The Exorcism of Emily Rose: Sound

A sound analysis of the first 3 minutes of The Exorcism of Emily Rose.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVTgk8KEyV0
Throughout titles:

• A strong, low monotone at a slow pace.
• A high tone is introduced creating a blend of eerie tones and raising uncertainty amongst the audience.
• The non-diagetic sound is parallel to the narrative - unsettling and hinting the horror genre.

Black Screen:

• The non-diagetic sound continues.
• Diagetic sound is also introduced overlapping the soundtrack - Although not entirely clear what these sounds were, it sounded like wind, animals, screams or someone in pain. 
• Is use of dialogue when a female character screams 'Emily?!' - hints danger, pain, distress and lack of power. It specifically intrigues the audience. It seems from the diagetic sound that there is a female protagonist - a stereotypical role of a female in horror film (what is expected ).

Fades to white screen, then imagery is introduced:

• As the title of the film is shown, the screaming stops. Meanwhile the low monotones of the non-diagetic soundtrack are still present.
• Diagetic sounds of howling wind, the rustling of crops and footsteps highlight the silence surrounding the old, male character. It portrays isolation and emphasizes how alone the character is - not safe.
• As the film proceeds, the high non-diagetic tones remain, however when a character feels uneasy, the low tones are re-introduced.
• The sounds of object which are affected by the wind create squeaking, unsettling noises.
• In addition the sound of small animals and wasps hiding for safety indicates a sign of danger. This has raised the tension, and the audience now expects a climax to take place.
• Conversation only starts when the film reaches 3:00 minutes approx, demonstrating that the film has successfully built tension using imagery and sound, showing the audience of the specific codes and conventions of the horror genre.

Locations - Houses

These are photos are possible locations for houses we could use in our trailer. We want to have a flash of eerie-looking houses to portray the horror genre, and show a variety of locations in our narrative.

Writing on the Mirror

This was a first attempt at writing on a mirror in lipstick. We tested this to ensure that the lipstick could be easily removed from the mirror, and that is has the desired effect.

Filming the mirror could cause a problem, as nothing can be shown in the mirror, and over the many shots of the mirror we do, nothing can move in the reflection.To do this, we may have to film at an angle, which could show the lipstick, and the reflection of the writing in the shot, making it look as though there are two layers of writing. We can avoid this with the angle we film at.

Possible Location

This could be used as a possible location, as it seems isolated, and is spacious to allow different shots to be taken. One of our ideas is to have a long shot of Jodie, nearer the end of the lane; and have sudden images of her coming closer to the camera - this will be intimdating and unsettling for the audience.

Possible Poster Idea

Location - The Park

The decision to have Jodie sitting on a swing was made because we wanted to emphasise her youth, making her death more tragic. She is looking at the empty swing, suggesting that there may be something missing that the eye cannot see.

The fact that Jodie is looking directly at the camera makes the audience feel uneasy and threatened.

Hair and Makeup Experimentation

We started off by wetting Jodie's hair and then began applying butter from the roots to the tips to make it look greasy and unkempt. This also made it clump together.

We started to back comb Jodie's hair to give it an even messier look. To hold it in place we put a lot of hairspray on it.

Finally, with the addition of makeup, Jodie's look is complete!



Makeup

After experimenting with makeup we decided on the particular look for our supernatural killer. Firstly we used white as a basecolour for her face, this was applied quite lightly so we can still see some of her natural skin tone. This created a ghostly look which worked really well because it will create fear among the audience. Secondly, we created dark shadows under her eyes using black and green colours, to make her look gaunt and ill. This was also inspiration from the villain in 'The Grudge'. We used green as well to create the idea that she's been underwater, its creates unease for the audience as well as intimidation. We then created shadows around her nose and mouth to enhance her features and add colour.

The Dark Knight - magazine covers

Empire produced many different magazine covers for the release of the film "The Dark Knight". These are two of them that show the main characters.
These magazine covers are a good example of adapting the cover depending on the theme and type of character, and links to the characters to enable the audience to connect.
The two covers have different colour schemes, but both keep the same layout and titles, so that the two can be recognised as linked to eachother.
With most other magazine covers, the photo of the character covers some of the title. However, here, the text is brought to the front and the image to the back to highlight the title, the fact that there are two covers to collect, and the film title. This is effective as it is may not be what the audience expect from a magazine cover.

