The Perks of Being a Wallflower analysis

To view the the trailer click here -The Perks of Being a Wallflower

As we plan for our trailer to be a mix of genres - coming of age, action and thriller, I wanted to look closely at a coming of age story with a twist; - where the main character has a psychological problem and is an outcast, to see how this is reflected through the features in the trailers. I thought this trailer was filmed brilliantly, working with a low budget to create a very relatable story line. Whilst our own trailer will not have the same level of 'reality',our trailer will hint at impossible psychic skills, I do want to portray our characters as true to life individuals and have looked at this movie for much of my inspiration for the 'coming of age' element of our trailer.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

We fade in from the green 'Motion Pictures of America' rating, standard on all American film trailers, to a long establishing tracking shot, lasting only two seconds. This shot informs the audience of the fact that this trailer is mainly based in a busy city due to the atmosphere created in the setting. This shot is joined by the introduction of a soundtrack; a jolly, upbeat current 'alternative' song written by the popular 'indie' band 'Imagine Dragons'. This displays the ideal world of a young and upbeat teenage life, however as we move further into the trailer, we see the contrast between this and Charlie's life.

The voice over of Charlie, combined with the first his first appearence in the trailer denotes to the audience that he is our hero (according to Proppian theories). It is interesting that the Director, Stephen Chbosky has decided to use a mid-close up reflection shot of Charlie in a window, for instance, we see a reflection of Charlie, from behind his back which connotes that we're not seeing the 'true' Charlie, that he's hidden. Perhaps his presentation of himself isn't real and that he hides himself away, not letting anyone see his true self. Using depth of field, the camera has focused on Charlie's reflection rather than the white wooden cross on the window, but we gain a sense of Charlie being trapped in this particular shot and as we track backwards in this shot, perhaps the true identity of Charlie is becoming more hidden, creating enigmas in the trailer. 

Already we are obtaining an image of Charlie and the kind of character he is, but the use of artistic design in this shot is interesting. Rather than the 'director of arts' giving Charlie an interesting choice of clothing, they have given him a plain white t-shirt, perhaps to connote that Charlie is just a 'regular' teenage kid. The title plate 'Charlie never stood out' anchors this idea and suggests that this is key to the plot line. I think it's also key to the reaction in the audience too emphasising the fact that there are many everyday teenagers like Charlie who need help, and that this film, is very much based on real life experiences. His non-diegetic voice over 'dear friend' immediately establishes a connection between the audience and our hero in the trailer, and displays that we will see the world through Charlie's eyes. However, the fact that Charlie uses the singular of 'friend' may denote that he only has one friend; us, and this makes us empashise with Charlie and creates mystery into why he has no friends.

We fade quickly into the next scene where we see another two tracking shots of Charlie and his siblings around a bed playing cards.

The balloons in the background of 'get well soon' showing that Charlie has not been well and, as he is not physically ill, we assume that he must have a mental issue which has made him so ill that he's had to be admitted into hospital care. The sound bridge of the voice over follows nicely with 'I've not talked to anyone outside of my family all Summer', makes our thoughts from the previous shot concrete, but this creates further enigmas as we want to know 'why?'. We return to the original tracking shot in Charlie's bedroom where he has his back to the camera, again connoting that he's hiding something from the audience. Although at this stage, we do realise that he's writing a letter to the to his 'friend'; the audience, and that the words from the voice over are those punctuating sound effects on the pages of his paper. As he lifts the pencil up from the paper, there is a 'ching' in the soundtrack, symbolising the end of this 'introduction' section of the trailer.

We have gathered the basic introductions to the film via the voice over and he says 'tomorrow is my first day' so we are not surprised when we cut to a shot of school. We also know that he is feeling vulerable and nervous at this point, making a deeper, emotional connection to the audience, knowing that we have all felt this way before a 'first day' before. The fact that Charlie is in his room by himself and not out with friends denotes his introvert personality, which many of teenagers - the target audience for this film, will recognise and relate to, so will become interested in the trailer, and hopefully watch the film. The use of a 'fade to black' is used effectively at the start of this trailer, with just the voice of Charlie being heard. This not only make us focus on what he's saying 'I really want to turn things around this year', but also helps the audience digest the information given to them up to this point. The black on the screen could possibly display the 'night' before the next shot displaying the 'day'. The use of a title plate is first put to effect to promote the producers of the film 'Summit' which is joined by a sound bridge sound effect of the school bell ringing, leading us smoothly and neatly into an establishing tracking crane shot of a typical American high school, denoted by the sound bridge of the bell, and of the famous yellow American school bus.

This is followed by another tracking shot of Charlie sat on his own at lunch time, while everyone else in the canteen seems to be happily enjoying their lunch with friends, but Charlie is on his own, again, and we hope that things pick up for him, establishing a audience - character relationship with Charlie, making our emotions fit into the world of the film and seeing Charlie's perspective.

