Film and Trailer Narrative

Film Narrative

In November 1996, Mary Wilson murdered her family in her home. She killed her husband, son and eldest daughter, but the only family member who was unharmed was her youngest, Ella Wilson. Mary was arrested and sentenced into a psychiatric unit, because doctors assumed she was schizophrenic. Ella was taken into the care of close family members, and fifteen years later is where the new story begins. Ella got happily married and is now Ella Garcia. Ella married William Garcia, and they have a daughter called Logan. Ella has been visiting her mother for a year, who has made a significant recovery, which means that Mary can be released into her daughter's care. Mary's physical and mental state, are still tainted from her past, she may be recovered, but she is still not completely with us mentally. Mary soon settles into her new family home, and the first person who notices that she is still not right is William. William then consults Ella about the strange things he has seen, and they both begin to realise that maybe Mary was never mentally ill. During dinner Logan is sitting with Mary at the table, when she stares at her, Mary’s eyes go completely white, and later on Layla is being tucked into bed, and demands that her Mum doesn't leave because she is scared of her eyes. William and Ella begin to research other illnesses that could be wrong with Mary, and begin to realise that it is not an illness, but she is possessed. Ella tries not to let this bother her, and she does not want to mention it to Logan or her mother. As a result of this, Ella tells her son to go spend time with his Grandma, and this is what triggers Ella to get help. During this time, Mary is playing with a jack in the box, singing pop goes the weasel, and when Ella walks in the room, the jack in the box pops out, and she screams "Your next". During the movie, Mary gets worse and the demon within her begins to focus on the family members through physical actions. The conclusion of the movie comes when the grandmother attacks the family and gets pushed out of the second storey window. As the family rush out of the house to see the body, they frantically call the police only to see that the body has disappeared. The film ends with a cut to Logan's face and his eyes are tinted white like the grandmothers had been.

Trailer Narrative

The trailer begins with an establishing shot that tilts upwards to a dominating view of a house with crime scene tape outside it. The scene cuts to a news report of a reporter outside of the house detailing how a mother tried to murder her entire family but was intervened before killing her youngest daughter, Ella. The woman, in question is led out of the house and into a police car and the camera follows the action as she drives away. The trailer then cuts to television static to show the transition between the news report and real life, and then 15 years later comes up. The daughter is being led through a hospital ward to her mother's room whilst being told of her mother's restored mental health. They look into the room as the doctor advises that she stay in her daughter’s care to aid her transition from the asylum. Ella takes her mother home to live with her and her family, and they are all in severe trouble because of it. Events begin to replay themselves and the family must fight to survive. 

Case Study Of An Influencial Director

Eli Roth's cinematic style has influenced our trailer because he uses classic ways of filming instead of modern techniques, which reflects in his work. The last exorcism, a film that was produced by Eli Roth was one of our main influences, and these was a found footage style movie, therefore I feel the narrative was unpredictable and this is how we would like our trailer to turn out. Roth also mentions that left over footage could sometimes have the best effect, and when putting our trailer together, we have used some of our rough footage, because we feel that it had the scariest effect and really helped the narrative come across. 

Real Life Case Study



Anneliese Michel

Anneliese was a German Catholic woman who was said to be possessed by demons, and therefore had man exorcisms carried out on her. The case has been mistaken for mental illness, religious hysteria, and abuse. The Exorcism of Emily Rose is one movie that was loosely based around Michel’s story about her possession. Anneliese was born on 21^st September 1952 in West Germany into a strict Catholic family. When she turned sixteen, she was diagnosed with epilepsy due to continuous seizures she kept having, and she was later diagnosed with depression and began o hear voices in her head. Michel’s depression began to get worse because her treatment she was receiving in her psychiatric hospital was not working. Her long term treatment was unsuccessful, in every aspects of her illness, which frustrated Anneliese deeply. Anneliese began to blame her illness on demonic possession, because she could not withstand religious rites, or walk past a crucifix. Michel had another seizure in her psychiatric hospital where she was saying and began talking about devil faces that she could see.  Michel was now certain that she was not ill but she was possessed and therefore appealed for an exorcism from the Catholic Church.  Many priests declined her, and she was put back on medication used for schizophrenic patients. She went on a pilgrimage, and at this point her family had finally come to conclusion she is possessed.  Finally they met Ernst Al, who agreed to perform an exorcism on Anneliese and after sixty seven exorcisms; Anneliese began to starve herself due to the exorcisms. On July 1^st, Anneliese died in her house due to malnutrition and dehydration which was blamed on the priests who performed the exorcisms on her, and were then fined.

