Analysis of Teaser Trailer: Victoria Lake

The teaser trailer that I have created is based on a modern day snow white fairy tale but with a horror genre based modern twist. As my film distributor is Focus Features I have placed that as my opening shot of the trailer. I also had intensions to place the momentum pictures logo (afterwards as they are the UK distributor) but there were technical difficulties with trying to get the right size of the image.

As I started earlier, my film is based on snow white so when I filmed my trailer, one of the props I used was fake blood on a red apple. I decided by putting this at the start of my teaser trailer as it will quickly establish to the viewers that it is a horror trailer due to the blood, plus I added a ‘bleach bypass’ effect onto the clip so it made the shot of the apple look more dark and chilling.

As well as this happening there is backing music to the which starts from the very beginning of the trailer and lasts for 20 seconds. It is called ’Rio Vista’ which I downloaded from freeplay music. It consists of strings and piano instruments which weave a contemplative melody, slowly turning and eventually closing with a slight hint of better days to come. This fits in well for the first part of my teaser trailer as it is slow but dramatic. It sets the placing of the trailer and allows the views to take in the innocence because the music allow them to suspect a downfall change.

When I looked at the trailer of another film (Snow White: A Tale of Terror). It was shown in the near start, black screens with text then a shot from the film then a black screen with different text and so on. They did this so they can put it across to the audience and get them in the right frame of mind set. It was more effective then having a voice over as the font that they used was quite like old fashion fairy tale writing. So using this technique is what I did. I added text on black screens between high angel shots of the main girl walking through a car park. From the way the girl is acting it seems as if someone is watching her. Perhaps the audience would feel its them because of the way the camera is angled.

The first set of text is ‘If you’ve ever dreamed’ in a Trajan pro white font, size 43. I chose this because it felt a bit fairy tale like but a bit modernised, plus it fits well when I used the font for my promotional poster and magazine cover. The second screen of text is in the same way but reads ‘of living happily ever after. By now, most of the viewers would know where the next sentence is leading. They will probably have a suspicion that it is based on a fairytale. This is good because they know basic information but they do not know the full details. It conveys what a teaser trailer is supposed to do. Plus it also teases them at this point because they don’t know the rest of the sentence, so want to find out.

There is another screen of text before the sentence ends which reads ‘then dream…’ the dot, dot, dot leaves for a dramatic pause which creates suspicion for the audience. This is where another piece of music starts to play for 5.1 second. It is called ’designer synth’ which I retrieved from the imovie sound effects. It plays through the last clip of the girl walking through the car park and then onto the last bit of text (for the time being) which reads ’again’. There is also a thunder clap sound effect from the life sound effects which lasts for 4.2 seconds.

After that the next shot is of three people in white masks with their hoods up. This is where the ’deep noise’ sound comes in (34 seconds). I downloaded this from Royalty free music which was made by Kevin Maclead. ‘Deep Noise’ is a strong, deep wind howling sound effect. I have used this mostly straight through the rest of the trailer along with ’The House of Leave’ (39 seconds) also by Kevin Maclead from Royalty free music. The instruments used are violins, synth, percussions and the harp. It is sort of a simple heart refrain that plays with a child’s melody, but is torn apart by discordant screeching noises, thumps, growls, and technical noises. It is dark and eerie as well as unnerving.

The mid shot is off the masked hooded people (MHP) standing in the middle of the woods and the camera is slightly panning to the left. It then cuts to the close up panning shot of the girl from earlier. She is meant to be frightened as she searches around her. The next following shots are taken in turns from the girl and the MHP. This is another idea I got from the trailer I looked at. They did this between the stepmother and snow white (looking between good and evil). The audience would see innocence then malevolence, etc which will lead them to suspect that there is a strong link between the two as they are both in the same woods, so the MHP might catch up with her soon.

In one of these shots, there is a mid shot of the MHP slowly walking (a convention of horror - villains walk slowly) towards the camera- which is the viewers. When you watch it, it makes you feel there coming towards you- the audience. One particular shot that I think stands out the most is the low angle shot of one of the MHP is up in the tree. It adds to the creepy effect of the horror trailer and it looks like its looking and waiting at the viewers ready to attack.

