Codal Analysis

The Dark Knight

Visual Codes• The visual style of the trailer is very dark in order to match the tone of the film.

They often cut to a black screen in order to build tension within the trailer. The colour pallet of the film is a cool blue shade, this enhances shadows and creates a more serious/mysterious feeling to the trailer. There are plenty of explosions and moments of action that fall into the crime/action genre. We are presented with a typical story of good vs. evil, the villain is portrayed as a total parallel to the hero. The props include guns, rocket launchers, fast cars and knives. All of these are common with the genre. The costumes do differ in some places as this is a superhero film. The good characters can be seen wearing police uniforms and the hero can be seen wearing armor, like a typical hero would. The villain wears darkly coloured clothing, complete with scars and war paint on his face to give him a terrifying look. The villain has a slouched posture while the hero stands tall upon buildings. This good vs evil is common throughout the genre however, we often witness it from the perspective of the criminal where in this film, we follow the good characters in pursuit of evil.

Audio Code

• The score of the film is played throughout the trailer with heavy drum beats and instrumentals that lend itself to creating the dark tone seen in the film. This music also allows for the pace of the trailer to be set in terms of action, as they time hits with the bass notes of the score. This allows for audiences to be immediately engrossed into whatever is going on within the trailer. This driving soundtrack allows dialogue to become more engaging and action to be more astounding.

Narrative Code

• The trailer opens with our first glimpse of the Joke’s voice as he begins his narration. We see that since the first film, Batman has been changing the state of local crime while sacrificing himself as a person. We get a glimpse at some of the destruction the joker causes. The police provide some information about the villain by stating that they have no idea about who he is or his motivations. This lends itself to the idea that the joker is insane and only wants to cause chaos. We then follow the trail of destruction that the joker causes throughout the film as Batman desperately tries to find him. Themes are explored of how Batman will have to become something that he is not in order to stop the joker.

Technical Code

• The theme of the shots within the trailer are very kinetic in order to match the pace of the trailer. This is shown a lot through tracking shots with pans or tilts. The shots often go from long or extreme long shots to close up shots, in order to create a jarring effect between the beats of the music. The start of the trailer is slow and uses fades in order to transition between different shots, but as the pace steps up the clips remain short and cut between each other.

Enigma Code

• The main point of mystery throughout the film centers around the joker. This trailer leaves audiences wondering who is he? What is his grand plan? How will the good characters stop him? Will Batman be forced to murder him? There are also some amazing set pieces which make the audience wonder how they will make their way into the film.

Codal AnalysisGoodfellas

Visual Code• The visual style is very in keeping with the time in which the

time that each scene is set. Vehicles, fashion and props. As one of the major features of the film is to show three decades of life in the mafia we can see the characters start to change through features such as greying hair. The trailer blends ordinary imagery with moments of extreme action or violence, in order to reflect the spontaneous nature of the film and the way it blends different tones together. There are plenty of guns, explosions, vast amounts of illegal money and scenes of violence. These are all common aspects within the crime genre.

Audio Code

• The soundtrack featured throughout the trailer shows all music from the time in which the film was set. This allows for the trailer to transition between the decades seamlessly by playing the relevant music. This aspect immediately becomes a story telling device as a result instead of just filler or a means to set the pace. The music does remain smooth and upbeat in order to match the pace of the film. The music is all big band, a genre that is commonly associated with the mafia and crime films.

Narrative Code• We are introduced to the main character as a kid. He makes a clear

impression that he always aspired to be a gangster. We then are introduced to the family mentality that is associated with the gangsters as well as some of the key characters who will have a great influence on the characters ideas about life. We see some of the violence and action that he is exposed to at an early age as well as the development of some friendships until we are introduced to him at an older age. We see some of the things that he was doing during this second part of the story we are told how he would attempt to steal all of the money that was going through the airport. We can see how some of the characters change over this time period. We can see how his lifestyle has improved and we are also introduced to his wife. We are also given an insight into the power that came from being in the mafia. We then start to see some of the darker sides to the story as murder becomes incorporated into the story.

Technical Code• Camera movement is kept constantly in the trailer

in order to show the smooth pace of the film, gradually becoming more choppy as tensions rise within the film and action kicks in. The trailer begins using close up shots of the main character in order to show how personal this story is to him and how we will see the story from his perspective. More close ups are used along with a lot of group shots in order to show a lot of the important characters that will play parts in his life.

Enigma Code

• Those familiar with the story of Henry Hill will be curious to learn more about how he got to where he ended up. It will be interesting to see how the story can develop over three decades of life in the mafia. The main factor to take away from the trailer is how did things go from good to bad, encouraging them to watch the full film to find out.

Codal AnalysisPulp Fiction

Visual Code

• The trailer starts in a very sophisticated way as it presents the praise that the film has had since it’s release. The tone quickly changes as the gritty, face paced nature of the film becomes apparent with gunshots firing through the screen. It’s clear that the film may take place from the 80s-90s judging by the clothes and vehicles being used throughout the trailer. Many tropes of the crime can be seen as there are lots of guns, violence and confrontation.

Audio Code

• There is a vast and complex soundtrack to this trailer. There are some songs which cut suddenly into others midway through. This shows the audience that there is a nonstop pace to this film and gives the idea of the different stories that may seem out of place to begin with but will eventually intertwine perfectly.

Narrative Code

• The trailer plants the seeds of stories, containing common tropes within the crime genre, including hitmen, crime bosses, drug users, and rigged fights. This continues more and more throughout the trailer, showing the vast number of branching storylines within the film that flow together. The different aspects of the film’s story are shown through different title cards such as ‘loyalty’. This allows the audience to slightly follow along without giving anything to drastic away.

Technical Code

• The trailer begins with a very slow and smooth pace in order to give the impression that this is a critically acclaimed art film, instead the trailer breaks with guns shots, starting a much faster pace for the rest of the trailer. The trailer is very kinetic showing the way the film is constantly developing and weaving within storylines. A medium- close up shots are used in order to show each important character that is relevant to the story, not a shot is wasted on support characters.

Enigma Code

• An instant question that is raised in audience’s heads is relating to the developing storylines. The audience will want to make sense of it all and learn how each one is resolved, and how they could possibly all link together within the same film.