trailer analysis

1. Trailer analysis
General overview
Director:JJ Abrams
Studio:WaltDisneyStudiosMotionPictures
Year: 18 December2015 (USA)
Country: USA
Budget: $245,000,000 (estimated)
Purpose
Why wasthe filmmade?
The filmwasmade to largelyentertain,tocontinue astorymanyfeltunfinished.Itappealstotwo
audiences –a primaryaudience anda secondaryaudience.The primaryaudience consistsof older
fanswho have seenthe olderorevenoriginal filmsandare lifelongfans,expectingtraditional star
wars.The secondaryaudience isyoungergenerationsnew tothe franchise whowon’texpectsuch
traditional starwarsconventions,butperhaps fasterpacedactionandsci-fi withnew technologylike
CGI. I can tell thisasthere is a mix of interestforprimaryandsecondaryaudiences,forexample the
returnof iconiccharacterssuch as Han soloand Leiafor the original fansvsthe fast pacedaction
sequencesfornewerfans.
Genre
Sci-fi codesandconventions Icanidentifyinclude special effectsandclose upsof futuristic
technology,otherworldlysetting,setinthe future,new technologysuchasrobots,differentspecies,
a conflictbetweengoodandevil andadystopianthroughline.Thisisshowninscenesin space and
robots.
Form
The filmtechnologyusedinthiswas65mm Kodakfilm (‘traditional filmstock’) foramore natural
look,as Abramslikedthe aestheticsof it.However65mmIMAXcameras are usedfora single action
sequence setonthe desertplanetof Jakku. ‘Abramshasn'tshota filmdigitallyinhiscareertodate’
source:http://www.techradar.com/news/home-cinema/high-definition/why-has-star-wars-turned-
its-back-on-digital-film-1310861

2. ‘IMAXis a 70 mm motionpicture filmformatwhichdisplaysimagesof fargreatersize andresolution
than conventionalfilmsystems’source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMAX
Thismeantthe fastpaced,intense Jakkuscene wasashowstoppercomparedtothe more
naturalisticfilming. Howevermostcinemasdon’tshow full IMAXandinsteadshow digitally
convertedIMAXwhichissmalleranyway. The IMAXand3D optionsappeal toa youngergeneration
while traditional 2Dappealstoan oldergeneration. Thisisdue toyoungergenerationsgrowingup
withvastadvancesof technologyandtypicallyseekto capitaliseonthis,forexamplewantingthe
latestinsmartphones,gamingandmore.Incontrastoldergenerationshave grownupwithstandard
2D filmingand,while maystill looktowatchfilmsinIMAXor3D, will mostlysimplywanttowatch
the filmforwhat itis ratherthan addedspecial effects.Thisisbackedupwhen IMAX announced
duringitsearningscall that itwouldbe reducingits3D slate inthe domesticmarket,citinga"clear
preference"for2Dfrom audiences. (Source:https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/is-
golden-age-3d-officially-1025843) Withthe largestage groupbeing25-39 accordingto the BFIit is
indicative of alesserinterestin3D and IMAX fromthisdemographic.
Style
Abramsloveslensflares,cantedangles(twistedangles) andsnapzoomsto charactersfacesto see
theirreactions – these are histrademarks.Abramsisalsoa fan of natural,builtsetsas opposedto
overuse of CGI.His techniquesare all manuallymade usingcameras,addingtothat traditional
filmingstyle Abramshas.Thisisinterestingtobe broughtto the Star Wars franchise asmuchof the
lastfewepisodesreliedheavilyoneffectsandcomputer generatedimages. Fanswere excitedfor
thisfilmdue tothe announcementof JJAbrams,whohas an oldfashioned,experiencedfilm-making
style.Abramsfocusesonmore constructedsetsthan CGI (computergeneratedimagery)- something
the fans hadwantedfora while asitcomesback to the traditional 80’sstyle films.