After that I added 3 seconds of a red ribbon tangled in a tree. The colour signifies blood and danger, while the ribbon itself signifies youth and innocence which relates to the victim girl. Being tangled in the tree represents the girl being in danger an unable to escape. Ironically the next shot is of the girl running frightenly through trees and branches. When I edited this clip I slowed down the speed of it so it gives more suspense and intensity as it comes across, to the viewers, as if she is running out of time. Quickly soon after there is a close up of the bloodied apple. I placed that there as a reminder of its significance.

As we see her running again and then towards us. Again I used the slow motion edit on the clip so when she turns towards the camera we get the full effect of her looking shocked. Before we see what she is looking at, there is a quick shaky panning shot of the bloodied apple. It is there because it is a kind of horrifying image in her head and as the viewers are to be in her mind set. We then get an over the shoulder shot from the girl and we see that she has collided with the MHP. The tall middle one places her left hand on the girls shoulder. As the hand is placed on the shoulder I added a 'dreadful short swoosh' sound effect to it as comes across as abrupt and overpowering (like the MHP).

There is one more shot of the apple. This time it is a high angle shot but more slower and steadier. This represents that (from the villains point of view) that there isn't need to panic as their job is in process (as the bloodied apple represents them). But from the victims point of view we see there is need to panic but is unable to because the villain is in control.

I added more text after that shot. It is the same format as before but this time it reads ' Fairytale'. It has 'dreadful short woosh' and 'thunder roll' sound effect. This adds to the effect that it's making a statement. The next two words of text are in the same format but reads 'Becomes' and 'Nightmare'. They both contain the same sound effects as 'Fairytale' and they also make a dramatic statement. Between these shots there is a continuation from where the MHP took hold of the girl. Its shot from the right of the MHP and now the rest have joined in to restrain the girl. The other shot is a close up of what seems to be the girls hand struggling as one of the MHP has and continuing to cut her wrist.

After the 'Nightmare ' there is a zoomed close up of a blood hand print on a tree. 'The House of Leaves' and 'Deep Noise' have ended as the film title comes up using the same format as the previous text 'Victoria Lake'. The audience can now identify who the girl is. There is also a 'thunder roll' as the title is played. After that there is a mid shot of the girl tied up by the wrists in the corner. I edited her screams by reversing her shot as it gave a more eiere chilling effect.

Another black screen has the same text format which reads 'Coming Soon' has also the same sound effect ' thunder roll' but this time it carries on to the final clip which is a close up of the MHP tilting there heads to the left. I used the 'Bleach Bypass' effect and slow motion on this shot so it is more contrasting and a darker heavier effect.

The teaser trailer ends with a black screen and a sound effect of 1.6 seconds of 'synth zap impact' from the ilife sound effects.

Production of Teaser Trailer

The filming of my teaser trailer was both satisfying but yet frustrating. Before I could actually start filming I had to do quite a bit of organising such as finding the cast, arranging dates and time due to specification of weather issues, prop usage.

It didn’t go all to plan as I hoped it would be. It is not in the exact format of the storyboard but it does include the basic follow up of it. While filming I had to change some of the features that I planned out due to the fact that I couldn’t arrange for the right amount of cast and couldn’t get all the props necessary. Plus I wanted to set most of my teaser trailer at night but the cast I had weren’t able to make it for that time setting.

With finished filming, it was time to edit my teaser trailer. Even though filming didn’t go as well as planned I made do with what I had and tried to follow the storyboard as much as I could. Once again it didn't go to perfect order. Using imovie took a bit of time to get used it was a long time since I used the program and so had to regain some knowledge of it's uses. However I managed to get the hang of it and I was able to alter clips from the contrast, to the speed to the amount of usage I wanted involved.

As I had a lot of footage from filming I experimented with making the teaser trailer with different attempts of fitting together what worked best. Although some worked better in places then others, the completed version of my teaser trailer is what I’m happiest with the most. It is uploaded on to you tube and even though I had a lot of footage to work from, it all came together in the end.

Amongst the filming of my teaser trailer, there were some shots that took some time to develop which had to involve a number of retakes. It took some time to get right but there was a light hearted feel about it between me and the cast.

