Research Into Similar Products: 'Her' Trailer

In the early hours of Saturday mornings when I have nothing else better to do, sometimes I just grab my phone, go onto Youtube and go from one video to another to another. When I done this once, I was looking at a chain of different trailers until I saw the film 'Her' with one of my favourite actors; Joaquin Phoenix (what a name, eh?)

The trailer was so beautiful that I went onto IMDB to check out everything about it. And with the amount of voice acting Scarlett Johansson does in this film, no wonder I recognise her voice in anything these days (hence when I recognised her from the Jungle Book trailer) 

But after many months, I eventually watched this film in June/July and it was so gorgeous! And since it's a romance with the 'romantic interest' only being heard in the film (probably like how the main male character would be in my trailer) then I decided to put the trailer into good use and take inspiration from it:


Her-Official Trailer

"Theodore: I've never loved anyone in the way I've loved you.
Samantha: Me too. Now we know how."

I absolutely adore this trailer. From the simple, non-diegetic piano music and the diegetic dialogue of the computer OS system, allowing us to get to know the protagonist a bit more with the questions.

And just as Samantha appears with "Hi! I'm Samantha." the music changes with the caption "this fall" with really optimistic, quickening music.

The next shot of the panning of the rising sun over the city scape, then cutting to Theodore's bed with more dialogue from Samantha indicates a new dawn in his life, and a new positive influence.

With many more happy shots with such beautiful, pale colours gives a real soft atmosphere, highlighting the 'Utopian' environment and tone of the film; despite the fact the film does deal with many heavy emotions.

The music changes yet again when Samantha asks "How would you touch me?" to a song that's in the actual film (that Samantha and Theodore sings together). I love the transition from song being non-diegetic in the trailer during all the sweet, little moments between Theodore and Samantha, to the song becoming diegetic at the end of the trailer as well.

If I decide to make my trailer a theatrical release, then I think I'd take the approach of this railer; since there's limited actors and the shots change from his home, workplace and different places in the city. The trailer is mainly driven by the dialogue and acting rather than the environment they're in. So this approach would make the trailer much easier to accomplish if I don't have the pressure of having specific locations to film in all the time. I especially like the moment when Theodore is sitting at the curb of the road as Samantha discusses his beak-up. I love the humble, human, normal things people do in terms of the action.

'Her'- Trailer 2

The second trailer is just as beautiful as the first! It gives so much more depth into who Samantha is, and the lines;
"Samantha: I can feel the fear that you carry around. I wish that I could help you let go of it, because I don't think you'd feel so alone anymore.
Theodore: You're beautiful."
are just adorable, and so in line with the sorts of dialogue I love to write.

This trailer also makes me wonder, what if I make the main male character was the actual protagonist, and Senara is the equivalent of Samantha; the person he loves but cannot love since it's forbidden.

Stephen may not be available to act in my tailer as much as I'd like him to, and just as we speak he said he doesn't really want to play 'Lust' especially since it's more of a 'feminine' character and he doesn't really like the idea of wearing make-up. So, that idea's a little bit out the window, but fortunately he's still alright with playing the main male lead.

If anything, this change has made me more determined to make the male character as well-rounded and visible in the trailer as possible; it also gives the trailer the opportunity to be more like 'Her' in the sense it's all about the relationship, not entirely about Senara.

Here's another set of clips from the film, with such beautiful dialogue from the film I just found; I had to post it here since it'd be so helpful for me when thinking of moving dialogue between characters:

I adore this video; it's so honest and real (but I'm a tad annoyed at the dude in the end totally ruining the mood with his 'Rated R' line...)

"Theodore: And sometimes, I think I've felt everything I'm ever gonna feel, and from here on out I'm not gonna feel anything new...
Samantha: I know for a fact that is not true. I've seen you feel joy, I've seen you marvel at things. I mean, you just might not see it at the exact time but that's understandable. You've been through a lot lately... I thought 'why do I love you' and then I felt everything in me let go of everything I was holding onto so tightly and it hit me I don't have an intellectual reason and I don't need one; I trust myself, I trust my feelings. I'm not gonna try to be anything other than who I am anymore. And I hope you can accept that." 

I adore the above quote too. It really made me think, and it's so relatable. Words can be so beautiful...

I've also had a bit of trouble in terms of WHO and WHAT Senara is... should she still be a dark creature, or should she just be a normal girl having a rough life...

I do love the idea of her being a dark creature who has to disguise it, so I don' think I'll let go of that idea. Maybe instead the '7 Deadly Sin' idea would just be a more minor thing rather than how it was, in order to make room for exploring the relationship between the two protagonists...

And I probably have to find a new actress this time to play Lust... Unless if I multi-role as lust instead since that's Senara's biggest weakness.

It concerns me about how many ideas are still in the air, and it's not long before I should start filming; I hope I'll buck-up my ideas soon and get to grips with what I'm doing.