WHAT ARE THE TECHNIQUES USED IN SCI-FI FILM TRAILERS

SUJATA GURUNG

Technical codesCamera shots/Angle

The aerial shot of the earth highlights how big the world is and it puts into context how powerful Dr Will Caster’s development of the AI will be. The panning shot of the water fall shows nature and juxtaposes Dr Will Caster’s scientific ideology. The birds eye view of the city at night time. The high angle shot could possibly make the audience feel more superior than the characters as they know a disequilibrium is about to occur in the trailer. This also helps to put the viewers in the 3 rd person omniscient role, as they can feel part of the film but as an on looker. Another high angle shot of the doctor giving a talk to the dozen of people suggests that the doctor is quite renowned, in addition the mid shot of the audience shows one character who is looking at the camera with a vengeful expression suggests that the character doesn’t agree with the doctor. This provides an enigmatic code to the possible complication that might arise in what the doctor wants to achieve. On the other hand it could also be argued that the shot also foreshadows the disequilibrium in the narrative. Moreover one interesting shot that is highlighted in the climax of the trailer is the point of view shot of the gun. It puts the audiences in the perspective of Dr Will Caster, the effect of this is that it makes the audience feel victimized and empathise with the doctor. After this shot the camera shots and takes become shorter and faster. As well this the background music and the reoccurring sting sound becomes more frequent. Another camera shot that was prominent was close ups, first of all the close up on the high tech gadgets and technology suggests to the audience that these materials are going to be an important part of the film. This shot highlights the important iconography of sci-fi films, therefore making the genre of the trailer/film clearer to the audience. Another significant close up on two person shot is used to show the romantic relationship between the Doctor and Evelyn. This shot develops their relationship and it puts it answers the questions why later on in the trailer the character Evelyn is desperate to keep the doctor alive. Furthermore the close up on Johnny Depp’s character shows an expressionless face, it provides the audience with a feeling that the character is almost inanimate and creates an uneasy feeling. Moreover in this close up the actor looks like he is making eye contact with the audience, this further stresses the disequilibrium of the narrative. Near the end of the trailer there are various long shots of isolated places with no human sign, just land filled with technology. This technology again indicates the genre, but the isolation that is suggested makes the narrative world seem vulnerable and unsettling. In the ending shot of the character Dr Will Caster is shown degrading, however his character is not degrading like how humans would which suggests that possible narrative end of the film, but also due to the CGI used it makes the long shot interesting to watch. These type of CGI is possibly what attracts many sci-fi film fans.

Editing In the editing the only text during the trailer was The transition used in this trailer was ‘fade to black’. At the beginning of the trailer the transitions between the shots were quite slow, the effect of this on the audience is that it provides a sense of calm and peace which the equilibrium of the narrative should provide. However this clam feeling also projects the unsettling and uneasy feeling in the audience. Furthermore the pace and the rhythm of the transitions are in line with the score. As well as this the majority of screen time is on the doctor which suggests that he is the main character of the film. As well as this another character who also gets quite a lot of screen time is Evelyn the doctor’s wife, which in the second half of the trailer is shown to have a more prominent role in the film. The continuity editing, it helps the audience make sense of the action by implying the relationships and ensuring smooth flow from shot to shot. As well as this it helps create realism in the story and makes it easier for the audience to suspend their disbelief. However this continuity is broken during the build up to the climax of the trailer, there is another layer added to the background music and the music starts getting faster and the low sting sound is more frequent and is replaced with the sound of the heartbeat monitor of Dr Will Caster. The purpose of this is that it makes the audience excited and feel the urgent feeling that the character Evelyn is feeling. After this near the end of the trailer there was a series of quick montage shots. This gives a lot of information about the main action of film but in compressed form, therefore the audience are in awe with the action shown. It helps build excitement for the films release.

Technical codesSounds During the institutional logo, a musical note introduces a sound bridge is present of the main character’s partner. During this

the establishing shot is used to define the location as in a city place. The accent of the character also gives hint that this could be set in America. The establishing shot has low key lighting, this type of lighting is continued throughout the trailer. The sound of the applause indicates that the character Will Caster is quite well-known. The long shot gives perspective and context of the scene due to the fade to black. It focuses the audience’s attention of the characters and their surrounding. The diegetic sound of the news reporter talking adds more validity to the narrative of the film. The accent of the character gives a hint to the audience that the setting of the narrative could be in America. The background music gets quicker as it summits to a climax when a male character pulls out a gun and shoots him. The pace becomes faster after the shooting scene. The sting sound is used more to punctuate the dialogue said by the female character. The effect of this is that the background music and the dialogue are synchronous and gives the feeling of urgency and that something is going to go wrong, however the sting is asynchronous to the pace of the scene. The editors could have done this to develop the story and context of the scene, the sting could represent how the character Evelyn is trying to keep everything in control but underneath everything is going downhill. Sounds like gun dramatic event punctuate the rapid succession of events that is about to follow in the trailer. The gun sound is overlapped with the non-diegetic sound of the dialogue “I call it transcendence”. After this there is a heart beat sound the overlaps the scene following after this. The muffled voices and screams of others show the effect of the violent act on the doctor and others. It adds gravity and solemnity to the scene. This is quite a memorable dialogue that reiterates the title of the film ‘Transcendence’ therefore the overlapping of the gun sound with the dialogue is quite significant in making the audience remember the dialogue and the title of the film. Furthermore the gun sound punctuates a dramatic change in the narrative, the effect of this on the audience is that it captivates and engages the audiences into the narrative. The quickening of the sound and the pace of editing makes the audience excited compared to the previous scene of the trailer. Furthermore straight after this scene the sound of heart beating substitutes the sound of the gun. The sound of the gun is the signifier that the equilibrium of the narrative has been disrupted.

Mise-en-scene The artificial lighting at the beginning helps the audience establish the setting of being perhaps a school hall. The low key lighting that follows later on after the gun incident shows the shift in the narrative between the equilibrium to disequilibrium. It also adds a layer another layer of seriousness to the film. It also amplifies the mysterious and dangerous parts of the narrative. However, one part where there is high exposure to artificial light is in the laboratory scene. The white walls of the laboratory reflect the artificial light to show a bright white corridor which the female character walks through. The contrast of the bright white scene with the low key lighting scenes suggests perhaps a conflict between the two binary oppositions. Another significant scene is when the doctor is brain dead and had lots of wires attached to his brain. In these scenes the use of scientific props such as the wires and the hi-tech computer coded with messages from the brain shows another example of the generic conventions of sci-fi. The use of green, white and blue are very stereotypical colour scheme for the sci-fi genre. These are all popular iconography of the sci-fi genre that help the audience establish the genre.