Film Distributer

When decided who to choose who would distribute my film I came to a decision that it would be distributed by the same one as the film I analysed. The film that I analysed ‘Snow White: A Tale of Terror’ was distributed by Gramercy pictures and Polygram Filmed Entertainment. Because of this, Gramercy Pictures distributed other horror movie films such as ‘Candy man 2: Farewell to the Flesh’ However Gramercy Pictures is a joint venture with Polygram Filmed Entertainment and Universal Pictures. Due to Universal acquisition by Seagrams in 1999, Gramercy was merged with October Films which briefly became USA Films. That was until it was transformed into Focus Features in 2002.

Focus Features have distributers in both Australia and the UK. Momentum Pictures is one of Focus Features distributers. I’ve chosen this because Momentum pictures is one of the leading motion picture distributers in the UK, and since my film is an independent production it fits in well especially since they have released films such as ‘Dorian Gray’, ‘Frozen’ and ‘Let the right one in’ which are connected to the horror genre.

Gramercy Pictures has been known as ‘mini- major’ distributer. This may because it does not just release low budget films that have little response. It still releases independent films but some of them have high gross revenue. For example Gramercy Pictures have taken part in films like ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’, ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ and ‘The Usual Suspects’. They are all low budgeted productions but yet have had major success.

This is maybe what I’m hoping for with my film. With the right promotion and execution, my production could possibly become international. For this it would be better to have either Total Film or Empire magazine to promote the release but I have decided to choose Sight and Sound as it promotes more independent films and that is where I’m at.

Storyboards

Strengths and Weaknesses of Previous Year 13 Teaser Trailers

Last year’s work on teaser trailers were not on a set genre. The work produced ranged from crime to romance to horror plus many more. This gives me a wider choice of analysis as the trailers are perceived with different genre conventions. However what is still taken into account is if they followed the brief and produced an actual teaser trailer.

One of the previous teaser trailers was called ‘Daisukies Case’. It comes across as having a romance genre. However it is said that the actual context of the film was meant to be based on the Japanese male being haunted by a mystical sprit and is trying to keep his relationship together. Even so this didn’t come across in the teaser trailer, what was particular good about it was the sound/music in the background. It definitely had that traditional Japanese film music which works well with the trailer.

The captions between the shots of the trailer does what the brief says and it does tease us but personally for me that’s the only thing that teases the audience. There also could have been a wider range of shots used as from a media perspective there are just mainly medium shots in the trailer.

Overall apart from the text, the trailer doesn’t actually fill the fulfilment of the brief which is to tease. The shots in the trailer tell us too much about the film ‘boy and girl have trouble with relationship’.

Another trailer I watched is called ‘Judas Kiss’. From looking at the title and watching the teaser trailer, the two didn’t seem to come together at first. However the technique of this trailer is extremely good. The shot seems to be all together as it is filmed and portrayed in a point of view way. It feels like were the ones walking through the train station.

The first 18 seconds of the trailer allows the scene to be set. There are high angel shots of people in the station and the way that they are shot is if someone is watching them. This makes it feel like we’re the ones watching them. There is no interaction between any of the characters in this trailer as there are no characters to identify with. However the director of the trailer doesn’t leave us just point blank.

When were into 19 seconds of the trailer we get are first bit of identification. The text reads ‘prepare to be betrayed’ which is directly aimed at us. It makes us wonder why we need to be prepared and who will be the one to betray. After this the trailer carries on through the train station and where it leads to the second bit of text which seems to be carrying on from the previous. But before this there is a shot of looking at the tome in the station. This is significant because the text reads ‘to lose everything’ which could also represent time.

One of the following shots, which adds to the credibility of the film, is when it’s out of the station and the camera is of low angel technique which allows are eyes to follow the tall buildings above us. The last text is ‘to have to start again’. After this the whole contents of the trailer rewinds back to the start of the train with the music still playing the same. The music seems to be for an action/crime movie. This helps to give us an idea of what this film may be about.

When were back at the start the movie title comes up which is ‘Judas Kiss’ from this we understand more about the previous text due to common knowledge of Judas. We know that there will be a plot about betrayal but don’t know exactly what about. That is what signifies this teaser trailer, it does what’s it’s supposed to do and teases us. It’s simple but effective.

