Movie Trailer

 During the past week I have watched a number of film trailers in order to gather an understanding of how they are constructed and different codes and conventions that are used. I have selected the below trailer (Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs) as I feel that the manipulation of the song  is done very well as it adds humour and intrigue. This is due to the fact that some of the scenes used during the trailer are clearly very serious however it is obvious that the director does not want the film to be taken too seriously with the comical choice of music. Furthermore you are told when to pay attention to what the actor is saying as the music stops, be it for comical or serious purposes.

 This clip is also a good example of film trailers as it uses a variety of editing techniques. For example the trailer starts with no sound (silence) and the words "every 'dog' has its day" displayed on screen immediately triggering intrigue for the viewers. Another good technique used in this trailer is the fact that for the duration there is no voice over explaining the plot, simply clips from the film used to inform and entice the viewer. This is followed by short and punchy phrases displayed on a black background to break up the action and uses devices such as an ellipsis to keep the viewer watching. The editor has also cleverly used a snippet from a scene that shows the men all gathered around a table laughing together implying that a funny act or joke has just been told, therefore making the viewer want to go and watch the film so that they can see/hear what the comical event was.

  In addition around half way through the clip the pace begins to pick up with the display of the captions becoming shorter and more action shots being used. Another quite clever device used in this trailer is  that while it clearly implies that the film is centred around some sort of heist it still leaves the viewer asking questions such as:

Why are they stealing what they are stealing?

Why are they strangers?

Is it a success?

How do they do it?

 The trailer has also been quite clever in gathering all of the scenes together in the film that involve guns, the mention of guns or the word 'BANG'  to create a sense of fast pace, violent action. 

 Finally towards the end of the trailer the voice of a narrator is played over the trailer to introduce all of the famous actors that appear in the film which in effect would 'seal the deal' for many of the viewers.