1984 Trailer Deconstruction

'1984' is a dystopian film depicting a society in a governments physical and psychological control. The protagonist is Winston Smith, who attempts to rebel against the totalitarian government antagonists by falling in love. 

Mise En Scene and Camera Angles 

• The opening shot of the trailer is a pan across a group of people wearing identical blue uniforms. This unity of blue depersonalises the group, who are presented as a united army and are shown to be military-like. 

• The bars in this shot suggest the idea of being trapped and enclosed, and idea which is backed up in the anchorage later in the trailer which states that society is the 'property' of the government. The medium shot shown shortly after this shot of the bars of the protagonist looking out foreshadows his rebellion. 

• A long, tracking shot enables the viewer to then see the protagonist walking down a desolate street. This shot also allows for the imposing image of Big Brother to be clearly visible on one of the walls, one of the many times this image is visible within the trailer. The desolate street is showing the destruction caused, and the image of Big Brother on the wall indicates that the government is responsible. 

• A low angle shot is used to show a military group making a gesture to symbolise the government. This shot ensures that the group dominate the shot, they are made to look powerful and threatening. The idea of the gesture, also relates to a Nazi salute, and the idea of the rallies depicted in other shots within the trailer support this interpretation. 

• The protagonist's love interest is introduced through a shot which has been set up to depict her as different. She is in the centre of the frame, and therefore the center of the viewer's focus. She is also leaning forward slightly, away from the rest of the group she is with and tilting her head in a different direction. This idea of rebellion and individuality facing the government is typical of a dystopian film.

• The corruption of the government is shown in a pan of what seems to be a rally, which allows the scope of people present to be enhanced. The people are placed beneath the screens, suggesting their insignificance, and the government's power. Their cheering is an example of society's corruption within the film, once the violence on the screens is shown to the viewer. 

• The protagonist is shown writing, while half the shot is filled with an eye. This gives an idea that the protagonist is hiding from the government, which is typical of a dystopia. 

• The 'INGSOC' logo is a repeated motif throughout the trailer and is seen in almost every shot. This close up, however, gives the logo on the flag a threatening nature, and it is presented as intimidating and powerful. 

• The symmetry of the shot of a speech being given, creates a sense of power and domination of everything. It also suggests that the government's running of society is structured and ordered. 

• The protagonist is talking to an individual who has power over him. This is shown in a number of ways in this shot. This individual is placed in the centre of the shot, in front of the 'INGSOC' logo and is wearing darker clothes than the protagonist. 

• A close up of the year '1984' being written relates to the idea of a dystopian. This is because, even though the film adaptation is set in the same year it was produced, the original novel was written in 1949. Therefore, the film does not follow the features of a dystopia in that it is set in the year it was produced, however it is an adaptation of a novel that was written 40 years prior to the year 1984. 

• The lighting throughout the trailer is low key, enhancing the darkness of the film, and creating a depressive mood, typical of a dystopia. 
• The repeated motifs of the face of Big Brother and the 'INGSOC' logo are present in 20 shots throughout the trailer. This is indicative of the idea that the government is always there in their society, creating a suggestion of power and intimidation. 

Editing 

• Transitions used between shots are mostly either a fade to black, or a dissolve. These transitions allow for a fluid appearance of the trailer, and allow scenes to be shown in quick succession when necessary. Fading between shots also heightens the sense of drama within the trailer. 
• At 1:00 into the trailer, there is a shot of the protagonist writing. This shot is edited to appear after a shot of a rally in which many people are visible and insignificant. This makes the protagonist look more significant, increasing the idea of revolution. 
• Post Production has enabled a shot of a face to be played over shots of destruction and violence. This helps add to the idea that the government has caused the destruction of society, a theme seen in many dystopias. 
• The anchorage on the trailer introduced the basis of the film in blocky, bold, white lettering which is capitalised. This gives the trailer a military feel, and adds to the ideas of power. 
• The name of the film '1984' is shown in the same bold text, however in red. This is suggestive of the danger in the film. 

Sound 

• Non-diegetic music is played over the entire trailer. This music builds up in layers, creating suspense and tension in the first few seconds of the trailer. Then, halfway through the trailer, the music loses texture and slows down before rapidly regaining speed. Towards the end of the trailer, the music is louder in volume, has many textures and features a prominent, driving rhythm on drums. Overall, this creates a dramatic, threatening effect.
• The dialogue within the trailer is mostly either the antagonist (government) views, or a voiceover from the protagonist, the content of which contrasts the views of the government. This adds to the idea of rebellion within the trailer. 
• The sounds of gunfire are clearly audible in a section  towards the second half of the trailer. This is dramatic as the non-diegetic music has been building tension, and the gunfire represent the violence and power within the film. 

Initial Plot Idea

Our plot-line revolves around a website that has been set up by an extremist party which seeks to overthrow the UK government. The website seeks to control and gain power over UK citizens in order to create a civilian force against the government. 

Our plot aims to explore the powers of the internet over society and question the possibilities of manipulation of the consumer online. We would like to include aspects of social networking, for example Twitter and YouTube, as well as looking in depth at the idea of free speech on the internet. 

