Analysis of Kingsman: The Secret Service

As my re cut trailer was made into an action film, I have analysed an action trailer. I have decided to look into Kingsman: The Secret Service. This is an action filmed which came out in 2015.

The length of this trailer is 2 minutes 46 seconds which is an average length for a trailer, this shows that it is not a teaser trailer and is a full trailer for the film.  The whole lighting within the trailer is bright; this shows that the film is more open and not dull. A dark lighting is usually used in horror trailers to create a darkness of the film however this does not have this, although it is an action film and there are villains who are bad, the overall feel of the trailer is up beat and humorous, not serious. I can distinguish the trailer as being an action one from the start from the choice of music/sounds added. The background music for the whole trailer is one which would be featured in an action film, it is fast paced and upbeat to match they type of film. The music builds up tension throughout the trailer by becoming more intense/faster when a scene is about too abrupt with an action scene, in this case being a car scene or fight scene.

The audience for this genre want a fast paced, adrenaline rush from the film which is what this trailer provides, it is full of various actions which are all edited together to create a fast rhythm. The jump cuts used help with the pacing of the trailer; there are lots of them with various other shots, which keep the viewer interested. In an action film/trailer there is always something going on/something to look at so it is important there are a variety of camera shots. There are also build ups to dramatic scenes, this is done by having more suttle scenes before the finale ones and adding music which starts off slow and builds up the pace. All the music/sound added is on-diegetic as it is added and wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t added in, some sound effects are added to create a sense of realism for the viewer.  The type of music used in this trailer tends to be rock/metal music, which is fairly fast.

With action films/trailers a main part of them is the added visual effects, which help to make fight scenes more powerful and mind-blowing. The editing/special effects used help to make the film look better, visually and it adds drama and a good effect on the audience as it is something they want.  Although there are fight scenes within this trailer, there is the overlap of music, which is light hearted and happy, which helps with the humorous side of the trailer. The title of the film is not added until the end of the trailer, which leaves the viewer guessing and adds a sense of suspense, however the title is mentioned towards the start of the trailer by one of the main characters.

This trailer shows a number of action scenes, which are in the film. This includes scenes with cars, action scenes that are gruesome and contain weapons and blood.  These scenes are not shown within the trailer until the storyline has built up, showing the film has a strong base storyline. Just like typical action films do have, there is always the bad character (villain) and the good character that tries to save/resolve the issues created, both these characters are shown in this trailer. It also shows characters, which appear to be accomplishes to the character.

Remember Me Re Cut Trailer

This is my re cut of the trailer to Remember Me. By editing and creating this re cut trailer, I have a knowledge of how to use the software Final Cut Pro now and this will help me when I come to make my own Trailer. This Trailer was originally a Romantic Drama but I have edited it to make it an action trailer. I have done this by only including scenes which have a lot of action in them and by adding different sounds/music with the trailer, this dramatically changes it and therefore it no longer is presented as a romantic drama, it is now an action film.

Original Trailer:

Re cut Trailer:

Story Board - Remember Me 2010

I have chosen to look at and re cut the trailer for Remember Me. Below I have created the storyboard for the trailer to help me with analysing it and choosing how to re cut it into a different genre.

Below this I have placed the story board in the order of which I have re cut the trailer to make it into a different genre. I have taken certain scenes out and with others I have changed the order of them to make them more effective and give the film a different storyline.

Trailer Analysis - The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

                                                            The Silence of the Lambs

This trailer is a full trailer as it is on for around two minutes, it starts off with a clip of a main character rather than the title of the film. It does this by showing a lot of jump cuts. It cuts to the character to different scenes within the film which creates a face passed motion and builds up tension for the audience.  Throughout the trailer, non diegetic music is played, this builds the tension and suspense for the audience and creates more adrenaline which is what the audience for horror films want. There is also added sound effects throughout the trailer to make it more scarier and effective. You can distinguish the roles of the characters within the trailer as they have typical roles in which a horror film already does. There are a variety of shots used within the trailer this makes the trailer more interesting and keeps the attention of the viewer, it can also help to set the pace for the trailer, which in this case is a fast one. A long shot is used to show the location of where the character is and there is also close up shots to show the reaction of the characters. There is a scene where to characters are having a conversation and this is shown by an over the shoulder shot.

