Conventions of Horror Film trailers

By Mohamed Bushra

Purpose of film trailers

• A film trailer is made to publicize the film before it is published in cinemas, it is a type of promoting which elevates the film to the audience, ought to the trailer be effective, the targeted audience will come to watch the film when it has been released.

• The trailer does not reveal the whole story of the film, but only shows several plots. The effect this has on the audience is that they are curious and encouraged wanting to find more about what happens in the actual film.

• When looking at different genres, the effect that the director wants to create through the use of a trailer will vary.

• For example in a comedy film, the director wants to create a light-hearted atmosphere, therefore he/she includes funny plots from the film to make the viewer laugh.

• On the other hand, a horror trailer will create a mysterious atmosphere trying to scare the viewer.

Film Titles• Every film trailer starts with a

disclaimer which shows which audience is suitable for the film, films have to show this so that anyone who is not suitable to watch the film can stop watching.

• Additionally, the titles of the producers and distributors of the film are also shown in the opening trailer. A great example of these in the trailer of Annabelle These are included so that the studio needs to get credit for the work they have done.

Annabelle title analysis• The film title appears at the end of the

trailer.

• Font style: The font of the title is Serif Font, this font creates a serious mood connoting that the movie will not be light-hearted.

• Motion: The text appears from the wall with the text camouflaging the pattern of the wallpaper, which is an ominous feeling created. This again connotes to the audience that this film is about ‘spooky’ activities in the house. The name is coming out of the wall, because at the beginning of the trailer the woman died near a wall and the letter ‘A’ was on it.

Added to the motion of the title, there is the source of light that moves from top left of the screen to the right. This motion creates a shadow under the title of the film, this shadow creates shapes of coffins when looked at closely which is a sign of death. Connoting to the audience that this film is unpleasant.

• During the trailer there are also other titles being shown such as the producers’ name and other films that he directed e.g. The Conjuring.

• These inform the audience about the genre, but also what they can aspect to see in the film.

• By showing the name of the previous of film it shows that this is prequel of ‘The Conjuring’. This is a great way of attracting audience that have enjoyed the movie and now can see this one.

Throughout the trailer, the audience is being invited to find out more about Annabelle “THIS OCTOBER FIND OUT WHAT SHE WANTS”, this has been done also trough the use of titles by sticking to the same font style and background.

Applying theories to ‘Annabelle’• I will apply Vladimir Propp theory of characters function in a narrative to this

trailer as it fits very well.

• In this movie there several characters:

• Annabelle (Villain)

• Mia Gordon (The princess/victim)

• John Gordon ( Sort of hero)

• Father Perez (Donor & Helper).

• Annabelle is clearly the villain in this film, this is because she is behind the chaos surrounding the family if Mia. She is doing this because she has the blood of the satanic couple that was murdered in the beginning of the trailer.

• Mia is the victim in the trailer but in Propp’s theory she is sort of the princess, she is established to be this character as throughout the trailer she is the one that gets attacked by Annabelle.

• John is the hero, but he only suits this role for the first 30 seconds as we see him fighting in these seconds and he tells Mia ‘go inside’ to protect her. He then shares the role of being a victim, but Mia is the main focus of Annabelle. He is not the main victim as in trailer regarding families the dad is not teased and this is properly because of our stereotype that men are stronger than females physically and in horrors it is also mentally.

• Father Perez is the donor & helper, the audience know this because of their previous experience in ‘The Conjuring’ which also contained a priest. We also know that he is a donor & helper because he offers advise to the family on how to deal with Annabelle.

Mise-en-scene: Location• By the look of the trailer the

story is based in a family home, especially the bedroom. The director chose this location because this is where most of us feel safe and is our private area that not many people visit and by disrupting this he creates a suspense in our subconscious.

• The house is portrayed as a dark, uncomfortable and cold place. This is because of the chiaroscuro lighting used, plus the shadows. This makes the audience feel unwelcome and sets the horror genre directly.

Camerawork & Editing

• In the film trailer of ‘Annabelle’ the director used a variety of camera shots. The trailer begins in a slow pace, as everything is being introduced to us. There are a lot ellipsis cuts in the trailer, however the pace builds up ones the scary couple appear which creates tension and drama.

• This feeling gets stronger due to the combination of non-diegetic sound which has a increasing beat but also flashing jump cuts to disorientate the viewer.

Sound• The trailer starts with non-diegetic sound which is a

short bass, followed by the conversation of Mia & John. The bass catches the viewer by surprise and creates tension as Mia heard a scream next door.

