TRAILER ANALYSIS

• Aerial shots are used to establish the setting of the film following the direction of the car where the main characters drive up a forest isolated

pathway and zooming into the lonely mountains. The use of echoing distorted sound that accompanies the introduction gives the trailer a

disturbing atmosphere, automatically informing the audience of the genre; it being a horror. The high-key lighting used in the first shot brings out the harsh colours of the sunlit trees but having large shadows be cast inside

the frame already suggests to the audience that this place isn’t as pleasant as it looks. The grey in the mountains brings out the location as a very depressing, dull and unpleasant which are themes common in a horror.

• “I don’t suppose they um… told you anything about the tragedy they had up here during the winter in 1970?” This question already gives the

audience the impression that there is something wrong which implies that the location is a dangerous area.

• A close-up of the main character, Jack Torrance, is first introduced immersed in writing his ‘masterpiece’. At first

glance, the audience is able allocate the man as the protagonist as he does not conform to the convention of a

stereotypical antagonist – not having any facial disfigurement or any monstrous features. The next shot sets the scene of a

dark, dimly-lit room. The audience is immediately able to recognise that this is the house where all the tragedies

happen. The lights reflecting off the freshly polished floors and the management of cleanliness gives the shot an eerie

and disturbing effect.

• In horror films, the family element is often explored as them either moving house or going on holiday to a dark uneasy location. A family’s bond is always strong and unbreakable, and judging by the positioning of the

characters, Jack Torrence is obviously a father with his wife. However, to watch the characters be torn apart by the plot of this film makes the

audience already empathise with the happy family taking a relaxing trip to isolated areas. In the second panning long shot, the audience follows the

direction of the boy naturally. Children are known to discovery the unsettling nature of a specific location first and warning their parents but the parents,

ignorant to little childish “fantasies” would not take them seriously. The camera levelling to they boy’s level makes the walls appear much taller and more empowering. This already sets of the idea that something is going to happen to that boy within the scene and no one would be able to help him

escape.

• A green maze. It adds to the ‘fairy-tale’ element which attracted me the most. As this film is a psychological thriller, the maze could be

represented as a symbol of one’s state of mind. It would only be your choice to choose a certain pathway and the experiences that they will

take in for the rest of their lives, it is your choice to take it personally or not control it at all. This sense of entrapment also gives the impression

that it’s one of the most deadly locations to be harmed. This adds to the psychological sub-genre, giving the long-shot a more sinister

atmosphere.

• Insanity is first shown in this shot, originally a medium shot, quickly cutting to a close up. This already informs the audience of

insanity creeping in and catching onto him. The man in the beginning had warned him about the tragedy that happened –

about a man who turned insane by living a couple of days in the house and killing their family. This camera shot unsettles the

audience, as the most ignorant people always are the target of evil – most ignorant to stories. The use of directional lighting gives Jack

Torrance a pale and deadly effect.

• Suffering. To watch a protagonist suffer is painful once the audience has bonded with the character. The two-shot shows the woman’s support by also her fear. Men are stereotypically strong, courageous and refrain from expressing their emotions. To

see a grown man broken down makes the audience sympathise with the character.• The long shot of the two twin girls standing side by side emits their disturbing

nature. The use of the wide-shot making the walls almost expand outward sets the theme of ‘fragility’ but ‘danger’ at the same time. At this low perspective angle, we

would expect the little boy to see them from his own eyes, and us through his. Children are naïve and gullible to not knowing the difference between “good” and “bad”, which easily influences the child to evil. This gives a tang of darkness and

eeriness to the trailer, preparing the audience for the worst. Spiritually, possessions are known to keep to a same routine and expose the animal nature by sometimes

only looking at a person and sensing it through their eyes. This makes the audience uneasy as the children are looking directly at them.

• The art of blood. Having a wave of blood burst through the corner of a hallway reflects how many people may have entered the

house and lived under their roof just as he did, and the insanity that drove the men mad forced them to kill their own family, and it

can be assumed that the blood is from those loved ones.• The low angle of the woman yanking at the door handle makes the

woman seem powerful and gives hope to the woman’s survival. I love the use of low-key lighting in this shot because it adds to the

tension and mental instability of the woman, joining the insane adventure her husband has exposed to her and her son.