SALIHA
RESEARCH INTO TRAILERS AND THE HORROR GENRE
CONTENT ANALYSIS OF HORROR FILM TRAILERS
What is a Trailer?
A trailer or preview is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a feature film screening.
A trailer tells the story of the film, in an abbreviated format, without giving away too much, and without showing the ending. There are series of selected shots- the funniest/scariest/best clips from the film. However they avoid ruining the plot, and leaving enough for the audience to want to go and see the film. A trailer shows the plot, what genre the film is, famous and non-famous actors. These are all beneficial for the audience to see in order to feel attracted to the trailer.
Most trailers tend to be less than 2 minutes 30 seconds, as this is just enough time to show the audience a brief summary of the film, and capture their attention.
What is its Purpose?
The overall purpose of a movie trailer is to make the audience want to go and see the film. Therefore, trailers are becoming art pieces, as the more effective and interesting the trailer is, the more likely it is that large numbers of people are going to see the film. Producing an interesting trailer is not enough to grab potential audiences, therefore the use of actors/stars also encourage viewers to see the movie. They give a brief summary of the film, giving just enough information to entice the target audience.
A trailer also makes it obvious who the target audience is, aimed to capture a specific group of people attention. For example you can identify the target audience with the use of special effects been used in a trailer as they are deliberately placed to support the genre it is representing. It also sells an image for the film which makes it easier for products of the film to me sold alongside it such as the merchandise and games. A trailers purpose is not only to encourage audiences to watch it in cinemas but to also purchase it through DVD, digital download and watch it on TV.
What Form does it take?
A trailer is given in a video form however the different types of trailers consist of: Theatrical Trailer which usually lasts a maximum of two and half minutes. Teaser Trailer which is usually shorter than a minute and half cut from various scenes. DVD Trailer advertised before a DVD starts, usually connected to the genre of the DVD so the chances of people wanting to watch it increase. Internet Trailer produced exclusively for the internet or movie homepage many include cut scenes.
Trailers use the concept of enigma (mystery) in order to hint at the content of the film and they create suspense through solving the mystery.
Characteristics of a Horror movie
Main aim of a horror film trailer, is to scare the audience even before they have watched the actual film. Main characteristics of horror movies is dark scenes filled with disturbing shadows with strange and alarming props. These scenes reflect the eerie atmosphere required to establish a frightening or menacing mood. Such scenes play up sinister elements so viewers are built up before the actual horror arrives. A characteristic which is cliché is a shot of footsteps coming closer to the main character, who is trying to hide from this threat.
Sound
Horror films typically turn normal sound effects into "strange" sound features, with very good timing, a sudden loud bang or a falling object crashing to the floor will deliver a shock factor. A common scene that involves dead silence builds the nerves up with the sudden sound effect, which makes the anticipation of what comes next more hair-raising The beat, pacing and instruments used in a musical score help establish tension in horror movies.. Sound effects that reflect the presence of otherworldly beings is another popular characteristic of the fright-film trade.
Graphic Scenes
Most horror films include graphic scenes of explicit violence. These elements typically feature violence caused by humans, monsters or supernatural beings. Computer advancements (special effects) that started to show up in movies in the 80s made it possible for film makers to create convincing special effects. Horror film makers used those special effects to make their scenes of violence increasingly graphic.
Evil Forces
A horror movie antagonist (enemy) can be any type of person, animal or creature that represents some kind of evil force. Some common evil elements are ghosts, werewolves, vampires, demons, vicious animals, cannibals, zombies, masked killers and deranged beings. Victims of these evil forces are usually characters that have apparent weaknesses of character or physicality. They are the runner up that either fall prey to the evil forces or gather the courage to defeat them.
