Teaser Trailer Textual Analysis
Buried
Genre: Buried comes under the Thriller sub genre of the Horror genre, the trailer has a unique style as it follows a unique feature of the film in the form of a short flashes of clips a bit like a montage but to the clicks of the lighter the main protagonist is holding as his only means of determining how much oxygen he has left. However there are some very distinctive aspects of the trailer that follow the thriller genre in terms of Mise en scene's the main protagonist in the trailer has a watch on, a clock is a prop often used in thriller films as a ticking clock or countdown creates the feel of urgency and suspense the film makers are aiming for as this period of time is how long the main protagonist has to save themselves or be saved. As the viewer you will keep watching to find out if they can do it, the setting inside a wooden coffin buried 6 feet underground is an aspect of thriller horror films in terms of placing the protagonist in this case literally a tight spot and then watching while he tries to get out of it. Another distinctive aspect of the trailer that makes it specific to the thriller sub genre of horror is the protagonists though fairly limited dialog as he calls the police and asks for help as he has been buried alive.
Location: The location of this film is suggested when the protagonists is on his mobile phone to the police asking them for help as he has been buried alive when the woman on the other friend asks him "how did you end up in the coffin sir" and he replies "my convoy was ambushed, I got hit in the head. I blacked out and that's the last thing I remember" the suggestion of convoy being a military term the protagonist works for the armed forces. The film was released in 2010 and at that time the major world conflict with armed forces on the ground is in Iraq.
Characters: The main character Ryan Reynolds playing Paul Conroy is portrayed as the protagonist trapped in a very real life threatening situation while in the service of his country his location being trapped in a coffin suggests he is powerless contrasting with the normal role of the protagonist whom would sweep in normally at the last moment overcome the antagonist and be the hero.
Theme: A theme shown throughout the trailer is true and among the majority of people shared fear of being trapped alive without any way to escape and slowly running out of time.
Pacing: After the start of the trailer which happens in fairly quick succession of each clip the trailer has a fairly even pace just enough to keep the viewers interested but not enough to show to much of the story to give away what happens.
On-Screen Graphics/Captions: The main protagonists name, His situation, What he has to help him, The period of time he has to escape, Reviews of the film and finally the name of the film are all stated in the trailer is a distorted cracked font that resembles earth appropriate considering the story line this the cracks in the front could however also reflect the main characters state of mind throughout the duration of the time he spends in the coffin.
Music & Other Sounds Effects: The folly sound effects used to open the trailer are used like quick cuts showing the audience very brief clips and introducing the theme of tension and suspense, as the trailer continues and information about the film is shown the music changes there are some hard sounds to get the viewers attention and make sure they see this information with a eerie sound in the background building up to something and equally building on the mounting tension of the viewers.
Camerawork: The camera work in this trailer conveys claustrophobia they use a selection of close ups and extreme close ups along with the little surroundings there are in this films location in terms of the coffin he's stuck in to tell the viewer he's trapped this could be showing or trying to convey how in extreme situations anyone can be powerless.
Location: The location of this film is suggested when the protagonists is on his mobile phone to the police asking them for help as he has been buried alive when the woman on the other friend asks him "how did you end up in the coffin sir" and he replies "my convoy was ambushed, I got hit in the head. I blacked out and that's the last thing I remember" the suggestion of convoy being a military term the protagonist works for the armed forces. The film was released in 2010 and at that time the major world conflict with armed forces on the ground is in Iraq.
Characters: The main character Ryan Reynolds playing Paul Conroy is portrayed as the protagonist trapped in a very real life threatening situation while in the service of his country his location being trapped in a coffin suggests he is powerless contrasting with the normal role of the protagonist whom would sweep in normally at the last moment overcome the antagonist and be the hero.
Theme: A theme shown throughout the trailer is true and among the majority of people shared fear of being trapped alive without any way to escape and slowly running out of time.
Pacing: After the start of the trailer which happens in fairly quick succession of each clip the trailer has a fairly even pace just enough to keep the viewers interested but not enough to show to much of the story to give away what happens.
