'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' Teaser Trailer

Why is this trailer effective?

The beginning of the teaser trailer starts off slow, with an ominous fade from a black screen into a mis en scene that is predominantly white, due to the snow covered ground and bleak sky. The point of view shot immediately invites the audience though the open iron gates and they can see the long path way between the trees, stretched out before them. This shot has a somewhat symmetrical feeling and this adds to the eerie ambience. The diegetic sound of a car engine merges into the non-diegetic music for the trailer and this also contributes to a creepy opening. The idea of getting closer and closer to something is used throughout the trailer, which suggests there is something quite symbolic about this movement. This is a subtle way of giving the audience clues on the film’s plot.

          The quick straight cut into the next shot is matched by the beat of the non-diegetic parallel music, which is now speeding up. The cuts are very fast, almost overwhelming the audience with a vast range of settings and characters, all squeezed into this 1 minute 38 second clip. The audience cannot possibly view them all at ease, and therefore the trailer presents the movie as action-packed, with lots of unanswered questions. This small teaser makes viewing the full film seem essential, in order for the audience to have their questions answered. This is a typical convention of a teaser trailer, feeding the audience a number of questions, but giving the answers to very few of them if any.

          Throughout the trailer, there are a range of close ups of people’s faces. These introduce the audience to a number of characters, without giving any clues about their personalities, simply because each shot is less than a second long. These shots contrast the high number of shots without human life- each type is effective. Such a close up shot of someone’s face is quite intimidating, while the scenery shots are mostly dark, lonely and chilling. For example, while every fifth or so shot is of the path between the trees, covered in snow, the shots in between are much busier, and show people interacting- contrasting the stillness in the scenery shots. This isn’t really a conventional aspect

of a thriller, many simply use busy shots and fast paced editing to build tension. This teaser trailer stands out because of the very noticeable contrasts between shots. Also, the repeated shots are very effective and are aesthetically pleasing to look at.

          In one collection of shots there is a man looking at old black and white photographs – his attention on one woman in particular. In each shot, his eyes get closer, as does the woman’s face. This, combined with the non- diegetic music that now sounds angrier and more aggressive, scares the audience, leaving them with more unanswered questions. Throughout the trailer, there are shots like the first one, of someone travelling down a road, or path, or bridge. These intrigue the audience and the lack of surrounding life is quite
chilling. Towards the end, a series of shots like this is used, each time getting closer and closer to a large white house that blends in with the snow and is hidden by trees. Despite getting closer and closer, in each shot, the audience never reach the house, and the only way they ever will, is by watching the film in its entirety. The job of a teaser trailer is to pose lots of questions and never answer them (especially when the genre is mystery) - so this trailer does its job effectively.

          In between the shots of the house, are 17 typography shots, showing the audience one or two words at a time. This hooks the viewer, so that all their attention is on the screen- waiting eagerly for each word. They don’t want to miss anything, and their full focus is needed as the trailer is fast-paced and suspense-filled. At this point, the music is at its loudest and most aggressive, with a loud buzzing sound filling up the majority of the soundscape. The words used themselves in the typography are effective- words like ‘international’ and ‘best selling’ followed by the film’s title, enhance the film’s credibility and the slogan at the end, ‘evil shall with evil be expelled’ is one last clue into the plot. The phrase 'feel bad movie' is also used, and is a play on words, intended to be almost humorous.
           Overall, the trailer has a monochrome, often symmetrical feel to it (typical of Fincher’s work), which contributes to the eerie atmosphere and some quite horrific scenes. It ends with a fade back to black, as if the trailer has gone in a full circle and these few clues given to the audience, regarding the plot, are now concealed again, until the release of the full trailer. It does a very effective job in ensuring the audience want to watch the film, and leaves them with a mind full of guesses, as to the plot and the characters.