Film Trailer Analysis #1

‘Twilight’

Introduction

 I have always enjoyed and have been fascinated by gothic horrors largely due to my appreciation of the dark yet beautiful nature of mise-en-scene. I selected Twilight because of the fact that it is aimed at a predominantly female audience which is of course the gender that my own production will be targeted towards. There is also a relationship between the Gothic genre and the Supernatural genre.

Twilight is an American romantic vampire film which is based on the novel by Stephanie Meyer. The basic plot-line sees the development of the relationship between the two characters Bella Swan, who is an ordinary human teenager and Edward Cullen, who is a vampire. The film focuses on Edward and his family’s efforts to save Bella from an evil coven of vampires.

The purpose of the film trailer is to set up the basic narrative and tease the audience without giving away too much of the action and plot away. In the Twilight trailer it is revealed that the male protagonist is a vampire and that he and Bella both fall in love, from the moment he saves her from the almost accident involving the van in the car park. As the trailer progresses we see the couple run into trouble with nomadic vampires, where the main antagonist James wants to hunt Bella for sport, being so intrigued by Edward’s protectiveness over her. It is revealed that there is a final death struggle between Edward and James. However, it is not revealed within the trailer that James is defeated and destroyed, or that Bella was bitten by him, very nearly being turned into a vampire herself. Also, there is mention but no visual inclusion of the Cullen family in the trailer, which adds to the mystery and suspense of Edward and his vampire family. Conventionally, the ending is not exposed within the trailer that Bella survives the attack and returns home to attend her high school prom with Edward; where at the end Victoria (James’s mate) stands watching Bella plotting her revenge for James’ murder.

The structure of this film trailer is conventional in that it contains a three part structure including the beginning in which the basic narrative is set, followed by the disruption and then we see a montage of clips that build up to the climax, generating excitement and tension.

Analysis of Sound, Mise-en-Scene, Camera and Editing

Sound

Music

The trailer begins with using eerie orchestral music accompanied by a ghostly female choir voice; this then morphs into a futuristic and technological type of song. As a drum beat and electric guitar develops, a more modern and contemporary vibe is introduced into the music, indicating that the trailer is promoting a teen movie with a supernatural twist. As the trailer progresses, the orchestral theme is joined by a tribal beat, which reflects the concept of a predator hunting its prey, and in this case, a vampire hunting a human. Towards the end of the trailer, uses of violins are brought into the music, making the trailer appear more dramatic and emotional, whilst also maintaining conventions of the classic gothic horror by using sophisticated instrumental pieces of music.

Sound effects

During the beginning of the trailer, we can hear asynchronous sounds of a person breathing heavily over the soundtrack; this gives the audience the impression that someone or something is hungrily watching our protagonist. The tribal beat begins at the very start of the narrative, but we hear them at a much lighter and slower pace. This is followed by diegetic sound of car wheels screeching against the ground as the van uncontrollably swerves towards Bella, the main character. The next sound effect used is when Edward stops the car from hitting Bella with his bare hand; it resembles the sound of colliding materials of a metal substance, signalling the strength of Edward. A frequent use of sound effect is what is formally known as a ‘stab’ which is a burst of sound. Examples of this include the clip in which Edward suggests to Bella that “what if I’m not a hero? What if I’m the bad guy?” this makes audiences consider this character as the antagonist. The second use of a stab is shown as a new character is introduced into the trailer (this one being the real antagonist), audiences see him drop into the frame; at this point an animalistic roaring sound is used to present this character as sinister and starving. 

Another burst of sound is used at the end, as the film title is revealed; audiences hear a crash of lightning, which encapsulates the dramatic essence of the moment. Diegetic sound of the characters growling is utilized, as there is confrontation between the good and bad vampires, showing them in their primal state. During the end of the trailer, we experience a fight scene between the main character Edward, and the bad vampire James. Each strike and blow is emphasised with a stab sound. This gives the impression of extraordinary force and sheer strength, indicating to audiences that these characters are not human.  The purpose of using these sound effects generates drama and excitement for the target audience, persuading them to want to watch the movie.

Dialogue

In a trailer, the dialogue shown is carefully selected from footage and is pieced together to pan out a story for the audience. From simply listening to the dialogue, audiences can gather an understanding of the narrative. In order to demonstrate this point, I have written the dialogue used for this trailer below:

Bella: “You’re impossibly fast and strong.”

