War Of The Worlds-Trailer Analysis

War of the worlds is a 2005 science fiction directed by Steven Spielberg.

The trailer opens with a close up shot, showing the main character Tom Cruise interacting with the audience. Through his dialogue we understand he is talking to Dakota Fanning and reassuring her of the surroundings, "you're not going to", implying what we are about to see is a scary/unnatural atmosphere. Through a close up the young character follows his orders showing the male dominance in shot. From the very beginning we understand he is looking after her. The soundtrack sounds quite mysterious and eerie conforming to the sci-fi genre and idea of robots/alien.  Sixteen seconds into the trailer, the cinema release date flashes on screen selling the film to viewers. This already makes the audience think about the date and question whether they would go see the film.

We then see a montage of shots showing different areas of New York. The city is shown to be very busy including cars travelling fast and pedestrians walking about. The diegetic sound of a train horn illustrates that its a very hectic environment conforming to the idea of New York. As the montage becomes quicker and more effective, there is a slow motion over the shoulder shot of the main character turning around showing the audience his emotions. He looks extremely worried and scared suggesting something serious is about to occur. The soundtrack suddenly drops to a close up of Dakota Fanning crying presenting the horror and scare to the audience. Through the protagonist's dialogue "RACHEL!" and drop in soundtrack it creates a jumpy atmosphere to the viewers and makes you feel more engrossed in the film. Sound effects created are screams of people who are being attacked by the robots/aliens. This makes the film appear more scary and unique.

When we are first introduced to the robots/aliens we are shown through a low angle shot making them look powerful and superior. The soundtrack is fast pace helping show their authority. In the shot the diegetic sound is of people's screams demonstrating the objects are evil and destroying planet earth.

There is then a montage of shots showing buildings getting destroyed, people getting injured and over all the world being demolished. There is a long shot of an enormous explosion grabbing your attention due to the strong and striking colours. We see a close up of both characters looking emotional and afraid. A close up of an axe implies violent and aggressive behaviour. The low angle shot of the character with the robot/alien behind her creates suspense and fear from viewers and actors. This is an effective end to the trailer as the audience are left unsure of what will happen and how it will end. I feel the trailer for War Of The Worlds is effective as it doesn't give away too many spoilers and excites the audience due to the different shot's and sounds it uses.