The second film trailer we are deconstructing is also a thriller. We thought it would be a good idea to compare two thriller trailers to spot any similarities that occur and differences. Therefore we can see what is essential in a trailer for a thriller film and what other aspects are included.
Black Swan (2010) is also an American Psychological Thriller film.
First Still:
This first still, like in many trailers, show the distributor of the film which in this case if Fox Searchlight Pictures. By doing this is promotes the distributor and even allows the viewer to recognise that they may have previously watched a film that was distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures that they enjoyed. Therefore encouraging them to watch this film because of the distributors reputation.
Second Still:
This still establishes the plot of the story for the viewer, it displays a long shot, that is dimly lit focused on one person. Obviously this person is going to be of some importance as the spot light is directly focused on her. The costume and lighting compliment each other as the darkness of the surroundings in contrast to the white light of the spot light and reflecting off her white dress gives a questionable contrast between the 'black swan' and a white swan which is presumably linked to the plot.
Third Still:
This still says "Official Selection Toronto Film Festival 2010" The Toronto film festival is a prestigious publicly attended film festival and many Hollywood studios premier their films as they can reach a much larger audience. The mention of this international event already gives a good first impression to viewers of the film as it has already had some positive recognition. The back ground is black feathers of a swan, linking it to the film title along with the white font of the writing making clearly visible against this background.
Fourth Still:
This still is a long shot used to establish the setting along with establishing the main plot and theme of the film which is ballet. The film revolves around this theme and therefore this is a useful shot to use in the trailer to give the audience an idea of what this film is about.
Fifth Still and Sixth Still:
Both these shots show main characters within the film. The fifth still is Natalie Portman who plays Nina within this film, she is almost glowing with happiness, effectively made by the lighting. This differentiates from the next still of her 'rival' who is shown in a much darker light which may convey their personalities.
Seventh Still:
This shot demonstrates the clever use special effects and adds a frightening aspect to the thriller film. This shot shows the main character who has her back to the mirror and cautiously looking back towards the mirror to see her reflection looking at her with an evil expression. This illustrates the psychological aspects to the film as it its almost playing with her mind causing confusion, which also has an effect on the audience and causing some fear as it is quite a scary image.
Eighth Still
Similarly to the previous still this shot is used to create fear as the close up of the main characters face clearly shows her being very scared of something. It is unclear in the trailer what she is scared of and therefore this creates questions in the mind of the audience and intrigues them as they are curious to know what is so frightening.
Ninth Still:
this further shows the use of special effects in the film as this still shows a frightening looking character of the black swan. The special effects and expression on the face creates fear for the audience and brings in more of the psychological parts of this thriller along with closely linking it to the horror genre as this is very scary imagery. The dark navy and black in this shot also adds to the frightening effects as the dull colours often link to fear.
Tenth still:
This still is a close up of the main character pulling a black feather out of her shoulder, again showing the clever use of special effects. This creates tension and more fear as its quite unnerving to see this transformation into this darker aspect of her personality. Her skin around this is shown to be very red and scratched which also is unnerving for the audience, and also again bringing in the horror and psychological parts of this film which is important to the story line.
Eleventh still:
Again a very scary image here, a close up of the main characters face and her eyes are completely red. Red often represents blood and anger and these emotions convey to the audience. The expression on her face really illustrates the emotions she is feeling, she looks extremely confused and scared which then makes the audience feel tense and worried.
Throughout the trailer, whenever titles are displayed they all have the same reoccurring theme which is black feathers as a background with white text shown in front. The consistent use of black feathers link to the plot and title of the film 'Black Swan' and creates imagery for the audience. The use of white text against this background allows the text to be shown very clearly and makes it stand out and therefore stick in the audience' mind. This is exactly what is needed as the last still displays the title of the film black swan, and due to the colour scheme the film title is memorable.
No comments:
Post a Comment