“You’ve got to give me some answers”
Edward: “I’d rather hear your theories”

Bella: “I’ve considered radio-active spiders and kryptonite”
Edward: “That’s all super-hero stuff right? What if I’m not the hero? What if I’m the bad guy?”

Bella: “I know what you are. You’re skin is pale white and ice cold. You don’t go out into the sunlight.”
Edward: “Say it out loud”
Bella: “Vampire.”
Edward: “Are you afraid?”
Bella: “no.”

Edward: “You don’t know how long I’ve waited for you.”

Bella: “What is going on?”
Bella’s father: “A security guard at the mill got killed by some animal”
Bella: “an animal?”

Edward: “My family and I are different from others of our kind”

James: “You bought a snack”

Bella: “So what, he’s coming after me?”
Edward: “The hunt is his obsession and he’s never going to stop”

Bella: “I’d rather die than stay away from you”

Another vampire: “James has unparallel senses, absolutely lethal.”

Edward: “I’ll do whatever it takes to make you safe again.”
James: “You’re faster than the others, but not stronger”
Edward: “I’m strong enough to kill you.”

Edward: “Bella you are my life now.”

As you can see, just by reading the dialogue, the narrative has already been roughly explained. It begins with Bella analysing the qualities of Edward, realising that he is not your average teenage boy. Putting together the clues, Bella realises that he is a vampire and confronts him. We then go to another clip showing Bella amongst conversation with her Dad, where he explains that there has been a murder in the area, which could have been the result of an animal. There is emphasis on this word, which makes the audience automatically think that perhaps the vampires are responsible. They are then re-assured by Edward explaining that his family and himself are ‘different from others of their kind’ which informs audiences that the Cullen family are good vampires, as we then hear the bad vampire refer to Bella as a ‘snack’. The audience understand that Edward is not your traditional vampire either. The next line of dialogue sets up the disruption of the narrative, as we see James hungrily anticipate Bella, the conversation between her and Edward afterward establishes that James is coming after her, that this hunt is his obsession and he’s not going to stop until he finds her. It was confirmed to audiences that James has “unparallel senses and is absolutely lethal” by his fellow vampire-mate, the audience build up an understanding that this character is dangerous, playing the role of the antagonist in the narrative. The solution now for the Cullen family is to protect Bella, by defeating James, which is established as Edward says that he’s strong enough to kill him. As the audience learn more about the narrative, an enigma is set up which is further persuades them to watch the film.

Throughout the trailer, certain parts of dialogue signal at a romantic relationship developing between Edward and Bella. For instance, he tells her that he’s been waiting for her for a long time, Bella tells him that she’d rather die than ever have to experience not being with him. Also, Edward’s incessant need to protect Bella and his declaration for her at the end of the trailer, where he tells her how important she is to him, both symbolise the passion that blossoms between them.

Mise-en-scene

Lighting

The main use of lighting in this trailer is ambient; it is used to show the grey, dullness of the ordinary day. Just as Edward saves Bella by stopping the van, we suddenly have a flash of inverted colour, which drastically changes the tones to orange and black. This emphasises the obscurity of this event and highlights the importance of this moment as being their first interaction. It acts as a clear indication of the fact that, from here on, Bella’s life is going to become much more colourful. This also indicates that Edward withholds powers beyond the norm. The background of most scenes shown in the trailer are blurred with darkness, whereas bright lighting is used on the characters’ faces, highlighting their infatuation with one another and ignorance to the rest of the world.
Top lighting is used during the fight scene, when the camera is on Edward. Here we see him in a God-like manner, as he defeats the source of evil harming the girl he loves. During this scene also, low-key lighting is used to show sharp contrast between light and dark areas, forming deep and dark shadows, creating a chiaroscuro effect.

Colour

The film trailer tends to contain a blue tinge of colour throughout, making the atmosphere of the film appear quite cold and secluded. It is conventional for films of a gothic nature to present this eerie, ghostly tone, as the colour blue ties in with death. The complexions of the characters are pale white, especially that of Edward and the other vampires, this is because they represent the qualities of a corpse, being drained of all natural human colour. It could also be said to express the element of coldness attached to Edwards’s exterior. Bella’s skin tone is also of a milky shade, which gives audiences the impression that although she is not a vampire, she is able to establish a relationship with Edward and the members of his family. The milky-white colour of her complexion could act as a signifier of her innocence and purity too.
Bella’s costume colours consist of neutral, warm, earthy tones, such as brown, beige, khaki, pale blue and cream. This expresses her character as being a well grounded, friendly and honest person who harbours no superficialities or falsities, and that she is naturally a genuine person. Whereas Edward’s colour scheme consists more along the lines of various shades of cold greys, blues and blacks. This implements Edwards’s icy, harsh and unfriendly persona displayed in the beginning, it also makes him appear quite cool, yet detached and aloof, which adds to the mystery of his character. There is a strong contrast between the shades worn by both characters; Bella wears these humid colours because it represents her as a living, breathing blooded-human, whereas Edward exhibits these shades of frozen wintry tones as he represents the living dead.

