A2 Media Coursework: Research: Trailers

INCEPTION OFFICIAL TEASER TRAILER

Time length - 1mins 03seconds

Content analysis - The trailer emphasises the location and surroundings of where the film is located, the emphasis of this assumes to the audience that the location of the film is significant. Throughout the teaser, the trailer shows clips taken from the film itself with clips made specifically for the trailer along with credit and titles shown.

MICRO FEATURES
Camera

The first shot after the title name of the director and distribution company logo appear, is a close-up shot of a metal object spinning, slowing down ready to stop. This suggests that the spinning metal object is significant to the plot of the film, as the shot is a still close-up leaving the audience to watch and wait for the object to stop spinning. This clip soon changes suddenly viewing a credit title. This shot brings suspense to the audience as the reason for this object spinning is unknown but is obviously significant as it is the first shot of the trailer, this also gives the affect of a 'hook' - does the spinning metal object stop spinning?
Establishing crane shot from a high angle to show location. Also panning is used in this crane shot, this gives a first person perspective of being up above in the air observing down below.

Close-up shot of the main character and recognisable actor Leonardo DiCaprio, the shot is from outside of the helicopter looking in where he sits inside. Him being on the other side of the window/glass gives the effect of 'looking through the Looking-Glass', this then reinforces the plot and the themes of reality vs. the mind/dreams.

Long shot of a character being dragged away by two men.
Close-up shot of a glass of water, the water then moves to the side of the glass as if there is a change of direction of gravitational pull. This is abnormal in reality which hints the genre of sci-fi.
First person tracking, rotating quick but the camera is steady and smooth this may be used to represent movement in time.
Tilt/Dutch angles are used to represent unsteadiness and the challenge of gravity.

Editing

Begins with a zoom into the distributors company logo 'Warner Bros'. The logo is constructed of buildings from a bird's eye point of view. This then fades into black to create a dramatic effect.
There are many titles in this teaser trailer intertwining with short clips from the film itself; Title of the director fades in and out to black, then the shot of the spinning metal object appears. This then changes to another title and fades into black yet again.

Narrative is told through titles fading in and out between clips. Around the title there is a first person perspective of the camera moving (tracking and panning) around an city landscape which appears to be specifically made for the trailer as it looks computerised. This is used to create a relationship between the narrative titles and the actual clips taken from the film.
Titles are not always straight and still. Some are on a slant rotating slowly - this connotes the idea of no gravity or balance.
Pace of the clips and shots changes as the trailer progresses and unravels, this helps build suspense and tension.
The last shot is a close up of Leonardo DiCaprio's face awakening. This then jumps back to the camera traveling the city landscape panning and tracking upwards to a bird's eye view. Once again the building constructs the film title 'Inception', the title constructed by buildings simplifies and converts to a maze around the film title. This shows a relationship between the plot of the film and also helps imply that the concept of the film is for the main character to travel through this maze as journey and unravel the mystery. Also the image of the maze portrays to the audience that the film may be quite complex.
The narrative titles also show the films tagline 'Your mind is the scene of the crime.'

Sound/lighting

Throughout the trailer there is use of only non-diagetic sound.
The music playing in this teaser trailer is specially composed music for just the trailer.
The same piece of music is played throughout the film trailer to provide continuity.
The music begins quietly, the dynamics slowly grow higher and higher as the trailer progresses. The film trailer cuts of the clips shorten and speed up along with the music speeding up too.
There is use of synchronous sound in this trailer, in the very first shot when the metal spinning object appears the sound 'booms' as the shot suddenly appears and then the sound of non-diagetic music is parallel to the object slowing down.
Music is parallel to the action of the trailer.
The overall lighting of the trailer is well light.
The shot of the metal spinning object; glass of water and the last shot of Leonardo DiCaprio seems to be lit from one side to create a dramatic effect.

Mise-en-Scene

The high crane shot view of the buildings creating the Warner Bros logo is used to show a relationship between the film and the distribution company.
The glass of water and the water flowing to the side of the glass as if the gravitational direction has changed.
The narrow corridors of characters fighting in the air and running against the wall, yet again the use of this is to represent gravity and science. The narrow corridors is used to portray the sense of being trapped. The use of a fight scene in this trailer also signifies the genre of action.
The clothing all the actors wear, is formal and smart. Men dressed in black suit dragging another character away suggests authority.

