Film Trailer Analysis: The Maze Runner

As the trailer begins we are immediately introduced to a character whom we see through a high angle shot which helps demonstrate his sense of helplessness as he seems to be stuck in some sort of containment. Diagetic sound is present during this scene as we can hear the somewhat panicked breathing of the character who we can assume is the protagonist due to his immediate inclusion in the trailer. We can empathise with his character through the use of a closeup to help us see his facial expressions emphasising the emotions he is showing. As the scene develops we see a group of characters supposedly standing over the protagonist as we see them through a pov shot, as they are above him it suggests the power they currently have over him as this contrasts the high angle shot we see of his character making him seem weak and somewhat vulnerable to them. We are also introduced to another character whom we can judge as being a leader of sorts as he labels the character 'greenie' suggesting that the protagonist contains the least amount of power.

We are shown the familiar logo of 20th century fox to help appeal to the audience as they can easily link this film to other successful films made by the company and also suggests that this will be of high quality as well, enticing them into watching the film. The logo is shown with the accompaniment of a low pitched non-diagetic sound to help add effect onto the scene being shown where we can see the character and his surroundings through an arc shot to help highlight the feel of isolation and allows us to sympathise with the protagonist through the dialogue presented as well. The protagonist is constantly being shown as vulnerable in the opening stages of the trailer but this may be used to help further his development to the audience as they may be able to relate to him more and so would enjoy the stotyline more. This is similarly portrayed as the characters amnesia seems to be portrayed with the other minor characters as well, suggesting some sort of mystery as to who caused them the amnesia in the first place, immersing the audience into what is being said between the characters.

The scene shifts from day time to night to help contrast the characters we can expect to see in the film as the daylight helped introduce a couple of characters along with the protagonist whilst the night is used primarily to emphasise the supposed antagonist of the movie through a type of roar in the maze. The plot of the story is also unveiled around this time through a two shot of the protagonist and another character where we learn that they are trying to escape the maze which may foreshadow the protagonists involvement in the film. The location further adds to the mystery as we see a panning up shot of the maze to help portray the sheer size of the maze and allows us to sympathise more directly with the characters shown. We hear the characters discuss on how nobody has "survived a night in the maze" which is contrasted by the low angle shot of some sort of creature, highlighting the power it has over the characters and also emphasises the danger the characters have to supposedly endure within the film as we see a character get taken by the creature. The creatures are constantly shown at night which helps showcase their role in the movie as the antagonists and the mystery of what they look like may entice the audience into watching the film.

The trailer also includes a mention of its adaptation from a "best selling novel" which further highlights the success the film should have as the fans of the book may want to watch it. We are shown a conversation between the protagonist and a supposed 'runner' in which we see a gradual change in the characters as we can see the protagonist getting more power as the trailer goes on, this is suggested as the camera gradually places the character in higher up angles whilst he is in the maze, signifying his importance to the plot. A perfect example of this is when we are introduced to another character but this time she is female, the protagonist is placed centrally amongst the low angle shot to help portray to the audience of his leader like status as the movie continues. This scene is shown with the reemergence of some non-diagetic music to help emphasise the importance of her character and the relationship between the two as he is shown saying his name in particular whilst the camera zooms in to show the protagonists confusion.

The trailer begins to gain pace which is typical of the action or thriller genre and various hots are shown of the film to help appeal to the wider variety of audience members through the many shots portraying the characters. The danger is highlighted more as the music becomes more intense as we see some characters being attacked by an unseen enemy whilst others are shown a dramatic zoom in supposedly of the creatures pov to highlight the difficulty of the situation. We are also shown a long shot of two characters runnig away from the collapsing maze behind them and as we see their attire we can see that the protagonist is still showcasing his power through the clothing of the 'runners', whilst the scene as a whole may symbolise the characters sense to escape the isolation behind them through whatever means necessary before the scene cuts to black.

Towards the ending of the trailer we can hear voiceover state to the protagonist on whether he is "willing to follow the rules" which as the scene develops is shown through the characters somewhat rash move to run into the maze as the walls close in around him. The music becomes even louder whilst his character gets closer to the camera signifying some sort of escape before fading into the title sequence to help add emphasis on what the audience would see in the movie before stating that it is "coming soon" to help further entice the audience into watching the film.