Trailer research task: Les Miserables

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Sound and music

The trailer features the songs that are played throughout the film. Being a film based on the musical Les Miserables the songs are instantly recognisable and therefore capture an audience. They also help to gain the attention of the pre sold audience,such as fans of the musical as they will recognise the music. At the beginning we hear little Cosette singing the tune of Castle on a cloud "la la la" from the musical. This quieter beginning is effective in drawing in the audience by making them curious before getting louder and into the 'bigger songs' of the musical such as I dreamed a dream. What can be noticed is the fact that lines from the songs that are key to the storyline such as "Alright my girl on your way" which leads nicely into "I had a dream my life would be so different from this hell I'm living". These lines are not only recognised by those who know the musical but give those with no previous knowledge of the storyline a basic understanding of the film. What can be recognised is dramatic scenes of the film are used in the trailer which includes a range of sound effects such as gun shots and horses whinnying. This all adds to the drama and anticipation in the trailer making fans our film-watchers more desperate to watch. This shows that this trailer uses sound successfully to advertise the film which is it's main purpose.

Voice over

The trailer does not have any voice over such as in other trailers where it may say the date of the film release. This trailer, simply uses text for such purposes. The trailer is somewhat narrated through the lyrics of the music to set the scene and introduce where the film is set such as when Jean Valjean says "Mademoiselle" a french term, which tells the audience the film is set in France rather than having to say "In France" and when the cavalry scream "FIREEE" which tells the audience there is some kind of battle. The fact that this trailer does not have any voice over and is narrated purely by the lyrics of the song could also reflect the lack of speech throughout the film. This film is entirely sung, due to being based on the musical. This could therefore be a reason as to why the production company have chosen not to add a voice over on to the trailer as the songs and their lyrics speak for themselves, or tell the story as such.

Casting

This trailer shows all of the main characters who are as follows...

|Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, Russell Crowe as Javert, Anne Hathaway as Fantine, Amanda Seyfried as| |Cosette, Sacha Baron Cohen as Thénardier, Helena Bonham Carter as Madame Thénardier, Eddie Redmayne as| |Marius, Aaron Tveit as Enjolras,Samantha Barks| |as Éponine, Daniel Huttlestone as Gavroche and Isabelle Allen as Young Cosette| All of these actors are shown in the trailer as they may be recognised by the audience and attract a higher audience figure. The casting of Cosette is significant as she is the 'poster girl' for the famous musical poster and book cover. When you get a close up of Isabelle Allen you then get an archaic image of the original Young Cosette drawing to show who she is. The young girl looks almost identical, a match on action shot is used later in the trailer to show her older self, which is again well cast as she looks just like her. Helena Bonham Carter known for her extravagant roles is again well cast as Madame Thénardier is a comical character.

Cinematography

Due to the trailer being used to show the action in the film what is common is close ups to show the characters emotions or establishing shots to set the scene. Such as this close up shot and establishing shot...

The shot where there appears to be thousands of army men is most likely CGI as directing that many individuals would be an enormous task.

Special effects

Mise en scene

The characters are wearing clothing of which was worn in times long ago. Army uniforms also show that there is a theme of conflict (The French Revolution) whilst dark eye make up on Jean Valjean as he pulls on a rope for "Look down" shows that his character is ill. Dark lighting shows the dark nature of the film whereby several die including that of a child.

Editing

Some of the action in the scenes appears to be that of CGI which makes there appear to be more people than there actually is which creates an atmosphere. There are several clips from the film compiled together to create the trailer. What can be recognised is that many of the clips/extracts from the scenes are from that of key parts of the film and show a lot of action. These all add to the dramatic effect of the trailer and make the audience want to go and watch it. What can be recognised is the fact that towards the end of the film there are several shorter clips that cut between each other really quickly. I believe that the use of these short clips towards the end of the film make you want to see more of them but by cutting them off short the production company have made the audience wanting to see more and therefore more likely to go and watch the film at the cinema or purchase a copy which is the key purpose of this trailer.

Choice of titles

The titles in this trailer are mainly to credit both the actors and the director. What can be recognised is that the 'Hollywood' actors are often credited first as in this trailer "Hugh Jackman"'s name comes first followed by others such as "Anne Hathaway". Tom Hooper, the director is referred to early on in the trailer as an "Academy Award winner" for another successful film The King's Speech. This is an effective marketing tool as by advertising the fact that the director has previously won an award and by linking it to a widely successful film this comment suggests to the perspective audience that this film too will be very good.

Narrative

A storyline is developed through all of the features discussed on the earlier slides. It is through the musical's songs and their lyrics that the story is told which reflects the musical nature of the film whereby the story is told through the music. Cinematography also aids the construction of a narrative by many close ups to show characters emotion and establishing shots to show where the characters are and to set the scene. Mise En Scene, particularly costumes give a clear indication that the film is set in an older time.