• The bass appears again but with increasing tempo and volume after John comes out of other house covered in blood. This builds the tension in the room as we know that something big will happen. This is when we see a women holding a doll, at this point the sound is cut off and the screen is black.

• We only hear “I like your dolls” from the women, which directs us to the conclusion that this movie will be about the doll she was holding.

Establishing The Genre

• I concluded that ‘Annabelle’ is a horror film, because of the events that were shown in the trailer. For example she turns the music player on, which is a supernatural event.

• Additionally, there are a lot of semiotic meanings in the trailer. Such as the use of chiaroscuro lighting, jumpy music, goriness, make up etc.

Scream title analysis• The title of the film diminishes (big to

small) as the film continues. The text is in bold put on a black background, this makes it stand out but also shows the purity of the colour white being trapped by the black background connoting bad.

• The letter ‘a’ in the word scream turns red and in a knife symbol. Meaning that the word ‘Scream’ has great significance and the film will contain a lot of screaming. Additionally, the colours are also important here. The letter ‘a’ is in red and it creates a negative atmosphere as red connotes danger. The rest of the word was white and we usually link white with ghosts.

• The titles in the trailer are on a black background covered in smoke, this creates a ghost theme.

• And the words ‘A GHOST FROM THE PAST’ connotes that a person from the past is coming back. This can mean a victim that survived in other films or the villain himself.

• The text is in capitals and looks like the font is ‘Ariel’ or ‘Calibri’. There text is not funky but rather serious suggesting the genre, as horror uses our fears against us.

• The text ‘ONE CALL STARTED IT ALL’ revers back to the previous ‘Scream’ films and how the villain started killing his victims.

Characters

• The victims in the trailer are mostly females with the addition of some male characters, who are linked to the victims. However, in this film a victim that survived (Sydney) in the previous films is back.

• This is unusual for horror films as the villain makes sure that no victims survive, but it appears that he’s back to finish what he started.

• Sydney is the final girl in the previous film, everyone was killed around her but she survived.

• The final girl is re-establishes a new equilibrium by confronting her own fears.

Setting/Location

• Horror movies are usually set in the woods or an isolated area where it would be hard for the characters to escape, easier for the villain to dispose their bodies and cover his tracks. On the other hand, Scream goes against this as it uses a public setting.

• This is because we all feel safe when attending school, thinking that nothing can happen to us.

• The trailer also reveals other locations, such as the houses of the victims which are in isolated areas. There he successfully gets into their mind and starts playing mind games with them.

• The effect of using public places on the audience, is that it will build fear into them by thinking that events such as in the trailer can occur there.

• The threat and fear that is created in this film is concerned with the invasion of our familial and domestic locations. The killer invades the home and attacks his victims there.

Editing & Camerawork

• We see a lot of medium close ups in the trailer, the audience sympathise and connect with the characters. This is due to the emotions shown.

• There are also wide shots used to denote that several characters will be at risk, but also to keep everyone in the shot so the audience can question who the victim is or the villain.

• This actively engages the audience as they start guessing who the killer is based on what they have seen.

• The use of high angle during scenes where the victims get attacked, is to show vulnerability and weakness as the audience are looking down on the victim.

• We also look up to the villain as he stabs the character, we see this from her position. This makes the villain look powerful and dominant.

• The trailer also uses eye line match to ask the audience ‘WHATS YOUR FAVORITE SCARY MOVIE’, this gets the audience to think that their favourite film might turn into reality.

• The trailer also contains handheld camera and

Sound

• The trailer contains slow drum beats which build up as the trailer continues. The pace of the drums picks up as with the jump cuts, it gets faster because it enforces a shock as a reaction from the audience.

• Your heart beats faster as the notes of the non-diegetic sound get closer, which builds up to events such as stabbing of characters. Additionally, the trailer contains a lot of ‘screams’ from female characters.

• The sound of screaming is a reaction of the victims to release their fear at that time, but also to alarm the audience that terrible things are happening.

• Other sound found in the trailer, is the phone ringing. Which is part of semiotic used by the director to connote that it is a way the killer chooses and communicates with his victim.

Costume

• The costume of the characters in the trailer is that they’re wearing casual clothing. In contrast, the killer wears a black clothe which implies that he’s the villain as we associate the colour black with mystery and the unknown.

• Additionally he wears a white mask with the black clothe, this is to hide his/her identity but also to create fear into the victims. The colour contrast between the mask and the black clothe can represent a good deed that the villain thinks he’s doing.

• White shows purity, however the proportion of black is greater than white there it connotes that is maybe too late to help the villain has he/she is deeply lost.

