Research and Planning: Film Trailer Analysis 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-ugXe_xEXw
'Obsessed'- Trailer Analysis
Genre
This full length trailer gives a clear indication of what genre this film is. It is a thriller due to the suspense and action however the film can be quite frightening as situations similar to this can occur in reality but most of the time not on this scale. Carol Clover refers to the 'final girl' in films who confronts the killer in the end. The theory fits perfectly with this trailer as it is a thriller/horror, at the end we see the the villain being confronted by the victim's wife who is also being terrorised by the stalker who is obsessed with her husband. Also Andre Sarris' theory which is the idea that a genre has a recogniseable styles that drawa on an existing audience is proven in this trailer as the fast paced editing shows that the film includes action which is a common trait in thrillers.
Representation
Laura Mulvey's theory, 'The Male Gaze', suggests that we see characters in a film through a male's eyes. This may be the case in this film as in the beginning of the trailer we see the male character flirting with the female showing that he finds her attractive, then we see a shot of her walking out of the room from behind showing that the male character could be watching her walk out the room- we also see close ups of parts of her body showing that he could be looking at them. However, this could all be in the female's head as she has mental issues so we could be lead to believe that this is the case. The victim's wife (Beyonce) is not your stereotypical is housewife as she confronts the villian in the end however at the beginning of the trailer we are lead to believe that she is your typical stay-at-home mother as we see a shot of her greeting her husband after he returns from work. The male character fits his gender stereotype perfectly as he innocently flirts with his collegue without thinking about the consequences- in most cases this would be seen as harmless but as the female is mentally unstable she see's this as something different as she is not a typical woman. However, in some respects she is seen as a stereotype as she fits the roll of the seductive, sexual female.
Narrative
We could say that the wife is an anti-hero as she is portrayed as a housewife who lives for her family but in the end we see her become an active character at the end of the trailer as she confronts the villain. The male character can be seen as passive as he becomes a victim of a woman and she begins to control his life however he seems like the catalyst of the situation because he apparently flirted with her first. Todrov's theory is also present in this trailer however the equlibrium lasts about 7 seconds showing that it also may be short lived in the actual film, I think the distruption begins when  both characters are in the elevator. We do not see the equlibrium resolved as it is only the trailer and the film would be ruined for the audience.
Audience
The audience can relate to this film to some extent as there is no fantasy element to it. Most people come across people who they find a bit odd but we also meet people who we assume are normal so we do not think about our actions when around them. I think that this links to the trailer making the audience have a connection with it however this is an extreme case of an everyday situation that can occur. The audience need to be active while watching the trailer as it is very fast paced and there is alot going on.
Media Language
Cinematography: We see shots at the beginning of the trailer of the city showing that it is a normal work day for  the characters- they do not expect anything to be out of the ordinary. A bit later on in the trailer we see a shot of the woman's leg indicating that the male is looking in that area, then we see her walking out of a room from the back. I think that these shots are used to make the audience side with the female at the beginning of the film however these events could just be occuring in her head as we know that she is mentally unstable.
Editing: As this is a trailer os for a thriller/horror film the editing is fast paced as it is action packed and also a lot of detail needs to be fit in such a short amount of time. Jump cuts are used to show a passage of time and that parts are cut out as this isn't the full film.
Sound: Non-diegetic music is played all the way through the trailer to add dramatic effect to the sequence, it gets faster as it develops hinting that there is a very dramatic climax. The phrases used by the female are very normal and innocent at first, there is no need to assume that something is wrong with her and as the trailer progresses her phrases are also quite normal but when put into context we see that she is mentally ill.
Mise-en-scene: We can see that this family may be of middle class due to where they live and what they wear. Also, the fact that this occurs in a work place shows that situations like this can happen anywhere in real life.