Research - Film trailer, RED

RED is an Action/Comedy film released in 2010 starring some of the oldest action film actors. I have chosen to analyse this film as it falls into the action genre that I would like to make my trailer in.

The trailer begins with very relaxing violin music playing, with a few shot cuts fitting to the beat of the music. A few seconds of dialogue then takes place between two key actors, before it all ending abruptly after an actor saying “I do take the odd contract on the side”. It quickly switches to a shot of said actor on a mounted turret firing upon a convoy of vehicles in a parking garage. This kind of effect is sudden and is unexpected by the viewer, so is perhaps used as an attempt to get the viewers attention.

The next segment in the trailer has some very chilled cheerful upbeat music, cutting between title slides and shots revealing all of the actors/characters in the trailer, as well as releasing small parts of their personality/character histories. This is used to give the viewer a closer bonding with the character, perhaps to help them understand what may happen in the next segment of the trailer.

The last segment has a different soundtrack again, but reveals more action shots such as fight scenes, gun fights, explosions etc. basically anything associated with an action film. The use of these quick shots can reveal a lot about what's in the film, keeping the viewer enticed and wanting more.