The radio advertisement uses various audio and musical techniques to engage the audience and build tension. It begins with a simple reference to Houston that orients the listener to a space setting. As the narrator discusses the nerve-shredding suspense, the music gets louder and higher-pitched to match the tension. When discussing the esteemed director and distributor, the music becomes more triumphant to portray them positively. Film quotes are used to reinforce the claims and make the audience want to experience the wonders described. The ad leaves the listener with questions to motivate watching the documentary.

1. Narration comes from a man
with a deep voice.
Stereotypically, a masculine
voice is more powerful and
influential. This therefore, makes
you more likely to believe him
when he claims “Critics call it a
cinematic masterpiece”.
The narration has a
deliberate speed to it, this is
likely because it better
coincides with the pace of
orchestral soundtrack and,
in turn, helps with
continued build up of
tension
The radio spot begins with a quick and
simple sentence, “Explorer this is
Houston”. The mentioning of Houston
(coupled with the sound of radio
interference) helps the audience quickly
infer that this movie is set in space. This
people who are interested in such topics
pay closer attention to the advert so they
can find out more.
After the narrator says that
the movie has “nerve
shredding suspense”, the
music becomes much
louder and higher pitched.
This is then coupled with
more film audio in which
the character sounds
panicked and unsure of
what to do next. This
connotes the characters
are in danger which, thus,
builds tension.
As the narrator starts
talking about the director
(Alfonso Cuarón) and the
distributor (Warner
Brothers), the music
becomes much more
subdued and triumphant.
This is designed to help
display the director and
distributor as esteemed
professionals who can
create great products.
Furthermore, it also helps
back up the positive claims
made earlier by the
narrator.
The advert also uses quotes from the film to help re-enforce the
claims being made. For example, when the narrator says that the
movie has “gloriously realised 3D” which is followed by the line
“the sunrise”. The actor in the film says this with a sense of awe
and wonder (indicating that what he is seeing is truly special).
This makes people want to go and see the film because it gives
them the opportunity to see such wonders in as realistic a way as
possible.

2. Darwin:

3. Consists of audio
clips from the
documentary and
narration
The narration in the advert is Swiss. This is
because the documentary was to be premiered at
the Zurich Film Festival and, therefore, it made
sense to make the advert in the language of the
country (as people from Zurich are likely to go
and see it).
The advert concludes with the
venue and ate that the documentary
will premiere. This is because the
last thing said to the listener is the
thing that they are most likely to
remember
The advert only uses one piece of audio
from the documentary itself . The piece of
audio used is from an interview. As
interviews are a common convention in the
genre, people who listen to the advert can
more easily recognise that this is a
documentary.
The interview claims that
Darwin had a “bad
reputation for hookers
and booze”. This is
coupled with a subtle yet
ominous soundtrack
which leads the audience
to believe their is more to
this character than you’d
perhaps expect.
The advert provides very
little information about
what the documentary is
about. This leaves the
listener with multiple
questions that they want
answered (thus they
want to watch the
documentary