The document provides an analysis and interpretation of the song "Little Lion Man" by Mumford & Sons. It discusses how the song could be interpreted as a father apologizing to his son for a divorce or bad marriage. Several lyrics are examined in depth, with suggestions that they refer to the son feeling less brave or strong after the marriage deteriorated, the father taking blame for problems, and advising the son to learn from his mother. Additional context is provided about choosing this song for a film trailer about broken relationships.

1. Non-diegetic Soundtrack Meaning
The song has many interpretations. Personally, I think this song is a man who is telling his son to be
brave through a divorce or bad marriage and apologizing for letting his son down.
I took "Weep little lion man, you’re not as brave as you were at the start" to mean you'll never be as
strong as you were when the marriage was still strong. The little lion man description is based upon
the idea that men are beasts, pure of heart but dangerously savage.
"Take all the courage you have left, Wasted on fixing all the problems, that you made in your own
head" Children can't always fully comprehend major events around them and often blame
themselves for things out of their control. The father is telling his son that the problems of the
break-up aren't the same problems the son has decided are the cause.
"But it was not your fault but mine, and it was your heart on the line, I really f***** it up this time,
Didn’t I, my dear?" This this is the father apologizing to his son, explaining that it isn’t the child’s
fault but his own. He accepts fault for his son's problems. It was his son's heart on the line; it wasn't
the father or mother's hearts that were vulnerable.
"Tremble little lion man, you’ll never settle any of your score" You won't be able to make the
marriage right again.
"Your grace is wasted in your face, your boldness stands alone among the wreck" This just made me
picture a vulnerable child trying to put on a brave face amidst the instability and confusion.
"Learn from your mother, Or else spend your days biting your own neck” father’s part that he was at
fault in the split and telling his son to listen to his mother. “Learn from your mother” could also
mean learn how to love; be in a relationship or treat a girl and don’t learn about what he had done.
“Spend your days biting your own neck” live alone, can't bite (kiss) a girl's neck anymore.
I choose this song because in a way they are all children and they make up half of the problems they
actually have, that they are just in there head. Also its fits because of the wedding, she was jilted at
the altar. The trailer is also about broken relationships for example Johnny treating Bree badly and
now there is a child involved. It also mentions settling scores, which in the trailer they try to do by
having a fight, but it will never be settled that way. It talks about taking what courage is left and how
it’s been wasted. “Tremble little lion man” in our context is that they are all scared and alone in the
world but there hiding behind a front e.g. brave face. The song apologises for all the wrong things
and how it’s their own fault. Full of hurt and sorrow.

2. Edits Match Beats
The intro of the song was cut so that the beats can line up with certain points in the trailer. The first
beat kicks in when the first major thing happens, this is them dealing drugs. Before that we get a
close up with Mason and then you see Sasha talking to him and asking him why he is back, then as
well as the music we here Mason voice over saying he has errands to run, then there is a beat to
enforce the type of errand which is being done (drug deal). The next beat occurs when Johnny turns
his head quickly to the other side, looks guilty so the audience hopefully assumes that he is in on the
drug deal and to emphasise that he is a main character. Then the next beat happens when we see
Kate in a chapel/ registry office, I timed these together to show that it is a main story in the soap and
when she drops the flowers there is an echo and a beat, this connotes that everything has come
crashing down and that this is a key moment for this character. After this the beats were not
specifically aligned with a moment in the trailer a part from at the end when Johnny and Mason are
running away after beating up Rav, when Mason’s leg reaches the highest point there is a guitar
strum almost as if his leg is strumming the guitar. It shows the speed of which it is happening and
the note of the strum is sad feeling so they have reached a low point. I think the sound effects of the
beats/ strum is appropriate because it emphasises the key moments in the trailer and how
everything is based upon those moments.
I have tried to make the edits be as quick as the music; I used a mixture of fades to black and
dissolve into the next scene to make transitions smooth and flow with the song.
Lighting Props and Locations
Locations
Chapel- because it didn’t look like a church more like a registry office, which connotes an
unprepared marriage, shot gun wedding
Park- It is secluded looks a lot like a thinking place for characters, connote the childish side
to them.
Bamford Arms- their local which is also why we gave that name to our soap
o Inside- It’s to show that this is their local pub it’s also dark and where most of the
bad things are planned
o Outside- This was chosen to contrast, as Rav is sat outside the pub with his sister, it’s
a lot brighter with his sister and a bit happier and it’s nice, Mason and Johnny are
planning something against him inside where it’s darker.
Street- the street was chosen to make it seem as though, they just happened to bump into
each other and as a stereotype for soaps a lot of confrontation happens on the streets.
Alley- this was chosen to show because as a stereotype dodgy things happen there like drug
deals are stereotypically done in alleys
Toilettes- this was chosen as it could be in the pub or anywhere public, this connotes that
pregnancy is often a public thing. Also it fitted with that scene as she’s sat waiting for the
results
Car Park- car parks of pubs are where guys usually have fights after they have had a few to
drink e.g. the phrase take it outside boys.