Inception - Front Cover Analysis

• Inception is the main film advertised in Empire magazine, with unique selling point Leonardo DiCaprio in the centre of the cover.  Due to Empire being a well known magazine, there is no need for the title to be fully shown.
• At first, the use of red typography hints danger, blood and horror; however the representation of Caprio in a suit brings a sophisticated style. The audience expects fast paced action and a dangerous plot line.
• One of the key features of this front cover is the mention of Christopher Nolan- he is a well known director and has a large fan base following his productions of the Prestige and Batman. This magazine cover reaches out to this audience in particular.
• The reader is immediately focused on the title of the film, due to the capitalised, red typography - It particularly stands out due to the black and white background. The background follows the narrative of the film, as it is a photographically represented image of a city, which is where the film is set, and brings feelings of excitement, exploration and hidden secrets.
• In addition, surrounding Leonardo DiCaprio, are mentions of other blockbuster films. They are slanted and look like they are being pulled back to the centre of the front cover, fitting in with the genres –action, surrealism and deception.

NARRATIVE UPDATE

Due to difficulties casting a male actor in the role of the Father, we have now decided to have the killer as the girl's sister.

We have cast Jodie as the dead girl and Lauren as the sister.

Because of this we have had to change small elements of the narrative.

Sweeney Todd Poster Analysis

The Last Exorcism Poster Analysis

-The main colours used in this poster are black, white, grey and red. These are traditionally gothic colours and reference classic horror film posters like 'Nosferatu'. The red stands out against the other dull colours and gives an insight into what the film is likely to include.

-The main focus of the poster is the girl, positioned very unnaturally. Her pose links with the narrative of the story, and is reminiscent of the original 'Exorcist' film.

-Another focus of the poster is the film's title. The fact that it is in red means that it stands out against the white background. Red also holds connotations of blood. This mirrors the blood on the girl's white dress, and is an indication that there will be blood in the film.

-The messages of the poster are primarily represented by the image. The fact it is so odd means that it will draw people in and they will want to know more about the film.

-The intended audience for this poster will most definately be fans of horror films, and people over a certain age, probably 15, as for younger members of the public, the image could be quite distressing.

-There are no names of actors on the poster, but Eli Roth's name is prominent above the film's title. Eli Roth is famous for making horror films, and so fans of his previous films (Cabin Fever, Hostel parts I and II) will know that if he is involved, this film will be as good as his earlier work.

-There are religious references on this poster, for example the cross on the wall. It points downwards to the girl and makes sure that the audience focus on her, as her image is the main focus of the poster. The tagline is 'Believe In Him', which refers to God and also gives an insight into themes of the film. The fact that it is about an exorcism confirms that there will be religious references in the film.

-This poster is very effective, predominantly because of the way the girl is positioned. The large stain of blood on her clothes is also shocking, and gives a clear idea of what the film is going to include.

'Let Me In' Poster Analysis

The main colours of this poster are black, red and white; following a gothic style. Red is typically used in horror posters and the colour signifies blood and death .This poster particularly shows the genre by the typography in ‘Me’ - Various shades of red are used and the blood is smudged, creating a realistic effect. In addition, white is used predominantly to emphasise the film title and also creates a sense of the unknown.

The background of the poster is of a cracked, broken mirror, linking to the title of the film – It suggests that an avenger is coming for a victim, however is facing resistance. The mirror also brings an un-nerving presence and therefore intrigues the audience.

The messages is in this poster are primarily verbal as the title is positioned in the centre of the poster, covering the majority of the space. This is a persuasive technique and stands as a teaser poster as the audience isn’t given any insight to what the film entails.

A unique selling point is not used; however by mentioning Matt Reeves, director of ‘Cloverfield’, the audience may expect a similar genre. It also brings the suspected audience of the film to be adults due to the danger, violence and death. Although there is no imagery or tag lines used, this leaves more room for interpretation and therefore stands as an effective poster for the film, making the audience ask questions about the film.

Empire Front Cover Analysis

Empire

The main colours used on the front cover here are all typical colours of “the joker”. Your eye is immediately drawn to the photograph and the word “joker on the left side in green, as he is the main focus of the cover.