In the first scene used in the trailer, we see Edward watching Bella from afar; he is wearing his usual shades of depressing grey blending into his surroundings of the cloudy, overcast weather and the colours of the school buildings. We witness Bella wearing a brown coat, carrying a garish orange backpack and standing by her rusty red truck, these colours stand out, especially to Edward. This clip re-enacts the scene of the predator watching its prey, as it blends into the colours of its environment, it appears unseen by its prey, where as the prey draws in attention with its temperate tones.

During the clips in which the woodland scenes are shown, the branches and leafs of the trees maintain this icy texture, given the impression that when Edward and Bella are alone in the forests that time has been frozen, just like Edward has been frozen into the body of a seventeen year old boy.

Costume/ hair/ make-up

Bella is dressed in casual attire consisting of minimalistic clothing such as jeans, hooded jumpers, long sleeved tops, converse trainers, typical teenage dress. Her costume mixes elements of tom-boyish items with feminine details, for example she wears a brown duffle coat with an ‘Alice’- band in her hair, a brown blouse with white embroidery around the neck and also wears fitted long sleeved tops of neutral tones. This indicates to audiences that she is a sweet natured girl, who builds a tough yet feminine exterior. Bella is the type of girl who doesn’t like to be centre of attention; she doesn’t follow the crowd, but simply does her own thing.

Edward is dressed in formal attire and appears to always be well presented and polished, somewhat resembling the appearance of a gentleman, unlike the typical teenagers of today. This assumption says a lot about the background of Edward’s character, having been changed into a vampire during an era (1918) in which men were accustomed to behave accordingly, treat women with the upmost respect as well as present themselves the best they could. It’s interesting to acknowledge that Edward appears to have carried these morals, values and personality traits from his old life into his new one. He portrays these characteristics and mannerisms in this modern age which causes him to stand out to the target audience, making his character appear classically unique.

His characters sense of style is effortlessly chic, as he combines textures with different garments, for example, in the trailer we see him wearing smart military styled jackets, shirts, cotton t-shirts, black trousers, leather shoes; we never see him dressed in casual wear, such as jeans, jumpers or trainers. Although the colours worn by characters contrast and there is distinction between their styles, for instance Bella prefers to be comfortable and casual whereas Edward dresses in a well-groomed fashion, there are however similarities between the outfits of these characters. We acknowledge this as the trailer progresses, and both characters become more involved with each other. Their outfits are alike in a subtle way; this reflects the relationship between Bella and Edward, proving that they’re compatible and meant for one another.

Bella’s hair and make-up display her as a natural beauty. Her complexion, as previously mentioned resembles a milky white shade; she appears to be pale and pure which establishes her innocence. Bella conveys a very natural, understated look, where her character appears to be wearing no make-up at all. The idea is to create the conventionally beautiful exterior in a subtle manner; she wears a coat of minimal mascara to emphasise the look of naturally thick and long eye-lashes, contouring of the face to establish a perfectly chiselled bone structure and a slight reddening on the lips with lipstick to exaggerate a plump pout.
Bella’s hair colour is of a brunette shade, which compliments her soft, white skin tone. Her hair has been styled to look as if she has naturally tousled curls; these loose angelic ringlets fall down past her shoulders, establishing her persona as a ‘good girl’.

Edwards hair and make-up have been constructed so that he somewhat resembles the appearance of a vampire, but also one of a handsome young man. His voluminous, auburn coloured hair is slicked back, effortlessly creating this ‘cool’ and edgy look. His facial tone of course is the colour of snow, to establish him as an outsider amongst an institution of peachy faced teenagers. The same technique is used for Bella and the audience spot common ground between these two characters. I’m sure that the actors were caked in pale foundation to achieve this look! Edward too, parades the picture-perfect chiselled bone structure, consisting of high cheekbones and a strong jaw. Other uses of make-up include contact lenses, used to change the colour of Edward’s eyes from hazel brown to sometimes black, either showing Edward in a warm and amiable light, or one that’s sinister. The combination of charming good looks, ice cold skin tones and surly facial expressions set this character up to be one of secrecy, obscurity and intrigue.

