In Depth Trailer Analysis- Dream House (2011)

Link to Dream House Trailer

The title ‘Dream House’ implies a psychological storyline due to the word ‘dreams’ and also implies something is not real and is a ‘dream’ and this creates an enigma ; what is real and what is a dream? The trailer starts off with the institutional information and logos that is usually seen in most trailers. The titles between the shots are white on black and the font is jagged. The use of binary oppositions black and white represent good and evil and the fact that it looks like the white is fading into the background suggests that good is too and is being taken over by evil. There are titles used for narrative exposition but also create questions; which itself creates enigma. This makes the audience want to see the film to find out the answers and what happens in the end.

There is a traditional family containing a man, woman and two little girls who are their children. The sense of a loving family is created right from the beginning, when the children are hugging their father. The fact that there are two little girls who are scared is very emotive and has more of an impact.

There are the typical character types of heroes (father) and villains as well as victims/damsel in distress (wife and children). However they are not the typical character types as we are unsure who the villain is and there are hints; when he is he is shown on the camera in the asylum, that the hero is also the villain. The involvement of Daniel Craig; seen in James Bond among many other films may be a selling point for the film as people may recognise him from his previous films therefore they might be encouraged to see this film more because of his involvement. The children and the wife are presented as victims as well as damsels in distress that need to be saved, however, they may be already be victims as there are indications that they are already dead therefore cannot be saved.

The main locations are inside and outside of the house. Inside where it is light and outside where it is dark.

This uses Strauss’s binary oppositions and highlights the contrast between the good of the family inside in the light and the evil of the man outside in the dark. Also the fact that it is winter creates a more oppressive atmosphere as it seems darker and the man in the shadows appears darker in contrast to the snow which silences any movement outside. The trailer focuses on a chiaroscuro shot of a basement but the father is clearly presented as the hero as he is stood in the light. It also shows that he will have to confront the darkness and danger presented by the basement; there is also the use of the binary oppositions known and unknown. The use of chiaroscuro lighting to create darkness and shadows adds to the theme of mystery and unknown as well as helping to present certain characters as evil and high key low contrast lighting to present other characters as good.

Establishing shots outside the house of a man looking at the house who we do not see the face yet and it is just a silhouette. This then changes to a medium shot of the family inside of the house as though he has just arrived home; which is matched with the little girl’s dialogue: ‘daddy you’re home’. There is contrast between the light inside and the dark outside. There is a shot reverse shot between the male and female characters and there is a quick montage of shots which establishes the romance between them and that they are together and have children. There is an over the shoulder shot of the mother and one of the little girl reflections in the window as something hits it.

This enables you to see their facial expressions and the girl screaming. This has a significant effect on the audience as it will make them jump as well as increasing tension.

There is a close up of the parents asking the little girls if they are okay which immediately signifies that something is wrong. The pace of editing starts to increase after a series of shots with fades between them. There is a low angle shot of the father stood at the top of the basement stairs looking down at the camera, this would normally indicate power and domination but in this case it makes him appear weaker as he doesn’t know what is in there hiding in the darkness this is a common convention of thrillers and horror films as it creates anticipation and fear in the audience. This is followed by close ups of him in the basement with his face partially hidden by shadows which indicates the twist that he might not be good after all as well as creating the enigma that we don’t really know who he is or his connection to the killer. The pace of editing increases and the shots are accompanied by more dramatic sound stings as the shots shows some disturbing images of dolls and candles and blood. There is shot reverse shot between the man and the father as the effect of the realisation sinks in – that he is the man on the tape.

This creates a dramatic impact on the audience and puts emphasis on the terror of the situation that in fact the father may be the killer.

The quick paced editing surrounding the shots in the asylum creates a tense atmosphere and anticipation in the audience and puts negative attention on the father. There is a medium shot of the mother holding a knife looking scared which indicates that there is a threat hidden from the audience’s view.

The knife is a strong indicator of violence, as well as establishing the genre and narrative themes. In this case it seems as though it is in self-defence therefore making the audiences support lie with the mother. This presents her as a potential victim. There is a low angle shot of the mother opening the door at the top of the basement stairs then the same shot with the door continuing to open but the mother is suddenly not there.

This hints at the fact that she is a ghost and has been dead all along. This creates enigmas through the use of hermeneutic code as the audience is unsure as to what has happened to her or what will.