Iconography

• Iconography can be seen as a ‘genre indicator’, as we expect to see certain objects on screen for a particular genre.

• Scream and other classic horror films use knives and masks. These are used throughout the film to signify the villain.

• A knife is an intimate violent weapon, the only way for the killer to attack is from close range and hit many times. This increases the pain and fear of the victim as the killer is so close.

• The mask is used a way to disguise the identity of the killer, that’s why horror film use them. This also disorientates the viewer.

Audience Pleasure

• Rick Altman (1999) argues that genre offers audiences’ a set of pleasures. These pleasures are emotional, visceral and intellectual puzzles pleasures.

• For an horror film to be effective, the positioning of the audience needs to be perfect. This can be within a scene where we are in the shoes of the victim waiting for the killer to attack us.

• The use of POV forces us to enter this state and experience the fear of the victim, the dangerous situations we experience make the pleasure of the film final and our safety even more substantial.

• The pleasures that horror films provide the audience is emotional and visceral pleasure as Slasher films such as ‘Scream’ generate a strong response from the audience. Additionally, the goriness elicits a physical effect upon the audience.

Establishing the Genre

• We know that this is a horror film because of the violence, blood and the type of editing used which gives the audience a scare.

• The costume, props and location also give a away the genre of this trailer. For example the mask, knife and black clothe of the villain tells the audience that there will be violent scenes and goriness.

• Having seen the previous ‘Scream’ movies I know that this is a Slasher film.

• However if I didn’t see the previous films, than the clue will be in the title as the number ‘4’ is in red and looks like a sharp knife as previously stated.

The Women in Black Title Analysis

• The trailer reveals that Cross Creek Pictures, Momentum Pictures and HAMMER produced this film. Cross Creek has produced ‘Black Swan’, ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’

• The title colour is white put on a black background, the colours are serious as black connotes death and the white purity.

• The text is simple and appears out of the black background, like it is trying to escape the darkness. Suggesting something being trapped in the dark.

• The words ‘FEAR’, ‘HER’ and ‘CURSE’ are shown in in order. The director is talking directly to the audience, warning them of what is to come.

• The texture of the text is bold and slightly eroded again serious connoting pain and death. Therefore the audience decode fear from these 3 words.

• The film title appears from the background but this time there is more smoke, it appears from behind the smoke. Connoting that something will show itself in the film.

Characters

• The protagonist in the film is Arthur Kipps who is a young lawyer. We know that he’s the main character because of the colour scheme of this costume.

• He wears a strong black suits, compared to other characters it is very dark as theirs is more greyish.

• We also see a lot children in the trailer, which would suggest that they have a significant role to play.

• Additionally we see a women in one of the scenes screaming, but we don’t know who she is and why she is screaming.

Mise-en-scene: Costume & Props

• Using dolls and toys is a feeling of purity, innocence and are associated with our childhood. However, this is not their role in a horror film as it creates a sinister atmosphere.

• The dolls and toys also portray a disturbing scene as it shows an effect if tension and fear. As the doll is just looking straight on the audience.

Setting/Location

• Most of the settings shown appear dark and isolated, which creates a sense of fright as the character is abandoned from the rest.

• We also see children shown from behind bars (fence), we associate bars as being trapped/imprisoned. Therefore the children are trapped because of the ‘women in black’

• The location of the house is in the middle of woods which is a convention of horror films, the house is surrounded from all sides therefore also emphasising that the character is surrounded.

• The colour & lighting in the beginning are bright but as the trailer continues gets darker. The colour black is mostly used and portrays a sense of death and danger.

• The trailer shows the room of a child, followed by all the toys and dolls. We directly associate the film to be about children.

• Modern horror films are using our loved ones against us. We see children as innocence and pure, however this trailer uses them to frighten us.

• We also see an establishing shot of the village, so we know that it is not a modern film.

• From this I can say that the film is based in Victorian times, due to the costume and the buildings used.

Editing & Camerawork

• As every horror trailer at the beginning the pace is slow, however as we reach the end of the trailer you see quick, fast and jump cuts which all help to build tension. The pace of these cuts makes the audience wonder of the scenes they just saw and creates a sense of fear into them.

• An example from the trailer is the black fades between each scene and the showing of ‘the women in black’.

• Additionally , the use of parallel editing creates this fear. We see toys moving in one room, children’s tea party in the other and then the protagonist (Women in black).

• The use of these events and techniques foreshadows to the audience that something bad might happen.

