Trailer Narrative Notes

Welcome to The Punch -

1) Starts with an aerial panning shot of the city, shows location and is followed by a mid shot of James McAvoy in a car - establishing him as the main character. Voice over in the following shots, combined with the cuts between Strong and McAvoy show Mark Strong as an elusive villain who the protagonist has a strong (no pun intended) hatred towards. "When you take him down this time you take him down hard", again suggestions of previous conflict between the two but also shows what is suggested to be Max Lewinsky's team.
2) The second act opens with various shots showing what is said to be Mark Strong's son being attended to in a medical facility, this acts as an opening to the previously elusive antagonist and gives the film a direction and strong narrative which can then be expanded upon in the following shots. There are also suggestions of obsession, with Max being told to "take a step back" which again shows a direction which the film could be moving towards. Interestingly, the second half of the second act challenges the viewer and Max himself as to what they already know, with three narrative board coming up stating individually "Know", "Your", "Enemy". This places a doubt in the viewers mind, corroborated by the voice over claiming "Maybe its not all about Jacob Sternwood". The act comes to a close confirming these doubts, with Max and Jacob ending up fighting on the same team.
3) The final act opens with "From Executive Producer Ridley Scott", enticing those who have an affinity to his previous films, and is followed by a mainly action montage containing some of the best shots of the film. The ending, pre-credits adds yet more mystery to the film with Max, who had supposedly formed an alliance with Jacob, turning on him in a rapid mid shot.

Interestingly, all three acts open with aerial panning shots of London, two at night and one in the daytime. From seeing the film, the two acts which open with shots at night are the ones which are actually misleading as to the final narrative of the film, with the one opening in a day time shot (Act 2) being closest to the truth of the film. Although maybe not done deliberately, perks like these can make trailers that much more interesting for those who study media products such as Welcome to The Punch

Hummingbird -

1) Again starts with an aerial panning shot of London, and is followed up by a slow zooming establishing shot of a deserted street in China Town. Immediately we are introduced to the main character, Jason Statham playing a down and out called Joey. The viewer is also introduced to Isabel, who is implied to be his girlfriend. There is also a sense of ambiguity introduced, with Isabel saying to Joey "Don't fight back" while getting attacked by a group of men. Following the various media idents, an obviously hurt and suffering protagonist is shown taking up another man's identity, with multiple narrative boards coming up saying "A Safe Place" and "Time To Heal", suggesting something more dangerous being imminent.
2) The second act starts with a third narrative board, "A Second Chance", followed by seemingly regular shots of Joey in his job. This is then thrown on its head however as his employer mysteriously states "You want to work? You know what kind of work I do", giving the film a direction it didn't previously have. Finally in act 2, the girl in the first act called Isabel is said to be found dead and in combination with the emotion felt sets up the third act to be filled with themes of revenge and retribution.
3) The third act contains montage clips with various diegetic and non-diegetic sound and voice overs which gives the final act a more personal feel. The softer, orchestral music in the background takes up the first half of the act, which is mainly focused on giving back but towards the end there is a definite tone of danger and revenge.

Shutter Island -

1) As with the previous two trailers the opening act serves the purpose of setting the scene. The long shot of "Shutter Island" along with the quote "All I know is that its a mental hospital for the criminally insane" sets a dangerous and sinister tone, which is then enforced through the breaking of tradition in the officers surrendering their weapons. We are then introduced to various characters including the main doctor, who is shown to be empathetic and loving of the patients.
2) Again, as in the previous two films the second act opens with the narrative with which the film is going to follow. The escape of Dolores is made to seem mysterious and quotes such as "Its as if she just evaporated" and "No one will talk, its as if they are scared of something" emphasize this ambiguity. A more sinister, psychological undertone is also shown in this act through the fast, flickering visions of dead and the use of pathetic fallacy with heavy rain in the background.
3) The final act is again, a montage of the best shots of the film. From dark, dimly lit prison scenes to brightly lit outdoor scenes highlights the ambiguity and mental struggle that Teddy is going through. "When you see a monster. you must stop it". A memorable closing quote is always nessecary.

Memento -

1) The opening act introduces us to the main character, Leonard. Inside the first 20 seconds we are made aware of Leonard retrograde amnesia as well as showing the various characters he is familiar with. before act two, he is asked what the last thing he remembers is and he states that it is his wife.
2) The two acts run into each other, with the "Dying" part of his previous statement cut between the two. This association between act's clearly links the events shown on screen, with Guy Pearce being thrown in to a mirror and the death and revenge which he speaks about and giving the trailer a narrative, one which can clearly be followed. "Trust yourself, trust your judgement. You can never know anything for sure". snippets of quotes like this give the trailer its ambiguity, along with the constant muttering by Lenny in the background. The portrayal of the protagonist of the film, even to someone who has not seen the film, is overwhelmingly psychologically unwell and shows the struggle he must go through every day. The trailer is a work of genius, not needing a third act and still being more effective than any of the previous three, showing a strong narrative, obvious snippets of humor but on the whole an overwhelming sense of ambiguity and mystery.