The document provides an analysis of the teaser trailer for the film "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." The summary analyzes several shots and scenes from the teaser trailer: 1) The teaser trailer uses montage editing to show over 100 short shots that provide clues without context. This creates mystery and intrigue for the audience. 2) Key shots include a car driving down a long driveway, characters searching in a snowy forest at night, and a woman with a dragon tattoo visible on her back in the shower. 3) The editing, music, lighting and cinematography aim to portray themes of secrecy, investigation, emotion, and crime without giving away the full narrative. This leaves

1. A Girl with a Dragon Tattoo Teaser Trailer Analysis
These are
a few
screen-
shots
taken
from the
teaser
trailer that
I believe
to be
significant

2. Introduction
• 'The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo' is a crime thriller film, like our film
'Suspect' is going to be. I have taken inspiration from not only the
narrative but the way that they present it in the teaser trailer; especially
the through montage editing.
• It is very conventional for a thriller genre/ sub-genre of thriller to present
through montage editing as it gives the audience a lot of information
without directly linking it. The audience can make up their own
perspective of the characters.
• Being a montage edit means that there was a lot of different shots (with
short durations), I counted at least 100 different shots. This is a lot more
than usual but seeing as it is crime thriller you need a lot of random
information to make it more interesting.

3. Image 1
• The first shot is of a car turning down a driveway. Within this sequence there is constant
referral back to the same shot, a car driving just getting closer to the main house (starts
with an establishing shot going into a mid-shot then close up- all tracking towards the
destination). The audience are put in an involuntary position acting as the character- we
start to see what they see so they can become sympathetic and feel the importance of the
visual image which in this case is the house, just as much as it means to the unknown
character.
• The idea that the car can represent time going past. The referral back to the car going
further and further down the driveway can suggest that time is going on and on. There is
the idea of time pressure and the shots showing the props of photos and characters arguing
(later on in the montage) suggests the idea of investigation and conflict. There is a
countdown to figure out the investigation. This is a similar concept we are going to use for
Suspect. When filming we are planning to get multiple shots of the hooded characters
coming closer to the camera. (instead of their idea; a car driving down a drive)
• The mise en scene in this shot mainly establishes the location. This place is a driveway,
which isn't a stereotypical driveway instead it gated. This can connote prosperity and a
sense of wealth. This is reinforced through some of the other shots in the montage
sequence such as the mid shot of what I assume to be a family sitting having a family dinner
all wearing suits and at the grand dinner table.
• The mid shot of the group of people at a dinner party, at a later time in the narrative and
this shot, showing the house links these shots together. It suggests the idea that these
people live here exaggerating the themes of family and rivalry. Pathetic Fallacy is used: The
use of snow and ice have negative connotations because physically it is difficult to drive I
this weather suggesting that something in the investigation could go wrong (skid off of the
road) and it is cold suggesting that this investigation or even this house is surrounded by
mental issues. This is reinforced later on when props of guns are used.

4. Next Images- Part of a Montage
•This is set in a forest at night time, using low key lighting.
Forests have connotations of loneliness and isolation. A lot
of weird and unknown things happen in forests
stereotypically so this is a perfect setting to express to the
audience that something out of the ordinary has
happened, alerting them about the films narrative further.
We see a couple of characters, not showing their facial
expressions but we see their silhouette figures. There
actions show that they are searching for something, of
what I assume to be a dead body or evidence to a crime.
This is something that we will film for our piece as it adds
interest creating a tense atmosphere for the other shots.
•There are various props used here including a torch, a
battered box etc. This adds realism to the piece as well as
exaggerating the idea of it being set at night time. Dark has
connotations of crime anyway so this helps reinforce the
idea of a crime occurring.
•The costume of the characters are made up of coat, hat
and investigating attire. It is more casual than official
suggesting private investigation linking to the theme of
secrets.