This case study relates to our narrative because it is a reported case of possession, and our horror movie is a supernatural movie based around a mother who becomes possessed. This case study has given us a real insight to the idea of possession and has helped us develop our narrative even further. I also feel that after researching into Anneliese's case, it has helped us develop our antagonist further, and given us an idea on how to portray someone who is possessed, and this will come across within our trailer.

Trailer Analysis-The Strangers

Genre and subgenre are established very early on within the trailer, due to location and Mise en scene elements. The opening shot is of an open lake in a forest area, and then a house, which is a very isolated area. This isolated location is very typical of a horror movie, because there is no escape. The beginning music in the background is a piano, which is slightly creepy and this could be our first indication to something happening. The narrative is very conventional for a horror movie trailer because there is equilibrium, which get disrupted. We then get the swing moving by itself which means there is something there trying to get them, and this is showing us that this is a horror movie. Sub genre is established when we get a long shot, with a man standing in the background, with a mask on. This straight away tells us that this is a slasher movie, because the killer hiding his identity is a typical slasher convention. We then get multiple shots of two other masked killers, which means this is an unconventional slasher movie because there is more than one antagonist. We then get introduced to our first weapon which is an axe, and weapons again are typical for a slasher movie, we also get a knife and a gun within this trailer.

The narrative of the trailer is highly conventional for a typical horror movie convention because the trailer begins with equilibrium, and it is disrupted, but then attempted to fix, but the end of the trailer leaves you wandering what the outcome was. The trailer begins with the location being established, and we are then introduced to two characters, who appear to be a couple. They are about to have a candle lit dinner, and he is going to propose to her. This is the equilibrium of the trailer, because this young couple do not think anything could go wrong on one of the happiest nights of their lives. This is soon disrupted by a loud bang, and this leads to the couple going to investigate. The couple then begin to look around the house and through the windows, we see an empty swing swinging by itself, which allows us as an audience to realise that there is something there that is going to do something to this couple. We then see the women lock the door, which means that the trailer is becoming tense, because the character are becoming worried and scared. An extreme long shot of the woman standing in her dining room, allows us to see a man in a mask standing behind her in the distance, and this shows us that this is going to be a slasher movie, and this is when the trailer becomes tenser. Following this, we get multiple shots of different masked figures, and the couple at this point are scared, and this tense feeling rubs off on the audience, because we are expecting something big to happen at this point. The young couple walk into the bedroom and see writing all over the windows, and this is when they decide they need to leave the house because they are in danger. When they try to fix this, and get out of the house, this is where everything begins to go seriously wrong because an axe gets hit through the front door. After this, we get the fast montage which includes different clips of the main action that happens in the movie, and this fast montage gets the audience ready for a scare. The last bit of the trailer says ‘why are you doing this to us’ and they reply ‘because you’re at home’. This last line is memorable and will creep the audience out, and will encourage them to watch the movie.

Mise en scene within the trailer allows us as an audience to establish genre. The setting at the start of the trailer shows an open lake in a forest area, which then cuts to an isolated house. These locations are typical of a horror movie due to the fact that they are isolated, which means they cannot get any help because there is no one around who would hear them. We then see rose petals on the bed, and candles at the table, which indicates that the couple are having a romantic night in, and this is the equilibrium of the trailer. We then see an engagement ring box which shows us that they are about to get engaged, and then shows us that something is about to disrupt this happiness. The swing set begins to move on its own, this element of Mise en scene is very important in establishing that there is someone out there, and this creates tension. In a long shot of the main character, we see she is wearing very boyish clothing, such as a shirt and jeans, which makes her less feminine and could mean that she is the final girl in this movie. In the background of this shot, we have the antagonist with a whit mask on; this shows us that he is the killer, because it is a convening for the killer to wear a mask in a slasher movie. As the trailer goes on we get our first weapon which is an axe, and this shows us that the movie is slasher, and also shows us that someone is trying to kill this couple. Other weapons that we see in the next section are knives and a gun, we see weapons in the hands of the killers and the victims, which show that even though these people are in danger, they are trying to fight back and fix this problem. We get a long shot of all three of the killers standing over the victims, and in this shot we see that they are wearing modern day clothing. This gives the trailer a sense of realism, because it shows these are just normal people, apart from the fact they are wearing masks to hide their identities. This would also frighten the audience further because it would give them the impression that this could happen to anyone.

