DRAG ME TO HELL
Link to drag me to hell trailer:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFLxuEN8OTI
Analysis of the film trailer Drag me to Hell-
The trailer starts with a establishing shot from a birds eye view looking down upon the city, looking at the cars on the roads trying to get to work I feel that this explores natural surroundings and shows the audience the setting. We then go to a close up of the main character we can see that from all the possible candidates that were shown in the establishing shot, she has been chosen to play the main role. She has a look that suggests a routine, that she does this everyday, this is ironic for it foreshadows that her routine on this particular day will change this is furthered by the slow music that sounds like a kind of lullaby, this creates an eerie effect and establishes that it could contain a theme of horror. It then cuts to an office place where she works, showing more of her and everyday life, this snaps to a point of view shot of her looking at a lonesome desk showing this is her ambition and that she would like to get the placement on offer. Looking at mis en scene here we can see that she is smartly dress like an office person would be with her hair tied neatly up, she also has a watch that shows she balances her time. She looks vulnerable and feels that the position is threatened this is shown through the way she is being extra careful with the women who asks for an extension, she goes to her management. The old women seems desperate she is dressed in very old clothing and wrapped up warm suggesting she is effected by the cold easily. the main character is asked to make a tough decision which she feels if she answers correctly will grant her the managing role therefore denies the elderly women a extension, basically making her homeless. The non diegetic music represents the old women’s desperation it rises and gets deeper such as a heart beat would when scared or afraid of something. This abruptly stops when the old lady is thrown aside and the shot of the main character standing over her shows that she has over powered her and made her feel weak, she is begging for mercy. Then lastly the women says something slowly with a sort of resentful attitude which is ‘You Shame Me’, then it blacks out.
When we next see the character she is walking towards her car we can tell something is going to happen through the darkness and erie feeling the audience gets. The high pitched shriek and smash of the window lets the audience know for certain that it is a horror, the quickness of how she is dragged out of the car and the composition of quick shots builds tension, therefore we are given a rest to in a way recover as the old women says ‘ Soon it will be you begging to me’, and in a way the trailer starts. It is given a past paced action sort of sound that gets your heart pumping as you are awaiting something, it contains a series of quick shots and special effects, for instance the paper flies everywhere and images and shadows of creatures flicker up. the way in which they slow the music down until it stops and the main character feels it is a dream, prepares the reader for something to happen, as she does not look behind her and as she lay back down a high pitch scream is heard again and the old women is lying next to her. this again follows with much quicker shots to draw the audience’s attention to the film less dialogue is used and it builds up very quickly with the end of the main character screaming in a ball of fire, then all goes silent. This leaves the audience with a racing heart rate and a interest in the film therefore they want to see it and see what happens, therefore the trailer does what it intends to do and keeps the audiences full attention on it.
At what point in the trailer are we told the name of the film? Why is this?
We are told the name of this film at the very end I feel this is because the film is so fast paced that if it was shown at the start then the audience would forget this, to have it at the end of the build up and fast paced shots, it remains within the audiences mind. this is because it has affected them and the have taken an interest in it, therefore this may create viral marketing and more will be attracted to the film by others remembering the name and telling others.
Why are we told who is starring in the film?
Although we are not told who the actors are in the film we are told who the director is for instance ‘Sam Raimi’ I feel the reason for this is because the actors are not well known and that the director would interest more people to the film. This is because he is associated with very popular films such as ‘Spiderman’ and an audience would see this and be interested in it for they may have enjoyed his previous work, and feel this may be as good. This would create a wider audience for people will want to see his work if they are already a fan.
How is this information given to us? Why?
Both the name if the film and the name of the director is given to us on a separate slide, it is not written across a moving image for when this happens the music gets slower, or stops completely. This I feel is because as it acts as a kind of reaction break, it gives the audience time to think about what has happened so far and what it may be about. it allows the audience to take a breath from a series of loud, fast and exhilarating shots.
What type of action from the film do we see?
Action and suspense is a major theme within the trailer, it is within a series of quick shots to make it more effective. We are shown her being dragged, scared, nearly drowning, papers flying around, screams. It is basically collection of quick, frightening reaction shots that gradually get quicker then stop and they build this up like this agin to really draw the audiences attention and keep them focussed on the trailer.
What clues does the music give us as to what type of film the trailer is advertising?
The music is typical of a thriller/ Horror Genre as the melody gradually gets louder, quicker and faster this is associated with these genres for it is to build up tension and prepare the audience for a chase or series of fast shots that shock and maybe in some cases scare the audience before giving brief breaks that follow again by the up beat fast melody that also in most cases is erie.
Does the trailer come with a voice over and if so, what can you tell about the voice being used?
This trailer does not use a voice over although it does contain dialogue that informs the audience what the narrative of the trailer is.
How does the speed of what we see compare to watching a clip from a film? Why is this?
The speed of a trailer is sped up then what we would see in a film, this is because within a film they have around 2 hours to present the story and the plot, although within a trailer they have to sum it up in two minutes, therefore everything in the editing is sped up and we get a series of quick snappy shots that intrigue and interest the audience.
What information are we given about the film?
Who the director is, What other films they made such as Spiderman and The Evil Dead trilogy, Names of some production companies, Critics view from the ‘news of the world’ and ‘Ain’t it cool news’ and finally the title of the film.
At what point in the trailer is this information given?
This information is given at different stages in the trailer, this is used mostly when the music builds up and tension is created, it acts as a breather fir the audience to take everything in; at the points when information is shown, the music also halts.