We have looked at films such as Blade Runner and iRobot to gain a fuller understanding of the portrayal of technology in thrillers, as well as Nineteen-Eighty Four to develop our ideas surrounding psychological control. 

We aim to explore the dystopian genre, as well as that of the thriller and have decided to produce a trailer for a film that follows the conventions of these genres. 

We took particular inspiration from this image from our mood
board because we felt it appropriately portrayed the specific
power of social networking over an individual

We have decided to use one of a group of friends as a protagonist, and a leader of an extremist party to fulfil the role of antagonist. The protagonist, a teenage girl, does not succumb to the control of the party, and throughout the film she would attempt to save her friends and society from the party. 

We took particular inspiration from this image from our mood-board as we felt it displayed the possible power of technology




This is our 'initial ideas' mind-map:

Narrative Theory

• In a narrative there must be a beginning, middle and end so that the information given makes sense 
• The story is the content of the film and the narrative is how it's arranged
• Narrative does not have to be chronological, for example trailers show narrative but not in a chronological order
• Narrative is important for controlling how the audience feels for example a film can show information from the end of the story at the beginning of the narrative which can alter audience feelings toward different aspects of the film
• Narrative is important for controlling how the audience feels – e.g. showing information (e.g. the end) before can alter audience feelings towards certain aspects of the film

Syd Field 

• First ten minutes shows everything
• Three separate dramatic sections in narrative – the setup, confrontation and resolution     
• To move the action on from one act to another there are important pieces of plot that change the lives of the characters 

Aristotle

•       Unity’ of time, place and action moving towards a logical, moral conclusion

  

Freytag

•     Every story is divided into five parts – exposition, rising action, climax, falling action & denouement / catastrophe / resolution.

Levi-Strauss 

•      Binary opposition – narrative tension is based on opposition or conflict
•      Sometimes functions at an ideological level. 
•      Narrative is based around opposites

Barthes 

•      Enigma Code – narrative functions to set up and then solve puzzles – enigmas set up throughout the film
•      Films are open to different interpretations – looking at an event from different points of view to be considered – many different characters with own perspectives. Different points of view are called narrative codes – categorised

Todorov

•     Basic structure for all narratives – equilibrium (everything is normal and ok), disruption (something happens to disrupt the calm), recognition (recognising that something needs to be done), repair (attempting to put things right) and re-instatement of equilibrium (everything ok again).

Vladimir Propp

•      Characters take on the role of narrative functions – hero, heroine, villain, mentor and sidekick
•      Theories such as Aristotle and Propp can be seen to be outdated sometimes

Narrative Conventions

·      Look at conventions of genre, character, form and time

·      Time = important – narratives do not take place in real time

-       Many conventions used to denote time passing

-       Devices that manipulate time; flashbacks, dream sequences, repetition, different characters POV, flash forwards, real time interludes, pre-figuring events

·      Location – sets of conventions associated with genre or form 

WATCH:
 NARRATIVE THEORY ANIMATION

Mood Board

Our mood board was created to display the tone of our film, which is technological dystopian thrillers. We looked at certain films (iRobot and 1984) and took some images that seemed to appear in many of these. We decided to look particularly for images that represented the control of technology over the human mind, as well as conventional mind control. We also looked at portable technology, such as iPods, smart phones and tablets, choosing images that fully showed their control over society. A lot of the technological images that we found had similar characteristics, for example, many of them were enhanced using a blue wash. We later found that this technique was replicated in many technological thrillers, as well as dystopias. We also looked at ideas of anarchy, as well as riots. Our film is likely to feature these kinds of terrorist attacks, so we felt it necessary to include images representing this in our mood board.

Dystopian Trailer Examples

THX 1138

A Scanner Darkly

Nineteen Eighty-Four

Thriller Conventions

Typically:

Thrillers include quick cuts and camera angle changes, music that gives tension, usually blue wash, cold colours, use of showers, mirrors and stairs, dark setting, blurred imagery, death, suspense, under lighting of the face to make them look scary, low key lighting.

Generic feature of a thriller is entrapment. Thus claustrophobic spaces are a key generic signifier in thriller.

The narrative centres on a crime eg. theft or a murder. The protagonist is fallible and has an 'Achilles heel' that is exploited by the antagonist.

The title of the thriller may relate to this weakness eg Vertigo and Insomnia.

The protagonist will be seen 'in peril' in one or more scenes before the resolution.

The antagonist ensnares the protagonist in an increasingly complex web, until the protagonist feels isolated and helpless.

The narrative presents ordinary situations in which extraordinary things happen.


Micro elements combine in a build-up of suspense using camerawork, sound, narrative, genre, mise-en-scene, lighting, costumes, actors and facial expressions, etc. Themes of identity are common: mistaken identity, doubling/doppelgangers, amnesia.


Themes of seeing, reflection and mirroring. Manipulation of perspectives, visual McGuffins, and optical illusions are common.


The audience of a thriller is placed in the ambiguous position of voyeur. Voyeurism can also be a theme and the objectification of female characters is common especially in earlier thrillers.


A series of/ one important enigma(s) are/is set up in the opening sequence of the film, is further complicated during the first part of the film and only resolved at the very end.