'About Time' trailer Analysis

The trailer is immediately introduced by its rating by the MBAA; About Time is rated R, which hints at the somewhat violent, and sexual scenes included. About time is a romantic comedy-drama about a young man who has inherited the ability to time travel of which he uses to relive moments of his life and attempt to improve the quality of his future. Surprisingly for a movie trailer much of the plot is revealed, the trailer seems to be a microcosm of the overall film hence it follows Todorov's narrative theory in that there is an equilibrium, shots of a new year party, time following its natural course, followed by the disequilibrium or disturbance which occurs when the narrative starts jumping back and forth, also when repercussions of this time travel arise. He realises that he cannot time travel without putting his life in turmoil, without erasing a fragment of his life or changing it in some form. The entirety of his life depends on creating a future with the woman he loves, hence the genre of About time being a romantic comedy-drama. The new equilibrium is restored in the end as the tempo increases and it appears that there was a happy ending, as expected of the romantic genre.

The voice over introduces the protagonist straight away, 'My name's Tim'. He establishes that the year is significant to his life which intrigues the audience as they question why. This links with Barthes enigma code as the audience attempt to unravel the reasoning and significance of this in relation to the plot. The party atmosphere is shot in deep focus meaning everything in the shot has clarity, to suggest the lively jovial mood of New Year. The tension builds up as the pop music is broken by an intense sound effect which ends as the frame freezes. This point is momentous as it appears that the last words 'Happy new year' set up the rest of the story, therefore it could be said, in terms of structure, that this part of the trailer is a preface to the plot or story. A wipe transition follows as the film production company, Universal, is introduced. Universal is one of the major film producers in the world and part of the Big 6. It has enormous financial power at its disposal which may suggest to the audience that the film has a big budget which is mistakenly synonymous with quality actors and texts in general.
Working Title is an internationally recognised British film producer. This means that About Time has a specifically British audience who are able to identify with the genre. The film's main protagonist 'Bill Nighy' is a typical British actor for Working Title films. His presence as a renowned British actor can mean that it is not crucial that the plot is notably enigmatic as the target audience for this type of film would be more concerned with the actors and being able to relate to the genre. For example, in reference to the Uses and Gratifications theory, from this trailer the target audience would be provoked to watch this film to gain an element of escapism or to connect with a character or their experience, most commonly for emotional pleasures linked to the romantic genre. The target audience would also be drawn in by the mention of 'from the producers of Love Actually and Notting Hill' laid on a pastel pink mottled background redolent of romanticism.

While the production logo's appear dialogue overlaps introducing a second main character, Tim's father while an establishing shot is used of the house, cross cutting to the conversation between the two characters. The fatherly figure is standing while Tim is sitting on he couch, the camera cuts back and forth through the use of low and high angle shots so distinguish the relationship of the two characters. A pivotal point of the story, his father telling him he can travel in time, is marked by silence which is significant as the frame exists of nothing but the shot of his father and the dialogue which sets off the rest of the narrative. After this point there is sense of confusion in the truth of this statement, fast paced editing us used to emphasise this as the camera cuts back and forth between the conversation. The camera cuts to the wardrobe scene and shows close up shots of Tim's fists clenching and eyes closing in sync with the dialogue which is giving these instructions. There is juxtapositioning of the lighting as the camera cuts from the light living area to the dark cupboard, this could be suggesting that the world he is entering from this point is dark, hinting at the power of the gift he has been given and the complications it may bring.

The rate of frames per second increases to create the sense of time travel, the camera is out of focus and blurs some of the frames; a lot of special effects have been added which create an almost warped effect, this may disorientate the viewer. This starkly contrasts with the clarity of the party scenes at the beginning. The shot cuts back to an extreme close up of Tim's eyes, it seems as though a blast of light is released within this shot which reinforces the fact that natural order can be played with. In the next scene the camera dissolves from a medium close up of Tim to a woman who is smiling directly at the camera. As this happens overlaying dialogue from Tim introduces the main theme of the trailer/film, love, if not already hinted at by the producer and the mention of other romantic films produced by them. At this point the third character is introduced, Mary and Tim's first encounter did not go as planned, hence the tension is built by the break in the warm-acoustic sound that was continued from the previous scene. This is comedic and here the viewers can relate to the awkward situation as life is full of unexpectancies such as this. The natural order and course of the trailer, and life, is reversed again as the protagonist rewinds to relive this moment, which is unrealistic.

Although Tim is the main character, he also narrates the trailer, therefore his narration is non-diegetic and the actual words he speaks within the scene are diegetic.

Why is it that the man in this film gets to time travel but the women just gets left behind, unaware. What would a feminist critic have to say about this?
- traditional rom-com relying on the male

series of two shots
transitions
lighting
costume
makeup of girl.