Technical codes

Camera Shot Angles, Distances and Movements.

We identified the most common effectively used camera techniques in horror film trailers as being:

•Extreme Close Up’s of characters faces and features like hands and feet, or eyes and mouths. This allows the audience to relate to the characters emotion or actions in the trailer, focusing on one part of the body creates enigma because we have a limited view of what is happening. •Establishing shots of the characters surroundings like a field or a forest also create enigma because of the isolation. This allows the audience to relate to the characters emotions of fear when the tension builds up later on in the trailer. They also use pans of settings to increase this sense of isolation.•Cantered angles create a distorted image in which the audience can only see part of what is happening or because its at a cantered angles it is hard to see what is going on, this creates enigma with in the trailer.•Tracking shots are used to create a “peeping tom” atmosphere, this creates enigma because it allows the audience to view from the on-lookers perspective and gives a perception that the character is being followed. This is even more effective when the tracking shot is hand held.•Extreme high and extreme low angles are used to create ideas of power and status, this allows the audience to create perceptions of victims and villains. This also increase tension and enigma because of the distorted image. This is even more effective when used in over shoulder shots and midshots of characters faces because of the distorted image.

My Horror TrailerTo establish the location in which the action takes place within our horror trailer we will use establishing shots and pans of the surroundings like a long shot pan of the road that the villain and victim both live on and meet on and a long shot pan of the woods in which the action takes place in. We will make our villain seem imposing in our trailer by the way we film him, you never quite see his face which creates enigma, we see his feet walking, we see the back of his head, and we see his face at very high and low angles in very dark lighting, because of this and the added fact he wears a bowler hat, you never quite see all of his face. This means that there is a sense of mystery and menace towards the villain creating enigma. We will make out victim seem weak and venerable because she is a teenager there is sense of childhood about her, also the type of angles we use, like high angles to give the perception that she is little and small, create a weak and little view of her. In contrast to the low angles of the villain this will impose a sense of danger.We will ensure that the audience is able to identify the stock character types in our film because of the clothes, gender, age and lighting. For example the victim will be young, teenager, modern clothes, female and well lit, and the villain will be older, bulky clothes, male and low key lighting. Female teenagers in particular are stock victims in horror films. Male characters are usually portrayed as villains, because our horror trailer is a psycho sub genre of horror movies, we have used the character of an alternative ego which is a child this is also a stock character as it has the connotations of innocence and purity and this is in contrasts to the characters purpose in the trailer which is evil and vindictive. (Binary Opposites – Levi Strauss)

We will create disorientation with in our trailer by the camera techniques and editing techniques in our trailer. for example, hand held tracking shots, the shakiness of the footage is effective in creating a disorientating image, also with in editing our trailer quick short snap shots of action also create disorientation because of the snap shots that the audience get.Our trailer is from the villains perspective and we show this through the camera shots, like over shoulder shots looking at victim, and the tracking shots of victim. The use of the female villain there is also an aspect of male gaze in our trailer, which is stereotypical of horror trailers, not just because of the female character and the shots of her, like the tracking shot of her, but because there is an aspect of the victim having no perspective in the trailer, it is from the male villains perspective.

Editing and TransitionsThe pace of our horror trailer is quick and short snap shots of actions, this creates distortion and confusion which creates enigma in the trailer for the audience. this effect on the audience creates suspense and tension which is ideal and effective in horror trailers.When assembling our footage we have thought about narrative structure and we have decided to use Todorov’s theory of equilibrium then disequilibrium and then resolution, however because we are creating a film trailer there will be no resolution because this would ruin the enigma created in the rest of the trailer through equilibrium and disequilibrium to create meaning and the audience would not go and view it because the audience e already knows the ending.In our editing we have created eye line matches, graphic matches, cross cutting, fading to black, text and cut away action matches. This is all to create enigma and meaning to our horror trailer so that it is effective in drawing the audience in and creating tension and fear so that the enigma is effective enough that they will want to see the film. (like real horror trailers)

SoundWe will use diegetic and non-diegetic sound in our horror trailer, for example we will use diegetic sound like heavy breathing and screaming to create fear and we will use non-diegetic sound like heart beat and music to create tension in our trailer. We may use a small clip of a sound track whenever our villain is on screen to create tension as the audience will relate this sound to danger this creates enigma. The volume of the sound on screen may very because the desired effect, the non-diegetic sound of music may be quite low in establishing shots but then may get louder as the action gets quicker to create tension and suspense. We will also use a sound bridge at the end of the trailer, of the victims scream, to create enigma from the action scene into the film title at the end this finalises the trailer and creates fear and tension.

Mise-en sceneIn our trailer we have used props such as 2 dolls for a graphic match to foreshadow events in the film we have also used an i-pod, a water bottle in the action scene to drop to the floor to create suspense. We have thought about costumes for the characters, for the villain and his alter ego we have used a black jacket and a bowler hat to signify that they are the same character, we also have used the for the victim quite tight fighting jogging clothes this creates a male gaze perspective and keep in theme with other horror trailers of sexualising women.When lighting our trailer we have used low key lighting to depict the disequilibrium this is effective because it creates a distorted image and creates enigma through the disorientation. We have also used strobe lighting at the end of our trailer this also creates a distorted image and creates fear and tension therefore creating suspense in the trailer which is effective at the end to finalise the trailer. Most of the action scenes arte shot at night this also creates an enigma. “being out after dark”When thinking about locations we decided to use a quiet and secluded residential area and a house for the equilibrium for the feeling of safety and security but still; isolated, when thinking about disequilibrium we chose to use a Forrest to create a sense of isolation and fear in the audience. Our iconography in the trailer is the bowler hat because it hides the face of the villain it creates a sense of enigma. We do not use a weapon because it’s a psychological horror we only hint at violence as this is more effective and conventional.

We also thought about symbolic meaning in our horror trailer, the bowler hat is quite old fashioned and this hints at control of women by men historically, and because he is “masked” creates enigma. Also the dark hints at danger and fear of night time and is used a symbol of death.