It begins with a dark screen and an instant tension building piece of non-diegetic music both high pitched and eerie. This is most likely created by the high pitched strings perhaps on a violin. the continuation of the music leads onto the first image of the production company. We used again in continuation of our fist 2 minutes of the film we made in year 12 we used 'Working Title' as it has funded many films of different genres and would fit into our teaser trailer. Again we use the transition of a fade to give the impression of a space in time and scene and the ominous black gives the impression of a dark mood to the trailer.
We then decided to jump straight into the action as we set up an eerie happening of the blind role up revealing a white board with the jagged and creepy writing revealing the phrase ' It's Time' which we again felt had a very ominous tone to it. The only issue was that the writing is not seen clearly on the screen when watched on 'YouTube', I believe this is due to the bad quality of the transition form the 'WindowsMeida' to 'YouTube'. This is a shame as the audience are not able to feel the full effect of the composition of the frame, leading to a less immersiveexperience. At this point we then introduce a steady heart beat that slowly increases it's pace throughout the trailer. We made the heart beat magnified above all the other sounds as the pace of the heart increasing suggests anxiety and panic to the audience which are the emotions we wish for them to be feeling when watching the trailer. We purposely have left the heart beat as both diegetic and non-diegetic leaving it to the audiences interpretation as to what they think is happening within the frame and what we can interpret from the shot of the composition given.
After this brief action of the revealing of the words we then get a quick glimpse of Suzi's eye. This shot only last for a second and is very fuzzy, so the audience are lead into believing that they are not meant to have seen this quick shot and that something scary is about to happen, again with the aid of the increasing heart beat and the fast paced editing, the audience's tension and mood is enhanced. Straight after the audience are given the title of the film in a printed type of font and also a printed manner so as if a documentary was being written on a type writer. I love this effect and thinks it makes the film more realistic and believable to the audience, deepening their emotions of the film. The line of 'The Haunting of Therfeild' again fits into the font and the way the font is directed at the audience, rather like 'The Haunting of Connecticut'.
A black fade transition then leads to a more action filled shot of Suzi grinning in a sadistic way at directly at the camera which moves form a mid shot into a zoom and fixates on Suzi's eye which has the white contact lens in it, that gives the audience a knot in their stomach feeling of 'all is not right or as it seems'. The movement and shot of the camera is enhanced by an effect we found on 'Adobe Premiere' which was called ghosting, which seemed to blur the image making it a lot more disorientating for the audience to watch and focus on a particular are until it reachs the point of focus and our unique selling point Suzi's eye. Again the beating heart acts as the continuity through the trailer linking all the images together, being the main point of focus to the audiences ears with only slight back ground noises such as the water trickling out the tapes. This forces the audience to become more involved in the trailer.
We then use a fade transition from one shot to the next without the dipping to black, as this keeps the audience motivated and intrigued by the eye which is what we wanted the audience to be intrigued and frightened by. The direct shot of Suzi looking straight at the camera in a close up shot is very off putting for the audience and makes them feel again uncomfortable and frightened. The editing then becomes quick paced and more disorientating for the audience as it cuts to a shot of the 'Mathematics' sign which indicates the film to take place in a school. The shot is shot at a canted angle again forcing the audience to feel disorientated and frightened. The 'Mathematics' sign is shot from two angles again both canted and gives the illusion of things being repeated, giving an ominous tone. Within the quick sequence more images of Suzi's eye are introduced and reminded to the audience. Howver something more is introduced as we decided to capture some static and white noise on the trailer giving the impression of the documentary was that the film is filmed in much like 'Cloverfield' or 'The Blair Witch Project' which enhances the fact of it being realistic. And 'real' people are involved in the events that are filmed. The white noise hints that the film has been interrupted and manipulated which is why some of the scenes are repeated or fixated on frightening images.
