1. THE BOURNE LEGACY
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1194173/

2. Film title
• The films title is The Bourne Legacy. This
is the fourth film in a franchise of ‘Bourne’
films. This will be known by the majority of
the trailers audience as the previous
Bourne films have been very successful
with all three in total grossing
660,712,000.

3. Film title information
• The title ‘The Bourne Legacy’ appears once at
the end of the trailer. The title comes together
like jigsaw pieces coming together and goes
from being slightly blurry to more clear which
could suggest an Enigma code (Barthes theory)
and that the film is a mystery film where the
audience have to piece things together from the
narrative to figure out the story. This Enigma
code is used as a way to create tension as the
title is in a san serif font which implies
seriousness but modernity as appropriate for an
action-based thriller. The white text on the black
background reinforces this serious theme.

4. Titles
• ‘There was never just one’ is the first title to appear. This
title is uncovered as the image above it wipes away off
the screen which could be reinforcing the idea of an
Enigma code as just the title is being uncovered maybe
the story will be uncovered during the film. It is in a san
serif font and is white on a black background which
would reinforce the idea of a serious theme to the film.
The title is small in relation to the screen size so it is
most likely just there to inform and not to have a huge
impact on the audience. The second title ‘on August 10’
is shown in the same font and same background but it is
uncovered as white lines go across it. The next two titles
‘The Legacy’ and ‘lives on’ are also shown in the same
way. The date of the films release is then repeated at the
end to try and keep it in the viewers mind as well as
building anticipation whilst giving useful information. This
repetition of title fonts and styles is to emphasize a
consistent theme to the film.

5. Website and social networking
• At the end of the trailer the website address is
shown which may encourage viewers to find out
more about the film if they are considering
watching it. There is also Facebook page there
as this is a popular website which many people
are part of and so may become interested in the
film by joining a Bourne Legacy group or liking a
page. Friends of people who have liked this
page may then become interested as well.
These are examples of synergy and bi-
directional promotion.

6. The hero
• At the beginning we assume Kenneth Gibson is the
‘hero’ in the film. We find out his name through a
narrative where he is asked who he is but later on he is
called Aaron Cross and at the end the woman calls him
Harry which causes an Enigma/mystery for the audience
as he is being called different names and this may
encourage them to delve further into the film. The
audience assumes he is the hero because most of the
events in the trailer revolve around him and what he is
doing or what is happening to him. The hero is
represented in a conventional way for this type of
thriller/mystery film as he is involved in a lot of action and
violence and this is common in these kind of films. The
actor Jeremy Renner is a rising star with recently
successful films which he has starred in or co-starred in
being Mission Impossible, The Avengers and The Hurt
Locker but the film is not sold on his star appeal but
rather the popularity of the Bourne franchise.

7. The false hero/villain
• Near the beginning this false hero seems as if he is on
the hero’s side and could be a ‘helper’ as he talks with
and encourages the ‘hero’ but later on he is portrayed as
a false hero and he is in fact the main villain and
antagonist to the hero. This is revealed as he says ‘we
will burn the program to the ground’ and from this the
audience assumes the hero will be hurt as he seemed to
be part of the program from all the tests done on him at
the start of the trailer. The audience have a shared
knowledge that this attack to the hero would be morally
wrong so assume he is the villain. This is not
conventional as usually the audience have to wait until
they have watched the film until they find out about a
false hero as it is a twist in the films plot and is not
usually revealed in the trailer. This could be a Unique
Selling Point of the film. The villain seems to have a big
team behind him whereas the hero is alone which would
make the audience empathize with the hero.

8. • This isolation has been a feature of the
Bourne films and is emphasized as it fulfils
the audiences expectations whilst we don’t
know how he will overcome these odds.
As Steve Neale says, successful genre
films are based on repetition and
difference.

9. The ‘princess’ or damsel in
distress
• At first the woman seems to be on the side of the villains and is
doing experiments on the hero but towards the end it is shown that
she becomes with the hero as they become closer. The princess is
portrayed as being vulnerable as she needs to be saved by the hero
twice but also she does seem active, confident and capable herself
as well though as she is also often in the heart of the action
alongside the hero. This is the conventional way for a princess to be
portrayed in these films. The audience would usually assume that
their relationship will follow Propp’s theory and they will be together
once the hero has defeated the villain but on the knowledge that
previous Bourne films don’t have a happy ending they cannot
assume this . This relationship also makes sure that the film has
romantic elements which will open it up to a new audience.

10. Proppian characters
• In thriller/ action/ mystery films the most
common characters are heroes, villains
and princesses all of which are in this film.

11. Location/setting
• The location of the film varies from science labs where
experiments are being done to offices with high-tech
computers and there are scenes where the ‘hero’ is in
hot countries as well as arctic, snowy countries. The
high-tech computers and labs suggest this is a modern
and top quality film. There is a binary opposition between
the hero and the villains location as the hero always
seems to be out in the middle of the action in different
places being hunted whereas the main villains are
always in offices or computer rooms hiding behind the
computers and using them to hunt the hero. This hunting
of the hero shows that this is an action film. From these
locations and the hero being chased around you are
supposed to guess the story behind the narrative you are
given (Semantic Code).

12. Colours/Lighting
• Throughout the lighting is predominately
chiaroscuro (low-key, high contrast) which is
typical for mystery films which this is. However
as the trailer goes on the key of the clips
become brighter and clearer to see which could
suggest an enigma code to the film and the story
becomes clearer as the film goes along. The
lighting of the company logo ‘Universal’ is also in
chiaroscuro lighting to fit with the theme of the
film. Companies often alter there logos to fit the
film type. The colours used are predominately
black and white to reinforce the binary
opposition of good and evil and the battle
between these two.

13. Camera shots and editing
• There are lots of over-the-shoulder shots to show
conversation between people (mainly the heroes
conversations and the villains conversations.) Also there
are quite a few tracking shots which is common in
modern action films as it makes the audience feel a part
of the action. The trailer is shown in a montage edit of
clips which is typical for this action genre of film. There
are many fade to black edits after scenes to highlight the
mystery element to the film. There are a few different
establishing shots to show the film is not just set in one
place. The editing is fast-paced to fit the genre of an
action film. The montage edit and fast-pace edits are
conventional for modern action film trailers.

14. Sound
• There is diegetic narrative from the film used as a sort of
voiceover for the trailer throughout to give you an idea of
the story of the film. This narrative is also used to
establish relationships between characters such as the
princess and the hero. A non-diegetic fast-tempo
drumbeat is used to fit with the fast-paced editing and
emphasize the feeling of fast-paced action. This
drumbeat also creates a tense, serious mood in line with
the films serious theme aiming to keep you on the edge
of your seat showing that this film has thriller elements.
Foley-effects are used to emphasize the sound of the
hero’s punches in the fight scenes to portray him as a
typical ‘action hero’ common in modern action films.
Foley effects are also used to emphasize the sounds of
gun shots, motorbike sounds and car chases to anchor
the feeling of an action theme to the film.

15. Story being created
• The story being created here is that our hero is
trying to be contained because if he is not he will
find out the truth about himself. This is done
through Barthes’ Hermeneutic Code and
Proairectic Code as a mystery is created
because the audience wonders why the hero is
being hunted and action is used to show he is
fighting the villains off and they are trying to stop
him. The Symbolic Code is also used as there
are binary opposites which are the hero and the
villain.

16. Who is the audience?
• This film is aimed at people above the age
of 13 and interested in
thriller/action/mystery films. Although the
film does contain romantic elements it is
not a main part of the film but it is just
there as it is common in modern action
films as a way to end the film that the hero
and princess end up together (Propps
theory).