Trailer Research 3

Rowan Smith; 0121
Thomas Allison; 0051
Samantha Grant; 0081

Objective:

To identify the codes and conventions commonly used in teaser trailers which promote films within the genres of thriller and action.

Case Study:

Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarentino, 2009)



Inglourious Basterds used a different narrative structure again when comparing to the other two trailers. Whereas Cloverfield used a short continuous sequence and Inception used various scenes from throughout the film, this trailer used a mix of these ideas. It was essentially a collage of significant scenes from the film held together by one main scene in which the main character played by Brad Pitt is talking to his men.

This tactic allowed them to establish the setting and to some degree the relationship between the men. It also revealed the nature of their quest and some of the ways in which they were going to complete it. This approach is distinctly different to the other two trailers as the audience has been given far more information and as such the enigma is not as strongly established. However, as with all trailers the resolution of the storyline remains a mystery and in some cases such as this that is enough to capture the minds of the audience.

They also edited in a pieces of text in order to further establish the setting and basic storyline. Like with Cloverfield the production companies and other credits were not mentioned on the trailer and it was in fact only the name of the director Quentin Tarentino that was mentioned within the trailer. I believe there is a certain tactical element to mentioning Taentino’s name within the trailer as he is a very well known and distinctive director with a wide fan base. His films are famous for their distinctive style of real and sometimes shocking depictions of world events, therefore putting his name in the trailer acts as an extra point of promotion from the trailer.

This film used a combination of diegetic and non-diegetic sound which was once again different to the other two trailers which either used completely diegetic (Cloverfield) or completely non-diegetic (Inception) sound. The diegetic sound in this trailer was primarily Brad’s dialogue which acted as a form of narration to outline the premise of the film. There was also a scene used towards the end in which ‘Hitler’ was shouting ‘nein’ repeatedly which was then followed by Brad Pitt closing the speech to his men. The juxtaposition of these two clips gave the impression that there is a small comical element within the film at least as far as you can make killing and war comical. The non-diegetic sound however was music which used instruments such as bass guitars and other instruments associated with some forms of heavier rock music. It provided a feeling of action and excitement which resembles the shots used to create the trailer.