Trailer Act Analysis EA

           We've analysed the three acts of several horror films below. We will try and apply this structure to our narrative.

      The Conjuring

      Act 1 We've analysed the three acts of several horror films below. We will try and apply this structure to our narrative.

Act one is the introduction to the film, it tends to have a description of what happens in it and brings in the characters. The trailer for 'The Conjuring' it begins with a hand held documentary-esq video on what happens, for instance they are being filmed asking a supernatural entity if it is there and using electronic voice recording to try and contact the entity. There is a small moment of strange happenings where the piano begins to play. Then it cuts to the two demonologists giving a lecture on who they are which is clever because in them informing the in film audience it also informs the out of film audience. 

Act 2

The second act would begin at just about 50 seconds in, this is when there is a change of tone and it tells the audience what the problem in the film is. There is screaming and tension building, the narrator actually says what the issue is "This family has been experiencing supernatural occurrences". The pace picks up a bit to lead into act 3. They give a bit more background information however it is more specific to the enigma in the film as opposed to just setting the scene behind the characters. The scenes in the second act slow down and have longer cuts to get the audience focused and to create tension as well as to make it clear what the plot line is.

Act 3

Act three begins at about 1minute 35 seconds, it begins with a loud sound backed with the words "IT'S NOT A HAUNTING". This is the start of the third act because the tempo increases so dramatically. From here on we have quick cuts with short sentences building into a montage displaying all sorts of distressing moments in the film. At the end of the third act it shows the title of the film and then proceeds to have a jump scare.

Insidious: 

Act 1

The first act begins with the introduction of the characters, it gives background information to the family and shows who plays what roll. The pace of the whole trailer is quite fast because it is in time with a metronome which is used in the hypnotism of the male protagonist begins. We find out how many people are in the family and the mid shots and close shots help the audience establish a connection with them.

Act 2

Act 2 begins when the metronome begins to fade out, this makes for longer cuts and it means that there is a slight slow down in pace, however they usually find other means to keep the pace going such as the sound of the rocking horse and floor boards. In this act we can see the strange goings on in the film, this is a view of the enigma of the story. We see how they try to tackle the problem which is by hiring a form of "ghost hunter" to solve it, we get long cuts explaining what he is doing.

Act 3

The build up of tension i.e: the climax is found in act 3, in the trailer for Insidious it begins at around 1 minute 17 seconds. This climax begins when we find out that the solutions previously mentioned in act 2 will not solve the problem, this inspires fear and causes the build up. Typically of most climaxes it has many quick shots of quite gripping images followed by a jump scare.  Unlike other trailers the title is displayed frequently throughout the whole trailer.

The Cabin in the Woods

Act 1

The first act of the cabin in the woods introduces all the main characters of the story as a usual horror trailer would, there are a number of characters so it takes a while to get a perspective on all of the. The feel of the trailer is initially quite jolly and we can deduce that they are going traveling as they are all packing and loading up a camper van, hence setting the scene and giving the basic idea of what will happen - A group of students are going to a cabin in the woods to have a good time.

Act 2

I firmly believe that the beginning of act 2 is in fact when it displays the text, "You think you know the story". Usually it is not down to text to indicate the separate acts in a trailer however in this one it seems to work well, from this point onwards it uses the traditional technique of lengthening the cuts a bit more than in the first act, it also shows things starting to get quite strange.

Act 3

Act 3 begins quite soon after the start of the second act, a large proportion of this trailer is actually a montage designed to inspire fear and show the consequences of the enigma. The film is a comedy and there are not many comic moments in the trailer to illustrate that it is. However even though this trailer does not stick to the main conventions of horror trailers it does show the title then proceed to have another small scene aimed at scaring the audience one final time.

Plot Ideas for Trailer JB

The genre I've decided on is horror, with the sub-genre either being thriller or psychological. Therefore I've researched some of this genre's plots and come up with some new ideas inspired by some of these. A lot of psychological horrors contain things like possession and ghosts/ demons.

