Research- Codes and conventions of 'The Expendables' movie trailer

• Appropriate for all audience- In the establishing shot we are shown this sign assuring that the trailer will be appropriate for everyone. This has been done in order to advertise the the masses, as if it is for everyone then they wont lose viewers from the younger generation. This will ensure that there sales are not effected due to age restrictions. 

• The 'voice of god'-  The voice of god is used at the beginning of the trailer, this is so it can set the scene and give the audience a brief overview of what the movie entails. The narration is shortly taken over by using clips of the film to tell a basic story line 

• Major Hollywood studio produced and distributed- Just before the main action of the trailer is shown, we are presented the names of the Hollywood based production and entertainment company's in which created this film. This instantly tells the viewer that the standard in which they will receive will be extremely high. This will make people more likely go and watch the movie as they are reliable company's which create extremely famous films each year.

 

 

• Classic Hollywood 3 act narrative structure- The trailer loosely sticks to this structure, we are introduced to the characters in the expeditionary scene, we then are made aware of some sort of mission and lastly we see the outcome of the mission. The reason that the trailer isn't completely presented to us in this structure is due to interruptions of action, makes the structure slightly disjointed.

• High production values including CGI FX. Fast paced editing- Within the first 20 seconds of the trailer we are shown strong support that the movie will contain a combination of advanced optical and mechanical effects. This is extremely important to make clear as especially with action films they are vital in order to create realism. The trailer as followed the convention of using fast paced editing, this creates tension and suspense whilst allowing us to see snippets of action packed scenes from the film, the effect of this means that we get to see alot however little is revealed.
  
  
  

• Single stranded, linear, closed narrative- Non linear narrative is used, this allows us to see more action though without us piecing it together. This is effective as not to much is revealed so we are left with unanswered questions,  which we would have to watch the film to be answered. 

•  Dramatic non-diegetic sound- In the expeditionary scene we are slowly being introduced to the trailer, this is complimented by slow music, this creates suspense as we are expecting something to occur. As the shots change they are followed by sounds similar to a gun this adds dramatic emphasis. It isn't until near the end of the trailer fast paced aggressive music which we can assume is the theme song as it mentions the word 'expendable' is finally played this is due to the mirroring of visuals and sound, this song is highly catchy so therefore the audience will build an association.  

• Clear binary oppositions-  Levi Strauss' binary opposition theory of good vs evil is present in this trailer. The lead characters in the film are introduce these are evidently the 'anti hero's' as although they are the protagonists, they are dramatically flawed due to the fact we are presented with shots of them fighting and killing people. Despite this their opposition immediately takes the role of the enemy as we are shown the south American gang kidnapping and killing and the anti heroes are seen saving the day. The use of binary opposites creates excitement and there wouldn't be an action film without them.

                                        

•  Star Marketing: Audience identification/expectations (Cruise/Pitt/Willis/Thurman/Jolie/Stallone/Craig/Schwarzenegger Di Caprio…). Generic Typecasting and Secondary Persona apply- From the expository scene we can identify that the main characters are all huge Hollywood stars, this immediately gives us high expectations due to the high quality of the movie. Generic typecasting is definitely apparent, for instance Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in some of the most famous action films known to man such as 'The terminator'. At the end of the trailer all of their names are featured in large text, this confirms any speculation and makes sure that fans are alerted. 

• Romantic sub-plot, Humorous dialogue- We can see a romantic subplot will feature in the film, this adds more depth to the narrative but also plays with our heart strings slightly as it is clear that the love is going be put into danger. this is more appealing for female audience this is vital because action movies audience is hugely male dominated.