Godzilla is a 2014 American science fiction monster film directed by Gareth Edwards. It is a reboot of the Godzilla film franchise and retells the origins of Godzilla in contemporary times as a "terrifying force of nature". The film is set in the present day, fifteen years after the unearthing of two chrysalises in a mine in the Philippines. From the pods come two giant radiation-eating creatures, known as "MUTOs",which cause great damage in Japan, Hawaii and the western United States. Their awakening also stirs a much larger, destructive, ancient alpha predator known as "Godzilla", whose existence has been kept secret by the U.S. government since 1954. Godzilla is thriller film, so I will discuss and analyse the conventions in this thriller trailer.
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The trailer itself has a predominantly dark effect as the darkness represents how in the film Godzilla has been hidden for years and the film producers are still trying to hide Godzilla from the audience to make the mystery to much to handle so they go and see the film. The darkness is achieved by clever shadowed lighting, which hides the audiences view of Godzilla, creating frustration also by slow fade to black transitions from scene to scene, another way the secrecy is portrayed in the film is how you see destruction being caused by Godzilla but you never actually see him, he is hidden in his own destruction, which therefore builds audience fear regarding the monster, making them want to go and see the film. The representation of the unknown is very clever and extremely effective by keeping Godzilla in the shadows yet showing the chaos surrounding him.
Here we see the slow, progressive fade to black transition which signifies a build up to something sinister as within the scenes there is chaos but the editing of the transitions is slow, slowing down the revelation of the next destruction, giving the editors all the power as it comes across in the editing that they know what's coming.
Another way in which suspense is created in this trailer is that everybody seems to be running from something, this is how the main character is shown as he is running towards the problem whilst the entire population is running away. Also the army aircraft are captured travelling with intent to further show the importance of the problem (Godzilla). So the chase element/speed to resolve the problem in thriller trailers is a traditional convention.
The one thing that trailers must give you is goosebumps and the one major point were this happens is when there is a silence, fade in from black were the main characters diagetic voice is heard, saying "Something is coming... and its going to send us back to the stone age"
This for me, highlights the importance of dialogue within trailers as short and sweet, little but alot.
The representation of the people in this trailer causes tremendous connection to the audience as the trailer shows the film is set in the modern day america which is shown via clothes and iconography shots so the audience will relate to that automatically, so when a disaster strikes the way that events unfold is very much real life to the audience.
Blackouts are used very cleverly in this trailer as it separates scenes and fades in slowly to the next scene, creating tension and builds up the Godzilla reputation and hidden effect, prolonging the reveal of Godzilla.
The camera positions are good at creating the realism effect for the audience, for example, a camera shot is from inside a car but not from a persons perspective, its is kind of from a hidden perspective, making the audience feel as though there are in the film.
Many birds eye shots are used in this teaser trailer in order to set the scene as different terrains are used and the iconic new York places can be seen from this shot. However, another reason why these shots are used is to put the audience in Godzilla's point of view, which would show them how tall the monster i, this therefore makes the audience connect with Godzilla instead of just being against him all the time by seeing the humans point of view, this intrigues the audience into wanting to see the film.
Trailers of films usually show the best bits of the film to catch the audiences eye.
A big budget would enable a directer to produce such special effects as a nuclear bomb, this would be out of my reach when producing my project as i have a very small budget, however, this big, extravagant event makes the audience sit up and take notice as they know the scariest most powerful thing in the world is a nuclear bomb. It makes the audience ask questions, what are they trying to destroy?
Information about when the film is released is usually in the same iconic font of the film title.
The characters are recognized as main characters via how many times they appear in the trailer, the professor features in the trailer more than anyone else and says the quote that is more important than any other. This is how the main character is revealed.
As the trailer comes to and end, the rate in which scenes are shown speeds up and the action looked packed to the audience.
At the end of the trailer the audience gets a glimpse of Godzilla however it is still restricted bu the sound hits them full force. Terror is inflicted onto the audience which the last shot, increasing the urge to see the film. The point of view shot really connects the audience with the film.
