Fight Club Analysis

USP?This films USPs is mainly the unusual, random and brain teasing story line which is

advertised throughout the trailer. For example the trailer states various philosophical thoughts about the media and about how people need to release themselves after all the stress and confinement of daily life. The film also stars some famous actors such as Brad Pitt who s known to be a great actor and to only star in films which are going to

be good.The films USP also is that the film is about a concept “fight club” which has never been

thought of before, the film also can relate to many people as the audience may be feeling the same things that the “fight club” discourage.

The trailer also advertises the fact that it is made by the makers of another popular film which was a “brain teaser” called “Seven”. This is a strong USP as the audience will

know this film and think that if the makers of this film are the makers of seven, then this film must be good. The audience may also believe that the films are similar in

genre and narrative category –which they are.

In the Trailer How Does Sound Affect the Audience?

The first sound in the trailer is voice dialogue (non diegetic sound). This voice is of a man saying “hit me as hard as you can”, this being the first thing the audience hear in the trailer is quite shocking and unusual thing to hear; therefore the audience will continue to watch in wonder of why the man just said such a thing which is very uncommon to hear in normal society. The other man then replies with “why” to which the first man replies “how much can you know about your self if you've never been in a fight". Again this is an usually phrase that the audience have most probably never heard before, therefore, they are inquisitive to who this man is and what his intentions are in the film.

Due to this random and strange conversation the screen then goes black and another voice over starts which says “ wait let me start earlier” this gives the audience the indication that they are about to be told a story to explain why the earlier man just said such a strange thing. The audience will then continue to what the trailer and pay attention to understand why the earlier man asked such a strange request.

The main character then goes on to explain how this strange request came about. The character tells a story about life being a continuous circle and that everyone is simply slowly dyeing, this is a blunt harsh reality which tells the audience that this film is likely to be a movie which is revolved around a depressed man who finds way to tackle and deal with depression. The audiences then shocked for a second time when the man explains that he started what is called “Fight Club”; this explains the movie of the title which gives the audience gratification as they are starting to understand the film more and they will continue to watch this as a result. The gratification the audience get from understanding the film makes them feel good and therefore they will pay closer attention to the trailer.

The dialogue then changes into small sound clips from the movie which will shock the audience, for example one says “ your homework assignment is to start a fight with a total stranger”. This again is a strange and shocking thing to hear which will keep the audience watching the trailer to understand why these things are being said, it also keeps the audience asking more questions in there heads which can only be answered with watching the film.

This sound clips continue to play but start to be played over a song about losing your mind. This gives the audience the indication that this film is not simply about a fight club but also about a man with this mind and how a mind can change and mess with your life. This gives the audience the feel of want, want to know what happens and what the song is including by “losing your mind”. Just before the end of the film there are gun shots and shouts which give the indication that the help also involves violence and danger, this keep the audience on edge and gives them yet another reason to go and see this film, to go and find out what all these small sound clips mean in the bigger picture.

What affect does editing have on the audience?

The pace of the fight club trailer is relatively slow, this is due to the trailer telling a story at first about how the main characters life was before and how it changed because of fight club. However, as the trailer progresses and the narrative starts to pick up and become dangerous, crazy and strange, the pace of the sequence becomes faster until eventually there are many small clips all playing which show something of importance or shock/horror. For example Tyler Durden nearly getting hit by a bullet.

As the title sequences start they have a background of receptors in the brain having chemical reactions, this indicates that this film is about the brain and how it can make us feel good or bad,. It also shows how this film might mess with our brain or that the characters brain is significant to the film. This is used cleverly to give the audience a unconscious thought about the film.

At the beginning of the film there is a shot reverse shot of two men talking, these two men are very important in the film so it was done so that they would be introduced first and fore mostly to signify there importance. There conversation was also important and kicked off the whole film therefore it was important for there facial expression to be shown on there faces.

How are Titles and Inter-credits used in the Trailer

At 1 minuet and 36 seconds the “Brad Pitts” name appears on screen. This star is very famous and is widely known in society as a great actor, therefore, when people see his name they automatically associate him with the film and therefore associate his great reputation with the film, unconsciously the audience then believe that the film is going to be good. This persuades them to go and see the film and to enjoy it. The names of the other two main characters also come on screen who are also very famous, these names both have a similar affect to Brad Pitt. The names will be recognised and will be known to be in great films. The audience then go watch the film expecting it to be good. The names are also a last push to give the audience another reason why to go see the film after being hopefully interested by the rest of the trailer.