On-Screen Graphics/Captions: The main protagonists name, His situation, What he has to help him, The period of time he has to escape, Reviews of the film and finally the name of the film are all stated in the trailer is a distorted cracked font that resembles earth appropriate considering the story line this the cracks in the front could however also reflect the main characters state of mind throughout the duration of the time he spends in the coffin.
Music & Other Sounds Effects: The folly sound effects used to open the trailer are used like quick cuts showing the audience very brief clips and introducing the theme of tension and suspense, as the trailer continues and information about the film is shown the music changes there are some hard sounds to get the viewers attention and make sure they see this information with a eerie sound in the background building up to something and equally building on the mounting tension of the viewers.
Camerawork: The camera work in this trailer conveys claustrophobia they use a selection of close ups and extreme close ups along with the little surroundings there are in this films location in terms of the coffin he's stuck in to tell the viewer he's trapped this could be showing or trying to convey how in extreme situations anyone can be powerless.
I Spit On Your Grave
Denotation: In the beginning of the teaser trailer, a long shot of a house is shown and an extreme close up of a woman lying on a couch is also shown after. A medium shot of the same woman is shown whiles she is suspicious of something in the house. Whiles she was looks around her house a man was standing outside her window, right after that scene the woman turns around and screams. In the next scene the girl is been held by and someone and she is trying to free herself from the person. We also see a man looking behind his head and he has a devilish smile on his face, we then see a woman who looks beaten up with some blood on her face. After that scene there is a man who's leg is in a trap in a forest and he screams. There is a long shot of a police car and a man shooting a gun after the forest scene . There is also a scene when a woman puts a man's head in water as if she was torturing him. At the end of the teaser trailer there is a man tied up and bleeding, the woman was standing in front of him holding a garden shears.
Connotation: The house look like the only house in the neighborhood which could connote that the house is old and hasn't been used in a very long time. The woman lying on the couch looks like she's in her mid twenties and feels lonely, the man who appeared in her window looks like he has been stalking her. In the next scene the girl turns around and screams which could connote that she has seen the man in her window and she was frightened. In the next scene the woman was been held by someone and she was trying to free herself, this person might be the man in the window. There was a manly voice over that said "What's a pretty little thing like you doing here all alone" which sounds sexual that could connote that the man who said that wanted to have sex with the woman. After some other scenes of the woman screaming, we can see her with her wet hair and some blood on her face, that could connote that she has been abused. The woman is seen in other scenes torturing some men and holding some garden shears at the end of the teaser trailer.
Mise en Scene
Costume: In the begging of the trailer the woman's costume looks casual, the man in her window's costume looked causal as well, he was wearing a hoodie and trousers(jeans). During the trailer the woman looks assaulted and she had no costume on.
Prop: There are not enough props in the teaser trailer, the first prop seen in the trailer is in the forest when the man steps into the trap. Another prop also seen was a gun being fired by a young man, there was also a rope used to tie someone's ankles. At the end of the trailer the woman was holding a garden shears.
Setting: The setting of the trailer was in a town where it is quite and judging from the trailer the population would be a small amount.
Lighting: The lighting at the begging of the trailer was a low key, because it was at night and we could not see our subjects clearly enough. There was a high key lighting when the girl looked abused and naked, a low key lighting was used in the forest when the man stepped into the forest trap and also it was used when the young man fired his gun. A high key lighting was used in the scenes when she tortures the men.
NVC: The NVC of the woman when she said "hello" was scared and suspicious, when she was being held by the man in the window her NVC was frightening. The NVC on the man's face when he turned around was devilish. the NVC on the woman's face while she watched the man step into the trap in the forest was angry and revenge, her NVC at the end of the scene was angry when she was holding the garden shears.
Connotation: The house look like the only house in the neighborhood which could connote that the house is old and hasn't been used in a very long time. The woman lying on the couch looks like she's in her mid twenties and feels lonely, the man who appeared in her window looks like he has been stalking her. In the next scene the girl turns around and screams which could connote that she has seen the man in her window and she was frightened. In the next scene the woman was been held by someone and she was trying to free herself, this person might be the man in the window. There was a manly voice over that said "What's a pretty little thing like you doing here all alone" which sounds sexual that could connote that the man who said that wanted to have sex with the woman. After some other scenes of the woman screaming, we can see her with her wet hair and some blood on her face, that could connote that she has been abused. The woman is seen in other scenes torturing some men and holding some garden shears at the end of the teaser trailer.
