Horror Trailer Analysis'

Saw 1 Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/embed/b1lgXhFbXy4

Narrative Structure:
The trailer displays no equilibrium or moment of disequilibrium; it straight away goes into disequilibrium for added fear-factor. However, at the short space of 4 seconds into the trailer, we are shown newspaper articles which hint at the previous equilibrium, whilst simultaneously setting the story line for the film.  Complying with Barthes Enigma Code and Pleasure of Text theory, the trailer leaves a mystery element to it by not showing new equilibrium, so we having the pleasure of watching the film without knowing the how it ends.

Sound:
The trailer uses a variety of sounds, varying between diegetic and non-diegetic. Rumbling, non-diegetic background music is used occasionally throughout the trailer to build a sense of tension and fear amongst the audience. A particular diegetic clock ticking down sound is used half way through the trailer to comply with the idea that ‘Jigsaw’ gives his victims a limited amount of time to escape, or they die. Whilst it could simply link to the time his victims have left, it could also be a metaphor for the crazy, disorientated state the killer is in, as the sound is very repetitive and could essentially ‘send someone mad’. Diegetic industrial noise is frequently used, such as cages rattling or tools being used, which justifies the film’s title; ‘Saw’. Right at the end of the trailer, we hear a non-diegetic sound of a clown’s laughter. Whilst this could simply be representing the clown mask ‘jigsaw’ wears, it could also be playing on the public’s fear of clowns, as many people in society have a fear of clowns.

Editing:
The trailer is very fast moving, and many jump cuts are used, to disorientate the audience and create suspense, but also with a hidden metaphorical meaning of the film involving panic and mental instability. As the trailer gets closer to the end, it uses fast jump cuts to random objects which all together have no meaning unless you’ve seen the film. This technique complies with Barthes Pleasure of Text theory, as after we have been shown these items, we begin to ask ourselves questions, such as ‘What are they for?’ Many tone cards are used in this trailer, the first one being at an early 5 seconds. All the tone cards are of the same design and use an intelligent ‘times new roman’ style font. With the font choice displaying a possible intelligence about the killer, we are forced to believe that this horror is of a more twisted, psychological genre, rather than a gore, slasher genre. All the tone cards are black and dark green coloured, slightly blurry, and almost look of a liquid nature, displaying a metaphorical meaning of drowning and suffocation.  

Location/Codes and Conventions:
Instantly, at the start of the trailer, we are shown an old-fashioned TV sitting on a broken chair, showing the audience that the location is old, run down and deserted. Cages and wires and smoke are frequently used, playing on the structuralist horror idea of imprisonment and the smoke displaying mystery and the unknown. At 12 seconds, we are shown a figure in a black cloak, but we can’t see the person’s face, almost grim reaper looking, conforming to the themes of death and fear. At 18 seconds we are shown a point of view shot panning along the ceiling, almost as if someone is lying on a trolley being moved along, as industrial looking bright white lights flash on. This point of view shot is metaphorical for a hospital like setting, due to the brightness of the lights and white ceiling, but also again conforms to the death and medical theme of the film.

Paranormal Activity 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90r3CnPI0AM&ob=av3e

Narrative Structure:

The trailer displays both moments of equilibrium and disequilibrium simultaneously, jumping between the two repeatedly to disorientate the viewers. The trailer is narrated by characters’ voice overs, and jump cuts are made between shots of the new film, and shots of the previous 2 paranormal activity films, to demonstrate what this third instalment entails. Like the Saw 1 trailer, this trailer conforms with Barthes Enigma Code and Pleasure of text theory, by not showing the viewers the moment of new equilibrium, so they have the pleasure of going to watch it themselves to find out what happens.

Sound:

Beside the characters’ voice overs used to demonstrate a basic narrative of the film, there is non-diegetic sound of a camera cutting out at every jump cut throughout the trailer. This is used to demonstrate the films ‘hand-held video camera’ theme, but also used to build tension, as it is an unsettling noise. Occasionally, the trailer uses diegetic sound of the characters’ screams to create a sense of fear. Children’s laughter is faded out and echoed at one point during the trailer, not only signify the arrival of a moment of disequilibrium, but to also frighten the audience, as echoing sounds can be considered frightening. Non-diegetic background music of low pitched rumbling is also used surrounding around every tone card throughout the trailer; it is effective in creating fear amongst the audience. Further non diegetic noise is used in the form of what sounds like a heavy cage door being shut, as a shot of a dark, unknown figure appears. This is used to stun the audience not only with the image, but with the ear-piercing sound also.

Editing:

Throughout the trailer, similarly to many other horror trailers, the editing consists of mainly very fast jump cuts. For example, in this trailer at one point, we see 3 different jump cuts within the first 5 seconds. The fast paced attitude to editing is used to create a sense of severe disorientation for the audience. We only see one very long sequence shot, which isn’t cut for about 28 seconds. This long shot has a purpose of unsettling the audience, but also creating more of a narrative for them, as we see the children playing ‘bloody mary’ not taking it seriously, but then we see a dark figure reflecting in the mirror, showing the seriousness of the situation. Even with only a few tone cards throughout the trailer, the tone cards are till effective. They are black, with white writing, and a very technological style font, showing the ’hand-held camera’ theme to the film. The text fades in and out on the tone cards to create a sense of the unknown and disorientation, as it almost looks slightly blurry. The tone card at the end, displaying the name of the film, uses font which shifts about quickly and reflects and reverses itself very quickly. This is again used to create a sense of disorientation as the editing of the shot is very quick.

