The Woman in Black

Media Language

Trailer analysis

Cinematography:

Establishing shot opens the sequence to introduce the stereotypical setting of the horror genre that is featured in the film.

Tracking shots are used to give the audience an insight of the house and the characters and to make them feel like there is a journey going on. The horse shot is used to make it feel rushed and important.

Also the use of close ups are to illustrate the characters inner thoughts and feelings for the viewer, close ups of creepy objects and toys are found in the house are also prominent to highlight the sinister goings on that will happen and how it involves children.

Sound:A sound almost musical made by the toys, is used at the beginning to create a tense feeling for the audience and to add pace.

This non diegetic sound is followed of a female child narrating the trailer, used to create intensity and a creepy feeling, this also relates to stereotypes in the horror genre and hints at what the film is about. The voice introduces the main horror character as a woman, which goes against stereotypes.

The music speed up along with the editing towards the middle of the trailer to increase tension and excitement towards the film for horror fans. The sound of the weather is prominent setting the scene.

Mise-en-scene:Creepy toys are found at the beginning e.g. monkeys, clowns, dolls etc. all old fashioned to show relate to the spirits that are in the film and also the time period the film is set.

The characters all wear old fashioned clothes again to show the era and show they are either poor or wealthy for the time.

The ghost wears black to show she is evil and takes the lives of others, connoting death. The bad weather adds to the sinister feeling and tension also with the darkness and shadows which are featured throughout. All of these factors relate to the horror genre.

Editing:

There are many fade in and fade outs in this sequence used with fast pace editing to speed up the tension and promote the idea of action, with short takes and cuts.

These fade outs make a lot of the trailer feel dark and mysterious it also creates flashes of action when sped up to excite the viewer and make them want to watch, typical of the horror genre.

The slow blink eye effect is also use to make the reader feel like/realise people are always being watched. Giving the spirit an omnipresent, omniscient impression.

Paranormal Activity 2

Media language

Trailer analysis

Cinematography:

The camera work chosen for the film has been done by home video cameras to create a more real life feel to the film and to make the viewer feel like it is happening to them and they are there.

The hand held camera gives us a distorted look during some shots within the trailer which creates a chaotic feel to the trailer which emphasises the horror genre.

There are also flashbacks and over the shoulder point of view shots to give the audience an insight into the story line of the film and characters.

Shows mid shots of audiences watching in the cinema to draw viewers in as they are more likely to trust it as scary film.

Sudden close ups of people are used to make the viewer jump and add to the horror feel.

Sound:The trailer features lots of distorted camera sounds like white noise and crackling in the beginning. With non diegetic loud suspense noises to make the viewers jump when sudden moments happen.

In the clips of the audience we can hear diegetic sounds of members gasping and screaming to hint to the trailers viewers that it is scary and worth watching.

You can hear the dog barking when there is rustling around the house to show something bad is about to happen, almost a warning sign for the viewers as the dog protects the baby. This sound is heard in many traditional horror films, bad animalistic things are going to happen. This helps create a nervous atmosphere which adds to the typical horror genre feel.

Mise-en-scene:

The overall feel of the trailer is very dark, all of the shots look as though they are at night time, they all have a bluey tint from the time of evening it is and the quality of the camera, this creates a fearful feeling as the viewer will know bad things happen at night.

The clips of the audiences, make it easier for the audience to relate as they are seemingly of similar age and background of the target audience.

The use of everyday clothes, items and the use of home cameras makes it seem very realistic makes the audience believe that this could happen to them in their own home as it is more relatable.

The fact that some of the clips of bad goings on’s are taken by security cameras is to make the viewers feel on edge and un-safe typical of the horror genre.

The use of baby items is to make the viewer feel worried and relate/ emphasis more with the family s they don’t want anything bad to happen to it.

Editing:

Throughout the trailer the cuts begin to become more fast paced and rapid, which is a convention of teasers trailers especially of the horror genre, as it creates hype and excitement.

This technique also means that the audience needs to stay more focused as they have a much shorter time of seeing the content of the shot. Thus making the audience more interested.

It usually then fades to black which makes the viewer unsure of what is going to happen next and adds to the sinister feeling.

Towards the beginning there are lots of reaction shots of the audience, a bit like shot reverse shot pattern of the action and what the viewer will feel like when they watch the film.