Trailer begins with high angle, establishing shot of a high school and a long shot of buy corridor. This sets the scene and fits with the equilibrium established at the start, which is rather much a rule for trailers.
After the boy rejects the girl’s invitation to the dance, there is a long shot of the girl left standing alone staring after him. The fact she’s so alone in the shot persuades the audience to feel sympathy for her, luring them into false security as there is also a sinister edge to the shot.
Close-up shots of a couple kissing in the car emphasises the intimacy of the scene which makes the next shot (from inside the car) of the ‘alone girl’ looking in more disturbing and shocking.There is a succession of close-up shots of the boy being kidnapped such as a man’s hand covering his as he grabs him and another of his legs while his body’s being dragged through the grass. This creates enigma surrounding the situation as his surroundings weren't shown at all to give any clue to what was happening. This is what draws an audience in.
A long shot of the girl’s dad is shown out of focus and the girl leans into the shot. This is creepy and makes the audience feel uncomfortable. Character movement like this is appropriate for the horror genre.
Close ups of objects such as his chair nailed to the ground, hammer being grabbed, knives placed on feet etc. suggest torture without necessarily showing it on screen. Leaving gore to the imagination can sometimes have a better effect in scaring the audience.
An extreme close-up of the girl screaming in the boy’s face works well as a shock along with the sound effect of her shouting.
There is a close-up of the boy as his head is being held and his body is thrashing at them which doesn't allow the audience to see what’s happening to him. This creates more terror within the audience as the unknown is generally scarier.
The close-ups of the 2 leading characters stand out as they are clear to see in the foreground as they contrast with the background. This makes the audience feel uncomfortable as their face fills the whole shot, particularly as the boy looks tortured and the girl is staring into the camera with a satisfied, psychotic expression as she is being crowned.
High and low angles are used to show power and lack of escape/hope for the boy. As he is stuck in a tree, the camera looks down at the girl and her dad surrounding the bottom; when he is in a dark pit the camera looks up as the girl is at the entrance.
A long shot shows the girl and her dad from behind as they’re at the tree. At this point, the boy falls out and hits the car like a dead weight. Seeing the action from this angle emphasises how sick these people are as the audience look in from a third person perspective.
When the boy pushes the girl into the table, it is shown from various angles which disorientate the audience.
Sound
During the establishing shot, there are diegetic sound effects of cheering and a bell ring suggesting school’s finished and there’s a happy carefree dynamic and giving the beginning of the trailer equilibrium.
Diegetic dialogue such as ‘will you go to the dance with me?’ and ‘guess who asked me to the dance’ and a non-diegetic plucky, romantic soundtrack are more appropriate for a teenage rom-com which means that when the disequilibrium is introduced, it becomes more surprising.
The disequilibrium begins when the girl is revealed to be looking into the car window and a dramatic drum beat and cymbal can be heard as the shot cuts to her and shocks the audience. The noise can be heard again as she closes her scrapbook.
A haunting female voice sings slowly with little backing track with creates a dark ominous tone foreboding what’s to come. This music works well to create a creepy undertone and is an inspirational example.
String instruments create an increasingly loud and quick, high-pitched, dramatic note which is appropriate for and a convention of the horror genre.
The tone in which the girl says ‘what you looking at?’ is seductively evil proposing a confusing threat to the boy.
She calls her dad ‘daddy’ which makes phrases such ‘bring the hammer, daddy’ much more creepy and uncomforting. The girl has a soft voice so when she says this phrase and ‘it boils your brains’, it doesn’t seem appropriate and this makes it creepy.
As the hammer is drawn back rock music begins and in turn the pace of the trailer increases and shots become more violent and gruesome.
As the girl screams in the boy’s face, it’s very loud and overpowers the rest of the sound. This scream fades into the boys screams as he’s being tortured. This is an inspirational example of how sound can be used in an interesting and unique way. Later on a gunshot and an explosion also turn into screams.
The girl and her dad have the diegetic dialogue: ‘we can’t hear you’, which is said in a happy and humorous chant which makes the audience more disturbed by what they’re doing. This would appeal to the audience who want to be disturbed and disgusted.
As the boy kicks the girl into the table, the audience expects to hear crashing and screams but instead the only sound that can be heard is the slow, haunting music from earlier in the trailer. This makes what’s on screen seem more shocking as it completely contrasts with the soundtrack.
When the girl is throwing rocks, the harsh sounds of them hitting the tree and the body hitting the car are heightened and therefore are more gruesome. Her laugh is also crazy and psychotic finally fitting her character.
As the editing increases again, the note just increases in pitch until it stops on a dull drum beat. The dad then says ‘say happy’ and the girl replies in a chirpy, cheerful tone ‘happy’, which seems sadistic and creepy after all of the violence just shown. This would appeal to the target audience who want to be left on a creepy note.