Camera is used within this trailer to create tension for the audience, because the victims are unaware of who is tormenting them. The opening shot is an establishing long shot of the location, which is a lakeside in a forest environment. Lakes and forests are typical horror movie locations because there is a sense of being alone, and having no help around you, so anything could happen. We then get another establishing shot of an isolated house, once again this is a typical location of a horror movie, and this indicates that the movie will be set in this household.  Using a house as a location is clever because it is almost tainting the comfort of someone’s home. Further on, we then get a point of view shot, from the woman looking out of the window, which shows us the swing moving on its own, and this indicates that there is someone outside, and the purpose of this shot is to create tension. A close up is shown of the woman locking the front door and this creates the effect that there is no safety, and she now feels threatened. A long shot of the woman is shown with the antagonist creeping in the background. This is a really effective shot because she is completely oblivious to the fact that he is standing behind her, but it shows us as an audience who is in their house and now they are inside the house, there is no safety. Another long shot is shown of the outside of the house, and in this shot we see another antagonist in a mask, and this shows us that there is more than one killer and they are in danger.  An extreme long shot is shown of a third antagonist, and this shows that that this couple are in serious danger and need to get out of the house, but these shows give the impression that this couple are being continuously watched, and this adds a lot of tension to the trailer. Going on in the trailer, we get a point of view shot from the couple looking at the window, which has ‘hello’ written all over it. This shot shows us that the killers are intimidating the couple, and are creating tension because they still have no shown themselves. A medium shot is shown of the man, with the antagonist in the background with an axe, and this is where the trailer begins to get faster, and therefore the action of the trailer starts here.  We then get multiple shots, including close ups and medium shots showing the victims trying to get away from the killers, and the close ups are showing the expressions of the victims, which are scared. We are also getting shots showing the killers in closer details. The final shot, which is a medium long shot, shows the three killers standing over the two victims. This shot gives the antagonists a lot of power and makes the victims to weak and vulnerable.

The sound throughout the trailer is very interesting and clever because it is very tense and then it becomes contrapuntal. The trailer begins with a slow piano track, which flows nicely with the pace of the trailer. In the background to this we get the sound of crickets, which indicates to us that this area is very quiet and isolated, almost as if there is no one around other then the man and the woman. The piano then begins to play the same note repeatedly, and we then get a stab of sound, almost like something falling on the floor. This stab of sound is unexpected from the piano music and therefore makes the audience jump. We then get the sound of a swing moving back and forth, which is squeaking, this sound creates tension and adds to the effect that someone is out there. This sound carries on for a while, and then fades into eerie music, which indicates to the audience that something is about to happen, and this also makes the audience tense.  After the eerie music, we get complete silence, other than the sound of crickets, which gives the impression of isolation and as if no one is around. This is ironic because in the frame, we see the main character in a long shot, with the antagonist standing behind her in the distance, but she is oblivious to this. After is silence, we get a bang, which makes the audience jump because it is unexpected and very sudden, this stab of sound is affective because making the audience jump may scare the audience but also makes them excited for the rest of the trailer. We then get a sequence of eerie music, with loud stabs in sequence with the editing. This technique of matching the sound with the editing is very clever because this creates a jumpy effect, because the loud sounds, added to the quick cuts on the screen make everything a lot more frightening. The next section of sound is a record playing in the background to the dialogue within the trailer; the record becomes a symbol of what is happening in the trailer once the fast montage begins. We get a loud stab of sound of an axe being slammed through the door, and then we hear the woman scream, and the record player gets knocked. This results in a broken record effect, which means the sound is being repeated over and over again, and this mirrors the fact that the narrative has now been completely disrupted. The record in the background gets faster as the fast montage and the editing picks up the pace, and this creates tension for audience because they are expecting something to happen. In the background to the scratch record, we have tense eerie music that gets louder and higher pitched as the fast montage comes to an end. There is not a lot of dialogue in the trailer, but the trailer ends with ‘why are you doing this to us?’ ‘Because you were home’. This choice of dialogue is clever because it ends the trailer on a creepy note, and these words will play on the mind of the audience. These words also taint the safety of someone’s home, and this also makes the audience feel unsafe and scared, being somewhere they should feel safe.

