Trailer Analysis

1. Eastenders Who Killed
Lucy Beale Trailer

2. Camerawork

3. This is a high angle shot
that zooms into the square
at the beginning of the
trailer which establishes
the setting of the square.
There is an aerial shot of
one of the characters in
a dark hallway. This shot
connotes that she is
doing something that
she doesn't want anyone
to see because she is in
a dark hallway and the
shot does not reveal
what she looks like or
what she is doing.

4. There is a high angle shot
of the characters looking
up at the camera at the
end of the trailer, which
makes all of them look
small and innocent,
whereas the title says
there’s a killer amongst
them, which makes the
character feel as though it
could be any one of them.
A focus pull is also used
from the spider to Denise
with a hammer, suggesting
that a lot of what the
character are doing is
hidden so the real killer of
Lucy is not obvious as
everyone has something
that they want to hide.

5. There are some close up of
the characters faces
looking mysterious, and
the effect of the slow eye
roll suggests that they are
up to something that they
shouldn’t because they are
looking very serious.
Some mid shots are also
used to show some of the
characters that are
involved and the face
expressions they are
showing. All of the
characters look very
suspicious, which keeps
the audience guessing as
to who is really responsible
for Lucy's death.

6. Characters

7. All of the characters featured in the
soap are made to look like lower and
middle class characters, some of
them are dressed in more expensive
looking clothes like parkas and dark
black jackets, whereas some are
shown wearing cheap looking puffer
coats. These costumes connote that
the characters are not that well off
and are not that up to date with
fashion, making them look classless
and rough.
There are characters featured in
this soap from different ethnicities
which helps to make the soap more
diverse and attract a wider
audience, as people are able to find
characters that they feel they can
relate to in some way.

8. Two adults that are going through a
rough patch in their marriage are also
featured in this soap. The male is a
shop owner, and he appear to be
quite weak and old fashioned due to
his haircut.
There are older women featured in
the trailer, which also helps to appeal
to their wide audience as the
characters are of different ages, which
makes the soap look more realistic
and appealing to a larger age group.

9. Teenage characters are also featured
in this trailer, and in this trailer she is
the best friend of the young girl who
has died. This character type can be
used to show how younger people
deal with the grief of death. This can
be used to help give advice to the
audience and also give the audience
an escape from their life because
they watch character on TV go
through problems.
Older men are also used
throughout the trailer, which
feature a storyline between him
and his daughter, whose best
friend was also the woman he
was having an affair with. This
character can be used to show the
issues that a father and daughter
can go through as they both get
older, and also how people are
quick to blame the old man who
was having an affair when he
could well be innocent.

10. Teenage boys are also featured in the trailer, and in this case the boy featured is also
the brother of the girl who has died. This helps the audience to relate more to the
storylines if they have ever had to deal with the death of a sibling.

11. Editing

12. There is a sequence of shots used
of different characters which is
patterned throughout the trailer.
There is an establishing shot that
shows where the audience is, then
a close up of what they are doing
and then a shot showing their
facial expressions. This helps to
show the multi-strand narrative
that is used in the soap and how
all the different characters have
different things going on but are
all affected by Lucy's death.
The editing used slows down
the shots so that the
characters appear frozen
apart from a few small
things. The way that their
eyes move slowly makes the
look mysterious, and makes
them look as though they are
looking at the audience. It
makes them look as if they
have something to hide,
which adds to the murder
mystery storyline.

13. Mise en scene

14. Props used in the trailer include
insects such as spiders. These props
are usually feared by lots of people,
and they add to the mysterious,
spine chilling theme in this trailer.
Sharp weapons and tools are used
throughout the soap to further develop
the murder theme. The characters are all
seen with different props which all point
the blame on them, which refers to the
theory of the enigma code by Barthes. It
makes the audience feel more involved
as they have to try and figure out the
puzzle as to who killed Lucy.

15. Blood is used in the trailer which
connotes death and crime to the
audience as Lucy is dead, and
then they see the blood which
makes Lauren look guilty. This is
effective as it is a convention that
is used in many mystery
storylines, so the audience can
recognise it and understand that
Lucy has died and there is a
murderer on the loose.
Insects are also used in the clip,
accompanied by dark colours which
makes the trailer appear even more
mysterious as much of the back and
characters details are concealed,
connoting that someone is hiding
something.

16. Broken glass is also used in the
trailer, which also hints that there
has been some kind of accident
or something dangerous that has
happened, because broken glass
can harm you.
Low key lighting and brown,
earthy tones are used
throughout the trailer to connote
the spooky theme and gives the
trailer a chilling effect as the
square is not how it usually looks,
so they know that something
very bad has happened because
everyone is acting mysteriously.

17. Setting

18. The trailer is set in a conventional location which is a square where all of the characters
work or live. There are also small corner shops, a car garage and a hotel there, which is a
stereotypical square in London.

19. Dialogue and
Sound

20. The only speaking in the trailer is the narrator using
the tagline ‘There's a killer on the loose’. This
makes the trailer even more dramatic as the
silence builds up the tension.
The non-diegetic music used throughout the sound
is slow, which also builds up tension. It connotes
the sad theme of death that is featured in the
trailer.

21. Other features

22. The word art used in the
title of Eastenders is very
effective as it links to the
mysterious storyline. It
makes the trailer look more
creative and professional as
unusual techniques are
used.
This freeze effect is also very
effective as it is an unrealistic
way of presenting real life, as
the water freezes but the
characters eyes still work. This
is a very advanced and effect
technique that is used to
highlight the guilty facial
expressions from the
characters.