The Perks of Being a Wallflower- Analysis

Shannon Doyle

What I notice first when looking at the teaser trailer is their use of sound during the product. I notice that the soundtrack they use is a well known and ‘top 40’

song- used throughout the teaser trailer from start to finish. This would have been used in order to appeal to the target audience- a young adult/teenage group; most probably a female audience also. The fact that most of the audience would listen to this music means that by using a well known song, the audience can already

begin to relate to the trailer and may spark interest in the film- as many films are better loved due to a good soundtrack that relates to the audience and engages

them thoroughly.Also, along with most teaser trailers, there is a strong amount of diegetic sound in the format of dialogue during the majority of the production. It would be a good

way of engaging the audience- especially as the characters are of a similar age to the intended target audience, thus helping to enhance the way in which they can

connect to the characters and their overall interest in the film.In order to connect to a similar audience with my own production, I will attempt to use a well known song for the soundtrack and include a small amount of dialogue from similar characters to enhance a connection between audience-characters.

Sound

There are 2 visible titles during this specific teaser trailer- mostly due to the extremely short length, being only 12 seconds.

The titles visually, are vibrant in colour and spark interest, without giving too much away or going on for too long. The use of a bright

green attracts the audience and will be eye-catching enough, without seeming too brash or childish. Also, in terms of the titles

themselves, the first one already attracts the interest of a possible already there fan base- ones who have read the ‘critically acclaimed novel’. The titles also use a font which seems youthful, rather than one which is quite old-fashioned or restrictive- further being able to attract the audience. Not only this but there is also no use of capitals in the titles, another more youthful element to

the titles- in another attempt to engage the audience.In terms of my own production, I may attempt a more simplistic approach like these titles do- however I feel the bright colours may not reflect the idea in the tone it should be. For this teaser trailer is a film with a more light-hearted message whereas my production has a bit more of a serious tone and thus the titles

may slightly detract from this.

Titles

In terms of the camerawork, the most common shot type used is that of a mid-shot; an effective way of showing

the audience the characters and enabling them to connect with them. Not only do they see the appearance of the characters and can engage with them in this way,

but they can also see the character’s emotions and possibly even engage with them on a deeper level as

well.However, their stronger way of connecting with the

audience is through their choice of setting. The trailer consists of clips taking place in the following of

environments; bedroom, nightclub, school. These places are ones which would be familiar to the audience, they

would already have similarities with the characters before even needing to understand their story. This is a good technique to use which does not alienate any audience members and specifically targets the intended target

audience and can enable them to strongly relate.

Camerawork/Setting

In summary, although this teaser trailer is extremely short- it still manages to be effective towards their target audience but also in what a teaser trailer

should do. The teaser trailer is constructed in a conventional way as analysed previously, but also uses multiple techniques which enable the target audience to connect

with both the characters and the story or whole film itself.The way in which it has been constructed means that their will be a strong amount of buzz surrounding the film and the audience will be engaged and

interested- wanting to watch the film as soon as it is released. This is helped also by their film already having a fan base from their novel.

In relation to my own production, I will attempt to attract a similar target audience through the use of titles, sound and the settings/characters used. This should hopefully enable the audience to understand the characters and

engage with the message behind the film.

Conclusion