'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1' (Francis Lawrence, 2014) Trailer Breakdown

Conventions

The job of a trailer is to point out the film’s best moments and this trailer is successful in doing so. This is a sequel to ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ (Francis Lawrence, 2013) and so the audience is already aware of the film’s genre however the trailer makes evident to any new viewers that it is an adventure film. The trailer features a backing track, which is one usually, associated with battle and warfare, essential in creating atmosphere. At the beginning of the trailer, the voice of the character, Katniss Everdeen, is heard saying, “I never wanted any of this, I never wanted to be in the games. I just wanted to save my sister and keep Peeta alive.” This line is appealing to those who have seen the two films previous, as there is reference to what happened in the prequels. The character of President Snow says, “It’s the things we love most, that destroy us.” This piece of dialogue suggests that during the film, the character of Katniss (the heroin) could potentially lose herself and make decisions she regrets. Throughout the trailer, there are no images of Katniss and Peeta together which perhaps suggests that her ultimate goal in the film is to find Peeta and bring him, home. There are many scenes of destruction; pictures of buildings being crushed and planes being shot out of the sky that suggest that there is a war or battle which will occur in the film, which links to the backing track. An essential part of trailers is to display the film’s stars and this trailer does so, giving actors such as Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth and Julianne Moore their deserved limelight. The title of the film does not appear on screen until the trailer is finished, which makes the viewer remember its name. This also leaves the viewer curious as to what the title of the film is all throughout the trailer.

Target Audience

The target audience for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay is mainly for teens as the main characters of the film are teenagers. As this is a sequel, the producers would have added scenes in the trailer that would appeal to viewers of the prequel.

1. Where's this airship headed? Are we getting our first look at District 13 from above or is this when Katniss heads to District 8 for some propaganda filming?

2. War!!! This teaser was filled with violence from peacekeepers against the people of Panem, so we think that the film will go more into the aspects of war in Panem than the book did.

3. Into the trees! Rebellion is spreading so this is maybe District 11 where the people have orchards and whatnot. It is also where Rue was from and we all know she was pretty good at climbing trees! Then again, it could be the lumber district (District 7).

4. Panic! We see a bunch of people running around as Katniss is staring down. Maybe this is when people have to evacuate to the bunkers? That might also mean Katniss is trying to find Prim!

5. Natalie Dormer as Cressida! We already know that Cressida will have a bigger role in the movies than she does in the book so we're excited to see how Dormer does!

6. Katniss walking amongst injured people in battle gear. We're guessing this is when she is with Gale at the hospital to film a propos! This would make some sense since the trailer also showed an explosion near them. Also, note the colors on her arrows. Are these the fancy new ones Beetee made for her?