Conventions of horror film

trailers

The two horror trailers I have researched in great detail are...

‘The woman in black’ (2012)

‘The devil inside’ (2012)

‘The devil inside’ The production company logos are commonly placed at the

beginning of the trailers, which I found in my initial research. However, I have

found that in horror films alot of the production titles are

presented in a way that relates to the genre, such as these

two which are both dark and gloomy, having connotations

of death, darkness and horror.

‘The woman in black’

Lighting: ‘The devil inside’

The lighting in this trailer is very dark, for example in this shot night vision

is used to create a spooky effect, such as

the woman’s ‘negative’ effect eyes which may represent how she is possessed in the film

and therefore her empty eyes may show how she

is ‘not really there.’

Lighting: ‘The woman in black’ Alot of the shots in this

trailer are also very dark like ‘The devil inside.’ This represents the foreboding events in the film. The use of firelight is also used, which adds a sinister twist to the shot. Although I cannot use fire on this scale, I would like to experiment with candle light to create a different effect in my trailer.

Mise-en-scene: Make-up (The devil inside)

To highlight how this character is possessed, as well as probably not sleeping and malnourished, she has heavy, brown/purple make up under her eyes which makes her look spookier. This will also raise enigmas as to why she has these shadows, and add to the effect of her being possessed. She has no other make-up on which makes her look very unwell, as well as having matted, untamed hair which indicates she is not looking after her appearance. Other enigmas in this shot raised could be why is she in the grotty, white tiled room and wearing what looks like hospital clothing?

Mise-en-scene: Make-up(The woman in black)

Like ‘The devil inside,’ Daniel Radcliffe has been given dark bags under his eyes, which suggests something has been troubling him and stopping him from sleeping. This is an enigma code as the audience will wonder what this could be. His dark clothing as well as the dark location add to the foreboding atmosphere, suggesting something may be wrong.

Shots: ‘The devil inside’ This establishing shot of a

silhouette of a building is very foreboding due to the fact it is shot at night. Conventionally, scenes in horror films containing scary events are intensified by being shot at night, as alot of people are scared of the dark. The dark represents things being hidden in the shadows as well as dark thoughts and events. This shot suggests something sinister may take place in this building.

‘The devil inside’

A handheld shot is used here in the trailer to build suspense, as the camera man runs quickly focusing the camera on the characters’ face. His troubled expression suggests something is wrong, and so does the rushed effect of the handheld camera. The dark lighting also makes the shot spookier.

Shots: ‘The woman in black’ This establishing shot is

taken from an extreme long angle, which

suggests that it is of great importance in the film. The foggy atmosphere

and dead bushes give the impression the property is isolated and abandoned.

This location is a conventional location for a horror film, as it looks

haunted and spooky.

‘The woman in black’These extreme-close-up shots intend to

scare the audience. The innocent children’s toys are all things associated with people’s fears, for example clowns and china dolls. The fear that they could be watching you and the intensity of the extreme-closeness intends to make the

audience feel uncomfortable. However, in the trailer all of these are moving in a

way that seems uncontrollable suggesting they are alive. However, due to the thick dust around each object it

may scare the audience, as surely if they had been abandoned for so long, the

batteries would not be working? These enigmas intend to make the audiences’

minds run wild and think up many scenarios which will scare them.

‘The devil inside’

The mise-en-scene in this shot relates to the

genre of horror due to the blood, and raises

enigmas, as the audience will wonder how the woman got

these cuts and why they are in a strange

formation on her arm.

‘The woman in black’Like the previous shot, blood is used

in this shot which relates to the horror genre. However, as a

victim is not visible the audience are left to wonder who the blood belongs to. The words ‘you could

have saved him’ also raise enigmas as to who ‘he’ is and

why the message is on the wall. The darkness of the shot creates

a foreboding atmosphere and the fact that in the left frame of the shot the moving monkey toy is

visible relates to the idea that the character is being watched,

raising more enigmas.

Titles – ‘The devil inside’The colours in the titles link to some of

the themes of the film. For example, the harsh white in the

centre frame may remind audiences of hospitals, and from the narrative in the trailer we can see that the woman is in hospital. However the fact that the frame

becomes darker towards the outside of the frame may represent

the dark events that occur in the film. The brown cross shapes are identical to the bloody scratches

the woman had on her arm in the close-up shot suggesting this

enigma code is significant throughout the film.

‘The devil inside’The words ‘coming soon’ are used to

tease the audience as a release date has obviously not been set yet, meaning they will have to

wait for the film to come out. This prolongs the build up to the release of the film to build

excitement and give audiences time to suggest the trailer to their friends and raise awareness. The fact that the email address is also

on the bottom allows the audience to learn more about the

film from the official website which will give them more

information.

Titles – ‘The woman in black’The window in this shot links to the

shots of the house, which is the primary location in the trailer.

However, you are usually able to see through a window, whereas this

one is translucent which suggests that something is being concealed.

This raises enigmas. If you look carefully a black figure is visible

behind the window which is quite spooky but will raise enigmas as to

what it is. This title also includes the website for the film and the words

‘coming soon’ which serve the same purpose as ‘the devil inside.’ I will be using these features in my film

trailer as they are conventional based on this research.