Book of Eli Trailer

  Book of Eli .  Albert and Allen Hughes .  R .  2010

The United States as we know it has been destroyed for 30 years now, replaced by a society in which looting and murders run rampant. One man, known simply as Eli (Denzel Washington), has been traversing the country since the war, determined to complete his task of getting the last Bible in the world into safe hands.

The trailer uses a multitude of effective techniques which create an exemplary  post-apocalyptic dystopia trailer. Among these techniques are background music, lighting, color, setting, and voiceover. The trailer opens in a dark forest, as ominous music pumps through the background. The music beats quicker and quicker until finally it hits a crescendo, in which the screen switches to a wide shot of a solitary man, walking across a dry wasteland. This small sequence encompasses music, color, and setting to create the dystopian feel. The music sets a serious and tension-filled mood, and when combined with the black and gray color of the forest, viewers immediately realize that this movie will center around something dangerous and dark. In the wide shot that follows, setting is utilized to further make clear that something has gone very wrong with this society. The setting depicts two highway overpasses with rubble and other miscellaneous metals strewn beneath them. The inclusion of the overpasses makes it clear that at one point, civilization flourished, but the rubble and overall disrepair makes it clear that such a society has not existed in a long, long time. As the trailer continues quick shots are shown which display Eli looking over a wasteland and fighting with insane looking men. In both of these shots, lighting is used to further the setting of a post-apocalyptic world. The light casts shadows over his face as he surveys the land, and when he's fighting, the lighting is dark to show the danger of this world. Throughout the trailer, intense and fast-paced music flows, which only support even more the dystopia, and a voiceover of Eli plays constantly, which explains what his task is, and how truly dangerous it is. Our trailer will use voiceover, setting, and background music to portray our own dystopia, and this trailer is an excellent example of those techniques.