Examples of Sub-Genres of Horror
Zombie Film - zombie films portray viral reliving corpses/mindless humans that feed off of the living. E.g Zombieland
Slasher Film - Has a lot of violence which usually revolves around a psychological serial killer stalking and killing a numerous amount of victims. The killer usually uses a specific weapon of choice to kill his victims. They are also built up on a lot of mystery and suspense and may sometimes overlap with crime. E.g. Craven
Comedy Horror - Combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. It almost crosses over with black comedy. E.g. Scary Movie
Action Horror- This combines the intrusion of evil, an event or the supernatural in the horror films with gun fights and fanatic chases that are performed in action. These films mainly include zombies, along with demons, vicious animals and vampires. Examples of some movies Dawn of the dead, Blade, Resident Evil, Ghost rider and From dusk till dawn.
TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF A FILM TRAILER
TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF A FILM POSTER
Synopsis
This film explains how five college friends arrive at a remote forest cabin for a little vacation which they are unaware of the horrors that are awaiting them. One by one, the youths fall victim to backwoods zombies, but there is another factor at play. Two scientists are manipulating the ghoulish goings-on, but even as the body count rises, there is yet more at work than meets the eye.
Genre
The Cabin in the Woods follows the genre of Horror, Mystery and Thriller, which is also argued to have its ‘own’ subgenre of ‘Cabin’. This is supported through the story plot and Mise En Scene. The use of props such as the cabin, also displayed in the film poster is iconic to the movie and gives supporting evidence that there is something mysterious with this location or cabin?
Narrative
The beginning of the trailer starts off with an upbeat parallel music displaying a wide angle long shot of a young boy on a roller skaters, with a busy neighbourhood which connotes a sense of happiness of a joyful town that the 5 friends live in. This setting is not a typical convention of the horror genre. This view is supported through the contrast use of high key lighting. A sound bridge is used to continue this track playing in the background of the following shots as all the friends set out of town in their caravan having a good time until one of the friends bring up an enquiry stating that the location they are currently in is not displayed on GPS, which she founds quite shadowy. However none of them take this seriously as their intention is to have an adventure. 0:25 seconds into the trailer and the ‘LIONSGATE’ title appears with a loud ‘boom’ sound which draws attention to what is on the screen as well as helping to change the mood of the audience, as the friends go from a jolly busy neighbourhood to a more run down spooky area. The use of low key lighting contributes to add more tension to audience feelings as its beginning to build them up to a result of something soon to happen. By displaying the title 25 seconds into the trailer allows the audience to be engaged even before the whole trailer is revealed.
‘LIONSGATE’ is shown across the whole screen with contrasting colours of red, black and white. When these colours are put together they set the tone of the next scene for the trailer. This is a creative yet clever way of allowing the audience to recognise the production company which film fans would be aware of what to expect from certain studios so this serves to set up audience expectations.
On-screen graphics/captions
Following on as factors begin to add up the texts appears which read "YOU THINK YOU KNOW THE STORY" "YOU THINK YOU KNOW THE PLACE" which again is supported by booming sound effects as it appears in each screens. This emphasises the phrase and the significance of how it will later out answer the audience’s expectations. This also contributes to helping the phrase stick into the audiences mind to then relate it to the genre of the film, almost like a catch phrase which allows the audience to remember the movie. The repetition of the word ‘think’ is meant to put the audience in a state of disequilibrium (Todorov) as they thought they knew the storyline, but now in doubt. The wording is deliberately done to get the audience involved with the trailer. The text appears just under half way which is still in the process of building the tension up. Successfully the colour choice and scheme subsidises to this feeling. This text makes you reconsider other storylines and persuades the audience to think that this will be different and possibly better as it’s unpredictable.
Location
The location is mainly set within a cabin in the woods which the movie name gives away. We are certain as the audience that this is the main location as there are several establishing shots and the majority of the trailer is associated with the forest/cabin.
Characters
In the trailer we have 5 characters which are the group of friends including the old guy that they interact with at the petrol station. Five friends have been portrayed to the audience as one being the jock, the dumb blonde, the stoner, the "virgin," and the intelligent dude. This supports the genre of horror as a typical scary movie consists of these characters which is a clear convention Goddard applied.
