Research Into Film Trailers: Adulthood

When analysing the film trailer for Adulthood I found several conventions that illustrated the usually found in genre films. I also analysed the micro and macro features found within the trailer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhrJBUMxNMQ


Firstly the micro features found within the trailer show conventions that portray the genre of the film. It is identifiable that the genre of the film comes under a social realism, gangster hybrid, this because it portrays the extreme lifestyle of young adults and the constant use of bad language, violence and sex portrays young adults very negatively. The beginning of the trailer features the company and production names which is important as they fund the film- advertisers would be interested in the production of the film and who supports the film as well as the audiences. A non-diegetic sound is heard which is the film's soundtrack ('From Kidulthood to Adulthood') this makes audiences aware of the calibre of the film, because they have used grime/hip hop artists for their soundtrack. The first image seen is a close of two characters half naked in bed, this immediately strikes audiences as a censored film. A fade is used to split the film to a second location which shows violence and bad language further questioning the certificate of the film, you are made aware that the target audience for this film would be young adults and adults. Close ups and medium shots are used to identify what is happen in the scene and the facial expressions of the characters. Fades are constantly used throughout the film to show the passage of time and move the narrative along. The fades show a montage of images that translate what the film consists of. inter-titles are used to explain the storyline within the film and this adds drama to the trailer by putting quotes, such as, 'Time to settle the score' this makes audiences ponder on how the story is going to develop. Character's dialogue is used throughout the trailer, they are perceived as aggressive character's often using bad language and their body positioning is usually fighting and behaving violent. Quick cut editing is used that is parallel to the non diegetic sound of gunshots, this highlights the conventions found in the film and glamorises gun crime. The imagery of the scenes are put into a montage, along with the non diegetic sound, builds to a climax, to a scene of two arch enemies at gun point. The non diegetic music becomes the opposite to what was previously heard, it is sympathetic and saddening which makes audiences feel differently about the characters within the film, almost feeling sorry for their circumstances. The lighting varies between scenes but the most used lighting technique is high key.


The Macro features found within the film are parallel to the genre of the film. The setting is in central London and conveys the live of young adults living in that area. It is an extreme stereotype of youth, gang culture, with conventions, such as, gun crime, violence, promiscuity. The portrayal of their lifestyle is very negative and partially created from stereotyped presumptions. The genre of the film is a social realism film falling under a gangster hybrid. The narrative portrays the lifestyle of young adults, the dialogue within the film represents one of bad language and abusive words with a restricted code, usually used by the working class and the characters seem to use violent behaviour. All this conventions are used to mould and create the ideal trailer for this genre of film, from the use of music and the characters within the film portray an extreme representation of young adults in today's society, featuring gang sub cultures, crime, violence and sex.

The target audience for Adulthood would mirror the age group seen within the film and the previous fans from the first film Kidulthood would also enjoy watching this film to discover what happens to the characters. Audiences would find it easy to relate to the characters within in the film, although it is an extreme portrayal of this age group, the stories it entails are ones found in real life situations, such as, mourning a death of a friend.