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1. Analysing Trailers

2. If I Stay (2014)
(Teen Romantic Drama)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMp896hfp74
The trailer opens with the ident of the companies that worked together to produce
the film accompanied by the enhanced sound of footsteps against a wooden floor.
We then see a fade transition to a long shot of a girl holding a cello against silence
which immediately creates a tense atmosphere.
A fade transition is used again alongside the use of non-diegetic cello music and
dialogue between a boy and a girl in the form of a J cut, which immediately tells us
that the girl is planning her future to go to Juilliard.

3. We then see a two shot of the previous girl with her friend who says “I told you he
was into you”, which immediately suggests to us this trailer is portraying a regular
teen romance film. It also helps establish the relationships between the characters
and some of their back history straight away.
A fade transition is used again and we see short takes of this boy in slow motion
whilst the girl describes him as already being the person he’s meant to be, which
once again shows she is planning and potentially worried for her future.

4. We then see various shots of her parents accompanied by dialogue which informs
us the girl's family will be an important part of this film.
We then hear the non-diegetic music speed up as we see more shots between the
girl and the boy, which increases the pace of the trailer and we assume this is to
represent the romance growing between the two teenagers.
We then see a series of short takes of the main characters smiling and laughing
accompanied by a voice over of the girl saying “Isn’t it amazing how life is one
thing and in an instant it becomes something else?” This operates as a ‘soundbite’
summary of the key premise of the whole film – in most trailers there is a line of
dialogue that works like this.

5. Through this dialogue we then hear the girl begin to describe herself “Mia, the girl
who thinks about the cello and Adam” as we see a mid shot of her sitting in a car
and then she slows her words down as she says “just like that” before we see
short takes of another car coming, the wheels skidding on the snowy road and
another close up of her cello and her hand letting go of the bow, before we see a
fade to white and then black transition. Here we then realise this isn’t just a regular
teen romance film, and something unexpected is going to happen in the plot.

6. The next shot we see is a mid shot of Mia lying in the snow, as slow non-diegetic
music begins to play.
We see mid shots separated by fade to black transitions as the girl calls out for
her family and at this point we don’t know if they’re dead or alive.
We then see a high angle of Mia looking down at her own body on the floor and at
this point we don’t know if she is also dead, which is supported by her saying “Am
I dying?”.

7. The next shot shows Mia in hospital and we hear the dialogue of a doctor saying
“If you live if you die it’s all up to you” leaving us as an audience questioning if
she’s going to fight for her life.
The lyrics of the non-diegetic music could be relevant as they say “Say something
I’m giving up on you” as we see a shot of Mia sitting next to her own lifeless body
before running up to the window to see Adam as he’s looking in. This could
suggest she is giving up on her own life, but doesn’t want to hurt the ones she’s
leaving behind.

8. From the dialogue of a doctor saying “Kid’s waking up an orphan - if she wakes
up” accompanied with a panning shot of Mia crying,we are informed that her
parents both died and we are left wondering whether Mia will continue to fight for a
life without them in it.
We then see the use of text on screen, so we have to take a moment to read it
and also take in the previous scenes. We see a series of “If’s” which reflect the
title of the film “If I stay”.

9. We then see mid shots of Adam, her friend and grandfather sitting next to her bed
and hear her friend say “You still have a family, Mia” which makes us question
whether or not she still feels like she does and if she will live or die.
The closing line or “Coda” of the trailer is from Adam who says “Please stay”
before we see the title screen fade in and the non-diegetic music fade out.
After this trailer we are left wondering what happens to Mia and if she decides to
live on or to let go of her life, which then makes us want to see the film to find out.

10. Nerve(2016)
(Techno-thriller adventure)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX1BTiHzq-I
The trailer opens with the ident alongside unsteady non-diegetic music, we then
see the use of zoom into a girls laptop and the enhanced sounds of typical
computer noises, this immediately informs us this film will be very digital based.
We then hear a voice over from computer animated voice saying “Welcome to
Nerve, a game like truth or dare minus the truth” which explains what the concept
of ‘Nerve’ is.
We are then shown short takes of what we assume to be dares from the game
which create a fast pace for the trailer along with the computer voice speeding up
the words “Watcher, player, watcher, player”.

