The film trailer which I have chosen to analyse is called Paranormal Activity 4, which is a psychological horror movie directed by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost and was released October 2012. The narrative of the movie consists of a new sequence and storyline to the previous Paranormal Activity which had shown to the audience that Katie had taken Wyatt, her nephew and has never been seen since. The new plot now shows how a new family consisting of just a single parent and a child have moved into a vacant house in a neighbourhood where paranormal events begin to take place to all those involved with this family. The film consists of many award winning actors and actresses who play the roles of; Alex (Kathryn Newton), Ben (Matt Shively), Doug (Stephen Dunham), and Katie (Katie Featherstone). I have decided to analyse this psychological horror trailer as it contains many codes and conventions which are not only identical to the previous movies released by Joost and Schulman, but because this trailer consists of many codes and conventions which are identical to the movies which are released today within the same sub-genre.
The Codes and conventions/shot types and angles:
· The common code and convention which is highly evident within the trailer is the use of the colours; black and dark green. By Joost and Schulman using these colours it connotes many things to the audience in order to make the trailer appeal to them and create demand for it upon its release.
· Firstly, the colour black connotes to the audience; darkness, enigma, and death. In relation to Paranormal Activity these themes are highly evident of the film and consist within all previous films of the Paranormal Activity series. By Ariel and Henry decided to continue with the same colours used on the previous films, it clearly means that this colour scheme is identifiable and a signifier to the target audience
· Moreover, by having dark primary colours used within the trailer connote to the audience of possible scenes and themes which may be conveyed within the film itself. For example the heavy uses of black connote darkness and death which are clearly associated with Paranormal events and therefore should clearly be seen within the film by the target audience
· Another evident code and convention within this trailer are the uses of close up shots and over the shoulder shots. By the director’s using these shots within the trailer many times, it allows the consumers to see the facial expressions of the protagonist/antagonist within the trailer.
· In addition, by having the audience being able to see the facial expressions represented by the antagonist/protagonist it enables the audience to catch the possible moods and emotions felt by that particular character within the scene, therefore allowing audience interactivity as some members of the audience will be able to empathise with being in that position.
· By having particular close up shots within the trailer, it also makes the audience feel uncomfortable and enigmatic. These emotions and codes are easily conveyed and make the audience wonder why such an uncomfortable shot is being used of the face for example. It allows the audience to see the full extent of emotions being felt by the actor/actress on screen and therefore makes the trailer seem highly scary and conventional of a horror movie
· The uses of the over the shoulder shots allow the audience to see a common convention within horror movies; that being having the antagonist directly behind the protagonist. By having the antagonist viewed as looking over the shoulder of the protagonist allows the audience to see the tension and relationship between the two characters within the shot being represented through their body languages. Furthermore, by having the antagonist’s identity hidden makes the consumers from the target audience wish to see who the person is along with heightening suspense and enigma within the scene itself
Editing:
- Within the trailer there are obvious edits which have been made in order to represent that trailer as coming from a horror genre
- For example, during the trailer there are many jump cuts it connotes to the audience that there is an element of chasing within the film as the trailer starts off with minimal jump cuts however as the trailer begins to pick up pace, the jump cuts become a reoccurring theme. By the heavy uses of the jump cuts it represents to the audience that the protagonist may be getting chased by something or someone and by having the film titled as Paranormal Activity connotes to the audience that something of a supernatural spirit is in pursuit.
- Also, within the trailer there is a use of fast paced music which is accompanied with fact paced editing. Through using this common convention within horror trailers it speeds up the trailer and heightens the tension which makes the trailer seem more dramatic and grabbing the audience’s attention. Moreover this also connotes the element of chasing being a code within the film as previously mentioned
- Another form of editing evident within the trailer of Paranormal Activity can be seen through an effect of no signal being used. This can be seen at times when the trailer is cut off and skipped to a new scene within itself. The reason why this is used within the trailer is to allow a smooth transition from one time period to the present. In relation to the trailer of Paranormal Activity 4, this has been used to show the baby Hunter (young boy) who was snatched from his cradle and taken away, whereas within the present scenes portrayed within the trailer shows just a young boy. This has been used to show the link from the previous set of films to this new one and by using the effects allows the consumers to make a direct link to previous films of this nature and link a story line from it; this is what creates demand for the movie upon its release.
Sound:
- The sound within Paranormal Activity varies from short voice over’s all the way to a long eerie soundtrack
- Within the trailer, the majority of the synchrous sound comes from natural sources such as a baby’s crying and a hefty amount of sudden screaming. The uses of this connotes to the audience that this film has a natural element to it and this is further extended from the fact that Paranormal Activity is based upon real life events
- Furthermore, by having the uses of sudden screams within the trailer at points where the audience don’t expect them give an element of shock and surprise which is a common convention within horror trailers
- By having sudden screams within the trailer followed by darkness connotes enigma to the audience as they wish to know why someone is screaming
- By having someone screaming and babies crying it also connotes to the audience that someone is in immediate danger and discomfort and these emotions are easily felt by the consumers of the trailer also. This helps create realism along with audience interactivity which creates demand for the movie
- Due to the different sounds being used within the trailer it assists the movie in building up tension which keeps the consumers at the edges of their seats and will result in demand being made for the movie upon its release
Mis-en-scene:
- The mis-en-scene within the trailer enables the audience to easily establish that this film is from a horror genre
- For example, the antagonist within the film is shown within a conventional over the shoulder shot with his/her identity hidden through the use of low key lighting. By having the antagonist’s identity hidden through the uses of low key lighting creates enigma and makes the audience want to know the full identity of the antagonist
- The representation of the antagonist makes him/her easily identifiable by the consumers from the target audience. For example, by having the antagonist dressed and heavily viewed within low key lighting with black clothing connote the audience that the antagonist is associated with death, enigma and darkness which partly show his/her identity. This is a common convention within psychological horror films
- The damsel in distress is also easily identifiable by the target audience through being represented as weak and fragile
- The audience can draw these stereotypical conclusions through the damsel in distress being represented in minimal clothing and having blonde coloured hair thus connoting her as a blonde bimbo
- Furthermore, by having the teenager wearing minimal clothing possibly connotes her as having hardly any protection as many protagonists wear heavy clothing and do not reveal a lot therefore connoting themselves as preserved hero’s.
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