He is presented as threatening, with the use of make-up, costuming and camera techniques. Most people already know about the iconic joker, so not much information would need to be presented in order to attract readers’ attentions.

The fact that the photo is covering part of the title of the magazine is recognised as being typical of well known magazines, such as “empire”.

The adverts and other features of the magazine are layed out in quite a random order, which could reflect the mind of the joker. Is seems as though it is quite busy, and doesnt follow all the expectations of a typical magazine cover, as there is a large empy gap on the left hand side. The way the words "meet the joker" are written is in a threatening way, as though it is an anonymous letter made with newspaper cuttings. This also has links to the film, as he leaves notes for people throughout the film.
The splodges of random colour over the front cover of the magazine may criminal activity, which also links to the joker's role in the film they are promoting.

Shutter Island Poster Analysis

Dark colours are used in this poster, with the main focus being on the lighted match he is holding. Red is used to highlight the name, and the release date of the film.


The water surrounding the island suggests isolation. The dark water and the rain could reflect dark events that could happen.

The poster mostly conveys ideas visually, with reinforcement through the tag line “someone is missing”. This creates intrigue as it tells you a tiny piece of information about the film.

The eye is drawn to the match, and then down the page to the photographic image, with the title. The actor is recognisable from the photo, but this is reinforced by printing his name above the title, using him as a unique selling point.

As it is quite an ambitious poster, it could suggest that the film has a large budget, and this is reinforced by Leonardo DiCaprio being the lead.

This poster is effective; it engages the audience as they feel familiar with the actor, they know what sort of film they are preparing themselves for, and it communicating well with the audience, telling them the name and the date it will be released.

Narrative

After deciding on the horror genre, we began thinking about narrative ideas. We didn't want our trailer to be like anything that had been done before.

One of our original narrative ideas was that a woman was being stalked by another woman. This drew on the recent increase in men admitting that they had been domestically abused by their female partners and also on the fear that women were increasing their standings in society.

However, we then thought that it would be interesting to include a supernatural element into our narrative. We wanted to include the theme of abuse, as it is a very relevant topic, and came to the idea of a girl who was being abused by her father.

After having researched abuse cases, many of the victims spoke about how they wish their abusers could understand the hurt they were feeling. We then thought of a question;

If a person who had been abused could have revenge on their abusers, would they?

In many cases, the abusers will receive only a prison sentence and not truly experience the pain and suffering they had caused their victims.

We thought it would be interesting if the victim in our film could have revenge.

At first we thought we would focus mainly on the victim (a teenage girl) in our teaser trailer, but it became difficult for us to create something that wouldn't include too much narrative.

We then realised that if we concentrated mostly on the father in the our teaser trailer, it would give less of the story away, thus inkeeping with the codes and conventions of a teaser trailer.

A basic outline of our narrative is;

-A girl is abused by her father. He eventually kills her and dumps her body in a lake, to hide the evidence.
-The father then denies ever having a daughter, and proceeds to try to forget about her. He appears to get on with his life, completely untroubled by past events.
-The girl comes back as a sort of half spirit/half zombie and decides to take her revenge on the man that took her life.

Obviously we won't include all of this in our product, because then it wouldn't be a teaser trailer, but we will introduce the characters of the father and the daughter, and it will be made obvious that the girl is not alive, yet not quite dead...

Rape and Revenge Films

Is a sub-genre of exploitation film that was particularly popular in the 1970’s

They follow the same 3 Act structure:

• Act 1 – A woman is raped and left for dead

• Act 2 – Woman survives and rehabilitates herself

• Act 3 – Woman kills racists

Films which follow and are similar to this structure are ‘Last House on the left’ and ‘I Spit on your Grave’. Revenge is an underlining theme in this genre of film and is the main focus of our narrative, with the female acting as the superior.

These films receive praise from feminists, particularly Carol J. Clover – who wrote, ‘Men, Women and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film’. She examines the implications of its reversals of traditional film gender roles and focuses on the victim’s transformation into the avenger as the key scene.

In our teaser trailer, we are going to ensure that the key part is the action of the young girl acting as the avenger, building tension and un-easiness amongst the audience.

