Insidious (2011) Trailer Analysis

Insidious begins with one character whispering “are you ready” to another characters. Even though the opening line is directed towards a character, the power of the line addresses the audience too. The start of the tension building begins with a music timer ticking slowly with a mid-shot of a man breathing heavily. The screen shot from the trailer displays cold and dull colours to generate a certain feeling for the audience. For example, when I watched this trailer it gave me a cold feeling due to the gloominess of the set. The trailer demonstrates very plain and dark colours to fit the conventions of a horror film and also portray sad, scared and worried feelings. 

Horror films are usually set in an abandoned or isolated location with perhaps a hidden meaning behind the particular location. Using these stereotypical location ideas in a horror film gives the audience a sense of loneliness and builds tension. Insidious does not follow all the conventions of a stereotypical horror film, instead of a barren home in the woods, they decided to use a normal family home in America. Using a normal family home in a town in America adds to the realism to the film. Also, by using a family home, it gives the audience the idea that this could well be their situation and makes them wonder and think more into the film. 

These long shots are made to look as if they are from a characters point of view. This technique showing an empty room create a tense feel and you as an audience expect something to appear or happen. It also expresses fear and involves the audience. During these panning shots, no non diagetic music plays, it is silent, which again creates tension, except from the sound of the rocking horse swinging rapidly. Once the character stops the rocking horse, there is a short silence and shortly after spin chilling sounds commonly used in horror films starts. This technique is used as a shock factor. 

The trailer continues to shock and scare the audience. This long shot of a dark room shows a shadow/silhouette of a man standing in front of a window. Once this image becomes clear, atmospheric music begins with a fast pace to scare the audience and form uneasy feelings. A long shot of a woman in a hall way keeps the audience of edge wondering if something will appear. Instead, a quick change in shots demonstrates a close up of a baby monitor, which again builds tension and worry of knowing something will shock the audience. Faint whispers appear from the baby monitor and then a loud shout. The height of frightening emotion works in comparison to the fast paced cutting from one shot to another to express how the character feels.

In horror trailers, certain techniques are used to frighten/fabricate anxiety the audience. For example, Insidious use an effect, which has been used before, which there is no sound, no music but only a character talking. They then say maybe a line or two which is vital to the film and distinctive music plays. In this trailers case, the ticking of the music timer is non diagetic and faint and only that is heard for a while. Then one of the characters says “It’s not the house that is haunted” and a pause follows, which seems like a long time due to the tension created. After the pause, the non diagetic sounds stop and she then says “it’s your son”.

Quickly after the character has finished talking, the fast paced atmospheric music begins again which creates a spin chilling feeling. Also varies shots are rapidly shown to add to the effect. Some shots include a close up of a child’s foot on the bed with a bloody hand print next to it, a long shot of a hallway with two girls standing dressed in white and a bird’s eye view shot of people performing a séance.

The Notebook (2007) Trailer Analysis

The Notebook trailer begins with a shot of a man on a lake by a white house with white birds surrounding him. This shot demonstrates simplicity and peacefulness. The white portrays innocence and purity. This establishing shot gives the audience a sense of what the film will be like. The non diagetic music is a gentle piece on a piano which creates a soft and loving feel. During the trailer, a voice over from an elderly man paints a picture of what the film is about in the style of a story. He describes the background of the main characters and then a long shot shows the man telling the story to a woman around the same age as him. 

Once the characters have been introduced, the elderly man continues to tell the story of Noah and Ally of how they met and fell in love. The same non diagetic music continues as various shots of Noah and Ally are shown. Some shots included are long shots of the two of them by the lake, a medium shot of Ally on a rope swing and another long shot of them jumping of a boat. These shots portrays innocence and simplicity. These shots are very stereotypical ideas of couples portraying innocence.

In this screen shot, Ally’s swimming costume represents wealth. Purple is a colour associated with the rich and royal. Ally is from a wealthy home, however Noah is from the country. Noah’s hat is a light grey which represents sadness and poverty, he may have been feeling lonely or gloomy before he met Ally. 

This long shot shows a contrast in characters and lifestyles. Every person present in this shot is wearing white, except Noah. The white in this case shows power and wealth, and the black shirt Noah is wearing portrays an out casting image.  Noah is also towards the end of the table which represents where he is placed in society. Because Noah is poor, he is looked down on. 

As we begin to understand the story, the voice overs pause for a while to let the fast paced editing create tension. The music becomes more uplifting and louder to generate a certain mood for the audience. 

The two shots above are of Noah and Ally and the elderly couple. The cross fade effects goes from the elderly couple to Noah and Ally to show the similarities they share. Noah and Ally are both wearing red which stereotypically is associated with love. Red can also symbolise passion, excitement and strong emotions which Noah and Ally and the film explore. 

My Sisters Keeper (2009) - trailer analysis

The beginning of ‘My Sister’s Keeper’ opens with various shots of a family on holiday. These shots have been edited to look as if the clips were taken from a home video. The home video effect gives a sense of verisimilitude. The background music is gentle music played on a piano which gives a peaceful vibe. All these techniques create a happy and simplistic feel.

Throughout the beginning of the trailer, Anna Fitzgerald, the sister, voices over the trailer to give the audience a summary of the film. She explains how most babies are accidental, but she was born to save her sisters life. The music suddenly changes after she says “save my sisters life”, there is a short pause and the music then introduces other instruments to change the mood of how the audience are supposed to feel.   

After the change in music, the father’s voice over begins. He explains how having a child with an illness such as cancer is a ‘full time ocupation’. Various shots are shown of the family playing in the garden, laughing and having fun. Some shots include mid-close ups, long shots and close ups. This is a very sterotypical idea of a close family, however the film does not follow the steroetypes by adding a character with a terminal illness.



This shot of Kate Fitzgerald shows a bright and postive image of her, even though she has been diagnosed with cancer. The yellow represents joy, happiness and hope. We know that this was intentional because Kate also have a big smile on her face and is involved in the fun in the garden with the family.

During this shot, kate’s voice over says “I don’t mind my disease killing me, but it’s killing my family too”. This use of the powerful metaphor shows the cracks in the family since she bacame ill. This over the shoulder shot shows a shocking image of kate looking very ill and showing her pain. This creates tenstion and sadness for the audience. The colours used are dull and create a lifesless feel. Kates grey clothing symbolises sadness and the white on the walls symbolise innocense. The white walls can also create a hospital feel to the room, which is where kate soon spends all of her time. Kates sister Anna is wearing a green top, which symbolises health, her colour of clothing is in complete contrast to Kates.



Towards the end of the trailer, the music becomes more uplifting to create tension and give the audience a sence of sadness. The fast paced editing work in colaboration with the music to add to the tension. The last four captours from the film show how close the family still are even though Kate has days left. These close mid shots and the long shot show lovingness and a strong bond.