TrailerRapid editing towards the end then suddenly slows down and shows quite a gripping moment that could make you jump Image of the island Lots of shots of the main character in the detective hat and jacket Match gives off an eerie glow, when he is searching the "prisoners"
Magazine Cover Main character in detective costume again Surrounded by mist, very dark which keeps up the running mysterious image
Poster Match image lighting up the island image with main character Very dark and mysterious like the other promotional tools
Website Same as film poster but animation added Links to the trailer and lots of promotion
Action - Combines the intrusion of an evil force or event of horror movies, with the gunfights and action chases of action movies. Themes or elements include gore, demons, vicious animals, vampires and zombies. Examples are Resident Evil, Ghost Rider, Dawn of the Dead, Blade.
Body - The horror comes from the degeneration of the body. Also includes unnatural movements or incorrect placement of limbs to create "monsters" out of body parts. Examples include The Fly, Eraserhead, The Thing and Teeth.
Comedy - Usually crosses with black comedy, combines elements of comedy and horror. Examples include The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Gremlins, Beetlejuice and Scary Movie.
Gothic - Combines goth and horror. Could have romance that unfolds in the setting of a horror story. They are full of suspense. Examples include The Phantom of the Opera, Dracula, Frankenstein, Sleepy Hollow, Dorian Gray and The Woman in Black.
Natural - Features nature running riot in the form of mutated creatures such as insects or beasts, or even plants. Sometimes overlaps with sci-fi. Examples include Jaws, The Cave, Snakes on a Plane, Pirahna 3D.
Psychological - This type of film relies on the characters' fears and beliefs, eerie sound effects, emotional instability and sometimes the supernatural to build tension and build on the plot. Examples include The Ring, The Grudge, The Exorcist, Silent Hill, 1408, The Blair Witch Project, The Shining and The Sixth Sense.
Science Fiction - Usually includes killer aliens, mad scientists, and disastrous experiments. Examples include Alien, The Fly and It Came From Outer Space.
Slasher - Usually revolves around a psychopathic killer stalking a sequence of victims and killing them in a graphic manner with a knife or axe. Sometimes overlap with crime or mystery genres. Examples include Scream, Friday the 13th, Child's Play and A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Splatter - Has a deliberate focus on graphic portrayals of gore and violence. Displays an overt interest in the vulnerability of the human body and the theatricality of it's mutilation through the use of special effects and excessive blood and guts. Examples include Demons, Saw, Hostel and Pirahna 3D.
Zombie - Involves creatures portrayed as re-animated corpses or mindless human beings. Examples include Dawn of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead, I Am Legend and Resident Evil.
Todorov is a Franco-Bulgarian philosopher. His theory was that conventional narratives are structured into five stages:
A state of equilibrium at the outset;
A disruption of the equilibrium by some action;
A recognition that there has been a disrupion;
An attempt to repair the disruption;
A reinstatement of the equilibrium
This can be applied to most regular films, although in horror films, they tend to challenge this expectation and will mix it up or bring the film to an end before the equilibrium can be reinstated.
Vladimir Propp was a Soviet Formalist scholar who analyzed the basic plot components of folk tales to identify their simplest irreducible narrative elements. He also did some character analysis by looking at 100 tales and concluded that all characters could be resolved into 8 broad character types, as follows:
The villain — struggles against the hero.
The dispatcher —character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off.
The (magical) helper — helps the hero in the quest.
The princess or prize — the hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable to marry her because of an unfair evil, usually because of the villain. the hero's journey is often ended when he marries the princess, thereby beating the villain.
Her father — gives the task to the hero, identifies the false hero, marries the hero, often sought for during the narrative. Propp noted that functionally, the princess and the father can not be clearly distinguished.
The donor —prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object.
The hero or victim/seeker hero — reacts to the donor, weds the princess.
False hero — takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess.
"A caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators."
Large use of shouting and screaming
Frequent use of dialogue
Gruesome shots
Brief shots of monster/creaturea
Pace increases as the trailer progresses
Use of text to show reviews but also feelings - adds tension
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY
"After moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence."
