Trailers and teaser trailers are perhaps as the most powerful aspect of a marketing campaign, used in order to advertise a future film that will be realised. They are created in order to create curiosity amongst the audience, and leave them asking questions. Generally we are given no distinctive plot or characters, yet left to make our own interpretations of the visuals or text. Therefore teaser trailers are usually very short in lengthen lasting between 30 - 60 seconds, containing very little footage from the film. It builds upon the fact that more information about the film is up coming soon and in the nearby future, as a result the teaser trailer should attempt to add to the build-up of the film. This are in order to create desire to seek out further information. A teaser trailer should aim to leave the audience wanting to see more. Consequently in order for us to make a successful teaser trailer we had to watch and analyse other successful teaser trailers.
We decided to study the teaser trailer of Amityville Horror as it has many similarities to the plot we have created; therefore this would allow us to draw inspiration for our own teaser trailer.
This particular teaser trailer initially opens with the distributor of the film – Dimensions Films. Straight away this illustrates to the audience the type of genre the film may be, as Dimensions Films is known for producing horror movies such as “Halloween” and “Scream”. This is an important part of a teaser trailer as by portraying the genre of the film from the start, already helps to entice an already established audience.
When deciding on who will be the distributor of our film we will have to take into consideration things like previous films distributed before deciding upon our choice of distributor. We are then given 9 seconds of staring at a black blank screen which is interspersed with the sound of gun shots, this primarily helps to build tension and suspense amongst the audience as we are confused about the damage that these gun shots are causing therefore feel slightly wary of what the opening visual shot will be. Due to teaser trailers being relatively short in duration “The Amityville Horror” uses 10% of their production time showing a blank screen. I consider this is be a good use of time, as immediately we are asking questions. In addition due to the extent of time we are given to concentrate on a black screen, it leads us to make assumptions about what we expect to come next. This engages the audience with the teaser trailer.
We are then thrown off track with the next series of transitions, as we expect to encounter something which will “horrify” us yet instead we are presented with a medium tracking shot of an interview. The medium shot allows us to see the body language of the police officer, who seems uneasy and bewildered as he stutters the line “I’ve never seen anything like it.” This almost informs the audience of the way they are meant to react to the sequence and leaves us questioning: “what is it he’s seen?” This is one of the main aspects a teaser trailer should try to achieve, leave the audience asking questions and “The Amityville Horror” has done this from the outset. So for my teaser trailer I am going to try and incorporate this idea of leaving the audience wanting to know more. The scene open and closes with a disorientating black and white fuzzy screen as if we are watching it through a television set, this also suggests that there may be a paranormal presence. This comes from typical conventions of horror as it is well known when there is a super natural presence television sets tend to go blank or fuzzy and lights will flicker on and off. Our growing audience sophistication helps us to decode these messages easily. This helps to suggest what the sub-genre of the film may be – Physiological horror. We are then presented with our first titles reading “Based on a true story”. The writing takes up a very small proportion of the frame, yet stands out due to it being white contrasting with the jet black background. The font of writing seems to demonstrate an old type writer which we would relate with police offers/detective notes. This adds emphasis to the previous frame, building on our knowledge of the film yet not quite knowing what knowledge we are actually building on as we don’t know what has taken place. “Based on a true story” also makes the future realised film seem more horrendous as it has taken place amongst the society we live in. This shows the importance of the titles and the kind of impact they can have on an audience, and it is vital to choose the right piece of text to use as those which both scare and raise questions amongst the audience.
We are then given a series of black and white images of newspaper clippings combined with an interview being undertaken, describing the incident that has occurred. This is the first real insight we have got into the basis of the film, as the newspaper headlines consist of words such as “murder” and “Family slain”. This was a huge inspiration into the planning of our teaser trailer, as due to ours being based on two friends moving into a new house where previous murders have taken place much like “The Amityville Horror” we are going to use newspaper clippings as well. The trailer also inspired our idea of how to establish another typical convention of horror into our film – Haunted houses. The rapid transitions of shots unsettles the audience, as the flashing images briefly appearing on the screen doesn’t allow the viewer to fully understand what they are reading. This where the non- digetic voice over of one the characters proves significant, as his blunt explanation of the incident helps to bring the audience up to speed. Yet the unravelling of the previous question of “what has happened?” has now lead to “why has this happened?”, so this particular teaser trailer is effectively achieving its aim of leaving the audience wanting to know more constantly raising questions.
The next frame consist of another title, following the same traits as the previous one yet this time the information provided includes a date and a address. Once more we are given another set of rapid transitions of flashing images across the screen, which disorientates the viewer as there is so much information to take in within the time period. The newspaper headlines fade in and out, with an image of a man appearing across the screen several times. So another question has arisen within these frames of “Who is he?”. It is evident that we could come to the conclusion that he is the man who has committed the murders, yet nothing is for definite. The sharp screeching noises that intersperse with the frames create a sense of unease for the audience. Almost as if it is the sound of a blade being sharpened. The tension is further built by the note holding of a low key instrument, which is the background noise for another set of titles stating “One year later”. We expect to then see some kind of tragedy revealed across our screen, yet are met by the sound of children’s laughter and a happy family atmosphere. This allows the audience to relax, nonetheless we are still wary of what may occur. These particular frames are shot in the form of a homemade video, really emphasizing the excitement of the family to move into their new house. However we are not given the chance to smile at the families encounters, as a black and white tracking shot zooming out from the house once again creates that sense of anxiousness. This helps to set the scene we have anticipated from the start, as a thunder storm arises; followers of horror well and truly know this means something horrific is about to begin.
When this shot is combined with the following set of titles “They only lasted 28days”, and the parallel sounds of a heart beat the audience are kept on the edge of their seats. Once again the teaser trailer then has a series of glimpses of the unfortunate events that lie ahead for the characters. Most of the shots take the form of close ups, allowing us to see the expression of suffering and anguish on their faces. This portrays the terror we are about to see, and almost shows us the way we are suppose to react towards the film. Once again a piercing sound which I perceive to be the sound of women’s screams is played in the background, making the audience feel uncomfortable. The final shot is of the house itself, which I think is significant as it’s almost showing the audience that the house is the cause for the murders and you just can’t escape its fate. As the house fades out the title of film appears across the screen, as well as its “release date” – “Coming Soon”. Even down to the last shot The Amityville Horror leaves you asking questions, as we are not given a specific release date. These ideas will be incorporated into our teaser trailer, as the main purpose of a teaser trailer is to leave us wanting more.
Over all I believe The Amityville Horror will be a massive influence to our own teaser trailer, as it has very similar traits to our film therefore has allowed us to build on our previous ideas further. This particular teaser trailer also shows the importance that sound, mise en scene and titles can have upon an audience.
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