Research - Building on fear of death and the unknown

Our narrative focuses on the revenge of a young girl, with her father acting as the victim. Throughout the teaser trailer, we will demonstrate the father’s ongoing fears and reminders of his horrific past with his (now dead) daughter. By researching the investigations by Freud and Beeker, it supports our narrative in that the father has a fear of death and the unknown due to unresolved conflicts with his daughter. In addition, we will purposely build on the common fears described in Beeker’s book – being alone and being in a confined space.

Sigmund Freud – founder of psychoanalysis.

• States that thanatophatic (fears of death) was merely a disguise for a deeper source of concern, with people trying to deal with unresolved conflicts.

Ernest Beeker’s 1973 book – ‘The Denial of Death’

• States that not only is death anxiety real, but its people’s most profound source of concern.
• It is such intense anxiety that it generates many of the specific fears and phobias people experience in everyday life - Commonly fears of being alone and in a confined space; and the needs for bright light and noise.
• Victim suffers brutal reminders of vulnerability –difficult to control anxiety.

Possible Costume Ideas

For the girl character, we decided that she should be wearing a typically pretty dress, either white or floral to emphasise her vulnerability, and age. However, a white dress may convey the wrong idea of being angellic, or confusing as it could look like a wedding dress. Here are some ideas of the type of dress we could use to portray the image we want.

What Lies Beneath - Poster Deconstruction

• The photographically represented image of the hand grabbing on to bath edge, indicates the horror genre, hinting revenge and return. It also links to the larger font of ‘Lies’ as the hand is reaching up, from beneath and the unknown. Pragmatically, the larger font of ‘Lies’ could have a second meaning, hinting that the family environment was built on lies and there is a consequence.
• Focusing on the image, water signifies vulnerability and danger in the horror genre; shadow and darkness signifies hidden secrets and the unknown. Horror posters stereotypically use haunting, intimidating colours such as black or red, therefore it is unusual to use the colour white.  The white and stark background highlights the image and the simplistic title.
• Tag line - ‘He was the perfect husband until his one mistake followed them home’ doesn’t give away the narrative, however informs the reader that the film develops into a shocking and disturbing plot, from a perfectly average family. Its purpose is to intrigue the audience and entice them to view the film, standing as a persuasive technique.
• Unique selling point – Harrison Ford is popular Hollywood actor, therefore the film producers would expect that the film would be popular with his fan base and specific target audience of action and violence.

The Prestige - Comparison between Theatrical and Teaser Trailer

Theatrical trailer – 2:35 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPyVBO2rRyg

• The Audience is able to understand the relationship between the main characters – the film is shown to be a battle between magicians.
• Informs the audience of the reasoning behind the film title ‘The Prestige’.
• It introduces the trailer with a dangerous magic trick, immediately focusing the attention of the audience.
• Text/anchorage – ‘A Friendship that became a Rivalry’ ‘A Rivalry that became a Battle’. Highlights the general plot of the film, allowing the audience to know what to expect. Whilst clearly demonstrating the developing plot of the film and the changing relationship between the magicians.
• Mentioning the directors previous success’s ‘Batman’ and ‘Momento’ suggests that this upcoming film will follow a similar style and genre – the audience may therefore expect this film to contain action and occasions of violence.
• Non-diagetic sound develops as the plot and the battle thickens.
• The end of the trailer has a fast paced style, specifically showing the last half of the film, appealing to the audience. There is a sudden increase of non-diagetic sound as the action increases, followed by sudden silence.
• ‘Secrets are my life’ – showing the changed relationship between the magicians. Also the distress shown by the wife illustrates the changes nature of the magician.
• Trailer shows the transformation of a light-hearted competition into a violent battle. 

Teaser trailer – 1:01 minutes

• Informs the reader of the changing relationship between the magicians, however doesn’t explain why – hence intriguing the audience.
• Still much of the narrative shown – can suggest that this is because it is a ‘new’ film – the target audience has no expectations of the film as it isn’t a sequel or known narrative. The teaser trailer demonstrates the main outline of the plot.
• Similar text to the theatrical trailer, but doesn’t show the meaning behind the title ‘The Prestige’ and the importance of a magicians trick.
• There are fast paced transitions between shots, specifically showing the audience the main characters and their role in the film.
• ‘He can do what magicians pretend to do’ – said between the pause of loud non-diagetic sounds, emphasised in the silence. Teases the audience – they want to know the reason between the rivalry and how the magicians rival each other.