5. •These shots, in this montage are edited together using simple cuts rather than fancy transitions. This simplicity
can help the flow of the piece because a mix of the short shot durations with the cuts appears very choppy
exaggerate the negative impact of criminal behavior.
•This shot is a long shot, showing the woodland area in the background as well as framing the characters with the
rule of thirds. All of the shots in this sequence are varied, some being close up and some being establishing. This
variety is good as it keeps interest for the audience. In one shot we see a main protagonist, the one from the
poster walking towards the camera, looking off screen (indirect mode of address) the camera tracking his
movement. This can allow the audience to identify the main protagonists shown in the previous shots.
•The sound is all non-diegetic, an upbeat soundtrack that doesn’t match the beat of the shots changing. This is ok
as it gives contrast to the editing. The idea that the narrative doesn’t make sense and it is complicated.
• Having a complicated narrative and an upbeat song is important in portraying emotion.
•In addition there is a blue tinge to the shot. This is conventional of thriller genres and sub genres. This adds a
sense of abnormality and fantasy rather than reality.
Continued

6. Another Shot in the Montage
• This image is very similar to a shot in Se7en (other one of my film inspirations). This is
a one second shot of the main protagonist walking out of what I assume to be court
with all of the press taking photos and trying to extract information. The main male
character, wearing a professional black smart suit holding a clipboard with papers is
looking straight on, indirect mode of address with serious expressions. These props
are important as they show him to be an investigator or on the side of authority
rather than a suspect. (no suspect will be holding papers).
• Only being one second doesn’t give the audience a chance to figure out the narrative.
• The mise en scene is very complex here. The location is an urban area. Being in the
city is the center of popularity and stereotypically crime thrillers are set in urban areas
as it is common for crime to occur in built up areas in real life. The props used include
umbrellas, cameras, microphones etc. These characters were wearing raincoats. There
is a definite contrast between both characters (investigator and press) as the outfits of
the character exaggerate the idea of authority. I believe this to be a main theme for
the film not only wide scale in the sense of police and citizens but family the divide of
authority between parents and kids. This is shown in the dinner party mid shot.
• The male protagonist is framed central, following the rule of thirds with the press and
other characters surrounding him on the left and right of the screen. The use of
proxemics could connote the fact that the police/ investigators are close to finding the
suspect. Both groups of people are standing relatively close to each other showing
the closeness of their relationship.
• Again, there is use of pathetic fallacy here as it is raining portraying a negative
outcome that the press are interested in. This would also explain the males facial
expressions and little interaction with the press.
• The non-diegetic music here is extended through this shot as well, no use of diegetic
sound (no camera clicking or shouting which is usually common in TV series and the
main film rather than the teaser).

7. • This part in the teaser trailer shows the dinner party.
• This is a long shot so we as the audience are exposed to
a lot of mise en scene. The mise en scene is important
here because it connotes the prosperity of what I
assume to be a family.
• The camera is framed so the male, with serious and
upset facial expressions is central so he is the first
character the audience are focused on meaning that
they can sympathise. His costume is made up of a black
suit. They have connotations of professionalism and
importance; suggesting the possible reason for him
sitting at the head of the table but can link to the idea
of a funeral, as this is a stereotypical outfit for an event
like this. Funerals have negative connotations and
reflect the idea of death; something that could be
linked to the investigation shown in the previous
montage clips. In addition the props of flowers on the
table are common in funerals; another reason to
suggest death
• The other people on the table are talking however the
man central to the shot is looking down at the flowers
in sorrow.
• The mise en scene presents prosperity; the use of
pristine furniture and a restaurant styled meal.
• He may have lost someone or lost himself in his wealth.
He looks as though he is trying to overcome family
issues.

8. The Last Image
• This is a mid-shot of a female character in a shower. She is naked so we are shown
her dragon tattoo on her back. This is taking over a high proportion of her left back.
This can express the power of the animal as well as her dedication; the idea that
she put a permanent tattoo on her skin shows her strength. Tattoos have
stereotypical negative connotations being linked to thugs and crime suggesting her
link to crime and violence in the film. Is she a suspect to this investigation?
• We don’t see her face (what I assume to be the female because of the title). This Is
the only character that I have seen with a tattoo so I believe she is the 'girl with a
dragon tattoo'.
• The idea of water, her being shown in the shower can suggest she is drowned by
emotion. Something has happened to her in the past that we don’t know yet that
has caused her to become drained. Her head is positioned down as though she is
trying to hide; being secretive. Her stability can't be that good as she is holding onto
the wall of the shower; she is physically weak. The audience what to find out why so
they will watch on- strong enigmas are created.

