Research- Using what I already know (Lights Out)

Analysis of Horror film trailer:
The trailer opens with a birds eye view of the city fully lighted which makes the audience familiar with the settings of the film and further it introduces us to the main protagonist of the film living her happy life. There are many black outs used which creates suspense and brings fear to the audience.The sudden black outs change the whole feel every time. The text comes on the black screen with eerie music which reinforces the codes and convention of a horror film. The girl screaming towards the end of the trailer ambiguity and makes the audience wanting to find out more which would entice them to go watch it in theater.

The camera is still in the beginning of the trailer when the surroundings are calm and peaceful as the trailer progresses the camera becomes more shaky and wobbly which shows the disruption of peacefulness. The music is synchronised with the video creating a swooshing effect. Lighting changes throughout the trailer from bright to dark. The jump cuts used help the audience see whats happening in different places at the same time. The music is eerie when the mother is telling her son about the ghost making it sound like a fairy-tale with the sychorinisation of story telling music. The film is funded by 'Warner Bros' produces by James Wan. Being funded and advertised by a well known institution helps the film advertise more and presented to wider audience.

The film reinforces to Todorov's theory of equilibrium: everything is fine and nothing is wrong in the beginning however the main characters mental state creates a problem and there is a murder which then causes the mental issues to the main character's mother breaking the equilibrium. The film got rating of PG13. the whole film revolves around a female protagonist trying to fight her mothers illusions of a ghost that has taken over her mind. The female protagonist subverts to the stereotype as she is the one in power of the situation and promises her brother to make everything right. However, she also reinforces to the stereotype of women in horror films as she is vulnerable and naive and is victimised by the ghost.

The mis-en-scene also help create a creepy feel such as the house where the mother lives with her family. It is isolated and dark most of them time as suggested by the title of the film 'lights out'. The light bulb used by the female protagonist help her see the ghost is bright and purplish. Warner Bros have a history of slasher films including: 'Harry Potter', 'The exorcist', 'The Conjuring'. the support of this institution helped this film get more audience as the institution itself had a reputation and was well-known. The films equilibrium is brought back to normal but it is not the same as before. The title of the film comes at the end on a white background with a toy on the left making it go with the title. The title is hand written in and the words are spaced out.

Planning- Conventions of Horror Trailers

Planning- Analysis: Horror Film Trailers

	Narrative	Location	Characters	Voice Over	Theme(s)	Pacing	On- Screen Graphics	Editing (post production) & special effects	Music (and other sounds)
Trailer  #1- Lights Out	The story is told from the perspective of the mother who is possessed by the ghost and is trying to convince her children to listen to her.	The trailer introduces the flat of protagonist which is above a bar: ‘red light blinks’. The ghost is present when the lights are out and disappears when the lights are on.	The trailer introduces the sister first as she has a past with the ghost. She is the one running around trying to resolve the problem: ‘what happened?’ she asks her brother	The little boy narrates the story to his sister. It switches from the boy to his sister when she starts fighting the ghost.		The trailer starts off slow introducing the protagonist with her boyfriend. However, the pace of the trailer increases as the story about the ghost is unfolded. Many quick cuts and black outs are used which emphasise the presence of the ghost in their lives.	The screen with the names of films produced by the film maker before is shown. This creates a sense of knowledge as the audience of those films will definitely go and watch this film.	The use of black outs and quick cuts makes the trailer more effective and conforms to the conventions of horror genre.	Sound is the main element in horror film trailers. The SFX sounds help create the mood of the film amongst the audience.
Trailer  #2- Don’t Breathe	This is a story of a girl who is in debt and plans to steal from a blind man not realising that he is stronger even without his eyes.	The location is a the house of the blind man which is dark and gloomy throughout to create suspense as the film also meets the codes and conventions of a thriller.	The two main characters are the intruders in the house and the antagonist in the story is the blind man who traps them in the house. The old man is blind but he is made all his other senses sharp such as hearing and he makes the intruders see what he sees the power shifts from them to him.	The beginning of the trailer we see the perspective of the girl however once they are inside the house the power shifts from her to the old man who is the antagonist in the film.		The pace is slow in beginning however fastens when they enter the house that is towards the end of the trailer. The black outs and quick cuts create mood and suspense and it shows some of the best shots which would attract audience to come and watch the full movie in the theatre.	The names of the makers is shown on a black screen and the previous films made by them. This could be the way of attracting the existing audience that have watched their previous films to come watch this one too.	The quick cuts and fast paced editing create suspense for the audience to go watch the film. Black outs are essential in a horror film trailer as it allows the makers to put some of the best shots in the trailer without giving away too much.	The music in the trailer creates mood. the trailer opens with slow and happy music which is taken over by SFX sounds and fast paced non-diegetic music. The voiceover of the blind man in between creates the mood and allows the audience to understand his evilness.
Trailer  #3-  The Conjuring 2	The trailer opens with a problem introducing Loraine and her husband.  The mood quickly changes after a black out to them in the house with the girl who is possessed by evil.	The trailers opens with Lorraine and Ed sitting in a living room with a priest which symbolises the spirituality and shows that the end of evil is done with the help of religion. The screen then cuts to the house where the evil is.	Ed and Lorraine are the resolvers who come to solve the problem other than them the main focus is on the little girl who is possessed by evil. The zoom in shot of the newspaper article stating ‘the house of strange happenings’ already foreshadows the problem is in that house.	The voice over starts with Lorraine telling the tale which with time switches to the little girls voice who is possessed by the evil.		40 seconds in to the trailer the pace is fastened and black outs are used to show different things happening at the same time in different places.	The first screen shows the studio name ‘Warner Bros’ and the production company ‘New line company’. ‘the most common case in paranormal activity’ this would appeal to the audience of that film to go watch this one and the use of intertextuality.	The use quick cuts and black outs show the things mis-happenings.	The music is slow however builds up later on in the trailer which builds mood and creates tension amongst the audience.

Planning- Marketing Campaign: Sinister

BRIEF

Final Product:

A promotion package for a new film, to include a trailer, together with:

   -a film magazine front cover, featuring the film

   -a poster for the film.