1st Idea:
- A troubled old man rocking backward and forward in his rocking chair, smoking and drinking, quietly humming to himself.
- You see hints that something is with him in the room, or outside through the window.
- There's some build up then it eventually kills him and leaves him there, still rocking.
- Police investigation scene about the murder. They find nothing.
- Cuts to a family moving into the house and them being happy they got a new house.
- Then fast edits through different scenes in the house where the family get terrorised by this demon.

2nd Idea:
 - A man is walking in the woods listening to his iPod, you see hints that something is following him and he is getting a bit nervous and keeps looking over his shoulder.
- Eventually he stops and turns off his iPod, shouts out something like who's there and then it kills him.
- A police investigation scene the following morning and they can't find anything, a special ghost hunter is also there and concludes it's supernatural.
- They ward off the forest to keep people safe just in case it is supernatural even though the police don't believe it.
- Teenagers sneak in at night to drink. It's all happy until one of them gets pulled out of the circle from the shadows and havoc ensues.
- There's 6 of them and they die off one by one with perhaps one survivor. During the last bit of the trailer there's jump cuts and fast edits between different bits of action and tension alike.

Audience Focus Group JB/EA

Our focus group is 15-21 males so I will ask them the questions below.

- What is your favourite genre of horror?
- What are your three favourite horror films?
- How often do you watch horror films?
-show film trailer below-

- What aspect of this film would make you want to watch it the most?
- Explain the plot to us, do you understand it, are you reading the words on the screen.
- Is the age of the actor part of the selling point
- How important is gore, do you need gore or just frightened by suspense.
- Do you like comedy with horror
- What TV programs do you watch regularly
- Do reviews or awards mean a lot to you? If so which one matters more and why?
- What similarities between your favourite horror films have you observed?

Below is the Audience focus group interview. We use two males aged 18 and 17. We asked them the questions above and got some good feedback.

Most of what they said was what we expected but some of the things gave us very good information we wouldn't thought of. They didn't seem to take in the words on the screen, however we think that we'll still put words on the screen as they added to the trailer's effect and split up the scenes well. They noticed the stereotypical characters in most horrors.

Character - Kate EA/JB

Character - Kate EA/JB

Dana

An example of a character that we would like to base our character profile on would be Dana from Cabin in the woods. Dana is a young and innocent girl who is forced to fight against the monsters in the cabin in the woods. Dana is a student who went on a trip with her friends. Typically she is an intellectual who will advise the group on what to do however they wont listen, she is not particularly a popular character however because she seems to be the runt of the group it makes it more gripping when she emerges victorious at the end. She is also friendly, caring and always trying to help. Her costume will be much like that of our characters. The main thing we've taken from her is her personality which we've applied to Kate, but we've based our character around all of her. She is pictured below.

Grace Andrews

Grace is played by Sophia Bush in a film called The Hitcher. She's also a fairly young female in the horror film. She's very strong but also fairly vulnerable until the very end where she acts much more brave and eventually saves herself, after having lost her boyfriend to the crazy guy who's the enemy in this film.  She looks much like our character would, same sort of clothes and maybe a bit older but same sort of age. We've based Kate around this character as well, the stereotypical heroine girl who is useless at the start but then becomes stronger. She is much like girls from other horror films for instance like Dana above and so we've stuck to this film and made our character much like this. She's pictured below, like Dana with a gun in her hands, this shows that both of these characters are very strong, even though at the start they aren't very helpful and are very scared.

Kate

Kate will be partially based on dana, we would like to use the aspects of her which make her really adjust to her stereotype. The traits we will take are how she is young because this makes her seem more innocent. Innocence is a key part of her character because it makes the audience connect in a different way to her and support her more. Another trait would be how she is the "runt of the pack" this will make us feel sorry for her and make the film more dramatic. However as you can see she also can fight against the monsters quite well which we will also apply to Kate. In our film Kate is pretty much forced to go into the woods with her group of friends and then when everything goes wrong she is eventually saved by the Ghost Hunter Darius and they have a slight romance going on which helps us connect with this character.

