Pacific Rim: Radio Trailer Analysis

Film Radio Spots 2013 - Gravity, Pacific Rim, The Conjuring & The Great Gatsby from Angell Sound Studios on Vimeo.

Pacific Rim Radio Trailer: 0:30 - 1:00

In this post, I am going to analyse the radio trailer to the film Pacific Rim which was released during the summer of 2013.

The trailer begins with dialogue from the film. This dialogue is delivered by a character with a really masculine and rather 'gruff' voice. This immediately grabs the attention of the audience. This type of voice easily connotes the idea of action and this shows to the audience that Pacific Rim is an action film. This is because in action films, masculine men tend to be the heroes of the film.
Then, once this dialogue has been delivered, a voice over plays. The voice is of a man and the voice over is very exaggerated and dramatic and this is very typical of a radio trailer, especially for an action film. This is used to try and excite the audience and keep them interested. However this can be difficult as there is no visual, moving images so this use of voice over is very effective. This voice over is also used to help persuade the audience to see the film as it states the director of the film, implying that the director is very well known and has made successful films in the past. This reassures the audience that the film will be of good quality, enticing them to come and see the film at the cinema.
After this, the masculine male character begins to shout dialogue. This teases the audience by giving them some of the dialogue from the film itself. The use of shouting also helps maintain engagement as it is very loud and aggressive. This really grabs the audiences attention and it makes them listen to the dialogue.
Then the voice over returns and states the release date and the film companies who contributed to the making and the distribution of the film. This is a vital part of any radio trailer as it gives out crucial information about when the film can be exhibited and who helped make the film make it to the screen.
However, the voice over does not stop there. Then a competition is announced in which the audience can win "The ultimate football experience". This is a useful marketing strategy as it makes the audience feel as if they can interact with that product. The prize from the competition also helps reach out to a certain target audience as football fans tend to be males aged 18-50 and this is the target audience for this action packed film.
Throughout the entire trailer, you can also hear music played in the background and this music sounds very mechanical and futuristic. This connotes to the audience that this film will contain modern warfare as well as plenty of action for them to sink their teeth into.