Trailer Analysis - Grave Encounters

Grave Encounters is a movie which has been created in the style of found footage. The plot of this story is a group of young adults go to a mental hospital which has been closed down for many years. These young adults are known as “investigators” on a television program that go to haunted places and look for ghostly/ demonic spirits but the catch is, they fake it. They film these programs in order to make a profit and they don’t believe in the spirit but what they didn’t know is that the mental home is actually full of horror which then makes them snap and go crazy. In the trailer we don’t not see that they are faking it and so this will make the audience think it’s all real.

 The way in which this movie trailer explains to the audience what genre it is from is by using the typical codes and conventions which we generally tend to see. This trailer offers a range of conventions that makes us realise that it is from the sub-genre, supernatural. We see and hear technical elements such as fuzzy sounds, screens, bangs and eerie music, the lighting as well is dark and haunting which expands on the supernatural and horror genre. We see a range of self moving objects in the trailer such as the window opening by itself at night, this hints to us that it’s not a slasher since the killer isn’t moving it, there is no presence moving the window and so we know it’s a supernatural movie. The characters are wearing dark and simple clothing with symbolic designs of tribal and cult symbols which can indicate a hidden curse that has a story behind it. In the trailer we encounter a range of spooky events such as a shadows moving about, cuts were a change of lighting happens and a random person or demonic spirit suddenly appears and finally communication with these evil spirits. Typical props and iconography that appear are objects like, state of the art communication technology which will allow us to see or hear the demons, scratches and symbols written on the walls of the location and night light vision. The location and Mise-en-scene is the biggest hint to the audience that this movie is about the supernatural world. They are located in a mental home where obviously many have died there and so the myths of peoples spirits are still in the room will freak the audience out. The long hallways are definitely a spooky factor since they never end and also they tend to have many doors which the audience will feel on edge since they wouldn’t know what going to come out of the rooms. The spot lighting is effective and the dim colour again informs the audience that it’s a horror movie. This appeals to the target audience since they are used to seeing these codes and conventions in other movies and so it will be easier for them to know what they are watching.

This trailer has different ways of luring in the target audience and one way that generally works well is by using the producing studios and also the producers of the movie. As the trailer starts we see the production advert of “Darclight”. Darclight is one of the most common horror movie production team that has some of the most successful movies going. They have created we known movies like The Wild Hunt and sick house. The regular horror movie audience would see their logo appear many times in other films and so they will know that the movie would be successful. The producer/ director that created grave encounters is called Shawn Angelski. Again he has directed many worldwide movies that have caught the horror target audience attention, by seeing his name appear, it will encourage them to go and watch Grave Encounters. Straps were used effectively to enhance the story of the movie and also the important elements which will lure the target audience in.  It firstly starts off with one that states the location of the area that they are filming in, and so this area can be researched and could be found to be a true location, this adds fear and a clearer understanding of the story. The next strap comes in at around 30 seconds later saying “ it is widely considered the most haunted building in north America” this will extreme terrify the audience as for a “fact” has been used.  Throughout the trailer facts are used to make it more believable and so this will lure and attract the audience by making them believe that it is all real. As we reach to a minute, straps stop appearing for quite a while, this is done so the audience can focus on the real found footage. At the end, they have added the movie title in a strap which is a general trailer convention and this will leave them with a memory of what it is called and so they would want to search for it. Adding Shawn Angelski’s name at the end is a way of assuring the audience that this movie is worth watching since he is a great producer that has created some of the target audience’s favourite horror movies. The straps have a black background with white plain, san serif text. This is a good way of making the movie and editing believable because since it is a found footage, if a lot of graphics and animation is added the target audience will think it’s fake and so it will put them off the whole realistic feeling. These straps reveal the horror and plot of the movie which of course sends shivers down the audiences back.

