Horror

Insidious:

The title is shown at the very beginning of the trailer and is the traditional white writing on a black background. By the title being shown at the beginning is effective as people know what the film is called before they watch the trailer and may be able to infer what it is about by the name. However, it is repeated throughout the trailer in the same style and again at the end, this is so people do not forget the name. The non-diegetic sound is sharp and ominous, straight away this creates tension and tells the audience that it is a horror. We get a close up of somebody saying to a man “are you ready?” The man looks frightened adding to the enigmas, ready for what? Why is he so scared? The audience are intrigued to carry on watching already. This shot is shown it quite dimmed lighting to give of that eerie atmosphere, we see a piano behind him, 2 old fashioned lights and 2 photographs. This is successful as pianos regularly feature in a horror movie. For example when they start to play with nobody touching them or they get picked up by the air and thrown around. A close up of a device starts to tick, the audience start to feel the anticipation as the diegetic sound of the ticking makes us feel like we are waiting for something to happen. In the background everything is blurry however, we can still see the flames of the fire which adds light to the shot but also can connote danger.

We cut to the titles which say “from the makers of paranormal activity and Saw”. This is efficacious when aiming towards the target audience who have previously enjoyed these horrors as it is something new and up to date therefore, they will assume it will be successful like the other movies increasing the popularity. When we are shown a close up of the man shutting his eyes we see fast paced shots of his life, we still have that eerie atmosphere due to complete silence apart from that ticking noise that gradually gets louder. We are shown shots of him happy with his family, this is so the audience can feel sympathy towards this character when things go wrong as he has most prevalence suggesting he is a main character in the film. As the baby laughs, which is actually quite creepy in horror movies we see the little boy who is climbing in the attic break the ladder and fall. The audience would be curious to why he was trying to climb the attic at night alone. The attic is a code and convention for horror movies as it is a typical haunted movie set in a house with a creepy attic.

We get a close up of the mum and dad looking through the hospital glass window at their son in a coma, they look worried and stressed. As the mother stares to the floor she says “they don’t know what to call it” From this the audience can imply that the boy is going to be the haunted, possessed young kid. This is effective as he is extremely vulnerable therefore the audience would want the boy to be protected and will be on the parent’s side to try and save him. We get a medium shot of the mother walking in towards a room and behind the door we see a rocking horse slowly moving, we hear the diegetic sound of it squeaking which again is very ominous and the audience feel very tense and frightened by the presence we now know that is in this house. We get a medium shot of the boy staring out of his room towards the camera and closing his door which leads to a close up of a window with old fashioned curtains, we see a shadow approach the window; the audience may feel like it is staring straight at them. As the baby monitor goes off the worried mother picks it up and starts to walk towards the bedroom. Suddenly we hear a scream, she drops the baby monitor and we getting a panning shot of her racing up the stairs, the audience would feel worried for the baby. As she quickly opens the door we see the baby crying but everything is fine…for now.

Then we get a panning shot leading to the boys bedroom, this creates tension and suspense as the voiceover says “there’s something in there with him” as the door widens, the tension starts to increase. We can see the young innocent boy sleeping then in the corner of the room we see this dark figured creature just standing there. Suddenly, the music becomes more paced which is effective as the audience starts to feel the adrenaline and that thrill of fear wanting to find out more. We get a close up shot of the man staring at his reflection, however, in his reflection we see a faint old lady who looks like ghost with blood dripping from her eyes. The editing becomes extremely fast until we get a close up of the man staring blankly with the devil behind him, the devil screams in his ear then we fade to black, leaving that dramatic touch. The music becomes quieter and slower as we get a medium shot of a narrow hallway with low key lighting with a clock at the end where the light is. The camera zooms closer and closer towards the clock, building suspense for the audience. We hear the diegetic sound of the ticking noise and the voiceover saying “it’s not the house that is haunted, it’s your son” The voiceover is successful in the trailer as it implies there that is an actual story line to this movie which will make it a lot more interesting to watch. We get a close up of the woman while she says “it’s your son” making it more dramatic. Suddenly, fast paced editing shots carry on where we see nostalgic shots of creepy young girls as ghosts, hand stains of blood, screams and abnormal faces.

