Deconstruction: Student Made A2 Trailer

Exposure

Looking into the Eye - 0.05

The trailer begins on a girl looking into the keyhole of an old door, where there is an extreme close up shot of the said eye; this suggests the supernatural genre, as commonly, supernatural films evolve around abandoned buildings, which this clip indicates. The use of the eye is also a common aspect of many supernatural films as they are used to represent seeing the soul.

Production Company - 0.10

The production company logo, Twisted Pictures, is then played; this particular production company is an Independent American company which mainly deals with the horror genre, immediately suggestion that the pending trailer is one of horror or horror sub-genre.

Background - 0.14

The trailer then provides the audience with a glimpse as to narrative of the film; in the screenshot above, we see a young girl looking through old news articles, potentially in the location previously introduced to. This clip also suggests that the trailer is of the supernatural sub-genre, as old newspapers and records are common conventions as they are a means of understanding the tragedy which caused the evil spirit or possession. The fact that the audience cannot see the content of the news articles creates enigma as they are curious as to what tragedy would have caused the entity in the film.

The Eye - 0.17

This clip is greatly effective in one, indicating the genre of the movie/trailer and two, creating tension and unsettlement for the audience. The eye is clearly unnatural looking, with the indication of a possessed body. The eye itself is not looking into the camera, which makes the audience curious as to what they are looking at, once again creating enigma for the film.

Glitch Effect - 0.19

This screenshot shows effective use of editing, whereby there is a glitch effect with what appears to be the possessed girl or dark entity moving towards the camera, or what could be assumed as the protagonist. This effect also conceals most of the face of the girl, which may scare the audience more as they cannot see her walking towards the camera, making it more jumpy and creating enigma for her identity. Additionally, the glitch effect itself could represent the disorientation of the protagonist, common in supernatural horror films. 

First Glimpse - 0.20

The image above shows the first glimpse the audience receives of the possessed girl; however, the lighting is still dark to conceal some of the identity to a certain extent. The make-up used is really effective, particularly the contact lenses used as the girl looks possessed, adhering to the genre of the trailer. The close up shot used exaggerates the make-up also and the fact that she is looking into the camera, unsettling the audience as they may feel targeted, creating a sense of realism. 

Protagonist - 0.24

This clip in the trailer provides background information as to a potential reason behind the protagonist visiting the abandoned location. We can clearly see, as the audience, from this image that the protagonist is a photographer, potentially explaining why she was in the location.

Glitch Effect - 0.29

The following two screenshots show the glitch effect being put to use once again. The disorientation created corresponds to the genre of the movie and also instils fear in the audience as they feel lost and fear the unexpected or the unknown. The high angle shot of the victim represents her as weak and vulnerable, potentially being tormented by the entity. 

This image shows the black veil used to create the glitch effect in this clip.

The Eyes - 0.32

Here shows another clip whereby the camera is focused on an extreme close-up shot of the possessed character's eyes; however, this time they are looking into the camera. This creates fear and tension for the audience because, as previously mentioned, the audience may feel targeted and as though the girl is looking at them, which creates realism which many people fear. 

Attacking the Camera - 0.33

The next two screenshots show how the girl is then caught walking towards the camera, almost like stalking her prey. As evident, we see the character become unveiled from the dark to show her face once close to the camera and looking into the lens, which is extremely effect as the audience are caught off guard and become on edge from the scrutiny of the character. Again, the make-up here is rather effective in portraying the possessed aspect of the girl.

Here, we see the close-up, as mentioned above, of the possessed girl looking into the camera. The clothes can be seen briefly in this clip also, which show blood stains and dirt, suggesting the unnaturalness of the scene and the character herself. The eyes of the character are once again looking into the lens of the camera, making the audience feel targeted and involved throughout, an extremely effective feature of this trailer. 

Hidden in the Dark - 0.37

Here, we see a glimpse of the possessed girl once again, this time really hidden in the darkness of the room. This is effective as we only see the face, creating tension as to what the character will do. However, the scene then fades to black and displays the titles.

The Titles - 0.38

The film title is displayed at the end of the trailer, as common with many trailers, in order for the name to remain fresh in the audience's mind, and potentially make them want to watch the movie. The name of the movie itself is an effective play on words in terms of being similar to the term 'Exposure', a term used in photography which the main protagonist is established to be. It could also suggest the exposure of the possessed girl who had previously been hidden from the world.

The text is written in red on a black background, colours commonly associated with the horror genre. Additionally, there are what appeared to be scratch marks across the 'S', 'U' and 'R', which could represent the harsh scratches of the possessed entity. The typography itself subverts common representations of supernatural films as typically, they use Serif fonts, however, this example uses Sans-Serif; this could be to adhere to the modern approach of the movie, whereby the main protagonist uses a modern, high-tech camera.

The release date is then shown to inform the audience when the film is released into the cinemas so that they are able to see it should they desire. The typography used is the same as explored previously.

Ending Close-up - 0.40

To end the trailer, there is an additional close-up of the possessed girl, clearly showing the effective make-up and creepy contact lenses, which look into the camera. This then leaves a lasting impression on the audience, as they may be disturbed or unsettled by the appearance of the girl. 

Music:

• The fast beating of the drums creates tension and builds the suspense throughout the film, particularly as the cuts between each clip become faster and faster.
• The initial high pitched stringed instruments creates an eerie and tense atmosphere from the start.

Evaluation:

The trailer is incredibly successful in promoting the movie and adhering to the genre clearly desired. One of the more successful aspects of this trailer is the creative use of different camera angles and shots to portray the characters in certain ways. Overall, a highly professional and scary trailer, proving a success.