Sinister Film Trailer

The trailer my participants were watching

Interview

I asked four people who were available at the time to watch the horror trailer for "Sinister". I recorded their reactions whilst watching it and then asked them questions about it at the end. I had some technical problems with the camera not working to a great standard and only having a short amount of time to film, but i managed to get it finished and uploaded to YouTube yesterday.

 

From this interview I found out that the audience enjoys the shocking jump scares and the build up to the jumps need to be dramatic and suspenseful. They also thought that including features that deviate from social norms creates an eerie atmosphere. In the 'Sinister' trailer the parts that were considered the most 'scary' where the ones that were not expected, such as when the boy is coming out of the box and when the face turns on the laptop monitor, these things question the truths of reality as they are not possible in real life yet we are seeing them happen. This makes the viewer feel uncomfortable and jump scraes have a bigger effect.

 

 

Where to research


Initially i began my research on YouTube as it is one of the biggest online video databases on the net. I began by watching several trailers from different genres and started to notice some conventions that were obvious in the majority of them... Such as:
- Voice overs
- Titles
- Key moments of film
- Staring actors
- Names directors + Producers
- Music

My Genre:
I have decided to create a trailer within the horror genre as horror movies do not require extravagant settings and special effects, something I cannot manage on a very limited budget, instead in horror films directors try to achieve a high level of verisimilitude and film in settings which the viewer can relate to such as;
- Schools
- Homes
- Work 
- Graveyards
- Wooded areas

Horror trailers consist of scenes of the characters experiencing overwhelming emotions rather than trying to convey the storyline or plot of the film.

After I decided on my genre I pondered on back to YouTube refining my searches to Horror trailers, paying specific attention to recent successful movies. 



After I got a general feel for what conventions I was looking for in horror trailers I went to IMDb to get a more detailed perspective of each convention.
- Surviving Protagonist - The trailer usually features the main character in overwhelming emotional states, questioning the abnormalities of the horror elements.
- Dark Atmosphere - The setting of the trailer usually consists of a dark and gloomy atmosphere, with bad weather and shots during the night.
- Cliché phrases - Using cliché phrases such as "Where am i?" and "Who's there?!" lets the viewer know the genre of the film, as these type of phrases are typical to horror movies.
- Authoritative figure - Like police or someone of a high status job, this denotes the sense on good vs evil. 
- Dramatic camera angles - Dramatic camera angles, such as extreme close ups, are used to accentuate the characters emotions, fear and to allocate importance to certain characters or items.  
- Interrupted action - Action that is shown on screen is often interrupted by on screen titles so to not give away too much of the story line and to make the viewer want to find out more.
- Isolated location - The location of the movie is usually in an isolated area with a distinct lack of people to create a sense of abnormality.
- Music - The music in horror trailers is usually dramatic and intense creating a dramatic build up.

 

Trailer Research

In the movie industry there are mainly two types of trailers, Full Length and Teaser trailers.

Full Length Trailers

 

 

Full length trailers are designed to entice the audience into watching the film and implies the genre, plot and storyline of the film to the audience without giving away and key information which would spoil the film for the viewer. Music is a key concept of trailers as the actual scenes from the film are not long enough to emotionally capture the audiences attention so using music allows the audience to become emotionally involved with the trailer despite it's lack of content. Another key concept of trailers is the use of voice overs. The voice used is usually a deep and sensual to fill the trailer with emotional content and to actively engage and involve the audience in the trailer.

Directors, producers and screen writers are often listed in the titles of the film, this can give the audience clues as to what sort of film the trailer is advertising for example, Red Eye (2005)'s official trailer seems to be advertising a romantic comedy, however, just before the genre of the trailer changes a title displaying Wes Cravens name appears suggesting to viewers that the film is not a romantic comedy as Wes Craven is well know for producing Thrillers such as A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and The Last House on the Left (2009). Also displaying directors, producers and screen, writers can aim their advertisements towards a directed fan base, for example, someone who likes Quentin Tarantino is more likely to watch a film by him compared to someone who doesn't.

 

 

Teaser Trailers

 

 

Since the 1960's directors having been taking a much more significant role and has lead to more stylistic versions of trailers, which involve montages of scenes and silent or sparse music. Unlike full length trailers, teaser trailers are usually released about a year to a year and a half before the film, the main intentions of the trailer are not to inform the viewer about the content of the film but to simply let them know that the film will be coming out. Often teaser trailers are include cryptic messages which lead up to a much larger product launch. For example the sequel to 'The Hunger Games', 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' is due to be in theatres 22/11/13 and have released the following teaser trailer...

 

 

 

In the trailer two main enigmas are created one of them being the love affairs that were established in the first film and the questioning of the female protagonists life lasting to the end of the film. These questions that can only be answered by watching the movie. This all builds up to a very excited and hyped audience resulting in extraordinarily high profit.