1. JamesPugh
Star Wars film trailer analysis
General Overview Fact file:
Director - J.J Abrams
Studio – Pinewood Studios (London)
Year of release – 2015
Country of release – 17th December in UK, 18th December in United States and rest
of world.
Budget - $306 million gross budget
Purpose of making the film:
The Force Awakens was made in order to make the production companies such as
LucasFilm profit. They knew that by making another Star Wars film it would bring in a
huge amount of money as the fan base is so big and the film would be greatly anticipated.
Another reason that the film was produced is to entertain the millions of Star Wars fans
out there and add anothergreat film to the StarWars franchise. The film appeals to all
ages and that is what makes it so successful. Adults still enjoy it because they were the
ones who grew up with the release of the first Star Wars film and therefore want to
reminisce by watching the new film. The franchise also appeals to the youngergeneration
as the Sci-Fi genre is usually popular with kids due to the fantasy worlds and fast paced
action. There is also a scene included in the trailer where the famous Millennium Falcon is
shown soaring through the sky and this has been included to thrill the audience as this is
an iconic part of the Star Wars franchise.
Genre:
Leading on from this, the science fiction genre is shown throughout all of the Star Wars
films particularly in The Force Awakens. Codes and conventions of the Sci-fi genre are
shown from the very first scene, with Rey dressed as an Alien-like character. Having this
shown in the very first scene entices the target audience to carry on watching if they are
fans of the science fiction genre. There are many more conventions shown in following
scenes, firstly one convention is the fictional characters such as robots. For example in one
of the next scenes you see BB8 who is new to the Star Wars franchise and is a robot which
shows once again the sci-fi genre to the audience and show them what the film is before
the trailer even states it. In addition to BB8, another famous robot is shown towards the
end of the trailer and this is R2-D2 who is a very recognisable figure for many people, even
those that haven’t watched Star Wars. The locations shown in the trailer are all
conventions of the sci-fi genre. An example of this is the desert that we see Rey and BB8
2. JamesPugh
walking through, many fans would recognise this as a key convention of the Star Wars
films as Luke Skywalker lived in a similar environment.
Form:
Star Wars is a film very reliant on technology due its Science-Fiction genre. There is film
technology used throughout the film to try and make the film look realistic and true to life
as though some of these characters and spaceships are truly there. An example of this is
the use of hyperspace travel which creates a tunnel looking image toshow a spaceship or
another object flying through the air at a fast pace, this is shown in the image below. The
audience automatically associate this which the sci-fi genre if it is fast pace action scene
involving spaceships, such as the X-Wing in Star Wars. Anotherpiece of film technology
that is used in the production of the film and the traileris the use of artificial intelligence
for characters such as C-3PO, who are huge favourites with Star Wars fans and have
become a key part of the franchise. There
are many advantages of filming with a
35mm lens rather than an imax camera
because the lens is much cheaper and far
lighter. On the other hand the 65mm imax
camera does have some benefits, for
example using this camera would help when filming a wide or establishing shot like when
we see Rey and BB8 in the desert.
Style:
J.J Abrams has used a nostalgic style for The Force Awakens to try and attract the adults of
today. He has done this to try to make the film appeal to all generations and not just
children. By seeing similar scenes to what they saw as a child in Star Wars films it makes
the adults watching feel a sense of nostalgia and may enjoy the film more, feeling as
though they are a child once again. An example of this happening in the trailer is a very
short two-shot of Princess Leia and Han Solo hugging, perhaps bringing back memories for
the older people in the audience. By including this in the trailer it may entice those adults
to watch the film as they want to know the story behind those two famous characters
hugging. However the film style also appeals to the younger audience because of the fast
pace action scenes and the fictional
3. JamesPugh
characters it is designed to be enjoyable for children aswell.
