THE NOTEBOOK FILM TRAILER

ANALYSIS

By Shania Steele

WHAT IS THE FILM ABOUT?

The Notebook is a film about a poor country boy who falls in love with a rich girl. They get together but are separated because of class differences.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3G3fILPQAU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC6biTjEyZw

DETAILS

The film is a Romantic Drama and it was made in

the USA.

Its budget was estimated at $29,000,00.

The trailer runs for 2 minutes and 16 seconds.

CAMERA SHOTS

There are a wide variety of shots used in the film such as:

Establishing shots- Sets the scene of the film.

Two shots- See more than one character and the relationships between them.

Over the shoulder- Like we are following and right behind the character.

Long Shot- Gives a distant view of the character allowing to see the character as a whole.

Close up- See the emotional side of the character.

Medium shot- More close up view of the character but does not show emotion as clear. Upper body expressions may be seen.

Shot reverse shot- Seem like we are watching a conversation and being neutral in the conversation.

The camera comes out at the point where the poor country boy reveals how much he earns showing how he is different from the rest of the group.

EDITING

There are approximately 100 edits in the trailer.

There are:

Fades in and out. Gives a slow, calm feeling to the

trailer.

Cuts- A more sharp feeling to the trailer.

Jump Cuts from the story teller to the story being

acted out- Can give a sense of urgency.

Frequent dissolves- Gives a slow feel to the trailer.

MISE EN SCÈNE

Reflection in the water- Clear and innocent.

Memories.

Children on bikes- Sense of time.

Trees- Country

Rich woman, posh clothes, man working class

clothes- Shows the opposites of social life.

Swans- love and peace.

Pink Sunset- love and peace

Rain with the poor man bright for rich- Portrays the

social class and who has the upper hand.

SOUND

Calm non-diegetic music at the beginning. Piano, strings and harp. Sets the mood of the trailer and the film as a whole.

Bicycle sound- Playing or work.

Voiceover- Deep male American voice, a typical convention of film trailers.

Actor finishes voiceover’s sentence- a direct quote from the film.

Hear woman scream and the sound of a ride being stopped- An act of scare.

Dialogue- Starting to interact with the characters.

Door slam- A twist in the film. An act of anger and a change of mood.

Car Sound- Run away feeling

Gun Fire- Possibly alarming.

Music Speeds up- More fast paced. Action happening, main plot of the film.

ACTORS/ACTRESSES NAMES

It is interesting to note that the names of the actors

and actresses are spoken via the voiceover and not

in the form of text. As there name is spoken, a shot

of their face is shown. This is a good technique as

they are vocally named and many people pay

attention to the sound rather than the text. This

could be part of the USP of the film.

Shown at the start of most trailers

TEXTAlliance is the production/distribution company involved with the film. This

is the first thing we see in the trailer.

Where the film has been created from. Gives publicity and credit

to the author and will get fans of the author to come and watch

the film. The background is rather dark with bursts of fire across

the shot. This is an interesting shot as there is snow on the

ground which is cold with fire across various parts of the shot

which is hot. This creates a contrasting effect of hot Vs Cold. This

is a USP of the film.

Production company involved. This text is shown as well as at the start. This is

a common shot used in the trailer. This could show how someone is on a

journey alone and looks positive because of the sunset. However, as the

character is in darkness, it could suggest how he is alone.

This is the title of the film. This is shown toward the end of the trailer so people

remember what the film is called. The way the title is shown like hand-writing

with a notebook style background relates to the title of the film and would help

the audience to remember the name of the film.

All the production details. Mainly shown at the end of trailers. This gives the

audience the details to who the main people involved with making the film are

such as the director. This also shows the company’s involved with the film. The

background of these details is significant as it creates a peaceful and loving

atmosphere with the sunset but also creates a bad atmosphere because of the

darkness on the right hand side of the shot could suggest that something could

go wrong during the film. A twist could occur.

Advertising that the film is coming so the audience have to watch out for it.

White text with a black background ensures that the text stands out and is

easily read. With ‘coming soon’ being the biggest text on the screen, it

suggests that that is the most important part of the shot. As the text gets

smaller, the text gets less significant.

INTERESTING TO NOTE

In the two trailers I found of this film, the opening

frame is different. Apart from this frame, the two

trailers are the same.