Trailer analysis of 'Paranormal Activity 4'

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7Xn2JqH5ng
PARANORMAL
ACTIVITY 4
Trailer analysis

2. PLOT
 Paranormal activity 4 follows the same layout and structure as all of the previous paranormal Activity’s. This is a home
video that focuses on the families everyday life. At the start of the trailer we see the daughter and her boyfriend together in the
house, the mum and the little boy ‘Hunter’ this gives us familiarity with the characters. We later see a chandelier fall from the
wall and then a cut to hunter, this gives us the impression that he will be responsible for bad things later to come. We see that
hunters mum is going to be looking after their neighbours son ‘Robbie’ while his mum and dad are away. We then see
Hunters name written on the wall and we start to wonder if he is linked in with the actions that are happening around the
house. We see a little boy go into his sisters room and just stare at her. And then him standing in complete darkness with
small lights everywhere and then a blur go past him. We start to question if it is hunter or Robbie that is responsible for these
actions. We then start to wonder if the blur was a spirit and if so, why was it near hunter. They later find a symbol that has
been written in the sand which hunter has done and they decide to research it to see what it means. Then later on the cover is
taken away from the girl in the bed and she starts to float in mid air and hunter is in the background. We then can confirm
our first idea that hunter is causing these occurrences to happen as he is always around when they happen. The camera then
starts to become kinetic and a boy is dragged under the water when he’s in the bath. We get to see the girl running and being
dragged as she tries to run away, we can now tell that she is the main victim.

3. WHAT I ANALY SED
 Throughout watching Paranormal activity 4 trailer, me and my
group were able to determine there were about 65 edits in total.
 There was 1 environment featured in the whole trailer
 There were 14 close ups used
 There was a quick pace of editing towards the end
 Character types include (Girl) who was the victim, helper that was
the boyfriend and the possessed spirit/boy.

4. OTHER FEATURES
 The title is shown at end of trailer for suspense and for recognition of the film
 Paramount logo at end of trailer in last frame
 Release date at end of trailer
 Reverse scream, dark atmosphere, we recognise horror genre from previous sequels, unstable camera
movements
 There is no mention of who is starring in it as there is no one famous in it as it is a home documentary
 Also this may be because there have been previous films and this sequel includes some of the same characters
 ‘Katie and hunters whereabouts remained unknown, until now’ this shows us that actions happened that we
weren’t supposed to know about.
 ‘This October’ this is written to let the audience know when this film is coming out
 ‘Its closer than you think’ this is a statement trying to terrify the audience.
 ‘It has all lead to this’ This is the final sentence in the trail and it concludes all of the things that have been
happening.

5. OTHER FEATURES
 There is no voice over in paranormal activity 4, I think this is because all we need to know is
expressed through the characters featuring in the trailer. Also because this is a home
documentary, the trailer is meant to come across as if it has been taking straight of a camera with
nothing added in.
 At the end of the paranormal activity 4 trailer it says ‘see it everywhere, October 19th’ so we
get the title and when it is released in cinemas.
 The unique selling point in paranormal activity is that it is a home documentary, this make it
different from other trailers that are purposely filmed. It also makes us more scared because we
are able to relate to it as it is filmed in someone's house and based on a true story.
 This film was made by Paramount pictures

6. WHAT WE SEE/EXPECT
 Paranormal Activity 4 is an American supernatural horror film. In
horror films we expect to see a possession of some kind, paranormal and
a night time atmosphere when disturbances occur.
 Suspense, supernatural events from the film, characters
 Contrast between calm and dangerous action
 Disorientated scenes
 Follows narrative structure
 Quick pace of editing when action takes place

7. HORROR CONVENTIONS
 Darkness
 Evil spirit
 Bangs
 Destruction of objects
 People being hurt
 Child
 Concerned parents
 Creak of doors

8. HOW IT FITS THE GENRE
 Paranormal activity fits the supernatural genre very well. This film
has a vulnerable boy in it who is about 6 years old. He is the main
target and this meets our expectations as we expect to see a young
child become the victim as they are more vulnerable. Also most of
the spiritual activity occurs at night time.

9. MIS-EN-SCENE
 When hunters standing at the top of the stairs when the chandelier
falls, he has a black jacket on, black signifies evil and this is what gives is
the impression evil things are going to happen because of him. When
Hunter is in the darkness in the lounge you see him in white, this is
portraying how young and innocent he is. This contrasts with out initial
thoughts of him. Then towards the end when you see all the quick cuts to
what's been happening, you see hunter always in black or grey. Black and
grey signify, death and danger, these are what we the associate with him.

10. SOUND
 Immediately we can tell that this trailer is a ‘horror’ trailer because at the start of the trailer we see a
black blur on the camera which could represent the paranormal. Shortly after this we hear a baby cry, we
could then start to develop a link that these too will be connected in some way. We then hear police
sirens which represent that something has happened, this leaves us thinking ‘what’. We later see the
chandelier in the lounge swinging and we hear the beads on it rattling and then we hear a crash from the
one in the hall that has just fallen. This leads us to question whether this was an accident or done
purposely. When it is late at night and the little boy is in the lounge, we hear him whispering back to his
sisters questions. The fact that he is whispering helps set the time of day and the atmosphere he is in. We
then see something go past him and this loud deep bang. When we see the girl in the bed we hear low
muffled whispers. Quick cuts are then shown of the events that are happening in their lives along with
screams and bangs representing these. The trailer then ends with the girl breathing heavily and saying
‘omg’ then she screams as she is dragged away, this lets us know that something negative has happened.