MACRO FEATURES

Iconography

The glass of water. The glass of water showing the change of gravitational pull, this is used to reinforce the genre of the film, that it could be in the genre of Sci-Fi.
The use of city landscapes could be used to give a clue about the plot of the film.
Men in formal suit wears used to reinforce the image of authority.
A watch, ticking to 12. Used to represent the time running out or a race against time.
Guns are used to also reinforce the genre or Action.

Characters

Main character is Leonardo DiCaprio, a famous well known actor and he is seen the most in this trailer but usually in a medium shot or close-up to keep focus on this one character. This is done to help promote and advertise the movie as a well known successful actor is in the cast.

Setting

Setting of the trailer is is unknown, but the first location shot is of a birds eye view panning above looking down at a city. Also the first shot that contains characters from the film is from the top of a building inside a helicopter. The use of buildings is significant to the plot.

Location of the clips towards the end are from inside a building, so it trailer begins on the outside and then moves to inside of a building. The contrast of seeing clips from the outside and the inside emphasises being inside of a building representation of being trapped within.

Narrative

The narrative is in the form of written titles that show between clips of the film.
The titles show the films tagline 'Your mind is the scene of the crime'
Only the tagline is shown for the plot narrative, no actual narrative dialogue, only non-diagetic music.

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK TEASER TRAILER

MICRO FEATURES
Camera/Mise en Scene
- The medium shot which follows shows Indiana and a man in the background as the spike goes across the lens. The medium shot effectively shows Indiana's torso in full costume revealing more about his character and reveals a stream of water heading through the cave; the stream as well as Indiana's sweaty face shows that the environment beyond this cave could be exotic. The dark leather flight jacket hints that the character could fly or be very adventurous. The khaki shirt would most likely be found in desert or other conditions involving heat. The costume tells the audience that the character is a adventurous explorer.
In the next scene it introduces the desert environment. The first shot is a low angle long shot of a bunch of men running towards and past the camera as it slowly pans up to meet them. The camera angle shows that these men are dominant, this could be due to the amount of them. The long shot introduces and establishes the environment in the desert village or town. The costumes of the men and people in the background corresponds with the environment; robes suggesting it is hot as well as revealing these men's Arabian heritage. However, the men running are wearing black cloth around their heads hiding their identity and making them seem antagonistic. The setting also suggests that place is poor which means that someone richer may be in charge; this links back to the German at the start. This is followed by a over the shoulder shot of Indiana pushing a women down and another over the shoulder shot from Indiana's point of view as he pushes the approaching Arabian in the face. This introduces a possible female counter-part and romance to the plot. It also reveals more about Indiana's character, that he is caught up in a lot of trouble over the Ark which he must be looking for. This scene also introduces the whip with an extreme close up of him getting it from his belt; the extreme close up bringing full emphasis to the whip. This is then followed by a low angle long shot from behind two other Arabs as Indiana cracks his whip at them to keep them back. The shot represents him as a dominant wrangler over these two Arabs who back away as he begins to crack his whip.
- A close up dolly shot of the front of Indiana on a horse, once again adding to his adventurous persona. The shot from the front shows Indiana is in pursuit and the shot from behind shows the Germans are the ones being chased; this also shows that the Germans are the definite antagonists. The low angled shot makes the truck seem more dominant and acts as a juxtaposition to Indiana making him look outmatched. The medium shot hints that Indiana has jumped from the horse to the truck, as well as showing where they now are which is a desert road. There is then a low angled long shot from the side of a cliff looking up as the truck skids across the verge of the cliff with Indiana holding onto the door. The shot introduces the concept that they are driving on the verge of a large height adding tension. The low angled shot shows that Indiana and the truck are in danger.
