'I am Number Four' Teaser Deconstruction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz7xv8BvUF4

'I am Number 4' is a film adaptation of a brilliant fantasy novel. The film has been classified as an action, sci-fi, thriller which comes across strongly in the trailer. Despite being one of the shortest teaser trailers that we looked at, it is 32 seconds long, I felt that it was very effective. The anchorage used 'This Year' creates a sense of anticipation, drama and hype to attract audiences. Also, the board at the end of the trailer advertises a link to the film's web homepage and the film's release date keeping with the conventions of a teaser trailer. The use of white text on black creates darkness for the film, makes the text stand out and appear more dramatic.

Teaser trailers commonly use close ups and long shots to familiarise the audience with the setting and the protagonist/s. This trailer opens with an establishing shot of a seemingly idyllic location. Throughout this trailer over-voiced dialogue from the film is used. These lines create mystery and introduce the audience to the enigmas of the film. These quotes pique the interest of the audience and highlight the theme of identity and secrets as motifs within the film. This dialogue also helps to create a seamless straight cut edit between two unrelated scenes.

Over the shoulder shots introduce the audience to the central protagonists and the fact that there are lots of close ups on the two characters/actors and no others in the sequence, highlight their importance and indicate that one of the hooks of this film is its attractive, young cast which would appeal to a particular demographic.

The special effects and superpowers clearly shown in close ups emphasise the genre and is another hook appealing to a niche sci-fi audience. These powers are also further enigmas and creates fascination. The music bursts in synchronously with the flash of light, there having been just diegetic noise and dialogue until this point. This adds power to the moment and rhythm to the following shots.

In the following shots impressive stunts create drama and excitement and allude to the action sub-genre. The fade transition used creates a moment where both shots are layered over one another allowing the movements to appear fluid or for moments to echo one another in motion or compisition. The slow motion of the jump heightens the sense of awe at his agility and strength. Another burst in drum beat (probably a sound bridge) helps to draw focus to that moment and emphasise how different this character is to humans, for example through his power.

The low key lighting and close up and the female protagonist's face implies a romantic edge to the film. This is backed up by the lyrics of the song 'Rolling in the Deep' by Adele, which is synchronous with the editing of the trailer. However, it also connotes to conflict and sorrow and its volume is lowered considerably during this moment to create intimacy and contrast with the following action. The music's beat is modern and fast paced, the pace of music increases after this moment and build to a crescendo. The pace of editing does like-wise, as disjointed shots of panic and action are shown. The building pace of editing is a convention of teaser trailers.

The introduction of louder diegetic noise such as the police sirens and Sarah's screams add to the tension built during these clips and the enticing drama for the audience.

Hints of other moments within the film are briefly shown and the final image the audience sees is that of the main protagonist, whose voice is also the last thing we hear. "I am Number 4" is said synchronously with the appearance of the title. This is to make the title stick in the mind of the audience by using more than one sense. The logo behind the title, although an integral part of the plot, also aims at creating a brand/recogniseable icon for the film (for a series) on which to trade for promotional reasons.

In total this films shows clips/images from 11 different scenes, none lasting more than 3 seconds. This is enough to create an ambience of the genre and the films tone which are both significant for teaser trailers. Also this is enough to 'tease' a large audience demographic into anticipating the films release.

Teaser Trailer Research

The purpose of a teaser trailer is to promote and inform audiences about a film to inspire interest before the film is released. These were originally given the name 'trailer', as in something that 'trails' behind, because trailers used to follow films at the cinema.

Definition: A teaser trailer is a short series of film clips used to advertise an up and coming film, game or TV series.

The use of the word 'teaser' reflects the amount of footage used, because little or no actual footage is shown during its 30-60 second sequence. This is used to create narrative enigma's and inspires mystery to 'tease' the audience and make them want to see the film. Amother teasing aspect of the trailer is that, unlike theatrical trailers, it is generally released long in advance of the film, sometimes up to a year and a half before, often while the film is still in production or editing.

Typically theatrical trailers are released closer to the premiere of the film in cinemas. Due to the length of time between the release of the teaser trailer and the film, scenes previewed in the trailer sometimes do not even appear in the film itself or alternative versions of the scene appear in the trailer. Some companies, notable Pixar, have scenes made specifically for trailer use only.

Teaser trailers are generally only made for big-budget or popular themed films, other teaser trailers, for example for smaller films, are considered 'tester trailers' where a small promotion campaign is released to view results/interest before the larger marketing scheme is revealed.

Teaser trailers differ from theatrical trailers in that they are mainly shown/viewed, and therefore increasingly focused upon, the internet, on sites like Youtube, IMdb, and film webpages prior to the release of the theatrical trailer. The subtle differences in viewing location and medium allows film companies to market their product from many different avenues to allow the widest range of possible consumers to see it or to target sell to a particular demographic. Another benfit of multi-media marketing campaigns is that it generates hype, increasing speculation and the 'word of mouth' effect long before the film is released.

Teaser trailers, also, do not reveal many or any significant plot details and are only meant to give a minor glimpse at what is to come, alluding to genre and creating mystery. Theatrical trailers, however, is more detailed. It provides lots of details about the story arc, possibly introduces the protagonist and central characters, displays more obvious conventions aligning it with particular genre and introduces themes. Many modern trailers it can be argued, reveal too much of the story and significant moments thus eliminating any sense of surprise or suspense, which has been largely criticised.

On how a narrative or ambience in condensed into such a short space of time the Russian theorist, Tzvetan Todorov, who suggested that all narratives have a four part structure, gives us a clue.

Therefore in a trailer, and also a teaser trailer, which many believe are just a truncated version of the theatrical trailer the narrative should be broken down as such.

OPENING --> BUILD UP --> PROBLEM --> EVENTS

Within a trailer an audience is supplied with information about the film production and distribution companies, release dates are shown several weeks in advance and the closer to the release date the more the trailer is shown to capatalise on advertising oppertunity.