The Children is a 2008 horror directed by Tom Shankland.It is a British film distributed by Vertigo Films. It was a very short film at only 85 minutes and only grossed £98,205 at 132 cinemas. The film opened at no.10 I the UK, it dropped to no.13 after the first week release and again to no.22.
Through the beginning of the trailer the atmosphere is happy and it all looks like one content family. The children look pleased to see the others and the scene of Christmas meal immediately suggests to the audience that it is a happy occasion.
Further in the film things start to take a turn with the children beginning to become demanding and screaming when they don’t get what they want. They start to become violent and turn on everyone. It doesn’t follow the stereotypical representation of a family at Christmas being together but more of a child’s film with a horrific twist.
The trailer then begins the plot of the story with each of the children’s facing being seen having a sense of revenge and evilness in there eyes. This shot especially connotes power and authority with a low angle to show the boy is overpowering the adult.
This shot confirms to the audience that it is a horror film with the trail of blood. The shot shows an adult following the blood as much and the with the use of a high angle it suggests that the child had been successful. This type of shot used is very effective and shows a sense of murder without showing it. This links into the dissemination theory of how to the audience seeing it not happen is as powerful as seeing it happen as they have a imagination to fill in the blanks; which I can be as dangerous.
The titles use within the trailer come more to the end than throughout in a bold white font all in capital letters which emphasise the message from it. The titles are very important in the trailer for the audience to know an idea of what the storyline is and attract them to go and see the film. The use of blood is also emphasised throughout the trailer with to show the pain and danger of the children.
Poster
The poster links to the trailer very well with the same titles appearing on the trailer also on the poster but in a red font colour to represent blood. The emphasise is on the eyes of the children with them being within the eye. This is a very good technique to use. The child in the poster looks very similar to the doll in the trailer at the end and the blood looks very much as if it has just dropped on the doll. It gives it more of a reality sense and links to the trailer. The audience of the film is an 18 which immediately suggests it is a sincerer and horrific film.
From this research I am now completely assured that red as a font, background and colour has a lot of effect on the genre the audience perceive. I feel some of the techniques in this trailer may be a bit more than we require for ours as we are aiming for a lower certificate than an 18.
The Omen is a 2006 remake of Richard Donner’s The Omen of 1976 and part of The Omen Series. It was directed by John Moore and written by David Seltzer. It grossed $119,498,909 at the box office in total and was distributed by the famous 20th Century Fox.It is about a young boy who turns evil and ends up being the son of the devil.
At first it looks like a lovely birthday party with the family all gathered but the use of the young boy wearing red connotes danger and blood which immediately gives a sense that the child is different. Later on in the trailer the emphasise is very much on his eyes and how he is communicating with the maid who then falls off the building. This shows that the boy is very controlling and manipulative.
A technique which I found very well is the use of the distribution logo of 20th Century Fox coming in the middle of the trailer rather than following usual conventions of coming in the beginning. The use of a red liquid spilling with the camera changing to the logo with a sort of red lighting is a very effective editing technique. It connotes the use of a horror film and blood.
The pace of the music begins to become faster and faster; as the audience find out more information a sort of thunder noise is made to show destruction as the trailer and the also in the film will go on. At the end when the title of the film appears there is a sort of echo scream which is used to stick in the audiences mind and make them go to watch it. The title also is in red with the use of a black too showing a cross in the red background.
Again in the trailer the use of red connotes danger and blood when the woman is looking at herself in the mirror.
At the end when the woman says ‘Don’t let him kill me’ means the audience then know the child is evil and do not sympathies with him at all because the even the parent is scared of them. This is a usual trailer in terms of parents being scared of children especially with a topic such as killing.
Poster
The poster of the film is very simple but links to the trailer in terms of the red used as the background. The use of the cross in the poster also links the trailer and this informs the audience they are of the same film. This trailer has a lot of writing in the paragraph at the top which is an unusual technique to use in attracting the audience as there is a lot to read. Apart from this the poster is very simple and somehow can be improved by including an image of the boy ‘Damien’ in order to be ensured that the audience will know what film the poster is for and how it links to the trailer.
