Trailer Analysis



Film trailers are an extremely important part of film marketing. They are made to advertise the film. They normally have big budgets, as film studios understand that film trailers are one of the most important ways in creating immediate interest in a film. The earlier trailers are known as teaser trailers, which are supposed to tease the viewer with only a few exciting details. Closer to the date, another trailer is released which includes more information and including the release date.

The normal conventions in a trailer are they include key moments, but do not give away any crucial plot details. The title of the film is usually not put on screen until the end of the trailer, which is then followed by the release date. The names of the main stars are put on screen early on in a trailer; it is to let the audience know who they can expect to see in the film. The audience often decide either to see a film or not because of the stars in it. The name of the director or producer is included; this helps the audience make connections between the other director or producers previous and recognised films. Mainstream films will almost certainly use a powerful voice over that draws our attention to the key points of the film. Also, music is essential in trailers as it can suggest the genre, style or plot of the film. The trailers are normally distributed through internet on YouTube or on their film production’s website; they are also distributed on radio by making a voice advert.

The target audience of the film is people who enjoy independent, modern comedy films with a quirky edge.  The unique selling point of the film is that it was made by an independent film company. The trailer gives an impression that is a mockumentary as there is no actual plot in the film. You also see the main character of the film, Napoleon in every scene of the movie which tells us that the film is about him and we see the characters in his life and what roles they play in the movie. It also shows that the movie has won two independent film awards, one at Sundance Festival which is one of the biggest independent film awards in the world.

Through the lighting, settings, music and camera shots, you can see that the genre of the film is comedy. The trailer and film poster are very alike and you come up with the same conclusions as you did for the other. The trailer and film explore the same areas in the film, Napoleon’s life and the people in it.

The film trailer makes the movie more desirable to watch as people may not understand the film poster well as it is weird and kooky but the trailer shows you enough clips from the movie so you understand what the movie is about and how amazing it is.

The advantages of using an internet trailer rather than a poster campaign as it brings more attention and attraction to the movie as more people use the internet.

Poster Analysis

The typical conventions of film posters are an eye-catching image (most likely of the stars in the films), the title of the film, a tagline for the film, the names of the stars, critic reviews and the production blurb. The audience expect to find the stars of the film, the title and when it is due to be in cinemas or if it is already in cinemas on the movie poster.

The genre of this film is comedy, I can tell this as the movie poster appears to have no purpose, and it is just full of hand drawn doodles and images of random people. The tagline to the film is ‘he’s out to prove he’s got nothing to prove’ which shows that the movie doesn’t have a storyline and will be all about Napoleon Dynamite and his daily life.

 His body language is coming off as nerdy and un-cool, nerdy guys in movies tend to be funny, which also tells us that the movie is a comedy, also his facial expression looks un-motivated and bored. The settings in this movie poster are on a hand-drawn background, which shows what Napoleon’s hobby is – drawing, it also features characters featured in the movie. The characters are wearing very out of fashion clothing; which shows what the character’s personalities will be like in the movie. The poster is trying to reflect Napoleon Dynamite’s mind as he is the main character. The title has been designed in Napoleon Dynamite’s handwriting, to make it more personal, also to make the movie poster focused on him, his mind and his life.

The film poster tells us that the film is all about Napoleon Dynamite, the people in his life, his hobbies and overall his life and goals. The audience can expect a personal movie about Napoleon’s life, with a lot of laughter.

I think people who enjoy modern comedy films with a quirky edge would be interested in going to see this film. The unique selling point of the film is at the bottom of the film poster, it says that it has won awards at two film festivals, one of them being Sundance Film Festival which is probably the most famous independent film festival in the world. The main selling point of the movie is that it is different, quirky and independently distributed.

The film company that produced this film were Fox Searchlight Pictures, Paramount Pictures, MTV Films and Access Films. Access Films is an independent film company who created and distributed the film within Fox Searchlight Pictures, Paramount Pictures and MTV Films who are major Hollywood companies. This film poster was placed mainly on the internet and websites, but was also placed on buses, bus stops and billboards to attract viewers.