Trailer Analysis-Grave Encounters

The title of the film is mentioned at the start of the trailer, which helps to establish genre because the word ‘grave’ is a typical word associated with horror. We then get an establishing shot of a dull psychiatric hospital, which again is typical iconography of a horror movie, and the dull atmosphere in the shot is also a typical weather pattern for horror movies. A series of shots showing sections of the mental hospital appear on screen and the lighting of the images is dull, and almost just a flashlight is used with darkens the atmosphere. We then see a series of mental patients, which gives us an idea that these people are going to be important. A point of view shot leads us down a dark hallway, which is a common shot used to scare the audience. We then get our first hint at the fact that this is a supernatural horror movie, when the window opens by itself, and this is when the trailer will begin to appeal to its target audience. Mise en scene also helps establish the horror genre because of the furniture within the trailer, the fact there are old bath tubs, hospital beds and wheelchairs, obviously shows that they are in a hospital, where people have died. Screaming also is a typical convention of a horror movie trailer, and we get our first scream which helps us see that the movies intention is to scare us. A shot of the characters sitting in the hallway, allows us to see a dark figure walking across, and the other character are oblivious to this figure, which allows us to see this is a supernatural movie. A shot of cuts in the characters back is shown, which is grotesque and includes blood. Following that we get a man being thrown across a hallway by nothing which again is an indication to a supernatural movie.

 

The narrative of the trailer is conventional for a typical horror movie trailer, because it begins as equilibrium, and then we have a disturbance, a fast montage and a sting. The beginning of the trailer is an introduction to a ‘new episode of grave encounters’ which is showing us that they are filming a programme and everything is fine at this point. The main character then goes on to tell the story of the background as to why they are experimenting in this psychiatric unit, and we get various shots of the building and inside the building. The shots of the building allow us to see as an audience that there is going to be something wrong with this hospital, and maybe they should not be disturbing it. The narrative then goes on to point of views from various characters, telling us about strange occurrences they have witnessed in this building. This is the part of the trailer, where the audience are expecting something to happen, and it also establishes that this is going to be a supernatural horror movie trailer. The narrative goes on to explain why they are in this hospital, and what they plan to do whilst there, and we then get our disturbance in our narrative when they try to talk to the sprits. We get our first scream, which allows us as an audience to realise that this is where things go wrong. The narrative then begins to lead up to the fast montage, which builds up the tension of the audience, and is keeping them on edge, in this sequence, we find out people have gone missing in their group and weird things have begun to happen. The fast montage is next, which includes a small section of fast slips and straps, preparing the audience for the last scare, which is a ghost that turns around and frightens the person watching. We then get a sequence of screaming and the camera is just running away with the characters, and this is when the audience think that the trailer is over, but there is one last scare in the sting. The trailer is a typical horror movie trailer, and I feel that this helps the trailer appeal to the target audience, due to the fact that the structure is easy to recognise. The sections of the movie that have been included in the trailer are the main sections that make the audience jump, and the sections that lead up to the most frightening bits.

 

Mise en scene throughout the trailer helps to establish the genre of the movie. In the start of the trailer we see a clapper which shows us that they are filming something, and also adds to the realistic effect of the movie. The costume of the main character, is very basic and normal, however he is dressed mostly in black which is a typical colour associated with horror. An establishing shot is used to show the setting of the movie, which is a psychiatric hospital, and this shot is very dark and dull, with not a lot of lighting, which makes the building look worn down and gloomy. Inside the hospital, the lighting is very dark, which gives the building edge, and makes it appear scarier to the audience. The next set of characters we see in the trailer are also wearing mostly black clothing, which again shows us that this is a horror movie, and adds to the dull atmosphere of the movie so far. When we see more of the hospital inside, in day light we notice that the place is messy, and very worn down, as if no one has been there in years, this shows us that there is something wrong with the building, and gets us ready for something to happen in this trailer. The windows in the trailer are very old fashioned, single paned glass. This adds to the fact that this building may be quite old, and shows us that there is going to be some form of spirit in this building, and the window is going to be significant. A medium shot of the main four characters, shows them all dressed in black, which connotes death and could give us a hint to what may happen to them in the movie. The furniture within the trailer adds to the effect that this psychiatric hospital gives the movie, because it is all damaged, hospital equipment, such as beds, wheelchairs and bathtubs. We get a shot of a torn up ceiling, almost as if someone has clawed at the ceiling, which shows us that there is something in the building. A shot of the hallway also shows that the wallpaper on the walls is peeling off which adds to the age of this building and makes it seem more creepy. The cut on the girl’s back also shows us that something is after these people, because they are trying to harm them. The cameras in the movie, add to the effect of realism throughout the trailer because we continuously see them holding their own cameras which makes it seem like found footage. The girl at the end that turns around and screams, is wearing an old dirty gown, which the makeup used makes her look ghostly and very frightening for the audience, which makes it clear to the audience that there are spirits in this film that are tormenting the characters.

