Movie release date: April 11, 2014Director: Mike Flanagan

Genre: HorrorThis film is intended to scare the audience and for thisreason it is targeted at people who are teenagers tolate 30's. This group find enjoyment through thehorror. A film like this wouldn't be suitable for peopleunder the age of 15. The film is rated a 15 thereforereinforcing that the audience are for this age andabove.

AUDIENCE

http://www.tribute.ca/trailers/oculus/19604/

The film itself is a horror and the trailer conforms to this.The music throughout changes pace to enforce the intensityof the trailer and this adds to how it is also a thriller.Throughout, the cuts also are synchronised with the musicso the pace changes, adding to the mystery and the dramato the horror. I feel that this film successfully obeys with thisgenre and goes with the norms of horrors in the way thatthe audience are kept on their toes the whole time.However the trailer doesn’t reveal too much which hasbecome typical in movie trailers in this decade because thedirector wants the audience to be surprised of whathappens in the actual film. This works with the horrorbecause this genre surprises and scares you throughout. Thesetting in the house also haunts the viewer and theflashbacks gives the film a sense of reality.

GENRE

Mise-en-scene

Lighting

The use of the prop, the light bulb, is disturbing and escalates the fear of the viewer. Usingthis prop emphasises the danger they are in. Also the broken glass could be used toforeshadow the danger they are in. As the girl bites into the light bulb the sound increasesdramatising the scene, this is an example of anchorage as the sound and image are usedsimultaneously for effect.In addition to this one of the main props in the trailer is the mirror which is always central tothe camera shots depicting its importance.

The lighting coming in from the mirror draws attention to the mirror butthis soon blacks out, creating suspense and tension. The lighting gives theaudience false hope, making them comfortable before the laterdisturbances of the trailer. Also this lighting is used during the beginning ofthe trailer and this creates suspense.

The supernatural force that comes from the mirror is in a light blue dress whichcompliments the eyes that have been edited white, therefore leading the audienceto them. The blue depicts the coldness of figure therefore foreshadowing thedanger of the force. This suggests that the director of the trailer has tried tocontinuous remind the audience of the upcoming events that occurin the movie,therefore reinforcing that the genre of the movie is a horror. A framing techniquehas also been used in order to draw the viewers attention to the figure who is inthe centre, bulls-eye, of the shot.

Props

Costume

Editing

Cuts (transitions)

Filters The clip has been edited into slow motion as the cloth falls off the mirror todramatize it. It results in the audience being more focused on the mirror. This alsoaffects both the fluency and the cuts of the trailer because it slows the pace down.I feel that the slow motion is away of showing that the mirror isn’t going to goaway. In this same print screen a sepia filter has been used in order to portray anantique feeling, this could be done to highlight how the mirror has history.

As the trailer begins the picture fades in and out, contributing towards the fluency of thevideo. This also is a way of creating suspense, resulting in the audience having a fear ofthe unknown. The genre of the film is a horror so fading out onto a black background thetrailer has a negative atmosphere. This is an effective editing technique as the blackbackground is used to depict the gloomy emotions that a horror creates. The fluencyalmost is used to relax the audience before the intensity is reinstated later in the trailer.

Throughout the clip the transitions become a lot quicker in order to dramatize the clip and addsuspense. The music follows this and increases in volume in sync with the cuts to add intensity.This conforms to the genre of a horror because the audience are constantly being shocked andare unsure on what will happen next.

Fades/Dissolves Fluency

Slow motion

CameraA long shot has been used in order to set the scene, however there is a sense of mystery.This entices the viewer and makes it feel like they are there. The longshot also gives theviewer more to take in, however the bulls-eye composition is meant the audience isdrawn into the focal point, the mirror. This could be done as a way of telling the audiencethat the mirror is central to the film.

