In order to further investigate the common codes and conventions that my target audience are going to want to see, I am going to analyse four trailers promoting my favourite Psychological/Supernatural Horrors. They are also texts that I have been creatively inspired by. This will expand my knowledge of the codes and conventions, and make me more confident in understanding the core elements of these two sub-genres.
The Orphan
I feel that this film trailer successfully and conventionally follows the typical structure of film trailers. It starts off slowly, letting us know that this family was going to adopt a child, called Esther. Then towards the middle of the film trailer we begin to find out that this child is troubled, and there is something wrong. Then, the climax appears and we receive a visual montage of the different types of torment that Esther puts this mother and family through. The structure allows the audience to know what the general narrative of the film is about, but doesn’t give too much away which allows the audience to remain intrigued. For example, we see the other children in the film being used to get to the mother, e.g. when the little girl gets pushed in front of the car, etc. But we never get to see the outcome, or what happens to the child. An enigma is set up too; we know something is wrong with Esther, but what?
Throughout watching the trailer, I believe that we, as the audience, become aware of the genre and sub genre as the middle part of the trailer kicks in. When we see Esther become violent in the toilet, and screaming, the action then cuts to a strap reading ‘I think there is something wrong with Esther’. It is written in black and white, colours associated with purity and evil, common themes in horror. Whilst also setting up an enigma, this strap, as a direct follow-on from the violent scene in the toilet, forces us to question the child’s mental state. Upon coming to this conclusion, I thought back to the beginning of the film trailer, and how we are straight away become aware of the fact that this child has been in an orphanage. This then made me realise that this was a psychological horror film as one of the main conventions you see in these types of horror are that they include a troubled, disturbed individual (also the use of a child). I linked to the fact that Esther must not have had a very good up-bringing, living without a family in an orphanage. Other codes and conventions that we see throughout the whole of the film trailer are that the typical settings that we see in psychological horror films are used. For example, two different types of schools are used, a big house in an isolated setting, hospital and so on. Another typical convention that we see is the types of characters that are being used. The main victims are, once again, a female mother figure, other children and a father figure. We also are introduced to a disturbed individual/child as the antagonist and so on... We also hear the common sounds/ music such as contrapuntal music that is played towards the end of the film trailer, screams, high pitched sounds and so on. Also, some general conventions that we see are that there are no deaths shown on screen and the antagonist appears, at first, and in terms of her physical appearance, to be normal. Through using all of these conventions, the correct audience will be attracted to the film as they will be able to notice some of the things that they look out for when watching their preferred sub-genre of horror.
When watching this trailer, I realised that the mood and the target audiences understanding of the film trailer is created through mise en scene elements such as lighting, body language, setting and so on.
Settings/ backgrounds are used throughout this trailer to create realism. The typical conventions that we see in any psychological horror film are also shown in this film trailer which will appeal and attract to the correct target audience. For example, schools are a common convention of a psychological horror film and in this film trailer; we see two different schools in different locations. This could be because of the fact that the killer has had a bad childhood and wants to seek revenge on other children/ teenagers, for example. Also, the main setting is in the family’s home which is the most common setting for any horror film of any sub genre. This could be because the audience are therefore able to picture themselves in this situation and would therefore be more thrilling and un-nerving. We see a hospital, a park and so on, and these types of setting simply create realism. In one scene in the park, where Esther spots the girl that bullied her about the way she dressed, we see her follow the girl up to the top of one of the play instruments where she appears to push her off. A shot is then shown of Esther at the top, looking powerful and like it was her kingdom, her domain, due to the low angle of the shot. Other mise-en-scene elements add to the effect. Esther’s dark, old-fashioned costume and the shape of her hat give her a witch-like appearance that immediately leads us to see her as evil, sinister and a danger to innocent children.
