Inception Trailer analysis

From first viewing of the Inception movie trailer above it is clear what genre it fits into. There is a mixture of slow and fast paced scenes to emphasize the thriller as the genre of the film, whereas the pictures themselves makes it clear it is also a sci-fi. The voice over at the beginning of the film with the mysterious music helps explain the very basic plot of the film. However only they very basics of the film are explained, this adds to the idea that the film is mysterious and confusing.

An indefinite soundtrack is used throughout the trailer to link the film with this music. I realised that when watching this teaser trailer that the soundtrack of Inception is somewhat similar in parts to that of the Dark Knights. This may be to subconsciously allow the audience to link the two movies together as they have the same director (Christopher Nolan). The voiceover in the trailer is actually taken from the film itself and is the voice of the main star, Leonardo DiCaprio. The director has not used an actual voice over because they do not want the film to be fully explained, the idea of inception itself is confusing and the trailer being confusing links to this idea.

The trailer begins with logos of Warner Brothers, Legendary Picture and Syncopy, with Warner Brothers logo taking dominance. As the picture does an aerial zoom of all three logos it becomes apparent that they are all made up of buildings from a city. This makes the three logos unique to this film but also still recognisable as their own brand and also emphasises the idea of a city-like maze. The trailer is then followed by an establishing shot of the lead character (DiCaprio) on a beach, this shot is establishing because it is inside a dream where the majority of the film takes place. The word "Security" is linked with a picture of a gun; this further distinguishes the idea of a thriller based movie with this trailer, whereas the following sentence "Subconscious Security" links the film also with the sci-fi genre.

 

The two images above show how the director is advertised in the teaser trailer. These two images are shown at the beginning of the trailer to grab the attention of those people who are a fan of Nolan's work or of the film The Dark Knight. Both images are introduced with a cut scene and paired with sharp loud music to add to the intensity of the film and the trailer and both zoom in to the letters.

Physics itself even seems to be defied in the film in a number of ways through the use of gravity:

The two pictures above show how even the idea of gravity is questioned in the film. This adds the confusion on a sci-fi action film. The picture on the right is in particular significant as the city is being lifted up as though the buildings are a wave, this links to another important scene in the film when DiCaprio is lying in the sea with waves going past, a clip of this scene can be seen at the beginning on this trailer, whereas the picture on the right gives an idea of unstable properties and world.

Architecture is further expressed through the words "YOUR MIND" and "IS THE SCENE OF THE CRIME" which are both presented on a black background in a cut shot towards the end of the teaser trailer.  As the shot zooms out the wording follows going past half-visible buildings.

The action in the trailer becomes more intense as it continues. There are quicker paced cuts used, with more action and a contrast of water and fire.  However the pace of the trailer begins to slow again and shows the real danger of Inception and the human mind as Nolan tried to express how the human mind can be the most dangerous weapon of all. 

The title "Inception" again is of an architectural nature. The first font of the trailer, as I have mentioned above, is that of Warner Brothers, Legendary Pictures and Syncopy logos which were made up of buildings. The fact that the first and last font in the trailer was linked to building construction shows the importance of architecture in the film.

The ending scene of the trailer shows mild comedy which adds an almost sinister twist to a movie which is presented as a serious sci-fi action thriller. This adds further confusion to the audience who is watching the trailer and this confusion links the Inception's story line.