The connecting clips are visualized with the slow ticking of click in the background. This is used to show a sense of urgency and that the danger is approaching them.
In this trailer there are many things, which try to persuade the viewers that the movie is worth spending their money on. In one of such attractive there is a pretty lady in a red dress lying on the leaves, with beautiful scenery in the background. This clip creates a sense of harmony, calm and peace. In another such clip there is a man sitting proudly on his horse, with people applauding for him. This is a clear sign of triumph and valiance.
In about the middle of the trailer there is an interesting caption showing two hobbits played by, Elijah Wood and Sean Astin arguing wither to kill a creature, which looks like a monkey but seems to have cunning and calculating brain of human. Sean Astin insists the creature is a murderer, while Elijah Wood says that they can’t possibly hurt him, as he is their friend. This shows the infidelity of friends and conspiracies made by them. This provokes the viewers to watch the film.
Towards the end captions are introduced, “this Christmas” is displayed on black background with block yellow letters. The caption carries on, ‘The journey ends’ as the previous caption wasn’t whole. This tells the viewers that the exhausting journey in “the lord of the rings _ The return the king”, has finally come to an end. And that this is the last film of “The Lord of the rings” series. The following caption, ‘There will be no triumph without loss” is relevant to the war which is being fought in the film and means that you can’t gain victory without losing your loved ones, at some consequences or another. “No victory without suffering” is again relevant to the war and elaborates that you can’t be triumph until you undergo different hardships and suffer by the hands of your enemy. ‘ No freedom without sacrifice’ is again a war relevant quote, emphasizing on the people who can’t be free until they make sacrifices, like risking the life of themselves and the people they love.
After all these sequences, the following captions are shown, with background music and the speed of the trailer decreases as it approaches its end. One of the concluding clipping of the film features Elijah Wood. He is in blood and anguish and is screaming. It seems as if he is been pressed down by some great weight and is suffering. This simply shocks the viewers and then leaves them with a cliffhanger.
The last clip of the trailer reveals the title and the release date of the film. “ Lord of the rings _ The return of the king ” and then ‘December, 17th’ 2003”, marking the end of the trailer.
The film trailer “Gladiator” opens with a close-up shot of ‘Universal’ logo. This immediately gives the viewers confidence to watch the film as the universal is a highly recognizable name of film industry. The next caption is of ‘Dream works’, which again is reputable name of film industry and even in the initiative stage of the trailer persuades viewers to watch the film.
The following clip consists of a plain, black background with upper case with a caption stating “The general “. This instantly gives high expectations for the character of the film. The sound of drumbeat is also building up in the background. This creates a sense of power and defiance. The following shot introduces us to the main character “Maximums”. We are given an impression that he is a powerful, strong and respected person, as we see him walking proudly away from the camera. The next clip states,
‘Who became a slave’
By reading the word slave we think of poverty and lack of independence. Correspondently, the next shot reveals his new position working as a slave.
The next shot is set in a coliseum, Maximums is shown walking away from the camera, which is behind him. It increases the tension and curiosity dramatically, as we see him walking fearlessly into the arena, obvious to his surroundings. The intensity of the crowd is shown as the camera moves from the mid to long shot. The following caption states,
‘Who became a Gladiator’,
This reveals his reinstated position; he has finally fought his way out the poverty and is steadily working his way toward the top. We hear his name being cheered in the background. This once again shows the power and respect he has regained, due to his ambition. In the next shot it seems like camera is looking up to him in praise for his triumph to conquer the evil. He is back in silver, which shows that he has regained his respect and fiercely powerful image.
The following caption shows that his ambitions are finally acquired, “The Gladiator”, at this point both the pace of the music and the frame increases,. This increases the tension. The next shot is a close-up of Maximums and we are drawn into his eyes. This makes the viewer sympathetic towards him, as his eyes show loneliness and his struggle and aspiration to succeed. The next caption is again a close-up of “This summer”. It’s the release period of the film. In the next caption Maximums is shown standing with his hand raised vigorously. This shows his acknowledgment for the support and respect he is receiving. In the next clip Maximums is shown coming through the flames of the fire, on
the horse. It shows that Maximums has been victorious and that he has finally left his troubles behind and moved on by beginning the era of new life.
The next caption “A hero will rise” shows Maximums acts of pure heroism and that he will conquer the evil for good and subsequently defies his empire. The next caption shows the people celebrating for Maximums triumph and accomplishment. In the following clip the title ‘Gladiator’ explodes on the screen. Due to its result the music dies down. “Summer 2000 AD” comes up; this statement is the release date and the final clip of the film.
In both, “Lord of the rings _ the return of the king” and “Gladiator” lightning is an important factor. Different kind of lightning is used in different ways. “Lord of the rings_ The return of the king” has very dull lightning to emphasize the fact that the film is set in the past. Due to this, it is also very difficult to recognize the characters. Whereas, there is lightning used in some places to emphasize on special effects. The lightning is of different kinds, such as under lightning, which is the main lightning in the film. Top lightning is also used in the film, which comes from ahead.
The lightning in “Lord of the rings _ the return of the king” gives a special effect to film.
In the “ Gladiator “ trailer it is hard to tell whether the lightning is used or not, as most of the scenes are presented in the broad daylight. It can only be recognized in two clipping in which back lightning is used. In the rest of the trailer lightning comes from underneath the characters. Apart from the lack of lightning, the graphics is of brilliant quality.
Both of the films feature war. But the wars in “The Lord of the rings _ the return of the kings is fought in the battle field where the opponents search for r enemies.
On the other hand, battles in the “Gladiator” are fought face to face in the arena, under the watching eyes of the audience.
Due to these differences, the clothes worn in “The Lord of the rings_ the return of the king” are light weighted where they don’t wear heavy suits of armor as they also used to travel a lot. The cloths worn in the “Gladiator” in the arena are heavy suits of armor, as the fighters need to protect themselves. However, the audience in the arena wears Roman clothing.
In both of the films there are different kinds of camera techniques used. In “Lord of the rings _ The return of the king” there are various types of shots taken, for example zoom shot, high angle shots and crane shots; where the crane carries the camera to present a birds eye view.
There are different types of views in the “Gladiator” as well, such as point of view shots; when the camera gives only a second glance quickly, crane shots of the coliseum and zoom shots of Russell Crowe, Connie Neilson, and Joaquin Pheanix.
Overall, both of the film trailers are very successful. The trailer of “Lord of the rings _ the return of the king” does a fantastic job to create anticipation for the final series of “Lord of the rings” and make the viewers look forward to it without giving too much away.
I suggest that the movie of ‘Lord of the rings _ the return of the king” will be far more successful than “Gladiator” and will beat it by many miles, as it has more tendency to make money. That’s because its preceding movies were a huge success and had collected loads of audience. This means that the same crowd will be eager to watch the sequel. “Lord of the rings _ the return of the king has more element introduced then “Gladiator”, this would also attract a bigger audience.
In conclusion, I think “Lord of the rings _ the return of the king” will have greater impact on Box office than “Gladiator”.
