LO1: Comparing Two Film Trailers

The Mummy, Universal Pictures, the purpose is to entertain the audience and make a profit, the audience was 12 - 30 year old males, as they are the demographics most likely to want to watch an action film.

Titles and Graphics

Only three titles are used in the whole trailer - , the Universal logo, one identifying Tom Cruise as the lead actor and one with the title of the film, The Mummy. A normal logo was used for Universal to show the audience who made the film, which is effective as it's a ;arge company with a large fan base, so the name encourages people to watch the film. The second one was used to use a famous name to attract attention to the film, gaining credibility from a well-known actor's name. This is also important to identify the shift of protagonist from the previous titles, where Brendan Fraiser was the lead, which helps to prevent confusion. The latter title is a standard trope in all trailers, identifying the name of the film to allow people to find out more about it, and to build excitement around the film.
The style of the two texts was appropriate for the style of the film, using a font that imitates ancient writing.

Use of Transitions

The standard transitions were used in this trailer for an action film. For example, cross cutting switched between points in the narrative of the film, explaining visually why events occured and how they did to give the audience the general premise of the film (showing the shift from disequilibrium to equilibrium - Todorov).
Normal cuts were also used in the film to show continuity in the first part of the trailer, where it shows a scene from a film. This is effective as it doesn't detract from the action at all, and shows a linear pace typical of a story.
Fade to blacks were used in the trailer to show dramatic effect, often used before a transition between parts in the film to connote the passage of time and shift from scenes, as well as create an ominous feeling for the film which is appropriate for a fantasy-based action film.

Editing Techniques

Action matches were used in the start of the trailer, showing an early scene in the film, to show the destruction of the plane and the effect it had on the passengers (including the protagonist).
J and L Cuts were used to create narration, shifting from diegetic to non-diegetic sound (2:06) to explain the plot of the film for the audience. This is effective in creating dramatic effect, as the narrator has a dramatic voice and the ominous dialogue is fitting for the images shown, creating a theme for the film.

Narrative

The first section of the film is purely an exert from the narrative of the film, showing an early scene where the shift in equilibrium occurs to denote to the audience whats happening, what the basis for the film's plot is. After this, parts of the narrative were shown in the trailer to show imporant/dramatic points in the film, which would attract the audience to watch as it invests them in the plot and shows eye-catching effects ie visceral pleasures (Altman 1999).

Performance
Large-scale destruction, fighting and other actions that denote action were used heavily throughout the trailer to show the audience that its an action film. As a result, there was little subtlety in the performance, instead relying on visceral pleasures (Altman 1999) instead of intellectual to overwhelm and excite the audience.
Smooth movement (camera on track) were used to set the scene - and therefore the tone of the following scenes. For example, the morgue scene was set up with this camera movement to connote mystery and suspense, not letting the audience know whats happening and so making any action in the scene shocking (this was especially effective as the protagonist being alive in the morgue is surprising from a narrative perspective).
Handheld camera movements were prevalent throughout the trailer, being used in most scenes regardless of content (i.e. action and non-action). This is a common convention of the action/adventure genre as handheld movements are more realistic and are similar to real vision. As a result, looking through this movement makes the action more real and makes the audience feel more connected to it - like they're really there, as a result making the action and visceral pleasures (Altman 1999) more effective.

Use of Non-Diegetic Sound
Dramatic music and sound effects were used throughout the trailer at different parts to highlight the action being shown, for example fast paced music was used in the plane crash, but only when there wasn't an important sound effects being played to show the audience what was happening. It gave a dramatic aspect to the trailer as the music is similar to music often found in action films, a common convention.
As well as this, incidental music was also used to show the tone of the scene to the audience before the action took place, preparing them for the action to come. An example of this is when the camera shows Tom Cruise in a morgue, a bell like sound chimes to indicate death or sadness, and when he wakes up a fast, harsh sound plays in conjunction with the actor's movements to show the confusion and otherworldly feelins he feels.
Narration is also used in a section of the film after the narrator is revealed, connoting to the audience that the audio comes from the scene in which they were shown. The deep, gravelly voice of the narrator paired with the action (especially the attacks on London, a city many are at least familiar with) connotes a sense of foreboding not only for the film but for the character. However, the video contrasts with this as he is assumed to be talking with the protagonists, creating confusion effective in showing a confusing 'grey' character.

