Analytical deconstruction of Shutter Island, Paranormal Activity & The Exorcism of Emily Rose

What is the difference between a trailer and a

teaser trailer? A trailer, simply advertises a film or programme, often using shots or scenes from the movie. Most films have both a full length trailer and a teaser trailer. A full trailer is longer, reveals more information about the movie and is often shown in cinemas soon before the film's release. Whereas, a teaser trailer is specifically that - a trailer meant to tease. They don't reveal any significant plot details and are meant only to give the spectator a minor glimpse as what is to come. These are more commonly found online and on TV a while before the release of the film. This is to attract attention and create a buzz around the up and coming movie.

Shutter Island;Shutter Island is a psychological thriller set in a remote asylum on a private island. The trailer introduces us to the protagonist, a detective played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who appears to be inspecting the case of a missing person within the asylum.However as the trailer progresses the audience become aware of a twist in the plot through the detective’s change of behavior. The pace of the trailer increases whilst the music climbs to a rapid pace, this creates tension and hints at the horror which lies in the asylum. Furthermore it suggests that there is more to the detective than the trailer is willing to convey and leaves the audience questioning his position within the asylum. We have chosen this trailer as we aim to create a similar setting for our trailer (mental asylum) and a similar hybrid genre (psychological thriller/horror); we felt that this trailer portrays this combination of genre well in the way we hope to.

Music & Sound EffectsSea crashing against the shore emphasizes the isolation of the island. Screaming noises which connote danger and suffering.A number of sudden loud bangs whilst introducing shots within the asylum, which creates tension. Silence whilst the guards and detectives are speaking which highlights their authority and allows their dialogue to hold importance when they say: “We only take in the most dangerous damaged patients” which really highlights the setting. Whispers from characters in the mental institute which is following horror genre conventions.We plan to incorporate the loud bang sound effects to enhance the change of shots in our trailer and to follow conventions from Shutter Island and build the same scale of tension within our own institute. We also aim to use whispers in our trailer however we want to show where the whispers are coming from in comparison to Shutter Island where they use the whispers as voiceovers. We plan to include dialogue from doctors in our trailer to clearly convey our narrative, highlight their authority in contrast to our protagonist and to show the importance of what they are saying (that our character is mentally ill) We are challenging the amount of dialogue used in the trailer for Shutter Island by minimizing our amount of dialogue to emphasize our horror genre; instead we are using conventional shots of our character being possessed which maintains the scary feel to horror films.

Mise-en-scene Big black gates used in the introduction of the trailer- introduces us to the setting (mental institute) The guards alongside the gate suggest the entrapment of the asylum an the seriousness hinting at the dangerous patients inside.Deserted, empty rooms. The shot of the shower is a convention of horror films as typically there is normally always a shot of the victim in a shower; this suggests their vulnerability and hints forthcoming danger.Barbed wire is used in a shot during the build up in the trailer. This further enhances the entrapment aspect to the asylum. The darkness in the shots conveys a horror feel and the sound effect alongside the shot makes the shot feel realistic and sudden.Establishing shot of the asylum- large old isolated building which stands as the destination of the institute. We plan to combine a shot of large black gates with the establishing shot of our asylum in our trailer therefore challenging these features of mise-en-scene in Shutter Island. We are doing this as we feel it is important to introduce our audience to the setting immediately. We are thinking of including a shot of barbed wire however aren’t too sure if we will be able to gain as good as effect as they do in Shutter Island as there is not barbed wire which typically looks as twisted and effective as this one. To keep with conventions of horror films we plan to use a shower shot with our female protagonist to highlight her vulnerability and to suggest forthcoming danger.

