Trailer Analysis

Trailer Analysis One

One Missed Call Trailer

The fact that this trailer comes under the horror genre is signalled to the audience immediately as the trailer starts, due to the non-diegetic soundtrack being played. The music sounds quite child like due to the triangle sound ringing, though there is a more mysterious sound which goes along with it to set the opening of the trailer as being something out of the ordinary. In addition to this, the establishing shot shows the audience a dimly lit, shadowy scene of two girls sitting together, which sets the mood as being quite negative with the characters almost left in the dark about what is going on around them. The sub-genre is signalled soon after this, when there is a close up of the phone ringing, and the character says Thats not my ringtone. From here the audience can see that something supernatural has managed to take over her phone to make it create a strange, haunting sound. The sub-genre conventions are continued throughout the trailer in key scenes such as when the character begins to see faces of people who arent really there which is typical iconography of a supernatural film, and also he fact that the characters can hear themselves dying before it happens. The supernatural sub-genre is continued throughout the whole trailer, for example when one character visits a deserted old building (again, another use of iconography) she gets attacked by a supernatural force.

How Genre is Signalled

Celebrities being usedIf famous actors, writers or directors were featured in the making of a film, they tend to be advertised as a way of luring in film lovers in the film trailer. This is done because seeing a well known name reminds the audience of how successful their previous pieces of media have been and therefore suggests to them that the film at hand will be just as successful as media texts prior. This convention is used in the One Missed Call trailer towards the end, as in the final shot the audience is presented with institutional information regarding the film, and on this page are the names of two well known actors Edward Burns and Shannyn Sossamon. By presenting the audience with these two famous names at the end of the clip will give them a final piece of excitement about the movie, and therefore could potentially lure them in to watch it. There are also names of other celebrities on this page below the main stars, so any horror/film fanatics have a lot of variety of celebrities which they can expect to see.

NarrativeThe narrative behind this film is fairly unique for a supernatural horror, though it still manages to maintain key conventions so that the genre is still obvious to the audience. From the trailer the audience can see that a group of people end up getting killed after they hear themselves dying, and one girl (the final female) goes out of her way to try and stop this from happening to more people, herself included. The structure for this trailer is fairly conventional, as the audience sees the initial equilibrium where two friends are sat together when the phone rings, which despite the soundtrack and lighting indicating something darker it could appear to be fairly normal. The equilibrium doesnt last for long though, and soon the audience realise that this phone call may be the last that one character hears. This will instantly intrigue the audience as mobile phones play a big role in most peoples lives so seeing these used as a passage for evil to travel through would be shocking for the audience to see. After the initial and brief calm has been destroyed, there is a slight mystery around what exactly is causing these deaths and who controls them, and once it has been made clear to the audience that this is a supernatural force the pace substantially quickens in the trailer. The audience dont get to find out who or why these deaths are happening which allows them to have questions only to be answered by watching the movie, therefore encouraging them to watch it.

Mise-EN-SCENEThe use of mise-en-scene within this trailer helps to create a particular atmosphere in the frame and also helps frighten the audience. In the opening scene the two friends are shown in a house together. The lighting is dark and presents the idea that they are the only two people which are there, and is emphasised through the slight echo which goes with their voices. This portrays the house to be lonely and deserted, and the dim lighting helps to show that there is something not quite right. The fact that the opening scene is shot in a house makes the audience feel related to the characters as it is a scenario which they would be quite familiar with-spending time with friends at home. In addition to this, some scenes are shot showing the characters walking through town late at night by themselves, which is a common fear for people to have. The costume of the characters are kept very casual and typical of the fashion at the time the film was shot, again presenting the characters to be just ordinary people, showing the audience it could happen to them. Along with this the characters makeup is kept very natural looking showing their youth and potentially their naivety. Most of the mysterious occurring's happen at night which means that the lighting is minimal and shadowy, setting the mood to be eerie and therefore more tension is built for the audience.

