Initial research: genre trailer analysis - Me before you

Institutional information 

Me before you is a romance drama film that was released on 3/6/2016, and features Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Jenna Coleman, Vanessa Kirby and Matthew Lewis. The film was directed by Thea Sharrock and was written by Jojo Moyes, who publishes the book before collaboratively working on the film with Thea. The gross takings from the film at present $56,228,651, with a budget of $20,000,000. Me before you has a rating of 7.5 stars out of 10 on IMDb website, and the film was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), New Line Cinema and Unswept Entertainment.

Target audience 

As this film deals with some difficult issues such as assisted suicide, the traget audience for Me before you would be females aged 15 - 30. This is because there is some suggestive material in the film, but the snestive issues that are represented wouldn't be suitable for anyone much younger than 13; the age rating is PG 13. Me before you would be easily accessible for women older than 30 due to the topics that it presents, however due to the sterotypes of romance films, males wouldn't be included in the primary target audience. 

Narrative

This romance drama film features Louisa Clark, who has just lost her job and is now completely out of her comfort zone. A job being a carer for Will Trainer, a disabled man who was injured in a motorcycle accident, and in a last attempt at securing a career she goes for a trial. The narrative follows them as they build a relationship and attempt to change each others lives for the better. The film has a linear narrative, and is based over a series of 6 months, the time in which Will has given his parents to try and change his mind on ending his life at Dignitas.
The film starts in somewhat of an equilibrium with Louisa innocently looking for a job in order to help support her family, although unknown to the audience the disruption has already occurred; Will's crash. From the point that the two protagonists meet, there are multiple disruptions that add to the drama of the film, for example one disruption that occurs is the tension that is present between the characters; Will doesn't like Louisa. However this mini disruption is solved when they eventually fall in love. One of the biggest disruptions is when Louisa finds out that Will is planning on committing suicide at Dignitas; this is the theme that runs throughout the film trailer.
The trailer for the film also is sequenced chronologically, taking the important clips form the film and ordering them so that they make sense and reveal some of the story line to the audience. Throughout the trailer there are a number of shots with a red background that use text to reveal some of the key information about the film. Following a convention of most trailers, the title of the film comes right at the end of the trailer, and it on a red background, which indicate the genre of the film as it connotes love and passion.

Mise en scene

The opening of the film trailer begins with three idents on the same shot that shows the three production companies that have contributed to the making of the film. Having them at the start of the trailers means that the audience will made aware as to who made the film, which promotes their company and increases awareness. The fact that there are three different production companies suggests that this is a high budget film due to the number of high profile companies that want to be involved with the making of the film.

The first shot other than the dents is an establishing high angle shot that shows a castle and village in the background. The shot shows the audience where the film is located, and allows them to familiarise themselves with the setting. By setting the film in a castle, it connotes that the location is set in England as this is a stereotypical historical place that is associated with the country. The area that is shown in this shot may allow the audience to make assumptions as to who the characters may be; stereotypically people who live in an area as shown would be high income citizens who could be seen as 'posh'.

This long shot following the first shot shows two characters who are the focus of the shot as they are central. The sign that is behind them says 'Job Centre', which suggests that the female character, who looks distressed, is looking for a job. This subverts what the audience would have expected given the establishing shot that was shown, and changes the way that the audience will view the character. The location of this shot represents that the character may be in a disadvantaged situation as she doesn't have a job, a convention that isn't often shown in romance films.

This long shot shows the female protagonist walking through the door holding a bunch of flowers; the flowers are a stereotypical convention of romance fils as they are often given as a present to a romantic partner. However this slightly subverts the stereotype of the male giving the flowers to the female, as this is what normally happens in romance films. The subversion of this act signifies that there is something different about the relationship shown in the film; the shots showing the male protagonist in a wheel chair is something that isn't often used in romance films - conventionally the males are meant to be the strong characters and the ones who the females rely on. In this film these roles are reversed. Equally, the clothing she is wearing in this shot isn't something that is normally seen in a romance; the film often tries to present the female character as being attractive and desirable through the use of wearing revealing clothes, where as in this trailer she is shown wearing bright and bold dollars that cover her up. It helps to represent her personality, which will appeal to the target audience as they will feel as if they know her, allowing them to form a connection with her and engage in the film.

This close up of the two protagonists in bed is a stereotypical shot that is commonly seen in romance films. It signifies that they have feelings for each other, and that these have developed over the time in which they have been together. The soft lighting in this shot connotes happiness and calmness, which is associated with being in love and having feeling towards someone.

Editing

Me before you shows a number of editing techniques, and one example of this is a match on action editing. The shots show the female protagonist opening and walking through a door before showing the setting she is waking towards. This then cuts back to her walking away from the door. Using this edit helps to show continuity through the shots and creates a 'visual bridge' for the audience to not only see the action she is carrying out, but also to locate themselves in the scene so they can understand where she is. 

As the trailer continues, there are more fade to black edits which are placed in-between shots where the scene totally changes. This has been done to help distinguish the locations of each scene which makes it easier for the audience to follow the narrative as they will understand that the scene has changed and they are at a different part of the narrative.  The transitions is a fairly quick fade to black, and could indicate a time lapse of a few minutes or hours. The fade to black is also used to note a change of tone in the trailer. The scene after the one on the right is of the female protagonist sitting on a swing looking over the town she lives in, and along side slightly duller colours that the previous scene, it signifies that the tone has changed to something more serious as the colours of the garden before represent happiness. 

Camera angles 

The first establishing shot that is shown in the trailer tracks over the castle and into the village, all at a high angle. It informs the audience as to where the majority of the film will take place, as well as giving them an insight into the lives of the main characters.
 There is also a shot reverse shot included in the beginning of the trailer that switches between the main female protagonist and the person she is talking to, who we can assume is an employee at the Job Centre. A shot reverse shot is often used to make emphasis on a specific object or environment.
This extreme close up on the right shows the two protagonists in the film very close in proximity with the female shaving the males face, which we learn is because the male is paralysed from the neck down. Despite the fact that she has been hired as a carer, this shot portrays a more intimate image of the two; this is an activity that is stereotypically either carried out by the individual or someone they are close to was it is quite a private thing to do. As a result this shot suggests that there is a potential relationship between them and therefore conforms to a conventional romance film.

Sound

The beginning of the trailer has non diegetic dialogue which is played over the top of an establishing shot, along side a sound bridge of an upbeat sound track. The sound track has a reasonably fast tempo  and because of this is represents happiness and brightness. The conversation involves a male and a female discussing jobs, and the shot then change to the scene with the same conversation - this allows the audience to learn who was speaking. The soundtrack the gets louder and the tempo increases, and the acoustic element to it also increases; the guitar in the soundtrack is stereotypically associated with romance so conforms to the conventions of this genre and also indicates the genre to the audience. This continues until a more serious scene where the male character reflects on his past; at this point the sound track stops and a film score, Photograph by Ed Sheeran begins, which is followed by more romantic scene from the film. Gradually the film score gets louder, until a scene with diegetic dialogue where the male protagonist announces his love for the woman.