There is unnerving non-diegetic music which turns into the diegetic sound of the young girl playing the piano establishing them as principle characters. The tone of the music is quite eerie due to the use of a single instrument. Non –diegetic voice over creates narrative exposition and fills the audience in on what is happening as well as creating questions and enabling the audience to create different individual ideas and interpretations such as different ideas as to who the killer is. The next few shots are accompanied by eerie sounding sound stings which creates an unnerving and tense atmosphere. The pace increases the shots are accompanied by dramatic sound stings. There is a series of shots containing dialogue creating narrative exposition and making it clear that in the past there has been some murders and that there is still the threat of a killer related to that particular house. There is dialogue from all the members of the family but mostly the females presenting them as scared victims.

There are further ominous sounding sound stings at the realisation that the man on the tape in the asylum is the father and the enigmas created by that realisation.

The white haired man from the asylum’s diegetic dialogue turns into a non-diegetic voice over as he informs the father of why he was in the asylum and for how long. This creates narrative exposition and although he is telling the father he is also informing the audience too. Whilst this is going on there is a shot of the man sitting at a table covered in shadow only a candle around. This connotes what the audience is already thinking; did he commit the murders and is he a threat now?

The genre is a thriller with horror elements. Typical conventions of this genre seen in this trailer are the creation of enigma- who is the killer? As well as many twists making it more exciting to keep the audience guessing. Also there are several proairetic action codes such as when they are looking out of the window saying: ‘something is out there’, then something hits the window. Although the audience is partially predicting it, it still has a large impact especially as it is accompanied by the loud diegetic sound of the young girl’s scream.

Some questions start to be answered when the focus on the father increases but only to create more enigmas; what does he have to do with the murders? This makes the audience form their own answers and interpretations as to what has already happened and what is going to happen.

There is an establishing shot of an asylum which could create many interpretations and ideas about the killer and the link to the father- such as; is the father the killer and has been in an asylum?

The pace of editing speeds up towards the end creating more tension and there is a series of shots containing action codes as well as close ups of the two main female characters horrified faces.

The film has elements of violence, blood and gore; however it is not the main focus of the film as the film focuses more on the mystery. Due to only some blood and violence enables the BBFC rating to be lower, as a 15, therefore widening the target audience. The violence mostly involves guns and bullet holes rather than knives so it appears less violent and threatening than a horror film. There are also elements of romance which could appeal to some people more, stereotypically women, so therefore they might be encouraged to see the film more.

Trailer Analysis of Different Genres

HEROES

The Incredible Hulk

There is a non-diegetic voiceover; creating narrative exposition and sound stings on different shots to increase the impact that they have and make them more dramatic. Fast paced music is used to match the pace of editing, which is fast in order to create tension and emphasise the action which is a common convention of hero films. The titles are white on black which links to Strauss’s binary oppositions of good and evil and heroes and villains which are both Proppian character types commonly found in hero films as well as in most films but they adhere to more conventional forms in roles in action and thriller films. The trailer also contains something which is in all trailers; the institutional information and logos. There is the use of special effects such as CGI which is a common convention in hero films as they create characters and add to dramatic events. They are present in the trailer as they are needed to introduce the characters as well as draw the audience in by creating impressive looking action using special effects which are further emphasised with sound effects.

In this trailer there are elements of romance which is often present in these films as they enable the character type; a damsel in distress to be created for the hero to rescue. Also the romance adds more to the narrative and makes it more appealing to different audiences not just teenage boys who would watch it because of the action- the romance may typically appeal to girls as well. Typically the editing starts off slowly and increases towards the end in order to increase tension and make the viewer want to go and see it.  There is also a contrast between rural and city settings which shows the use of lots of locations which shows the scale of the film and makes it seem more exciting as well as enabling the use of a variety of shots.
Typically, for a film trailer, it contains the film's title as well as a ’coming soon’ title plate which is usually shown on teaser trailers instead of  the release date which they may have not decided on yet.

Hellboy II

Like The Incredible Hulk trailer it contains a voiceover which then turns into diegetic dialogue creating continuity and linking the characters and themes together. This is also done with the use of a sound bridge and music which creates atmosphere and drama. As usual in this genre of film there is the use of sound effects to emphasise the action and dramatic events. The use of a variety of shots helps to maintain the audience’s interest and make them want to see the full film. There are some comedic elements that add to the entertainment of the film as well as creating a larger target audience. There is fast paced editing all the way through that highlight the action in the film and make it look like a lot happens in it to make it look as though it is worth seeing.

