Trailer Analysis

1. ChrisReynolds
Star Wars: Force Awakens Trailer
Analysis
General
 Director – J.J. Abrams
 Studio – Pinewood Studios (London), Disney, LucasFilm
 Year – 2015
 Country – United States (16th December), Worldwide (17th December)
 Budget - $306 Million (gross)
$258.6 Million (net)
Purpose
One of the main reasons the Force Awakens was made was to make a profit, production
companies knew that it would make a huge amount of money at the Box Office. They made
$2.066 billion USD.However, there are many other reasons why this film was made. One of
the other reasons is that George Lucas felt that there was still more to the Star Wars story to
tell to the fans after the originals were made. There was a 32 year gap between The Return
of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, therefore a lot could’ve happened in the Star Wars world
between this period. To achieve this they would make a new trilogy. Another similar reason
why filmmakers produce films is to entertain the masses. Many of the producers are probably
big Star Wars fans themselves so they would’ve enjoyed working on the setand in and around
production. The primary audience of this film would be the older generation who would’ve
been used to the original trilogy and used to the older characters such as Chewbacca, R2D2,
Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and many others. This creates a nostalgic feeling and excites fans
which attracts them to watch the new movies. The secondary audiences would’ve been the
younger generation. They wouldn’t have been alive at the time of the originals, although
some might have been around during the prequels. Things such as explosions, space ships
and other general CGI features would appeal to the younger generation and attract them to
the film.

2. ChrisReynolds
Genre
Within allStar Wars films, there are various different genre codes and conventions. The main
one within all Star Wars films is SCI-FI. This is especially highlighted through iconic characters
such as R2D2, C3P0, BB-8 and others. These are all robots which are main conventions within
the SCI-FI genre who would appeal to dedicated Star Wars fans. This is also shown straight
away in the Force Awakens and also in other films, also the camera pans to a Star Destroyer,
a giganticspaceshipowned by the Empire. Another convention of SCI-FI would be the fantasy
lands and planets. For example, in this filmthe planet Jakku is adesert world home to thieves,
outlaws and scavengers. Another convention would be seen in the props. For example, the
main weapon that Jedi or Sith use would be lightsabers which can cut through enemies, doors
or pretty much any object. The relationship between characters alsoportrays the SCI-FI genre.
For example, most humans can communicate with robots such as Rey and BB-8 or when Luke
Skywalker puts his metal hand over R2D2 which shows some sort of connection between the
two.
Form
Star Wars was released into cinemas on the 18th December 2015 worldwide. It was available
in IMAX and 3D which particularly appeals to the younger generation who would enjoy
watching it in these particularly new formats. The film was shot in 35mm however for the
desert escape scene on Jakku it was filmed in 65mm which allowed for a higher resolution
and therefore a better quality picture for the scene.

3. ChrisReynolds
Style
JJ Abrams said that he wanted to keep the film traditional by limiting the use of CGI within
certain scenes. This would appeal to the primary audience by creating a nostalgic feeling for
them making it feel like the originals. Creating a nostalgic feeling is also done by Abrams
inclusion of old and iconic characters in the filmsuch as,Han Solo, Chewbacca and many other
iconic props such as the Star Destroyer and the X-wing. This would allow for the new films to
gain a high reputation from that target audience. This also links to the continuous use of the
same genre throughout the whole franchise, this is also carried on in the new trilogy.
However, some have criticised this for being unoriginal and looking too much like the
originals.
Content & Meaning
The Force Awakens trailer begins with one sudden piano note which simultaneously goes
behind a close up shot of a masked character. This close up would immediately evoke the
memories of Star Wars fans who watched a New Hope, the very first Star Wars film. This is
because, in my opinion, the costume looks very similar to that of the sandmen from Tatooine
and also other Star Wars characters.
Disney could’ve purposefully done this to grip Star Wars fans from the beginning and to get
them to watch on. This masked character, who we later find out to be Rey our main
protagonist, opens up a small metal hatch into a part of a quite large machine. This moves on
to the next shot in which we see Rey looking around checking if anyone else is there. From
this and alsoher masked costume, we can guess that Rey is ascavenger or thief which already
tells us about her poor background. In the next shot we see a wide angle shot of Rey swinging
down a rope in a large abandoned building. This abandoned building could be linked to the
genre of dystopian although, big Star Wars fans could guess that the building could be the
deserted Star Destroyer, which was released in a teaser picture.