The straps used within the trailer start near the beginning and continue throughout the trailer. The first strap we get reads ‘inspired by true events’, this strap is telling the audience that something similar to this has happened before. This will frighten the audience because they may no longer feel safe in their own home, and also adds realism to the trailer. The next three straps are ‘we always tell ourselves’ ‘there’s nothing to fear’ ‘but sometimes we are wrong’. These straps will frighten the audience because it creates the effect that something is going to happen, also plays on the readers mind because it is making them question their biggest fears. The next strap comes during the fat montage and says ‘this summer’ which is telling the audience when the movie will be released and then the next one reads ‘what are you afraid of’. This is aimed directly at the audience because it is asking them a question, and makes them think of what they are afraid of, which will effectively frighten the audience. The last strap is the title of the movie ‘the strangers’ and this is used to allow the audience to remember the name and allow them to go watch it. We then get the actors names, which will encourage them to go watch the movie because they are highly popular celebrities.

The trailer begins with an establishing shot of a lake, which cuts to another establishing shot of a house, which is allowing us to see that is area is isolated. We then get quick fades between the next few shots, which allows the beginning of trailer to flow nicely, which is emphasising the fact that they are currently living normal lives and are not expecting anything to happen. We then get a slow fade into a strap, and then quick cuts between the woman and the swing. These cuts are creating tension because it is leading us up to something interesting to happen. We then get a mixture of fades and cuts leading up to a long section of silence, which is a long shot of the woman. This section allows us to see the antagonist in the house which allows the trailer to become realistic. The screen then fades to black and fades back into a new shot. The fade to black after seeing the antagonist almost mirrors that something bad is going to happen. A sequence of quick cuts again and fades are showing the other two antagonists, and these cuts are creating tension because they are revealing different point of view shots. The fast montage consists of continuous quick cuts which progressively increase in speed until the last section of the trailer which fades to black and then fades into a close up blurred shot of one of the antagonists. The sound also mirrors the editing throughout the trailer which keeps the audience interested, and frightened at the same time.

Representation throughout the trailer shows the victims as weak and vulnerable compared to the antagonists. This is shown nicely in one of the finals shots where the antagonists are standing over the victims who are tied to chairs. Liv Tyler is also represented as quite masculine, due to the fact that her costume choices are very unflattering, and this almost makes her stand out as a final girl. Tyler is defiantly represented at the final girl because she becomes feisty, and tries to fight back when we see her holding a knife, but we also see the male character holding a gun, and trying to protect his partner. The male and the female characters are almost seen as equal within this trailer, although the female has been dressed masculine to make her look like a final girl, the male character is also seen as feisty trying to fight back, but also protecting his fiancé, which is typical of a male character.

Overall I feel that the trailer is highly effective in luring in its audience, because there are so many elements to the trailer that make the audience jump, and also keep them on edge. Sound and editing are the two elements that made the trailer effective the most, because the sound was very clever, especially the contrapuntal sound of the broken record. The editing was also very clever for this trailer because it kept the trailer at a steady pace, and then kept in time with the sound which makes the trailer more effective and appealing for the audience. 

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.

Trailer Analyis-The Devil Inside

The genre of the movie can be established at the start of the trailer when a 911 call is heard. We hear ‘three people are dead’ followed by ‘I killed them’ which indicates that this trailer is promoting a horror movie. The trailer then goes on to tell the narrative of the movie, and we soon find out that there is exorcism involved in this movie, which then gives us a hint that this movie is based around supernatural forces and possessions. There are multiple shots of priests and fathers that we see, which indicates a religious element to the movie, which adds to the supernatural sub genre, and are typical within exorcism based movies. A pan establishing shot is then shown of a city like area, and a large church is in sight of this shot, which again is a typical location for this sub genre. As the trailer moves on, we begin to see iconography of a possession movie, such as crucifixes. We see one on the door and then we see them carved all over the antagonists arm. This shows that this supernatural movie is based around a religious theme and there is a force of evil going against these religious views, because the crucifixes are upside down.