- The next scene introduces the audience to a darker environment in a bar, the darker gloomy atmosphere and the actors in coats hints that climate is colder as well. The first seen is important as it introduces Indiana's nationality clearly. It is a over the shoulder shot from an unknown man in a hat's perspective. Indiana says: "Let her go" in an American accent which tells the audience he is American as well as mentioning the women counter-part again. The the pattern on the glass on the door represents bars; this means escape from the situation will be difficult. The next shot is a close up of a man in a black coat, glasses and fedora hat holding a shard of metal in position to strike the women(extremely phallic reference portraying dominance over women in this time period), right as it is shot out of his hand. The mans black costume and actions show he is an antagonist. This is followed by a low angle close up of Indiana pointing a pistol and running away. The low angle could suggest that it was a bold decision to defend the women. The shot also shows the audience that Indiana is armed with a gun which is a phallic reference making him look dominant; corresponding with the low angled shot.
- The long shot also makes him look smaller and more insignificant. As Indiana is mounted and the Arabians aren't mounted is a juxtaposition representing Indiana as a more important character. The shot also brings reference to the desert environment again.
- The last scene is set in a exotic jungle and cave environment. The first three scenes introduce the setting and the fact Indiana is being chased by tribe of natives to the jungle. The first is a panning medium shot following Indiana as he's running past. The medium shot shows more of the jungle in the background; the sense that there is something else in there. There is then a medium shot on a dolly following natives with spears moving through the forest. The third shot is then a long shot of Indiana running towards the camera on a tropical plain with the natives and jungle in the background. This could hint that he might have taken something special to the natives. The low angle shot represents the danger of falling. There is then a low angle long shot from inside the hole looking up as Indiana goes across the hole, the shot represents how far the hole goes down. The scene ends with a shots in a cave in the jungle. Firstly a long shot of Indiana running away from the camera as a load of rocks fall down onto the floor in front of the camera. The long shot makes Indiana look small compared to the situation that the cave is collapsing. This is then climaxed by a low angle medium shot of Indiana running past the camera with a golden object in his hand, as a very large boulder pursues him. The low angled shot is a juxtaposition making the boulder look incredibly larger than Indiana.
Editing
- Unlike most typical teasers or trailers, Raiders of the Lost Ark doesn't show any production titles at the start, instead it only shows a list of credits at the very end.
- It begins with a black screen followed by big bold white lettering to contrast with the black background, this helps the writing stand out. It shows a date and a movie which came out on that date: "1975. . .JAWS" then "1977 . . . STAR WARS" then it ends with "1981. . ." with the Raiders of the Lost Ark title coming afterward. The title is written in a different font, it is also a different colour; in orange and yellow with an outline of blue. The font is also slanted with the first letter appearing larger; this makes the title seem adventurous and exciting. The colours orange and yellow portrays adventure, excitement, the blue outline will represent devotion truth and wisdom. This is significant as this means all of these films are related in some way. It is subtly connoting that the film will involve Oscar nominated director Steven Spielberg from Jaws, Oscar nominated director George Lucas and Harrison Ford from Star Wars, also Oscar winning film composer John Williams. This will effectively bring an audience who are fans of those films and the people involved.
- Apart from the scene involving dialogue the teaser uses a lot of quick cuts to keep the teaser short.
- In the shots which are in the same scene as one another, they use match on action which connotes that they are in the same scene. To navigate from one scene to another they use jump cuts to different environments.
- The quick cuts act almost like a non chronological montage to give the audience the idea of what the films about.
- They use juxtaposition in the throughout the teaser, most notably at the start where Indiana's head is closer to the camera making him appear more important. It is used again in the shot where he is on the side of the truck to make the truck look bigger and more menacing. It is also used again in the end shot where the boulder appears much larger than Indiana making it look more dominant than Indiana.
- The trailer then fades to black quickly slowly zooming in on the title again to remind the audience what the title is again. It is then followed by the credits which are important as they show who's involved in the film which is important as a famous name will attract a larger audience.
Sound
- The start of teaser shows two films whose scores were both done by the Oscar winning film conductor John Williams, this hints that John Williams will again be working with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg to make Raiders of the Lost Ark.