A close up of the super natural force is revealed as a way of grasping the attention for theaudience and making them want to know more. The close up also means that it is moredisturbing for the viewer. Not only this but the background of this close up is dark, incontrast to the long shot shown above, this is done to dramatize the figure in the shotand draw our attention to her eyes. Lastly the camera shot is quite thrilling due to thefacial expression, linking with the genre.

A low camera angle has been used when the focus is on the mirror, this is a way ofshowing the power and superiority of the mirror and how it haunts whoever ownsit. The blood dripping down further enforces this. This camera angle is another wayof belittling the audience and making them feel scared, again conforming well withthe genre horror.

The girls head is out of focus in this shot reverse shot and this is so theaudience pays full attention to the boy. It also links to the narrative theory ofprops because the boy would be identified as the ‘Donor’ and the focus onhim shows how the girl relies on him and without him she could not continueon in the plot. I feel this focus is of high importance because it shows the highsignificance of the male character.

Shots

Focus

Angles

In post-production the blood has been edited intothe shape of the letter S in order to emphasisehow the actresses soul has been taken. The redblood further depicts the danger.

Texts and credits are used at the startof the film to inform the audience whatthe producer has also made, this is away of reinforcing the movie is ahorror.

Characters

The villain

The Princess/hero

The Donor

Narrative Theory- I have tried to usethis trailer and apply it to Propp’stheory, the idea that each media texthas 7 distinctive characters. I havebeen able to pick out three of thesewithin the trailer, supporting thistheory. The most obvious was thevillain who is the supernatural forcefrom the mirror. She is the one who is ahuge danger to all the other characterswithin the plot. Next I labelled the girlactress the princess, because she is theone who wants to catch the villain yetends up being the victim and the oneneeding help. Arguably, the girl is alsothe hero because she is the one tryingto beat the villain. Lastly I chose thedonor to be the boy who assists theprincess/hero because he is beneficialto the plot and she would not go onwith her plan without him. Although Ihave not linked all 7 characters, thesecharacters support his theory becausethe remaining 4 may be revealed in thewhole film.

Changing of time zones

The films start in the present, showingwhere the mirror is now in its current form.

Alternating from the past and the present depicts how the mirror is on going issue and doesn’tgo away. The fact both the shots have the same actors and the same mirror suggest how themirror is something they cannot get rid of and there is a prominent relationship between themand the mirror. The storyline within the trailer reveals how she wants to put an end to thedeaths the mirror has caused so in the first shot the mirror was in control of their lives andeffecting it dramatically, and now they have grown up she is trying to take control of the mirrorand defeat it. The different in facial expressions contrasts, linking into the narrative theorycreated by Levis strauss. In the top shot the facial expression convey innocence and fear whereas in the top shop the characters and depicted with strength and courage. The body languagereinforces this because as they are older they are facing the mirror showing how they aretaking it on, where as children they are facing away from the mirror showing they have nopower over it. The time zone therefore allows the audience to see how these two charactershave grown up and how they have changed. This creates a sense of reality and this could bepurposely done in order to make the film more believable.

The film finishes with themirror however theaudience are looking downon it and the room is a lotdarker leaving the audiencein fear. The fact the trailerstarts similar to how itfinishes shows the powerand the significance of themirror.

Sound track of the video

This sound is from the startof the trailer andimmediately there isintensity in the sound trackto convey the danger.

This sound is from when thegirl bites the light bulbthinking it is the apple, thedelicacy of the crunchingsound is quickly vanishedthrough the dominant music.

Even when the charactersare talking throughout thetrailer the music is alwaysthere and builds as thescene becomes more chaoticto dramatise the mood.

One of the most effective aspects of trailers in my opinion is the sound track, because this isthe part that emphasises the actions. In the film trailer Oculus, the director has used thesoundtrack effectively in order to conform to the genre of horror. Anchorage is usedthroughout so the music is simultaneous to the events within the clip. Both diegetic and non-diegetic sound is used within the trailer, this is crucial because diegetic sound like the footstepsadd the extra effect while the music dramatizes it.