Horror

Poltergeist: 

The opening of this horror trailer begins with a long shot of the dark and gloomy sky above shadowed trees and houses. This is effective as the dark colours of red and black connote death and evil, which is what this horror movie is based on. By this the audience are already feeling quite creeped out which is a success. As it fades slowly into black to add more of a dramatic and ominous appearance the slow and calming music of a constant note on a piano is. This is effective because in this case the slow and calming music is quite stressful and creates suspension as everything is much more eerie because we know that this horror trailer isn’t going to be calming. Especially using a piano will enhance the eeriness.

We are shown a close up of a little girl wearing pink striped pyjamas and holding a doll, she is talking to the closet. Using young girls in horror movies is efficacious as it makes it much creepier due to the contrast of her being so innocent but found in dark and uninviting environments. Due to her being a young sweet girl the audience would be attracted more as her survival is more important than any other survivor. E.g. the brothers and the parents. This is because the audience would want the girl to be more protected therefore using a young girl plays a successful role in horror movies.

Suddenly, we juxtapose from the calm and slow music to low key lighting of the girl young being taken by a force of wind. We get a medium shot of her mother grabbing onto the girls hand while the girl looks at her in fear. However, we are not shown the mother in this shot as the trailer wants the audience to focus on the young girl and to make sure she is protected. This is due to her being much more vulnerable. We get a medium shot of the girl and boy playing with the closet, the girls giggle echoes the room and in horror movies this can be haunting. The medium shot is effective as we are shown teddies, an old table which looks like it is used for tea parties and pink accessories such as a lamp. This all adds to the vulnerability of the child and shows her innocence. The laughter stops and silence occurs, we get a long shot of the house and the sky is dark again, the suspense already begins. We cut from a shot in the girls bedroom and we know this by the items we were shown earlier in the medium shots. Instantaneously, the keyboard starts the play and the lights flash on it. We cut to a medium shot of the young girl sitting in the corner of her room surrounded in teddies looking frightened. The audience begin to worry for her and feel terrified themselves at this point to see what happens next. We hear the diegetic sound of the closet doors squeaking open and we see all black. Cutting to a medium shot of the girl walking towards the closet and she is holding a teddy, again to represent her as assessable as she is using it for her own protection. The non-diegetic sound becomes more paced, she drops her teddy inferring she has nobody to protect her anymore. The curtains shut, going into all blackness. Then suddenly these creatures pop out screaming. We cut into fast paced editing as the parents hurry to find their daughter to find out she’s been taken.

The eerie atmosphere increases as we continue to fade in and out of black while we get a story about the haunted house. The low key lighting helps to create the ominous effect and make the audience feel exactly how the characters feel. Near the end of the story we get a close up shot of the girls hand placed on a bright surface and as she turns her head we see a shadowed hand on the other side, making a bang.

The young boy picks up the torch; we are shown props such as toy clowns, this is effective as we know this is many peoples fear and they are terrifying, following the codes and conventions of a horror. We hear the sound of the slow and cheery toy and we are shown a close up of the boy’s face looking frightened as he turns the torch off the clown and onto the toy on the floor making the sound, creating tension. We get a close up again of the boy and can see the dark clown in the background. We hear the diegetic sound of it laughing as the boy slowly turns round to see if it is there. As the light shines on the clown it jumps onto the boy. At this point the audience’s adrenaline would be going. It fades into black. Fast paced editing shots are added of the traumatic events that the poltergeists are doing and hear the diegetic sounds of screams. This is effective as it shows their fear.

We then have one slow shot, all silent, where the little girl is sitting in the corner of the room facing the wall. The dad slowly approaches and reaches his arm on her shoulder, the audience would be feeling the tension right now as they await for something fearful to happen. She turns around and we see a white face, she leaps on the dad and the dad screams. It then cuts to the title, this is a black background with white writing and it has a slit of light shining through the middle making it more haunting with the sound of a children’s toys playing in the background.