Use of Diegetic Sound
The main diegetic sounds used in the trailer were sound effects, especially in the start and end of the trailer, where explosions, screams etc were shown to connote violence and distress as a result of the Mummy's actions. This is also a common trope of an action film, as similar events are common.
Talking was also used to explain to the audience important parts of the plot, the attitude of the characters towards certain things and their relationships with each other, which helps set up the film, makes the audience relate to characters, and shows stock characters - Tom Cruise as the protagonist, the woman seen in the beginning as the love interest etc. (Propp 1928).

Despicable Me 3, Illumination, the purpose of the film is to entertain and make a proit, the target audience are children (6-14) as they are most interested in animated childrens film.

Titles and Graphics

Logos and text of the companies who made the film were included at the beginning and end of the trailer to inform the audience, as the name of the companies are heavily connected to the film title, offering validity to the trailer and encouraging people to watch it as its an established company and franchise, which also applies to referring to Steve Carrell, a famous actor who has a following that will be more inclined to watch the film if they see his name in it.

Use of Transitions

There was only one transition other than a simple cut used in the trailer. This was a fade to black then fade up at the beginning of the trailer, after the titles/logos, the typical connotations of time passing being used to show the beginning of the narrative.

Simple jump cuts set the pace of the film in a roughly chronological order to the narrative, cutting faster and faster the further along it was in the narrative, as that is where the action occurred (i.e. the point of disequilibrium - resolution - Todorov). Although the pace increased, it still remained slow compared to action and thriller films, connoting that although there is action, it's primarily comedy and is still intended for children. This can be seen as limiting violence and its exposure to children, to avoid possibilities of 'copycat crimes'/cations (Adorno and Horkheimer - Hypodermic Syringe theory).

Editing Techniques

Insert shots were used for comic effect, for example cutting to a close up of the Rubix cube or keyboard gadget while being used to show the comical effect of such tools, which is connoted to be a primary aspect of the character, a common convention of children/comedy films.
J and L Cuts were used, for example at 2:05, to explain who the antagonist is, which is effective as it makes the premise and antagonist more clear for the child audience. It also allows more action to be shown in the trailer (making it more appealing) while still making sense and effectively denotes information to the audience.

Narrative

The whole trailer is an extended scene in the film, cut to include only the most interesting/ entertaining parts of the sequence to draw the audience in and encourage them to watch the film. This is also effective as it proves to the audience that instead of having comedy interspersed throughout, whole scenes can be entertaining, denoting that the film is funny overall. And it also avoids the common problem of revealing too much, as it only shows one scene, not just the 'highlights' of the film.
Also, the inclusion of an explanation of the antagonist and protagonists (clearly connoting and denoting who's who by dialogue and the actions they take) means the trailer is also applicable to the demographic that hasn't seen the previous titles in the franchise, using one scene to increase its potential audience dramatically. It makes both characters likeable in different ways, which is more common for films aimed at children.

Performance
The use of over the top actions (such as the bubblegum ball or the antagonist dancing) is common in children films as the slapstick comedy is effective in entertaining them, especially as they are less likely to understand more advanced comedy at such an age. As a result, overdone and unlikely events (such as Gru drifting past the window of the birthday) are used often both in the trailer and in the genre as a whole to ensure that children are entertained as much as possible, and to make sure that although there is violence, the results show that its comedy and clearly not realistic.
As this is an animated film, camera weren't used in its production. However, the shots used were still and movements smooth, which is similar to/copying cameras on tripods, tracks etc. This is a trope of animation films as a genre, as its easier from a production perspective to create still or smooth shots than it is to emulate handheld movement. However, this also works as its a children's film, because handheld movements can make a film disorienting, effective in other genres but can prove too intense or confusing for children.

Use of Non-Diegetic Sound

Music was used throughout the trailer, using one song to provide a motif for the villain, as the music is introduced as he is (Bad by Michael Jackson). In addition, the music was stopped when the video cut to other situations and characters, for example the base and the boss assessing the situation before sending Gru. This is effective in making a motif as it only appears when he's around, making clear connotations to the audience of the character's role in the film (as they song name is Bad', it indicates the villain) along with previous connotations to create a strong message.

