Trailer Research – How a trailer reflects genre

Things to consider when looking at trailers

Lighting Mise-en-scène Sound – diegetic/ non diegetic/

narrative Camera Angles Editing – fast to build tension

Silent Hill - Horrorhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5mT5LhbRJw

This two shot shows the relationship between the mother and daughter, and seems to be a very happy scene.

This long shot is completely different to the previous image – everything is very dark and remote. There is only one long winding road and only one car, this relates more to the horror film and also shows how isolated and alone the main character is in the car.

This shot again shows the isolation of the main character as she wanders around a deserted town, also the fog means that you don’t know what she is walking towards and helps to build suspense.

This medium shot of the sign shows that the location is very important in this film and that there is something significant about it, also it shows where the title of the film comes from.

This again shows the significance of the location and begins to explain some of the story behind it. It also makes the audience want to know why Silent Hill is a ‘tainted town’.

This medium shot shows the small girl from before surrounded by hooded adults and makes the audience want to know what has happened, also their costumes are a lot more old fashioned and the girl is wearing a lighter colour which makes her stand out form the others and shows that there is something significant about her.

This close up is very dark which relates to the horror genre, also the girl looks pale faced and almost scared looking.

This medium shot shows some characters that don’t look human and are coming out of the dark towards the audience, again showing the horror genre.

Grave Encounters – Paranormal Horror

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8FBRATbJoA

This medium shot sets the scene and introduces the main character, also he talks about what they are going to be doing – looking for the paranormal which already introduces the paranormal genre.

This shot shows that something has happened in the past where they are due to the date on the footage and it introduces the horror genre as everything is dark and creepy.

This long shot shows some more of the characters and again shows the horror genre because of the dark human shadow in the background that then walks to the left as the camera zooms in.

This shot shows one of the characters isolated and alone in the dark, looking terrified. The audience can’t see anything behind him and his only light is from a torch, this emphasises the horror genre.

This long shot emphasises the paranormal genre as the person is flying through the air and the lights are suddenly very bright.

This again emphasises the paranormal genre as the person’s face is twisted and no longer looks human.

This shot shows some of the story about why they are investigating this supposedly haunted building – the man on the left is showing the investigators what has happened before.

This shot shows that something unnatural is happening because the window is opening by itself, also the text in the bottom right corner makes it seem more real because it has a date on it along with the text ‘actual footage’.

Cloverfield – Action/ Disaster

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvNkGm8mxiM

There are numerous shots, similar to this one, that introduce the main characters as they talk to the camera.

This introduces the main character and shows how normal he is and how normal the party is. This shows that the later disaster could happen at any time to anyone which makes the audience feel more sympathy because they can relate to it more.

This shot shows that something has started to happen because the lights have gone out and the characters are starting to panic.

This shows that something big has happened that has caused an earthquake and is being shown on the news which emphasises the disaster genre.

This shot shows that something really bad has happened, again emphasising the disaster genre, because the characters are running panicked, also the camera is shaky.

This again shows a lot of frightened people running away from something which shows both the action and disaster themes.

This medium shot reinforces the disaster theme because the statue of liberty’s head has been thrown on top of a car.

This shot shows the obliviousness of one of the characters as he says that it is the best party ever, and it is also ironic because of what is about to happen.

Somers Town – Social Realismhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOTvZNSssbQ

This establishing shot already shows the social realism genre because it is a normal shot of a normal street, also it is in black and white which demonstrates ‘hard times’ the film was set in.

This introduces the main character and shows what he has to deal with and how bad his situation is. It also makes the audience empathise with him because of hi suffering.

This, again, makes the audience feel empathy towards the main character and reinforces the social realism genre because of what has happened to him.

This medium shot introduces another of the main characters and shows the beginning of the relationship between them.

This close up introduces the last main character and shows how different she is to them.

This shot shows that life is hard for the other boy as well, and how his father doesn’t approve of his friend.

This shot shows how things could change for the boys because of how happy they are, this could make the audience curious about what is happening

This again shows how things re changing for the boys and it also shows they strong friendship.