Case Study 4: Alien Covenant

Title: Alien Covenant
Genre: Science Fiction/Horror
Year: May 2017
Companies: 20th Century Fox, Scott Free productions


Trailer - Green Band:

Trailer - Red Band:



Once again, the trailer for Alien Covenant follows the same basic set of conventions that are used to sell all film trailers. As a Science-Fiction film the trailer will likely showcase people and places not from this Earth. Whether that be Spaceships, future technology, Alien species, Alien worlds and environments, space, stars and – most importantly – human interaction with these things. As a horror film the trailer is more likely be suspenseful, moving from a slow to a fast pace in order to create tension in the viewer. Its also likely to contain some form of jump-scare or other feature that can typically be found in a horror film. If the films ‘monster’ is likely to be show minimally, with only hints shown here and there, but even just the threat of it is likely to be omnipresent in the trailer.

As Alien Covenant is a 15-rated movie, there is both a red and green band trailer used to advertise it. This is so that the company who worked to create the film can advertise the film on TV as well as showing the film in its true colours to those who might actually be interested in going to watch the film. In this case, the green band trailer is designed to cover the role of the usual trailer in giving information regarding the film, the plot and the details that people need in order to find out further information. The red band trailer is designed to give more of a flavour of what the film will be like whilst still keeping in the crucial details of where to find out more.

The Green-Band trailer:

As is considered usual, the trailer (and this is done for both the green and red band trailers) opens with the company logos. As most companies have a long history of films behind their back, as well as a certain style that they each bring to the films they are responsible for funding, this gives the audience an idea as to the standards they can expect from the film.

In these opening titles, the colouration of the company logos has been sucked away to be replaced with this blue/black version suggesting some form of perversion or contamination. This fits in with the idea of a horror film as it puts a darker spin on the film than that which would normally be seen.

The first moment that we see in the Trailer is of a large group of people standing around a table. This

serves to show the wide variety of different characters that are going to appear in the film. It also gives the audience an idea of the type of people that are going to appear: all the characters in this scene appear to be relatively normal people. They mention here that all the characters are in a couple, and small things like this make the characters more relatable to the audience – its important in a horror film that the characters involved have more normal backgrounds so that the film feels more real and closer to home for the audience. The trailer does not stick to this shot whilst the mini-speech continues, instead moving from shot to shot of both the spaceship these people are travelling on and the alien planet that they have travelled to so as to set the basic scene for where the film is going to take place.

This scene also serves to show some of the key actors who are going to be appearing in this film such as Michael Fassbender (45 films including Prometheus, the ‘prequel’ to this film) and Katherine Waterson (25 films). It’s important for key actors to be highlighted as this gives an idea for the styles that different people will be bringing as well as selling the film to fans of specific actors.

Alongside the recognisable actors, another selling point that the trailer does not fail to show is credit to the director: Ridley Scott, and this is done using a title.

It is common for such information to be displayed in this way and – like with the company logos – sets a standard for the film as each director, even if they’re all effectively doing the same job, have their own unique styles to the way they direct their films. It’s important for them to show this fact with Alien Covenant as both Prometheus and Alien (the much-loved original film to kick-start the movie franchise) were directed by him also. In
this light, the fact that there are Alien films that come before this one, it’s important that the trailer feel like an Alien film and make it clear that this is going to be an Alien film. The trailer does this by showcasing some recognisable things such as a collection of facehugger eggs that Alien fans will have seen in the previous Alien films.

Another thing that the trailer uses in order to break itself up is a series of titles giving snippets of information regarding the plot. In this case the lines read: “The Path to Paradise begins in hell.” Of course, the text is split up into three separate pieces so as to create a build of tension as to what it’s eventually going to read, and this is very useful for a horror film as building up tension and keeping the audience perpetually on edge is what they are designed to do. Of course, having pieces of text to cut to is useful for those making the trailer as it helps to break up the moments in which the audience can see different things happening, and this is key for a horror trailer as they have a tendency of cutting from one moment to the next very quickly.

 

Once the trailer has opened up, to start building up the tension, the trailer develops a sense of mystery surrounding the Alien world and what has happened there. First of all, it’s important for the trailer to do this as it will inspire a level of curiosity out of viewers and they too will want to find out what is

going on there. It also serves to rack of up the tension as we can see the mixture of curious and concerned expressions on the different characters faces as they see the mysterious Alien environment and ship. By showing their expressions, a crucial thing especially in a horror film as the director wants the audience to feel some of what the characters are feeling, this is an effective way of communicating the mystery.

