Safe Haven

written by Emily Bedford

Audiences and Instiutions

Length; 2mins 18secs

Title; Safe Haven

Director; Lasse Hallstrom

Year of Release; 2013

Certificate; 12A

Top Billing; Julianne Hough, Josh Duhamel, Cobie Smulders

Awards; 2 wins 6 nominations

Genre; Romance, Drama, Thriller

Produced by; Temple Hill Entertainment

Distributed by; 20th Century Fox

Money Grossed; $71,346,930

Primary/Secondary Audience; p= 16-25  s=25-40

Platforms used; trailers/posters

Successful?;  yes

 

Text

Order…

1. Safe Haven
2. Relativity Media
3. The best-selling author of the Notebook
4. And from the director of The Cider House Rules and Chocolat
5. This Year
6. Its not what you’re running from
7. Its what you’re running to
8. Safe Haven

Distribution/Production Company/Logos?- 20th Century Fox (the distributor) is not mentioned at the beginning of the trailer (as usually is), however the producers ‘Relativity Media’ are introduced but only for an extremely small amount of time. These are a fairly small company therefore are not of great importance and are unlikely to persuade viewers to come through association.

Actors/Producers/Director/Awards?- The film was a book before it became a film, and the director has decided to note this ‘the best-selling author of the Notebook’, in an attempt to try and persuade those who have read either the book or ‘The Notebook’ to attend. This is also been attempted by highlighting that the director has previous success in other films.

Voice Over/Dialogue?- Dialogue is used to drive the trailer, as much text is included in between shots. This allows the audience to be able to focus on each individual element singularly rather than having to listen to a voice over at the same time as video footage.

Release Date?; The only release date given is ‘This Year’. This is extremely vague, which may lead the audience to research its release, which can ultimately lead them to read more information on the film thus gaining interest.

Composition/Style/Font; The Font appears on a pale blue background, which is associated with the blue idealistic beach/fishing town that the film is set in. The actual text does not move, however the transitions into these shots are fade ins/outs yielding a calm and gentle atmosphere.

 

Macro Analysis

Representation; The majority of the characters included are of an middle lower class, as whilst they all can afford houses, their town is fairly solitary and away from any large industrial area. The fact that the lead female character is running from an abusive male partner could be viewed in two ways.

1. She has authority as she has the ability to run from him, as he is the one searching for her
2. He obtained authority over her and the fact that she fears him suggests that he has power over her.

Genre Identification;

 

Narrative Theory

Claude Levi-Strauss: Strauss’ theory of binary opposites is evident between the two lead male characters (abusive ex husband, and new boyfriend). This causes the narrative to be driven by conflict which originally arose between the female and her abusive boyfriend.

Todorov: Todorov’s theory of equilibrium can be applied here, however the beginning differs. Where as Todorov states that at the beginning equilibrium is stable, the beginning of this trailer starts with disruption as the lead runs away from danger.

 

Micro Analysis

Camerawork; the trailer begins with a blurred upside down shot of the lead female running away in the darkness, therefore creating mystery and enigma. There are many short close up shots of the female, in order to emphasise her fear and panic, but also yield sympathy. As the panic calms, a long shot tracking a coach along the mountains calms the mood felt by the audience. This is governed by the numerous tracking shots that are slow and gentle. For example the backwards tracking of the female lead alongside her friend walking down a delicate country lane.

Mise-en-scene; At the beginning whilst running away, the female lead is dressed in a typical ‘criminal/thug’ wear (tracksuit bottoms and a hooded jumper), which leads the audience to believe that she has committed a crime. The lighting at this point is extremely dark so that her face his hidden, which adds further mystery. However as soon as she has escaped lighting becomes much brighter therefore showing the relief felt by the character. Much of her costumes are from then on white in colour, showing how she has had a fresh start clean from any trouble.

Editing; At the beginning of the trailer, fast-paced editing is utilised in order to create panic. However this slows down significantly once the female has escaped. Montage clips filmed in the effect ‘Sepia’ are used to show a flashback.