TRAILER Analysis - War of the Worlds

How does the War of the Worlds teaser trailer make people want to see this film?

Directed by Steven Spielberg

War of the world was initially released on the 29th June 2005 and is directed by the hugely successful, Steven Spielberg; starring Tom Cruise.

The trailer begins with a brief note telling the audience that it has been approved for everyone. This is important as films often don't warn the audience what to expect and may be affected by it. However in this teaser trailer, they have stated how the 'Motion Pictures Association of America' have approved it and therefore, any audience will watch it. It then reveals one of its institution companies, Paramount.

The trailer then officially begins with a non diegetic thud, as the screen flashes onto a male character who's first words are "keep your eyes on me". At this point he is making direct eye contact with the screen which is noticeably prone to engaging the audience. This is presented through the close up where we can see a clear image of the character's face, immediately making us recognise him throughout the trailer as he is the first character we are shown. The way this shot was used, partially creates a relationship between Tom Cruise and the audience through the direct eye contact; Tom Cruise being a well-known actor, develops this relationship with the audience as they will know who he is and may warm to him for being such a strong, inspirational character. Director, Steven Spielberg successfully used this shot to portray the power and significance, Tom Cruise's character has. This could be interpreted differently, however, because of the slight angle at which the shot has been taken. This could potentially be a point of view shot, which would portray the strengths of Cruise's character even more where is he dominating, and has power over this possible second character.

The camera reverses, showing a point of view from Tom Cruise's character; and this second character is a young girl, immediately showing the power Cruise has because of the age difference and also the height as he seems to be towering over her. The shot from the young girls perspective is at a high angle, showing how she is below him in status, further representing her innocence and vulnerability. Although it is yet to be shown, the relationship between this two characters could be much stronger than we may think; as potentially, Cruise is portraying a fatherly figure where in this situation he may be protecting her. Despite this the close up of her face, shows differently as she looks, almost, scared or in shock of what/who she is seeing.

The trailer fades off from the girl, to present another on of its film companies ' Dreamworks'. The fade then continues in to a small village/town of which seems to be overcrowded and people are panicking as if they are afraid of something that is happening or going to happen. The non diegetic soundtrack in the background of this is quite eerie, creating that slight ominous atmosphere, giving us the impression that something bad is going to occur. The high pitched voice in this soundtrack also creates a sense of fear to something that is building up. The idea of this upcoming event is almost confirmed when the screen flashes saying 'prepare for the event'; at this point, we are able to notice the American flag which appears behind this text for seconds, giving us the location of the film. The way these first 30 seconds of the trailer are structured are extremely significant, as the audience, we have been given multiple insights of what events are taking place in the film, which make it more capturing and will make more people want to watch it. The clip that we do get shown are seemingly the cliff hangers of each event which are much more appealing and are clips that you want to see more of.

The appearance of the release date is another positive about the teaser trailer; and also where it is in the trailer is compelling as it is between the huge events that we are being shown, therefore making it something the audience are going to remember. The release date is shown again and the very end of the teaser trailer which is even more significant as it is the last thing they will see and will be more likely to remember it. Further through the trailer the screen flashes to black and we are then revealed the young girl, which was one of the first characters we saw and now recognise. The medium shot used here by Spielberg is important as it is showing her body language where she is seemingly being forced into somewhere by who we assume is Tom Cruise's character. The shot reveals how the young girls is upset and has been crying and simply looks terrified of what is going on. This again shows her innocence and how she doesn't really know whats going on. Following on from this, the screen flashes black then to the high angle shot which we saw at the start from the young girls perspective. The diegetic voice of, who we assume is, Tom Cruise shouts 'Rachel' and before anything else is said the screen flashes back to the boat tipping.

This part of the teaser trailer, I think, is most significant as it is a huge cliff hanger for the audience as we are completely unaware of what is going on.This is another thing that is important in teaser trailers where we are only shown snippets of each event; for example when Cruise shouted the young girls name to when the boat was tipping. Between this, we are completely oblivious to what is going on and it is therefore more engaging as we pay more attention; and also want to continue watching.

Nearer to the end of the trailer, a heading appears saying 'A Steven Spielberg Film'; and this is a key moment in the teaser trailer, as many people know, Steven Spielberg has produced many world known films such as Jurassic Park, ET and Jaws. Fans of this directer would also be likely to watch this film as it may be a huge success like the rest of the films he has directed. Whilst other films are being distributed at this time, there are huge impacts on the success of this specific film; especially if people are more interested in other genres. However, I think the director of a film, in this case Steven Spielberg, has a huge affect on the success and the overall viewings. Knowing how much success Spielberg has had in the past will make audiences think that this film may also be a top seller.

As well as the director being a huge selling point, at the end of the trailer, Tom Cruise's name is displayed along with a shot of him during the film. He is an actor who is hugely successful and acted in many films such as Oblivion, Mission Impossible and Top Gun (which is an extremely old film, distributed in 1986). For the fact that he is so well known and that he has had such a long career in acting; it is likely that people will want to watch the film and for this reason he is a huge unique selling point.