Content and Meaning:
The first shot that the audience see in the trailer for The Force Awwakens is a close-up of
an Alien looking character staring directly at us as the audience, which has been done
deliberatley to show the audience watching the genre of the film that they are previewing
and including them by the character looking at us. This would instantly attract the
younger members of the target audience as steretypically children enjoy wacthing films
with fictional and alien-like characters. In addition to this, the inclusion of this shot at the
start makes the audience questio who this character is and what their role is within the
plot of the film. However what they don’t know is that this characteris Rey who turns out
to be the main character in the film, therefore including her in the first shot foreshadows
her importance throughout the film. The following establishing shot then shows Rey
exploring an abandoned location by climbing on things, this is a key convention of the sci-
fi genre shown to the target audience already which will attract sci-fi fans to come and
watch the film. Leading on from this, another estblishing shot is shown with Rey shown
without a costume on for the first time walking along side the new robot BB8. This shot
alone appeals to many different members of the traget audience. Firstly, having a female
character (Rey) as one of the main characters of a Star Wars film is a rare occasion so
many women watching on will see Rey as an inspiration and will want to watch her. Star
Wars was seen as a mainly male dominant film so by doing this Star Wars will be able to
broaden the audience even further. The other section of the audience that this will appeal
to is children as there is a new robot shown, by the name of BB8 and they will see this
character as similar to R2-D2 who has become globally known for those who don’t even
watch the Star Wars films.
Throughout this opening sequence the sound has helped to make the vibe of the trailer
very dramatic. By having very slow high pitched single pianonotes it creates suspense and
builds the audience up for the action that is to follow. The fact that the music is a very
slow pace it highlights the lack of action at the start of this traileras we have only seen
the characters from the ‘good side’. We then get shown the LucasFilm logo, in time with
the music, which everyone associates Star Wars and it is presented in a shiny silver colour
to perhaps portray its value and worth tothe people watching on. The presentation of this
logo almost acts as a barrier between the good side and the bad side in the film because
straight after we see the stormtroopers, layed out like an army. They have been layed out
like this to illustrate to the audience to show their power, organisation and authority. The
stormtroopers again all dressed in their white iconic costumes is a key convention of the
Star Wars franchise. However in contrast to
4. JamesPugh
this we see another of the main characters shown, who is originally a stormtrooper but
one of different ethinicity which may be a shock to some Star Wars fans as we see him
remove his helmet in a close-up shot of him. He looks particularly worried which may give
the audience a hint that he goes onto to leave the stormtroopers and join the ‘good side’.
We find out later he becomes known as Fin.
After this moment, the action starts to build up in the trailer making it more exciting for
those watching with action and fighting being one of the main parts of most Star Wars
films and scenes in fact. We get introduced toanother character, the first main one on the
‘dark side’, Kylo Ren. The trailer has been edited so that everytime we get introduced to a
new character the scenes fade in and fade out for effect to break the scenes up and so the
audience can identify different characters. Kylo Ren is presented in front of a bright red
light. This has been done deliberately as the colour red connotes things such as danger
and blood. This highlights to the audience that he is a violent and dangerous character.
The next shot after this is a close up of his face so that the audience feel intimidated by
him, especially the younger audience will feel scared of Kylo Ren and his power as
naturally the audience are on the ‘good side’. Kylo Ren’s costume, in particular his mask,
again illustrates his aggressive nature. His mask is covered in dents and cracks and this is
shown by the close up shot and indicates to the audience that these marks are scars from
battle. We also hear him say “nothing will stand in our way”, however his voice is very
deep and artificial and also sounds very aggressive which matches his personality.
Another thing that we hear is as soon as we see a character from the bad side, which is
Kylo Ren, the music becomes much more fast paced and dramatic which suggests to the
people watching that it is Kylo Ren and his side that are going to instigate the violent
scenes in the plot. A point of view shot then shows Kylo Ren looking over a burnt Darth
Vader mask, this would make those in the audience who haven’t seen the previous Star
Wars film question how this mask is in this state and make them want to go and found
out. The dialogue also makes the audience question this as Kylo Ren says, “I will finish
what you started”. So many fans will want to know exactly what it was the Darth Vader
started.