3. Contentand Meaning
The traileropenswitha close upto instantlydraw the audience inandcreate a personal dynamic
betweenthe characterandthe audience.The mysteriousperson,isina‘mummy-like’costume,
followingsci-ficonventionsof otherworldlyspecies,andgenerating mysteryastowhothis
character is. It also startswithsingle pianonotes,creatinganeerie,atmosphericsoundand
consequentlyfocusingattentiononwhatthe viewerisseeing.The pianonotesare punctuatedby
stuntedspeech,almostlike quotes.Forexample‘I’ve gotnothingtofightfor’‘nothingwill standin
our way’Thisadds drama andthe audience starttobecome investedingettinganswers. Additionally
the lack of wordsreallyhighlightsthe importance of the choice few wordsthatare spoken. Genre
conventionsare commonaswell withthe audience immediatelyseeingBB-8(arobot) and Rey
scavengingonabandonedships.
The trailerthenbeginstointroduce its3 maincharacters, while subtlyexplainingeachof theirarcs.
In betweeneachscene there isadditionallyatransitionfromblack,tocreate the feelingof openinga
new‘chapter’fromfresh as well as5 or 6 shotsto get to know the characters.Rey’sarc issignificant
as she’s the protagonist,yetshe defiesdominantideologyof havingamale leadingrole.She is
alone,ascavengerandthe mainlead – all connotationsnotcommonlyfoundwithwomeninfilms.
She isshownto be confidentandable tolookafterherself,encouraginganemotional responsefrom

4. the audience (particularlywomen) torootforwhat is,arguably,the firststrongfemale leadinthe
franchise.
Fin’sarc defiesdominantideologydue tohismale characterbeinga‘sidekick’(althoughstill
importantinhisownright) character, as opposedtothisbeingafemale. Additionallyhe isablack
Storm trooper,a firstforthe franchise. Thischallengesestablishedideasof onlywhiteStorm
troopers,andpromotesanemotional responsefromthe audience asthisisnew anddiverse.
Secondaryaudience memberswholookformore diversityamongHollywoodwouldbe encouraging
of this.Bothcharacters are also young,creatingrelatabilitytoasecondaryaudience,although
potentiallydisparityamongprimaryandolderaudience members.Fin’sarcisaboutchallengingwho
he is.In hisnature he isa Stromtrooper and thisisall he knows, exemplifiedwhenhe says‘I was
raisedto doone thing’. He thenremoveshishelmetof his Stormtroopercostume toreveal hisface.
Thissymboliseshimturninghisbackonhisformer‘identity’of aclone andshowshe is startingto
questionwhohe is. We alsoagain,see a close up of hisface,creatingan emotional bondbetween
the character and the audience ashe seemsscaredand vulnerable.

5. We thenfinallysee KyloRen’sstoryarc.All meanwhile the musichasslowlygone frominnocent
albeiteerie pianonotestointensifyingtoadeep,sinisterthrummingasKyloisintroduced. This
makesthe viewer’srealisethischaracterisnot as goodas the othertwo and evokesanemotional
response.Renisfirstintroducedinanestablishingshotwithhisbackto the camera. While this
showshislocationat the helmof the ship,itismore effective at showinghow he iscentre frame -
the most importantcharacter.The camera alsohighlightshisimportance by trackingquicklytowards
him, effectivelydisplayinghow importanthe isasthe camera moves physically towardshim.The
viewer’sreallysee hisnegativeconnotationshoweverwiththe harshredstreakemblazonedacross
the sky.Red hasstrong connotationsof evil anddanger,therefore creatingastrongdislike
automaticallytowardshim.Thenwe are shownhisfrontprofile of himcloakedinblack(again
indicatingnegativityanddanger) andwithamask.The maskinstantlymakeshimsubhuman –as he
has no humanfeaturestorelate orempathise with.Consequentlyhe isshowninamore sinister
light,ashistrue intentions andemotions are masked,leavinghimshroudedin mysteryand
suggestingahiddenidentity.Ontopof thisthe maskhas dentsand marks,potentiallyimplyingthe
personunderneathis‘marked’or‘scarred’,notonlyphysicallybutmentally.
He alsosays‘nothingwill standinourway...Iwill finishwhatyoustarted’at the same time we see
Darth Vader’s old,burntmask. The voice isalsosubhuman – it’sgravellyandunnatural.This
distancesthe charactermore from a relatable humanpersontoa scarierentity. Aswell asthisthe
character, Ren,isseenalmostinawe of Vader’smask,implyinghe meansVaderwhenhe says‘what
you started’. ThisshowsRen’sarc to be followinginthe footstepsof Vader. Due tothisthe audience
makeslinkswiththisnewcharacterto Darth Vader,automaticallyanegative thingandcreatingan
emotional response fromthe viewer.The emotionalresponse isalsoone of nostalgia,fromprimary
audiences(diehardfans) asDarth Vaderwasan integral role of the originals.Howevereven
secondary,neweraudienceswill likelyknow of DarthVaderasthe character and name is popular
culture inmoderntimes.Yetevenif youhadno ideaof Darth Vader,the burntmask looksalmost

