Teaser Trailer - Teases the audience. They do not reveal any plot details and only give minor details.
Theatrical Trailer - Reveals equilibrium, disequilibrium and potential resolution. Also establishes characters and settings.
Codes and conventions are used in two ways. Firstly, they permit an audience to recognise a particular style of film. They create shortcuts through familiar plots, characters and mise-en-scene therefore the audience already have knowledge on what is going on leaving them to explore the finer details. Secondly, for film producers, codes and conventions don't necessarily guarantee success but they build towards developing a film production.
Ultimately, films within the horror genre have an audience that already have know the codes and conventions backwards that it has become self-referential (making reference to itself, its author or creator, or their works). and postmodern in their approach.
Early horror films were mostly male dominated ones; women tended to be the victims or objects of desire. This supports Laura Mulvey's theory of 'Male Gaze'; the idea that women are presented as an image for the dominant male to be bearer of the look. Therefore, the predominantly male audience within late 1920's/ early 1930's sat and watched as women were threatened and killed but at the same time may have had a woman accompanying them.
The masculinisation of female characters in the horror genre has eventually happened over time. This is evident within films such as Danny Boyle's '28 Days Later'. Naomie Harris's character 'Selena' is a great example of this. Selena's main priority within the film is to remain alive in a time of desolation and anarchy. Moreover, she insists on being unsentimental at all times in order to show no form of weakness as this could convey vulnerability which could lead to death. As well as this, little femininity is shown through costume; majority of clothing consists of long overcoats, khaki trousers and work boots (typically worn by men).
Naomie Harris as 'Selena' within Danny Boyle's '28 Days Later'.
In order to gain greater knowledge and a clearer understanding of the codes and conventions of the Horror Genre, I have decided to independently analyse the following categories within theatrical trailers -
Narrative Structure - Narrative structure is about two things: the content of a story and the form used to tell the story. Two common ways to describe these two parts of narrative structure are story and plot. Story refers to the actions that are told in chronological order.
Audience - A group of individuals the film production is aimed at.
Characters - Individuals that help to tell the factual or fictional story.
Setting - The place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event takes place.
Narrative Elements - Characters are the people or animals a story is about. Setting is the time and place in which a story takes place. The plot tells the events that happen in a story. Often a plot includes a problem and a solution.
Mise-en-Scene - Mise-en-Scene encompasses the most recognisable attributes of a film (the setting and the actors; it includes costumes and make-up, props, and all the other natural and artificial details that characterise the spaces filmed. French theatrical expression, meaning roughly 'put into the scene'. Mise-en-scene broken into four general areas: setting, lighting, costume and staging.
Camerawork - The way in how angles, composition and framing is achieved to show something or someone in a particular way.
Sound - Diegetic and non-diegetic sound, sound motifs, soundtrack and scores as well as sound effects.
Editing - The work of selecting and joining together shots to create a finished film either in chronological order, storytime, discourse time. The way a film is edited can alter the way an audience is made to feel emotionally. This supports the Kuleshov effect (see image below).In his experiment, Kuleshov cut an actor with shots of three different subjects: a bowl of hot soup, a young girl in a coffin, and an attractive woman lying in a couch. The footage of the actor was the same expressionless gaze. Yet the audience raved his performance, saying first he looked hungry, then sad, then lustful.
First Trailer Analysis - 'The Ring' (2002)
Linear narrative containing flashbacks. Singles stranded narrative but from different character perspectives. No use of graphics or titles until stating where the spectator can find out more information regarding the film online (i.e. website) at the end. Creates enigmas - 'whose voice can be heard?', 'who is responsible for the creation of the tape?', 'Does the protagonist die?'. Follow Propp's character types i.e. the hero, the enemy, the helper, the princess etc. Supports Levi-Strauss's binary opposites idea - young versus old and good versus bad. An ideology that children should be kept away from harm is presented within the trailer as we see the protagonist's son becoming influenced by the danger that surrounds them. Camerawork consists of many long shots to show the narrative setting as well as the individuals within the scene. Moreover, the use of medium close-ups and close-ups give the audience understanding into emotions felt by the characters at specific times as we can read their facial expressions clearly. For example, Naomie Watt's character lives in constant fear within the film as we see her either screaming, crying, looking worried or confused by either her environment or individuals around her.
Second Trailer Analysis - 'Haunt' (2013)
Single stranded narrative that follows Hollywood three-act theory; equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium. Creates enigmas - 'whose voice can we hear?', 'who is the mysterious girl that keeps reappearing?'. Strobe and flickering of shots makes the spectator struggle to see the enemy much like the protagonist is unable to find the enemy. No graphic or titles are used which connote that what the audience see isn't fictional which supports the idea of realism. Narrative setting is within protagonists home; this juxtaposes the idea that home is a place of comfort and security as the victim is seen being threatened in an familiar environment.
Third Trailer Analysis - 'The Purge - Anarchy' (2014)Enigmas are created - 'Do the couple survive?' 'If so, how do they escape?'. Levi-Strauss' binary opposites mainly consists of good individuals fighting against those that are bad (the enemy). Juxtaposition between the visuals and the soundtrack is shown throughout; America's national anthem plays which connotes unity and patriotism yet the spectator can see anarchy and chaotic behaviour from American individuals fighting against one another. Mise-en-scene entails gas masks, guns, make-shift weapons and fire/vandalism. Gas masks and guns are stereotypicaly associated with conflict and war that has changed the course of history. Therefore, it could be perceived that 'The Purge' is something that could change the lives we live now. Rhetorical questioned is asked near the end of the trailer 'How would you purge?'. This makes the audience consider the ideology they stand by as they begin to think about how they would react to the situation if they were to find themselves in it. Narrative is told following the Hollywood three-act theory with flashforward.
