I have been asked to use a trailer which fits my chosen genre and analyze it in detail, commenting on the narrative, mise en scene, camera angles, dialogue and setting. The film trailer I have chosen to analyze is 'The Others' because it follows conventions seen in most films.
Sight
The trailer begins with the green screen telling the viewers that it has been approved for all audiences. Following this is the company logo which fades in from black. The fade from black is a common transition in the horror/thriller genre because a main characteristic is something slowly appearing from the blackness and is used a lot throughout this trailer, it gives the trailer a pulse which speeds up as the trailer progresses subconsciously causing the heartbeat of the audience to speed up. The first shot of the film shows a foggy setting with a bare twisted tree branch reaching across the top half the shot framing the mansion behind as if it was trapped or being grabbed which represents the evil presence which grasps the house, the mansion is barely visible behind the thick fog with connotes an air of mystery surrounding it. This immediately tells us the genre of the film is horror. The next shot is that of the inside of the house. A quick pan across a staircase further increases our idea of where this film is being set.
The next sequence of shots introduces the main characters into the plot, starting with the woman who we presume owns the house. The next people introduced are the housekeepers, we see that the woman and the older female housekeeper stand in exactly the same position with their hands held in front of them which suggests the two will have a stronger link than house owner and house keeper. Next the children are introduced, dressed in white which contrasts with the dark surroundings, this gives them an angelic or ghostly persona.
After the introduction of the main characters the relationship between these characters is established to the audience. Primarily, the conversation between the two children and the nanny is used to show how the children are undecided of the new nanny. The code of expression for the next few shots shows uncertainty between the children and the nanny, the mother and the nanny and the fear from the young boy contrasting with the confidence of the young girl when the curtains are flung open in the bedroom.
The lighting throughout the whole trailer is overall, very dull and orange. This creates the effect of candle light and positioning of the light casts long shadows across the set, further adding to the creepy mysterious aura which has been made. In some shots, the lighting produces a chiaroscuro like effect on the faces of the protagonists, a style which has been taken from film noir and used to emphasise the untrustworthiness and mysteriousness of the situation.
During the climactic scenes instead of fading through black the shots quickly flash white between each other perhaps symbolising lightning or even flashes through time as the trailer flicks backwards and forwards through the storyline. At the end after the suspense falls we see the film title then a girl sitting playing with a puppet. The puppet suggests she has control over something and she hums eerily. As the camera cuts from the mother and back to the girl we see she is dressed in a white dress symbolising purity and innocence but also giving her a ghostly appearance which contrasts with the innocence and creates an extremely eerie scene.
Sound
"Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin."
The first thing we hear is a woman's voice ask this question as if she is about to tell a bedtime story. This is ironic because bedtime story's are meant to put children at ease before they sleep but the eerie way in which she says it makes the audience uneasy and the opposite of comfortable. The music starts immediately after, it does not fade in, it just begins on the first shot of the tree branch and the house. In this trailer there is a lot of dialogue which is uncommon in horror films. Usually horror trailers are based on the visual aspect of the film whereas much of the information about the film is given through the conversations between the different characters. The section in the middle of the trailer from about in most of the trailer there is very little music, however there is a lot of eerie sound effects like howling wind and creaking doors. All stereotypical of the genre. As the exposition progresses the more frequent the sound effects become building up tension until a crescendo where the characters are seen frantically running and panicking. There is a faint tune in the background but is barely audible above the shouting, running and banging which is being played louder in the action part. Suddenly the crashing stops and everything turns calm. The housekeeper says "sooner or later, they'll find you" an eerie sentence which sticks in the audiences head because of the silence it broke. A flickering sound is heard as the film title appears which is followed by a ghostly humming by a little girl. In this context it sounds sinister and creepy and the audience know that she's no ordinary girl.