As the audience are introduced to the evil coven of vampires, the colours they exhibit establish that of a rough and wild lifestyle. We see the main antagonist of this film, James wearing a worn brown leather jacket with stone-wash jeans. His clothing garments appear to be covered in dry mud and his jeans reveal many rips, tears and holes, resembling the essence of a hunter. His hair is of a bleach blonde shade and has been scraped back into a pony-tail; his pale face contains patches of stubble, overall presenting an unruly, rough and ready type of vampire. The character located in the middle appears to be an African-American vampire; he bears the resemblance of a lion with his wild mane of hair. It is worn in thick black dread-locks which provide the classic gothic monster with an edgy and contemporary look, one that would appeal more to the teenage target audience. This character is wearing a slightly creased, dusty-orange leather jacket, which isn’t as rugged as the one James is wearing. In comparison, this character seems to be much more composed, because he is dressed in slightly less shabby attire, audiences assume that he is less feral and fierce than James. The third character introduced to the scene stands on the far right and this one is a female vampire. Her untamed strawberry blonde hair: thick, wavy and bouncy blows behind her shoulders to convey an ironic image of a graceful and powerful goddess. Her face, also of a milky white complexion stares sceptically at the Cullen family. Around her shoulders she wears a shaggy shawl of fuzzy white fur, it’s likely that she killed the animal herself and then turned it into an accessory. I believe that this fur coat successfully formulates the image of the evil coven of vampires, accurately expressing their uncultivated and animalistic nature.

Settings

The first setting established is in the car park of a high school, it is conventional for teen films to be set in and around areas of the characters educational institution. On a wider scale, the film is set in a rainy continent in the United States, a small town called Forks that is near the Washington coast. This setting contains forests and vast areas of shrouded woodlands, which is a conventional location for films of a supernatural substance, as they encapsulate the atmosphere of a frosty, mystical and moistened haze.

The trailer features a range of additional settings such as the restaurant in which Edward takes Bella, the cafeteria in their school where we see the two characters engaged in conversation and in the forests where we see them both climbing trees, lying in meadows or playing baseball. Other settings include Bella’s bedroom, inside the car or an abandoned studio (in which we see Edward and James’s brawl.)

Props

The first prop we see is Bella’s vivid-orange backpack being placed onto the bonnet of her car; if in case the location was not successfully established to audiences that she is in a school parking lot, surely her backpack indicates such location. We also see her wearing earphones, (signalling that she is a teenager, and this is a teen movie) which clearly states that she is listening to her iPod, drowning out the world around her with music. This is why she does not automatically hear and acknowledge the screeching wheels of the van (which is the next vital prop) uncontrollably heading towards her. The van represents the important event of Bella and Edward’s first interaction, where he saves her life having speedily jumped to her rescue, crashing the door of the van with his bare hands.

The next prop shown in the trailer, is the one where Edward is ironically wearing a pair of sun glasses, clearly their function is not for reasons of practicality! I see Edward wearing them as a last resort to maintaining his guarded and detached exterior. This scene shows Bella and Edward arriving at school together, establishing them as a couple. As slowly his walls come down and he develops an emotional attachment with Bella, he attempts to hang on to the last traces of privacy and mystery he once had.

During the scene in which Bella and Edward are in the cafeteria, she accidently drops an apple, which bounces off of his perfectly polished leather shoe, and lands in the palm of his hands. This exact shot is used on the front cover of the Twilight novel by Stephanie Meyer, and so, this scene has been interwoven into the film and the film trailer for visual promotion of the book. During this scene it is clear that Edward is flirting with disaster and cannot distance himself from Bella, but at the same time he is trying to convince her to stay away from him.

The apple itself represents a range of symbolic roots in which reflect the narrative of story. It has been inspired by the scripture from Genesis: “the fruit of knowledge of good and evil” this symbolises that Bella has knowledge of what good is and what evil is, and so she is presented with a choice. It can also be said that in metaphorical terms that Bella represents the fruit that Edward longs to taste. As sweet and as appealing as she is, he cannot possibly pursue this desire due to consequential outcomes. Apart from containing religious connotations, there is also the link to the children’s story of Snow White, in which one bite of the poison apple causes one to become frozen in a state of limbo. This relates to the idea of Edward being frozen in the body of seventeen year old boy. There is also relation to the golden apple in Greek Mythology. The significance of the apple and the context of the scene correlate perfectly, as it shows both characters being seduced by temptation.

