Eliza's Textual Analysis of a ' Teaser Trailer '

                                                ' 28 Days Later - Teaser Trailer '


28 days later is a horror film based around the sub genre of zombies. The teaser trailer last for 1 minute and 30 seconds and was released on the 28^th June 2008 to be view by the audiences on TV.

The Film was produce by film company fox, the story line depicts the breakdown of society following the accidental release of a highly contagious virus known as Rage, and it then focuses on the four remaining survivors to cope with the outcome.

The film starts of by having text appear on the screen reading ‘On the first day’, the font is small but is visible due to the black background , the font is also flashing and fades dramtically away there is then sirens and screaming which can be heard in the background , here there is minimal revealing of what is going on , but the audience can grasp from the sounds that something is predominatly wrong . The constant use of text in the trailer allows audiences to analyse words such as ‘ Exposure ,Infection ,Epidmic ‘ . These are words aid the understanding of what is happening in the text and allows t audience to understand what is going on through each stages of the days listed on the screen .

 The settings of the trailers in the first half are , in dark places which make it hidden and discreet for the audience to see what’s going on , it is made up of quick and fast paces cuts of pictures , which again build up the tension of what is taking place , this is then typical of trailers due to the fact they do not usually show much on what is happening hence the reason ‘Teaser’ this is done as a key selling point for films to be marketed by the producers , by only revealing a small amount encourages  people to have the urge to want to watch the film . The dark settings also creates fear within the person viewing, and allows their own imagination to play on what the assume maybe going on.

Mid way during the teaser trailer, there is an image smashing the screen of a window, this is done towards the audience and is almost as if they are in the car seat experiencing what is happening in full beam, it causes a reaction of excitement from the audience, and possibly a slight jump. This technique was put in place to make the audience feel inclusive in the production and see what is undergoing through a character like experience. Shortly after this the screen then goes blank for 5seconds introducing Day 20. There is an explosion and this is the first scene in which the audience gets a full picture of the scene for more than a glimpse. 

Beyond point 0.47 in the trailer the audience see one of the survivors  getting up from the hospital bed and releasing themselves , they then go on to see them wondering through a disserted hospital on their own and finally up London . Viewers that are familiar with this setting can identify Big Ben Clock In the background as well as the houses of Parliament , the roads are empty  and the busses are turn over on the floor , with the character roaming the streets and shouting ‘Hello’ trying to see if anyone is around  or if he’s the only person .Then music is then played in the background , sounding like harps and holy music , this then changes the mood of the teaser trailer and what the perspective of what the audience is thinking . After this scene the words ‘The Days Are Numbered’ appears on the screen. This gives a sense of tension and anxiety into the hidden message trying to be conveyed.

After this the dark red eyes which is the iconic symbol for 28 days later appears flashing on the screen again alarming the audience and then fades into a black screen .These eyes help establish this predominant icon which can be useful for when selling merchandize related to the film and helping build brand awareness .

Drawing to a conclusion after analyzing 28 days later , I think it does meet the general criteria of a standards teaser trailer , although the length of the film is 30 seconds over the initial 60 second mark that most teaser trailers have it does manage to use similar conventions to that of one . The teaser trailer I think manages to communicate across a trilling image and somewhat an interesting film, to horror like lovers. The trailer has shown me an idea of how teaser trailers effectively attract their target audience and why they are important in achieving a finishing product.