Location/Codes and Conventions:

The use of a handheld camera in the trailer, and even throughout the film, creates a sense of realness and reality for the audience; maybe even suggesting that it could happen to anyone. Especially used throughout the trailer is the effect of night vision on the hand-held camera. This effect is conventional for horror as it is dark, mysterious and frightening for some people. The location, being placed in a normal American family’s home, can be unsettling for the audience, as it suggests it could happen to anyone, like the hand-held camera suggests. The long shot in the trailer, of the children playing ‘bloody mary’ uses a mirror. The use of a mirror in this shot, and in horror movies as a whole, plays on the audience’s fear of mirrors in the dark; that they don’t just reflect your surroundings, they see other things too.

Media Theories

http://www.slideshare.net/zoesmall/media-theories-10241578

How does Shaun of the Dead subvert structuralist notions of genre?

2004’s ‘Shaun of the Dead’ defied specific codes and conventions regarding structuralist attitudes to the horror genre. The comedic take, mixed in with the post-modern attitudes of the film, made it stand out from the crowd and twist the audience’s structuralist views on horror. Taking into consideration Barthes ‘Ball of Threads’ theory, one of the many interpretations of this film could be that it is attacking the mundane daily routine of Londoners; wake up, eat, go to work, come home, watch TV, eat, go to bed and repeat all over again the next day.

The location of the film is shown through a medium shot of a street sign. Clearly being shown that the location of the movie is in the suburbs of London, defies structuralist attitudes to horror. Structuralists would address this as a post-modern location for a horror film, as it is stereotypically quieter than the crowds of central London, which would have been a much more fitting place for a zombie outbreak, as the ‘infection rate’ would be higher, due to the higher population.

The group of characters who face the threat together in the film, are of a structuralist view, due to the variety of character types within the group, but simultaneously of a post-modern view because of the character types. Conventionally, in a horror film, you would have a variety of characters such as the jock, the promiscuous girl, the geek etc, whereas in Shaun of the Dead, the character types are different. When faced with another group of allies on their journey to safety, comedic aspects come in to play, as the other group have the exact same character types. This could be interpreted as attacking the conventional characters displayed in horror films and therefore, making it post-modern.

Carol Clover’s ‘Final Girl’ theory is played on a lot throughout the film. As the audience, we consider Liz to be the final girl. Judging this with post-modern attitudes, we can see this is unconventional of the horror genre, as she is blonde, and final girls aren’t normally blonde, as the blonde girls are stereotypically represented as the promiscuous girls and killed early on in the film. Besides this, there is also the way that she is not represented as a feeble, yet lucky female for being the final girl as conventionally, final girls would be; She is presented as a strong, independent female, and even saves main character Shaun from zombies. This is yet again displaying the post-modern approach to horror as a genre in Shaun of the Dead.

In structuralist horror films, the characters attitude to killing would be shocked and stunned that they have been placed in that type of situation, whereas in Shaun of the Dead, the characters have an oblivious, careless attitude to the brutal act of killing zombies. Upon killing their first zombie, the two main characters go straight back to watching TV, drinking tea and eating cornettos, oblivious and careless to what they have just done. This type of post-modern attitude is later contradicted in the film, when serious situations of killing family members, arises. So, whilst having a comedic, post-modern take to the mindless killing they adhere to, the films post-modern attitudes are contradicted by the introduction of a mere slight strucutralist attitude to the horror genre.

To begin with, the characters show a serious lack of emergency to save themselves and get as far away from the zombies as possible; they continue to stand there as the zombies edge closer. In structuralist horror films, the characters would have a huge fear of the opposing enemy, and want to get as far away from them as possible before they catch up with them. Again, this un-structuralist attitude of their lack of emergency is later contradicted in the film, as they slowly get more and more desperate to escape the threat, and hide away in their local pub. The way the zombies are presented in the film is a very stereotypical representation, which balances out the post-modern and structuralist attitudes of the film, as while they have a post-modern ‘fearless’ attitude to the threat at hand, the zombies are stereotypical, paradigms of normal structuralist horror films.  

Typical paradigms of weapons for a structuralist horror film would be items such as knives, axes etc. However, with a comedic and post-modern twist to Shaun of the Dead, their choices of weapons are not so conventional of the horror genre. Using pool cues, garden spades, children’s plastic chairs and a pole from the game ‘Swingball’ to kill zombies displays the post-modern attitudes to this film. Comedy aspects are also introduced, when one character kills a zombie with another dead zombies’ leg. The main character, Shaun, also chooses to use a rifle as his choice of weapon. Guns are normally associated with action films, and are therefore still considered a post-modern paradigm for this film. The way in which they use the gun to shoot down the zombies whilst in the pub, could be considered as a metaphorical reading for the western genre, with the pub acting as a ‘saloon bar’, again showing the way this film defies structuralist notions of the horror genre. Similarly, at the start of the film we are shown a more comedic re-enactment of the classic shower scene from Psycho (1960). 

