Breaking apart a film trailer: Max Payne

Here I will explore the conventions in the 2008 film Max Payne

The first shot we get in the trailer is of the protagonist of the film submerged in water in an unconscious state. This could be seen as an unconventional way of introducing a character as it shows his possible death right at the start of a film trailer. Doing something like this may draw an audience in so that they can find out how the protagonist got into this position.

After the opening shots of the protagonist underwater we are shown a series of brief shots of other characters before being brought back to the shot of the protagonist. This gives the shots a dream sequence like feel as if the protagonist has or will encounter the characters in the shots and the images of them are going through his head as he drowns.

This shot is the final shot in between the two 'drowning scenes and is of candles and what looks like some sort of tombstone object. With its placement being before the shot fades back to the protagonist this could be a metaphor for death used to emphasis the fact that the character is drowning. Slowly fading back into the shot of the protagonist further links them making a more definite connection between the symbols relating to death and the potential for the protagonist to die.

This shot starts to represent conventions that would be familiar to a detective/noire film fan. It has a dark, mysterious vibe and the buildings suggest it is set in a dense metropolitan area. The main feature in the shot is a helicopter with a searchlight scanning the building. Helicopters like this are often used by police forces in detective/noire settings. Because of the darkness in the majority of the shot the searchlight stands out and almost seems to represent the safety that the police force represent.