Analysing movie trailers

The first genre I will be analysing will be horror. The film trailer I will be analysing will be Insidious directed by James Wan and distributed by Film District. The title of the movie is very effective because the monsters in the film are related to the movie title, since the monsters gradually try to take the souls of the characters and possess them over a very long period of time. The title alone can suggest that the movie is going to be a horror film since Insidious means that something will have very harmful effects and this kind of word would only be used in a dark film where there will be great loss and death, perfect for the horror genre. Another couple of elements shown in the trailer is that there is a lot of suspense shown in the characters faces and the long clips in between the fast clips suggests that something is about to happen, and when something does, for example the monster behind the male, the clips speed up again to match something like a faster heart beat from becoming scared. Also, you only see little glimpses of the monsters, which is very popular in horror films since showing too much could let the audience become prepared to what is going to happen, and this way, by showing little of the monsters it doesn't let the audience know when or how the monsters will attack, but by still showing the monsters it tells the audience that they are always there waiting for the moment to strike. It's very important from a distributor's point-of-view that the trailer highlights the genre of the film because it will allow the audience to know what kind of film they will be going to watch and also if they will enjoy it, since certain audiences only enjoy certain genres. The stars in the trailer are also used to show horror. The stars are shown as being constantly on edge and scared which emphasizes the genre and also shows how vulnerable the characters are, and it makes us scared too since seeing other people scared tells us that something horrific is happening. The male in the trailer is highlighted in the trailer as he is shown the most and is in the most danger, since there is the monster right behind him at one point and also he is put in the position of being near two monsters in the trailer. This suggests that something will happen to the male in the movie but doesn't give away too much so the audience would go see it to see what will happen and if he gets out alive or not. The sound also helps to show the genre of the movie because the music is dramatic and sometimes silent to increase tension. The dialogue used also shows how scared the characters are and their reactions to things which sets the scene of the movie very easily. By not having a voice over it makes the film seem more real and that the characters are on their own. By choosing to be dialogue heavy the movie shows the elements from the movie better rather than a narrator talking about them, which can be effective because the audience can see what is actually in the film and see if they like it or not. The media language of the movie seems dark and it shows there is always something behind you so it creates a feeling of vulnerability for the characters and also the audience which in turn creates a great horror movie.

The second genre I will be analysing will be Rom-Com's. The film trailer I will be analysing will be Hitch directed by Andy Tennant and distributed by Columbia. The title of the movie is used effectively because it shows what the movie will be about: relationships. By showing that the main theme of the film is relationships the audience can tell that it will have some romance and romantic elements in. In the title credits it also has some captions, for example ''most guys just don't understand'', which also suggests that it will be a Rom-com because it pokes fun at men that do not understand women, so it will appeal to both genders of the target audience. The main elements in the trailer that enables me to recognise the genre are things like the jokes and humorous scenes used. The trailer pokes fun at a usually suave man but instead he is shown as the opposite around this one woman, which suggests that the movie will be a Rom-com because the movie is finding comedy in a man's failure to seduce and speak to the woman he loves. The dialogue is also important to enable people to recognise the genre because it is the words people say and how they say it which shows what kind of film the film will be. The dialogue is always very light and never serious, denying the chance of a thriller or a horror, and it also has a lot of satire in the speech, showing that it will be a comedy. For example when the man Hitch is helping to get his woman dances Hitch says ''Never do that again'', which suggests that the scene is there for comedy value and to show how some men really don't know how to seduce women. The star's character's personality in the trailer is shown as being light hearted and suave, so when he kicks the woman he is trying to seduce the comedy value shows as this is obviously not typical of a smooth talking, suave male who Hitch is supposed to be. The main protagonist, Hitch is highlighted in the trailer to show the movie is about his life and his experiences. He has two sides to him in the trailer; the first being the suave, smooth talking love guru who helps men get their woman and the other, when he is around a certain woman is that he is as bumbling and useless around women as most men. This shows that not only is their comedy in the movie but also some romance elements as most people cannot keep their cool around people they love, and this will appeal greatly to the target audience. The voice over is effectively used in this trailer because it has a light male voice, which shows that the movie is a comedy about a male and the voice-over also introduces the movie and what it is about. The narrator is only really there to aid the trailer in showing what it is about, while the dialogue is the main element which shows what the movie is about. The media language of the movie seems light and comedic because there is always a lot of comedic social interaction between characters in the trailer and the lighting is always bright.

