Trailer analysis.Suicide Squad

I have chosen to analyse the trailer for suicide squad as it is a trailer which really attracted my attention when I first saw it, and it encouraged me to watch the film when it came out in the cinema – which I believe is what a good trailer should do. This screenshot is from the end of the trailer where you find out the name of the film, this is most likely because the trailer would have probably been recognised during the first few seconds due to the mass media acknowledgement – through the use of social media.

The first shot used in a prison setting – this is demonstrated through the setting of the scene. You can see guards and cells which makes the audience understand that criminals are going to be involved somehow in the plot of the film. The lighting is very low key which further suggests the bad nature of the area which is being filmed – it may connote a sense of unhappiness. The camera in the shot pans downwards which shows the two floors of the prison – further introducing the audience into the opening scene.

The next image shown in the trailer is of a guy in a cell with an armed guard outside of the door. Due to the shutter in the door and the intense amount of protection on the guard (the use of mise en scene) allows the audience to understand that the person who is behind the cell door is a very dangerous man. From the little you can see of the man he has a thick beard – which may suggest that he has been in prison for a long period of time.

The next image is of a young woman with bleach blonde hair – who has pink on one side and blue on the other side. She is also seen to have pink and blue smudged eyeshadow on her eyes aswell as a tiny heart on her cheek; although all of these features suggest a girly attire the way they are presented make her seem ‘bad’. She has neatly painted nails and is holding a small cup of tea as well as a book – this suggests that the character is intellectual.

The next shot shows her in a prison uniform – however in contrast she is wearing pink fluffy slippers – suggesting a softer side to her persona. It further goes to show a mid shot of the character sat on a prison bed surround by mental bars. The book she is reading appears to be about love suggested by the male and female on the front cover – this may connote that this character has her own love story which may be expressed further on in the film.

The next character shown is again wearing the prison gear, he also has a bit of a beard further suggesting like the first character that he has been in the prison for a long period of time. The room that he is in is dark and uses very low key lighting.

The next shot shows the same man staring out of a tiny window clearly in his cell – outside it is raining heavily this may connote the characters sadness within the cell – this would be further backed up by the low key lighting in the shot.

This shot is again very low key lighting and shows the whole of the cell as if it was being viewed from the back wall. On the left hand side of the cell there is water and on the right hand side there is this creature seemingly doing press ups on a meshed metal panel. The lighting is of a lower key where the creature is – possibly showing an insecurity for the person the shot is meant to be discovering.

This shot shows a man covered in tattoos with fire in his hand – this suggests that this guy has some supernatural power to generate fire. However the facial expression used by the character makes him seem very sad – this is done by the frowning of his eyebrows and his straight face. The lighting again is low key in this shot.

This security camera esk shot is to further emphasis the fact that they are in a high security prison. The character featured in this shot is the same person from the first few seconds where we don’t get to see his whole face. This shot shows him screaming at the camera in his cell which makes the audience questions his insanity.

These two shots follow each other the first image (left) Shows three characters sat round a table – the outside looks dreary/ wet / miserable whereas indoors it is colourful – this may suggest that the people indoors have power that the previous shots did not exemplify. The next shot shows the three discussing a matter in relation to the prison previously shown. The facial expressions are firm and serious – suggesting a serious matter being discussed.

The next shots show Warner Bros and DC Comics – showing the distributor and producers of the film. This is a good platform for the world of media as Warner Bros are a highly acclaimed company which is recognised by millions of people, it has distributed many successful films during its time. DC Comics is also a great platform as comics are extremely popular still in modern day and the film is based around comical characters – therefore this will grasp the attention of comic book readers.

The next few shots following show an army of guards wearing full kitted out safety gear – the following shot shows Will Smith’s character with his hands posed as if he is about to have a fight – following this you then see that all of the guards from the start of the sequence bombard in to the characters cell, continuing to strap him to a chair. The sheer magnitude of guards needed for one inmate shows the immense danger of this character and allows the audience to get a hint of what he is capable of.

In these few shots you can see that the guy who has the fire power is being washed out of a tunnel where he was obviously kept imprisoned. The use of the water obviously make the man seem weak as his power is the use of fire and as everyone knows water cancels out the fire. This therefore makes the enforcements stronger and more powerful.

These scenes are extremely low key and are very hard to make out. The first screenshot shows four (what appears to be) medical person/s who are fully covered with only there eyes on show – this suggests that what they are about to be faced with is dangerous – this is then enforced by the next shot which shows an abnormally large being who is strapped to a portable board.

This shows one of the criminals circled by the army person/s – he stands out because he is in a orange prisoner outfit, the lighting is slightly more high key which may represent freedom from his cell. BY his facial expression you understand that he may not have a lot of trust in the authorities who surround him.

This scene shows the man from the first few seconds being cut out of a fabric body bag, as he emerges from the bag – very dramatically – he begins punching the soldiers/authorities around this – this may be to show his power even among a larger amount .

This scene shows a muscular man with braided hair get out of a big 4X4 with 3 people from the authorities around him. He punches the female – which is almost a taboo action as the idea of a male hitting a female is frowned upon at a large scale – this is somehow made into a humorous act however due to the rest of the trailer shots.

In this scene you can see the character Harley Quinn with her arms in the air open – she is stood next to two other inmates who have straight faces and are posed in a more conserved manner – this may suggest that she doesn’t hold grudges about being held in prison and she is just happy to have some freedom – this may also be recognised by the smile on her face.

Further confirmation to the fact that the people in the clip are bad people is this close up on the criminal offence form that somebody is holding – this is for Will Smiths character – a few things which stand out in this shot is the mug shot and the finger prints which feature on the criminal offence form.

