TRAILER ANALYSIS
Halloween
Year of Release: 1978 Director: John Carpenter Production/Financing Company: Compass International Pictures & Falcon International Productions Principle Cast: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran Film Info: The original of the remake produced in 2007. Synopsis: On Halloween night of 1963, 6-year old Michael Myers stabbed his sister to death. After sitting in a mental hospital for 15 years, Myers escapes and returns to Haddonfield to kill. Narrative: The narrative of this horror trailer is based on the protagonist; Michael Myers; breaking out from a mental institution and going back to his hometown to kill people. The story is told from the beginning of the film in a fragmented order. This has been done to create mystery and tension for the audience so they build up a desire, to go and see the film. Mise-En-Scene: The setting is in a town in America where the Antagonist grew up. The trailer reveals this by portraying the town through camera shots at the beginning of the trailer. A common setting that was shown often was a kitchen setting. This is because there are numerous hazards and dangers and therefore where a lot of the violent scenes take place. In the beginning of the trailer, there is low-key lighting to convey darkness and set the horror mood. It then moves onto a high-key lighting to create a positive mood however, as the disequilibrium takes place, the lighting goes back to low-key to stress the horror mood and create a sense of panic and fright. This is carried out till the end of the trailer. There are a range of costumes throughout the trailer as each character is different however, costumes such as ordinary clothing, smart clothing and uniform are mainly used in the trailer. The antagonist is wearing a uniform and a mask and this is to protect his identity from the other characters. The protagonist, whom is the last girl at the end of the trailer, has the costumes of ordinary clothes as they are the smart one that attempts to kill the antagonist. It is also so the audience are able to identify good and evil from one another. The NVC of characters throughout the trailer portray fear apart from the antagonist. This is because the face is covered and therefore, unable to see but from the body posture, they are dominant amongst other characters. The antagonist portraying this is common within horror trailers and films. Props are also used in the trailer to show ordinary life and then where it changes (equilibrium to disequilibrium). Camera: The trailer begins with a wide shot of the car driving along the road. This is to ensure that the audience are able to see the setting/area. The trailer then moves onto various shots such as long shot, close ups, cut in, over the shoulder, point of view and two shots. All shots are used for different purposes. For example, cut in is used to show parts of the subject in detail i.e. where the trailer shows just the feet of one of the characters. Sound: There is non-diegetic incidental music playing throughout the trailer. The pace of this links closely with the equilibrium and the disequilibrium; it is slow but high pitched like a screech noise and then goes low and deep to create a sense of imbalance. There is dialogue also which slightly tells the narrative of the film in the beginning. There is no dialogue of the antagonist as including this would give away too much. Editing: There are camera angles and camera movement to help portray the trailer. Camera angles such as high and low angles are commonly used across all horror film trailers and eye-level which enables the audience to see what the character sees (just like point of view). High angles are used to make the subject or character seem less powerful and appear to be less significant. On the other hand, low angles are there to make the subject or character seem more powerful and dominant. In the trailer, low angles were used more with the antagonist and low angles were used with the protagonist. Editing techniques such as panning, tilting, tracking and zooming are used also. The zoom is used to focus detail onto the subject i.e. when focusing on the antagonist. Quick cuts are used frequently to create tension and to speed up the pace of the takes included in the trailer. Typography: The only typography used in the trailer was at the beginning and at the end. The beginning of the trailer gave credit to the production company and at the end of the trailer, the name of the film and its' release date was present. This is to make people aware of when the film will be released and also what the film is called if they want to go and watch it. Target Audience: The target audience for this film would be 15-24 year olds because of the context and narrative. |
Rec
Year of Release: 2007 Director: Jaume Balaguero & Paco Plaza Production/Financing Company: Castelao Producciones & Filmax Principle Cast: Manuela Velasco, Ferran Terraza, Jorge Yamam Film Info: A Spanish horror film Synopsis: A television reporter and cameraman follow emergency into a dark apartment building and are quickly locked inside with something terrifying. Narrative: The narrative in the trailer is filmed based upon real life found footage. This means whilst everything is happening, the characters are recording it. This gives the film/trailer effective camera work. It also creates a thrill for the audience as they are unaware of what happens next, even with the help of captions in between scenes. Mise-En-Scene: The lighting throughout the trailer is very low. This is to help conceal the antagonist from the audience so the trailer does not give too much away. There are high-key lighting parts which enable the audience to have a glimpse of what is taking place. The setting of the trailer and the majority of the film is in an