Case study 1: The Hobbit an Unexpected Journey

Title: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Genre: Fantasy

Year: December 2012

Companies: Warner Bros., New Line Cinema (both subsidiaries of Time Warner), Metro Goldwyn Mayor (MGM).

Director: Peter Jackson

Trailer:

As with all trailers, the trailer for the Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey follows a series of basic conventions or patterns that all trailers have a tendency of adhering to most if not all. As a fantasy film the trailer is likely to be more exotic/outdoors in setting and have a sense of mystery and excitement of the weird and wonderful that exists in otherworldly places. Here, I will go over these and explain why each is important:

1) The film makers:

The trailer opens by introducing to us which companies played a role in putting the film together. Aside from giving proper credit to where credit is due, different companies have slightly different styles as to how they go about putting their films together. The companies involved also give a basic idea of what the budget will be for the film - the bigger and more well known the company the bigger budget will likely be put into the film. Whilst this is not always the case bigger budgets typically mean that the film is more likely to be a big hit, thus encouraging people to want to watch the film. 

The trailer also showcases early on the director, Peter Jackson. It is important, especially for well known directors, for this to be showcased as many fans are likely to be familiar with the work of famous directors and for those of whom this is their favourite director they will want to see the film purely for this reason. It is of particular importance in this case, as Peter Jackson was also responsible for directing the previous and very successful Middle Earth Trilogy: the Lord of the Rings, thus meaning that people will feel like this new trilogy is more likely to be successful. The trailer does not fail to highlight this:

2) The Plot

Whilst the trailer cannot give away any key details about the plot, the plot needs to be introduced in order to create excitement and intrigue as to what is going to happen so as to persuade people that they want to go and watch it when it comes out in the cinema. At the beginning of the trailer, the opening lines from an older Bilbo Baggins - "My dear Frodo, you asked me once if I had told you everything there was to know about my adventures... I may not have told you all of it." - introduce the idea that the film will be based around adventures of which Bilbo himself played a part. The nostalgia in Bilbo's voice mixed with the idea that not every secret of his adventures has been shared hints of both excitement and danger - something which a younger Frodo may not yet have been ready to hear. People who have seen the Lord of the Rings or at least read the books will know that Bilbo will go on to write of his adventures in a book that he writes, suggesting that with these lines Bilbo will get the idea that writing said book is something that he could do thus suggesting that this film could be part of an origin story for that too. So, with only a couple of lines, the basic plot is introduced and the trailer moves forward to showcase the main elements of the film.

3) The characters/actors:

Before people see a film, it's the trailers job to give a basic introduction to some of the more main characters that the audience would be following should they choose to go ahead and watch the film in the cinema and/or buy it on DVD. Some trailers may do this by showcasing a couple of main characters one at a time with a series of different shots and short sequences, but in this case the trailer has to show 13 dwarves as well as a younger Bilbo and Gandalf in only a short amount of time.
Luckily for them, as he already played a major role in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gandalf

needs no introduction and thus all that must be done is show the fact that he is going to be in it. For those who don't know, the introducing shot of Gandalf shows him to be an old and wizened wizard who has likely seen many adventures throughout his long life.
The younger Bilbo does get a couple of shots used to introduce his character however, as he will be one of the chief people that the plot of the film is going to follow. Within these shots he is seen to be telling Gandalf that an adventure is not something in which he can take part, creating an interest as to how exactly he will be persuaded. It also shows that he is not your typical action hero making Bilbo more

relatable to the audience and thus people will be more interested to know how he is going to cope when forced to work alongside people who face danger almost every day of their lives. As for the 13 dwarves, we hear Gandalf running off a list of all of their names alongside a shot of each so as to introduce them all quickly. Of all of the dwarves, the camera chooses to settle on their leader: Thorin Oakenshield. By doing so, it highlights his importance and power - the shot of him that is shown places him on the back of a Pony with sunlight shining down upon him, thus connoting a sense of power from the angle produced as well as a possible sense of hope radiating from him.


By introducing the main characters, the trailer also manages to showcase the main actors, something that will spark more interest and excitement for the release of the film. Well known actors in this film include Martin Freeman (Bilbo Baggins), Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf the Grey), and Richard Armitage (Thorin Oakenshield) as some of the main characters. The big names involved reveal once again the obvious big budget that must have gone into the making of this film, and also reveals the high quality of acting that can be expected from such big names. Fans of specific actors will thus be more interested in this film knowing that their "acting heroes and heroines" are going to be appear and this may be a clincher for many people.


4) Locations

Trailers are likely to show a variety of different location shots so as to introduce and showcase the world of the film and sell it to the prospective audience. If the world of the film looks big (like big budget), exciting, exotic, somewhere the people would want to go or somewhere that people can understand/relate to then they are likely to be more intrigued by the trailer and thus want to see the film. Within this particular trailer, the world of Middle Earth is showcased with a variety of different locations such as the familiar Bag End and the Shire - a peaceful place that the people will recognise and remember from the Lord of the Rings trilogy;
the exotic Rivendell - somewhere that could be shown in a different light from how it had been in the Lord of the Rings; as well as several vast planes connoting a sense of journey (fitting in rather appropriately with the title of the film) and places of darkness and danger such as those investigated by Gandalf or the cave in which Bilbo is seen to be trapped thus connoting exploration, danger and even death itself.


