Trailer Research - Wasteland

Wasteland (2013)
Directed by: Rowan Athale
Written by: Rowan Athale
Stars: Matt Lewis, Iwan Rheon, Timothy Spall
Released: 20^th September 2013
Age Rating: 15
Genre: Crime/Drama/Thriller
Institution: MoliFilms

The trailer opens with the institution logo by MoliFilms. This is used as a way of promoting the movie as if the audience recognised the logo or the company name from other films they have watched and enjoyed; they are more likely to be influenced to watch the movie as they know the standards of the particular institution.

There’s a brief moment of dialogue between two characters, where the main character, Harvey, asks the D.I “What do you know about Steven Roper?” The next shots are quick, while the D.I narrates over the top of these shots, saying what Steven Roper’s criminal activities are. Then, the next sequence of shots you see Harvey in prison, while he narrates that it’s down to Roper that he was put inside and then in between shots, the words ‘Unfinished Business’ flash up on the screen. This is used to introduce the backstory of the characters and sets up the revenge plot that will be formed by Harvey, all of which are also conventions of Crime Thrillers.

The next sequences of shots are quick and involve a lot of dialogue, which allows the audience more insight into the plotline of the film without giving it away completely. Some themes involved in this film- such as a heist and revenge- are common conventions in Crime Thrillers. There’s also lot of split-screening, which keeps the trailer interesting and also shows brief clips that aid in enticing the audience into wanting to watch the film. The lighting throughout the trailer is dark in parts then natural lighting.





Nearing the end of the trailer, the next sequence of shots are brief clips of the heist, which tells the audience that this is the most important part of the film. However, it cuts to a quick moment of dialogue between a police officer and the D.I and a narration by Harvey, saying; ‘You haven’t heard the interesting part yet’. This leads to the final sequence of shots that wrap up the trailer, with three moments of text between shots that say ‘Don’t believe your eyes’ ‘Don’t trust your ears’ and ‘Nothing is as it appears’. This aids in capturing the audience’s interest and to entice them into wanting to watch the film.

 

 

 

 

Finally, it ends with the film’s title and ‘Coming Soon’ with the films Twitter and Facebook address so that the audience can visit them and find out more information.

 

 

Overall, the trailer captures many of the common conventions of a Crime Thriller film as it aids in telling you enough of the plot to get you interested but not enough to give away the film and has the usual criminal/police theme involved. The incidental music used in the trailer is fast paced and there a few establishing shots, both of which influence the atmosphere of the film. However, the editing is snappy and fast, which isn’t a convention of a Crime Thriller but it works well for this trailer.