Film trailer overview

http://youtu.be/1G7Ju035-8U

http://youtu.be/dYJrxezWLUk

http://youtu.be/VG9AGf66tXM

http://youtu.be/NsIilFNNmkY

http://youtu.be/7lReemWmO5o

The trailer for ‘The Basement’ is arguably the most important part of the promotional package, as it

combines elements seen within the poster and front cover and expands upon them in much greater detail. It is also what audiences will turn

to, if they find these other pieces of media interesting and memorable.

Consequently, it is vital that I construct the trailer successfully

and get the balance between satisfying their expectations and retaining individuality right. For

this reason, I have chosen to comparatively analyse five trailers that, for me, capture the essence of what I want ‘The Basement’ to be

like – as all fit within the same supernatural subgenre and advertise their own film in

memorable ways.

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Throughout each of the five trailers, conventions are met and altered in equal measure. Composition-wise, a conventional horror trailer would open with either an introductory scare to signify the genre, or more commonly, establishing shots and an emphasis on characters and backstory. With the exception of The Woman In Black, all trailers generally abide by this structure, and tend to focus more on establishing an ‘introductory scare’ with long shots, ambient lighting, and only hints of threatening imagery. As this is a less common convention, the audience can assume that these films –although well suited to their subgenre – are intent on capturing the audiences attention immediately. The scares used within these scenes are often minor, to give the audience only a ‘taste’ of what type of horror with define the film, and whether or not this will appeal to their tastes within that subgenre. For example, the child claiming that the dead person is ‘standing outside my window’ in the Sixth Sense perfectly utilises the conventions of a creepy supernatural horror that relies on tension and narrative to stimulate fear, as opposed to jumpscares and horror imagery. Oculus also uses a similar approach with its introductory scare, and categorises the films into a more sophisticated branch of supernatural horror that the audience will be able to recognise immediately due to certain trigger conventions – a creepy child, a covered figure representing a ghost etc.

Another convention of horror trailers would be a character introduction following these first scares/establishing shots, and once again, every trailer delivers this with the exception of ‘The Woman in Black’. This film applies to many conventions of the genre itself while ignoring typical trailer conventions, and although this may alienate some viewers, it will appeal more to the die-hard fans of the genre that the same old style of other horror trailers. Moreover, the way in which this trailer was composed – with no backstory, clear narrative, and limited build-up to scares – resonates more profoundly with the gothic subgenre, which focuses much more on creating atmospheric imagery and visual scares than other trailers. The combination of gothic and supernatural here will doubtless appeal to the more experienced fans of the horror genre, who are familiar with distinctions between subgenres and will recognise the devices used in order to create individuality for this film. In regards to the soundtrack and diegetic sound, this film also twists the conventions of a horror trailer by maintaining the same eerie voiceover throughout, with next to no diegetic sound/dialogue to give meaning to the shots used. However, stabs and rolling drums appear and accelerate in pace alongside the shots as the trailer progresses –akin to the ‘montage’ that is conventionally used in most trailers, and is generally used by all of the trailers here. This is perfectly exemplified by ‘The Shining’, which obeys the conventions of a trailer as the soundtrack gets faster and louder in accordance with the faster and louder sequence of shots – all of which end in a crescendo, followed by silence and the appearance of the title strap. Adding onto this, the placement of a title is the only convention that every trailer here abides by, as it is placed at the end or just before the end in every single one. The title is the feature that is most important for the audience to remember, and it is for this reason it is placed at the more recent end of the trailer.

The final convention used within most horror trailers is the final scare/jumpscare, used just after the title – and interestingly, most of the trailers here ignore this, with the exception of ‘The Shining’ and ‘The Cabin in the Woods’. As

these two films contain more elements of violence than the others being analysed, it is more understandable that they use a final jumpscare, as this is a feature more associated with gory slasher films that tend to focus more on causing audiences to

leap out their seat, instead of building tension and terror up slowly. It also shows why Oculus, The Woman In Black and The Sixth Sense neglect its use – these films consider themselves to be more sophisticated in terms of narrative and character development, and therefore want to create scares with a more long-lasting effect and deeper meaning.