Whilst it needs to hold some back for the film itself, a film trailer for a horror film is likely to have a jump scare of some kind. This helps give the trailer the feel of a horror film, but its also important for the trailer to do this in the right way so that it looks new and exciting rather than clichéd. In this case, the key jump scare in the trailer for Alien Covenant is that of a facehugger jumping out of its egg and up at the camera. Those who’ve seen the original Alien film will recognise this as a throwback to that film – effectively giving it the feel of an Alien film, something that is likely to attract fans of said film – but that does not mean it fails to make the audience jump. This moment of the trailer also serves to end the introductions to the film as a whole, and move on into the more intense and violent elements of the film that come later on.

The soundtrack used within the trailer is sharp and tense, designed to build up suspense whilst intensifying the more violent and frightening moments of the trailer.

From the moment the soundtrack starts playing, the trailer moves from the more peaceful and exploratory atmosphere that it had opened with to the more intense atmosphere that fills the majority of the trailer. The soundtrack does about half the work when it comes to creating tension in any scene, whether that be that its laced in, exaggerated, noticeably absent or cut to flow alongside the picture. This is especially true for film trailers, it’s necessary for the music is evoke the right feeling and in this case, that feeling needs to be tension and anticipation.

A key trait among horror films, especially in their trailers, is that they don’t always show what has actually happened but rather character reactions to what has happened. In the Alien Covenant trailer,

there is a moment in returning to their ship – Covenant – that the characters find something – as the audience we don’t know what, but we can make a rough guess – graphic, horrifying and unexpected. Because we as the audience do not know what she has seen, but can clearly see the horrified reaction on her face, we know that something has clearly gone wrong. This helps to build an air of tension for the trailer as reactions to scenes of horror are just as powerful, if not more so, than the scene itself because as human beings ourselves we have a basic understanding of what they are feeling even if we have never felt something like it ourselves.

The later end of the trailer pertains to a montage of various different moments and shots of different characters reacting to various incidents and elements of danger. This serves to both excite the audience as they get to see moments of various issues that the different characters have to deal with as well as build up a sense of tension as it prepares for the climaxing end of the trailer. One moment of particular interest within this long montage of shots is the moment at which a couple of characters

are communicating over some futuristic version of a radio network and one of the characters – who presumably has yet to come in contact with any of the Aliens – is calling for the person on the other end to “just calm down” which is met by much shouting. This is at odds with what is going on both around him and around the rest of the trailer, and in doing so acts as a standout moment. The shouting response that the man gets also serves to point out how tense some of the characters are feeling as they try to deal with the danger they are up against.

As I mentioned earlier, its traditional for a horror trailer to have the ‘monster’s’ presence felt more so than seen. In the second half of the trailer, when the existence of the Xenomorph Alien becomes more apparent we do not initially see any of them for any more than a second. There are several shots in which the Alien appears quickly but its cut into and out of very quickly. However, as the trailer ends the last shot is one with the Xenomorph in full view for the audience to see for the first time. The fact that the Alien we see is trying to break in through the ships’ cockpit through the glass illustrates that nowhere is safe from these monsters, thus increasing the feeling of fear, excitement and tension. By also showing the new design for the Xenomorph, this will likely have the diehard Alien fans even more excited for the film so that they can see the monster in action.

Looking at the Green band Trailer as a whole, one of the things that we notice it showing - in connection to the point made regarding the presence of the Xenomorph Alien - is the development of the Alien. Whilst it is important for trailers not to give too much away about the plot of the film, one of the things that the trailer shows is the development of the Xenomorph Alien from the eggs - and the facehugger aliens to launch projectile like out at their intended victims - to the fully grown Xenomorph Alien that we see at the end of the Trailer. This fits in with the theme of the film as Alien Covenant - sequel to Prometheus and prequel to the Alien Quadrilogy - is designed to serve as the next step in the origin story to the Xenomorph Alien species and so the mini-evolution/development of the Alien that we see in the trailer is representative of the evolution/development story that is going to be told in the film. This does, however, beg the question (something that Director Ridley Scott was asked about at an interview) as to how much you can actually show in a trailer before it gives away too much about the film - this being because the trailer features moments that are taken from late on/the end of the film. To this question, something of which is very true of film trailers as their chief purpose is whet the audience's appetite, Scott replied by saying that the purpose of the trailer was to get "butts on seats" for the opening weekend to ensure that the film is a success



The Red Band Trailer:

Unlike the green band trailer, there are significantly less limits as to what the red band trailer is allowed to show. This allows for films that are of older age ratings to give interested audiences a fuller taste of what they can expect to see from the film should they want to see it in the cinema/buy the film on DVD. This particular Red Band trailer is not like what you would expect to see in a conventional trailer, but rather is designed to give a truer feel for what the film is going to be like.

