An Analysis of Two Film Trailers - The film trailers I have chosen to analyse are the Tomb Raider trailer and the Mission Impossible 2 trailer.

Authors Avatar

An Analysis of Two Film Trailers

The film trailers I have chosen to analyse are the Tomb Raider trailer and the Mission Impossible 2 trailer. Film trailers are used to market a film. They are both teaser trailers, meaning they reveal very little about the plot of the film. Film trailers are usually shown in the cinema before the main film. This way, the audience relates the film to the cinema, and makes the mental connection to return to the cinema to see the film. The trailer is a very important marketing tool, as it is very influential to the potential audience. The trailer can attract or repel potential audiences to a film.

The first trailer I analysed was the teaser trailer for Mission Impossible 2. The film is an action film, and the sequel to the very successful Mission Impossible film- it made $193 in the US alone. The name of the film is revealed near the end of the trailer, after the main actor, Tom Cruise's name and the director John Woo's name is revealed. By now most of the audience already knows the name, as several easily recognisable elements of the first film are used before then. The film's name explodes onto the screen, the text appearing against a background of fire. This fire motif was also used to show Cruise and Woo's names. At this point, the loud background music becomes quieter. The shortened film name- M-I:2 -flashes onto the screen in the same futuristic text. This shorter version of the name seems more modern, and implies that the film is hi-tech. The title of the film may be one of the last pieces of information given to the audience because they are more likely to remember it. The audience sees the film is full of technology and the fire an explosions involved indicate that the film is action-packed. This will attract an audience of people who enjoy these sorts of films.

The film the trailer is advertising is instantly recognisable before this from the trailer, because it uses very well known elements of the first Mission Impossible film. We see Tom Cruise, the famous star of the film. His face is instantly recognised by the audience. Anthony Hopkins (another well-renowned actor) delivers the famous line: "this is your mission, should you choose to accept it". The theme tune of the first film, and the original TV show of the 60's, is known throughout the world. The last line is possibly the most heavily related to Mission Impossible: "this message will destruct in 5 seconds". These elements of the trailer, that are heavily associated to the Mission Impossible film, immediately familiarise the audience with the theme of the film. These images will probably attract fans of the original film, and even the TV show to see Mission Impossible 2. They can see that the film follows characteristics of the first film, but also has a new storyline. These people are, in my opinion, the trailer's primary target audience. They will be drawn to the film, seeing that it may be similar to the first film/TV series.

Join now!

The actor in this film playing the main character Ethan Hunt is Tom Cruise. Cruise also starred in the first Mission Impossible film. We see Cruise's face before his name appears on the screen in the fire motif previously discussed. Tom Cruise is very famous, and his face is easily recognised. He is well known for being a good actor, and has a large number of fans, which would be attracted to a film purely because he had the lead. Cruise is the Unique Selling Point (or USP) of the film Mission Impossible 2. At the time of release, he ...

This is a preview of the whole essay