'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.

How is "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" Trailer Effective?

‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’ trailer can be considered successful due to its effectiveness and the impact it has on its audience. The trailer creates an enigma, as it reveals very little of the plot, thus drawing the audience in.  This convention is presented through the profusion of different locations viewed in the trailer, displayed through the use of fast cutting, as it allows the audience to see a variety of different sequences in the film, but the sequences being too short for the audience to know exactly what is happening.

The trailer can also be considered successful due to the suspense it creates through the use of the non-diegetic soundtrack, which is used throughout. The soundtrack used is very upbeat, fast and dramatic, and is synchronous to the editing. This adds to the overall suspense and tension of the trailer because it makes it seem more fast-paced, and makes the audience wonder what will happen next. The heavy metal soundtrack used also allows the audience to recognize the genre of the film, as the song combined with the fast paced editing, connotes mystery and ambiguity.

A Point Of View shot is used at the beginning of the trailer as the camera moves around the corner displaying an extreme long shot of the road covered in snow.  This type of shot can be considered effective as it allows the audience to see exactly what the character is seeing from their POV, as well as highlighting the importance of the snow covered road, and the building at the end of the road. This is further conveyed through the use of editing and the shots used, as throughout the trailer, the camera shots are getting closer and closer towards the building, despite all the other shots in the trailer being anachronic, as they are not in chronological order. This makes the audience question why the building, and the road towards the building is being repeatedly shown in the trailer, and why it is significant, therefore creating enigma, meaning the audience will want to watch the film, thus making it a successful trailer.

There are a variety of contrasting shots used in the trailer. For example the snow-covered road, where the predominant colour is white, is juxtaposed by the car chase scene where the predominant colour is black. This gives the film trailer a very dark appearance, displaying the genre of the film. The colours also match the typography of the trailer, as the writing is white on a black background. The font used may be seen by the audience to be mysterious, as the typography has ‘scratches’ or ‘cracks’ on the letters, which can connote, pain or suffering, also matching the genre of the film, which is a mystery, thriller.

Under The Skin Decontruction

What Makes 'Under the Skin' an Effective Teaser Trailer?

Colour is a very key aspect throughout this teaser trailer, the sharp vivacity and boldness of the repeated red is incredibly eye catching, and signifies various pivotal themes, such as sexuality, passion, danger and death. Simultaneously, fear and danger are reoccurring themes within this trailer. Many of the shots displayed in the time portray some sense of this, including a red tinted close up of the protagonist appearing wide eyed and scared, a hand held close up of a vivid fire, the fast paced montage editing, and heartbeat-resembling mu
sic builds up tension and a sense of alarm within the audience. This intense build up of tension is a common convention of teaser trailers, and establishes the disturbing plot and genre (science fiction-horror).

The lack of a clear sense of time or continuity adds to the effectiveness of this trailer, as due to the very fast paced editing it leaves the audience feeling somewhat stunned and confused, caused by a complete lack of understanding about the plot line. This trailer manages to gather shots from almost every prominent scene in the film, project them all to a very unaware and unprepared audience, while portraying barely anything about the story line. Although one could argue that this would not hook an audience as it all happens too quickly and cannot attract an audience a hint at the story line, I believe this to be an incredibly effective technique, as it leaves the audience wanting to find out m
ore.

There is a remarkable contrast in colour conveyed in this trailer, several of the shots display the characters emerged in complete black
ness, however as the trailer comes to a close, the credits are projected onto a piercingly white backdrop, creating a complete binary opposite between the colours. This is a very effective and clever technique used as it unconditionally draws in the audiences' attention as these stunningly bold colours are thrown into their eyes.Throughout the trailer, there is bright white typography continually flashing up on the screen, it is very quick and well timed with the fast paced music, and barely allows the audience any time to read what it says. This overwhelms the audience with this immense influx of reviews, portraying the sheer amount of positive feedback the film got - this is done to entice the audience and convince them to watch it.

Non-diegetic wind is used at the very start of the trailer this is a natural sound so therefore contrasts against the clinical and unnatural world the audience sees. The wind creates a very eerie and mysterious atmosphere, which is somewhat parallel to the on screen action as the audience is unsure of what is being presented to them, therefore it becomes relatively frightening, as it could be anything. When the scene changed to an extreme close up of a wide eye, the audience would become uncomfortable being so incredibly close to such a personal part of someone else's face. Additionally, as it transitions from the beginning to the eye, the non-diegetic music changes from high pitched, eerie, and mysterious, to a deep, faster paced thumping which resembles a heartbeat, this again leaves the audience rather unsure of what story line the trailer is portraying, but it still provokes an emotional reaction.

