Film Trailer AnalysisEda Ozdemir

‘Woman In Black’ - Horror

‘The Woman In Black’ follows typical conventions of a horror trailer with scary/eerie music and taking the idea of childhood innocence and manipulating it into something to be feared about which is very common in the horror genre. There is use of darkness, blood, and a supernatural being which is all typical conventions of the horror genre which links to David Chandlers genre theory. There is no copy used either which is not typical of horror genres, however the voice used is appropriate to set the atmosphere. There is fast paced action towards the end which follows Freytag’s theory, however the music does not follow this fast pace action which goes against the typical conventions. This trailer can be linked to people deciding to watch this film as a form of entertainment which links to the uses and gratifications theory.

Cinematography: the trailer begins with an establishing shot in order for the audience to visualize this is where the action will be taking place within the movie, giving the audience an insight. The room is old, tattered and destroyed which creates an eerie look which follows the horror genre. There are use of close ups and mid shots to show the terror on the characters faces and to show the ‘creepy’ objects in the house. There are also use of insert cuts as well once the setting has been established to show the action within the scene. There are use of low angles on the house to show the power of this haunted house. The lighting used is also dark which are typical of horror trailers.

Editing: within post production a variety of editing devices have been used. There are uses of transitions such as fade outs which eaves a black screen which adds to the horror genre as black is a conventional colour. There are also use of motivated cuts when the word ‘house’ and ‘woman’ is mentioned it cuts to a shot of them so the audience can gain an insight as to who the characters are. The scenes have been edited so as to when an object is destroyed or some form of action is shown on the screen it co-alongside with the flash of music for emphasis. There are short takes throughout which have been pieced together in a fast pace towards the end of the trailer to show tension and speed in the action.

Sound: at the beginning of the trailer there is ambient sound of the wind which creates an eerie atmosphere and an idea of desertion within the house. There is also a voice over of the child telling the story of the film in a nursery rhyme style. Children and nursery rhymes are often used in horror films to again create an eerie and scary feel to show the genre of the film.

Mise en Scene: the overall mise en scene of the horror trailer is old, dark, death and decay which are all common features of a horror genre. There is also a deserted area, the Christ's cross (which is used a lot within horror) and blood – all typical conventions of a horror trailer to create a scary location to emphasize the plot and make the consumer feel nervous and scared.

‘Alien’ – Sci-fi/ horrorThe film ‘Alien’ is a hybrid film that combines elements of the sci-fi and horror genre together. This has been achieved by setting the film in space, a key element of the sci-fi genre. There is also use of planets and aliens as well as space costumes, all contributing elements of the sci-fi genre. However there is also use of the isolated setting and tension built throughout the trailer to create the horror elements. By combining these to genres to create a hybrid allows the film to appeal to the demographics of a much wider audience to gain more profit. This also broadens the audience choosing to watch this film for entertaining purposes, linking to the ‘uses and gratifications’ theory.

• Cinematography: the trailer begins with an establishing shot of space in order to show the audience where the action of this film will be set in. Throughout the beginning of the trailer we see the camera panning backwards. This has been done as to build up suspension as to what the camera is going back towards. These are short takes between the camera travelling backwards across the ground to extreme close ups of the egg. This again creates suspension within the audience. The camera shots change from an extreme close up, through to a close up and then a long shot of the egg. The variations of camera shots show the importance of the egg and its vital role it will play in the film.

• Editing: Within post production a variety of editing devices have been used, such as creating the travelling through space image with would have been created through use of computer technology. As the audience feel as if they are travelling through space, lines start to appear which has been done again through a use of computers. This creates tension and makes the audience want to find out what these lines are, which turn out to spell the title of the movie. The egg has also been edited to have light shining through it as it braches, to show how the creature is being hatched out of its supernatural.

• Sound: at the beginning of the trailer there is what seems like ambient sound of the wind. However we do not know whether this will be realistic as we do not know whether there is wind in space, although in post production this sound has been chosen to be added as the sound of a heartbeat which increases in volume and pace as the trailer progresses adding to the tension.

• Mise En Scene: the overall mise en scene of this hybrid trailer is dark and eerie to fit in with the horror genre. There is also the use of space and aliens which are key features within a sci-fi film. The location is also in a dark isolated setting, which again is a feature of the horror genre. The costumes chosen of space suits and the glimpse of the alien we gain all add to the sci-fi genre as well. By combining these different elements of both genres helps to create a successful trailer that will appeal to a wider variety of audience. The use of using animals such as a cat adds to the horror genre as it is believed how animals can sense danger.

‘Ted’ - ComedyThe film ‘Ted’ is a comedy film, therefore the trailer has been produced in a completely different way with different elements and features from the horror trailers previously analyzed. This comedy trailer includes features such as voice overs, copy, upbeat music, comical scenes and conversations, light and upbeat atmosphere as opposed to the darkness used in horrors. This trailer however represents women as sex objects, fitting in with Laura Mulvey’s male gaze theory. This film has also been made for the entertainment value for the target audience complying with the uses and gratifications theory. The trailer also begins to show part of Todorov’s narrative theory as we see how the film begins with the equilibrium and how this is disrupted, although it does not show us the restoration – which is why the audience will want to go watch the film to find out what happens.

Cinematography: a variety of different shots are used throughout this trailer in order to gain different comical impacts. The trailer begins with an aerial shot that pans into the room of the two central characters when they were younger. This scene gives the audience the impression of the film is aimed at a younger audience, making the film more comical when finding out its true purpose. There are lots of reaction shots used also to again add more comical impact to the trailer.

Editing: Within postproduction the editing team have added a variety of techniques to the final outcome of the trailer. At the beginning of the trailer the ‘Universal’ logo has been edited as if the camera is crash zooming into the house. This has been done to engage the audience straight away into the film. There is also use of voice over which is common feature used in comedy films.

Sound: There is use of voice over used for this film trailer, a key feature used in comedy films. There is also non diegetic sound used throughout the trailer, whether that be the “magical” sound or upbeat and up tempo music. This music cuts out through when a funny memorable part of the trailer is shown for a bigger comical impact on the audience. There are also use on stings when the non diegetic music is cut out to emphasise the comedy within that shot.

Mise en Scene: There are a variety of different locations used within this trailer such as the Christmas setting, the city view, the car shop, the aquarium and the grocery store. A vast majority of locations have been chosen to create connections with the audience as these locations will be recognisable with the target audience making the film more relatable. The costumes used are again every day to day costumes to add the realistic nature of this film.