Mise en Scene
Costume: In the begging of the trailer the woman's costume looks casual, the man in her window's costume looked causal as well, he was wearing a hoodie and trousers(jeans). During the trailer the woman looks assaulted and she had no costume on.
Prop: There are not enough props in the teaser trailer, the first prop seen in the trailer is in the forest when the man steps into the trap. Another prop also seen was a gun being fired by a young man, there was also a rope used to tie someone's ankles. At the end of the trailer the woman was holding a garden shears.
Setting: The setting of the trailer was in a town where it is quite and judging from the trailer the population would be a small amount.
Lighting: The lighting at the begging of the trailer was a low key, because it was at night and we could not see our subjects clearly enough. There was a high key lighting when the girl looked abused and naked, a low key lighting was used in the forest when the man stepped into the forest trap and also it was used when the young man fired his gun. A high key lighting was used in the scenes when she tortures the men.
NVC: The NVC of the woman when she said "hello" was scared and suspicious, when she was being held by the man in the window her NVC was frightening. The NVC on the man's face when he turned around was devilish. the NVC on the woman's face while she watched the man step into the trap in the forest was angry and revenge, her NVC at the end of the scene was angry when she was holding the garden shears.
REC 2
Title: REC 2
Released: 2009
Directors: Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza
Studio: Magnet Releasing [Magnolia]
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
MPAA Rating: R [for strong bloody violence, disturbing images and pervasive language]
Official Website: Rec2themovie.com
Production/ Financing Company: Filmax
Cast:
Manuela Velasco - Ángela Vidal
Ferran Terraza - Manu
Ariel Casas - Larra
David Vert - Álex
Jonathan Mellor - Actor
Alejandro Casaseca - Martos
Ana Isabel Velasquez - Colombian Girl
Javier Botet - Medeiros
Óscar Zafra - Boss
Distributed: Magnolia Pictures
Box Office: $18,469,680
On 3 May 2010, Bloody Disgusting announced that "Filmax will produce two new [REC] films in the next couple of years called [REC] Genesis and [REC] Apocalypse with the same directors as the first two films. The third film will take place miles away from the setting of the first two installments after the infection has left the building. It will also contain prequel elements, documenting the original infection. The film will be released on 30 March 2012. [REC] Apocalypse will end the saga with the infection spreading to unknown proportions. The film has an expected release date of fall of 2012 or 2013
REC 2 received generally positive reviews with a "fresh" 69% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 61 reviews. Some critics have given the film a praise: Little White Lies gave the film 4/5 and called it "The greatest zombie sequel since Dawn of the Dead.
Rec 2 is predominantly low key lighting throughout the whole trailer, the costume of the people are very normal, no extraordinary costumes consisting of dark colors as seen when the SWAT team move in, apart from the zombie in which the infection sources itself from, that zombies costume consisted of rags and also the color of the costume couldn't be identified as the filming was done in night mode so the costume appeared white/ green. Also the little girl that was infected also had a bright costume, but I think that was done to show the purity of the child and later on the costume becomes blood stained.
The majority of the film is done from a POV shot of the swat team and the camera to add a sense of reality to the film and to make the audience feel as though they were in that particular situation. Another thing about rec 2 is that this time round more guns (props) were used than in the first one.
Rec is about a virus outbreak in an apartment building where residents and emergency services have been killed and have come back as the living dead. However there is a catch, the infection is only part of the issue, the other thing is the zombies contain blood of the first zombie which was originally a possessed little girl who can see survivors through the eyes of zombies and has also migrated hosts from the girl to the journalist seen dragged away end of rec and now has escaped using the reporters body as a host allowing a sequel (Rec 3 Genesis) - 100 words
The trailer was very medium pace, predominantly with long takes. However in the films what they have decided to do is make it a slow start with no action and then cut to long takes with lots of action making up for the slow pace of the trailer. Also when the long takes are livelier they will switch it back to slow and boring to have the viewer on the edge of their seats, however after the first camera cut effect the action is more slightly more lively and then when the cut occurs the action only slightly changes which could make the viewer think the trailer is going fast.
