The initial trailer for the critic and audience polarising "Cloud Atlas" by directors Lana & Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer - one of my favourite releases this year - was unusual in that it was over six minutes long (twice the length of a typical theatrical trailer). This was deemed necessary due to the complex nature of the film - with six concurrent story-lines that take place in different eras it meant the trailer would have to be long enough to sufficiently explore and showcase each of them.
"Cloud Atlas" is fundamentally a science fiction film - dealing with the concept of rebirth throughout the centuries - with the scenes of a neon futuristic cityscape a la "Blade Runner" that include laser guns and spacecraft looking vehicles conforming to the audience's expectations of the genre. Other codes that are typical of the sci-fi genre that are present in this trailer include a wide variety of special and visual effects such as explosions as well as powerful, and somewhat symbolic imagery - that is highly present throughout the length of the trailer, a major example being how the title shot of clouds (fitting with the title that is on screen) transitions into a dark starry night - before fading into black and then presenting an underwater scene as the cast names appear.
With a film such as this, mise-en-scene is especially important. Spanning six different eras, the film obviously includes a wide range of props, costumes, makeup, locations and themes. In the trailer for "Cloud Atlas", the use of makeup is highlighted to showcase the variety of characters that are played by each of the cast members, for instance throughout the trailer Tom Hanks is depicted in a number of guises that are each instantly distinguishable as different characters. While a number of the scenes depict characters in period and also modern day clothing, the sci-fi inspired outfits worn by the futuristic characters help to support the genre heavily, and appeal to audience members who are familiar with such iconic looking visuals popularised by science fiction cinema in the past few decades. Despite the appearance of many major actors and actresses, no special attention is brought to their names until the very end of the trailer unlike many trailers that seem to pander to the audience's recognition of a name. Perhaps, despite the makeup and costumes, the makers of the trailer assume the audience will instantly recognize the faces of the actors without having to be reminded of their names or their achievements - such as placing accolades such as 'Academy Award Winner' Tom Hanks which can sometimes be detrimental as it could look like a cheap attempt for the film to look more highbrow.
"Cloud Atlas" is incredibly postmodern in the way it handles genre. The trailer is evidence of this as it attempts to portray the film as not only of the science-fiction genre, but also romance, drama, thriller and even comedy at times. This so called 'mashup' of genres would not be familiar to a mainstream cinema audience so could be a turn off to some moviegoers who would prefer a film that stays true to its genre (and therefore more accessible) however I believe the trailer handles the balance of genres and especially the emotions associated with watching them amazingly well.
While the editing of the trailer was no small achievement, cutting between countless story-lines seamlessly, it is the music that was really powerful in influencing my emotions, and fundamentally my anticipation in viewing the film. It is most effective when it seems to work alongside the footage perfectly, especially between 2:29 and 3:14 when the music both supports and is supported by the voice overs of various characters such as those of actors Tom Hanks and Susan Sarandon. This is another convention of trailers, particularly epics and sci-fi films, when they use powerful lines of dialogue from the film to drive the trailer forward, rather than a 'voice over man' style affair that would be found in older trailers. The soundtrack here, however, ranges from what could be considered typical trailer music to what is not usually found in sci-fi trailers, for instance the song "Outro" by French electronic band M83, that accompanies the montage of scenes in the final part of the trailer, helping to support the overwhelming epic feeling of the trailer as a whole. It is during the sequence that title cards are introduced to help establish further the all-encompassing themes of the film: 'Death', 'Life', 'Birth' and 'Future', 'Present', 'Past' all appear in successive order - the reverse nature of their appearances suggestive of the impact of past events and actions on what is happening and what will happen, 'Everything is Connected' (which happens to be the tagline for the film, but does not appear in the trailer).
Overall, I believe that while the trailer to "Cloud Atlas", in my opinion, was breathtaking, it perhaps wasn't the most effective in explaining its nature, and specifically its genre, to the wider mass audiences who would not be familiar with or keen on the work it is based on or other similar films that explore comparable concepts and are present in a similar time-spanning, genre-bending manner, such as Darren Aronofsky's "The Fountain". However, in the end this particular trailer is a great example of one that both conforms to and subverts the conventions of its genre, and while it does not provide a clear idea of its narrative, I believe this only makes the film more intriguing, especially with the editing done in such a way as to not spoil the events of the film significantly.
