1. Conventions of
horror film
trailers

2. The two horror trailers I have
researched in great detail are...
‘The woman in black’
(2012)
‘The devil inside’
(2012)

3. ‘The devil inside’ The production company
logos are commonly placed
at the beginning of the
trailers, which I found in my
initial research. However, I
have found that in horror
films alot of the production
‘The woman in black’
titles are presented in a way
that relates to the genre,
such as these two which are
both dark and gloomy, having
connotations of death,
darkness and horror.

4. Lighting: ‘The devil inside’
The lighting in this trailer
is very dark, for
example in this shot
night vision is used to
create a spooky effect,
such as the woman’s
‘negative’ effect eyes
which may represent
how she is possessed in
the film and therefore
her empty eyes may
show how she is ‘not
really there.’

5. Lighting: ‘The woman in black’
Alot of the shots in this
trailer are also very dark
like ‘The devil inside.’ This
represents the foreboding
events in the film. The use
of firelight is also used,
which adds a sinister twist
to the shot. Although I
cannot use fire on this
scale, I would like to
experiment with candle
light to create a different
effect in my trailer.

6. Mise-en-scene: Make-up
(The devil inside)
To highlight how this character is
possessed, as well as probably not
sleeping and malnourished, she has
heavy, brown/purple make up under her
eyes which makes her look spookier. This
will also raise enigmas as to why she has
these shadows, and add to the effect of
her being possessed. She has no other
make-up on which makes her look very
unwell, as well as having matted,
untamed hair which indicates she is not
looking after her appearance. Other
enigmas in this shot raised could be why
is she in the grotty, white tiled room and
wearing what looks like hospital clothing?

7. Mise-en-scene: Make-up
(The woman in black)
Like ‘The devil inside,’ Daniel
Radcliffe has been given
dark bags under his eyes,
which suggests something
has been troubling him and
stopping him from sleeping.
This is an enigma code as
the audience will wonder
what this could be. His dark
clothing as well as the dark
location add to the
foreboding atmosphere,
suggesting something may
be wrong.

8. Shots: ‘The devil inside’
This establishing shot of a
silhouette of a building is
very foreboding due to the
fact it is shot at night.
Conventionally, scenes in
horror films containing
scary events are intensified
by being shot at night, as
alot of people are scared of
the dark. The dark
represents things being
hidden in the shadows as
well as dark thoughts and
events. This shot suggests
something sinister may
take place in this building.

9. ‘The devil inside’
A handheld shot is used
here in the trailer to
build suspense, as the
camera man runs quickly
focusing the camera on
the characters’ face. His
troubled expression
suggests something is
wrong, and so does the
rushed effect of the
handheld camera. The
dark lighting also makes
the shot spookier.

10. Shots: ‘The woman in black’
This establishing shot is
taken from an extreme
long angle, which
suggests that it is of
great importance in the
film. The foggy
atmosphere and dead
bushes give the
impression the property
is isolated and
abandoned. This location
is a conventional
location for a horror
film, as it looks haunted
and spooky.

11. ‘The woman in black’
These extreme-close-up shots intend to
scare the audience. The innocent
children’s toys are all things associated
with people’s fears, for example clowns
and china dolls. The fear that they could
be watching you and the intensity of the
extreme-closeness intends to make the
audience feel uncomfortable. However, in
the trailer all of these are moving in a
way that seems uncontrollable
suggesting they are alive. However, due
to the thick dust around each object it
may scare the audience, as surely if they
had been abandoned for so long, the
batteries would not be working? These
enigmas intend to make the audiences’
minds run wild and think up many
scenarios which will scare them.

12. ‘The devil inside’
The mise-en-scene in this
shot relates to the
genre of horror due to
the blood, and raises
enigmas, as the
audience will wonder
how the woman got
these cuts and why
they are in a strange
formation on her arm.

13. ‘The woman in black’
Like the previous shot, blood is
used in this shot which relates
to the horror genre. However,
as a victim is not visible the
audience are left to wonder
who the blood belongs to. The
words ‘you could have saved
him’ also raise enigmas as to
who ‘he’ is and why the
message is on the wall. The
darkness of the shot creates a
foreboding atmosphere and
the fact that in the left frame
of the shot the moving monkey
toy is visible relates to the idea
that the character is being
watched, raising more
enigmas.

14. Titles – ‘The devil inside’
The colours in the titles link to
some of the themes of the film.
For example, the harsh white in
the centre frame may remind
audiences of hospitals, and
from the narrative in the trailer
we can see that the woman is
in hospital. However the fact
that the frame becomes darker
towards the outside of the
frame may represent the dark
events that occur in the film.
The brown cross shapes are
identical to the bloody
scratches the woman had on
her arm in the close-up shot
suggesting this enigma code is
significant throughout the film.

15. ‘The devil inside’
The words ‘coming soon’ are used to
tease the audience as a release
date has obviously not been set
yet, meaning they will have to
wait for the film to come out. This
prolongs the build up to the
release of the film to build
excitement and give audiences
time to suggest the trailer to their
friends and raise awareness. The
fact that the email address is also
on the bottom allows the
audience to learn more about the
film from the official website
which will give them more
information.

16. Titles – ‘The woman in black’
The window in this shot links to
the shots of the house, which is
the primary location in the
trailer. However, you are usually
able to see through a
window, whereas this one is
translucent which suggests that
something is being concealed.
This raises enigmas. If you look
carefully a black figure is visible
behind the window which is
quite spooky but will raise
enigmas as to what it is. This
title also includes the website
for the film and the words
‘coming soon’ which serve the
same purpose as ‘the devil
inside.’ I will be using these
features in my film trailer as
they are conventional based on