The trailer for Dead Man’s Shoes begins with an in-air
tracking establishing shot of the forest, or woods. This is a typical location
for a film within the slasher genre. It then cuts to another establishing shot,
this time featuring two men walking through a field. The two men at this point
have their backs turned to the camera; therefore we cannot identify their
faces. One of the men is wearing a khaki shade of green with an army kit bag – illustrating
an aspect of his character that he is a veteran. The second man is scruffy
looking, wearing a tracksuit – an example of binary opposites is now apparent
within these two characters. This shows the original state of their equilibrium
(Todorov). Although the two men are going along the same path,
Same path separated by two tracks
it is separated by
two different tracks – an example of mise en scene that these two characters
are completely different. The non-diegetic background music is somewhat calming,
which doesn’t suggest that this film is part of the slahser or horror genre.
The landscape of the field dominates the next frame, with Richard again walking
infront of his brother – almost as if he leads the way. Within this shot, there
is only one lonely tree, which represents that there is only one life – this is
describing the narrative through mise en scene (as Richard is an imagination of
his brother). In the next shot we first see the characters faces in an example
of a two-shot. Again surrounded by the landscape, Richard is leading his
brother. The woods are a typical location for a slasher film however in these
shots they are portrayed in a different way. Usually in slashers, the woods are
seen as a place you can get lost or trapped, but in this case they portray the
woods in a beautiful and scenic way. This trailer does not follow the usual
conventions as you are introduced to the characters before the trailer shows
the film studio logos. A caption saying “a brother’s love” shows us aspects of
the narrative, and also informs us that these two characters are brothers –
which reinforces in the next shot which is home footage of the two brothers as
babies. The next shot is a close up of Richard, and in the background is an old
cracked wall. This is showing the psychological landscape of the character. This
is then followed by a close up of his mentally impaired brother and therefore
aspects of British social realism are now embedded within the film. British
social realism uses aspects of ordinary British life in order to connect with
the audience, as a British audience are likely to relate in some form of way.
This is followed by the caption “a brother’s vengeance” suggesting to the
audience that this film is not what the trailer originally suggests. A
non-diegetic horror sound furthers this as it subverts the audience’s
expectations. The next line “what did you do to him” also accompanies that. The
camera shakily pans around Richard, letting the audience know that his brother
is not with him. This highlights Richard’s instability. There is then a
flashback in black and white ,
Flashback
which is a narrative technique to take the
audience back to a previous event. This trailer therefore is in a non linear
form. By juxtaposing the disturbing flashback to a shot of the gang laughing,
it shows the audience that these are not nice people. Juxtaposition is when
meaning is created by placing two or more shots together. We then see a man in
a gas mask which is the first sign that this trailer is from the slasher genre.
When the masked man attacks, the screen flashes red which symbolises the bloody
murders occurring. The edits now become much faster, conveying the idea of
chaos. We are then introduced to the first gang character via a close up shot.
There is then a two shot of the antagonist, and the protagonist, Richard.
Anthony, the mentally impaired brother, is placed between the two men in the
frame as well as in the narrative, as mise en scene places him there, as he is
between them also in the narrative. The screen flashes red
Flashes red
once again to a
masked Richard again symbolising danger. This is followed by a big close up if
the antagonist adding high intensity. The editing begins to gradually build in
pace after Richard says “I’m gonna hit you all”. During the speedy edits of
Richard slashing the gang members, we are shown another flashback, so the
audience don’t lose sympathy with Richard – even though he is killing everyone.
This refers to Roland Barthes semantic code, which describes that the audience sympathise
with the main character, as we are seeing events through his point of view. Juxtaposition
is then used again with a close up of Richard looking down with a voice over of
him saying “God will forgive them and let them into Heaven… I can’t live with
that”. This is followed by a one line review and a star rating – which is a
marketing strategy. More fast paced violence follows during the trailers climax
followed by two more reviews as well as the name of the film. The words ‘A film
by Shane Meadows’ is then presented on screen – another marketing technique as
Shane Meadows is a highly regarded director who can sell a film.