From this trailer I have found that the use of red is a key convention in any psychological horror film and so I suggest me and Beth use this within our trailer. The use of blood on titles or even the distribution logo informs the audience of the genre of the film immediately. I also feel that the conventions of sound need to be emphasised with the use of screams to represent danger and pain. This will definitely be used in out trailer and I also really liked the editing technique used of putting the distribution logo in the middle of the trailer rather than the beginning; it looks more unique. However I feel that there is very little connection between the trailer and poster and therefore in out trailer we need to think carefully of how the main product will link to the ancillary products and be successful in the audience knowing they link.
The Orphan is a 2009 psychological thriller and directed by Jaume Collecy-Serra. It was produced by Joel Sliver and Susan Downey of Dark Castle Entertainment and Leonardo DiCaprio of Appian Way Productions. It grossed a total $78,337,373 at the box office.
Trailer
The studio logo for Dark Castle Entertainment is dark and grim. This immediately tells the audience that they intend to make dark and thriller films. The logo does not give a sense of light and this make suggest less romantic, comedy or happy films that they produce.
The studio logo for Dark Castle Entertainment is dark and grim. This immediately tells the audience that they intend to make dark and thriller films. The logo does not give a sense of light and this make suggest less romantic, comedy or happy films that they produce.
Within the first seconds of the trailer you it can clearly be seen that the film is set in America with the style of housing. It is snowing and there are a number of people outside the house with a black car also coming to the house. This immediately tells the audience that it is a key area in the film which is visible in the trailer in the next few shots. The snow shows connotations of cold and isolated which connects to the girl later in the film.
There is a lot of emphasise when the girl says ‘I’m very different’ and the woman says it’s okay to be different. This reveals to the audience that some how this girl is different and don’t sympathise as much with her as she is an orphan. Even the hearing of the word Orphan means a person feels sorry for the child but in this case this is not felt.
The clothing which the young girl wears connotes old fashioned which clearly shows that the young girl does not fit into the scenery which is a modern set. When the girl first joins the school at another child remarks about her the look at the audience perceive is more of an evil and revengeful rather than a sad and upset face. This links into the fact that the girl is very different and is not scared of anyone.
Later in the film when the girl starts to scream in the toilet it seems as if she is child who screams when they don’t get what they want rather than a cry for help. This is contracted with the other scenes of the fostering parents talking about how something is wrong and different from others in Esther. This may be why Esther is screaming in the toilet because the foster parents have found something out in which she did not want.
The sound within the film is very much quiet in the start of the trailer where as towards the end the screams become louder and louder.This show the use of a traditional family adopting a child but now that family is falling apart. The pace of the trailer becomes faster and faster as the trailer goes on and at the end the use a scream of Esther to a man ends the trailer. This makes the audience want to watch the film to find out what happens to the man. Through the trailer the bit about the reason Esther is like she is draws the audience even more as it shows why she is like she is but does not reveal it all within the trailer. There is very little lighting in the film and this suggests a dark and gloomy film.
A very good editing feature is towards the end when a fire is alight and Esther is watching. The young boy starts the scream and the sky is wiped to black which connotes evil and bad.
The titles in the trailer are emphasised and very clear to the audience with the use of the black font against the white background. This contradicts the use of snow through the trailer used. The titles at first look like a normal formatted black font but then a shadow begins to drop down behind it suggesting that Esther is always behind you.
Poster
This is the poster for the film Orphan. The poster somehow does not relate as much to the trailer as the image of the girl is more like a painted image. The girl in the image also has a longer hair and the clothing she is wearing is not evident in the trailer. This does not allow a link for the audience to identify the poster to the trailer or film. The font is also different with it being in white. With the trailer being seen y9ou would expect a black font against a white background to form consistence through the trailer and poster.
For the trailer we will produce I have found that the font and image of a poster and magazine needs to link with the trailer otherwise it can look like 2 completely different films. The conventions of this film such as the use of a number and faster pace of a scream can be used for our trailer in order to build tension. The use of titles in the trailer is also very important so that the audience can make sense of what’s happening in the film.
