The final stage of my secondary research included searching for a trailer which had already been analysed by another person. Again, similarly to my magazine front cover secondary research, i chose to investigate web 2.0 based website Sribd.com. the link is shared above. A media students evaluation and analysis of the hot blockbuster movie ‘I AM LEGEND’ .
“The teaser trailer begins a rotating zoom into an unnamed character curled up in a bath with an alsation. This is very striking image that immediately wins the audiences attention. The character is recognisable as played by high profile box office star Will Smith.”
The student begins their analysation with the camera work, and elaborates on the reason behind it by bringing it the audience reaction, reminding readers such as myself that the aim for trailers is for the image being portrayed to appeal to the audience. The technical wording such as ‘rotating zoom’ shows the students aptitude and knowledge for the camera angles. However, to portray an even more increase in knowledge, i personally would have stated ‘establishing shot’ instead of ‘begins with’, simply because it is a more adequate media term, appropriate for the explanation given.
“Loud choir-type vocals are added to the soundtrack, given it an epic feeling”
The most dominant attribute of the ‘I am Legend’ trailer explored within this students work is possibly the soundtrack and how it is synchronous with the action, and the effect this evidently has on the audience. An example of this is when the student explains how an explosion and destruction of a bridge creates a feeling of urgency within the audience. The student successfully takes full advantage of the music key terms and technical vocabulary, by mentioning diegetic and non diegetic sound, which is what i had done when explaining the soundtrack of the trailers i was analysing.
“Another black title screen, same font and capitalisation as before, this time the words are “mankind’s struggle for survival’ this raises immediate questions for the audience, especially in the context of the shots of people feeling and their prior knowledge of disaster/invasion sub genre of films.”
The impact of ancillary narrative, emerging as texts to explain the story wasn’t that important within the trailers i analysed, as none of them were in theory a dramatic thriller, and for most of them the images flashing on the screen told the story, however for a trailer such as ‘I am Legend’ it is necessary to include this narrative voiceover and texts appearing, due to the confusing theme of what the actual plot is. The student has successfully made a recognition of this, and thoroughly explains the impact of the ancillary texts on the audience.
“The first movement we see for 10 seconds are deer galloping through an abandoned street”
This process of explaining the step by step projection of images which appear on the screen, is what this student does. Despite, the clarity and profound detail of the actions which occurring and their effect on the audience, it could be argued that perhaps its unnecessary. And despite the technical camera angles placed in such as panned and zoom, the student fails to put in more media terms such as the verisimilitude and its effect, what it does and how it does it.
In conclusion, it could be argued that the students analysation of ‘I AM LEGEND’ is extremely profound in detail as they go through every scene which is portrayed as an image on the trailer, they illustrate this via taking screenshots, which evidently makes it easier for them to analyse. This in reference to my analysis could be useful, as it would have been a good idea to take screen shots whilst watching the trailers, instead of posting the trailers on our blogs then analysing in one paragraph as a clump. However, There are many similarities between our method of analysation as we both focus profoundly on soundtrack and its effect on the audience, as this is possibly one of the most important factors, as its the selling point of our product.
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