Halloween
Point of view shot
The trailer
begins with a point of view establishing shot of the house, a typical setting
for a film of its genre. The point of view shot could represent the view of the
killer within the narrative. By using a normal, suburban house this shows that
the events of the narrative can happen to anybody. The voice over of the
trailer is a common convention as it helps the audience to understand the
narrative of the film. There is a dull, non diegetic high pitched violin sound
which creates suspense, a technique used by the film Physco with high pitched
violin noises every time the killer killed a victim.. This shot is followed by
another point of view shot of the stabbing of a girl. The shot reinforces the voyeuristic
nature of the narrative, and by placing the audience in the position of the
killer, the audience feel powerless, helpless and uneasy. The dark shadows
around the frame suggest that this point of view shot is looking through a
mask, which is typical of the slasher genre. The stabbing of the girl is
accompanied by the diegetic noises of screams from the victim as well as sounds
of the knife. This shot juxtaposed with the previous shot of the house suggest
that the killing took place within the house. Sticking with the point of view
shots to put the audience in the place of the killer, the camera goes
downstairs and out the house to which we see a car pull up outside. We then
find out that the killer is the little boy – this challenges conventions of
trailers as it gives away an important aspect of the narrative. Usually within
trailers, only elements of the narrative are revealed, usually the beginning and
the middle, however the enigma resolution is never shown (Todorov). This is
because filmmakers use the trailer to attract an audience, and by not giving
away the ending of the narrative, the audience will want to come and see this
film for closure. This is followed by a caption of the name of the film accompanied by the voice over
saying the films name. The film is in red text on a black background, and when
put together these two colours have connotations of danger. The next shot is a
close up of an older man, and through the way he looks and what he is saying we
know he is the benefactor of the film. A benefactor is a typical slasher film
character, usually a wise old man who provides information to the characters
about the killer – and usually aids the final girl in the final showdown with
the killer. What he says describes more of the narrative. This man is the
binary opposite of the child, as he is old and wise, whilst the child is young,
and a killer. Spooky, non diegetic music enters when the benefactor says “evil”
as this portrays and describes the next shot we see. A red light flashes when
the man from the mental institute jumps on top of the car, as in this case the
red represents danger towards the woman in the vehicle.
Red light flashes
When he grabs her face,
there is a loud, sudden non diegetic sound to represent her panic and shock.
The quick editing between the shots raises the tension of the trailer, adding
to the effect that this is a film where the audience may feel un-easy. As a whole
this is a typical opening to a trailer, however the extended point of view shot
is unusual, and is not conventional.
The next
shot in the trailer is a brighter shot and symbolises a happier place. There
are trees all along the street which represent life and therefore the girls.
The place where the three girls are is known as the state equilibrium, a place
where the characters feel at home (Todorov). We can tell that the girl on the
left is the films ‘final girl’, a recurring character within slasher films.
This character is usually the purest of the group of friends, and is virginal.
Out of the three girls, this girl is the only girl that is not wearing denim
jeans, which were seen as an image of rebellious youth, instead she is in a
sensible knee length skirt, showing her maturity. Secondly, this girl is the
only girl not smoking and the books in her hand show that she is quite
sensible. The same, non diegetic music slowly re-enters the trailer, which as
well as the close up adds tension.
The name of
the film again enters the screen to drill it in to the audience. In the next
shot, we see a squeaky door slowly open to a bed-sheet ghost, which is typical
of a kids Halloween, almost like a trick or treat scenario. Also, some could
argue that the use of a ghost like figure reinforces that the killer is almost
super natural. We see a girl lying down on her bed with a grave stone in the background;
mise en scene is used here as this girl is moments away from her death. A
pumpkin is on her bed side table, reinforcing this could be anyone’s typical
Halloween due to the fact that the pumpkin is an iconic image of Halloween, and
also showing the brand image of the film. In the next shot, a low light barely
lights up this characters face, which looks almost gothic-horror-esque. This
relates back to the 1940’s German expressionism, where they used low lights and
shadows to create meaning. We then for the first time see our killer. The
killer is wearing a mask, typical of horrow films as the audience’s imagination
can make up what is underneath. It also adds a sense of mystery about them.
When the girl gets pushed down the stairs, a point of view shot is used to make
the audience connect and show sympathy with the character. These two characters
are an example of binary opposites, the strong powerful man and the helpless
girl.The monster is then shot from a low angle, showing his power and dominance
over this helpless girl. Her shadow in the next shot is cut off by the bars of
her staircase, almost as if she is trapped under his power.
Staircase shadows
Another use of
shadows again has links to German expressionism, which many suggest were the
early stages of the horror genre, as Hollywood film makers were influenced by
this movement.
