Matrix Trailer: market research

The trailer starts with the Warner Bros title sequence, introducing the producers early on. It then cuts to the series of shots of 'Neo' in his ordinary life, with the captions shown to set the idea that life is normal for him. The shots are brief, with little movement and generally are mid shots to set the location as well as the character.

The music is an instrumental orchestra, beginning softly in the first act until it is broken up by an electronic sound effect while 'As a slave!' comes up on screen.

The voiceover begins to explain what Matrix is, whilst mirroring whats being said with shots of what happens,  mostly through close ups of body parts and Neo's face. The Matrix is then revealed, as the music becomes louder and the tempo quickens, as the 'villains' are presented, them being the men in suits. The voiceover thus swaps to that of the lead villain explaining their intentions, which reveal a lot about the plot.

Act 1 consist of the setup of the character Neo, and how his life was before he changed.
Act 2 is then the plot development with the voiceover to reveal the narrative. As Matrix is revealed the music quickens and tension increases, with pyro-technics, fight scenes and emphasis on supernatural element.
Act 3 ends the trailer with a montage of the action, including a lot of close ups, violence and explosions.

The entire trailer is done in a slight green tint, giving it the si-fi supernatural element, as well as the slight resemblance of film noir shown through the chiaroscuro. It is the film noir aspect that I am looking to include in my own work, yet more in the Matrix kind of way, as it is not overly close to the classic film noir style.

The titles are formed in green from random code, as to emphasise the futuristic element.

EL