trailers which I will be analysing, such as: pace, use of edits, mise en scene (low key lighting) use of music building up in volume and pace and text to evoke excitement and intruige. A teaser trailer is different to a trailer firstly, because they are shorter in length and have less camera shots used, this contributes to the mystery potrayed and it makes people want to go and see the film to find out more about it. A teaser trailer is a taster for the film, only giving the audience a slight bit of information so that they are grasped and excited by it.