During the base-ball scene, the Cullen family are wearing base-ball shirts and Bella is wearing a base-ball hat, to show she’s part of their family. The props used for this scene involve the sports equipment. The fight scene uses props of many mirrors, one of which James smashes Edward into. The mirror works to provide a reflection of one’s self, allowing you to analyse your physical appearance, your qualities and your flaws. The inclusion of the mirror in this scene represents reflection in more depth, as James has hold of Edward against the broken mirror, he tries to weaken and shatter Edward too, by telling him he’s ‘faster than the others, but not stronger’. Edward takes a moment to reflect upon James’s attempt to destroy him, and it’s as if Edward regains strength from having considered his own qualities, talents and skills and powerfully replies “I’m strong enough to kill you”.

Positioning of characters/ Body Language / Facial Expressions

At the start of the trailer we acknowledge Edward watching Bella from across the car park; he is stood with his right hand in his pocket as the other arm leans against his Volvo. His pose somewhat resembles the look of James Dean with his confident and charismatic stance, hairstyle and costume. He has been positioned in the centre of the frame, behind the car, and we can only see him from the waist upwards, it’s as if he’s concealing himself behind the vehicle.

He stares intensely at Bella, with an expression of curiosity; he frowns in frustration as if he’s trying to figure her out, but cannot. As the long shot cuts to a medium shot, Edward continues to pry. His expression remains interested and inquisitive accompanied by an air of muted anguish.
We see Bella innocently walk towards her car, placing her backpack on the bonnet, to only turn around and experience the sight of a van swerving towards her. Bella’s eyes are wide with disbelief and her mouth drops open in shock. The next scene shows Edward diving in between Bella and the van. He brings the car to a halt with his hand, as he crouches down holding her in his arms. We then see an over-the-shoulder close up shot of Edwards face. As he looks into Bella’s eyes, his expression is completely composed; the emotion communicated is one of sheer desire. This then cuts to a close up shot of Bella displaying a bewildered articulation.

The next clip I’ll be discussing is the one in which Bella reveals that Edward is a vampire. We see a 180* camera movement around the two characters, as Edward stands behind Bella asserting his power and demanding her to tell him what she knows. The two characters have been positioned in the centre of the screen, Bella attempts to maintain a confident statue, but her body language leaks caution and apprehension. As the word ‘Vampire’ is exposed, there is an extreme close up of Bella’s lips as she says the word, emphasising the importance of the moment. This cuts to a close-up of Edwards face, he has been positioned to the far left of the screen and as the camera zooms in on him, he possesses an intimidating expression of seriousness as he studies her reaction: a self-assured Bella tells him that she isn’t afraid.

When James is first introduced into the trailer, he literally jumps down into the frame. His positioning indicates the movement of an animal; his body language signals this animal in its primal state, as his eyes are black with thirst and anticipation which triggers tension and fear amongst viewers.

During the base-ball scene, when the Cullens are confronted by the coven of evil vampires, they discover that Bella is human and make the attempt to attack. The Cullen’s position themselves around Bella, crouching in an animalistic pose in order to protect her. Their body language is strong and muscular as they create a shield; their expressions sharp and defensive. This expresses to audiences the importance of Bella to not only Edward, but to his family also.

There’s a clip of Bella and Edward in which she tells him that she’d ‘rather die than stay away’ from him. The two characters have been positioned in the centre of the medium shot, and stand at the same level as one another. This highlights the equality in emotion they both feel. Edward has been placed slightly behind her; he leans forward slowly as if he’s finding it difficult to hold himself back. His face is always the picture of silenced pain, he stares at her lips as she speaks, listening eagerly. As Bella boldly makes this declaration she does not look him in the eye, instead she looks down at the ground as eye-contact with him would be a distraction. This highlights her shyness, innocence and that it is not easy for her to express her emotions. Audiences grow to understand the magnitude of their relationship through scenes such as these.

