Pushing the Boundaries of Film Trailers A Quantitative Analysis of a Multimodal Genre
Sabine Elisabeth Snapper
24-6-2017 Supervisor: Dhr. Dr. C.J. Forceville Second reader: Dhr. Dr. T. Poell
University of Amsterdam, Research Master Media Studies
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Contents
1. Introduction 1.1. The Trailer as Research Object 5 1.2. A Multimodal Approach 6 1.3. Overview of Contents 7
2. Literature Review 2.1. Introduction 9 2.2. Trailer as Paratext 9 2.3. Narrative in Trailers 10 2.4. Promotion and Audience 12 2.5. The Rhetorical Role of the Trailer 14 2.6. Conclusion 14
3. Genre 3.1. Introduction 16 3.2. A Semantic/Syntactic Approach to Genre 17 3.3. A Semantic/Syntactic/Pragmatic Approach to Genre 19 3.4. The Mixing of Genres 21 3.5. Conclusion 23
4. Film Trailer as Genre 4.1. Introduction 24 4.2. Different Types of Film Trailer 24 4.2.1. Theatrical Trailer 25 4.2.2. Teaser Trailer 28 4.2.3. Television Advertisement for a Programmed Film 31 4.2.4. Fan-Made Trailer 32 4.2.5. The ‘Fake’ Trailer 34 4.3. Semantics and Syntax of the Film Trailer 35
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5. Analysis 5.1. Analytical Approach and Corpus 37 5.2. The Used Modes and Their Elements 39 5.3. Film Trailer by Genre 41 5.3.1. Science-Fiction Trailers 42 5.3.2. Drama Trailers 45
6. Results and Reflection 6.1. A Comparison of Science-Fiction and Drama Trailers 52 6.2. Concluding Thoughts 54
7. Bibliography 56 8. Filmography of Trailers Viewed 8.1. Drama Trailers 59 8.2. Science-Fiction Trailers 60 8.3. Other Trailers 62
9. Appendix 9.1. Drama Trailers Charts 63 9.2. Science-Fiction Trailers Charts 71 9.3. Drama Charts Overview 80 9.4. Science-Fiction Charts Overview 81
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1. Introduction
1.1 The Trailer as Research Object Every time audiences enters a cinema and view their desired film, they are also confronted with other films in the form of film posters in the hall before entering the screening room, and film trailers that are screened before the film they paid for. Furthermore, the film they intend to see was probably first introduced to them by a film trailer they saw before. Film trailers are a powerful advertising strategy in promoting a film. They are mesmerizing pictorial displays which hope to motivate audiences in watching their accompanying full film. The film trailer is an important advertising opportunity to show the film’s potential audiences why they should see it. Most current trailers have a duration of around two minutes, which means that the material used in the trailer should be carefully selected and presented. Studies on the films promoted in these trailers are readily available, but this is not the case for the actual film trailers. Going to the cinema, watching a film on your couch at home, these are two uses of leisure time that are not overlooked. Yet the attention attributed to the promotion of these films via film trailers by scholars is marginally. “It is important to distinguish between the activities of consuming films and the activities of talking about them” (Jancovich 2000, 31). Film trailers offer interesting study possibilities concerning their relation to their audiences. It is a form of advertising that could be seen as a genre in itself. Charlotte Sun Jensen sees this apparent blind spot within academia as a consequence thinking of the trailer “as a prior epitext (Genette 1997) – that is, an advertisement for the film,” while there are unique aesthetics at work within the trailers setting them apart from films (2014, 105). This thesis is not driven by the idea of filling this apparent gap but addresses a single aspect of the film trailer as media object, namely, how it is structured. The careful considerations by the editors of the film trailers are motivated by a single purpose, the purpose of promoting and selling a film. To be able to say something about how audiences perceive and make use of film trailers, a closer look at the structure of these trailers is necessary. Claims about audiences and the reception of film trailers will not be made, this thesis focusses on forming a basis notion of the structure of film trailers, more specifically of the science-fiction and drama genre. There are many ways to approach the subject of film trailers. They can be related to audience expectations, evoked emotions, and audience readings. The interest of this thesis is focussed on how the film trailers are speaking to their audiences. The way a trailer can speak
5 to its audience is mainly driven by its structure. As will be argued this structure can be divided into two relevant contributions: genre and multimodality. The film trailer tends to carry genre elements over from the film; however, it will be argued that the film trailer itself poses interesting genre traits that are worth investigating. The multimodal approach (see section 1.2) will be used in analysing a total of fifty trailers, 25 from the drama genre and 25 from the science-fiction genre. Two different genres were chosen to analyse common traits but also noticeable differences between them.
1.2 A Multimodal Approach “Multimodality, in its most fundamental sense, is the coexistence of more than one semiotic mode within a given context” (Gibbons 2014, 8). Complete mono-modality does not exist; even a purely verbal text such as this one has visual dimensions such as font choice, size, bold face etc. Since the term multimodal is based on multiple modes a clear definition of this is needed before anything else in regards to the film trailers can be discussed. The different modes as distinguished by Charles Forceville are “(1) pictorial signs; (2) written signs; (3) spoken signs; (4) gestures; (5) sounds; (6) music; (7) smells; (8) tastes; (9) touch” (Forceville 2009, 23). When thinking of for example pictorial signs a variety of examples come to mind, like photographs, moving images, but also smileys or more basic pictorial signs like exit signs in public and commercial areas. These different modes are described in their broadest sense; it is not unreasonable to ask whether these categories can be further defined. But then this would be a subdivision within the modes described by Forceville. When every scholar were to add its own modes to the already existing list, this would possibly become an endless one. This thesis will make use of the following modes when analysing the selection of film trailers: pictorial mode, written mode, spoken mode, sound and music. The modes gestures, smells, taste and touch will be excluded for the reason that the latter three do not apply to film trailers and the mode of gesture is hard to define when it is shown through the acting which is visual and thus a pictorial sign. These five different modes will for the analysis be further subdivided. This is however, not an attempt to broaden the amount of modes, but a choice made to enhance the results from the analysis of film trailers. The categories are merely a subdivision within the modes themselves to further clarify what type of contents can be ascribed to a certain mode. For example, if only the pictorial mode would be analysed, this would prove too limiting in a scoring system, whereas several elements pertaining to the pictorial mode will be able to offer more data and thus yield more possible conclusions. A total of thirteen elements are used to analyse the trailers. The choice of these elements was based upon key elements as witnessed in
6 several film trailers and based on common knowledge of film trailers. These thirteen elements can be brought under the five different modes as follows:
Modes Elements 1. Pictorial mode: Image, Logo and Black Screen 2. Written mode: Written diegetic materials, Title, Announcement, Name and Approved Message 3. Spoken mode: Dialogue and Voice-over 4. Sound: Diegetic sounds 5. Music: Music score and Silence
Ruth Page defines a mode “as a system of choices used to communicate meaning” (2010, 6). This idea that every mode selected is based on a desired communication and thus is consistent with the sole purpose of film trailers: informing the audience of the existence of the film and an advertisement why they should it.
1.3 Overview of Contents The trailer as an advertisement is a valid perception, but as these trailers will demonstrate, there are elements that make the trailer unique as a genre, as a multimodality object and as a research object. This introduction offers some first steps into the exciting field of the film trailer. This field is not as extensively researched as could be. A plausible reason for this may be that the film trailer is locked in a grey area where several fields of study intersect. In chapter 2 a literature review will be offered to further explore what has already been done with research related to the film trailer. This research will be divided into four different approaches. The trailer as paratext will introduce the work of Gerard Genette to the film trailer and how it exemplifies the relation between film and trailer. This will be followed by an overview of narrative in trailers. By repurposing the materials from the film, a new narrative is formed. This narrative tends to be highly open-ended and has the purpose of raising questions and evoking curiosity. Promotion and audience is another aspect that needs to be explored, because the trailer is inherently promotional and tries to influence audiences. Closely related to this is the rhetorical role of the trailer. In chapter 3 approaches to genre will be introduced. This provides the foundation on which in chapter four different trailer types will be discussed. The work of Rick Altman is the basis of this chapter and both his works, “A Semantic/Syntactic Approach to Genre” and Film/Genre, will be discussed. Every theory or approach is accompanied by some measure of criticism, some of these criticisms will be explored in order to show the versatility of Altman’s
7 approach. Another relevant discussion is that of genre-mixing. Trailers take over genre traits from their films and are therefore also subject to genre-mixing. Janet Staiger’s article on how the idea of genre purity is a false notion plays a central role in this discussion. Chapter 4 will build on the previous chapter, and by analysing a variety of film trailer types it will be demonstrated how the film trailer can be seen as a genre on its own. The selection of trailers discussed is both a combination of well-known types and interesting ones that should also be considered: the theatrical trailer, the teaser trailer, a television advertisement for a programmed film, the fan-made trailer and the ‘fake’ trailer. All of these show both semantic and syntactic elements. When applying the approach of Altman (1999) onto film trailers, it is clear that Altman never looked further than film itself. Most notable of the film trailer is its use of credits in the form of written non-diegetic texts, a semantic element. This use of credits is not commonly used in films during the progress of the plot, but only restricted to the title sequence at the beginning of the film and the credits at the end. Whereas in film trailers a variety of credits can be found throughout the trailer used as selling points. Chapter 5 presents the multimodal approach adopted. The corpus of fifty film trailers, consisting on the one hand of drama and on the other hand of science-fiction trailers, will be analysed with respect to their multimodality. These two genres appear very different, not only in the way the narrative usually develops but also in the possible way this will be presented in the film trailer itself. The idea that these genres speak to different audiences, is however, not one of the reasons to choose such diverse genres. It is exactly this diversity that is more compelling to research, rather than two genres that are more closely related, such as for instance the science-fiction and the action genre. The multimodal approach has been already discussed in this chapter. The analysis will focus on five modes comprising thirteen elements. Each of the modes and how they are used in the analysis will be further explained, followed by a discussion of the results separately. Finally, in chapter 6 some concluding thoughts will be offered. As stated before, to be able to say something about how audiences perceive and make use of film trailers, a closer look at the structure of these trailers is necessary. The results of both science-fiction and drama will be compared in order to say something about the trailer more generally. Most of the findings, presented in chapter 5 and 6, will be translated into different charts to showcase the results. This means that some of the results will not be discussed in this thesis. To make it possible for other researchers to make use of these results if desired, they will all be included in the appendix.
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2. Literature Review
Film trailers are the most effective promotional medium for the motion picture industry and are most influential on consumer expectations. (Finsterwalder et al 2012, 590)
2. 1 Introduction Film trailers are nowadays an incredible marketing strategy for promoting films. Film trailers offer a unique preview of a film, “they can be seen to reframe their original fiction film narratives into a (window) shoppers’ world” (Kernan 2004, 6). Where a film poster most often shows the film’s main characters posing and not revealing anything of the story itself, film trailers are in a way quoting from the films (Kernan 2004, 6). Even though film trailers can be seen as quotations of their related films, this does not mean that the film trailer is representing its source correctly. In order to sell the film to the audience, the film trailer tends to play with the chronology of the film’s narrative, and by doing this creates a narrative of its own. In what follows the film trailer will be discussed from various angles, highlighting the complexity of this media object. One of the possible ways to look at the film trailer is to perceive it as a paratext. A focus on narrative is another possible angle when it comes to the relation between film and the film trailer. The role of the film trailer as promotional is something that cannot be overlooked, as this is the primary reason for creating a trailer. Lastly, there is also a rhetorical aspect of the trailer that is worth mentioning.
2. 2 Trailer as Paratext The relation between the film and the trailer is an interesting one. Film trailers can be seen as paratexts (Kernan 2004, 7; Grainge and Johnson 2015, 4-6; Jensen 2014; Maier 2009; Gray 2010). Though this term was initially applied to literature, it is also highly applicable to other media texts. A “text is rarely presented in an unadorned state, unreinforced and unaccompanied by a certain number of verbal or other productions” (Genette 1997, 1). For Gerard Genette the text he speaks of is the very text of a book, its’ written content. This written content is, however, accompanied by various other elements, such as the cover, title page, contents etc. All of these components together are considered the book itself. Each of these components or paratexts has a different function, but they are always accompanying productions of a text.
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This use of paratexts is also useful when discussing the relation between film and film trailer. In the case of film and film trailer, the paratexts refers to the film trailer and the primary text is the film. The paratext, film trailer, surrounds and extends the primary text, film, in order to present it, “to ensure the texts’ presence in the world” (Genette 1997, 1). The promotion of the text, makes the text itself viable and ensures future productions of other texts. “Paratexts condition our entrance to texts, telling us what to expect, and setting the terms of our ‘faith’ in subsequent transubstantiation” (Gray 2010, 25). The film trailer is not the sole paratext of a film. Other examples would be film posters, and also merchandise such as mugs or bags with film characters or citations on them. All these different paratexts work together to promote the visibility of the text itself. Nowadays it is common to find several film trailers of one film, and all of them are different, addressing different audiences. Some may share materials of the film, but position them in a different context or link them to different scenes. When these different film trailers are taken together, a more comprehensive image of the film becomes clear. The paratext itself can be further divided into the peritext and the epitext. The peritext is a type of paratext that exists within the text, for example the title on the cover of the book or the name of the author printed on one of the first pages. This epitext exists outside the text and the film trailer can be considered an example of this. One of the types of epitext that Genette discusses, is the publisher’s epitext which is characterized by marketing and promotional functions (1997, 347). Following this definition, the film trailer, being made for marketing and promotional purposes, is a publisher’s epitext. Marketing and promotion suggests that the film trailer is a preliminary introduction to the film. This introduction of the film with the use of a film trailer can be done in different ways. The use of narrative plays an important role in this.
2.3 Narrative in Trailers Films often have various trailers that are released, each showcasing different elements of the film, hoping to speak to different audiences, specifically when referring to the presented order of the images as opposed to their place in the film narrative. The scenes and shots used from the film are, when implemented in the trailer, transformed into a new narrative. When scenes are combined, certain story developments can be suggested to the audience. The new narrative constructed in the paratext can be reduced to the cause-effect chain of events with a beginning, middle and end. “Narrative is a perceptual activity that organizes data into a special pattern which represents and explains experience” (Branigan 1992, 3). The structure in which these events are presented can be boiled down to five stages as described by Tzvetan Todorov:
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1. A state of equilibrium at the outset 2. A disruption of the equilibrium by some action 3. A recognition that there has been a disruption 4. An attempt to repair the disruption 5. A reinstatement of the initial equilibrium (Cited in Branigan 1992, 4).