Use of Diegetic Sound

Extreme foley sounds were used to create comic effect for the audience, for example using loud sounds of elastic snapping as the villain is getting prepared, which pairs with the extreme personality and representation of the character to create an effective message. In addition, this is typical in animated films and children films as it makes action clear and easy to follow.
Dialogue was also used to identify characters for the audience, especially those unfamiliar with the franchise. while also connoting to the audience their personality. For example, Gru's dialogue turns from friendly to annoyed quickly, connoting to the audience that while he's the protagonist, he has some negative personality quirks. This is also connoted through specific aspects of the dialogue, for example a monotone register along with a foreign accent (leading to extreme enunciations of words) leads to an a-typical protagonist.


Comparison

Titles and Graphics
Both trailers were similar in that they decided to not include a lot of titles and graphics in them. Both showed their logos, which is a convention of trailers as a whole as companies want people to know their work, and all because fans of that company are will be more inclined to see the film if they like who make it. Similarly, both films also used the names of their protagonists in titles to attract more people to watch the film, for similar reasons to above. However, this was also a choice in terms of content.

Use of Transitions
As both films rely on their visceral pleasures (Altman 1999) to entertain the audience, simple jump cuts and cuts were prevalent throughout the film to show as much action as possible in a short time. This was effective as both trailers effectively showed off important/impressive action in the films, for example 2:06 Mummy and 2:05 Despicable Me 3.

Editing Techniques
Although the former film is action and the latter is comedy, both chose to show the story and genre through the content. For example, in both trailers L-Cuts are used to create narration explaining the story (1:40 Mummy and 0:42 Despicable Me 3). This narration explains the antagonists and the goal of the protagonists (to stop the antagonist) easily and relatively subtlety.

Narrative
The two contrasting genres of the films (action and comedy) share a similar trait in that they both rely more on visceral pleasures (Altman 1999) instead of using an enticing plot (which is instead common in the drama genre). This is evident in the fact that there are obvious stock characters (Propp 1928) used in the trailers, with very little done to develop said characters into meaningful parts of the story. For example, protagonists are shown by the fact that they do the fighting (1:10 and 1:28), while the princess or love interest is shown by the fact that they're the primary female character who the protagonist obviously cares about (1:09 and 1:00).

Performance
Both films also used action as a main focal point for the trailer, although for different purposes. In the former, dramatic action and violence is used to generate interest for the audience as its an action film, and these aspects are tropes of action films, thus identifying it and making people want to watch it because of this. On the other hand, the latter uses action as slapstick comedy, which is common in children films as an effective way to quickly make the audience laugh. As a result, both trailers aim to show off this action by using complimentary music and minimal editing, but achieved entirely different effects.

Use of Non-Diegetic Sound
The Mummy film trailer relied on sound effects (e.g. at 1:20 and 1:23) to enhance the visual effects to create an overall dramatic effect. This is common in action films, as 'sensory overload' is used to create an overwhelming effect similar to the character's making them more relatable and so encouraging people to watch the film. Music was also used for this purpose, although to a lesser extent, creating an overall mood of excitement and danger instead of accurately enhancing certain parts. Conversely, Despicable Me 3 forgoes this, instead choosing music in the same way as The Mummy, to accentuate action. This is effective due to the fact that its an animated film, so the characters can move in sync with the music more accurately and consistently than live action films such as The Mummy. Also, as the common convention of featuring over the top characters also occurs in this film (with the antagonist), music is tailored specifically to that character, as opposed to The Mummy where general action music is used throughout.

Use of Diegetic Sound
As Despicable Me 3's trailer is an exert from the film - a full scene, it used dialogue to portray the opinions and attitudes of the characters (specifically the protagonist, as he is in the majority of the trailer), which is also used to identify which character is in which role and what the character is like. On the other hand, The Mummy uses compilations of action and plot to create an overall effect for the film. As a result, it doesn't focus on a scene for long, and instead opts to use L and J Cuts as well as narration to transition between diegetic and non-diegetic sound via dialogue and narration. However, as an action film, sound effects such as crashing (1:57, vehicles (2:00) and explosions (2:02) were used frequently to highlight action and create a theme.