The Dark Knight

There is the use of sound stings to emphasise dramatic events such as explosions which match the pace of editing like the non-diegetic music which increases in speed, however changes to slower heroic sounding music when you see the film title, which matches the common convention of a hero. However the music has a darkness to it which suggests that Batman has a darkness to him which seems to be a common theme in this trailer as the lighting remains Chiaroscuro as it is mostly shots of both the villain and the hero at night which could connote that darkness is taking over. There is a non-diegetic voice over from the joker in the beginning which turns into diegetic dialogue then later on there is a voice over from batman.

Having the voiceovers from the characters; using characters' dialogue as a voiceover helps with characterisation and especially the introduction of the two main characters. Also the voiceover shows the tone of their voices which introduces their characters even more and really creates an atmosphere and tension –due to the use of a sound bridge; it is like the villain is addressing the audience, therefore involving the audience more which creates more excitement. To start with there are some long shots of buildings and explosions which creates an impact and introduces the setting of a city. There are some elements of romance which creates a larger target audience by making it more appealing to women. The characters and narrative are very comic book like especially with the characterisation and mise en scene surrounding the characters such as make up (Joker) and costume as well. There are Foley sound effects which add to the impact of the action such as the sound of a slicing knife when the villain uses his knife which make it seem more violent and his character seem more threatening. The use of different locations and the contrast between dark and light shows the contrast between the two main characters- hero and villain which are both Proppian character types usually present in this genre of film. Towards the end there is an element of comedy involving the British butler and the Batman's choice of cars which adds more to the overall entertainment of the film. There is also as usual the date of release which are seen in most trailers.

COMEDY

Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging

There is bright, natural High key low contrast lighting, used to represent bright, sunny daylight which implies everyday life and that the film is going to be realistic and not contain elements of fantasy.

It also suggests that the film will be upbeat and optimistic; a 'feel good' realism. Also it is common in comedies as they are supposed to be humorous and about real people and real subjects that make people able to relate to it more which increase the level of humour and overall entertainment. There is a non-diegetic voice over done by a person who is not a character in the film which makes it seem as though they have an outsiders viewpoint of telling the story which is common in comedies due to a large amount of characters and it makes it feel as though you are looking in on their lives- adding to the humour of the film. The titles are pink and feminine suggesting the target audience is teenage girls as well as being a bright colour.  There is an element of romance as well as comedy which makes it a rom-com. There is the institutional information and logos.

Get Smart

The use of the voice over for this trailer adds humour as well as narrative exposition and the tone of voice is quite humorous. There are elements of action as well as comedy which adds to the narrative as well as setting and characters. The pace of editing gets faster as does music and action which is common in action and thriller films and not usually comedies but due to this being a parody of the genre this editing technique is used to put emphasis on the action as well as breaks in the action to put emphasis on the comedy. Sometimes the action itself is quite comical therefore adding to the overall humour of the film.

Having action and comedy also creates a larger audience for the film so therefore more people are likely to go and see it.  There is classical music that changes from non-diegetic to diegetic as the orchestra is playing this should suggest sophistication however it has a humorous quality adding to the comedy of the film.

Meet Dave

There is positive sounding music from the start over the institutional logos which adds to the comedy of the film as well as drawing the audience in as a trailer should. This is common in comedy films as they need ways for the audience to remember the trailer and the music is an obvious way of doing that. Also the main character is walking in time to the music so it shows humour by implying it is diegetic when it is really non-diegetic.

The voiceover, which is common in comedies also adds to the humour, it is common as it is an easy way to establish the story as well introducing the characters. This voiceover directly addresses the audience; ‘meet Dave’, which makes them feel more involved. There are several transitions in the beginning  accompanied with  sound effects which put emphasis on the editing as well as making seem as though time is passing a showing Dave in different situations. There is a ‘coming soon’ title which is common in most trailers when they do not give a release date. The titles are red which is a bright primary colour contrasting to other genres such as thrillers which use deeper reds, usually with black, that have connotations of blood. This red is bright and cartoon like therefore creating a positive vibe rather than a foreboding one.

