Identity

Music: There is very little in terms of music, apart from a few seconds of an intimidating orchestral piece towards the middle, in order to emphasise a woman’s fear. This lack of music creates a very uncomfortable atmosphere, as it stops things from flowing smoothly, therefore hinting that something is amiss and things in this film are probably going to be far from crisp and perfect.  

Pace: This trailer is incredibly fast paced, and there are many different clips involved. This gets across a lot of information to the audience in a short amount of time, and again provides an awkward and uneasy ambiance, as it is very hard to keep track of what is happening (there is no time to process the storyline, and you have to watch it a few times before anything actually sinks in). For the majority of the teaser trailer, it feels as if an amateur has just come and placed a load of random clips together at the fastest possible speed. The speedy pace does compliment the narrative very well however, as it’s not like things are going to progress in a pleasing and organised manner for the characters.

Dialogue: Pretty much all of the dialogue in this trailer is negative or frantic in some way, examples include: “we had an accident”, “I don’t think we can get out” and “are you out of your mind?”. This emphasises the brutal and unforgiving storyline to the audience, as not once are they given any positive or hopeful dialogue in order to detract from all the negativity.

Voiceover: Usually, voiceovers seem unnecessary or cheesy, but in this instance (due to the terrible order and speed of the clips), I feel the voiceover is really valuable. It simply but clearly explains the story, making the trailer easier to digest, and is broken up into small chunks throughout, which slowly builds tension. This chunking technique works especially well near the end of the trailer, where the voiceover says “at all” (the chunking method emphasises these words and brings them to life), implying that there is so much more to the storyline than what you see in the trailer, which is likely to entice a wide audience as they will want to know what happens next. Secondly, the voiceover has a raspy voice and uses a mischievous, unpleasant tone in order to match the negative events that occur in the film. Due to this, it also seems like the voiceover is mocking the characters involved, which is a very good feature of the trailer, as it causes the characters to appear even lonelier (they have no one at all to help them or be on their side). Finally, as the voiceover dominates this trailer, it is also suggested that the audience need to be spoon-fed the plot, putting it in the realm of stereotypical, Hollywood teasers, where the storyline is always explained thoroughly (usually through the voiceover, but sometimes through other means too). This teaser trailer does not try to be artistic at all.

Intertitles: At the end of the trailer, the title of the film, Identity, flashes on the screen. The letters of this word light up alternately, representing the different people involved in the narrative, which is a nice touch. It also looks like a broken neon sign (the different flashes seem like light bulbs turning on and off), emphasising the location of the film to the audience: a motel (places that stereotypically have damaged neon signs). This intertitle serves as one final emphasis of the film to the audience, hopefully making them remember what they have just seen.