Our characters costume will be fairly casual, and that of a teenage girl. She will be wearing fairly normal clothes and have the same costume throughout the film as once she enters the woods she doesn't change clothes and that's when you're introduced to her. Her costume will be jeans or leggings, a casual t shirt or top and then a jumper or coat with trainers. Vague ideas for this costume are pictured below, subject to change as to what is available to us.

Character - Darius JB

Character - Darius JB

Ed Warren

This character stars in a film called The Conjuring. He is a kind of hero and saves all of them from the witch haunting their house. He is very similar to our character and like our character he doesn't die at the end. He is also brave and fairly strong as well as being smart at dealing with ghosts. The only noticeable difference from our character is the fact that he's a bit older and maybe our character wont be religious. He will have a completely different costume and look as well. We've taken mainly the tone and personality of this character to apply to ours.

John Hartigan
This character is from a film called Sin City. The thing i've taken from this character is his costume. His costume is pictured below. He wears a suit and a leather jacket which is mainly what I want my character to wear. However the actor will be much younger in our film.

Curt Vaughan
This character is from a film called The Cabin in the Woods. He is the jock type character, well built and young. The part of this character we're applying to ours is the general look, fairly young and strong. Looks brave and tough. He is pictured below.

Darius
The character I'll be looking at is the Ghost Hunter. His role in the film will be the hero. You see him near the start of the trailer as he's called in by the police as they can't find any evidence in the death of the man in the woods. When he says something supernatural killed him none of the police believe him and he is mocked. He is sent away from the crime scene and he goes home. Later on you see him again go to the crime scene late at night to see if he can find some new evidence, this is when he hears a scream of the main girl after the group of teenagers have been attacked by this supernatural being in the woods. He goes in to help them and the rest of the movie is about them trying to survive and in the end it's just the Ghost Hunter and the girl who survive, who perhaps have a bit of a romance going on throughout the film. His type of character will be someone who isn't taken seriously because not many people believe in the ghosts but he turns out to be right in the end. This character usually dies in these films but in an attempt to distance myself from the stereotypical horror films i'm going to keep him alive. We shall name him Darius because it sounds like a strong man's name but also that he might have a softer side, like with the girl.

Darius's costume will be very stereotypical of a detective type character. For the part where he's at the crime scene with all the other policeman etc he will be in a suit, trench coat and possibly a trilby with smart black shoes. Pictured below.

 

His costume when he goes back to the crime scene to investigate more will be more casual. This is the part when he hears the girl scream and runs in, to help and to save them. His costume will be jeans, t shirt and maybe a leather jacket or jacket of some sort with casual trainers, fairly casual and normal. Pictured below.

 

Plot Ideas for the Trailer EA

Plot Ideas For The Trailer

I have decided to use the horror genre, the sub-genre will be either a thriller or a psychological horror. We have researched into a few horror trailer plots and I have come up with some new ideas which revolve around the trailers.

1st Idea: Psychological Horror.

The film would be about a girl coming to terms with her dark past through a series of psychological ordeals which she thinks she is imagining however it turns out to be more than that. Eventually she ends up killing herself to find peace.

Trailer
-A girl is walking through a dark house
- There are quick flashbacks so a happy memory of her playing with her family in the pace of a heartbeat
-You can hear banging and screaming on all of the doors in the corridor
-The flash backs get more violent and more dialog is exposed revealing her background of abuse and become a montage
-There will be a low shot of just her dirty feet and the floor down the corridor
- Display the title of the film
- Jump scare with a creepy face and a scream.

2nd Idea: Horror

A man is being hunted by a serial killer, the film is about the police catching the serial killer and about the man overcoming the difficult situations he is put in. Eventually the serial killer kills the man's wife and is then stopped by the man.