Other comedic aspects to the film, which lead it to be of a post-modern approach to horror, include a scene where a zombie is beaten continuously with a bat by 3 characters to the beat of the non-diegetic, upbeat background music. Whilst creating a light-hearted approach to killing, this also shows the way the film doesn’t want to adhere to structuralism. Similarly, the characters acting like zombies to blend in with the real zombies adds to the post-modern, comedy side of the film.

The post-modern approaches to horror in Shaun of the Dead are easily justifiable through paradigms and even character types, but it is the way the film still sticks slightly to the structuralist attitudes, such as sticking to the horror convention of a variety of character types, that makes it a post-modern horror film.

Theory Horror Timelines

The Grudge trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj88_yqlFMA

The Shining trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Cb3ik6zP2I

Scream 4 trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5TsZ6iyaH4

The Crazies trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7w9uWFIMBs

The Ring trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuH5FaUpFm4

Halloween trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljchb1tsLfs

One Missed Call trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1F7hJNsi5M

How does Halloween follow the codes and conventions of the slasher horror sub-genre?

From the trailer of the 1978 classic ‘Halloween’, we can instantly see the structuralist attitudes of the film’s director and script writer, due to the clear codes and conventions of the film.

The Camera shots and angles throughout the trailer conform to that of a stereotypical horror movie. Firstly, we see an establishing shot of the setting; it is a blurred shot of lonely looking house. The shot is unstable and a handheld camera shot, giving the impression of a point of view shot of a possible threat/killer. This shot stands by the codes and conventions of a horror movie. We are shown an unsteady point of view shot looking through what appears to be a mask. The combination of the unstable shot and the idea that the audience can only see part of the surroundings as we are looking through a mask is used to unsettle the audience. The use again of a handheld camera is very conventional of a horror movie.

We see the use of another handheld, unsteady shot when Curtis is running to the house across the street; She looks back, and we see a blurred dark shot of the house and Michael Myers coming towards the camera gradually. The shot only allows us to see the bright whiteness of Myers’ mask coming towards the camera, as the shot is very dark and Myers is wearing dark clothing, almost giving the impression of him being headless. The idea of Myers being headless very much conforms to the codes of horror movie.

The canted angle, distorted shot of Curtis falling down the stairs is very conventional of a horror movie, as it again shows instability and imbalance for the viewers. The trailer contains a very conventional shot of Curtis cowering in a corner, and Myers slowly coming out of the darkness behind her. The light from the window is shining directly onto Curtis, showing her innocence and acceptance in society. Whereas Myers hides in the pitch black setting with barely any light at all, showing his impurity and dark side. The majority of camera shots throughout the trailer are in near enough pitch black, with the only source of light coming from the windows through net curtains, conforming again to the codes and conventions of horror.

The idea of young Michael Myers wearing a clown costume, whilst murdering his family, is of a very structuralist attitude, as it plays on the common, public fear of clowns. Curtis wears a white blouse and very pastel coloured clothes throughout the trailer, confirming her ‘innocent victim’ role, which is very common in horror films. However, when she pictured with two of her other friends, all wearing civilised, covered-up clothing, she contradicts her ‘innocence’ by smoking. The use of props such as pumpkins, whilst conforming with the theme of the film, is a very stereotypical horror prop, therefore conforming to the codes and conventions of slasher movies.

The use of the bed sheet covering the whole of Myers’ body as he creaks open the door is very conventional of horror, and is commonly used by children to create a sense of horror, but in a less serious manner. The use of it in the trailer paints a surface childlike, unserious manner to Myers, when underneath the sheet is where the danger really lies. A prop such as the bed sheet in a horror movie is rather unconventional, as it shows a less serious, more playful manner to the horror genre, but could also be translated as more of a psychological horror theme, as Myers still has the mind and mannerisms of a child, but is still very dangerous to society. The religious imagery used in the shot of the girl lying dead in her bed is very conventional of the genre; She is laying on the bed similarly to the way Jesus was pinned to the cross. Horror is often linked to religion due to the uncertainty of religion in society and the themes of hell and evil in religion.

Throughout the entire trailer, the use of high-pitched music creates suspense for the viewers. The music builds and builds until Myers strikes and attacks his victims; The music turns into a high-pitched squeal, which is very unsettling to listen to, similarly to the way watching Myers attack his victim on screen, is unsettling to watch. This type of tension music is very conventional in most types of horror, not just the slasher genre. The sound of the door creaking open as Myers pushes it open, covered head to toe in a white sheet, is also very conventional of horror movies. The slow, draining sound of a creaking door is unnerving for the viewers, as there lies the uncertainty of what is on the other side; Similarly to the way that creaking floor boards are used in the horror genre.

Halloween Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljchb1tsLfs