Target Audience for Horrors

Target Audience for Horrors

Age – The general age for an audience watching horror movies would be around 15-25.During the younger ages both girls and boys want to experiment new things and different emotions. The audience can relate to the characters in the film and in most horror movies when something bad is about to happen the camera views what the character is seeing putting the audience in the characters shoes.  This gives the character and the audience a better relationship making the audience enjoy the film more.

Gender – Mostly males would watch horror movies as they seek thrill and want some excitement in their life. It gives them a sense of rush. The conventions of a horror would attract males more for example horrors can be quite gruesome and violent which males particular enjoy watching more than females. However, this could be stereotypical.

Interests – There are a few reasons why people are interested to watch horrors. For example it could be new and exciting for a group of friends sitting around watching their first horror movie. It is creates a better mood and can be extremely fun. They are also seen as good conversation starters and if you feel comfortable in a relationship usually coupes go and watch them.

The main audience for this movie is 15-24. This is at a high 69%. A lot of this percentage would be made up of teenagers that want a scare. In horrors you generally go in a big group of friends compared to a romance or action where you could go by yourself of with a partner. The main gender who watched this film was females at 54%. However, they are still quite close together with the male at 46%. This is quite unusual for the females to be more popular but it could be due to them going in such big groups. The percentages may be close together as a lot of people watch horrors as a couple so the girl can snuggle up to the boy when she gets frightened and the boy can be there to comfort her.

Codes, conventions and cliches of a Horror

Codes and conventions of a horror genre 

• Young teenagers 
• Possessed children 
• Imaginary friends 
• Dark rooms 
• Extensive use of close up, Point of view shots, Low angle shots 
• Dominant representation of gender: Male villain, The Female Victim 
• Clear binary opposition’s e.g. good v evil 
• Use of low key lighting 
• Old cheap houses with a basement 

Cliches 

• Stabs in the back by the bitter rivals 
• Heavily accented Russians and Serbs 
• Sword or spear will rip through a mans chest 
• Bad guys never attack in tandem 
• Leaps away from explosions 
• Deadly machine gun fire

Action

The Dark Knight Rises:

The first shot is an establishing shot of the Gotham City at night which is effective as it is the known place for where the film is set, therefore will be favoured by fans. The non-diegetic sounds of the high pitched notes creates an eerie atmosphere and already starts to create tension. The voiceover added over the top plays an effective role in making this an action when narrating the film and at the same time engaging the audience. For example, the opening line is “there is a storm coming” however, this is not literally and as an audience we can infer that, making us curious to find out exactly what that ‘storm’ is. We are constantly fading in and out of black; this is successful as we know this adds a dramatic touch to the trailer and engages the audience. We have a medium shot of a lady wearing all black clothing and a black hat titled down to cover her face, her deep red lipstick and suspicious appearance allows us to connote that she plays an important role in this movie. It also creates enigmas for the audience which is very intriguing. The next events that occur are shown through seamless shots which gives off a more professional appearance and represents the characters in this way. A close up of the villain is shown by lifting off a mask, where part of his face is covered by some black device. Behind him are 2 trained soldiers that look like they are in the army; from this we can connote that the villain is dangerous and the audience can clearly see that without any action yet. Already the trailer has shown a repeat of the colour black as well as low key lighting, this is efficacious as black implies death and evil. The silence throughout the whole first minute of the trailer is successful at making the audience feel uneasy and engaged due to it being different from the up paced music we see in other action films.

We get an over the shoulder shot of the female dancing with a male. Again, she is still very mysterious wearing a dark mask and deep red lipstick. When the male asks ‘you sound like you’re looking forward to it’ she replies ‘I’m adaptable’. The question itself is very general, again adding enigmas. Looking forward to what? And her answer is even vaguer, not giving too much away to the audience creating suspense. Her pearl necklace and earrings imply that she is well off therefore may have many skills in this particular business. A two person shot of the villain grabbing a man by the back of the neck is the first time we get to understand something about the character. The man asks in fear ‘what are you?’ Straight after this we see traumatic events take place which we can imply is caused by this mysterious villain. We get medium shots of the ground falling through soccer, bridges falling down on swat teams and banks being robbed pulling out citizens hiding, potentially to kill them. These shots are successful as we can see that the world is no longer safe and citizens fear for their lives. This all adds to the cry for help for Batman to save the day, building excitement and suspense to when we are going to see him.

