Trailer Analysis

The first thing that immediately stands out with this trailer is the sound. They have deliberately split the sound between the two speakers. They have the non-diegetic music on one side and the dialogue on the other. This is very effective because you are unable to really connect with the action because of the distortion; however it provides more of an emotional impact because you are able to hear the importance and emotion involved in the dialogue. The non-diegetic music sounds heroic at the same time as sounding otherworldly as though there is an alternative motive to his actions. The music becomes beaty nearer the end implying the importance of that area of action, it then declines to one held note to hold the tension of the action. The way in which they have applied the music to this trailer is effective for they imply the intensity of the action and when the most sensitive parts are with the hype of the music.

The trailer starts with the main character, Ben (played my Will Smith), swimming through the sea and referencing the bible and how God created the world in seven days and then compares that to his own life and he says “And in seven seconds I shattered mine”. It then cuts to a split screen of a close up of the profile of his face with an image of him jogging in the rain down a road, as though he is drowning his sorrows and guilt.

It then cuts to a black screen and subtitles fade in and out saying ‘Ben Thomas has a secret’ and these subtitles appear throughout the trailer for the next one which appears says ‘Seven strangers he must choose’, this subtitle makes us think for what reason would he choose seven strangers? And why seven? This makes the audience question what the story is about and makes them want to watch more. ‘Seven lives he must change’ this also makes us think about why he should change these people’s lives? He then refers that he is giving these people gifts which they deserve as though he is a hero and rewarding those who are heroes within themselves. ‘Seven acts…that lead…to one truth’ this now makes us think what this truth may be and intrigues its audience. It then cuts into a more cut together collection of action which builds up the tension and emotion and then has more black screens which says ‘One man’, ‘One chance’, ‘No turning back’, these three collective words imply to us that he is willing to do a heroic act which he may not be able to recover from and this makes us wonder what will happen to him that will conclude with this. The trailer then ends with Will Smiths name and then cuts to the trailer tile ‘Seven Pounds’ giving the piece more impact and making its audience want to watch it.

Will Smith is considered a unique selling point for the film and trailer because he is a well known actor appreciated in the film industry also another unique selling point is this film is the directed by the same person who did the pursuit of happiness also, starring Will Smith. These will help sell the film because ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’ is a film which had a huge impact upon its audience and did well in the worldwide gross of the film with $304,850,102.