Trailer Analysis

In order to fully understand what makes a trailer a trailer, I've analysed this trailer of Sci-Fi film Ender's Game. I'm hoping it'll give me lots of clues as to what will make my trailer look more realistic. The trailer opens with a green screen from an American film rating website so viewers know immediately who the trailer (and, by extension, the film) is suitable for. The trailer opens with jolty, fast-paced action shots of fighter jets and gunshots accompanied by sounds of engines and machinery. This introduces the first theme of the film: war. Once this drops into black the voiceover begins, making it more obvious that the film is about war by the use of the words “strategies” and “weaknesses” and the interspersion between that and the engine noises. The next shot of the Earth brings forward the setting and begins to introduce the genre of the film, Sci-Fi. As the commanding voiceover continues, we see the first full face of the trailer, implying that it’s his voice. This puts him in the place of the commander and makes it clear that he will be a very important character. The short break and the Summit Entertainment film company logo create a moment of eerie quiet before the action happens. After this, the fast-paced editing continues with action shots and lots of fades to black between them. There are panning shots across skies and of the Earth, adding to the speed of the trailer even without the quick switches. The next shot lasts only a second, and the two metallic drum beats in the accompanying soundtrack are in time with the soldier’s steps on the stairs. It is strongly implied that these are the “new kind of soldier” in the voiceover.
As the trailer continues, the note that the strings in the soundtrack are playing rises in pitch, increasing the tension in the atmosphere. The voiceover continues describing the situation they are in, it ties in with the visuals again. As he says ,“One who doesn’t think the way we think,” we see a woman studying a holographic image of a brain. There is more correspondence between audio and visual in the next line, “Fear as we fear,” as the trailer shows a “new soldier” flying forwards on just a rope and spinning in mid air, displaying bravery as he supposedly completes a mission. This continues with the lines, “One the enemy,” where we see a different ship with less metal and more red – the implied enemy – and “would never expect.” After this there is a fast-forwarded zoom into the main protagonist’s face for the first time. This makes is clear to the audience who the most important person is.
Next comes the first subtitle: “Based on the worldwide best-seller,” informing the audience that it is inspired by a book and therefore widening their audience further. It is written in a silver metallic font, reinforcing the themes of war and spaceships, with a small flash of light behind it. The next few voices we hear aren’t designed to sound so much like voiceover, but rather the scenes cut into the trailer. The protagonist is told he “will be the last,” telling the viewers why he’s special and drawing attention to him. The next shot is of a rocket going up and the main character looking down on Earth from a ship. His grave face makes the audience question his loyalty to the cause at hand and whether or not he’s ready for his mission, thickening the plot further. This questioning is short-lived, however, as the next line we hear is the protagonist saying, “I’ll do everything I can to win this war,” highlighting his obedience. The subtitles return with the accreditations for the actors, because if an audience sees a good actor, they’ll know they’ll be seeing a good film.
Then more characters are introduced as we reach the climax of the trailer. The boy and the girl make eye contact and walk together, showing their friendship and unity. There is more relation between what we hear and what we see when the commander says he will be “remembered as a hero,” alongside showing a clip of the protagonist moving things and working with his hands and, possibly, his mind. This gives the illusion of superpowers and adds to his “hero” view. There is another increase in tempo and volume of the music along with an increase in the pace of the shots, speeding up as the film will. Various action scenes and space shots are cut together to add to the plot and reinforce the Sci-Fi and wartime themes. The tone of the music rises as the protagonist zooms in on a planet, piling the tension for his imminent “Now,” and the planet explodes into the title of the film, Ender’s Game, in the same font with the same beam of light behind it, this one a reminder of the light from the explosion.
Finally, there are more accreditations along with the director and actor names, along with a final release date and information on social networking links to keep viewers involved and informed. The trailer ends with the film’s website to give viewers a way of finding out more and keeping active with the film.