Near the middle they signified the end of the action with a camera cutting sound which acted as a sting and at the beginning when the action was about to commence they signaled it with a camera switch on sound that acts as a sting. Near the end of the trailer they decided to make it very action packed with a series of long takes and the tempo from there remained the same as well as the liveliness of the trailer.
The sound used in the rec 2 trailer are very hard and the screams of people and the screeches of zombies dominate the trailer as they are very amplified, but the music is very dominant which helps the viewer recognize the setting is in Spain as the music is classical Spanish music. Also the sounds that are used in camera recorders are heard quite frequently which allows the viewers to know the films being presented through first person if not the whole then the majority of the film. The sounds are probably made hard so that the viewer jumps as the main point of a horror film is to have viewers on the edge of their seats and in suspense not knowing what will happen next. The sounds heard are predominantly gun shots, radio chatter, the live cams, screeches from the zombies screaming, and other Foley sounds of what you would expect to hear.
The music is classical Spanish music, which suits the theme of the trailer as it is a Spanish trailer and it suits the pacing because as the action intensifies during the trailer, the tempo and volume of the background music increases. However what makes the music fit in so well is that it was partially haunting to hear at times, and at some stages it added fear to the viewing because of the volume and the tone.
Also they used synchronization well at the end of the trailer as the song ends a zombie attacks a SWAT team member in perfect motion to the end of song and there is a repeating effect used and a disc scratch sound effect is also heard, and this is not just synchronous but it also acts as a sting to show the end of the main part of the trailer.
The genre is zombie horror and this can be seen through the costume used and the lighting. The location is revealed very easily as in the trailer they have various shots of rooms, hallways and apartment doors giving away the indication it is set in some kind of flat, hotel or apartment.
The trailer reveals a lot, but having after seen the films confirm that to most peoples surprise it doesn't reveal as much as people would expect, it tells you the main aspect of the story, that there are new people that are going to attempt to tackle the zombies and from the shots and deaths seen it is made obvious that it will not be easy and very gory.
It was played before the release of the film to make people aware that there was a sequel to the first rec film which people thought had ended after everyone had been picked off and killed by the zombies, but there was a dramatic twist at the end that no one saw coming to allow sequels the first rec films and to the one displayed in the second trailer.
The trailer tells the viewer everything that needs to be known (that it is a sequel) and this can be seen as at the end of rec a SWAT team is heard moving in, so when the story is showing a SWAT team arming up in the van and only if you watched the first rec film would the viewer understand the concept of the rec 2 trailer, for example they would understand why there is a little girl as a zombie attacking people and why there is a fireman with an axe attacking people. Also if the viewer cannot understand the story told by the trailer they can read about the plot on websites such as Wikipedia.
Released: 2009
Directors: Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza
Studio: Magnet Releasing [Magnolia]
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
MPAA Rating: R [for strong bloody violence, disturbing images and pervasive language]
Official Website: Rec2themovie.com
Production/ Financing Company: Filmax
Cast:
Manuela Velasco - Ángela Vidal
Ferran Terraza - Manu
Ariel Casas - Larra
David Vert - Álex
Jonathan Mellor - Actor
Alejandro Casaseca - Martos
Ana Isabel Velasquez - Colombian Girl
Javier Botet - Medeiros
Óscar Zafra - Boss
Distributed: Magnolia Pictures
Box Office: $18,469,680
On 3 May 2010, Bloody Disgusting announced that "Filmax will produce two new [REC] films in the next couple of years called [REC] Genesis and [REC] Apocalypse with the same directors as the first two films. The third film will take place miles away from the setting of the first two installments after the infection has left the building. It will also contain prequel elements, documenting the original infection. The film will be released on 30 March 2012. [REC] Apocalypse will end the saga with the infection spreading to unknown proportions. The film has an expected release date of fall of 2012 or 2013
REC 2 received generally positive reviews with a "fresh" 69% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 61 reviews. Some critics have given the film a praise: Little White Lies gave the film 4/5 and called it "The greatest zombie sequel since Dawn of the Dead.
