Trailers

Deconstructing Trailers:
There are a few certain things that a trailer should include so before analysing thriller trailers it is crucial that I know exactly what to look out for and what makes a "good trailer". Below is a list of different aspects that a film trailer should include:

- Distributors/film studio
- Typography (title credits)
- Visual Codes
- Speed/style of editing
- Sound effects/music
- Voice over
- Penultimate frame
- Last frame
- Narrative codes
- Star appeal
- Audience appeal

Analysing Trailers:

Paranormal Activity
The first trailer I decided to look at was Paranormal Activity (2007) about a young couple who are haunted by a supernatural presence in their homes. I was particularly interested in looking at this trailer because this film is presented in the style of “found footage”, which is an idea we are considering for our own thriller trailer.

Immediately it was obvious that this trailer was unlike other conventional trailers, as it begins by showing footage of an audience viewing the movie for the first time in the cinema. As the trailer progresses we begin to watch clips of the movie as if we are part of the audience watching the film, we also see the audience reactions to the film. The trailer shows several clips of audience members screaming, jumping and looking extremely tense and anxious as they watch the movie.
This technique means that this movie will appeal to the audience more1, for example being able to watch genuine people watching the movie allows the viewers to see first hand how scary the film is and also shows them that this movie gives the effect to people that a good thriller should, shown through their reactions, which ultimately means it will appeal to a larger majority of people.

The colours throughout the trailer are dark, grey colours and a vast majority of it is shown through night vision mirroring the actual movie, which is filmed through the camera of one of the characters involved in the movie.
As well as this, unlike most trailers there is no music playing throughout, only the loud, vigorous bangs at crucial moments which indicate to the audience when a dramatic clip is shown which overall increases the tension of the viewer.

When the time reaches 1:18 the trailer resumes to normal form and continues by showing fast flashing shots which increasing become faster and more intense. As the trailer gradually progresses flashes of typography appear on the screen, each slide showing just one word, which causes the audience to read each slide in apprehension, creating suspense and building towards a final climax. Each shot is presented on a black background, as the text appears in a distorted manner, creating the effect of a broken video camera.

As the trailer comes to its final moments, the pace has increased dramatically, showing short flashes of different clips, whilst including quick flashes of audience reactions. This ultimately heightens the tension and also emphasises how frightening the movie is.
Throughout these clips there is constant voice dialogue from the characters, which gives the audience a basic idea of what is happening in the movie, alongside loud screams and shouts from the characters as the action takes place.

The trailer then comes to a sudden and abrupt silence, where for a few seconds the screen is completely black, this is then followed by the title of the film "paranormal activity", once again this text is shown in a distorted way, creating the effect of a broken video camera. The trailer then comes to its final conclusion, with its penultimate frame shows the films release dates and where it is being shown. However the theme of dark colours and distorted text is still followed through, which means the audience are left feeling frightened till the last moments of the trailer.

Gothika
The second trailer I decided to analyse was the thriller movie "Gothika", i decided to use this trailer because although the movie is a thriller like "Paranormal Activity" there is still a vast majority of different trailer conventions in both.

The first shot of the trailer begins by displaying the distributor of the film, which in this case is one of the major film studios, Warner Bros. In 2009, Warner Bros. became the first studio in history to gross more than 2 billion domestically in a single year and is responsible for movies such as Harry Potter, The Dark Knight, The Exorcist and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Just from looking at a small handful of movies that Warner Bros. has distributed it is evidently clear that any film by Warner Bros. is almost guaranteed to be successful and the similar themes of genres means that the audience are able to immediately prepare for the theme of the movie simply from the logo shown at the beginning of the trailer.

The next few shots of the trailer uses a typical technique which is often used when it comes to trailers called the narrative establisher. This means that from the short clips, dialogue and typography shown at the beginning of the trailer, we are able to gather a basic outline on the main characters life and essential information that is given out through the trailer, without ruining the storyline. For example, from the first few shots, I was able to gather that the story is focused around the main character Dr.Miranda Grey who works as a psychiatrist.

