I decided to look at an older example of a horror film trailer to extend my research by looking at the Saw trailer. At the time of it's release in 2004, the first Saw film was revolutionary within the horror film genre. Even though it's trailer was more low budgeted, it has many interesting features to analyse.
There is no doubt from this trailer that it is in the horror genre, and the codes and conventions of typical horror trailers can be found within it. The lighting plays a large role in creating a creepy atmosphere, with lots of low key lighting in many parts. This gives it a very dark feeling, which is common for horror trailers and films. However, in some parts, there is high key lighting, but this light is bright and white, which suggests that something unnatural about the situation that the film is centred round. When looking at the mise-en-scene of this trailer, we also see conventions which indicate the horror genre. For example, the mask that we see (that the character of 'Jigsaw' wears) is creepy, and may frighten younger viewers.
The structure of the trailer also gives us an idea into what the film entails. At first, we have the scene of the man taking photos in an apartment - the room is very dark, with only quick, bright flashes of the camera flash lighting up the room. Apart from the diagetic noise of the camera, there is no other sound in the first few seconds. Even in these few seconds, we can already identify the genre through the use of lighting. Right through to the end, not much is revealed about the plot of the film, leaving a certain amount of mystery for the audience (which would entice them to see it at the cinema). At the end, the title is shown, along with the dialogue of the character of 'Jigsaw' 'Live or die, make your choice...' which then fades to black. Again, this statement does not give too much away, creating mystery.
In this trailer, there are many interesting features of cinematography. There are a lot of jump cuts, rapid editing used, and swift camera movements, which provide a quick pace for he plot to run at. This builds tension, and reinforces the horror genre. The use of CCTV footage also suggests the idea of voyeurism, which is a key feature of the story of film. Green filters also give it an eerie feel, and the shadows accentuate this. Close ups and extreme close ups are used to shows the fear and emotion on the characters faces, which gives the audience an amount of sympathy for them, which may keep their attention and focus on the characters throughout the film. Other interesting edits include the break up of scenes with 'fade to black' transitions, and the use of text in between cuts. The fades help to reinforce the dark feel to the trailer, and the text, with words such as 'Psychopath' and 'Madman' also implies to the audience that the killer is someone to be afraid of (most people are afraid of psychopathic murderers in films such as Saw, which helps us to identify this as a horror film).
The use of sound is also an important component of the trailer. At the beginning, we start of with the scene of the man taking photos. The diagetic sound from the flash, and the POV (point of view) shot of the man, allow the audience to feel as though we are there with him, and as the scene moves on, the creepy sound effect of the strange laughing is heard. Due to the room being dark, we cannot see the source of this sound, so it becomes non-diagetic, and the fear of the unknown makes this scene uneasy to watch without feeling a sense of trepidation. The voice of the killer is also distorted (by the killer himself in the film to protect his identity) and is used throughout the trailer as a voice over to add to the plot, and help the audience to understand what it is about more. Again, this is quite creepy and is used to instil fear. Dialogue from other characters is also used to reveal a certain amount of the plot to the audience.
Due to the fact that is a horror genre, this film is clearly aimed at adults. Even some of the content of the trailer may be unsuitable for young children (all of the features that I mentioned) and the insinuation of pain and gore (the section of the advert which implies that the characters must saw off their own feet would be extremely unsuitable for children). The screaming and warped sound effects would also be too suggestive and frightening for children.
Below is the original trailer for Saw.
I really liked the use of lighting and editing in this trailer - the bright white/ blue filters created an unnatural and clinical feel, and the fades in between shots kept the trailer running fluidly. This trailer is for a horror film that features a lot of gore which will not be a part of our trailer, however, I will use these components of this trailer (the use of lighting and editing) as inspiration for my own trailer.
