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Trailer Analysis 1Friday the
13th
The trailer begins with a close up of a lake, that goes into an establishing shot of the lake. This gives the audience and insight as to where the film is going to be located. This is also indicated to them on the film poster as the tagline is “welcome to crystal lake” this therefore creates a symbiosis between the two. Throughout this establishing shot, there is a voice over of a lady saying “did you know a young boy drowned here, he was my son and today is his birthday.” This to the audience will seem a bit eerie, and they will therefore remember what the lady said as it sounds a bit suspicious. Additionally to this, it will entice them to continue to watch the trailer and understand the importance to the relation to her sons birthday.
This is followed by a small montage of the teenagers arriving at the lake acting like transgressors (rule breakers). The montage includes them dancing on tables, drinking alcohol and committing sexual acts with one another. A convention of slashers is that teenager transgressor get punished for their bad behaviour , in hindsight the audience will not be optimistic that the teenagers will have and enjoyable trip and return home, it is evident that something bad is going to happen to them. This idea is further presented by the montage is broken when a blonde girl, who is wakesurfing, when she falls off and sees Jason in the trees. Insinuating he is going to interrupt their fun.
A bird's eye view shot, insinuating that the killer is lurking and watching the teens every movement. The height also shows his superiority and dominance, he is looking down on them.
A medium close up, allows the audience to be personal with the character to an extent, showing facial expression and emotion. At this particular point, she is drunk, dancing and have a good time. Despite this, the audience know that this will not last.
A low angle shot, looking up at the teenagers. Suggesting that at this point of time they are in control, they have no parents around so they are entitled to do as they please. Another reason for Jason to kill them, as far as slashers go, antagonists do not like transgressors.
A medium close up allowing the audience to be personal with the character to an extent, showing facial expression and emotion. We can see that the boys are having fun, as you can tell the characters whose face is exposed to us has his mouth opening laughing at his mate who is clearly telling a joke.
A medium long shot, showing action. Here we can see she is wake surfing, topless. Providing the audience with a general idea that she is both reckless and careless, proving the audience with no hope for her.
A point of view shot, showing us the victim's point of view as she sees Jason emerge from the woodland. By being able to see what she can, the audience can empathise with her and feel her fear.
● The audience are presented with the first strap line of the trailer, informing them that the movie is from the producer ‘Michael Bay’. This strap line is useful information to the audience, they may recognise him from his previous successes as a producer. Additionally, he is successful within the horror genre therefore this will reassure the audience that this film is going to be as much of a high standard as his others and reinforces the idea it is a slasher film.
● The same girl is then missing. As her brother asks around, he come across an old lady that says “she ain’t missing, she’s dead”. This causes speculation for the audience, and makes them question what she is saying. Furthermore, if she is the lady in the voiceover to start with and is ‘Jason's’ mother. This would not be surprising as she shows no empathy when speaking to the young boy. It is as if she has done it many times before.
● This is followed by another strap line, letting the audience know that Friday the 13th is directed by those who directed The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a very popular, classic horror film. By doing this, it allows the audience to have an understanding of those behind the making of the film and gives them confidence that it is going to be a well produced movie.
A high angle shot is used to see a bunch of missing posters next to a back pack. The use of a high angle shot, reveals the truth behind the missing person's inquiry. It is evident that the victim herself was powerless, where are the antagonist was dominant, which is reflected through the shot type.
Both of these are medium close ups, allowing us to see clear expression on the characters face. The old women seems to show no interest or concern as to the missing girl, nor does she give him any sort of hope she automatically jumps to the conclusion that she is dead, which audiences may see as suspicious. This is reflected by her facial expression, she looks emotionless. This is juxtaposed with the young boy who is looking for his sister. When speaking to the women he fails to give eye contact as he is staring at the poster throughout, trying to hide his emotions. Where as the lady is giving clear and direct eye contact, creating more of a suspicious vibe.
From this point onwards, more action is revealed to the audience. Teasing them about what could potentially take place, but will not know exactly what happens until they go and watch the film. An example is, random power cuts and doors slamming. This scares the characters and also creates jump scares for the audience, further encouraging them to want to watch the film.