Trailer
- The man is walking through streets and the killer is always in the corner of the shot
- Deep breaths increase tension.
- When he gets home there are loads of little changes to his house he does not notice to shock the audience
-Pace increases between cuts and you see a woman die
-Title displayed
- jump scare

Audience Research Prezi EA/JB

Theory of Trailers EA

Trailers:

Trailers are a key part of marketing which is guaranteed to get views, the success of the film distribution depends on this. The reason that trailers are so useful is because they are so easy for the audience to take in. Moreover they can make trailers which are designed specifically to create emotion in the audience and help them make them more interested in the film. Trailers are a relatively modern way of introducing a film to the viewers as opposed to posters and magazine covers which make it slightly harder to convey the description to the target audience. The genre of the trailer is crucial because this is all about what the audience wants to see. The audience can work out what genre the film is from the trailer by us using image conventions and recognisable genres.

Trailers conventions: 

• Music 

 - sound is critical in trailers because it is has control over such a large portion of the way the audience reacts. For instance a trailer can be drastically altered by changing the sound track and the emotions that the music provokes could differ resulting in a completely different atmosphere that the audience will think the film has. 

• Dramatic camera angles

- dramatic camera angles can create an aura of suspense in the audience and play with their emotions as well as sound. An example would be of how close shots which do not show much surrounding could be related to a horror film because the audience can not see the surroundings and it might stress them, where as a wide shot with a large view could illustrate something completely different perhaps even a euphoric feeling which might be found in another genre of film. 

• One line dialog

- One line dialog is extremely useful because it defines the pace of the trailer, if the trailer is a horror/thriller and there is need for suspense and a montage then one line dialog is perfect. It helps describe the situations in the film through quick cuts which hardly disturb the sequences used in the trailer. 

• Famous actors showcased

- If a famous actor or director is in the film or directed it would be a wise idea to put the name of the actor in the trailer so that the audience will be interested in the film. This could be viewed as a Unique Selling Point.

• voiceovers for story background

- Voiceovers can also be made of a famous actor so this is technically another example of how to create awareness of your film through famous actors. The voiceover is also useful for defining the story line and setting a correct tone for the film

• montage

- A montage is brilliant for maintaining pace in a trailer and creating excitement which will make the audience want to watch the film. 

• film title at the end 

- The film title is usually put at the end of the trailer because it means that then the audience will know what film it is and it adds impact.

Structural Conventions: 

Opening: 

The opening scene of a trailer should establish the setting and introduce characters.

Build-Up:

The build up will establish relationships; development of characters and their world

Problem:

Trailers are in need of an enigma/dilemma. The character(s) should be faced with an issue or a series of complications which they need to overcome.

Events:

a series of events as characters try to overcome obstacles and solve problems. further complications may arise in the process.

Distributing a trailer

A trailer is usually produced at the same time that the film is being edited or cut. The timing of the release of the trailer is extremely important as if it is too early then the trailer could be forgotten by the time the film comes out and if it comes out too late the film might not gather enough awareness or excitement and this could wreck the film's chances. Often to avoid releasing the trailer too early they will release a teaser which is shorter than a trailer just to give people an idea and give them an idea of what the film is about. Films now have websites which accompany their release which can prove to be very useful because so many people find out about films online. There are many problems with distribution now being online such as piracy and age restriction. It is quite hard to verify the age of someone watching the trailer because they may just say that they are 18 and they can not check. 

           The term global releasing is when a film is released over multiple countries, this means that it will most likely have more than one release date. This means that the trailer must be tailored to each country and its specific target audience's requirements. Trailers can be changed by being dubbed over or having subtitles for a foreign audience, there can even be complete other cuts aimed at a different audience. Piracy is one of the main issues with the film industry in this time period. For instance if a film is released in another country before ours such as America and we are in the England we could find a pirated copy online of the film before it is released on England. Film companies are trying to release films on the same day globally because it reduces piracy. 

