Soundtrack

Although we all have individual roles this is ultimately a group project so some of our decisions did have to be made together, one of these was the choice of which song to use to accompany the trailer.

From our questionnaire we could see that people thought music was a very important part of a film trailer so it was crutial that we got it right. We decided to use Hysteria by Muse because it is dark and eary but also builds up tension throughout which will compliment the action in our trailer.

Trailer Plot

Teenage girls Jade and Chloe were best friends since they were 5 years old, they were inceperable. That all changed after constant threats and school bullying drove Jade to commit suicide. As the story unravels it seems that there may be more to their friendship than people thought as Chloe develops an unhealthy obsession for Jade and getting justice for her. The school is thrown into termoil as the boys who once bullied Jade gradually disappear. Could Chloe be behind it or does something more sinister lie beneath?

Analysing Trailers

I am going to analyse existing horror trailers on the market so I can see what sort of competition our trailer would have and also get some ideas.
There are four main textual codes to look at when analysing a trailer:

• Mis en scene
  




• Editing
  




• Sound





• Camera angles/shots
  
  
  
  

The first trailer I have analysed is 30 days of night:

• Mis en scene is argulably the most important code as it sets the scene and reflects what the mood of the film is like. In the opening sequence of 30 Days of Night we see immediate isolation within a house, the frightened look on the man and womens face shows that something ominous is going to happen. The bad weather and darkness are a common convention used in horror films because they are symbol of danger. Shots later on in the trailer further show the isolation when all we can see in the darkness is a few people in the snow amogst what look to be run down houses. The sequence in the prison when we see the character talking therough the bars shows that they are trapped in the situtation. Costume is a vital part of mis-en-scene because it is dark all of the clothes are grey and dull which again highlights the bleakness of the trailer.
  
  


• Editing is also crutial within a trailer with this one the shots start off relativly long and get shorter and the cuts more frequent to build tension as it progresses. The use of text cards to explain what is happening is an effective piece of editing and because it is on a plain black screen with eary red writing it fits in perfectly. Fade to black is used alot throughout the trailer to add to the tension.




• Alot on non diegetic sound is used to create an atmosphere all the through the trailer. As the atmosphere builds the sound gets louder and eventually merges into dark sounding music to fit the pace of the action. At the beggining there is the diegetic sound of the window breaking and the woman screaming this is very loud and makes the audience jump. As well as this dialogue is used to tell us a little bit about what is happening.
  



• The opening shot of the trailer is a mid shot of the woman looking worried in the kitchen which them zooms almost to a close up before panning across the room the show the mans reaction in the same way. The birds eye shot of the town shows the isolation and idicates that all is not right. There are a series of quick shots to follow the one which i feel is particularly significant is the one of the 'villan' it is a close up of his face, I found it quite unusual that they would show this in the trailer as normally there is a sense of mystery surrounding the villain or monster however is doesnt give too much away so it is still very effective. Also because we are looking directly at him its as if the viewer is one of his targets which makes him all the more scary. In the shot just before everything goes black we can see something lurking behind the window implying that they are being watched. Shots of fire and weaponary show disater without giving too much away.
  
  
  
  

A Nightmare on Elm Street is the second trailer I have analysed:

• Mise en Scene. From the very beggining of the trailer we establish that it is going to be scary thanks to the mise en scene. The area for the opening shot is run down with with an abandoned house, the fact that its in black and white adds to the effect. A chase scene follows picking up the pace immediatly and making the audience wonder whats going on. The setting then changes and it appears to go back in time showing children playing. This is like the equlibrium in the trailer but the sound that goes with it means its still very eary. All of the candles spread over the floor have connotations of being spiritual. The shots towards the end of the trailer are relativley short but are packed with excitement. The metal claw hand features frequently throughout the trailer suggesting that its the hand of the villan but doesnt give too much away.
  
  


• Editing. The editing in this trailer is fairly straight forward with every transition either being a straight cut or a feade to black. This works well because it keeps the sequence smooth and means people can concentrate on whats happening with getting confused by fancy shot transitions. As the tension builds throughout the trailer and the pace picks up the editing becomes more frequent and the shots shorter.
  
  


• Sound. In my opinion the sound is the most effective textual code within this particular trailer. The trailer opens with heavy breathing and fast paced music throwing the audience straight into the action. There is dailogue throughout which tells a little bit about the story. However without a doubt the most important piece of sound is the angelic voice of the child doing the 'one, two freddies coming for you...' it is absolutly spine chilling and compliments whats going on within the trailer perfectly. The voice of the villain is heard towards the end, its low and husky as you would expect and evil characters to be.
  
  


• A wide range of camera angles and shots are used within the trailer. It opens with a long establishing shot to set the scene. The length of the shots fits with the speed of the music which ties the whole thing together. The claw like hand becomes a significant part of the trailer because it clearly belongs to the villain but because of the angle of the camera nothing is given away that could spoil the film.

Questionnaire results

These were the results we got from handing out our questionnaires:



How often do you visit the cinema?





What makes you want to watch a film?




How often do you watch horror films?


What would you consider to be a suitable location for a horror film?



What do you associate with a horror film?

What would you consider to be a suitable name for a horror film?

What creates tension when watching a film?


Should a horror trailer be in chronological order?


Who would you prefer to see as the vulnerable character?







Where do you watch film trailers?

Questionnaire

Young people aged 15-25 are the most frequent cinema viewing audience and therefore are the age group that our film will be targeted at. In order to ensure that the film will appeal to our audience we have put together a questionnaire to ask them what they like to see, it will then be handed out to 50 people so that we can collect our results.

1. How often do you visit the cinema?

Very often

Often

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

2. What makes you want to watch a film?

Actors

Storyline

Soundtrack

Trailer

Other

3. How often do you watch horror films?

Daily

Weekly

Monthly

Yearly

Never

4. What would you consider to be a suitable location for a horror film?

Haunted house

Forest

School

Church

Graveyard

Desert island

5. What do you associate with a horror film?

Blood

Chase sequence

Tortue

Supernatural activity

Death

6. What would you consider to be a suitable name for a horror film?

Torment

Infliction

Twisted

Torture

Bullied

7. What creates tension when watching a film?

Backing track

Loud sound effects

Costume

Quick close shots

Silence

8. Should a horror trailer be in chronological order?

Yes

No

Partly

9. Who would you prefer to see as the vulnerable character?

Male

Female

Both

10. Where do you watch film trailers?

At the cinema

On the television

On the internet

On your phone

What is a horror trailer?

In order to make our trailer as realistic as possible I will analyse existing horror trailers. The definition of a horror film is:
A film that inflicts fear and terror into its audience and typically involves themes of death, supernatural activity, or mental illness. Most also involve a central villain.

Our trailer will be a teaser trailer to be shown in cinemas before other films start and also online to tap into the viral market which is now a vital part of advertising and film promotion. I will be no longer than 2 and a half minutes with its purpose being to grab peoples attention and ultimatley convince them to see the film when it is released.