How is the trailer for "Touching the Void" constructed to appeal to its target audience?
The "Touching the Void" trailer has a target audience of young-to-middle aged people, particularly British mountaineers. It falls into the adventure-sport documentary genre and is one minute fifty seconds in length.
To engage the audience with the harsh diegesis the produces have to chosen to, unlike the film, excluded interview imagery of the characters in the trailer. Through these doing, coupled with the non-chronological order of clips to allow the editors to further emphasise scenes, the "Touching the Void" producers were capable of gripping the audience with fluid and intense action.
The unique selling point of this film is held in its somewhat nich genre. The moment where main character Joe Simpson cuts the safety rope, thus leaving his friend to the fate of death, is very well advertised. This moment is the climax in the trailer, and is shown at the end of a high-tempo, fast paced, suspense building part. The music abruptly stops as we see Simon fall into an abyss, followed by an eery, non-diegetic 'hum'. This array of editing techniques leaves us as the audience at the edge of our seats. presented with such a sense of enigma, we want to see what happens in the rest of the story.
No voiceover is used in this trailer. Instead, narrative is presented through the dialogue between characters, overlayed with images of their expidition. This perfectly fits its documentary genre, thus appealing to their target audience. Text and titles are continuously used with 'fade-to-black' transitions to convey narrative and create suspense. At first the text showcases academy award winning producers. it later aids the suspensful scene by briefly showing words with powerful connotations such as "courage", "loyalty" and "fear". Towards the end text reappears, this time directly engaging the audience by showing "What would you do to survive?". Not only does this question target mountaineers and allow them to think how they would deal with the situation but it also emphasises the moral awkwardness shown when the character cuts the rope and looses his friend to the mountain. All of the text is small and in a hard-to-read font, keeping the audience focuses and increasing tension; exactly what a stereotypical mountaineer would enjoy.
Camera angles and techniques vary throughout. At first we see high-key, low aperture shots of snow equipment being prepared in a rush and icicles forming on the characters' helmets; these shots help set the scene and present character traits, for example how one of them is underprepared and has a gung-ho attitude to danger. Later the peace and equilibrium is broken in the narrative - this is also supported by the increase of low-key, high-aperture shots to create a sense of enigma. Like many trailer, this one adheres to Todorov's narrative theory but does not show Todorov's final stages: the return of equilibrium. By not revealing how the situation is dealt with the audience are hooking and left wanting to watch more. This in turn makes them want to watch the film.
The music used is not of a typical recreational genre, and as a result it does not explicitl;y appeal to a particular demographic. However, the music chosen is high-tempo, dark and mysterious, thus adding suspense to the trailer.
The dark but realistic nature of the trailer that appeals to the film's target audience of young maintaineers is also enhanced by the way characters are introduced. As there is no voiceover or text describing the characters we rely soley on imagery of the characters ice climbing and their stressed and fearful dialogue to set out impression of them. This forces us to pay close attention and as a results of us looking closely for details at the trailer, makes us more vulnerable and susceptible to the un-expected and jumpy moments in the trailer.
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