Trailer Analysis - Action (x4)

Trailer Analysis

Hitman: Agent 47

The music at the start of the trailer is eerie, upbeat and slightly strange - just like our main character, it builds to a climax as the antagonists head appears in shot and the music becomes louder and more noticeable. It dies down again slightly letting the diegetic dialogue take center stage whilst continuing to be low pitched beats of music in the background which helps builds tension. This conforms to conventions as usually the music rises and falls in the beginning part of the trailer to accompany the action and build suspense but also leave time for the dialogue. 30 seconds into the trailer and even though we're still only being introduced to the characters and plot we already see and hear guns - conforming to conventions that you've got to give the audience glimpses of what they want so they don't get bored. Of course there is a dramatic pause, silence follows before there's some dramatic dialogue - "you should really let me go" fitting all the cliches of action trailers as it builds suspense and makes the audience excited to see how the character will get out of the situation because of cause another convention is they always go. Just before he breaks out and they're having their talking there is pulses of music  - something very conventional for action trailers and has appeared in all the ones i've analysed so far. The dramatic music kicks in again as the antagonist breaks out and the audience gets a change to see some real action, there is then some car screeching before another dramatic pause as the dialogue is key, it explains the backstory to the audience so they don't get confused by the trailer and know exactly what the films going to be about. As it's inter-cut with shots of him fighting etc the dramatic music picks up again and adds to the action and suspense. The dialogue continues to tell the story and the conventional good vs bad is established and the audience know what the good guys have to do in the film so the plot is established. To conform to conventions though there is a fast paced montage of action shots at the end to make sure the trailer isn't too boring and shows off to the audiences there will be action, lots of it in the film. There's gun shots, explosions, car crashes, more explosions and crashing helicopters before the music die down to become more simple as the titles are shown so not to distract from the audience remembering the title of the film.

The trailer starts with a medium shot of a gun with a man sat behind it - this subverts from conventions as action trailers usually start with an establishing shot of the setting they are in but in this film it could not be included because the film makers want to make the character feel isolated in this room. Our first look at him is a close up shot of the back of his head and the observant ones in the audience will see the bar code on his head ends in 47 - his agent number, this suggests his face isn't important as that's what we usually see of the antagonist the back of his head is important because it shows his number and all the things that it connotes. A close up shot of all his guns show him to be a very powerful, deadly man who clearly knows what he is doing and is very experienced - conventional of the 'bad guy' in action films. Another close up shot is used to show a gun and a bullet suggesting these will be of importance somehow in the scene or show how much of a perfectionist he is as they're placed down carefully and with precision. Yet another close up shot this time of a girl (conventionally there's always an attractive woman involved in action films) and by using close up shots is signifies to the audience these are things to pay attention to and are important in some way to the plot. The antagonist is shown in a medium shot as he asks to be set free whilst a medium shot of the interrogator shows him with gun making him seem like the powerful one and the one in control of the situation but after some dramatic dialogue it cuts back to the antagonist this time in a close up shot whilst there's still only a medium shot of the interrogator as the gun is effectively in the way suggesting it's going to hinder rather than help him in this interrogation. There's a close up of the antagonists face as he escape's showing the highly guarded background behind him and impresses the audience that he can get out of that situation and makes them excited to see what else he can do. We finally get an establishing shot of a city one minute into the trailer so we know this is set in a big city - conventional of action films. A two shot of the protagonists in car shows how although they may not know each other they will have to work together to help bring down agent 47 and establishes the good guys in the film and what their mission is. A low angle shot of agent 47 as he shoots shows him to be dominant and powerful when he has a gun in his hand and will be a hard man to bring down. Another establishing shot of a city at night also conforms to conventions as the low key lighting connotes mystery and something sinister, several close up shots of car's crashing, explosions and shoot outs draw attention to all the things the audience hope to see in a film like this.

There's no establishing shot at the beginning of the trailer which subverts from convention but as stated above it could be missed out to make the character feel isolated. During the interrogation scene it's inter-cut with shots of agent 47 and all his guns and explains why he's in that room, it's clear it was done on purpose and these people have been set up by him. There is then a shot of a girl - giving the audience more of what they're after and promising one of the many things conventionally seen in an action film. There is an action sequence to pick up the momentum of the trailer as it has been quite dull to begin with before a few more action shots are shown with cars and gun squads to get the trailer going and excite the audience. It the  cuts to the protagonists as they are needed to explain whats going on and give some back story so the audience know whats going on, it's inter-cut with action scenes though to make it not too boring. Throughout the trailer agent 47 has prevalence as he is the most important character - he is the one they have to stop. There's a final dramatic pause before a fast paced montage with explosions, guns, girls, knives, helicopters, fights ends with best CGI shot of the helicopter crashing which lasts 10-15 seconds and is saved till last to round of how amazing this film will be visually.

The bar code on agent 47's head is the first thing that stands out to the audience as you wonder what sort of a man would have a bar code shaved onto the back of his head and realise he may be a bit insane - conventional for action films as the antagonist is usually slightly crazy (like the Joker in Batman films).  The film production titles appear at about the 10 second mark which is fairly early for an action film trailer and suggests they want them to appear on screen now rather than later in the trailer and distract from the action. The antagonist is wearing a suit which conforms to conventions as the 'bad guys' are usually dressed smartly in suits - the black of his suit connotes darkness and evil, perfect attributes for a villain. He also has a red tie which connotes danger or blood suggesting he has killed many times before and it not afraid to get his hands dirty. A close up shot of a girl suggests she could be his next target or have some other importance to the film and is featured mainly because it is conventional to have an attractive female in an action trailer. It also becomes noticeable that the antagonist has a shaved head which connotes violence and guns - he has no tattoos though which supports the idea he is a clean cut 'villain' who knows exactly what hes doing. To go along with the red tie there is also a red car which stands out and again connotes blood and danger suggesting there will be many deaths in this film and danger will follow agent 47 where ever he goes. The two shot shows the protagonist's to be wear more normal clothes conforming to conventions for the 'good guys' in action films  - agent 47 on the other hand is always wearing his red tie implying death and danger are linked directly to him in this film. The white background of the building where the creator of agent 47 is seen suggests he is innocent and only tried to create something different, he never meant to create a killing machine. Agent 47 is written in red when the film titles appear at the end, reinforcing the idea that death and danger (connotations of that colour) follow him throughout the film.