Inspirations

Here are a list of inspirations we had for our Teaser Trailer:

Camera shots/angles:

Lateral Tracking Shot

Dolly Zoom-This is achieved by zooming a zoom lens to adjust the angle of view, while the camera moves towards or away of the object, to keep it the same size throughout. We are planning to use this in our Teaser Trailer as dolly Zooms create an unsettling effect, as it undermines normal visual perception. This would conform to our genre.

Dutch Angles- Where the camera is set at an angle on its roll axis, so that the shot is composed with vertical lines at an angle to the side of the frame. It is used for uneasiness/disorientation- We are planning to use a dutch angle in our Teaser Trailer as we want to create a sense of uneasiness and disorientation in our trailer as our genre is a psychological thriller.

Close Up Shots-We are also planning on using Close Up Shots in our Teaser Trailer as we feel like the use of close-Up Shots, especially in Psychological Thrillers build tension, as the audience can see the Characters Facial expressions clearly.  Close-Up Shots can also draw importance to different objects or characters, so the audience is able to focus on them.

Behind the Windscreen shot in Taxi Driver (blurry)

We liked the the shot in the Opening Sequence of Taxi Driver, where the camera is behind the Windscreen. We felt as though its adds a sense of disorientation to the shot and for the audience. Due to our Teaser Trailer being based around the theme of drugs, we feel as though this type of shot being used in our Teaser Trailer, would help us convey our genre to our target audience more clearly. 

Lighting:

Contrasts in Lighting (Chiaroscuro) This is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition.  It can be used as a metaphor for certain characters inner personality. We feel as this type of lighting would help us convey the two different personalities for our protagonist before and after she takes the drug, displaying clearly to the audience, the effect the drug has had on her.

Red Tints- We are planning on using Red tints within our Teaser Trailer as the colour red can connote a sense of danger that a character may face, conforming to our idea about the dangers of drugs. We feel as though Red Tints will also conform to the Psychological Thriller due to this.

Editing:
Graphic Matching- A cut in film editing, between either two objects, or two different compositions in which objects int he two shots graphically match, often establishing a clear continuity of action. We plan on using graphic matching for a montage scene that we are planning to do at the start of our Teaser Trailer.

Sound:

Use of Silence-This will build up tension for the audience, as silence is often used before a jump scare.
Use of dramatic music-Tis will build up the tension of the events that is happening on screen.

Taxi Driver Storyboard

We were set the task of creating a storyboard for the opening of Taxi Driver, using the screenplay to present our interpretation of how the scene would unfold.

We started with a dutch angle to represent that Travis Bickle is hiding a "life of private fear" behind his smile, so things are not as they seem. He is walking towards the camera in a long shot- his clothes are blending in to the New York background. As the camera slowly zooms towards his face the lights around him fade, and gradually become darker, until it's a low-key extreme close up of his eyes.

Then audience is then presented with a low-angle shot, conveying his feet as they walk past. The camera slowly tilts up his body, displaying his outfit and revealing his empty smile.

The next shot is a medium-long still shot, of Travis walking past the camera, along a New York sidewalk. As he walks past an adult club, he stops and a lateral tracking shot travels through the club and into a bedroom scene, with him and a female worker.

After a blackout, a birds' eye view shot of the taxi company is illustrated. This expresses the sheer amount of taxis coming to the company as does the following shot- a low angle, positioned on the floor, between many moving taxis, one of which drives over the camera, turning the screen black.

A medium long shot of a woman behind a desk at the company reception, reveals Travis as he walks towards her. An extreme close up of his hand drumming his fingers on the desk is demonstrated.

This task allowed us to be as creative with our shots as we liked, so we had a wide range of shot types. This is something that is easy to forget when filming coursework, so we made sure we have planned a variation on our shot list.

The Lateral Tracking Shot

A camera is mounted on a platform and moved along the rails.

The Lateral Tracking shot is described in the video to be one of the least subjective shots in cinema. It can be considered one of the most objective shots as it doesn't suggest any characters POV, and is very literal. It is one of the most widely used shots in cinema and is mainly used by filmmakers as an establishing move.The Lateral Tracking Shot continually preserves the depth of space that the camera captures, since it works with a lens of a fixed focal length. This results in a ,“gliding effect” in which the camera seems to float close to ground.


