Semiotic Trailer Analysis of Side Effects

Side Effects (2013) - Steven Soderbergh

The trailer for the 2013 film 'Side Effects' begins with calm non diagetic music which starts off creating the impression of a happy, friendly tone but changes throughout to create more of an uneasy, intense atmosphere for the audience to watch. This build up of suspense throughout the trailer demonstrates a typical thriller genre convention.

 

During the first 15 seconds of the trailer, dissolves are used as they are easy, comfortable transitions to watch so connote a positive atmosphere starting with her romance with her husband and showing the positive side of taking the drugs for the first 30 seconds before changing to a darker tone.
 

 

The positive atmosphere portrayed in the first 30 seconds cuts off with a fade out to a black screen with the dialogue "911 what's your emergency?". This shows the dramatic change in tone showing the audience a more accurate view of the films overall genre.

 

 

The type of cuts and transitions used throughout the trailer indicate the overall tone and atmosphere conveyed in each scene, for example the fact that after the first 30 seconds, the dissolves and fade in/outs change to straight cuts shows how the trailer becomes more intense and is made to have a different effect on the audience.

 

 

The jump cuts edited with the protagonists dialogue "I need help" and non diagetic noises begins to create an uneasy atmosphere and a sense of danger that continues throughout the rest of the trailer. This is aided by the slight blur of the camera which helps to create a darker tone. 

 

  These jump cuts showing the dark red blood against the white coloured flooring creates a distinct contrast between the two colours which makes it appear more dramatic and shocking for the audience to watch. 

 

 

The non diagetic music then changes after that moment to create more of an eerie atmosphere, this intense music continues throughout the trailer which is a typical genre convention of a psychological thriller to intrigue the audience into wanting to know more by building up suspense.

 

 

The diagetic dialogue "There's been an incident" creates a sense of mystery to the trailer which will intrigue the audience into wanting to watch more. It also aids the dramatic change in tone as it uses low key lighting in contrast to the high key lighting used in the opening of the trailer.

 

The build up of the non diagetic music throughout the trailer and diagetic dialogue "Destroy them, before they destroy you" are the last sounds to be heard in the trailer, these non-visual elements are the result of the constant build up of suspense from almost the beginning of the trailer.

 

 

The white, thin text used to display the actors names and title of the film are placed on a dark background which makes it more prominent therefore stands out. A slightly blurred effect has been used to create an uneasy atmosphere which ultimately links to the genre so that overall the trailer has an intriguing impact on the audience.

 

 

The tagline "In some instances, death may occur" is the last thing to be displayed on the screen therefore aids the non-visual elements to leaves the audience feeling intrigued and in suspense as most psychological thrillers would create this type of effect.

 

Semiotic Trailer Analysis of Black Swan

Black Swan (2010) - Darren Aronofsky

To convey a sense of tension and mystery the editor for this trailer has used various shots and editing techniques such as:

The trailer for the movie 'Black Swan' begins with light-hearted classical music connoting a sense of innocence and purity, this is also due to the white coloured ballerina clothing that the protagonist wears in the opening scene. This non-diagetic music however becomes more intense as the trailer goes on, starting after the dialogue "she kills herself", which therefore allows the audience to see that the film has an overall darker tone to it.

 

 

The mise-en-scene of Mila Kunis' character always being shown wearing dark, black clothing creates a clear contrast between her character and the main protagonist Nina, portrayed by Natalie Portman who is usually shown to be wearing a mixture of white, grey and light pink tones.

These lighter, swan-like colours further connote her characters innocence and purity, which ultimately links with the storyline and creates a contrast between the black swan and the white swan. The dark clothing represents how the antagonist is seen as a temptation to Nina into behaving more like she does and acting less innocent.

Furthermore, not only is Mila Kunis' character Lily shown wearing black clothes, everyone else around Nina seems to be wearing black, or dark clothing aswell. The colour of her clothing appears to portray her characters transition from the innocent white swan to the not so pure and innocent black swan as she is shown wearing darker coloured clothing nearer to the end of the trailer.
 

 

The over the shoulder shot used after Nina has just met Lily suggests that she is perhaps being followed by someone, which creates an uneasy impression on the audience of the meeting with this new character.
 

 

The jump cuts edited with the drum like noises creates a sense of chaos which is built up throughout the trailer. The fast pace of these cuts make the scene appear more intense which further disorientates the audience and creates an uneasy atmosphere for the viewer to watch.
 

 

The non diagetic music builds up throughout the trailer to create tension which leads towards the climax of the trailer with the dialogue "She's gone!", this build up of an intense atmosphere demonstrates typical genre conventions of a psychological thriller.

 

A montage is also used leading towards the end of the trailer which builds up tension and suspense. the ending of the montage cuts off the music and ends on the dialogue "She's gone!", the straight cut used to change the shot to a black screen makes the end of the montage more dramatic and subsequently makes it uneasy and uncomfortable for the audience to watch.

 

 

 

The fade in used after the montage slows the pace of the trailer down but still shows the intensity with a slightly different non-diagetic music, this reduced pace creates a sense of eeriness that continues to make the audience feel uncomfortable.

 

 

The voice over narration used from the protagonist throughout the trailer constantly reminds the reader that the film is from her point of view which allows us as an audience to try to understand her thoughts and feelings. The noise of her heavy breathing carrying on over the top of the title sequence further emphasises the uneasy atmosphere and leaves the audience with lingering tension, therefore following typical thriller genre conventions.

 

 

The final scene of the trailer starts of with a fade in, which is a comfortable to watch transition but is then made to leave the audience feeling uneasy and connotes a sense of lingering tension which is a typical genre convention for a psychological thriller. The straight cuts added with the extreme close up used on the protagonists face makes the scene more uncomfortable for the audience to watch therefore helps to intensify the scene further.

 

 

 

 In the title sequence, the white text used creates a clear contrast between the writing and the black feathered background which connotes the distinction between the white swan and the black swan by putting the two colours against one another.  
 

Forms and Conventions of a Psychological Thriller Trailer

Psychological thriller is a sub-genre of the wide-ranging thriller category, but it often incorporates elements of mystery, drama, and horror. Psychological thrillers feature intense action in the plot as well as in the characters' minds and unstable emotional states.

I have decided on creating a film trailer rather than producing a 5 minute short film as I feel that the story will be more in depth due to it being a psychological thriller therefore I do not want to have to condense the storyline to fit a 5 minute film. This was a major factor that aided my decision to make a trailer, furthermore by creating a trailer I can intrigue the audience into wanting more which would ultimately influence them to watch the full feature film. Due to my chosen genre, I also felt a film trailer would be more appropriate because it will leave the audience with unanswered questions.


After researching various trailers, I decided my overall genre would be psychological thriller as personally I found it a very interesting genre and enjoy watching and understanding the storylines of these type of films. This means that I will most likely use certain techniques and features such as the build up of tension throughout the trailer and the use of jump cuts to disorientate the audience as these are typical conventions of the psychological thriller genre. The film trailers I will be analysing are:
 
• Black Swan
• Side Effects
• The Sixth Sense
• Shutter Island

My Chosen Brief

Brief 2
I am going to make a promotion package for a new film, to include a trailer, together with a film magazine front cover featuring the film and a poster for the film.