Trailer Analysis

 The begging of the trailer we see a different perspective to Grand Theft Auto as the previous sequence openings tend to be packed with violence and delinquency , however the opening of this trailer subverts the stereotypical view of Grand Theft Auto as it opens with Micheal, one of the three protagonists within the game,  

however he is shown in a different prospective as it shows him living the wealthy life. This is shown through the opening where is shows and establishing shot of his home, which included his swimming pool and his flash car, this shows that he has put away his past in the criminal underworld as he reminisces beside his pool. 

One of the key differences i noticed when watching the trailer was the graphics. Rockstar have stepped up a notch with the graphics, from the cinematography to the animation, it is clear that they have thought about each aspect of the game as the panning shots show the depth of field within the scenery and the interior within the game questioned me whether it was real or not. The animation and motion tracking of the characters within the trailer looked to be alot smoother, which made not only the game more realistic but also brought the characters to life, which for audiences will benefit them as they will gain a better experience (escapism)

The soundtrack is a typical radio styled soundtrack which has seemed the be a current theme across all grand theft autos, however this non-digetic soundtrack seems to fit in particularly well as it reflects both the violence aspect and the wealth aspect within the game. High key lighting is used within the trailer to show the scenery aspect of the game, where as low key lighting is used to show the violent aspect of the game, this is shown through the panning shots of the scenery where high key lighting is used to bring out the features and to also make the game seem more realistic as the use of shadowing is used alongside with the lighting.

As the trailer unfolds we are initially exposed to the violence that we expect from this game as the other protagonist Trevor cracks open a guys head in a pub brawl, the trailer goes on to show in later in the game beating another person brutally as he continuously kicks in the head which is shown by the blood splattings. This is why the game has been so controversial as it has been argued that it promotes violence by glorifying it as the players are rewarded, This is shown through the opening scene as Micheal the other protagonist is rewarded for his criminal activities in the past as he is now reaping the rewards from this through his flash car and house.

Feminist would argue that the trailer oppresses women as feminist such as Laura Mulvey would argue that trailer shows aspects of the male gaze, this is shown through the part when the women crosses the road and the man looks at her in a voyeuristic way, also the scene where you could see women in low cut skirts, going up to cars, portraying the image that their street hookers, which feminist again would argue is oppressive.

 On a visual level, is was evident that Infinity ward and Activision has improved the graphics dramatically, making the characters look real, right down to the facial expressions, the costumes and even the make up (face pain, ghille suit). The weapons shown also looked pretty smooth with every little detail included, which you'd expect in a war-based shooter. It’s also clear that Infinity Ward took care of digitally representing dozens of real world firearms making the game seem more realistic, giving audiences a better experience. 

Certain camera angles were shown to convey soldier’s emotions; angles such as close-ups were shown to focus on the soldier’s facial expressions, pure determination and drive was the evident expressions shown throughout the launch trailer. There was a mix between low key lighting and high, between scenes as low key was used to create the suspense, and high key was used to show the action which took place.

The brief scene where the American flag was shown reinforces the idea that the soldiers shown where there to fight for their country, portraying the patriotic image, however it can be argued by feminists that the game portrays the patriarchy not only in society but in the workforce, as there was a lack of females shown within the trailer, especially among the soldiers.

The use of soundtrack worked really well as the editing of the trailer was perfectly synced to the soundtrack, also the launch trailer used a much familiar song which was composed by an artist (Eminem) which call of duty's target audience would have been familiar with, again another clever technique used by Infinity Ward and Activision.

The disturbing images of the mass killings of the enemies and some civilians shows how the game can be portrayed in a negative perspective as again like GTA rewarding players as they advance to the next mission, this can be linked to the hypodermic needle theory as it injects consumers with ideologies that glorify violence, making violence acceptable as players are rewarded, this can also be linked to Stanley Cohen  moral panics as the more society glorifies violence within videogames, the more acceptable is may become, posing a threat of violence in the real world. Also the media effects theory could be linked to this as those who are exposed to violence in the media are influenced to behave in a violent manner