Reservoir Dogs Trailer: market research



The trailer starts with the catch phrase: 'every dog has its day', immediately suggesting a sense of threat. This is followed by the introduction of the characters, going through calling them Mr white, Mr pink etc. This immediately sets up the characters.


The music builds the excitement, with the background guitar creating a lighter mood compared to later on in the trailer. The voice in the music begins as the characters are 'set to work'.

The slow motion of the characters together is cut along with the music to a gun being prepped. This darkens the mood, and the atmosphere is no longer the same, while the two shot in the car begins to reveal the plot of the story. That being the heist, as one of the men says 'cut off one of his fingers', which initially introduces the element of horror and shock.

The same soundtrack is used throughout, something that is not seen in more modern films, but it works as it fades out at scenes of importance to build the suspense.

There are almost four acts, the first being the introduction of the characters.
Act 2 is then the plot development, and explanation of the narrative.
This is followed by act 3 which is a montage of action scenes, which swiftly moves onto act 4 which is the actors names. (though act 3 and 4 are very closely linked).

The titles are simple white text on black background, yet this almost reflects the simplistic qualities of the film.

EL