the beginning of the trailer commences with a blurred shallow focus shot of a barley field, depicting with natural sunlit lighting a serene natural environment not appearing to adhere to conventions of sci fi. the short milli seconds that contribute to the duration of this establishing shot display a setting for the trailer of somewhere peaceful, setting an equilibrium audiences perceive/presume will be distrupted. relational editing with the strands/stalks of the barley is edited with a fade to relationally link to strands of falling hair, also blurred with a shallow focus shot. this enables there to be a link with whoever is having their hair cut, and the barley fields, suggesting a character at one with nature, serene and natural and a possible protagonist for the film. The following close up of the females hairdo with a sharp focus taking account of minor detail creates an enigma as audiences are intrigued as to who this female actually is. the repeated shots of this female including a reflective shot metaphorically connoting self reflection reinforce this female is our protagonist, and shots follow in a linear chronological order her progress through events in the trailer. Her face is absent of makeup and her surroundings in the deep focus shots reinforce her simplicity, atypical and unconventional of sci fi films which often feature sci fi costume, makeup and surroundings. juxtaposing this however is the following scene, introduced with a fade effect that features an establishing shot of a cityscape of sky scrapers and towering buildings, a conventional sci fi setting.
the fantastical usage of CGI and computerised imagery when the female is in a cuboid filled with water suggests themes of dream, the supernatural and defeating science which are typical traits of sci fi movies. The sound usage here of tension rising snares and synthetic sounds reinforce the drama that is taking place.
the ambiguous title of the movie itself- divergent, is exemplified when a woman tells our protagonist her fraction wasn't deciphered, she does not belong to a society/group of people in her dystopian futuristic society and she is hence divergent. finding this enigma out so early on in the trailer allows audiences to want to discover more about the plot, after already being let in on a secret of the plot.
the shot of the girl falling from a high up skyscraper ledge is one of the most effective shot usages in the trailers entirety as alongside the techno heart racing rendition playing as an audio, it creates a feared scene that would scare audiences, especially those afraid of heights- one of the worlds most popular fears/phobias. the usage of a skyscraper edge/ledge almost metaphorically puts audiences on this same edge of tension.
The short shot of a male in conversation with our protagonist saying 'welcome to dentals' hints at a potential sub plot, or plot B with a love interest included in the trailer. This makes the film seem especially intriguing as a hybrid genre plot is suggested which would draw in wider audiences not just males typically for sci fi or females for romance.
The close up shot of a gun barrel loading and the male character preparing weaponry introduces a dark side to the movie, contrasting with the barley field setting the film began with. this allows there to be a disequilibrium created.
one of the main trailer dialogue quotes 'if you want to survive, follow me' creates a tensious atmosphere for audiences who would be intrigued to find out the dangers the characters face and if they eventually do survive, the lack of any ambience or other sounds when this is diegetically said reinforces it even more, and the personal pronoun usage actually makes audiences almost feel just as targeted as the female.
the final montage that cumulates the ending of the trailer uses juxtaposing shots of scenes of intimacy atop a skyscraper with the characters kissing, as well as scenes of fast paced action and high emotion packed scenes. the montage helps to give snippets about the plot away without revealing its entirety and leaving audiences with enigmas to decipher.
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