First of all, the red band trailer is more graphic and shows more bloody injury detail than that which is likely to be shown in a green band trailer. This is noticeable at the very beginning of the trailer when we see:

from which we can clearly see the bloodstained floor. This instantly highlights the fact that this trailer will not be as clean as a green band trailer would be as this level of injury detail is not appropriate for younger audiences.

A clearer example of the difference between a red and green band trailer would be the blood-bursting Neomorph that is new to the Alien movie franchise. This is the version that we see in the green band:

and this is the full graphic detail that we see in the red band:

Where the green band implies that this will be a scene in which this particular character will have an Alien bursting out of his back, the red band physically shows that something is ripping his back open with blood pooling out of the growing tear and his body violently shaking with the force.

The inclusion of this scene in both trailers is also a pivotal moment in the trailer as it reveals the existence of a second Alien species or subspecies later revealed to be called a Neomorph. Whilst the Xenomorph is well known for the trademark chest bursting sequence, this Alien is seen to burst out of the man's back implying that it's not a Xenomorph and therefore whatever it is will be a new addition to the Alien franchise. This will be an exciting moment for some of the Alien fans as they will be curious and eager to see this new beast in action.

Unlike the green band trailer, for the most part, the red band trailer contained a precious lack of talking. It instead focused on highlighting characters faces and reactions to a variety of different scenes. By focusing on what the different characters are feeling rather than having them say anything, this allows the audience to get a feel for what the characters themselves are feeling and thus put themselves in the moment. By focusing on the characters faces and how they react, it allows for a distinct contrast between the excitement and joy of them arriving to the horrified reactions of seeing their friends getting ripped apart in front of their very eyes.

Another thing that the red band trailer is allowed to have in it that the green band will not is that their is less of a ban on profanity and the kind of language that the characters can be seen to use. By being allowed to show moments of the film that contain swearing, the trailer can show some of the characters and how some of the characters feel about their given situation more accurately.

An example of this in the red band trailer in Alien Covenant comes from the moment when two of the characters, presumably those who are leading the expedition, discussing how wise their decision actually is to come to this Alien world in which one of the characters is heard to say "we don't know what the F* is out there." This shows the viewers that, although on the outside the crew appears to be confidant and congratulatory at the apparent success of their mission, on the inside those higher up have their doubts.

A further thing that the red band trailer is allowed to have in it that the green could not is the level of intensity and character stress that is shown. The opening to the trailer shows one of the characters running down a corridor to go and help their friend who is trapped in the room with the man having a Neomorph ripping out of his back. This moment of the trailer is covered by a more intense drumming piece of soundtrack, more intense and realistic sounding than anything we heard in the green band trailer, and we already know how important soundtrack is in creating the suspenseful atmosphere. 

This sequence is a lot more intense than anything that might have been seen in the green band, as we fully see one of the female characters freaking out with the back bursting sequence occurring behind her and at the same time the woman who wants to help can't let her friend out for fear of releasing whatever is attacking the man with her. During the exchange we see both women's faces and this highlights how afraid, vulnerable and helpless they both are, further putting across the intense atmosphere. The moment ends as the person on the outside runs onwards whilst the woman trapped inside screams "let me the F* out" showing just how intense the situation is for her. By giving the audience a more realistic view of the level of intensity they can expect from the film it both prepares them for what it will actually be like whilst at the same time making them more excited to get to see something that will be that intense.

Finally, as is important in all trailers, the trailer closes with a dramatic/revealing scene and in this case the Red band Trailer for Alien Covenant concludes with an intense and graphic shower sequence that could be seen as a reference to the famous shower sequence used in the 1960s film Psycho. Within this moment of the trailer we see one of the couples clearly making out in the shower, both of them having a distinctive lack of clothing - once again with less restrictions the trailer is allowed to have characters wear less clothing. However, the moment quickly darkens as we see the tail of an Alien creeping into the shower whilst the two humans remain unaware. The Alien's face is shown for a moment in the glass before its implied that the man is ripped apart - the actual act of his killing is not shown on camera both because it would be too graphic but also because the implication is much more effective as we see her reaction - and the woman's face is covered in blood as she screams. The level of tension that exists within this moment of the trailer is crucial for ending the trailer on a high as it leaves the audience with a brutal ending and on the edge of their seats as they likely were not expecting to see such a thing. By ending the trailer on such a high, its an effective final punch in making the audience both want to know more and wanting to go and watch the film.