Media Essay

For the following Media Essay I examined the trailer for Science Fiction/ Action Adventure hybrid movie spectacular Jupiter Ascending, to see how large, corporate Hollywood Media conglomerate studios such as Universal Studios market a film to appeal to it's target audience of male viewers, a similar target audience to that of our production; in the hope that, albeit on a smaller scale, we are able to emulate some of the measures used to befit our own smaller scale production.

“How is the trailer for the film Jupiter Ascending constructed to appeal to its target audience?”

 

 As with many trailers, the trailer for “action adventure” film Jupiter Ascending is constructed to appeal to its target demographic in a multitude and a variety of ways with the ultimate aim of encouraging their targeted audience to go and see the new film upon its release and exhibition in cinemas.

• The Genre of the film trailer Jupiter Ascending is presented to the audience overtly to the audience as belonging to the genre of Science Fiction. This becomes evidently clear to the audience due to the setting of the trailer being predominantly set in the deep regions of space. An element of Science fiction also becomes clearly apparent to the viewer due to the repeated use of advanced technology shown in the trailer to the viewer. It is these subtleties that inform the viewer almost instantaneous of the film trailer beginning as to what the genre of the film will be given the clear indicators shown through the fantastical setting of deep space.   
•  The Narrative of the film trailer is one that is fast paced and full of action. Typically, the narrative presented to the viewer in the trailer is one that has been presented in many guises before in varying film titles. In Jupiter Ascending, this typical story has been replenished with different characters and a revitalised and regenerated surrounding to bring the story up to date for a modern age. The narrative of the film is a simple construct in that it follows the story of an unbeknownst individual who possesses a great deal of previously unknown power. Indeed, in the trailer the female protagonist is told that she “is entitled to the Earth” and that she only needs to claim it from the cruel and antagonistic character revealed only as Emperor Barmelow who intends to “harvest the Earth” before it is taken from him. She is aided by an attractive male bounty hunter who intends to see her take her rightful position in the hierarchal position of intergalactic politics. 
• Pace The pace of the trailer is very energetic and fast paced and it is this fast pace that drives the narrative of the story forward in the trailer, as the trailer is somewhat relentless in its pace with a few hiatus moments in the trailer to provide the audience opportunity to catch their breath.
• Target Audience The target audience of the trailer is orientated towards the male demographic as we see the female protagonist in distress and being saved by an attractive and good looking male protagonist to attract female members of the audience.
• Voiceover: The trailer requires little use of a voiceover as the relevant audience information that conventionally would be expected to perhaps be found through a voiceover is presented to the audience as titles onto the viewing screen. Relevant information such as the producers and investors of the film project, in this instance Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures, are presented to the audience through the use of intertitles as well as the producers of the film project who in this case are credited as having been behind the hugely successful action and adventure film trilogy of the Matrix.
• Credits and Intertitles In the absence of a voiceover being used in the trailer, it is the credits and intertitles dispersed throughout the trailer that convey to the audience the necessary and relevant information about the film that they require such as who produced the film and additionally who directed.  
• Soundtrack and Music The music builds to a crescendo and tumultuous conclusion as the trailer steadily progresses to ramp up the tension and increase the intensity of the situations with which the characters are placed in to energise the audience to go and see the full feature film.
• Shot Types/ Camera Angles. Perhaps in order to successfully and eloquently demonstrate the vast expanse of the setting of the film, it is largely wide angle shots that are used in the majority of the trailer as it is through this viewing angle that the audience are able to obtain the maximum scope and vision of the immersive world of the film.
• Special effects: If there is one thing that the trailer is keen to showcase in it’s upmost above all other aspects of the trailer, then it is the special effects and the financial expenditure that has been invested into the project. Without Special Effects and the advancements in CGI computer technology the film would hold little attraction or serious contention to large media outlets and large  media conglomerate cinema chains, which would be looking to the trailer as a means of persuasion from the film studio to showcase the film in their cinema, with the aim to convince the cinema chain that the film will be a sound success financially and a money spinner for the cinema, a gamble worth investing in as the likelihood remains that it will pay off for both commercial parties and do well at the box office.  Perhaps more importantly, however, is the fact that as the film is classifying itself into the genre of Science Fiction with the setting holding a very futuristic feature and element to it instantly encapsulates the audience into the world of the film.
• Unique Selling Point of the trailer The Unique Selling Point of this trailer is it’s unique ability to not only captivate the audience in it’s first instance with the exotic and vibrant fantastical locations of a future galactic age but to maintain the interest of audience members by providing a level of relate-ability to members of the target audience who, no doubt at some point during the trailer’s duration, are questioning their connectivity and relate-ability to the characters given the setting of the trailer and the daring situations from which the characters must escape from to ensure their continued survival. The point of most relate-ability for audience members in my eyes would, most probably, occur in the portion of the trailer where we see the attractive female protagonist, identified in the trailer as on an intergaltic scale possessing an extremely influential and powerful position in the hierarchy of foreign politics, participating in an arduous and mundane task of cleaning out the latrines. This moment in the trailer not only appeals to the audience in terms of being able to relate to the character’s situation but also provides humour for the audience as it is both unexpected and rather comical to see a character in a position of such unbeknownst power to be partaking in such a job devoid of vivacious nature and variety.  

To conclude, the trailer uses a variety of media film elements that aim to construct a viable and attainable profitmaking film for the producers of the project without compromising on the quality of the finished product.