As you can see, the trailer isn't very long - about 2 and a half minutes. But there is a short storyline involved in these minutes and there is a surprising amount that happens in such a small amount of time. The film is of the family and comedy genres and this is due to the talking animals and comical slapstick humour involved. There is little violence involved, no offensive language or anything else that will indicate it being aimed at an older audience member. Also the colour pallet is bright and colourful, instead of dark or dirty - adding to the idea that it is suitable for children.
Scrat is represented as a silly woodland creature that is only focussed on getting his acorn for the winter. This is perfect for slapstick humour because he is then thrust into difficult situations and usually ends up getting hurt in some way. The pirate animals are all quite menacing and the gorilla that pulls Scrat out of the water jeers at him - indicating that these are the antagonists in the film. Pirates are usually seen as the enemy in films because of their unlawful acts in the real world, in the past. So this also enforces the idea that they are the antagonists in the film. Finally, towards the end of the trailer, we see the main characters and they are tied to the mast of the pirate's ship. Therefore we assume the main storyline will focus on them trying to escape from being captured by pirates.
Studio and production names appear at the very end of the clip along with information about when the film is released and how it will be released. This is so that the last thing the audience see is all the relevant information they need to see the actual film when it is released. If they all came at the beginning, the audience may not know if they want to see the film or not, so will not pay as much attention to all of the titles.
No credits appear at the beginning/end, apart from the company credits. This is because the clip is used for promotion for the actual product, and so all of the credits will be in the actual product when it is released - therefore they are not needed in this early trailer.
All of the release information is given at the end of the trailer because (again) it will be the last thing the audience will see - so will usually remember it better. This film will be released in "July 2012", and the reason for this date is due to the fact that children will be away from school for the summer - meaning parents will be taking them out frequently to do things... Hopefully to go to the cinema, "What child doesn't like to see a film at the cinema?" Different genres of film may attempt to come out at certain times of the year. For example, a Christmas film will NOT be released in the summer because most people don't want to think about Christmas for another few months yet. Another example would be a horror film (such as mine) will be trying to get a release date that's near to 31st October, due to it being Halloween and a lot of people like to get and see a scary film on Halloween to scare themselves.
The trailer also tells us that the film will be available in "3D in selected cinemas" to generate more interest - the new 3D technology is generally well received with the public and more and more people prefer seeing a film in 3D to 2D in the cinema.
There is no certification information on this trailer, however there is a strong sense that the film is designed for younger audiences because of the content. There is also no voiceover used because it is not really needed to convey the message of this trailer.
Dialogue is used towards the end of the trailer by the nasty pirate and then Sid and Manny (two of the three main cast members). This establishes the character for the pirate and reminds viewers of how the three main characters are, or even introduces new viewers to the archetypal characters - Sid being silly, Manny being realistic.
As viewers, we aren't directly addressed in the trailer. However, this will be because it is a sneak preview - a theatrical trailer (or even teaser trailer) may well address us and encourage us to go and see the film. The only music used in the trailer is the diegetic music on the pirate ship. It is a stereotypical 'sea shanty' and so this adds to the pirate theme within the film.
The editing pace is slow-medium because most of the action is from the characters on-screen, rather than the camerawork. This means that a longer shot with less cuts can have the viewers 'settle into' the specific shot and just focus on the actions on-screen, rather than having to actively follow different characters.
The only text that appears on-screen is towards the end when all of the release information and copyright information is shown. There is an animation of the "3D" text and it twists as it moves from where the camera is situated, to centre frame.
The mini-narrative is constructed as a scene from any film is constructed - this is due to it being a sneak preview, rather than a theatrical trailer. It follows Todorov's Narrative Theory:
Equilibrium: Scrat is at sea on a lump of ice.
Disruption: Scrat finds an island, but there is a dead squirrel on it.
Recognition: Scrat knows he may starve to death, but sees an acorn in the sea - food to stop himself starving to death.
Attempt to repair disruption: he manages to get down to the acorn. However it is not a real one.
New equalibrium: he is captured by the pirates and is now at sea with them.
This scene is set to normal speed - however, this is due to it being a sneak preview rather than a theatrical trailer. In a theatrical or other version of a teaser trailer, they usually speed up or slow down events within the film to show as much of the different scenes within the film as possible.
There are no freeze frames used - but these are sometimes used in trailers to emphasise certain parts. But there is a fade from black at the start of the clip, this eases us into the scene at hand and gets us used to the setting/character a lot easier than if it were to just start with no fade. There is also a fade out at the end to achieve the same effect (but to ease us out of the clip instead of in, of course).
Another one of my favourites is at the start of an old VHS tape that I have somewhere. It is the sneak preview of Dinosaur (2000) released by Disney. This is the entire opening sequence that features in the final product (for the most part). I used this more as a template for my teaser trailer, as I felt that my trailer would suit this way of presentation.
The trailer is quite long as it is the full opening sequence. This means that it establishes the genre of the film well and gives us a good idea of what the film will be about and in turn generates a lot of interest for the film.
All of the big herbivore dinosaurs are represented as the 'adults' of the group and so are calm and know what to do when danger presents itself. The young dinosaur at the beginning is seen as a little naive and runs around trying to catch an insect - following it straight to a carnivore. Carnivores are seen as very threatening by chasing after the herbivores and trying to eat the innocent dinosaurs. The carnivore featured in this opening sequence even crushes a nest of eggs.
