The trailer uses various techniques to establish that the film is a comedy. It begins with a serious tone before introducing comedic elements and an upbeat song. The main character makes embarrassing sexual references. Wide shots show characters in costumes that suggest the 70s/80s, with behaviors like fist pumping that indicate a lighthearted tone. A medium closeup of a dog sucking a straw contrasts with serious dialogue. Zooms are used for comedic effect, and wide shots depict characters happily jumping to emphasize the happiness of the film. High key lighting is frequently used throughout to signify its comedic genre.

1. Anchor Man 2
Deconstruction
RATED PG-12A
COMEDY

2. Sound
In the trailer a conventional voice over narrates part of the story. A
narrator is more conventional of older comedy or action movies but is
used here as the film is supposed to be old fashioned. The trailer
begins with a serious tone making it seem more like a drama before
the comedy aspects are set up, this is very common in comedy trailers.
As soon as the comedy aspects begin a happy upbeat song ‘Don’t stop
believing’ by Journey plays. In terms of dialogue, the main character of
the film speaks the most and makes obvious sexual references in one
scene to embarrass himself. Sound plays a large part in establishing the
genre in most comedy films and here it clearly sets the genre of the
film within the trailer.

3. Establishing shot
In this wide-angle shot we see four
different characters walking alongside each
other in a city setting. The costumes here
suggest the film is set in the 70’s/80’s but
also the suggest a comedic tone. For
example, one character is wearing a
cowboy hat which is out of place within a
city. Another character is fist pumping
which suggests the film is happy and light-
hearted, another convention of comedy
films. The shot has high key lighting as it
supposed to be a happy scene as they walk
towards the camera.

4. Medium closeup?
The medium close up here shows a dog
apparently sucking on straw. This contrasts the
serious dialogue coming from Will Ferrell’s
character as he discussing his plans for a new
news channel. While this image would not fit
many other genre’s it clearly highlights the film
as a comedy.

5. Zoom
The zoom is used here for comedic effect
as the character discuss the man in the
shot. The shot goes from a wide angle to
an extreme close up very quickly to show
the expression of the mans face. A lot of
close up are used in comedies to show
peoples reactions to certain events in
order to make an audience laugh. The
lighting here is lowkey and dull possibly to
portray this character as the antagonist.

6. Wide angle shot
This wide angle shot shows the
characters in a happy moment. They
are jumping up in a comedic way, the
character on the left pulling an
exaggerated face to depict the
happiness of the scene. This type of
shot is effective when showing all of the
main characters together. This shot
parallels with one from the beginning
of the trailer with similar high key
lighting to emphasise the happiness of
the scene and film as a whole. Evidently
high key lighting is used a lot for
comedy films.

7. End card
The end card gives viewers the time when the
film will come out, shows the production
companies who made the films and a link to a
site for more information. The flashiness of
the image reflects the news anchor storyline
and is eye catching for viewers. Also, the extra
information gives people the opportunity to
find out more about the film and generates
interest to it.