The Shallows - Film Trailer Analysis

The film trailer I have chosen to analyse is 'The Shallows' which is due to release in the US on the 29th June, and in the UK on the 12th August, 2016.
The film is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, the film stars Blake Lively (who is a bankable A-List star, who could be said to be the unique selling point of the film), Brett Cullen and Oscar Jaenada.
The film is a combination of genres, such as, Drama, Thriller and Horror, these genres are reinforced throughout the media product.

The establishing shot is an extreme long shot of an island framed from a high angle. The trailer introduces the audience to an island which could be described as 'paradise'. The camera pans over the island with the use of a crane, during this there is a build up of non-diegetic music which formulates into a crescendo, after which, the camera then flash cuts into a black screen. Around this point there are three flash cuts over a 9 second period this builds up tension as things begin to be developing rapidly. The sound of the music within the background enhances this tension because it sounds mysterious.
The three flash cuts show the show the surroundings, this allows the audience to be familiar with the setting and get an idea of the location. The location is a very beautiful one and gives the impression that it is a place where only good things can happen, but the non-diegetic music creates an undertone of something negative happen, it creates a sense of foreboding.

The master shot of the trailer is the protagonist (Blake Lively) preparing herself to enter the sea. We are aware that she is the protagonist because they are usually the people who are shown first within the sequence, this is for advertisement reasons, in order to attract potential audiences.
She has
During this sequence there is a non-diegetic, synchronous dialogue which says 'learning to be self reliant takes time and hard work'. This foreshadows the rest of the trailer..

As mentioned in my introduction, the different genres are reinforced, for example, the genre 'Horror' is reinforced through the practically desolate island.

The thriller genre is reinforced by the constant long shots of the ocean, (there are three shots of the ocean before the protagonist is shown entering the ocean). This highlights to the audience that the protagonist is entering the unknown, as the ocean is shown as a vast area compared to her, she is tiny, this then further reinforces this idea of a thriller, it makes the audience feel tense and anxious because they are unaware of what is going to happen to her.

The camera then cuts to a wide, long shot of the protagonist, she looks very athletic in the shot and and also appealing, this reinforces 'Laura Mulvey's, The Male Gaze' whereby women are portrayed as something nice to look at for males. At this point, for about 26 seconds, the different shots are shown in slow motion. In this shot, the protagonist is framed in a wide close up. The close up allows us to see how the character is feeling. She appears to be happy and looks optimistic as she believes that she is about to have an good surfing trip. The slow motion allows us to see this.

Upon 'Blake Lively' entering the ocean, the pace of the music builds up, which is typical of a thriller/horror film as it reflects that something negative is going to happen. After this a series of shots show the protagonist in the ocean, surfing. She appears to be at peace. However, the thriller genre is further highlighted and reinforced due to the pace of the trailer, it begins to slow down as the protagonist enters the ocean. The protagonist looks at a wave, observing it before finally deciding to ride it, this creates a sense of foreshadowing. This is because, in the next shot we are shown the protagonist riding the wave which makes the
nce the dark shiloutted figure of what is clearly a shark appears admits the large wave which the protagonist is surfing across, enigma is immediately created and the genre horror and thriller are both bought about. At this point there are roughly 7 flash cuts that change into differen images

 as we are shown the protagonist stranded, in the middle of the ocean by herself with only herself to rely on in order to survive.












At the end of the trailer, the music becomes more intense and amplified, however the editing is a lot slower as the transitions between the title and release date are slower. The Title 'The Shallows' Fades into the release date of the film (June 29th)