Overall, the most conventional of all these trailers would be ‘The Cabin in the Woods’ in regards to structure, sound, and composition of shots. The trailer starts with establishing shots and a melodic soundtrack, with introductions to

stereotypical characters of a horror film, and progresses to a series of straps, a montage, and a title and final scare at the end. Interestingly, this film actually promises the most ‘unique’ narrative to its audience – highlighted through the straps –

and it can therefore be said that this strictly conventional structure is used ironically. Occasional flashes of humour throughout mock the decisions that are usually made within similar horror films, displaying a sense of self-awareness, and how this trailer has been manufactured to give the impression of familiarity, despite being of a very different spirit to other

films of its genre. Evidently, this reflects the plot of the film, where the conventionally ‘dumb’ teenagers go to the conventional ‘cabin in the woods’ and are killed off, conventionally, one by one; but this is all engineered by a business

company who control everything that happens for profit. This separates ‘The Cabin in the Woods’ from the other trailers being analysed, due to its prominent self-awareness, strict application to conventions, and underlying twist of everything

audiences come to expect from a film called ‘the cabin in the woods’. Other trailers, such as The Sixth Sense and The Shining, are infrequent in their pacing and alter certain conventions to fit the atmosphere of the film, such as the unusual

foreshadowing of horror shown at the beginning of The Shining trailer, or the extended montage intercut with slower scenes of dialogue in The Sixth Sense. Ultimately, The Woman In Black is the most unconventional of all trailers, despite having the greatest focus on horror imagery – creating a juxtaposition of expectations that will fully capture the attention

of horror fans.

CONTENT OF SHOTSThe trailer starts with a voiceover talking about a tragedy of a man killing his family, and runs concurrently with shots displaying a man with an axe – insinuating that the voiceover is talking about this character. Naturally lit establishing shots are juxtaposed with tracking shots and close ups of the man wandering around the hotel – all with the implication of violence and scares, but without showing any. There is then a twist, as the audience realises that the voiceover was talking to this man about events that had already happened, and those first shots therefore serve as foreshadowing to what the audience now know will happen again. As the trailer progresses, the soundtrack slowly begins to shift from orchestral violins, cymbal beats and occasional stabs to a rhythmic, primal drum beat running throughout, punctuated by the sound of church bells at every strap. The use of orchestral music, associated with peace and sophistication, turning into drum beats and church bells, associated with tribal rituals and the promise of the afterlife, is reflective of the protagonists descent into madness, thus completing the foreshadowing at the beginning of the trailer and creating a cyclical effect. Furthermore, the shots begin to quicken in addition to the use of a faster soundtrack, and gradually become more violent until the trailer culminates in a stark image of blood pouring from an elevator. Conventionally, these shots continually darken, although are still contrasted with scenes depicting the protagonists family, who are mainly placed within a lighter setting and wear lighter clothes to symbolise their innocence. A final scare is used, including a stab and the antagonist directly addressing the camera – an unusalfeature that forces the audience to look away, before making them jump suddenly with the scare of the axe through the wall.

An immediate scare is used as the trailer starts, where a cloaked statue appears to move in the reflection of a mirror, assumed to be the source of evil, and non-diegetic stabs and

continuous eerie sounds are used to maximise this and grab the audiences attention immediately. Following the production logos, character introductions are made focused around the two protagonists, and through dialogue, a backstory regarding the brother is

made available to the audience. However, as he is placed within high key lighting and various offices and restaurants, the audience can assume that he is no longer the danger his

backstory makes him out to be, and is instead attempting to recover from a past tragedy. The previously outlined source of evil (the mirror) is then re-introduced to the audience,

and a series of rapid, flickering close ups of pictures of the mirror fully consolidates its evil power, especially in conjunction with the screech of non-diegetic violins as it is shown.

Proceeding this, establishing shots are unconventionally used at this midway point through the trailer, and the lighting darkens and shots lengthen as the scenes depict a flashback to the protagonists’ childhood. The use of dark here and lengthier shots lend the ‘past shots’

more significance, and suggest that everything happening in the present is based around these events, where the evil first made itself known. The audience are able to understand

this is a flashback through various match-on-action shots and jump cuts depicting the past and present brother and sister, and the continued use of this suggests how the past and

present are interweaved throughout the film – a unique dynamic in a horror film that places greater emphasis on the convention of a backstory. Up until the montage of fast shots are used, the trailer has an ebb and flow of shots that vary in length, and this is matched by a

series of bass drops and electronic stabs that seem to mimic the ‘past and the present’ style of the film. Conventionally, the shots continue to darken as the montage approaches, and

flicker shots are repeatedly used to generate a feeling of uncertainty - are the monsters real, or were they invented by the children and they can’t let go? Various ghosts and demons are shown here, which is not uncommon at this point in the trailer. Throughout the montage, a conventional non-diegetic sound is used to fully escalate the level of horror being shown,

akin to a kettle burning on the stove. Whispering can also be heard and this is loudened until the scenes cut to the title strap with a final stab of otherworldly sound.

