Footloose Trailer Analysis

• The first shot we see is a pan shot of the two boys feet intermittently cut with a pan shot of the word footloose
• There is non-diagetic voice over ‘he’s the new kid in town’ – this is cut with a close up shot of the boy’s face (Kevin Bacon). This helps us to assume that he is the ‘new kid’, so he is the assumed main character.
• There are two shots and three shots which are cut very quickly together; this shows how he has involvement within the town and becoming a main part within the story.
• There is a close up shot of him shouting ‘let’s dance’ this is cut with the word footloose, showing that possibly one of the main plot lines is about dance.
• There are shots of the main character (Kevin Bacon) dancing, which are cut with shots of the same girl, this could suggest that she is a major character and that she has the possibility to cause a crisis.
• A mid shot of the girl is shown; in this shot she looks carefree and happy. This shot is cut with the long shot of her on the car which shows that there is a possibility of risk and danger. The quick cuts to the lorry and then the master shot of the car on the verge, shows the binary opposition of the girl with the danger of her situation meaning that the trailer has an early climax about 30 seconds in.
• The next sequence of shots helps to create a fun feel within the trailer. The long shot of the two boys playing has high key lighting making it a very bright shot; this contrasts the mid shot and long shot of the boy dancing which have low key lighting. This gives it a more serious feel which is the opposite of the previous shot, suggesting this could cause possible turmoil within the film.
• There is a sequence of many different shots of characters laughing and smiling, this suggests that the film is meant to be very fun and happy.
• There is a shot reverse shot of two boys sitting on the tractor – they are playing a game of chicken – this suggests a possible climatic point of danger as the music slows. The next shot however is a binary opposite of the previous; the long shot of the two boys shows them dancing and the music has turned faster again, giving it a feeling on fun and light-heartedness. This cancels out the tense feel of the previous shot, making us realise that nothing serious is actually happening.
• The shots after this are all very quick cut; this suggests an increasing climax of the story. There is an establishing shot of a police car and a mid-shot of Kevin Bacon and a police man. This shows that there could be a possible turning point of crisis in the film.
• The long shot cut with the close up shows her screaming, this shows the possible danger within the scene. The sequential shots have less of a dramatic difference in mood as we learn more about the climax of the storyline.
• The long shot of the boy throwing the girl out of the way, adds to the feel of danger, but gives us a feeling of heroism. This makes the audience want to know how they got to that point, makes them interested in the films story.
• The shots that are following are all very quick cuts which give us an understanding of the relationships between characters in the film.
• The long shot of the two boys facing away from the camera helps to establish the relationship and lighten the mood after the dark scenes of the train, it shows that the film has reached it’s pivotal point and is now looking up again.
• Next, we see the word ‘Footloose’ in a reverse zoom, the beat of the music that is played over the top matches in with the pace of the word as it zooms out.
• There is an action match in the next two shots. The main boy performs a dance jump in a warehouse; an action match is then used with a different boy jumping off the tractor. This shows how the two parts of the story may be linked to each other as they both play a major role within the plot.
• There are quick cuts between shots of dancing, dramatic shots and shots that are happy. This shows a variety of moods within the film which links to the drama genre.
• The quick cuts of long and mid shots showing a happy mood suggests the problem has been resolved, and it links back to earlier issues in the trailer eg. the game of chicken.
• Throughout the whole trailer there is no dialogue, they only play the footloose song because they are trying to build a brand for themselves, and if people know the song then they will start to associate the song with the film.
• The last image we see is the third showing of the word ‘Footloose’ and it hits the screen on the final beat of the music, giving the trailer a sturdy ending.