Existing Media Research - Trailers

Dead Mans Shoes; A textual analysis

The trailer starts with non-diegetic music associative of the countryside, this sets the scene and we know the movie is set in a rural area. the setting is mostly green which has connotations of life and nature which give a positive mood to the start of the trailer. At this point the genre is not clear as the music seems quite relaxing which is unconventional of typical horror films. It could be said that this music introduces the equilibrium and reflects the calm loving relationship the two brothers share. In an early establishing shot Richard is shown carrying an army green knapsack which shows he has returned from the war. Also in the shot we see grey clouds moving towards the village which is a visual metaphor for ‘there is a storm coming’. 

We are then shown Richard walking along a typical horror location- isolated wilderness (the woods). The captions shown illustrate aspects of the narrative. The mood is quite calm when shown captions such as ‘a brothers love’ and we are shown home video type footage of the two brothers playing as babies, this aids illustration of the narrative. Shortly after we are shown fiery typography spelling out ‘a brothers revenge’ this is the turning point where the trailer changes and we see the horror element shown more blatantly throughout the rest of the trailer. This is a priority for this film as it is revealing Richards story so later in the film we can justify him as being the killer and identify with him as the ‘monster’ figure. There is no apparent 'monstrous feminine' in the trailer however it could be argued that Richard represents the fear of castration as he carries an axe-type weapon often and it could be argued that he robs the men of their 'masculinity' as they are scared of him.

Richard is shown against a grey gritty wall similar to German expressionism it could be argued that this suggests the crumbling foundations of his sanity. This location is conventional of horror films as desolate houses are often associated with evil. There is also a screeching sound and flashes of red which reinforces that this is a horror/slasher. The disruption is now introduced. Richard is shown wearing a war gas mask. This is important as a convention of slasher films is a masked monster such as that in 'Halloween' and 'The Texas chainsaw massacre'. The way in which this trailer challenges this convention is the fact that the 'masked monster' is the protagonist and the audience can identify with him as they understand his reason for killing.

Black and white footage is operated as a narrative device to divide the flashbacks from the rest of the sequence, it is also somewhat in slow motion indicating a dream- like perception of the past events. The flash transitions used are a convention of horror, thus building pace.  The transition from the bullying scene to men laughing designates to the audience that these are the malevolent characters of the narrative. The reiterated red flashes indicate danger and foreshadows murder, this has elements of a typical slasher. The pace increases once we get a sense of the narrative. There is also a non-diegetic compilation of a base note and then a light childish motif which is typically used to set a horror mood. Richard can be seen to be both the antagonist and the protagonist (binary opposites) or the leader of the ‘evil’ group can be seen as an antagonist. Richard is shown holding an axe which reflects his lunacy. We are then shown quotations from reviews which are a convention of low budget films as it helps to build an audience. The music dies out for impact as we see the title of the film. There is then the end card and a website people can visit to create media exchange or audience interaction.

The Shining intertextual analysis

‘The Shining’ presents a trailer which seems to break all the codes and conventions of the average movie trailer, there is no montage editing, we are not introduced to the characters in the typical way and only one shot is used the whole time. This is something the audience is not used to and therefore introduces their fear of the unknown; they are put in a state of discomfort as they are viewing something irregular with their typical viewing experience that does not fit their expectations of a film trailer. The trailer starts as a completely black screen then fades into a shot of a hotel lobby facing the lift doors. The completely black screen is used to keep the audience in suspense Kubrick uses the same tactic in '2001 a space odyssey  but for a longer amount of time. IT could be said that the use of it in this trailer is an intertexual reference to '2001 a space odyssey  and it causes the audience a similar feeling of discomfort. The lift doors are red which has connotations of blood and danger, the surrounding furniture is brown and comfortable to reinforce the location. We then see credits rolling upwards the way you would expect a lift shaft to. The typography is capitalised and thin, typical of thriller type movies. There is also the sound of a ticking clock and another percussionist noise which builds pace and tension. The discreet sound similar to a swarm of bees causes uncomfortable experience for the audience. There is then another base note and the pace builds, we hear a strange ‘alien’ noise slightly different to the buzzing noise which builds the audiences discomfort. We then see a ‘wave’ of blood seep through the lift and splash against the walls; it reaches the camera completely covering it till we are viewing the lobby through the blood. The discomforting noises build up representative of the ‘monsters’ psychotic mind.  We are then again submerged in darkness and the trailer ends. The reason why this was successful is because the film is by Stanley Kubrick who is a well-known director. People may watch the film just because they know he directed it. However in our film we may have to follow the typical trailer style as we are not well-known directors and need to build an audience through the quality of our trailer.