CameraThe use of camera is a crucial part of showing the audience the action taking place in each scene, and allows the audience to have a better understanding of what is happening. In this trailer a lot of close ups are used which is an effective way of showing the emotion of the characters and also makes the scene a lot more personal for the audience to watch. A low angle has been used in one scene in particular to give one of the victims a false sense of power, as in the end she is killed. Point of view shots used help show what the character is seeing and put the audience in the characters shoes. In this case the audience will feel afraid as they can see how alone the character is. An over shoulder shot is another camera angle used to achieve the idea of the audience being in the characters shoes and seeing what theyre seeing. A birds eye view shot has been used to make the character appear weak and vulnerable, which links well with the characters position in the scene as she is being dragged away by an unknown force. It can also be used to hint that someone is watching the character from above and is towering over them.

SoundSound is frequently used within the trailer to create atmosphere and give more emotion to each scene. From the very opening of the trailer, before any characters have been introduced there is a non-diegetic soundtrack playing. This not only hints to the audience the genre of the trailer they will be watching but also sets the scene as being uneasy and out of the ordinary by the fact that regular music is being paired with a mismatching triangle/ringing sound. The diegetic sound of the phone ringing in the frame also has an element of fear with it as the sound itself has slightly mismatching sounds and also replicates childrens music. This links strongly with the convention of evil children which is presented to audiences in supernatural horrors. The phone also plays the sound of a woman screaming which would puzzle and frighten the audience as they would want to know who this is, and also screaming is a typical sound heard in horror films. There is a continuous non-diegetic soundtrack of a ringing sound mixed with the soundtrack throughout the trailer which halfway through the trailer gets a lot quieter and changes to a tone which builds up tension, due to the fact the cuts get more fast paced.

StrapsThe straps used within the trailer are shown fairly regularly at the beginning which help to aid the audiences understanding of what the movie will be based around and also hint as to why it should scare them personally. There are also more straps used at the end of the trailer as a way or summarising the unknown fate of not only the characters but the audience themselves. The first strap is displaying a fact regarding mobile phones, which is telling the audience the dangers which come with them and reflect that the events in the movie can be experienced by a wide range of people. One of the straps states that you shouldnt answer your phone all the time, which is followed by the trailer showing how answering your phone to the wrong people can put you in a lot of danger, therefore generating fear in the audience. One of the final straps gives a rhetorical question for the audience to ponder, leaving them feeling daunted at the question of what their death will sound like and if it could be found out the same way as the characters in the trailer do.

EditingThe editing techniques used in this trailer are in some ways quite unique, as in the more dramatic scenes there have been very strongly coloured filters added. When the victim begins walking to where she is eventually killed, the filter being used has a very high exposure, possibly showing how the antagonist (whoever of whatever this is) is watching them in a different way to how others would see things, hinting that they are not human. Once the victim has been found by her friend, the filter used is black and white illustrating her negativity and hurt emotions, and also making the scene appear something out of an old fashioned picture, perhaps indicating that what is happening here has happened many times before. Aside from using filters, the screen often fades to black and red which are two colours with very negative connotations of evil, blood, passion and darkness. Towards the end of the trailer each scene lasts for about one second between each cut showing the quickening of the pace, and also making it more scary when there are occasional scenes lasting for more than a second as the audience isnt expecting it.

Representation The people being represented in this trailer are from a modern society, and are being shown as being heavily reliant on technology (teenagers and young adults in particular). This trailer reflects how phones could be a passage for evil to travel through, and in turn makes society question the importance of mobile phones compared to actually spending time with people they care about, as in the trailer the final female keeps losing her friends to this negative force which is technology. The representation of young adults in this trailer is highly negative and stereotypical of modern audiences, presenting them to be obsessed with their phones, being irresponsible (by exploring a dangerous looking abandoned building and travelling alone late at night) and being friend-focused rather than spending time with family. This may in some ways appeal to the audiences as many people can relate to the idea of their phones being an important part of their lives.

Overall effectivenessIn my opinion I feel that this trailer would be effective in luring in its target audience as it addresses an issue in society which many people can relate to, there are a range of different camera angles and editing techniques and also the trailer uses non-diegetic sound which works well with the scenes taking place. My favourite technique used in the trailer was how at the end of the trailer each frame lasted roughly one second before the next cut, and at random moments there would be a slightly longer scene where something scary would happen, making it more unexpected for the audience to see therefore creating fear, and this is something I would like to transfer into my own work.