Textual analysis of the teaser trailer Fame

Fame analysis

Migrain model
Medium-teaser trailer
Institution-Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Lakeshore entertainment and United Artists.
Genre-musical, romantic
Representation- song, dance, friendship and self realisation
Audience- young teens from the ages of 13-18
Ideologies- new, fresh and fun
Narrative-casual

Fame is a musical film directed by Kevin Tancharoen and distributed by ‘ Entertainment film distributors’ in the UK and by ‘MGM’ in the US.

This teaser trailer is 1 minute 30 seconds long and begins like a usual teaser trailer does with a green screen. It then reveals the first institution which is ‘Metro Goldwyn Mayer’ and then two others. It fades out and into the first scene of the trailer which looks like a stage with a spot light on it. Dramatic sound is used instantly bring the audience in. It is a long shot but the viewer is not yet clear of the exact set. The screen goes to black and fades into narrative text which read ‘It all begins with a dream’. The background is black and the text is golden like the light on a stage. The text seems like it about to tell us a story. Music begins in this scene; it is of a girl signing with can be diegetic and non diegetic sound. This is because the film is about music and performing so it could be a character singing.


The text fades out and into an extreme close up of a girl playing the piano. We can only see the fingers but this represents what the film is about, music. The camera shot then changes into a dolly around the girl playing the piano. We can not see her face yet but the back of her. She is wearing a pink top which makes her seem sweet and calm. We can tell that she is the one singing since the piano goes along with it. Another transition of fade out is used and a different camera angle reveals her. It is a medium shot of her side and it is slowly zooming in. The scene is dark with some lighting in front of her which makes it seem like the light is coming through the window and like it is early morning. The cut lasts only 3 seconds and then is changed to a medium close up and reveals the actors face.

Different angles are used to show her playing the piano and they all link with each other through over laps. A very long shot is then used which established that she is on a stage and we can see the seats for the audience but are empty. This is the last shot of her playing the piano and the screen changes to black. Her singing comes to an end and the next narrative is displayed.

It reads ‘in this place’. It is the same font and style as the previous text. Now the soundtrack of the film is played and it starts of the lyric ‘remember’. This word is repeated. The next cut is a two second clip of the school hallway. It is a shot where it seems like the camera is placed on the ground and it makes the audience feel like they are walking the hallway. This cut is followed by no transition and into a classroom where the students are dancing. It a long shot which allows the audience to the action. Lighting is bright here making it seem alive. The characters are all wearing dance costumes. It last for another two seconds and fades out.
The next narrative text is shown which carries on from the previous; it reads ‘How big you make it’. Very short cuts are used to show the scene.

A second clip of a boy from the back is shown wearing dark clothing. The shot is a medium close up and he is looking into spotlights. This scene quickly changes to a medium close of two people and therefore a two shot who look like teachers/judges. They are looking up and light is shining on their faces which make it seem like what they are looking at is important and the reason for the shining light. It fades out and this point to another narrative text which is also linked to the previous one and it is being told like a story which helps aim it at a younger audience.

The next few cuts reveal the actors of the film. They are 1 second, medium close ups of four of the actors in the film. They are all young and fresh faced which reflects the audience. The soundtrack changed to which sound like an end and climax. Another narrative text is shown and dramatic sound is used to show the next scene. It is a long shot of a girl sitting on the floor with clothes that look like she about to dance and a spotlight on her which goes off. This makes he scene go black. Up till now repetition of the word ‘remember’ is said in the music and now finally the whole phrase is said ‘remember my name’ in a high and loud pitch. ‘Remember my name’ is the tagline of the film and this makes the soundtrack personal to the film and not just any song.

The rest of the trailer are shots which only last up to two second, which just give the glimpse of what the story is about. Various camera angles are used such as a long shot in the lunch hall which shows a boy doing a back flip. This gives the film a innovative and young feel. This helps the target audience identify with it. The action also helps give off the energy which they are trying to portray. The students in the film are all dressed in bright and colourful costumes of today’s trend as well as leotards and other dancing clothes. There is an extreme close up of a pair of heels which shows the audience of the dancing element in the film. We also see people singing and performing on a stage. The lighting is bright throughout. There is no transition used and this helps build up the fast pace. It gives it quicker change and shows the difference in the shot since it does not flow as fluently.

Another extreme close up is used which shows two people holding hands and this bring in the message of friendship which is what is also represented in the film. This is of an appealing topic to the young audience. Other scenes mainly include performances. We first see all the rehearsals and practices and now the actual performances which give it the chronological order.

Another scene shows the lead up to a kiss and this give the film the romantic genre. The music is becoming faster and louder. An edit is used which shows three different actions in one go. It a black background and three circle and within each circle we can see the action. The circles are part of the way the film title is written. The small circles represent the lights of a spotlight.

We then see loads of those circles in various colours and each have a character in them. We also see a boy playing the violin and a boy dancing. This is the last scene before the film title begins to unravel. There are very small circles of spotlights which form the big title of the film. The name of the film appears and the sound comes to an end. There is no dialogue in the film which is common to teaser trailers. After the name of the film appears one last scene is shown which is a bird’s eye view shot of a girl dancing. The camera zooms out and we see the circle again. The camera completely zooms out and we see the end credits. It included the release date, film website and the institution logos along the bottom. This is a typical layout of end credits.