The shot then shows the person who is holding the form. It is a tall gentlemen and a small framed woman who is looking lovingly at the man – this may suggest that they are in love and are a couple. The female looks very conserved and a sense of intelligence is suggest through the stereotype which is that she is wearing glasses.

The next shot shows Will Smiths character fully kitted out in some sort of action gear. He is aiming a gun at the floor which connotes that he is about to shoot someone. His face is of a sad expression and suggests that he is not just a cold blooded killer and he still has a small percentage of remorse within his actions.

The next few scenes reveal the creature facing the medical team and in the sewer like cell. It is revealed that he is a crocodile esk character. His face is green and scaley. His teeth are very sharp. The next shot shows him leaping out of the water in his cell pulling in one of the guards who are on site. This allows you to understand his supernatural power of being able to stay underwater for a long period of time.

The guy with the fire who was introduced earlier in the trailer is seen surrounded by a mass of flames – this may suggest, alongside his angry face, that he has had a bad incident with his power and he still has a strong emotion towards this.

The next scene is of a witch like creature sat on an old bed frame – the lighting in the room is low key and all of the clothing which she is wearing is black and grey; this may suggest that she is an evil entity

This scene shows Harley behind the cell bars with a shadowed figure in front of her who she seems to be mocking. The way her eyes are scrunched up and almost look sinister suggests the bad side to her character – of course further backed up by the fact she is in prison.

Harley is shown in this scene surround by men soldiers – this could possibly suggest that men are attracted to her and fantasise over her. She is seen smiling and looks comfortable with the presence of all of these men – showing that she is a powerful individual.

This shot shows the large scale of the city in which the film is set. You can see all of the large skyscrapers and the large river passing through the city. In the second screenshot there is a large crash of a building with flames suggesting the action part of the genre.

These shots show the action side to the genre allowing the audience to believe that there is an exciting aspect to the film. The use of fire and crushed vehicles are common in an action genre.

A long shot is used to show the criminals all together entering a highly secured building – suggested by the cctv cameras at the bottom of the shot. They all enter with guns and body armour – suggesting that they are going to do something which is highly illegal

Again the use of guns is another action genre feature, emphasising the trailer.

These two shots of Harley Quinn – the left a low angle shot and the right a mid shot show the two sides to the character. The innocent side where she is seen waving and smiling as she goes up the escalator. On the right however it shows her shooting a gun with lots of smoke.

A new character is introduced, you firstly associate him with Harley Quinn due to their exaggerated hairstyles and their facial tattoos. He is seen to be abit crazy due to the smudged red lipstick and in the second shot he is seen holding a massive gun – proving more that he is in a bad mental state.

A very expensive looking car is used – this shows that the character who is the joker (Jared Leto’s character) is a very wealthy man – we are led to believe that he is rich through the crimes he has commited.

Here the Joker is seen surrounded by knifes the way a dead body would be traced with chalk – this again makes the audience question the characters mental state. The use of knifes and guns further emphasises the genre of action but also represents the psychotic state of the Joker.

The flames used in the scene again emphasise the action genre.

The font used for ‘Worst’ adds more to the humour and lack of seriousness to the film.

By having one of the criminals dressed up as a panda makes the film look comical. This adds humour to the trailer again further removing the serious aspect. A mid shot is used to show the body of the character and the head. The character is holding a gun which represents the action aspect of the genre

Again the use of the childish font takes away from the seriousness of the trailer.

One of the criminals who is seen almost tree like is seen breaking through a train with his branch like arm. An over the shoulder shot is used to show the destruction of the train.

Again the use of the childish font takes away from the seriousness of the trailer.

There are loads of bullets on the floor, which is represented through a low angle shot. The bullets themselves are almost distorted however there is a focus on the main subject standing in the left hand side of the shot. – This distortion may represent the chaotic atmosphere of the scene.

Here you can see a POV shot of Harley Quinn and The Joker in some sort of liquid substance. You can associate the girl who is emerging from the liquid as Quinn due to the blue and pink features which are around her drenched body.

These two shots follow after the liquid scene which finally makes the audience realise that the two may have been in a committed relationship together. They are seen in a white interior car, which suggests that it is an expensive car. They both have smudged make up which suggests that they aren't too fussed on their appearance. They both have their lips parted which further suggests their psychotic state.

Harley is then seen breaking into a shop – a long shot is used to show the full setting of the shot where you can see the tall glass wall being shattered. You then see Harley Quinn smiling as if she is proud of what she has just committed and further goes on to explain how she is still a ‘criminal’.

The title of the film is revealed at the end of the trailer and is again in the same font as the ‘Worst Heroes Ever’. The top of the shot there is the main characters actors who played them.

… then followed by the date which it is released followed by the fact that the film is in IMAX and 3D.

… Then finally it ends with credits for the film.

Final Thoughts• Overall I feel as though the set out of the trailer is done in a clever manner. It allows

the audience to switch between comedy and action without the film looking like a Joke. The characters within the film are fairly represented and you get to understand a small background of each character throughout the trailer. The first 20 seconds are fully dedicated to the criminals who are being let out of prison to help the authorities. However a negative I feel as though the lighting throughout the trailer is too low key. I understand through certain shots why the lighting needs to be low key, but I feel as though some of the shots need a higher key lighting in order for you to fully grasp the whole setting of the shot which is being shown.

• Like The Suicide Squad trailer I will put the title and credits of my film a the end of the trailer and I will include the production and distributing persons after the introductory few seconds. – In these seconds I will try and allow the audience to understand the setting of the film and the characters who will be shown throughout the film.