 

The camera is cleverly used throughout this trailer because it is supposedly a found footage movie, therefore the camera is all hand held, which gives a sense of realism. The opening shot is a medium shot of a man, which indicated to us that this is our main character and he has the most important role. We then get an establishing shot of the psychiatric hospital, which gives us the location of the movie, and the lighting of the shot also gives the building a creepy look. The camera pans across a dull room, which gives us a sense of what the inside of the building looks like, and this is quite scary. We then get a point of view shot, walking down a dull and dark hallway, and due to the lighting throughout the trailer being night vision, or flashlight, the effect of the trailer becomes scarier. A medium shot of a few characters is then shown, and this shows us that they are discussing the hospital, and obviously from the dialogue we get hints to a supernatural force. The camera then cuts to a low angle establishing shot of the psychiatric unit, which makes the building look scary and shows that this is the main focus of the movie. A long shot of the window opening by itself is then shown, which shows us that this movie is a supernatural horror, and there is a spirit within this setting. We get a medium shot of the four main characters standing quite dominantly, which shows these are the main characters and something is going to happen to them, especially the man in the middle who stands out the most in this shot. A few more shots are shown of the different rooms in the hospital, where the cameras have been set up, which gives us a feel as to how scary this building is. Another point of view shot of the hallway is shown, which may mean this hallway has some significance. A close up of the main male character is shown, where he is talking to the camera, this shot makes the footage looks really because he is almost filming it himself, making a documentary about what he sees. Another low angle shot is used to see the ceiling, which shows that the building is old and adds to the effect the hospital has on the audience. A long shot of all the characters sitting in the hallway follows, in night vision, and we see a dark figure move across the door, which again begin to frighten the audience more because now strange things are beginning to happen. Another low angle close up of the main character is showing him talking to the camera, and again this begins to show realism to the trailer. The entire film uses a handheld camera, and a lot of it is in night vision, therefore the camera is effective in making the trailer scare its audience because there is no security between the camera and the audience, and it seems as if this could happen to them.



 

Sound used within the trailer is used successfully to create a scary movie trailer. The trailer begins with a high pitched eerie sound, which almost helps to set the genre and atmosphere of the movie. We then get a sound, which is almost like when a camera has interference, and then dialogue begins. This sound of the camera ‘messing’ up is quite typical in supernatural movies, when a spirit interferes with the signal and quality which is clever for a found footage style of film. The dialogue is telling the narrative, which allows us to establish what the movie is about, and what they are doing at this psychiatric hospital. In the background to the dialogue, we hear low humming, eerie sounds, which just gives the narrative a creepy edge to it, and allows us to establish genre. We then get different people talking about things they have seen in this mental hospital, which gives us a hint to what could happen in this movie. The eerie music continues in the background of the dialogue, but this time it becomes tenser, and this gets the audience ready for something to happen. We then get our first supernatural seeing, which is the window opening, and the sound becomes louder at this point, which emphasises the shock of the window. After this point, the sound in the background becomes faster; almost like a beat of music as the character explain what they plan to do in this hospital. The main character then says ‘is there anyone here with us’ and a sudden stab of sound is heard and we get our first scream, this makes the audience jump, and now gets us ready for the rest of the trailer. The eerie music gets louder and higher, which leads up to when the ghost walks across the hallway, and then there is a burst of sound that fades. The next sequence of sound is upbeat tense music, which gets the adrenaline of the audience pumping and this keeps to the pace of the fast montage. The last section is high pitched eerie music with a slight beat matching the straps and slips of the film, and then we get the noise of a camera and it is just silence, except dialogue. The last section is when the ghost turns around, we hear a demonic roar or scream and then a sequence of screaming, which will effectively frighten the audience. Whilst the producer information comes up, we get the sound of a girl crying in the background, and then the sting includes a loud scream, which is the final scare for the trailer.