4. ChrisReynolds
This could be one the first hints that this is Star Wars. The shot of Rey swinging down the
rope shows another one of her characteristics, in that she is an adventurous girl who knows
how to explore. There are also two more notes of the piano behind this shot. This use of non-
diegetic sound links well with the large abandoned building as it creates a sense of emptiness
which we could also link to Rey as we later find out she is very much alone up until this point
in her life. This is backed up through the verbal exchange between an unknown female voice,
which we later find out to be Maz Kanata, and Rey. In this voice over Maz asks ‘who are you?’
to which Rey replies with ‘I’m no-one.’ This response shows her intent to hide her identity,
this could be because she is a scavenger, or she could be denying her past that we are yet to
know about. Both these reasons tell us that she doesn’t want people to know about her or
her story.
The location goes on to change as we get an establishing shot of Rey walking in a desert with
a robot. This is one of the first conventions of SCI-FI we see in this trailer which again could
be linked to Star Wars. The robot also looks similar to R2D2, a very iconic character in the
originals and the prequels. In this shot Rey walks a few steps ahead of the robot (BB-8) which
shows her independent nature and her familiarity to being alone. This links to the location of
a vast desert in which there is next to no civilisation. The fact that Rey is the first female
character that has a lead role in Star Wars would attract a new audience to watch the film
and create a good brand image for Star Wars. The shot then moves on to a ship flying in to
space, this again is another convention of SCI-FI which could be another hint of Star Wars.
There is also additional hints of this as in the forefront of the shot there is what seems to be
a broken and rusty ship. This to me looks like the wing of an Imperial Shuttle, however in this
shot its broken. This was a ship used by the empire in the originals and is the ship which Luke
Skywalker and Darth Vader famously used to escape the Death Star in Return of the Jedi.
Even if this is or isn’t the ship, it still has the visual effect on Star Wars fans which gives hints
of old Star Wars. As the other ship flies away the camera moves to a medium shot of Rey who
seems to be fixing or extracting valuable parts of the ship fragments she stole earlier. As she
does this the camera slowly zooms in to show her facial expression of her looking at this ship.
She seems curious and looks as if she wants to escape the life she has as a scavenger.

5. ChrisReynolds
The screen the turns black and then appears the LucasFilm logo. This is a major hint to fans
that this is the new Star Wars as LucasFilmare responsible for the other Star Wars films. This
also makes fans interested and keeps them watching. When the logo appears its shiny silver
and glistens for a second. The glistening has connotations of something new which links to
the factthat Disneyjustrecently acquired the right of LucasFilm.Also,the useof the LucasFilm
logo and not the Disney logo is significant as it tells fans that the new filmwill stick to its roots
of original Star Wars which appeals to the primary audience as they would want to watch it.
As the subtle piano notes continue the camera pans behind of what seems to be a large army
in all white costumes. Star Wars fans will know that these are Storm troopers which confirms
that this is Star Wars. As the camera pans we see a stage full of leaders and a red back drop.
The red has obvious connotations of evil and danger which would tell new viewers that these
are the bad people. However, there is contrast in colour and meaning as there is alot of white
used in this shot for example, the costume and the location which have connotations of
goodness and purity but, this is an obvious contrast for what they actually stand for. This
actually changes though as all the leaders are wearing black which connotes evil and power.
There could be ahidden meaning that the leaders,who hold allthe power, have indoctrinated
the Storm trooper who are innocent and cannot resist the power these leaders hold over
them. This shot also links to a time in history to when the Nazis were in power. This is shown
through the red, the army and the stage full of leaders. This looks to me like the Nuremburg
rallies which used to occur annually when Hitler was leader.
The shot then changes, and we meet a new character. FN-2187 or later known as Finn. In the
first shot we hear a second piece of dialogue in which we hear a male voice, who we could