The Shining OCULUS

There are many notable similarities between the two films. Both trailers start by shifting attention towards their characters in favour of the setting or narrative, and although Oculus uses a scare to capture the audience’s focus, audiences are already compelled to wonder whether or not it was in her head – an idea echoed in the

madness of the protagonist of The Shining. They also use an unconventional structure throughout their respective trailers, where the audience are tricked into thinking that they know what is happening, before being surprised by a new element revealing itself, seen in the twist of events in The Shining and the complete change of tone as

the film falls back into the past in Oculus. Ultimately, this gives the films a sense of individuality, while they retain to conventions enough so that the audience are walking away with their expectations satisfied. As both films are set primarily within an isolated residence, the surroundings themselves and the way they are lit are very

similar – with uses of profile lighting and low-key lighting to distort the characters at hand, representative of the ambiguity present in both films. A montage of clips, punctuated by straps, are used to reveal snippets of the climax in both trailers, and generally speaking, portray relatively similar imagery focused on blood and darkness

surrounded by an air of mystery.

Generally, however, the two trailers are more different than similar, largely down to their respective directors’ own individual styles. Throughout the Oculus trailer, the camera is often static, and presented at low angles throughout the first half in order to generate tension and give the idea that the evil resides only within the mirror. By

contrast, Kubrick uses fluid camera movements, aided by a SteadiCam, to slowly build up an atmosphere as he tracks, zooms, and fades away from the characters within his film, displaying how the threat in The Shining is following the antagonist wherever he goes, differing to Oculus’ source of evil. It can therefore be argued that

Kubrick’s film exudes a sense of sophistication and humanity within the evil that plagues the characters, and for this reason, the soundtrack consists entirely of hard drum beats and orchestral movements – all to be associated with a higher level of humanity and danger. Oculus, on the other hand, is driven by an otherworldly entity that

resides within a mirror, and it is for this reason that bass drops and electronic fuzz is used within the soundtrack as the sounds are computer-generated and much more alien than Kubrick’s more traditional take on horror. In accordance with this, substantially more horrific imagery can be seen during the climactic moments of the Oculus trailer, where demons are utilised in a series of ‘taster’ scares and the colours rarely vary from black, blue and yellow. This fits in with the fact that Oculus is a film much more rooted within the supernatural genre, whereas The Shining only has the merest implications of the otherworldly evil throughout – and Kubrick shows this through focusing on vibrant colours and second-long snippets of the supernatural that suggest only the implication of violence. Ultimately, this consolidates how The Shining is arguably more concerned with the psychological subgenre of horror. Fades and long establishing shots serve as evidence for this idea, as well as an increased amount of voiceovers and diegetic dialogue, suggesting a much more character-driven film. Although Oculus also utilises similar devices at the beginning of the trailer, it is much

more reliant on visual scares in order to coerce potential viewers into watching it, suggesting a transition from the character-driven narrative to the more typically placed visual effects and tricks of the supernatural subgenre.

The audience are introduced to the nature of the film through slow establishing tracking shots that eventually settle in a deep focus medium shot of the young boy, who claims a dead woman is standing outside his window – despite the audience being unable to see anyone there. Although this is an introductory scare, the lack of any non-diegetic sound is unusual, as well as the actual absence of a physical fright, alluding to the less horror-driven, more psychological nature of the film. Fades are then used to transition into the next series of scenes – each of which are very short, and build up further tension by cutting each shot off with the non-diegetic sound of a camera shutter. The lighting constantly fluctuates between the darker, low key shots of the child, and the ambient lighting whenever he is with someone else – indicating that the ability to ‘see dead people’ is his alone. Characters are then introduced and the conversation of the child and his therapist bridges scenes together, and gives meaning as to their content, which shows him being bullied and outcast. Again, the actual soundtrack is very quiet and almost unnoticeable, consolidating how the film will focus more on its characters than actual scares. As he confesses his ability to ‘see dead people’, a non-diegetic heartbeat pumps in accordance with short, tension-building, dark shots, and this continues for about 30 seconds. The shots are around a second long and give the impression of hidden, visual information –suggestive of a plot twist or some form of underlying mystery. Stabs punctuate these shots in the semblance of thunderstorms which eventually culminates in a longer, shallow focus shot of a children’s room, followed by the inevitable jumpscare the whole trailer has been building towards. A church organ, stabs, and drums can be heard in the soundtrack as the montage begins, where diegetic and non-diegetic sound compliment each other as shots are shown of someone being shot, ghosts appearing, and a car crash. It then cuts to the title.

