1. Film trailer analysis ‘Black mass’
Mise en scene:
Mise en scene plays a key part in the trailer as lighting, props, costume and character
performance are all used in a variety of ways to bring atmosphere and tension to the trailer.
In the opening scene of the trailer, we can see Whitey Bulger (played by Jonny Depp) ask
John Morris (David Harbour) about how he marinated the steak. This casual conversation
makes the audience believe that Whitey is an enjoyable guy who is laid back and not too
serious about his actions all the time. However, as the trailer progresses, we see that he was
asking John about his loyalty and that if he would give up a family secret then he may give
up information about Whitey at a later date. This aids in the creation of tension as the
audience are lead to believe that Whitey is a nasty and ruthless man who does not want to
be caught by the police again. This scene is further influenced by the music which is used.
Up until this point, the audience can her some diegetic sound in the form of music. This is
played up until Johnny Depp’s character says “No” and the audience realize that John is in
trouble. When Whitey says “No”, the music stops and we see a cut to a title card which
reads “Based on a true story”. This whole scene has built up tension between the two
characters beautifully as you see the connection between the two and it is quickly ripped
away as you realize that Whitey does not trust him.
The lighting in the trailer is constantly switching between high key ad low key. For example,
in the scene where they are at the dinner table, we can see a well-lit room, which enables
the audience to infer different things such as; all the men at the table are quite close and
have dinner with each other. The lighting in this scene also allows for the director to show
off the two different sides of Whitey. The side where he is friendlier and hangs out with his
friends is shown in the opening scene at the table. And then when we see the scenes where
Johnny Depp’s character is sitting in a dark room conveys the thought that this man is a
master criminal who operates in the shadows.
Editing:
Editing within a trailer is one of the most important features. It helps create a pace in which
keeps the audience engaged but without having reveal the entire plot of the movie. In the
Black mass trailer, this is done with extreme precision. Throughout the trailer, the pace is
kept fairly constant with each shot being around the same length which is broken up by the
main scene of the Whitey and John eating at the table. This is unusual for any type of trailer
as they commonly speed up as it progresses. However, even though the shots do not vary in
speed as much, the tempo of the music does increase as we hear the monologue of Whitey
being played over the clips. This generates a sense of unease and worry as we begin to
imagine what Whitey is going to do to John over the fact that he just gave up a family
secret.
2. Scott cooper has managed to show off the talent of all of the actors that are in this trailer
through the use of numerous close up shots which are played right after short scenes of
violence and action. This theoretically creates a reaction from those actors even if the clips
do not fall into chronological order. Cooper has used this method of editing to create a
sense of concern as we are left with just the expressions on the actor's face and no real
solution to the problem of this tyrannical gangster and no way of knowing what occurs in
the seconds after the close up. This is a common technique in crime films as it leaves the
audience in question as if they are the ones who have to solve the mystery of use their own
knowledge in figuring out ways in which the antagonist can be brought to justice after
witnessing the crime and the reaction by the actors on screen.
In this trailer, there is also a little amount of title cards used. The ones that do show up say
"based on a true story" and "one of the most notorious gangsters in U.S. history". These
have been used to emphasise the fact that everything in this movie us based off of true
events and that there really was a man who would carry out such terrible acts. In addition,
the reason for there not being many title cards in the trailer may be due to the fact that
Copper wants us to focus on Whiteys voice and the subtle threats that he is giving to John in
order for us to think that he isn't messing around and that he is serious about what he is
saying.