The non diegetic music which is added, creates a build up to what is going to happen in the trailer and gives an insight into the main event which will occur in the film. A scene which is in slow motion also occurs to add a dramatic effect to this part of the trailer. With this part, an effect is used to make the scene red and this colour connotes danger, blood and warning, suggesting to the audience that what is on the screen will be significant in the film. To create tension, the build up of music is added and although it reaches a climax in the trailer, it doesn’t reveal the overall plot of the film as this would ruin it and viewers would be less inclined to watch the film as they would know what was going to happen.

The trailer ends with the title of the film and the name of the actors, it is important that the trailer does this as the title wasn’t displayed at the start and by adding it at the end, the audience are more likely to remember the name of the film. With regards to dialogue, there is the voices of the characters from clips within the film and there is also a voice over on the trailer which is setting the scene and explain the film to grab the viewer’s attention. The main setting for the trailer is within a prison and from the shot types used, you can distinguish this. This helps the viewer to identify the genre of the film as being a horror as places like a prisons set the tone for murders and crimes/crime solving. The overall lighting for the trailer is dark and mysterious, creating tension and a atmosphere of not knowing what’s around the corner, which is what makes horror films successful. This film is a physiological horror, it shows the perspective of the murderer how he thinks and how he commits his crimes, showing the audience how this is done.

Genre Theory

Original Trailer:

Re Cut Trailer:

Above are two trailer's for The Shining. The first one is the original one and the second one is the edited one. The first trailer is within the horror genre and the second edited trailer has been made to be a family friendly rom-com trailer. The original trailer makes it clear to the viewer that the genre is horror due to various aspects. The non diegetic sound that has been used makes the scenes more tense and from this we can recognise the film to be a horror. It also contained a lot of jump cuts and it was fast paced, this creates more adrenaline for the viewer and sets the pace of the film, fast, which will grip viewers who like horror films. Another editing skill which has been used is the font of the writing, the font used makes the trailer appear to be within the horror genre, the trailer doesn't contain a font which we would associate with being in an action or romance film.

The second trailer which I looked at, which was the edited version, has been edited so it is no longer within the horror genre and now appears to be a family friendly, rom-com film. All the dialogue used within this creates an image of new happily formed family who are always smiling. The non diegetic music which was added to this trailer creates an up beat atmosphere and this can change the whole feel of the trailer. The main character within the trailer is a well established actor, which means there will be a much larger audience for the trailer/film, also in this trailer, as it perceives the character to be a much more likeable one, it makes more people want to watch it as they will want to watch the trailer as they will like the character. In the original trailer, the colours used when text is displayed is mainly black and red, these colours are related to darkness and blood therefore showing it is a horror film, however in this edited trailer, the colours are lighter and it has diverted from the dark colours and red to connote blood and anger. The page of the film is a lot slower than the original one as the focus on this is not to provide adrenaline for the audience but to create a family friendly film.

The re cut version has different non-diegetic sound, which is used within it. This shows the genre which the trailer fits in to, with the re cut, a happy upbeat song has been added which automatically changes the atmosphere of the trailer, it no longer has tension anymore and is perceived as now a family friendly trailer. The music in the new trailer is a narrative one which is happy, this implies positivity and shows happiness of the characters. The mis en scene within the trailer has been changed in order to make it look friendly. Any weapons that were in the original trailer have now been removed and therefore the trailer is not associated with violence anymore. 

The re cut trailer contains dialogue from the characters, in the original trailer the main character is threatening and the tone of his voice is lower, in the re cut version, slight changes to the tone of his voice have been changed in order to cater for the new genre. The dialogue of the characters works in parallel to the upbeat music which has been added to the trailer.

I know this film is going to be a horror as the way the characters have been presented, the types of fonts and colours used and how the trailer contains aspects which feature in typical horror films. Non diegetic music which is added to build tension/suspense is a common thing within horror movies. Also the characters, you can distinguish that there is always a bad character, the ghost, spirit, villain, in this case a murderer, and then you get the character who is the victim/trying to resolve the case.