Rec 2 is predominantly low key lighting throughout the whole trailer, the costume of the people are very normal, no extraordinary costumes consisting of dark colors as seen when the SWAT team move in, apart from the zombie in which the infection sources itself from, that zombies costume consisted of rags and also the color of the costume couldn't be identified as the filming was done in night mode so the costume appeared white/ green. Also the little girl that was infected also had a bright costume, but I think that was done to show the purity of the child and later on the costume becomes blood stained.
The majority of the film is done from a POV shot of the swat team and the camera to add a sense of reality to the film and to make the audience feel as though they were in that particular situation. Another thing about rec 2 is that this time round more guns (props) were used than in the first one.
Rec is about a virus outbreak in an apartment building where residents and emergency services have been killed and have come back as the living dead. However there is a catch, the infection is only part of the issue, the other thing is the zombies contain blood of the first zombie which was originally a possessed little girl who can see survivors through the eyes of zombies and has also migrated hosts from the girl to the journalist seen dragged away end of rec and now has escaped using the reporters body as a host allowing a sequel (Rec 3 Genesis) - 100 words
The trailer was very medium pace, predominantly with long takes. However in the films what they have decided to do is make it a slow start with no action and then cut to long takes with lots of action making up for the slow pace of the trailer. Also when the long takes are livelier they will switch it back to slow and boring to have the viewer on the edge of their seats, however after the first camera cut effect the action is more slightly more lively and then when the cut occurs the action only slightly changes which could make the viewer think the trailer is going fast.
Near the middle they signified the end of the action with a camera cutting sound which acted as a sting and at the beginning when the action was about to commence they signaled it with a camera switch on sound that acts as a sting. Near the end of the trailer they decided to make it very action packed with a series of long takes and the tempo from there remained the same as well as the liveliness of the trailer.
The sound used in the rec 2 trailer are very hard and the screams of people and the screeches of zombies dominate the trailer as they are very amplified, but the music is very dominant which helps the viewer recognize the setting is in Spain as the music is classical Spanish music. Also the sounds that are used in camera recorders are heard quite frequently which allows the viewers to know the films being presented through first person if not the whole then the majority of the film. The sounds are probably made hard so that the viewer jumps as the main point of a horror film is to have viewers on the edge of their seats and in suspense not knowing what will happen next. The sounds heard are predominantly gun shots, radio chatter, the live cams, screeches from the zombies screaming, and other Foley sounds of what you would expect to hear.
The music is classical Spanish music, which suits the theme of the trailer as it is a Spanish trailer and it suits the pacing because as the action intensifies during the trailer, the tempo and volume of the background music increases. However what makes the music fit in so well is that it was partially haunting to hear at times, and at some stages it added fear to the viewing because of the volume and the tone.
Also they used synchronization well at the end of the trailer as the song ends a zombie attacks a SWAT team member in perfect motion to the end of song and there is a repeating effect used and a disc scratch sound effect is also heard, and this is not just synchronous but it also acts as a sting to show the end of the main part of the trailer.
The genre is zombie horror and this can be seen through the costume used and the lighting. The location is revealed very easily as in the trailer they have various shots of rooms, hallways and apartment doors giving away the indication it is set in some kind of flat, hotel or apartment.
The trailer reveals a lot, but having after seen the films confirm that to most peoples surprise it doesn't reveal as much as people would expect, it tells you the main aspect of the story, that there are new people that are going to attempt to tackle the zombies and from the shots and deaths seen it is made obvious that it will not be easy and very gory.
It was played before the release of the film to make people aware that there was a sequel to the first rec film which people thought had ended after everyone had been picked off and killed by the zombies, but there was a dramatic twist at the end that no one saw coming to allow sequels the first rec films and to the one displayed in the second trailer.
The trailer tells the viewer everything that needs to be known (that it is a sequel) and this can be seen as at the end of rec a SWAT team is heard moving in, so when the story is showing a SWAT team arming up in the van and only if you watched the first rec film would the viewer understand the concept of the rec 2 trailer, for example they would understand why there is a little girl as a zombie attacking people and why there is a fireman with an axe attacking people. Also if the viewer cannot understand the story told by the trailer they can read about the plot on websites such as Wikipedia.
The Thing
Title: The Thing
Date of release: October 10th 2011
Director: Matthijs Van Heijningen Jr.
