Trailer Analysis

After reviewing each of the three trailers I have found lots of features that I want to replicate in my own trailer.  Se7en gave me an idea of the sort of lighting that I would like to replicate in my own trailer. The use of low-key lighting throughout the entire trailer set a dark tone to the film without even revealing a lot of the plot itself. In this trailer, they used a lot of dark blue/green tones which gave the audience a sense of foreshadowing, I feel like when it comes to my own trailer I will be able to use filters over the top of my filming so that it replicates the same kind of lighting in Se7ven, working to my advantage so that the people watching my trailer will automatically know what genre I am trying to convey, and to show that the equilibrium of the setting has been disturbed.

Although all three trailers used a lot of fast paced camera angles, I feel like Poltergeist used this the most efficiently as they started off the trailer in a normal housing estate, with a family moving into their new home. I would like to replicate this tranquil atmosphere at the very start of my trailer so that the audience are lulled into a false sense of security, then I will make each scene darker and darker until I can hint at the murders that will be in the film. This worked particularly well in poltergeist as there is a large contrast between good and evil, people are just trying to live their day to day lives but the evil spirit being will not allow them to live peacefully.

The ring gave me a good idea as to how I can edit my videos together, I like the idea of not having everything in a chronological order as this is a very confusing device and the audience are left not able to fill in all of the gaps in the plot. My target audience research also proved that the majority of people do not like horror movie trailers where too much is revealed to the audience as they like a lot of the plot to be left to their imagination. With a psychological horror there is almost always a dramatic plot twist as well so if everything was put in the trailer, there would be no reason to watch the movie as you would know most of what was to come anyway.

Poltergeist Trailer Analysis (2015 Remake)

Se7en Trailer Analysis

Se7en Trailer analysis

The first thing we can take away from the trailer is that it is 2 minutes and 17 seconds long, following conventions as it is less than five minutes and does not give us enough time to have too much of the plot revealed to us. Trailers like this are generally more effective as it leaves a lot to the imagination and when we watch the movie we don’t know what to expect and are still surprised by features that are not shown in the movie itself. It is just enough time to summarise what the movie is about and give us a general feel as to what challenges the protagonists will have to overcome.

 When the trailer begins, the first shot is of the Production Company’s logo which happens to be “New Line Cinema” in this case. This particular production company is notorious for using big Hollywood film stars and producing a lot of successful films over the years, often being big hits with the box office. This gives an impression that the movie is going to be well made as famous Hollywood actors are starring in it, and a big production company such as “New Line Cinema” has decided to back the film. A big production company would not support films if they did not believe that it would be successful, they only pick ones that they think will appeal to people and make high profits so this leads us to the conclusion that the film is going to be well worth our time and we are more likely to watch it in a cinema. Film production logos are usually always within the first part of the trailer as it is a big influence of what makes us go out and watch a movie. The production company's reputation will hugely benefit the film trailer if it has a good reputation, for example if people have watched and enjoyed a film produced by the same company they may link it to other films they have watched by them. It also creates a basic idea of what film the trailer is showing us, for example if you were to see a Disney logo coming up at the start of a trailer, you would know that they have a reputation for family friendly films, and that their budget is large enough to make something to a very high quality.

Genre

The genre for the film is given away throughout the trailer as each different type of genre follows codes and conventions. For a thriller, which is what this particular movie is, there is often a fast paced action scenes, weapons, scenes of a violent nature and dark and mysterious settings. Through the trailer alone we can see lots of examples of this, with most of the action taking place in a dismal city environment. The low levels of lighting and colour in each shot sets the tone very efficiently as we associate it with a gloomy atmosphere, knowing instantly that it is not going to be a light hearted film as these types of things create a sense of danger. As for violence, we are not shown anything explicit in the trailer but are given hints about the murders and how each murder that has been carried out follows the pattern of the seven deadly sins.  Automatically the viewer will have their own preferences when it comes to movies as everyone has genres that they would be more inclined to enjoy, this trailer will allow the viewer to quickly come to a conclusion as to whether this would be something appealing to them as the conventions are obvious.

Narrative and characters

Se7en is about two detectives that are investigating and hunting a serial killer who bases his killings off of the seven deadly sins, using the flaws of the world to justify himself in this area. We are told about how the first killing is completed, which gluttony is where we get to know the extent of the violence of this film and how psychopathic the killer is. Conventionally, it is very obvious to tell that they are the main protagonists of the film as they are both trying to restore an equilibrium which is a common aspiration of a protagonist, they want to protect their cause in the name of justice. They also show aspects of bravery as they are not afraid to stand up for themselves, as is shown when Morgan Freeman’s character goes against the ideas of the other detectives in the workplace.

Representation

One of the most obvious forms of representation in the trailer is with age, we trust the judgement of Morgan freeman’s character much more as he is older and with more training than the new detective who is played by Brad Pitt. This plays on the stereotype that young people are not as professional in the workplace and are much more inexperienced than their older colleagues as the younger detective is being mentored by the older. We see more of this in the film where the younger detective is not taken seriously at all at first but later manages to regain himself later on in the film.