Shutter Island; Target Audience

The age rating for the film is a 15 therefore in comparison with The Exorcism of Emily Rose we can argue that the film isn't suitable for a younger audience suggesting that it contains a lot more scarier and thrilling moments which wouldn't be suitable for a younger audience. In the first 10 seconds of the trailer we are introduced to the A-list star, Leonardo Di'Caprio immediately suggesting that this film is targeted at a female audience as he is very popular and attractive. Furthermore, the fact that he is well known suggests that the film will gain mass appeal as there would be a lot of build up and hype around a film staring an A-list star as the protagonist. The film's genre, Psychological thriller also suggests action which typically appeals to male audience and we can see this through a three-shot image of the detectives. Typically, films containing horror genres do not include well known actors, in example the actors used for Paranormal Activity are unknown and this could suggest why the trailer has to strongly emphasize horror conventions to appeal to their target audience where as this film's trailer can just subtly embark on thrilling and scary moments as they know that their A-list actors will create the most appeal.Examples within the trailer that appeal to its target audience; -Image of Leonardo Di'Caprio- attractive, popular, female audience. (screen shot where it states his name and compare to Paranormal Activity lack of emphasis on actors name)-Screen shot where action is taken place (detectives, guards, guns etc)- male audience.How this will affect our trailer and target audience;We are ultimately challenging the use of characters to appeal to our target audience of this trailer- instead we are following conventions of Paranormal Activity by using unknown characters; this will force us to exaggerate our thrilling and scary moments within our trailer to appeal to our target audience that way instead of A-list actors. -We are also going to include a build up of action within our trailer to appeal to male audience- in example we plan to use found footage to convey our female character's memory of the killing of her Mother when she is possessed and this found footage will be action packed, with fast paced music, lots of changing shots etc.

Representation of social groups;

WHO DOES THIS TRAILER REPRESENT;Social groups; Patients who suffer with mental health problems- negative portrayal of them, disturbing behavior- allows the trailer to appear scary. Detectives- males. Connote action therefore male audience appeal.

HOW WILL THIS EFFECT OUR TRAILER AND WHO WE WANT TO REPRESENT;We want to represent a social group of doctors, which are a social group within Shutter Island however do not play a dominant part in the trailer. We are representing the social group of patients who suffer with mental health problems but are challenging the way Shutter Island present this group as we are only representing this social group through one character.

Paranormal Activity; Paranormal Activity is a film about a young couple moving into a suburban home and becoming increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence. The film is shot with hand-held cameras and this is hugely reflected through the production budget of under $15000. The trailer exposes the audience to the nightly demonic presence through found footage to express a realistic sense of horror.We have chosen this trailer to deconstruct as we found similarities in what we want to include in our trailer in terms of style and editing. We intend to include a demon possession and incorporate found footage to represent the protagonist's point of view. We chose this trailer as it involves techniques we can easily mimic when filming our own trailer and the narrative of 'devil force' is similar to how we envision ours to be.

Style;

Found footage and CCTV techniques are used in the film are are presented in the trailer to allow the audience to feel part of what's happening and can also leave the the spectator in suspense as this technique of style may fail to show every detail of the trailer. The film is filmed in a similar way to a observational documentary, creating the effect that original sound and raw, uncut footage was used, like a fly on the wall documentary.

Editing;

The most effective cut used within the trailer is the 'white noise' screens that replicate a home video recorder, another way they simulate this is by super imposing the date and time in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. This also mimics a home video and adds to the realist narrative. The trailer also cuts to black shots with short reviews about the film and text such as; "Experience it for yourself" flashing onto the screen. This addresses the spectator directly and persuades them to want to watch the film.

After watching the Paranormal Activity trailer and analyzing their editing techniques which stand out the most to us, we plan to incorporate the 'white noise' effect during our found footage technique and aim to edit the time and date on to the bottom rise of the screen whilst the white noise effect is playing. We liked the style of the trailer and want to use found footage sequences in the middle of our trailer to reflect a memory that our protagonist is remembering to give the effect of a fly on the wall to allow the spectators to feel part of the action; however we plan to challenge this editing technique as we do not plan to use this filming style through out the trailer

