This document analyzes the trailer for the film "A Monster Calls" using several multimodal features including written text on screen, spoken language, moving images, sound effects, and music. It summarizes how each feature is used in the trailer and the intended impact on the audience. For example, it notes that the written text is designed to intrigue viewers and build mystery around the protagonist's situation. Dialogue and music are also used to make the audience feel more sympathetic toward the young main character. Overall, the trailer employs these various multimodal elements to engage viewers and set the tone for the film's exploration of a child dealing with emotional turmoil.

1. TITLE OF FILM: A MonsterCalls (2016)
FEATURES OF
MULTIMODAL TEXT
DESCRIPTION OF FEATURE INTRAILER ANALYSISOF IMPACT ON
AUDIENCE
Writtentexton
screen
Afterthe trailerintroducesthe ‘monster’the texton
screenappearsat 1:24 stating“something wild”
followedby“will save you”at1:31. The textis
transitionedintothe trailerbysoftlyappearingonthe
screenwithwatercolourpapereffect betweensome
scenes.Thisfitswiththe trailerbecause the
protagonistisartisticandit mentionsthatfactin the
beginningof the trailer.
Otheron-screentextinclude:“Fromvisionary
filmmakerJ.A.Bayona”at0:31
“ThisFall”at 1:13, “Academyawardnominee
SigourneyWeaver”at1:50, “Academyaward
nominee FelicityJones”at1:53, “IntroducingLewis
MacDougall”at 1:56, “AndLiam Neesonasthe
monster”at 1:58 and“A Monster Calls”title at2:21
followedbynamesof the directorandscreenplay
creator.Last textonscreencan be seenat 2:25
statingthe date of the release.
“Will save you”has a word
‘you’init as if it’sinteracting
to the audience makingthe
experience alotmore
personal.Additionallythe
sentence “Somethingwild
will save you”makesthe
audience askcertain
questionslikewhatisthat
something?OrwhodoI
needtobe savedfrom?
I alsobelievethattheyrefer
somethingwildtothe
monsterthatappearsin the
traileras itcan be a wild
thingto save someone from.
Thiswouldintrigue the
audience because itcreates
a mysteryas the audience
isn’tsure whatthe
protagonistisgoingthrough
and whyhe is angry besides
some bulliesinthe school.
Spokenlanguage At 1:35
[Boyshoutingat the monsterdestroyingthe house]
Protagonist:Breakthewindows!
Monster:Breakthemyourself.
At 1:40
[Female lookingterminallyilltalking emotionally to
the protagonist]
Female: That’sokay thatyou’reangry,I’mangry too
and if you need to breakthingsby God you break
them.
The dialogue at1:25 states
that the protagonistneedsto
deal withthings alone even
thoughhe has a gigantic
monsternearby,this
scenariois makingthe
audience feelmore drawnto
the maincharacter. Even
thoughthe protagonist
doesn’thave bigdialogue in
the trailer,othercharacters
speakto himto eithermake
himfeel worse orbetter
such as a sentence at1:40.
These dialoguesare there to
make the audience feel more
sympathetictowardsthe
youngchild(the
protagonist).

2. Movingimages
At 1:20
Thisis a commonlyusedscene tocreate suspense and
mystery(lookingthroughakeyhole)
at 1:39
Thiscolourful scene onlyappearsforanextremely
short time afterthe boybreaksthe windows.Thisis
anotherwayto create mystery.
Commonmeaningsbehind
lookingthroughkeyholesare
beingsuspiciousof othersor
havinga fearof uncovering
damagingsecretsabout
others.Thismightbe what
the protagonistisfeelinglike
or experiencingwhilst
lookingthroughakeyhole.
Additionallyhe’sinthe dark
whilstthe ‘otherside’islight
suggestingthatthe other
side mightbe better.
The colourful scene might
representthe villainorthe
‘bad’monsterbecause his
eyesare glowingwhilsthe is
coveredinshadowmaking
thisscene looksuspicious.
Soundeffects Mostly,the trailerconsistsof the background
soundtrack,therefore therearen’talotof sound
effects.
However,there are some specificnoisessuchthe
markerrollingandfallingoff the table at 1:55, it is
clearlyheardwhenthe markerhitsthe door.The
reasonwhythe soundof thisparticularobjectisso
clearis because the scene wasfocusedsolelyonthis
objectworkingagainstphysics.
Thisscene wasusedto
change the plotof the trailer
and introduce the ‘monster’,
startingfroma small object
doingsomethingillogical isa
great wayto make the
audience feelthatsomething
isoff and the reasonfor it.
The clear soundeffectof
that markerwas usedto
capture attentionasthat
scene isquite importantfor
change.
Music Music starts from 0:06 to the endof the trailer.Atthe
start of the trailer,the musicseemstobe calmwith
fewloud‘quacking’soundstomake itfeel more
fantasylike. However,atthe endof the trailerthe
bass isa lot more pronouncedinadditionwithsome
drum-like soundeffectstocreate a tempo.
The song has nolyricsin orderto focusmore on the
dialogue andsoundeffects.
Changingthe pace of the
musicmakesthe audience a
lotmore engaged.The start
of the trailersusuallyshow
calm dialoguesand
movementsto explainthe
plotand the endof the
trailershowsmore action
and destruction.