The way in which this trailer has been set out and pieced is in the general conventional structure. It starts off with the main character (Lance) introducing the reality TV show which is grave encounters. Since lance is doing a TV show he introduces the story of what he and his crew are going to do, where and how. This trailer follows Todorovs theory. The equilibrium is the start of him explaining what is going on, the disruption is that they need to go and “find” these demonic and left over spirits in this psychiatric hospital so that they can make a lot of hits on their TV show.  To prove to us that this is a TV show, we see the crew getting ready to film, marking the shot and practicing a couple of times, we even see a fuzz in the camera shot which can indicate a disruption. As the trailer goes on, the dialogue that is used makes it really easy for the audience to understand what is going on in the certain scene that is being filmed. This trailer shows us how they start to get haunted, such as we see them filming outside the metal home, they go in and set up the cameras in each of the rooms, it shows us flying objects and people running for their lives. It starts of really calm and the crew look really brave since they have already experienced these unreal horror events which they are trying to create. The narrative speeds up as the action and exciting, thrilling scenes happens this makes it easier for the audience to understand that something is out to get them.  This movies narrative is more based on the dialogue than the scenes that is happening, as in at first Lance is hosting his show and he tells the audience what he is going to do, but he doesn’t mention to us what is going to happen and so this adds more of a thrill to the audience. Even though he doesn’t talk much through the trailer towards the end, he puts in a lot of detail in what he said at the start which leads the audience in the right path of knowing what is meant to happen such as we see a scene near the beginning where there is old tapes of the people in the psychiatric home in around 1939-1945 which is listen as “archival footage” this makes it easier to understand what spirits or what type of mental people there are and what they used to do. Towards the end of the movie we count on straps and screams to understand what is going on, we are presented with many supernatural scenes which informs the audience that they are clearly getting haunted from the spirits in the mental hospital. This is an effective way of keeping the audience interested and wanting them to go watch the movie as for people react more to visual than listening and so it plays a big part in the audience head and keeps them more focused on what’s going on in the trailer.

General codes and conventions of the Mise-en-scene are repeated immaculately through this trailer.  The difference between the other two trailer that I have analysed is that this one has no religious theme which makes more sense to the modern society as religion has slowly become the audiences least of interest. This would make them movie seem more realistic as it could be them in that certain position. Since this is a found footage movie, we expect to see people messing about, having fun with modern props like phones, hand held cameras, sound equipments and computer programmes all to track down the ghostly, demonic spirits that is meant to be scene. In this trailer we do not see know weapons as a form of protection except we see a range of characters holding cameras to make us witness what’s going on. Torch lights and scratches on people’s bodies and walls are typical iconography that appears in a supernatural, found footage movie. The setting is again a typical area for a horror movie which is a mental home. This involves an isolated location which no one other than them can get to. When the crew go inside, it’s clear to say it’s abandoned because we see graffiti on the wall and usually in modern society that is tend to happen in abandoned areas. The locations that are shown are a dark and dim area which improvises the fact that the mental home is abandoned and there is no light to see what is going on. The rooms are small and dirty which gives us the chilling feeling that anything could be larking in the shadows and dust. The background is usually pitching black due to the fact of the lighting that has been used. This makes the setting more terrifying as for you cannot see anyone else from the crew. The main colour that is used in this trailer is murky colours that associate with darkness and fear. Dark green and black and white effect has been used due to the lighting that has been used. In this trailer we are presented with artificial lighting majority of the time. This is because they have used cameras that provide us with night vision and torches that present spot lighting. This effect is very effective due to the fact as it creates a sinister feeling. The setting is empty and basic to also enhance the fact that it is deserted, Lance also mentions that it’s a “dumping ground” which obviously means that the people who were in it many years ago were waste and so the setting being dirty with old things like empty, tipped furniture creates an edgy feeling. The crew members that vary in this horror trailer are shown to be the protagonists of this movie but one by one they tend to disappear is if this is a slasher movie. The crew members all wear simple and basic clothing which is mostly black with white tribal designs. The males look very dominant and brave and so we get presented with the feeling that they are not scared of what’s coming to them. However the girl that is in this trailer is presented to have a bit of a gothic looked which links well with the genre of the movie. She has black straight, sleek hair, heavy eye makeup and a lip pierce. This can reflect that she could be the main victim as she is just that tad bit more closer to the “dark” side. The trailer shows the men to be calm and relaxed when recording these scenes and there facial expressions show us excitement. The female tends to be the damsel in distress that needs the male’s protection to feel safe. Since the main theme of this movie is that its supernatural spirits that are messing with the crew, we don’t have much of an antagonist look. However we do become faced with a scene where they find a lady in the corner of the room, bare feet, long white gown which makes us think she is a patient, we see the back of her but as soon as she turns around she looks very scared, but then she turns her facial expression into something horrific which scares the crew and most likely the audience. Overall the mood that is created in this horror and fear as the audience realise that something is tormenting them and its clear to say that it is the spirits of the mental home people that died many years ago, this gives it a clear understanding and an expectation of what the movie is about.

