The first trailer that I am analysing is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. From day one from the first film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone has incorporated a soundtrack that is recognised around the globe. This is because the Harry Potter franchise is recognised all over the world, so in this trailer without seeing much or any footage and hearing the soundtrack the audience will automatically know what film the trailer is for. This is the last film in the Harry Potter series so the trailer companies want the trailer to be even more spectacular than any other they have made for this franchise and want the audience to remember it.
The trailer begins with the classic Hogwarts soundtrack but has been slowed down and recorded differently from the first time it was heard. It is more high pitched, more sinister and less upbeat and creates more suspense and tension as with the original soundtrack it doesn't. The start of the trailer starts off slowly as you would expect with a trailer and the first snipit from the film we see is Professor Snape walking through a tunnel away from the camera towards a house and this cuts to the next scene after about half a second to create mystery so the audience wonder were he is. From that each scene changes in time with the chime of the music and creates a good effect but also reveals more clues from the film because after watching the film those snipits play a significant part in the film. The sinister music stops when we see half of Voldermort's face as he opens his eyes and a heavy cold sinister breath is the sound over, this is as though he is in control and now the trailer is about to change, his breath has is a connotation of changed events and now he has set the tone for the rest of the trailer. A Warner Bros. logo appears and from this we can see that this logo had nothing to do with Harry Potter before it was first released 10 years ago have really incorporated the Harry Potter house style in their logo which they don't do for very many other film titles.
Next we see more snipits from the film and now the soundtrack has changed, this then changes the tone of it and is not as upbeat but is much deeper than the beginning soundtrack which suggest events are changing and creates even more suspense and mystery. But in the background the soundtrack has been dubbed down and Voldermort speaks, this is so the audience hear clearly what he is saying. He says, "Harry Potter, you have fought valiantly, but you have aloud your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself" he says this in a very sinister way and has he does so about six snipits from the film are shown in about three seconds which builds up the hype of the trailer even more revealing even more to the audience. As this happens the soundtrack pace in the background gets faster. The music becomes more upbeat and goes into more detail about the plot of the film and gets the audience even more excited than they already are. As the trailer goes on revealing more and more the trailer is dominated by text for about four seconds when it firstly says, "ON JULY 15", "ONLY ONE", "CAN LIVE" with quick snipits from the film inbetween the text appearing on screen. The trailer continues with about 10 clips that last around 1 second each and try to piece a story together without giving to much away to the audience so that it keeps them guessing. As the trailer comes to a climax the clips from the film become more and more action packed that will excite the audience. This is shown by explosions and fight scenes. There are strong quotes from the film in the trailer, one used is, "We can end this." This gives a clue to the audience that the 'good guys' have the upper hand and also adds to the excitement, which this trailer has already built up. Another strong quote used is when Harry says, "I never wanted any of you to die for me." This gives us a clue that lives are lost in this film, and from the good side aswell. This creates mystery because the audience's favorite character's lives could be lost. Another is when Harry is stood at the top of Hogwarts and says to Voldermort, "C'mon Tom, lets finish this the way we started it. Together." This provides a clue to the audience that the battle is coming to a conclusion and the two main enemies are about to have their final battle. This again creates added excitement to the film.
The pace of the trailer then again steps up and the soundtrack has gotten louder showing clips from the film in succession one after another lasting around 1 second each as the trailer builds to the conclusion, they add to the hype of the film, using clips with explosions and fire. The end of the trailer is again dominated by text such as, "The epic conclusion", "Of the worldwide phenomenon", the trailer companies are trying once again adding to the excitement because it is the last film and they want it to be spectacular and remembered. The trailer then comes to a steady close and slows down to a slow motion fight scene between Harry and Voldermort, with Voldermort saying, "Only I can live forever." This trailer has connotations of horror, drama, romance and comedy and is aimed at at an audience of all ages.