Production/financing Company: Universal Pictures
Film Origin/info: The thing 2011 is a Remake/prelude of the original movie in 1982
Synopsis: An group of international scientists discover an Alien ship trapped deep in the ice but an alien life form frozen in the ice near the surface, after taking the frozen alien back to their remote facility it breaks free and begins its plans to escape, the scientists distrust each other as they find out the alien can shape shift its body to look perfectly like any other living being. The crews discover out that the alien cannot copy inorganic matter and so the crew checks each other’s mouths for any missing tooth filings so they can fight for survival.
Genre: Horror, Thriller and mystery
Narrative: The narrative if Very linear, telling the story from start to finish and doesn't have flash backs or anything, Starting with the new arrival scientist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and finishes with her burning the last of what she thinks is the Alien disguised as the Crew’s helicopter Pilot, Carter (Joel Edgerton) with a cliff hanger when Lar the Crews Dog handler confronts a 2nd helicopter holding the pilot at gun point asking for him to show his teeth for fillings as he then sees his dog leaping out a window and running away, Lar knows his dog was killed by the alien and gets in the helicopter with the 2nd pilot and gives chase to the dog in attempts to stop it from Leaving the Antarctic.
Location: The Trailer shows an establishing shot of the frozen snow covered plains of the Antarctic then changes to a view of the crew helicopter carrying Kate Lloyd the new member to the research team, showing first the establishing shot of the Antarctic, fading to black to a shot of following the crew helicopter as it flies over the white plains to then another shot of the helicopter landing in the remote facility.
Characters: through the entire trailer the main Heroine of the movie is shown in most of the scenes showing that she is an important element to this movie and its narrative while also showing the other characters in Equilibrium just before the alien breaks free of the ice then shows the mutating crew members infected by the alien as they change and turn into something other than human.
Voice Over: The only voice over in this trailer is the key lines said in the trailer by the actors say from their scripts.
Theme:
Pacing: the pace of the trailer begins with slow fading to black transitions before the scene with the alien breaking out of the ice, this is when the pacing increases to quick cuts slowly speeding up and soon flashing before stopping with a single scene of a crew member transforming behind the main heroine.
The scenes chosen for the trailer are main key points all placed in narrative order from the arrival of the new member Kate Lloyd to discovering the ship, the alien and then bringing it back to the facility to then show the alien cells are still alive but once the scene of the alien breaking free is shown the pacing picks up dramatically and the scenes used for the quick cuts are all jumbled up to show chaos and quick glimpse into the chaos that takes place when the metaphorical feces hits the metaphorical fan.
On-screen Graphics/captions: The first captions you find are “from the producers of Dawn of the dead” all in upper case in large font size using a custom font to make the text look grimy and icy with shades of icy blue, white and black. The next few captions state the date “October 14” next with a single quick cut between the next captions saying “The Thing. Will. Become. You”
Editing & Post-production (Special Effects): The Trailer starts with Long cuts with a slow increase in cuts and scenes while using a fade to black transition between cuts, special effects are used in the scenes to show the mutating Crew members, the trailer is soundtrack temp driven as the tempo increases so does the cuts and shortens the scenes.
Music & Other sound effects: The music used in this trailer starts of straight with a haunting sound effect with the sound of the helicopter blades spinning in the background before very heavy bass soundtrack while the pacing is slow but as the pacing picks up the sounds change into sharp hard sounds and still continues to speed up as the quick cuts show loud hard sound effects and screams but the sounds are cut off by the quick cuts giving a spooky and unnerving feeling, the sound effects used certainly set an atmosphere as they show glimpse of the scenes that take place in the movie before finishing with the hard sound of bones cracking and flesh stretching when the final scene in the trailer is a mutating crew member behind the heroine.
Camerawork: The Camerawork used in the trailer are shots of just a few main scenes in the movie, one scene where the camera zooms out as they uncover the ice trapped alien, another of the camera flying over the Antarctic, following the crew helicopter then the helicopter landing at the remote facility.
Most shots are of the main character but they are chosen in a narrative order before the camerawork has to speed up to keep up with the fast pace action in each scene used in the quick cuts.