This narrative structure or the more elaborate one by Vladimir Propp is always present in a story. It is noteworthy that “not all narratives have closure, or even narrative closure” (Carroll 2007, 2). Perhaps it could even be considered to be a trait of film trailers to altogether lack closure of some sort. To make this more concrete the trailer of Nocturnal Animals (2016)1 will serve as an example. From the film trailer there are various elements that can be taken to form some sort of story. The main protagonist seems to be Susan (Amy Adams). This can be deduced because she is the first person shown and there is a high focus on her. A friend expresses concern about her state, she does not sleep well. A different scene shows Susan in what appears to be a therapy session. She mentions her ex-husband (Jake Gyllenhaal), a person of whose existence the therapist is unaware. Her ex-husband has written a book and dedicated it to her. Though she does not mention any details, she does mention that she did something horrible to him. In the rest of the trailer her ex and various other characters are introduced and they all speak of regretting something and about “getting justice done”. The final words are: “Nobody gets away with what you did. Nobody.” When viewing this trailer, it becomes clear that Susan has done something to her ex-husband and recently started to think about him again. This might be linked to the book she received from him, which he dedicated to her. The constant referrals to something terrible she did and how to get justice explains her state of mind. This information provided does not seem as much, but is does raise questions about what happened and how this will all be resolved. Using the five stages described by Todorov, the disruption of the equilibrium and its recognition are highlighted, but they are not resolved in the trailer. The lack of resolve in this film trailer (and many others), makes clear that narrative closure is not a desired outcome in a trailer. The audience is left with an open ending, an ending that can only be resolved by viewing the film in the cinema. Though this example of Nocturnal Animals is brief, it does showcase some of the tendencies of film trailers. A more in-depth analysis of narrative in the film trailer is interesting and would certainly be complementary for this thesis. It would be interesting to see in what
1 This trailer is part of the film trailer corpus used for analysing the drama trailers. A more extensive overview of its multi-modal structure can be found in the appendix. 11 extent the five stages as described by Todorov are present in a trailer, and how film trailers make use of a different narrative structure, a more open-ended one, as shown in the trailer of Nocturnal Animals. As mentioned, the trailer of Nocturnal Animals raises more questions than it provides answers. This directly contradicts an often mentioned supposedly negative trait of the film trailer. It has been often stated by audiences that when a film trailer is viewed, the viewer has all the essential information to reconstruct the narrative of the film2. Key moments are shown in film trailers, but connections to other scenes can be made in the film trailer which are not made in the film itself and imply a different outcome or feeling than in the film itself. Lisa Kernan uses a scene featuring Meg Ryan in You’ve Got Mail (1998) to demonstrate how a trailer makes connections that are not made in the film. The scene depicts how Meg Ryan falls on her bed. In the film this is used as a gesture of sadness and frustration, while in the trailer it appears to be a swoon (Kernan 2004, 11). This directly opposes the view taken by Julie Bain who takes the position that “trailers boil down the essence of a film” (2011, 63), she implies that by watching the trailer, there is no need to see the film since ‘everything’ it is known how it all will play out. True enough, not all film trailers succeed in a correct image of the film while at the same time leaving some relevant details for the screening itself. But considering how film trailers are meant to entice the audience in viewing the film, a fine balance between creating desire and sharing information is key. Bain further claims that because of this film trailers are a useful way to teach students the build-up of films. However, as is shown with the example of Nocturnal Animals there is no reinstatement of the initial equilibrium in the trailer, and it therefore lacks the kind of build-up that can be found in films. “Trailers construct a narrative time-space that differs from (and creates desire for) the fictive world of the film itself” (Kernan 2004, 10). It is exactly these different chronologies in film and their trailer that make for an interesting, tense relationship.
2.4 Promotion and Audience Though trailers present a narrative, even if they do this in their own way and moving away from the original film text, they are always made with a commercial purpose. The economic aspect is therefore a connecting research field to that of media studies with regards to the film trailer. An example of this would be an article by Elliott and Simmons, who aim “to estimate the
2 Arguments can be made that this feeling of a complete narrative within a film trailer can be linked to certain genres. For example, the comedy genre suffers more frequently of this complaint than for instance the thriller genre, as based on personal experience and personal debates about film trailers more generally. 12 multiple determinants of film advertising expenditures in four important media, namely television, press, outdoor and radio, in the UK” (2011, 4461). It is precisely this commercial purpose that drives the unique aesthetic of the trailer. Film trailers are closely related to television commercials and the music video (Jensen 2014, 106). They all sell a certain product, be it a film or an artist, the main difference being that a film only shares parts of the film with its audience where television commercials will not hold back any information. These trailers can be found in television commercial breaks, in cinemas before the main film, online, and even as advertisements on applications. These “trailers are often sought out, circulated, dissected and appropriated by fans, all processes facilitated by digitalization” (Tryon cited in Grainge and Johnson 2015, 149). The assembled images in the trailer of a combined time of one to two and a half minutes are forming the basis of the assumptions about the film made by the audience (Finsterwalder et al 2012, 592). The trailer, which appeared widespread in the 1910s, has undergone quite a few changes compared to the trailer today. Especially when it comes to the type of content provided and the amount of it (Staiger 1990, 7). Trailers are no longer a few scenes to entice the audience: they now contain a narrative of their own. Finsterwalder et al. reviewed consumers’ expectations after they viewed a trailer to better understand the workings and effects of trailers. “A trailer, cut well, will have a flowing motion to it, a sense that everything plays off everything else and will propel the viewer through the experience of the film” (Garrett 2012, 90). A different study (Jensen 2014) demonstrates how highlighting the genre of the film is prioritized over narrative chronology. The ‘feeling’ of the trailer seems more relevant than the actual narrative. In this case the intensification of emotions in the trailer plays with the audience (Jensen 2014, 109). Thomas Kim Hixson (2005) and Devlin, Chambers and Callison make a similar point: mood targeting plays a significant role in the construction of trailers (2011, 583). These and various other studies work with the perspective of the audience. The used approach concerning the position of the audience of the trailer, is the one used by Kernan. Her project “of reading trailers to discern who the film industry thinks it is addressing within trailer texts is designed to invite a more critical approach to spectatorship itself” (2004, 3 original emphasis). Rather than assuming how the audience perceives a trailer, Kernan adopts the position of the film industry. The film industry creates a film and its accompanying film trailer with a certain audience in mind, whether this is the actual audience that feels like being addressed is of no concern in this approach. This thesis is concerned with the structure of film trailers, more specifically in the genres of drama and science-fiction. The focus on the structure
13 does not allow for audience interpretation and is thus in line with the industry and their idea of the intended audience.
2.5 The Rhetorical Role of the Trailer
Essentially, any montage creates assumptions about audience associations. But when a montage structure is created for the purpose of persuasion, these associations can be categorized as enthymemes, and fall within the domain of rhetoric. (Kernan 2004, 42 original emphasis)
Rhetoric is an important part of a film trailer. Basing herself on Staiger (1990) Kernan constructs three principal rhetorical sources of appeal: genres, stories and stars. “Most successful trailers usually tend to invoke an interaction of the three” (2004, 42). Wildfeuer and Pollaroli (in press) make use of rhetoric in their article focusing on the multimodal argumentative structure in film trailers, specifically the trailer of Gravity (2013). They make the claim that film trailers advance arguments in order sell to a film too the audience as worthy to watch (forthcoming, 5). Film trailers provide a call to action such as: “You should watch movie X in the theatre” (Wildfeuer and Pollaroli forthcoming, 5 original emphasis). Part of their argument is that film trailers make use of enthymemes, “rhetorical syllogisms in which either the premise(s) or the conclusion is left to be completed by the audience that has the task of ‘filling in the blanks’ of an argument with contextual information” (Wildfeuer and Pollaroli forthcoming, 6). This idea that the audience needs to fill in the blanks strengthens earlier made observations with the help of the Nocturnal Animals trailer. Their findings show that the sequence of events portrayed in the trailer may differ from the narrative structure in the film, but still give sufficient information about the diegesis and its units (forthcoming, 15). Furthermore, because of the “communicative and complex nature, the interpretation of movie trailers is a complex operation that requires active inferential work by the recipients” (Wildfeuer and Pollaroli forthcoming, 31). The audience plays a key role in the functioning of the film trailer. Questions posed by the trailer, either directly or by use of gaps in the story, creates a certain idea of the film and with that hopes in how these posed problems may resolve.
2.6 Conclusion The overview provided here shows that there are a variety of approaches when it comes to film trailers. Not only the content of trailers is open to interpretation: the way they are perceived is also different. The film trailer is a paratext, constructs a new narrative, raises more questions
14 than it gives answers, needs to balance providing information with triggering curiosity and all of this in order to attract an audience for the cinema. Furthermore, trailers are open to interpretation, their primary essence is offering an initial step into a narrative not yet explored, and thus the consumer can construct his/her own presumed narrative of the film. As stated before, the line between offering too much information and intrigue and too little is very thin. Instead of entering viewing trailers as set in stone and final, they are open to interpretation. There unique aesthetics allows them to be classified as a genre on its own. Before that step can be made, a closer look at the concept of genre itself is necessary.
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3. Genre
3.1 Introduction The film trailer is a promotional device. Its sole reason of existence is to sell a certain audience the desire to see the film. As discussed in chapter 2, this is done by raising questions without providing answers. The trailer is a paratext of the film, it ensures the film’s presence in the world (Genette 1997, 1). It is however problematic that film trailers are seen as exclusively promotional devices (Jensen 2014, 105). This apparent blind spot within academia can be seen as a consequence thinking of the trailer as an advertisement for the film, while there are unique aesthetics at work within the trailers, setting them apart from films (Jensen 2014, 105). Here will be argued that the trailer constitutes a separate genre, with its own structure and aesthetics. To discuss film trailers as a genre on its own, a closer look at genre theory and genre criticism is required. As will become clear, there are different approaches to genre. It is important to realize that “genres do not consist only of films: they consist also, and equally, of specific systems of expectation and hypothesis that spectators bring with them to the cinema and that interact with films themselves during the course of the viewing process” (Neale 2000a, 158). How then do genres influence the viewing process? “Genres are cultural categories that surpass the boundaries of media texts and operate within industry, audience, and cultural practices as well” (Mittell 2001, 3). More closely related to the film itself, “genre is understood to construct a movie’s ‘narrative image’, which is communicated by industry to industry before a movie’s release” (Lobato and Ryan 2011, 3). There are many types of genres, and most films draw upon several genres. This makes it difficult to clearly define a genre and how that genre is different from others. It is exactly this debate that Rick Altman addresses in “A Semantic/Syntactic Approach to Film Genre.” By combining the semantic and syntactic approach he hopes to create a more complete method of how to analyse films and their accompanying genres. He later edited this approach to also include a pragmatic angle, this resulted in the inclusion of institutions and audiences and to demonstrate that there is not a singular way to view genres (Altman 1999). In film theory a renewed interest in genre can be seen around 2000. Various authors (Altman 1984/1999; Neale 2000a/2000b; Mittell 2011) return to genre and the questions of including and excluding. The increased interest shown around the 2000s and the various authors who saw the need for further clarification of genre
16 and its possible interpretations of labelling will be the starting point for introducing genre theory and genre criticism.
3.2 A Semantic/Syntactic Approach to Genre In his article “A Semantic/Syntactic Approach to Film Genre” Altman discusses conflicting approaches to genre to showcase why a more extensive approach is necessary. Seemingly simple questions as ‘what is genre?’ and ‘what films belong to a certain genre?’ tend to be difficult ones. “What appears as hesitation in the terminology of a single critic will turn into a clear contradiction when studies by two or more critics are compared” (Altman 1984, 6). He signals three contradictions within genre studies. Firstly, when establishing a corpus of a genre two possible lists can be made. The first is an inclusive list that uses a tautological definition of genre. Altman gives the examples of the Western, being a film that takes place in the American West, and the musical as a film with diegetic music. This use of genre labelling can be described as stating the obvious. After all, tautology is “the saying of the same thing twice over in different words, generally considered to be a fault of style” per the Oxford Dictionary. The second way in which a corpus of a genre can be grouped is the compilation of an exclusive list, where a select group of films is used to represent a genre (Altman 1984, 6-7). The films that are found on such a list are elevated to a status of superiority. In these cases, other films that share only some features with these elevated, prototypical genre films, would not be included since they do not tick all the correct boxes, so to speak. An example might clarify both ways of classifying a film. Blade Runner (1982) is a classic science-fiction film in the sense that it encompasses weird science, is futuristic, includes robots etc. Many fans but also probably critics will see this as one of the films that seems to tick every aspect that should be considered when discussing the genre of the science-fiction film. It therefore can be included into the exclusive list as mentioned by Altman. However, it can as easily be included in the tautological or inclusive science-fiction list. For this list the only requirement to fit in would be presence of science in a futuristic world. The workings of these inclusive lists make it possible for films to be found in more than one list. The film Blade Runner is action-packed and therefore would also fit nicely in an action genre list of the inclusive variety, while also having a place in the inclusive science-fiction list. The second contradiction that Altman sees within genre studies has to do “with the relative status of theory and history in genre studies” (Altman 1984, 7). Both linguistics and literary semiotics are discussed by Altman, and from this a second semiotics spawned. Problematic with the semiotic approach is that it treats genres as neutral constructs. It therefore
17 does not reflect on how Hollywood uses genres “to short-circuit the normal interpretative process” (Altman1984, 8). Genres are not neutral, they are structured in such a way as to draw a certain audience, as is done with the help of trailers which tend to highlight that genre.
