Maleficent Trailer Analysis Catherine ButterworthAs this trailer relies on the audience having some knowledge of the earlier Disney film Sleeping Beauty (released 1959) traditional structural conventions do not apply as they reference the original film over revealing the more unique narrative of this version, albeit darker, of the same story.

The first 16 seconds are not taken from the film itself, but are 2D animation in the traditional Disney style, which mirrors the illuminated manuscript shown at the start of the original film that is used to establish the narrative. It transitions from animated to live-action with a crossfade from the bottom right screen-cap above and the screen-cap below.

Structural ConventionsThis trailer makes clear use of structural conventions after the initial introduction, which could be perceived as an elaborate establishing sequence (opening & build-up) as this film relies on you having seen the original for comparative purposes. The progression of events show Maleficent as you would expect powerful and apparently vengeful, however they imply there is a deeper reason for her anger over not being invited to the party as per the original, which is shown through her contact with Aurora, which is done to entice you in and convince you to watch it (as a trailer should). Interestingly though, unlike a lot of other live action fantasy films there is no reliance on the star system however in other versions of the trailer it is expressly mentioned that Angelina Jolie is the Protagonist. Also, the title/release date are shown at the end as is conventional however the production details and idents arent shown at all, however that is becoming increasingly common in fantasy films to help with the suspension of disbelief.

Camera Shots/Angles/MovementsThe majority of shots used are static with some tracking, however the shots themselves do vary despite being predominantly (M)CUs there are several wider shots used to establish the environment. Also, despite lacking movement in several shots the subject moves to adjust the main focus of the shot over the camera moving in to accommodate it, as well as use of shot-reverse-shot to indicate the conversation is between two characters over being unrelated statements.

EditingCross-fades are the most common edit after jump cuts, as is standard in trailers. As I already mentioned shot-reverse-shot is used to indicate diegetic dialogue that is of relevance to other dialogue.

SoundSound bridges are used, mostly via dialogue however the stentorian voiceover could also be considered an example of one. The non-diegetic sound is initially not as prominent as the voiceover, however it swells whenever the voiceover drops out, with the exception of the last clip in which only the diegetic sound is heard. I also wish to mention that over the 2D animation there is an affected piano version of the melody line of Once Upon a Dream which featured in the original film the piano has been manipulated to sound like a music box to enforce the two idea that this is a dark fairytale (slow music box-esque music is typically associated with horror).

Inter-titles

They arent as frequent as they would be in other productions, however as I mentioned earlier I believe this is more to do with suspension of disbelief over anything else. Both are introduced via a cross-fade as the inter-titles themselves are text on a black screen (as is typical).