These three trailers all have a similar theme - vampires. I have chosen to use the same genre, so I can explore the similarities and differences of how the structure and storyline can change across this recent popular genre.
1. Let Me In
The trailer for Let Me In begins with a diegetic voice of authority, which immediately gives a serious and ‘heavy’ atmosphere informing the audience of an “incident last night”. The non-diegetic music is quiet but the rhythmic ‘tapping’ can be interpreted to parallel the audiences rising heartbeat as we learn of a murder. As soon as a fast cut to a long shot of the crime scene appears the pace is altered, and by changing the cutting rate adds a more unpredictable tension. Inter-titles zoom in slowly between fast cuts of the deserted town – presumably introducing us to where the main action is to take place. Here mise-en-scene of graffiti and vandalism show that this place is not well-off or a particularly nice neighborhood.
2. Twilight: Eclipse
1. Let Me In
The trailer for Let Me In begins with a diegetic voice of authority, which immediately gives a serious and ‘heavy’ atmosphere informing the audience of an “incident last night”. The non-diegetic music is quiet but the rhythmic ‘tapping’ can be interpreted to parallel the audiences rising heartbeat as we learn of a murder. As soon as a fast cut to a long shot of the crime scene appears the pace is altered, and by changing the cutting rate adds a more unpredictable tension. Inter-titles zoom in slowly between fast cuts of the deserted town – presumably introducing us to where the main action is to take place. Here mise-en-scene of graffiti and vandalism show that this place is not well-off or a particularly nice neighborhood.
The frequent close up of the young boy tells us he is a main character and the high angle shots of the young girl inform us he is watching her from his window and coupled with the fade outs implies he has watched her over time. The trailer then follows a pattern of showing medium shots of the girl and boy as their diegetic conversation happens over these shots. Also included is flashbacks of the boy being bullied, and a close up of the girl holding his hand, which is deepening the audiences understanding of why these young people have a relationship. This slow pace editing is heightening the tension for what’s to come, as the music has been at a constant pace, now is interjected with loud harsh ‘clashes’ which is jumpy and unexpected. The lighting in the trailer is predominantly dark with most light source coming from tungsten streetlights or police cars or the reflection from the television. This produces harsh shadows and creates an uninviting atmosphere in the settings.
2. Twilight: Eclipse
The trailer for Twilight: Eclipse uses a surveying pan of extreme long shots and high angles of the films setting to introduce the trailer. This gives a dramatic feel to the trailer as there is also non-diegetic piano music that, similar to Let Me In, is quiet yet has a steady beat. This seems to be another clever technique of building the tension. A voice over begins as the camera pans down over a wide angle shot of a couple, which then cuts to a zoom out of them holding each other. As this film is the third in its franchise, the audience will recognize the voice-over’s warnings of “she's still human”, which sets up the films main issue. The medium shots and close ups of Bella and Edward imply that their relationship is one of the main focuses in this film. The low angle shot of the ‘Volturi’ shows they have a higher status. Like Let Me In, they use inter-titles to give the audience information about the date of the release and once again they zoom in very dramatically. The font is typically ‘old’ style and the colours are dark, with red. This compliments the theme of vampires and the association with blood. Again, more wide shots of scenery is used, showing the vastness of land which does not add to the narrative in any way. Perhaps this is because this film has such a large pre-determined audience, so they don't have to depend on storyline give-aways to attract people.
3. Suck
In the last trailer, Suck, the approach of the vampire theme is less serious and the performance is much more satirical than in Let Me In or Twilight. The iconography is much more stereotypical than the last two trailers, with vampires being linked to heavy metal music, dark leather ‘gothic’ clothing, bats and very obvious fanged teeth, even with your typical eyed-patched-crossbow-laden vampire slayer. The other trailers approach vampires with a more realistic feel - almost believable to an audience willing to immerse themselves in the trailer.
In the last trailer, Suck, the approach of the vampire theme is less serious and the performance is much more satirical than in Let Me In or Twilight. The iconography is much more stereotypical than the last two trailers, with vampires being linked to heavy metal music, dark leather ‘gothic’ clothing, bats and very obvious fanged teeth, even with your typical eyed-patched-crossbow-laden vampire slayer. The other trailers approach vampires with a more realistic feel - almost believable to an audience willing to immerse themselves in the trailer.
The narration over this trailer immediately connotes a humorous edge to it, because of the deep, narrative voice is often associated with comedy genre films. The sarcastic, over-the-top tone also gives a clue that this film will not be taken so seriously, like other vampire films out today. In this trailer the non-diegetic music is modern heavy rock which immediately attracts audiences who are fans of rock music – which this film is heavily aimed at. We learn this through the appearance of Iggy Pop, Moby and Alice Cooper who are shown in medium close ups, followed by their name, immediately highlighting their 'special status' and this attracts a pre-determined audience.
A similarity I have noticed over all the trailers, is the change in cutting rate (from 00:58 in Suck) which builds the thrill and excitement. This seems to be a typical structural trait across horror/thriller trailers, and in Suck it also poses as a means to give small glimpses of the main action, making the audience more intrigued to find out what happens.
What have you learned about the structure of teaser trailers from analysing your selected three?
From analysing these trailers I have began to see the basic techniques that are used in media techniques to help attract an audience. I can see that use of inter-titles are very important as they give the audience key information about the film, such as; date of release, the name of the film, stars appearing in it, and tag lines to intrigue the audience. Also music is a large factor of these trailers, as it seems to directly reflect the feel and tone that this movie will take which is very apparent if you compare Let Me In with Suck.
Over all I have learned that the making of a trailer contains so much more detail than I had already thought, as its aim is to sum up the films main plot and issues (yet not give too much away) and then attract an audience - all in less than two minutes!
A similarity I have noticed over all the trailers, is the change in cutting rate (from 00:58 in Suck) which builds the thrill and excitement. This seems to be a typical structural trait across horror/thriller trailers, and in Suck it also poses as a means to give small glimpses of the main action, making the audience more intrigued to find out what happens.
What have you learned about the structure of teaser trailers from analysing your selected three?
From analysing these trailers I have began to see the basic techniques that are used in media techniques to help attract an audience. I can see that use of inter-titles are very important as they give the audience key information about the film, such as; date of release, the name of the film, stars appearing in it, and tag lines to intrigue the audience. Also music is a large factor of these trailers, as it seems to directly reflect the feel and tone that this movie will take which is very apparent if you compare Let Me In with Suck.
Over all I have learned that the making of a trailer contains so much more detail than I had already thought, as its aim is to sum up the films main plot and issues (yet not give too much away) and then attract an audience - all in less than two minutes!
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