This is a film trailer for As Above, So Below. Released in 2014 it is a fresh, new horror and thriller which I am going to analyse to help further my understanding of what the conventions are for this genre.
The film is classed as a thriller as there is little 'guts and gore' so to say. However, it is partly horror due to the frightening nature throughout. This makes As Above, So Below, a hybrid.
The film trailers shown on YouTube slightly differ from the trailer of the film that they show on the television. Although the content is the same, whilst watching it online there is an extra clip of text right at the start before the footage is shown. The white text sits in front of a green background - it appears the exact same on every trailer shown on the web. It essentially for more legal reasons by saying that the Motion Picture Association of America has deemed the trailer acceptable to show. This is obviously important to show as it allows us to see that the trailer has been examined and verified so we instantly know that it is suitable for watching.
Straight away we see an editing skill as at 0.06 - as soon as the trailer begins - an effect has been used to make the screen 'crackle' and 'flicker' as if you have just switched on a video, this idea is further supported by the non-diegetic sound effect which people relate back to the idea of something technological crackling. It is followed by a close-up shot of a young female presenting herself which relates to the effect they used to introduce her in the scene as it all makes the viewer feel like they are being directly spoken to. This immediately immerses into the scene and keeps their attention because they are focusing on this character. Furthermore, it is followed by a medium shot of her dancing around however the camera films her from a direction which makes it clear that she isn't focusing and is being caught off-guard, giving it a documentary, amateur style. There is no sound support this short sequence which ensures that attention is fixated on what is being shown and also to make the start of the music more dramatic. As the trailer goes on the music gets more intense as more sounds within the piece are introduced. The composition continues to build up in pace fitting in with the more intense and scary clips that they are showing from the film. The music played within a film trailer is important as it is a major contributor to the audiences emotions and reactions to what they are seeing. The music used can give the viewers the exact atmosphere you want them to experience and evoke the emotions you are wanting them to feel - in this case the music is attempting to evoke the 'on edge' feeling from viewers.
Secondly, we see the iconography of the Universal Studios trademark. The audience will usually instantly recognise this if they have seen films by the Universal Studios company before. As this is being shown we experience our first sound. A piece of slow music starts off in a deep pitch making the feeling more intense, this juxtaposes the happy, energetic female we were shown in the previous scene and therefore this introduces the idea of a darker narrative. After the Universal icon there is a fade to black to make the transition smoother as they move into more of the footage from the film. The fade to black is followed by an establishing shot of Paris which the director has made obvious by showing the iconic landmark of the Eiffel Tower. Now the audience know where the film is set they start getting more of a feel for the film. The same piece of non-diegetic music is being played throughout ensuring the audience are still immersed and keeping up their senses.
All throughout the trailer there is an alternation in the camera style, showing footage which has been filmed by the camera men on set and then scenes which have been filmed using the handheld technique to give the impression of one of the group members filming their adventure. You can tell when the handheld technique is being used as the camera is more rough and unsteady, also, the characters look directly into the camera as they know they are being film whereas they don't make eye contact with the regular cameras on set for it would make the entire film unrealistic.
Constantly throughout the trailer the genre is never lost. We are always being reminded of what the film entails and what genre they are giving off. An example is the fact that at 0.37 seconds, there a shots, one after another, of human skulls and bones.
At time 0.20 some text appears on the screen.This is extremely conventional for any film trailer to have text flowing through the trailer as it gives extra information that gives the audience more of an understanding about the film and its content. Typography is also cleverly used and planned as the way the text appears on screen keeps up the continuity of the trailer - it fits and keeps the same feel as all the previous scenes by abruptly flashing on screen, the same sort of flashing effect we saw at the beginning on the footage. The sentences flash up on the screen which resembles a light flickering on and off, this is complimented by the greenish yellow colour of the text supporting the dark theme occurring throughout. This is giving the sign of the horror genre as is it conventional for both slow and quick editing within scenes and their transitions to appear as it reflects the narrative ideas of sanity and insanity, calm and frantic e.c.t.
Subsequently, at 1:54 we see another example of text shown. It reads 'This August' which obviously tells the audience when the film will be coming out in cinemas for them to watch. It is appropriate to put this information in the middle of the scenes as this screen on text is usually followed by another scene from the film quickly, before another set of text comes on reading a follow on sentence to try and get the more of a reaction from the people watching. The follow on sentence in this specific case is, 'your past', followed again by a quick scene before the sentence carries on to read 'will haunt you'.
Furthermore, there are a lot of fade to black transitions which reflects the genre as it not only allows for a smooth movement yet makes the different scenes have a more tense ending and way of starting. Consequently, there is a varied use on camera shots including:
- Establishing shots - used to show locations.
- Close-up shots - used in a lot of horror genres to show reactions of characters to events, the audience can interpret the oncoming scenes based on a characters face/body language/reaction.
- Extreme close-ups - these can be used to show aftermath of a situation such as blood, bodies, weapons e.c.t.
- High angle shot - one of the most conventional and most used shot types in the horror and thriller genre. Used mostly in murder scenes or attacks to place a character in a vulnerable, weak position in opposition to another character.
- Low angle shot - used in this trailer to give the characters power in the situation.
Towards the end of trailer we see the title of the film appear. The typography conforms to what we have been shown already. The words 'As Above...' are in chalky white which contrasts with the blood red colour of the rest of title, '...So Below'. At the same time, behind the text we see a red symbol appear which is known for the representation of the supernatural. A trailers job is to give the audience a tease of the film which is exactly what this does, it conforms seeing as it gives off the idea that the film is based around the idea of the supernatural.
In conclusion, this trailer has taught me that it is critical to maintain continuity all the way throughout. It is only by achieving this, that I can truly conform to my genre and attract the audience which I want to appeal to. It has also shown me the directly what a horror genre entails and has given me a clear view about what is expected from me if I were to choose this genre for my production work.
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