Disclosure Trailer Analysis

The trailer begins with the poster, showing not only the nature of the film straight away (dark and sexual, which is signified by the picture and colour of the clothing) but also the famous actors names. The womans costume in the poster straight away tells the audience that this is a work related affair, due to her smart dress.  

The main character is then introducted in a state of equillibrium through close-ups, mid shots and long shots, as happy non-diegetic music plays over a scene of him with his family. This gives the impression that the audience know him well as they can see a lot of him. This music tells the audience that he is the protagonist, as it signifies happiness.

Just after the state of equillibrium is established, the music changes to a much more sinister sound and the lighting becomes much darker. This tells the audience that the film becomes darker and more problomatic as it progresses and gives the idea that it is going to be thrilling.

The antagonist is then introduced into this more sinister side to the trailer through the use of a mid shot, deliberately not revealing her whole self, creating an air of mystery.Through dialogue the audience become aware that this woman has 'taken' the protagonists job promotion.

The next significant shot shows the antagonist putting lipstick on in a close-up after the protagonist says "I had a thing with her." By displaying her applying make-up to her lips directly after the audience becomes aware that the two characters had sexual relations, a sexual image is made of the woman, forshadowing her role in the film.

Directly after this, the protagonist is shown in a dark light. This signifies his downfall into darkness, which is shown to be because of the woman in the trailer, as he is is shown to be in darkness after she is introduced.

A downward panning shot shows the married couple in bed, who were previously in a state of equillibrium. The shot pans into darkness, changing scene to reveal the antagonist. This not only signifies the downfall of their marriage, but it heavily suggests that the antagonist is widely responsible, as her face lays at the bottom of the panning shot.

A mid-shot shows the two main characters are then shown to be kissing passionately. This fulfills the suspician made by the trailer about the couple, and also shows how this film is going to be passionate and problematic.

A title is used to break up the progression of a problem into a really big problem. The music changes as the title fades and becomes much more spine-tingling and the narrative begins to unfold through the use of the dialogue, "she said you sexually harrassed her" and "you get back here and finish what you started or you're dead!"

A 'helper' is introduced to show the audience that characters are added and the whole plot becomes more complicated as the film goes on.

Perhaps to show a 'modern' twist, the image of an email is shown. This is used to show that the film is an up-to-date thriller, as the concept of an email was fairly new at the time.

A sequence of dimly lit action shots are then shown, interwoven with shots of the protagonist and his wife. This shows the audience that there is going to be problems within the household, a family that seemed so happy in the beginning of the trailer.

The trailer then shows computer-based shots, as well as almost sci-fi feeling shots. This adds an element of mystery to the film as the basic storyline is made clear.

As expected from any trailer, one the audience is hooked on the storyline, the actors/actresses are glorified and then the films title is shown.

The colour scheme used is very significant. Red is not only the colour of lust and passion, but the colour of danger. The use of black cements these signifiers and suggests that the film is mainly about the bad things associated with the colour red.

The use of signifiers is very significant in this trailer, which is widely explored by Barthes as an important piece of any narrative.

This was a good trailer to analyse, as not only does it fit with our chosen genre, psychological thriller, it also seems to have similar narrative ideas of obsession.