3. Props
Flowers- at a wedding there is usually flowers
Salt Packet (for the drugs)- we used salt in a small packet because we researched that it is
commonly used to represent drugs on television as it looks the most like real ones.
Book- the book in the chapel was to connote that there is someone behind the book waiting
for the wedding to start, to show this even more we had the book lay open.
Pregnancy Test- this was the easiest way to represent that Bree was pregnant
Bag- the bag was to show the age of Bree, it looked like a large bag probably carrying books
and college supplies
Pint Glass- this was not in my trailer, but it had been used to show that Johnny had been
drinking; he seemed to have been waiting for something. Also it tells the audience where he
is as well.
Lighting
We relied on a lot of naturalistic lighting to make it more real, for example we used natural
light in the outdoor scenes. Another reason we did this is because it is hard to create
artificial light outdoors and we did not have the equipment for it.
When the drugs were being dealt there was a blurred bright light, this connotes the hazy
blur of drug taking.
We used the lights in the chapel to so that it was gloomy looking and non- romantic this
connotes that the wedding is not a bright happy thing, which is reinforced by the flower
drop.
There is a pinkish glow in the toilettes, glowing mother to be possible
Inside the pub, there was hardly any lights on, which made the pub dark and gloomy, this
helped to hide the characters faces a little to connote that they don’t want people knowing
what they are up to.
Costume
General Clothes- we used fashionable clothes that our target audience wears, this is so they
can relate to the characters better.
Dresses- Kate wears a dress for the chapel wedding scene. The dress is pink, this connotes
the type of character she, not traditional and her attitude towards the wedding, that it is a
shot gone wedding and that she didn’t make the effort to get a white dress (not innocent).
Bree is in the background of the wedding, wearing a cream coloured dress, then in the
toilettes when waiting for the pregnancy test, this could mean I’ve just come out the
wedding or dressed up for a night out.
Hoodies- The boys where hoodies as it is stereotypical for the age group. Also they wear the
hood up a lot, which connotes there always up to something they shouldn’t.
Leather Jacket- Sasha wears a leather jacket, this is because she is the street “bitch”, so the
leather jacket adds attitude, makes her seem like the hard faced woman.
Black Clothes- All the characters where dark clothes in the trailer, this connotes, how each of
them have a dark side and that all their lives are dark and miserable.

4. The costumes made the characters pretty much equal status, most of them looked like they could
afford brand clothing. This shows that the students are well off. The pub was nice looking both in
and outside, however the having the main meeting place as the pub made them more middle class.
If we wanted to do soap for upper class we could have chosen a bar or a coffee house.
Title Cards
The title cards are in a dark purple with black font, I did this to make it connect with the emotions of
the characters. Purple represent:
Independence enlightenment love
intuition ceremony dignity
intellectual richness super sensitivity
spiritual power vanity
creativity sensitivity Moodiness.
mysterious passion
transformation
I discovered this after I asked our target audience what they think purple means. This and black
show the dark emotional l side to the characters. The title cards tell the audience what to expect.
It tells a story about how the relationships will be and
how there changing. It also tell the audience that most
of the problem are to do with love and how its turned
into a battle, which links with the song as well.

5. Editing- Emotions Shown in Trailer
For the edits I used two different transitions between scenes, depending on what I wanted to convey
depended on which transition I used. Fade to blacks meant that it was a completely different scene
or that time had moved on. Blurs into the next scene meant that it was a part of the same scene just
a bit further on. On some of the scenes for example the drug deal and the dropping of the flowers,
these were edited so that they are slow motion to create a dramatic effect, and tension this gives
the audience time to react to what is going on. I have also speeded a scene up this was because in
the fight scene when they run away from Rav’s body it didn’t look very effective as they weren’t
moving that fast, however by speeding it up it made it more dramatic and faster paced to suit the
music.
When Mason and Johnny are discussing their plan to sort out Rav, it cuts half way through to a title
card this is so it explains the relationship between the characters. The audience assumes that Mason
and Johnny were enemies and that they have been brought together because of something Rav has
done. Then later on it does a similar thing between Mason and Rav only it says friends become
enemies so it shows how all the friendships are breaking down and changing.
At the end the music is cut and the last scene only contains diegetic sound, this gives it a dramatic
effect as being a big moment in the trailer. It also leaves it on a cliff hanger as you want to know
what has happened to Bree.
There is close ups of the characters are cut into the trailer to help establish who they are; I have
tried to make it so that it is near a scene they are in. In each of the close ups they are doing a similar
action, turning their heads, we chose to film this action because it made them look as though they
are waiting or are guilty about something. This is meant to give the feeling they you can’t trust any
of them.
By using editing, I have been able to explain what is going on better for example; when Rav asks Bree
what is wrong and it cuts to a shot of a girl in the toilettes holding a pregnancy test, this makes the
audience assume she is the one with the pregnancy test and this is the thing she can’t tell him. Also
when she is in the toilette there is a voiceover with Bree saying “I can’t tell you”, this helps to tell the
audience who it is and what is going on. I did similar thing with the drug deal scene, Sasha asks what
Mason is doing back in mind and Mason replies with “I have errands to run” the audience are
suspicious of him by the tone in his voice and it is a voice over the drug scene.