As long as Hollywood genres are conceived as Platonic categories, existing outside the flow of time, it will be impossible to reconcile genre theory, structure, and genre history, which has concentrated on chronicling the development, deployment, and disappearance of this same structure. (Altman 1984, 8 original emphasis)
It seems that the problem within theory and history within genre studies has to do with set paradigms, which could work together, but are too head-strong to see the value of this combination. The third and final contradiction in genre studies, according to Altman, is that there are two different views on the relationship between the film industry and the audience. The ritual approach gives authorship to the spectators, “with the studios simply serving”, while the ideological approach sees Hollywood manipulating audiences (Altman 1984, 9). Closely connected to these three separate views are the semantic and the syntactic approach. The semantic approach prefers “generic definitions which depend on a list of common traits, attitudes, characters, shots, locations, and the like” (Altman 1984, 10). By contrast, the syntactic approach prefers “definitions which play up instead certain constitutive relationships between undesignated and variable placeholders” (Altman 1984, 10). The distinction between the two is clear: one focusses on building blocks, while the other highlights the narrative structure. Recalling the earlier example of the science-fiction film Blade Runner, the building blocks would be robots, futuristic technology, science and dystopian events, whereas the structure would be more concerned with the narrative steps made by the doings of Deckard (Harrison Ford). The proposition of Altman is to combine semantics with syntactics, which would allow for a completer understanding of genre and all of its components. After all, both of these categories are highly interwoven with each other. “To insist on one of these approaches to the exclusion of the other is to turn a blind eye on the necessarily dual nature of any generic corpus” (Altman 1984, 12 original emphasis). He connects this to the way genres arise and are given form: “either a relatively stable set of semantic givens is developed through syntactic experimentation into a coherent and durable syntax, or an already existing syntax adopts a new set of semantic elements” (Altman 1984, 12). Although this combination of semantics and syntactic does allow for a complete representation of genres, Altman later recognizes that this
18 approach does lack a relevant element. More specifically this is the addition of pragmatics, which will be discussed in the following segment.
3.3 A Semantic/Syntactic/Pragmatic Approach to Genre In Film/Genre Altman mentions the uneasiness he found himself with after writing “A Semantic/Syntactic Approach to Film Genre”. Though he offers a new way to discuss and work with genre and its labelling in his article, it is not a complete approach by his own account:
The semantic/syntactic approach may serve analytical purposes admirably, offering a satisfying descriptive vocabulary useful for interpreting individual texts and relating them to existing generic groupings. When it comes to a broader theoretical and historical understanding, however, such a defence definitely falls short. (1999, 207)
So how does this approach fall short? One of the questions Altman poses himself in his book is that of how the line between semantic and syntactic is defined and why his earlier focus was solely on the materials and the structures into which texts are arranged (1984, 15).
Assuming stable recognition of semantic and syntactic factors across an unstable population, I underemphasized the fact that genres look different to different audiences, and that disparate viewers may perceive quite disparate semantic and syntactic elements in the same film. (Altman 1999, 207)
In the book published some fifteen years after the article, he addresses this lack in his original approach. The addition of pragmatics to the approach needs to further enhance and strengthen the approach formulated in 1984. In the semantic/syntactic approach the idea of genre and how it is given form is rather black and white. It is only with his addition of pragmatics that genre enables analysis as a more cultural object which is subject to change and does not enjoy a singular division of stances. So, what does this pragmatics entail? “Instead of utilizing a single master language, as most previous genre theoreticians would have it, a genre may appropriately be considered multi- coded” (Altman 1999, 208). This multi-coding is connected to the fact that even though semantic and syntactic factors make meaning, it is necessary to analyse them according to how they are used (Altman 1999, 210). Each user may have a different position and thus has a different interpretation of the genre. “Pragmatic analysis treats reading as a more complex process involving not only hegemonic complicity across user groups but also a feedback system
19 connecting user groups” (Altman 1999, 211). Genres are now treated as “a site of struggle and co-operation among multiple users” (Altman 1999, 211). Though this idea of multi-coding makes genre a more open site for debate, it is not always perceived as such. For Mark Jancovich Altman treats different approaches to genre “neutrally as if all were in some sense equal” (2000, 24). This problematic position taken by Altman comes from the lack of attention given to the “ways in which film audiences themselves can become involved in policing the boundaries of film genres” (Jancovich 2000, 25). He takes the example of horror film fans to show three different struggles in genre distinctions. The first is not directly related to horror but has to do with the distinction between Hollywood films which tend to have genres, and art-cinema where labelling is as vague as possible. Secondly, fans of different genres tend to debate whether or not certain films can be classified as belonging to one or to another genre. Jancovich mentions the struggle between science-fiction and horror fans. To emphasize the seriousness of their science-fiction, genre fans try to disassociate themselves from the horror which they believe gives them negative associations. An example given by Jancovich is the film Alien (1979), which tends to be labelled as both science-fiction and as horror. Science-fiction fans can be found debating the true science-fiction-nature of the film, seeing how it also could be seen as a slasher movie in outer space and thus try to exclude it from their canon (Jancovich 2000, 26-7). The third struggle is one over “intrageneric conflicts between fans of a particular genre” (Jancovich 2000, 28-9). In this case, some fans embrace certain films or authors within a genre, while other fans of that same genre seek to disassociate themselves with these works. The three different struggles inside the fan base of film genres is something that should not be overlooked easily. While Jancovich poses this as something not aligned with the work of Altman, Jancovich rephrases exactly Altman’s point about the importance of pragmatics. In his article Jancovich explores in more depth than Altman did the possibilities but also the limitations, of struggles that take place in the fandom of genres. However, Altman states: “Only by shifting attention from reception practices alone to the broader – and conflicting – usage patterns of all users can we escape the residual tyranny of the text-king” (1999, 213). The focus of Altman’s book has been on exploring alternative views of genres and uses of these genres. Even though he does not explore the possibilities of fans in the way Jancovich would like to see, Altman does acknowledge the possibilities of researching this and certainly does not diminish them as Jancovich implies. Genres should always be seen as a process: “they are not the permanent product of a singular origin, but the temporary by-product of an ongoing process” (Altman 1999, 54). Both
20 semantics and syntactics of a certain genre are open to change and development. Furthermore, “genres are cultural categories that surpass the boundaries of media texts and operate within industry, audience, and cultural practices as well” (Mittell 2001, 3). Genre is not an intrinsic property of texts, claims Jason Mittell. For him there is “a crucial difference between conceiving of genre as a textual category and treating it as a component of a text, a distinction most genre studies elide” (2001, 5 original emphasis).
A category primarily links discrete elements together under a label for cultural convenience. Although the members of a given category may all possess some inherent trait that binds them together, there is nothing intrinsic about the category itself. (Mittell 2001, 5)
This strongly connects to the similar point Altman makes with regards to the use of pragmatics when talking about genres. It is only when intertextual relations between multiple texts are connected that a genre may emerge, and thus result in a common category (Mittell 2001, 6). For Mittell there are common grounds between his thinking and the work of Altman. He does see, however, a conflict he himself hopes to resolve: “Despite Altman’s foregrounding of cultural processes, textual structure still remains central to his approach, making it difficult to provide an account of how genre categories operate outside the bounds of the text” (Mittell 2001, 10). Mittell makes a call to “explore the material ways in which genres are culturally defined, interpreted and evaluated” (Mittell 2001, 9). These genres need to be examined as to see how the work as conceptual frameworks. Furthermore, media texts should be situated within larger contexts of understanding (Mittell 2001, 16). The aim of Mittell is not to make broad assertions about the genre, but instead to better understand “how genres work within specific stances and how they fit into larger systems of cultural power” (2001, 16). In his approach, he pays special attention to the definition, interpretation, and evaluation of genres. But again, these are all part of the pragmatic element of Altman’s approach.
3.4 The Mixing of Genres The industry itself is seen as highly influential in the process of genre and perception. “Contradictory and conflicting conceptions of genre definition and of generic classification of individual films” are something that can be found throughout the entire process from producing a film to the consumption of it (Jancovich 2000, 31). An interesting example Altman gives is that of Cocktail (1988) and the audience research documents he acquired. “Instead of testing the film as made, the marketeers reconceptualised the film, turning it into four separate but
21 concurrent films, each featuring a distinctive plot corresponding to a recognizable genre” (Altman 1999, 133). These four plots, useful for marketing purposes are: a love story, making it big in the big city, conflict between love and success, and the mentor/mentee relationship. Each of these plots speaks to a difference audience, as is further exploited by different television commercials for the film (Altman 1999, 137). Since there are (sometimes) multiple genres interwoven into one film, they are not necessarily always picked up by audiences. This in turn reconnects with Altman’s notion of multiple codes within one text suited for multiple audiences. This example of Cocktail recalls the views of Janet Staiger, who works out two theses that are concerned with genres. The first “is that films produced in Hollywood in the past forty years or so are persistently instances of genre mixing” (2003 185). The second “is that genre studies has been handicapped by its failure to sort out just exactly what critics are doing when they think about ‘genre’” (Staiger 2003, 185). The latter is connected to the already discussed work of Altman (1984/1999) which names this reason as one of his motivations to rethink the syntactic and semantic approaches to genre. The argument that Staiger presents in her article is that Hollywood films have never been ‘pure’, by which she means easily arranged into categories (2003, 185). She makes the distinction between Fordian Hollywood and post-Fordian Hollywood. The Fordian Hollywood (pre-1970s) is characterized by having two plots, they hinge on and affect each other (Staiger 2003, 190-1). She demonstrates how producers and audience knew the films belonged to several categories, but did not seem to care. “Instead the lack of purity broadened the film’s appeal in terms both of the likely audiences who might enjoy the movie and of the film’s originality” (Staiger 2003, 195). This purity hypothesis is however in place to establish a difference for the post-Fordian Hollywood era (post-1970s). “Fordian Hollywood genre texts appear to be suddenly transforming in the 1970s or hybridizing in the 1990s because the generic definitions were “fixed”by critics in the 1960s using critical methods that sought coherence and purity” (Staiger 2003, 190). This idea of hybridization is however not the case according to Staiger, after all, it is something that has always been a part of films (Staiger 2003, 195). Claims like: “The mixing of genres is a cultural process enacted by industry personnel, often in response to audience viewing practices” (Mittell 2001, 7) and “They frequently hybridize and overlap” (Neale 2000b, 3) are focussed on post-Fordian Hollywood films. However, as demonstrated by various examples used in Staiger’s article, the use of mixing genres has always been the case. This is also highlighted in the corpus used for the analysis of this thesis. Three trailers were part of both the science-fiction and the drama corpus. The use of
22 genres in a film is highlighted in the trailers that promote them. By using specific characteristics of genres, a certain audience can be appealed to.
3.5 Conclusion The aim of this overview was not to select the best way to approach genre, but to see what aspects need to be considered when speaking of genre, especially when attempting to see the film trailer as a genre with conventions of its own. The work of Altman remains until this day relevant and highly applicable when discussing genres and film. An element that cannot be found in his work is the trailer as a genre on its own. He does discuss it, with the example of Cocktail, but always in relation to the film. In the following chapter the argument will be made that the semantic/syntactic/pragmatic approach is also applicable to the film trailer, even though this also comes with some adaptations of the approach. The pragmatic element of the approach will not be prominently presented; the semantic and syntactic dimension are more easily attributed to the trailers.
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4. Film Trailer as Genre
4.1 Introduction The film trailer tends to be defined by its marketing properties or by its categorization as a paratext of the film. When the trailer is fan-made or even fake, there tend to be key elements present that are the very nature of the film trailer. The film trailer is a media text that by appropriating audio-visual material from a film creates a new narrative, as previously discussed in chapter 2. This newly formed narrative does show similarities to the original source, but as was demonstrated in chapter 2 with the help of the trailer of the film Nocturnal Animals (2016), questions are raised that are not answered. There are clear structures and strategies at work in the way the film trailer is constructed. This chapter will argue that the film trailer as genre has its own semantic and syntactic characteristics, building on the work done by Altman (1984, 1999). Although the main analysis of this research is concerned with theatrical trailers, this would be a limiting decision. As with any other genre, there are varieties within the overall category, and by exploring the different film trailers available, these differences and similarities will be explored.
4.2 Different Types of Film Trailer How would the genre of the film trailer be characterised? According to Charlotte Sun Jensen the film trailer is related to other “macro-genres such as the TV commercial and the music video” (2014, 106). The reason she groups these different media together is the fact that their duration is short, “and its multimodal communication form that can be seen as a result of its tension between being an audio-visual product, which offers the viewer an aesthetic experience and contains a directly pragmatic purpose at the same time” (Jensen 2014, 113). This is certainly the case, but television commercials and music videos do not hold back information, they do everything to sell their product. The film trailer, by contrast, is providing questions in such a way that the audience desires an answer only the full film viewed in the cinema can offer. Therefore, the music video and television commercial will not be discussed in this chapter. The focus here will be on a variety of trailer types which are the following: teaser trailers, theatrical trailers, fan-made, advertorials for programmed films on television channels and even ‘fake’ trailers, aptly named for they refer to fictive films that are not intended to be produced. Even though these different types of trailer all have one thing in common, namely advertising a film,
24 there are huge differences between them. In the following section, each of these will be discussed with examples in order to demonstrate the semantic and syntactic elements at work. The pragmatic element of the approach will not be presented; this would need a different research and approach to the materials chosen.
4.2.1 Theatrical Trailer The first type of trailer that will be discussed in this chapter it the classical theatrical trailer. As will become clear, the main tendencies of this type of trailer is to introduces protagonists, establish certain relations between them and hint at possible narrative developments. To demonstrate this, the example of Gone Girl (2014) will be used. On the official website of the film the teaser trailer, theatrical trailer and six television commercials can be found (Foxmovies). The teaser trailer, being released first, offers the audience an initial introduction into the diegetic world of Gone Girl. This teaser resembles the structures as discussed in the following segment focussing on the teaser trailer. Where the teaser of Gone Girl leaves many relations between shots open for debate, the theatrical trailer is more precise in how the offered images should be interpreted. The theatrical trailer will first be described to form a clear image for the reader what the trailer offers in forms of information. It is, however, not only the images of the film that play a significant role in the trailer, the lack of images in the form of a black screen is also frequently used. The trailer starts with a green screen and a text stating that this is an approved preview for appropriated audiences. This image is followed by logos from firms that were part of the production of the film. The spoken words that are connected to the first image refer to Nick Miller (Ben Affleck) who has been accused of murdering his wife. The next image shows Nick being interviewed, the diegetic source of the question asked. The following images show the relation between Nick and his missing wife Amy (Rosamund Pike), accompanied by a voice- over of Amy. The continuing defence of Nick in his innocence of her murder is overshadowed by other characters who question this: him smiling next to a picture of her (see figure 4.1), his ignorance of her having friends, his unawareness of her blood type. This is strengthened by Amy who states in a voice-over: “I will practice to believe my husband loves me. But I could be wrong.” The evidence against Nick is piling on: a letter written by Amy titled “Clue One”, her buying a gun and fearing for her life. This flow of images continues to seemingly provide evidence of Nick being a ‘bad guy’. The strong image of Amy floating in water, dead, is the final image before the title of the film is shown. The title itself is shown with in the background a river, suggesting that Amy can be found there (see figures 4.2 and 4.3).
