Case Study: Defendor

Narrative

The trailer starts with the action already underway, so as not to spoil the important backstory of the film. the plot is never outright stated, only alluded to, giving the audience speculation about the story, much more important are the jokes, which revolve around Defendor's inability as a superhero, as such the trailer shows him doing typical Super hero activities, such as spying on, fighting and interrogating the "bad guys" of which there are several. in the course of doing these Defendor does several Un-heroic things, such as falling over, revealing himself, getting beaten and  even stabbed. After the title card follows another scene without music, offering one last laugh after the action climaxes.

Characters

The main character is obviously given the most screen time, and he dons a superhero attitude throughout, even in situations that seem out of place, whilst eating at a diner for example. he has a companion in his friend, who appears to be staying in his "lair" she acts as his foil in their scenes together, and at the same time they care about each other, offering a more serious point to the film. The antagonist "Captain Industry" never appears on screen but is mentioned several times, adding to the audiences intrigue.

Props and costume

Defendor uses a vast amount of makeshift gadgets that are ordinarily harmless, such as marbles, lime juice and a slingshot; these are a comic parody to the gadgets used by other masked vigilantes, most notably batman, whom Defendor draws some loose comparisons with. On the other hand, the villains in the trailer use a variety of weapons like knives and various firearms, indicating their very real threat. Defendor’s hero attire is notably not a body suit, nor offers much protection, but are just black street clothes to blend into the shadows on his missions, but humorously ruined by a huge D in reflective tape on his chest.

Lighting

The trailer mixes light and dark scenes quite evenly, representing the two sides of the main character; "Arthur" is seen in the daylight, whereas his masked alter ego is active in the night time. These scenes are the more action oriented scenes, while the daylight scenes offer more in the way of story development. The shadows created are often quite strongly contrasted given a mysterious a.nd somewhat dangerous vibe to them, contrasting with the comic nature of Defendor and his exploits