Monday 20 September 2010
Trailer Analysis: 'Case 39'
Blogged by Anya
Questions raised:
Why were the parents trying to kill the girl?
Why were they so scared?
What is following the girl?
Why is it trying to kill those around her?
Will they escape from it?
Unlike the trailers for 'Buried' and 'Don't be Afraid of the Dark', this trailer does not instantly look like a horror movie trailer. This lets the audience fall into a false sense of security which means a bigger reaction occurs when the horror side is shown. As the trailer goes on the cuts are faster and the clips shorter which creates more and more action. The narrative of the film is shown in this trailer, a feature that the other trailers we have looked at do not share. This may be because it is a full length trailer but also because the actors - Renée Zellweger (Bridget Jones's Diary) and Bradley Cooper (The Hangover), although well-known, are not usually linked with the horror drama and so the audience must be shown more of the plot to be drawn in. Also, the plot seems quite complicated and so viewers might be put off if it was not shown in the detail that it is. The end of the trailer show a lot of action and tension within the film which would be a big draw for audiences. A common feature of horror films is the use of children within the plot; the innocence and venerability of children leads to a tense and eerie tone to the film.
Trailer Analysis: 'Don't Be Afraid of The Dark'
Blogged by Naomi
Questions raised:
Who is whispering?
Where are they?
Who are they?
What do these creatures want?
Similar to the 'Buried' trailer this one begins with a blank screen and non-diegetic dialogue. The voice is whispering to the audience, a simple yet extremely effective way of attempting to scare the viewers by making it personal to them. As the trailer continues the tension mounts, it is obvious something is going to appear but it is uncertain when. This tactic is stereotypical of horror films and is really effective in this trailer as well as films themselves. There is also a soundtrack of tense, dark music occupying the trailer to further appeal to the audience's senses. As the words "Don't be afraid of the dark" flash up at separate intervals the speed of the camera stills and film clips increases and the music intensifies, adding more and more suspense as the trailer continues. Also, the cast consists of Katie Holmes (Batman Begins), Guy Pearce (The Hurt Locker) and Alan Dale (Lost). With the cast consisting of a variety of well known actors/actresses the film would sell itself to the fans of the cast immediately. However curiosity is the main attraction to the film. With fast-paced clips of the characters screaming and the voiceover telling the audience "don't be afraid of the dark" the trailer succeeds in terrifying, attracting and entertaining the viewers.
Trailer Analysis: 'Buried'
Blogged by Group
Questions raised:
Why was he kidnapped?
Who kidnapped him?
Why was he buried?
Where is he?
How will he survive?
Will anyone find him?
All these questions are raised by the dialogue. The trailer is mainly a blank screen which makes the viewers more curious.
Although the screen is blank for most of the trailer we learn through the dialogue that the man has been kidnapped and has been buried alive, which is also apparent from the film's title.
Blogged by Naomi
The simplicity of this trailer emphasizes the tense, horrific atmosphere of the film, playing on the idea of claustrophobia and getting the viewer to feel as though they are also buried alive. The majority of the film is just a black screen, with non-diegetic dialogue of the character who has been buried. He is breathing heavily and making a frantic call to the emergency services. It is only towards the end of the trailer that we see a flicker of a lighter in the bottom right corner of the screen which shows the character clearly laying in a coffin. With this being only a small part of the screen occupied it once again emphasizes the situation, he is buried 6 feet underground and has no way out. Fans of Ryan Reynolds (The Proposal, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) will be drawn to this film simply because he is the main character. However the main reason for being attracted to this film is possibly due to the film drawing on many people's worst nightmare, and they will want answers to the questions surrounding the idea. Finally, the absence of tag-lines and catchphrases does not affect the trailer in any way, the trailer sells itself.
General Research
Blogged by Group
A trailer is created to give viewers a preview of an upcoming film. It consists of a short montage of film clips and sometimes camera stills to sell the film to it's audience. A typical trailer is normally made up of clips of the best scenes in the film, but they also have to have a sense of continuity to give the basic storyline. Trailers usually also feature the names of key people who helped create the film, for example the writer/producer/directer. They sometimes show film critic's reviews also to act as a persuasive feature in appealing to the audience.
A trailer would typically be seen in the cinema before a film begins, as an advertisement on TV or on the internet. Different formats affect the viewing of the trailer through size, quality and what is happening around the viewer. For example an advert on the TV may simply be ignored, or if the trailer appears as a pop-up on the internet it is more than likely to be just closed down.
Genre conventions are unrealistic ways and forms that are accepted by the audience as normal and logical in the film. For example, demons and devilish creatures we know don't exist, but we accept this when watching a film with these as characters for our viewing pleasure. Typical conventions of a horror are an extraordinary situation, a death or murder, vulnerable targets, often an unsuccessful act of heroism, a gothic edge, blood and violence. Others include deserted locations and unexplained noises.
A teaser trailer is much shorter than a full trailer. It provides sparse information about the film and uses very small amounts of actual footage from the film. They are usually made before production is complete and is generally released around 6-8 months before the film's release. A trailer on the other hand creates an outline of the story, using mostly footage from the film and provides the audience with more information than a teaser trailer. They are released around 2 months prior to the release date and are usually created after production is complete.
A successful horror trailer will make the viewer feel suspense, tension and fear. For example, a typical horror film will build up tension usually using a combination of dense music and close ups of the character. Then something happens. It isn't necessarily scary, but due to the amount of tension built it makes the audience jump as this wasn't what they were expecting. This element is needed in a trailer to make it successful without giving too much of the storyline away, but also without publicising every scary aspect of the film to build the audience's hopes and expectations.
A trailer is created to give viewers a preview of an upcoming film. It consists of a short montage of film clips and sometimes camera stills to sell the film to it's audience. A typical trailer is normally made up of clips of the best scenes in the film, but they also have to have a sense of continuity to give the basic storyline. Trailers usually also feature the names of key people who helped create the film, for example the writer/producer/directer. They sometimes show film critic's reviews also to act as a persuasive feature in appealing to the audience.
A trailer would typically be seen in the cinema before a film begins, as an advertisement on TV or on the internet. Different formats affect the viewing of the trailer through size, quality and what is happening around the viewer. For example an advert on the TV may simply be ignored, or if the trailer appears as a pop-up on the internet it is more than likely to be just closed down.
Genre conventions are unrealistic ways and forms that are accepted by the audience as normal and logical in the film. For example, demons and devilish creatures we know don't exist, but we accept this when watching a film with these as characters for our viewing pleasure. Typical conventions of a horror are an extraordinary situation, a death or murder, vulnerable targets, often an unsuccessful act of heroism, a gothic edge, blood and violence. Others include deserted locations and unexplained noises.
A teaser trailer is much shorter than a full trailer. It provides sparse information about the film and uses very small amounts of actual footage from the film. They are usually made before production is complete and is generally released around 6-8 months before the film's release. A trailer on the other hand creates an outline of the story, using mostly footage from the film and provides the audience with more information than a teaser trailer. They are released around 2 months prior to the release date and are usually created after production is complete.
A successful horror trailer will make the viewer feel suspense, tension and fear. For example, a typical horror film will build up tension usually using a combination of dense music and close ups of the character. Then something happens. It isn't necessarily scary, but due to the amount of tension built it makes the audience jump as this wasn't what they were expecting. This element is needed in a trailer to make it successful without giving too much of the storyline away, but also without publicising every scary aspect of the film to build the audience's hopes and expectations.
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