The prolonged image again of Suzi's eye with the increasing heart beat, suggests that she is the thing to be afraid of in the story although we don't know the back ground of the story. A quick transition to the inter title of 'The lesson has begun' leaves the audience feeling uneasy and worried as if there is no choice in what will happen next or that they can decide to watch the film or not as the trailer is telling them what is happening and who is in control. The unorganised and almost frenziedcomposition of the words and some of the phrases in red attract the audience, giving the continuing theme that the film takes place in a school. The slow fade into the release date suggests that the trailer's pace has slowed down and that it is coming to an end. The hear beat has also reached the peak and is very fast paced meaning that the person who the heart belongs to has had meet their fate. The information is only giving what is necessary to the audience, which creates more hype around the trailer and makes them want to know more and leads the to finding out more on the trailer getting them to talk about it or look it up on the Internet. The rest of the trailer is white noise and more static, indicating to the audience the trailer is finished and that it has ended in a disjointed manner. The eerie ending again leaves the audience in a state of unease especially as to how long the shot is left for.
I really like our teaser trailer as I feel that is has all the convensions of a teaser trailer but also gives the audience as much of the action and curiosity to make them want to see more and watch the trailer again. I thought we worked well as a team and used all our ideas together incorporating them together to create our trailer which does look authentic and something that I would go and see for myself at the cinema.
Here I have posted probably one of the more well known horror films. Made in 1999 'The Blair Witch Project' was most likely one of the more well known films in the 1990's and was compared to the other famous horror films of the time such as 'The Exorcist'. Due to the way it is filmed and edited I believe much like the trailer for 'Paranormal Activity 2' atmosphere is created to the most fearful extent by just these two principles. Which is why I think it would be another good teaser trailer to look at to inspire our own trailer.
Genre: There is a clear indication that the film is going to be a horror film although the way in which it is filmed suggests a very realistic approach. This is hinted by the lighting, music and intertitles.
Narrative: The first intertitle that the audience is confronted with is the one that describes the narrative. Where typically a group of teenager who are up to mischief go into a wood and lots of strange and spooky things happen to them. But the format and blank text suggests the documented style, leading the audience to believe the film is actually real. The real events then seem to make the film the next level of horror.
Target audience: Again due to the common and well known themes of a horror teaser trailer, the conventional target audience are expected to enjoy the trailer and watch the film. Being mainly teenagers-early 20 year old.
Music: The non-diegetic music is perhaps the most frightening part of the trailer. The gong sort of sound prolonged and with an eerie hint to it makes the audience literally feel goose-bumps. The repetitiveness of the music only scares the audience more as each of the intertitles appear the 'gong' sound penetrates the audience and their attention is drawn to the intertitle. This also becomes more frightening as the screams are added into the mixture of eerie sounds and music, almost creating a climax of sound which is then suddenly cut out, leaving the audience unnerved.
Shot types/camera angles: The film is entirely seen on hand-held camera, which gives the indication that the entire film is going to be from a point of view shot. This is somewhat more scary for the audience as they are placed in the characters shoes and can only see what they see. This creates a string link between audience and trailer.
Pace: The entire trailer is fast paced keeping the audience in a constant state of unease and visual captivation. This is shown through the fast editing and only being on one scene for no more than ten seconds. This doesn't give the audience a chance to rest or take a break from the intense footage which is why the trailer works so well to evoke a response from it's audience.
Dialogue/Voiceover: There is no voice over throughout the trailer only minute pieces of coherent dialogue. The dialogue is completely unaimed at the audience. We realise that the footage is far to realistic to explain what is happening and find we only can see and hear what the characters are saying to each other through the small hand held cameras. There is very little dialogue only screaming, shouting and calling to one another, giving a sense of pandemonium and panic.
Special effects: Again there are little to no special effects within the trailer giving the impression of a very real film/documentary. The black and white effect gives the impression of the disorientated state and the negative appearance of the film, making it look bleak and the lighting more dramatic. This puts the audience on edge as it places the thought of 'It could happen to me'. I think this is a great technique that we should definitelyconsider for our final teaser trailer.
