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Textual Analysis Of a Horror Movie Trailer

Friday the 13^th, directed by Marcus Nispel, is one of many horror movies among the American Slasher Genre which was released on Friday the 13^th of February, 2009. The film is a reboot of the Friday the 13^th film series which began in 1980. The trailer is narrated by what sounds like a fairly aged women, who we later find out to be ‘Jason’s’ Mother.

I believe ‘rebooted’ films automatically attract a large fan base as the audience of the first film would be interested in viewing a modern and more sophisticated version. The plot consists of a group of young adults who discover a boarded up camp, known as camp Crystal Lake. During their stay they encounter ‘Jason Voorhees’, a man who had apparently drowned in that lake many years ago and become victims of his deadly intentions.

The opening scene of the teaser trailer is an establishing shot of a lake which slowly tracks in, which is then followed by two scenes of what seems to be woodland in low key lighting. The scene starts of as a black screen and fades in to the establishing shot of the lake which connotes the scenery may be a quiet and peaceful place, but there is something dark and mysterious among it, which we soon find out to be ‘Jason’. This is backed up by the two scenes which follow the opening one, as there are some lights flashing in the dark woodland. I believe the intention of using such low key lighting was to create a sense of suspicion and anxiety, along with hinting to the audience there is something scary about the lake. We can immediately assume that the lake is deserted due to the diegetic sound of wind blowing and other natural sounds.

The trailer then cuts to an extreme long shot of what seems to be a very old abandoned cabin amongst the woodland. Low key lighting is still being used throughout the scenes and the diegetic sound of mild wind is still in the scene. I believe they are both used with intentions of preparing the audience to prepare themselves as ‘Jason’ is soon to be revealed. The scene then cuts to a closer shot of what the camera was previously focusing on and we can see that it is what seems to be a very old wooden cabin which could quite possibly be abandoned. During the scene, which I would describe as a medium close-up of the cabin there is a voice over which sounds like a fairly aged women. It says, “Did you know a young boy drowned here?” which allows the audience to predict that he has something to do with the ‘mysteriousness’ of the lake.

The scene then cuts to someone running with a torch which helps the viewer to make sense of the flashing lights in the previous scenes. The scene is a very quick cut and it is difficult to make out who the person running is, or whether they are male or female. The background music, which sounds like mild wind is still playing and it gives the whole teaser trailer a cold and conspicuous feeling. However it stops in the next shot as the camera tilts showing somebody inside a room, possibly inside the cabin opening a door. Foley sound effects are used to enhance the ‘creaking’ of the door and the persons footsteps. The ‘creaking’ of the door denotes that the cabin is indeed very old and also creates a sense of wonder for the audience. The trailer then cuts back to someone running with a torch, probably the same person in the previous scene and there are some design sound effects which create a sense of anxiety for the audience, as they would be anxious to know what the person is running away from.

The pace changes constantly throughout the trailer, for example in the opening scenes the pace is very slow, however closer to the middle of the trailer there are a variety of quick cuts which is used to add tension to the trailer.

The next scene shows what seems to be a woman holding the torch inside of the cabin. We can see this from the body shape and it is backed up by the sounds of a scared and vulnerable women breathing. The camera then focuses on a baby doll lying on the floor which had been made visible due to the lady shining the torch on it. Again, the baby doll connotes that there is something amongst the woodland that is mysterious or scary perhaps. During these two scenes there is another voiceover by the same lady who says, “He wasn’t a very good swimmer”. This helps the audience to sympathise with him until they find out he is a murderous psychopath. The shot of the woman in the house is a medium long shot and low key lighting is used yet again. I believe the intention of this is not to reveal too much to the audience about the characters or and to create a sense of awareness that there is something evil lurking. I believe the shot of the baby doll is a point of view shot, used to put the audience in the characters shoes to make them aware of how scary the situation is. Another point of view shot is used two scenes later when the women shines the torch around the cabin, as we believe she is trying to look for something or find her way out.

At 0:38 the camera tracks behind the woman as she walks through the cabin. Low key lighting is still being used. The audience can hear the women’s monologue as she says, “oh my god”. This reveals to the audience that she is very scared and as she turns around we can briefly see a dark figure in silhouette, who I believe to be ‘Jason’. This is first revealing shot as we can actually see ‘Jason’. During his scene the woman’s voiceover comes back and says, “The councillors weren’t paying attention”. Again this helps the audience to sympathise with the ‘Jason’ as it seems he died as nobody looked after him properly.

At 0:42/43 there is a quick cut from someone running through the forest with a torch, to a women who looks very scared having her mouth covered by what seems to be a hand. There is incidental music being played over the scenes too add tension and a sense of anxiety. The music is very high pitched with another ‘thumping sound’ which makes the audience predict something is about to happen. The following scenes show more people shining torches in dark places which suggest the area is deprived of electricity, which supports the prediction that the lake is abandoned. After that there is a point of view shot of a dirty teddy, which helps the audience to understand ‘Jason’ is still a child at heart.

