A trailer is a brief summary of a film, shortened down into a two minute clip. It shows the audience what genre the film is, when it will be out, who made it, the cast and what the target audience is. It also needs to send across its unique selling point or USP, what makes the film stand out from the other similar films currently out.
A trailer will use the key points of the film, and will create the plot of the film. This then gives the audience a sense of excitement and if they like the trailer, then will be an incentive to see the film itself.Trailers are more effective then posters as they are moving images with sound, and create an atmosphere. Sound means that the trailer can use voice-overs and music to create a show for our ears. Posters have to first catch our attention before we read them, while most people glance at them and continue walking. A trailer however, immediately catches our attention as the images move fairly quickly so we have to concentrate all the time, so we don’t miss anything. So therefore, a trailer is the most effective for advertising a movie.
The first shot is of Munez placing a football on the cold, wet floor of an alley, and the ball spinning. It is a close up, low shot of his feet, and suggests that he has standout ability with his feet. The cold wet alley show that Munez is from a poor area and has been brought up in poverty, this is because alleyways are associated with poorness especially in urban areas, and the wet floor shows that he is facing hardships. The shot only uses two colours, black and blue, and may be using a blue filter. Blue symbolises his hard life in poverty, and it also symbolises coldness.When he puts the ball on the ground, the sound is quietly droning in the background and then when the ball hits the ground, there is a heartbeat type of noise, which is not included in the action so is non-diagetic. The heartbeat creates attention, anxiousness, and the rhythmic quality of this also suggests tension, and emphasis. The shot lasts for about half a second, this is because it just gives us an idea of what the film is about.
The next scene is in a homely, wealthy looking bar or pub which highly contrasts the previous scene. The man also looks well maintained and dressed in warm clothing.This is to create a contrast to what we saw in the previous shot, and is emphasised when the focussed actor says, “poverty and hardships”. The screen is very dark, and we see a silhouette of a man from behind who is being spoken to by the main actor.
This gives the silhouetted character a sense of power over the main actor, since he is closer to the audience, has his back to the audience, and seems to be seated higher up than the main actor. His facial expression looks so focussed and determined, that we can truly begin to realise how special Munez is.The screen is dark so we are focussed onto the talking character, and there is no movement other than the actor moving which also focuses us onto him. Half of his face is shadowed and half is lighted by a dim light, which could be telling the audience that this person is mysterious, untrustworthy or has an evil side to him.
The sound is diagetic as it is him talking, but as the scene changes, the voice continues, which means it changes to a non-diagetic voice-over. This is therefore a sound bridge. This scene lasts for about a second, which then blacks out into the next scene.This scene is a quick glimpse of Munez’s current life, with him driving up the road in a shoddy car with his work colleagues.
You can tell from the car that he is a manual worker, so works very hard, and has a hard life to make ends meet. He is positioned in the centre of the screen looking forward, compared to the other workers looking backwards. This shows that he stands out from the rest of the workers and is looking forward to the future. The ground is dusty, and looks dry and seems to resemble a Mexican town.
When we see Munez, the shot is very light but then fades out incredibly quick.This could be trying to show us that Munez is looking towards the future, and he will have a burst of hope which will then fade away. It could also mean that he is aware that something is going to change soon. The low-skill manual work he has to do contrasts with the amount of talent he has with a football. This shows us that he is a big fish in a small pond, and could be doing so much better with his life. The way that these two shots merge, is that the first one fades into darkness, then the second lights back up.
This means that Munez is having a poor life at the moment, which will then change for the better, then there will be a problem, and then he will be back on top. The next shot is a close up of him kicking the ball forward under close control, on a dusty make-shift football pitch, with the camera following his feet – tracking alongside him. This quickly shifts onto him calling for the ball, which shows that he is determined, and that he is trying to stand out from the crowd. It also gives the audience the impression that he is an unnoticed talent, trying to stand out from the rest.This shot quickly shifts onto a shot of the pitch, with all the players. You can’t tell which player is Munez though, so this shows us that although he has a talent with a football, he is still a person and that he can’t be noticed. Until now, the shots that have been fading out to black, and then fade up to the next shot. But the change from this shot of him playing on a dusty make-shift pitch fades out to white, and then to a good quality grass pitch.
This shows that up until now, Munez has been fighting for a better life, and the white fade shows hope, and creates an emphasis on the next scene.The voiceover says, “his skill with a football”, and then there is a loud ‘shutter’ noise and a glare of white. These factors create a great emphasis on the scene, and then we see an example of Munez’s skill. Previous to this, Munez has been portrayed as an average talented, normal person. This has been contrasted to what the voiceover has been talking about him, and as the voiceover says, “his skill with a football”, we realise that he has great potential, especially for the amount of effort he put into the quick flash of skill.
The mise-en-scene consists of players in the background, and him taking on a player of the opposition.Munez is wearin white which symbolises purity, hope and glory, while the opposition is wearing pure black which symbolises evil and struggle. This could have been portrayed like this to create a scene of struggle between a pure character fighting for his chance of glory against the blockade of hardship. Munez overcomes this which shows the audience that he can take on problems with his stride and get his way past them. The camera was focused on the lower half of his body.
This is because the film is based on his talent with his feet and a ball.The music has been constant throughout, and other than the flash of sound when he receives the ball, continues to be calm and quiet. This tells the audience that he plays the game with such concentration, that he remains calm and composed throughout the game, with sudden burst of skill and talent which seem to occur naturally with him. The music seems contrapuntal with the energy which is going on with Munez. The shot lasts for about double the length of time that previous shots have gone on for, which attracts our attention because of the different time spacing.There is a quick cut to the next glimpse of a scene which shows Munez slowly jogging forward. This can be seen as him slowly improving his future, or seen to be portraying his struggle and effort.