- There isn't a lot of dialogue in the trailer yet the dialogue which is used in the trailer gives the audience a lot of information. The teaser remains mostly non-diagetic.
- The trailer relies a lot on the music to portray a lot of the emotion. In the style of Jaws and Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark will also use a symphony to portray tension, excitement and romance. The sound remains parallel throughout relating to the scenes within.
- The music is also the theme to the movie which will help promote it.
Lighting
- In the first scene where Indiana is introduced there is only backlight and filter light, Indiana's face is shadowed which means there is a lot of depth to the character which will be revealed as the teaser goes on. The other mans face is half shadowed, this corresponds the dialogue meaning he is the antagonist out to get the Ark.
- In the next scene in the cave there is only filter light, this is to represent that they are in the middle of the cave and they are no where near an entrance. This also gives enough light to quickly show Indiana in his costume which is important as it shows lots about his character. The light also shines on Indiana's hand which could connote him as the protagonist.
- In the next scene in the desert town it uses a natural sunlight used as filter light; using the buildings and Indiana's hat to cast shadows. Sunlight is considered as filter light due to the fact that sunlight can come from any direction. The filter light also successfully adds plenty of shadows on the characters once again portraying mystery. The broad shadows casted by the buildings help create a sense of urban realism to the seen.
- In the next scene on the desert road there is once again natural sunlight acting as filter light. Indiana's fedora hat constantly blocks the light covering his face with shade connoting that hes a very maverick character. The shot where hes waling across the side of the truck with the shade all over his body once again strengthens this maverick concept.
- In the next scene in the bar uses a lot of backlight and filter light; the backlight makes the man in black appear more antagonistic by creating black silhouette shapes. The filter light in this scene helps us finally see Indiana's face clearly, this adds emotional depth to the character making him stand out as the protagonist in the dark surroundings.
- The last scene once again uses a lot of backlight and filter light to create shadows and mystery in the scene. The lack of key light throughout the teaser creates the sense that there is a lot of antagonism to overcome throughout.
MACRO FEATURES
Iconography/genre
- The teaser introduces the genre immediately as it shows the films which the maker's were involved with before; Jaws and Star Wars were both action/adventure films. Also the title involves the word "raiders" is very forceful hinting a lot of action in the movie. The colour of the font on "raiders" also hints the genre; orange mainly representing adventure.
- Indiana Jones' costume introduces the time period, fedora hats were extremely common on men in the 1930s. The costume is also very weather-worn which therefore connotes the adventure genre.
- The guns, the whip,the fighting and the stunts connotes the action genre.
- The different locations also connote the adventure genre, as well as the mise en scene in these locations such as horse riding and cave collapsing.
Characters
- Indiana Jones is shown the most throughout the teaser to connote that he is the protagonist. He remains nameless in the teaser so the costume is important in the audience recognition and connoting character traits; like his whip connoting he can be very innovative by using a whip instead of a gun or a knife. He is also played by Harrison Ford who had just gained mainstream recognition through the success of Star Wars in 1977 and The Empire Strikes Back in 1980; this is effective as it will attract an audience.
Setting
- The teaser features multiple locations; to a western audience most of the locations apart from the bar will be very exotic connoting an adventure genre. It tells the audience that the protagonist ventures across many countries throughout the film.
Narrative
- There isn't a lot of narrative in the teaser, so therefore the narrative which is very important. It features the text at the beginning hinting that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas will be involved. The main diagetic dialogue in the teaser is the central European man explaining what the Ark does, this is important as not that many people would know what the Ark is.
- It is because of the lack of narrative that the teaser relies heavily on the micro features such as Mise en Scene.
- To conclude, the teaser is effective as it is short and doesn't reveal too much. It subtly shows who's involved with the film to attract fans of Jaws and the Star Wars franchise. It focuses mainly on a non-chronological montage of the protagonist in different parts of the film to introduce not only the actor involved but the genre and time period. It also uses mainly non-diagetic music rather than diagetic dialogue.
  