The narrative of the trailer is conventional for most other trailers because it starts as an equilibrium and then it is disrupted. The trailer begins with a 911 emergency call which sets the mood and atmosphere of the trailer, and we discover that three people have been killed which indicates the horror genre. The trailer then goes on to show the main character, Isabella, explaining the circumstances of her mother and she is trying to get help. In this explanation we soon realise that her mother killed people during an exorcism which shows the audience that this movie is a supernatural movie and involved demonic forces. Whilst Isabella is telling the story, we see flashes of a news report to do with the murders, and a picture of the mother, and we now know who the antagonist is. The trailer goes on to explain that the mother is in a mental hospital in Rome which explain to us why she has travelled to Rome, and indicates that she is attempting to save her mother. We then get a hint to what may happen during the movie when she says “is it in my genes? Am I going to flip out one day?” The trailer has now shown the reunited mother and daughter in the mental hospital, and this could be an indication as to where the disruption is going to take place. A conversation between Isabella and Maria takes place, but this shows us that her mother is very disorientated and dazed, which allows us to see that there is something not right about her. The solution to her problems then begin by her witnessing a real exorcism, and this part of the trailer includes disturbing imagery, which will encourage audiences to watch the movie because they will want to know what happens after this exorcism. During the exorcism shown, we see the girl levitate which then shows us it is obviously a supernatural based film. A fast montage then features in the trailer, based around the main exorcism on the mother. This fast montage includes the effects of characters in the film, such as the priest, who also becomes possessed, and footage during the exorcism. This fast montage gets the adrenaline of the audience pumping because it is fast, jumpy, loud and almost exciting, and will intrigue the audience to watch the whole movie. After the fast montage, a final jumpy moment is added just before the film title is shown, and this is used to calm the person watching down, and then frighten them one last time by using loud non diegetic sounds. 

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Mise en scene plays an important role within the trailer to add to the horror effect. The costume used throughout the trailer is very important in helping create a horror movie affect for the trailer. Near the start of the trailer we see a frame of a man is a priest outfit and the photo frames in the background are images of religious figures. This shows us as an audience that there is a religious element within this movie and this may appeal to people and it also hints at maybe a movie based around the fight between good and bad. As the narrative goes on, a frame of police taking a woman away in a police car is shown, which tells the audience that a crime has been committed, and this is the equilibrium being disrupted. An establishing shot of Rome Is used, which allows the audience to see the setting of the movie. Within this shot we see many church buildings, which shows us that the church and religion is going to be a big part of the movie, and horror movies that have religious imagery throughout tend to be related to exorcisms and some form of demonic force. The establishing shot of Rome is also very typical of a horror movie based around possession and religion, because in many movies, Rome is associated with demonic forces and faith. Once this establishing shot is shown, this becomes clear. As the trailer goes on, we get a shot of the main character walking through Rome, which shows us that maybe she is going to visit her mother, who is in a mental hospital. This shot shows the main character, Isabella, dressed in winter clothing, which is typical for a horror movie because weather patterns are generally dull in horror movies. This shot also shows us that Isabella is normal, and this could later contrast with Maria Rossi. We then move onto a shot of Isabella and a man dressed in a lab coat walking down a hallway. This hallway is completely white which connotes purity and innocence. This obviously contrasts to Maria, therefore it is almost as if Isabella is walking towards something that is not innocent, and could cause danger. This medium two shot, also includes a crucifix in the background, which again shows us that there is a religious element within this movie. Another shot in this sequence shows Isabella about to walk through doors, and the doors have crosses on them, which again adds to this religious imagery, but also makes us as an audience wander why this whole corridor is filled which religious antiques. Hair and costume becomes key when the trailer first introduces us to Maria Rossi. We get a medium close up of Maria, who is wearing a plain grey garment, with a blue knitted cardigan. The colour grey is very dull and basic, which also makes her look very plain and the cardigan she is wearing ages her a lot. The expression on her face is very dazed; she is looking up slightly with her mouth a bit open. The fact that she looks dazed, shows us as an audience that she is not completely there mentally, and there is something wrong with her. Her hair is scruffy and curly, which adds to her age and also makes her look more frightening for the audience. Make up has also been used to age the actress and make her seem worn out, which is something we plan to do for our horror movie trailer. Make up is also used to create upside crucifix cuts up Maria’s arm, which is extremely clever because this shows us that there is something that is against the Catholic faith that possesses this woman. A close up shot then shows Maria screaming, which then shows us that there is something wrong with her, and this show is followed by her having some form of fit. This body language shows us as an audience that something is making her act like this, and this is why the trailer is effective because it will encourage people to watch the movie. Further on in the trailer, we get a shot of a girl in a disturbing position, her body language is showing us that she is not normal, and this grotesque imagery will leave people wandering what will happen next. In this shot, she is also wearing white clothing, which is not clean, which almost shows us that she is tainted because of what possessed her, and the same applies for the bed. The background in this shot is an old brick wall, which gives the room a dull affect, and adds to the fact that this is a horror movie.

