Analysis of a Trailer - Coronation Street

The trailer first introduces two policemen to establish that there is some sort of illegal problem within this week’s episodes. The policemen are presented in bright coloured uniform to show they have authority. In contrast, Carla is seen wearing dark, black clothes, blending in with the depressing background which is effective in foreshadowing the events that occur later on in the episode. Also, the shadows of the blinds create a sense of imprisonment symbolizing jail bars, emphasized by the lines presented. This also foreshadows the scene later shown in the trailer, where Carla is held hostage, where the implication of imprisonment is presented.

After the policemen tell Carla “It’s about your husband”, the scene cuts directly to Tony Gordon, slowly panning up from the ground, with the launch of a strong, steady beat that continues until the end of the trailer to attract the audience and strongly signify the importance of the story presented. The appearance of Tony Gordon is also emphasized by the voice of Claire who introduces him as soon as the scene cuts to Tony by the dialogue; “Guess who’s escaped… Tony Gordon”. Here, it cuts to her scene and then back at Tony, still panning slowly where the last cut had left of, in order for the audience to make a clear connection to the narrative structure. During the second clip of Tony, Maria is presented with her dialogue; “Where did they think he is?” with a sense of fear shown on her face to foreshadow her being held hostage. Within this trailer, Tony is presented in all black with a hoodie. This effectively emphasizes the stereotypical views of a negative character. Also, the fact that the scene of unraveling Tony Gordon is almost in black and white suggesting that there is some sort of unfolded mystery in his character, making the audience feel edgy.

The trailer consists of many quick cuts as the prisoner, Tony Gordon, is constantly shown after each short clip of a different scene. This emphasizes the narrative image of Tony being on the centre stage of the story. The quick cuts play a significant role in building up tension in order to attract the audience and make them question what will happen next. This curiosity in turn sells the program by obtaining more viewers to watch the soap opera.

Researching this trailer has allowed me to gain a better understanding of what is expected when promoting a storyline of a soap. As I will also be creating a soap trailer, I took a few things into consideration when analyzing this trailer. Firstly, there needs to be some sense of an interesting storyline shown in the trailer, using every possible convention to get the idea across to the viewers. The mise-en scene, as well as the editing and camera work are important elements in building up the tension, and revealing the hidden character. This will all be taken into account whilst I’m producing my soap. One thing I found effective was the emphasis on the main character in this particular storyline, where he is shown on the centre stage of the story with the majority of the trailer focusing on him. This is something I particularly liked about this trailer, and I will try to use this technique in my own trailer.