The Ring - Trailer analysis

The ring trailer analysis (2002)

Narrative

After watching the trailer, it is noted that it does not appear to be in the same order as the film chronologically. This is due to how a lot of elements of the trailer are mixed, giving you some key features of the film but in a distorted manner, which is conventional in the terms of a psychological horror film. When scenes are mixed and chopped up in a trailer, it is more likely to confuse the audience so that they are left unaware of the correct narrative and wanting to fill in the gaps of what isn’t shown to them. Psychological horror films often have quite a complicated back story, or a twist that you do not expect so by making the narrative confusing to the viewer, you are still leaving a lot to imagination. If this is presented successfully like it is in this particular trailer, it will only touch upon their curiosity and leave them with a lot that they still want to find out. This is something that I would quite like to replicate when it comes to my own horror movie trailer

After the age certificate has been presented the trailer starts off with a woman discussing the idea about a tape that can kill you if you watch it. This remark is there to introduce the focal point of the trailer as it foreshadows what is to come later on in the plot. A lot of other horror film trailers do this themselves, add a catchphrase or quote that will help us to build up the plot of the story and what danger awaits the protagonists. 

Genre
A lot of elements of the trailer give away that it is a supernatural horror, a conventional horror movie trailer will have lots of fast paced camera shots which are there to create a level of tension. The ring trailer seems to have a lot of this and since the narrative isn't in a chronological order, it is very unsettling to watch. Mise en scene also gives a lot about the genre away as the girl that climbs out of the well is dressed in a very tattered old white dress and her black hair is covering her entire face. We can't see much of her skin but from what is visible it is obvious that she is corpse like, with the skin of her arms rotting. Gore is very conventional in a horror trailer as it is exactly what the target audience is looking for, it gives the trailer a grotesque scare factor which will be unsettling for the audience to watch. Another prominent feature of the trailer is how there is a crackling TV screen cut 

between a lot of the scenes in the trailer. The connotations of a TV with no signal are that the location is somewhere desolate and far away from the rest of society and that there is no way of contacting anyone. This is a conventional technique used in a lot of horror movie trailers as it hints at the futility of the protagonists.

Unlike a lot of horror films, "The ring" is rated as PG 13, which is quite a young audience considering some of the themes this movie touches upon. Horror films appeal to the younger audience as they have a scare factor to them and quick paced action which captures the attention of younger people. When I make my own trailer I am thinking of not directly showing any violence in the trailer but instead hinting at it so I can appeal to my target age group.

Representation

In the trailer there are not many obvious stereotypes but it does seem to play on the innocence of children. Towards the start of the trailer we see a boy sat in front of the TV screen, watching the evil being creeping out of the well. A lot of horror trailers use the innocence of young children to contrast the evil that is being portrayed in the movie and it helps to create an uneasy atmosphere, the child cannot defend themselves in the same way that an adult can so it makes the audience tense. If a 

creature will not even take pity on a small defenceless child then this just proves the extent of their ruthlessness and how not even the innocent, good hearted characters are spared from the villain.

As well as the representation of children being a symbol of innocence, there is also a young mother looking after the child which follows on with the stereotype that mothers have a more paternal instinct and are more likely to look after children than a man. She is the first one to leap in to save the child, with no signs of a male partner around.

Narrative Of My Movie Trailer ( may be subject to change )

Main characters

• Protagonist - "?" -The protagonist of my horror movie trailer is not conventional in the sense that she also happens to be the murderer of the victims that die in the movie. Carrie is one horror film where this is also the case, and I have used small influences from this although most ideas have been taken from other movies. Although this character is not a stereotypical protagonist the audience will still be manipulated into liking her at first, before her crimes are committed.
• Antagonists-  In my horror film there will not be one specific antagonist but an entire group which are the students in the secondary school that are cruel towards the protagonist "?" 

Plot Summary For Movie Trailer

At the start of the trailer we are introduced to the school environment in which the main character "?" , attends as a year 11 student. "?" We are soon given evidence that she is struggling with fitting in, her dress sense has a gothic nature to it and this is one of the reasons she is a binary opposite to her antagonists. After a brief introduction of the school setting and a flash of the forest around the area, we see her walking down a crowded corridor, with an obvious look of discomfort on her face as she clutches her books close to her chest. Although this has obvious negative implications, the lighting will remain to be of a normal brightness so as to not alert the viewer of what is to come further along in the trailer. A few of her peers wander up behind her and suddenly jostle the books out of her hands, sneering at her and using slurs to intentionally mock her. Once they wander past we see her crouching to reach the books. The scene slowly fades out into the perspective of the peers that just mocked her as we see them laughing together.  In a conventional horror/mystery- hybrid movie trailer a lot of the scenes are mixed together in order to confuse the audience, so after this section has happened there will be a continuous video edited in throughout scenes of "?" adjusting a noose and hanging it up from a tree although her face wont be shown in these scenes so we are not aware of who is doing it until later on in the trailer. After this the trailer continues at the scene of a bonfire, where there are lots of noises of laughter and groups of people talking among themselves. "?" is currently shining around in the darkness with a torch whilst dragging a suspicious looking bag with the victim of one of the people that mocked her earlier on, she throws it onto the fire and does not raise suspicion due to it being a fifth of November celebration. The scene quickly changes to a teenage party where they are all gathered round a table playing a drinking game, although one of the characters does point out that their friend is missing, which the viewer will understand to be the person "?" has just murdered.----

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Timeline

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