Centered around audience reaction shots - creates fear
Text used as narrative
Screaming
Voice over
Edited to sound track
Succession of shots speeds up throughout
Jerky handheld camerawork
Ordinary people used to make you relate
There are various similarities and differences which both conform and challenge the typical conventions of this genre, the most obvious being the build up in pace of both the editing and the music which both fit together perfectly. This is something found in both of these trailers as well as most other horror movie trailers. Another similarity would be the short flashes of scary instances for example a glance at a creature or someone in a horrific state. This is another feature commonly found in horror movie trailers, it creates a lot of fear in the audience and leaves them with a great feeling of suspense. Also, you often find very similair sound effects in most trailers. There are also some major differences, the first main one being that the Paranormal Activity trailer focuses more on audience reaction which helps to intensify the fear created in the viewers. Also Paranormal Activity uses a completely different camera style, which contrasts completely with The Descent.
I looked at the trailer from The Ring and analysed various different parts of it including camera shots and angles, mise en scene, editing and sound. The Ring is an American psychological horror based around the viewing of a video tape which is said to curse people who watch it.
Camera Shots and Angles
One of the first shots to be used is a close up on one of the characters who is talking about something fairly serious (the curse of the tape). By having a close up shot of her, it emphasises the serious and somewhat stern expression which could already put fear into the audience as this already shows there is something to be concerned about.
Another close up used is of the hand reaching out for the door handle. Although it is a short shot, this immediately builds tension into the viewer as it can leave them wanting to know what was behind the door and why it was such a prominent part to the trailer. Closed doors can often create fear and suspense as you can never be sure of what is going to be behind it.
Zooms are used onto the phone and the video tape which shows that they are two main components of the film and accentuates how important they are. It lets the audience know what they should be looking out for.
Various other close-ups are used for facial expression and props. This helps to create fear in the audience.
Mise en Scene
There are various different elements of the mise en scene which are important within this trailer as follows:
Firstly, most of the locations and settings used, seem to be pretty isolated - this can represent the characters' isolation, especially those who have seen the tape and can suggest they are now on their own - no one can help them, they are now fully isolated.
Next, the costume; throughout the trailer the main character, the womans costume seems to change from fairly smart casual, to completely scruffy, and messy. There is even a shot of her in what looks to be an dirty hospital gown. This suggests that she becomes increasingly shaken up and shows that she has been through quite a demanding time. This is also shown with her hair. It starts neat and tidy but in the last few shots of her, it is a lot more messy as if she hasn't done anything with it in a while - she has much more to deal with.
The make up of all the actors is very pale throughout which helps to visually show the panic in the characters. A white face is also often symbolic of fear.
The lighting throughout the trailer is kept very dull and subdued. Even scenes in daylight are dull and poorly lit, as if they are shot on a bad weathered day. There is no overuse of lighting, which keeps the trailer very eerie and mysterious.
Sound
The music used within the trailer is mostly strings and piano which makes it all seem mysterious. But it also seems to be muffled to begin with which can create a feeling of uneasiness.
At the beginning it starts off fairly slow and mellow, but as you get deeper into the trailer the music builds up and gets faster along with the pace of editing.
Diagetic sound is used which can enhance parts of the film which are difficult to show visually. For example, the telephone ringing, the sounds on the tape, the young boy's drawing and more.
Within the music it seems that there is a ticking sound which could be a clock, this could represent the time slowly ticking away.
Editing
To begin with the editing is fairly slow but as the trailer progresses, the pace of editing increases as the audience become more hooked and aware of what is going on. It is also matched with the music and how it builds up.
Random clips of the tape are shown throughout the trailer which makes the audience feel as if they know what the character's are seeing, and can understand their fear and confusion.
The last part of the trailer is just a montage of clips taken from throughout the film in a random order which can subliminally make the viewer want to go see the film so they can put their mind at rest as to what was happening. It can also make them a little more scared especially at the last few seconds which will usually make the audience jump.
We discussed horror films and the typical features that may be involved in them, the following is what we came up with:
Bits that make you jump
Dark lightig
Dull and dark use of colour
Built up pace of editig
Suspese
Tension
Mysterious themes
Eerie music
Enhanced diagetic soud
Loud music
We will try to take this list into account when creating our horror film as these are from a public audience point of view, which means that they are all things that are expected and are what people want to see. This will be important to take into consideration throughout the creation process.
This is my blog for my A2 Media Studies course. This year we will be creating a film promotion package including a teaser trailer, a magazine front cover and a poster. This blog is to track my progress through the research, creation and evaluation stages and to show the final outcome.
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