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The Persuit of Happyness

The trailer uses a variety of shots and cinematography techniques to portray the struggles of the protagonist as he tries to provide for his son in a new city. Wide shots in the beginning show how small the characters are against the vast city. Subsequent shots depict the man's financial difficulties as he fails to get a job and runs out of money. Interspersed are close-ups of his son that show the boy's fear and vulnerability. The trailer builds sympathy for the characters through their isolation and struggles before concluding on a hopeful note with the bright title card, suggesting things will improve.

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567 views6 pages

The Persuit of Happyness

The trailer uses a variety of shots and cinematography techniques to portray the struggles of the protagonist as he tries to provide for his son in a new city. Wide shots in the beginning show how small the characters are against the vast city. Subsequent shots depict the man's financial difficulties as he fails to get a job and runs out of money. Interspersed are close-ups of his son that show the boy's fear and vulnerability. The trailer builds sympathy for the characters through their isolation and struggles before concluding on a hopeful note with the bright title card, suggesting things will improve.

Uploaded by

api-270321123
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Film Trailers

The Pursuit of Happyness

1) This is the first shot in the trailer, this holds significance in the
fact that it automatically displays a sense of credibility. This is
due to the fact that Columbia are an extremely large, global
film institution. From an audience perspective, this evokes a
willingness to watch the trailer as Columbia are an established
name and therefore there is already an association with highquality cinema.

2) The use of the wide-shot in this scene displays how seemingly


small the protagonist looks in comparison the large and vast city.
He looks as though he is lost in the city and appears small and
insignificant in comparison to the tall and wide buildings. There is
a typical genre convention in terms of the drama genre as the
lighting of the ground emphasises how it has just rained implying
a sense of sadness, which is typical of the genre. Similarly, the
colour grey within the shot connotes a sense of isolation from the
outside world, which is evident in how small the characters
appear in comparison to the city. It also connotes maturity and
responsibility which is evident in the fact that the shot features
both the protagonist and his son. In hr shot, the protagonist
appears behind his son, taller and almost over-looking him, this
conveys love and protection as a father signifying the emotional
depth of their relationship.

3) This wide shot, in conjunction with the non-diegetic voiceover stating that he does his
best creates a sense of sympathy amongst the audience, which again conforms to the
genre conventions of a drama as well as with the sub-genre of biographies. The
protagonist being dressed in black connotes a sense of fear and mystery. However, it
also connotes strength, which represents the protagonists attitude towards life. The
fact that the protagonist almost gets stuck between the train doors displays the fact
that he struggles and does simply his best as stated by the voiceover. The mise-enscene of the overcrowded train also correlates to the speech of the voiceover as the
protagonist evidently finds it difficult to cope with the every-day struggles of life. This
shot plays on the Uses and Gratifications theory as it allows the audience to identify
with the difficulties that life has. Hence, this makes them more allured to the movie as
they have a sense of empathy towards the protagonist and this essentially makes them
root for him.

4) This mid-shot of the doors of what appears to be a very prestigious looking office and
high-end environment, displayed through the doors having a large company name
printed on them and the high-gloss wood in the background of the scene. This
contrasts the full and busy train in the previous shot. The bright lights in the
background contrast the protagonist who is dressed in dark colours and this creates the
idea that there is hope yet to come despite the closing doors signifying a lost
opportunity. The mid-shot allows for the emphasis to be on the expression of the
protagonist as there is a clear disappointment on his face yet he still appears to be
strong and holding together.

5) This close-up of the wallet and the protagonist counting the money emphasises the
financial dilemmas of the character. The shot being blurred around the edges creates a
sense of primary focus on the money suggesting that this is his prominent concern at

this moment in time. The non-diegetic music is very subtle in this particular shot which
closes in on the emphasis of the silence of the character as you can almost hear his
heart drop as he has no more money, again this creates both sympathy and empathy
amongst the audience, steering towards the genre conventions expected.

6) This mid-shot displays what was previously suggested in the


close-up of the money. Both characters appear to be in eveningwear and therefore, this suggests that this is late in the evening
displaying the idea that there is an issue. The shadows in the
shot make this scene appear more emotive and heart-breaking
as it is evident that there is another problem for the character.
The mise-en-scene of the dirty walls and scruffy surroundings
suggest that this is a cheap environment, again displaying the
financial difficulties of the protagonist.

7) This low-angle shot displays the height of the building from the
point-of-view of the character. The building clearly looks like a
working environment. This, alongside the blue sky, which
contrasts the dark lighting of the previous shot, connotes a sense
of hope. Alongside the change in non-diegetic music with an
upbeat sound creating optimism amongst the audience. This
again links to the idea of the audience rooting for the
protagonist and also acts as an allure due to this sense of
empathy.

8) The use of this over-the shoulder close-up shot displays the


vulnerability of the young child. Similarly, the surrounding use of
the colour white emphasises this and it also connotes the
innocence of the son in conjunction with the fearful expression
which is prevalent on his face. This is a contrast to all of the
previous shots which have had a primary focus on the
protagonist rather than on his son.

9) The mise-en-scene of this wide shot conveys to the audience that


the characters are not in a home they are staying with many
other people, this therefore connotes that there is still an evident
financial struggle. The dark lighting and the shadowing conveys
the fear of the son and also his father, it also conveys the small
and confined space that they have amongst the various beds.
The fact that the protagonist is leaning over to kiss his son again
emphasises their emotional and strong relationship. As this
follows the previous shot it shows how the father is attempting to
reassure his son, this suggests that although the trailer has
primarily focused on the protagonist, his focus has always been
on looking after his son. This is extremely emotive and this is
significant within the drama and biographical genre.

10)

This extreme wide-shot shows the emptiness of the train


station and how incredibly small the characters look in
comparison. This makes the characters appear vulnerable and
isolated from the outside world. The mise-en-scene of the train
station makes it look quite run-down and abandoned which is a
parallelism to the lives of the characters.

11) As this follows the previous shot it again emphasises how


isolated the characters are. The mise-en-scene of the scene
displays how much the characters are struggling as they are in a
public bathroom, again creating a sense of sympathy. This is also
the moment that the non-diegetic music changes to a slow piano
piece of music which is extremely emotive.

12) This scene juxtaposes the previous shot as it is brightly lit,


signifying a sense of hope. It also acts as an establishing shot
displaying the location and a change in fate, which is shown
from the dark to light, this foreshadows the upcoming events.

Again, this is a typical genre convention as it sparks a sense of


hope amongst the audience that the situation is going to change
for the protagonist. Similarly, this correlates the non-diegetic
music as it changes to more upbeat and optimistic in contrast to
the dark, pessimistic music in the previous shots.

13) The final shot of the trailer is the title of the film, this plays on
the idea of walking off into the sunset, with the bright shot and
the vibrant, wealthy area. This signifies the idea that there is
hope at the end of the movie, nevertheless evoking a sense of
enigma as to what is going to happen at the end of the movie.
The font of the text looks as though the sun has been shining on
it as it is in the sky which relates to the happyness in the title
of the movie.

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