Trailer Analysis: THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY (2013)

The trailer for what looks like what will be one of the finest, or at least most interesting, films of this year, is a stunningly realised piece of editing and marketing with an inspired soundtrack choice that works to elevate this trailer above most others. In the opening moments of the trailer for 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty', from lead actor and director Ben Stiller, we are shown the mundane life of the titular character - getting dressed and heading off to work - through some visually spectacular cinematography, a highlight being the shot of the workers climbing and leaving a set of stairs like ants spilling out of an ant hill. This stunningly beautiful approach to the depiction of ordinary life heightens the fantasy of the film, which is heightened even further when the audience witnesses some of Walter Mitty's dream sequences which include but are not limited to flying through windows and leaping out of helicopters into a stormy ocean. Not at single word is spoken in the trailer until the final scene, yet the plot is hinted at simply and effectively through the use of visuals, much like a silent movie, and within the first minute we are given an insight into Walter Mitty's outlook on life, his unrequited affection for a female colleague and his desire to live his wildest fantasies, the latter most poignantly being explained by the shot of Sean Penn's explorer character coming to life in a photo inviting Walter, and by proxy, the audience into the fantastical world of this film. We see consecutive shots of Walter picking up his coat and his briefcase ready to set of on his adventure, much like the audience will as the trailer kicks off into high gear with a flurry of breathtaking shots that showcase the scope and beauty of the picture.

One minute into the trailer we are given the release window of the film, 'This Christmas', suggesting that this film will be lighthearted and suitable for a wide audience. Movies released at Christmas time send to be family movies and while the trailer for this film gives the impression that it will certainly be full of hope and wonder it is also a film with adult themes. Of course, this is the time of year that studios use to release films that they expect will be critically acclaimed rather than simply commercially successful in the run up to the Awards season when they could potentially pick up a number of nominations or even wins. 'Walter Mitty; certainly looks like a film of Oscar-caliber and it is clear that the studio is confident by marketing what is clearly a complex film without 'dumbing it down' as such by treating the audience like idiots and giving them unnecessary exposition. The trailer, however, follows the familiar, tried and tested, structure of most of today's trailers, and climaxes with a brief gag scene in which Walter is presented with two options of rental car: a cold and uninviting blue, or red which evokes feelings of excitement or passion. He immediately goes with the second option - and so it seems the filmmakers, and editors of the trailer have done too.

Poster Analysis: DON JON (2013)

The poster for 'Don Jon' makes every attempt to promote the fact that Joseph Gordon Levitt is not only the film's main star, but also its writer and director, with the very top of the poster stating it is 'The First Film Written and Directed by Joseph Gordon Levitt'. Much of the poster is comprised solely of his face, with a friendly a confident smile that suits the comedy's laid back and light hearted feel. The design of the poster is very clean and classy with a neat white border around the edge of the poster and a limited use of colour except in the colour of his skin and the red boxes around the reviews. Obviously the designers thought it would be appropriate to use quotes from professional movie critics to help promote the movie, and so the words 'Stellar', 'Hilarious', 'Genuine', 'Emotional', 'Edgy', 'Confident' appear successively along the left side of the poster, each suggesting a different thing about the film, importantly that it is a comedy but also a drama, and that it is a strong debut from the director. Of course each of these words could have been taken massively out of context but nonetheless it works to add some sophistication and guarantee that it is a well-regarded film. 

While only Gordon Levitt's face appears on the poster, credits for Scarlett Johansson and Julianne Moore, therefore part of the main cast, also appear above the film's title which is in large bold letters. Below the title is the film's tagline 'There's more to life than a happy ending' which is a humorous double entendre, referencing both the film's nature as a romantic comedy as well as the lead's obsession with porn which are otherwise non-apparent with the rest of the poster. The words 'This Fall' clearly suggest the poster has been designed for an American audience, while the hashtag beneath, much like what is seen with the poster for 'Filth', is a sign of the movie industry stepping away from official websites to a greater focus on cracking the social network market.

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.