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Figure 4.1. Nick Miller (Ben Affleck) smiling alongside a photograph of his missing wife Amy, while being photographed by press. His smile could be seen as an indicator of him being guilty. (Gone Girl, 1.28)
Figure 4.2. Amy floating in water, slowly moving out of the image into the darkness. (Gone Girl, 2.20)
Figure 4.3 The film title, Gone Girl, accompanied by the suggested resting place of Amy. (2.22)
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Though it may seem the trailer gives away a lot of information concerning the film plot, it does not indicate how this might develop. The accusation of Nick is from the start the focus and the images that follow contradict his claimed innocence. His relationship with his wife Amy is portrayed as abusive, with her being trapped. It is not indicated whether he murdered her, or if she will be found. Audiences who have seen the film, will know that this focus on Nick as a murderer is indeed the starting point of the film, but this perspective is slowly put in a different light because of some plot developments. “Images are often subtly, or not so subtly, composed or changed in order to conceal or enhance certain elements” (Machin 2007, 45). Even though Machin refers here to for instance the use of photoshopping on photographs, this is also applicable to film trailers. Specifically, the use of the image of Amy floating in a river (figure 4.2) makes a strong suggestion to the audience that she is indeed murdered by her seemingly guilty husband. As revealed in the film, the actual use of this shot is to hint at a possible event, not referring to actual facts in the diegetic world of Gone Girl. The use of the black screen also hints at ‘enhancing certain elements’. Though the black screen takes away some of the pace of the trailer, by doing this it emphasizes each image that follows a black screen. A frequent use of the black screen builds a tension and hints at the importance of the images in the overall given narrative. An element that is also commonly found in trailers is the use of written non-diegetic texts. In the trailer of Gone Girl this ‘lack’ of written text is compensated by the use of voice- over of Amy who reads out her own diary discussing her abusive relationship with Nick. In this case the voice-over takes over the role of non-diegetic sentences purposefully placed to motivate and underscore certain shots or scenes. As will be discussed in chapter 5, the use of written non-diegetic texts introduces the audiences to the director, actors and title. Furthermore, texts are used to add to the narrative. In the case of A Monster Calls (2016) the following use of this can be found: “This Fall” “Something Wild” “Will Save You”. Another common feature, is the use of credits at the end of a trailer. These often repeat the production company, director, actors and information about the upcoming release. The example of Gone Girl demonstrates the variety of elements at work within the presenting of the associated film. As with a full feature film, Gone Girl highlights the protagonists and by doing that it also introduces the related genre. Both of these are semantic elements. Clear syntactic elements are the establishing of a plot structure, even though this might not be consistent with the actual film, and the introduction of relationships between characters. In films the use of non-diegetic written texts is minimal, whereas in the trailer this is a highly relevant element. The use of such texts is part of the argumentative and rhetorical
27 structure of the trailer (Wildfeuer and Pollaroli forthcoming, 30). When attempting to classify this according to the semantic/synthetic/pragmatic approach it proves difficult. It is at the same time a common trait, labelling as semantic, but it can also be part of the narrative structure, a syntactic classification. However, Altman never discussed this type of use in films, seeing how they are not used to create meaning during a film. This use of credits is not commonly used in films during the progress of the plot, but only restricted to the title sequence at the beginning of the film and the credits at the end. Whereas in film trailers a variety of credits can be found throughout the trailer used as selling points. Credits are important manifestations and will here be classified as semantic elements. This type of credits is not only prominent in film trailers; it is also a common feature of other advertisements. Other examples would be perfume commercials and their use of title to name the product, or closer related to the film, a film poster.
4.2.2 Teaser Trailer The teaser trailer is the briefest type of trailer that currently can be found in the media. Whereas the theatrical trailer introduces the film more generally, with various protagonists and hints at possible narrative developments, the teaser does completely the opposite. The recently released Ghost in the Shell (2017) has five teaser trailers that were released prior to the screening of the film in cinemas. Each of these teasers shows a glimpse of the film without any story related context or further information. Though there were several teaser trailers released, the focus here will be on the first two and they will be briefly described. It must be added however, that each of these five teaser trailers provides the audience with a new piece of information concerning the film and its protagonists, but always without any further context and open for speculation as to its interpretation. For instance, teaser trailer #1, as titled by Paramount Pictures themselves, provides an introduction to the re-appropriated world of Kôkaku Kidôtai (Ghost in the Shell 1995). Originally the narrative was introduced to the audience in the form of an anime. This renewed science-fiction story portrays the immensely shifting boundaries between human and technology, and is introduced through this first teaser trailer. The very first shot of this trailer shows the viewer a luminescent triangle, briefly flashing on the screen. The following images show us a geisha, dressed in red and gold, from behind walking slowly forward (figure 4.4). The sparsely decorated hallway and the luminous floor create a focus on the geisha. The following shot, however brief, is a close-up of the geisha’s face (figure 4.5). Though a human shape is visible, the figure is in fact an android. The image scrambles and the title of the film Ghost in a Shell briefly appears in a disrupted manner. In its entirety, this teaser trailer is 10.
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Figure 4.4 The shot shows a seemingly normal geisha from the back, highlighted by the luminous floor and dark walls. (Ghost in the Shell, 0.01)
Figure 4.5 A medium close-up of the geisha’s face. This shot reveals the android nature of the geisha. (Ghost in the Shell, 0.05)
Figure 4.6 Protagonist Major sitting on her bed, unplugging some sort of charging device from the back of her neck. (Ghost in the Shell, 0.02)
29 seconds long, with the images from the film coming down to roughly 6 seconds and the luminescent triangle and film title taking up the other seconds. Teaser trailer #2 is again no longer than 10 seconds. The luminous triangle is again used in the very beginning of the teaser trailer. What then follows is a singular shot of the main protagonist Major (Scarlet Johansson). This shot portrays Major sitting on what appears a luminescent bed (figure 4.6). Her actions are limited to detaching some sort of powering device, connected to the back of her neck, and placing it next to her. The teaser trailer is concluded with again the scrambled images and pixels of the title briefly flashing on the screen. In both of the trailers a different element of the film is centralized. The first introduces the genre through focussing on the android geisha, the second teaser introduces the main protagonist to the audience, but reveal her as blurring the boundaries between human and android. When these teaser trailers are taken together it becomes clear that the film plays with the blurring lines between human and technology, and thus establishes the genre of the film as being science- fiction. The use of the teaser trailer is not solely the domain of cinema. It is also a common practice to remind television audiences of series that are making their return to the television screen for a new season or for completely new series such as Westworld. The teaser trailer of Westworld, with a duration of 30 seconds shows a stream of shots depicting various protagonists and locations. These different shots are connected to each other by various questions directed at Dolores, one of the main protagonists, concerning her reality. This series like Ghost in the Shell, is concerned with the ever-changing relations between technology and humanity as is implied by the shots of humans and of human created skeletons suggesting some type of androids. The chosen examples of Ghost in the Shell are exceptionally short for teaser trailers. Other teasers tend to extend their duration to some 45-60 seconds. The structure however does not diverge from what was shown in the examples of Ghost in the Shell. An example of Deadpool (2016) shows a man sitting in a dark room in a chair, which is lit when the mystery man claps his hands, revealing that Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) himself is narrating the trailer and announcing the film he is featured in (figure 4.7). Again, a protagonist is introduced without any further context. These types of trailers, that do not feature actual film material “function as in medias res paratexts, narrative segments that come from within the diegesis of the film even if they may not feature within the final movie itself” (Grainge and Johnson 2015, 149). As becomes clear from the examples above, teaser trailers are intended to entice the audience and together with other released teasers they build anticipation and are there to intrigue
30 the audience. Teaser trailers are inherently short, literally teasing the audience. It should be noted that some theatrical trailers tend also to be named teaser, as a way of first introduction of the film; these, however, show more narratively motivated material from the film, and for that reason they are in this research not classified as teaser trailers. The central function of the teaser trailer to intrigue the audience is closely linked to the sparse images provided. A semantic element that has not directly to do with visible content is the brief duration of the teaser trailer. In the first trailer the emphasis was on the androids playing a certain part in the film’s narrative, the second introduced the heroine as someone closely related to the shifting lines between technology and humanity, seeing how she was ‘charging’ herself. Both of these can be seen as semantic elements. Introducing the android is directly linked to the actual genre science-fiction and its connected semantics, the introduction of the main protagonist as a key semantic element of the trailer itself. Both the first and last images of the teaser trailer depicting logos and the film title are inherent to the structure of the teaser trailer and therefore are classified as credits belonging to the semantic element.
Figure 4.7 Deadpool, after revealing himself to be the narrator of this teaser trailer. This sequence takes place in the diegetic world of the film Deadpool, but is not material to be found in the actual film. (0.31)
4.2.3 Television Advertisement for a Programmed Film Trailers are not an exclusive marketing strategy for films to be released in cinemas. As already shown in the section concerning teaser trailers, they are also used on television to remind or introduce audiences to returning or new television shows. Television channels also utilize trailers in the form of advertisements to highlight a programmed film later that week. An interesting example of a television channel self-advertising a film is that of Dutch channel NET5. This television channel characterizes itself as a female-oriented channel with returning series such as Grey’s Anatomy, Chicago Fire, Code Black, The Good Wife, How to Get Away 31
With Murder…, various self-produced doctor’s series and in the past series such as Desperate Housewives. The female-oriented nature becomes also clear from a commercial for a film programmed on 19 January 2017, The Recruit (2003). The film features a young male, James (Colin Farrell), being recruited into the CIA. Even though the CIA no longer needs recruits, seeing how they receive requests of many interested parties, recruiter Walter (Al Pacino) shows an interest in James. The following training period in the Farm introduces a possible love interest for James in the form of Layla (Bridget Moynahan). Without going extensively into the story, it is noteworthy to mention that this relation is not as prominently featured in the film as the possible implications of the father-son relationship that is built between Walter and James and the following exposing of mastermind Walter who, it turns out, manipulated everyone from the start. NET5 however chose to focus on the relationship between Layla and James in their advertising. In the trailer an image is created of a relationship in danger when James is asked to investigate certain doings by Layla. Even though most of the film takes place on the Farm, this is hardly shown in the commercial and their relationship is coined as a selling point of the film, whereas in fact this is only a minor narrative strand. This might seem an extreme example, but it does highlight that an audience-oriented approach for trailers is not exclusive to theatrical film trailers. Out of the different genres demonstrated within the film, this advertisement focusses primarily on the love aspect. With this example, it becomes clear that advertisements on television for programmed films can choose their preferred genre of focus, disregarding all others, and without necessarily being true to the film’s narrative. This creates a clear syntactic presence concerning plot structure and character relationships. Even though the advertisement does not provide a representative image of the film itself, it does create a new narrative. A narrative highlighting the blossoming relationship between James and Layla, which is consequently endangered when they are instructed to spy on each other. Semantic elements are inherited of the genre of romance, which are certain character types and well-known plot types such as a dramatic love romance doomed to fail.
4.2.4 Fan-Made Trailer Sometimes waiting for official trailers or other sources of information concerning new upcoming films takes too long for fans. “With this anticipation surrounding the release of a feature film, fake and fan trailers play into cinematic discourses of release and hype” (Williams 2012, n.pag.). The film fan takes control over the possible narrative and recreates his or her
32 hopes is via the form of a fan-made film trailer. On sites, such as YouTube these fan-made trailers can be easily found.
The ease with which trailers have shifted across different media sites demonstrates audiences' willingness to view trailers, problematizing our understanding of the trailer as existing solely within advertising discourses. The presence of the trailer online represents the ways that audiences not only anticipate a film but also perform their desire to others. (Williams 2012, n.pag.)
There are many fan-made clips to be found on the internet, many of them not falling in the category of the trailer as described here. Some of these other clips could be classified as fan- fiction only through the audio-visual form. Examples of this would be using the characters of the Twilight-saga and instead of Bella ending up with Edward she ends up with Jacob. For this section, however it is important to realize that the created fan-material has a close relation to the film trailer form: the creations need to be speculating on the content for a possible film release, be it a sequel or a new film. In line with my previous mention of Twilight-saga the example of choice to discuss here will be a fan-made trailer for the The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009). The YouTube ID that created this video is “FOREVER begins now…” and the signature of the clip itself says Sonyiaa, creator of “NEW MOON trailer (fanmade)”. The Twilight films are based on a series of books that tell the story of Bella (Kristen Stewart) who falls in love with the vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson). Though he is a human-friendly vampire, her relationship with him puts her in frequent danger. The fan-made trailer focuses on the turn of events signalled by Bella cutting herself resulting in Jasper (Jackson Rathbone), an adoptive brother of Edward, not being able to control his vampirical nature. The trailer then focuses on the relationship between Bella and Edward, who wants to distance himself from Bella to keep her safe. This allows for the introduction of Jacob (Taylor Lautner) as a possible other suitor for Bella. Towards the end of the fan-made trailer Italy is introduced as the place where Edward is planning on introducing the vampire race. Without going into the story any further, it is clear that even though this trailer is fan-made, it still relies on certain cues concerning the introduction of key characters and their relationships and narrative developments. The idea of the creator in replicating a genuine trailer also resonates in the use of production company logos and intertitles building up the tension within this mini narrative. As listed in the comment of the clip, the creator mentions the in total 10 audio-visual sources used to create this fan trailer for New Moon. The materials come from a variety of films, among them Twilight, other films starring Kristen Stewart, but also makes use of a music video
33 and a car commercial. Not only does this trailer show how audiences themselves take control over the narrative, but also highlights the cut & paste nature of the trailer itself. Trailers are narratives created from various scraps from a film. When these scraps are taken together they become a new narrative that speaks to a certain audience. In the case of the fan-made trailer, it speaks to other fans and opens up discussion for possibilities within the yet to be released film.
