Movie release date: 16 October 2009 Director: Oren Peli

Genre: Horror

Age rating: 15

AUDIENCE GENREThe age rating for paranormal activity is a 15 which I think is fair because this age and up find enjoyment out of intense horrors. This audience would find amusement out of the contents of the movie, I think for this reason the film is targeted towards young adults. Within the trailer the audience are actually shown and this makes the trailer more relatable and supports my thoughts that the trailer is targeted at young adults.

The movie itself is a supernatural horror which aims to distress the audience through the ongoing events into one families story. This is the first trailer and the trailer has many typicality’s that conform to the genre however the involvement of the audience in the trailer is effective yet is something that hasn’t been done in any other of the trailers I have focused on. I feel the trailer is more relatable and more grasping because we get to see normal peoples reactions and I think this escalates the fear of the viewer.

The film is named ‘paranormal activity’ and I think this is well suited to the genre. Paranormal means events that cannot be explained by science, suggesting that the events in the film will be abnormal and nothing the audience has ever scene. The title inflicts fear but does not reveal too much. The lexical choice of ‘activity’ emphasizes that the film will be packed with action.

CameraThroughout the trailer a lot of the camera angles are slanted and this is due to the use of a hand held camera to convey a sense of reality. This means that the shots are more irregular than they would be in a normal horror film because the director is intentionally trying to make the filming look like its done by reality. This mean the camera shots aren’t as intentional as they normally would be. A lot of the shots as well are point of view shots due to the hand held camera and this means the audience are put in the shoes on the character. The movements of the camera are vey shaky which is typically done in horrors to distress the audience and make them feel how the characters do.

The shot on the left is a long shot and this allows us to see the scene but from a higher angle. This means that the audience is looking down on the supernatural force suggesting that humans at this point in the film are superior. This creates suspense and wants the audience to know more. The shot itself is dark with a lot of black tones, emphasizing the negative atmosphere.

At night when the couple are sleeping the camera has night vision but this means the shots are all in the same place and have a blue tone to them, creating a cold atmosphere leading the audience to believe something is going to happen. This shot belittles the audience because the couple are now not in control of the camera and we cannot see everything in the room. Instead we are forced to focus on the focal point, the couple, who are in a bulls-eye composition on the shot on the left.

The trailers shots vary and change frequently and this is so the audience are kept on their seat and are always expecting something more. In the bottom left corner there is a close up shot of the girls face who seems distressed, shocked, but also thrilled. By allowing the viewer to see other consumers faces the film is showing the effect them movie has therefore enticing the audience. Through including all the range of shots throughout of the audience the viewer is reminded that other people have gone and watched it and enjoyed it. It also adds to the intensity of the trailer because their initial reactions are the same as anyone's initial reactions.

Mise-en-sceneThroughout the trailer the prop of a filming camera is used as a way of showing that the family are trying to catch the supernatural figure. This depicts a sense of reality and makes the film more believable. This prop does mean that a lot of the trailer is filmed using a hand held camera and this creates a sense of urgency, therefore making the prop of the camera shown throughout the trailer a successful technique that makes the film seem real.

In addition to the use of props, the dark lighting is a dominating part of the trailer that is prominent in the effect because the lighting is the part that initially sets the mood. There are black tones I all the photo that seem to frame the image so the audience focus on the focal point. The picture of the stair gate below is an example of this because the audiences eyes are drawn to the stair gate due to where the most lighting is. I feel particularly in this trailer that the director has been able to use lighting throughout constantly for effect. However at the start of the trailer the lighting is bright hinting a sense of equilibrium, again hinting at Todorov’s theory. You could argue that the director is trying to depict their happy life and how everything is perfect, the later events will contrast to this perfection therefore emphasising it.