After this point in the trailer, the action really begins to build and become more frantic for
the audience watching on. We are shown a new character who appears to be getting his
thoughts sucked from his mind by Kylo Ren’s hand, this shows us the authority that he has
over the characters on the good side. This scene then fades into the next wide shot of an
explosion in a forest which has a red tinge to it to show that it is caused by the dark side
as this is the colour associated with them, rather than the blue of the good side. The
explosion in the forest is a visual representation of what is going on in this new
characters’ head, we found out in the film he is called Poe. The music helps to create the
5. JamesPugh
tension at this point in the trailer and it fits with the action as it has a fast flow, which
matches the spaceships that we see soaring through the sky. This will excite both
generations in the audience, firstly by giving the older generation a sense of nostalgia as
they see the iconic Millennium Falcon, which is a very recognizable non-human character
in the Star Wars franchise and has been in all of the films. These spaceships also excite the
younger audience as many of them will have an interest in the sci-fi genre and spaceships
is a key convention of the genre as many children thinkthey are cool and will want to be
in one ‘when they grow up’.
The dialogue during this sequence of very short shots is crucial and will be a moment the
adults of the audience exhilarated by. We hear Rey say, “There were stories about what
happened”, in response to this the viewers are shown for the first time the return of Han
Solo as he states “It’s true. All of it”. For those who have been watching Star Wars since
the first film was released this is a key event for them because Han Solo has been there
from the start aswell. Many members of the audience would have built up a personal
relationship with his character, which is one of the reasons why we watch films as Blumler
and Katz found in their research in 1974.
Just before this medium shot, we are shown a two-shot of the new characters Fin and Rey
for the first time. Rey is stood in front of Fin to show that she has authority over him and
is the main character in the film. This might attract more females to watch the film as they
might see themselves in her , which is personal identity as Blumler and Katz found out.
We then begin to see more and more conventions of the sci-fi genre in the next sequences
of short shots. Firstly, Kylo Ren is shown holding a lightsaber. This is imortant because not
only is the light sabor a weapon which is a convention of the genre, it is also the most
famous prop that is used in the Star Wars films. The one that Kylo Ren is holding stands
out massively because of its bright red colour, in contrast to the dark blackbackground
which are both connotations of danger which will indicate once again to the audience
what sort of character Ren is. One of the next shots also shows many conventions of the
Science-fiction genre, the location being one. The wide shot shows a large battleground
which is very typical of a sci-fi film, this along with the stormtroopers who are also very
famous to those who don’t even watch StarWars. They stand out aswell much like the
lightsaber due to their bright white colouragainst the dark and dingy battleground.
6. JamesPugh
This is then followed by a series of explosions, which have been included to make the
audience question whetheror not someone is going tobe killed in this film. This is why
many people often choose to watch Star Wars and other science-fiction films because
they want to escape from their everyday life and routine, so they experience something
that is unlikely to happen in their lives. This is another one of Blumler and Katz’s uses and
gratifications, it is called diversion. It is considered the main reason why many people go
to watch films, so to make a film successful the plot needs to be able to distract the
audience from their everyday lives. Another shot that involves the audience is the one
shown below which shows that the
relationship between the humans and robots
in Star Wars is still strong. This involves the
audience because they may build personal
relationships with these characters and begin
to imagine themselves in the film with these
characters.
Towards the end of the trailer, there are many shots included togive the oldersection of
the target audience a sense of nostalgia again. These have been included at the end so
that it is the last thing that sticks in the viewers mind after watching the trailer. Therefore
this will entice them to come and watch the film. An example of this is seeing Chewbacca
and Han Solo together briefly, as they are a very recognizable pairing for those who have
been watching the films since they were a child. It gives them a sense of nostalgia because
these characters have almost been growing up alongside them and have many similar
memories in a way because of the film plots over the years. Another example of this is
when we see very quickly Princess Leia and Han Solo hugging which shows their unity is
still as strong as ever and brings back memories for those long-term StarWars fanatics.
The trailer ends on a classic cliffhanger to make the audience question the outcome of the
film. The final action shot shows Fin and another character, who at this point the audience
don’t know (but is Kylo Ren), getting ready for battle with theirblue and red lightsabers
respectively. The audience will obviously want to know the outcome of the battle and this
will therefore entice them to go and watch the film. By the end of the video, the audience
also gains surveillance from watching the traileras they get information such as the film
title, release date and ticket information, which is everything they need to go and find the
film. The fact that the film is also available in 3D will attract even more of the younger
audience as they stereotypically enjoy watching in 3D more. However, the trailer and film
have been put together in such a way that it appeals to both young, old, male and female
which is why the Star Wars franchise is so popular and successful.