The trailer begins with a calmer music and as the trailer progresses further the music becomes faster, louder and more intense which ultimately increases anticipation and emphasises the dramatic action taking place.
As we move further with the trailer, there is a dramatic change in colours, as everything becomes dark grey colours and the weather changes to heavy rain and lightning. These small changes in the trailer act as a signifier to the audience letting them know that something is about to happen. This is shortly verified, when our main character runs into the unknown girl in the middle of the road, at this point there is a quick close up of the girls face, followed by a loud jump and screams from the two actresses. This is then followed by an abrupt silence and completely black screen, leaving the audience unsure of what has happened. The black shot which lasted for a few seconds acts well as a change from one scene to another, as the trailer resumes back to a new setting.

The rest of the trailer continues with fast, quick shots of different scenes giving the illusion of a exciting and thrilling movie. As the trailer comes to its climax, we see the name of the different actors/actresses starring in this film which included stars such as Halle Berry, Robert Downy Jr. and Penelope Cruz. Showing the name of these famous actors/actresses in the trailer is a sure way off attracting more people as star appeal reassures the audience that the film will have potential as the actors and actresses are well known.
The build to the penultimate frame is emphasised gravely by the piercing sound which carries on getting louder and higher pitched as the trailer reaches its end. The use of this non-diegetic sound lets the audience know that something is going to happen and works well with the fast quick shots.

On a whole, I think that there are many aspects to this trailer which make it a successful one, in particular is the fact that there are many enigma codes used throughout the trailer. For example, after watching the trailer I was left with many questions about the film, such as "why is she suddenly in a mental hospital?" and "who is the little girl". I personally think that it is crucial that a trailer leaves you feeling this way because it means that the viewer is eager to have the questions answered and wants to see the film. Which in conclusion means that the trailer has done its job.

The Shining
The third trailer i decided to analyse was the well known thriller movie "The Shining" which is a pyschological horror movie. One of the reasons why i chose to analyse this film trailer was because it was a movie released in the 1980's and i wanted to analyse a trailer older than the others ones so that i can see the similarities and differences between modern and old.

The first shot of the trailer begins with the image of the "Warner Brothers" logo appearing on the screen, immediately showing the audience the producers of the film, acting as a device to attract more people to see the film by showing them that it is a film produced by an extremely successful distributor company. The trailer then goes into an immediate voice over of a man telling a story about a supposedly haunted house and the tragedies that went on there. As the man tells the storys various establishing shots of the outside and inside of a house. Immediately the audience interlinks the house with the story the man is telling and knows instantly that this is the same house he is reffering too. Having the voice over talk about a certain house as scenes of a house are shown acts as an immediate plot device in order to allow the audience to relate the two together, whilst telling history of the house and setting the plot for the rest of the movie.

The trailer continues showing flashes of the house for the first 30 seconds of the trailer, each clip changing to fit with the story. As these shots are being shown, quiet, tense music which becomes heigher pitched, building up tension untill it comes to a sharp hault as a man hits a door with an axe. The screen then fades to a white screen for a few seconds before showing for the first time the man telling the story in an office two other men. One of the characters then says "You can rest assure Mr.Olmen thats not going to happen to me", the man is dressed in a smart suit, slouched back on the chair in a casual care free way, despite this as an audience it is obvious that the same thing will happen to this man.

The trailer then continues by introducing us to the other main characters of the film, the family of the man before as they prepare to move to the house. This part of the trailer is obviously the narrative establisher, and the purpose of it is to show the viewer the basic plot of the movie, to allow them to understand and follow. After this there is a sudden change in music and a quick flash of the little boy displaying a shocked face, this only last for a few seconds and is there to warn the audience of oncoming trouble.

The next half of the trailer is showing the transformation of the main character into the crazy villain. The tempo of the trailer has become faster, showing short, flashing clips and the music has become more intense and dramatic.
As the trailer continues with the fast action shots, dialogue is constantly heard over the top of them, consisting of screams and shouts from the characters, creating the tense atmosphere.
The continues on further but comes to a slight hault when the main character says the lines "Here's Jonny" this is one of the most recognisable quotes of all movies.

The last section of the trailer consists only of action shots and no dialogue from any of the characters. The only thing heard is the tense, high pitched music which gradually becomes faster, louder and more high pitched as it reached its final climax. The trailer comes to a dramatic hault and then presents a black screen for a few seconds before the title "The Shining" fades into shot, in red, blurry text before fading back out. The use of the colour of the text act as a signifier towards blood, evil and horror which relates to the thriller genre of the film.