Before the trailer begins there is a institutional reference of the 20th century FOX logo. This logo is in society's mind has been the creator of great movies, this institution is also known to spend a lot of money on there films and therefore the audience believe that the film will be of high quality.

There is a second institutional reference of regency films which again promotes and distributes many successful films, as well as advertising the companies it also raises awareness that the trailer is for a high end soon to be successful movie.

Near the beginning of the trailer there is a title which states “From the director of Seven”. This reference to another film will engage the audience it thinking that this film is going to be a similar genre and theme to the one being referenced- in this case a “mind twister”. The reference also reassures the audience that the film is going to be of similar quality to the one being referenced which gives they security when paying to watch the film in the cinema.

Shot Types/Camera Angles and MovementThe first few shots of the main character explaining his life as being a misery all show him being on a low. Foe example the one of the character being in his bed, the shot is aerial which makes the audience look down on him. This makes him seem small and insignificant to the audience. In general it makes him look pathetic and depressed. This gives a sense to the audience of what the character is like at the start of the trailer compared to the end.Later on when the characters explains that fight club has been established there is a longshot of two men fighting in a car park, there are also people grouped around these two men. This shows that the club was gaining popularity and was being enjoyed by more and more men. This shows the audience how quickly fight club escalates. Due to the strange nature of the fight club the audience want to know why so many men were interested and start asking further questions that can only be answered wen the film has been watched.

Near the beginning of the trailer there is a zoom in on one of the main character face, she is wearing sun glasses with dark clothing and slowly smoking a cigarette. This represents her to be mysterious, dark and strange. The way the character is being portrayed make her seem like the sort of characters that would not get along with many other characters, the audience establish this thought of her and keep that thought in their heads, however, this representation of her changes as later in the trailer she becomes more emotional.

One of the moments in the trailer a man is punched and falls to the floor. As he falls the floor the camera is placed next to his head and a close up is used to show the red blood on his white face, this shows the pain and hurt he must be feeling from the punch, this emotion is shown to the audience to again shock them and to entice them to see the film to find out whey he was punched.

Mise en scene including: lighting, costume, props, location, make-up

and hairAt the start of the trailer we see two men in a car park talking. The audience can quickly make assumptions about the two men from simple things such as what they are wearing and how they are styled. One of the men is styled with spiky hair and a large coloured floral shirt which stands out, he is also wearing a red leather jacket. All of this clothing stands out and connotes that the man is comfortable with himself and his dress sense reflects his personality of being eccentric and vibrant. On the other hand the other male has a neat simple hair style with a pair of dull, plain and simple clothes which also reflect his personality of being safe, plain and basic with his needs. The audience can understand these two men quickly before the trailer really starts and this quick understanding of the characters is useful to the audience as they can start to relate to them and therefore want to see how they progress in the trailer and therefore the film.

Genre / Audience

The genre of this film is not obvious until later on in the trailer when fights start to occur and explosion start to take place.

However, due to the depressive attitude at first of the man and the strange events that take place in the trailer, it is soon

apparent that the film is a Drama, although it is on the borderline of other genre is some scenes it can be securely

rounded up into being a drama. Drama also have a very wide ranging audience and therefore can attract a lot of people. This film can also be watched by many people are it is not of two of an extreme in any direction to put anyone off watching the film. The film makes people think and surprizes people in a way that

is not considered to be any genre.

Narrative

The narrative in the trailer is shown fairly well with the voice over telling a story, the voice over explains how fight club develops and how his life was before fight club, however, it doesn't give to much about how the club develops to the audience to keep the audience on edge to see the film and to gratify themselves in seeing the rest of the film. The most on edge and interesting parts of the trailer are shown to attract the audience to go and see the film to see how the rest of the narrative plays out.

The narrative is also an interesting one due to the fact that no other film has done a story like this one, fight club is very unique and has a story line with many twists in it, the makes the narrative the best part of the film as this is what I believe make the film so great. The trailer shows the narrative in a careful way to inform the audience but to not let go of the main reason why they are making the trailer- to attract the audience.