4.2.5 The ‘Fake’ Trailer As with the fan-made trailer, the ‘fake’ trailer provides a brief narrative connected to a not realized film. These fake trailers sometimes spawn actual films with similar stories, such as Hobo with a Shotgun (2011), Machete (2010) and Bad Ass (2012). Many of these fake trailers are in some way connected to the work of Robert Rodriguez and are in a Grindhouse (2007) style. Grindhouse is based on the exploitation films that were made in the United State roughly between 1919 and 1959 (Schaefer 1999, 2). “Exploitation movies purveyed the forbidden spectacle to moviegoers that the organized industry did not. Naked and unashamed nudists, high-flying hop heads, brazen strippers, vicious vice lords, and high school girls who found themselves ‘in trouble’ populated exploitation movies” (Schaefer 1999, 2). These fake trailers are stylized according to the characteristics of these exploitation films. “Both the film Grindhouse and the video Planet Terror open with a trailer for a non-existent movie, Machete, about a former Mexican federalé (Danny Trejo) hired to assassinate a U.S. senator” (Benson- Allott 2008, 20). Rodriguez himself plays with fake trailers and uses them in combination with actual films. The fake trailer should not be confused with the spoof trailer. “A ‘spoof trailer’ is a trailer for a non-existent film that has a parodic tone, changing the generic register of the source film or films” (Ortega 2014, 149). These spoof trailers consist of materials of various films, whereas the material used in the fake trailer is completely new and shot for the sole purpose of creating this trailer. The choice has been made to focus solely on the fake trailer, because some of them had an impact on the film industry and spawned actual films.3 In the fake trailer Hobo with a Shotgun the protagonist, the hobo, is introduced as in search for “a new way of life”. Seeing crime all around him, he purchases a shotgun in order to fight it. What follows is a series of scenes depicting villains, people in need of rescue, and scenes in which the hobo is in some sort of trouble. The ‘trailer’ is in its entirety two minutes long and could also be aptly described as a short film. When briefly comparing this creative
3 For more information on this subject of spoof trailers see: Ortega (2014). 34
‘fake’ trailer with the film trailer related to the film that was spawned by the fake trailer, it is interesting to see how similar in feeling both these trailers are. Even though the ‘new’ trailer narrates its story through the use of protagonist Hobo (this time played by Rutger Hauer), allowing for a stronger connection between the scenes displayed during his monologue. The narration of the ‘fake’ trailer, describing the hobo’s thoughts and actions does strongly remind the viewer of a film trailer, and this could be seen as a semantic element because of the common trait this represents. Syntactic elements present in the trailer are the structure of the narrative, which depicts the beginning of a hobo with a shotgun and his following fight against crime. A clearly visible credit element is the use of titles mentioning actor’s names, even though the actors are in this case not well known and therefore isn’t necessarily a selling point of the film, it does resonate the feeling of an actual trailer.
4.3 Semantics and Syntax of the Film Trailer Each film trailer provides a new narrative to the audience, a narrative not necessarily highlighting crucial elements of the related film. By utilizing certain fragments of the related film the trailer is creating a completely new narrative, or non-narrative in the case of the teasers. Different narratives require different trailers. The trailer is available in different varieties, as shown above with the theatrical, teaser, fan-made, ‘fake’ and television advertisement. This chapter, even though focussed on film trailer as genre, allows for an exploration of these various trailer. The essence that can be gathered from all these types of trailers is that there are general cues that group them together. Clear syntactic elements are the development of plot structure and information concerning character relations. Semantic elements are found on a richer variety than the syntactic elements. Examples are the length of trailers and in some cases traits taken over from the genre of the film itself, which is logical seeing how this shapes the film in a great way and thus also resonates in the trailer. Introduction of different characters and especially the protagonist is also a semantic element. It became clear that a crucial element of the film trailer is the use of production company logos and different types of titles. As opposed to their occurrence in the film they were made to promote, these are intertwined with the film footage and help to sell the film. Where Altman focusses solely on the film, the film trailer as genre demonstrated an aspect not considered as such by Altman. The use of credits is an important category of the semantic element when analysing film trailers. The use of credits as semantics in the form of titles, names, logos, intertitles and approved messages is not only useable for analysing film trailers. They are used in different varieties for other media objects that are used for marketing purposes.
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As shown with the variety of film trailers there are key elements at work. The newly created narratives run by their own semantics and syntax. This overview of the different possible types of trailers may be brief, but the broad tendencies connecting these trailers are very clear, and further exploration of the trailer as a genre (even including television) can only bring more key elements to light. In appropriating certain audio-visual materials, it creates a new narrative, a new genre, with its own semantic and syntactic elements.
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5. Film Trailer Analysis
5.1 Analytical Approach and Corpus In order to get a better understanding of the structure of film trailers a multimodal analysis is used. As explained in chapter 1, multimodality is the occurrence of more than one semiotic mode within a text (Gibbons 2014, 8). Audio-visual materials are highly multimodal, and the film trailer is no exception. Following the nine modes as described by Forceville (2009, 23), five of them are of use when analysing films. For the purpose of this analysis the choice has been made to further specify a total of thirteen elements that play a role in the structure of film trailers. The total of 13 elements divided over five modes make up the most common and recognizable elements that can be found in film trailers.
Star Wars: Rogue One (2016)
.10 .20 .30 .40 .50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo
Black Screen x x x x2 x2 x x3 x x2 x x y
Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x
Voice-over
Written Written x Title x y Announcement
Name
Approved message
Sound Diegetic music x x x x x x x
Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x
Silence x x Table 5.1 In this chart the trailer for Star Wars: Rogue One is analysed. The scorings show the occurrence of the modes within ten seconds’ periods. All the trailers of the corpus are analysed in the same way. The chart in table 5.1 is used to score a trailer for the film Star Wars: Rogue One (2016). Each film trailer is scored using this table and all these table can be found in the appendix. The total length of two minutes is mentioned above, and then every mode is scored when occurring in a ten seconds’ timeframe, with x2 suggesting that this specific element was present twice in a period of ten seconds. In the instances where film trailers had a duration of not exactly a roundup of ten seconds’, the choice has been made to include everything to five seconds within the last time period and above to form a new one. To clarify: The Hunger Games (2012) trailer has a total length of 2.37. The last seven seconds are analysed as a time segment of ten seconds.
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Hell or High Water (2016) has a total length of 1.23. The last three seconds are included within the time period 1.11-1.20. It is important to be aware of the fact that the subdivision in timeframes of 10 seconds has certain limitations. For instance, in table 5.1, it transpires that there is “image” in every segment; but any discontinuity between images does not show up – as it would presumably have done with a more fine-grained timeframe, for instance five or two seconds. Returning to table 5.1, when two modes are working together on a highly noticeable level, they are coloured the same way. It should be noted that the instances where multiple modes work together, are so according to the researcher of this thesis. This does imply that this occurrence may not be perceived by everyone similarly. The data collected through this method will be discussed in a later stage of this chapter. Another notable element of this table is the use of x and y and different colours. This notation method is used to highlight when certain elements of modes are working together in such a way that made them stand out. For instance, in the segment of 1.50-2.00 the dialogue and silence are both coloured green, indicating that they worked together in a notable way, other than the usual. In this case, Jyn (Felicity Jones), the main protagonist, asks “Are you with me?” Upon which the music stops and Cassian (Diego Luna) answers “All the way.”, after which the music resumes. The lack of music highlights the words uttered by Cassian and strengthens them. These notations have been combined into table 5.12, but only for the drama trailers. As will be discussed, even though these notable combinations of modes are based on personal effect, they do demonstrate which modes tend to work together more than some other modes. To not overwhelm the reader with data, the choice has been made to demonstrate the gathered data with the help of tables. With the help of the data gathered from the pictorial mode in science-fiction films it is explained how these charts should be read, since they are all build up the same way. In table 5.2 the data of the pictorial mode is presented. The total duration of film trailers is seen as a possible 100% as presented on the x-axis. On the y-axis, the three elements analysed within the pictorial mode are ‘Black Screen’, ‘Logo’ and ‘Image’. All the numbers in these charts have been rounded up to even numbers. When focussing on the ‘Black Screen’ presence, the number reads 65. This means that of the possible 100% of a trailer, 65% of the overall time of time frames of ten seconds contains black screens. This does not mean that the full ten seconds’ the screen was black; it means that during this period there a black screen. The data provided in these charts are based on the average of all the results from one genre, in this case science-fiction.
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Pictorial Mode in Science-Fiction Trailers
Black Screen 65
Logo 10
Image 94
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Table 5.2 An overview of the pictorial mode as averaged in the science-fiction trailers. 100% entails the full duration of the trailer. We can learn from this table, for instance, that the image is present in 94% of the ten seconds’ time frames in science- fiction film trailers. The trailer corpus is divided into two genres, drama and science-fiction. It should be noted how the selection of these 50 trailers has been made. A selection of 25 trailers per genre has been made with the help of IMDb.com. For both of the genres the following data was entered in the advanced title search available on the website: Most popular English-Language, Released Feature Films, Released between 2012-01-01 and 2017-01-01, Country of Origin US, User Rating Between 7 and 10. The application of these filters prompted 1756 titles for the drama genre and 168 titles for the science-fiction genre. The titles were then ordered according to their popularity and the first 25 titles were selected. Titles of franchises were excluded apart from the first title appearing on the list; this exclusion also was extended to anime films. The lists where formed on 3-5-2017. Naturally the lists change according the popularity of films and should thus offer a different list at a different time. The reason to choose the first 25 is that these films are the films that are the most likely ones to have reached a large audience. This analysis thus focuses on popular Hollywood films, and an interesting alternative study would be non-Hollywood films and their structure to see whether there are differences or comparisons. In any case, the trailers investigated are claimed to be representative of the genre they were supposed to promote, which means that a different sample of these Hollywood films should yield similar findings. All the findings have been analysed according to five modes and thirteen related elements.
5.2 The Used Modes and Their Elements For the analysis of the Science-Fiction and Drama film trailers a selection of relevant modes was made. Pictorial, spoken, written, sound and music modes are highly present within trailers, but further specification of these modes is necessary. After all, the pictorial mode is not only an image but can also include a logo, while the spoken mode can be subdivided into dialogue and voice-over. In total, there are thirteen elements chosen for this analysis, which together provide
39 an overview of how these five modes are used in different ways. Below an overview will be provided to specify the meaning of each of these thirteen elements. The pictorial mode. The pictorial mode has been divided into three different elements; image, logo and black screen. The image refers to the obvious visuals when thinking of a film or a film trailer. The content of this image can vary from landscapes to persons and is not further investigated in this research. That does not mean that a study of what the image shows the audience would not be interesting. Especially for the Drama genre it would for instance be interesting to see whether there are more close-ups or certain styles of filming. The second element of the pictorial mode is the logo. The logo in the film trailer tends to take over the entire screen and emphasizes the production company or other stakeholders. Only in the case of Marvel films was the logo also used in combination with film titles, but this will be discussed later. The third and final element is the black screen. The black screen does not immediately seem a contender for the pictorial mode, but it very much is. The use of the black screen (or of any other colours for that matter) is an interruption of the moving image, and exactly by disrupting this flow it takes over the screen. By taking over the image, the black screen emphasizes the lack of image and in a way, becomes the image, it furthermore can also signal a transition of images. The black screen is thus used as a cut between scenes, to indicate a change of the image. Furthermore, the pauses created by the use of the black screen build tension and expectations. The spoken mode. The spoken mode has for this analysis been divided into two elements; dialogue and voice-over. The division between dialogue and voice-over is very clear. Dialogue is an exchange of words between two or more personas, but does not necessarily needs a reply. Normally the latter would be classified as a monologue, but to not overly complicate the analysis the choice has been made to classify both monologue and dialogue as one and the same. The other element, the voice-over, is somewhat more difficult to classify in the film trailer as was demonstrated by the process of analysing all of the trailers. The voice-over can be used in a variety of ways. It is either a diegetic or a non-diegetic person narrating, or in the case of the film trailer it is actual dialogue from the film used as a voice-over in the film trailer or a voice-over in the more traditional sense. In some of the film trailers it seemed at first glance that something was a voice-over, but in later images it was revealed as a speech only at that moment connected to a person narrating. These moments were counted towards the dialogue element, rather than the voice-over. The written mode. The written mode has a total of five different elements. The first is also classified as written text, but is inherently diegetic in nature. This means that any text part
40 of the fictional world, clearly visible to the audience, is categorized as written text. All the other elements are forms of written text that exist outside the filmic world. An example is the second element, title. This refers to the mentioning of the film title itself. It does occur that the film is sold by using the names of directors or familiar works by them. Both of these are classified as the third element, name. So, in this instance, ‘name’ refers to the following variety of names: actors, directors, producers and known works of previous mentioned functions. The fourth element is the announcement. This element varies a great deal but includes everything from a few dramatic words creating tension in the trailer to release dates and more general information regarding cast and crew. The final element is one exclusive to the film trailer genre, the “approved” message. This element is one that precedes the actual trailer and is accompanied by a green screen and no music score. The text that is mentioned on screen is the approval of this preview material by the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. There are varieties with more textual information but they all come down to the message mentioned above. Sound and music. Sound and music are two different modes, but they are connected. For this analysis, the sound mode comprises all diegetic music and all diegetic sound. This entails everything from gunshots to footsteps and from dinosaur sounds to piano music, as long as the music has a clear diegetic origin. The music mode is divided into two elements: score music and silence. The music score is all added (i.e., non-diegetic) music. The inclusion of silence into this mode is warranted because it emphasizes the lack of music. As with the black screen, the lack of image or in this case music is highly notable and is used to signal a variety things, especially when combined with one of the other elements or modes.