As the camera flashes, the sound of taking a picture can be heard.
The words ‘love hurts’ are sung in the haunting slow song as the title of the film is revealed.
The short clip after is dominated by a drill and the sound of it is the focus. No dialogue makes the noise more prominent and therefore more scary so audiences cringe and flinch.
Editing
During the opening of the trailer where there’s a sense of equilibrium, the cuts are fades into each other. This is a soft effect and not too harsh, fitting the tone well as the boy has just turned down a girl.
After Lola is seen looking into the car, it fades to black which gives the shot a dark, ominous tone. This is repeated throughout the trailer for the same effect.
When the boy wakes up, the shot fades from white. This gives the illusion he’s just woken up/come round to find himself at the table.
When the rock music begins, the editing pace increases showing many quick shots with jump cuts to create disorientation. This also makes everything seem crazy including the boy who was captured. This is also a convention of a teaser trailer.
As the titles of the actors appear next to the close-up shot, the edit slows to slow-motion, emphasising the impact of the shot (see camera angles).
When the gross, disfigured creatures are revealed, the camera zooms into the boy with a horrified expression. This reflects audience reaction and is a convention of a trailer (clever/ironic use of editing).
The end finishes slowly compared to the fast pacing of before, also a convention of the teaser trailer. This leaves audiences on edge for one final scare, in this case, the drill.
When the dad takes the picture, it flashes to reveal the title of the film, immersing audiences in the scene.
The last shot cuts as the boy closes his eyes, putting the audience in his shoes and leaving the audience on edge.
Mise en Scene
When the girl is revealed to be looking into the car, the boys hand hits in window. This is ominous to the torture and violence he will later experience as it’s as if he’s helplessly trying to escape.
There is a close-up shot of a girl’s hands stroking/pressing down a picture. The picture is of the boy with a target drawn on his head in red felt-tip. This shows that she is targeting him. We could use something similar in our coursework to show clearly what the character’s intentions are.
This contrasts with her bright pink, sparkly nail varnish suggesting she’s a girly girl. This is also true for her room which doesn't connote anything scary or threatening.
When the boy wakes up he’s at a table in the house which is decorated as a prom. This includes: a disco ball, lights, banners, crackers and balloons on the floor. This would usually have a happy tone to it but because he is tied to a chair, it seems completely out of place and creepy.
When her dad announces ‘this year’s Queen of the dance is Lola Stone’, she gives herself her own drum roll and acts surprised and emotional. This gives clues to her character: self-centred, loves attention and psychotic. This is the type of character we’re looking for in our coursework so her actions and behaviour such as this are specific inspirational examples.
Once the pace of the trailer picks up, the action becomes more violent and scary. Shots include: Lola creepily walking toward the camera, a police car racing toward the camera, a body falling into a dark pit, the boy’s bloody face, Lola’s body hitting the windscreen and various shots of attack. Shocks are important and conventional to a trailer and these shots work really well, therefore they’re inspirational to our group’s coursework. This would really appeal to the target audience who want scares and gore.
Titles
The font of the titles above is bold, thick capitals which is harsh and seems more threatening. The letters are white with light grey splatters on representing blood but not as obvious as it’s not red.
As the title card appears, the words flash and move, leaving a ghostly blue and purple blur which resemble the lights at a prom. The fact it’s not still shows how unstable the character ‘Lola’ is. The blur could represent how her girly girl personality blurs as she becomes psychotic and obsessed with finding her prince. it also shows the blur between prom and horror.
The simple phrases are clear and easy to understand. They show a lot about her demanding, self-centred character and gives lots of clues to the plot.
Other titles include all the festivals it’s been screened at and won. These are in white on a black background showing a stark and simple contrast so it’s clear. This is an effective means of promotion as it shows that it’s been shown at film festivals and so it’s of a good standard.
In this example, there are lights behind it changing from pink to blue. This once again resembles the lights at prom and is a running theme throughout the trailer. This is important to the trailer as the link to prom is what its target audience would find appealing.
Quotes from reviews on the film are featured including a quote from ‘Bloody Disgusting’. This is very appropriate to the genre and therefore helps attract the right target audience.
During slow-motion, close-up shots of the characters, the actors’ names appear next to them. The font is slightly ice blue for the boy and pink for the girl which stays with the theme of couples and prom. The style is serif, which seems very traditional. This fits well with the style of the title.
At the end of the trailer as the picture is being taken and there’s a flash, the title ‘The Loved Ones’ appears on the screen. The font looks reflective and shiny, representing a disco ball as the font shines light out. There is also an explosion of what resembles glitter, falling behind the title. This again fits with the prom theme and creates a false sense of security as the title doesn't look like a conventional horror film.
The font of the title is really important as it’s in a sort of archaic, fairy-tale style font. This links to Lola’s obsession with finding a prince and having a fairy-tale like the ones she’s been brought up on.
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