Textual Analysis of a Movie Trailer (Michael)

Title: Saw 3D

Year of release: 2010

Director: Kevin Greutert

Producers: Mark Burg, Oren Koules, Gregg Hoffman

Production/Finance Company: Lionsgate

Actors: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell

Film origin:  Saw 3D is the seventh and last Saw film in the largely popular Saw film franchise.  An eighth Saw film was originally planned for cinema release after Saw 3D but was scrapped due to the declining popularity of the Saw franchise. Saw 3D like many of the other Saw films was dubbed as being ‘Torture porn’ because of the excess splatter and gore in the movie.

Synopsis: A group of people, who survived jigsaw’s games, gather together to seek the help of self-help guru and fellow survivor Bobby Dagen, a man whose own hidden secrets unleash a new wave of terror .

The trailer begins with a voiceover and dialogue which says “You can’t hide”. This use of dialogue is clever because of the fact many saw fans who hears this voice will easily recognise this to be Jigsaws voice, an iconic antagonist heavily associated with the Saw franchise. These three words are straight to the point in terms of what the rest of the trailer or film is about; a battle for life. There is then a quick cut of a device experiencing static which connotes uncertainty and disbelief, words associated with the horror genre.

Following that there is a quick unusual Foley sound which fits with in well with the quick fade. The following caption “Every master craftsman” appears and goes into another fade. It then fades into a scene with a writ off car and man in the background which with the low key lighting used gives the audience no indication of where the location really is.  There is then a quick cut of something unclear to the audience which is something very common in splatter teaser trailers.

Following that there is another quick fade into the following caption “AND ALL TRUE GENIUSES” which with the previous caption connotes that there is a running story alongside the teaser trailer.  Following that there are four clever quick cuts which identify the key actors in the film all looking tormented.

There is then another fade into a bright normal location which acts as a juxtaposition to the previous act which conveys a sense of false assurance. There is then a quick cut of a prop familiar to many saw fans.

There is then some quick cuts and intense sounds to go with it which shows the characters in unclear locations; something associated with the saw franchise

To conclude, I think that usage of nonlinear editing is a success with Saw 3D because not only does not give many of the plot away it also leaves a feeling of ‘what just happened’ in the audiences mind.