There are no company logos in the trailer, however there is text at the beginning and end of the trailer giving us the title and explaining that it is a Disney film that is in production and will be released in 2000. I found this quite effective because I could get into the mind-frame of watching the film quite easily, and the opening text gives us context for the trailer.
No other credits appear in the trailer, due to the fact that the trailer was released while the film was in the middle of being developed. In later trailers and in the final product, there will undoubtedly be credits at the end and maybe at the beginning too.
The only release information we are given is a text graphic that fades into view at the end of the trailer. This simply says "2000", due to the fact that the film is still in development, and they may not have an actual release date booked. Disney may have had a goal of "being released in 2000", but sometimes films go astray and are released later than anticipated - this is why the studio wouldn't have stated an exact date so early on.
The film was the first Disney Animated Feature film to be entirely computer generated (apart from some background images/footage) and so they highlighted this in the opening text - "all new motion picture experience".
No certification information is used in the trailer due to the film still being developed. However the content seems to be aimed at younger audiences (maybe aiming for a PG rating?) due to the different characters and music being quite light - but with darker tones at some infrequent points. There is also no voiceover used, this is due to the fact that the sneak preview is actually the opening sequence to the film.
Surprisingly, there is no dialogue used at all in the trailer. I think this is because dialogue isn't really needed for it - we can understand what is happening without it and it works well for younger children to watch (they don't have to keep up with spoken word as well as the visuals onscreen.
We are not directly addressed as a viewer in the narrative of this trailer, however the text at the beginning of the preview addresses us directly - "invites you". There is music used throughout to help convey the feelings of the dinosaurs. The music moves from calm, settling music, to fast paced scary music to fit the mood of the scene.
The editing pace is slow-medium and this is due to the fact that at the beginning of the trailer, the mood is very calm and so the shots are quite long... But the scene then moves to being quite fast paced due to the carnivore chasing the other dinosaurs, the editing speeds up a little here.
Text appears at the beginning and that the end of the film. The text at the beginning eases us into the trailer and gives us the reason why we are watching it, then the text at the end tells us the film title and the year of release.
In the trailer, the mini-narrative also follows Todorov's Narrative Theory:
Equilibrium: the dinosaurs are all feeding off of the vegetation around their home, and atre caring for their eggs.
Disruption: a young dinosaur stumbles across a predator and the predator charges at them.
Recognition: an egg is knocked from the nest, but has survived the attack. It is then picked up by another dinosaur - where is it's mother? How will it survive?
Attempt to repair: the egg is transported all over the place by various means of travel - maybe it'll end up somewhere nice?
New equilibrium: the egg is dropped and hatches right at the very end of the trailer.
The trailer is normal speed due to the fact that it is the opening sequence of the feature film. There are no freeze-frames used, however there is a fade in used at the beginning of the trailer and a fade in/out used for the final piece of text.
No other credits appear in the trailer, due to the fact that the trailer was released while the film was in the middle of being developed. In later trailers and in the final product, there will undoubtedly be credits at the end and maybe at the beginning too.
The only release information we are given is a text graphic that fades into view at the end of the trailer. This simply says "2000", due to the fact that the film is still in development, and they may not have an actual release date booked. Disney may have had a goal of "being released in 2000", but sometimes films go astray and are released later than anticipated - this is why the studio wouldn't have stated an exact date so early on.
The film was the first Disney Animated Feature film to be entirely computer generated (apart from some background images/footage) and so they highlighted this in the opening text - "all new motion picture experience".
No certification information is used in the trailer due to the film still being developed. However the content seems to be aimed at younger audiences (maybe aiming for a PG rating?) due to the different characters and music being quite light - but with darker tones at some infrequent points. There is also no voiceover used, this is due to the fact that the sneak preview is actually the opening sequence to the film.
Surprisingly, there is no dialogue used at all in the trailer. I think this is because dialogue isn't really needed for it - we can understand what is happening without it and it works well for younger children to watch (they don't have to keep up with spoken word as well as the visuals onscreen.
We are not directly addressed as a viewer in the narrative of this trailer, however the text at the beginning of the preview addresses us directly - "invites you". There is music used throughout to help convey the feelings of the dinosaurs. The music moves from calm, settling music, to fast paced scary music to fit the mood of the scene.
The editing pace is slow-medium and this is due to the fact that at the beginning of the trailer, the mood is very calm and so the shots are quite long... But the scene then moves to being quite fast paced due to the carnivore chasing the other dinosaurs, the editing speeds up a little here.
Text appears at the beginning and that the end of the film. The text at the beginning eases us into the trailer and gives us the reason why we are watching it, then the text at the end tells us the film title and the year of release.
In the trailer, the mini-narrative also follows Todorov's Narrative Theory:
Equilibrium: the dinosaurs are all feeding off of the vegetation around their home, and atre caring for their eggs.
Disruption: a young dinosaur stumbles across a predator and the predator charges at them.
Recognition: an egg is knocked from the nest, but has survived the attack. It is then picked up by another dinosaur - where is it's mother? How will it survive?
Attempt to repair: the egg is transported all over the place by various means of travel - maybe it'll end up somewhere nice?
New equilibrium: the egg is dropped and hatches right at the very end of the trailer.
The trailer is normal speed due to the fact that it is the opening sequence of the feature film. There are no freeze-frames used, however there is a fade in used at the beginning of the trailer and a fade in/out used for the final piece of text.
No comments:
Post a Comment