Trailer Analysis - The Dark Knight Rises

The trailer for 'The Dark Knight Rises' is different from most other trailers, especially within it's genre, and this is largely due to the long, drawn out build up, and the comparatively slow-paced climax. It doesn't weigh heavily on action shots as most action films do, but instead it seems to try and create a more emotional atmosphere; weighing more on the character drama. In doing this, the film is made to look a lot more 'high brow' then it actually is. The superhero genre has always been looked down on by critics, but the Dark Knight trilogy aimed to overcome this barrier and make the genre more gritty and dark. This trailer aims to show the audience that the film has achieved its aim, and now the final instalment of the trilogy is worthy of critical acclaim. To highlight this the trailer doesn't include any sort of action scene until 0:24 and even then the action scene is chosen so that it's not just blazing guns, but instead is a very carefully choreographed sequence in which a plane is cleverly destroyed.

Alongside this opening is a very subtle soundtrack that, although it's very simple, seems very foreboding, as if some on the brink of some impending disaster. The voiceover saying 'there's a storm coming' supports this admirably. The subtle music only begins to pick up pace around the 1:00 area, and even then it is very subtle: adding in the strings slowly and starting to crescendo. It is very carefully layered, occasionally adding in a new section of the orchestra and this carries on right up till the title comes up on screen, so the latest layers are only there for a few seconds. This is incredibly uncommon for an action trailer as most have a definitive moment where a line is said and then the trailer kicks off it's epic finale, but here there is no one moment where it can be said that the finale has begun. There are many different ways that this could be looked at. It could imply that the whole film is one long finale to the Dark Knight Trilogy, where the protagonist faces his final foe. This is supported by the line 'You don't owe these people any more, you've given them everything', to which Batman responds 'Not everything'. This implies that this is the last stand for Batman and perhaps hints that he may die at the end of the film, leaving the audience in suspense. The music could also imply that the film shows the slow character progression of Batman from on the verge of giving up to giving his everything. The simple start to the music shows his humble start at the beginning of the film, and then at the end his glorious final battle. The title itself leans towards this conclusion, as well as the visuals, which show Batman at the beginning as slowly fading away in his house to battling on the streets of Gotham City. However, the most powerful effect of the music is that there are so many different conclusions that the audience can draw from it. Every person can watch the trailer and come away from it with something different, and a different interpretation of what the film could be about. This is an excellent way to sell the film, as it allows people to take from it what they want. It has it's own appeal to each individual person which means that each individual wants to see the film for different reasons. There's even room in the trailer for people who just want to see a fun, action packed superhero movie, as shown by the post-title scene.

The fonts chosen for the text in this trailer are one of it's strong points. The titles that appear between every few shots look very small compared with most trailer texts, and they don't seem to occupy the whole screen, instead they are focussed in the middle of the screen. Although this sounds like it is a weakness, I think that it looks very smart and classy with them smaller, as it stops them becoming huge letters that scream of mindless, Hollywood blockbuster. For many action movies the font is a lot bigger, so they stand out and jump off the screen, but here the font stands out from the crowd by being small. If the font were much bigger it would definitely sink into the realm of mindless blockbuster. The choice of font itself is the main reason why I like these titles though, as they mix lights and darks, making the titles look shadowy and foreboding. Taking away the shadows the font would look shiny and smart, much like the technology used by Batman, but with the shadows they are given a 3D element and look darker, reflecting the gritty nature of this Batman film. Mixing these two ideas together gives it a very clean, yet dark look, reflecting the whole mood of the film. The shadows also move across the title as it goes on, making it come to life and making it seem even more 3D. If we could work out how to do such an effect for our font then that would be brilliant, however we can't use the pre-made fonts on the software as they look cheap and are used to commonly. To enhance this 3D look, in the trailer the font also grows larger in the few seconds that it is onscreen. This is a technique that we used in our opening two minutes last year for the title and we thought that it was a very good way of making the title come alive and look more cinematic. If the title was static, then it would ruin the point of a film being a moving picture and would just look like a still picture at the end. So for our trailer we are very likely to employ the same technique to make it look cleaner and more professional.

This trailer has shown me yet another way to make a trailer, proving that not every trailer has to be fast paced from beginning to end, or even have a moment when the pace changes from slow to fast as most trailers do. It approaches the film from a whole new perspective, that gives the trailer a character of it's own, making it stand out from all the others. This is a key part to selling a film, it has to stand out from all the other films on the market, or it will simply be forgotten amongst the hundreds of films being released each year. Trailers should play on the unique qualities of the storyline and character, rather than just the people who made it. This trailer has also started me thinking about the sorts of fonts I'd like to use in our trailer, and has given me a few ideas.