Camera

Camera shots

The trailer for the Twilight film uses a wide range of camera shots, angles and movement. From the beginning to the end we see establishing shots, long shots, extreme long shots, two shots, over the shoulder shots, close-ups, extreme close-ups, medium shots. As well as numerous uses of camera angles such as low and high angles, canted angles, bird’s eye view, worms eye view; as well as camera movement such as 180* degrees shots and uses of panning shots and crane dollies.

We see movement such as 180* in the scene that shows Bella talking to Edward in the forest, exposing her knowledge of what he is. It is used to emphasise the realisation of the scene and highlight it as a pivotal moment in the narrative. The same logic is behind the use of this camera movement in the meadow scene, where we see Bella and Edward lying next to each other, gazing at one another lovingly. The crane dolly is used as it swerves through the coniferous trees, establishing the beautiful scenery. This use of camera also mimics the way in which Edward soars freely through the forest.

A handheld camera is used during the scene in which we briefly see a man being chased by some sort of feral human in an industrial area. The effect of this camera type makes the audiences feel as if they are witnessing the account first hand therefore making the experience seem more dramatic and realistic. The lighting utilized is backlighting, and so we can only see the characters’ silhouettes, this compliments the type of hand-held camera used, as it adds to drama and sets up an enigma.

Composition

There appears to be a pattern within the composition of the frame, consisting of Edward always either being placed standing behind Bella or standing above her. This shows Edward in a primal animalistic state, instinctively protective over his own and constantly on guard; the character position also suggests that he is always there to look after Bella, the fragile and vulnerable human. When we’re not seeing them in that position, we see them placed opposite one another in close-up two shots; they take up the majority of the frame which truly amplifies the chemistry between the two characters. This is ofcourse what makes this film such a sensation considering how successfully the electricity between Edward and Bella bursts through the screen, causing the audience to also experience this feeling of suppressive desire.

Other uses of composition include sprawling empty landscapes and vast beautiful forest scenery. As we often see Edward soaring through it untamed and liberated, it is the only place where he can unleash his vampiric powers and truly be himself. If we are not seeing him in such an expansive woodland area appearing small and free, we see him dominating and overpowering the frame in public surroundings. Edward asserts the feeling of combustion within the screen as he has to constrain and control himself out in the open community.

The editing of the Twilight trailer contains frequent uses of fades, as we see many of the clips blend into others. Often, simple clean cuts are used. Dead Blackouts (DBO’s) are also used in the trailer for a dramatic effect. The main type of cuts used is match-on-actions, in which the camera captures the same scene from different viewpoints, broadening the audience’s perspective. Editing

At the beginning of the sequence we experience two cut-ins, the first showing Bella in an establishing shot of the car park which cuts into a close-up. The second is a long shot of Edward which cuts in to a medium shot close-up. This type of edit is used here to introduce the main characters of the film as well as build up excitement and tension for the next clip.

When Bella first notices Edward the camera cuts-in from a long shot to a medium close up which suggests the feeling of her honing in on him, as if she’s making a double-take. The fade then suggests the impact of Bella’s attraction which re-enforces the sensation of the heart stopping moment in which she sees him. It’s interesting how this then cuts to the crash scene which exists as the physical equivalent of what she’s experienced having just looked at Edward. The irony of the matter is that Edward saves her from the physical crash, but causes the emotional crash just moments before.

We then see an eye-line-match where Bella looks at the van; the camera shows the van swerving towards her and then looks back to acknowledge Bella’s reaction. A fade is interwoven into this edit, which allows Bella to register shock. The same type of edit is used as Bella notices the hand-print left in the side of the van, however, instead of the camera capturing Bella’s reaction, it cuts to an over-the-shoulder shot showing Edwards expression instead. His face is close-up next to Bella’s and we can sense the powerful chemistry between them, reinforcing our awareness and understanding of the impact that he has made on her life.

 Next we see a match-on-action which shows Bella and Edward by a lake-side area, the first shot is an extreme long shot, the second a slightly low-angle long shot as the characters filmed from behind. This type of edit and shot is used to show the vast unpolluted landscape, in which they can breathe and be free from their usual suffocating and suppressed surroundings; in this place they are open and free to be themselves.

A shot-reverse-shot is used within the restaurant in which Bella and Edward are engaging in conversation. Here she presents her theories of “kryptonite” and “radio-active spiders” in order to conjure up some explanation for Edward’s strange, inhuman behaviour. As she describes her ideas the synchronous sound turns into asynchronous, as we see a montage of clips in which Edward is unleashing his vampiric powers. For instance, here we see him speedily climbing through the trees, tearing off and hurling thick tree branches and jumping and soaring through the air. From the restaurant scene to the forest, we see a close-up of Edwards’s face which subtly dissolves and then shows him in action. Here, a new perspective of Edward is being brought in as we no longer see him as obscure and aloof, but we start to learn more about the nature of the character.