5.3 Film Trailers by Genre For the following analysis, a choice has been made to include two different genres of film. As mentioned in chapter 3, there is a strong tendency to mix genres within films. The Science- Fiction film has close links to the action film, and the drama to the romantic film. Because the mixing of genres creates certain amounts of overlap between genre-specific semantics and syntactics as mentioned before, this will not be discussed here. There are ample researches done concerning specific genres, and this will not be the focus here. The analysis is focused on how the structure of film trailers is shaped and by analysing two different genres, it is to see whether the labelling of a genre influences the structure of the trailer. What will follow is a discussion of each genre on its own. The conclusions that can be made from these results will be introduced in chapter 6.
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5.3.1 Science-Fiction Film Trailers With the help of the previously mentioned modes and their elements a total of 25 film trailers of the science-fiction genre have been analysed. The selected film trailers are from the following films: Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Star Wars: Rogue One (2016), Passengers (2016), X-Men Apocalypse (2016), Arrival (2016), Deadpool (2016), Prometheus (2012), Doctor Strange (2016), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), Interstellar (2014), Star Trek: Beyond (2016), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Jurassic World (2015), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), The Hunger Games (2012), Pacific Rim (2013), Ant-Man (2015), Thor: The Dark World (2014), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), Her (2013), World War Z (2013), Looper (2012), Man of
Steel (2013), Cloud Atlas (2012) and Iron Man Three (2013).
Using the table similar to
the structure of table 5.1 the
following results were found
over
-
(figure 5.3). This figure offers an
Logo Screen Black Dialogue Voice Written Title Announcement Name Approved message musicDiegetic Music score Silence Image overview of all of the elements 94 10 65 74 7 2 8 20 7 4 42 96 13 analysed in the science-fiction Figure 5.3 The average of the corpus of science-fiction trailers. 100% entails trailers. All the different modes the full duration of the trailer. For instance, the image is present in 94% of the time presented in time frames of ten seconds’. and its elements are present in this table. The majority of the high percentages can be found in Music score, Image, Dialogue, Black Screen and Diegetic Music. These can thus be said to be the most prominent modes for science-fiction film trailers. The other elements vary greatly from trailer to trailer. It can be seen that elements such as the Approved Message and Written are among those with relatively low percentages. The Approved Message was used in thirteen of the 25 trailers, but given that it is only shown in the very beginning of the trailer in only one segment of ten seconds, this accounts for the low percentage. The low percentage in the category “written element, diegetic text”, is due to a single trailer only, namely Guardians of the Galaxy (2016). We can conclude from this that “written text” is a highly non-typical feature of the Science Fiction trailer. A closer look at each mode and its elements provides a clearer image of some of the preferences and divisions made in science-fiction trailers. First up is the pictorial mode. Starting with the image average, the 25 science-fiction film trailers shows that of the possible 100% score of the image presence, the average is 94 (figure 5.2). Of the film trailers the lowest is 86 and the highest 1004. Unsurprisingly, the image is prominent in every science-fiction trailer.
4 As scored in intervals of 10 seconds, this does not mean that the actual image presence is 100%. 42
From the table, it can be seen how even though the majority of the trailers use image, there is also a significant frequency of black screen usage. These usages of black screens do not entail that there is nothing happening at all. The black screen is often used in combination with the image, creating a flashing effect, highlighting the images themselves. In other instances, the black screen works together with the written mode, as will be discussed there. Lastly there is the element of the logo. The logo, though not particularly present is a significant element of the science-fiction film trailer as genre. The logo introduces production companies, and by including that into the trailer is puts a certain mark on the product itself. These production companies can be traced back to other notable productions etc. With the case of Marvel films, the logo was also included in combination of the film title. The second researched mode is the spoken one (table 5.4). Even though there is certainly speech present in film trailers, the majority is filled in with other musical elements, or perhaps even complete silence. The observation that in 74% of a possible 100% duration there is a presence of dialogue in time frames of ten seconds, means simply that in those ten second time frames at some point a form of dialogue took place. This can be either a single sentence or a complete dialogue between two characters taken over the complete time frame. Combinations of the speech mode with the music mode, especially with silence are also noticable. An example of this can be seen in Deadpool (2015). At a certain moment in the trailer the protagonist Deadpool is trapped in a car during a gunfight. As he is being surrounded by armed man, a black screen follows accompanied by the absence of a music score. Only the electric window sound is noticeable followed by two hands popping up (figure 5.1). The armed men respond by aiming, pausing for the “Wait!” coming from the car, followed by: “You may be wondering why the red suit. Well that’s so that bad guys can’t see me bleed. This guy’s got the right idea, he wore the brown pants.” Deadpool then jumps out and shoots the guy. “Daddy needs to express some rage.” These final words lead to an announcement of the release date and also restart the music score. In this example the lack of music emphasizes the dialogue, with no types of sound the dialogue is strengthened. This working together of musical silence and dialogue is a combination often used in trailers. The third mode is the written mode, and as mentioned it is divided into written (diegetic), title, announcement, name and approved message. As with the pictorial mode, this chart shows the division between the different elements and their overall percentages (table 5.5). The majority of the occurrences goes to the use of written mode in the form of announcements. As discussed these announcements can consist of a variety of messages. For
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Figure 5.1 Musical absence during monologue given by Deadpool. (Deadpool, 1.19)
Spoken Mode in Sci-Fi Trailers
Voice-Over 7
Dialogue 74
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Table 5.4 The spoken mode and its two elements as presented in the science-fiction trailers. We can read from this table that 74% of a possible 100% duration there is a presence of dialogue in time frames of ten seconds.
Written Mode in Sci-Fi Trailers
Approved message 4
Name 7
Announcement 20
Title 8
Written 2
0 5 10 15 20 25
Table 5.5 The written mode and its five elements as presented in the science-fiction trailers. From this table we can conclude, for instance, that in 20% of a possible 100% duration there is a presence of announcements in time frames of ten seconds.
44 instance, in the trailer of Pacific Rim (2013) the announcement is used three times in a row and also at the end of the trailer. The following words were used in the three connected announcements: “On July 12th”, “Go Big” and “Or Go Extinct”. The ending of the trailer repeats the date of release, but also provides additional production information. All of these instances are used to announce, but do so in a different way. Perhaps it would be worthwhile to further specify this for future analysis, when the focus is on the written mode, or if more details would be preferred. Earlier was the low percentage of the written element discussed, attributing to only Guardians of the Galaxy who made use of this (see figure 5.2). In comparison, the drama genre makes more use of this particular element that is a part of the diegetic world of the trailer. Finally, the fourth and fifth mode, sound and music, will be taken together (table 5.6). 96% of the trailer duration features a music score of some sort. When calculating music score, diegetic music and silence the majority of these three goes to the music score. But even though science-fiction film trailers can be classified as highly musical, there is also a notable absence of music in the form of silence. This silence is however often in combination with a different mode in order to emphasize a certain aspect, as already demonstrated in the discussing of the spoken mode with the example of Deadpool or Star Wars: Rogue One, as demonstrated in section 5.1.
5.3.2 Drama Film Trailers The second genre of films and their accompanying trailers that have been analysed is that of the drama genre. As with the science-fiction trailers in the previous section, these trailers have been analysed with the help of five modes and their thirteen elements. The trailers from the following films were selected as part of this corpus: The Lost City of Z (2016), La La Land (2016), Lion (2016), Passengers (2016), Hacksaw Ridge (2016), Hidden Figures (2016), Arrival (2016), The Founder (2016), Nocturnal Animals (2016), Moonlight (2016), The Bleeder (aka Chuck, 2016), Silence (2016), Manchester by the Sea (2016), Patriots Day (2016), Interstellar (2016), Allied (2016), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Captain Fantastic (2016), Me Before You (2016), A Monster Calls (2016), The Revenant (2015), The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), Hell or High Water (2016) and Gone Girl (2014). The build-up of this segment will be similar to the one of science-fiction.
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Music/Sound Modes in Sci-Fi Trailers
Silence 13
Music score 96
Diegetic music 42
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 Table 5.6 The music/sound modes and its three elements as presented in the science-fiction trailers. We can read from this table that 42% of a possible 100% duration there is a presence of diegetic music in time frames of ten seconds’.
Pictorial Mode in Drama Trailers
Black Screen 66
Logo 10 Image 98
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Table 5.8 The pictorial mode and its two elements as presented in the drama trailers. We can read from this table that 66% of a possible 100% duration there is a presence of black screen in time frames of ten seconds’.
Spoken Mode in Drama Trailers
Voice-Over 10 Dialogue 80
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Table 5.9 The spoken mode and its three elements as presented in the drama trailers. From this table we can conclude, for instance, that in 80% of a possible 100% duration there is a presence of black screen in time frames of ten seconds’.
Figure 5.2 In Guardians of the Galaxy the written element of the written mode is used to introduce characters to the audience, while also being part of the diegetic world. The name “Quill” is visible in the left, while “Obscene Gesture” becomes visible below the blurred middle finger of Quill. Other usage of this written element is visible in medical notations on the right.
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All the different modes
and their accompanying elements
are present in table 5.7. The
over
-
majority of the on-screen
presence can be found in Image,
Image Logo Screen Black Dialogue Voice Written Title Announcement Name Approved message musicDiegetic Music score Silence 10 65 80 10 16 9 29 17 4 36 96 16 Black Screen, Dialogue and Table 5.7 The average of the corpus of drama trailers. 100% entails the full Music Score. A closer look at each duration of the trailer. For instance, the image is present in 98% of the time presented in time frames of ten seconds’. mode will provide a clearer overview of the preferred focus on certain elements. The pictorial mode displays a high presence of image at 98% of the time in time frames of ten seconds (table 5.8). Somewhat more surprising is the high amount of 66% of Black Screen usages in time frames of ten seconds. This shows that by alternating the images with black screens there is a high focus on the pictorial mode. The black screen is thus used in cuts between scenes, to indicate a change of the image. However, the pauses created by the use of the black screen build tension and expectations. Considering it is about the drama genre, this is not very surprising. The image can contain strong emotional cues related to the drama genre, as briefly discussed in chapter two. The second mode discussed, the spoken mode, shows also high percentages (table 5.9). The dialogue per ten seconds’ is a surprising 80%. Again, this high presence of this aural mode can be attributed to the related genre. Dramatic utterances contribute to the evocation of emotions of the audiences, just as the image does. In chapter 4 the example of Gone Girl was given. In describing the trailers narrative, it became clear that protagonist Nick (Ben Affleck) was continuously defending himself against the accusation of killing his wife. Over the total duration of the trailer there are numerous different instances where he again and again pleads for his innocence. This plea for innocence contributes to the ‘feel’ of the trailer. This mechanism thus appears to be very typical of drama trailers. Third is the written mode. Though this mode seems minimal in use, the different elements do all have a reasonable amount of presence in time periods of ten seconds (table 5.10). Especially interesting is the written element. This element is focussed on the diegetic presence of written text. Film trailers with especially high percentage of this presence are The Founder, Patriots Day and Gone Girl. The first trailer tells the story of Ray Kroc (Michael
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Written Mode in Drama Trailers
Approved message 4
Name 18
Announcement 29
Title 9
Written 16
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Table 5.10 The written mode and its five elements as presented in the drama trailers. 16% of a possible 100% duration there is diegetic written presence in time frames of ten seconds’.
Music/Sound Modes in Drama Trailers
Silence 16
Music score 96
Diegetic music 36
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 Table 5.11 The written mode and its five elements as presented in the drama trailers. 16% of a possible 100% duration there is diegetic written presence in time frames of ten seconds’.
Figure 5.3 An example of written diegetic texts in The Founder. (0.24)
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Keaton) who turns McDonald’s into a franchise. Seeing how this film portrays a life story connected to a big company, there are bound to be written diegetic texts. As is visible in figure 5.3, the use of text is clearly present. When Ray stumbles across McDonald’s during one of his business trips he is immediately intrigued by the working ethics of the owners of the fast food store. What follows is his persistence in making McDonald’s a well-known name. During this brief overview of some struggles he comes across, multiple written texts are noticeable. Another instance is that of Ray’s office, where behind his secretary a sign of his own company is visible. Finally, the fourth and fifth mode, sound and music are taken together (table 5.11). As suspected, the music score has a large presence per ten seconds’. The drama trailers can be classified as highly musical, seeing how the presence of diegetic music is also notable. It is to be noted, however, that if this category would have been further divided between diegetic music and diegetic sounds (such as firing of a gun or footsteps) more in depth claims could have been made. For now, it is worth noting that every single drama trailer used some form of diegetic music as classified in section 5.2. Another data set worth introducing is the noticeable working-together of different modes. As in the beginning of this chapter, since no systematic correlations between dimensions were calculated, observations pertaining to this are perceived according to the researcher of this thesis. It is, however, worth demonstrating with at least one genre, in this case drama. The data used to create table 5.12 are the instances of all drama trailers in which several modes worked together. Even though these notable combinations of modes are based on personal effect, they do demonstrate which modes tend to work together more than some other modes. For each film this was signified with the help of colours in the charts used to analyse the modes in trailers (see table 5.1 and appendix). Each notation of modes working-together is then organized per the intended focus of the construction. This resulted in: emphasis on image, emphasis on dialogue, approved message, focus on written text and diegetic music emphasis. For instance, The Wolf of Wall Street made on seven separate occasions use of the combination dialogue and silence. This does not mean other modes were not present, it merely points to the highly notable working-together of these modes. An example is a conversation between Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey) (figure 5.4). The focus on this conversation is strengthened by the absence of music. Music tends to be used to create mood or intensify images, the same can be said about its absence.
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Table 5.12 An overview of modes working together in a highly notable manor. Groupings have been made per the intended focus of the working-together.
