Thursday 24 October 2013

Secondhand Lions trailer analysis

In order to fully understand the genre conventions of specific drama trailers involving children, I thought that it would be useful to do a further trailer analysis on Secondhand Lions. This will help me to clearly define what I should be involving in my trailer.




The shot at the start of the trailer immediately establishes the setting for the film and several of the main characters. Themes of hostility are established from the very start with the aggressive narrative from one of the two men, showing the audience that the film will contain hostility, perhaps throughout. This is very effective at conveying a large part of the general theme of the story right from the very start of the trailer without revealing too much of the story (something which I am aiming to achieve in my own trailer).

The young boy's costume is a complete juxtaposition to the setting which he is in showing another theme of displacement within the film. This first introduction of the character is effective at showing the boy's discontent of the situation with which he is in, but does not provide any explanation as to how he has got there, building a sense of curiosity within the audience which will compel them to want to find out the full story by watching the film. The boy's apparent lack of knowledge of the country environment when he calls the pig 'doggy' also builds on this mystery as the boy is clearly miles away from home and completely out of his comfort zone and away from all that he knows.

The music played at the start also juxtaposes against the hostile and unhappy nature of the characters that are shown in the first moments of the trailer. This further builds a sense of mystery within the audience, enticing them to watch the film, as it raises questions over whether the happy music is connoting the end result of the film. The narrative begins hostile at the start but gradually thaws out over the process of the trailer until the characters are talking like close family members by the end of the story.

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