Assignment 3: Conventions in Supernatural Thriller Trailers

Gelsomina De LuciaPatrycia Butrym

Leticia SilvaTayla Humphris

Cam Movements

Zooming – In supernatural thrillers, they are used to built up to a climatic point which is followed by a jump scare or to zoom into something they think the characters saw.

In the trailer ‘The Houses October Built’, they use a zoom technique at 1:14-1:17 because they saw something which has followed them from ‘The Haunt’.

It is then used again but to built up to a climatic point at 2:06-2:11. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yedl4lY9VgM&safe=active

Pan – In supernatural thriller, a pan is used to follow a characters movement which links in to how the

supernatural follow the characters.

This is visible in the trailer for ‘The Conjuring’ at 1:27- 1:30 and then it is used multiple times after that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vjk2So3KvSQ&safe=active

Tilt – In supernatural thrillers, tilts are used to restrict the audience from finding out what is happening which is then stereotypically followed by a jump scare.

This is shown at the end of ‘Paranormal Activity’.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdPd4iGzGEs&safe=active

Composition and Framing

• When the camera in supernatural thriller is placed on a tripod, usually the framing is in a rule of thirds.

• The composition is symmetrical at this point.

• This is usually when the plot is still at its calm state.

• However, when some supernatural thrillers remove the camera off the tripod, it loses its framing and composition comes into place.

• There is where asymmetrical composition comes into place.

• This is symbolic for chaos which links to the plot of the film.

• This is evident in the trailer ‘Grave Encounters’

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8FBRATbJoA&safe=active

Character Types

Venerable victim(s) – Stereotypically, there are two or more venerable victims of the supernatural. They tend not to go looking for the ghosts.

An example of this is ‘The Blair Witch Project’

The curious one - In some supernatural thrillers, we are presented with a curious character who provokes the ghosts hence why they become attacked.

This characterisation is in ‘Deliver Us From Evil’. The character mentions his belief at 00:21-00:28.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWDM_p68HAQ&safe=active

The non believer – In supernatural thrillers where a group is involved there is usually a person who tries to debunk the supernatural events.

‘The Possession of Michael King’ is an example of this. He seeks proof of the paranormal, becomes challenged by his sceptical views and then becomes possessed trying to prove people that the supernatural is not real.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIZbq7V2xvs&safe=active

Plot/Theme

• One common themes that supernatural thrillers tend to use, is a home where the previous residents had died there and a new family moves into that home. This then sets of the paranormal events.

This happens in Amityville: The Awakening the previous resident murdered his own family because ‘voices’ told him to do it and now he’s hauting the new family that just moved in.

In Women in Black , the house is haunted by the ghost of a woman dressed in black.

In Paranormal Activity The demon is trying to make the new residents leave and he does that by terrifying them in different ways.

In Sinister, When the father finds a box of home movies in the attic he is then being terrorised by the demonic figure.

Sound & Music

• Deep music is added when the character see’s something thats concerning her which is the cross and that signifies a warning. The shot and facial expression also validates this because her face shot is right after the cross.

The Women in Black:Angel of Death

Sinister

•Tension+Incidental Music - Scenes skip in a fast pace from the character, camera in different shots.• Also the characters facial expression and dark settings increase the tension. •The characters body language (jumping from seat) creates a bigger and more effective jump scare just when the incidental music hits at the exact same time as the middle screen shot.

Tension (Range of scenes) Incidental Music! End of Jump Scare

Narrative Structure Opening -

• In supernatural thrillers, the beginning of the film usually tells you the characters where the writer introduces them through conversations with other characters or reaction to a unsual event.

• With this, they also introduce the setting in a wide shot and slow pace with soft and low score music.

Build up –

• After the opening, the pace builds up and shows a lot more scenes and these scenes are where the characters are in pressure but the writers keep demonic figures as restricted as possible to create enigma’s.

Title –

• Title Appers after the build up and the whole scenes. It is frequently shown in a slow pace.

Jump Scare -

• Jump scares are right at the end of trailers. This attracts more audience as it will give them a taste of the film and experience how scary and thrilling it is.

Opening Build up Title Jump Scare(Case 39) ( The Eye ) ( Case 39)

Editing Techniques

• Time lapse is used to speed up time which can reach a climatic point. For example this is used in Paranormal Activity when there was something to be revealed, which the audiences knows and anticipates.

• Ellipses shows time progressing, using this allows audiences to establish important information and it quickens the length of the trailer.

• Montage is a general technique used in all trailers that entices audiences to go watch the rest of the film.

• The pace in Supernatural Thrillers are generic and starts off at a normal pace which shows the Equilibrium and gradually creeps into the Disequilibrium which speeds up the pace and this is the place where montage editing mostly takes place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gBeG31fX40Pace: The Possession

Lighting

There is a lot of low key lighting used to create the mystery of the unknown. This also restricts audiences from information being revealed.

Supernatural thrillers also have a tendency to use natural lighting so that it looks realistic and corresponds with the theme of natural forces.

Lighting is crucial in Supernatural Thrillers because it can reveal clues for example shadows who, to audiences don’t know if this is a supernatural force and if they are good or evil.

The Sixth Sense Paranormal Activity ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_UxLEqd074 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD5DIm3gUQU

Locations

The Location is crucial in delivering the theme of Supernatural as it is the place where strange things happen.

Abandoned house which isolates characters from reality, however this can be challenged in films such as Ouija and Paranormal Activity.

Desolated forest can sometimes confuse audiences as to whether it is natures forces that cause things to move and by doing this it leaves enigmas.

Amityville HorrorThe Blair Witch Project