Trailer Analysis:Paranormal Activity 4

Genre: HorrorParanormal Activity 4 is defiantly a horror film. It follows on the story from the first three films which were also based on the genre horror. From the trailer we can tell that its main intension is to scare the audience in an enjoyable way. It has the fear factor to it, which leaves the audience on the edge of their seats.

NarrativeThe narrative of Paranormal Activity 4 matches Todorov’s theory, as the family within the trailer have a normal life, then something comes along and disturbs the peace. Todorov believes that each narrative has five stages which they follow. I think that the trailer of paranormal activity 4 follows some of these stages. This leaves me to believe that the film itself will follow the rest of them. It is clear from the trailer that the family are living a normal life in their home and then the neighbours come along and they disturb their normality. This makes the trailer attract the audience, leaving them wanting to know what happens next.

Unique Selling PointThis film will make paranormal activity a quadrilogy with it being the fourth film. The films them selves already have a large fan base, so the audience know what to expect. The unique selling point for this movie could be that it is supposed to be real footage and taken in as more of a documentary more than a film. Also the film is based within a realistic situation which the audience could possibly find themselves in this adds to the fear concept of the film.

Target AudienceThe film is aimed toward people who are fans or enjoyed the first three films. The stories are connected so it would be hard to understand the story line of the fourth film without seeing the other three. It is also possibly aimed towards anyone who likes ghost stories, the trailer allows the audience to get an idea into what the film is going be like by building up the fear factor. The film is globally known which means it has a large fan base, and has a wide spread target audience.

Shot Types/Camera AnglesMost of the camera shots are close ups of the characters, this is because it is acting

as if they are filming themselves to give it a more documentary effect. This is shown when the blond female character is speaking directly into the camera. The trailer also contains mid shots to show conversation between the actors. This builds the story and allows the audience have a better understanding to what is happening. We see this when the two female characters are having conversation in the kitchen. Steady cam is mostly used, this allows the audience to get the impression that the characters are filming it themselves and creates a more realistic effect.

PaceThe pace of the editing starts off fast when showing the previous films; this is done to build up the tension and leaves the audience excited to see what happens next. As the trailer continues with the blond female character speaking the pace is much slower which builds tension for the audience. With it being a horror film it leaves us expecting something to happen. The trailer ends with a sting which makes the audience want more.

DialogueThe dialogue in the trailer is most of the young female character speaking into the camera as if making a video blog. We then have the other characters speaking to each other about suggested paranormal events which are happening, this is done to build the audience’s fear. The dialogue is specifically used in the trailer to build tension and attract the audience to going to see the film. It sets the story in place for example when the blond female character says ‘Weird things have started happening since the neighbours moved next door’. This is done to allow the audience make their own assumptions to what the story line is which leaves them wanting to know what is going to happen.

Special EffectsThe special effects used within the trailer of Paranormal Activity 4 are more camera effects if anything. Within the trailer the camera appears in a night vision mode which gives it a realistic touch to it. Also when the demon is behind the girl the camera starts to get a disturbance and starts to flicker. This is done to try and make the audience more on edge and adds to fear factor of wanting to know what’s going to happen.

Credits/IntertitlesWithin the trailer short intertitles are used to build tension and suspense by catching the audiences attention. This consists of captions such as ‘All the activity has led to this’, this is creating dramatic tension for the audience making them want to know more. By doing this it makes the audience interested to what it has led, further leading them to go to cinema to see the film. At the end of the trailer it supplies the audience with information on when the film is being released and who are the producers, this is supplying the audience with information that they want to know to be able to go to see the film.