The camera shots that have been used through this trailer are very simple and consistent. At the beginning of the trailer we have a long shot zoomed out into a medium shot of Lance and his crew getting ready to film. This is to show us where, and it clearly shows us the isolated location that he is in, there is rails, moss on the stairs big old trees covering the majority of the building. This is to contrast the difference later on and how trapped they are when they get into the building. We then see a time lapse of the metal home at an establishing shot to show us how big it actually is which will mean that there will be  a lot of travelling and walking when they are in the mental home. After this, the whole trailer focuses on hand held cameras and CCTV camera to make it feel more realistic and scarier. To relate to the plot that the mental home is abandoned the camera style used works really well since there is a flash light such as known as a spot lighting that moves with the camera. This creates a haunting and terrifying mood because only a spot of the scene can be seen.  Regardless to the point that it is found footage movie, this means that the crew themselves will be the ones that would be filming this. This suggest that the camera will be at a point of view which makes the audience feel like they are in the movie and are in that exact position. The next main camera type that is repeated is the CCTV shots, these cameras are looking down into the room from a corner that are always in the same spot and are placed in many rooms. The editing involved with the camera moves from the same angle but from different rooms, this creates a chilling feeling since when the next camera appears we don’t know what going to come up, this leaves the audience feeling on edge. The CCTV is in black and white which associates with the horror mood and genre. This reflects the general codes and conventions which are meant to be presented and so it is done well. Having the black and white effect gives the scene more of a ghostly feeling, this generates the audience to try and pick point any spiritual movement and this means that they are always going to be interested. When the handheld cameras are on scene, they are either in colour with a spot light or night vision which is green. The night vision gives the negative colours for example black would be white and white will be black, this contrasts with what the audience are used to seeing and so they would get freaked out by it even if it was the crew. We have a range of camera shots, for example we see long shots of hallways showing the darkness and how long they are, this effect makes us feel insecure and paranoid as for the audience are worried at what can come out from the dark. At one point of the trailer we see a CCTV of all of the crew sitting down calmly, we then get a zoom in at the end of the hallway where we see a shadow walking passed, this is done so the audience focus on what is going on and the shadow walking past whilst the crew is sitting down, makes them realise that there is something unusual going on.  We get a range of shots from low angles and close ups to show the crews reaction, feelings and emotions. This will scare the audience due to the fact that they would feel as if they are right next to them; this gets the audiences’ blood pumping and makes them more excited. Since Lance tends to be the main character of the movie, we see many close ups and shots of him filming himself, this generates the feeling that he is alone and no one is there to film him.  The most effective type of movement that is used in this trailer is the shaking camera. This is because it can reflect the audience’s feelings and reactions to the scene. It also makes it more realistic and believable that this movie is actually real. Overall the camera that has been used is very effective due to the fact that it puts across the feeling that the movie is actually real, this will interest the audience in wanting to watch the movie.

At the start of the trailer we are introduced with the non diegetic sound of the camera messing up, this shows that there is a disruption. Generally in horror movies supernatural elements generally play with technology and mess up the equipment, this hints out to the audience that it is a horror movie.  We then hear the girl saying “MARK” with a clipper which enhances the fact that it’s a reality show and that they are recording it themselves. After Lance says “grave encounters” we again hear a fuzz of sound and the non diegetic eerie music plays in the background of when Lance is explaining the story in a voice over whilst we see an establishing shot of the mental hospital. As he is explaining the story, the eerie music is then turned down as an older woman speaks saying “they were severely disturbed” in the background it was a sound of an old video player playing. This makes us understand that what we are seeing is an old piece of information. As the scene changes the eerie music changes into like a vacuum sound and starts with a new beat, this is for us to see the change of scene. It then goes quiet so that we focus on what the old man is explaining to Lance about the window, as he is speaking we get a night vision shot that shows the window at night, the window then opens by itself and the eerie music amplifies and ends on a bang as the scene goes into a black fade. Action music is then added to make us feel like it is a real TV show that has been edited for our own purpose and excitement, it works well as the trailer goes on. The beat that is used when he is talking makes us feel the action that is about to happen. A scene where he is communicating with the spirits we hear a random bang then a high pitch scream that is done by the girl. The eerie music continues but gets faster and stronger with more tempos; this adds more excitement as the fast montage of horror appears. Many ranges of screams and the crew panting when they are talking make us feel the adrenaline rush and fear that the crew are experiencing. One of the most effective sounding that was done was where the camera sound arises at 1:44. The eerie music drops and this ads tension to the scene. They are then faced with a spirit that is not facing them, as soon as it turns around it turns into a ghostly look and a massive scream and bang is amplified. Once this is done it all goes quiet and the strap of the movie name comes up with non diegetic sound of embossed type music as if it is off an action/horror movie. We are then encountered with low paced eerie music but with the girl talking in a panic. This adds fear to the audience as we cannot see her in the scene, this gets our bloods pumping. She then whispers “do you hear that” with no non diegetic sound added, we then here an outburst of screams and a demonic voice. This automatically thrills the audience as for they don’t know what’s going on. This aids the audience well to understand the scene and shot and what’s going to happen, it leads the audience in the correct path to understand the narrative.