Establishing shots show stills of a cluttered room in a house, and shallow focus close ups are used to depict the old toys littered everywhere. The shots

are framed with silence until one toy starts striking a high-pitched note on his harp, which is then integrated into the soundtrack and recurrent through the whole trailer, forming the basis of most of the sound in this trailer. Close ups of these toys are then intercut with further still shots of the house and its

surroundings, enforcing the already-apparent gothic atmosphere. A little girl’s voice then serves as the voiceover to the recurring high pitched note, and this gives the impression of a childlike lullaby that suggests an area of

focus for the film. The shots are largely static and dimly lit as the trailer progresses, and are timed in accordance with each strike of the note.

However, as the trailer approaches Radcliffe’s character going towards the haunted house in the marshes, slow zooms and panning shots are used to give

the impression that the house is coming to life as he gets closer and closer –an idea also supported by the notes getting faster and closer together in the

soundtrack. Almost every shot is lit using ambient lighting, but as this is filmed in a gothic location, this is always dark, and all the colours available

are washed out greys and whites, implying that the house has drained all its surroundings of any life. In one shot, the ‘woman in black’ herself is revealed

in a shallow focus long shot, and it is at this point stabs, drum beats, and rattling sounds are added to the ‘lullaby’ bridging the scenes together,

turning it altogether more sinister, implying the corruption of innocence. Proceeding this, the shots shorten in length, punctuated by the barrage of

new non-diegetic sounds building up to a crescendo, and depict various conventions of the supernatural subgenre; ghosts, creepy children, excessive

amounts of fog. Unusually, only one strap is used to depict the actor’s name –suggesting that he is the main selling point of the movie, as well as generating

more focus for the action at hand and more flow between the shots. An extended scare is used in silence before a heavy drum is heard, and the scene

fades to the title strap with the sound of childish whispering.

There are few similarities between The Woman In Black and the Sixth Sense trailers. The typical ‘creepy child’ convention is utilised and recurrent throughout both trailers, serving as the basis behind the soundtrack in The Woman in Black and the main character in The Sixth Sense. Innocence is juxtaposed with clear visual horror as Cole (the boy in the Sixth Sense) is exposed to seeing ‘dead people’, and it is this theme that intercuts shots of Cole with low key lighting shots of various ghosts and entities. Similarly, in The Woman in Black, the little girl’s voice anchors the gradually worsening scenes together through a non diegetic

sound bridge, implying that she also sees ‘dead people’ in the form of this woman in black, the ‘spectre of darkness’. This use of minimalistic contrapuntal sound corresponds with the simplicity of The Sixth Sense trailer, which is more of a character study than a horror-laden exploration of the supernatural. In

conjunction with this, both trailers fail to actually depict any scenes of visual horror, and the antagonist(s) in these are only usually scene for an instant, or within a shallow focus shot in the distance. Ultimately, this generates the ‘fear of the unknown’, a powerful tool in urging audiences to go and watch the film.

Due to the more unconventional nature of The Woman in Black trailer, a greater amount of differences can be observed between the two trailers. In the trailer for The Sixth Sense, the non-diegetic soundtrack shifts and gradually loudens in accordance with the more hectic montage towards the end, changing from a monotonous

church organ to a heavy drumbeat. However, the lack of any real visual horrors here suggest that this soundtrack mimics the unravelling of a characters mind, as many of these shots shift focus to Bruce Willis’ character – implying a psychological undercurrent for the film. The Woman in Black, on the other hand, is almost entirely

anchored together by the singsong narration of a child, and although a rise in violins and a use of a stab can be heard at the end, it is short-lived, generating less tension but creating a more sinister atmosphere. Unlike the trailer for The Sixth Sense, a greater emphasis is placed on atmosphere and environments within this trailer, with the majority of the shots comprising of slow zooms, long shots, and a mixture of low/high camera angles. Although the character of Daniel Radcliffe is repeatedly shown – largely due to his celebrity status – the film focuses more on its visuals, and is reflective of the gothic subgenre which it also falls into, also reflected in the

Victorian clothing and poor conditions of the townsfolk. This also explains why the trailer draws attention away from backstory, narrative, and character introductions, as it is primarily focused on creating a visual atmosphere that will summarise the premise of the film in a way that its respective target audience will be able to

recognise immediately. Furthermore, the Sixth Sense also displays a greater array of colours and shifts in scenery multiple times, weaving a more complex narrative akin to the psychological subgenre it encapsulates, and the lighting and sounds are physically manipulated to fit the scares on screen. By contrast, The Woman in Black

retains the same, flat colours of black and grey throughout, with the majority of the gloomy lighting being natural and the isolated voiceover serving as a narration to the scenes within the trailer. Generally, this gives the audience the impression that, although it is visually striking, the Woman in Black is a simple, traditional horror

film, while the Sixth Sense is a groundbreaking, mystery-laden horror thriller driven by its characters and narrative.

