History of horror trailers

In this video, one member of our group (Archie) talks at length about the history of old horror trailers, and how these have developed over the years. He explains how the focus of trailers has shifted from monsters such as Dracula and Frankenstein's monster, to more psychological and gore focused fare.

Call sheet

Below is our cal sheet, which details our first day of filming. The sheet features all the required information for a call sheet, including date, time, location and actors.

 

 

Call Sheet designed by Archie McCarthy

Character Profile (Destroyed)

Here is a second version of the character profile for our protagonist, which appears to have been edited by someone or something.... This can actually be seen as the character profile for the main antagonist of the film; the house itself and the spirits whom are trapped there. This edited character profile features the same kind of taunting that the protagonist will see in the trailer to alert him as to his current position in the world; being dead.

Character profile

Below is an interactive booklet showing off our character profile for our main character; Joesph.

Behind the scenes of location trailer filming

Here is the behind the scenes footage of our location shoot, which has been shot in the style of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho trailer;

Behind the Scarlet Door- Film trailer

For our location shots, our teacher presented us with the idea of the trailer of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho trailer. This would be a perfect way to show off our location as Hitchcock is referred to as one of the greatest directors, as well as directing one for the most successful horror films of all time; Psycho.

Here is the original trailer from 1960;



And here is our trailer. I am playing the part of Alfred Hitchcock, with Carl Aylett on camera;

Animatic

Here is our Animatic for our film trailer. Firstly, we had to look at other examples of animatics from other films. Here is an example of the animatic for a scene from Iron Man 3, which we wanted or animatic to turn out like;


How ours actually came out is as follows;

Animatic filmed by Archie McCarthy

Risk Assessment

When dealing with a subject you know little of; consult someone who knows what they are doing. Cue someone who fills in this form for a living; a contracts manager.


So; with all my help, what did the finished risk assessment form look like?

Conventions of Horror Film Trailers

From our research into the conventions of Horror Film trailers, we have learnt a number of things, and seen a great deal as to what makes a horror film stand out from the others.

Colour 
Dark scenes and dark colours have been used since the beginning of horror. This technique is supposed to obscure the audience's view of what is happening and therefore evokes a sense of fear because they don't know what is coming. When we are born, we often also have the fear of being alone and the dark, a feature capitalised by horror films. Dark colours and darkness can also be attributed to death; something most humans are afraid of, and everyone has to face. For example today, female victims will usually wear pale, 'happy' and sometimes daring colours which will lead them to their death. The antagonist will usually be seen in black because this colour is heavily associated with death - the last colour you will see before you die ("it all goes black.")

Unique Selling Point (USP) 
A unique selling point is the factor that will make one film stand out from the rest. In order for a horror film to be successful it must be different because people will feel scared when they have already seen a film that has a similar plot as the one they are currently watching. A good example of this would be the first film of the Paranormal Activity franchise. Though haunted house stories had been done before, none were quite as compelling as this film, which was done so well, it made the audience believe the family on screen was being hunted by a ghost. Diverse camera shots A wide variety of camera shots are used in trailers to give the illusion that everything on the screen is real. Also since horrors are usually made up or a real life situation has been adapted into the plot, to allow the audience to believe that what they are watching is real, camera shots from different angles lure the audience in before using their interest to scare them.

Voice-over 
The voice over usually runs through the first third of the trailer and indicates to the audience what the film is about. For example in 'The Devil Inside' trailer, it begins will the recording of a 911 call and then one of the main characters begins to tell the story about her mother. The audience now believe that the mother of this woman is possessed by evil.The call itself is so well spoken, it could easily be a real call for help in a desperate hour of need. Again; the reality of it helps to make the audience feel as though it is real for a split second.

Speed of editing & Music 
Trailers mostly begin with long camera shots and minimal camera movement. Eerie music is played over the trailers. At the beginning it has a high pitch, a low tempo and isn't very loud. The cuts are still sharp as the camera jumps from one scene to another. On the other hand, recently horror films have been starting of with a series of very fast shots that the audience can't get a clear picture of what happened. The speed of editing and the music keep increasing as it reaches the fast montage where the speed of the editing is at it's peak. The music may change during different scenes and increase in tempo which builds tension. If there is music during the fast montage it will have a low pitch and have a strong beat to it. Some trailers go even further from this formula, such as 'You're next', which uses happy music, played in the major key, before having the music shift to a far darker tone when the murderer, or creature arrives. Most trailers will have their music build to a point, before having a short break before the jump scare; a key element of any trailer.

