Media language

Investigation
Analyse three horror
trailers
The three trailers I am going to analyse will be Insidious 2, Women in black and oculus I will
be analysing the cinematography, sound, mise en scene and editing.
Insidious 2
Insidious 2
Cinematography- The trailer uses a range of camera angles such as high angles on the family when the ghosts are
in the house representing them as small and week with lack of power. This is also evident when they are trying to
contact them and we get a high angle point of view shot on the family. The high angle in the living room after the main
character has come to the realisation that she is not alone makes the audience feel on edge as she is represented as
small compared to the dangers around her that are much bigger which is the house. In the hall we get a side close up
when the baby walker enters the left hand third which makes the audience now focus on this. When in the church we
also have a master shot of all the dead bodies which then leads on to inserts and close ups. The close ups in the trailer
make the audience focus on the reaction shots of the characters which then sometimes lead on to eye line matches.
Sound- At the beginning of the trailer we start of with victory/happy music as the family start of the believe that they
are now safe in their new home compared to their old in Insidious 1 however this then starts to change as we can see in
the non diegetic music which suddenly becomes more upbeat and spooky which links to what we see on the screen of
the horrific scenes that start to occur. The sound effects are turned up and overlap the peaceful music we begun with
making the atmosphere more intense. At the end of the trailer the music becomes more blurred and speeds up as the
trailer comes to an end. The music suddenly stops and there is a minute of silence when we see a creepy person
standing in the corner.
Mise en scene- At the beginning of the film the lighting is fairly light as this is the happy part of the trailer where
they believe nothing is going to happen to them however as the trailer becomes more intense the lighting becomes
more dim which makes the audience more curious and spooked as what could be lurking in the shadows. The setting is
fairly creepy the house has several halls and doors where at any time something could be in the background also mirrors
play a big part in spooks as they have the tendency to have someone else besides the main character in the reflection
when not expected this also happens in the trailer.
Editing- At the beginning of the film there are a series of long takes as the film becomes more tense we have a
montage of short takes which links to the tense music. There are also many fade ins of black screens between several
sections as the non diegetic sound continues making the audience curious as to what scene is going to be next.
Women in black
Women in black
Cinematography- In this trailer it starts of with a series of establishing shots and master shots so the audience can
establish where everything is located, this works especially for the muddy trail up to the house as it shows how far away
the house is from the main town making it slightly more creepy as the audience will then know later on in the film there is
no easy escape. There is a pulling focus on most the toys which then focus on Daniel Radcliff, in this scene as well there is a
low angle on the toys illustrating that these are also controlled by whatever is haunting the house. There is a tracking shot
as Radcliff walks down the stairs which connotes that someone is following him. The angles at the beginning represent
Radcliff as powerless as the three young girls look down on him representing him with lack of power as they know more
about the house than he does.
Sound- The music starts of like a creepy child's nursery rhyme song but slowed down, the use of a child's song makes it
more creepy as it is taking away there innocence and relates to people in real life who may sing these to their own
children. A common thing in most horror trailers like this one is the music speeds up linking to the short takes.
The children's nursery time gradually speeds up along with the amount of cuts creating a more intense atmosphere. The
non diegetic sound above the nursery song is the young girl speaking a poem this is said in a slightly creepy manor and
adds to the fright.
Mise en scene- The house is the main point in the film that brings about the creepy factor, it is old, dusty creaky and
empty. The weather is never sunny as this would connote a more happy atmosphere therefore its always raining which
connotes a dreary atmosphere. Also the use of old children's toys adds to the spooky atmosphere as it takes away the
innocence. Most of the trailer is in darkness and the isolated house adds to the horror feel. As well as that when we have
the scene of the writing on the wall we see that it Is in red symbolic to blood. The cross is a typical convention of a horror
movie as it obviously represents death. The idea of the three young girls jumping out of the window is something every
parent would hate therefore showing this will really work on the audience as it would frighten them into realising that the
women is powerful and makes them feel a lot more spooked.
Editing- There is a montage of shots again at the end of the trailer as the music speeds up and the non diegetic music
gets more messy effect and the sound effects overtake it. There are many fade outs to black screens making the trailer
more tense and scary. This also happened in the trailer of Insidious 2. The amount of shots speed up and then slow down
with the music at the end for a final cut at the window to give a final scare this then cuts to the credits.
Oculus
Oculus
Cinematography- There is a series of master shots and low angles to emphasis the little power the women has against
the monster. The close ups focus the audience on the reaction shot of the characters and also focus us on a certain hand
gesture on the mirror. We have a shot reverse shot when there is a dialogue to give the audience a rough idea of what it is
about.
Sound- There are several sound stings throughout the trailer which makes the audience jump slightly putting them on
edge straight away. The non diegetic music continues throughout and when there is a montage of the photos the music
speeds up and the sound of the pictures flipping has been exaggerated.
Throughout the trailer every so often there is a ticking sound this is symbolic to a clock ticking away illustrating that they
only have so long left. Most of the trailer is the characters dialogue and several shot reverse shots this also gives the
audience a rough idea of the storyline .
Mise en scene- Again its in a dark house and the rooms are very small empty isolated and dusty following the typical
conventions of a horror film. The mirror is black which is symbolic to a death, hidden things and is very suspicious. The
person in a mirror idea takes away the idea of the mirror in snow white and destroys the innocence of Disney once again.
When the characters are away from the mirror the general lighting is bright giving the sense that the characters are now
safe however when they are in the house there is little lighting and this will make the audience feel fearful of what is about
to come. This also helps when creatures randomly appear in the shadows which also makes it more frightening when it does
happen.
Editing- There is a montage of images half way through with tons of short cuts which have been sped up as the trailer
gets more intense, this also gets the story across a lot quicker. At the beginning there is only long takes and some shot
reverse shots in conversation. The reaction shots help up realise how scared the characters are they are then edited to link
to an eye line match to see what she is actual scared about, this makes us feel like were in her position and feel worried.
There would have been CGI effects on some of the creatures that appear in the trailer, to give the trailer the creepy feel. A
lot of special effects have been used to make it seem that the characters are see in double to link to the narrative of the
film.