The trailer opens with a series of long-medium range shots of the various characters, backed by a modern pop-orientated soundtrack. A series of fades create further character depth, as one girl

states that their destination ‘doesn’t even show up on the GPS’, and this is evidently the stereotypically unintelligent blonde of the group. These shots are all ambiently lit and depict the

characters wearing light colours, packed as a large group, with their upbeat and excited dialogue serving as a sound bridge alongside the soundtrack. A sudden stab, followed by silence, is heard as

the extreme long shot of their caravan fades to black – the conventionally placed first strap depicting gates opening (representative of the gates of hell) and implying that all is not all cheery as it seems. In

the next few scenes, where the gang meet a threatening hillbilly figure, the previous soundtrack is replaced by a series of quiet orchestral movements that build up to crescendo’s that correspond with

every sinister line and visual device on screen. Shot-reverse-shots and eyeline matches are used to introduce tension into the trailer, with zooms and slow pans giving the impression that they are

being watched as they approach their conventional ‘cabin in the woods’. Thus far, the target audience will be well within familiar territory – but the next series of straps challenge this with ‘You think you know the story….Think again’, suggesting a unique take on what otherwise appears to be

a stereotypical horror film trailer. This is then supported by the extended tracking shot of a bird disintegrating on impact with a forcefield, in correlation with a rising crescendo that cuts to silence –

insinuating that this is the aspect of the narrative that has been changed, and the ‘turning point’ within the trailer. From the moment one of the characters ironically yearns to ‘get this party

started!’, various match-on-action shots are used to show men flicking switches intercut with shots of various pheromone fogs rising from the ground, forcing the audience to ‘think again’ about the nature of the horror at hand. Here, the non-diegetic sound of a drumbeat can be heard next to a

swelling of high-pitched violins that continue to crescendo and stab throughout the rest of the trailer, consolidating the change in pace. The lighting darkens throughout the following shots, as day turns to night and the lighting is either artificial or low key, symbolising the appearance of the horror. At one point, the sound cuts to a comedic dialogue scene as one of the characters suggests that they ‘split up’ = a common convention of horror films that usually gets the characters killed.

This highlights the films self-awareness, and mockery of conventions. Indeed, the film does not even seem particularly focused on scaring its audience, as various manners of supernatural entities are

shown at high angle, wide shots, and a screamo soundtrack combines with this in order to create a film designed purely for entertainment. This is reflective of the reason these characters are forced to undergo such horrors. A montage of shots such as these occurs, followed by a fade to the title strap.

THE CABIN IN THE WOODS

Although each of these horror film trailers are different in their own right, analysing them has given me a much deeper understanding of how I want my own trailer to look like. Despite The Woman in Black

trailer being my favourite for its sheer individuality, I have decided for my trailer to follow a more conventional structure that is more

reflective of the composition of The Shining trailer. However, I feel that the backstories and character introductions often detract from the

atmosphere being created within a trailer, as illustrated by Oculus, and for this reason will only briefly introduce the characters of Joel and Kerrie. This is because I want to focus on creating an atmospheric trailer with highly vivid imagery, as I feel this is more likely to be

memorable as it strays from the normal expectations of a trailer while sticking to the conventions of the subgenre. Regarding the non-diegetic

sound, The Sixth Sense’s use of a church organ may be replicated during the final scenes of my own trailer, as I feel it evokes a feeling of dread and foreboding that is second to no other instrument. Mainly,

however, the soundtrack to ‘The Basement’ trailer will be inspired by The Woman in Black’s use of a single, high-pitched piano note, as the

silence between these sparse sounds is a greater indicator of tension and uncertainty than any other sound could hope to produce. Within

the first half of my trailer, however, the scenes will be anchored together by sudden orchestral stabs, with long periods of silence in

between, to create a stark contrast to the horrors available on screen. In regards to this, more visual horror will be shown in my trailer than

any of the ones analysed above – with the possible exception of The Cabin in the Woods. This will help enforce the imagery for the film and

resonate its unique premise.