Legend teaser trailer textual analysis

1. Legend teaser trailer textual
analysis

3. The opening shot of the trailer features a
establishing shot of London. This sets up
the setting of the film, with the entire
trailer featuring shots from the city. As
the shot is taken during the night, it
suggest the film has dark themes, which
it does, in gang violence
Non-diegetic easy listening
music plays at the start of
this shot, which fades in
following the opening titles,
suggesting that film has a
calm atmosphere
The London setting would
help attract a British
audience, as London is a city
where crime thrillers aren’t
often portrayed, therefore
attracting an audience of
those wanting to see a
different kind of crime
thriller

4. This shot comes in following a fade to black transition,
and features the first full image of the protagonist, in a
medium range shot. The suit makes him out him to be
wealthy, and was a type of suit worn by gangsters during
the time period. For our teaser trailer, we will be using
similar costume
Despite being a violent film,
this shot, as well as the calm
non-diegetic background
music, doesn't suggest
anything of the sort, This
would be done to show the
normality of how the
characters are when not
involved in crime

5. This shot features the
protagonist looking over
the London skyline in a
lavish room. As he is
looking over London,
this suggests he has
power in the city, which
supports the narrative
The posture of the
character suggests that he
is in control, as he has his
hands in his pockets, which
shows he is relaxed. This
provides an enigma for the
audience, as they would
want to know how he
managed to become in this
position

6. This shot illustrates
the USP of the film,
which is that both of
the main characters
are played by the
same actor, which
isn’t common. Having
them both in the
same shot illustrates
this
This also supports the narrative
of how powerful the main
characters are, as they are both
wearing similar suits, smoking
cigars and are being
chauffeured, which suggests
wealth and power. This also
suggests a crime sub genre, as
the aforementioned are also
connotations of crime films

7. As one of the only
shots to not directly
feature a main
character, this shot is
unique to the teaser
trailer, and gives an
inkling into the crime
thriller genre
An over the shoulder shot,
this image suggests the
difficulty the police
inspector has to find the
main characters, as the
board in the background is
shown to be confusing, with
the camera panning out,
suggesting a bigger picture.
For our trailer, we are
looking to use a similar type
of shot.

8. This shot suggests
that the main
characters are
threatening, as the
character in the
centre is nervously
turning around to
look at them. This
supports the narrative
that the main
characters are
dangerous individuals
Both main characters are
shown to be similar, as they
are dressed in matching
suits, in matching chairs and
sitting in similar postures.
This suggests the similarities
of gang members at the
time, particularly, the main
characters

9. This shot is used to
show another side
of gangster life, as
the protagonist is in
a different type of
suit, gambling and
drinking. We hope
to use a similar type
of shot in our
teaser trailer, in
order to show a
more relaxed side
of the gangsters
From this scene, the editing of
the teaser trailer speeds up,
and goes from fade to black
transitions to jump cuts. This
results in an increase of action
scenes although the non-
diegetic music remains the
same, suggesting that even
violence is normal in the lives
of the main characters. This
makes the background music
contrapuntal

10. This shot concludes a
sequence of action
shots, with the gun at
point blank range of
the other characters
head suggests that
most things involving
the main characters
involves violence and
death. This also
provides an enigma
for the audience, as
they would want to
know how this
situation ended up
occurring
Throughout the trailer,
the main characters are
always pictured in classy
suits. This suggests that
everything that has
appeared in the trailer
is just business for the
protagonists, and
supports the narrative
that the main
characters would do
anything for their jobs

11. This shot shows only
the title of the film,
with the title
“Legend” connoting
that the work of the
main characters will
always be
remembered, an
their antics would
need to be seen to
be believed
The font for the tile is
bold, and takes up most of
the screen, indicating its
importance. The title
however doesn't suggest a
crime thriller, suggesting
that there is more to the
film than just crime. For
our teaser trailer, we’ll be
deploying a similar
technique.