If the audience are fanatic about watching the film, they would have seen the film poster also. It would then be apparent to them that the tagline of the film is “Welcome to Crystal Lake”. A medium close up is used showing the audience a sign saying “Camp Crystal Lake”. Audiences would then be on the edge of their seats, knowing that this is potentially where Jason may be lurking around spying on his potential victims. Furthermore, it highlights that from this point, bad things are going to happen. This is further presented when one of the boys shines are torchlight onto a bed, engraved with the name Jason. Audiences will be fearful that they are in Jason’s den, left with no escape, resulting in death. However, they wouldn’t be sure of this outcome, leading for them wanting to know, further convincing them to want to watch the film in order to answer all their questions. This spotlight itself adds further emphasis and puts Jason in the spotlight and centre of attention, portraying to the audience this is the name of the antagonist who is after the group of teenagers. Giving them a name to his face.
From here to pace begins to increase. This will mimic the audience's heart beat as their adrenaline will be pumping, based on the action they are seeing on screen. As the pace increases it is also evident that so do the deaths, this will leave the audiences on the edge of their seats waiting to see each character's fate and to see if Jason will get caught.
Next, we see our next close up of Jason. However, the emphasis is not on him, but on the iconography instead as we are exposed to a variety of weapons. From the setting Jason is walking through, a range of other weapons such as an axe and a shovel are visible. This presents the idea he does not stick to one weapon and likes to torture his victims in many different ways. The shovel presenting the idea that one he is done, he buries them, leaving no evidence of their deaths. The shot itself is quick, indicating that so will his victims deaths. Additionally, the room is dark, it as if we are given an insight into Jason's demonic mind.
Following from this, a girl is shown opening a shower curtain, searching the property in reassurance that Jason is not there after her. Once the shower curtain is opened, the audience will receive a fright as Jason is behind her. This is conventional within horrors and also says a lot about the antagonist themselves. It highlights how smooth they are, portraying they have done it many times before and can sneak up and kill their victims without them realising he is there. This leads onto a white screen with the number one presented, insinuating that this is one death Jason has completed. This is continued all the way up to number 13 with snippets of victims, anchoring the name of the film; Friday the 13th.
Further horrific imagery is used within the montage between number one and number thirteen, portraying the torment the victims are going through. Additionally, this montage is a lot faster than the previous montage of the teenagers having fun. This insinuates that Jason goes through and kills the victims quickly, also indicating that the rest of the victims have a short time amount of time left.
The film ends on a close up of Jason's mask with the date the film is released over the top. As this is the last thing the audience will see, it will stick in their minds so they remember it. It can also further convince them to watch the film, knowing it will be released soon. It also further indicates code and conventions of the slasher sub genre as masks are essential and a key feature.
From this screen shot of the trailer, a high angle shot is used to reflect upon the protagonists weakness vs the antagonist, Jason’s, dominance and strength. We see the protagonist looking helpless, with nowhere to go but her tent, which is not much help at all when escaping a brutal killer, who throughout the film shows no indication of sympathy or remorse for his actions. Her weakness is further presented through Jason’s shadow on the tent, we can see his big build as well as his knife that he intends to you to kill the antagonist. Effectively, this will leave the audience feeling fearful and empathetic towards the antagonist.
Friday the 13th was one of the main inspirations behind our own slasher trailer. This is because as a group we felt like we could relate to the protagonists as they are also a group of teenagers. We could relate to their friendship, as well as their adventurous and reckless side. As this is what we know it is therefore easier for us to implement it into our own work. Furthermore, the location really stood out for us. It allowed us as the audience to feel more fear at all aspects of the trailer due to its remoteness. This is an attractive aspect and is a strong inspiration for our own work. Lastly, the anticipation of the police being called to come and rescue the teenagers, to turn up and then get murdered is a strong point from Jason’s point of view, further enhancing his superiority, lack of fear and authority. These are all characteristics that we would like our antagonist to contain.