6. ChrisReynolds
say is Finns, whisper ‘I was raised to do one thing.’ Again, this is a voice over, so we do not
actually know who he is talking to but because this is a whisper we can guess that he is in
some sort of hiding from the Empire. From what he says it reveals that ever since his
childhood he has been apart of the new Empire and hasn’t had the freedom which others
have. Star Wars fans will know what he means when he says, ‘to do one thing’ which is to
basically kill anyone the Empire orders them to kill. In the shot, we see new thing which is
seeing an actualStorm trooper taking off their mask. This has never been seenin the originals,
so this adds an element of something new in the new storyline which will intrigue fans. As
Finn takes off his mask, we see the first BAME actor in this film. In the wholes Star Wars
franchisethere has only been two other BAME characters in Mace Windu and Lando Calrissian
who both didn’t reallyhave major roles compared to Finn. This againshows good brand image
for Star Wars showing they’re diversity. As he takes off the mask, we see a close up of his
expression which seems to be one of shock and maybe horror. This makes fans question
what’s happening in this scene. We then hear Finn again say, ‘I have nothing to fight for.’ This
sentence shows Finns lack of identity by calling himself useless which also relates back to his
initial name of FN-2187. This also creates sympathy from the fans because he has nothing left
and has this sense of loneliness. This creates a connection between the other character Rey,
who also has a sense of loneliness but to me is different to Finn as she likes to be alone and
independent to a certain degree whereas Finn needs someone to help him. The next shot is
an over the shoulder shot in which we see Finn walk on a cliff edge overlooking a town on
desert world. We can guess that this is the same desert world in which Rey was on earlier so
this hints at this point that Rey and Finn are going to meet each other on this planet soon. As
the camera turns to we get a medium shot of Finn, who has a dumbfounded expression as he
has found this town on a desert planet, he also looks frightened as he is alone and doesn’t
know what’s going to happen next. His heavy breathing shows us he’s either been walking for
a very long time or he could’ve been chased therefore having to run. In this shot Finn has also
changed his costume, now wearing all black and a coat in his hand. This shows us his
conversion from bad to good and his bravery for ultimately betraying the Empire. This will
create a liking for the character from the audience.
We then go on to meet the third main character within the trailer, who we know to be Kylo
Ren. The camera gradually gets faster as we see him over look a red laser beam blasting in
space. Again, the red connotes the evil and danger which foreshadows what’s going to
happen as a planet or ship will get destroyed. As the camera gets closer we hear him say
‘nothing will stand in our way.’ This tells us his evil intent and the power that the dominant
power he holds. His voice has a metallic tone to it and his masked appearance creates a
hidden identity for Kylo Ren which links to Rey at the start of the trailer. This makes the
audience question whether they may cross paths or have a certain connection later within
the film. We then get a close up of Kylo Ren and although we can’t see his facial expression
we can see the dents on his mask which tells us this character has had several physical
altercations in the past or could show that he is physically and emotionally scarred. His all
black costume makes him ominous which creates an impression on the audience that he is

7. ChrisReynolds
the main antagonist. As the shot changes we hear another voice over of Kylo Ren saying, ‘I
willfinish what you started.’ As he says this we seea disfigured and burnt mask. OldStar Wars
fans will know that this is Darth Vader and will know what had happened to him in Return of
the Jedi, but this makes new audiences ask what has happened in the past and would want
to go watch the other films. Old Star Wars fans the evil intent Darth Vader had in the originals
so therefore will know what Kylo Ren means when he says he going to finish what he had
started and start to get a better idea of what he’s like. The fact that he has kept his mask can
show some kind of relation between the two or an obsession with his legacy which he is
desperate to keep on.
The next shot introduces a new male character in Poe (he is only a supporting role). In this
shot reverse shot we see Kylo Ren torturing Poe with the force. This shows the audience the
power Kylo holds and how strong he is with the force which they will link to Darth Vader as
he would frequently use this type of torture in the originals. For new fans, they wouldn’t be
used to this type of torture however this is a convention within the SCI-FI genre. We get a
sense the force is really like trough the editors use of SFX. As the torture goes on the SFX
intensifies which tells the audience the severity and pain Poe goes through. This is also shown

