Breakdown: “Batman v. Superman” trailer

The courses I teach and workshops I run through Screenwriting Master Class never cease to amaze me in terms of the quality discussions that emerge in our 24/7 forums. Case in point, a recent conversation in the Pages II: Rewriting Your Script course, something initiated by Michael W:

Has anyone else noticed the new Batman v Superman trailer and how theme heavy it is?

False Gods, The dangers of Supreme Power (man v authority), The undercurrent of revolution.

Since action shots are often plot spoilers in trailers theme-trailers seem like a good way to set up conflict (especially if you already know the characters like Batman and Superman).

Have you noticed any other trailers that use theme in them?

Picked up by Avi G:

I wonder if an interesting exercise to help fine tune or crystalize a scripts theme in one’s mind would be to imagine what the theme-based trailer of a script would look like? I’m definitely going to ponder that.

Here is the trailer in question:

Which led me to this:

Interesting subject and I think an apt one. Some types of movies may be able to work on the marketing front by focusing strictly on the action, but by and large, even spectacle / special effects movies have to have to some sort of emotional grounding to connect deeply with a wide audience.

Aristotle discusses spectacle in Poetics and puts it at the bottom of the list of a story’s narrative elements, focusing his attention on plot grounded in character.

So it would make sense that trailer shops and studio marketing divisions would zero in on the emotional meaning / themes of any given story they are trying to sell to the public in order to elicit a connection on that level.

Per the B v S trailer, here is a breakdown of it beat for beat:

[Over black]

“Is it really surprising that the most powerful man in the world is a figure of controversy?”

[Image of city skyline at night with big statue in the center]

“We as a population on this planet have been looking for a savior.”

[cut to image of Superman]

“We are talking about a being…” / [creepy cross talk voice] “alien” / “…whose very existence…” / [woman’s voice] “they are not telling us the truth” / “…challenges our own sense of priority…” / [screaming background voice] “this is our place” / “…in the universe.”

[image of Superman holding up what looks to be some sort of massive rocket component]

[closing in on city skyline and statue]

“Human beings have a horrible track record…” / [woman’s voice] “tragedy” / “…of following people of great…” / [another woman’s voice] “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” / [other woman’s voice] “chaos”

[Superman surrounded by four kneeling uniformed military / police officials]

“Maybe he’s just a guy trying to do the right thing” / [another man’s voice] “we know better now, don’t we” / [screaming background voice] “he’s out of control”

[closing in on statue]

“Devils don’t come from Hell beneath us…” / [scared man’s voice] “they brought their warrior” / “…they come from the sky.”

[closing in on statue]

[man in f.g. reaching up to sky where Superman is floating]

“The world has been so caught up in what he can do…”

[closing quicker on statue]

“…that no one has asked what he should do.”

[super close on statue in darkness as crowd chants]

“Go home! Go home! Go home! Go home!”

[statue illuminated revealing it’s one of Superman, his “S” logo covered with graffiti: “False God”]

This is the 1:00 minute mark.

[Black]

“That’s how it starts…”

[CU — Bruce Wayne]

“…the fever… the rage… the feeling of powerlessness.”

[CU — Batman suit in storage]

“…that turns good men… cruel.”

[Lots of images of Batman, spectacle, destruction, then… image of Batman staring into the night sky where Superman is hovering in the rain]

“Tell me, do you bleed?”

[Superman lands, squaring off against Batman]

[Black]

“You will.”

[Superman logo / Batman logo superimposed over it, the two merging]

[Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice]

Trafficking in themes in trailers allows the marketing to focus more on the psychology, tone and atmosphere of the story rather than plot. But believe me, as we get closer to the release date, there will be additional trailers that do get more plot specific. This trailer is just cutting trail for the rest of the marketing onslaught. But it’s important in creating images and a feel in the minds of potential viewers, establishing central themes.

So given this trailer script, what themes do you see at work? Some of them literally spelled out in dialogue.

BTW I’ll sometimes ask a writer with whom I’m working to conjure up images and V.O. for their story’s movie trailer. What are your story’s trailer moments? Set pieces and key emotional plot points. Do you have them? Do you know them? An important consideration given how much time and money studios spend in marketing movies nowadays and to spur the writer to brainstorm / generate movie-worthy moments in their script.

A good exercise for each of you to do with your current stories, yes?

Have you ever imagined what a trailer for your movie would look like? What themes would it emphasize? Does your story lend itself to ‘trailer moments’?

And for you DC Comics fans, what’s your take on the B v S trailer?

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