apartment/block of flats that is isolated from the outside. The costume worn by the different characters convey there own meaning. For example the firemen in the trailer wear their costume in order to protect the innocent from any harm and also to protect themselves from danger. There is very few props used within the trailer to enforce the fact of isolation and being dependent on others for their safety. The NVC of the characters connote fear and anxiousness. This is common in the horror genre to build tension and anticipation. Camera: There is a range of different camera shots used in the trailer. However close-ups of the characters NVC had an impact on the trailer more than the others. This is because of the use of a hand help camera which enabled the context to come to life - enabling it be more realistic - by creating effects such as distortion and break ups in the filming. Having close-ups in the trailer or even any trailer, allows the audience to sympathise with the characters. This creates a mood in which emotions are shared and increases the pace of tension when something dramatic happens. Sound: There is dialogue at the beginning of the trailer which is telling the start of the narrative. This helps the audience understand a bit more of what may happen. The non-diegetic of the dialling tone, sets the mood of the trailer and draws the audience in even more to want to watch the film. There is a moment in the equilibrium where the there is no dialogue but only diegetic sound of footsteps and what is happening at that present moment. The disequilibrium then takes place to where there is a lot of dialogue and screams. The score and the incidental that was in the middle of the trailer was to create suspense whilst increasing the editing pace. Editing: The types of editing used within the trailer are tracking, continuity editing, quick cuts and long takes. At the beginning of the trailer, there is a black screen with text on it which is shown for two seconds and it then moves onto a scene from the movie. This repeats. This is an example of continuity editing. This allows the audience to follow the story which makes it a fragment order. The whole trailer being filmed as hand-held already has the realism effect as mentioned earlier. Typography: At the beginning of the trailer, there is a lot of typography used. The font is white and bold so the audience is able to see it clearly. The text being short and quick makes it easier to read. The text consisted of statistics which linked with the firemen and there cases of what had happened. Again, links to realism and allowing the audience to really get engaged. Target Audience: The target audience would be 15 year olds to 24 year olds as this age group is a popular horror genre age range. |
Friday the13th
Year of Release: 2009 Director: Marcus Nispel Production/Financing Company: New Line Cinema and Paramount Pictures Principle Cast: Jared Padalecki, Amanda Righetti, Derek Mears Film Info: Synopsis: A group of young adults discover a boarded up Camp Crystal Lake, where they soon encounter Jason Voorhees and his deadly intentions. Narrative: The narrative of this story is told through a fragmented order so that the audience is able to see what happens from the beginning to the end. Trailers are also done this way to create anticipation so the question of what the resolution is, lingers, forcing the audience to go and watch the film to find it out. The film starts of with a group of teenagers being a 'typical horror' group of teens. Their fun is then ruined by Jason (the antagonist) whom is out to kill them. Mise-En-Scene: The beginning of the trailer which portrays daytime has high-key lighting. This part is the equilibrium as everything is calm and good. The lighting changes to low-key lighting when the disequilibrium takes place. This is to represent the change that is going to happen and to change the mood into a dark one. The setting is enclosed as it is out in the open but in a secluded area. This could connote two stations; one being a sense of safety and security due to the characters thinking that the area is safe and the other being that danger will find them because of the enclosed and tight area. The place where the trailer takes place is called Camp Crystal Lake - a deserted camp area. The only character that has a distinctive costume is the antagonist Jason. He has on a mask to protect his identity. Masks are common with horror films and their antagonists. The purpose of this is mainly so the stock characters are unable to see the true identity and the protagonist however, the protagonist may see the antagonist at the very end of the film. The main prop that is used is the antagonists weapon which is a machete. This is a violent and aggressive force of attack. The NVC of the antagonist is not seen but of the other characters, portray fear and anxiety. Camera: There is a wide variety of camera shots that are used in this trailer. Extreme close-ups are used to exaggerate the fear in the characters eyes and NVC. At the beginning of the trailer, an establishing shot is used to portray the setting of the trailer. Wide shots are also used to show a sense of struggle between the antagonist and the protagonist. Sound: At the beginning there is a little bit of dialogue that states the setting of the trailer. After this, there is no dialogue. There is score and incidental music that is quick paced to create anticipation. Editing: There a long takes at the beginning and towards the end they turn into quick cuts. This is to create tension and enforce that the disequilibrium has started. Typography: The only typography in the trailer is at the end which states the credits and the title of the film. Targeted Audience: The intended audience are adolescents from aged 15 to early adulthood aged 24. |