This document analyzes the teaser trailer for the movie Cloverfield. It notes several conventions used in the trailer, including shaky camera work meant to look like amateur footage, establishing shots of a party to introduce potential main characters, and scenes showing the disruption of normality through an earthquake and explosions in New York City. These elements are used to entice audiences by hinting at the plot while provoking excitement and questions about what is happening to draw viewers to the movie.

1. Cloverfield
• Outcomes- To have identified
conventions in the trailer
cloverfield.
• To identify how these choices
create meaning, enigmas and
are a selling point to the
audiences
• STARTER: in groups, recap
the conventions trailers.

2. Cloverfield
• http://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=IvNkGm8mxiM
• Consider how this trailer works
to entice the audience.

3. Cloverfield teaser trailer analysis
Edited institutional logo –
make it look like its either on
a TV screen or a camcorder
– shaky – disrupts the
normality of the situation
Bad robot is an independent
institution where it may
change the people’s view of
the movie.
Establishing shots of the
party suggests equilibrium
before the camera zooms in
onto the person in the show
below giving the implication
that he is one of the main
characters.
Camcorder zooms in again
onto the man which can
suggest that he is one of the
main characters of the
movie. Although, the
camera does not place him
in the centre of the frame to
show this, but then again,
the camera man is an
amateur.

4. The camera man is again
filming these different
people from the party
which may imply to us as
audience that they are
one of the important
characters in the movie.
.
The disruption of the
equilibrium started
from this clip. This
started when an
earthquake occurred
during the scene
while the lights
switched on and off

5. The use of black
background after the
disruption helps grow
the tension to its
audience.
The expression this
woman is showing to
the camera
emphasises her
worries about the
situation.
The scene where the
people were gathering
around the TV
listening to the news
report connotes the
idea of their realisation
that a disruption has
occurred.
Here is another example
of this. People are
starting to wonder what
really is happening. It
also shows us a little
sneak peek of where
they are – New York.

6. The idea of showing us the
view of New York city
symbolises the distraction
and chaos that is going to
happen. New York is usually
the main place used for
movies with the genres of
action and sci-fi.
Zooming in on the
explosion in a very fast
pace connotes the
characters’ fear of the
situation.
From the occurrence of
the explosion to these
flying balls of fire, this
also shows the
realisation of the
disruption of equilibrium.
The idea of shaking the
camera connotes the
idea of realism; a
documentary.

7. The use of a slanted
camera angle while falling
over suggests that the
camera man is also one of
the main characters who is
part of the same situation
others are experiencing.

9. Their use of inter-titles
has been edited to fit in
the genre of the movie;
shaky, broken camera;
sci-fi.
They have also shown
the same producer of
the films; Star Trek,
Super 8, Mission
impossible etc. which
can attract the same fan
bases.
This part of the trailer is
quite ironic as it was
captured before the
chaos started which is
then shown in the end.
This can be used to
provoke the excitement of
the audience which
enables them to watch
the movie.
The inter-title of the
releasing date of the
movie has been shown