The Truman Show (1998): Trailer Analysis

The trailer begins with a shot of an old television, cutting to different channels. The sound and image of the reception cuts is continued throughout the trailer as if we were watching the television. This opening shot suggests that the theme of television if significant in the film. This begins the equilibrium where the audience find out that Jim Carrey's character is made to believe his life is real but it actually isn't. The establishing shot of the town, which cuts to a medium shot of his character is effective in introducing him as the main character. The voice-over narrative throughout explains his life and gives the audience a back story for the film. The cuts to the director giving an interview is effective in showing who is considered the villain in the film, as he is shown to be miserable, unhappy and not very nice to Truman - who, in comparison, is shown to be happy, cheery and more likeable. The cuts to shots through the cameras, as well as the reception cuts, is effective as it lets the audience step into the shoes of the audience watching on the television. 

The disruption begins with the long shot and then close-up of the studio light falling from the sky. This helps Truman to realise that he is in fact living a lie. This begins a fast-paced montage with action-style music and loud boom and symbol noises. There are a lot of close-ups of him during this phase trying to figure out what is going on, as well as of other characters trying to help him become less suspicious. 

The recognition and repair phases begin when he tries to leave and run away. The repetition of his name highlights that he is the main character and the more upbeat and mysterious music raises the tension in the trailer. The music towards the end of the trailer becomes more dramatic and a lot more tense. The fast paced montage of him trying to leave is effective as the audience don't find out what happens. This leaves the audience asking many questions, including if he makes it out, that will entice them to go and watch the film. 

Jim Carrey is represented as an unsuspecting man who doesn't question anything in his life. This is effective as the audience feels sympathy for him being kept in the false life that he is living. He is a unique selling point for the film as he is a popular actor who will entice a captive audience to his films. 

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003): Trailer Analysis

The trailer begins with a medium shot of who the audience can assume is the main character, played by Kate Hudson. The equilibrium shows that she is a journalist for a magazine but doesn't really like what she is made to write about. The music during this is quite upbeat and happy, suggesting that the film will reflect the happy nature of the trailer.

The disruption begins when the article title 'How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days' is mentioned and the bet from the rival company is formed. The music becomes more mysterious at this point before it becomes even more upbeat during the 'Days' mentioned throughout. The close-ups of the two characters suggest that they are the main characters and are who the audience should be focusing on - the close-ups give them prevalence throughout the trailer. The montage of shots throughout the days of her doing things wrong hint at the comedy genre of the film and possibly enable some of the audience to relate to it. The music changes between each of the days, keeping the audience enthralled to the very end of the trailer to see what will happen after each. The swipes for each of the titles also hints at the comedy genre.

The recognition phase begins when they both realise how much they actually love and care about each other. The music gets slower, more emotional and more dramatic into the repair phase, where she tries to get out of writing the article. This hints at the more romantic side of the film genre. Fast paced close-ups of him as he tries to find her suggests how he feels towards her and tugs at the audience's heart strings.

Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey are seen as unique selling points as they are popular and will encourage the audience to go and see their film. The representation of her character as a crazy girlfriend alters towards the end and makes the audience wonder if they actually end up together and how the story ends. This representation is also quite relatable as she is displaying typical things people do, which could be some of the audience watching it.

The Age of Adaline (2015): Trailer Analysis

The trailer begins with an establishing shot of 1950s suburbia and follows on to a projector of the main characters life with a narrative voice-over. This shows the audience that the equilibrium for the film centres around a normal, family life for 'Adaline'. The projector and the narrative voice-over shows the setting to the audience and allows them to start to picture the main character's life. The fades between each of the projector scenes increase the tension of the film. The twinkly, magical music also helps to increase the mystery about the film in the trailer. 

The disruption begins when she gets into a car crash. The music stops here and the clock ticking suggests that time and age will be a key theme in the film. The lightning is seen as traumatic, however, the twinkly, magical sound when it hits contradicts it's actions and hints to the audience that something magical and unusual might happen. After this, the music gets more orchestral and dramatic as it goes through a montage of her life up until the present day. 

The recognition phase begins when she realises that she doesn't have to be alone. The shot reverse shot of her and the man she meets shows their instant connection to each other. Her clothing throughout is representative of her age as it is modern but still quite traditional and unusual. It gets faster paced towards the end of the trailer and adds to the tension in the trailer. This encourages people to go and see the film as they want to see what happens to her and who the other characters shown are. 

The repair phase begins when she realises that she has fallen in love and has to go away. The fast pace and medium shots of her running away symbolise her wanting to live her life alone and this makes the audience question if they still end up together at the end of the film. The image of the car crash within the fast paced montage at the end also makes the audience wonder what happens and will entice them to go and see the film. 

Blake Lively, as a unique selling point, is focused on in the trailer as the main character, Adaline. Lively is a very popular actor and will encourage an audience to want to see her film. She is represented as a lost and lonely woman who doesn't let people in to her life for very long before running away from her problems. The audience are primarily introduced to her character but don't find very much out about the others in the trailer, encouraging the audience to go and see the film to find out more.

Everything, Everything (2017): Trailer Analysis

The trailer begins with establishing shots of the extremely clean house and close-ups of medicine. This shows the audience the equilibrium of severe illness as she is not allowed outside and has to be protected in her house. The voice-over narrative of the girl at the beginning gives the audience a snippet of her life and allows them to try and empathise with her. The more upbeat music contradicts the sadness of the trailer at the beginning.

