Trailer Analysis - Up in the Air

This trailer is very different from the previous two trailers that I have analysed, and most of the reasons are simply a result of the film being a very different genre. It is more of a teaser trailer, as opposed to the previous two theatrical trailers, and the entire trailer is crafted around the continuous voice over. The voice over guides the trailer and the shots are matched to the voice over, making the voice over the central feature of the trailer. It is spoken by the lead protagonist, which is established in the opening shot, so that the audience knows who they are listening to. The whole voice over is very philosophical; it's not the conventional trailer voice over, where the speaker explains the storyline or their life, but instead it presents the audience with something to think about. The speech from the film that the voice over was taken from is speaking to an audience from a stage, but the audience of this trailer don't know that, so it is as if the character is speaking directly to them. Near the start it says 'Imagine for a second that you are wearing a backpack' and through these words immediately the audience is drawn in, as they are being asked to get involved. As he goes on to explain everything that goes into the backpack the audience continue to be involved as they follow his instructions. This makes the trailer stand out, as in most other trailers the audience would sit back and watch a trailer that would cram as many exciting moments in as possible. However in this case, the entire trailer is kept fairly low key and the pace isn't pulled around with much.  Again this makes the trailer stand out much more, and would interest more intelligent, thoughtful audiences.

The questions that are posed in this voice over appeal to the 'need for fulfilment' described in Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Maslow suggests that adverts should appeal to one or more of the needs in his 'hierarchy of needs', and the need for fulfilment is the idea that audience's are constantly seeking fulfilment and meaning in life. Travel adverts often appeal to this need. This trailer does it by suggesting  an ideology, and the audience, eager to explore all avenues of life, would watch the film to discover how this method of fulfilment works out for the character. In a way they are using the protagonist as a test case for his own theory and seeing if it is a way that they could chose to live their life. Although it appeals to this one of Maslow's needs, it directly contradicts another - the need for affiliation and friendship. This need plays on people's desire to be popular and well-liked - a technique commonly used by cosmetic and shampoo companies. In this trailer it suggests that relationships are not worth it, and that you should restrain from getting involved in a relationship because they weigh you down. That is the complete opposite of what Maslow suggested, however it is twisted to the film's advantage. By changing the convention, audience's are drawn in by the originality of it and are interested to see how it works out. It works in a similar way to establishing an enigma.

Another reason why I believe that this is a successful trailer is because of the credits that it shows over the course of the trailer. There are two main credits that come up, that would both independently get a very large audience. The first of these is 'Academy Award Winner George Clooney. Even if the audience didn't know who George Clooney was, they'd still be drawn in by the fact that he has won an academy award. The award makes the film seems much more 'high brow' as it has had the support of a well respected actor. It also draws in the audience as they assume that the acting throughout the film will be very strong, as it contains an award winning actor. Before the film even comes out, assumptions are made that the acting is very good, and as there isn't much else for audience's to go by, the film establishes a good reputation before it even hits cinemas. But the other half of the credit holds just as much weight in this case, as George Clooney is one of the most famous actors in the world. Again, hearing the name George Clooney, people make assumptions that the acting is going to be very strong and not amateur. He also has a very large fan base, so the film is guaranteed an audience through his fans. The second major credit that comes up is 'From the Director of Thank you for smoking and Juno'. This holds a lot of power as well, as Juno is a very famous film and was very critically acclaimed, being nominated for Best Picture. By mentioning that the two films share a director, the film makers are transferring the audience of Juno onto Up in the Air and gaining a significant audience that way. Also, if audience's haven't seen or even heard of either of the films, they would still make assumptions that the Director is very experienced and has made films which obviously some people have heard of and are most likely prestigious otherwise they would not be mentioned. This connects the audience to the director with a bond of trust, which makes them want to go and see the film.

The real strength of this trailer, for me, lies in the slick style to it. Everything in the film looks very clean and modern, so it is very nice to look at. Shots like the ones at 0:43 and 0:54 look very well lit and clean. It makes the whole film look like it has a high production value and it looks very professional. Every shot looks artistic and well thought through. So in this case I don't think that it is necessarily the strength of the advertising that is needed, but the pure strength of filmmaking is what drives this trailer forward. The voice over is supported heavily by the visuals, and without the strong visuals, it would most likely fall apart and be boring. I have learnt from the way that the shots are presented in this trailer that when making my trailer I need to think very carefully about every shot, rather than just throwing in some shots to fill time. In this trailer everything seems very well put together and well planned, and so it is obvious that in my trailer, just as much thought and planning needs to go into it.