6. akinto a skull,suggestingdeathordarkness –therefore makingitobviousthischaracterandhis
intentionswerebad.
Followingonfromthiswe are shownjusthow powerful thisnew characteris,while additionally
beingintroducedtoPoe.Renisseen performingaJedi mindtrick,exemplifyingjusthow powerfulhe
is.Thisis echoedbyPoe’sface of extreme painandterror.
At thispointthe musichas intensifiedtoa climax of sinistersounds.The audience feelfearforRen’s
powerandsympathytowardsPoe creatingemotional attachment.The canteredangle alsobacksup
the ideaRenis twistedandwildasthe off kiltercameraangle makesthe audience feel unbalanced.
His screamflowsintothe explosioninthe nextscene inamatchcut, symbolicof hismindgushing
out.The explosionisredandintense,backingupthe ideathatthisscene will nothave agood
outcome,intriguingthe audience.

7. More sci-fi conventionsare showninthistraileras the Stormtroopersare linedup,drawingparallels
to the NuremburgRallyandotherNazi speeches.Thesefollow sci-fi codesof ‘dystopianworlds’,
robots/clonesandafightbetween‘goodandevil’.
The trailerthenshiftsintone fromthe sinisterfeel of before toamore upbeat,uplifting
atmosphere.The songchangestoa heroic,orchestral songwithconnotationsof positivityandhope.
We realise thisisdue tothe trailershiftingtothe storyof the ‘good side’.The colourpalette changes
fromdark redsand blacksto lightpastel blue/beigesandwhites. Blue isalsoaprominentcolour
here and thisisimportantas inthe Star wars universe blue usuallyconnotesgood(i.e.Luke’s light
saber,the ‘goodsides’enginesetc.) Thisshowsachange in ‘sides’asthese coloursare more
symbolicof ‘good’whereasthe darkercoloursrepresent‘evil’more typically.The songalsohasthe
millenniumfalcontheme songinterwoven andwe see the millenniumfalconforthe firsttime.Thisis
particularly excitingforprimaryaudiencesand emotesanemotionalresponseof nostalgia asthe
millenniumfalconwassoiconic.Atthe same we hearHarrisonFord (whoplayedHanSolo,another
iconicoriginal character) say‘it’strue’inresponse toReysaying‘there were storiesof what
happened’.Thissuggestspartof the narrative of the storyisto graduallyreintroduce original
characters as part of a storyline where the newercharactersbelieve the storiesof the original films
were ‘myth’.The use of introducingoldcharactersappealsgreatlyto the diehardfansof the original
episodes,yetalsothesecharactersare part of pop culture,soare easilyrecognisableforsecondary
audiences.
Cinematographyisusedcleverlyinthisnextscene asa twoshotto show the dynamicbetweenRey
and Fin,while atthe same time challengingestablishedideas.Thisisdue toReybeingpositionedin
the foreground,symbolisingshe isthe dominantcharacterwhile Finisslightlybehindher,showing