5) One liners

So as not to clog up the trailer purely with conversations, and also to make the film seem more dramatic when they have been taken even just slightly out of the context in which they were originally intended within those conversations, any speech within the trailer is likely to be no more than exciting and dramatic one liners or in some cases quick exchanges. Examples of this from different characters include: “I cannot guarantee his safety nor will I be responsible for his fate.” (Thorin Oakenshield); “Can you promise that I will come back?”, “No. But if you do, you shall not be the same.” (Bilbo and Gandalf respectively). All of these quotes have a stark contrast with the opening quote that Bilbo uses to describe his adventures: whilst he spoke with reverence and nostalgia, here we can see clear connotations of danger and a potential for death. This will spark an interest from the audience as it to the excitement and danger that many fans will be attracted when they choose to go and watch the film. Gandalf also hints at a greater journey that Bilbo will walk should he choose to accept the risks involved and join Gandalf and the dwarves, one that will affect him personally on a deeper level than simply the physical. This may also attract audiences to watch the film as they want to follow the story of the main characters on their personal journeys.


6) Soundtrack

A good soundtrack is really important if a trailer wants to successfully draw in its prospective audiences. Whilst on a more basic level the trailer will give indications as to what kind of film the audience is in for: an action film will have an exciting/feel-good soundtrack, a thriller might use something more mysterious, and you can be sure a horror film is likely to use something intense. A soundtrack is also important if the company wants to connect with its audience on a deeper level as sound is received just as much as the visuals and plays a key part is selling the movie.
This soundtrack splits the trailer into four separate parts: the first part comes from The Lord of the Rings soundtrack for the Shire and is used to capture the peaceful feeling there. The soundtrack then picks up as a younger Bilbo Baggins is introduced giving the trailer a more exciting atmosphere. Once the Dwarves begin to be introduced the soundtrack lowers in pitch giving the dwarves a darker atmosphere about them; it also serves as a setup for the short sequence in which Thorin sings his “far over the misty mountains blue” which serves to capture a sense of nostalgia felt by the dwarves. This also builds into the main soundtrack for what is effectively the second half of the trailer in which the majority of film is showcased. This piece of soundtrack is more fast paced and adventurous so builds a sense of excitement in the scenes that are shown. Finally, the soundtrack builds to a climax at which point the title is shown; this is before it quickly develops a sense of mystery as Gollum is revealed in the last moments and leaves the audience with a feeling of anticipation for the film.

7) Tie in to the books

Whilst this is not the case for every single film, the Hobbit is based on the books by JRR Tolkien and thus in order to attract Middle Earth fans most effectively the trailer showcases scenes that tie in to both the book and to the Lord of the Rings.
The first of these is in Thorin's song: "Far over the Misty Mountains blue..."

As this song was used in the book, it links the trailer back to the book which the film is based on. This song is also designed to evoke a feeling of excitement and nostalgia from all audiences, and serves the same purpose as it would have done back in the book: to build the audience up in preparation for the upcoming adventures that are to be had.
Another tie in, both to the Lord of the Rings and to the book is a shot of the One Ring. As said ring was a key part in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, it reminds the audience that the events of this film come before and so many people will want to see how this film ties in with the Lord of the Rings and how much of a tie in will be present. As the ring played a key role in the book, audiences will also be interested to see what part it will play in this particular film. This shot is also shown alongside the line "...and if you do you will not be same." This gives the idea that it may be the One Ring, as audiences will likely know of the Ring's capacity to warp the minds of its victims, will play a key role in changing Bilbo's life forever.
Finally, the biggest and potentially most exciting reveal, and shown at the very end of the trailer so as to leave the audience with a sense of anticipation, would have to be the shot of Gollum along with the line "Baggins, what is a Baggins?" This shot has a multitude of effects: it shows that one of Middle Earth's most well known characters is going to make an appearance, it shows fans of the actor that Andy Serkis will be reprising his role as Gollum, and finally it hints at one of The Hobbit's most

renowned scenes - the game of riddles - will take part in this film. All of this goes to build excitement as people will look forward to seeing one of their favourite characters return and they will get to see how Peter Jackson will portray said famous scene.


8) Title and Information

Traditionally, no matter what the genre of film, they will typically leave the name of the film until the end of the trailer; and this is for a couple of different reasons. The first reason that they have for doing this, and the most obvious reason, is that by putting the name of the film at the end the audience is more likely to remember what the film is called. The other reason for putting the name of the film at the end of the trailer is in order to build up anticipation for what the film is going to be called - this is typically more important in cinemas when the trailer is first revealed, but it is still an effective strategy in building the trailer up to this climax point. This climax point is clearly visible by the soundtrack as that draws to a conclusion.
The ending of the trailer will also give a release date and location for extra information.
The release date is of importance as it gives the people something to stick in their calendars as an event to look forward to. As the trailer was first shown on 21st of December 2011 - a full year before the film was set to be released - they could only say "next December"

for the release date. This is a perfect choice of release date for the film as the countdown until Christmas ties in with the film, and as a trilogy means that the next three christmases will also mean a new Hobbit movie. The early release of the trailer also points to the movie budget and popularity as most films do not have the luxury of giving excitement for their film that much time to stew in the brains of the prospective audience.
The location for extra information will typically take the form of the movie's website (see my post on Movie websites for more specific information). Its important for the trailer to carry this kind of

information as successful trailers will leave people wanting more and in this case at least some of that more will include more information so by giving people a place to look they are giving the people some of that more.