This is England Trailer Analysis

1.    At the beginning of the trailer there are 9 clips of events or things that occurred in the 80s. These are cut to the beat of an upbeat Ska song. The clips effectively set the 80s tone for the audience as it gives them a quick overview as to what was going on elsewhere, putting this film into context. 

      2.       The main character in the film is a young boy called Shaun and the story is how he became a victim of bullying to a member of the skinhead crowd in northern England. To portray his vulnerability the composition of the bully’s head shot has other people in it to show his dominance. In contrast the young boy is on his own with his backed turned. The contextual references made throughout the trailer e.g. the one in this clip -the bully ‘Woodstock’s that way pal’ reminds the audience of the period this film is set in. The swearing in the second shot- pictured below- demonstrates the rough area in which children are brought up in, retaliating with crudeness. 

 

      3.       The vulnerability of Shaun is further portrayed in this headshot in the underpass. Again he is the only one the camera shot whereas the other skinheads are grouped together. When a skinhead asks who is picking on him he replies with ‘Harvey’ in a really timid voice. The audience empathizes with the young boy so the trailer is effectively setting the audience up to root for Shaun and therefore want to discover what happens to him.

      4.       The boy’s transformation is filmed in black and white and uses a freeze frame effect to edit the different shots. Similarly to the beginning, the footage is cut to the beat so each frame is almost like a photograph. This documents the event as the photograph effect really captures the boys happiness.

 

 

 

 5.       The medium long shot of the group of skinheads suggests a sense of family and protection.  During the 80s the skinhead movement clubbed together to oppose the suppression they faced so this camera shot displays the range of individuality in ethnicity, age and all with the same desire to step out of the crowd.  This is a good representation of one branch of the skinhead movement and another side to England. Social deprivation is clearly presented through the settings so the trailer gives the audience a glimpse into this semi-biographical experience in England 1983.

  

 



6.   The use of a black out as an editing technique represents a definitive change of tone in the film- the exposure of a new dangerous character substantially moves the plot on.     

      7.       The music also changes from an upbeat positive Ska song to a post punk electric guitar with a really gritty nasty feel. This is accompanied by the sinister snigger of the character’s face. The trailer then begins to show the nasty side to skinhead movement and from this point escalates in pace to suggest how out of control Shaun's involvement with these men has become.

 

       8.       The interruption of the editing's increasing pace by critics quotes delays the action drawing the audience further in. As I mentioned earlier, the trailer positioned the audience to empathize with the young boy so this sinister development makes them want to go and see it; to see if the young boy is ok in this eye opening world.

 

       9.       The low angle shots of the gang leader entrenches the impression of danger. The characters exclamation of the ‘phony war’ that Thatcher ordered in the Falklands touches on the unglamorous anti-war movement that became violent.  

10.       Dramas usually include social problems such as race. The stereotypical urban right wing portrayed in the trailer juxtaposes with the other races living in England. The stereotypical connotation of a person from Indian descent working in a shop is presented in this trailer. This headshot shows genuine fear on the shopkeepers face and in this next generation which has become politically correct, the shock factor of this racism impacts on the audience making them want to see it for themselves.

 

 

      11.       From this high angle shot the identity of the young boy is blurred with this very adult world. The camera shot depicts him as one of the dominant skinheads, who has lost his youth and vulnerability which was presented in the first half of the trailer.  

   

 

      12.       As the violence increases, the cuts get faster to reflect the chaos in this angry world. The shouting becomes more frequent and at the climax the trailer uses the scene where the main thug stamps on his victim but instead the underside of his boot leaves the screen black and acts as a segue to the ending of the trailer.

      13.       After the climatic racism, violence and abuse the black screen cuts to a very minimal section with critic quotes and other clips from the film. The solo acoustic guitar, ‘fade out’ editing and no dialogue removes all the hatred and danger from the trailer and allows the audience to contemplate the social corruption they have just seen. This creates a larger impact as the fast juxtaposition exaggerates the effect of all the violence and noise so leaves the audience with a lingering feeling of being overwhelmed.  In this shot the plain background of a backstreet allows you to focus on the quote rather than an over cluttered background. 

 

      14.       As the film is set in a specific period, one of the main attractions of this film is the soundtrack as it will be very distinctive and nostalgic for some of the audience. So by making this clear on the final cut the audience will want to go and see the film for the story as well as the music because it was so legendary of its time.