The Black Mass trailer focuses on the life of infamous gangster James "Whitey" Bulger set primarily in the 1970s in Boston. It shows a tense dinner scene between Bulger and his gang members and switches to other locations like a nightclub and FBI office as Bulger narrates in a dark monologue. The trailer uses dark lighting and costumes to portray the dark world Bulger inhabits and quick edits to showcase many clips in typical trailer fashion. It highlights Johnny Depp's extensive makeup used to resemble the real Bulger in this true crime drama.

1. Black Mass trailer analysis

2. Plot summary/ Basic Info
• Based on the life of James “Whitey” Bulger, the movie focuses on one of the
most notorious criminals and infamous gangsters of the 20th century.
• Dir: Scott Cooper
• Accessed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE3e3hGF2jc

3. Mise-en-scène: setting /location
• The movie take place throughout a number of different decades, although it
primarily takes place in the 1970s.
• The trailer primarily focuses on a scene set at a dinner table between “Bulger”
and some of the members of his gang.
• The trailer does switch to different areas whilst Bulger does a monologue. These
include areas such as a nightclub, a FBI office and a urban area in which protests
are taking places.

4. Mise en scene: iconography and props
• A newspaper called the Boston Globe is shown in order to give the
audience an idea of where the film is set.
• More simplistic props are used such as the dinner table setup and the
FBI office set up.

5. Mise en scene: colour and lighting
• The movie primarily uses dark lighting, perhaps as a representation of the
way in which Bulger sees the world and is very much a reflection of his
persona.
• One shot that is particularly effective is when we see Bulger in darkness
with not even his face even being shown.
• The colours are bright because of the vibrant 70s atmosphere but in reality,
it portrays a dark environment.

6. Mise en scene: makeup and costume
• Extensive makeup is used on Johnny Depp in order for him to resemble
Bulger more.
• For the rest of the makeup and costume, it is primarily used to enhance the
mise en scene.
• An example of this is the leather jacket worn by Bulger

7. Editing: sound and visions
• There is little music, except for some percussion instruments that
help build up the tension.
• Most of the actors put on a “Boston” accent in order to establish that
the film is set in Boston.
• Like most trailers, there’s very quick edits in order to show as many
clips as possible.

8. Cinematography
• Shot types in the trailer including a “overhead” shot of a dead body.
• There are also many distinct close ups, especially during the dinner
sequence in order to show the reactions of both Bulger and the person he’s
talking to.
• There are also over the shoulder shots during the conversation in order to
show the reactions and make the audience feel like they’re part of the
conversation

9. Titles
• The trailer uses intertitles throughout, telling basic information about
Bulger as well as the fact that the film is based on a true story.
• The trailer also has the titles of the main actors, with specific focus on
Johnny Depp due to his star power being able to draw people in
• The trailer also includes the title at the end, to show what the name of the
movie is itself.