Notes On Analysis Of The Departed Trailer

I have decided to analyse the film trailer of ‘The Departed’. It is effective as it uses varied shot types, with clips from the film.

The trailer begins by introducing Jack Nicholson using a tracking shot as he is talking. This shot is very sinister as it just shows the silhouette of him and the viewers are unaware of who it is.

After ten seconds, there is a medium close up of Matt Damon, ‘Colin’ as a police officer, just after Jack Nicholson, ‘Costello’ says “you become cops” and then it flashes to a shot of Leonardo DiCaprio, ‘Billy’ in prison and it pans to the right across the cell, as ‘Costello’ says “or criminals”. This is extremely effective as the shots that are shown quickly of the police officer and criminal relate to what ‘Costello’ is saying and this is seen later in the film. Therefore these shots help to anchor part of the plot of the film. The viewer believes that this clearly lays out the ‘goody’ and ‘bady’ in the film; however this is proven wrong later on.

As Jack Nicholson continues to talk, this effect is used again at 0:15, where we see a slightly low angle close up of ‘Billy’ looking worried, and it flashes to a close-up of someone cocking the trigger of a gun. Then as ‘Costello’ says “when you’re facing a loaded gun”, there is a whip pan shot reaching a police car, and then a medium close-up of a police man firing a gun. This is quickly followed by another close up of a gun being fired twice. These various shots help to anchor the line used by Jack Nicholson, and alerts the viewer of what’s to come in the film (confrontation between two sides.)

As the trailer reaches 20 seconds, the character of Jack Nicholson is revealed using a medium close-up of him saying “what’s the difference” with a slightly different tone of voice. This is related to the fact that there are the previous shots of both criminals and police officers using guns.

At 25 seconds, the viewer is shown flashes of various parts of the police uniform, including close-ups of hats, police badges etc. This is then revealed as medium close-ups of police men lined up, including ‘Colin.’

The next shot is a crane shot, behind a man wearing a suit. This shot is used in order to give a clear idea of the setting and viewers can assume it is the police department, as the shot is used with the line “this is the State police.” The next shot reveals the character from the previous shot with a medium close-up, who is ‘Colin.’

Next is a medium shot in a police briefing, which moves into a close-up of the main picture on the board. The viewers are then shown who it is with a medium close-up of Costello and are officially introduced to him as a character as they state his name. We are then shown a close up of an exchange of money, followed by a two shot which is a long shot of two bodies lying on the ground. This implies that ‘Costello’ set this up, and is therefore the reason that he is wanted.

These shots are followed by an introduction of another character, using an extreme close-up, followed by a tilt up of the character as a police officer. This is then followed by an arc and medium close-up of him pointing a gun (in practice.) In the next shot, it is the same character, but this time in an office. It is first a medium shot, followed by an over the shoulder shot, and then a zooming shot as he asks a question, this is used to get a better idea of his reaction and expression.

At 0:40 there is another pan to the right across the prison cell, containing the character that was just introduced to us, about to be released.

At 0:45, there is a two shot with a slight arc, followed by an over the shoulder shot, and another two shot of the characters in the previous shot. This shows the audience that they are quite important in the film.

0:53 is a bird’s eye view of the character that has just hurt his arm. This gives the viewers a full view of what has taken place. This is followed by various two shots and medium close ups of characters.

1:03 is an extreme long shot of offices with the two main characters in the centre. This gives the audience a wider view and helps give a better idea of the setting.

1:10 is an over the shoulder shot, which shows us that there are two characters, however it gives us a better view of the one that is talking and her expressions.

1:24 is a low angle shot, and makes us feel as though we are in the shot, as the actor is looking directly into the camera. This adds realism to the shot.

At 1:36, it is a slow tilt upwards and gives us a clear view of the character’s expression as he looks anxious.

1:42 is a forward track, following a character that is running. This also makes the shot seem realistic, as we feel present in the scene.

1:45 is a crane shot, giving us a wider view of the setting and showing us the direction that one character is moving in.

1:46 is a reverse track, moving along with the character, and again feeling as if we are there.

Extreme long shots are used in many places to help us see the action taking place in the film clearly over a wider range; 1:51, 1:53, 1:59, 2:02, 2:10.

1:52 is a low angle shot, as one of the characters is about to punch another. This gives us the point of view of the character that is about to be punched and helps us feel fear for them.

2:01 is a high angle shot, directly above the character, as he looks up straight into the camera.

2:17 is a close-up of Matt Damon holding a knife, which immediately alerts the audience of his intentions, and then tilts up to his face, with his poised expression. The next shot of him stabbing a man is less of a shock as we are warned before that he is ready to do it.

This is followed by an extremely fast-paced sequence of various shots and ends the trailer with the same character that it started with (Costello).