11. The digital element of the trailer is supported by a shot of two girls video chatting,
where we see one of the girls saying “this looks very sketchy” referring to nerve.
We then see various mid shots of the two girls sitting with other friends where one
of the girls say “you need to take a risk every once in awhile”, which suggests to
us that she will end up playing nerve to prove a point as we see her click player
from the inside of her screen.
This is followed by short takes of images supposedly inside her computer
alongside quick paced non-diegetic music.

12. We are then shown this girl, Vee, partaking in one of her dares in the game as she told
to kiss a stranger which is reflected in the lyrics of the non-diegetic music “Kiss me
Kiss me you know that you miss me”. The close up of the man reading the book
suggests he will be a key part alongside Vee in the movie and the book he is holding
with hold some importance to their characters.
We then see that the two characters will be linked in the film through dialogue from the
guy “the watchers want me to team up with you”, “stay, see what happens.”
The use of harsh cuts and little use of transitions here creates more of a rapid, flowing
atmosphere, perhaps to reflect the characters uncertainty of what will happen next.

13. Once again lyrics show importance here, “Ride ride ride shout it out tonight”, as
we see the two characters on a motorbike riding through the city reflecting the fact
that Vee is trying to take a risk and not care about what she’s doing.
We see short takes of Vee in an expensive dress to show us that she is having fun
however the use of a fade to black transition along side the non-diegetic music
ending abruptly represents that something bad is going to happen before we see
all of Vee’s belongings are stolen, reflecting a minor twist in the film.

14. The atmosphere of the film becomes light hearted once again as the words “This
Summer” appear on screen and a different upbeat non-diegetic music begins to
play, as we begin to see a montage of the climax of the the film combined with the
words “You can be famous, you can be fearless, All you have to do is play”, which
presents the game as something admirable and fun to play.
However this is followed up by the dialogue of a boy saying “you know some kid in
seattle died playing nerve?”, followed by a low angle of a train approaching a man
lying on the train tracks, followed by a fade to black transition. This is used to
create suspense for the audience and question what the impact of the game really
is.

15. We then hear a more suspenseful, slow paced non-diegetic music build up and we
see the use of a J cut with the dialogue of “All of our money is missing” while we
see a mid shot of a woman, presumably Vee’s mum, on the phone.
This is followed by short takes of Vee along with an L shot of the guy she was
previously with saying, “They stole our identity, we became prisoners of the
game.” This makes the audience feel intrigued to find out what’s going to happen
to Vee and what happens to the game.
Another J cut is used from the guy as he informs her and the audience “the only
way out is to win”, which then intrigues the audience even further to see what
“winning” the game involves.

16. The non-diegetic music picks up pace again as we see the use of short takes of
various dangerous dares Vee has to do between the flickering words “PLAY TO
SURVIVE”.
We then see short takes of Vee and the man in an arena, broken up by black fade
transitions with the voiceover from the animated voice saying “players show us
your weapons”, and we see a mid shot of Vee holding up a gun before the shot
fades to black and the flickering word “Nerve” appears on screen.
This trailer intrigues the audience as it makes them interested to know what extent
Vee will go to to survive in the game and find out what happens to her.

17. Throughout this trailer we can see that the kind of non-diegetic music used
controls the mood and atmosphere of the trailer and the use of transitions let the
audience know when something dramatic/bad/suspenseful is happening/going to
happen.

18. Mother’s Day (2016)
(Romantic Comedy)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BPr217zLps
The trailer opens with the idents of the companies working together to produce the
film alongside upbeat non-diegetic music.
We then see a woman on a TV screen saying “Good Morning Atlanta and Happy
Mother’s Day!”, which in collaboration with the title of the film immediately alerts
the audience the film will be surrounding the theme of mother's day.