It is particularly effective in the film 'Wolf Children', where it lasts 57 seconds following the children as they grow up from first grade to fourth grade without any cuts'. In 'Saving Private Ryan' a lateral tracking shot is used to establish a war camp. This can be seen as very effective as it is able to show the vastness of the army. The lateral tracking shot can also be used for a variety of other things such as running, (used in The 400 blows), fighting (used in Old Boy) and comedy ( used in Toy story.) In the film 'The Shining' The narrator describes the lateral shot to be used to build a sense of dread, as it is used frequently throughout the film. Overall this shot can be considered very effective due to the vast amount of ways it can be used in, and the simplicity of the shot.

We are planning to use a lateral tracking shot in our Teaser Trailer as it is simple shot to do, and it can be used effectively in a variety of ways.

Codes and Conventions of a Teaser Trailer

 Codes and conventions of a teaser trailer

A teaser trailer is usually between 30 seconds and a minute and a half long. It shows you a basic outline of what the film could be about, giving the audience a brief insight leaving them wanting more. A teaser trailer is often made while the film or TV show is still in production or being edited. It may also contain scenes that are not actually in the final product, as some scenes may be cut when editing.
Most teaser trailers are released up to a year and a half before the film comes out, hence why they are called teaser trailers. Most contain either once short sequence of clips or just one clip in them, and they tend to focus on the characters in the film or show rather than the plot. The pace of a teaser trailer is usually fast, or speeds up as the trailer progresses.


Teaser Trailers make you aware of a new film that is still being edited or produced. Some Teaser Trailer, such as Trainspotting  (1996) show just the first ideas of what they want to produce for the real film- and not necessarily what they will produce when it comes to that stage, as they may decide in the editing that they don't want to include that particular scene which we have already seen.

Difference Between Trailers and Film Openings

Film openings and trailers vastly differ to one another, they are composed, produced and presented very differently, their intent and purposes contrast each others...

The purpose of film trailers is to hook the audience, they make the film appear as enticing, dramatic and thrilling as they can, this is done through heavy amounts of editing, and the shots are usually cut so that they fit a sequence of music, which will usually build tension and lead to a cliff hanger climax.
Usually a montage editing technique is used, portraying a series of the film's most significant and dramatic scenes, which will effectively excite the audience and hold their attention. This technique will also allow for the basic plot of the film to be outlined so the audience can decide whether they believe they will enjoy the story line.

Conversely, film opening's purposes are predominately to give the audience an introduction to the film and story line, this will be done by conveying the location, the protagonists and antagonists. The genre/mood of the film is usually conveyed through establishing shots, location, lighting and music. Film openings often create tension and mystery, hoping that this will cause the audience to want to continue watching.

Difference Between Theatrical Trailer and Teaser Trailer

Producers use teaser trailers to tease their potential audience, they are usually realised months before the official film release, which creates anticipation and entices the audience and leaves them wanting more. Whereas a theatrical trailer - which is released later in the filming/production process is more in depth and starts to create a sense of story and plot.

The most evident difference between a teaser and theatrical trailer is the length. A teaser trailer is usually under 2 minutes, whereas theatrical trailers are under 3 minutes. A teaser creates more mystery as at the point of production there is usually not enough footage to create a theatrical, therefore there is a lot less footage to work with and present to the audience.
Both teaser and theatrical trailers usually place a lot of focus onto the famous actors in the film, to gain an immediate interest from the audience.

Conventions of a Film Opening

Most commonly, the predominant aim of a film opening is to immediately captivate and hook the audience in. The opening will give the audience a sense of the narrative and will present the characters and a basics of the story plot. The audience will usually be able to instantly identify and recognise the genre of the film - based on location, lighting, music etc.

Most film openings are around 2 minutes long and introduce the pre-plot/ beginning narrative - Giving the audience a sense of what the film will be like. 

At the start of the film, the key credits will appear, such as the film director, the main actors and the name of the film. Again, this is done to hook the audience as often one will decide whether to watch a film based on the actors in it/the production company, or director.

In most film openings the key character's are introduced along side a theme song or parallel non-diegetic music, indicating the genre of the film.

Often, the key credits are presented on top of a series of establishing shots, which set the scene and give the audience a sense of the locations - again indicating the genre of the film.

The opening sequence usual ends with the start of the narrative, commonly the pace will change from calm to a spark of action, hooking the audience, however this depends on the genre.

