Film Trailer Pitch

Trailer Analysis - The Great Gatsby

The trailer for The Great Gatsby begins with two men aand a young woman standing in a room. One of them men (Joel Edgerton) turns to the other man (Leonardo DiCaprio) and says “Mr. Gatsby I would like to know exactly who are you anyhow?” This immediately lets the audience know that DiCaprio is playing Gatsby, which suggests that he is the protagonist, considering the film is called The Great Gatsby. This adds some mystery to the trailer for the film, as the first man clearly knows Gatsby’s name, but still asks who he is, suggesting that no one knows much about him. This creates intrigue as to why he is so secretive, therefore enticing people to watch the film.

           The trailer then goes on to reveal a clear love story between Gatsby and the woman who was in the room with the two men, Daisy (Carey Mulligan). Their love is represented when Gatsby is looking into Daisy’s eyes and whispers “…just you and me”. This establishes their relationship and affection for each other, suggesting that the film will mainly be centered on them. After this, we then see a series of establishing shots, showing an island and an extravagant mansion, suggesting wealth and the idea of the ‘American Dream’. Next we see what the film and book is almost known for: the elaborate parties. While all this makes it seem like it is a feel-good book based solely around the love between Daisy and Gatsby, there are a few shots of Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton) looking over his shoulder a lot, and acting suspicious, suggesting he is watching something, or someone. This adds tension and drama to the trailer, which would persuade people to go to the cinema and watch it, in order to find out what this twist is.

           It is at this point, that Toby Maguire’s character is introduced, and he then goes on to narrate the trailer, saying things such as: “I had the uneasy feeling that he was guarding secrets..”, adding to the idea that DiCaprio’s character has something to hide, again creating intrigue for the audience. The story then begins to unfold for the audience, without giving too much away, just giving them an idea of the drama that goes on throughout the film, through the use of very quick shots of action and violence, which appeals to a wider range of people, as it become evident that it is not just the usual love story. Suddenly, the action and music stops, and it becomes very quiet as Gatsby mentions the ‘green light’, which then proves to have some sort of relevance to the film as it is continually shown and mentioned throughout the trailer. As the trailer draws to a close, the action and loud music picks up again, between flashes of the big actors names who are included in the film, which is a way of promoting The Great Gatsby, as fans of the stars will want to go and see the film because they are in it. The suspense and drama is added to during these last few shots at the end of the trailer, as they are all very fast paced and exciting. Finally, the last words on the screen are “Coming Soon. See it in 3D.”

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1343092/?ref_=sr_1

Trailer Analysis - Slumdog Millionaire

The trailer for Slumdog Millionaire begins with quite dramatic music, building tension and introducing the audience to the film. The words “Winner people’s choice award: Toronto international film festival” then come on screen, which is promoting the film within the trailer, as it will create a lot of hype about the film as it has won an award before it’s even been officially released. This is also achieved through a series of quotes that flash on the screen such as one from the Chicago Sun-Times: “Danny Boyle’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is a triumph!”

            The trailer then begins to give the audience an idea of what the general concept of the film is, when we see the iconic “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” studio, and a young boy is sitting answering the questions. A question then comes up on screen “Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 20 million rupees. How did he do it?”

A.      He cheated

B.      He’s lucky

C.      He’s a genius

D.     It is destiny.

The use of a question like this involves the audience in the trailer, therefore engaging them in the film. We then see a series of flashbacks to Jamal’s childhood, which suggests that he is remembering things from his earlier life in order to answer the questions. The words: “Every moment of his life is a clue to the answers…Every question brings him closer, to his one true love” appear on screen, which then suggests that there is a twist in the film: there is a love story involved. As we see this, the music begins to get more upbeat, and we see more flashbacks, but this time they are more cheerful, which corresponds with the idea that the film is ‘The feel-good film of the decade”.

           After this, the music begins to become quite tense again, reinforcing the thriller side of the film. Through a series of quick flashes of memories, we begin to realise that Latika, Jamal’s love interest, has been captured, and he therefore devotes his life to finding her, which is the reason he entered to become a contestant on the famous show “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”  We find this fact out from another sentence that appears on screen: “I went on the show because I thought she’d be watching”. This then helps the audience get a real idea of what the film is about, without giving to much away and creating suspense and excitement.

