This trailer for the film Inception uses various shots and editing techniques to build mystery and intrigue without revealing much about the plot. It begins with an altered logo and shots of a spinning object and cityscape that create an atmospheric sense of mystery. Leonardo DiCaprio is shown looking distressed in two shots, establishing him as the central character without context. Shots of a tilted glass of water and tilted text reference psychological or scientific themes while maintaining an ambiguous and thought-provoking tone throughout.
3. This trailer for inception starts with an altered Warner Bros. logo. The way they have altered this is inside the Large ‘WB’ they have put a sky line. This will intrigue audiences as they will not understand why the sky line has been placed inside it. Also by keeping the rest of the screen plain black it makes sure that all the focus is on the logo
4. The screen then replaces the logo with Christopher Nolan, this is effective as it instantly gives the audience a feel to what the film could be like as Christopher Nolan is a well known name. It also keeps the plain black background again making sure all the focus is on Nolan’s name.
5. It then cuts to the shot of a weight spinning, the effect this has on the audience is that it keeps them in the dark on what the story is about and makes them wonder why this would be an important element within the film. It watches this spin for 4 seconds and it goes from keeping it spinning to also it falling onto the surface again keeps this as a key point as it spends a lot of time on the one object, without explaining the reasoning it has.
6. The clip again then cuts back to the plain black screen with a small amount of text on it, this again it to reiterate who the film is from and engage a core target audience; those that are fans of either comic book films or fans of Christopher Nolan. I feel that through the use of always leaving the background black it creates the sense of mystery as during these clips we find nothing out about the film itself.
7. This is a birds eye view shot of a busy city, this shot is now beginning to give the audience a vague idea of what could be going on as it now gives them a location for the film, one that the audience can assume is the main location and would play a key part in the film. The shot is around 2 seconds long, and tracks along the city making it feel as though the viewers are on board with the characters whilst they are following someone.
8. We then cut to medium close up of Leonardo DiCaprio sat in some sort of vehicle which from the man in the background we can infer it isn’t a normal form of transportation. The look on DiCaprio’s face indicates to the audience that something very dramatic has just happened or is happening and he has been witness to it. Also by showing a shot of DiCaprio it instantly shows the audience the star persona in the film.
9. We then cut to a shot of another character being dragged off, it also shows that he isn’t putting up much of a struggle which indicates that he might not fully aware of what is going on and happening to him. This shot again shows the location of the film as it has high sky scrapers in the background indicating again that the main location is in a busy city. Also as this shot goes on the music in the background begins to build up indicating to the audience that this is a pivotal moment within the film.
10. Once again we go back to the black background with a small amount of text on the screen. This once again keeps the whole teaser trailer feeling all linked in together. Also this stats who the star persona in the film is as it is the first actors name mentioned; and the only other name mentioned before this is the directors name. By having a short 1 second clip in-between the shot of DiCaprio and his name it also shows the audience that even though he is the key actor in the film the whole film isn’t just all about him.
11. The next shot we go to a faded in 3 second long shot of a glass, the reason of the shot of the glass is so long is because the water isn’t just straight across in the glass as it would be in normality but instead it has a tilt to it and is in the glass diagonally. It then starts to bubble more furiously as the music in the background becomes more and more dramatic.
12. We then cut back to writing only this time it isn’t on a plain black background, this time it is on a science-fiction style building background; we get the sci-fi feeling from the colours used which is black and green. The shot lasts 2 seconds and unlike the other texts shown on screen it doesn’t zoom into the writing instead the writing moves within the building work and also begins to tilt like the water glass was, making the audience realise that this film isn’t going to be straight forward. Also the words ‘Your Mind’ tell the audience that they will feel part of the film and also there will be physiological features to the film
13. We go back to a second shot of Leonardo DiCaprio; this time the lighting is very dark creating a moody, mysterious feel to it. Also his face is the only thing in focus; again telling the audience he is of high importance in this film; however this time it gives an impression that he is in the middle of a crisis as he has an intensely serious look on his face.