  'THIS IS ENGLAND' OFFICIAL TRAILER
  - The trailer opens as the film does, with archived film footage of the 1980s used in order to set the scene. The editing of these shots is parallel and rhythmical with the music, showing the importance and preoccupation with music in 1980s society. The music creates helps to move along through three sections, stopping before the restoration of equilibrium to create a cliffhanger, keeping the audience guessing and wanting more. We begin with happy, parallel, chordant music that explores the contented mood of the characters.
  - In this trailer there are various denotations of contextually significant moments in the history of Britain, creating a clear connotation of nationalism and the huge importance, and almost USP status, of the 80s theme in this film. Denotations of clothes through show motions shots and freeze frames with parallel music connote a preoccupation with fashion at the time the film is set.
  - Facial expressions take the trailer through three different movements. We see an initial state of equilibrium explored through smiling characters in the first movement, characters are physically close to each other and this is shown by a high use of close up and medium shots, which, along with shot/reverse add to the emotional intensity of the piece. In the second movement we still play witness to a closeness, but the equilibrium is disrupted by the arrival of an antagonist, his power emphasised by his happy facial expression whilst others fade to sadness. Action builds as actions and expressions become increasingly more dangerous/violent/aggressive until a the third movement begins with a sudden jump cut to ratings and reviews, soothing music. Shots in this movement portray drastic fluctuations in emotions, with all still dramatically intense, adding to the kitchen sink feel of the movie.
  - Shots of negative body language such as insults and swearing are followed by happy laughs, his could be said to emphasise the light hearted equilibrium at the start of the piece. Signs of friendship are shown in slow motion/ freeze frame in order to emphasise the importance of these connections.
  - Characters are placed closely together throughout this piece. This is emphasised by the use of the long shot, which frames all characters together in order to give a close, family style effect. Over the shoulder close ups also create a fuller frame, giving the impression that a surrogate family has been formed. These shots can easily be incorporated into my own product, adding to an emotive feel.
  - Mise en scene, clothing in this instance, has important meaning in this trailer. It adds to the realist representation of 80s society, the USP of the film, and creates the entire context of the piece. Settings throughout the piece are, generally, decaying, lower class, everyday areas. This alerts the viewer of the 'kitchen sink' style of the social realism genre, representing the entire dramatic, mellow mood of the piece through decaying settings. Little use of props could also be said to dramatise the relationships between characters, working together with a high use of close ups and reaction shots to, overall, give the piece an emotive feel. Costumes are very elaborate, to me as a modern viewer, and heavily rely on popular culture (of the time) whilst dismissing gender stereotypes. We see females sporting traditionally male hairstyles and butch clothing, such as boots. This distracts the audience from the appearance of the characters, with their elaborate outfits used to make them stand out through a contrast to the plain settings, which allows the audience to focus on the emotions and relationships between characters.
  - The soundtrack begins with an uplifting, happy, light hearted song. This, as the trailer progresses, changes to a fast paced rock song, followed by a more mellow, soothing piece. This fits the mood and actions of the characters, with the music being parallel to the events and changing through the introduction of new characters or important actions. This three piece movement could easily be incorporated into my piece to highlight the importance and personality of certain main characters.
  - Diagetic sound, in the form of accents, gives us insight into the characters. Its colloquialisms show the characters to be of a lower class, which combines with text ('Theres three and a half unemployed') and a montage of Falklands war and political footage to give a clear representation of the lower class and their turmoil at the hands of a right wing government in the 1980s.
  - Iconography of this piece is laid with the emotional expressions and images of the desolate setting. This leaves undertones of political disenchantment, anger and highlights the everyday emotion explored in kitchen sink dramas. Themes expressed here reflect the movement of the entire piece, without giving anything away, in order to inform the viewer of the film's content.
  - Lower classes, ethnicity, gender & age are all represented in this piece. The fact that we see very little of a mother figure and more of a metaphorical surrogate family creates the representation of the 'broken family' post Falklands war. This could also be said to be metaphorical of the main character's (Shaun's) father's experience, using bathos to represent a child leaving his family to fight a war against something very foreign, in this instance, the conservative government and other races.
  - The lower class are identified, in this piece, by their colloquial language and the run-down setting of the piece. They are represented to be less intelligent through the use of slang, alcohol, sexual promiscuity and the lack of employment or education. Crime and racism (being passed off as nationalism) are represented to be the workings of the lower class, thus representing them in a negative manner. The upper, in this case Thatcher, Duran Duran etc, are portrayed to be distant to the lower class. This is done through their representation only being through a television screen, the use of archived footage, highlighting the gulf between classes in 1980's Britain. It is worth note that the only person of political importance directly involved in the movie is the leader of an, arguably, extreme nationalist party - a clear statement on the beliefs and a portrayal of an ignorance within the extreme lower class.
  SAW OFFICIAL TEASER TRAILER
  Time Length: 57seconds
MICRO FEATURES
Camera
- First shot is a medium shot of a man topless in a broken car with no doors.
- The same medium shot then zooms out into a wide long shot, the long shot reveals the rest of the room and another male character whom also seems to be strapped into a trap. The camera moves swiftly left to right as it zooms out, this is done in parallel to the man's actions as he tries to wriggle side to side to get out and escape.
- Series of medium shot/reaction shot of a blond woman.
- A medium profile shot of the same man from the beginning shot is shown, this done to show continuity between the shots. This is also done to introduce the victims, the antagonist is nowhere to be seen yet which gives the sense of mystery towards the audience.
- Shot changes from a profile view to a front portrait view of the face and views a reaction shot of the man screaming in the car, he is seen through a hole of the broken glass in the foreground. The glass with sharp edges and cracks represents danger and he is surrounded by it. This signifies the genre of Horror as there are victims screaming and trapped in throughout the trailer.