We then see a medium close up of a female and a male running very fast, both carrying flashlights. There is then a quick cut to a close up of a male who looks terrified, as if he has just seen something very disturbing. This adds to the mysteriousness of the trailer as the audience will wonder what he has just seen. As the incidental music continues to play, there is another noise added which sounds like a heartbeat. As the trailer goes on it is then made clear that this is indeed a heartbeat as it gets faster. It is also in sync with the editing as this is when the trailers pace starts to get faster. Following these scenes there are then a variety of quick cuts in fast pace all edited in this way for the intention of creating tension. The lady narrating then reveals that the boy that drowned in the lake was her son and his name is ‘Jason’.

However between 0:56 and 1:00 there is almost complete silence as the camera focuses on a lightshade swinging. Foley sound effects are used to enhance the lightshade squeaking, which connotes the house is very old. The silence is a tactical technique used by many directors to add tension to their film. Quick cuts are used to show ‘Jason’ very briefly behind the light. This is because the director wants to only give the audience a slight hint of what ‘Jason’ is like so they will be eager to watch the whole film to see him. Jason is revealed again for the last time in the trailer between 1:07 and 1:10 as he runs towards a female on the floor and swings a machete towards her. Just before this scene the narrator reveals today is his birthday, which could suggest he gets pleasure from killing. Incidental music is used again as the camera tracks out from the dark eye hole of ‘Jason’s’ mask. The title of the movie, “Friday The 13^th” then appears across the face of the mask in sans serif font, giving a modern feel towards the movie. The number 13 then turns red connoting that there is a lot of bloodshed in this film.

To conclude I can tell that horror movie teaser trailers only intend on revealing a little bit about the main character, and more about the setting and other characters. I can also tell low key lighting helps to give a suspicious effect and keeps the audience on ‘the edge of their seats’. Incidental music is also a great tool used to create tension amongst the audience and works even better when in sync with the camera movement. I can also tell that in order to only reveal a little bit about the main character quick cuts are essential and the pace of the trailer increasing at some point throughout helps to create tension and anxiety amongst the audience.

Textual Analysis of horror movie poster

Friday the 13^th, directed by Marcus Nispel, is one of many horror movies among the American Slasher Genre which was released on Friday the 13^th of February, 2009. The film is a reboot of the Friday the 13^th film series which began in 1980.

The main purpose for a film poster is for advertisement and to make people aware of the film. Poster distributors tend to distribute the poster to a wide audience advertising it wherever they feel necessary, such as in magazine, on billboards, on the sides of buses, the internet and many more places where they feel it can catch people’s eye. The intentions of film posters are to make people want to go and see the film or to raise awareness with intentions of selling more copies.

The main colour scheme of this poster consists of predominantly low key lighting, as does the trailer along with some red and white text. Jason’s surroundings are also very dark connoting he has something mysterious about him. The low key lighting of the poster also creates a sense of loneliness, fear and anxiety which all fit in with the genre of the film. The only high key lighting seen in the poster is the lighting coming from above the trees. It seems as if the trees are towering over Jason, blocking out the light connoting that all ‘goodness’ exists outside of the woodland. Behind Jason is a mixture of grey and blue creating a misty/Smokey effect. This is used to make Jason stand out and to add a sense of mystery to the poster. There are many things we could link to the colours on the poster, such as red connoting bloodshed and black connoting something mysterious, decay or possibly death and I believe the colour scheme was used in addition with the mis-en-scene to create a unwelcoming feeling. I believe there is a strong amount of non-verbal communication as Jason is looking directly at the camera holding a machete. I believe this suggests that he is a murderous psychopath who prefers to use a machete as his choice of weapon. The setting is deserted woodland which denotes dirt and messiness. This is backed up by Jason’s choice of clothing. Although it is not clear what Jason is wearing, we are able to see that it seems quite scruffy and dirty. The mask he is wearing also seems dirty and also connotes there is something mysterious about the film. It is also fair to say the mask denotes that Jason is a mysterious individual, who does not want anyone to see his face. This attracts audience members as they are likely to want to know what he is hiding? The machete he is holding suggest he uses machetes to attack his victims which we later find out to be true after watching the film. The machete connotes a lot of things which could fit in with the film genre, such as killings, murder and torture. Jason’s stance and props denote he is an evil person who likes to perform torture acts on his victims which helps the audience to predict he is a sadist.

A low angled shot is used to suggest that Jason is a superior individual with a fair amount of power, as it seems he is towering over the viewer connoting he is more powerful than everybody else. It almost seems like the photo is a point of view shot of one of Jason’s victims as they are lying on the floor. The long shot consists of Jason’s whole body, which makes it clear he is a tall, big built person which could suggest he uses his size to his advantage when needing to fight with his victims.

