Product Research:

Analysis of Teaser
Trailer for
I Am Legend
The teaser trailer begins a rotating zoom into an unnamed
character curled up in a bath with an alsation.
This is a very striking image that immediately wins the
audiences attention.
The character is recognisable as played by high profile box-
office star Will Smith.

The soundtrack
features a mournful,
string orchestral
piece, immediate
overlaid with the voice
of, presumably the
character we are
watching saying
“nothing happened
the way it was
supposed to happen”
The feeling of
foreboding is very
quickly apparent.
Here the soundtrack
increases in
intensity as loud
drums join the
wailing strings.

The next shot is a title shot, completely black except for the
words “in five years”, capitalised in a serif font.
This indicate to the audience that although potentially
science fiction, the film is set in the near-future.
We see the Smith character getting out of his car
in a hurry. He appears to be a military officer.
The pace of the trailer has picked up immensely,
there is a sense of urgency.
The soundtrack, both mournful and urgent,
continues over a montage of what appears
to be the Smith character and his family
(wife and daughter) fleeing something.
Towards the end of the montage it becomes
apparent that Smith’s character and his
family are not the only ones fleeing.
Another black title screen, same font and capitalisation as
before, this time the words are “mankind’s struggle for
survival”
This raises immediate questions for the audience,
especially in the context of the shots of people fleeing
and their prior knowledge of disaster / invasion sub-
genres of films.

Loud choir-type
vocals are added to
the soundtrack,
given it an epic
feeling.
As the choral vocals soar, the camera pans over a
mass of people, moving urgently, clearly trying to
escape.
There are flashing police lights.
The sense of excitement and tension is expertly
created.

The drums have

increased into
tempo and the pace
is not very urgent.
Another sweeping pan shows five or six
boats leaving jetties.
The film’s scale seems very impressive.
In marked contrast this is followed by a very
tender close-up of the Smith character
kissing his wife. The audience assumes
this is a parting kiss.

The strings on the

soundtrack are no
longer mournful,
they are urgent and
exciting, matching
the drums.
A third black title shot appears, similar to the
previous two, but with the words “will be lost”.
Therefore, “in five years time, mankind’s struggle
for survival will be lost.”
A very fast sequence of shots now shows a
formation of military jets firing a missiles and
destroying what we now recognise as the
Brooklyn Bridge in New York, locating the
film for the audience.

The explosion and

destruction of the
bridge are the first
diegetic sounds we
hear. Adding to the
urgency felt by the
audience.
The Smith character looks on in despair, the fear and
sorrow in his eyes suggests to the audience that his
wife and child have been killed.
The epic scale of the film is reduced to a very human
and tragic story.
The screen fades to black and remains so for a full
five seconds, which seems a very long and
dramatic period of time.
As this happens the soundtrack stops completely:
silence.
 The pace of the editing
slows dramatically.
A three shot montage
of a deserted and
broken New York
City is shown.

The soundtrack remains silent

The first movement we see for 10

seconds are deer galloping through an
abandoned street.
 A voice over begins, it
is Smith:

“My name is Robert

Neville. I’m a
survivor living in
New York City. I’m
broadcasting on all
AM frequencies. If
you’re out there; if
anyone is out
there...please…”

There follows a much

slower montage of
the Smith character
alone in New York.
Each shot slowly fades
into the next and the
shots linger, often
tracking their
subject.
The sense of loneliness
is very apparent.
As this montage continues, rising up almost to overpower the voiceover,
music begins.
It is a single note, played on string instruments. It gets louder and louder
through the next sequence, building to a crescendo to create tension.
Alongside this at first, though soon overwhelmed, we hear the second piece
of diegetic sound in the trailer: the whining of a car engine.
The longest shot of the trailer is a tracking tilt shot beginning behind Smith’s car and tracking up
while tilting down, following the car as it races through the canyons of New York’s deserted
streets while reverse-zoom pulls the camera position further and further back, revealing just
how empty New York is.
A heavy drum beat and then silence again,
and another black-backgound title shot, this
time with the words “the last man on earth”.
 We see Smith
entering a
very dark
room with a
torch. He
seems
anxious
bordering on
terrified.

We hear more diegetic

sound: Smiths urgent,
frightened breathing and
footsteps.
There is an overwhelming
sense of fear generated
by this.
 Again, a black title shot: “is not alone”.
Therefore: “The last man on earth is not alone”
This is connected by the audience both to the
previous voiceover and to the situation Smith is
currently in.

A low,
fearsome
non-
diegetic
boom is
heard.
There is a final, short, frantic cut back to Smith’s face,
illuminated only by a torch in otherwise pitch black
we hear his frightened breathing and then cut
straight back to black.
As the title rushes in from ‘behind’ the camera in the same font as before a
terrifying, loud, screeching swish is heard. A trope of the horror genre.
The title fades away to blackness.
The title shots.
 Overview
• 1 minute 90 Seconds
• 45 separate shots + 6 title shots.
• Longest shot – 10 seconds
• 3 pieces of diegetic sound
• 2 voiceover sections (one very short), by
both a character and taken from the film.
• Three different pieces of music used.