How much of the plot to give away 
For a trailer to entice the audience to come and watch the film it has to attract their attention first. A horror film needs to be realistic to the audience so sometimes it is difficult to develop plot that has many disruptions before it reaches the repair followed by the new equilibrium. So trailers cannot always show the main disruption. Directors make the decision to add foreign parts into the trailer that may not appear in the actual film. To increase tension trailers leave the audience with a hook or cliff hanger. For example if it is a slasher, the audience may be left to believe that this killer will kill the protagonist, when in reality, they may be the only character to escape the killer.

Actor's/Actress' names
Directors do not use very famous actors in horror films because people world have seen the actor/actress in other films so they automatically know that this film isn't real and lose that sense of fear that is brought on from watching horror films. Unknown actors are used because it makes it feel as though it is real life footage. However in the last couple of months there has been two big-name actors who have starred in successful horror films.

Straplines 
Trailers shows some production information such as the producers and directors that have created other films usually in the same genre. This helps to lure the audience into believing that they will like this film because it has the same director or producer. Straplines are another persuasion technique used in trailers. For example "Before you experience the fear, before you know the pain, to witness the horror, to uncover the truth, you have to go back, to where it all began" is from the horror 'House at the end of the street' which indicates to the audience what the film will show them without actually giving away the plot. Straplines generally make use of a memorable phrase that stick with the audience long after the trailer has faded from memory.

Story Time Children.... (500(ish) word Synopsis of trailer)

"A house is really evil, and some bad stuff happens to a guy who turns up n' Stuff. It will be really scary n'all."

You may have to turn the volume to the maximum for the video below. It is a tad quiet.


The film takes place in the small town of Dartford, just outside London. Central to the theme is the house which is found near a school, and the family who live in it. The main character, a boy by the name of Joesph Magnum, is left home alone when his parents go on holiday for work. Due to being an only child, he is left alone for a week in the house. However, the house is actually a place of evil. The house is possessed by a number of vengeful spirits, all of whom died there at some point in their lives. The house draws life from those who live in it, slowly draining away their spirit and their life force until they die; forever trapped inside the house. When one victim is incredibly close to death, the house gives the victim some indication as to their fate, before they finally die and become one of the spirits lost in the house.

Once Joesph is left alone, the house reveals the information that he is actually already dead. Haunted by this new piece of information, he decides that the single most logical solution would be to run and try to leave the house. However, when he attempts to leave, he is stopped by himself; the soul that has been extracted from him by the house. Unable to leave due to the house having control over him, he becomes slightly mad, and begins to act in a very melancholy and morose way.

However, with nothing left to lose, he decides to try and find out the exact circumstances that have led him to his death, and the reasons as to why the house has such control over him. His thoughts are interrupted however by the sound of music playing from a gramophone. Lured in by the music playing, he moves toward it. He hears the music coming from his living room area. Opening the door, he is greeted by a vision of a spirit, which causes him to recoil in fear.

The room into which he enters is not the room he was expecting. Rather than his living room, he has walked into what appears to be a party being thrown in his home. Everyone is wearing fancy clothes, and their faces are obscured. He is then given a glass of champagne by a waiter, whom proceeds to vanish into the crowds of party goers. The vision of the party quickly fades from view, and he is left with the scene of what appears to be a massacre.

 He keeps having strange visions, mixing reality with events of the past, such as seeing himself dressed in clothes from the 1920s when he looks in the mirror, his possessions changing in favour of ones from the past. The visions even include a high stakes poker game. However, when he finally reaches the poker room, and is seated, he discovers that everyone else playing the game is actually him. He then has a realisation that all the visions he has seen are of him; most of which end with him dying in some way. The spirits in the house are taunting him.

Unable to escape or call for any form of help, the film follows his decline into madness, as he gradually begins to grow accustomed to the world around him. After a while however, he realises he is still trapped in the house. The end of the film is left particularly ambiguous, insinuating that he took his own life, as there was no-way to escape his fate inside the house, yet the suicide is never fully shown, leaving it up to the audience to decide if he killed himself, or was claimed by the house and the spirits from within.