19. We are then introduced to the first character who the voiceover tells us about,
“Sandy is a single mum”, the use of comedy is used here through an L cut where
another woman says “Her ex just got married to a 12 year old”, and we see an
older man with a much younger woman.
The use of a fade to black transition is used here between Sandy announcing she
is there for a job and in an interview with the woman we saw on TV in the first
shot.
The two then go on to joke about the “Tween” and her acne, as comedic dialogue
is essential in a trailer for a comedy such as this one.

20. The voice over then goes to introduce us to the second character Bradley, and
informs us “Bradley is Mr Mum” and show us shots of Bradley in his kitchen with
his daughter.
We then see Bradley at the shop where he meets Sandy, which suggests to us all
the characters we are shown throughout the trailer are connected in some way.
Which makes the audience want to watch the film to see how each character
interacts and intertwines in each others storyline.

21. The narrator then goes on to introduce the next character, Jesse, who “never sees
her mum”. We then see Jesse on a video call with her mum and get the
impression they don’t have a very good relationship whilst still combing the
element of comedy due to the dialogue from her mum “I have to say Jess you
haven’t aged… that much”.
The lyrics of the non-diegetic lyrics may be relevant here as they say “run to the
river” reflecting the shot of her mum walking in, suggesting that because they have
a strained relationship she just wants to run away.

22. The voiceover then introduces the fourth character Kristin, who “never met her
mum”, we then hear slower non-diegetic music as she talks about how she was
adopted to change the mood and focus on this more serious storyline.
We then see a fade to black transition where we see Sandy and the woman from
the TV talking again, where Sandy asked her if she has kids and she replies
“Career, keeps me busy”. The use of the transition suggests to us that she is
linked to Kristin.
We then believe that the TV woman is Kristin’s mum due to the smile on Kristen's
face and the look of shock of hers, combined with the dramatic enhanced sound.

23. The voiceover then goes on to announce the film coming out in April and the basic
summary of the plot paired with text on screen.
We then see small parts of the storylines of each character, alongside how they all
link into each other which makes the audience curious to see the full plots and
linking storylines of each characters. Along with upbeat non-diegetic music and
snippets of dialogue that leave the audience curious to find out the context, “We’re
not who the world thinks we are”.

24. We also see the names of the well-known actors and actresses starring in the film,
which could potentially persuade some people to watch the full film if stars they
love are in it.
The trailer then ends with the words “Mother’s Day” “April 29th” on screen whilst
the voice over speaks at the same time.
In this trailer overall we see the use of non-diegetic conducting the mood of the
trailer and short clips of comedic moments to help the theme of comedy flow
throughout the trailer.

25. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
(Coming of Age Drama)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5rh7O4IDc0
The trailer opens with the main character, Charlie, in the form of a voiceover,
reading out a letter he had written to someone unnamed “Dear Friend”, we then
see a reflection of him though his window writing and a fade to black transition of
him and his brother and sister as he says “I haven’t really talked to anyone outside
of my family all summer”. Addressing this issue straight away suggests to us as an
audience that the topic of Charlie and friends is going to be one addressed
throughout the film.

26. The voiceover of Charlie then says “this year I really want to turn things around”
as the scene of him writing has faded to black. Which informs us that throughout
the film turning around his life and social situation will be Charlie's aim.
The ident of the production company then appears on screen alongside the
enhanced sound of a bell, which informs us the film will partly take place in school.
We then see a long shot, panning out to see Charlie sitting alone, before a J cut of
a teacher saying “You know they say, if you make one friend on your first day
you’re doing okay”. Which shows us the use of dialogue in a trailer can show can
kind of relationship the characters have between eachother in the film, suggesting
Charlie and his teacher have a good relationship.

27. We then hear the non-diegetic music change, to one in the form of a tamborine as
words about Charlie appear on screen.
The words “Charlie never stood out” are accompanied by a long shot of him sitting
alone, again, suggesting Charlie and being alone will be a recurring topic
throughout the film.
We then see a mid shot of a girl, Sam, dancing with another boy, Patrick and
Charlie slowly gets up and walks towards them between short fade to black
transitions suggesting that this was unexpected for Charlie.

