Trailer Deconstruction: Oz

The trailer I am going to deconstruct is Oz: The Great and Powerful. This movie is a fantasy adventure movie directed by Sam Raimi and starring James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams. All these actors have starred in well known films, James Franco was Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man Trilogy, Mila Kunis played the lead role in Black Swan and voices Meg in Family Guy, Rachel Weisz was in The Mummy and The Mummy Returns and Michelle Williams played a Role in Shutter Island.

In the opening sequence of the trailer it’s in black and white and has an aspect ratio of 4:3 this is used as a story telling device and to link it to the original 1939 film ‘The Wizard of Oz’ because in both films when the main character arrives in Oz the film becomes colour.  The film may also use black and white to pay homage to the original film and use it for older audiences to be nostalgic about the original film.

The different sequences used in the trailer introduce the main characters to the audience and give the audience an idea of the storylines and some of the important events to grab the viewer’s attention. 

The music used in this trailer creates tension and mystery which links in with the Land of Oz being a mysterious land full of mysterious creatures. The trailer also suggests that this film will be in 3D. 3D is a new technology and this may attract audiences who enjoy 3D films.

This trailer is aimed and film is aimed at people who watched and enjoyed the Wizard of Oz, the film has a darker feel to it though so it may be aimed at older children and teenagers but could still be enjoyed by younger children as well. There are also famous actors that act as a unique selling point and may persuade people to go see this movie like James Franco, who was in the Spider-Man Trilogy and 127 hours and it may also bring in fans of the TV show scrubs because the actor Zach Braff plays a role in this movie.

Certain scenes and sequences have been selected to show the audience what type of film it is, in this case the film is of the fantasy genre and so this will make people quickly decide if they are interested in the film and want to look further into it because if a person does not enjoy fantasy films then this movie will not appeal to them.

To back up that this film is a fantasy one it shows strange animals (like flying, talking monkeys) and is set in a bright and colourful land where witches live with munchkins. The trailer also gives the audience a general outline of the story so they will know the basics when going to see the film. Also in the different scenes it shows dramatic and action filled parts to grab the viewer’s attention.  Other scenes shown in the film are a clip where James Franco is going through the Emerald city which is a well known place in the world of Oz and so people who have seen The Wizard of Oz or Wicked and so people will know some settings from the film.

Also in the film you see Kansas this is where the character Dorothy lives in the original film and when the tornado sends James Franco to Oz you can see that they put a house in the tornado as an ‘Easter egg’ Easter eggs in media are usually hidden messages cameos or inside jokes that are used so people who have seen other films or know about them will understand the reference.

This trailer and film is aimed at two different psychographic groups and these groups are aspirers and reformers, the reason for this is that in the film the character James Franco plays says the line “I don’t want to die, I haven’t accomplished anything yet!” this shows that he aspires to accomplish something in his life and going to Oz will give him a second chance to make a difference and accomplish something significant, this could also be an  enigma because the audience don’t know what he wants to accomplish in his life or what he will accomplish as the film progress’s.   It could also appeal to reformers because James Franco’s character has to care for the Land of Oz and its people. This is shown in one scene because it shows James Franco repairing the teapot girl.

This film has also had a panel at comic con which is an event that is designed for fans of TV shows, films and comic books to meet in one place, the event is also used to premiere trailers and promote new series of certain TV shows and sell merchandise. At the convention people who are interested in the movie can ask the director and actors questions about the film to get more information; this can also get a bigger audience because comic con is a big event in media and is a good way to promote films.  Film reviewers from websites and magazines also attend to watch early previews of films to give their opinion on what the film could be like.

This film can appeal to both mass and niche audiences, the reason for this is that the niche audiences could be people who follow certain actors and will watch anything they are in, and the mass audience is people who enjoy fantasy films and/or have watched the Wizard of Oz or have seen the musical Wicked and are interested in the world of Oz.

The sound in this trailer is both a mixture of diegetic and non diegetic. Music is very important in film trailers because it sets the mood for the film and different music will tell the audience how they should feel about a certain part e.g. if the music is sad the scene usually shown is sad and maybe a tragedy has happened. The diegetic sounds will in the trailer are normally short clips of speech that will draw the audience in. In this trailer James Franco is doing a voice over the first part of the trailer, and then the trailer meets up with his speech so the clip is showing him saying it.