One common convention of a film opening is the use of a non-diegetic voice over, this can give the audience background knowledge to a story line, it can help the audience to identify and connect with the character and it adds to the narrative. Additionally, it is a common technique for the film opening to start at the end of the story, and then for it to take the audience back in time to the beginning, supposedly before everything changed and went wrong. Throughout the rest of the film it will usually be frequent foreshadow of the upcoming events, that the audience knows to be coming. This will usually hook the audience as they will want to find out what happened for the character to end up in that situation.

Another common start, is to begin with a flashback to when the protagonist was a child. Usually, this is the most pivotal point in their life, where it has shaped them and creates the story that the film will tell. For example, when Harry Potter's parents have just been killed by Voldemort in 'The Order of the Phoenix', when Matt Murdock, from 'Daredevil', is blinded, or when Clark Kent is born in 'Man of Steel'.

Conventions of a Theatrical Trailer

Theatrical Trailers:

-Most theatrical trailers last around two to three minutes and contain key moments from the film but do not give away any crucial plot lines or details.




-A film trailer will usually begin with the film    production's logo, as the company's reputation can influence a viewers opinion on whether they want to see the film or not. The logo is also used to make the audience aware of what type/genre film it is. This is usually done to attract and entice the audience.









-The title of the film is not usual presented on screen until the end of  until the end of the trailer, which is usually followed by a release date. This is usually done to built anticipation and excitement, and so that the title will be remembered. The graphological features of the title, such as the colour, font, and backdrop, often indicate the genre and type of film it will be. For example, the comedy film title 'Guys With Kids' is bright, bold and colourful to emphasise its comedic qualities, whereas the horror movie title 'Insidious' is dark, sharp and red, which connotes evil, death, blood and horror.




-The names of the main actors are often presented on screen to the audience very early on in the trailer, as this lets them know who they expect to see in the film. This is an important aspect as often a viewer will decide whether or not to watch the film depending on who the actors in it are.

-An important aspect of a theatrical trailer is the introduction of the characters, as a vital part of a film is to get the audience to connect with and like the main characters.

-Editors usually include short clips from different parts in the film - this is done to give the audience a sense of the story line, while keeping it fragmented enough to not reveal too much. Often as the trailer cuts from clip to clip each one transitions with a fade to black, this helps its continuity and ensures it flows.




-A popular sound choice found in trailers is a voice over, this clearly expresses the basic plot line to the audience and gives them an insight into what the whole film will consist of. It immediately creates an introduction to the protagonist and allows the audience to get a feel of what the film will be like, whether that is comedic, thrilling, emotional etc.




-Commonly the name of the director or producer and their most successful film title will appear onscreen  and read for example 'from the director of...[insert successful film title]'

-The most common camera framing found in trailers are close ups, to explore intense emotion, long shots to highlight action, and extreme long shots to present the location. The close ups and long shots help to build the tension and excitement and would portray the most action packed/emotional clips. The extreme long shots would add to the narrative.

Deconstruction of Saw Trailer

Saw is an incredibly popular horror franchise, which is distributed by Lions Gate Entertainment, and produced by Twisted Pictures. The franchise consists of seven films and additional media, including a short film and roller coasters. Collectively, the films grossed over $873 million, at the box office, worldwide, and the trailers are a huge factor in making these films so appealing and successful.

 The editing used for the trailer is very effective and important, the use of jump cuts produces an almost montage effect, which creates the sense that everything is moving very quickly. This is seen in sequences such as the clip below...

Additionally, the speed makes the film appear very dramatic and full of action, this hooks the audience and captivates them, not allowing them to look away or get bored.

This fast pace is used to create fear and helplessness in the audience, as the horror is intimidatingly flashed up on the screen before them, yet is gone again so quickly they cannot react to it. 

The most predominant use colours throughout this trailer are dark blue/green and red. In most scenes and in the typography the scene is tinted with a blue/green wash and contrasted with dark shadowing around the edge of the scene. 

This creates a depressive atmosphere and a sense of coldness, emptiness and helplessness. 

Several scenes that flash up throughout this trailer are full of red, this is done to create fear and connote danger and death. Death is also signified through the blacked out scenes and the use of low key lighting and darkness. All of these lighting affects are done to create fear in the audience and to hook them.

Throughout this trailer, the original non-diegtic Saw theme song is playing, this is recognisable as the Saw theme song to this franchise's fans, therefore this will attract their attention. This song also creates tension and fear, it builds up and is very fast paced throughout, making the audience feel fear, anticipation and it creates a dramatic and tense atmosphere. The diegtic sound of screaming and Jigsaw (the antagonist) speaking, this again creates fear and captivates fans of horror films. (Play sound on clips to hear examples)