Film Trailer Analysis
Final Destination
We are given the name of the film towards the end of the trailer just as tension is built to the highest point and the screen blacks out, the title is then faded in. This is of course done to keep the viewer in suspense wondering what the name of the film is. We are not told who is starring in the film, this is due to the fact that the film is not relying on the accolades of an actor to promote the film.There are many different action scenes shown in the trailer, from car crashes and explosions, to vehicles falling off a broken bridge.
Small orchestra sounds are heard at the beginning of the trailer and as the tension builds up drum beats in the background become louder and come at a faster pace. The music alone gives the idea that disastrous events will take place and/or scenes of very high tension.
There is no vocal narration in the trailer, however we are given written narration which sets the story/scene of the film.Around half way through the trailer becomes very fast paced as action sequences are built up, from experiences with previous films in the ‘Final Destination’ series and from watching the trailer, the fast pace tone of the trailer goes along with what we would see in the film as i would expect that to be very fast paced as well. As spoken about earlier the trailer starts of slow paced, with longer cut scenes, these then become very short and cuts become faster as music gets louder and a quicker paced as well, this builds a good atmosphere for the trailer. A written narration gives us a small backstory to the film, but other than the title and when the film will be released there is no other information given. The trailer would be mainly aimed at males aged 15+ as is the certificate for the film, people who are interested in the horror genre and the ‘Final Destination’ would also be targeted with this trailer.
Film Trailer Analysis
Immortals
We are told the name of the film ‘Immortals’ at the very end of the trailer, this is done to hold the viewer in suspense throughout as they want to know its title. We are not given in actors names that are in the film, this is due to the fact that the film is not relying on well known names or great acting performance to give the film better prestige although we do see the actor ‘Mickey Rourke’ play a role in the trailer. The film is clearly relies heavily on action packed scenes to attract viewers.
We see many action sequences throughout the trailer, clips of men preparing for battle and on several occasions men speaking of war and fighting.From the look of the costumes and surroundings, including the information given such as character names in the film, it is clearly set in the time of Greek Mythology. The music ties in with the action in the trailer as we hear loud drum beats which builds tension and fast orchestra music which you would normally associate with big battle scenes. There is no voice over in the trailer however, we are given written narration of a somewhat back story of the film.
The speed of the trailer starts off at quite a normal pace, the trailer quickly speeds up with fast action cuts and clips obviously leading to a big builder enticing the viewer more and more. This probably goes along with the actual film it self as it it heavily action based, there would of course be several moments where the pace of the film would slow, mainly at times where the story is explained or if a scene is based on dialogue.
The written narration gives us a small backstory on the film, but also tells us the accolades of the members who are involved in the film. This is done to give the film more prestige, this will intrigue more viewers as they may recognise the previous films which the producer or director were involved in which will lead them to wanting to see more of their work. This is given around half-way through the film, with the small backstory given at different segments in the trailer, no information is given at the start of the, this is done i believe do give the film a type of mystery to the viewers as they base their opinion of the film solely on the clips in the trailer and nothing else.
The film would be based at the same audience as a similar film ‘300’, mainly men aged 15+
Insidious
We are not told who is starring in the film, this is because they are no major blockbuster stars in the film and so this is not used as a USP. It also tells us that the film is not relying on great acting performances and basing the promotion of the film on the action.As the trailer continues we see more action, there is frantic running with the camera following hand held behind which gives the idea of panic. We see camera shots of a bedroom thats been near enough destroyed with a blood stained hand on the sheet, we then see several short cuts of a woman who appears to be having a seizure, various ghostly figures, what appears as a red demon and lights flickering on and off. All of the above go along with the usual conventions that you would associate with a horror film. At the start of the trailer we hear a metronome, each time the sound is heard a camera cuts to another shot, we hear small crackling which gives the idea of a fire, or someone sneaking around. Towards the end of the trailer we hear non-diegetic sound as violins are heard which gives the trailer a very erie almost creepy feel. There is no voice over in the trailer, this is done so the audience are fully concentrated and nothing takes away the hard earned scary atmosphere for the film.
The trailer starts with longer cut sequences but soon becomes very fast paced, horror films usually start quite slow paced to draw the audience in to a false security, before having several scary moments whilst usually saving the biggest and fast paced scary moments for the end of the film. As said before, we are given the name of the film at the start, we also see it and different points throughout the trailer as well though. At the end we see when the film will be released, it then quickly cuts to a figure suddenly jumping at the camera, this is conventional for most horror trailers as there is usually one more clip to be shown just when the audience think it is over. Apart from being presented with the production and distribution companies involved, the trailer informs us that it is made by the same team as ‘Paranormal Activity’ which gained high success, this is known as an accolade as makes the film look more prestigious, it is also done to attract similar viewers. The target audience for the film would again be males aged 15+, it would also be aimed at those who are interested in the horror genre and of course those who have watched ‘Paranormal Activity’ as its the same makers.