The third and final trailer I looked at is called ‘The Market Boys’. When the footage of the trailer starts off we first hear a voice over of what seems to be and east end male’s voice. Even though we don’t see him we know by the way he is talking that he could possibly be of top hierarchy as he sounds like he knows what he’s talking about. We also get the picture that the people who may be in this film are working class youths. For example, the first shot of the trailer is of a close up of the edge of the side walk. At first glance it reminded me of a gutter which could represent low status. Plus the people standing around in the long shot seem to be young people. Also the voice over mentions kids in what he says.

A significant shot of this trailer is where we get a view of an estate which then leads to us seeing a long shot of the overview of many other estates. Again this makes reference to the fact that the characters are possibly working class. This is also were the background music starts to play. It has a hip hop drop beat with someone one the track as well. It indicates that the genre might be real life drama like the film Fish Tank.

There is text after that shot which reads ‘in a place that the world left behind’. The font is small and taking from this and the words this could mean that the setting of the film is where nobody cares about, a place where people are deprived. The next shot is point of view where we see a walk way. The next text is significant to the next shot as it reads ‘where the weak don’t last’ and then we see someone getting beaten up by a couple of guys.

After that the next set of text are sought of like statements. For example ‘You fight’. The shot after that is of what seems to be a tough looking girl who attacks the camera with her body. As it is still point of view it seems like she is attacking us. It is the same with the text afterwards which reads ‘You Run’ and after we see two people running. The last one of these statements is ‘You Hide’, there is then a shot of someone going to hide but then there is another text while we hear 3 gun shots. The text reads ‘But no one ever escapes’ which relates to the gun shots.

Daisukies Case

Judas Kiss

The Market Boys

Textural Analysis of Snow White: A Tale of Terror movie trailer

As part of the brief is to produce a teaser trailer conveying horror, it is ideal to analyse a horror film teaser trailer that is relevant to the trailer I make. Although I have found a film that relates to my film ;( based on a modern day interpreted version of Snow White with a horror twist) it doesn’t have a teaser trailer as it was only a TV film. However I will still be able to produce a textured analysis of this trailer.

The trailer of this film starts off with showing the film distributer log *1. ‘PolyGram Filmed Entertainment’. The music in the background being played on the first shot is the same music being played in the coming shots. It is light and airy. It sounds like someone playing the high end of a xylophone and lightly on the strings of a guitar. There is also the sound of wind blowing/ howling in the background. It then cuts to a long shot of two people riding a horse in the woods. It then fades into a black screen with the text ‘Once upon a time’. This writing seems to be in old fashion font. The sort where if fairytales were to be written in an old fashion way then this would be it.

After this there is a slight overview shot of the ground and it gradually leads to us seeing a girl in a dress running (this may indicate that she is ‘snow white’ as she has black hair). The music has seemed to have changed in range slightly just before we see the girl running. This may indicate that there would be danger associated with this character. Just before the shot fades into black there is text again (which fades in with it) in the same font as before which reads ‘There was’. Then there is a flash of light which takes us to another black screen with the same font but reads ‘Fairytale’. It seems to be carrying on from the previous words. It is here when we guess what this trailer is about but we don’t know where it is heading. The shot is then blended into a shot of a young women’s face, she is pale and has black hair.

As the viewer we now know that both the trailer and she are portraying snow white. However that shot doesn’t last for long, as the music keeps on going but there is a sharp noise when it is turned to a much older women looking at herself in the mirror. We then see that she is turned into an even older woman. It is then when she screams and there is a sound where we hear glass breaking (perhaps a mirror).

After this there is shot that really catches my eye. It is a low angle shot were we see a man jump out of a window. This could indicate the glass smashing. It is also the start where the music changes into a more action tempo of sharp, fast violins. After there is an exchange of shots between, I’m guessing to be, the evil stepmother and snow white. It signifies the difference between the two (good and evil, young and old, fair and haggard).

