Paranormal Activity 1 Trailer Analysis

Spanning 1 minute 46 and 51 shots, the Paranormal Activity trailer is a supernatural horror, which identified by the audience in the the trailer due to the non diegetic slow paced, intense soundtrack, the use of long times between camera shots and through the use of the diegetic dialogue “somebodies here, I feel them breathing on me.” (which hints at the idea of ghosts) The audience is targeted at 15-25 though the use of young adults which could in a way, show resemblance, and also an age 15 rating is more beneficial to an age 18 rating to gain more viewers and then profit, Along with the basic transitions of cuts, a fade in/out transition is used 6 times between shots when the camera is viewing the audience, this technique is used to help ease the viewer in and out of shots. The majority of the sound is diegetic dialogue, the diegetic dialogue of“windows are locked, doors are locked, alarm is on” could create a false sense of assurance for the viewers, giving off the impression that the family are safe. The diegetic dialogue of 'screaming' is used with long shots of the audience to show their fear, which give off a good impression for the film being scary, also, the diegetic dialogue “if you do try to play games with it, thats inviting it in” is followed by silence, then a non diegetic sound of a door being slammed shut. Slow paced, Non Diegetic soundtrack is used at the start to resemble a heart beat, emphasising intensity. The trailer represents the characters as a couple living in a haunted house, we are shown that they are a couple through the long shot of the bedroom showing them sleeping together, showing that they have a string relationship, they represent both characters to be early to mid 20's which is part of the target audience. A sense of narrative is created through the trailer by camera shots showing that there is a 'ghost, demon or poltergeist' a POV shot linking with diegetic dialogue “there's footsteps in but there's no footsteps out” shows what appear to be footsteps of this unidentified thing, scaring the characters, which in turn makes the audience feel scared. The trailer creates a code of enigma by never showing the 'ghost, demon or poltergeist' the trailer ends on a female character being thrown across the room into the camera, which leaves the audience in suspense as it is left a mystery to them as to what it looks like, making the viewer want to watch the film in a hope to find out. Titles are used to communicate with the audience, the main one being “experience it for yourself” this is linked with non diegetic sounds of loud bangs and crashes, this, and the titles of “one of the scariest movies of all time” establish the mood and the very high expectations of the film. The camera shots and angles most commonly used in trailers are often the most important ones, but they don't have to be in order of the film, I think usually the most common will be an establishing shot at the start of trailers to set the scene, along with various Medium close ups and medium long shots to show emotion on faces and for general dialogue, mise-en-scene is costructed in trailers often in regards to their genres, for example, an action film such as the 'A-team' can feature lots of explosions, helicopters and planes, fast cars and props such as guns, where-as Paranormal Activity doesn't have any 'stereotypical' Mise-en-scene, the characters are wearing everyday clothes, and the props go as far as the handheld camera and ouija board. The film studio has used the trailer to market its product to gain an audience, people aren't likely to see a film unless they've had a 'preview' beforehand, a trailer is a great way to gain a potential audience, possibly, the trailer will be shown before other films of the similar genre or similar age bracket to appeal to the target audience. The film trailer was a high success in targeting an audience with a whole franchise of 1-4 and a fifth announced, it's one of the most profitable films ever, earning $194 million worldwide. Codes and conventions: - Studio information, Paramount. - Slow pace, gradually speeding up, similar to other trailers. - Title of the film, simple yet effective at the end of the film to keep 'fresh in viewers minds'. - No mention of actors unlike other trailers, could suggest actors not popular/known. - Eerie music used, typical of the genre. - only 1 minute 46, which is shorter than the average (2:30) could be because they weren't sure of the success of the film. - Finished with a 'sting' which is used to make the audience jump, typical of the horror genre. - Shots of the film are shown in a linear pattern and not in the order of the film, this is used to not give too much of the story away and not to spoil the ending. - Titles are used many times, often of 'reviews' never bad reviews as they want to give the film a good name, titles used to give information and to keep them stuck in the viewers memory. - British board of film classification determined the film '15' I think film trailers are hugely effective as a promotional device for films, if done well, it could bring in millions of viewers, because of the popularity of the internet, each trailer can be viewed by millions, which as well as showing the trailer before a similar movie, could bring in huge profits and then lead to sequals.