Analysis Of Film Trailer

I have looked at the film trailer Thirty Days Of Night as its a similar genre to what my trailer is going to be. I have analysed the different elements within the trailer, so i will have an understanding on how the narrative is conveyed and the types of features that i should include within my trailer in order to captivate mu target audience

NARRATIVE
Todorov's theory of a narrative structure is seen throughout this trailer, yet it be very short. At the very start of the trailer equilibrium is shown, but then is very quickly disrupted by a creature jumping through a window into the house. You then see more disruption whilst the text is displayed on the screen. Recognition of the event and the events that might happen is evident in the form of diegetic dialogue as a character explains that "death is approaching". There is little evidence to show that there is an attempt to repair as most of the trailer shows the disruption. However, there is a quick edit of a scene where you see the protagonist start to fight back.
The text shown at the beginning of the trailer (along with the scenes), tells the audience that something 'bad' is coming but does not reveal who are what. The character interaction also helps the audience to understand the narrative of the film but again without giving too much aways, so it still creates the effect of enigma codes.

AUDIENCE
I would say that the target audience for this film would be 15 to 40 both male and female. The certification of the film is 15 so the film should automatically not be targeted to any below the age group. The film is within the horror genre and will contain disturbing and violent scenes that should not be viewed by anyone below the age of 15 years. Audiences above the age of 40 may not have any interest in the film as it involves the element of fantasy (vampires) and may just thing that it looks fake and will not be effected by the film (which defeats the purpose of the film being horror). I think that the film will possibly appeal to more males than females, as from my research females prefer more 'ROM COM' films whilst males enjoy violence and horror within a film.
Trailers have to be suitable to be seen by all ages, which can effectively target audiences below the certification as they will not show the full content of the film. However the genre of the film will decrease the amount of underage viewers as most children will find horror genres too disturbing, the film may possibly attract young teens (13-14 years old). The time of day that the trailer is shown is a way to target the 'correct audience'. By showing the trailer after 9 o'clock can ensure that children will not being viewing it and by showing it on adverts in between programmes that attract older teens and adults will also do the same.

SOUND
As mentioned above the trailer has to be suitable for viewing by all ages-meaning that they can not show any of the content of the film in detail (blood, threat, dangerous behaviour). As 'Thirty Days Of Night' is a horror and is certificated 15, the trailer shows very little of the violence and the actions of the vampires. Because of this the trailer will rely on sound to emphasis the element of danger and violence.
The diegetic sound of screaming and the screech of the vampires shows the audience that there is pain and panic. The sound at the beginning of the trailer of the window breaking, will create a physical affect on the audience, by making them jump and by letting them know that this film is 'scary'
The dialogue of the characters acts as a voice over throughout the trailer, it explains what is happening within the film to help the audience get a feel for it so they can decide if they would like to go and see it. The voice over works along side the images of the scenes as it helps understand what the scenes are about, but still creates a sense of mystery- not knowing what will happen.
The non-diegetic sound is in the form of music, the tempo of the music changes throughout the trailer to fit in with the speed of the edits and the action. At the beginning of the trailer when the disruption has just occurred the music is quite slow to go along side with the edits (establishing the setting and text on screen) the music has 'screeching/piercing' sound to it and gets louder a the scenes go on. (the piercing of the music could represent the vampires-even though the villain has not yet been identified.) The tempo of the music speeds up towards the end of the trailer once the 'recognition' and the audience is aware of the killer, it shows other events within the film (destruction of the town, fighting back) and text (the director etc.) the music no longer has the screeching sound to it and is a little more upbeat to show that action moving on.

MEDIA LANGUAGE
COSTUME, HAIR AND MAKE-UP
The costume of the villain/s is very dark- long black coats, which contrasts with the paleness of their make-up and skin. Doing this creates a very 'scary and sinister' effect, it also goes alongside with the long sharp fingernails and teeth and with the blood dripping down the sides of their mouths. Once seeing all of these features the audience know that they are vampires (and that they are in Alaska where there is 30 days of darkness.) The characters follow the characteristics and stereotypes of vampires that all audiences will recognise. However, through the use of edits and camera movement it takes a while for the identity of the killers to be revealed. The quick edits of the vampires' faces makes it difficult for the audience to recognise them as vampires, until you notice the blood and that they kill their victims by biting their necks.

SETTING
The film is set in Alaska during the month of darkness, the text on the screen tells the audience where the film is set, but you can identify this from the snow that covers the entire town. The fact that the whole film is set in the dark creates a scary effect within itself, this along with that the villains are vampires makes it even worse as there is nowhere for the victims to escape until the month is over.

LIGHTING AND COLOUR
As the film is set in darkness, the lighting relies on the snow to make the scenes more brighter. throughout the whole trailer low key lighting is used so the audience can still see the effect the the town is in complete darkness. The use of low key lighting also creates a more terrifying look on the vampires' faces as it emphasis their features. The colour of the text is in black, white and red which are the predominant colours used within the horror trailer, as they convey meanings of danger, violence and mystery.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5Q3PdT6GFQ