Credits and Intertitles: The intertitle are what perhaps creates the mood of fear within the audience as they feel that they cannot grasp the full concept of how realistic the film actually is. The comments that appear while the footage is up and running, and the names mention again suggests how scary the film really is and that the target audience are subconsciously hinted.
I really like this trailer as when i watched it I too was actually quite frightened by it. I would love to evoke the same response to the audience who watch our teaser trailer, which we can hopefully do by following some of the ideas used in 'The Blair Witch Project' teaser trailer.
Today in class we discussed the difference in the two versions of the film 'Nightmare on Elm Street' trailers one from 1984 and the other 2009. I found this a great help as to see how the audience has changed and what we found scary back then we have become desensitised to gory horror as seen in the 80's trailer but are more afraid of the second because it is the psychological horror that we fear.
Here is the 1984 trailer of Nightmare on Elm Street:
Here is the 2009 trailer of Nightmare on Elm Street:
Genre: It is clear to see that both of the trailers are Horror films. The audience immediately can decide this by the burnt man frequently appearing in the 80's trailer and more of the silhouette shown in 09. Also the 09 shows the creepy chanting children which set and eerie ominous tone.
Narrative: Both of the trailers seem to keep closely to the same narrative. This follows the burnt man haunting people (mainly girls) before killing them in horrible ways. The audience are shown more of the storyline in the 09 trailer as we see Freddy Kruger before he is burnt and how it happens. The 80's trailer uses far more gore in the trailer which suggest the 80's audience were far more afraid of gore horror than the psychological horror shown in the 09 trailer. However both trailers follow the same catch phrase of 'Don't fall asleep.'
Representation: In the 09 trailer the 'bad guy' is never shown to the audience and so is more mysterious and therefore frightening when left the audiences own thoughts. This also gives focus to Freddy's hand with the many knives replace fingers. The innocent are dressed in varying light colours which suggest their innocence in the film. The 80's trailer uses the iconic hat and the red and black shirt that makes it so memorable. This seems to be a crucial part of both the trailers as the costumes seem to define that characters as the girls are dressed in white and Freddy in black, the colour of evil.
Audience: The classic horror theme throughout both trailer the audience know that this films target audience are teenagers ranging to 20 year old. however the 80's trailer suggests a younger audience from the more childish font shown in an not scary American font.
Media Language: In summary the trailer from 09 is defined by the characters and the location. however the 80's trailer has more blood and is set in a more suburban area with dated special effects, suggesting the change of horror from gore to psychological and the advance in technology over the past 20 years or so.
Target audience: wide range-from teenagers to 40 year old.
Music: non-diegetic daunting eerie music, projecting panic feeling of end of the world.
Shot types/camera angles: Wide shots showing the magnitude of the actions and the venerability of the human race and how fragile our structures are.
Pace: Fast paced with slow shots of the action giving the impression of the great magnitude of the events.
Dialogue: No dialogue makes the audience more intense and the intertitle act as the communication as to what is happening.
Voiceover: Again there is no voice over leaving the audience feeling they are on there own much like the characters in the trailer.
Special effects: As these are the USP there is a great use of them are done in great depth and detail giving the verisimilitude and immersive experience.
Credits and Intertitles: These are the main communication to the audience and are very simple and talking directly to the audience making the audience feel they have to watch the film, to continue with the rest of the film to see what will happen.
Here I have started to analyse some of the films from the horror genres that we had brain stormed earlier. This is the new and upcoming film 'Paranormal Activity 2' the success of the first indicates that the sequel is going to be just as successful.
Genre: This teaser trailer is clearly of the horror theme. The audience know this by the dark colours used the constant braking of the scenes and white noise not to mention we are confronted by the footage of an actualaudience in the cinema that have watched the first prequel 'Paranormal Activity' the audiences expression from the first film and the second is said to be even more scary.