The way in which the editing has been created to represent a certain scene is done to the best of standards. In the beginning of the trailer, it starts of slow and simple as if the editing is telling us a story. The first edit that appears is the fuzz and freeze of the camera, again this makes us feel like there is a disruption with them. As the narrative goes on and paces up, the editing and speed follows the same pattern and is parallel to what is on the screen. After around a minute, once the fast montage of the horrific events appears, the editing becomes sharper, faster and quicker. This reflects the mood of the scene well as it creates more tension and anticipation as for the audience want to know what’s going on. It is the conventional type of edits such as fade into black, fade into white, stabs of sounds, flashing images done by fast cutting and also the most important the distorted image freezing. These are typical type of edits which we tend to observe in horror movies and especially in supernatural as it adds more of a spiritual effect. An example of a fade into black is at the start where we see a spot light of a room and then is faded into black which becomes a graphic edit into the room hallway of darkness from the black fade. This is a type of merging. It’s a type of a smooth transaction that works very well against the scene, it explains the narrative and it flows well with what’s going on in that certain scene. Fades tend to be a calming transition between two shots but also adds fear and tension as black is a sign of darkness. Once the action starts around a minute into the trailer, the cuts change from fades to black to sharp cuts from scene to scene. Sharp cuts give the scene more of an intense and dramatic effect which of course the audience feel feared by. The darkness to dissolve into white as if it is a camera light makes us feel like we can finally see after the whole montage of darkness but again the only type of editing that we can see is a spot of light, when the camera moves about the effect edit from the fade into white makes us feel safe but as soon as we see the room we feel insecure again. The scene where Lance communicates with the spirit and the bang appears on screen we encounter TV fuzz as if the frequency and the quality of the camera become terrible. This means that there is something with them as I have explain before, supernatural spirits can effect technology, this makes us feel like there is a presence with them and the editing used at this shot is done well. We end on a cut to black to make the audience feel like there is nothing else coming but will still make them feel insecure as the blackness can hide anything, this edit is done well and explain the narrative clearly as something is always out there to get you.

The representation within the text makes the males of the movie seem more dominant, have a lot of courage and bravery. Throughout the movie we see Lance as the most fearless male and so we see him as a protective person and we can rely on him to make us feel safe. His confidence makes us feel a bit more relieved when he is on screen. The other males are not much shown on scene and when they are they tend to be more specific on what they do for example the camera guy sticks to being a camera, this show to us that he isn’t as important as Lance and so he isn’t the main target that the spirits are aiming for. The other male characters are masculine and brave but not as brave as Lance. We realise that there is a black guy in this movie and generally horror movies are rather racism as for the “black guy” always dies first. This links with a slasher movie and so it’s a slight mix. He is shown a bit more frightened from the rest and so we can say that he knows he is going to die first. The female that is featured in this trailer changes dramatically. At first she seems all brave and up for the challenge as for she thinks it’s all fake, but as soon as the spiritual events happens she becomes into a little girl that needs protection. She would be the one that the guys have to look out for her and so this creates the general modern generation of girls. Since the characters tend to be young, it slightly reflects with the rebellious side of modern society, the youth in the 21^st century are always taking risks before thinking about the outcome and so this is represented in the way they go in to fake a recording TV show.

Overall this horror movie is different from majority of the supernatural movies. Supernatural movies tend to focus on one victim and in this movie there is a crew which is most likely to happen. The whole hand held camera makes it feel like a real story which will encourage them to go and watch this movie. With all the elements added together it creates a really haunting trailer and so it means that this horror movie is successful. Personally, I have watched this movie and I thought the trailer is scarier than the movie as for all the scary scenes are added into the trailer, this is a good way of making the audience go and watch the movie since they would think that there would be more haunting moments.