The straps in this trailer are mainly used as a fact file in order to make the movie seem more realistic and frightening for the audience. The first strap we see says ‘it is widely considered the most haunted building in America’. This strap will make the location of the movie seem scarier, and gives the audience a sense of realism, that this building is real and it is haunted. ‘Hundreds of eye witness accounts but no documented proof’, this strap is showing the audience that many people have a negative feel about this hospital, and gives a hint to what they are doing at this hospital, obviously to get proof. The next strap read ‘until now’ which is showing, these people have filmed documented proof, and this film will show the world what goes on within this hospital. ‘Their footage has remained hidden from the public for over six years’ is suggesting that what they experienced is too much for the public to handle, and it makes it seem as if it will be too frightening, The next strap reads ‘what they captured on camera cannot be explained’ which will make the audience become eager to see what they found, and will leave them wandering if this could happen to them. ‘Experience the terrifying footage’ ‘raw and uncut’, these two straps will encourage the audience to go and watch the film, and by adding raw and cut, it makes it seem realistic, saying that the footage has been released as they found it. The strap that follows reads ‘shocking and controversial’ which is how the audience will feel after watching the movie, and then we get a strap that says ‘ of the show’s final episode’ which will leave the audience wandering what has happened to these people. The final two straps are the film title and producers information which allows the audience to remember the film, so they can go and watch it.

The editing within the trailer is in synch with the pace of the clips, therefore the editing is effective. The editing at the start of the trailer starts off slow, in order to reflect the narrative of the film, and once things begin to happen, we then get a faster pace of editing. Throughout the fast montage, the editing consists of fast cuts, from shot to shot, which is leading the audience up for the final scare in the trailer. From the first shot, there is a quick cut to an establishing shot of the hospital, which is just allowing the narrative to flow. We then get a sequence of fades, between each fade there Is a clip showing the inside of the hospital. These fades are slowly introducing each room of the hospital that are going to play a part within the movie, by using a fade; this is making the location look creepier because it is slowly introduced. There is a sequence of quick cuts which shows different mental patients that used to live in this hospital, and these quick cuts reflect the mind of these patients. We then get an eye witness account from an old lady, and from this shot, the camera fades into a dark shot from a window with a strap across it. The effect of using a slow fade is creating tension for the audience, once the old lady has said something about the hospital that will shock the audience. Again we get a sequence of slow fades, between different eye witness accounts of the hospital, and then a quick cut to an establishing shot of the hospital. This creates tension for the audience and then the quick cut to the shot of the building, makes the building become more frightening to the audience. Once the narrative gets deeper, and they begin explaining why they are in this hospital, the editing changes to quick cuts. These cuts switch from different characters preparing themselves for their experience in this hospital, and this shows us that they are ready, and hints to us that these are the four main characters and something will happen. Leading up to the fast montage, we get a few clips separated by cuts, and this is where the tension is high within the trailer, and by using cuts, there is a continuous tense atmosphere leading up to the end of the trailer. The fats montage consists of very fats cuts, going from a clip to a strap each time, this is creating high tension, obviously leading the audience up for the final scare, and also reflects the fear that the characters are experiencing. We then get almost a fade to white which carries on to the section of the girl screaming into the camera, the fade to white almost reflects that there is something coming up. We then get a fade to black, and the title comes up, which gets the audience feeling relieved because the trailer is over, but the black cuts to a final sting.

The opening shot of the trailer is a medium shot of a man, which normally means that this is going to the main character, and also gives him quite a dominant role. The girl in the trailer is quite defeminised due to the fact that she is the only girl in the film, and she is wearing the same colours as the male characters. This could mean that this film is showing no importance on the female gender, and the male characters are seen as more dominant. However the girl is the second to last character in the film to go missing, therefore she is seen as quite an important character. We get a medium shot of all four characters and within this shot, the man in the middle has the most light on his face which shows he is the main and most dominant character, and the girl is barely in the frame which gives her the least importance. In the trailer we see the girl gets cuts up her back, which makes the girl character seem weak and venerable. We get a shot of the main character on his own, which suggests to us that he is the last one standing.

Overall I feel that he trailer itself is highly effective in luring in its audience, and I feel the most effective factor is the narrative itself. The film is a found footage style movie, which is a true story, and this will interest people more and will encourage them to go watch it. I feel that the sound within the trailer makes the trailer jumpy and the most frightening, and this again encourages people to watch it because it gives them an adrenaline rush. The trailer encouraged me to watch the movie, so therefore I feel that the structure of the trailer being conventional allowed the movie to be successful.