The Third Man Trailer Analysis

1.       The opening shot for the trailer is a slanted camera angle of a medium long shot. This is quite a dated technique (observing the release date of the film) but effectively creates an uneasy feeling of tension as the audience’s viewing of the trailer is slightly obscured. As the figure runs through the alley way the zither soundtrack plays sequences rising in semitones to emphasise the effect created by the slanting camera shot.


    

 2.      This film relies on lighting. The shadowy figure blocking the source of lightly in the dimly lit sewer, informs the audience this film is a story based on the power of suspense and dramatic post war scandals that consumed a lot of war destroyed cities.

 

       3. Drama film trailers focus on emotive facial expressions as it relates the film screen play to real human feelings and emotions. In this head shot of Anna Schmidt she is not looking at the camera with a tear in her eye and the voice over says ‘desired by one woman’ to demonstrate how she is only focussed on her man. This presents the dramatic effect of the theme of love in the film.

 

 

      4.       As I mentioned early lighting is key in the derelict film setting in Vienna. As the film is in black and white the shadows add mystery and fear to the post war setting. After the Second World War many people were involved in dubious rackets so had to hide in the ‘shadows’. The large scale of the shadow in this shot creates tension as the object is positioned to come round the corner. The gargoyles in the foreground of the shot add to this dramatic atmosphere, giving an eerie and grotesque depiction of the underworld of post-war Europe.

5.       As the film is set in one place the trailer uses an establishing shot to capture the location.  This makes it clear to the audience where the film is set.  The lighting is a lot brighter in contrast to the darker shots and therefore the trailer is able to create tension by juxtaposing the 2 sides to the corrupt city.

 

 

 

6.       Again the use of a headshot in the trailer captures the dramatic response to the action with in the film. The crescendo and repetition of one note in the zither music coupled with the voice over ‘uncertain of its future’ used are effective non-diegetic ways to utilize the enigma code allowing the audience to want to resolve the dramatic uncertainty. 

      7.       This creative long shot draws the audiences’ eyes to the dark hole at the top of the stairs. This intensifies the dramatic effect as it suggests the ‘unknown’ and what could be lurking in dark Vienna in 1950. Again the use of the shadowed figure adds an atmosphere of mystery teases the audience to whom the third man is. 

 

      8.       By using this clip where the main character reveals his character in dialogue ‘I’m just a hack writer who drinks too much, falls in love with girls’ gives the audience some context to their protagonist. As the dialogue shows he is American this appeals to this nationality.

      9.       The use of music in this trailer is contrapuntal to the subject matter. The lilting zither music sounds almost like a pleasant ditty but is given a sinister twist with the suggestion of criminality from the third man. This adds tension to the dramatic genre as the audience are unsure how to react. In this screen shot the low angle shot of the carousel and theme park rides contrasts to the dark alleys so highlights the juxtaposition between the footage and the pleasantness of the ditty. The characters costume is clearly from the 1950s so conforms to the genre of drama films as re-creating dramatic personal experiences in a realistic way. 

      10.       This high angle shot captures the stair case setting. The single street light is a good way of using natural surroundings to create reality. As this is an old film the editing technique which is frequently used is a quick fade out. By repeating this technique the trailer flows at a rather fast pace to keep the audience engaged.   
       

       11.       The final cut is a layering of the tunnel background, two prints of a man and the ‘THE 3^RD MAN’ title with the same music played at the beginning of the trailer to tie it all back in and leave the audience with  a feeling of unresolved suspense.