The tag line which appears above Jason’s head reads “Welcome To Crystal Lake” is in normal sans serif font and is bold so it stands out to the viewer. The tag line creates a sense of welcoming and calmness which contradicts the photo of Jason holding a machete. The tagline also creates a sense of sarcasm as it is quite clear neither that Jason, nor the area is welcoming. Although average woodland is seen as welcoming to an average person, Jason’s presence and the misty for lingering around him tells us otherwise.

The mast head on the poster is very significant as it states the name of the movie, and typically its release date. Apart from ‘Jason’ the masthead is probably the most ‘eye-catching’ part of the poster, as it is coloured in ‘blood red’ and is in large bold sans serif font. We are already aware that the decision of using the colour red has intentions of connoting bloodshed. As the posters main colour scheme is black and other low key colours, the redness of the title allows it to stand out. Above this is a selling line making the audience aware that the film is produced by the same producers of the reboot of ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ released in 2003. I believe this is to attract more fans, possibly fans of the ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ or anyone who is interested in producers producing more than one film.

Empire Magazine Textual Analysis

‘Empire’ is a British film magazine published once a month by Bauer Consumer Media. It was first published in July 1989 and has gone on to become the biggest selling film magazine in Britain, never failing to out sell its nearest market rival, Total film. Although it is a British film magazine, it is also published outside of the UK, in Australia, Russia and Turkey. Empire organises the annual Empire Awards which are sponsored by Jameson, previously sponsored by Sony Ericsson up until 2009.

The denotation of the front cover is a high angled close up of ‘The Joker’ played by heath Ledgers in the film ‘The Dark Knight’, directed and written by Christopher Nolan. It is typical for film magazines like Empire to feature one of the main characters on the front page as the main purpose is to advertise the film to its demographic audience and create a sense of awareness about the characters. The picture consists of The Jokers full face and cuts off just above his forehead where some hair is revealed. His head is slightly tilting down towards the floor, possibly connoting that he thinks he is better than everyone and must look down on people. The lighting on the poster is mainly high key apart from a dark patch situated in the bottom right corner. This connotes The Joker may have a dark background or a bad side to him, which contradicts the smile on his face connoting he is a happy person. The left side of his face seems slightly darker than the right side, this backs up the suggestion that the joker has a bad side to him as this is a common technique used to create a sense of wonder about the character. At a glimpse the average person would just assume he is just a clown; however the lighting allows the joker, at a closer look to reveal his true identity.

Although The Jokers head is tilting towards the ground, he is making full eye contact with the camera and has a slight grin on his face. The non-verbal communication staring eyes connotes that he wants or is after something and there is a great deal of determination involved. The smile on his face denotes he is calm about the situation, or seems to have control. His full face of makeup denotes he is a clown, however also connotes he may have something mysterious about him or something to hide. Due to the close up camera shot, we are not able to tell the setting of the photo, however the calm look on his face could suggest he in a place of comfort, possibly his hideout.

The main colour scheme of the front cover is black and green with a hint of purple, despite The Jokers bright white face. The slightly saturated colours are used well as they create a large amount of contrast which attracts attention.

The masthead which is normal bold sans serif font attracts the reader’s eye as it is very bold and large. The use of neon green to highlight it again adds to the awareness of the poster and makes the masthead stand out. The three chosen colours used on the writing of the front cover are white, black and green, which I believe are three colours which complement each other very well. The chosen colour scheme also acts as a direct link to Heath Ledgers character as The Joker had a white face, black makeup and green hair They also work well with the front cover as there is a fair mixture of colours among front cover. The selling line above the masthead reads, “Two covers to collect” which is used with intentions of increasing sales, as readers will want to buy the other Empire magazine featuring The Joker. The cover lines are also highlighted in neon green, again making a direct link to the film and also used to make them stand out.

Overall the front cover does a good job of catching the reader’s eye and the colour contrast helps to make the magazine stand out. I believe the shot used and the composition of the front cover both help to signify the main character, helping the reader to understand the characters importance which could then result in them buying the magazine to find out more about the character

Research on Which Channels Would be best to air our film

I have recently been doing some research into which channels would be best suited to show our horror trailer if it was to be made in to a full film. With the extraordinary amount of channels on modern television, we have been contemplating which channel could show our film legally. Due to the explicit content of the trailer, it is inevitable it would have to be shown after 9pm.

Almost as soon as I started researching, I was made aware of the ‘Horror Channel’. This channel is made specifically for horror movie fans, specialising in cult, Hollywood, Comedy, B-Movie classics, modern thrillers and some documentaries and biographies. This channel could be suitable for our film, however does not specifically define that it specialises in ‘Slasher’ films.

Depending on whether or not we would be looking at a global audience, ‘Chiller’ could appeal to our group. ‘Chiller’ is a 24-hour American cable and satellite television network specialising in horror and suspense programming.

Other common UK film channels such as Film4 and Sky movies would also be ideal due to the large amount of viewers they obtain.