The trailer I chose to do for my review is 8 Mile. Although it doesn't have great cinematography, it makes up for it with a powerful story line. 8 Mile is about a wanna rapper who has to go through the obstacles placed in front of him to reach his dream of becoming a successful rapper. He has to go through the harshness of the environment that he lives in, the threat of losing his job, not being able to win a rap battle to gain street credit, etc. These obstacles not only make it difficult for the main character to succeed, but also push him farther from his dream. This trailer shows snippets of what the main characters has to go through on a daily basis in order to get closer to reaching his dream, while also showing the difficulties of life that he has to also endure a lot.
Like many other movies, this one establishes its narrative by showing the audience what the main character's life is like and what they have to go through in their everyday lives. As in relation to 8 Mile, we see B-Rabbit's life as harsh and really gloomy, however, must live in this environment until he flourishes out of it. In the trailer, it establishes how harsh life is for the main character, along with showing his environment and how it plays a role in deterring him from reaching his goal. Also, it shows the basic plot line; we see him struggling to reach his goal, and how it really affects him along with his mom and daughter. Throughout the trailer, we see tiny glimpses that hint us towards what we think of, such as what life experiences are like and what significant events alter the way he is.
The cinematography, throughout the trailer, was mostly all the same, yet it was still able to display what the story was about. Many of the shots had a dark tint to it, symbolizing that his environment is harsh and dull. These shots are able to communicate to the audience that the main character lives in a difficult environment and has to endure it in order to reach his dream. Also, many of the shots seem simplistic as it only depicts what the actors are talking about, but the background and their surroundings also add onto the constant harsh tone that is constantly shown. Also, there are many shots in the trailer that show what the main character is experiences; we see him either as scared, confident, nervous, anxious, etc.
The editing throughout the trailer is pretty unique. There is a lot of face pace cuts that show the intensity of the story line, along with words that summarize what each shot is about. The face pace shots really catch the attention of the audience, while also making the movie seem like a "must see". The words that pop up state what the main character is going through in his situation, and is really interesting in how it really has a nice touch to the film.
The sound was crucial in bringing out the film as a success. Throughout the film, the main character is rapping, either in a rap battle, with his friends, etc. There are also instances where there is a altercation between two forces, such as the main character and his opposing enemies. The sounds of gunshots, people fighting, the grunts, all add into the film's main intent.