"Cloud Atlas" is fundamentally a science fiction film - dealing with the concept of rebirth throughout the centuries - with the scenes of a neon futuristic cityscape a la "Blade Runner" that include laser guns and spacecraft looking vehicles conforming to the audience's expectations of the genre. Other codes that are typical of the sci-fi genre that are present in this trailer include a wide variety of special and visual effects such as explosions as well as powerful, and somewhat symbolic imagery - that is highly present throughout the length of the trailer, a major example being how the title shot of clouds (fitting with the title that is on screen) transitions into a dark starry night - before fading into black and then presenting an underwater scene as the cast names appear.
With a film such as this, mise-en-scene is especially important. Spanning six different eras, the film obviously includes a wide range of props, costumes, makeup, locations and themes. In the trailer for "Cloud Atlas", the use of makeup is highlighted to showcase the variety of characters that are played by each of the cast members, for instance throughout the trailer Tom Hanks is depicted in a number of guises that are each instantly distinguishable as different characters. While a number of the scenes depict characters in period and also modern day clothing, the sci-fi inspired outfits worn by the futuristic characters help to support the genre heavily, and appeal to audience members who are familiar with such iconic looking visuals popularised by science fiction cinema in the past few decades. Despite the appearance of many major actors and actresses, no special attention is brought to their names until the very end of the trailer unlike many trailers that seem to pander to the audience's recognition of a name. Perhaps, despite the makeup and costumes, the makers of the trailer assume the audience will instantly recognize the faces of the actors without having to be reminded of their names or their achievements - such as placing accolades such as 'Academy Award Winner' Tom Hanks which can sometimes be detrimental as it could look like a cheap attempt for the film to look more highbrow.
"Cloud Atlas" is incredibly postmodern in the way it handles genre. The trailer is evidence of this as it attempts to portray the film as not only of the science-fiction genre, but also romance, drama, thriller and even comedy at times. This so called 'mashup' of genres would not be familiar to a mainstream cinema audience so could be a turn off to some moviegoers who would prefer a film that stays true to its genre (and therefore more accessible) however I believe the trailer handles the balance of genres and especially the emotions associated with watching them amazingly well.
While the editing of the trailer was no small achievement, cutting between countless story-lines seamlessly, it is the music that was really powerful in influencing my emotions, and fundamentally my anticipation in viewing the film. It is most effective when it seems to work alongside the footage perfectly, especially between 2:29 and 3:14 when the music both supports and is supported by the voice overs of various characters such as those of actors Tom Hanks and Susan Sarandon. This is another convention of trailers, particularly epics and sci-fi films, when they use powerful lines of dialogue from the film to drive the trailer forward, rather than a 'voice over man' style affair that would be found in older trailers. The soundtrack here, however, ranges from what could be considered typical trailer music to what is not usually found in sci-fi trailers, for instance the song "Outro" by French electronic band M83, that accompanies the montage of scenes in the final part of the trailer, helping to support the overwhelming epic feeling of the trailer as a whole. It is during the sequence that title cards are introduced to help establish further the all-encompassing themes of the film: 'Death', 'Life', 'Birth' and 'Future', 'Present', 'Past' all appear in successive order - the reverse nature of their appearances suggestive of the impact of past events and actions on what is happening and what will happen, 'Everything is Connected' (which happens to be the tagline for the film, but does not appear in the trailer).
Overall, I believe that while the trailer to "Cloud Atlas", in my opinion, was breathtaking, it perhaps wasn't the most effective in explaining its nature, and specifically its genre, to the wider mass audiences who would not be familiar with or keen on the work it is based on or other similar films that explore comparable concepts and are present in a similar time-spanning, genre-bending manner, such as Darren Aronofsky's "The Fountain". However, in the end this particular trailer is a great example of one that both conforms to and subverts the conventions of its genre, and while it does not provide a clear idea of its narrative, I believe this only makes the film more intriguing, especially with the editing done in such a way as to not spoil the events of the film significantly.