Catfish Film Trailer Analysis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuE98oeL-e0

In the beginning of the trailer, we see a young male dressed in casual, stereotypical clothing for a young male adult. The beginning of the trailer is very bright, colourful and light-hearted which is reinforced by the angelic-like children singing. Children connote innocence which tells us that the intention of the character is pure. I think this convention will attract and entice an audience as they will be intrigued to find out the twist in the film and what goes wrong. The stereotypical male that is represented will attract a male audience as they will be able to relate.

A steady pace montage of Facebook screen grabs and shot clips begins where we are shown a woman's who we presume is the main characters love interest. Over the top of these visuals, a voice over from the main character tells us of the relationship between him and the woman. Documentary style video clips are shown of him on the phone. Elements of a love story will attract a female audience as women are represented to be emotional and more involved in relationships. However, I think that women will not like the ending as the trailer becomes dark and scary. This may attract men to see the film because men are strong and like scary films.

Montages are often used to represent younger people as they are quick and busy. An audience of young adults will be attracted by this as they see it as relatable.

A handheld cam is used for most of the filming which enhances the realism of the film and makes an audience feel like they're there with the characters. This hooks an audience in as the tension and drama will be passed onto the audience and they'll want to know what happens next. Close-ups are used to show the happiness on the main characters face when he is talking about the female character. The main shots that we see are close-up and medium close-up and his friends are documenting the moments.

Inter-text is used to give the audience more information- 'not based on a true story', 'filmed by his two best friends'. There is no information given about the actors or the directors. This could be because the film is a low budget, independent film; the characters are not played by well-known actors, meaning that including their names would not add star power and increase the revenue of their film. A review from a website is used as inter-text to attract an audience and tell them that the film is worth watching.

The voiceover that is layered over the montage begins to create an emotional attachment between the audience and the character as it feels like he is talking to us and we are his friend. This could create an audience as we would want to know more about his story.

I think that the trailer successfully creates tension and drama which will attract a thrill-seeking audience. However, I think that too much of the film has been shown in the trailer. I think that less of the film could have been shown as that would make more people wonder what’s going to happen as I feel like it already looks like a short film.

Camera Shots.

Close-ups

P.O.V shots

Handheld camera

No steady cam

Mise-en-Scene.

Stereotypical clothing for a young male. Casual non-formal.

The girl in the film is seen not wearing much clothing (stereotypes).

Editing.

Slow pace builds tension

Jump Cuts

Inter-text

fade to black

cross cut editing

Sound.

Non-diegetic music

Voice over

Diegetic sound of the phone