Research & Planning - Trailer Analysis 2

28 Weeks Later

Is the sequel to the British independent horror film '28 Days Later' (2002), directed by Danny Boyle. The film was released in cinemas on 11th May 2007. The certificate for this film is an 18 due to the amount of gore, violence and some upsetting scenes.

Genre

At the beginning of the trailer it gives away that this film is a horror, judging by the soldiers carrying guns,title cards for example saying 'Quarantine', 'Eradication' and 'Sterilisation', making the audience assume that London has now been re-built by the soldiers, removing zombie corpses and giving locals a home again making them feel safe. London is in a post-apocalyptic state as the zombie virus has stopped spreading. Andrew Sarris' theory can be seen in this trailer, implying that there will be no more zombies infecting the city will draw the audiences attention as they will know that one way or another the infection will spread again and they will want to know how. Levi Strauss & Roland Barthes can also be found, as we can see the humans running away and fighting for their lives from the zombies, this implies that they are the good people in this film despite the fact that they are killing other people (zombies), and the zombies are the villains of this film, because we can see them chasing after the humans uncontrollably.

Representation

 Laura Mulvey's theory has been portrayed in this trailer/film as the protagonists are one child and one teenager. A boy (the youngest) and a girl (The oldest), they are both brother and sister. The young boy is definitely not a stereotypical male as he is only a child, the female teenage protagonist is slightly stereotypical as it is her responsibility to take care of her brother, but later on in the trailer we see her as a leader, controlling their safety along with the soldiers. Even though the soldiers aren't the protagonists they are very stereotypical males, they're strong and independent and will try their best to protect the people who are in danger, but during the trailer audiences will notice some of the male soldiers have been infected by the virus and have lost their life towards the zombies, this shows a weak move towards the male stereotypes as they are portrayed as heroic and brave. A female solider cane be seen halfway through the trailer, she is seen holding a gun while limping with a solider, this is quite stereotypical as women are known for being weak BUT she was also brave and heroic trying to help guide the children to safety.

Narrative 

The trailer starts off in a post apocalyptic state, 6 months after a virus was accidentally spread in London (28 Days Later, 2002).

From the start of the trailer, audiences will not be sure who the protagonist is as various amounts of clips are being viewed with a lot people in the shots, such as solders and evacuees. We find out who the protagonist is when a train pulls up at the train station with two kids in the camera shot, these kids are in many other shots in trailer e.g. settling in at their hotel room, running away from the infected, talking to the soldiers. The are no Anti Hero's in this film as it is a soldiers responsibility to fight and protect for the people who need it. The narrative is previewed with Todorov's theory as the equilibrium starts off at the beginning where the city is safe from the virus and evacuees can go home to find their families, until a woman, who has been infected arrives at the military base, this is where the disruption happens. During the disruption the virus spreads throughout the military base infecting numerous amounts of people and it's up to the children and a few soldiers to find safety.At the end of the trailer the words 'IT'S. NOT. OVER' are presented, this places fears and tension towards the audience, informing them that the zombie virus never stopped spreading.

Audience

This film is rated '18' which means no one below that age should not be watching this film as it contains, violence, blood, gore and upsetting scenes. I would say that the target audience is for 18-25 year olds and I also think both genders would be interested in watching this film. My reason for this is because, the protagonists are both genders too, so they may like the equality used to produce this film and also the soldiers are both equal, the females will be glad to see a female solider fight to save people instead of a stereotypical male. I'd say that this film isn't for the squeamish and sensitive as there are some upsetting scenes used for the story line, I think the audience would be quite passive during the start of the film as there is no chaos or tension, but as the disruption occurs audiences would be active while the zombie outbreak begins again.

Media Language

Cinematography

At the beginning of the trailer a lot of birds eye view shots and pans were used to present the city in it's current state, which is deserted, this shows the audience that there is no one human left in London until they see soldiers in the pan shot flying over via helicopter. When the kids arrive at the train station, a few point of views shots are used to view what the character is seeing which gives a positive effect has the children are being reunited with their father after so many months, giving a peaceful and sentimental effect towards the audience, there is also high key lighting at the beginning of the scene reflecting the children's and other evacuees happiness as they arrive back to their city with no fear of the infected. Close ups are used to present the fear on each of the protagonists faces while they are locked in the military base as the infection spreads throughout the base which raises the tension for the audience as they know there are zombies running around. Low key lighting is seen as the zombie infection spreads again, giving a grim and negative affect towards the audience informing them that there is no more happiness anymore as there are people becoming infected, dying. 

Editing

A number of fades are seen in trailer, lasting for about 3 seconds on each scene, the trailer isn't giving much away about how the apocalypse has started again and who are infected. There are also jump cuts used halfway through the trailer giving away a dramatic effect, mixing up the continuity, trying to confuse the audience. A series of cuts raise the tension as the infection spreads, they are also used when there are zombies running after people.

Mise-En-Scene

A group of men and woman are seen wearing camouflage uniform, this informs us that the military have taken over the city, exterminating the remaining infected. The soldiers in their uniform look tough and brave,especially while they are carrying their weapons to protect themselves. The locations used are various streets in London that are deserted and in ruins, it is ironic to see London look so deserted as it is always crowded with people walking through the streets or driving, before the the outbreak.  An empty hotel building that is owned by the soldiers for the evacuees to stay in giving them a feel of urban life once again. A military base can also be seen underground, this is not a usual everyday place to go to , it gives away a dramatic effect, informing the audience that the evacuees now need proper security and care. The make-up for the infected makes the film more realistic and scary, especially if you can see flesh and blood on the zombie actors as they are running after people, the red contact lenses help make them look like the real deal as it us an abnormal eye colour for normal people.

Sound

Non diegetic sound is playing right at the beginning, the film has it's own score to give the film more drama and tension. Sirens are also added in during a title card, raising the alarm as people are being infected inside the military base. Rock music can also be heard while people are running a way in fear, as the singer screams so do the people causing more drama and fear towards the audience. Gunfire has been added in the trailer, because real guns cannot be used to shoot as they are very dangerous while filming. The diegetic sounds used for the trailer are peoples screams and zombie moans, using people to make those needs gives the film more tension as it is them showing their feelings.