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Camera shots, angles and movement also show us a lot about the effect of the trailer. The first camera shot we get is of three men and a girl sitting round a table, and from this shot we see that the en are priests. This obviously indicates religious imagery, and gives a theme for the movie. The camera then moves on to a medium shot of a news reporter, which shows us that obviously something has happened. The next shot is a long shot of Maria looking directly at the camera through the back of the police car. This shot creates tension because she is almost looking directly at us as an audience, which will frighten the person watching. Further on in the trailer, a close up of a photograph is zoomed in to with the camera, zooming into the face of Maria, which tells us this going to be an important person in the trailer. The camera then pans over the city of Rome, with an establishing shot, which sets the scene of the movie. The fact that Rome is a very religious country and is typically always where possession movies are based also makes the effect of the trailer scary. A medium, low angle shot of Isabella is then shown, which makes her look more superior, and could also indicate that she is the main character and she I the one who will be the most dominant in the movie. Going on in the trailer, medium shot, that zooms into a close up is shown of Maria. This shot shows us the importance of her character, and allows us to realise there is something wrong with her because of many factors such as her facial expression. We then get a long, over the shoulder shot of Maria, and in this shot we see that she is looking up at something, and her eyes are following it, which shows us that she is very dazed, and there is obviously an issue here. A close up of Maria’s arm is shown, and this allows us to see crucifixes cut into her arm all over. This not only shows us that there is something wrong with her, but also this is a religious symbol, and therefore we now realise there is something wrong with her, and religion is key. A close up of Maria pulling her bottom lip down, revealing a crucifix carved into her lip is shown. This again shows religious elements, but also this shot is quite frightening for the audience, because her eyes are piercing. A close up is then shown of Isabella with her head in her hands, which shows that this has upset her. A high angle shot of Isabella and the priest going down stairs into what looks like a basement, and this shot looks like they are going into something they shouldn’t, the fact that the doorway they are walking into is pitch black also makes this look negative. The trailer goes on to a long shot of a very disorientated girl, who is in a very inhuman position with her body. This shot shows us as an audience that this girl is not normal and there is something possessing her, this is also very disturbing, which will strangle encourage people to go watch it. An extreme close up of the girl’s eye is then shown which is creepy because the pupil is really big, and she seems to be looking at something that is not there. A bird’s eye view of the girl levitating is then shown, which makes it clear that this is a supernatural horror movie and this girl has been possessed. We get an over the shoulder shot of the two priests, but the on in the background look demonic, as if he has now been possessed. This shot also shows the other priest in complete fear. A close up of the priest who has been possessed shows him with his eyes rolled back and they are red, which is slightly grotesque. A two shot of Isabella and her mother is showing that Isabella has gone face to face with her, and is trying to communicate with her, without the demon.

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The sound in the beginning of the trailer begins with a phone call between Maria and the police. This phone call consists of her admitting to her murdering three people. Her voice in this part is very creepy because she is speaking very slowly. This opening section is very affective in scaring the audience purely based on her voice. Piano music then begins to play in the background, whilst the narrative is being told by the main character Isabella. We then hear Isabella say that her mother murdered three people during an exorcism. This is what tells us it is a supernatural movie. The piano playing in the background is also very typical in a horror movie which is another indication to the horror genre. Over the top of the piano music, we get the main character explaining the current situation, as to what happened to her mother, we learn that she is potentially seeking help from an exorcist. Once Isabella mentions that her mother killed people during an exorcism, the music becomes tense, and this is the point where we realise the movie is based around exorcisms and spirits. The narrative then continues to go on, and we learn more about what the film is about. The sound goes nicely with the editing in this trailer, especially when there is a cut to the next shot. When Isabella goes to visit her mother in the hospital, eerie sounds begin to play as she is walking into the room, and then we get a slight silence. We then hear, Maria, repeatedly saying ‘connect the cuts’ which is creepy because her voice is very disorientated and quiet. We then get a small sequence of silence, except sounds of movement, which leads up to the next part which is Maria screaming. After the scream, this is where sound comes back into the trailer. During the real exorcism part, eerie music plays faintly in the background which means that something is going to happen; it helps to build tension before the moment. The sound of the girl cracking her shoulder is amplified, which is a sound that makes you cringe, therefore adds to the horror effect. The possessed girl then says ‘Isabella’ in a croaky, demonic voice, which shows the audience that demonic possession is important in the narrative. After this we get a sudden stab of sound which makes the audience jump, and gets their adrenaline pumping, and this is effective because this will encourage them to watch the movie. The music in the background then gets louder after this point, and speeds up, which matches the speed of the editing during the fast montage. The music slows down, and again we get a stab of sound, this time screaming, which makes the audience jump again, and they will continue to watch the trailer. Contrapuntal sound is then used for the rest of the trailer, where the main character is singing as nursery rhyme during the fast montage. This is an effective sound effect because it will play on the mind of the person watching. Loud eerie sounds then begin to play over the top of the nursery rhyme which is getting the audience ready for one last scare, but it goes silent, with just a bit of dialogue. After this bit of dialogue there is one last stab of sound, which just finishes off the trailer, and frightens the audience one last time, we then get the voice over of Maria saying ‘connect the cuts’ at the end, which is something that the audience will remember.