• The trailer contains several close ups of toys in the house, they’re positioned in the middle of the screen therefore fitting the rule of thirds of composition.

• The camera zooms in the toys and shows their eyes clearly, this creates an emotional relationship with the audience but at the same time it makes you uncomfortable to be that close.

• The close up used creates a sense of suspense and unease as you focus is only on the dolls/toys.

• Additionally there also long shots used, mainly to set the setting. For example you see location where there is only fog and mud, the colour scheme us greyish.

• Additionally, we see a cross in the scene which the camera and the character focuses on. This connotes that the atmosphere is gloomy, dull and the theme of death.

• We also find high angle shots, these are mainly used on the main character. They show the character to be small compared to the surroundings but also how he is isolated in a large house.

• In one of the scenes a high angle shot is combined with a POV shot, as it appears that the audience is standing on the stairs and are looking down on the character.

• The effect of this is that we see the character as powerless, vulnerable and most importantly a victim.

Sound

• The trailer uses non-diegetic and incidental music which is a children’s music box. The use of children’s toys connotes innocence and purity, however the pace of the music is slow and calm and as I said before it make the audience uneasy.

• We hear the music in every scene that involves toys and dolls, this reminds the audience that children will play a big part in this movie.

• Diegetic sound has also been used successfully, for example with the weather (lightning, rain etc.) this creates a dark and gloomy atmosphere and the audience will think that something will happen as we associate these sounds with something negative.

• These two have been combined and when played it takes away the child-like innocence and purity which puts the audience in an uncomfortable situation.

• At the end of the trailer we see fast paced scenes, however the use of sound was minimal. We expect to hear diegetic sound of what is happening in the scene e.g. fire, screams etc.

• However, the only thing that continues playing is the music box but it is asynchronous as it doesn’t fit what is happening on the screen. The effect on the audience is that they’re disorientated as what they’re hearing doesn’t link to what they’re seeing.

• The power of silence has been used in this trailer, the silence builds tension.

Semiotics

• In the trailer we see a picture of a family in which the eyes are removed by someone.

• The eyes are seen as someone’s identity, the windows into one’s soul and a prominent part of the imagery. (“The Black Cat” & “The Tell-Tale Heart”).

• Therefore, this family’s soul has been removed and makes us question by who.

• The use of a deserted mansion, it adds to the themes of fear and tension as it is the centre of the trailer.

• For iconography, the use of the dolls and toys connotes the genre of the film. This is because the audience look for clues to identify the genre and their foreknowledge they bring to the trailer allows them to identify the genre easily.

Establishing the Genre

• The audience established that this is a horror film, from the film titles e.g. ‘The Most chilling Ghost Story of Our Time’ which suggest supernatural events happening.

• The use of dolls and toys as part of semiotics connotes the genre.

Conclusion of conventionsSound

• Lots of non-diegetic sound

• Voice over

• Mood

Setting/Location

• Isolated places

• Abandoned house

• Isolated town

• Countryside

• Woods

Props

• Knife

• Axe

• Supernatural power

• Never a gun, weapon needs to kill you slowly and painfully

Characters• Parents

• Teenagers

• Children

• Villain/Killer

Villain/Killer• Psycho

• Masked killer

• Usually male

• Ghost/Demon

• Doll

• Outcast

Colour scheme

• Dark

• Gloomy

• Blackish/Greenish

Editing

• Short clips

• Jump cuts

• Fade to black

Camerawork

• Close ups

• Establishing shots

• Tracking

• High angles

• Wide shots

Titles (Order)• Disclaimer

• Distribution companies

• Film title

• Release date

Camerawork• Close ups

• Establishing shots

• Tracking

• High angles

• Wide shots

• POV

• Handheld

Iconography

• Dark Colours

• Lighting non-naturalistic

• Props (weapons and masks)

Narrative Structure

• Hero/protagonist

• Final girl

• Reasons behind the objectives of the killer

Themes

• Good vs Evil

• Supernatural

• Nightmares

• Lust

• Beyond death

• Religion

• Zombies

• Revenge

Fears reinforced by horror films:• Vulnerability – something that the audience has experienced and has

effected their life

• Fear of the unknown – Humans are known to be scared of the unknown

• Death – this also an unknown, you can’t escape it or predict how you die

• Nightmares – Everyone has experienced

What the film does to the audience:• Scares and makes them panic, causing your brain to release adrenaline

and increase your heart rate.

• Invokes new fears or fears that we tried to hide for a long time. The new fears will last long after the film has finished.

• Not all horror films end in a way that we expected, leaving the audience in a shock.

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