MEDIA LANGUAGE INVESTIGATION

LIZZY MCDONALD

MEDIA LANGUAGE

In the following slides I will analyse three different horror trailers:

1. The Purge

2. The Strangers

3.

I will be analysing in detail how the trailer has been produced through the use of cinematography, sound, editing and mise-en-scene and how these aspects will contribute into creating a typical horror trailer.

THE PURGE

A close up has been used here to show the expression on ‘villains’ face, through mise-en-scene we can see he an evil look about him to tie in with the horror genre.

In this shot we see two more of the villains who have masks on, through mise-en-scene this adds to the scariness of the trailer as they are unnatural faces also with one man holding a gun to his head.

In this shot they have used dramatic lighting to show that the torch is lighting up the blood written writing on the wall, this builds up tension for the people watching.

The lighting being used is seen as natural light coming through the window, by using this lighting it outlines the ‘villain’ coming through the window as the women walking away, so therefore the audience will think someone is now following her.

In this shot cinematography is used to show an establishing shot on the street which would normally be a busy street, by the street being empty and in darkness this shows that it may not be safe to be on the streets during the ‘Purge’.

THE PURGECinematography- Throughout the trailer or the purge there are lots of mid shots, close ups and extreme close ups, this is to gain the expression on the characters faces, they mainly has close ups on the victims faces so the viewers will feel the same feeling as them. There are a lot of low angles of the main villain this is to show his power over the rest of the victims. Throughout the trailer there are extreme close ups used to show the pain and horror to others watching. There are a lot of over the shoulder shots used to see that the victims are being followed by the villains this builds up tension throughout.

Editing- At the start of the trailer there is writing which comes up and the things that are written are seen a good things to the viewers. There are straight cuts to a wealthy family living there normal lives in a rich area, this is very stereotypical for a horror film as it is seen as realistic. After the scene is set we cut to some tension building to crime attacks, the shots that have been used are fuzzy to show the chaos. Towards the end of the trailer everything speeds up to build up the suspense. There are also motivated cuts as well as the fade out cuts so the image goes black, which is associated with horror.

Sound- There are voice overs to create a realistic feel to the trailer as they are listening to a news report, which makes it seem more realistic. There is also music put over the top to build tension throughout the trailer to show the genre of the film being horror. Sound stings are used to make the audience jump at the trailer, the sound used will emphasize.

Mise En Scene- The use of dark and low lighting is used throughout

THE STRANGERS