During one of the shots of snow white, there is a close up of her face where we see a tiny bird trapped in an hourglass. This represents that she may be the one who is trapped and running out of time to escape. This shot is also when there is a voice over from a woman. She says ‘do you think you could hide from me’. She sounds calm but also like she is talking down to you (the audience as well). The music then begins to change, there seems to be a background of haunting chorals and the tempo of the music has sped up like someone is being chased. This is significant because literally right after it a start there is a long high angle shot of people running in the open daylight woods.

From the people running in the woods and walking through halls, we get a glance at their clothes. It seems to be that this is set in old fashioned times for example, before the 18th century. There is a continuation of shots of things falling, snow white, the stepmother and dark closed spaces with very little action going on. The women voice over carries on by saying ‘did you think I wouldn’t be able to find you’. From this point, it is when you assume that the voice over is the stepmother. Because when the word ‘you’ is said, there is a shot of snow white. Plus when the word ‘I’ is said, there is a shot of the stepmother. With more of the montage of action (shots between the two characters, things being smashed, screams) going on and the music still playing the stepmothers voiceover speaks again ‘If you’re going to play cat and mouse, just remember I’m the cat’. This can be related to the point I made earlier about the opposite difference about them (she’s the cat and snow’s the mouse).

After this statement is made, the action is taken up a notch. There is deal of violence between the stepmother and snow white. The stepmother pushes snow white on the ground and aims to swing a bat at her. In the background of this there are a number of mirrors. There are more screams going on. There is also a mid shot of snow white, who seems to be floating through the halls, looking ghostly and pale. However the significance I’m looking for is the fact that she is holing a pocket watch and there are autumn leaves coming down behind her. This relates to the earlier shot of the bird in the hourglass. She is running out of time. With the sound of a sharp scream there is a mid shot of the stepmother holding snow white, looking into a cracked mirror while she slowly cuts her face using a piece of mirror.

A typical convention of horror, which is included in this trailer, is an evil laugh. With this and the music still playing, there are more back to back shots. They consist of more action, more running, closed spaces, snow white, the stepmother and a new character. It is a man on a horse. It is either the prince or the father. One of these shots happens to be a conclusion from the shot early of the man jumping out the window, but he is further out.

Most of the shots of the stepmother are of her happy and laughing. This shows that she loves being evil and it also shows the audience that she is winning. When there is a shot of a freakishly old, haggard woman, we as the audience will assume it is the stepmother as we will refer to the original snow white tale. The music has stopped for the time being as we here the stepmother say diegeticly in an evil creepy way ‘what’s the matter dear? Cat got ya tongue?' This is a referral to the voiceover earlier. It is a play on words as we know from that the stepmother is the ‘cat’ and she got snow white tongue with the apple. After that there is a sharp sound and there is a black screen with one of the actors name in old fashion font. Then we see the stepmother screaming so we assume that it is her.

There is another black screen with another actors name on it. Then a sharp sound as it cuts to a man (probably the name who was just stated) hanging upside down on a cross. Personally I think that the meaning behind this is that, because Jesus died on a cross to save us and from our sins, he is to save the stepmother from her sins by saving snow white from her, but it doesn’t work out to plan, that is why he is upside down.

Once again there is a black screen with another actors name on it. It is snow white as we see her in the next shot. The shots after the actors name represent the portrayal of the characters. The stepmother is the psychotic mad villain, the man is the ‘hero’ and snow white is scared and helpless. There is one more action shot which portrays irony as it is a mid shot of snow white setting fire to the place then there is a next shot of someone covering her mouth.

The trailer then closes with what looks like a figured coffin shutting in on snow white. It represents the fact that snow white can try all she wants to defeat her enemy but she will always be trapped. As it draws to a close the is a black screen again with old fashion font ‘the fairy tale is over’. Light airy music is played over this. It seems to be the films tagline as it refers to what was said at the start and it closes with that line. There is one more shot of the stepmother and snow white. It is the much old, haggard version of the stepmother. It is a close up of her kissing snow white’s head. This ending of the trailer could be saying that there is no happy ending to this film. The very last shot of this trailer (light airy music still playing) is of blood pouring down and forming the title of the film. Snow white is in bigger old fashion font then the rest of the text. There is only two shots of credits left to be shown. Font is white and still in old fashion text.

