QUESTION TWO

Compare and contrast three trailers from different genres and how they reveal its genre

THREE CHOSEN FILMS

ICONOGRAPHY

Steve Camsall suggests in his film analysis guide that:

Iconography is an important aspect of genre. We expect to see certain objects on screen when we see a particular genre, for example, in a Western, dusty lonely roads, saloon bars, cowboy hats and horses, jails, sheriffs badges, guns, etc.. In a modern horror film, we expect young girls, ‘normal’ objects, use of dark and light, etc. These ‘genre indicators’ are called the iconography of the mise-en-scene or genre.’

ICONOGRAPHY IN SKYFALL

The idea of iconography is prominent in all three of the trailersas for each genre there are certain elements such as props

or events which tightly correlate to the genre of film.

The film Skyfall falls into the genre of action and this is immediately evident from the film trailer. The trailer begins with loud, fast paced music and

quick shots of the main character, his location, and a shot of him holding a gun

The gun that he is holding is called a Walther PPK, and is one known to be used by James Bond therefore helping his characterisation

The fast pace of the music along with the fast shots link to the possibly fast pace of the film. The fast pace is created by often beats of a drum and a

fast melody being played by an instrument that sounds similar to a violin. The shot of the gun demonstrates that the film is most likely one of the action genre as we are immediately drawn to the conclusion that the

character we have seen is a spy.

ICONOGRAPHY IN SKYFALL

The next shots are of a car chase and one car is seen to lift up over the over, fast cars once again link to this idea of iconography as

they are mostly always found in films of the action genre. This connotes danger and thrill, as does the

dramatic stunt of a man falling off a very tall bridge into a large lake, this would make the audience excited to watch the film

Shots of the main character practising his shooting and showing a range of weapons would once more hint to the audience

that this film was potentially one of the action genre, as would the continuous explosions at intervals throughout the trailer

All of these things are what are commonly thought to make up a film of this action genre

ICONOGRAPHY IN 22 JUMP STREET

22 jump street fits into the genre of comedy, however it too features elements and components of the hybrid being action-comedy

For this reason the iconography for this film is almost a mixture of that found souly in comedy films, with that found only in action

films. However as action is only a sub genre for this film, most of the iconography links in with that of the comedy genre.

Typical action comedy films include lots of dangerous stunts and excitement. There is often thought to be weapons and explosions

which demonstrates the action side of the genre

The producers may have chosen to create a hybrid film as it will attract a bigger audience, as fans of both genres may want to

watch the film

ICONOGRAPHY IN INGLORIOUS BASTARDS

Something that all three of the trailers have in common is their use of iconography to alert audiences of what

particular genres their trailers fit in to

Such as, in the trailer for Inglorious Bastards, there are masses of explosions and weapons and shots of soldiers depict the

genre to be that of war

Shots of war damaged locations and of men obeying commands shouted to them by their captains also make this trailer fit

into the film genre of war

Therefore making audience members who were interestedin that genre, be interested in this film

BACKGROUND MUSIC

A similarity that all three of these trailers have in common is that there is background music of different

paces and styles to keep the audience interested and to fill space where there is no speech from

the characters

In all three of these films coincidentally the music is loud and fast paced and although of different music genres, it is

used to keep the audience on their toes and follow along the fast paced action that the trailer features

A film of the romance genre for example may feature much slower and quieter music to suit the tone of the action

CHARACTERS

Characters play a large role in representing the genre across to the audience whether it be in the film as a

whole or simply through the trailer

As known to commonly be included in action films, the film Skyfall revolves around the main character is a spy, this is made clear

to us from the very first shot as he is holding a gun, whilst dressed smartly and appears to be

talking to someone through a communication device disguised as a watch

The actor playing that of a spy in a film of this genre is thought to be quite attractive and of a slender possibly muscled build, and again from the first shot of the actor (Daniel Craig) we think of

him as a believable spy

CHARACTERS

The ‘bad guy’ character is another thought to be prominent in all James Bond films, and other films of this genre. In this trailer we are introduced to the bad guy and we find out a little about him. We are left however unaware as to how the conflict between the two of them will pan out

This pre-judgement of what a spy character would look like is also used in the film ‘22 Jump Street’ however it is used for the opposite reason. In this film due to its genre of comedy,

they have completely gone against this stereotype, once again done for comic effect

CHARACTERSThe main or one of the main characters of films in the comedy genre is thought to

often fit the bill of quite short, unattractive, and slightly over weight. In this film again

and evident in the trailer the casting directors have cast someone who fits this description and is seen as the archetypal actor for a role

in a comedy

In this film binary opposition is used in regards to the two main characters, one for example being tall and of a slender build while the other is short and quite

chubby. This is done for comic effect

As in Skyfall, the main characters of the film ‘22 Jump Street’ which fits into the action-comedy genre, are male. In this particular film the main characters are a

double act however this is not always the case which is uncommon in genres other than comedy

The two main characters are the first two characters seen majorly in the trailer apart from a brief shot of a male

whom they are having a conversation with

CHARACTERS

Once again stereotypes are used in the film ‘Inglorious Bastards’ as the first character we see appears to be a

captain shouting an order at a strict formation of obedient soldiers

The captain is dressed well and looks smart, and is in better and more intricate uniform than the soldiers

This immediate depiction of role and the difference in uniform show to the audience the difference in power held,

and the depiction of soldier and captain links to the genre of war films

LOCATIONAlthough the locations for each of the films and their trailers, they all help to

indicate the genre of their film

The trailer for Skyfall example includes shots of train-top action, and scenes occuring on top of a high bridge and

on busy roads, to add thrill and excitement

The film ’22 Jump Street’ is set in a high school, immediately this provokes a comic response from the audience as the two main characters are around

the age of fourty therefore making their task of blending in with the students quite difficult

The use of this location may attract teen viewers as they can relate to the representation of school life

The trailer for ‘Inglorious Bastards’ shows locations that are run down and look as though they have been ruined by war, once again correlating with

the genre it belongs to

PRESENTATIONThe presentation of the shots is extremely different in the three

trailers as they all portray their genre in a different way

For example in the film Skyfall, the non stop motion of the trailer correlates to that featured in the film once again drawing fans of the action genre into the film

There is too a lot of fast paced editing to keep the trailer moving and keep the audience on the edge of their seat

This film includes high-energy, big budget stunts which is one of the main elements thought to be key in action films

These are demonstrated in the trailer through quick shots of each to let the audience know that this film

fits firmly into the action genre

PRESENTATIONIn the trailer for ‘22 Jump Street’ there are no quick shots, just a compilation of

different clips highlight brief moments of comical happenings or conversations

With films in this genre is the comical aspect of the film that will attract an audience, therefore unlike in Skyfall

where big stunts and many shots of action are needed, in this trailer they just aim to include as many jokes and pieces of humour as

they can

The trailer begins with a counsellor speaking and the genre is not immediately obvious until the two main characters are shown, the text spoken between the two in this short clip makes it immediately obvious that even if this film

wasn’t entirely a comedy, it definitely included elements of it

This is contrasting to the trailer for Skyfall, where the main character is immediately shown and it is obvious to us that the films revolves around

him and his doings

PRESENTATION

In action and war films there is often an underlying sense of time running out, or a rush for something to be done and

that is prominent in both the trailers for Skyfall and for Inglorious Bastards

Although not immediately, a way into the trailer for Inglorious Bastards the action is shown to us through a number of

quick shots changing from different locations and different characters demonstrating a sense of urgency and a climax

to a pivotal point in the film