When looking at lighting and colours that are used throughout this trailer we see that there is a gradual change from the beginning to the end. At the start of the film trailer, there is a range of bright colours on show to the audience e.g. when Esther is painting, there are a lot of colours on the page. This makes it unclear at the beginning of what type of genre that this film belongs to as the child and family look happy and normal. Ambient lighting is being used which makes the atmosphere appear bright and normal. Then, as the trailer moves onto the scene where Esther is in the toilet, kicking and screaming, the lighting and colours begin to change. They become darker and a blue tinge is present. This suggests to the audience that there has been a change in emotion, and everything is no longer ‘normal’. From then on, lighting and colours only become darker and sometimes the effect is almost black and white. This could suggest the contrast of characters, the black representing the evil inside Esther, and the white representing the innocence of the other children and the mother in the film. Skies become grey and stay that way until the trailer ends which creates a gloomy and evil atmosphere. The use of fire in the film trailer also suggests evil as fire is a symbol from ‘hell’. Lightning is used in the scene where Esther is standing over her ‘step sister’s’ bed whilst she sleeps. This again creates a sense of evil and a villain like feeling, and we can then tell that something is going to happen.
At the beginning of the trailer we see that facial expressions and body language is calm and happy. All the characters are smiling, the mother and father have welcoming eyes, and all the children, even Esther, have soft faces, representing the innocence of children in general. Then, as the trailer moves rapidly on, body language becomes more closed, facial expressions become stronger and our view on the character of Esther begins to change. We see Esther giving evil stares and at some points, evil smiles, like she has a cunning plan on how to destroy this mother’s family. The scene where Esther is in the toilet, her facial expressions and body language is angry and violent which reflects her character. Other characters in the trailer such as the other young children, the mother and the father, towards the end of the trailer, there facial expressions too, begin to change, for the worse. They all have fear in their eyes and they look confused as to why this is happening to them. The other young child looks innocent and defenceless against the evil of her adopted sister who is steering her into several ‘death traps’. We, as an audience, begin to feel sorry for the family and worry about their survival.
All of these mise en scene elements follow typical codes and conventions of this sub-genre which therefore exceeds the target audience’s expectations of what they are hoping/ wanting to see when watching this film trailer. By keeping in touch with the audience and knowing what they want, and why, it is therefore easier to create an effective film trailer which will include all of these things. By following codes and conventions, it is like a ‘tick list’, checking off everything that your target audience hope to see, and by showing these in the trailer, the audience will want to go and see the film.
Sound, in any case, is one of the most important and key element of any piece of moving media. In this film trailer, the combination of Diegetic and Non Diegetic Sound is used to create fear, excitement and anticipation for the audience. Diegetic sound has been used in this film trailer to help aid the target audience’s understanding of the narrative. For example, towards the middle of the trailer, when our understanding of the narrative should become more detailed and clear, we hear the mother’s voice say “I think there is something wrong with Esther”. Immediately, the target audience are aware that something bad is going to happen and that Esther isn’t the child we first thought to be kind and ‘normal’. Also, at the beginning of the trailer, Esther says “I guess I am different” to the mother, so even from the beginning, even if we didn’t think it straight away, on a sub conscious level, the audience become aware that this is no ordinary child. During the climax of the trailer, dialogue becomes mainly screams and shouting e.g. the mother on numerous occasions shouts out “What did you do!” “What are you doing?!” and so on. This then makes it apparent to the target audience that the family are in trouble and that Esther is the one causing the trouble. Esther’s scream, on the other hand, which we hear about half way through the trailer, is spine chilling and signals her disturbed mental state, again confirming that there is ‘something wrong’ with this child. Realism is created by the sounds that are used that we would hear normally in our day to day lives e.g. the school bell, the sound of a car engine and so on.
