1. WHAT HAVE I LEARNT FROM LOOKING AT THESE TRAILERS ABOUT...
Sound and music
The sound and music usually reflects the mood of the trailer which is often
dramatic. This is because film trailers often use extracts of the most dramatic
parts of the film which are the most exciting. The use of music that adheres to
the genre is effective as it can help an audience to understand the mood of the
film better, particularly an emotion provoking song or a well known one which
could have connotations with the film. Sounds occurring in trailers again as
said earlier tend to come from dramatic scenes so include sounds such as
thunderstorms, fireworks, gunshots and horses whinnying loudly. This all helps
to build drama, make the film seem more exciting and therefore capture an
audience.
Voice over
Voice over tends to be used to speak directly about the film. Sometimes to
narrate the story such as “In the summer of 1922” or to advertise the actors/
directors such as “From the guys who brought you”. Sometimes voice overs
are used to speak of ratings such as “Hillarious, 5 stars says the Mail on
Sunday”. Voice over could be seen as important as it can aid the understanding
of a trailer as not to make it confusing. If the audience are confused by a trailer
they may be put off and be unlikely to watch the film. Voice over also
recognises the fact that some may not be looking at the screen when the
trailer is on but simply listening. A voice over therefore gives the key
information to the audience whilst recognising that they may not be watching
or possibly unable to read.
Mise En Scene
Mise En Scene including props, lighting, make up and clothing are all very
important in setting the scene of the film/trailer. The costume as I have
discovered in my research is very important in setting the time period of the
film’s setting. When making my trailer it will be important to look closely at the
Mise En Scene and to check that everything in view of the camera is suitable to
the trailer/film’s setting.

2. Editing
What can be recognised is that all of the trailer’s that I have looked at so far
are simply a collection of extracts from some of the most exciting scenes in the
film. These are put together with other small extracts to give some idea of
what the film is about. Editing can see images superimposed over one another
to show relation in characters as well as extracts from scenes that do so such
as the shot-reverse-shot in The Great Gatsby.
Special effects
Special effects are common in large budget, blockbuster films which often have
access to the highest level of technology which enable them to create dramatic
and action filled scenes without putting actors lives at risk. These scenes with
special effects tend to pop up in trailers to display the quality of the CGI which
can attract film fans.
Genre
The genre is often introduced through a variety of ways including music,
narration, and in particular the Mise En Scene. Such as a film with a Sci Fi
aspect to it like The World’s End many sparks flew though the sky and
spaceships and zombies were seen. When considering my film’s genre I must
think carefully about such things as a set full of Sci Fi costumes and objects
may be difficult to obtain due to the fact that my trailer is most likely to be that
of a small scale, independent film.
Narrative
The film’s story is often intro9duced again through a variety of ways. Most
commonly, however a narrative is created through the narration which carries
the audience through the basics of the story such as setting and who the
characters are or what the film’s about. In the case of the Les Miserables film
the basics of the story were told through key lyrics. This is due to the fact that
the film (based on the musical) is sung throughout and to include speech in the
trailer would not reflect the way that the movie is. When creating my trailer I
will need to think carefully about how I will introduce the key aspects of my
film whilst still keeping it exciting.

3. Choice of titles
It can be recognised that in all of the trailers I analysed they credited the
production company first, followed by the often award winning director and
then the famous, Hollywood actors. Other Trailers can show the rating symbol
made from five stars, a universal symbol recognised by film watchers globally
and this enables an audience to see what quality the film is of. They often link
themselves to awards and other films also to create a pre-sold audience. What
can also be noticed is the placement of the titles and the timings in which they
are placed. In the trailers that I have looked at the titles often go in the
following order: production company, director, reviews, actors. However, the
trailers that I have analysed are that of Blockbuster films and this sort of layout
may be specific to them. In order to further my research, I see it necessary to
look at trailers of independent films and look at the differences between them
and what I can learn from them also.
Cinematography
Due to the shots in trailers often being extracts from key and exciting scenes
from the film what can be recognised is that many trailers comprise mainly of
close up shots to show characters emotions, establishing shots to set the scene
and long shots to show action. They also include some of the most interesting
shots as clever camera work can be appealing.
Casting
Casting is often that of Hollywood actors, later credited in the trailer. This
again, however is most likely common to Blockbuster rather than independent
films.