Trailer Analysis

2. Text On
Screen This is the first text seen on screen, it appears at 2 seconds.
‘Lionsgate’ is a Canadian production and distribution
company. The purpose of showing this is because, when
potential audience members watch the trailer for the first
time, they may recognise this logo and feel as though, they
want to see this film because of previous successes this
company has had.
The second text on screen is shown at 4 seconds.
‘Saban Films’ is a North American distribution
company.
Furthermore, the text on screen which says ‘Risk It All’
enhances the action genre because of the way it appears on
the screen, it is very fast, which is just how the action genre
is, fast paced. This enhances the genre as it gives the
audience a certain mood and atmosphere.

3. This text on screen is written in the same way as the
previous, and appears on screen in the same manner.
The use of the bright yellow colour, that almost looks like
fire creates excitement and allows for the audience to be
engaged, because it looks attractive. Additionally, the
audience are further engaged because of the phrase ‘Run
For Your Life’. This creates enigma for the audience as
they would want to know WHY they should run for their
lives, what is going to happen if they don’t?
One of the final texts on screen is the title of the film ‘TRACERS’.
From the two previous texts, we can see that there is an ongoing
theme for the way in which the words are written and how they
appear. However, all of the texts written the same were just a
yellow colour with a hint of orange or red, however, the title has
blue strips running across it. This could be so that the audience are
either able to, differentiate between the title and just normal text,
and or, because it looks more attractive and is likely to grab more
attention.
The fact that this text mentions that the film is ‘On Demand’
means that they want to appear to a larger audience. The
distributers are clearly aware that not many people like to
constantly go to the cinema to spend money, therefore, they have
decided to open up this new film to a wider audience so that they
are still able to make a profit, because they will still be getting a
vast number of views.

4. The final text on screen of the trailer, is to commemorate the
people who participated in the creation of the trailer and
film, it is usually the text that is on screen for the shortest
amount of time.

5. Sound
As soon as the trailer begins, we are taken into the middle of a
very busy traffic flow. Here we hear the sounds of cars beeping
and the sound of the cyclists wheels as he pedals through the
road.
As well as hearing those sounds, there is also the sound of an
underlying, non-diegetic asynchronous soundtrack. It has a very
upbeat, fast paced beat and rhythm, which is correct to the genre.
This soundtrack helps to set the mood, tone and atmosphere for the
trailer which allows the audience to have an insight into what type
of action film it is going to be.
At 27 seconds within the trailer we hear a voice over
from the protagonist, he says “where did you learn how
to do parkour”. As this line is said, the previous upbeat
fast-paced music stops and it creates the feeling of the
voice almost being extremely amplified, therefore
creating the feeling that this is a key line, and it is as it
sums up what the film is about. A group who practice
parkour who then end up in dire trouble.

6. Throughout the trailer most of the dialogue is spoken in a raised
voice, shouts, for example “WHATS THE EXIT PLAN?”. The use of
the raised voice shows that the characters are feeling quite stressed
and anxious, which are feelings and emotions that the audience
perhaps are going through if they connect with the characters. The
use of the raised voice reinforces the genre as, the scenes within the
genre are always tense always fast paced, there is a lot going on,
therefore, the characters are not going to speak calmly because of
the tension that is built up throughout the progression of scenes.
The action genre is reinforced when we hear the sound
of several gun shots. It is a convention of the action
genre to have at least some form of weaponry, however,
the gun is most common. The sound of the gun creates
fear and adrenalin for the audience, as well as
uncertainty as this is only a trailer, they don’t know
what is happening.
Further to that, the protagonist says “If I can get s a clean
exit, will you come with me?”. Within a lot of action
films, there is always an underlying love story. From my
research it never came up as a convention, however in
action films such as: ‘The Pacifier’, ‘Taken’ and
‘Inception’ there is this love story element, and it is also
shown within this trailer, both from the dialogue and the
image on screen. They are naked and close in proximity.

7. At 26 seconds, within the trailer, there is a flash cut,
where one scene flashes from one into the next. This
type of editing gives the illusion of one image
amalgamating into the next.
This image shows a developing
transitional fade.
Editing
As this is only a trailer, there is no sense of continuity editing.
This sort of editing is known as ‘invisible’, as producers aim to
make the film seem as though it is continuous and runs on,
there have been no cuts.

8. The editing within this trailer is very fast paced, whereby, once cut moves quickly to the next. From
these screen shots, you can see that 4 transitional cuts, took place in a second. This research is useful
for my partner and I as we are able to now see what pace our editing needs to be at in order to achieve a
conventional action trailer.
In addition to that, there is a fade between two
scenes. This is effective because it shows both the
development of the protagonists relationship
with the two different parties (the woman and
their extended group). The fade is useful as it
shows

9. Mise-en-
SceneThe action genre is reinforced through various
different ways. Firstly through the costume. Within
most of the shots we are shown the characters
wearing tracksuits or ‘lounge’ wear. Wearing
tracksuits within this genre shows that perhaps they
are going to be doing a lot of movement or they will
perhaps get into fights, therefore, wearing
comfortable clothing means that this will be easier
for them to move about.
Additionally, another prop that reinforces the action
genre is the balaclava. They don’t appear in every
action film as not every one contains a robbery scene
for example, however they do appear quite
frequently. The use of this mask creates enigma as,
only watching the trailer as an audience member you
wonder if the people behind the masks are characters
that you have seen previously in the trailer.

10. Additionally, another convention of the action genre is that
there is always a car chase. This films stays true to that genre
as we are shown the aftermath of a fatal car chase. This scene
would create excitement for the audience as a collision isn’t
something seen on a day to day basis. Furthermore, the fact
that the protagonist is so close to the collision would make the
audience want to see the finished product as an unanswered
questions could stem from: ‘what happened to him?’ ‘Is he
dead or alive?’.
As well as a car chase there is also a chase whereby the
characters do parkour.
Furthermore, this genre is further reinforced through
the props used. A gun is a convention of the action
genre, in every action film there is one, as there is
always a fight scene that creates the climax of the film.

11. Camera
Work
22 seconds into the trailer, we are unaware of who the
mysterious character riding the bike is, as we are only
shown either the back of him or his vigorously fast
pedalling legs. Eventually at 22 seconds, we are shown an
extreme close-up of this character. Here, we can assume
that he is the main character as the various different shots
allude to this.
The first shot within the trailer is an
establishing shot, as it establishes the
setting. We are taken into a pacey, upbeat
traffic jam race.
At 7 seconds within the trailer, we are
introduced to the characters, this shot
is known as a master shot, at the same
time we also hear dialogue.

12. Throughout the trailer, we are introduced
to this character a number of times, which
shows that she is a main character. This
character is framed in a low angle shot,
which makes her look powerful and of
dominance as she says “keep up”, this
dialogue reinforces her dominant nature as
she is almost seen as a person with all the
answers.
There are two shots, where the main protagonist is
positioned next to another character. At first glance
they appear to be positioned at the same height,
however, the protagonist is always a little bit higher in
the low angle shot. This shows and differentiates his
status from the other characters, as he is higher.