Figure 5.4 During this conversation in The Wolf of Wall Street two modes are highlighted: the absence of music and the presence of dialogue. The image supports the scene but is not central. (0.26)
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What table 5.12 offers is an overview of structure elements that are momentarily highlighted within a ten second’ time frame. The high frequency of written texts demonstrates that this is an important element in the drama trailer. Especially the use of name and announcements both in combination with a black screen demonstrate large numbers of presence on multiple occasions. This overwhelming focus on written text in the forms of announcement, title and name highlights how film trailers are structured in such a way to sell its contents. Famous actors, renowned directors and well placed announcements are selling points of the film, and seen as reasons for the audience why they should see the promoted film. A comparison of the science-fiction and the drama genre will be provided in chapter 6. Even though these two genres tend to attract a different type of audience, they share similar uses of modes and structures. Differences are off course present, but a comparison of both genres offers more comprehension of the film trailer as a genre on its own with its own structure and compelling dimensions.
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6. Results and Reflection
6.1 A Comparison of Science-Fiction and Drama Trailers
over
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Logo Screen Black Dialogue Voice Written Title Announcement Name Approved message musicDiegetic Music score Silence Image Drama 98 10 65 80 10 16 9 29 17 4 36 96 16 Science-Fiction 94 10 65 74 7 2 8 20 7 4 42 96 13 Table 6.1 In this table both the results of the drama and the science-fiction trailer averages are shown. Drama and science-fiction are two different types of genres, and also address a different type of audience. Exactly by choosing two different genres to analyse, the intention was to be able to make broader claims about film trailers. In table 6.1 the averages of both drama trailers and science-fiction trailers are demonstrated. As with any genre, there are traits characteristic of that particular genre. In chapter 4, an outline was given of how the trailer could be seen as a genre on its own. The analysis in chapter 5 showed again how the trailer has common syntactic and semantic elements. Clearly visible was the semantic element, especially in the form of the written mode, credits. The written mode demonstrated a large presence of announcements in both drama and science-fiction. However, in science-fiction the other elements of the written mode were minimal, all scoring below 10 % presence in ten seconds timeframes. By contrast in, drama, the use of name and diegetic written text is just below 20%. For drama, an overview was created to demonstrate instances in trailers where modes where working-together on a highly noticeable way (table 5.15). The large cluster in the focus on written text highlights the salient presence of the written mode in drama trailers. The findings in the science-fiction and drama trailers justify the hypothesis that the written mode is a crucial element of the structure of the trailer. By way of announcements, images of the film are connected with the ‘real world’. A sense of urgency is created by stating the date of release, and the mentioned top cast would certainly be something worthwhile to see. There are of course also instances where the words describe what the image cannot, or to pay extra attention to this. The pictorial mode proved to be unsurprisingly highly focussed on the image. Both science-fiction and drama showed similar results in the use of the three elements: black screen (65), logo (10) and image (94/98). The black screen, though often used in combination with a
52 title (and not per se displaying a black screen, but a neutral screen), is in both drama and science- fiction often used in combination with the image. In some cases, this resulted in suggesting a change, in others the pauses between image builds a momentum. The spoken mode also displays similar data between drama and science-fiction. My sense of the drama trailers was a higher presence of dialogue, but the choice of timing for the analyse means this cannot be conclusively attested. If the trailer had been analysed in shorter durations, for instance of two or five seconds, different results might have given a more accurate overview. What is clear however, is that the use of voice-overs is not a preferred one for trailers. Ten drama films used the voice-over and eight science-fiction trailers. When voice-overs were used, the occurrence in ten seconds frames was higher than 10 or 7% as demonstrated by the average. The last two modes, music and sound, have been taken together. It is a shame that only when working out the data, I felt the need to further subdivide the diegetic music element into musical and diegetic sounds. The latter would then be concerned with gunshots, explosions, footsteps, and other sounds that can be ascribed to the surroundings of the diegetic world. However, even without this data I can anecdotally state that a large amount of the percentages ascribed to the diegetic sounds are results of noise from surroundings, such as firing of a gun, or water splashing. Only a few occasions demonstrated the use of diegetic sounds as a music score. More specifically, the musical film La La Land, also categorized as drama, makes use of this type of diegetic sound in the form of a piano play (figure 6.1). La La Land is according to IMDb.com, both a drama film and musical at the same time. This mixture of genres, highly common within film is also noticeable in the corpus of the analysis. Three films were part of both corpuses, namely: Passengers, Arrival and Interstellar. This is interesting for the mere fact that a select group of 25 trailers per genre are analysed. All three films can be ascribed to both genres, and thus addressing two different audiences, making the films more appealing to a broader public. Recalling Janet Staiger and her exploration of the absurd notion of the purity hypothesis (section 3.4), these three examples demonstrate how purity is not desired by the creators of both film and film trailer. Chapter 5 focussed on both drama and science-fiction trailers. The broader findings could also be used to describe more general tendencies within the genre of trailer. This image driven object shows a high use of black screen, titles, and music score (non-diegetic). The aim was to further investigate the structure that builds up these fascinating media objects that are both a new narrative and yet promoting an already existing one. What has been done in chapter
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5 is to focus on multimodality within two trailer genres and by doing that getting a better sense of the structures at work in film trailers.
Figure 6.1 The music score in La La Land up to this point had no recognizable diegetic source, until Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) is seen playing. (0.31)
6.2 Concluding Thoughts Genre and multimodality have been brought together in order to focus on the structure in film trailers. The film trailer, a media object on the fringes of different fields, is not as well researched as one might think. Perhaps it is exactly because it touches on marketing, audience/reception studies and media studies, the tendency is to leave this object alone. It is argued here that even though the film trailer is a complex object, there are noticeable structures at work. According to Jonathan Gray trailers “function as entryway paratexts that setup an initial framework for viewing the film” (2010, 72). The film trailer ensures the existence of the film via promotion. By promoting the film, the trailer has to maintain a fine balance in offering the audience information and not spoiling too much. A successful formula to do this, is by posing only questions and provide none of the answers. In a way, this creates a new narrative, an open-ended one. Trailers are narratives created from various scraps from a film. When these scraps are taken together they become a new narrative that speaks to a certain audience. With the help of genre, this narrative can be perceived as a genre on its own. The film trailer as genre. Though briefly mentioned by Jensen (2014, 106), the genre of film trailer has been researched using a variety of trailer types. A highly noticeable element of the two trailer genres analysed in this thesis science-fiction and drama trailers was the use of written non-diegetic text. The recognition of credits as a valuable category within genres is as located in the semantic element and complements Altman’s approach. Where he focused solely on films, a focus on film trailers
54 demonstrates the necessity to include this element of the written non-diegetic text or credits. This high presence of credits is also prominent in the data gathered from the trailer corpus. Both multimodality and genre are pushed to obtain some sense about the structures at work in film trailers. Where the film relies on image, music and dialogue, the trailer uses a combination of five modes: image, dialogue, text, music and sound. The combination of these modes is all in order to sell the audience a sense of need to see the promoted film. The data offered in this thesis has partly been interpreted but there is certainly more to do with this acquired data. With the proper knowledge and tools more correlations between dimension could be found, more results can be discovered on the ways in which film trailers use their structure to speak to an audience. I am not in a position to do this work, lacking the proper statistical knowledge, but I do encourage other scholars to take up this work, revise it if necessary and use some of the offered founding’s as the basis of a new research. The film trailer is an interesting object precisely because it is positioned in a grey area. It is worth pushing boundaries and putting different approaches in a new light by focussing on the trailer. Research done on the commercial or audience aspect is certainly needed, however, by taking a step back and focussing purely on the film trailer and its structure, a better comprehension of the film trailer as a newly formed narrative and as a genre on its own can be revealed. The film trailer produces meaning in its careful selection of materials intertwined with other elements such as credits. Without a clear and compelling structure the trailer fails to do its work, and it is exactly this structure that needs to be further explored.
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7. Bibliography
Altman, Rick. (1984) “A Semantic/Syntactic Approach to Film Genre.” Cinema Journal 23.3: 6-18. ---. Film/Genre. (1999) London: British Film Institute. Bain, Julie. (2011) “Sneak Peak. Using Film Trailers in the Classroom.” Screen Education. 62: 62-6. Benson-Allott, Caetlin. (2008) “Grindhouse: An Experiment in the Death of Cinema.” Film Quarterly 62.1 (Fall 2008): 20-4. Branigan, Edward. (1992) Narrative Comprehension and Film. London: Routledge. Carroll, Noël. (2007) “Narrative Closure.” Philosophical Studies 135: 1-15. Devlin, Michael B., L Todd Chambers and Coy Callison. (2011) “Targeting Mood: Using Comedy or Serious Movie Trailers.” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 55.4: 581-95. Elliott, Caroline and Rob Simmons. (2011) “Advertising Media Strategies in the Film Industry.” Applied Economics 43: 4461-8. Finsterwalder, Jorg, Volker G. Kuppelwieser and Matthew de Villiers. (2012) “The Effect of Film Trailers on Shaping Consumer Expectations in the Entertainment Industry – A Qualitative Analysis.” Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. 19.6: 589-95. Forceville, Charles. (2009) “Non-verbal and multimodal metaphor in a cognivist framework: Agendas for research.” Multimodal Metaphor. Eds. Charles J. Forceville and Eduardo Urios-Aparisi. Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter. 19-42. Foxmovies: Gone Girl. 20th Century Fox Film Corporation. 26-5-2017.
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Gray, Jonathan. (2010) Show Sold Separately: Promos, Spoilers and Other Media Paratexts. New York: New York University Press. Hixson, Thomas Kim. (2005) “Mission Possible: Targeting Trailers to Movie Audiences.” Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing 14.3: 210-24. Jancovich, M. (2000) “’A Real Shocker’: authenticity, genre and the struggle for distinction.” Continuum: Journal of Media Studies 14.1: 23-35. Jensen, Charlotte Sun. (2014) “Reduced Narration, Intensified Emotion. The Film Trailer.” Projections 8.1: 105-125. Kernan, Lisa. (2004) Coming Attractions: Reading American Movie Trailers. Austin: University of Texas Press. Lobato, Ramon and Mark David Ryan. (2011) “Rethinking genre studies through distribution analysis: issues in international horror movie circuits.” New Review of Film and Television Studies 9.2: 1-16. Machin, David. (2007) “Introduction to Multimodal Analysis.” London/New York: Bloomsbury Academic. Maier, Carmen Daniela. (2009) “Visual evaluation in film trailers.” Visual Communication. 8.2: 159-80. Mittell, Jason. (2001) “A Cultural Approach to Television Genre Theory.” Cinema Journal 40.3: 3-24. Neale, Steve. (2000a) “Questions of Genre.” Film and Theory. An Anthology. Eds. Robert Stam and Toby Miller. New York: Blackwell,. 157-78. ---. (2000b) Genre and Hollywood. London/New York: Routledge,. Ortega, Vicente Rodríguez. (2014) “Spoof Trailers, Hyperlinked Spectators & the Web.” New Media & Society 16.1: 149-64. Page, Ruth. (2010) “Introduction.” New Perspectives on Narrative and Multimodality. Ed. Ruth Page. New York/Milton: Routledge. 1-13. Schaefer, Eric. (1999) “Introduction: ‘As Long as it Was in Bad Taste!’” “Bold! Daring! Shocking! True!” A History of Exploitation Films, 1919-1959. Durham/London: Duke University Press. 1-16. Staiger, Janet. (1990) “Announcing Ware, Winning Patrons, Voicing Ideals: Thinking about the History and Theory of Film Advertising.” Cinema Journal 29.3: 3-31. ---. (2003) “Hybrid or Inbred: The Purity Hypothesis and Hollywood Genre History.” Film Genre Reader 3. Ed. Barry Keith Grant. Austin: University of Texas Press. 185-99.
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Wildfeuer, Janina and Chiara Pollaroli (forthcoming). “Seeing the Untold. Multimodal Argumentation in Movie Trailers.” Multimodal Argumentation and Rhetoric in Media Genres. Eds. Assimakis Tseronis and Charles Forceville. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Pre-Print Version. Williams, Kathleen Amy. (2012) “Fake and Fan Film Trailers as Incarnations of Audience Anticipation and Desire.” Transformative Works and Cultures 9: n.pag. 24-5- 2017.
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8. Filmography of Trailers Viewed
8.1 Drama Film Trailers Movieclips Trailers. “The Lost City of Z Trailer #1 (2017) | Movieclips Trailers.” 3-2-2017. 15-5-2017.
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Warner Bros. UK. “Interstellar – Trailer – Official Warner Bros. UK.” 16-5-2014. 17-5-2017.
8.2 Science-Fiction Film Trailers Marvel Entertainment. “Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy – Trailer 1 (Official).” 20-2-2014. 10-5-2017.
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Paramount Pictures. “Arrival Trailer (2016) – Paramount Pictures.” 16-8-2016. 11-5-2017.
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8.3 Other Trailers 20th Century Fox. “Deadpool | Trailer Trailer [HD] | 20th Century Fox.” 3-8-2015. 30-4-2017.
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9. Appendix
9.1 Drama Trailer Charts All the charts used to analyse each of the drama trailers can be found here. For an explanation on how to read these charts see chapter 5.1.
