Scream Trailer Analysis

The mise-en-scene in the Scream trailer is a typical American slasher film. As you can see, in the photo, the clothes are basic. She is holding a phone which sets the main recurring theme that sets happening during the film/trailer.

This mask in the picture is the real face of the film, and the mise-en-scene is the key to this. Without the mask, the film would not be the same, and people would instantly recognise the mask. This is easily one of the best ways in persuading the viewer to watch the film as people will want to see an easily-recognised feature in the film.

During the trailer, editing effects called fading was used. The first picture was the building up to the effect, as every type of sound had gone quiet. (Both Diegetic and Non-Diegetic)

It then quickly fades to a different camera shot and something comes smashing through the window. The quick fade builds tension and makes people on the edge of their seat. This is a very good way of persuading the viewer to watch the film because the audience will want to know what happens to the character.

Towards the end of the trailer, text-on-screen appears straight after each other. They fly in and fade away. This is an editing technique and it adds suspense and gives the viewer interaction with the trailer. This is a very good method and I may use this in my trailer.

This close-up of the phone and the women’s hand shows that this may be a recurring theme throughout the film. This is effective because people will instantly see this in the trailer as it’s the first clip.

This over-the-shoulder shot is not a traditional over the shoulder shot, as it could be a point of view shot for a person standing behind the man in front. This is an effective shot in a trailer as it creates suspense and makes the audience think and want to know what I going to happen.

The use of colour here is red, as the film’s genre is a horror/slasher film. This signifies blood and death and even shows what will happen if you do open the door. This is a good use of colour and is effective. This will also catch the viewer’s eye as the red is on a black background.

The use of a bright light on a man’s face with a low-key lighting background makes him a suspicious looking character. This shot adds effect to the character and the trailer as people will now see him as a suspicious character, even though it is the trailer, to use a high-key light on one specific part of a shot with the rest in low-key lighting as a good way of using light.

During the trailer, there are a lot of different sounds used. Half-way through the trailer, a voice-over was used, making the film trailer more persuasive to the audience. I believe that by using a voice-over, it becomes more persuasive and appealing to us.

Another way in which sound was used and how it helped create suspense was through ambient sound. This sound that sets in the scene, as an object smashes its way in through the window early in the trailer, makes the audience think about the film and makes them think about what is going to happen next.

Another way in which sound was used during the film trailer was speech, which is called Diegetic sound. The main character of the film explains a normal and basic scary/slasher movie. This is ironic as the film is basically a normal slasher movie, but adding this in will make us believe that there is a twist or something new to a film of this genre. Adding diegetic sound to a film trailer is the key to showing off its genre, which is something Luqman and I will use for our film trailer.

By Flavio Alves 13I