Trailer Analysis - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

This trailer for 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' is one of my favourite trailers of all time, and I think that the trailer actually outmatched the film. Despite being very short for a theatrical trailer, it does an excellent job of evoking the mood and hinting at the plot. The plot is very easily established through just two lines: 'There's a mole right at the top of the service, he's been there for years' and 'Moscow's planted a mole, it's one of five men.' Between these two lines a skeleton outline of the plot is established, and there is no need to further explain it - in fact going much beyond those two facts would almost ruin it. This allows three important things. The first is that it leaves much room for thought in the audience's mind, and they are hooked into the mystery of it. By not establishing much of the plot, the trailer itself evokes mystery, like a mystery within a mystery.
The second is that it allows room for the trailer to go pretty much wherever it wants, and show off all the best shots. It is freed from the restraints of most trailers, where the shots have to match the storytelling, meaning they have to use fairly average looking shots. Instead they can choose the best shots and the best one-liners for advertisement.
The third is that it leaves the trailer very open. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a film that takes an acquired taste, so if too much plot were to be established then it may not get such a wide audience. The plot sounds fairly sound and would appeal to many people from the synopsis that the trailer gives, and the visuals are also very strong, so on this audience's would go and see it. Anything more may ruin this.

Many enigmas are established, mainly, how it will be resolved and who the mole is. Saying that it is one of five men puts it in the unique position of being an urban mystery with the feel of a rural mystery - urban as it is in the city with high stakes and international consequences, rural because in rural mysteries there are conventionally a limited number of suspects that the audience is examining, turning it into a 'whodunnit' style film. It takes the best elements of both rural and urban mysteries and puts them into one film, which is not only original, but also appeals to a wider audience. It appeals to fans of both genres, and this is set up admirably by just having the line 'it's one of five men.' Another of the enigmas is put directly into the audience's head through the line 'How do you find an enemy who is hidden right before your eyes?'. This is not a spoken line, it appears on screen as text between some of the shots. Although the audience is not thinking directly how they would find an enemy who is hidden right before their eyes, they begin to understand the difficulty and struggle that the protagonist would have to undergo before completing their mission. The reason it asks the audience is so that the trailer directly connects with them, breaking down the fourth wall between the visuals and the audience. It pulls the audience straight into the action and they become more engrossed in the action onscreen. Also it stands out to them a lot more as they think of it as the trailer that talked directly to them, rather than just a series of visuals that appeared on screen. It is just another little way of engaging the audience and pulling them into the action.

Arguably one of the most important aspects of a trailer is the first shot. It is the first part of the trailer that the audience is going to see, and so should grab the attention of the audience straightaway. The best types of trailers are those that, when you've only seen them once before, you know them immediately from the first few seconds when they show at the cinema. The first shot always has a very powerful impact. Here, however, the first shot seems very unconventional and does not seem like the sort of shot that would usually be employed to grab the audience's attention. It is simply of a man's hands turning on a recording device. What is interesting about this is that when a button is clicked on it, the music starts playing, as if it has initiated the music cleverly connecting the diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. Connecting the diegetic and non-diegetic in the same way connects what happens onscreen with the audience and establishes an important link between the two. From the first shot, the film makers have clocked the audience, which is a very powerful position to be in. It is not done in a cheap way, with an animated slug telling the audience to pay attention, as in one of the trailer's for 'Epic', but is very subtle and hardly noticeable, establishing the film itself as very clever and subtle. In addition to doing this, the opening shot also establishes the era in which the film takes place - the 1970s. This is done through the old fashioned recording device, as well as the 70s style brownish tint to the room. As well as the time period, it also establishes a mysterious mood. Enigmas are  set up immediately, leaving the audience wondering who the man was and why he is recording something. The first of these enigmas is the most prominent, as apart from his hands, all that can be seen of him is a black silhouette. It is a very powerful way to start a trailer - instead of starting it with introducing a protagonist or antagonist, it establishes it with a mysterious figure. From the outset it leaves the audience wondering who to trust, which is the key theme of the entire film. So from the opening shot a connection is established with the audience, a time era is set and the plot line and key themes are set up. There isn't really much else left to establish for the rest of the trailer apart from specifics.

There is so much to learn from this trailer that I could apply to my own, especially the opening shot, which I need to spend some time considering, in order to get perfect. I also need to starting thinking carefully about how I will appeal to my audience through spoken dialogue and written text. There is much more that could be talked about and admired with this trailer, such as the brilliant choice in music,  the use of fades and the construction of shots, but these will be analysed on later trailers.