8. ChrisReynolds
through the close up of Poe in which we see the pain in his ears and hear it through his shriek.
This tells us a lot about Poe, for example his loyalty for not giving in to the torture and creates
sympathy for the character from the audience.
The shot then changes from an erupting explosion to a chase scene with a TIE fighter and the
Millennium Falcon. The colours used in this shows the change from evil to good. The red
explosion has connotations of evil and destruction whereas the quick change to the blue
engines of the Falcon connotes good and is typically associated in Star Wars as the light side
of the force. The chase scene is covered by an iconic Star Wars theme which has appeared in
previous Star Wars which again creates that nostalgic feeling for old Star Wars fans. We then
get a two shot of our two main characters in the film Rey and Finn. Through the positioning
of the characters, we see Rey in the forefront which shows us the dominant character within
the film. The blue colour confirms to us that these are our heroes in the film who will take on
Kylo Ren. The shot then turns to a medium shot of Han Solo. This againappeals to the primary
audience with the inclusion of an iconic character, this would also appeal to secondary
audiences as many film fans would know who Harrison Ford as he has been in other famous
films such as, Indiana Jones and Blade Runner. In this shot, Han is surrounded again with blue
lighting which tells the newer audiences he is a good character through the blue connotation
of wisdom and stability. Han also says, ‘it was true, all of it.’ This shows the new audience that
Han has been in the originals. It also reveals that there are other parts to the story which
would make new fans want to watch them.
We then get a jump cut to the next shot of a black sky filled with stars. To fans familiar with
Star Wars, this will get them excited as they will know that the Millennium Falcon will be
hitting lightspeed within this film but, for newer audiences as well, this is another SCI-FI
convention within Star Wars which will appeal to general SCI-FI fans as humanity has not yet
reached light speed in real life. The shot then cuts and on the screen, appears in text ‘This
Christmas.’ This piece of text informs and excites the fans for release of the film. The fact its
around Christmas adds the festive feeling to the filmas at Christmas people get new presents
which links to the release of the new film.

9. ChrisReynolds
We go on to see X-wings flying low above water. Another iconic ship, which symbolises the
rebels. The fact they’re flying low is different to how we’ve seen them before in other films
as they’re normally flying in space. The inclusion of the X-wings also hints that there will be
some sort of rebel attack on the empire. We see this in the next scene, in the distance, the X-
wings create a massive wave which shows their power to the audience.
The next major shot is between Poe and Finn. In this shot Poe is wearing the iconic rebel
uniform, worn by the rebels in the originals. The primary audience will recognise this and will
realise that Finn is definitely on the good side after seeing him wearing a storm trooper
costume.
We then see the editors use of a match cut, when there is one explosion of a TIE fighter to an
explosion on Jakku, involving Rey and Finn. This editing technique and use of CGIwould appeal
to secondary audiences who are particularly younger as it shows that there are going to be
quite a few action scenes which primary audiences would also be familiar with in certain
previous Star Wars films. We also see more codes and conventions of the SCI-FI genre in the
next two scenes. For example, we see a massive robot walking past the group of characters
with BB-8 also. In the next shot we see an unknown figure put their metal hand on R2D2. The
primary would know that this metal hand is Luke Skywalker’s and how his real hand got
chopped off in the Empire Strike Back. This again appeals to the primary audience as it

10. ChrisReynolds
confirms that there are more iconic characters within the film which would make them want
to see it.
As the music intensifies and the cuts between shots getquicker, the trailer seems to get faster
and faster which implies to the audiences that there will be much action within the film. This
is also shown through the use of the famous laser gun and ship sound effects which would
excite audiences for the release of the film. The shot between Han Solo and Princess Leia
hugging would please the primary audience as these two were the main romance in the
originals. The close up of Princess Leia shows she has worried expression on her face which
implies the rebels could be in danger during the film.
Later within this quick sequence of shots, we see Finn holding a blue light saber who is about
to fight Kylo Ren. The blue light saber and the sound effects used would evoke the memories
of the primary audience as it would remind them of when Luke would fight Darth Vader in
previous Star Wars. The use of dark lighting in a secluded, forest location tells us Finn could
be in serious trouble in this fight against Kylo. We then get an over the shoulder shot of Kylo
swinging his light saber this shows us his anger he has within him and shows us the evil villain
traits which he possesses. The use of that shot also allows us to see the scared expression on
Finns face which shows he is very weak in power compared to Kylo.

11. ChrisReynolds
As he swings,and the musicheightens, the screen quickly fades blackand the iconicStar Wars
font appears with the Star Wars logo. This text quickly changes to the release date of
December 18th. This would excite all fans for the release of the film and would make them
clear their calendar for that date. In the small print in reads ‘In real D 3D and IMAX 3D.’ The
inclusion of this would appeal to secondary audiences as it would enhance the action and the
Star Wars feeling for them.