Legend teaser trailer textual analysis
- 1. Legend teaser trailer textual analysis
- 3. The opening shot of the trailer features a establishing shot of London. This sets up the setting of the film, with the entire trailer featuring shots from the city. As the shot is taken during the night, it suggest the film has dark themes, which it does, in gang violence Non-diegetic easy listening music plays at the start of this shot, which fades in following the opening titles, suggesting that film has a calm atmosphere The London setting would help attract a British audience, as London is a city where crime thrillers aren’t often portrayed, therefore attracting an audience of those wanting to see a different kind of crime thriller
- 4. This shot comes in following a fade to black transition, and features the first full image of the protagonist, in a medium range shot. The suit makes him out him to be wealthy, and was a type of suit worn by gangsters during the time period. For our teaser trailer, we will be using similar costume Despite being a violent film, this shot, as well as the calm non-diegetic background music, doesn't suggest anything of the sort, This would be done to show the normality of how the characters are when not involved in crime
- 5. This shot features the protagonist looking over the London skyline in a lavish room. As he is looking over London, this suggests he has power in the city, which supports the narrative The posture of the character suggests that he is in control, as he has his hands in his pockets, which shows he is relaxed. This provides an enigma for the audience, as they would want to know how he managed to become in this position
- 6. This shot illustrates the USP of the film, which is that both of the main characters are played by the same actor, which isn’t common. Having them both in the same shot illustrates this This also supports the narrative of how powerful the main characters are, as they are both wearing similar suits, smoking cigars and are being chauffeured, which suggests wealth and power. This also suggests a crime sub genre, as the aforementioned are also connotations of crime films
- 7. As one of the only shots to not directly feature a main character, this shot is unique to the teaser trailer, and gives an inkling into the crime thriller genre An over the shoulder shot, this image suggests the difficulty the police inspector has to find the main characters, as the board in the background is shown to be confusing, with the camera panning out, suggesting a bigger picture. For our trailer, we are looking to use a similar type of shot.
- 8. This shot suggests that the main characters are threatening, as the character in the centre is nervously turning around to look at them. This supports the narrative that the main characters are dangerous individuals Both main characters are shown to be similar, as they are dressed in matching suits, in matching chairs and sitting in similar postures. This suggests the similarities of gang members at the time, particularly, the main characters
- 9. This shot is used to show another side of gangster life, as the protagonist is in a different type of suit, gambling and drinking. We hope to use a similar type of shot in our teaser trailer, in order to show a more relaxed side of the gangsters From this scene, the editing of the teaser trailer speeds up, and goes from fade to black transitions to jump cuts. This results in an increase of action scenes although the non- diegetic music remains the same, suggesting that even violence is normal in the lives of the main characters. This makes the background music contrapuntal
- 10. This shot concludes a sequence of action shots, with the gun at point blank range of the other characters head suggests that most things involving the main characters involves violence and death. This also provides an enigma for the audience, as they would want to know how this situation ended up occurring Throughout the trailer, the main characters are always pictured in classy suits. This suggests that everything that has appeared in the trailer is just business for the protagonists, and supports the narrative that the main characters would do anything for their jobs
- 11. This shot shows only the title of the film, with the title “Legend” connoting that the work of the main characters will always be remembered, an their antics would need to be seen to be believed The font for the tile is bold, and takes up most of the screen, indicating its importance. The title however doesn't suggest a crime thriller, suggesting that there is more to the film than just crime. For our teaser trailer, we’ll be deploying a similar technique.