This essay is about film trailers, specifically Snake eyes, and how different techniques are used to entice the audience to the film.

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Snake eyes is an action thriller. The storyline seems to be quite simple from the outside. There is a murder, perhaps more then one, and its up to the homicidal detective to figure out who did it, why and how. However, the victim is the Secretary of Defence. The murder takes place in the presence of 14,000 witnesses, in the audience of a high profile boxing match, and to make things worse it is very likely that there is more then one person involved, and at least one more potential victim. It seems almost impossible that the detective will not get caught up in the web of lies, treachery and deceit. Maybe even become a victim himself.

This essay is about film trailers, specifically Snake eyes, and how different techniques are used to entice the audience to the film.

Camera shots are very important in film trailers. They can be cut and edited to create the desired effect of the producer. For example, in snake eyes it shows a number of shots go by very fast to create a general sense of foreboding. There’s a point in the trailer where it shows close ups of the suspects like the woman in red, the boxer and several others. This leaves you with a strange and confusing feeling, are you being told the story to the letter, or are they tricking you? Many different camera shots are used, such as close ups like the woman in red, sitting in the front row of the audience, you see her face and get the feeling she is inwardly smirking, why? What has she done? It causes uneasiness and questions to pop up in the watchers mind, and that is very memorable. Another interesting shot used in the trailer is when the detective looks up into a camera; it has a rather sinister effect, making you think someone is watching him.

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There is much use of lighting in this trailer. Because the setting is dark and gritty any lighting is going to stand out. When the boxing match is in progress the lighting is centred on the boxing match, to emphasise its importance at that moment in time. The middle shots of the women in red, using a combination of the colour of her clothes, the audiences and the lighting makes her stand out from the rest of the crowd, and forces any audience to focus their attention on her, a very clear and powerful message emphasising her importance to ...

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