During the scene in which we acknowledge Edward swiftly scaling up the tree, a match-on-action is used as the camera captures him doing this from the side and the back. This edit signifies the captivating pace at which he moves and the power in which he embodies, making this character appear more dynamic. When looking at editing on a much wider scale, considering the structure of the trailer; the parts in which fast edits are used symbolise the sheer speed that Edward exhausts.

During the scene in which Bella and Edward kiss, we see a cut-in from a close-up two shot to an extreme close-up; this edit provides the scene with an ambience that is more intimate and passionate, making the experience seem more personal for audiences. As the trailer progresses, more close-ups are used during the scenes in which Bella and Edward are together. This escorts the idea that as the couple grow physically intimate, the shots imitate and reflect this by honing in on them more and therefore using close-up shots.

During the fight-scene, there are continuous integrations of match-on-action shots which is conventional for such scenes. They are used to amplify the excitement and entertainment value, to exaggerate the sense of drama as well as make the audience feel as if they are physically present within the scene.
Straps

Trailers use straps to correspond with the audience, informing them of the basic plot-line, building up excitement and suspense as well as working to persuade them to watch the movie. The straps used in this trailer read:

“On November 21^st”
“Nothing will be the same”
“SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT”
“From the worldwide best seller”
“Forever”
“Begins”
“Now”
“Twilight”

The straps establish the date of release, the film production and that this film has been adapted from a worldwide bestselling novel. For those who have read the book and have seen the trailer, it becomes obvious which film is being promoted before the title is revealed. As for the target audience who are unaware, they are informed that this film is based on a novel that has been a huge global success. This acts as a powerful and alluring tool in setting up a lively curiosity to see what the big attraction is. The remaining straps build up a sense of excitement and anticipation, urging the audience’s need to go and watch the film.

Iconography
Key uses of iconography within the trailer include sprawling forest landscapes, crystallized woodlands and small shadowy monotonous towns. It is conventional for films of a gothic nature to be set in such places that exhibit an air of secrecy and obscurity. The conventional appearances of characters within this genre maintain pasty complexions combined with distinct and dark features, which adds to the mystery of their persona. The common uses of colour within Twilight include a palette of blues, blacks and greys; wintry cool shades that signify death are extremely conventional of gothic films. There is a shot of the moon at night which features in the trailer as it dissolves into a shot of Bella and Edward in the meadow, this close-up shot of the moon further indicates the gothic genre, having association with night-time. Combining these elements together, the audience can interpret the film’s genre.

RepresentationEdward has been represented as a traditional stereotype, being the stronger and more powerful sex. The narrative is based upon Edward being the heroic male, striving to extreme lengths to protect and to save Bella. She is vulnerable in the sense that she needs physical protection, however she is an emotionally strong character, who is brave and courageous which is a positive representation of females in today’s society. She defies stereotypes and expectations by not taking on the predictable role of the ‘damsel in distress’. It is conventional for gothic movies to have an ordinary woman who is weak in strength to also maintain a strong and wise exterior, for example we see this in the film ‘Wolfman’.

It is conventional for gothic films to integrate a story in which an ordinary human falls in love with the monster with a heart. Twilight brings the old fashion genre back from the dead, making vampires stylish again. It symbolises the love of youth, as it enchantingly encapsulates the feeling of sexual tension and alienation through its scenes of exhilarating action and the aches of adolescent passion.

ConclusionOverall, the trailer triumphantly succeeds in luring in its target audience. For those who have not read the book, the trailer thrills them by exhibiting a range of clips that together create a profound feeling of drama and suspense. The budding romance between Bella and Edward leaves the viewers starry-eyed as they crave to learn what transpires between them. For those who have read the book, the trailer proudly does the novel justice as audiences wish to see their beloved book adapted to the big screen. The uses of mise-en-scene, camera, editing and sound all work together to enthuse, electrify and stun audiences into wanting to watch the film. Also, another enticing technique employed is that of including attractive actors! I have been inspired by Twilight to create a trailer that integrates beautiful elements of mise-en-scene as well as one that embraces and emphasises the sheer emotion of the narrative.