The sound bridge of the diegetic dialogue of the teacher leads us into the next mid shot where Charlie's English teacher is already showing concern for him. He simply states 'You know, they say if you make one friend on your first day, you're doing ok' however this is contrasted by the next over the shoulder shot of another student ripping up his book, just because he's a freshman. The choice of prop the director - Stephen Chbosky has made where the bully rips up Charlie's book denotes that books are Charlie's prized possession, and that him ripping it up, is a symbol of a unknown person ripping up Charlie's life by bulling him, and that Charlie just watches both his life and his book fall to pieces right in front of him. This makes us think that Charlie hasn't made one friend, so perhaps, he's not doing 'ok' and this forebodes the future of Charlie's life in the film. Bullying seems mandatory in many American high school feature films, however, Charlie  starts to develop a close teacher - student relationship, which is not usually denoted in these types of films. Perhaps this is because his teacher has already seen his talent and flare for writing, and sees himself in his student.

In the next part of the editing montage of the school shots we see Charlie keeping his head bowed with his books close to his chest, these non verbal codes display him being self conscious and not wanting to be noticed. Perhaps the symbolism of the books being on his chest display that his work is close to his heart. This shot follows into the returning shot from a previous scene with Charlie's reply 'If my English teacher is the only friend I make today, that would be sort of depressing.' Whilst this is a comedy line, it is both true and a saddening fact for Charlie in this part of his journey. It will also strike a relateable chord for teenagers as sometimes, teachers do seem like they are the only friends who want to help you, even if it is a working 'teacher - student' relationship.

The title plate reiterates the idea that Charlie feels like he just falls into the background and that nobody notices or cares for him. The words snap onto the screen on the beat of the non-deigetic sound of a type writer, with the font also on screen of an American type writer, which is a recurring theme throughout both the trailer and the film.

As the sound track increases tempo, we see a tracking crane shot with Charlie being central in the frame.

Perhaps this suggests that Charlie is beginning to be the centre of attention and make big leaps in his personal development at the homecoming ball. The next shot of the character Sam (played by Emma Watson), is vital to establishing a connection between Charlie and Sam. As Sam seems like she's looking directly into the camera, it seems that she's looking straight at Charlie, inviting him to join in. It seems to give Charlie the courage to finally step out of his shell and talk to some people at homecoming. Charlie starts to step forward slowly, with fade transitions imbertween all three of the walking shots distorting the audience's view. I think the fades have been for practical reasons because if there was just straight cuts, cutting the crane shot, then it would look like a mistake in the editing process, so the editor has added fades in order for this not to happen. The change in shot goes from a close-mid shot to a close up, to directly display Charlie's non verbal codes on his face of him being nervous. His new friends welcome him immediately but we still see Charlie looking uncomfortable and shy, which connotes that whilst he's made the first leap in finding his friends, he still has a long way to go to build up his confidence and his friendship group. The title plate following this shot is the same design and uses the same type writing effects so continuity is maintained.

A montage edit of Charlie being introduced to parties and new friends follows this, and we see Charlie smile for the first time in the trailer. He seems happy to have found a group of friends who've let him in and have given him a chance to be himself. An interesting quote of Sam saying 'Welcome to the island of misfit toys' is a famous quote from both the Perks of Being a Wallflower book and film and one which sums up Charlie's new friendship group. The quote explains how all of the group feel like misfits and outcasts to the usual life of teenagers and are vulnerable because of it; but together, they are strong and they can help and understand Charlie. The next few titles plates aim to introduce each of the key characters and really shows how this new friendship group are really a bunch of people who never fitted in. This shows Charlie that he's not on his own and that there are other 'outcasts' who feel just like him. An example of this is shown in the next scene where Patrick is asked in a medium two shot if he likes football, connoting that Charlie is making an effort to get to know his new friends. Patrick definitely makes no excuses for being the 'black sheep' and is a very extroverted character as we see when he says 'be aggressive, passive aggressive' as his chant. This is an unusual thing to chant in any situation not alone a football match, but Charlie's non-verbal codes of him looking around to see if anyone is noticing Patrick's individuality, shows that even when with somebody he knows, he's still insecure and feels judged by those around him.

Next to be introduced is Sam who shows her individuality. Her montage consists of a graphic match where she puts her arms up in the tunnel and this is matched by exactly the same movement as the shot on the outside of the tunnel. As the audience we find comfort in that Charlie has found friends that he can relate and talk to, something that we don't think has happened to him before.

The colour grading in post production in the harsh harsh blue of the sky creates a lovely transition into the next shot which is silhouetted with the same harsh blue surrounding it. Within semiotics, the colour blue connotes the idea of depression which may in these shots, display the feelings of these young individuals and the restraint of them to be themselves amongst their peers and society in fear of being judged.