This scene is a very high shot taken above Newcastle, fading into the shot from black. It is quite a slow, dark, monotonous shot, that has a low-key contrast which makes it look shadowy. These factors make the shot seem like it is some kind of dream, or that it is out of reach to him. The high view is the best view possible to see everything, and gives a sense of how big the area is.
The voiceover says that Munez has, “flown six-thousand miles”, when we see this shot, which makes the reader feel that they are in his shoes and are flying to Newcastle. The movement of the shot has been slowed down, and seems to be tracking forwards, which shows slow but steady progression in life. The screen then fades into darkness quickly for a seemingly long length of time for a blackout. It then opens up fast into the next shot, along with a non-diagetic drum-like noise to see him running along a beach. It is a high shot with him in the bottom right corner running out of the shot.
This creates a feeling that he has ran the whole length of the beach, and is extremely determined. The view is very cloudy and the lighting is a bluish-grey, to make the audience think that it is very cold and tough conditions for him. The way that this shot is shown seems like he is battling and struggling against everything in his path, and although conditions are tough, he still keeps progressing and fighting his way forwards. It also seems like he is lost and confused in a great big place.
The ‘narrator’ as it seems, then goes on to say, “he’s never seen mud before”.Munez is then throw down into the mud, repeatedly. These shots are mostly black and blue, which could be shown like this to create the feeling that he is physically hurt. The blue in the scenes show that it is wet and cold, while the black shows that he is struggling and fighting. It is a low-key contrast because to him, it is such a change of scenery to what he is used to in his home country, that it seems like a dream.
It also seems like a dream because, back home he could play spectacularly without any effort, but here is like a foreign place to him.He can’t play well and he feels that he is not been given a fair chance. This makes the audience have great sympathy for him, and hope that he can break out of the struggle that he is having to deal with.
The quick shots of him being knocked down into the mud are quick cuts, and the repetition of similar shots create an emphasis of his hardships and a greater build up of sympathy for him. The scene then changes back into the homely pub. This contrast of scenery is used to emphasise the trouble that Munez is going through.The camera then pans around the ‘narrator’ to produce a poshly suited man dining in the background, that is positioned there to make the place seem posh and give a greater contrast to the previous scene. Because we can now see the person talking, it has now changed back to diagetic.
As the camera is panning around the talking man, it gives the impression to the audience that he is winning over the man he is trying to impress, because it is changing the view of them to back the ‘narrator’ and give him a higher sense of power.The director doesn’t want to focus us onto him though, so when he says, “Clogging the shite out of each other”, it then fades onto Munez being knocked down onto the ground by a fellow team-mate. This shows us that although they are meant to be on the same team, each one is desperate for a chance and will do anything to be noticed, which gives the impression of a ‘dog-eat-dog’ game. This gives the sense of desperation and determination. The ‘narrator’ then says, “Just once in a while, there’d be one that would come along and lift your heart”. The director then puts a white-out before showing a scene of Munez slowly turning around.
The way that this is shown gives the audience a feeling that Munez is ‘the chosen one’, and that he is a hero, or god-like. The music build up is about to erupt when he turns around, which dramatically emphasises the presentation of him, along with the close up of his face. His facial expressions show a state of disbelief, and his body language also shows that he is shocked or surprised. The angle which he is shot at makes him seem larger than the person standing close to him, and the building behind him. This shows the audience that he has a presence of superiority or vainity, and he is moving up in the world.
As the next scene appears, the previous scene fades into black and there is a high view of Newcastle’s home pitch. This then has a burst of noise like a heart beat, alongside a flash of white, then the shot is of even greater height above the pitch. The combination of light and noise is to show the resemblance of a camera flash, and gives the impression of an increase of popularity or publicity. The shot is exceptionally high, to still show that although Munez is becoming an international star, he still knows his proportion in life and will not become absorbed into the whirlpool of the lifestyle of the rich.
The camera tilts from looking up into the sky, to looking down onto the pitch, and then there is a roar-like cheer from the crowd, as Munez kicks the ball. As the music approaches a crescendo, it intensifies and explodes into a flurry of adrenaline-fueled, football scenes. These scenes are of fans in the crowd, the referee, his girlfriend, his father and his team.
These range of characters are all the people whos life he affects. He has a great responsibility now, because any actions that he makes wrong, will affect the lives of many people.The shot of his girlfriend gives Munez’s character depth, and dimension, rather than seeming like a shallow person who’s life revolves around his work. The nightclub scene also gives him even more depth, because we now see that he is not a perfect, lifeless person, but rather he makes mistakes and can therefore be associated and connected to the audience better. The scene where Munez is running along a pier could mean several things. The silhouette that he seems to be, creates the perception that he is a mysterious, shy, solitary and committed person.The fact that a storm is going on around him could give the impression to the audience that there is a lot of fuss going on about him, and that he could be causing a bit of trouble or getting a bad reputation. The colour blue seems to be the focus around him, so it could be that he is such a unique person or such a unique talent, that he comes around once every blue moon.
Throughout the film, there has been lots of publicising of the brand ‘Adidas’. It has been on the clothes that they wear, the boots that they wear, and the ball that they play with.They do this to publicise them, and in return, the film makers get an extra bonus or deals made with them. The audience can also relate to a good, popular brand and can tell that they are official, and well-known. The words appearing in between the fast shots read, “This Year”, “One Word”, “Unites The World”, “Goal The Movie”. The writing is always moving, which is the same as football. It is also a unique font, which relates to the type of player Santiago Munez is.
The trailer finishes by saying, “GOAL THE MOVIE”, and a slow motion goal. The audience can link these two together, and it also gives a sense of completion to the trailer.