Paranormal Activity; Target audienceThe target audience for this film is stated briefly in the comparable profile taken from Pearl and Dean's website (pearlanddean.com). From this we can learn that the target audience for this film is young audience (15-24) which is typical within the horror genre. From the trailer we can also see that the target audience may be couples; the narrative of this film is based around a couple who become increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence therefore the trailer might persuade couples to go a watch the film. The fact that the trailer seems to be challenging typical conventions with the horror genre by using two main characters including one male instead of conveying vulnerability through the use of just one young female suggests they wanted to widen their target audience by increasing their chances of targeting men for example.Examples within the trailer that appeal to its target audience;Use of both genders to ensure a mass appeal. The demonic presence of the trailer- appeals to the audience as its a well known aspect which has been used in many films before e.g. 'The Exorcist'. However we feel that the trailer doesn't specifically mention the demons instead just expresses a powerful presence leaving the audience in suspense to what it could be.How this will affect our trailer and target audience;-We are challenging the use of characters in Paranormal Activity, by using just one female character as the protagonist instead of two, to follow conventions of the majority of horror films to convey our horror genre more realistically.-We are using a similar narrative to appeal to our target audience- devil presence. The devil presence clearly successfully appealed to its target audience therefore when it comes to the production of our trailer and the creation of the devil presence we are comfortable in knowing that it will appeal to our target audience and can look at the way Paranormal activity does it to gain a more realistic and professional final result.

WHO DOES THIS TRAILER REPRESENT;

Age; Young couple- allowing the film to relate and appeal to its target audience (young people)

Gender; Male and female- again allowing the film to relate and appeal to both genders of its target audience.

HOW WILL THIS EFFECT OUR TRAILER AND WHO WE WANT TO REPRESENT;

We aim to use a young female to play our possessed protagonist to allow our trailer to relate and appeal to its target audience of young people. However we are going to challenge Paranormal Activity's use of its main male character and aim to use a male for the doctor, instead of the main character. This way we will have the chance of appealing to male audience by representing their social group however will be following conventions of many horror films through the use of just one female young main character.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose;

Based on a true story, the trailer of The Exorcism of Emily Rose (TEOER) portrays a young female possessed by the devil and the fight that her family alongside a priest have to go through to try and win justice against court. Through the trailer we can see that Emily Rose's family and the priest believe she is somehow possessed however are taken to court as being accused of performing an illegal procedure 'Exorcism' unnecessarily. The trailer is packed with dialogue taken out of the film chronologically shown which allows the audience to easily grasp the narrative. It is filled with disturbing shots of Emily Rose herself behaving possessed by the devil; these shots are playing alongside conventional tense music typically found in a horror trailer which allows the whole watch of the trailer to become pleasurable for the audience as it is what the audience would expect and want from a horror trailer.We have chosen to de-construct and analyse the trailer of TEOER as the narrative is very similar to one we wish to create in our trailer. We are going to be using the idea of a girl being possessed by the devil and the struggle between her and the doctors which almost reflects the struggle between the court, the family and priest in the trailer of TEOER; therefore analysing this trailer seemed perfect. The conflict of 'what is real and what isn't' is what we really want to emphasize in our trailer, and we felt that TEOER trailer really portrays this, leaving the audience to make up their own minds.

Characters;

Young female is used in TEOER- holds connotations of vulnerability and innocence. Emily Rose, victim and protagonist which is typical in a horror film- follows conventions- pleasurable for audience as it is what is expected.Judges in court- there as instigators of the disequilibrium. Question the priests exorcism procedure.They don't see it as putting Emily Rose out of her pain and healing her but sees it as unnecessarily killing her. There to create a problem, conflict.In our trailer we plan to follow conventions of a typical horror film and include our main character and ultimately the victim as a young female to ensure we appeal to our target audience by providing them with what they expect and find pleasurable in our horror trailer. As the devil holds connotations of being such a powerful force, by including a young female who gets possessed by one will really emphasize her vulnerability. We also plan to include doctors who are similar in their role to the judges in the court in 'TEOER' as they are there to cause a clash in beliefs for the audience and leave them wondering who to believe, the young female or the doctors to whether she is mentally ill or is possessed by the devil.