- Bird's eye view shot from top angle viewing down at two characters dangling above traps that are down on the floor beneath them. This high angle shot is used to portray the vulnerability to danger all around them.
- Shot changes quickly with a flash, then shows a first person perspective (POV shot) looking up at the lights on the the roof of a room. This is done to show continuity from the scene, as though one of the characters have fallen from their grip and landed on the ground looking up at a light.The light could be symbolising death- 'going towards the light in the dark'.
- An establish location shot then appears, the trailer does not appear to be in chronological order thus creating a sense of confusion. The camera slowly pans around the location of a city then pans to a crowd of people surrounding a large building with large windows.
- The pace of the shots begins to quicken.
- There are series of different shots, long, medium, close-ups all showing victims desperately trying to escape from death and traps.
- During the series of different shots there is a shot of a round object with jagged edges and a red and white hypnotic swirl in the middle. The colours red and white is a connotation to the film saw as it is used throughout the previous Saw films and is the theme to the antagonists costume.
Editing
- Distribution company logo 'Lionsgate' appears first, then the studio logo 'Twisted Pictures'.
- The font of the 'Twisted Pictures' has slits across it almost like a blade has sliced it. Also the sharp object between the title with a twig with thorns wrapped around it signifies the genre Horror.
- Narrative titles appear throughout the trailer, the style of the font looks as though it is made out of metal and is 3D, shows a relationship with the film. The titles are highlighted in the middle and gets darker around the edges.
- Titles fade in and out from black as well as the shots from the film.
- Motivated cut is used, views a very quick shot of an image in which the audience may not tell what it is when seeing the trailer for the first time. This cut is used frequently throughout the trailer to draw an audience and to literally 'tease' the audience.
- After the motivated cut, the image fade in and out of black, then a bright flash appears suddenly. The two are used together to give a dramatic and shocking effect.
- The pace of the editing quickens in parallel to the action.
- Cutaway shot is used, the traps from the film clip are seen in the clip with the titles. This is done to avoid the uncomfortable change from film to title clips which is done many times near the end of the trailer - it keeps the flow and continuity smooth.
- The titles towards the end are also incorporated with traps, the traps behind are in fact 'trapping' the titles. This is done to show continuity between the clips from the film and the titles editing in after.
- The use of the weapons with the titles signifies danger and death which then leads to being one of the many conventions of the genre Horror. This allows the audience to see that the genre of this film is Horror.
- The last title showing 'SAW 3D' is also in 3D style, this is done to promote that the film has been specially made for a 3D filming experience which taps into a wider audience.
- The title then vibrates and then with a sudden outburst, an intense close-up of artificial weapons come out towards the screen to give a 3D effect. Again, the purpose of this is to promote the 3D filming experience.
- The last shot we see is of title of the release date and shows the tagline for the film 'The traps come alive.' In this last shot shows blood dripping down onto the screen, the use of blood connotes death again reinforcing the genre Horror.
Sound/Lighting
- There is use of diagetic and non-diagetic sound used in this movie trailer.
- Use of a non-diagetic voice over narrative which seems to be the antagonists voice is very significant to the plot as previous Saw films, there is no certain visual identity of the antagonist but his voice which is distinct and recognisable.
- Non-diagetic music is used, seems to be specially composed music for the trailer. The music can be described as eerie and creepy which helps reinforce the genre of Horror.
- The non-diagetic music is parallel to the action on-screen.
- Tension of the music builds up and in the last quarter of the trailer the full music begins, again parallel to the action on-screen.
- Diagetic sound is also used, the use of a female screaming victim is essential as it reinforces the genre Horror. Not only is there just one female scream but male too. In the beginning of the trailer, there is off-screen screaming echoing in the background, this helps build tension and suspense.
- Sound effects of weapons are used to emphasise the danger of the weapons, the metal sharp sounds are loud and can cause an audience to 'jump' in their seat.
- In the scenes that show the victims, the lighting is quite harsh.
- The key lighting is usually focused on the characters and creates strong shadows on the characters features, gives the appearance of the victims being trapped in darkness.
- Low-key lighting is used in all the clips from the film thus creating a chiaroscuro effect. It creates a strong contrast between light and dark
Mise-en-scene
- The use of set design is important within this trailer, the setting of the scenes and the objects that surround the character is significant as it needs to portray the sense of entrapment to reinforce the plot of the film.
- Although the lighting of the scenes are low, the audience is still able to see that the camera focuses on a character and the surroundings of many metal objects hidden in the shadows. This specific set design and objects are used to amplify character emotion or to set the mood of the film.
- The use of costume the characters wear helps signify the characters, the male and female victim in the beginning of the trailer are seen with hardly any upper clothing on.
- The first male victim is topless, the human flesh is seen with no protection. This is done to signify vulnerability to danger and also to provoke the audience to feel the pain that the victims feel on their bare flesh.
- The use of the blonde woman is significant as it portrays the stereotypical Horror 'female' character, the use of clothing is again quite bare. This is done to sexually objectify women as it has been done in many female characters in Horror films previously.
- There is a theme that runs through out the Saw series film, the use of props the antagonist uses has a 'fair ground' appeal to them. E.g. a gear on a machinery has white and red swirl painted on it. The use of red and white are part Saw franchise.
- The traps are the ideal choice of weapon of how the antagonist kills his victims, again this is part of the Saw franchise and because of this, the audience know that the traps are a representation of death.
- The juxtaposition of the city landscape setting and a victim trying to escape a death trap evokes the sense of danger to the audience. The image of a normal day life being interrupted by a murder about to happen in a window shop is abnormal and disturbing. This works very effective and gives a quite surreal/strange image to the audience.
- Sharp weapons and traps connotes the Horror genre.
MACRO FEATURES

