How the trailer tells the tale

Film trailers are carefully constructed texts which aim to communicate key ideas and concepts about a soon to be released film. They usually last about two minutes and include brief snapshots of the central characters, themes and story.

The trailer for The Lovely Bones re-orders and juxtaposes extracts from the film to communicate meaning quickly and with impact.

Download the PDF document that includes all the dialogue from the trailer's soundtrack in the order it appears. Read through this dialogue carefully. In the opposite column are statements describing how this dialogue communicates meaning for the audience. These statements are not in sequential order. Your task is to match the statement with the quote from the soundtrack.