The document summarizes 8 shots from a movie trailer and analyzes how each shot uses cinematography techniques or story elements to engage the audience. Some of the shots analyzed include an over the shoulder mid shot of a husband and wife to establish their relationship, a panning long shot of a car chase to convey the fast-paced action genre, and the title shot with smoke in the background to create an eerie atmosphere.
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Analysisofsnapshotsfromtrailertimharfield
1. 1. In what ways does your
media product use,
develop or challenge forms
and conventions of real
media products?
2.
1. The over the shoulder mid shot of the husband and wife establishes their
relationship to the audience. This shot adds variety to the trailer and also shows the
audience that they are engaged in conversation. The dialogue of the wife saying “I
really don’t want you to go” subtly adds a sense of foreboding to the atmosphere of
the trailer.
2. The panning long shot of the car chase aids the genre of the trailer; as the genre is
action/thriller this shot indicates to the audience that the film is fast paced and
exciting. The shot also shows a different location to other shots adding variety to the
locations in the trailer.
3.
3. This low angle over the shoulder shot begins the trailer’s fast paced montage. The
low angle shot shows the kidnapper in a symbolic mask used throughout the film to
be captured and helpless. As the shot progresses, the husband appears with a
weapon and uses the exclamative dialogue “Where is she?”. The shot cuts out into
the fast paced montage just as the husband swings his weapon towards the
kidnappers head. This will excite and entice the audience as the shot cuts out and is
left to their imaginations.
4. The use of lighting in this mid shot is key; the headlights of the car are the only
exterior lighting in the shot, this creates a silhouette effect around each character.
The shot contains three of the main characters involved in the trailer. The shot
indicates that it is one of the final scenes in the film as the husband has found his
wife and one of the kidnappers together.
4.
5. The title shot with the text “How far would you go?” involves the audience as it is a
rhetorical question aimed toward the audience. Thus use of smoke in the back
ground came from inspiration from the trailer “Law Abiding Citizen”. The smoke
effect creates an eerie atmosphere within the trailer.
6. The exterior close‐up of the hand knocking strongly on the door creates tension
through the use of dramatic irony – the audience know something is wrong but the
wife does not. The use of night‐vision on the camera creates a light circle around the
hand and aids the dark mood of the scene.
5.
7. The pan around the main character portrays his search for his wife through a
frustrated facial expression and the fact that he is in a strange location looking for his
wife. The fade in of the actors name “Leonardo Dicaprio” indicates to the audience
the USP of the trailer.
8. The low angle establishing pan of the house portrays to the audience the married
couple’s wealth; this shot also shows the audience the exterior of the house and
establishes the scene of the kidnapping.