Theme
The basic premise for this movie is the really clichéd of all premises. Five friends (the jock, the dumb blonde, the stoner, the "virgin," and the intelligent dude) decide to take a caravan into the cabin in the woods for a weekend getaway, but they don’t expect the horrors that await them. However these are not natural or spiritual horrors, it’s a more modern form of horror genres that use science in the distribution of fear.
Pacing
The pacing varies within the trailer at the beginning of the trailer is filmed at a slow pace as its supporting a relaxed environment. The majority of the editing in the first stage is in long takes whereas the pace speeds up as the action and intensity increases of the trailer. This connotes how fast the pace is which makes it more exciting/jumping for the audience. Additionally this reflects on how much can be explained to an audience in the space of 2:25 minutes.
Editing and post production (special effects)
There are
Music and other sound effects
Sounds effects
Camerawork
The Crazies
Immediately the trail of blood coming off the digging fork indicates that this film will be based on the theme of horror. The colour choice of the poster portrays dull and foggy vibe which connotes a mystery play.
The poster shows a mid-shot of a leg below the knee shot, with the digging fork and a rough establishing shot of where possibly the person is. The digging fork indicated in the poster may be a weapon as it has blood trailing off. Horror films are geared to evoke some sort of emotional response in an audience, which this poster really directs hints to the viewers of fear.
Mise en Scene
Lighting: The lighting starts off as low key as it offers a dark effect and a sense of fear/ evil. However it’s not consistent as the lighting lightens towards the end of the poster which in some may indicate freedom, or an exit to this scary, toxic world.
Setting: The setting of the poster seems to be in a dark corridor which looks like either a school or office corridor. However the darkness is enlightened by another light.
Props: Props used is the pitch fork as it is the only visible prop which the director wants us to focus on. It is deliberately put there to suggest it is the same weapon used throughout the film. This prop reflects back to the theme of the horror as these types of props are used a lot in horror films to suggest death, victims using it etc.
Costume: The only visible costume there is, is black trousers and a pair of black boots which suggests it could be anyone, male or female, stereotypically this is more likely to be a man. However from the trailer this is clear to the audience in it is possibly a zombie.
NVC: There is no NVC in this poster as all identity is withheld.
Camera angles: The photo is taken from a low angle as you can only see below the killer’s knee and their boots. This is effective as the weapon is visible as well as trail of blood and a persons legs.
This poster doesn’t follow any conventions of specific genre of horror but it can easily be identified as a horror film. This is due to the use of blood and the pitch fork in the picture. Also the dark colours such as the blacks and greys add to the typical conventions of a horror film. The crazies creates a mood of mystery and fear as the killer’s identity is withheld so you are left wondering who, what and why this is happening. Also the setting is unclear and this adds to the tension and wanting to know more about what is going on. The main image is of this person who we can assume is the killer as he is holding a pitch fork which is dripping with blood. We can’t identify this person, so we have no clue whether they are male or female so the mystery of who this person could be really kicks in. The way the main image is seen by the audience is like a point of view and as the picture is taken from a low angle it is like we are on the floor and we could possibly be the victim of which the blood belongs to.
Colours: The colours used are very dark. These include grey and black, which allows for film title to stand out. The name of the film which is in red symbolises blood, while the tag line and other important details of the film are written in white showing how they fit in white, while only the name of the film stands out. The colours used within the poster gives the audience more of an intense feeling as the even the colour of the blood which is bold on the floor emphasises that someone has been killed and indicates death.
Credits: The credits are below the tagline and are written in the same font as the rest of the poster.
Tagline: The tagline says ‘fear thy neighbour’ which very short but is very effective. It is a play on one of the 10 commandments ‘honour thy neighbour’ this gives a great sense of danger and leaves you wondering why you have to fear your neighbour. It links the image as we can begin to assume that maybe the killer in the picture is a neighbour. As the tagline is short it is easily remembered and as it is a smart play on words when heard the crazies can be identified with it.