Trailer Analysis: CLOUD ATLAS (2013)

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.

Trailer Analysis: PROMETHEUS (2012)

The early marketing and promotion for Ridley Scott's prequel to his seminal sci-fi flick 'Alien' was shrouded in mystery and secrecy. This is reflected in the teaser trailer for 'Prometheus' that, at a brief one minute and ten seconds, offers an insight into the film without providing a great deal of context and therefore preserving the majority of the storyline until later trailers or even the film's release. This is a major strength of this trailer which, in my opinion, is one of the finest of recent years. The trailer is instigated by a heavily edited version of the 20th Century Fox logo - it is desaturated and given a very aliased appearance to suggest the look of a broken monitor. This altering of pre-existing materials to suit the world of the film is something I would like to experiment with when creating my trailer, making something as commonplace as a studio logo unique.

The opening narration, provided by the voice of a panicked and apologetic woman (Noomi Rapace as her character of Elizabeth Shaw) establishes the dark and nature of the film. Her line "You don't understand...I was wrong...we were so wrong" as heard over the opening logos immediately creates a huge enigma regarding the context of her statement and what she is referring to, as well as of course who she is talking to. The soundtrack - which is at this point an haunting soundscape - suddenly stops and the visuals instantly cut to a title card, 'From Director Ridley Scott'. To introduce and acknowledge the director's name this early in the trailer is a testament to the director's selling power. Clearly his fame within the genre, and of course the franchise, is a major unique selling point that will bring in the audiences the studio wants. There is no mention of any one of his previous works as the studio understand his name alone will be recognition enough. The typography in this trailer is a very standard sans-serif font, thereby looking very clean and fitting in with the futuristic aesthetics while also contrasting with the landscape of the alien planet.

The first proper shot of the trailer is, understandably, that of the titular spacecraft approaching a planet. This confirms the audience's suspicion that this is in fact a film of the science fiction genre, and the successive shots used only help to reinforce that, including futuristic technologies such as the red lasers as well as the mysterious corridors that are reminiscent of the production design for 'Alien'. As a teaser trailer, it is important to give the audiences a good idea of what the film entails and so the makers of the trailer include footage from various points in the film that are cut together rapidly, but what they have done here that is interesting is incorporate the title of the film into the entire proceedings. Over the course of most of the trailer, the title 'Prometheus' gradually appears, starting as only thin straight vertical lines that slowly build and build until the word is completely formed overlaying the footage of the film. This is a clear reference to the teaser trailer for 'Alien' that used the same technique, and so we can see they are further catering to people familiar with the older film but more importantly are constantly reminding audiences of the film they should be seeing. I think this is an amazingly well-executed concept as it looks great visually and adds to the various enigmas as audiences may wonder what is being constructed over time on screen.

Music is very important in this trailer. The editors responsible has obviously fallen into the recent trend of dramatic loud horns that punctuate every shot, as the trailer for 'Inception' did so brilliantly, with the soundtrack being a major driving force, synchronised with shots to great effect - however as they had done with the title of the film are making reference to the earlier film's trailer by reusing the same strange alien-esque sound effect. Here they, at certain points in the trailer, combine it with on-screen character's screams to bring greater cohesiveness to the whole. Over two thirds into the trailer, with the title completely formed and the action cut to black, you would expect the trailer to end, however it suddenly continues, with the upside down face of Shaw, giving a pleaful shriek. The final part of this trailer is then dedicated to showcasing what the studio expect is a standout sequence - two female characters in spacesuits running from the falling alien spacecraft -  while also providing a tagline of sorts, between shots, that should help reiterate what the film is about without giving too much away. 'They went looking...for our beginning...what they found...could be our end' is a very simplistic but evocative description of the film which should be enough to sway audiences into seeing it. 

As an example of social media trends becoming more important in the marketing of films, the trailer finishes not only with the release date but a link to the film's Facebook page, rather than the actual website of the film. I thought it only a requirement for me to research whether the film actually had a website, and currently it does - however in the form of a viral marketing site that is written as if it exists within the film's fictional universe. Perhaps at the time of the teaser's release this website had not been completed, but if it had maybe the studio thought it would be more attractive to prospective casual audiences to provide them with a more appealing and user-friendly source, in this case a social networking site, to discover more about the film. What is also interesting is the lack of promotion of the film's availability in 3D, with the Real-D 3D logo and others only appearing in comparatively tiny lettering at the bottom of the film's cast and crew credits. Despite Ridley Scott being a vocal supporter by choosing to shoot the film in native 3D, the studio do not seem to deem it worthy enough to showcase this fact or capitalise on it. There are two obvious explanations - the majority of big releases these days can be found in both 2D and 3D formats and so there is no point pointing this out to an audience who wouldn't expect any different or the studio are aware of the declining appeal and popularity of the format and don't want to risk turning away moviegoers who have grown wary of 3D. Anyway, back to the point of this analysis which is what I have learnt that I could use to success when creating my own trailer, and that is that less is sometimes better - keeping the exact nature of the story to a minimum to ensure the audience is intrigued but not overwhelmed with information - and that the title can be a powerful tool...these are both things I will take into account when preparing my piece.