28. We then see a high angle of the three dancing together, informing us that these
are the friends Charlie will be focused on throughout the full film and they will play
an important part to Charlie's storyline.
We then see the use of more text on screen to tell us a bit more of Charlie's story,
which reflect the previous scene of Charlie dancing with his friend, this once again
informs us that his friends will be an important part of his story.

29. We then see the use of an J cut including the dialogue “So Charlie, this is what fun
looks like” following a montage of clips of Charlie and his friends at a party,
alongside upbeat music.
We then see text on screen of the name “Patrick”, before showing a clip of the
character we assume is Patrick, from this introduction it’s indicated that he will be
a key character in the full film.

30. We next see text of the words “Sam” on screen before seeing shots of her
standing up out of the roof of car followed by the dialogue from Patrick “Don’t
worry she does it all the time” and we immediately acknowledge that this will be
something addressed in the film.
We then see the use of a J cut, with the dialogue “Do you ever think if people
knew how crazy you really were no one would ever talk to you”, followed by a two
shot of his friends laughing. Suggesting to us that throughout the film we’re going
to see Charlie beginning to accept himself and addressing his own insecurities.
Which is supported by a shot of Sam telling Charlie “Let’s be psychos together”.

31. As the words “This fall” appear on screen the non-diegetic music changes to one
with a steady beat.
We then see a montage of more shots of Charlie and his friends, an evident
recurring theme of the film at this point.
We then see the words “From the creators of Juno”, on screen to possibly attract
viewers who enjoyed that film to watch and potentially also enjoy this film.

32. We then see the words “based on the critically acclaimed novel” which reaches
out to the audience who have read and enjoyed the book and also informs people
who haven't read the book that the basis of this film has received generally good
reviews from critics.
We then see the use of another J cut with dialogue about Charlie “You see things
and you understand, you’re a wallflower” which reflects the title of the film. Which
is followed by a high angle of Charlie saying “I didn’t think anyone noticed me”,
which we know at this point, Charlie's acknowledgement is a common theme
throughout the film.

33. We then see the use of short takes to speed up the pace of the trailer as we see
shorts from the climax of the movie, the good and the bad, such as the fight scene
and the scene of Charlie, Sam and Patrick in the car, which shows the audience
snippets of what the full film has to offer, making them intrigued and curious to see
the context behind these scenes and what happens next.
The lyrics of the non-diegetic music are relevant here as they say “I’m never
changing who I am”, as it reflects Charlie’s voice over where he says “I swear we
are infinite”.

34. The trailer then ends with the name of the film in next appearing on screen,
followed by another screen of text displaying “Coming soon”.
Throughout this trailer we saw the use of text on screen to break up different
scenes or areas of the movie as well as to introduce and distinguish the key
characters such as Charlie, Patrick and Sam.
This trailer included short clips of key moments of the film to show what it has to
offer but not spoil the entire plot so the audience feel intrigued and want to watch
the full film to find out what happens to Charlie and his friends.

35. Before I Fall (2017)
(Mystery/Drama)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3Zyy4ZXegE
The trailer opens with an out of focus shot which fades into a focus shot of a
crowded hallway.
We then immediately hear a voiceover of a girl saying “Maybe for you there’s a
tomorrow”, which immediately creates a tense and suspenseful atmosphere
accompanied with the slow paced non-diegetic music.
This sense of mystery and suspense is also created by the use of dissolve
transitions as the girl is walking further towards the camera. This is used to
present the time passing and relates to the content of the voiceover.

36. We then see the shot go to a fade to black transition to emphasise the words
being spoken in the voice over “for some of us there's just today”. Which
immediately makes the audience curious to know what she means by that.
The next shot shows a shot of a girl waking up, we then see a close up of her
phone displaying the date and time, which we assume will have some significance
in the plot of the film.
We then hear upbeat non-diegetic music as the ident of the producing film
appears on the screen.