The second trailer I will be analyzing is "The Woman In Black"
The Woman In Black is a film about a young lawyer who travels to a house with the hope he can finally sell it. Based in a remote area, Arthur Kipps discovers a terrifying truth, that a scorned woman terrorises the locals. The Woman In Black is a horror film with a 12a certificate. The Woman In Black is a new film that was released in the year 2012 and is the first film of it's kind, this means that the audience will not recognise the film like when the Harry Potter trailers were released and the films had their own recognisable and consistant soundtrack. Daniel Radcliffe is the main character of the film and he is known world wide for starring in the Harry Potter Series so he has great marketability for this film.
The trailer starts of with a green screen rating card as this is an MPAA trailer. From this the trailer continues with a train pulling out of a train station to reveal in an extreme long shot, Arthur Kipps looking downwards which suggests he is depressed. From this the soundtrack kicks in into the background as soon as the scene jump cuts from the train station to the idents by, CBS Films, Crosscreek Pictures and HAMMER all at the same time. The trailer starts off at a slow pace as you would expect with this kind of film. It is like Todorov's Equilibrium theory were events seem normal and then there is a disruption in events. From this slow paced start there is dialog from a woman talking to Arthur Kipps saying, "Please don't go to Eel Marsh House" with a facial expression of some sadness and a tone of voice that is as though she is whispering to him, this is being used as a warning to Aurthur that danger or something awaits. The trailer continues and the audience still see short and dark snippits from the film including Arthur approaching something and then the scene cuts to reveal that it is the house which the woman told him not to go. These snippits create mystery so it gets the audience thinking what is in that house. Why is it of any importance to Aurthur? From this the audience have more dialog from a man sat in a chair saying, "If we opened the door to superstition, were does that lead?" as this is happening more short and quick snippits are being shown from the film. The soundtrack of the trailer matches with each of the scenes cutting from one to the next this is good use of sound matching. When cutting from one scene to the next an example of how this is done is a loud bass beat, camera shutters as though a picture is being taken and loud bangs. These sounds are getting more and more sinister as the loud banging noise gets louder and louder but now with the sound of a creaking rocking chair makes the soundtrack alot more sinister, tension builing and frighting for the watching audience. In one scene Arthur is sitting down looking scared or confused, as this happens there is dialog again over the soundtrack but from Arthur saying, "I feel shes there, trying to reach me" and during this scene a cold wind sound effect is dubbed over the scene and as this happens a white ghostly mist floats across the background suggesting a disruption in events. This matched up when a normal photograph of a man, woman and child Arthur was examining moments earlier has now had the eyes of the three people scratched out. The mise en scene of all these scenes all comply with the codes and conventions of the horror genre as it is dark and black throughout which have a connotation of death.
Next we see more snippits from the film trailer but now the pace has increased and alos the tone of the soundtrack with louder sound effects and the sound of the rocking chair still in the background dubbed over more scenes. The soundtrack is not upbeat in the sense it's been speeded up but has become more sinister and the tension is building even further leading the audience into thinking what could be coming next. There is again even more diaglog dubbed over the shots and soundtrack when a same man who talks about 'opening the door to supersititon' says, "Even the most rashional minds can play tricks in the dark". This being said over more short snippits of the film trying to build the hype. A ghostly fiqure of a woman's face is the brighest thing in the shot and in an extreme long shot you can only see the luminous glow of her face. This disappears and the lights go off and match with the beat of the soundtrack creating a frightening image and building suspense to what might happen next.
As the trailer is coming to a climax, the audience know this because the soundtrack begins to change and text appears on screen saying, "The doorway has opened" suggesting to the audience that something terrible has happened now and it is now a reality. From this there is more dialog saying, "They pray on those most in need" with more quick snippits of the woman being shown more frequently towards the end of the trailer and she is involved with Arthur in these scenes as though she is now terrorising him.
Because this is a horror trailer and has many codes and conventions of horror this trailer is designed to frighten the audience as well as entertain them. This is a film with a target market of aged 12 upwards with a 12a certificate rating.
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