           The final scene of the trailer is of Jamal and Latika dramatically running towards each other through crowds of people, which could be seen as a spoiler, but you never actually get to see if they reach each other, again, creating suspense and excitement for the film.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1010048/?ref_=sr_1

Trailer Analysis - Project X

The trailer for a movie is probably the most important aspect in terms of promoting it, as it gives you a taster of what the film will be like, and builds curiosity and interest. The trailer for Project X in particular builds a lot of excitement about the film, as it shows very fast clips of the party that the film is based around, creating intrigue and the desire to see more. The trailer starts with the words “In 2011, Warner Bros. Pictures invited audiences to a series of exclusive screenings of Project X”. This is then followed by a scene from the film, where the whole neighbourhood is on fire, and the three main characters are standing watching, looking shocked. The way that this clip is shown after we are told that audiences were invited to watch the film, makes you think that something terrible happened and you want to find out more about it. The writing then comes back and it reads “This is what they said…”.  At this point, heavy party music starts playing, as many different clips are shown of parts of the party scenes in the film, and also peoples reviews of what they thought after watching the film at the private screening. This sudden change of atmosphere (the silence that turns into music) instantly creates excitement, making the viewer feel as though they are actually at a party, which is what the film producer’s intentions were. All the reviews then fly into a big letter ‘X’. This creates mystery, as does the actual name of the film, as you want to find out what “Project X” is and what it stands for. We are then shown a clip from the film where the three main characters are inviting a stranger to the party, who then reveals that he’s already been invited and everyone is talking about it, showing the large scale of the party they are throwing. Again, this creates anticipation to see how the party turned out. After this scene of quiet dialogue, a different, upbeat, party song starts to play as we are shown lots of different clips from the party. During this, writing comes on the screen to inform us that the Project X director was the same person who directed Old School and The Hangover, both very successful films. The fast clips and loud music carries on, creating a real party atmosphere, building hype and excitement for the viewer. The viewer is then told to ‘get on the list’ by visiting the Facebook page and being invited to a private screening, again promoting the film as an actual party.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1636826/?ref_=sr_2

Why was The Great Gatsby made?

The film The Great Gatsby, directed by Buzz Luhrmann, is an adaptation of the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which follows a group of people in the 1920’s, the jazz age. Although Fitzgerald never actually mentions the words, the novel has been described as being centered around the desire of ‘The American Dream’.

           In an interview with one of the producers, Douglas Wick explains how the film was made to focus on the faults and the ‘Achilles heel’ of the American Dream.

Why was Slumdog Millonaire made?

Slumdog Millionaire is based around the orphans in the slums of Mumbai, India, and focuses on the life of a boy called Jamal  Malik in particular. It tells the story of his tragic, yet sometimes uplifting life. The film is based on the book ‘Q & A’ by Vikas Swarup. Although the film follows Jamal’s  experience on the famous TV show “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”, it is actually centered around a unique love story, which we eventually find out is the reason why he is on the show in the first place. In an interview, Director Danny Boyle explains why they chose to center the film around telling the life story of a young orphan instead of the iconic TV show: "...So that became the star of the show for me, is not the show itself, not the Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, but the city and this love story set in the city. And that was what was clever about what Simon Beaufoy did, is that he created this love story. Because in the book the spine of the story is the show, whereas in this it’s really the love story because that's his real agenda. It’s not the show; it’s his lost love, really."

Why was Project X made?

Project X was always made to be as real as possible, ranging from the actors used to the actual footage. Director Nima Nourizadeh decided to use actors that were not originally known, and got people to audition by sending in videos of themselves dancing or telling embarrassing stories. A lot of the footage was also filmed by the cast, who were given mobile phones and told to ‘film anything funny’, which added up to over 10 hours of footage. This all adds to the authenticity of the film, as it was meant to be as real as possible to make it a relatable experience and culturally relevant. The reason why the director wanted it to be as real as possible was because the film was loosely based on the true story of Corey Worthington, a teenager in Australia who advertised his party on MySpace, and over 500 people turned up, causing over $20,000 worth of damage.