Narrative: Little is known about the plot line of the upcoming film as no direct scene is given. The audience instead have to use their knowledge of the previous film and also the small pieces of footage given to them in the trailer. All the audience can establish from the trailer is the woman perhaps the main character is possessed and is a threat to the people in the house.
Unique Selling Point (USP): I think that the USP of this film will be the way in which it is filmed. The shots are taken in a 'security camera' type way revealing the date and time of the events that are taking place. This creates a whole new atmosphere for the audience making them feel that this is all the more real and it could happen to them.
Target Audience: Again the trailer helps the audience decide who the target audience is not only the clear definition of the horror genre suggests teenager/early 20's target audience. But the trailer also shows the target audeince in the cinema watching the prequal film, again showing teenagers and early aged people with the occasional elder audience memeber.
Music: There is no music throughout the entire trailer all the sound that the audince is given are the digetic sounds of the camera switching from scene to scene. By doing so the audience are put into the scene and there is no escapism for the audince, creating a more immersive experience.
Shot types/camera angles: Again the shot types are kept very simple in which we assume throughout the entire film. This is shown is a array of high angle shots, low angle and mid shots. This keeps in sinc with the 'security/documentary' type of filming, leading the audience to feel the film is more realistic than it is, they then become more emotionally involved and find themselves more immersed in the film.
Pace: The pace is a mixture of fast paced editing and slow blurring inter titles which give the impression of panic and unease. This creates more tension within the audience's atmosphere and they in turn wish to know what is going to happen next.
Dialogue/Voice over: Very similar to the music. Interestingly there is little to no dialogue within the trailer the only information that we get to know are from the inter titles, which makes it crucial for the audience to stay engaged and keep watching. The trailer seems to be focusing on the 'less is more' approach.
Special effects: There are very little special effects within the teaser trailer. The extent of which is a man flying towards the camera. I think this trailer is a good one for my group to focus on as it manages to produce fear in the audience without really doing anything dramatic. I believe that if we too want to do a horror this may be a very bold and good option for us to think about.
Credits and intertitle: The intertitles are the glue that holds the this trailer together, as they manage to speak to the audience give background information and also continue the flow from one scene to the next. However they only reveal what is necessary to know such as the title of the film, release date, previous background of the prequel and how this fits into the audience's relationship with the film.
I think that the 'Paranormal Activity 2' trailer really does show how grasping and exhilarating a teaser trailer can be using simple shots and timing effects. I really think that my group will look at this further as we develop the stages of which we are in to progressing to make our own teaser trailer.
I have tried to find the teaser trailer for the film 'The Haunting in Connecticut' but was unable to find one. I therefore have got the full length trailer for a few reasons.
Firstly I wanted to show Lora and Alana the music at the end of the trailer. The really creepy and eerie piano playing was really disturbing putting that audience on edge and very alarmed. I feel we should look for some sort of non-copy right music like this as I feel it would really enhance our preliminary task and would add to the effect that we are trying to create and I feel it would also flow with our main task if we choose to do a horror themed trailer as i expect, as we seem to be leaning towards it.
Secondly like the 'Super 8' teaser trailer the editing really sums up the theme of the film, the quick 'flash-on-flash-off' effect is displayed throughout between the narrative parts of the trailer. However unlike the 'Super 8' trailer there is a voice over of the woman character from the film. This gives the audience the impression they are being spoken to by the character. Also there is a lot of dialogue in the trailer which shows the plot line of the film and also its unique selling point the violent super natural effect. The film also has a great deal of shots and angles making the trailer look exciting and frightening, with all of the spooky happenings being shown at great length. The special effects are also shown and show that they are very effective and believable adding to the unique selling point as to the verisimilitude being involved where the audience are so immersed.
The film being broken up by the credits and intertitles give the audience a breather from the action but also the information given of the release date and name of the film. I think this is again very effective and should be taken into consideration in our own teaser trailer.