Conventions of Teaser Trailers

People in society has involved media in their lives so much over the years and whether its television, magazines or film they have developed a clear idea of what it is about and they know what to expect from it as time has gone on and the audience sophistication has grown.
With a teaser trailer the most important rule is to obviously be able to tease your target audience. If it’s for romance or horror, the key factor is to keep the target audience guessing as they already have an idea on what to expect. It is very important to keep them engaged within in the trailer but still on edge about it.

The sound and music is a vital convention of a teaser trailer as it attracts the target audience and it sets the genre of the film even if no scenes from the movie hasn’t been shown in the trailer as yet. A teaser trailer doesn’t give much away from the clips of scenes used. Some would say less is more. Most teaser trailers use text in between the shots for the target audience to focus on. A typical teaser trailer starts off slow by building the action up then when it reaches its point, the clips of the action speeds up. This is so that when the target audience is already engaged in the trailer they are then caught in with all that’s going on which then puts them on edge.

Saw 3D can be determined as an actual horror movie teaser trailer as it does tease the audience and it contains the conventions of what one would include. The trailer for saw 3D has defined the great use of captions in between the scenes shown. It allows the target audience to be engaged with some of the action but the trailer doesn’t reveal what will happen next and so it takes us away from it with the captions used. One of the last shots is of the title ‘Saw 3D,’ it is presented by there being a scene of mechanical devices leading up to the title. This refers to the film itself and what the last caption says’s at the end of the trailer ‘the traps come alive’.

Some might say that the teaser trailer is mainly for established viewers as there is a reference to it from the voice over ‘ All my work has been leading to this’, plus the captions between the shots make up this sentence ‘Every master craftsman - And all true geniuses – Always save their best – For last’. The captions and voice over for this particular horror film is part of the convention as it intrigues the target audience, especially the established viewers as they know what’s happened before in the previous films and now they are be engaged in something new. This is also a benefit for new audiences, there is even a reference to it ‘You haven’t seen anything yet’. It’s not so much a carry on from the other films but it does have the same genre and main context.

The way that the trailer shots are presented, really does tease as it starts off slow for the first 30 seconds as it is setting everything in place and the viewers can get some idea of what the film is about. When the music and action speeds up, we see what is going on and we our caught up with the adrenaline of the teaser trailer as we don’t know what will happen next with the people and the traps.

Paranormal activity 2 is a horror movie but is different from Saw 3D, so the conventions for this trailer will be different. After watching the teaser trailer, you get the idea that it is more psychological. It keeps us waiting and guessing throughout the trailer. The sound used adds to the concept of keeping us on edge. From the start of the trailer we hear what seems to be a heart beating. This engages us within the trailer as we have the felling of our heart beating. The teaser trailer also engages us within by showing clips of the audience and their reaction. This allows the audience for the trailer to see how we are supposed to act; we are feared by other peoples fear.

We only see a bit of action and the rest is just relying on how the effect of the open spaces and how they create a sense of fear due to the fact that we are expecting something to happen or jump out at us. This does happen when in the first part of the trailer, after the man is thrown from a distance on the camera, we are waiting for something to happening, and we know something is going to happen but that is what scares the audience. The fear of the unknown.

Like Saw 3D, Paranormal Activity 2 shows clips from the movie but then cuts to the captions. However as the form of the teaser trailer is set in security camera perspective there are digital interferences between shots rather than captions. The only caption/text that this trailer has in the duration is after the man is thrown across on to the camera there is just a simple normal font that says ‘In 2009 you demanded it’. Sometimes simplicity is all that is needed for the effect of the production.

A key convention is not to give too much away and this trailer lives up to it. It doesn’t define any characters and all that is known for the audience is the genre and presence of the film. Again like Saw 3D this trailer may be aimed at established viewers as it makes reference to it in one of the captions. However it does apply to new viewers because it doesn’t make any reference that there is a need to have seen the first film.

When making my own teaser trailer the key is to not give away too much of the film and create fears by using the other conventions. For example, the sound/music and the speed of the shots. After viewing both of these teaser trailers I hope to use the conventions of horror in my own work like Paranormal Activity 2 and Saw 3D.

Saw 3D Teaser Trailer

Paranormal Activity 2 Teaser Trailer