The document provides an analysis of the mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, and sound used in the Goodfellas trailer. It notes that the costumes show the characters' wealth and establish them as gangsters. The lighting establishes moods and contrasts between characters. Martin Scorsese uses pan shots to show fast action and the environment. The editing divides the trailer into three acts that reflect the progression of the film and characters. The music creates nostalgia or contrasts moods and changes to reflect the era portrayed.

1. Goodfellas trailer analysis
Mise en scene:
The costume in the trailer for
“Goodfellas” is exactly what you
would expect from a gangster
movie. The men in the trailer
can be seen wearing expensive
suits and the woman have on
fancy dresses with matching
jewellery. This type of costume
indicates that in their line of
work they are able to generate
large sums of money and spend it on their families. In addition, it demonstrates
their professionalism for their job so that people take them seriously and know
that they mean business. Furthermore, the costume change throughout the film
is useful to the audience as we can tell that the characters are progressing
through the decades. Moreover, Henry Hills costume also deteriorates as the
movie goes on, this has been implemented to show that he is slowly degrading
due to the drug addiction and that he is unable to make suitable decisions which
will keep him out of trouble. It also shows how something that was a great s the
mafia organization will eventually come to a brutal and chaotic end.
The lighting in the Goodfellas trailer remains constant with the high key lighting.
There are only a few scenes in the trailer which use low key lighting for example,
when the trio are burying a body in the cover of darkness. The reason for the use
of low key lighting I this scene is to show that they're are trying not to get caught
by anyone, this includes the police and their own men as what they are doing
goes against the rules due to tommy DeVito killing someone for no good reason.
This scene is also made more sadistic through the use of the red car light shining
on the dust, creating an evil and demonic atmosphere as the three men dig to
bury the body. Furthermore, the dialogue which is told throughout this shot adds
to the nature of the men as Jimmy and Tommy make fun of Henry as he does not
have the stomach for the job by saying "here's a leg" and "here's a wing". This
wittiness shows the audience that the characters have done this sort of job many
times before and have become immune to the psychological effects of their
actions and have begun to make jokes about it. In addition, it shows contrast
between jimmy and tommy with Henry as we see Henry squatting on the floor
with his short over his mouth as if the smell is making him feel physically sick.
Cinematography:
Throughout the trailer, Martin Scorsese has used a number of pan long shots.
This has allowed the director to show the fast movement of the characters in the
things they do. For example, the general shake downs and murders that the
gangsters commit. Furthermore, this type of camera shot aids in the viewing of
the day to day lie of these ruthless gangsters. These scenes are conventional for a
gangster movie as it allows the director to show off not only the actions of the

2. main characters but also the rest of their environment such as the cars, the
buildings around them and most importantly, the way in which the public react
to the way in which they handle things (the public's reaction is generally them
ignoring the gangsters out of fear of being their next victims).
In the trailer, there is a mid-shot of Joe Pesci's character shooting his pistol
directly towards the screen. The shot is met with a blunt and serious look by
Tommy as fires at the audience. This has been put into effect by Martin Scorsese
as it leaves the viewers considering the different outcomes and reason for
Tommy to be firing his gun in this manner. The facial expressions and body
language indicate to the audience that he is executing someone as he does not
seem to be putting up a fight and has no trouble pulling the trigger. This shot is
also a reference to the iconic shot in the short film "The great train robbery"
filmed in 1903 and created by Edwin s. porter. This has been placed into the film
as the great train robbery was one of the films that martin Scorsese watched as a
child and had led to him being a director.
Editing:
The trailer seems to go through 3 acts. The first one is started by Henry Hill
narrating over the trailer with a monologue whilst classic 1950s-60s song plays
in the background. This creates a feeling of nostalgia as we see shots of Henry
growing up and being influenced by the mob and the ways in which they do
things. The second act changes the feel of the trailer completely, it switches the
music from a song which resembles the likes of Frank Sinatra to a softer rock
anthem with which a guitar and piano heavily dominate the song. This is still
combined with Henrys monologue and changes the atmosphere of the trailer to
make it see faster paced and that greater things are beginning to happen within
the film. In addition, these changes are closely linked to the progression of the
film which show 30 years of life in the mafia for Henry Hill and change alongside
the ways martin Scorsese has chosen to alter the personality of Henry Hill. The
final third of the trailer is met with a voice over which now narrates the general
outline of the plot which is that "a new generation will carry on a new tradition".
This piece of the trailer allows for the director to subtly sneak in the plot without
attracting too much attention to it and to give the audience a good enough reason
to watch his movie. This sort of lay out is very unconventional for a trailer as the
music within a trailer does not generally change this in a single trailer. Moreover,
the trailer also maintains its pace throughout as the shot types do not vary as
much as those compared to a different trailer of the same genre.
Sound:
The music in the background is a very cheerful and upbeat song. This creates a
great contrast between the music and the horrific violent scenes which are being
shown in front of us. However, Scorsese has followed one rule, this is to only play
music that was out during the time the film was set. For example, when the film
is set in the 70's the music closely resembles that decade. This is why we get the
change in music within the trailer as it shows that the years are moving on and
things are changing and the characters themselves have to change with the
times.