Textual analysis of action film trailers

1. Film trailer
analysis

2. I chose three action film trailers to
research to prove the codes and
conventions.
The Avengers AssembleLucy 2014 The Hunger Games 2012

3. In my initial research I found that
the production company logo is
usually found at the start of the
trailer. In the trailer for The
Avengers it is at 0:40, Lucy is at
0:06 and The Hunger Games is at
0:28. The production companies
usually make certain genres of
films, meaning their logos reflect
this. For example, Universal
Studios produce mainly action,
adventure and sci-fi films like Fast
and Furious, Back to the Future
and Jurassic Park and their logo
uses lots of blue, the main colour
used in these type of films.
The Avengers
Lucy
The Hunger Games

4. Titles: The Avengers
The titles in The Avengers are written
in metallic black with a blue tint and
with a glowing white outline over a
black background. This makes it look
stereotypically “sci-fi” and suggests the
use of futuristic technology. The
marvel logo is also included near the
start of the trailer so the audience will
recognise the company name and
want to see the film. The titles in this
trailer do not reveal excess information
about the narrative as the voice over
explains everything that the audience
needs to know.

5. The titles in the Lucy trailer are written
in white over a black background as this
shows the opposite of normality. The
titles in this trailer do not reveal excess
information about the narrative as the
voice over explains everything that the
audience needs to know. The titles in
this trailer are only shown towards the
end of the trailer so the main part of
the narrative, Lucy having drugs
implanted in her stomach and gaining
psychokinesis powers, is not
interrupted. They are placed between
the fast paced shot of the action to
break up the rest of the narrative.
Titles: Lucy

6. The titles in the trailer for The
Hunger Games are written in
metallic gold over a black
background with the glowing of
the flames on the bottom of each
title. This links all of the screens
to the title of the film as it is
shown to be on fire. Like in Lucy,
the titles in this trailer are only
shown towards the end of the
trailer so the main part of the
narrative, Katniss volunteering
as tribute, is not interrupted.
They are placed between the
fast paced shot of the action to
break up the rest of the
narrative.
Titles: The
Hunger Games

7. Mise-en-scene: The
Avengers
In the trailer for The Avengers,
Loki is shown in green clothing
with black hair. Green is the colour
associated with villains (Lex
Luthor, The Joker, Green Goblin
and Doctor Doom etc) as in the
'60s green was a cheap colour to
print and the contrast between the
typical red and blue of the heroes
and the green of villains is easy to
distinguish during fight scenes.
Loki is given black hair as

8. Mise-en-scene:
Lucy
Brown and purple make-
up has been used under
Lucy’s eyes to create
bags, showing that she
has not been sleeping.
Her hair is untidy
showing that she is not
looking after herself and
that she does not care
about her appearance.

9. Mise-en-scene: The
Hunger Games
There is a blue tint through out
the trailer, including the
costumes of the crowds (blue,
gray, white and brown). They
are all in the same colours and
“uniform” to show that
everyone is the same, whereas
the woman on the stage is in
bright pink, showing that she is
above everyone else.

10. Shots: The Avengers
When the heros of the film are first
shown, they're in low angle shots to show
the power and authority that they have.
When the villain is shown, he is in an
extreme close up and he has tilted his
head down but is looking up slightly, this
look makes him look evil and crazy,
showing that he is the villain.

11. Shots: Lucy
When the drugs start to effect
'Lucy', an extreme close up of her
eyes is shown as they change shape
and colour to show that something
unusual is happening to her and it is
making her body change.
As she is being transported, an
extreme close up of her lip quivering
is shown. This shows that she is
scared about what is happening and
what will happen next.

12. Shots: The Hunger Games
At the start of the trailer, the main
protagonist and the place she lives
are shown in a long shot. The
town looks very run down and
looks like the people that live
there are very poor.
A high angle shot shows everyone
in the same colours. This shows
that they have no power or
authority and that they are not
important.

13. Through doing this textual analysis, I found the following set of codes and conventions.
● Within the first part of the trailer, the production company logo is shown. The reputation of the company can
help sell the film as people may see the logo and have liked previous films they have made.
● The film title is shown at the end of the trailer. The background and font show the genre of the film e.g. dark
for horror, colourful for comedy, blue and silver for action.
● Film trailers have started to put social media links like hashtags, Twitter accounts, Facebook pages to 'like' and
website URLs at the end of their trailers. This allows people to follow these and find out more information
about the film and to interact with other people who are also interested. This is a good marketing technique as
if the hashtag 'trends', people all around the world will know about the film.
● The music sets the pace and connects with the genre of the trailer. The music can either be something created
specifically for the film or something already in existence.
● Voice overs help the audience understand the narrative. They can either be an external voice or from the
dialogue.
● Name captions of actors and people from production are shown throughout. Actors names are shown when
their characters are first introduced to the trailer. The directors name is shown to draw in more people,
especially if they are well known like Quentin Tarantino as fans of his films will see his name and want to see
his new film.
● The trailer should be no longer then 2:30, however, two of the trailers exceeded this limit, Lucy being 2:31 and
The Hunger Games being 2:38.
● The release date is shown at the end of the trailer so audiences know when the film will be in cinemas. This
attracts large audiences on the day of the release as many people will go to see the film on release day