Sherlock Holmes - Front Cover Deconstruction

• Holmes is represented as the dominant male, intimidating and violent; as depicted by his stern facial expressions and the cuts on his face and hands. In addition, the character is positioned in the centre of the page, with small advertisements surrounding him – he is the main focus, and his beady eyes particularly hint threat, confidence and anger.
• His character positioning creates intrigue amongst the audience, as Holmes looks like he is planning something (as hinted by his hands).
• Due to Sherlock Holmes being portrayed in a ‘rough, tough’ way; one would assume that the film is purposely created for adults and older children, due to the connotations of violence and danger.
• Sherlock Holmes is a well known narrative, therefore the film creators have a desired target audience – he is known as the ‘world’s greatest detective’. By creating a different slant, or ‘rebirth’ of the story; portraying Holmes in a contrasting way; the audience are appealed to watching the film. It stands as a teaser, as the audience are intrigued about the ‘new’ version of Holmes.
• The title ‘Sherlock Holmes’ is striking due to its capitalisation, its position in the middle of the page, and the contrasting colours to his costuming.

Sherlock Holmes - Poster Deconstruction

• Anchorage – ‘Nothing escapes him’. There to create intrigue amongst the audience. It aids the understanding of the picture as Holmes is the main focus, demonstrating him as the superior position in the film.
• The main figure photographically represented in this poster is Sherlock Holmes, with the blurred, frosted images of London city in the background, highlighting Holmes’ dominance in the city.
• The Big Ben and the Tower of London lie in the backdrop of the poster, which are iconic and traditional buildings of London City, informing the audience of where the story is set and what they are to expect – Connotations of London in the times Holmes is set bring connotations of dirty streets, the black market, theft and violence.
• The poster uses black, white and blue vivid colours, portraying an eerie tone. It gives a specific impression that the film was set in a grimy, crime ridden London. The different slant of the traditional narrative is shown by these dark, gloomy colours, and this could effectively be a persuasive technique.
• Holmes is represented as an intimidating character; however by focusing on his facial expressions. He shows slight humour and confidence; appealing to the audience.
• Robert Downey JR stands as a unique selling point, and the film company would have cast him to appeal to this particular target audience and his current fan base. 

Domestic Violence Statistics

As we were thinking of having the main theme of our trailer being linked to domestic violence, we reasearched this and found statistics to aid us in deciding who the victim etc could be in our trailer. We will also look at other films that are based around domestic violence and outline expectations. We can then either challenge these, or use these to create a realistic trailer.

• 29% of women and 18% of men aged 16 to 59 reported that they had experienced one or more types of abuse (non-sexual abuse such as use of physical force, being prevented from having money or seeing friends or being belittled, sexual assault and stalking) at the hands of a current or former partner at some time since age 16.

• One in five women (19%) and one in ten men (10%) reported that they had experienced physical force by a partner or former partner at some time since age 16.
• Domestic violence accounts for 15% of all violent crime.
• Over a quarter (26%) of young adults reported that physical violence sometimes took place between those caring for them during childhood. For 5% this violence was constant or frequent.

• There is a strong correlation between domestic violence and child maltreatment:
• for those young adults who said that during childhood they had been neglected, 88% had lived with some level of domestic violence, and for 59% the violence was constant or frequent

• for those young adults who said that during childhood they had been physically abused, 75% had lived with some level of domestic violence, and for 36% the violence was constant or frequent

• for those young adults who said that during childhood they had been emotionally abused, 71% had lived with some level of domestic violence, and for 48% the violence was constant or frequent

• for those young adults who said that during childhood they had been sexually abused, 54% had lived with some level of domestic violence, and for 20% the violence was constant or frequent.

• Between 1994 and 2004, 29 children in 13 families were killed during contact (or in one case residence) arrangements in England and Wales. Ten of these children were killed in the last two years.

Resident Evil - Poster Deconstruction

Supernatural Horror

Supernatural Films: These films include ghosts, apparitions, spirits, miracles, and other similar ideas or depictions of extraordinary phenomena. They can be combined with other genres such as Sci-fi, Fanatasy and Horror.

