Analysing "Ocean's Twelve"

The features of a trailer:

• Company logo (Dreamworks, Paramount, Warner Bros and Universal etc.
• Give an idea of the narrative (they follow a plot / tell a story).
• Voice-overs (sometimes - creates effect) 
• Textual information (written words)
•  Focus upon characters (and actors if they are famous and will help to sell the film) 
• Capture the genre and make it clear for the audience 
• Billing block 
• Release date (unless it is a film teaser trailer)

The first trailer I am focusing on is 'Oceans Twelve'. "After pulling off the heist if their lives, Danny Ocean and his pals unexpectedly find themselves back in the harness in this sequel to 2001's blockbuster hit Oceans Eleven". Oceans Twelve in a comedy heist film which is part of the Oceans trilogy,  written in 2004 by Jerry Weintraub and Steven Soderbergh working alongside Warner Bros. 'Ocean's Twelve' includes many well know actors and celebrities, such as George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Andy García, Julia Roberts, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Bernie Mac and David Holmes.

In Crime Drama / Heist film trailers, similar features are used in most if not all. One main aspect of this is through the camerawork. Whilst creating a Crime film trailer, the producer and director have to take into consideration the effect that will be created on the audience, and if it creates a certain form of emotion (in crime trailers this is usually presented through either being shocked or scared).
By using these similar emotions for most Crime trailers, it makes it easy to identify a piece of film as a crime or horror just by the effect that it has on the audience. The camerawork which is used in this particular trailer is used to help present the emotion. The camera angles used (in this case several close ups, long shots and over the shoulder) help to show each perspective of the action, so that it produces a maximum effect on the audience watching.

Another feature which is commonly portrayed throughout Crime trailers is through the choice of music. Rather than using simple hit records, Oceans Twelve uses an array of action sounds. This is commonly created when a major part of the film is taking place or when a character is in danger. When music is selected, the director can choose the pace at which the music is at and how it can be used to set the specific part of the story. Commonly in action scenes, the music builds up over time, coming to a sudden halt when a character is in danger, or an important message is being put across.
This film trailer fits in well with the Crime film trailer genre because of the features that it portrays throughout. Although this film has a slight concept of comedy (which isn't always shown through crime films) its main plot is significant to similar crime types. This trailer helps to attract a larger audience because of how different it is against the more common Crime films. Not only because of the genre but also because of the use of comedy. This is shown in the trailer when the three main male characters are gathered around a table, in what seems to be a bar or cafe. Each of the characters (in this case: George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon) are laughing together. This is used to create the concept of comedy.

In the trailer, it is clear to see the type of film it will be through the use of text. At the very start of the trailer the film uses the text "Who can forget, the thing they did, with that guy that time", This is used to attract and audience for both the previous film and what will take place in Oceans Twelve. By using this particular text, the trailer implies that the film will contain action that would be similarly shown in other other crime films.

The film trailer for Oceans Eleven and Oceans Twelve uses well known celebrities to help attract an audience. In the Oceans Twelve trailer, the picture freezes to focus on each of the celebrities individually. From this it informs the audience on the type of roles each of the celebrities will portray in the film. This will appeal to the target audience who are fans of the celebrities, for example: In the film the actor, and well known celebrity George Clooney can help to attract an audience of both fans of him and his work, along with people who are fans of Crime Films. By using many well-known celebrities, the film would achieve a larger viewing audience then if they used actors who were not to the same popularity. In the trailer, George Clooney is portrayed as 'The smooth operator', this of which is similar to his actual personality as well as his given character. The trailer also shows us the use of mode of address through parts of the film, of which help to show the action through the actors point of view, engaging the audience and making them fell apart of the film, rather than just a member of the audience watching. The film helps to make the audience feel apart of the film through each of the perspectives as the audience can relate to a certain member of the 'Oceans Twelve' team along with  watching it through their own viewing perspective.

The trailer 'Oceans Twelve' also uses a range of semiotics to help attract and appeal to an audience. One example of this is though the colour used, On the opening scene of the trailer, the pictures are displayed in black and white, with the writing over the top being a fluorescent red. This is used in the trailer mainly for the text 'Who can forget, the thing they did, with that guy that time?'. Because of the coloured used for the writing in the trailer, the font is made to be appealing and appear attractive to an audience, whilst also standing out against the darker background.
Another semiotic used is shown through the choice of costume. In this particular trailer, dark suits are mainly used to create the effect of mystery and importance among the leading characters. This is used so that it the trailer can show which of the characters 'mean business' and play the most important roles as apart of the Oceans Twelve team. The enemies which don't actually appear in the trailer, but appear in the film where a similar costume type to those of Oceans Twelve, instead using more mysterious and dangerous lighting when focusing on them.

Another semiotic used is through the use of sound and lighting. Although in most Crime films serious dramatic music is played, in this particular film, the sound is slightly more upbeat and light hearted, which creates a simple and catchy rememberable beat. The sound that the producers have used helps to create an effect on the audience by the way that the music fits well with the video being shown, and also how it connects with the audience through the catchy beat and rememberable title sequence.
The lighting used helps to create and effect by including bright flashes for some action scenes to portray if a certain character is in danger.
Another semiotic feature which is focused on for the trailer for 'Oceans Twelve' is the editing and how the clips and frames are placed together. In the trailer, the components are edited together to create the biggest effect possible on the audience. The beat of the music is placed in time with the videos and text to keep the viewing audience engaged, making the trailer memorable.

The target audience for the trailer 'Oceans Twelve' would mainly be a male young adult/adult. The trailer (and film) uses a storyline and language which would most appeal to that target audience. The trailer would attract more to the male audience rather than a female because of its contents of both crime and action. This film would attract a small female audience through the trailers concept of comedy.