A long shot of the city is shown and milliseconds after we see 2 major bridges collapsing into the sea caused by a bomb explosion. The use of explosions follows the codes and conventions of an action film. The colours shown are dull and gloomy symbolling the citizens emotions. We then see this through a close up of school children looking out the window in misery, making the audience even more tense waiting for batman!

The music starts to become more intense as it becomes louder and more upbeat, this is mixed with shots of the city falling apart therefore is effective as the audience are anticipated, waiting for the reappearance of batman. We hear the diegetic sound of a female voice, “you should be as afraid of him as I am”. From this we can interpret that this is going to be the hardest and mostly challenging war of all time between the hero and the protagonist. We get a medium shot of batman surrounded by smoke, his facial expressions look worried but determined. However, the audience would still be feeling uncomfortable and confused with what is going to happen. For example, is the hero going to lose and the protagonist going to win? We don’t know what kind of twist this film will have making more people want to go and watch it. We get a long shot of batman standing on top of a building, in the shot we see him looking over the cities with his cape in the wind. This is a very powerful shot as Batman looks over his city and hopes he can save it and with the upbeat and triumph music hope is all restored in batman once again.

Throughout the shots of the battle we see explosions, chases, gun fires all following the codes and conventions of an action. Then we cut to the title, going into silence. The title is effective as it is the recognisable logo of the bat, the background is a light blue with the logo shining through, the bat shatters out and the background makes the dark blue letters of the title stand out This is effective as it is different from the black background and white writing. It also contrasts from the whole trailer which was shown in low key lighting, this is successful as it makes the title bolder.

Action

Mission impossible: Rouge nation

In this action trailer the first shot we are shown is an establishing shot of the city, this is immediately effective as we know in a busy city, danger lurks around the corner. In this shot we have the orange sunset rising above the city, this high visibility colour attracts the audience and highlights the city. It can be known as quite a calming colour and in this tense could imply the calm before the storm, this is effective as it can then gradually increase with action, increasing the suspense.

The mysterious non diegetic sound of the voice over is then added (creating awareness) with fast paced editing shots. In these shots we have close ups of main characters but with the tracking of Tom Cruise, having more prevalence. Therefore we can tell that Tom Cruise is the main character which is successful for this film as he is known for action movies. The low angle shot of Tom wearing sunglasses and looking above the camera represents him as sleek which could attract a female audience as well as males, it also implies that he holds a lot of power. We get a medium shot of Tom riding a motorbike in a chase, which follows the codes and conventions of the genre, this is effective as we begin to see the action taking place. This is added by a medium shot of Tom running towards us with guns being shot at behind him. The music is still quite slow but the beats represent more danger to come and carry on creating tension. When we get a medium shot of Tom Cruise locked In the steam room the beats match the bangs on the window, this is effective as it all happens quickly and ends with his hand on the window, showing a shot of a women being shot in the head, the audience are then introduced to the villain as well as the hero.

The next shot is a fighting scene, where Tom escapes his capture with the help of a female. This again could add interest to the female audience whether there may be romance interpreted in this film. Skills are displayed as they both take out a team of guys displaying a full blown of action, the female is wearing all black which can connote power which is shown and mystery, which is successful as it creates enigmas to who she really is and if she is a villain or a hero and the trailer never gives away.

