Analyse: House at the End of the Street trailer

I decided to analyse a horror film trailer as this is the genre I want to do for my film trailer. I looked at the trailer for 'House at the End of the Street' (2012). The film is about a girl teenager and her mother that move to a little town, the girl then finds out that an accident happened in the house at the end of the street. But things get complicated when she befriends a boy who is the only survivor in the accident. The film was fairly successful and debuted at No. 1 at the US box office on its opening Friday and Saturday nights. The trailer is quite typical for a horror film so I thought it was best to analysis a stereotypical horror trailer to begin with.

The film trailer started with this warning message that many trailers begin with. The message gives warning to the viewers on what the following content may contain, this gives viewers a chance to decide whether they do want to continue watching or not. The bright green background and white font makes the message eye catching and easy to read. There is not sound played while the message in on the screen which helps to warn the audience that it is important and giving them the chance to read it. After this message the following shots are of the film company and produces, this makes the audience aware of who made the film.

The first image the audience view in the trailer is an establishing shot with low key lighting. The shot shows the location which conforms to the typical coventions of a horror movie because the young girl looks vunerable especially as it is night time. The positioning of the shot highlights how alone the girl is. The fact she is placed slightly to the right of the shot (rule of thirds) allows the audience to view what is round her and this case, not a lot else. The only light is the street lights which make some of the shot hard to view which creates a sense of fear because of the unknown. There is diegetic sound of her breathing and her footsteps which are emphasised which also helps to add to the horror genre.

Throughout the trailer there are lots of shots which appear to me from an odd angle. These shots could in fact be from a ghost or spirits spot of view. This is a typical convention of a horror film as many of them involve un-natural figures. This low angle shot of someone getting out of bed is a close up of someones foot. The image doesn't reveal a lot of detail which puts the audience on edge and wanting to find out more.

These three shots are all in a row and are edited to fade into each picture. The images help the audience to put together the story line. The name, the weapon and murder scene give the audience suggestions as to why things are happening. The fast editing tension onto the audience along with the fade editing which applies the images are all related. While these images are being shown a conversation is happening which is related to the images. There are also non-diegetic sounds of a girl screaming.

In the trailer there are many scenes placed together which protray completely different emotions. This is a close up shot of the young couple kissing. It creates a sense of emotions and passion for the couple however seconds later the trailer jump cuts to many 'flickering' images of the ghost figure.

The constrast between the two scenes represent the different scenes within the movie. 

The fact the ghost appears on the screen at such a fast pace is aimed to make the audience jump or even only just see it make the atmosphere scarier. Also the audience may question themselves as to what they actually did see. The jumps between the two constasting scences also helps to keep the trailer exciting and to keep viewers watching to the end. The quick pace starts towards the end of the trailer to keep the excitment up.

Captions become more frequent towards the end of the trailer and are cut in between shots of the main characters who are looking scared. The text adds the tension of the images. The text appears to be glowing which makes the words appear to be from fire. These captions appear on screen with non-diegetic sound of crashing and screaming which reinforces the tension of the audience each time something happens.

Reflection on Trailer

Establishing Shot



Firstly, I like how this trailer has used an establishing shot within the first few seconds of the trailer to tell the audience where the film is set and it also sets the atmosphere of the horror genre. I plan to use an establishing shot in the beginning of my trailer to inform the auidence where the rest of the film will be set. The location plays an important part of a horror film as many of them are located in rural places which makes the characters more vunerable.

 

Shot Angles

Secondly, I think the idea of using lots of shots from different angles creates a really interesting effect. The shot from a low angle of some feet is mysterious and makes the audience wonder who it is and where are they going. This low angle shot I want to use in my trailer because I think it doesn't give too much detail away yet leaves the audience on edge.