Trailer Analysis - Marvel's Avengers Assemble

The Avengers was a hugely successful film, that has become the third highest grossing film of all time. Part of this must, of course, have been to do with the successful trailer that was made, and therefore I have chosen to analyse it. I particularly like the first few seconds of the trailer that grab the attention of the audience immediately with the low bass notes, screaming crowds, and a little later on the line 'War has started'. This is a strange choice, as the scenes shown in this opening do not actually occur until the end of the film, so in a way the trailer is showing the film in non-chronological order and telling the storyline in a different order to the actual film. However, this is also a very clever choice to make, as starting it with a sequence that is obviously action-packed and exciting makes the whole film seem like a non-stop thrill ride. It is clearly, and rightfully, aimed at a male audience between the ages of about 12 and 35, so to entice this audience the trailer relies heavily on the stereotype of men wanting to watch action films. Not only does the opening shot entice this audience through the action, but it also makes the film look like it has a high production value (which it does), so the audience knows that they wouldn't be wasting their money on a cheap amateur film. Any sort of helicopter or birds-eye shot always increases the production value of a film, and here it is no different. However for our trailer it will be very difficult to get a shot that looks like this as we obviously don't have access to any cranes or helicopters. We will have to try and improvise something and trick the audience into thinking that it is a high budget shot. Also increasing the production value of the opening sequence is the voice of Samuel L Jackson performing the voice-over.  He is an extremely famous and well-respected Hollywood actor, so simply by having him in the film the production value is dramatically increased.

Part of the challenge of making this trailer, I'd imagine, would be introducing all the characters and their role in the story. All of the Avengers have to be introduced and have sufficient screen time, as well as the antagonist and the general storyline. Then all these various elements have to be pulled together to make a dramatic ending. To do all of this, the structure of the trailer is vital, so I'm going to pull the structure apart and see how it was done.
First the trailer establishes the conflict, stating that 'We are at war', perhaps hinting that earth is at war with an extra-terrestrial power by showing the explosives falling from the sky. It then brings in the Avengers through the lines 'and we are hopelessly outgunned' (indicating that he will have to go to someone else for help) and 'Director Fury, I think it's time'.
The Avengers are then introduced in a very specific order, so that the storyline can be hinted at through the introductions. Captain America is first, to introduce the most normal looking of the Avengers and slowly pull the audience in; they are not waiting to see Captain America as he is the least exciting visually, so the trailer introduces him first in order to keep the audience watching. The Hulk is introduced next, and when he is introduced in human form quick flashes of the CGI hulk appear so that the audience know who he is, as this is the first time that that actor played him. Next is Thor, and here the storyline begins to sink in more as he asks 'What are you asking me to do?' to which the reply is 'It's called the Avenger's initiative'. This shows the audience what the 'Avengers' are for anyone who doesn't know, and makes the title more memorable. If the audience didn't know that the team was called the Avengers then they'd struggle to remember the title. Last of all is Iron Man, possibly because he is portrayed by the most well known and established of the actors: Robert Downey Jr. He is also introduced last because his line 'Apparently I'm, what is it? Volatile, self-obsessed and don't play well with others' leads on to the next shots of Iron Man and Thor fighting, followed by a shot of Iron Man, Thor and Captain America together in the place where they were fighting. This brings almost all of the introductions round so that all are introduced and then are shown altogether. Hulk isn't shown for the simple reason that he wasn't in the scene in the film.
Following these introductions the trailer also has to establish the antagonist and the what left of the storyline there is to explain. The antagonist is shown next, after a brief interlude of explosions, following on from the introductions of the Avengers. The dialogue is carried on almost like a conversation; Loki's line 'How desperate are you? That you call on such lost creatures to defend you.' carries on perfectly from the introductions. Samuel L Jackson's reply 'You have made me very desperate' then establishes that the previous speaker was the antagonist, and the following few shots also show this. The remainder of the trailer is left for action shots and the exciting climax. The storyline is then established: Earth is at war with Loki, so the Avengers are called upon to stop the chaos. What seems to be the key linking feature between these aspects is the dialogue. Each part is linked to the next through a line that both comments on the previous scene and the next, bringing them together and moving the trailer forward. The Avengers' is either very lucky or very clever to have strong linking lines at their disposal. For us, however, we don't need to work through an entire film to work out which linking lines would work best, instead we simply need to create our own lines that link together the sections. This trailer has shown me an excellent way to link together aspects of a story in a trailer.

Overall I think that analysis of this trailer has been pivotal in increasing my understanding of how to structure a trailer and I think that it will be extremely useful in working out how to bring all the pieces together. Also, as discovered before but reconfirmed here, I know now that I need to think very carefully about how to start a trailer. This trailer has opened up new ways in which I can start a trailer; they don't have to start at the beginning of a film, but they can even start towards the end. In a way this makes them stronger as the audience wonders how the storyline got to where it was at the end. I will certainly bear this trailer in mind when making my own.