Date of release: October 10th 2011
Director: Matthijs Van Heijningen Jr.
Production/financing Company: Universal Pictures
Film Origin/info: The thing 2011 is a Remake/prelude of the original movie in 1982
Synopsis: An group of international scientists discover an Alien ship trapped deep in the ice but an alien life form frozen in the ice near the surface, after taking the frozen alien back to their remote facility it breaks free and begins its plans to escape, the scientists distrust each other as they find out the alien can shape shift its body to look perfectly like any other living being. The crews discover out that the alien cannot copy inorganic matter and so the crew checks each other’s mouths for any missing tooth filings so they can fight for survival.
Genre: Horror, Thriller and mystery
Narrative: The narrative if Very linear, telling the story from start to finish and doesn't have flash backs or anything, Starting with the new arrival scientist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and finishes with her burning the last of what she thinks is the Alien disguised as the Crew’s helicopter Pilot, Carter (Joel Edgerton) with a cliff hanger when Lar the Crews Dog handler confronts a 2nd helicopter holding the pilot at gun point asking for him to show his teeth for fillings as he then sees his dog leaping out a window and running away, Lar knows his dog was killed by the alien and gets in the helicopter with the 2nd pilot and gives chase to the dog in attempts to stop it from Leaving the Antarctic.
Location: The Trailer shows an establishing shot of the frozen snow covered plains of the Antarctic then changes to a view of the crew helicopter carrying Kate Lloyd the new member to the research team, showing first the establishing shot of the Antarctic, fading to black to a shot of following the crew helicopter as it flies over the white plains to then another shot of the helicopter landing in the remote facility.
Characters: through the entire trailer the main Heroine of the movie is shown in most of the scenes showing that she is an important element to this movie and its narrative while also showing the other characters in Equilibrium just before the alien breaks free of the ice then shows the mutating crew members infected by the alien as they change and turn into something other than human.
Voice Over: The only voice over in this trailer is the key lines said in the trailer by the actors say from their scripts.
Theme:
Pacing: the pace of the trailer begins with slow fading to black transitions before the scene with the alien breaking out of the ice, this is when the pacing increases to quick cuts slowly speeding up and soon flashing before stopping with a single scene of a crew member transforming behind the main heroine.
The scenes chosen for the trailer are main key points all placed in narrative order from the arrival of the new member Kate Lloyd to discovering the ship, the alien and then bringing it back to the facility to then show the alien cells are still alive but once the scene of the alien breaking free is shown the pacing picks up dramatically and the scenes used for the quick cuts are all jumbled up to show chaos and quick glimpse into the chaos that takes place when the metaphorical feces hits the metaphorical fan.
On-screen Graphics/captions: The first captions you find are “from the producers of Dawn of the dead” all in upper case in large font size using a custom font to make the text look grimy and icy with shades of icy blue, white and black. The next few captions state the date “October 14” next with a single quick cut between the next captions saying “The Thing. Will. Become. You”
Editing & Post-production (Special Effects): The Trailer starts with Long cuts with a slow increase in cuts and scenes while using a fade to black transition between cuts, special effects are used in the scenes to show the mutating Crew members, the trailer is soundtrack temp driven as the tempo increases so does the cuts and shortens the scenes.
Music & Other sound effects: The music used in this trailer starts of straight with a haunting sound effect with the sound of the helicopter blades spinning in the background before very heavy bass soundtrack while the pacing is slow but as the pacing picks up the sounds change into sharp hard sounds and still continues to speed up as the quick cuts show loud hard sound effects and screams but the sounds are cut off by the quick cuts giving a spooky and unnerving feeling, the sound effects used certainly set an atmosphere as they show glimpse of the scenes that take place in the movie before finishing with the hard sound of bones cracking and flesh stretching when the final scene in the trailer is a mutating crew member behind the heroine.
Camerawork: The Camerawork used in the trailer are shots of just a few main scenes in the movie, one scene where the camera zooms out as they uncover the ice trapped alien, another of the camera flying over the Antarctic, following the crew helicopter then the helicopter landing at the remote facility.
Most shots are of the main character but they are chosen in a narrative order before the camerawork has to speed up to keep up with the fast pace action in each scene used in the quick cuts.