Film trailer essay

Movie trailers play a fundamental part in the advertising of newly released films, they are a very effective way as they promote new films directly to the target audience. Throughout this essay I will be comparing three new film trailers from different genres. This will enable me to analyse how producers have used different sounds, scenes and lighting to suit the specific genre. My first film I focused on was a thriller called ‘Gone Girl’ it is a psychological thriller where the story begins as a mystery, about a man whose wife had gone missing. It examines dishonesty, the media, the economy's effects on marriage, and appearances. Secondly the film ‘Love Rosie’ is a light-hearted romantic comedy which appeals towards the younger teenagers.  Finally the last film I looked at was a supernatural horror called ‘Annabelle’ this focused on a china doll which as the film progresses you find is possessed.

The lighting and colour in the film Gone Girl uses dark low key lighting throughout the trailer as it is portraying the awful time the husband went through when he found out his wife had gone missing until the plot starts to twist. This is very similar to Annabelle where again low key lighting is used a lot when the couple are in the house which is possessed, giving the viewers an understanding that everything that is going on in the house is very untoward. Although in the trailer there is a long shot of the house they live in from the view of the pavement, this is one of the only times in the film trailer that bright lighting is used where there are no shadows as the trailer is trying to portray that from the outside of the house nothing looks like it would be haunted. Until you get a view inside of the house and it is full of shadows indicating that it isn’t just a typical homely house in the suburbs. This is very different to the film Love Rosie all the way through the trailer there is constant use of high-key lighting where everything appears to be bright creating a happy atmosphere. The trailer uses mostly scenes from the daytime which is able to capture the sunlight so that the film seems very upbeat as if it was just from a young girl’s daily life.

The mise en scene throughout the film Gone Girl enhances the worry from everyone about the missing character, as everyone wears dark smart clothing indicating that everybody is mourning over the life of the missing woman. The trailer creates a very realistic idea about the investigation as there are constant clips in the trailer of pictures and billboards of the woman whilst there also being shots of all the crime scene equipment being used throughout such as when swabs are being taken for evidence. However the film trailer Annabelle uses a very different mise en scene as the clothes the young couple wear makes them look quite middle class with them both looking happy and presentable before any of the horror in films start. The way the couple lives gives a clear indication that the film is not based on the present day as in the house they live in has record players and very old televisions. Love Rosie is quite similar to Annabelle in the terms that the characters appear to be both from middle class families and speak with a very RP accent. They wear casual clothing but nevertheless look well dressed. The town that both the young boy and girl live in seems stereotypically British with it looking quaint as it has a lot of greenery, creating a typical British town.

The sound has a huge effect on the drama and tension the trailer wants to portray, all three films use very different sounds to create different atmospheres. For example the sound in ‘Gone Girl’ has very soft tones which creates a mysterious atmosphere as it is trying to make the audience feel uneasy. This is then followed with diegetic sound from the husband who uses a rhetorical question saying ‘you think I killed my wife?’ this open ended question leaves the  audience watching the trailer in doubt as to whether he did commit the crime or not. This is compared to the sounds within the film ‘Anabelle’ where a lot of non-diegetic sounds are used such as banging of doors and creaking of stairs this creates tension as it is a horror movie the audience can automatically predict that something bad is going to happen.  Love Rosie is very similar as it uses no-diegetic sound but to portray humour for example the sipping of a cup after something embarrassing has happened, this ads a sense of humour to the trailer. There is also very upbeat music played throughout as well as a voiceover of the main character talking through different aspects of her life making this trailer very light hearted.

The use of the camera throughout the film trailers again benefits the type of genre the film is, Gone Girl uses close ups of the missing woman’s face to emphasise the worry that everyone is thinking of her disappearance. However long shots are used throughout the trailer of when people are out searching for her this creates the impression that there is such a vast amount of places the woman could be there is a fear they won’t find her. Anabelle uses similar camera angles as close ups are used when the blood of a woman goes into the dolls eye as it is highlighting when it becomes possessed. Love Rosie is very different as over the shoulder shots are used of the boy and girl looking happy together as they laugh and joke. There are also mid shots used of the boy and girl sat on the grass together but the mid-shot captures the vast greenery around the pair which creates a happy, heart-warming atmosphere.

Finally the editing in the trailer ‘Gone Girl’ uses the fading of text such as ‘To have and to hold, for better or worse’ this is very misleading as it is not in a positive aspect, as the words on screen are being juxtaposed by where the female character is, as the husband cannot have or hold her as she is a missing person. This twists the positive wedding vows into something quite sickening. Throughout the trailer ‘Anabelle’ uses lots of cuts to create a dramatic affect as the film is not smooth running it indicates that a lot of horror happens throughout the film. This is compared to the bright text which is used in the trailer ‘Love Rosie’ which creates an upbeat atmosphere. As although there is text on-screen the bright colours highlight the positivity of the film this is also benefited by the music playing in the background.

Overall by researching different film trailer genres and analysing all the different features of the trailer it shows how films use all the same sorts of features but depending on the genre they are used in very different ways.