Wednesday, 10 August 2016

TRAILER ANALYSIS- Insurgent

Here is a link to the Insurgent trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtgPdoxU-SY


Insurgent is a thriller/action movie based around individuals living in a democratic society, whereby each individual belongs to a particular group, or "factions." There are five factions: Abnegation, Erudite, Dauntless, Amity and Candor. Those that do not fit into a faction, are known as divergent's, which are believed to threaten the system and therefore need to be abolished from the system. 

The trailer begins with an establishing shot of Chicago city. The buildings are tall with reflective glass all over them. There is greenery in the background which connotes the idea of peace and relaxation. We hear  non diegetic dialogue of a women speaking as the trailer fades to different scenes. She states " We have created a society where each faction plays a critical role in maintaining the social order." This effectively engages the audience straight away. Through the sophisticated and political type vocabulary, it sound like this women is part of the government of Chicago, which makes her seem superior and dominant. Through a fade, the audience is presented with tanks and men strolling through a village. This immediately makes the audience feel engaged, as this is the first part of action that is shown on the trailer. Tanks and associated with the military which are used to fight in wars. This adds a negative vibe to the trailer as it can connote the idea of death. However, it can also add a mysterious atmosphere, as it questions the audience as to why there are tanks in such a quiet and small village. Through a fade again, we are then presented with a medium shot of a male holding out some piece of equipment that scans individuals faces and gives them an indication of what faction they belong to.Regarding the mise en scene, the male has an eyebrow piercing and is wearing a black uniform, he is also has a round, black circular earing in his right ear and is tall with a very dominating posture. Piercings are stereo typically associated with rebels and "hard" people, which makes this character seem very powerful and authoritative. The colour black connotes power and prosperity which further enhances his representation. The device that he is holding looks extremely high-tech and hard to function, which suggests that the film withholds new technologies and gadgets which is an exciting element to have in a film, as it brings new ideas and diversity to the film. We then jump cut to a slow motion clip of two people running in the woods. One is a girl, and the other is a boy. They too are also wearing black which makes them seem powerful and dominating. The use of the slow motion is effective, as it makes the audience feel part of all the action. Slow motion can be used to enhance the action on the screen. As the individuals are running through the woods, it makes it seem like they are running away from something or someone. This is a stereotypical convention that is expected to be shown in a action/thriller film. It adds suspense and captivates the audience, to see what it would be like if they were those characters running away. We then fade to a medium shot of a pretty,young girl looking in a mirror and starring at herself. The use of the prop of a mirror is an effective way to show the audience that the girl is thinking about something. Stereo typically, in films when a character looks in the mirror, it demonstrates that they are thinking about their action,emotions and feelings. The girl has beautiful, long, blonde hair which is usually associated with wealth and prestige. However, this is soon stripped away when the girl aggressively grabs a pair of scissors off the side, and cuts her hair extremely short. As soon as the scissors touch the hair, the camera zooms in and then fades to a cut. This is an effective way to intrigue the audience to find out what the girl has done to her hair. When a character gets a new appearance, it can add an exciting twist and vibe to the trailer, as it almost shows the character turning over a new leaf. 

We then see four short clips of the girl and a few other individuals fighting the people that were all in black. This suggests that these two sides are enemies and are fighting about something to do with the government. We see props of guns and artillery which conforms to the stereotype of thriller/action movies. It also adds excitement to the audience as it creates the idea of "who's going to win" typed scenario. We then see a long shot of a tank pushing down a fence and rolling into a village -( similar to the beginning). The truck is black and appears heavy and is driving towards the village at a very fast pace. This suggests that the individuals driving the truck are ruthless and careless about anyone in the village, and are only there to do their job. We then see a young boy through a close up shot diegetically state "You are living proof that the divergent problem has grown beyond all control." This suggest that the divergent's are dangerous and cannot be managed or restricted, as they do not follow the same criteria as everyone else in the village. The camera work in this part of the trailer is significant. When the male is stating this, the camera then zooms out, to suggests that what he is saying is irrelevant, as the audience are not up close with this character. The camera then fades to black, and then zooms into the girl that was running through the woods. This suggests to the audience that she is a divergent, which makes her the protagonist in the film. Titles of "On March 20th" then come onto the screen, with loud and dominating music. The titles are black with white writing which is interesting. The colours black and white directly juxtapose each other, which means that both colours help each other to stand out. The colour white symbolises purity and goodness, whereas the colour black symbolises death, power and integrity. The use of the black and the white could further suggest the idea og "good vs evil" which could link to the action/battle that is displayed in the trailer. 

We are then presented with a close up shot of an older women with blonde hair and a blue suit diegetically state "Kill them both." The audience here are soon to recognise that this is the women that was speaking at the beginning of the trailer. The colour of her suit is blue, which connotes tranquility and calmness, which subverts to her character due to her dialogue of "Kill them both." The close up allows the audience to see her facial expressions when she states this aggressive statement. Surprisingly, she has absolutely no facial expression and remains completely normal. This suggests that killing individuals to her, is not out of the ordinary which puts her in a bad position, but also gives her credibility and authority. Through a jump cut, we are presented with a medium shot of the girl firing bullets from a large gun. Initially this subverts to the stereotype of women in general, as they are not usually seen to be doing the killing. However, her posture appears confident and aggressive, which suggests that she is putting a lot of power into shooting whoever is behind the gun. Her hair is short ( as seen from the mirror scene in the beginning of the trailer) which adds a slight masculine side to her mise en scene. in addition to this, she is wearing a striped red shirt, with a dark pink top underneath which adds a masculine side also. The gun is very large, which brings to mind the idea of high technology and gadgets which is also a common stereotypical convention found in thriller/action films. 


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