A few films in the mid-1940s established ghosts and the power of the supernatural as serious horror themes.
For Example, The Uninvited (1944) about a music critic and his sister who purchase a spooky seaside home with vengeful spirits and eerie occurrences.
Codes and Conventions of this Horror - the smell of mimosas, unexplanably chilled rooms, flickering candles, opening and closing creaking doors, supernatural apparitions, the sound of sobbing and moaning in the night.
- Supernatural and Religious Films also became apparent durint the 1940s For example The Enchanted Cottage (1944) -

Low budget Supernatural/Horror films were created in the 1950s through tp the 1970s. The Haunting (1963) based on Shirley Jackson's classic ghost story about a group of folks brought together, by a parapsychologist and two mediums, to spend a night in a spooky haunted Hill House - a family estate in New England.

Ghost stories also abounded in the 1980s and continued to made from then on. The Shining (1980) an ex-alcoholic, failed writer who becomes the caretaker of a huge, wintry Colorado resort and turns psychotic toward his family as he resorts to the same behavior as the former caretaker who axe-murdered his family in the past.

The Grudge Poster Analysis

The History of Horror

1920’s

The first horror movies: silent and black and white.

Early horror films are surreal, dark pieces, owing their visual appearance to the expressionist painters and their narrative style to the stories played out.

1930’s

As sound could be recorded, the fearful characters now “grunted and groaned and howled”.

Sound adds an extra dimension to terror, whether it be music used to build suspense or signal the presence of a threat, or magnified footsteps echoing down a corridor.

1940’s

Purpose of horror remained mostly the same, but as they were so popular now “horror movies were cranked out by Hollywood solely to amuse the domestic audience, by using tried and tested methods”

Many horror films were created with the idea of wild animals being a great fear and threat to humans or films in which “men or women were subject to the emergence of a primal animal identity” such as Wolfman and Cat People.

1950’s

This animal theme continued into the early 1950’s. There were also now “faces attached to evil”.

The main audiences of horror films were teenagers, so the aim of the films was to create thrills within the audience.

Also creating of more supernatural and science fiction horror was the introduction of “the unknown”. For example UFO sightings and aliens.

1960’s

The sexual revolution.

More open to nudity, onscreen violence, and other tropes that challenged social mores, the drive-in teen audiences of the 1950s were growing up. They wanted horror that was more rooted in reality, more believable, more sophisticated.

1970’s

Horror movies of the 1970s reflect the grim mood of the decade.

The 1970s marked a return to the big budget, respectable horror film, dealing with contemporary societal issues, addressing genuine psychological fears.

The crumbling family unit becomes the source of much fear and mistrust.

1980's

Technical advances in the field of animatronics, and liquid and foam latex meant that the human frame could be distorted to an entirely new dimension onscreen.

Managed to terrify through suggestion, providing triggers for the audience's imagination and letting them scare themselves.

2000’s

Many commentators have identified the true beginning of the 21st century as September 11th, 2001. The events of that day changed global perceptions of what is frightening, and set the cultural agenda for the following years.

Audiences wanted a good, group scare as a form of escapism

Codes and Conventions

• Horror films are designed to frighten the audience, cause dread and alarm and play on our hidden fears. They also entertain and captivate an audience and usually end in a shocking finale.
• The fears that horror films play on include nightmares, vulnerability, alienation, fear of death and fear of sexuality.
• There is always a lead character that often ends up as the survivor of the film.
• The killer/monster will usually have a trademark characteristic in the way he kills, for example, their weapon of choice or their type of victim.
• They tend to use musical soundtracks eg. An orchestra rather than actual songs.

The modern horror film serves the same functions for teenagers that the fairy-tale serves for children. They are designed to create strong, emotional reactions, most commonly fear and dread.

There are various motives for watching horror:

- The need for excitement

- The desire to feel intense emotions

- Distraction from everyday life (escape)

There are 3 factors to appeal to males aged 15-45:

- The excitement ("sensation-seeking" by psychologists)

- The wish to see destruction

- The resolution at the end

Questionnaire

We have devised a questionnaire that will hopefully help us to decide on aspects to include in our promotional package.

1. What is your age?

– 13-15
– 16-19
– 20-24
– 25+

2. A teaser trailer is a short, fast paced advertisement for a film which doesn’t give away much of the plot. Whereas a theatrical trailer is longer and gives the audience more information about the storyline, involving the characters and events of the film. What do you feel is more effective in promoting a film?