Horror Trailer Research EA

            Horror Trailer Research

Links To Trailers:

The Conjuring Trailer

Case 39

Insidious

The Skeleton Key

The Others

            For my media trailer I have studied five different horror film trailers. We chose the horror category because it is a very unique and technically dynamic genre. The trailers I will use to influence my project are; “The Conjuring”, “ Skeleton Key”, “The others”, “Insidious” and “Case 39”. Most Horror trailers tend to use similar techniques such as the creation of a sense of mystery. Another technique is the use of lighting to create tension and points of focus. Music is a key aspect in creating a suspense atmosphere.

            Primarily I will discuss how these trailers use the tempo of the music and cuts to their advantage. The tempo of a trailer can be manipulated by the speed of which each cut is made, if straights cut is made in quick succession then the tempo increases. If you change the music or make it crescendo then it will keep people interested and exited, this technique is also used in thrillers however it works well in both because it can be used to draw attention in from the audience and create suspense and tension. Post the climax of the trailer there tends to be a longer calmer part where they will perhaps try to re-scare you by lulling you into a false sense of security and catching you off guard. Many horror trailers are fond of doing this because it seems to work effectively and it leaves the viewers with a powerful memory of that film in particular. In the trailer for the Conjuring the ramp up to the climax begins at about 2 minutes and lasts about 6 seconds, this proves that it is a short burst of scenes all put into a fast paced montage aimed at creating tension and making the audience feel very involved.  In the trailer for Case 39 the montage or climax lasts for around 28 seconds however it is not as condensed because they wanted to make it fit with the music. The Skeleton Key’s climax lasts for 20 seconds and is paced at the speed of someone’s breath.

            Another technique used to create the atmosphere for a horror trailer is use of unknown sounds in juxtaposition to familiar sounds to make the audience feel uneasy. An example of this would be the heart beating sound in Case 39, hearing a heartbeat can be quite scary because its such a familiar thing but its so crucial to human life. Another example would be the breathing in The Skeleton key in comparison to the strange selection of overlapping voices at 1:45 that is really un-nerving. Just like the heart it is something which is considered quite normal however hearing it makes us feel tense, increasing the speed of the breathing is what also gave the climax its power, when someone breather fast it can indicate things such as stress and being under pressure which is exactly what the horror trailer is trying to express to the viewers so it works perfectly. In the trailer for "The Others" near the end at about 2:10 there is a girl singing a small tune, this is an example of how something quite known has been turned to make it eerie and creepy, the context is probably the reason it is so scary and they synergise well as little girls are associated with innocence and normally it is their guardian singing it to them however when it is the child on their own with strange surround sounds it makes it a completely different experience which can be quite chilling.

 

               

Controlling what the audience can see is a crucial way in which the viewers can be manipulated. This can be achieved in many ways, obviously having a camera shot which limits visibility by angling it in such a way where the audience is straining to see because they know there is something that they want to see due to the tense atmosphere which puts us on edge. An example of this is in The conjuring when the is looking behind her for a little boy to appear in the mirror, this draws the audience in with suspense and gets them focusing, there is an anticlimax to trick the audience and then just after there is a jump scare which catches them off guard. Insidious uses this technique to disallow the audience to see what is behind a door when you can clearly see part of the rocking horse rocking from behind the door. Again this creates a sense of insecurity through unknowing. Another way in which they can alther what the audience sees is by using a hand held camera. Hand held cameras are common in horror films because they make the intense moments seem more personal and tend to include you more, this is a way in which they really draw the audience in. The Conjuring starts it's trailer off with a hand held camera to submerge you in the intense beginning. Moreover it uses lighting to adjust what you see and your focal points, this technique is used in most genres but it is still important to the horror genre because it tends to accentuate the differences between good and bad which is usually a rather significant part of horrors.

Horrors use many techniques to convey different emotions that they want the audience to feel, these techniques i have discussed would be the ones I am most interested in using in my team project. I think it is worth noting that these techniques all help express senses of fear, tension and insecurity which are all key elements of the Horror genre. Without these elements it would simply not be as scary. From this I have learned new ways in which I can create my trailer to scare my audience and inspire them to watch the film.