Thursday 27 September 2012

Trailer Analysis - Paranormal Activity 4

The first 24 seconds of the trailer flashbacks to the previous Paranormal Activity films. The film is shot through a hand-held camera to suggest the happenings are real or to give a sense of reality. The trailer begins with the children and parents living a happy, carefree lifestyle until we see the 'paranormal' taking over in short sharp cuts. The scene then cuts to a young girl operating a hand-held camera, which is the typical conventions of a Paranormal Activity film. The girl also fits the conventions of a woman in a horror movie. She has blonde hair suggesting she is 'dumb' and is young which connotes her naivety. The scene then cuts to the kitchen, which is in darkness, again a typical convention of a horror film. The light then switches on, suggesting there is unknown activity in the house. After this, it cuts to the next day, where the girl says she has been feeling 'weird', suggesting that the mood of the film is going to change. When the scene cuts to the young girl on the phone to what appears to be her boyfriend, it gives the sense of reality as she is filming everything that is about to happen on her handheld phone. She then films the boy next door from a high angle, suggesting he is powerless however this is soon to change. As we hear her non diegetic voice 'he's so creepy' the boy looks up to the camera and the lights go off denoting the power he has. The call between the girl and her boyfriend then begins to buffer and cut off, again suggesting the young boy has power of this. There is also underlying drum sounds building to a crescendo implying something is about to happen in the trailer. We can also hear the non diegetic sound of an alarm which also builds to a crescendo 'front door open, back door open' building up as the girls fear also grows. We then see an over the shoulder shot of a figure behind her and the door slams shut, suggesting something is about to attack the girl and the girl is trapped. The last scene ends with a girl walking out of the door with a young child, which is caught on CCTV, suggesting that she has been possessed or that the 'Paranormal Activity' has taken over.

Trailer Analysis - The Last Exorcism



The trailer begins with the non diegetic voice of the man driving the car: 'Exorcism is alive and well. Today its bigger than its ever been', establishing what the film is about. The shot ends looking at an abandoned house connoting that there is no one around or near to help. A medium shot then appears of a young girl looking distressed suggesting that she is going to be the girl who is possessed. After this, text emerges: 'This will be his last.' connoting that the man performing the exorcism does not survive. The shot cuts to the man talking about his daughter, then cuts to his daughter standing in darkness in what appears to be a night gown, suggesting that she is young and naive. The scene then cuts to a medium shot of the girl on the ground, which then cuts to a close up shot to show the fear on the girls face. There is a close up of 2 hands locked together when there is a non diegetic voice in the background 'good, there's nothing to be nervous about', however it is the total opposite as the girl then jolts to one side during her exorcism. The camera zooms out at this point to show the girls full body and effect the exorcism is having on her. A close up shot of the daughters face appears to show the audience the effect of being 'possessed'. Her ragged hair and bloodshot eyes suggest what ever has possessed her has took over her body and mind as at the start of the trailer we see the 'normal' girl. Shots then fade in as writing appears on the screen. Non diegetic loud drum sounds can be heard picking up pace as the shots become faster suggesting that the trailer is going to come to a halt. The audience see a medium shot of the girls face reflected in a broken mirror, connoting that she is also metaphorically 'broken' as she has become a different person in body and mind. Sharp cuts move between shots of the girl as she is 'possessed', climbing up on to ceilings again suggesting she is abnormal. Loud non diegetic screams can be heard suggesting pain, not only in the girls life but also her families. After the short sharp cuts, the trailer appears to be 'cut off' like a television, suggesting that the trailer is about to come to an abrupt end. The scene blacks out then the girl appears, bent back as we hear the non diegetic 'that isn't human' suggesting that someone/something has possessed the girl as she screams in pain.

Monday 10 September 2012

Trailer Analysis - The Possession


The trailer begins with soft piano sounds which could denote a calm atmosphere, as well as the apparent day to day life the family is showing. The scene then cuts to the father and daughter laughing which could also imply a happy, carefree life. When the family are seen to be at a car boot sale the daughter dresses up in a white hat and gloves, the use of white accessories could denote her purity and innocence, When she identifies the box the clip does several short fades becoming closer to her face showing her happiness after discovering the box. She also calls her father 'daddy' which relates to young children, again showing her childlessness. Whilst the scene cuts to a dark scene of the daughter in her bedroom, we can hear the non diegetic voice-over of her father 'whoever made this didn't want anybody to open it' which suggests the box holds something suspicious or unknown. 'Based on a true story' soon appears on the screen which could entice the audience to watch it, making them believe the story is true.

Short, sharp cuts begin, which show the parents worry and distress about their daughters different moods; as this is happening we hear the non diegetic sound of a fork tapping a plate as if it were a ticking clock, which may suggest something is going to happen in time. The fork sound then becomes diegetic and the clips become much faster, building pace and alternating between her plate of food and her fathers face. This builds up to the the climax of her fathers hand hitting the table and Emily attacking her father somewhat out of the blue. Many short clips are put together to show the fast pace of the attack happening. When the next scene cuts, it is of a typical dark night which is present in most horror film trailers making the scene seem dark and dull. As the man's non diegetic sound of 'demon' is said, Emily pushes glass onto the floor in front of her Mother which shocks the audience, with the sound also coming to an abrupt end. It cuts back to a close up shot of Emily's face looking scared and upset  which is juxtaposed with the voice of the Jew 'the spirit is the taker of children' at the same time, suggesting she is not the pure, innocence child she once was. We then see a long shot of Emily in the middle of a dark road wearing a typical white nightie denoting her purity and innocence which again is the opposite with her new found self. As scenes then cut and words come up on to the screen we hear non diegetic type ghost voices which could denote the voices in Emily's head which have made her become possessed. Tension is built when all sound is stopped and all we can hear is the Fathers voice reading out of a bible, making the audience wait for the next action from Emily.

There are then short sharp cuts of the 'possessed' Emily accompanied by a hymn type sound, suggesting she has been possessed by something god-like. The sound then comes to a crescendo when the clip repetitively flashes and the box becomes the centre of frame showing the storyline is based around this mysterious box.When the scene cuts to Emily in the bathroom we can hear the non diegetic sound of her Mother 'I saw something in her', then the trailer ends confirming her mother's suspicion with a close up shot of two fingers coming up from her throat, denoting that 'something' is actually inside of her.