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Sunday, October 16, 2011

iRobot Teaser Trailer Deconstruction

There are two teaser trailers for the iRobot film, one which takes the form of a conventional action movie trailer, and the other subverting the normal idea of a trailer as it is an advert for the robots featured in the movie. 

Teaser One                                                                                        Teaser Two










We decided to deconstruct the first teaser, as the second was created using graphics we would not be able to replicate whereas the shots in the first could easily influence our trailer










The first few shots of the trailer act to highlight a basic background of the narrative, the current relationship between robots and humans. 
The robot's phrase 'Think of me as your friend' is included in the diegetic sound. 
The first shot, of the robot and human holding hands, is quickly followed using fade transitions by two similar shots of the robot and of the protagonist Detective Spooner. These act to contrast the two bodies within the film. 



 The next few shots suggest at the plot as they contain threatening perspectives of the robots. One, an over the shoulder shot, frames a robot in the way of a human getting to the door. The red light suggests danger to an audience who does not fully appreciate it's significance. Over this, one of the main characters Dr Calvin says "A robot cannot harm a human being". The voice over then contradicts, declaring "he knew we were wrong". This parallel and then contrast between audio and visual sets up the idea of a clash between the humans and robots which is the basis of the narrative. Therefore the trailer serves to suggest, but not entirely reveal, this narrative.


 The consecutive shots of the robot, then two different eye images illustrate the identity theme. This relates to the title, 'iRobot' as the film is a lot about our treatment of those we control and whether they are indeed our equals. 
The contrast between the robot eye and the human eye emphasises this idea. 


A upwards tilting shot captures the movement of one of the robots as it lands from a jump. This potrays him as agile and dangerous, and introduces him as a legitimate character. This is juxtaposed with a shot of Spooner behind a gun, suggesting that the two are the protagonist and antagonist.



Setting is also important within the narrative and it's creation within the action/sci fi genre. This tilt shot of the city portrays a future universe with different cars and architecture. An overlay of the sound of a news report is used to set the scene, something we could mirror in our trailer. 









A variety of action shots are used to show the battle that occurs within the film. These are fast paced and interspersed with rapid fade to white transitions. These all show the robots taking over civilisation and all of the robots have the red light lit. This is important because it is used of semiotics, as an audience who have no idea of the plot can still understand the suggestion that these robots are the 'bad guys'.


A shot of another character, Lawrence Robertson, is places in the middle of these action shots. The character says "There is no conspiracy" which is a blatant contradiction to what is happening visually. This is effective because it also sets him up as a suspicious character and supports the plot. 







 The protagonist and highest billed actor, Will Smith, is introduced not through text but through the voice over. He will attract a certain audience due to the kind of films he has already been in. 


The title 'i,Robot' appears in capitals and the typography has connotations of technology. The silver shade of the writing contrasts with the black background. 

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