Monday, 18 October 2010

Textual Analysis Of A Current Horror Teaser Trailer. - My Bloddy Valentine 3D.

'My Bloody Valentine 3D' was directed by Patrick Lussier and released in January 2009. Seeing as the context of the film was related to the idea of Valentine's Day, which is celebrated on February 14th, releasing the film in mid-January, before Valentines Day would be an ideal decision.

Overall the entire trailer lasts for approximately 1.20 seconds. The most prominnet devices used in the trailer are firstly all the traces of dialogue and speech used throughout and the various actors of 'victims'. The trailer appears to evolve around the actors, as they experience fear, and most probably, death. Some were chased, some chose to seek refuge in a hiding place, and where eventually found out, some were simply found doing something innocent, for example the two females shopping in the grocery store.

The voiceover in the trailer is the main narrator. The voice is that of a male. It is deep and husky. This is a generic feature of horror films, as it is very unlikely in a horror teaser trailer that one would hear the voice of a female, for example with a high pitched voice acting as a voiceover. It can be additionally satated that the narrator sets the scene for the entire trailer. He begins with the declarative; 'In the town of harmony, something unexplainable is happening...' Here, he elaborates on what is going on in the town. By using the adjective 'unexplainable' this connotes a sense of fear, as it is natural for humans to fear the unknown, the unseen, and in this case - the unexplainable.

In the opening shots, we hear a voice, the male uses an interrogative; 'Exactly what do you see?' - this connotes two things. Firstly that somethng is yet to be clarified, and that this 'something' is an issue for the person speaking. By using the word 'something' the male actpor has immediately installed a sense of fear in the audience's minds. The heavy soundtrack of fast paced drums also adds to this. Immediately after, another male actor says 'Something was following us'. This again connotes the idea of the 'fear of the unknown' - The fact that they are unable to pinpoint what EXACTLY is following them, of what EXACTLY they can see instantly conotes a sense of fear. Not so long after that we hear a female news reporter stating that 'This is the most horrific event this town has ever seen..' Notice how even the news reporter is unable to label what 'this' actually is. Isn't it not the duty of a news reporter to deliver accurate and informative news. Perhaps the producers of the trailer purposely used this statment in the format it appears in intentionally. Again, this touches upon the fear of the unknown.

Throughout the trailer, the lighting is low key. This again, is a generic feature used in horror teaser trailers. - This connotes a sense of fear. Fear is not likely to occur is well lit places, and if it does then that it highly unusual.

The non verbal communication demonstrated in the trailer is very exxagerrated, perhaps to convey and connote a sense of fear. For example, at precisely fourty five seconds into the trailer, we see a female. Her eyes are wide opened and her jaw is dropped. It could be assumed that she undergoing a moment of shock and extreme fear. This contributes to idea of fear being installed into the hearts of the people in this town.

The entire soundtrack of the trailer is a series of drums. Behind the drums is an eery tone. This tone in question cannot be easily made out. This could connote the 'unknown' that is constantly being brought to our attention. The pace of the soundtrack increases as the trailer progresses. It begins to quicken especially as shots of the 'victims' are visible, simulataneously the shots of the victims also increase in pace. This connotes the immediate death of the victims after being spotted by their predators.

To conclude, the trailer posseses various attributes that would eventually lead to a gripping and most importantly, entertaining movie. Additionally, the trailer presents the film without giving away the entire story line. This immediately creates suspense and prompts the audience to watch the movie when it is released.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rcoc46onlE

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