8. howin statushe is slightlybelowher.Thisisaunique conceptingeneral asusuallymenare the
dominantcharacters while women have alessprincipalrole.
Editingalsoplaysan importantpartin thisfilm, foriconicandinterestingreasons.There are several
sceneswhichthe fanswill recognise,fromthe iconicshipstothe memorable ‘goingintolightspeed’
SFX.The shipsalsohighlightthe sci-fi conventionsof the film, andall these aspectscreate
anticipationforthe final product.Additionallythe filmutilisesquick,frequentjumpcutsto
effectivelycreate asense of actionand urgency,particularlyeffectiveinthe fight/chasescenes.Due
to thisthe sceneslookdramaticand exciting,makingevenanon-starwarsfaninterestedinthem.
The use of colouris alsointriguing,asthe trailer makesitobviouseventoa new fanwhothe ‘bad
and good’guysare. For example the ‘badguys’akastormtroopersare in stark hardwhite plastic
suitswhereasthe ‘goodguys’are inmore free flowingcostume,insandynatural colours.Thishelps
evenchildren,the supposedtargetaudience,easilyidentifythe badandgoodpeople –making
people wanttoach the filmas itisn’tcomplicated. The traileralsousesclevermatchcuts to its
advantage.Thismakesthe trailerlookseamlessandexciting.Therefore more peoplewanttosee
thisfilmasit looksfuturistic,stimulatingandactionpacked.The matchcuts alsoexpertlyblendsthe
actionintodrama and thisiscleveras itenticesfansof differentgenresandshowsthe filmismulti-
genre – thus attractive tofans of emotional,dramaticplotsbutalsotofansof highintensityaction
shots. Robotsare seenwhichisa sci-fi convention.R2-D2isan example of this,notonlyishe a
robot,but he’sa quintessential starwarscharacter and he’sseennextto a hoodedfigure puttinga
metal handup to him.Thiscreatesan emotive response fromthe primaryaudience astheyknow
whothisis butalso createsan emotive response fromthe secondaryaudience astheyare intrigued
by thismysteriousfigure.

9. Followingthis we are shownFintobe on the goodside.Thiscreatesan inquisitive reactionfromthe
audience astheyare interestedinhow Finwentfromclone toonthe ‘goodside’.Aswell asthis he’s
withfriends, completinghisarcfrom lonertoteammember. The audience feelsympathy and
happinesstowardshimfornotonlyjoiningthe ‘right’side buthavingfriendsnow.Consequently
theywatch the filmforFin– to see howthishas all happenedand toroot for him.He alsoseems
heroic,as switchingsidesconnotes braveryandhischange inmotive showshe hasgoodintentions
(attractive toaudience memberswholookforacharacter to relate toand support). The narrative
continuestoshowcaptainphasmawhois insilverratherthanthe white clone uniform –thisraises
the questionof whoisshe and doesshe have a higherstatus?Questionsandcuriositydraw
audience membersinastheywantanswers.The audience is thenmade toquestionmore aswe see
several thrillingscenariosforexample HanandLeia reunitingyetlookingsad,the ‘goodside’
surrenderingand FinholdingLuke’slightsaber –leadingthemtoaskif he’sa Jedi?
While there isnostalgiainrecurringcharactersforthe primaryaudience there isaUSP for secondary
audiencestoo – theyare drawn inby the possibilityof viewingthe filmin3Dand IMAX.The
audience thengetssurveillance gratification(BlulmerandKatz1974) fromthe nextdetails,likethe
title/whenthe ticketsare out/whenthe filmisreleasedandfinallythe bigiconicstarwarslogo at
the end.Lastlythe soundplaysan importantrole inenticingthe audience.Throughoutthe trailer
there hasbeen broken speech –like quotesfromthe film.Thisaddsdramaand mystery asthe
audience wanttosee where these quoteswhere usedandadditionallycreates suspense inmoments
of the trailer. Forexample whenthe words‘the force iscallingtoyou’are spokenitis followedbya
loud,intense build-upof musicthentoa blackscreenand deafeningsilence.Itshowsthe
importance of itsprecedingwordsandallowsforsuspenseof the followingones.The climax isthe
reachedwhenthe words‘justletitin’are spoken.The audience are thenallowedtoaskthemselves
whatthe importance of these wordsare andcreatesan excited,eagerresponse inthe audienceto
findout.As well asthisthe trailerutilisesmusicandsoundeffectstocreate an amusingtrailer.The
soundeffectsaidthe explosionstolookspectacularwhilethe dipsandpeaksinthe dramaticmusic
create atmosphere andmood– goingfrom tense darkmusicto hopeful upliftingmusic.