9. Titles and Graphics
• The titles are different to other thrillers I have
looked at. Instead of tame and 'creepy' italic font
they are bold, in capital letters and take over most of
the page.
• The contrast of the background and font is very
effective. By using a black background is typical of
crime thriller titles as it expresses the darkness of
the genre. The use of white shows the
inconsistencies within the narrative- the idea of plot
twists.
• Each shot was a second long and the non-diegetic
music matched.
• The colour of the titles has been manipulated so
that it looks like branches or scratches across the
letters. This adds some extra dimension to the titles.
• The words "dragon" and "girl" are larger than the
other titles. This could be to ensure the screen is
filled up but also could suggest there importance
and relationship within the film.

10. General Analysis of the Teaser Trailer
This sequence is majority montage editing, made up of 1.38
minutes. This is the stereotypical for a teaser trailer, just
enough time to give a snippet of the narrative and what is to
entail but doesn’t give away the whole storyline, in this case
as a crime thriller.
• There is a lot of low key lighting which has direct
connotations with death and darkness. This links to the
criminal narrative, the idea of the fear of the unknown
always present.
• The audience are left with a lot of questions after watching
the teaser trailer such as; what is the significance of this
white huge house that is shown with establishing shots
multiple times? What are the secrets? Who is on the
motorbike (that we see in multiple shots)? Why are they
riding so fast? To get away or to chase? These enigmas
change the audiences interpretations of the narrative and
enticing them to watch on more.

11. • When doing further research I found out that this film is an adaptation of a
book as well as Swedish films. This means that fans of the book will watch
the teaser trailer and understand further. This is the USP. It is giving the
film more attention; the fans of the book are more likely to proceed to
watching the film. In addition the referral to a lot of key characters in the
teaser can also be a key selling point because then there is intrigue to how
they all link together.
• I do feel as though I get a bit confused in the teaser trailer, I can only
depict a sense of family rather than who is the culprit? This is why in our
montage edit we will keep referring to previous shots and only introduce
three main protagonists rather than this teaser where at least 6 were
shown.
• I would suggest that the audience would be majority men based on the
darkness, however based on the femininity of the title and the whole
narrative based on ' a girl with a dragon tattoo" the majority of the target
audience could be women, older. Feminists' would like to explore this film,
regarding women's rights mental headspace. Lisbeth Salander is the main
women character that is explored.
• Finding out this information for a piece that has inspired my film "Suspect"
is very useful as it was successful not only commercial but critically. The
creative narrative is complicated shown through the montage shots.

12. 'Box Office Mojo'
As you can see from these figures from 'box-office
mojo' this film made a huge amount of revenue in
the box office. This was most probably influenced
by the success of the teaser trailer, poster etc.
These promotions gained media attention and
because the teaser trailer could be interpreted as
quite confusing it has intrigued an audience to
watch the film.
I have researched and found out that the run time for
the film is 2hrs and 40mins which is very long for a
film. This subverts stereotypical conventions however
because the teaser trailer follows the usual time
frame in will engage a mass audience still and as they
watch the film it ill intrigue them. This will mean that
the run time will become less of an issue.
The production budget for the big Hollywood
conglomerate (Song/ Columbia) was relatively big and
it is obvious that they have made a lot of profit.
However compared to other crime thrillers
blockbusters the profit isn't as much.

