Part of The Student Room Group

  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

How does the 'Lord of the Rings' trailers prepare the audience for the films?

Extracts from this document...

Introduction

How does the 'Lord of the Rings' trailers prepare the audience for the films? Trailers are used to advertise a film. In the trailer, there are generally stock scenes from that genre to appeal to the target audience. Also, trailers are typically a device used to shape audience expectations of that film. In addition, films will often have a Unique Selling Point that is emphasised throughout the trailer. A Unique Selling Point is generally how the directors and producers wish to portray a film to potential viewers. In Lord of the Rings, the Unique Selling Point was atypical from all other films. Peter Jackson, the director of the trilogy, knew that his film was something original and special and the trailer picks up on this through the use of narrative, the choice of shots, the music and the pace of editing. The Lord of the Rings trailers are distinctive in the way in which they were released. The trailer for the Lord of the Rings trilogy was, in fact, released at Christmas in 2000 however, the first film was not actually released until Christmas 2001! This proved to be a successful method of marketing the film in order to manipulate it into becoming a box office smash. ...read more.

Middle

Furthermore, a forest is a conventional fantasy location making it relevant to the genre. In contrast, another lighting effect that is used in LOTR trailer is toplighting. This is in the scene when Galadrial is talking to Frodo. The lighting over her makes her appear angelic and the shade of lighting- a clear, white light- makes her seem innocent and pure. Her face is also completely lit up, therefore, she has nothing to hide and the audience will instantly deem her as a trustworthy character. An example of high key lighting is when, in the Shire, there is quite a bright, consistent light to make the place appear happy and peaceful as the 'before' time: before the ring caused trouble. The lighting effect makes the place seem as if it is almost too bright, too green and too perfect, therefore the audience presume that something is likely to go wrong. Additionally, it is a paradox that there could be such evil occurring in a place of such beauty. The lighting also makes the place seem like idyllic: a utopia. Colour is used symbolically throughout the trailer but one specific example comes to mind. The use of colour on the ring. It makes you assume that, because it is gold that it is of great importance and, because gold is a symbol of wealth it suggests to the audience that it is wanted and that it is precious. ...read more.

Conclusion

The Lord of the Rings trailers, to me, served their purpose well by using particular filmic codes to inform me of the genre of the movies, the themes explored and the plot that is unravelled through the duration of the trilogy. They are an effective way of advertising Lord of the Rings, especially taking into consideration the way in which the trailers were released. In my opinion, the most effective part of the trailers was at the beginning of the very first trailer when the ring is almost made out of fire and the shot jumps to a scene of the landscape of middle-earth. Pairing this with a narrative voice speaking ominously of the ring's powers and the fact that the entire fate of middle-earth rests on Frodo's shoulders makes it particularly effective because of the striking jump shot from fire to green foliage and mountains, which instantly makes this part stick in your mind. In addition, the booming voice is informing you of something essential that a viewer would need to know to understand the plot and the importance of the ring. Overall, the trailers effectively prepare the audience by giving them some details of the plot, setting and characters but not too much, thus giving the audience a need to view the film to discover more. ...read more.

The above preview is unformatted text

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our AS and A Level Plays section.

Found what you're looking for?

  • Start learning 29% faster today
  • 150,000+ documents available
  • Just £6.99 a month

or


Not the one? Search for your essay title...
  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

See related essaysSee related essays

Related AS and A Level Plays essays

  1. Compare and contrast 2 film trailers Analyzing their effectiveness - 'Free Willy' and 'Dead ...

    In 'Dead Again' the tone of voice used is threatening, the actors voice is very sinister and makes you think that he's the killer; the voice adds more mystery and evilness. Alomst scaring the viewers into seeing this film. Voice-over's also play a part in these trailers.

  2. Charlie's angels - Comment on the opening sequence of 'Charlie Angels' engage and entertain ...

    As they fall, the camera zooms out and shows a long shot of them, This builds drama and is moreover to show the audience everything that is happening so they can witness how far up they are and what speed they are travelling at.

  1. How to Plan and Prepare an Effective Presentation

    A much smaller portion of the audience will attend the oral presentation. 4. Following the presentation, a portion of the audience will ask questions, which the speaker will answer. 5. A few members of the audience will engage the speaker in continuing discussions during the remainder of the conference or following the conference.

  2. How do the cinematic codes, specifically mise-en-scene and sound, in the opening sequence of ...

    The first several shots of Christian's flashback of the Moulin Rouge are bright and reminiscent of a nightmare, this helps the audience to realise that terrible things happened whilst Christian was involved with the Moulin Rouge and that it was like a nightmare.

  1. How far does Act 1 of "The Crucible" prepare the audience for the drama ...

    The Putnams are still grieving at the loss of seven babies and they seem to be desperate, "And so I thought to send her to your Tituba."... "Tituba knows how to speak to the dead" The couple are portrayed to the audience as being gullible and determined to believe that

  2. How do the micro elements cinematography and mise-en-scene contribute to the creation of a ...

    this shows that within this part of the film, they are both as important as each other. Mise-en-scene also helps with the creation of empathy and tension for the audience. The lighting within the sequence is dark, there is no natural light as it is night time, there is only

  1. Analyse the effectiveness of the techniques and devices used in film trailers in persuading ...

    These all draw the viewer in and help to persuade them to watch the film. Both trailers have the same purpose however they both use different effects and aspects of the film to achieve this. The 'Charlie's Angels' trailer only tries to attract people to the film, whereas 'Terminator 3' also informs them.

  2. Examine the Techniques, Which the Directors of the Public Information Films Use To Convey ...

    The closing shot is of a zoom on Ken Dodd's face. This emphasises his face and he repeats the message to the audience. "Blood Donors with Ernie Wise and Glenda Jackson" is a comedic PIF which uses Ethos to persuade the audience.

  • Over 160,000 pieces
    of student written work
  • Annotated by
    experienced teachers
  • Ideas and feedback to
    improve your own work