2012 trailer analysis

2012

Camera Shot/Angle/Movement

Tracking shot through the mountainous landscape, short sharp pan shots as the man looks out to the distance, mid shot/reaction shot as the man see’s the waves coming towards him, and a long shot as the water covers the mountains. The teaser trailer colour saturation is desaturated to create an intense and dark feel, establishing the genre.

Sound

eery music, lots of reverb and stereotypical use of violin trills.

Editing

short edits and a long continuous shot of the impending doom of the planet.

Mise en Scene

chinese landscape, man, bamboo house, cgi waves


Characters

no characters are introduced, we see shots of a man spectating the tidal wave coming towards him.

Locations

mountains of asia

Narrative/Plot

not much is given away. The scene used is ambiguous and it creates interest

Themes

disaster

Visual Style

cgi

Genre

disaster/epic


How does the trailer introduce us to the main characters?

No main characters are introduced, the themes are.

How does the music change during the course of the trailer? What information does this give us about the direction of the story?

How do elements such as lighting, editing work with the music? How do they change over the course of the trailer?

every time there is a change of dynamics in the music, the shots change to a black screen with credits/titles.
What are your expectations of the film?

lots of cgi and special effects.
Would you consider yourself to be the target audience for this film? If so, what elements in the trailer particularly appeal to you?

a wide demographic, 13+

Film Trailer analysis Questions



At what point in the trailer are we told the name of the film? Why is this?
The numbers “2012” appear in futuristic lettering at the end of the teaser trailer.
Why are we told who is starring in the film?
we aren’t told in this teaser trailer.
How is this information given to us? Why?
The use of no voice overs is effective because the credits running throughout the trailer say something along the lines of the world ending in 2012 and the government planning to not tell 6 billion inhabitants of the earth. There are themes of secrecy which reading the credits for yourself enhances.
What type of action from the film do we see?
we see the use of cgi as the mountains are submerged by the ocean, indicating the films genre.
What clues does the music give us as to what type of film the trailer is advertising?
We can tell the film genre is going to be dark by the type of music - scary music.
Does the trailer come with a voice over and if so, what can you tell about the voice being used?
There are no voice overs. where there would usually be voiceovers as the credits appear in the fade to black cuts, we are left to read it. This is effective in drawing you into the film.
Why do you think this voice was chosen? What effect does it have?
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How does the speed of what we see compare to watching a clip from a film? Why is this?
There are more fast cuts/editing and more uses of “fade to blacks” as the aim is to interest us. this technique gives the audience snippets of the film and makes us want to go and see it.
Does the speed alter through the trailer or does it stay the same?
usually the cuts would get faster but in this teaser trailer it ends with a long shot of the ocean which i think is quite effective. Typically the music ends with a high dynamics/crescendo and then silence, which this trailer does.
What information are we given about the film?
we get an insight to the films genre and title but nothing much else.
At what point in the trailer is this information given?
At the end and the plot is given in ambiguous credits throughout in the fade to black cuts.
What type of audience is the trailer aimed at? How can you tell?
Ages 12 and up, because the genre is not specifically appealing to a certain age group but could scare young children.