This teaser trailer for the film Inception uses a series of mysterious shots and unsettling music to intrigue viewers and raise questions about the film's plot. Scenes of a spinning city, tilting water, and objects defying the laws of gravity are intercut with text that hints the film will distort what the mind considers reality. The trailer leaves audiences wondering what is happening in the dull city and creates a unique selling point for the complex, brain-rattling film. By the end, the sinister music and maze-like title backdrop suggest the film will keep audiences engaged in games for the mind.

1. Teaser Trailer Textual
Analysis
BY ROSS BARHAM

2. Trailer – Inception teaser

3. Selected Frames
 Trailer length: 59 seconds
 Warner Bros Film

4. Frame 1
In the first frame we see a Warner Bros. Logo but made out of
city buildings surrounded by darkness forcing the audience to
look at there logo, this hints to the audiences where the film
is set and interreges them as why they chose to use builds on
the logo.
The logo cuts in and the audience is given some time to view
the logo, the edit is slowly panning into the logo gradually
increasing in speed until we dive into this city. This gives the
feeling of "entering the film"
This "dive in" is accompanied by a sharp bass thud followed
by high pitched synths this hints at the eerie nature of the
film

5. Frame 2
In the next frame we see "from Christopher Nolan" which
fades in alongside another bass thud. The text is a silver
Metal finish that contrasts well with the black background
this again pulls the viewers eyes to the text. As Nolan has
directed many popular and well loved films in the past any
previous fans of his work will be excited to see his latest
work. This brings more "hype" to the release of the film.
We also see the text slightly separate and breakdown
this could foreshadow how reality breaks down later in the
film.
Overall this shot raises more questions like what is this
film about, will it be as good as other films Nolan has
been involved in. And it continues with that spooky eerie
feeling.

6. Frame 3
The 3rd shot instantly sets the location with a long
shot and a straight cut synced with the thudding
bass of a urban city, the combined suspense of the
last shots bring a mysterious feeling to this shot and
can make audiences wonder what is happing in this
city.
The shot is dull with hardly any colors other than
different grays, The low-key lighting and the speed
at which the camera pans up and over creates a
sense of action, but the audience is not sure what is
happening
This repeated thud generates mystery and suspense
as the audio seems to be building up to something
epic and interesting, this combined with the
"ordinary" shot of a city creates a rather strange
match of sound and Mise en scene as the audience
could ask what's so interesting about this grey dull
city, this juxtaposition is very effective especially later
when the trailer reveals that everything is not so dull
and gray in fact its quite the opposite
This shot also establishes that the film is
set in the current time and what seems
to be an American city

7. Frame 4
 In this close up shot we see a
glass of water tilting as its set
on a flat table. At this point
the music begins to swell and
we hear rising synths like in
many other psychological
thrillers creating and increase
of tension for the audience.
This highlights the importance
of this scene with again
foreshadows the films plot and
begins to show how the film
plays with reality.
 This crookedness farther
increases that sense of
something not being right in
this case it's gravity
Frame 4 opens with a
sharp fade in and
includes CGI water as it
tilts followed by a
straight cut to the next
shot.
This crookedness farther
increases that sense of
something not being
right in this case it's
gravity,

8. Frame 5
 This shot opens with a straight cut timed with
the non diegetic music/thuds creating a tense
mood for the viewers.
 We see the same type of text being used as
before only this time the text has a spin as well
as the CGI shot of the street spinning around a
central point. The words "your mind"
accompanied by the spinning of the text can
suggest that this film messes with everything
that your mind considers real. As the shot tacks
in this spin becomes greater and is hard to
watch without feeling a little dizzy this can also
further suggest how the film may be complex
and brain rattling

9. Frame 6
This shot opens with a mid shot with the main protagonist Leonardo DiCaprio turning his head
facing the camera, we see a worried expression on his face which helps convey to the audience
paired with the low key lighting could suggest that the films native is dark and twisted.
We see a montage of clips through out the trailer with short and snappy straight cuts this gives
the audience a sense of the action and excitement, and can push some viewers to see this film.
We also see a blue hue surrounding the city scape
this links to other promotional material for this
film as we see in the poster this same blue, this
example of synergy helps promote the film by
making it more recognisable to audiences by
associating colours to the product. The same can
be said about the style of text too.

10. Frame 7
 From looking at this mis en scene we see a high class hotel corrido, however this soon
becomes one of the most iconic abstract shots as we see a straight cut to this frame, then
another straight cut to a track in Dutch angle shot where the room spins but gravity does
not leaving our two characters to fight this helps illustrate the action thriller genre in this
film.
 This shot helps identify the USP of the film as we see such an abstract shot and it forces
the audience to ask questions, the teaser does not give any answers only questions , this
combined with the interesting nature of the shots helps to create a very unique selling
point

11. Frame 8
 In this extreme close up of a clock face we see the hand
just about to tick over to 60 seconds but remains on 59
seconds the same length as the trailer , this also helps
convey how most of Nolan's films are about time or have
strong references to time e.g. Dunkirk and the ticking
watch's + the way time is shown out of place in that films
can like to most of Nolan's other films e.g. Inception with
the buildings moving out of place and everything
warping, this shows a strong link between all his work
this helps to promote synergy across his films. This can
draw fans of his other work to see inception.
 Not only this but the watch can imply that time is
running out for our characters and creates a sense of
urgency leading to excitement for the viewer and
mystery, we wonder what the darkness in the film could
be.
This shot further incorporates itself within
the teaser as we hear a soft tickling
leading up to this shot.

12. Frame 9
 The final shot shows the title of the film ‘INCEPTION’. From the previous
shot its slowly transitions to a birds eye shot of the city which then
presents the audience with the title of the film. The use of the maze-like
pattern surrounding the title links to the meaning and story behind the
film as it is always playing games on your mind and making you think
about your surroundings.
 The sinister non-diegetic music comes to an end in this shot with one last
loud booming sound fading out slowly, leaving a lasting effect on the
audience. The sinister look and music used in this trailer is a key
convention of stereotypical action films as it helps to create a certain
mood making the audience feel excited and tense about the film