1. Grave Encounters.
Grave Encounters (click here for trailer) was released on the 9th of September 2011 in the USA, and is about a reality TV show about ghost hunting that goes terribly wrong when the crew enter a psychiatric hospital. The music and sound used in the trailer really creates an immense tension and build up. It contains both diagetic and non-digetic sound. As the movie is from the point of view of a film crew, there are lots of sounds from the camera equipment they use, which makes everything seem a lot more real. The actors in the film's speech also creates a tension, and seems realistic which gives the audience a fear of what is going to happen next, for example "I'm going to document everything because when we get out of this place, people are gonna wanna see this" at 1:19. You also hear crying, heavy breathing and screaming from the actors, sometimes you see what they're reacting to, and other times you don't, and that adds to the horror feel. The non-diagetic sound track over parts of the trailer has a very fast beat, with drums and bells at some point, which speeds up the pace. There is also the classic horror film aspect within the music, of the violin scratching rising sounds, which peaks at a "jumpy" point of the trailer.
The characters within the Grave Encounters trailer are mainly the film crew, which seem to all be young adults. There are more men than woman, and I think there is only one woman in the film crew. It is shown in the trailer that the woman gets the words "hello" engraved into her side, which shows the woman is one of the main victims of the spirits, which we want to add into our own trailer. There are also mental patients in the trailer, which are obvious very mentally unstable, which creates more fear and tension for the audience. Near the beginning of the trailer, there are two older people. They tell you about the past of the building and ghostly events that have happened there, which shows the stereotype that the elderly are wise. There is also a silhouette of one of the ghosts within the hospital. Because you can't see any features, it creates a creepy feel.
The mise-en-scene in the trailer is generally very dark, shadowy and empty. This all together creates a scary, creepy atmosphere, which also fits into the hospital scene. There is peeling paint, which shows that's it perhaps abandoned. There is also blood involved, adding to the horror. Text about information and the storyline of the appears over the scenes.
The camera's used in the trailer are both hand held and fixed, giving you establishing clear shots, and a personal view of the character. I would love to add this to our own trailer, as I think it is a brilliant effect and adds variety to the trailer, making it more exciting. There is night vision used in the trailer, which makes things more tense. In most horror movies, the monster as such, is normally hiding in a dark place, and by using night vision, this allows you to the see the attacker. Most hand held camera shots are low angle, which makes things seem more realistic, as they aren't holding them in a professional way, because of the panic. There are lots of panning shots which show off the location, showing all of it's creepy aspects.
2. The Fourth Kind.
The Fourth Kind (click here for trailer) was released in 2009, and is about alien abduction. It is said that there are four times of abductions, the first kind is sighting, the second kind is evidence, the third kind is contact, and the fourth is abduction. The music and sound is very typical of the horror genre, as it effectively creates suspense and fear within the audience. All the sounds are non-diagetic, bar the sounds made by the actors, creating a fast pace flow to the trailer. The sounds in the trailer are low and moody, created by drums and violins, and these together create a low rumbling sound. There is also a section of the trailer where a piano is playing, and that sounds very creepy. The archive footage scenes and the alien recording featured in the trailer are fuzzy and this makes them seem more life like, as they don't seem very professional. There is also screaming and yelling, and even nails scraping on the floor, which are all diagetic sounds made by the actors, which make you scared, as you want to know what they are reacting to.
There are two types of characters in this trailer, the "real" people who feature in the "real" footage, and the actors that reenact what happened in reality. Actress Milla Jovovich explains in the trailer who she actually is in person, and explains that she's acting out real events. This whole idea gives the movie a documentary feel, that makes the movie scarier as it's acting out real events. The other characters involved are Dr Abigail Tyler, who's a psychologist, her patients, other adults and the police.
The camera shots and angles in the film are also spilt into two, the archive footage and the film footage. The archive footage looks very unprofessional, as it is just a camera mounted onto a tripod, so the angles are mostly just mid shots. The film footage, shot on professional cameras however, use angles such as close ups, panning, and sometimes there are up to three shots are the same time, in segments on the screen. This juxtaposition between this two make the real footage seem so much more life like and believable when compared to the other shots.
The mise-en-scene in the trailer is quite homely. This makes the film look scarier, as it isn't based in a typical horror film location, eg. a graveyard, but what looks like a nice, upper-class area, which makes the threat of the film more relatable. However, most of the fabric colours and the costume are fairly dull and bland, which is an aspect of the typical horror genre.
3. Paranormal Activity 2.
Paranormal Activity 2 (click here for trailer) was released in 2010, and is the sequel to Paranormal Activity. After the success of the first film, this film was really highly anticipated.
The camera shots and angles of the trailer start off with a scene from the previous film; it's a mid shot in night vision of a body being thrown at the camera. There are then night vision shots of a cinema audience watching the film. This night vision theme continues in the trailer, with high angles shots from security cameras all over the house. This night vision idea is very popular within the horror genre, as it gives of a very creepy feeling, as in night vision, you can see things in the dark that you wouldn't normally see. The whole trailer is shot with a hand held camera, which the family use to record moving into their new home, but then also to record unusual paranormal happenings in the home. By using a handheld camera, it makes the film/trailer seem like you're not watching a film, just family tapes, which makes everything seem real. There are shots ranging from mid shots, establishing, panning, two shots and close ups.
The music and sound in the trailer is mostly diagetic, with screaming, panting, barking, the sound of crickets, a baby's laugh and gurgling, noises of the camera and a door slam, which all add to the feeling of reality. There is also a non-diagetic sounds of a low rumbling and rising sounds when there is high tension in the trailer, creating more suspense.
The characters in the trailer involve a family and the demon tormenting them. In the family include a baby, a dog and a teenage, which are all very vulnerable characters. This could make an audience want to watch the film, to see if anything happened to those characters.
The mise-en-scene of the trailer is very dark, with night vision shots, and most of the paranormal happenings taking place in the night. Near the beginning of the trailer, there are light, bright shots of the baby's room and two-shots of family members holding the baby. All this seems to happen before all the horror, which creates a juxtaposition of happiness and the horror.
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