Initial research: genre trailer analysis - Friends With Benefits

Institutional information

Friends With Benefits is a romantic comedy that was released on 22/07/2011, and directed by Will Gluck. The film stars Mila Kunis, Justin Timberlake and Patricia Clarkson, with Keith Merryman and  David A. Newman being the writers of the film. Friends With Benefits had a budget of $35,000,000 and after 1 month of being release it made a gross income of $55,802,754. It has received a rating of 6.6 stars out of 10 on the IMDb website, and was produced by Screen Gems, Castle Rock Entertainment, and Zucker Productions, with Sony Pictures Releasing distributing the film in the UK.

Narrative

A young female headhunter (Mila Kunis) in New York convinces a potential recruit (Justin Timberlake) to accept a job in the Big Apple. Despite an attraction to each other, both realize they're everything they've been running from in a relationship and decide to see what happens if they leave emotion out of it and keep it strictly physical. The film follows a linear narrative, and adheres to Todorov's theory with an equilibrium, disruption and resolution. However it does slightly steer away from Todorov, with a mini disruption at the beginning of the trailer; we are shown a montage of the two main protagonists breaking up their relationships, which stereotypically is seen as a major disruption in other romance films. In this situation the equilibrium comes after the mini disruption, where they from a physical-only relationship. The main disruption comes when Jamie realises that she has actually developed feelings for Dylan, despite taking an 'oath' to swear that there would eb no feelings in this relationship.

We are shown the mini disruption through montage of the two protagonists breaking up their relationships; their situations are juxtaposed and cut together to show the similarities between the conversations that they are having. Although this in theory a disruption, with out this happening their would be no story line for the film, and the montage shots are matched with up-beat music, signifying that it isn't as bad as it stereotypically would be. The shots shown in this montage are mainly over the shoulder shots because it helps to show the protagonists feeling to the audience.
After this comes the equilibrium, where the characters work out a 'physical only' relationship and we see happiness during this time. This is followed by a hint of a second disruption; that they begin to develop feelings for each other despite swearing that they wouldn't. This is shown by a long shot a 2:04 where the main female protagonists talks about not 'buying into the Hollywood cliché of true love'. The trailer doesn't show much of the disruption or any of the resolution, which leaves the audience guessing the rest of the plot. This is a stereotypical convention of trailers as it encourages the audience to see the full movie when released in order to find out the remaining information about the film.

The titles of the film don't appear until 2:16, which is about 20 seconds before the end of the trailer. The white and orange text on a black background makes the text stand out, as well as the colour white representing innocence, which is something that the characters could assume that their relationship is as there are no feelings involved.

Target audience

The target audience for this film would be aimed at a female and male audience of 15 - 30. This is because the age certificate is 15, and due to the nature of some of the scene in the film, it wouldn't be suitable for anyone under the age of 15. 

Mise en scene

In contrast with other film trailers that I have analysed, Friends With Benefits doesn't open with an ident shot of the production or distribution companies. Instead, these are located at the end of the trailer with the title shot, with small logos in the corner of the shot. Instead, the opening shot is an establishing shot of a city that looks like New York, which could connoted that the characters in this film are business men/women, as New York is a very developed city and is home to many successful careers. This also informs the audience as to the language that the characters will speak and the nationality that they are; this can be stereotyped as being white American.

This shot is followed by text, which says 'Bad relationships' in orange and white; this automatically signifies that this is a romance film as it involves some type of relationship. The colours that are used are bright and stand out from the black background, with the orange representing elements of being free willed and open minded; combined with the narrative of this film it may portray that the characters is this film have experimental personalities. Only using orange on the first letter of each word makes a bold statement and is in contrast to the white, which represents innocence and purity, signifying the different aspects to their relationship together.


This shot shows a high angle mid shot which represents the use of an iPad when the two protagonists are taking an 'oath' to ensure that they don't develop any emotions in the course of their relationship shows the development of what used to be a very traditional and religious act. Conventionally, oaths are performed in a court room where a witness swears to tell the truth, and it sworn with the hand on top of a hard copy of the Holy Bible. The use of modern technology in this trailer shows the time period that this film is set in, as well as the fact that doing this through the use of an iPad makes the 'oath' less serious, meaning that it signifies the promise could potentially be broken and the characters develop feeling for each other. Using modern technology will also allow the audience to relate more to the character as many people have the same device, making it more enjoyable to watch.