HORROR

Prom Night

The trailer starts off the institutional information and logos as well as non-diegetic music that sounds quite positive which could be quite misleading. There are changes between diegetic dialogue and non-diegetic voice overs as well as sound bridges which connect the shots together and creates continuity as well as narrative exposition. There are sound stings when the pace and feel of the editing changes and everyone panics and the shots flash creating a panicked effect which contrasts to the start of the trailer and creates a more tense atmosphere as does the increased pace of editing.

There is the sound effect of the knife which creates more of an impact as well as making it appear more threatening rather than him holding a gun which would be more common in thrillers rather than horrors and creates more anticipation and draws the audience in. The knife appears to be more violent and hints at the idea of blood and gore and a slower and more painful death compared to a gun which is quick and is not really a main focus. This is common in horrors as it puts emphasis on the death. Also in the second part of the trailer the lighting is dark low key high contrast chiaroscuro compared to the first part in which the lighting it high key low contrast. The lighting mirrors the action and content of that particular part of the trailer as the lighting tends to be dark when someone dies or something bad happens which is a common convention of horror films.

Quarantine

Shows the ‘events’ filmed on a hand held camera to make it more personal and traumatic. The voiceover is talking about ‘something’ that happened and is implying a government cover up theory. This created enigma’s with the audience already. Builds fear as audience question whether they can trust the government. There are scary sound effects and screams which seem to be in numerous horror trailers and is a key convention in them. Special effects/make up on the infected person makes her look scary and show film horror as she attacks the ‘filming crew’ which enable the audience to know what to expect. Night vision makes it more realistic and highlights it’s at night time which is a key convention of horror films. When the military find the tape it creates fear and anticipation because they are about to watch the horrific events that went on their previously to their arrival. Fear also created with audience as shows even the military over powered by the ‘infected.’ Music is fast paced and high pitched, adds an eerie atmosphere and makes events seem more fast and chaotic.

The use of the voiceover makes the events seem ‘real life’ which creates terror with audience and makes it a lot scarier. This trailer also has many of the horror conventions, fast paced with fast music and lots of sound effects and scary voiceover all highlight the genre to the audience.

NON MAINSTREAM

City of Men

Even though less mainstream, City of Men still includes many of the typical features of trailers. There is a male voice over in order to clearly establish and illustrate the narrative of the trailer, displaying Fiske’s theory of narrative vs. story. There is also non-diegetic samba and Latin type music, fitting  the Rio setting. The clips establish the two protagonists and the peripheral characters. The relationships are shown through the voice over. At first the setting appears calm and beautiful, yet it is disrupted by an ambiguous sound effect of either thunder or a gun shot, thus emphasising the film’s theme of violence. Guns are present throughout to reinforce this. After this, the slums are then shown consistently to show they are poor highlighting the problems of poverty facing the films main characters. Overlay titles are used to keep our focus on the action. The editing is fast to reflect the style of the film. The plot is exposed but not completely given away to make viewers want to see the film; through the creation of enigmas. Diegetic sounds of the guns are exaggerated putting emphasis on the action element. The use of freeze frame is used for dramatic effect to direct the viewers’ attention to specific events. At the end ‘Coming soon’ is not actually shown.

The Fox and Child

Throughout, softness and a feeling of calm and peace is created by the almost constant diegetic sound and images of birds, animals and nature, even though the production logos. A piano is heard again creating the same. Delicate fades are used as transitions rather than harsh straight cuts and the editing pace is slow. The overlaid titles glow to give a magical feel. The young protagonist girl and fox are established. At the beginning they are only seen in different shots, but by the end they are always in shots together showing the development of their relationship and friendship. Lots of extreme long shots are used to establish the surrounding nature and lots of extreme close ups create an intimacy and delicacy. They show very little of the disruption of danger at the very end. This time ‘Coming Soon’ is shown

John Fiske

John fiske

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Todorov's Narrative Theory

Todorovs narrative theory

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Proppian Character Types

Vladimir propp

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Claude Levi Strauss - Binary Oppositions

Claude levi strauss

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Barthes Narrative Codes

Barthes codes

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Welcome

I am Emily Jesson and I am studying Media Studies at A2. This is my blog for my coursework tasks: Planning, construction and evaluation of my groups trailer. It also includes my ancillary tasks: poster and website.