The disruption is shown to be when the new neighbours arrive and he takes an interest in the girl. The use of the texts across the screen relates to a younger audience with the use of abbreviated language. The music changes and gets more hopeful and softer when he comes to the house. The fade to blacks throughout the trailer hints at the drama genre of the film and creates a more tense trailer. At the beginning it is relatively slow paced and the close-up cross cuts between the two show the audience their growing relationship. 

The recognition phase begins when the nurse is fired and the girl starts to realise that she wants to be outside. The music here, and especially when she runs away, gets more upbeat, suggesting a more exciting plot for the audience to witness. From this point, the trailer gets more fast paced as they go and visit places. The shot reverse shot between the girl and the boy suggests their care for each other. 

The repair phase begins when she starts to get sick. The use of the phrase "I am willing to sacrifice everything" shows her love and dedication to the boy. This makes the audience feel more emotional and hints at the romantic drama genre of the film. The audience aren't shown much about when she gets sick which makes them wonder if she makes a recovery and wha happens between her and the boy. These questions entice the audience and makes them want to find out what happens. The fact that this is an adaptation from a book will also encourage an already captive audience to see the film.

Hitch (2005): Trailer Analysis

The trailer begins with a voice-over type narrative. The audience are introduced to 'Hitch', the main character, played by Will Smith. The equilibrium shows that his character is a 'date doctor', and the close-ups of his character throughout gives him prevalence in the trailer. The establishing shot of New York City allows the audience to see exactly where the film is set and start to relate to the lives of the characters in the film. Throughout the trailer there are comedy-type swipes to cut to the next scene. This is a genre indicator for the film and encourages a more fun-loving outlook on the film. The music in the beginning is upbeat and relatable to the audience. This is effective as it inspires the target audience to be interested in watching the trailer. The music changes to become more hopeful when the audience are introduced to the other man, whom they can also assume is one of the main characters in the story. There are parts where the music stops, which is effective in showing the comedic points in the trailer, also encouraging the audience to go and see the film. 

The disruption begins when Hitch meets the woman, played by Eva Mendes, who he ends up falling in love with. The music here gets happy and exciting, showing the audience that the film is also a romantic film as well as a comedy. The cross-cutting between Hitch and the woman is significant in showing their growing relationship and hints at parts of the plot, which will entice the audience. 

The recognition phase is hinted at when he realises that he is messing everything up and doing everything wrong. The repair phase is slightly hinted at when he says "trying to make a good impression" but this is the only moment where it is mentioned. This is unusual in a trailer as it only shows the good parts of the film and will surprise the audience when a problem occurs in the film. As a comedy, it is effective to only show the good and funny parts of the film as it makes the audience want to go and see it. 

The trailer makes the audience ask man questions. For example, they are left asking if Hitch and the woman, and the other man and the woman he wants to be his girlfriend, end up together, but also does his job affect the way Eva Mendes' character feels towards him and are there any issues with it, as this is not hinted at in the trailer. These questions make the audience want to go and see the film as it will answer their questions. Another part of the trailer that will entice the audience are the unique selling points of the actors involved. Will Smith and Eva Mendes are popular actors and so this will make the audience want to see how their story unfolds. 

Inception (Total Film): Magazine Cover Analysis

The title for the magazine is effective as it links to the film. This draws the attention of the audience as it is not the regular title for the magazine. Positioning it in the same place as other issues, however, ensures the established audience keeps buying it. 

The slogan above the title, "the mind-blowing issue", is effective as it attracts people. It sounds exciting and dramatic which is something that draws attention. The bold red colour stands out from the other colours on the cover. This helps in attracting the audience. 

The main image is bold and central on the cover. This makes the magazine stand out to the audience. The facial expression of the character is intriguing as he looked confused and worried - this makes the audience wonder why he looks like that and so will buy the magazine and go and see the film. There are no secondary images on the cover, which adds more effect to the main image as there is nothing to distract from it. 

The blue in the background connotes sadness and coldness. The shadow effect around the character makes the cover look mysterious and makes the audience wonder how it relates to the film plot. The contrast between the blues and silvers and the reds make the film seem intense. The red draws attention to certain parts of the cover - mainly important and stand-out information.

The film title on the cover is simple and bold. The silver colour contrasts well with the blue background, which attracts the audience's eye. The gradient effect on the letters create the illusion of metal. This effect is used for most of the other language used on the cover, which creates a continuity throughout the cover. 

Back to the Future (1985): Poster Analysis

The main image for this film poster is effective as it shows exactly what the film will be about. The way that the character, who is assumed to be the main character, is looking at his watch suggests that time is going to have a heavy influence in the film. The fire on the floor suggests the film is going to have some action sequences in it, this entices the audience as it is exciting. The boy in the image is seen to be a teenager - something that is relatable to the target audience of the film. The boy's facial expression suggests that he is shocked or surprised, enticing the audience as they are wondering what he is shocked about. 

The slogan, "he was never in time for his classes... he wasn't in time for his dinner... then one day... he wasn't in his time at all", suggests further that time will play a big role in the plot of the film. The way that it is smaller to the side of the poster is interesting as it doesn't take away from the main image, which attracts the audience. The title, "Back to the Future", also hints at time periods within the film. 

The bright colour for the fire and coming from the car, in contrast to the darker blue, is effective as it attracts the audience and highlights parts of the image that seem important. The title is in a matching fiery colour, which draws the audience attention to it. This means the audiences can look at the poster and then directly be attracted to the title of the film. 

The font for the title is effective as it is eye-catching and bold. It makes it look like its moving in each direction as it is slanted slightly. This hints at speed in the film, which the audience can assume, involves the car in the main image and the fire trails on the floor. The positioning of the title in the top left-hand corner of the poster means that, although it draws the attention of the audience, it doesn't take away from the dramatic main image.