Furthermore the setting of the whole trailer seems to be in their household, a place most people would refer to as a safe and secure. However paranormal activity enforces how the supernatural force can get into any household. There are screen prints of the setting to the left that shows their household to be quite traditional and normal, making it more relatable for the target audience. Another key aspect of the mise-en scene is the costume, throughout casual clothing is worn by both the man, Mikah, and the women, Katie, and this is done to convince the audience it is their normal every day life and familiarize them with the setting these actors are in. These two actors used aren’t known well and this means that the characters become more relatable to the audience. This also could mean the audience are curious and want to find out more about the two stars.

Editing

In the trailer montage is used, this is where cuts from throughout the film are joined together and edited so that the audience can familiarize with the plot and the trailer can have full impact on the audience. Calmer scenes are shown at the beginning and distressing scenes are used at the end building up the tension and suspense. Through doing this the audience are more likely to remember the most important scenes. When in the dark a blue filter is used and the connotations of this colour is coldness foreshadowing the danger the couple are in.

The print screen of the left has a face of a women up close to the camera, in the trailer this is shown for under a second and has been edited in such a fast motion as this gives the audience a thrill and makes them want to see more. The fast pace also is generic with horror movies because it makes the trailer unsettling therefore keeping the audience uneasy.

As the trailer progresses the cuts and transitions become a lot quicker and this is to reflect the intensity and the fear. BY speeding them up the trailer isn’t as fluent resulting in the audience being kept on the edge of there seats as there is uncertainty as to what will happen next.

SoundUnlike the other trailers I have analysed the trailer involves little music and this means the minimal sound causes the audience to wait in suspense, making the jumpy bits more distressing. Therefore I feel that the lack of music compliments the type of horror. I also feel the lack of music is a way of creating verisimilitude as the trailer seems quite normal and like in real life, the mise-en-scene backs this up. Silences are commonly used in horror films as it is a convention that contributes towards the building of tension for the audience.

There are a range of diegetic sounds in the trailer, one of the most effective being screams as this continuously reminds the viewer that it is a horror film. Not only this but the shrieking noises mimic’s the audiences reaction so when there is a jumpy section the audience won’t only scream but the trailer will too, therefore creating a connection and emphasising each distressing scene. Other diegetic sound that is used are bangs and loud noises as these are the aspects that solidify the fear of the audience. Some of the sound synchronise with the action so when the door shuts the banging noise is overlaid as this maximises the impact.

The narration of the trailer is used from dialogue from the movie and the effect of this is that we are seeing it from the characters perspective creating a sense of verisimilitude. It means that the audience also get to see the different snippets of the movie and their reactions, therefore making it easy for us to familiarise with the characters.

Texts

There are inter-titles throughout the trailer which break the trailer up creating suspense. The first inter-titles are the ones on the right explaining to the audience that the audience on screen were the first to watch it, this builds up but also allows the audience to see other consumers reactions.

Where-as the other texts used are similar to the ones of saw, they are done for emphasis and distress the viewer further. Using critics words who describe it as ‘Genuinely horrifying’ heightens the tension and is almost a warning to the audience.

The inter-titles are all in white on a black background standing out. This is quite simple but means the audience will focus on them.

Within the film trailer the main characters, Mikah and Katie, who are happily in there own home, and there is a sense of equilibrium. However as the trailer progresses the supernatural force is haunting Katie and this creates a disruption in the equilibrium. Katie then realizes that this disruption is not going to leave but tries to diffuse the situation and repair the problem. All of this supports Todorov’s theory because the film trailer is following the narrative structure of all the five steps.

The only aspect that differs from the narrative theory is at the end there is no equilibrium, this may be because the director intends to entice the audience to go and watch the film. If the ending was revealed in the trailer then it would be futile to watch the film. This film therefore supports the idea that all films follow the same narrative pattern.

1) Equilibrium – A happy start2)A disruption of this equilibrium by an event – A problem occurs3) A realisation that a disruption has happened4) An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption – the problem is solved5)A restoration of the eqilibrium – A happy ending

Narrative formatTodorov

Narrative Theory