The woman in black trailer analysis

The purpose of a teaser trailer says it in the name. It’s there to tease the audience about an upcoming film to tempt viewers to go and see the new film. A teaser trailer only has about a minute to persuade the audience to want to see the film. The main purpose of a teaser trailer is that it only last for a short amount of time so that it can be shown on TV during the adverts or in cinemas before a different film. The reason being it encourages the audience to then go further to finding out more about the film by watching the full trailer on the internet before they decide whether they’d like to see the film. So the teaser trailer acts as an advertisement.

Some trailers use words and phrases to narrate and establish the story in parts, and to describe the genre so the audience gets an idea to what they’re in for if they go and see the film. Sound is very potent in horror trailers in creating the atmosphere and mode of address of the film (how it ‘speaks’ to its audience), it’s used to scare viewers or to build up tension within the audience in this trailer. Also in the editing can create a tension and atmosphere, for example it’s common to find quick cuts in a trailer this is present to suggest a build up of tension to a climax which isn’t present to keep the audience on the edge of their seats as a form of manipulation to persuade the audience to see the film. However in this teaser trailer the cuts are rather slow but still with a huge amount of tension because it’s coupled with music and sound that’s well synchronized with the visual action. Each cut is faded in and out to create a type of shadow effect, this also makes it more dramatic and leaves the audience apprehensive.

There are many enigmas within this clip that the audience has to deal with for example in the title itself; who is the woman in black? Why is she present? For example she shows up twice; once where her eye and part of her face appears accompanied by built up music. The second time an arm reaches up from no where behind him without his realization and touches him. A paradox is created from this because we are left not knowing what is going to happen next.

The characters in the trailer are established through many ways. For example the protagonist shown (character played by Daniel Radcliff) has a shadow on his face in all of the shots of him, this lighting represents him having a dark side. At the beginning of the clip there’s a close up shot of the protagonist with lighting only exposes half his face so the audience are left undecided to whether he is the typical innocent of the horror which should result in them wanting to watch the film.

This teaser trailer is unusual in terms of voice-over. The whole trailer has no verbal sound to narrate the trailer. However it has graphics text dialogue which the audience learns from. For example the words slowly appear in the middle of the screen ‘The most chilling ghost story’ ‘of our time’ ‘comes to life’. These have been edited in the fit the cuts of the trailer. Therefore the dialogue reveals that the story is a ghost story that comes to life and other words are thrown in to draw in the audience for example ‘chilling’ ‘of our time’ etc. However it’s not just what the words say it’s how they’ve been edited to be presented in a way that fits well and to make it feel more dramatic. Although the dialogue juxtaposes the idea of the film being horrifying and scary because the last text shows the actors name so it goes against of it being anything at all scary because the actor’s name reminds us that it’s not real.

The action is well synchronized with the sound where tension builds up which signifies visual action leading to a climax that doesn’t finish because the audience waits for it but are then manipulated to want to go see the film to what happens because they are‘teased’. The editorial dialogue and cuts with visual action is also synchronized to evoke a mood by the audience which is caused by the teasing, a type of agitated mood that wants more. But the trailer tries to achieve an edgy to achieve an edgy mood because it aims to stay in your mind. This is a conentional element because the trailer often has the title at the end of the trailer to aim for the same impression.

The genre is signified through sound, cinematography, mise-en-scene and the editing. All these elements are well synchronized together which makes teaser trailers so effective. The camera shot at the beginning of the clip is hand held to create a type of uneasy vibe. A different variety of shots are used to express the manic atmosphere created in a horror genre. Most of the cuts start with faded in and then fades out and in again to the next cut. The mise-en-scene gives the lightening ,location, characters props /costume etc. Artificial lighting used to create distinct shadows on faces and in the house. Typical house used, old dark a gloomy to support the stereotype and to conform to the general codes and conventions of a horror genre. The costume and props are old fashioned to bring it back and set it in an old time.

The protagonist is also established through the use of sound, cinematography, mise-en-scene and the editing. Through the dark showing and the fact he’s male the audience is made to feel uncertain to whether he’s a victim or not through challenging the stereotype of the general codes and conventions of what a typical horror is all about.

The structure of the trailer is very manic, the hand held shot of the huge house accompanied by slow low in pitch music and lettering that starts to illustrate and narrate what the film is all about. Then slowly cuts to each scene allowing the audience to explore horrific elements of the film for example magically appearing ‘woman in black’ and her appearing again with the protagonist knowing she's there. The trailer finishes with the title of the film because it aims to stay in your mind. This is a conventional element because trailer often have the title at the end of the trailer to aim for the same impression.

The trailer appeals to the viewers because of how quiet it is compared to what you would normal expect from a horror trailer where you may hear screams etc., this is a good quality trailer because if this was played to someone during adverts, the ads on TV are normally quite loud and fully of dense information so to change from this to nearly silence will manipulation the viewers attention on the ad. This is also another reason why having no verbal sound is used which makes it powerful and very and different to your average horror trailer.

When comparing this to the code and conventions of a horror this horror trailer is very different because it challenges it in many faults for example there are slow cuts whereas usually there are fast pace cuts that help build tension. There’s usually a female as the protagonist as a victim. Also the music is quite fast paced but this music is fairly slow. Also the ghost is a woman whereas the killer in a horror is usually a man.