The trailer uses lighting, editing, cinematography, and text to build tension around Johnny Depp's character Whitey Bulger. Scenes shift between well-lit conversations and dark, shadowy scenes to show Whitey's friendly and threatening sides. Precise editing maintains pace without revealing the plot, and close-ups after violence leave viewers questioning how justice will be served. Only a few title cards emphasize that the story is based on a true notorious gangster.

2. 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.

3. LIGHTING
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.

4. 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.

5. CINEMATOGRAPHY
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.

6. TEXT
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.