The third genre I will be analysing will be Adventure films. The film I will be analysing will be Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship Of The Ring which is distributed by New Line Cinema.The main elements which enable me to recognise the genre are mainly; the lore of the story, told by the narrator,the mise en scene and the types of shots used in the trailer. The lore of a story is very important in an adventure film since it sets the scene and introduces the story's world and this would seem very unrealistic if a character would tell us about the lore, since they would know it, so a narrator is a very good way in telling the audience what the story is about. The mise en scene is also very important in a adventure trailer, because most adventure films follow a house style that the main character(s) are usually dressed up in a special style which will be very personal to that character, for example Indiana Jones' hat and Gandolf's staff. The stars are used to further tell the story of the film and show what it's about, much like Hitch's film trailer except instead of being dialogue heavy it is narrative heavy to tell the story. The stars are shown having epic battles against dark foes which would highly attract the target audience, and it is also something which occurs a lot in adventure films. In this trailer there isn't really any one individual highlighted, but instead there i a small group of characters who are highlighted. This helps tell the story but also justifies the title 'Fellowship of the ring'' since instead of being focused on one main character there is a ''fellowship'' of main characters so by showing all of the main characters the trailer helps in showing the audience what the movie will be about. The music and sounds in the music also help to show the what the genre of the film will be. The music is very epic, which suggests that there will be grand battles and great adventures to be told during the movie. This would attract the target audience because they can know just from the music and sounds used that the movie will be full of the things they will enjoy. The trailer's media language uses mise en scene and establishing shots to attract the target audience. All of the characters are in some sort of special clothing which shows that the characters have different cultures, suggesting that the stories universe has a rich and powerful lore which can captivate the target audience. Also, by the use of establishing shots the audience can see that the story's universe is indeed very large since it shows lots of different settings, from the beautiful countryside of the shire to the fiery region of Moria.

The fouth genre I will be analyzing will be Science fiction. The film trailer I will be analyzing will be Star Wars The Phantom Menace directed by George Lucas and distributed by Lucas Film Ltd. The effect of the  title is extremely well used as a selling point because straight away the viewer can see that the form of the movie will be science fiction because of the word 'star', which suggests that the movie will take place in space and would be something which would interest the target audience. In the opening title sequence the trailer has some captions, for example ''Every generation has a legend'', which helps the trailer set the scene very easily. Something like this would be good for my project since it conveys the message of the trailer very easily and quickly so the viewer can understand what the trailer is about. The main elements of this trailer which enable me to recognise it as a science fiction trailer are; mise en scene and the dialogue used. The mise en scene is very important in a science fiction movie because they are usually very futuristic and scientific, often involving aliens, spacecrafts etcetera. This movie trailer shows all of them and so the audience of the genre will take great interest in this movie. The dialogue is also very important because it shows the viewer what it is like in this fictional world of star wars, and this could be very interesting to the target audience. The dialogue often refers to 'the force' which seems very mysterious and out of this world, which also keeps to the conventions of science fiction films, so the audience will easily be able to recognise this and take interest. The stars are used to show the different types of characters in the film and to also tell a bit about the story/lore of the film. In this particular trailer, it ties in very well with mise en scene since there are aliens taking the role of stars in the trailer, while also people in futuristic suits of armor. This all would interest an audience of science fiction. The individual highlighted in the film is the young actor, Jake Lloyd, who played Anakin in the film and he is highlighted because most of the significant parts of the trailer happen when he is around. He is also highlighted by being the first star to be shown on the screen, and he also has the most screen time, so this suggests he will be a major part of the movie. The music is very epic, much like in the film Lord Of  The Rings, but with an underlining mysterious tone throughout the trailer. This suggests to the audience that the movie will have a great adventure in but will have all of the weird and wonderful things sci-fi brings which will satisfy the needs and wants of the audience. There is no voice over in the trailer but there is a lot of dialogue from a multiple of different characters so like the movie Hitch the trailer is very dialogue heavy, which can be very effective because the viewer is not only being shown actual content of the film but is also learning about some of the story and personalities of some of the characters. The trailer's media language appeals to the target audience because the audience can see that the technology in the traileris very futuristic and that there are many strange creatures and places not known by this world, so a renowned viewer of science fiction films would enjoy watching this film very much.