The shots of
her running juxtaposed with the killer walking down the stairs let the audience
know that he is following her. As she approaches the next house, there is a
shadow on the left hand side of the door which looks like a man holding a
knife, which is portraying the narrative. These shots show the neighbourhood,
showing that this is your typical girl, from a typical town. The trailer ends
on a cliff-hanger after showing a lot of the narrative, which is a marketing
technique to get an audience to go and see the film as they want to find out
which happens to the girl.
This trailer
as a whole is pretty formulaic, although some aspects subvert the usual form of
film trailers, as it gives away a lot of the narrative, only leaving the final
girl alive. Audiences however will be attracted to see this film as they will
want closure on what happened to the girl at the end of the trailer. Usually
the shape of a typical trailer begins with the state of equilibrium, and slowly
rises in tension before reaching the climax. However, with the Halloween
trailer, it begins with a shocking event, and the equilibrium is only apparent
in the middle of the trailer, before reaching the climax at the end.
Scream
The trailer
begins like many trailers with the certificate of age consent. This film is
rated R for restricted, meaning for audiences over the age of 17. The shots in
the trailer begin with a subjective shot of a telephone with a diegetic sound
of the telephone ringing. The voice on the phone followsthrough the screens of the studio and the
distributor for the film, meaning it is subjective and worth the audience listening
to. The trailer then shows an establishing shot of the house, a typical location
for a film within the slasher genre. The girl on the phone is blonde, and
within the slasher genre, the blonde sexually active girl is usually the one to
die first. The non diegetic sound is raising tension as the phone call becomes
creepier. A shot of the popcorn bag slowly rising represents the rising tension,
which is the first example of mise en scene that we see.
Popcorn rising
The girl says “I’m
going to watch a scary movie” which foreshadows the entire narrative of the
film, as Scream is about the typical events within slasher films. When the
voice on the phone says “I wanna know who I’m looking at” the camera zooms into
her face to emphasise the emotion of fear that the character is feeling. By
this, the audience feel empathy towards this character. The tension hits its
peak as the sound of crashing accompanies the figure smashing through her window;
this is followed by a quick close up of the girl screaming, with a faded image
of the scream mask for the first time. Masks are typical of slasher films, as
therefore the audience’s imagination portrays their own individual fears under
the mask – the fear of the unknown. This shot is juxtaposed with a shot of
police cars, which by adding these two shots together creates meaning in the
fact that they are investigating the events that we just witnessed within the
trailer. Tension begins to rise as the non diegetic music gets tenser as well
as the editing of fast placed shots to portray a chaotic feel as we see more of
the slasher narrative. There is another girl on the phone at this point with
the same voice on the other end, suggesting to the audience that this man is out
to kill again, like we saw at the beginning of the trailer. This character is
brunette and in a baggy grey jumper, typical of a slasher films so-called
‘final girl’, as they are usually mature and virginal. The sound of the girl
speaking back carries on into the next shot in the form of a voice over as the
camera pans around the girl who seems visually trapped behind bars,
representing the fact this man has the girl under his trap, another example of
mise en scene. When she says “big breasted girl”, it shows a big breasted girl
in the frame, suggesting that this girl is sexually active – and if following
the slasher genre’s codes and conventions, the next girl to die. The next shot
is a group of teenagers, again typical of slasher films, informing his friends
about the conventions of slashers, which shows that this film is self aware.
Knife pointing on TV
The
television in the background has a knife pointing towards this character, maybe
portraying that he is also to die. As he talks through what the teenagers
shouldn’t do to avoid getting killed, the camera cuts to some of the teenagers
subverting his warnings to show the rebellious youthful side of them. Tension
begins to slowly rise and we see a shot of a girl in white in a white room,
suggesting she may be the final girl, as white represents purity. When he says
“you won’t be back” there is a shot of a door closing, representing what the
character is saying. After this, the climax begins and the voice over returns.
The extreme close up of a girl crying and putting down the phone shows emotion,
and also due to what we have already seen in the trailer, we know that the
killer was the one she was on the phone too. The film revolves around the night
of prom, which could be an intertextual reference to another successful film
within the genre, named ‘Prom Night’. The caption “don’t answer the phone” comes
up as a warning and the text gets shredded off the screen in red – which
symbolises death, blood and anger. More warning captions appear, and the shots
after them again represent the rebellious youth of the teenage group. The name
of the film appears to put the climax to an end. The voice over throughout the
trailer could be argued as the voice of reason, as it Is warning the audience
about the killer, and how to avoid getting killed by him.
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