– Teaser
– Theatrical

3. What is more effective?

– Anchorage
– Voice over
– Diagetic sound from the film itself
– Diagetic sound on black screen
– Diagetic sound over moving images
– Non-diagetic music


4. How much of the following need to be revealed in the teaser trailer?

– Key characters
– Locations
– Climactic shots from film
– The outcome of the storyline

5. What sub-genre of horror do you prefer?

- Slasher
- Supernatural
- Psychological
- Post-modern
- Japanese
- Survival
- Vampire/Werewolf


6. Out of these films which ones do you prefer? (Please tick 3)

- What Lies Beneath
- Gothika
- The Grudge
- The Others
- The Last House on the Left
- The Exorcist
- Paranormal Activity
- The Exorcism of Emily Rose
- Drag me to hell
- Final Destination
- The Bone Collector
- Disturbia


7. What was it about your chosen films that made them so effective?

8. What do you find is the most persuasive technique in a Teaser Trailer? (Please tick 3)

- Unique selling point i.e. a famous actor
- Fast transitions
- Quotations from film reviews
- Voiceover
- The mention of previous success’ of the director
- Tag Lines


9. What villains do you find most intimidating?

- Masked Villain
- Ghost
- Mass Murderer
- Unexpected Family member
- The Dead i.e. Zombies
- Children

10. Why is this?



11. What sound effects do you find the most unsettling in a teaser trailer?

- Screaming
- Footsteps
- Storm sounds eg. Rain, thunder, wind.
- Whispering



12. What location would be most suitable supernatural horror film to take place?

- Isolated House
- Derelict Building
- Woods
- Lake
- Urban Location
- Youth Hostel
- Hotel

Trailer Deconstructions

The Last House on the Left

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqfDli2QCuY

Sound – starts with peaceful music, as there is little chaos. A sound stab quickly changes this when the mood changes, and ominous strings are introduced. Sounds linking to violence such as punching are enhanced. When there is dialogue, there is no music as the audience is expected to concentrate on the things being said. Later, there is a contrapuntal score, which uses a more peaceful remake of a rock song.

Camera – Lots of close ups to clearly show fear and characters emotions. Low/high angle to convey dominance. Two shots show close friendship, causing the audience to empathise with the characters.

Mise en Scene – Different lighting is used throughout the trailer to create different moods e.g. orange in the bedroom, to create a warm, homely feeling. Lots of shadowy lighting, with just faces illuminated illustrates terror. Girls wear bright, feminine, floral clothes which suggest innocence and vulnerability, but the “baddies” all wear dark clothes to reflect their dark personalities and purposes in the film.
Editing – Quick shot changes show how quickly the mood changes. Black screens are used so the audience concentrates on the sound, and also creates an ominous feeling.


Sex and the City 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKQ5yRFkBnE

Sound – The usage of a well known song ‘New York’ by Alisha Keys appeals to the target audience and informs us of the films’ location. The voice over used introduces us the main character but also doesn’t give any of the plot away. Quotes such as ‘You haven’t seen anything yet’ and ‘sometimes you’ve gotta get away with the girls’ creates intrigue and excitement. Recognisable theme tune from the series and first film reminds the audience that this will be similar.

Camera – Flashes of New York City mixed with titles are used at the beginning this represents the glamorous life styles of New York. The Mid-shots of all the characters show their busy lives, the long shots of a wedding and close-ups of couples indicate romance. The Editing at the beginning and end are particularly quick attracting the audience’s attention.

Mise en Scene – Different characters have different colour schemes and stick to these throughout. This allows the audience to relate to the characters. Glamorous feel e.g. sparkling logo, luxurious settings, amazing clothes.

Editing – Jumpy editing is used throughout to emphasise the speed of their modern lifestyles. The three different shots placed of the screen show how big the city is and reflects their lives. The straight cuts show how different their lives are but the shot of them all at the end shows they are all still friends. Careful editing shows various settings but doesn’t reveal much narrative

Initial Ideas

At the beginning of our coursework we decided to look at two different genres, these were Horror and Romantic Comedy. We compared these two genres to see which one would be more practical to make a teaser trailer.

We also looked at the Benefits and Limitations of these two genres.

Poster Analysis

After considering all aspects of our chosen genres, we decided to contine with Horror and explore it's different sub-genres because we thought it would be more practical and we would be able to create a more successful teaser trailer.