Trailer Analysis - 127 Hours

After analysing the poster for the film '127 Hours' I decided to analyse the trailer of the same film, as I was so impressed by the advertising skill displayed in the poster. The first half of the trailer is dominated by the pumping music and for the most part it is led by this beat guiding the timing of every shot. It is a fast-paced, exciting start to the trailer and immediately grabs the audience's attention. It is also very easy to watch and almost satisfying as the shots appear perfectly timed to the beats of the music. In particular I like the split screens that appear as the music plays, as they make the start of the trailer more fun, as well as showcasing the inventive and technical prowess of the film. Making the start of the trailer more fast and upbeat makes the ending of the trailer more dramatic and horrifying when it comes. This is exactly the sort of effect that the director wants; he wants the audience to experience the same shock that the protagonist feels when falling into the canyon. In doing this, the director is making the audience connect more with the character and feel almost as if they are in his shoes, which makes them want to see what happens to him in the end, making them want to see the film. It seems to be a pattern in a number of trailers that the film makers try to establish relationships with the audience so that they connect with the film and therefore want to finish it. Another effect that this shock has is that the audience thinks that the film is unpredictable and will surprise them at every turn. This attracts a very wide audience who want to be surprised in films and want to see more than just the usual predictable films that come out of Hollywood.

The trailer seems to try to grab it's audience through the introduction of a character, more than introducing a storyline or themes. Where many trailers would do fast-paced sequences towards the end, the trailer for '127 Hours' shows instead the character struggle and the emotions that he is going through. The pace of editing does increase towards the end, but this is more to do with trying to condense longer scenes into shorter ones, such as the small sequence when he tries to pick up his knife from the floor of the canyon. Although there are many shots in this, they are mainly to show how he did it in a short time frame. There are two moments when the editing increases pace, which is in order to thrill the audience, but these are only small moments that back up the slower editing and support the music. Significantly the final shot is a slow shot of just his face over the boulder and his eyes tearing up, showing that the trailer is definitely trying to portray the film as a character drama. By making it into a character drama the trailer is trying to connect to the audience and their human emotions. There are many parts in the trailer that the audience would connect to, such as when he talks about how he never appreciated his mum and dad as much as he should have done. Themes like these are universal, and carry the film's message across the globe, giving it a huge audience. Where the trailer for 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' worked well in grabbing a British audience, '127 Hours' works because it is able to connect to many people around the world.

Another important aspect of the trailer is that it uses it's critical acclaim to it's advantage - a technique that is used in the advertisement of many acclaimed films. Here it bombards the audience with a huge amount of awards, nominations and film festival successes. Within the first ten seconds of the trailer it notifies the audience that the film has met success at three of the major film festivals. In establishing this at the start the audience knows that they are watching the trailer to a very well acclaimed film, and start it with a positive mindset. The audience can easily be won over or lost in the first few seconds, but by telling them of all the success the film has met elsewhere it is winning most of the audience over straight away. It also works on the concept of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs by appealing to the need for esteem, which claims that people have the need to be respected by others. Many people would see that the film has been critically acclaimed, so in order to prove that they have good film tastes they go and see it. They gain respect for their sophisticated taste in films. In a similar way the trailer also appeals to the need for love/belonging by establishing a relationship with the protagonist, as discussed in the previous paragraph. The final part of the trailer is set to inspirational music and the final lines 'Don't give up and do not give up' appeal to the need for self actualisation, by showing the strength of character of someone in a crisis. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is all over this trailer, and it has clearly been a big influence on it. For our trailer we should investigate further into how these needs can be incorporated in order to make our trailer even more effective.
The ending of the trailer is also littered with positive reviews from acclaimed sources, complimenting all different aspects of the film's merits. After every few shots it compliments a particular aspect which leads the audience to watch out for that aspect in the next few shots. So when it compliments the acting of James Franco, the audience then looks at his acting in the next few shots (where shots showcasing his acting are chosen) and agrees with the reviewer, adding to the reasons to watch the film. By the end of the trailer the audience has found so many reasons to go and see the film that they almost feel like they have to see it or they are missing out on a cinematic landmark.

There are so many positive attributes to this trailer that I can apply to my own. In particular I think I need to focus for a while on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and see where it can be applied to my own work. This trailer demonstrates effective exploitation of several of the needs, and it would work in my favour if I were to try and achieve the same thing. I also need to start thinking about establishing a relationship between the film and the audience, so that audience's want to see it to see what happens to the characters. I should at least make a subtle nod towards the audience, as in the trailer for 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy', but after seeing this trailer I have learnt that it is almost essential that the audience feel involved and as if they are part of the drama. Appealing to the emotions of the audience, as in this trailer, is also a very good tactic, and one that I am sure to try and use in my own trailer.