The use of lighting in this film varies depending on the tone that a particular scene is trying to
portray. For example, in the beginning of the trailer there is a montage of the two main protagonists breaking out of their relationships, and this is carried out in the street at night, with the darkness of the sky representing the situation that is occurring. The use of high key lighting is shown when the characters first meet, and they decide to form a 'sex only' relationship; the light used reflects their happiness at meeting some and the anticipation of the relationship they wish to develop. However in contrast with the sad situation that the low key lighting is used in, it also is used in the sexual scenes, where the darkness portrays passion and intimacy within the couple. This is a cliché and very stereotypical for a romance film - the dimmed lights create a more passionate/romantic setting suggesting there is an ambiance between the two characters.
There are many shots withing this trailer that show the two characters with no clothes on; this helps to represent the narrative of the film and also shows that the two character are comfortable in each others company.

Editing

One of the editing techniques that this trailer uses is a montage effect at the beginning of the trailer; it shows two almost identical situations where the main protagonist are involved in the same conversation but in different locations with different people. The conversation that they are having is about a breakup, which not only represents the genre of the film but the topic foreshadows what may happen on the rest of the film. The montage cuts between the two conversations and intersperses them between each other, which shows the audience that the conversations are the same. Putting this at the beginning of the trailer sets the film up for the viewer as they are able to work out what will happen after this. There are select shots in the montage that have been chosen to match the other persons actions, for example an over the shoulder shot on one of the protagonists will cut to the same shot but with the other main character.
There are also a number of shot reverse shots in the trailer, which portrays the action of a conversation and allows the audience to experience continuity in conversation with characters filmed at eye-level. It is meant to immerse audiences in the dialogue, and thus the story, instead of directing their attention to the visual style.
There is a number of fade to blacks and also fade from black to the shot, and these edits 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.

Camera angles 

In the Friends with Benefits there is a variety of camera angles that are used; one of these is a high angle shot of the two protagonists holding their hands on the top a digital bible that is on an iPad. The use of a big angle camera shot signifies the focus that should be on the object that is centre screen - this is the bible on the iPad, as by using modern technology combined with a old tradition that is often taken very seriously in other situations, it alerts the audience as to the unconventional use of swearing an oath in this casual scenario. The high angle creates more impact on the shot as there is only one central focus on the screen, allowing the audience to pay attention to the only thing that is filling the screen. 

Another camera angle that was used is an over the shoulder mid shot, that shows both of the protagonists standing naked in front of the each other. This shot has been used to represent the relationship that they both have, and the intimacy that they experience when together. The shot is a convention of most romance films as it shows elements of a relationship that nobody else except the participants of that relationship would see; it therefore allows the audience to feel as though they are part of the relationship as they have seen this intimacy that no one else is supposed to see. The shot shows how comfortable the characters are with each other, as well as the fact that they can trust one another. 

This extreme long shot acts as an establishing shot, to locate the audience to exactly where the characters are. The sign is very ionic and is world known, so the audience will have no trouble identifying where the protagonists are; it is also known that people are not allowed anywhere near the sign, so when later in trailer it shows the two people sitting on the sign, it can give an insight that their personalities are rebellious and that they share this trait; a stereotypical convention of romance films is where couples share similar traits 

Sound 

The trailer begins with non-diegetic soundtrack; the soundtrack is very upbeat and has a fast tempo, and it begins with the opening establishing shot of New York. The type of music played isn't stereotypical of the romance genre, as it has quite a heavy beat and an upbeat vibe; this may connote the main characters personalities as they have an unconventional relationship therefore the music represent this. Alongside the music there is diegetic dialogue that matches the scenes shown, of the two protagonists having conversations. Combined with the music, it creates an almost comedic effect, which subverts a stereotypical romance, however as this film is a RomCom the style of music fits with the genre of the film. The diegetic dialogues continues, while the background music abruptly stops when they are discussing the terms of the relationship. It does this to bring more focus to the topic of conversation as it isn't conventional in romance, as well as to draw the audiences attention. The music then starts again after this scene. At 1:11, there is non diegetic dialogue that runs over the top of multiple establishing shots. A number of music background tracks merge throughout the entire trailer, all of which have the same style of beat and tempo; this signifies the tone in the film, as there is no point in the trailer where the tone of music changes. The background music is the last sound heard in the trailer and it fades out at the end.