Iconography
- The use of many 'Screaming Victims' shows the conventions of a Horror Genre.
- The use of weapons/traps is used to kill victims, this signifies the genre of Horror and that the film includes violent action.
- The use of 'fair ground' themed props signifies the Saw series films as the patterns of red and white have been used in previous Saw films. Also gives the image of innocence in contrast with the deadly weapons.
- Use of a Pig's mask is used to hide the antagonist's identity.
Characters
- The antagonist is the same 'killer' from the other previous Saw films therefore Saw fans will recognise the antagonist's voice although his identity is hidden.
- The victims as the audience knows from previous Saw films, have 'flaw's according to the antagonists. This reinforces the Horror convention and formal signifier 'Society is to blame'.
- The antagonist follows the classic themes and narrative conventions of the Horror genre 'The Human Monster'.
- Use of a blonde attractive female as one of the screaming victims may signify the character role 'The Final Girl'.
- The trailer does not give clues to show which hero or heroine defeats evil/antagonist in the end.
Setting
- The location of the majority of the clips from the film is hard to identify. It appears that the character's are within a room, the dim lighting has a sort of green shade to it which portrays an old, dirty, grim basement type room. The outside location of the room is unknown. This evokes the sense of mystery and the unknown to the audience
- One clip from the film then shifts to the outside city landscape, this is the location for one of the victims stuck in a trap.
- The location of the victim is always isolated and any other humans cannot reach them. This is yet again, another convention of the Horror genre.
Narrative
- The narrative is followed by a non-diagetic voice over and titles.
- The voice over is the voice of the antagonist which is recognisable to the audience if they have watched previous Saw films.
- The voice over narrative is not actually taken from the film, but is used to narrate the trailer and help re-boot the franchise of Saw films "This game has a new design". It gives a brief summary that the film is about 'Fear, suffering, death'.
- The narrative is to literally 'teases' the audience and helps promote the film, it does not give the clues to what the plot is actually about just the action within.
- The plot of the film conveys the storyline of 'The Human Monster'
- The trailer does not follow in chronological order and the narrative does not follow 'Todorov's Narrative Structure', the trailer subverts and does not conform to this.