Typical shots of horror film campaigns

Maddison Bunny Allin

Annabelle: Shot types

TYPE OF SHOT? Shot of the production logo, Warner Brothers. This is a logo that is widely recognized and is the first shot of the trailer.WHY? This is so that the audience recognize the film as one that has been produced professionally due to its good reputation. It is also used to give the audience information on which company produced the film. WHAT IS THE FUNCTION? The function of this shot is to draw the audience in to making them think that it will be a good film due to the reputation that the film company has.WHEN? This is the first shot which is used within the trailer which straight away puts the idea in the audiences mind that it is going to be a good film. HOW WILL I USE IT? I will definitely be using this shot, of my production logo, to give the audience information on who produced the film. My logo however will not draw the audience in as it will not be a well known logo.

Shot 1:

TYPE OF SHOT? This is an establishing shot which is the 2nd shot within the trailer after the production logo of a regular house which people would see in everyday life.WHY? This shot is used to represent the setting of the film to the audience which is a regular setting which the audience will be used to seeing in everyday life. WHAT IS THE FUNCTION? The fact that it is set in a ‘normal’ environment makes it much more horrifying for the audience as they know that bad things can happen in normal, everyday life and therefore it represents the genre of horror before they know the rest of the details of the film.WHEN? This is the second shot after the production logo which focuses the audience directly on the setting of the film.HOW WILL I USE IT? I will also be using this shot within my film so that I can establish the setting of my film straight away within the trailer.

Shot 2:

Shot 3:

TYPE OF SHOT? This is a close up of the doll in the film ‘Annabelle.’ This shot has dark lighting and highlights the doll.WHY? The fact that the main focus of this shot is the doll establishes the characters within the film as this is what the film is mainly about due to why it is called ‘Annabelle,’ after the doll.WHAT IS THE FUNCTION? The function of this shot is to introduce the audience to the main character in the film being the doll, Anabelle. The fact that the lighting is dark reinforces the genre of horror as it is a common representation of this genre. WHEN? This shot is shown near to the beginning of the trailer when the two main characters who live in the house take the doll out of the box and put her on the shelf in the nursery.HOW WILL I USE IT? I will probably use a close up in my movie trailer to show either a victim or a killer as I think it is a good way of representing the genre of horror.

Shot 4:

TYPE OF SHOT? This is a mid shot revealing what is happening in the window opposite the bedroom of woman who lives in the house. It shows what looks like somebody being murdered with very dark lighting used. WHY? This shot is used to represent the genre of horror as common conventions of horror are darkness and murder. The fact that there is blood ‘squirting’ on the walls shows that there is somebody being murdered. WHAT IS THE FUNCTION? The function of this shot is to further represent the genre of the film to the audience which is horror. This is very effective as it is a scene which is common in many horror films. The fact that the woman who is asleep at the time does not realize, represents a theme of the unknown from her behalf. WHEN? This shot is shown near to the beginning of the trailer whilst the main character, being the woman, is asleep in her bed. HOW WILL I USE IT? I will probably use this type of shot in my trailer to make it seem like the victims within the film are unaware of what is going on and what is going to happen to them throughout the rest of the film.

Shot 5:

TYPE OF SHOT? This is a mid shot of two of the characters in the film (the victim and the ‘killer’ behind her.)WHY? This shot is used to build suspense for the audience and makes it seem scarier because the audience can see what the victim, being the woman, cant see further creating a theme of the unknown for the character which is commonly used in horror films. The facial expression of the woman is also scared which tells the audience how they should feel. WHAT IS THE FUNCTION? This is used to express the characters, showing the binary opposition of good vs. evil in the same shot which is a common binary opposition used in horror films to express the killer as evil. WHEN? This shot was used towards the middle of the trailer when the genre of horror is being built up and identifying the problem which is that there is other people in her house which she is only just realizing. HOW WILL I USE IT? I will use this type of shot in my film trailer to try and create a similar shot to try and express the situation my characters will be in for example, to show that my victim cannot see the killer even if the audience can which builds suspense for the audience as they will be able to know more than the character.

Shot 6:

TYPE OF SHOT? This is a close up of the weapon, being a knife, on the floor being picked up by the murderer. It reveals blood on the knife showing that there is already somebody who is being hurt/murdered.WHY? This shot is used to further build suspense for the audience making them think that somebody else is about to get hurt or murdered straight after he picks up the knife. It also presents to the audience that anything such as a house hold object can become a weapon in the killers hands. WHAT IS THE FUNCTION? This is used to further express the characters such as the killer in the film as being evil and not good. It is also used to confirm to the audience that people are being murdered and it is also a convention of a film within the genre of horror. The fact that this is the only thing that the audience can see, makes the audience feel like they are in a confined space.WHEN? This shot was used in the middle of the trailer when the suspense is highest when the killer is being presented to the audience and the fact that they are killing people with a knife. HOW WILL I USE IT? I will use this type of shot in my film trailer so that I can express an event which is taking place such as somebody about to be murdered. However, this shot does not give away too much within the film which is good as it doesn’t show who is killed if someone is killed and only lasts a few seconds.

Shot 7:

TYPE OF SHOT? This is typography saying ‘before the conjuring’ which is another well known horror movie, uses thin lettering which fades onto the screen.WHY? This shot is used to give the audience the information that this film, ‘Annabelle’ is the film that the ‘Conjuring’ leads on to.WHAT IS THE FUNCTION? This is used to not only give the information to the audience but also to make them want to see the film more if they enjoyed the film ‘the conjuring’ which was a very popular film that could therefore be a reason for the audience to want to come and see the film WHEN? This shot is used towards the end of the trailer so that the audience can keep the information in their mind that it will be a good horror film which will be similar to the film it is followed by and they will also think that the film could give them a backstory to the previous film. HOW WILL I USE IT? I will use this type of shot, typography, in my film trailer to further represent the genre of horror and to also give the audience information on my film such as dates, actors etc. This will make the audience feel as though they can trust my film.

Shot 8:

TYPE OF SHOT? This shot is a close up revealing the same doll shown earlier on in the trailer however this time just her face with a drop of blood next to her eye whilst she is being held by a woman. As the camera zooms into the face of the doll/ WHY? This shot is used to further represent the doll to the audience who is the main part of the film and to also make the audience realize that she has been the cause for the bad events which have been happening within the film. WHAT IS THE FUNCTION? This is used to further represent the genre of horror and represent what the film is about however still not giving too much away. WHEN? This shot is used at the end of the trailer to express events and situations that will happen in the film and also to express characters. The use of blood being a common convention in horror is useful here as throughout the trailer they have constantly reminded the audience that it is going to be a horror film. HOW WILL I USE IT? I will use this type of shot within my film trailer so that I can express the events as well as the characters within my film trailer but still without giving too much information away to the audience.

Shot 9:

TYPE OF SHOT? This is typography saying the name of the film which is ‘Annabelle.’ This is used in pretty much all film trailers, including horror. WHY? This shot is used to give the audience a final reminder of what the film is called so that the audience remember it and watch the film. WHAT IS THE FUNCTION? This is used to not only give the information to the audience but also to remind them of what the film is called so that they are more likely to go and watch it. The use of dark colours further represents the genre of horror to the audience. WHEN? This shot is used at the end of the trailer so that it is a final reminder to the audience. HOW WILL I USE IT? I will definitely being using this type of shot in my trailer to tell the audience what my film is called so that they would be more likely to go and see it.