Horror
Trailer Research
Links To Trailers:
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.
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