Plot;

Young female possessed by the devil- The devil is a character which typically appears within the horror genre and plays a huge part in the development of the plot as when she first gets possessed is when the film is at is peak and the conflict begins. The devil is also a powerful force which highlights young females vulnerability.The court case plays a huge part in the development of the plot as it leaves the audience left with the choice in believing if she is just suffering with a mental illness or if she is actually possessed by the devil. Court case instigates a disequilibrium to the plot, causing a problem for her family and the priest who believe she is possessed and making it much more pleasurable view of the trailer.We have chosen to include a similar plot as TEOER to include in our trailer, as we feel that is a perfect plot to incorporate in a Psychological thriller/Horror genre as it will follow conventions within this genre e.g. possession, young female etc. Also we wanted to base our trailer on a 'true story' and found that most trailers including this one, and 'Paranormal Activity' are actually based on a 'true story' allowing this trailer to be useful whilst developing a plot for our own. We also want to create a conflict of different beliefs, like the trailer of TEOER, however we are going to do this through what the doctors believe the young female in our trailer has and what she herself actually believes. We are going to challenge the way in which TEOER's trailer shows their conflict in 'different beliefs' as we are not going to include as much dialogue as the trailer does; we feel that it gives too much away and we would like to leave the audience in suspense and to guess more on what happens due to the clash of beliefs.

Target audience; The age rating for this film is PG-13. For a typical horror film, this age rating is very rare as well known horror films typically include age ratings of at least 15 and even more so, 18. This suggested that this film wasn't as scary on a horror scale as other films with a higher age rating, however we felt that the idea of 'being possessed' and 'devilish behaviour' had the potential to be conveyed through a increasingly disturbing and more scary film and ultimately a higher age rated film in example, Paranormal activity who is rated a 15. The film is asking the viewer to examine their own beliefs about life and death, religion and science therefore we felt that the target audience for this film must be open to challenges thrown at them about what they really believe and what they don't; ultimately the viewer must have a close relationship with their inner beliefs to be able to watch such conflicting controversy in a film. Typically, horror films are aimed at a younger audience, 15-25, therefore as this film sits under the genre of horror the film could appeal to a young audience who find pleasure in suspense and being scared. However as this film includes a dominant focus on controversial topics such as science and religion we can argue that these features may appeal to an older audience as the study of religion and science connote history (an area which typically appeals to an older audience)

Examples within the trailer which appeal to its target audience;-Screen shot of when Emily Rose is possessed (scary)- young audience.-Conventional aspects of horror-horror music, young female as the victim as well as the protagonist, disequilibrium- audience are given what they expect from a horror and results in an enjoyable and pleasurable watch.-Dialogue- In court- older audience (screen shot)How this will affect our trailer and our target audience;-When Emily Rose is possessed- want to show our female character's 'devilish' behaviour to scare our younger audience and give them what they expect.-Conventional aspects of horror (young female as victim, horror music, disequilibrium) to give our audience what they expect, making it a pleasurable and suspenseful watch.-Use of dialogue to suggest conflicting controversy in our trailer and to question what the audience believes like Emily Rose trailer- is she just mentally ill like the doctors say or is she possessed by the devil? Used to appeal to an audience who want to be challenged and examine their own belief and ultimately maybe an older audience to gain a mass appeal.

Social groups;Religious people of society – through the priest and his practice of the exorcism on Emily Rose.Lawyers and judges in court- instigate the disequilibrium in the trailer, believe the priest performed an illegal procedure (Exorcism) on Emily Rose.

HOW WILL THIS EFFECT OUR TRAILER AND WHO WE WANT TO REPRESENT;We aim to represent the social group of doctors in our trailer which challenges the presence of judges/lawyers used in TEOER. However we want the social group of doctors to still serve the same purpose in our trailer as they do in TEOER, to cause controversy by raising the question to the audience 'is she just mentally ill or is she possessed by the devil'.