It came to my attention that i would need a little more research into the documentary film genre. To do this i have found a trailer called
3: the story of Dale Earnhardt, which is the stroy of a NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt. This is the link to the trailer... http://espn.go.com/three/index.htm
One of the first things you notice about the trailer is the concentration on the main character. From the very start we are shown close ups of him in action, showing his face, but also enough for us to understand what he's doing. As you can see in the following screen shots we are told from early on that this man is important and we should concentrate very much on him. We come to understand this because of the constant close ups of his face.
In the above shots the camera is focused directly on the character and we are seen to be facing him. The fact that his eyes are covered show him in quite a mysterious fashion, perhaps offering us an insight into his character.
The sound of the trailer is quite simple. As well as the main soundtrack (music) there is the diegetic sound of the clips themselves, which adds to the realism of the trailer. At the same time there is the dialogue from the scenes. This helps to tell the narrative and offer the audience some kind of understanding surrounding the story within the film. The main soundtrack, or music over the top helps to define the genre as an action film. The up beat, suspense building music tells the audience instantly that this is an action or sporting film, and the concentration on the main character tells us he is central to the plot. Through these two simple things we, as the audience, have come to quickly understand a lot about the film itself.
The next point i noticed was the variety of shots and shot distances that were used throughout the trailer. Below i took some screen shots to show examples of this.
This screen shot shows a very close up shot of the car racing action. This not only tells the audience that the film is central around the sport of NASCAR, but also it stops the audience from becoming to familiar with the editing and therefore keeps the audience interested.
Above you can see an extreme long shot, which is used to both show the audience the surroundings and the setting and also as an establishing shot. It shows the audience where the next scene is going to take place and therefore prevents confusion and helps to tell the narrative.
This is a shot that i noticed and thought was clever. The camera is stationary and and close to the action as the cars zoom past. This is something that is commonly found within films of the action/sporting genre.
Another point i had was the depiction of a crash, seen in the following screen shot.
Showing the flip side of success is something that we often see in action/sporting/ or documentary films. It is important for the narrative that we are show the main character struggle so we can begin to relate to him/her.
The use of continuity editing is evident throughout the trailer, and i good example of this is the use of shot reverse shot seen many times throughout. I took a some screen shots of this too.
This use of shot reverse shot helps the audience to understand the situation a lot more easily. As well as this, the 180 degree rule is obeyed, which stops the audience from becoming confused. Everything is where the audience expect it to be and because of this they feel more like they are there and in the situation themselves. In this respect, the narrative becomes more personal and they feel somewhat involved in the scene.
One of the most important things that i have seen in the trailers i have researched, is the use of writing. It is something that you always see in trailers and it is important for the audience to understand what is going on. As well as this, in many ways it helps to dramatise the film and almost 'sell' it to the audience a little more. Dramatic 'one liners' or 'triples' can be used to drive home to story, or in this case the true story. Below are a few screen shots of the writing within this trailer.