A team full of guys all holding weapons swarm a hotel, this scene is effective due to the non-diegetic sound of the song singing “ready or not”. Again, there still isn’t fast paced music but the slow beat pf clocking creates suspense leading up to ‘the last mission’. Throughout this song we are shown fast paced editing shots of all the action and the audience understand what the mission is all about. We get medium shots of characters all covered up In black, connoting they are a dangerous high skilled group on motorbikes shooting guns again in another chase. Tom shows skill in the car where he skids and takes them all out, representing his power and dominance throughout. We get a medium shot from a low angle of one of the main characters in a green dress, here we aren’t shown her face, this adds mystery to who she actually is and infers that she has much more power than we think. This female can be used to play a seductive role in the film and again adds romance. Gradually the music becomes more upbeat keeping the audience engaged and on the edge of their seat.

In the ending of the trailer we are introduced to the well-known theme tune of mission impossible, this is effective as it appeals to all fans. We then get a high angle shot of Tom running across the top of a moving aeroplane, as he holds on for his life the audience are fully engaged, ending with this will make the audience much more curious to see what happens next as we are left with lots of enigmas such as who is the female, did they complete their mission, who the villain is and what does he want.

Action

Skyfall

Straight away Skyfall starts with upbeat and loud music which is effective as the audience are catched immediately, speeding up their adrenaline. The scene shows low key lighting and a medium shot of tracking Daniel Craig holding a gun. Enigmas have already begun. Where is he? Why is he holding a gun? The beginning is full of mystery attracting the demographic of males. The light shines through the window however both the characters in the medium shot are still shadowed, not giving away that mysterious atmosphere. There is no wait for fast paced editing, we jump from shot to shot filled with action. We see car crashes leading to Daniel Craig on top of a train fighting another character. A long shot shows them both on top of the train, vulnerable to danger around them. Daniel the main character wears a beige suit, this can infer him to be high up and professional. The diegetic sound of a women angry toned projects “take the bloody shot”. We then see Daniel being shot though the lens of a sniper. This is effective as already codes and conventions of weapons, hero’s and villains have been followed. We then get a long shot of Daniel falling from the train on top of the bridge, this is effective as we see the drop and the audience fully believe that he would be dead from that height, causing sympathy towards him. It fades into black, this adds a dramatic touch to the scene before it ends with a high angle shot of Daniel sinking in the sea and the well-known institution is shown. The high angle shot may represent the power taken away from him connoting that he may be dead.

We get a medium shot of this mystery women who demanded Daniel dead sitting at her desk, behind her it is dark the rain is falling from the windows, this may suggest that she is a villain in this film. However, she has her lamp on suggesting that she is an important character due to the lighting shining on her. Next to her we see a large bottle of brandy and some poured in the glass next to it. This can suggest she is troubled and stressed, which the audience may sympathise towards. We get an over the shoulder shot from the woman facing Daniel Craig, again in low key lighting and Daniel being shadowed. As she replies “where the hell have you been?” it starts to create confusion, making the audience curious to know more.

A medium shot of a building being blown up is shown, causing a massive explosion again follows the codes and conventions and is shown in the majority of action films, therefore makes it successful at achieving the genre.

The non-diegetic sound becomes reasonably slow paced with regular beats, we are shown a medium shot of a two-shot conversation between a woman and Daniel. The woman wears dark clothing, implying her to be obscure which is intriguing for the audience. The body language of them both leaning into each other and the constant eye contact adds tension in this scene. Beats cut from this shot to a medium shot of a shadowed man walking towards the camera holding a gun, with fire in the background connoting this man to be dangerous. Suddenly, the upbeat music comes back in again mixed with the fast editing shots for that dramatic atmosphere. We see Daniel blowing up buildings, jumping from escalators where we have a low angle shot of him landing. This can connote that he has regained his power. Throughout these fast paced editing shots we hear gun fires, cars smashing, glass shattering and explosions. All of these factors draw the audience closer, getting their hearts pumping, trying to get them so engaged they can’t even look away for a second. It dramatically gets faster and faster, building up the anticipation and suspense until it suddenly comes to a stop. Ending with a close up of a gun shot from Daniel Craig, then jumping straight into the title on that beat. Daniel getting the last gunshot can connote that he won.

The title is effective as it is the modern and poplar black background with bold white writing standing out. The spaced out capital letters add to the boldness of the title with the transition fading out.