The straps used in the trailer are used to help establish some of the narrative, and to show release dates. The first strap is showing the audience when the movie will be released because it says ‘This January’. The second strap to appear is ‘between science and religion’ which is showing the audience that this is the main theme of the movie, and it is going to be about a battle between the two topics. The next strap reads ‘between hope and fear’ and this indicates that it is a horror movie, and it is playing on the emotions of the audience because they will be scared. The next strap says ‘no soul is safe’, which again will frighten the audience, and make them feel unsafe after watching the trailer. The following strap is the film title, this is just to show the audience the name of the film and therefore go and watch it, and the final strap says ‘coming soon’. The straps are not used until the end of the trailer during the fast montage, and this is because they fit in nicely to the speed of the editing and the end of the trailer is the scariest part, adding straps that make the audience feel on edge adds to the horror effect.

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The typical editing conventions of a horror movie trailer are to start off slow, just to help establish the narrative, and once the narrative has developed enough, the editing gets faster and faster, which is typical for the fast montage section of a trailer. I feel that The Devil Inside trailer is very much conventional as a horror movie trailer, because the editing matches most other trailers. The beginning of the trailer starts with a sequence of text appearing on the screen, of a phone call. The screen then cuts to a quick flash of a black and white photo of a girl that looks demonic. We then get the film producer information and then the camera fades into a shot of people sitting around a table talking. The section of the trailer has a few quick cuts from person to person, which is just showing the characters and their reactions to the story being told. The camera then cuts to an establishing shot of Rome, and but this point the narrator is talking about why she is in Rome. The editing is at a reasonable pace at this point which is just keeping the audience calm because it helps us understand the story line more. The editing is almost mirroring the narrative, its cutting and fading to each bit at the speed of the narrator. Once Isabella is with her mother, the editing is just simple cuts showing the two from different angles, but the cuts are slightly faster now, which is getting the audience ready for something to happen. As the characters begin to take action, the editing becomes faster, which again is matching watch is happening on screen. This section of the exorcism, has very quick cuts, from shot to shot, which is building up to the stab of sound, and then it fades into the first strap of the trailer. The editing towards the end of the trailer, is matching the speed of the fast montage of clips showing on screen, the trailer is using quick cuts between each clip, and every so often fading into a strap. By speeding the editing up, the trailer then picks up pace and gets the adrenaline of the audience pumping, ready for what is coming next.

Representation within the trailer is very basic; however the men seem more dominant. From the trailer, we see two women who have become possessed, which shows the women as more venerable and weak, because they are easy targets. The men within the trailer are all priests, who are showing that they are the ones trying to help, and it is typical of men in any movie to look like the ‘hero’ figure. In the trailer we see one of the priests become possessed, which show that the women are becoming more dominant, and this priest is now weak. The main character, Isabella, is showing as quite a strong woman, and she is trying to be the hero by seeking help for her mother. Considering she is watching her Mother become something that she is not, she stays strong through the whole trailer, and does not seem to get scared by this demon. Isabella at the end of the trailer when she talks directly to the demon looks very dominant, because of the camera shot.

Overall, I feel that this trailer is very effective in luring in its target audience. The sound used throughout the trailer, is the most effective element in scaring the audience because it has so many unexpected stabs of sound that makes the audience jump. I feel that the trailer encouraged me to watch the movie, so the structure of the trailer overall had a good effect. 

Horror Movie Poster And Film Magazine Analysis