The trailer starts with a rating from the MPAA which is the motion picture association of America. This company rates films in terms of their content and how suitable they are to different age groups. In this case the film has been rated a pg-13 which means that “some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.” The trailer begins with music and a fast fade to low angle shot of a building panning up. This makes the building look tall and dominating to the audience. Low angle shots are used for this affect in many circumstances whether it to show a dominant character or just to show how large something is. It is immediately clear what the trailer is about as the building has the word’s “London Diamond corporation” on the side of it. This gives an immediate impression about the film as it pictures wealth which is sometimes the ultimate goal in crime dramas. The opening shot is accompanied by a voice over which adds tension to the trailer. The next shot cross fades with the first shot and another low angle pan up onto the actor Michael Caine which immediately involves him with the story of the film. This shot cuts to medium body shot of Michael Caine although he is not the main subject in this shot as the mise-en-scene in which he is working shows that he is surrounded by wealth again giving the impression that it is a crime drama. The next two shots are a track left while the safe door is opened to a quick cut of photographers walking through the door. The cut to the next shot is timed as the camera flashes. The technique of timing cuts with the sounds in the shots is a technique that is applied in a lot of film trailers in many different genres. The mise-en-scene in this film gives the audience a first suggestion to the time period of this trailer as the camera’s and clothing used by the photographers is that of the 1960’s. This scene is significant as it gives the audience a first view of what the trailer promotes as the items that are to be stolen. The safe scene then cuts to Michael Caine standing outside the safe door again in time with a camera flash. A low angle pan up shows Caine looking at the door which is then cut to a track forward over the shoulder shot of the safe door. He is deliberately made to look small in this shot to show the significance of the safe to the storyline.
The first title of the trailer appears on screen as the music changes. This shows the company involved in the making of the film. This is consistent with film trailers and most contain company names within trailers. In this case magnolia pictures and Pierce/Williams Entertainment feature as the first company names within the trailer. The music changes with the company name introduction making the music faster and upbeat. The music also sounds like music from the 60’s which supports the mise-en-scene of the trailer.
The next shot sets the scene as it is a high angle shot of a busy London Street. This is followed by the introduction of a new character. The screen is then split into 2 sections as the date in which the film is set flies in from the right hand side of the page. The title is clear and is not there for long. Titles are often on the screen for no longer than five seconds in film trailers depending on the speed of the trailer.
The next section of the trailer portrays her role in the film that the women will play. It is clear from the start that the cleaner in the start of the film will work together as they speak to each other in the first shot of the section and then continue to have dialogue between each other in the film. This gives the audience the knowledge that she will play a large part in the film. This section of the trailer gives Demi Moore (main female character) a motive for committing a crime as she feels hard done by. This attracts the audience’s attention as it is an unlikely partnership between a cleaner and business women. The whole section is filled with camera shots that portray her as the outsider. The male extras in the scenes are always shown in groups and she as a female is represented as the loner in the business.
The pace of the trailer changes in the next section as the dramatic planning scenes begin. Again a split screen is used to display a slogan that states items of interest to an audience. This gives the trailer good continuity as this technique is used earlier in the trailer. The shot on the left again shows male dominance as it is a low angle shot looking up at a man. This is followed by different shots of Demi Moore thinking about what the cleaner has said to her. This creates suspense in the trailer. The close up shot of the business men whispering also creates suspense as the audience cannot tell what the characters are saying. This is in my opinion one of the key elements in a crime drama, suspense.
The next shot is a three screen split shot with another slogan to attract attention in the middle of the screen. This is surrounded by the same shot but mirrored on either side of the slogan. This is followed by fast paced cuts between the two main actors as they talk to one another. Their conversation acts as a voice over to the following shots of the trailer which are also fast paced. The falling of the mop handle links into the flash of white into in the next shots which again show the planning of the robbery of the diamonds. This section gives the audience a preview of what is going to happen in the film. It creates suspense as the audience wants to know more about the film. In this scene the female character seems to be agitated by the plans yet the male character remains calm.
The next shot is split into three giving good continuity with the other three split shot. The music changes pace in this section as the shots cut fast between each other increasing the pace of the trailer. Another three split shot is used with another mirror image between the slogan. The close up shot of the Camera shows the importance it plays in the shot and this is emphasised when it is used in the next shot looking down at Demi Moore. Close up shots are used to emphasise the importance of objects such as the close up shot of Caine dropping the diamonds into the hand of Demi Moore and the turning of the safe handle.
The release date for the film is stated at this point in another three split shot. The suspense is heightened at this point due to the discovery that something has been stolen from the safe. The music again changes to a faster pace building on the suspense that has been created throughout the trailer. A detective is thrown into the trailer and the mise-en-scene of this scene is typical of that containing a detective as he is holding a magnifying glass. The tension is heightened when the detective begins asking questions and the previously calm Caine begins to whisper to Demi Moore.
The actors names are then panned onto the screen as the music builds and as the trailers end approaches the time between cuts becomes quicker and the amount of fast moving scenes such as Caine running and the stopwatch scene quicken the pace of the trailer rapidly before a sudden drop in the pace as a dialogue shot is shown then then the music picks up again and the title of the film is flashed on screen. There is then another shot of dialogue then the billing block is shown on screen followed by the release date s.
In summary
Music- the music starts slow then drops into fast paced music. This continues up until the last few scenes as the suspense builds. It reaches its maximum pace at the end of the trailer. The pace of the music is directly related to the speed of the shots.
Pace- The trailer starts slow and then gradually gets faster as the trailer progresses reaching its peak at the end of the trailer. It drops slightly between the speech scenes but speeds up again as the trailer quickens.
Titles-Most of the titles in this trailer appear in the second half of the trailer. But the company names appear in the opening few shots of the trailer and at the very end of the trailer.
Lighting- the lighting in this trailer is generaly extremely bright however it does vary slightly on location.
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