We picked the main task of a 'promotion package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer' and the supplementary tasks of 'a film magazine front cover, featuring the film and a poster for the film'. Being one of my favourite genres, I felt confident in attempting to create a horror movie trailer. We did some research into the horror and thriller genres, looking at existing films that have been successful. This gave us an idea of what the style of our own production would be.
The Haunting in Connecticut, a 2009 psychological horror is supposedly 'based on a true story' (a phrase loosely applied to many films of similar genres to give credibility and heighten the tension and so called 'fear factor'). The film follows Jonah, an adolescent male, after his family move into a former mortuary, and becomes the gateway between the spirits that haunt the house. Not only able to communicate with the dead, he is their voice and unleashes terror on the unsuspecting family.
Brief Analysis of Trailer:
The use of intertitles sets up the premise of the film and provides explanation when necessary. This would be a good tool to use in our trailer because it enhances the audiences understanding of the plot quickly.
The trailer uses both continuity and montage editing, enabling the plot to be condensed but some action to be shown in more detail. I like the varying transitions between shots; the dissolves allow the viewer to adjust to a change of scene, location or time and the fades effectively illustrate time lapses.
Narration is taken from the voice of a character in the film whilst he's explaining the situation to Jonahs mother. This establishes ideas further, causing the audience to grasp the rough outline of the story.
As usual in trailers of the horror genre, the editing becomes faster/clips shorter as the tension heightens, the music more high pitched and sound effects more frequent. This reflects the frantic atmosphere and makes it scarier for the audience.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), follows a group of friends who are taking a road trip but experience problems on the way and have to stop for help. They're stalked and hunted down by a deformed killer with a chainsaw, instructed by his family who can only afford to eat what they kill.
Analysis of Trailer: A dream-like atmosphere is created in the beginning through use of music, bright yellowish lighting, slow moving shots with fades and dissolves inbetween. Establishing shots set the scene effectively, whereas the frequent close ups introduce the characters to the audience. The trailer features mostly montage editing with some continuity shots, again enabling the plot to be condensed but some action to be shown in more detail.
A change in mood is illustrated; the music stops and a heartbeat accompanies faster, darker shots, creating an eerie atmosphere. The colour saturation is altered - hues are more green and blue - giving a washed out appearance and reinforcing the change in tone. I feel that this is a good way to add a sense of foreboding quickly. Transitions remain as fades, but now they indicate a change in time, scene/location.
A high pitched breathy noise helps to build tension as more narrative elements are revealed. Shorter shots dissolve into one another, revealing more of the smaller details quickly (ie. locations, objects) without distracting viewers from more crutial shots relating to the plot.
When the tension reaches its peak, typically, the shots become faster, the camera becomes less static giving a handheld feel (making the action more chaotic and therefore more frightening) and the music and sounds louder and frequent. However, the editing also has an unconventional twist - despite this being the climax of the trailer, the shots have long pauses inbetween, interrupting the action. The effect is used to create the illusion that the shots are being captured by a camera - a camera film sound effect accompanies the fades to white, resembling the flash of a bulb - which is later actually displayed, providing a background to an intertitle 'from Producer Michael Bay'.
Although the editing becomes faster, tension is heightened even without any images; at one point the screen goes black and only the sound of a girl screaming and footsteps are heard. Here, the audience are temporarily blind to the action, making them even more scared. There is a moment of almost silence, and then the images return. I feel that this pause is extremely effective as viewers would be on edge and then startled as the final clips commence.
Shots become fastest out of the whole trailer, all sound effects are removed and the music is left to enhance the action. Final shot ends with a straight cut, followed by the film name displayed on screen.
references to films of similar style
found that horror is often aimed at a young audience
reason for the popularity
plan for our film and why we chose certain things