The Lost City of Z (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.31 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x y Logo Black Screen x x2 x x x2 x x x2 x x2 x x Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written Title x x Announcement x x Name x x y Approved Message x Sound Diegetic music x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x x
La La Land (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x x x2 Black Screen x x x2 x x x2 x y Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written Title x Announcement x x2 x x y Name x x2 Approved Message Sound Diegetic music x x x x x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x Silence x x x
Lion (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.21 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x z x x x Logo x x Black Screen x x2 x3 x3 x x x x y x x x x x2 Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over x x x x x Written Written Title x Announcement x3 x x y x x2 Name x x3 Approved Message Sound Diegetic music x x x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x z x x x Silence x
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Passengers (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.32 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x4 Black Screen x x x x x x x3 x x x x2 Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over x x Written Written x Title x x Announcement x x3 x2 Name x2 x x x Approved message Sound Diegetic music x x x x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x
Hacksaw Ridge (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.25 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x Black Screen x2 x4 x x4 x2 x2 x x x x x2 x x y Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written x x Title x Announcement x x x2 y Name x Approved Message Sound Diegetic music x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x
Hidden Figures (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.30 2.40 2.50 3.05 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x x x x y Black Screen x x x2 x x x x x x3 x2 x x5 x x x x x z2 Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written Title x Announcement x x x x x x z2 Name x y Approved Message Sound Diegetic music x x x x x x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x x x x x x x
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Arrival (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.25 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x Black Screen x x x x x x x Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over x Written Written Title x Announcement x x x x x Name x Approved message Sound Diegetic music x x x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence
The Founder (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.07 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x Logo x2 x y Black Screen x x x x x2 x3 x x3 x x2 Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written x2 x3 x x4 x x Title y Announcement x x x x Name x2 Approved Message x Sound Diegetic music x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x Silence x x
Nocturnal Animals (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.07 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x Black Screen x2 x x x2 x3 x x x4 x y x x y Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written x Title x Announcement y Name x x x4 x x Approved Message Sound Diegetic music x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x y x x Silence
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Moonlight (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.55 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x Black Screen x x x x2 Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written Title x Announcement x2 Name x Approved Message x Sound Diegetic music x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x
The Bleeder (Chuck) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x Logo x x x3 y Black Screen x x x3 z x y Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x Voice-over x x x x x Written Written x x x x Title y Announcement x x3 x 3 y Name z x Approved Message x Sound Diegetic music x x x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x Silence x x
Silence (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.07 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x3 Black Screen x x2 x x x2 x x Spoken Dialogue x x x x x Voice-over x x x Written Written Title Announcement Name x x2 x Approved Message Sound Diegetic music x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x x x x x x
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Manchester by Sea (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.29 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x x y x Black Screen x x x x y x y x Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written x x2 x Title y x Announcement x x2 x x y x x Name x x2 x x Approved Message x Sound Diegetic music x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x x
Patriots Day (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x2 Black Screen x x x2 x x2 x2 x x y x2 x2 x y x x2 Spoken Dialogue x x x Voice-over Written Written x2 x x2 x3 x x x2 x Title y Announcement x x x x2 x2 x x2 Name y y x Approved Message x Sound Diegetic music x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x x
Interstellar (2014) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.18 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x x Black Screen x x x y x x x x y z Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x Voice-over x x x x Written Written Title x Announcement x x y z Name x y Approved message Sound Diegetic music x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x
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Allied (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.26 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x2 Black Screen x3 x2 x3 x x x x2 x2 x x x x3 x x x x3 x6 x x x y z Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written x x Title x x Announcement x y Name x x x x z Approved Message Sound Diegetic music x x x x x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.13 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x2 x y2 Black Screen x x x x x3 x3 x z Spoken Dialogue x x x x2 x x x x x Voice-over x Written Written x2 Title x Announcement x x3 x3 z Name x x y2 Approved Message x Sound Diegetic music x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x x x x2 x x x x
Captain Fantastic (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.31 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x y Logo x2 x2 Black Screen x x x x x x x x Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written Title x Announcement x x x x y Name Approved Message x Sound Diegetic music x x x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x x x
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The Accountant (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.18 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x Black Screen x6 x x3 x2 x x6 x y x2 Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written x x2 x x Title y Announcement x2 Name x x6 Approved Message Sound Diegetic music x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x x x x
Me Before You (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.18 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x3 Black Screen x2 x x x2 x3 x x x2 x x x y Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written Title x Announcement x x x2 y Name Approved Message Sound Diegetic music x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence
A Monster Calls (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.26 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo 3x Black Screen x x x x x x2 x2 x2 x x x x x x4 x y z Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over x x Written Written Title x Announcement x x x z Name x x x4 y Approved Message x Sound Diegetic music x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x
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The Revenant (2015) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.31 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x5 Logo x3 Black Screen x x x x y x2 x x x2 x2 x Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written Title x Announcement y x x5 Name x x2 Approved Message x Sound Diegetic music x x x x x x x x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x x
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.25 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x Black Screen x x2 x x x2 x x x x x x x x y x4 x y Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x Voice-over x x x x Written Written x x x x x Title x Announcement x x x x x y y Name x x Approved Message x Sound Diegetic music x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x x x x x
Hell or High Water (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.23 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x Logo x x2 x y z Black Screen x x x2 x x3 x x x3 y x3 Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written x Title z Announcement x x2 x x3 y x3 Name x y x Approved Message Sound Diegetic music x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x Silence
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Gone Girl (2014) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.29 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x2 Black Screen x x x2 x x x3 x x x x2 Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over x x x x x Written Written x x x x x x x x x Title x Announcement x2 Name x2 x Approved Message x Sound Diegetic music x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x
9.2 Science-Fiction Charts All the charts used to analyse each of the science-fiction trailers can be found here. For an explanation on how to read these charts see chapter 5.1.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.30 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x x* Black Screen x x3 x x x2 x x x x2 Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written (diegetic) x x x x x Title x Announcement x x2 Name Approved message x Sound Diegetic music x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x x x x x
Star Wars: Rogue One (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x Black Screen x x x x2 x2 x x3 x x2 x x y Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written Title x Announcement x y Name Approved message Sound Diegetic music x x x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x x
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Passengers (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.32 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x4 Black Screen x x x x x x x3 x x x x2 Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over x x Written Written x Title x x Announcement x x3 x2 Name x2 x x x Approved message Sound Diegetic music x x x x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x
X-Men Apocalypse (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.30 2.37 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x2 Black Screen x x x x3 x2 x5 x3 x2 x x x2 x x x6 Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written Title x x Announcement x x2 x6 Name x2 x x Approved message Sound Diegetic music Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x
Arrival (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.25 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x Black Screen x x x x x x x Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over x Written Written Title x Announcement x x x x x Name x Approved message Sound Diegetic music x x x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence
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Deadpool (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.30 2.42 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x x Black Screen x x x x x x x x x Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written Title x Announcement x x x Name Approved message Sound Diegetic music x x x x x x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x x x x x
Prometheus (2012) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.30 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x Black Screen x x x x x x x Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over x x Written Written Title x Announcement x x Name x Approved message x Sound Diegetic music x x x x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x
Doctor Strange (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2.02 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x x Black Screen x x x x x x x x x y Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x Voice-over x x Written Written Title x Announcement x x x y Name Approved message x Sound Diegetic music x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x
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Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.31 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x y x x x x Logo x Black Screen x x y x x Spoken Dialogue x x x x x Voice-over x x x x x Written Written Title x Announcement x Name x Approved message Sound Diegetic music x x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x y x x x x x Silence
Interstellar (2014) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.18 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x x Black Screen x x x y x x x x y z Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x Voice-over x x x x Written Written Title x Announcement x x y z Name x y Approved message Sound Diegetic music x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x
Star Trek: Beyond (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.34 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x Logo x Black Screen x x x y x x Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written Title x Announcement x x Name x y Approved message x Sound Diegetic music x x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x Silence x x
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Captain America: Civil War (2016) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.24 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x x z Black Screen x x x x x x x x x y x x x x x y Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written Title x Announcement y z Name Approved message Sound Diegetic music x x x x x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x
Jurassic World (2015) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.30 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x x Black Screen x x x x x x x x x x x y y Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written Title x Announcement x y y Name x Approved message x Sound Diegetic music x x x x x x x x x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x x x x x
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.16 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x x* Black Screen x x x x x x x y x x x x y x Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written Title x Announcement y x y x Name Approved message x Sound Diegetic music x x x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x
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The Hunger Games (2012) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.30 2.37 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x Black Screen x x x x x x x x x x Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written Title x Announcement x x x x x x x Name Approved message x Sound Diegetic music x x x x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x
Pacific Rim (2013) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.25 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x Black Screen x x4 x4 x4 x x x x x x x x y x Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x Voice-over x x x x x x Written Written Title x Announcement x x x y x Name x Approved message Sound Diegetic music x x x x x x x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence
Ant-Man (2015) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x x x* Black Screen x x x x x x3 x x2 x x x x x x x y y x x y Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written Title x Announcement x y y y Name Approved message x Sound Diegetic music x x x x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x x x
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Edge of Tomorrow (2014) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.25 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x x Black Screen x x x x x x x x x x x x5 x4 x x y y Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written Title x Announcement x x5 x4 y y Name x* x x Approved message Sound Diegetic music x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x x
Thor: The Dark World (2013) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.30 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x x* Black Screen x x x3 x3 x3 x3 x x3 x x x x x4 x x Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written Title x Announcement x x Name Approved message x Sound Diegetic music x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x x
Her (2013) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.25 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x x Black Screen x x x x x x x x4 x y y Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written Title x Announcement x y y Name x x* x4 Approved message Sound Diegetic music x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x
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World War Z 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.22 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x4 Black Screen x x x x x y Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written Title x Announcement x y Name x Approved message x Sound Diegetic music x x x x x x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x Silence x x
Looper (2012) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.29 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x2 Black Screen x x3 x5 x x5 x x x2 x x2 Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written Title x x Announcement x x2 x2 Name x x Approved message Sound Diegetic music x x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x
Man of Steel (2013) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.29 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x3 x x Black Screen x y x x3 x x x x x2 y x2 x2 x x x x x x4 Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x Voice-over x x Written Written Title x Announcement y x4 Name x x Approved message x Sound Diegetic music x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x
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Cloud Atlas (2012) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.33 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Logo x Black Screen x x x x x x x2 x Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written Title x Announcement x x x2 Name x Approved message x Sound Diegetic music x x x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x x
Iron Man Three (2013) 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 1 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 2 2.10 2.20 2.31 Pictorial Image x x x x x x x x x x x x x y x x Logo x2 x* Black Screen x x3 x x2 x2 x x x x x Spoken Dialogue x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Voice-over Written Written Title x Announcement x x Name Approved message x Sound Diegetic music x x x x x y x x Music Music score x x x x x x x x x x x x Silence x x x y x x
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9.3 Overview Results Drama Charts
The Lost City of Z of City Lost The Land La La Lion Passengers Ridge Hacksaw Figures Hidden Arrival Founder The Animals Nocturnal Moonlight Bleeder The Silence Sea by the Manchester Day Patriots Pictorial Image 93 100 100 93 100 100 93 100 92 100 100 100 100 92
Logo 0 23 7 7 7 11 7 14 8 9 22 8 27 8 Black Screen 67 54 79 67 79 72 40 86 77 27 56 54 47 83 Spoken Dialogue 87 62 79 80 93 100 87 100 85 91 78 38 93 25
Voice-over 0 0 36 13 0 0 7 0 0 0 56 23 0 0 Written Written 0 0 7 7 14 0 0 86 8 0 44 0 20 67
Title 13 8 7 13 7 6 7 14 8 9 11 0 13 8 Announcement 13 38 29 20 29 39 33 57 8 9 44 0 40 58 Name 20 15 14 27 7 11 7 14 38 9 22 23 27 25 Approved message 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 0 9 11 0 7 8
Sound Diegetic music 27 69 50 53 29 56 47 57 15 18 78 8 7 25 Music Music score 93 54 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 89 85 100 100 Silence 13 23 7 7 7 35 0 29 0 9 22 46 13 17
Accountant
Allied Street Wall of Wolf The Fantastic Captain The You Before Me Calls AMonster Revenant The Wallflower a Being of Perks The Water High or Hell Girl Gone Drama of Average Interstellar Pictorial Image 93 100 100 100 100 100 93 100 100 100 100 98 Logo 14 7 8 13 7 7 7 7 7 13 7 10 Black Screen 50 93 62 53 50 64 67 67 86 100 60 65 Spoken Dialogue 64 67 69 93 100 100 93 67 64 100 93 80 Voice-over 29 0 8 0 0 0 13 0 29 0 33 10
Written Written 0 13 8 0 29 0 0 0 36 13 60 16 Title 7 13 8 7 7 7 7 7 7 13 7 9 Announcement 29 13 31 33 7 29 27 20 50 63 7 29 Name 7 33 23 0 14 0 27 13 14 38 7 17 Approved message 0 0 8 7 0 0 7 7 7 0 7 4 Sound Diegetic music 29 60 15 33 7 7 33 80 21 38 27 36
Music Music score 100 100 85 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 96 Silence 7 0 62 20 29 0 7 13 36 0 7 16
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9.4 Overview Results Science-Fiction Charts
War
Men Apocalypse Men
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Guardians of the Galaxy of the Guardians One Rogue Wars: Star Passengers X Arrival Deadpool Prometheus Strange Doctor Road Fury Max: Mad Interstellar Beyond Trek: Star Civil America: Captain World Jurassic Ultron Ageof Avengers: Pictorial Image 93 100 93 94 93 100 93 92 93 93 89 93 93 86 Logo 13 8 7 6 7 13 7 17 7 14 11 14 7 14 Black Screen 60 92 67 88 40 56 47 75 27 50 56 100 67 86
Spoken Dialogue 67 83 80 69 87 81 67 58 33 64 89 93 80 50
Voice-over 0 0 13 0 7 0 13 17 33 29 0 0 0 0
Written Written 33 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Title 7 8 13 13 7 6 7 8 7 7 11 7 7 7 Announcement 13 17 20 19 33 19 13 33 7 29 22 14 13 29 Name 0 0 27 19 7 0 7 0 7 7 11 0 7 0 Approved message 7 0 0 0 0 0 7 8 0 0 11 0 7 7
Sound Diegetic music 7 58 53 0 47 63 53 8 40 29 67 64 87 50
Music Music score 100 100 100 100 100 100 93 100 93 100 100 100 100 93
Silence 33 17 7 6 0 31 7 8 0 7 22 7 33 7
Fi
-
Man
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Pacific Rim Pacific Ant World Dark The Thor: Tomorrow Edgeof Her Z War World Looper Steel of Man Atlas Cloud Three Man Iron Sci of Average The Hunger Games Hunger The Pictorial Image 88 93 100 100 100 100 93 100 87 93 100 94 Logo 6 7 21 13 7 7 7 7 20 7 13 10 Black Screen 50 73 93 87 79 64 36 47 93 47 60 65
Spoken Dialogue 69 40 79 80 93 93 79 80 60 87 93 74
Voice-over 0 40 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 0 0 7
Written Written 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Title 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 13 7 7 7 8 Announcement 31 33 29 13 29 14 14 20 13 20 13 20 Name 0 7 0 0 21 21 7 13 13 7 0 7 Approved message 6 0 7 7 0 0 7 0 7 7 7 4
Sound Diegetic music 50 67 57 27 29 7 71 33 7 27 53 42
Music Music score 100 100 100 93 100 100 71 100 100 73 80 96
Silence 6 0 21 13 14 7 14 7 7 13 33 13
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