RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Teaser trailer analysis

I have chosen to analyse the Teaser trailer for this film as I have already analysed the Theatrical trailer and it will be interesting to see how the analysis of each of these compares. This is an extremely famous film, as our the ones which came before it and i think it is important to investigate what it is about these films which makes them so attractive. The trailer of any film helps greatly with its intake to the cinemas for months after its release. It will be very beneficial for our filming to research how the main trailer differs from the teaser.

Having read all of the books myself I find it very unsurprising that it was not long before a film company wished to transfer the magic of J K Rowling's Novels from paper to the screen. The unique way in which she perfectly captures the sheer imagination of her ideas and is able to preserve them on paper for everyone else to enjoy, shows just how clever she is in her writing. The narrative of each of these books is so vivid and well written, that it is that much easier for the producers of the films to recreate the books on screen. However the complex story lines must be difficult to sum up in a trailer, as there is so much pressure from the fans of the books for the films to do them justice. They must make the trailers seem dramatic enough to make them appealing to those who havn't read the books, but also make some clear references to the books to keep the readers in the audience satisfied.

I think the editors of this particular trailer have done extremely well in capturing the essence of the books and managing to sum it up in under 2 minutes.

The start of the trailer opens with a high angle shot of the "Hogwarts Express", a familiar image to any who have seen the previous films, this alone instantly informs the audience of what they are watching. The music which accompanies it, played softy in the background, helps to set the mood and is also recognisable as it has been played in every other film. There is then a birds eye view of the school, looking down on the turrets and corridors from the outside, this is a stunning image, with the snow falling from either side of the camera, and sticks in the minds of those watching. The camera then sets the scene, with shots of the inside corridors of the school bustling with students, which leads onto a shot of a glass cabnet, presumably in another room of the castle. The voice over then states that the viles of liquid we are looking at are "memories" and Harry, the main character, must view them. The scene ends with Dumbledoor's words "Id like you to see it". the shot cuts to black instantly with the ominous beat of a drum. The music starts again with a dramatic drum beat as the Warner bros. pictures logo flashes onto the screen, set in a background of dark swirling clouds. The camera zooms forward and moves as if to dissappear into the center of the logo, but before this a shot of harry's face apears on the other side of it, as though we have moved through the logo and this is what laid beyond.

Harry's face appears to sink into a pool of water, and the images which follow suggest that this pool was a pool of memories, and, by immersing himself in this water, harry has been immersed in a memory. The camera is then following an unknown character down a dark raining street, and we, as the audience, follow him into what seems to be an ophanage. All the lighting used is dark and ominous, creating a tense atmosphere and mirroring how the character must be feeling. The camera is then positioned at the top of a stair case and we see the same character, what appears to be a younger version of the man we were just viewing in the room of the castle just moments before.

The unsettling sound of the violin in the background as we first lay eyes upon the child which this man has come to visit, adds to the unsettleing atmosphere. The dark lighting has almost a greenish glow to it, making the character seem even more eery and unapporachable. The captions used are writen in an oldstyle font and appear in capital letters for extra impact. While the background is a swirling mass of dark colour, showing the dark narture of the film and possibly representing the pool of liquid, as the colours swirl and ripple like water. The voice over is that of the little boy, the phrase "your the doctor arent you?" suggests that the boy is not quite normal as he suspects that he is being examined. The short sentenses that the boy utters, show that he is very forward and comes streight to the point, this again emphasises how unusual he is. The instruction "Proove it" shows how much control this character, even at such a young age, has over others, however the way in which he is impressed by the magic which Dumbledoor performs shows that Dumbledoor is still in control, despite the hungry and greedy expression in the boys eyes as he watches the wardrobe burn. This is followed by a quick montage of shots, stitched together with fades to black inbetween each of them. The shots are poorly lit and fast moving, making it difficult for your eyes to focus on them all. The boys voice still pllays over the background, and the phrase "I can make things move without touching them" confirms the audiences suspicians that this boy is unusual, however the way he almost whispers the words, accompanied with the unsettleing shots of darkly lit fields and people running, makes him seem intimidating and threatening. The shots become more shocking and agressive as his voice and the music increace in volume. As he says "I can make bad things happen to people who are mean to me" there are several shocking images of characters lying unmoving on the floor and fire circling someone stranded on a rock. Right before the images again abruptly cut to a black screen there is an image of a person with a snake like face. The next succsession of shots mix the two characters togeth, flickering between the face of the young boy and the derranged snake like man. Just as these images play onto the screen the music reaches the hight of its tenssion and breaks into a startling beat to make the audience jump. It then cuts off into silence as the picture again cuts to black, creating a tense atmosphere as the watchers wait for what is to come. A flash of thunder echoes as the well known theme of Harry Potter" music fades into the background.

A faint light the comes into view in the background and the name of the film graducly comes glittering into view, As though a bright light is being shone from behind it. The voice of the main character then plays over the top, "did you know sir, then?" and the answer begins quietly, "Did i know i had just met the most dangerous dark wizard of all time?" in this pause there is a single drum beat as the release date flashes onto the screen, before the final word echoes into the silence. "No".

This dramatic pause creates a longer lasting impression on the audience, and as the watchers sit on the edge of their seats, eager for more, the producers answer their unspoken question as the webadress for the film appears shining in the center of the darkened screen.

Lucy :)

This trailer can be found through the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68H5xSZ9dPA&feature=fvst