Teaser Trailer Analysis
Dark Knight
We are given the name of the film at the end of the teaser, which stays on screen for around 5 seconds. We are not told who is starring in the film as it is not conventional for a teaser as their usually give you least amount of information about the film, what we are told is the title and that it will be released in summer 2008. We see no actual action from the film in the teaser, we hear small voice overs from the film but on screen we see streams of lights being shot out in different directions. This then begins to get faster and we see an outline of the ‘Batman’ logo before it disintegrates and a joker card flies at the screen. Mainly we hear diegetic sound through the trailer, however towards the end as the tension build orchestra (violins,drums) are heard to quicken the pace this suggests that the film will be quite fast paced with action sequences. The only voice over heard are from the characters in the film, but there is no narrator. I think the film would be faster paced as the action that we would see would add to that immensely, the target audience would be those interested in comic/superhero films and the audience suggested is males aged 9+ but mainly falling into 15+
Teaser Trailer Analysis
REC.
We are told the name of the film, at the end of the teaser; this is done so the name is fresh in the viewers mind and the conventional reason so that the viewer is made to watch the trailer as much as possible before finding out the name of the film. We are not told who is starring in the film, this is usual in teaser trailers as their main purpose is to give the audience a real taste of the film and so if mainly action based. The teaser consists of emergency service men searching through a blacked out building with torches, they are surprised when an air vent suddenly open behind them, they then see a small figure at the end of a corridor in which they approach, this figure turns out to be a young girl (who’s face is badly cut), she then jumps at the men, we then have several fast paced cuts of the young girl yelling and screaming as she tries to escape away from the men. We hear diegetic sound of the firemen speaking, them running up the stairs, and their radio’s. Non - diegetic sound is also heard when we see the narration come up, as an unanswered telephone can be heard ringing. There is no voice over as it is not a theatrical trailer, but a teaser trailer. The overall speed and pace in the teaser is of course the same as what we would see in the film, as it is in fact a clip from the actual film. Compared to its theatrical trailer however, which is more fast paced as it has quicker cuts and short sequences, the teaser starts off fairly slow but there is still a sense of unsettlement.
At the end when the girl jumps towards the camera, there are quick cuts of her trying to escape and so the pace of the trailer as quickened. There is written narration on screen towards the beginning of the trailer, this informs us of what the men are (emergency service men), and gives us some background information, this is done at the start of the trailer to set the scene of the trailer and film. The target audience for the trailer would be those interested in the horror genre/seeing the film, and those who the film target audience is appropriate which is 15+Teaser Trailer Analysis
Insidious
As it is a teaser trailer it is conventional for it not to tell the viewer the name of the film as it leaves it up to the audience to find out what the trailer was of, this leads the viewer to find out more about the film and possibly see the theatrical trailer. Again, as it is a teaser trailer we are not usually told who is starring in the film, with this film in particular as with most horror films their are not major stars who are involved. In the teaser we see an elderly woman staring straight at up at the camera that is at a high angle, she is speaking in a very hush tone to a man who stands next to her who seems to be scribbling something on a book. Another woman become frustrated with not knowing whats happening and grabs the book the man is scribbling on and the camera sees he was drawing a dark shadowy figure with a red face (devil). Diegetic sound dominates the scene with speech and the sound of the fan on the ceiling spinning round however, there is non-diegetic sound towards the end which has been electronically made which gives a very eerie feel to the teaser. There is no voice over as it is not conventional for a teaser trailer to have one, as it is usually a very small section of the film used to entice the viewer and os their base their view on the film mainly on what happens in the teaser. The certain teaser we see - despite not having obvious fast paced action - becomes fast paced when it is mixed with the tension building music as the woman begins to speak faster, as it is a horror film there will of course be moments when the tension and pace of the film slows down but on a whole it is conventionally quite tense and fast paced.
The teaser starts off at a normal pace but the music soon picks up and pace follows as the woman begins to speak faster, then there is minor confusion in the room before the picture is then revealed at the end. There is no information given about the film, we are not even told the title of the film, this is because they make the audience go and find out what the name of the film was and possibly further information about the film. The trailer would be aimed at those who watch horror genre films and males aged 15+.
Film Poster Analysis
- Title ‘Insidious’ means Treacherous or harmful
- Tag line suggest it’s the boy who’s haunted
- His eyes suggest he is possessed, demon like
- Dark mist surrounding poster suggests being trapped or poisoned
- Boy in pyjamas suggests he’s awoken whilst sleeping
- Conventionally American home
- Critic review (expert witnesses) tells the viewer they should be scared
- Dark creature in window of house – demon, devil, harmful (insidious)
- Attention is grabbed by the white coloured title and the child’s eyes
- Boy dominates poster suggests importance and re-enforces tag line
- Poster focuses on visual communication
- USP the boy being the one who is haunted - goes against conventional child innocence
- Unique take on convention of haunted child, as apposed to a haunted house
- Target audience people who are interested in horror genre, 15+
Film Magazine Cover Analysis
Difference between a theatrical, and teaser trailer
Brainstorming the idea of a horror trailer
FIlm Trailer Presentation
This was my original working script, however after producing the trailer i decided to start once again from scratch as the whole nature and element of the product didn't work together as a successful horror trailer.
Film Trailer Script
Original Trailer Storyboard
This is the working script i used in my new updated horror trailer.
This is my updated storyboard for 'Septicity'
Questionnaire
What follows on from here are the answers to my questionnaire that i handed out.
After filming my trailer, i found that it did not communicate the appropriate message to the audience and overall the effect was rather week. So i then filmed twice more to gain extra footage, one day i filmed extra shots of scary/paranormal behavior in the house, and the second day i filmed in my drama room as all the walls were black and it gave the effect of a police interrogation. The police interrogation scene gave the trailer more of a back story and helped communicate it to the audience more effectively.