37. We then see a montage of group shots of the previously seen girl with three
friends along with the use of a L cut with the dialogue, “I can’t believe high
school’s almost over”, presenting the characters on screen as ordinary teenagers
and the film itself as a classic teen drama, at this point.
The use of fade to black transitions are seen here between the dialogue of the
girls to make it seem like, to the audience, the girls believe what they did in high
school was the most important thing in their lives.
We then hear a drone in the non-diegetic music as what we assume is an
unwanted guest at the party appears, due to the dialogue from an L cut, “What is
she doing here?”

38. We then see the use of an L cut with the dialogue “High school is just a blip”, as
we see another close up of the girls phone, which signifies the date and time we
are seeing on screen now is also significant.
We then see short takes of the girls being in a car crash, along with the enhanced
sound of car crashing noises, before the clips fade to black.
The next scene we see is of the girl sitting up in bed, a parallel to a scene we saw
earlier on in the trailer which instantly suggests to the audience the theme of a
time loop is involved in this film, this is then supported by the same close up of the
phone shown earlier on in the trailer.

39. We then hear a repeat of the voiceover from the beginning of the trailer, “Maybe
for you there’s a tomorrow” which further supports the theme of a time loop and
makes the audience curious to know what will happen next.
We then hear slow paced, mysterious non-diegetic music begin to play as the
words “Based on the best selling novel” appear on screen, a technique used to
convince those who read and enjoyed the book to watch the full film too as they
would potentially enjoy it also.
We then see the use of fade to black transitions between the girl asking her friend
“What happened last night” and short takes of shots from the car crash.

40. We then see a repeat of the previous shots of the girls in the car, this time with
slower non-diegetic music and a close up of the girl's face looking confused, rather
than smiling as she did last time.
There is also a repeat of the L cut including the dialogue “This whole high school
thing is a blip”, which is followed by another fade to black transition and an aerial
shot of the car driving.
We then see the close up of the phone once again, reflecting the time loop theme.

41. The words “this spring” are displayed on screen to break up the car crash and the
next long shot of the girl sitting in class. The use of an ellipsis is used here to
display the time passing.
We are then shown the close up of the phone displaying the time in the morning,
and the sound of the car crashing as the voiceover of the girl says “The day starts
and ends the same”, to reflect the theme of the time loop once again and to
intrigue the audience to want to know what will happen to the girl.

42. The lyrics of the non-diegetic music here reflect the atmosphere of the film, “Living
in a daydream”, as due to the time loop the girl feels trapped in what feels like a
dream.
The use of fade to black transitions are also used here to create tension reflecting
the lyrics “nothing can save me now” along with dialogue from one of the
characters “are you in trouble?”, suggesting to the audience that the girl is trapped
and making them curious to find out if she escapes the time loop in the full film.
The text appearing on the screen “Live your life” “Like there’s no tomorrow” could
be suggesting the message of the film to the audience.

43. The use of an L cut displaying the dialogue “That was a long time ago… That was
yesterday” whilst the close up of the phone at the time of the car crash is
displayed adds to the tense, mysterious atmosphere of the trailer and furthermore
adds to the audience feeling intrigued.
This is also followed by short takes of the climatic events that happen in the film to
give the audience a taster of what the film is about, whilst not giving too many
points about the plot away so the sense of mystery is still there.

44. We then see a track in shot in the girl’s POV of a poster that reads “Be who you
are” which reflects the girl’s voiceover at that point “if I was going to relive the
same day over and over I want it to be a day that makes a difference and not just
for me” which once again suggests the message of the film to the audience.
As the trailer comes to an end we hear the girl’s voice over saying “I just need to
hold on for one more minute” before we see a zoom into the girl's face and a fade
to white transition, making the audience curious to know the context behind that
shot and what happens to the girl in the end, therefore making them want to watch
the full film.

45. The trailer then ends with the title of the film appearing on the screen and the
lyrics of the non-diegetic music saying, “Nothing that could wake me now”
suggesting that the girl doesn’t escape the time loop and leaving the audience
wanting to know more. Before ending in a fade to black transition.
Overall we can see that dialogue is very important throughout this trailer as adds
emphasis to and also foreshadows the shots we see on screen. The use of fade to
black transitions throughout also add mystery and suspense to the overall trailer,
and leave the audience intrigued to know more.