Q1(b) narrative essay

1. Q1(b) Narrative Essay
I am focusingonmy second-yearmaintask,ateasertrailerfora marketing campaign of the thriller film
'Depth'.The purpose of the teasertrailerwasto buildtensiontoallow the audience to identify the film
in the specific thriller genre and to entice a larger audience to watch the film once it is released.
Narrative isthe art of tellingastory,inthe Depthteasertrailerthe narrative isopen and with the use of
montage editing to engage the audience.
The narrative structure we used in the Depth teaser trailer overall was a non-linear approach as the
shots used were not in chronological order. At the start of the teaser trailer we took a short linear
approach where the audience was introduced to the characters and relationships were able to build,
thenfor the restof the trailerwe usedmontage editingtoshow elementsfromall parts of the film, this
created suspense. The tension generated ties in with the purpose of the teaser trailer, the audience
buildbondswiththe charactersand then hooked into watching the film by fearing what might happen
to them. Using a non-linear narrative is a convention of thriller teaser trailers, as it leads the the
audience questioning what happens in the film. In Depth we used a range of shots from the film n the
teaser trailers in a non-chronological order so they can infer what might happen to each character. In
the teasertrailerof deptheventhoughakidnappingof the main characters, the audience can infer this
from seeing the character tied up and rescued in the montage sequence of the teaser trailer. This
enticesthe audience asthey want to see if the character is kidnapped and who she was kidnapped by.
RolandBarthestheoriesof enigmacodesisused in the teaser trailer to further engage the audience as
they pleasurably solve puzzles within the plot, an example of an enigma code from the Depth teaser
trailer is the friend of the girl who was kidnapped. The audiences are enticed more into watching the
filmdue tothe non-linearapproachused,the audience sees the characterina varietyof ways, when her
dangerous side (enhancedbydarkcolourtonesand body language) is juxtaposed to her seeming more
helping and innocent allows the audience to question what this characters true self is. The non-
chronological orderof the montage sequence increasesthe thrill in the teaser trailer and further hooks
them in.
We also an open narrative structure in the depth teaser trailer. The narrative was left open for the
audience toquestionwhathappenstothe kidnappedgirl andeachof the character. Thisties in with the
purpose of the teaser trailer and hooks the audience in as they are left inquiring certain things. It will
allowthe audience toinferthatthe girl isfound,thisengagesthe audience astheywanttofind out how
the girl was found.Particularactioncodesare usedinthe depthteasertrailertocarry the story forward.
For instance in the montage sequence there is a shot of the kidnapped girl being held up running
through the woods, not only does this create tension but it also allows the audience to fear that the
kidnapperiscomingafterthem.The opennarrative structure engagesthe audience as they need to see
what happens.
The narrative issuccessful inourteasertrailersasit showsthe audience importantelements of the film
and plotwithoutshowingthemwhathappentoeachcharacter.Thisfurtherpromotesthe thriller genre
as throughout the trailers narrative tension is being built and relationships are growing stronger with
the characters and the audience.