The first actual shot of the trailer is of the words ‘THE GENERAL’ is then shown in bold whit capital letters. I t stands out upon the black background. The words move back and eventually fade into the background. At the beginning of this shot the music builds up, trumpets now accompany the drums. This gives out a sense of defiance and strength. The audience associates this with war and battle. This next shot is a mid shot of a man walking boldly with his head up high. He is walking through lines of soldiers in big strides. He is also dressed in armour, so we assume he is the general. The general has a stern, solemn expression he seems secure and confident. The lighting is bright but creates the sense of an austere atmosphere and a serious mood.
The following shot is of the words ‘WHO BECAME A SLAVE’. It is shown in the same format as the words before it. E.g. white letters, black background, etc. These words fascinate the audience and make them curious, as to how did a man so high up fall down to being a slave. We then see a long shot that pans across the slaves lined up. The hero stands out as he is at the end of the line and looking in a different direction. The image reflects on the words, by showing men wearing rags and in chains. The lighting is bright and orangey, making the atmosphere seem hot and clammy.
We then see the words ‘THE SLAVE’ again in the same format as the other words before. Subsequently, we see a mid shot of the hero from behind. The dark lighting gives more focus to where the hero is walking to, which is some form of arena. We hear a low chant of ‘MAXIMUS’ by the crowd in the arena. This builds up tension and informs the audience know the hero’s name.
The words ‘WHO BECAME A GLADIATOR’ then appear on screen in the previous format. This informs the audience of the basic plot, by showing what happens next. The gladiator is moving up again, because a gladiator is a little higher than as slave in society. Next we see a low angle, mid shot of the hero dressed in armour. This makes the hero look powerful and higher up. This shot appeals to the male side of the audience, as he the hero looks masculine and men like masculinity. It also appeals to the feminine side of the audience as women find a man in armour attractive. The chants of ‘MAXIMUS’ get louder which adds excitement.
The following shot is of the words ‘THE GLADIATOR’. We then see the hero tuning to face the camera in slow motion. Sympathy is created for the hero by the expression on his face, a depressed, concerned look. Sympathy is also created by the dark expressive lighting. This shot is a close up shot, helping to see the hero’s expression. After this shot we see another shot of words, ‘WHO DEFIED AND EMPIRE’. This is the last of these repetitive word shots. They fulfil their purpose, which was to help the trailer flow and tell the basic plot. This adds to intrigue, as to how one man can defy an empire. Also the word empire relates to the genre of roman history and an epic. After this shot, we immediately hear a change in music. It now involves more instruments and gives a sense of determination, as the hero had determination to defy an empire. It also makes it instantly recognisable as an epic element of the film, because the music is not modern.
Subsequently we see a range of clips that have been fast edited to increase excitement. The first few clips are of the emperor, the gladiators and the chariots. All these give clues to this film being an epic. The costume for example: the armour, the weapons, the masks, the wreath on the emperor’s head. This all relates to roman culture. The revealing of the gladiators mask especially looks terrifying. There isn’t a voice over in this trailer, instead dialogue, cleverly selected from the film is used to give the audience an idea of the basic plot. The first piece of dialogue is over the shot of the gladiator removing his mask. The second bit of the dialogue is run from the actual shot it was taken from. The vocabulary of the dialogue ‘IN THIS LIFE OR THE NEXT I WILL GET MY VENGENCE’ is another sign that this film is an epic. It is also a summary of the whole plot and tells us the film is about revenge. After these two shots, we see a low angle shot of the famous coliseum. This tells the audience where the action and the film is taking place in Rome. It also attracts certain types of audiences that are fascinated with architecture. This is because in reality the coliseum is in ruins, but in this shot it is computer graphically restored so the audience can visualize the coliseum in its era. One of the following shots we see is a close up of Caesar, the emperor. By facial expression he is making, which makes him look evil. The audience assume he is the enemy. We then see several more shots of fighting, chariots and action. All these shots are fast shots but in a variety of different styles. We see a long shot of the coliseum; this is to see all the action around. We also see a mid shot of a fight to see in detail. We also see a close up of the hero wrestling with a tiger. This lures the audience and gives them a sense of thrill and reality. The lighting in these shots is bright and almost orangey. This lighting concentrates the mind and looks good. In these shots there is also sound exaggeration to show brutality and excitement. For example, the swords clashing, metal on metal. After this we hear another dialogue run from the shot it was taken from. The shot is of Caesar shouting to a woman ‘AM I NOT MERCIFUL’. Next we see a couple more fighting shots and then we see a long shot of a chariot bursting through some doors. This shot is in slow motion and in comparison to the fast fighting shots.
Following this is a word shot, ‘THIS SUMMER’. This is an important piece of information to the audience, as it indicates when the film is being released. We then see several more shots including, a high angle long shot of the coliseum and a mid shot from behind of an old man opening curtains. Over these two shots we hear more dialogue from the film, ‘CAESAR IS PROUD TO GIVE YOU, AMIUS MAXIMUS. This tells the audience the name of the hero. Then we see a couple of romantic shots, which appeal to the feminine side of the audience. We see a shot of the hero in armour, very sweaty. This appeal’s to women as they like a man in armour who is very muscular and sweaty. Next we see a shot of the hero kissing the woman, Caesar was earlier shouting at. This shot appeals to the part of the audience who like the romantic genre. This is mainly women. Following this we see a chariot going through the fire. The use of fire is used to represent adventure and excitement. It is presented in slow motion this is also a good contrast to the fighting sequences. Next is a shot of words ‘A HERO WILL RISE’. This is almost biblical and gives a clue to the audience of the ending of the film. After that we see a mid shot low angle of the hero with confetti falling over him. This makes him look powerful and the audience assume he has succeeded in getting his vengeance. The next shot is a word shot, ‘FROM DIRECTOR RIDLEY SCOTT. The hero’s name ’Russell Crowe’ is not highlighted because he is not well known. The director’s name is highlighted because he is a respectable well known director. He also directed Alien, Silence of the Lambs, Thelma and Louise and Blade Runner. The sound behind this frame changes is influential strong aggressive and memorable. This continues the theme of defiance and vengeance. The following shot is of some fighting scenes. Then we see the title of the film ’GLADIATOR’. This is in capital, gold, 3D letters. It is given nearly at the end of the trailer so it will stay in the audiences mind. The last shot is of the words ‘SUMMER 2000 A.D.’ The letters are in white letters and stand out upon the black background. The style of the whole genre is carried off at the end by the end letters associating with roman culture.
Overall I think this trailer is effective and very successful. It is a lavish production with no expense spared. It is full of dramatic action and fighting scenes. It is about good over coming evil and relies heavily on action and clever dialogues to interest the audience. It is very effective in promoting the film and interesting the audience. It has good uses of font, colour music and dialogue. In my opinion I think too much of the plot and the ending was give away. This might lose some of the audience, as the already know the storyline.
