The Possessionhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hELze9YRTGs

At what point in the trailer are we told the name of the film? Why is this?

The name of this film is presented to the audience, like the vast

majority of trailers, at the end just before the credits so that the

audience are able to remember it.

Why are we told who is starring in the film? How is the information given to us? Why?

We are told at the end of the trailer, in the credits who is going to be starring in the film. If the audience is familiar with a particular actor who they have seen in successful films before, they will have a bigger interest in watching the movie.

What type of action from the film do we see?

We see a certain degree of fast paced action which is predicted for a horror movie trailer. There is also some violence and aggressive behaviour from the young girl. Some clips show magical, supernatural happenings; for example the characters impulsively flying across rooms from a seeming heavy wind. At the start, it is very normal every day action, but half way through the trailer, it becomes very surreal.

What clues does the music give us as to what type of film the trailer is advertising?

At the start of the trailer, the music is very simple, just playing three different notes; however this still has so much effect and creates a very absurd atmosphere. As the trailer progresses, it goes on the playing of simple chord sounds and then later, along with the chords, choral singing starts. The tense feeling created when watching the clip proves that it is advertising a horror movie as it gives a sort of morbid impression causing the audience to feel on edge.

How does the speed of what we see compare to watching a clip from a film? Why is this? Does the speed alter through the trailer or stay the same? What are the main transitions used?

The speed of this trailer isn’t as fast paced as I’ve seen a lot of horror movies to be. It has longer clips so that more text is delivered as there is no voice over. The part where the trailer does speed up is towards the end for the climax to get the heart racing. The speed in most horror trailers is generally a lot faster to what we would see in the real film, therefore it would be somewhat different watching this clip from the actual film. I couldn’t imagine it to be quite as gripping as the trailer because of the slower pace. The constant change in tempo and dynamics of the music helps add to the speed of the trailer and make it seem faster.

What information are we given in the very last frame of the trailer? Why is this?

In the very last frame of the trailer, we are given the writers names of the film, followed by “Coming soon”. The writing of coming soon is to draw in the audience and make them interested in when it will be introduced to the cinemas.

Does the trailer make clear its USP? What is it?

I can’t find a clear unique selling point in this trailer; however the fact that it states part way through the trailer that is it based on a true story, could be something that sells it to the audience as realism in a horror movie isn’t something one would expect to be very common.

Can you identify the logo from the distribution company? When do we see this?

The logo of the distribution company “Lionsgate” is presented right at the start of the trailer, following the typical conventions. It is presented again at the end in small and on the credits page.

Where would you expect to see this trailer? Before what films at the cinema? In the breaks of which TV programmes?

One would normally expect to see this trailer before films from higher age classification at the cinema as it wouldn’t be suitable for viewing by infants. It would probably come before the screening of a horror movie as the people seeing it will clearly already have an interest in horror films. Similarly, in the house it would only be expected to be shown at a later hour when children are not about to see it. Again, it would be shown in the breaks of the more mature, explicit TV programmes and quite possibly in the breaks of heavy drama or action films.