Non Diegetic Sound has been used in this trailer to create a sense of fear and suspense. The sounds/music excites the target audience and makes them want to know what happens next, thus making them want to go and watch the film. At the start of the trailer, a light melody is being played on a piano which contradicts the genre of the film. As the trailer digresses, the music becomes more eerie and the tempo builds up which suggests to the target audience that the action/ horror is about to take place. During the climax of the trailer, there is a sharp beat that gradually gets louder and louder, which builds suspense and excitement for the audience. Contrapuntal music, in the form of a child singing ‘The Glory of Love’, is played at the end of the trailer as part of the sting which makes the scene seem creepy and disturbed. Also, a heartbeat sound is being played, gradually speeding up, whilst the action gets faster and faster on screen. This could suggest the fact that the family are trying to run away from the orphan because she is causing them all this distress. It is also likely to mimic the increase in the audience’s heartbeat as their excitement levels grow. This effect could create tension and suspense for the audience, building them up and up, before they know that they must go and see the film when it hits the cinema. There are a few occasions where straps are used to help aid the audiences understanding of the narrative and to anchor the meaning of the images shown. One of the straps reads; ‘There’s something wrong with Esther’ which tells the target audience that this child is no ordinary little girl, and she has something hidden from her past. This strap signals to the audience that there has been a change in the narrative and that we are about to see evidence of what is wrong with the child – cue scary scenes. This strap could also be the indicator to some of the audience of what the genre is. Another strap line that is used reads ‘You’ll never guess her secret’ which reassures the target audience that what they were thinking is true, that Esther has a hidden secret/ side to her. This adds to the suspense and the target audience are therefore even more intrigued to go to the cinema to watch the full version of the film in order to find out what the hidden secret is.
Conventionally, the speed of editing starts off slowly before gradually becoming faster and faster. This type of editing builds up tension and creates suspense and also adds excitement for the audience. It does this because when it starts slowly, you are able to get a clear understanding of the basic narrative, then as the speed builds up more and more on the action scenes, it prepares the audience for a final burst of action at the end, which is known as the sting. Not only does this speed and style of the trailer create excitement and suspense, but it also creates fear and a sense of eeriness that makes the audience jump out of their skins! Dead black outs are a popular type of fade used throughout this film trailer which creates effect for a number of reasons. One of the main reasons as to why film makers use dead black outs in their film trailers is to build tension and excitement. They create an impact when watching the film trailer and simply help to create a clear transition from one piece of action to the next. Other reasons why dead black outs are used, especially in this particular film trailer, is to create an erratic sense of terror that complements the action on screen. For example, during the film trailer for the ‘Orphan’, towards the end, there is a fast climax of pieces of footage that are being used, from different parts of the scene, and different forms of torment are presented. Dead black outs are used here because it makes the action that is happening on screen look more panic-filled, anxiety-ridden and terrifying. Also, this could reflect Esther’s erratic sense of mind, as we appear to be looking at the action through Esther’s eyes, the dead black outs could be seen to symbolise her eyes, blinking as she watches the terror and torment she has caused. On two occasions, during the film trailer, a white screen appears with the strap written in black. This could reflect Esther’s exterior e.g. her pale, innocent face, contrasting with her thick, dark, black hair. Also, this could symbolise her image; where at the start of the trailer, we assume she is an innocent child (the white background) but then we find out that she isn’t as innocent as we thought, and that she has an evil side (the black writing). The white could also reflect her ghostly, eerie image, even more so as the white fades in and out. Due to the fact that the dead black outs are used a lot throughout this trailer, the white background therefore stands out more and grabs the audience’s attention which is why the strap on the white background is so effective. A shallow focus is used in the trailer where the park swings are swinging back and forth; this creates an eerie illusion as it looks blurry and paranormal. An eye line match is used in the scene in the classroom, where another student is commenting on the way that Esther is dressed. We then see the a reaction shot from Esther where instead of looking upset, like any normal young girl would, she has the look of evil in her eyes which is the first time we see the first glimpse of evil shining through her innocent exterior.
Moving on to representation within this trailer; the main representation is of children. There is a huge contrast in the representations given. On the one hand, the demonic child Esther is represented in an evil and frightening way, whereas the other two children in the trailer are shown in an innocent and defencelessness way.
There is contrast of white and dark that runs through the trailer and the film acting as a symbol of good and evil. For example, the general contrast throughout the film of Esther’s hair and skin colour, also the strap’s in the film trailer and so on.
I thoroughly enjoyed analysing the film trailer of ‘Orphan’. Overall, I feel that this film trailer would successfully appeal to the correct target audience as it follows the main codes and conventions of a psychological horror. I believe that this film trailer would encourage its target audience to go and watch the film as it does what every horror film does, and scares the audience. I have been inspired completely by this film trailer as it has made it a very easy decision to choose the psychological sub genre and also, the fact that this film is based on a demonic child, has encouraged me to also use a child as what is believed to be the main antagonist.
