Maleficent Trailer Analysis Catherine ButterworthAs this trailer
relies on the audience having some knowledge of the earlier Disney
film Sleeping Beauty (released 1959) traditional structural
conventions do not apply as they reference the original film over
revealing the more unique narrative of this version, albeit darker,
of the same story.
The first 16 seconds are not taken from the film itself, but are
2D animation in the traditional Disney style, which mirrors the
illuminated manuscript shown at the start of the original film that
is used to establish the narrative. It transitions from animated to
live-action with a crossfade from the bottom right screen-cap above
and the screen-cap below.
Structural ConventionsThis trailer makes clear use of structural
conventions after the initial introduction, which could be
perceived as an elaborate establishing sequence (opening &
build-up) as this film relies on you having seen the original for
comparative purposes. The progression of events show Maleficent as
you would expect powerful and apparently vengeful, however they
imply there is a deeper reason for her anger over not being invited
to the party as per the original, which is shown through her
contact with Aurora, which is done to entice you in and convince
you to watch it (as a trailer should). Interestingly though, unlike
a lot of other live action fantasy films there is no reliance on
the star system however in other versions of the trailer it is
expressly mentioned that Angelina Jolie is the Protagonist. Also,
the title/release date are shown at the end as is conventional
however the production details and idents arent shown at all,
however that is becoming increasingly common in fantasy films to
help with the suspension of disbelief.
Camera Shots/Angles/MovementsThe majority of shots used are
static with some tracking, however the shots themselves do vary
despite being predominantly (M)CUs there are several wider shots
used to establish the environment. Also, despite lacking movement
in several shots the subject moves to adjust the main focus of the
shot over the camera moving in to accommodate it, as well as use of
shot-reverse-shot to indicate the conversation is between two
characters over being unrelated statements.
EditingCross-fades are the most common edit after jump cuts, as
is standard in trailers. As I already mentioned shot-reverse-shot
is used to indicate diegetic dialogue that is of relevance to other
dialogue.
SoundSound bridges are used, mostly via dialogue however the
stentorian voiceover could also be considered an example of one.
The non-diegetic sound is initially not as prominent as the
voiceover, however it swells whenever the voiceover drops out, with
the exception of the last clip in which only the diegetic sound is
heard. I also wish to mention that over the 2D animation there is
an affected piano version of the melody line of Once Upon a Dream
which featured in the original film the piano has been manipulated
to sound like a music box to enforce the two idea that this is a
dark fairytale (slow music box-esque music is typically associated
with horror).
Inter-titles
They arent as frequent as they would be in other productions,
however as I mentioned earlier I believe this is more to do with
suspension of disbelief over anything else. Both are introduced via
a cross-fade as the inter-titles themselves are text on a black
screen (as is typical).