Case Study 2: Deadpool

Title: Deadpool

Genre: Action/Comedy

Year: February 2016

Companies: 20th Century Fox, Marvel

Director: Tim Miller

Trailer (Green band):

Like the Hobbit (and every other movie for that matter), Deadpool's trailer follows the same basic series of conventions in order to get the audience to watch the film. As an action/adventure film the trailer is more likely to have a faster pace and separate the characters it introduces into protagonists and antagonists in a more black and white fashion. As a comedy trailer its more likely to be comedic and humorous in order to sell itself. However, as a more mature rated movie, the trailer for Deadpool (and other 15/18 rated movies) has to do things slightly differently in order to successfully sell itself to prospective audiences. Here I will go over the trailer and then explain what exactly the age rating means for the film:

1) Opening

As with all films, the trailer opens with the logo of the company responsible for putting the film together. As they are the ones who own the rights to the X-Men franchise, 20th Century Fox's logo is the one to open the trailer. 

Most, if not all, people will have seen a few 20th century fox films in their lifetime as this company has had a hand in a vast variety of different films.Marvel fans will likely have seen at least some of the X-Men films that have come out of 20th century fox and so will be interested to see how they are going to go about presenting Deadpool this time especially after his appearance in X-Men Wolverine Origins.

2) The basic events of the trailer itself:

The trailer begins with a dramatic pair of lines that introduce the plot of the film: “We can fight this.” “You're right, the cancer’s only in my liver, lungs, prostate and brain, all things I can live without.” The quick change between the idea of being able to deal with whatever the problem is and finding out what the problem is and how unlikely the initial statement is sets the tone for the trailer. The pictures used in the background match the words being spoken by the characters too, illustrating the words conveyed more powerfully.

Once the initial shock that the trailer opens with passes, the trailer then dives into the idea that Wilson can be saved by turning him into a “superhero.” The trailer follows showing a montage of shots in which the process is hinted at without going into too much depth.
Once this sequence ends, the remainder of the trailer is given to showcasing Deadpool – the character that Wilson has become – in, mainly, a variety of different actions sequences. This serves the purpose of building excitement for the film as for some it will be the prospect of intense and dramatic action that draws them to the film and so by being shown some of this in the trailer it will sell the film to them.

3) Not a typical action adventure

As Deadpool is not your typical action hero themed movie but rather an action comedy, it is important for the trailer to highlight this fact so that people do not expect a purely action based movie but the action/comedy genre that this film fits into. Part of this is in the fact that not all of the action is completely realistic, an

example of this being one of the more memorable action shots in which Deadpool is seen to dive through the air and shoot three people in a line through the head with a single bullet– not realistic at all.

Whilst the majority does showcase action sequences, there are scenes in which humour is used. An example of this would be the “WAIT!” before the beginning of one of the action sequences, something you would not typically expect to see in a fight scene of a traditional superhero movie.

The trailer also uses titles to highlight the fact that it’s not a traditional superhero movie by twisting the saying “With great power…” which is associated with other superhero movies such as Spiderman and ending it with “…comes great irresponsibility.”

The use of humour is also important in getting people to want to watch the film as getting people to laugh at the trailer will make it more memorable for them - meaning that they are more likely to want to share it with like minded friends because they will remember to do that - and they will be more likely to want to watch the film when it comes out in the cinema.




4)  The Soundtrack

The soundtrack to this trailer comes in two parts. The first half is darker and more dramatic, used to build anticipation and excitement around the idea of Wilson’s transformation into Deadpool. Within this part, there’s a shot in which Deadpool’s silhouette is shown hinting at the potential of what the ‘miracle cure’ will do to him.

The soundtrack in the second half is split into two. The first part is used to showcase Deadpool’s less serious personality with the song “Deadpool Shoop.”  Also, by showing us the music player with Wade’s name on it this confirms to the audience that we have been following the same character throughout the trailer.

The second half of the soundtrack used – “X Gon give to ya” – is used to personify Deadpool’s want for revenge on the people that ruined him, the reason for which is revealed at the end of trailer when we see Deadpool’s deformed face.

The soundtrack in the second half of the trailer is, certainly in part, cut to the beat of the action allowing the two to work in cohesion with each other in getting the audience interested and excited for the release of the film.

5) Additional information

As per usual, the trailer ends with the date of the film’s release to cinemas (February 2016) as well as places that people can go if they want to get more information about the release of the film.

However, what happens here that you would not typically see is that Deadpool’s character pops up in the foreground to advertise the website and tell people that the website is the place to go if they want to see the RED band trailer. This is an effect called 'breaking the fourth wall" in which one of the (typically the main) characters comes out of the world of the film (or in this case trailer) to talk to the audience. This will more effectively sell the film and get people to have a look because they feel like the film is actually talking to them on a more personal level.

6) The Red Band trailer

As this is a mature rated film, if it wants to sell itself most effectively, it needs to have both a green and red band trailer. The green band trailer allows the company to advertise the film in more locations so that awareness for the film can be raised on a larger scale. However, in order to advertise the film properly, a red band trailer is also needed so that the prospective audience can also get a proper look at what the film is going to be like. The red band trailer can only really be put in specific places, such as the website, meaning that the audience is going to have to look for it rather than simply being shown it. Whilst this may prove to be an inconvenience for them, it also gives people more commitment to want to watch the film because they have to go out of their way to go and find the red band trailer.

The red band trailer allows for more graphic violence – such as the triple headshot in which blood is shown fully as opposed to the quick edit used in the green band – and the swearing in both the music and in what people say is no longer censored. Some scenes are also extended, such as the first time we see Wade’s deformed face, in which he and his friend spend more time trying to find an accurate description for his new face.