13. Poster Analysis
As you can see there is the use of black and white
colouring to the photographs. By choosing a greyscale for
this poster suggests an unknown darkness. As we know
the teaser trailer is in colour showing that this was a
stylized decision in order to stand out from stereotypical
poster.
Mise en scene- The effective use of proxemics, there
positioning is very close connoting their close
relationship, linking to the idea that they could be
related in some way (family is the drive of the
narrative, much so like our film will be).
Billing Block- this is technically essential to credit all
of the cast and crew involved in making the film.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/02/24/op
inion/sunday/ben-schott-movies-billing-blocks.html I
looked on this website to gain an insight into what
names are included within the billing block. I have
discovered that there made up of bugs (at the
bottom), writers, producers, crew involved in
physical production etc. This information will help
me to develop my own billing block in the production
process. I will need to produce one in order to follow
conventions and look professional.
As a crime thriller the whole narrative is based on a crime and there use of
darkness and shadows (low key lighting) can portray the fear of the unknown.
A vignette has been created around the edges to
emphasize the idea that the protagonists in the middle
are of most importance. It is darker around the edges,
with a white middle. This is where the characters are
placed. By being in the white middle suggests possible
innocence to a crime? This suggests the narrative may
be more complicated than just two 'enemies', which
crime thrillers stereotypical are.
From this poster I can depict that the two main
protagonists on the front are enemies of some sort or
have conflicting ideas. I depict this through their facial
expressions and performance (Mise en scene). The
male is using direct mode of address with a serious
expression. The use of shadows has made it difficult to
see his eyes directly connoting secrecy and hidden
identity of criminals. (he might not be the direct/
obvious suspect but maybe it was him?) I know it’s a
crime thriller through the teaser trailer rather than just
solely on the poster however saying that from the
poster I depict a dark narrative which could be crime.
The image at the bottom has been faded using the opacity tool. It is an establishing shot of a white
house surrounded by snow. When I look at this image I see majority white. As suggested in another
point white has connotations of purity as well innocence suggesting something more to the
narrative. This house must have strong significance, possibly a family home where what looks like an
older man and younger women live (father/ daughter relationship).
Facial expressions-The female protagonist looks
scared and as though she is being forced to be
quiet and her indirect mode of address can portray
her summon to be silent. It reinforces stereotypical
gender ideologies and how men are seen dominate.

14. (Poster Analysis CONTINUED)
The use of Star Vehicles, "Daniel Craig" and
"Rooney Mara" within the film is something
that should be acknowledged on the film
poster, again for promotion purposes and
give the actor credit. It will bring in the fans
so get more public attention, from the
media aswell.
"Coming Soon"- Having this title at the
bottom of the poster is stereotypical of a
film poster. This is so it doesn’t take up to
much room but the audience can start to
become excited about its release, without
the pressure for the production company to
provide a release date at this stage of
promotion. You need to promote the film a
long time before the film release to allow
word of mouth (one of the most
valuable distribution methods as people
trust their friends and family's opinions) to
spread information.
This typography is effective because it is
bold as well as some letters being serif
font. The mix of serif and sans serif shows
the contrast not only in the two characters
on the poster but the narrative itself.
The colour of the text is all white, in
contrast to the dark background.
There is no use of props on this poster
which is unusual and goes against
stereotypes. Usually there is visual
signifiers using the mise en scene to
exaggerate the genre and what is going to
happen but this poster doesn’t do this
exaggerating the importance of the
narrative, as well as the relationship with
these two protagonists.
The idea that the title of the film includes the animal "Dragon" suggests a lot of violence and dominance in the narrative, and within the
characters. This animal has stereotypical connotations of fear and strength on the outside however is innocence and loving on the inside, just
like everyone else. There is going to be a lot of judgment based on looks in this film.

15. How this poster influences "Suspect"
• This poster subverts stereotypical conventions in the sense of using no props on the
front cover and basing the narrative solely on the facial expressions and performance
of these characters on this poster. This will be similar to my poster as I will show three
different characters and by the use of proxemics it will show their close relationship
to each other.
• I love the idea of the greyscale colour scheme, as it creates contrast with the text and
the photograph. I feel as though I will use something similar but instead of making it
completely greyscale I will decrease the brightness of the photographs and the
opacity of secondary images to make an image that looks merged.
• The idea that they have used the two main protagonists on the poster is something I
am going to take inspiration from, but instead of two I am going to have 3; Mia, the
forensic investigator and the hooded 'real' murderer.