The document provides an analysis of the trailers for three films: Shutter Island, Paranormal Activity, and The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Key points discussed include: 1) The trailers' representation of characters, plots, music/sound, mise-en-scene, editing techniques, target audiences, and social groups. 2) How the document will apply lessons from analyzing these trailers to its own trailer about a woman possessed in a mental asylum, targeting a young audience. 3) Specific techniques the document plans to emulate (e.g. music, shots) and challenges (e.g. use of dialogue, characters) from the analyzed trailers. The

1. deconstruction of
Shutter
Island, Paranormal
Activity & The
Exorcism of Emily
Rose

2. What is the difference between a
trailer and a teaser trailer?
-A trailer, simply advertises a film or programme, often using shots
or scenes from the movie.
-Most films have both a full length trailer and a teaser trailer.
-A full trailer is longer, reveals more information about the movie
and is often shown in cinemas soon before the film's release.
-Whereas, a teaser trailer is specifically that; a trailer meant to
tease. They don't reveal any significant plot details and are meant
only to give the spectator a minor glimpse as what is to come.
-These are more commonly found online and on TV a while before
the release of the film. This is to attract attention and create a buzz
around the up and coming movie.

3. Shutter Island Overview;
Shutter Island is a psychological thriller set in a remote
asylum on a private island. The trailer introduces us to
the protagonist, a detective played by Leonardo
DiCaprio, who appears to be inspecting the case of a
missing person within the asylum. However as the
trailer progresses the audience become aware of a
twist in the plot through the detective’s change of
behavior. The pace of the trailer increases whilst the
music climbs to a rapid pace, this creates tension and
hints at the horror which lies in the asylum.
Furthermore it suggests that there is more to the
detective than the trailer is willing to convey and
leaves the audience questioning his position within the
asylum.
We have chosen this trailer as we aim to create
a similar setting for our trailer (mental asylum)
and a similar hybrid genre (psychological
thriller/horror); we felt that this trailer portrays
this combination of genre well in the way we
hope to.

4. Music & Sound Effects in Shutter Island;
-Sea crashing against the shore emphasizes the isolation of the island.
-Screaming noises (connote danger and suffering).
-A number of sudden loud bangs whilst introducing shots within the asylum (creates
tension).
-Silence (no music/sound) whilst the guards and detectives are speaking, this
highlights their authority and allows their dialogue to hold importance when they say:
“We only take in the most dangerous damaged patients” which really highlights the
setting.
-Whispers are heard from characters in the mental institute (following horror genre
conventions).
We plan to incorporate the loud bang sound effects to enhance the change of
shots in our trailer and to follow conventions from Shutter Island and build the
same scale of tension within our own institute. We also aim to use whispers in our
trailer however we want to show where the whispers are coming from in
comparison to Shutter Island where they use the whispers as voiceovers. We
plan to include dialogue from doctors in our trailer to clearly convey our
narrative, highlight their authority in contrast to our protagonist and to show the
importance of what they are saying (that our character is mentally ill) We are
challenging the amount of dialogue used in the trailer for Shutter Island by
minimizing our amount of dialogue to emphasize our horror genre; instead we are
using conventional shots of our character being possessed which maintains the
scary feel to horror films.

5. Mise-en-scene in Shutter Island;
-Large black gates used in the introduction of the trailer, this
introduces us to the setting (mental institute)
-The guards alongside the gate suggest the entrapment of the
asylum an the seriousness hinting at the dangerous patients
inside.
-Deserted, empty rooms from the mental institute.
-The shot of the shower is a convention of horror films as typically
there is normally always a shot of the victim in a shower; this
suggests their vulnerability and hints forthcoming danger.
-Barbed wire is used in a shot during the build up in the trailer.
This further enhances the entrapment aspect to the asylum. The
darkness in the shots conveys a horror feel and the sound effect
alongside the shot makes the shot feel realistic and sudden.
-Establishing shot of the asylum- large old isolated building which
stands as the destination of the institute.
We plan to combine a shot of large black gates with the
establishing shot of our asylum in our trailer therefore
challenging these features of mise-en-scene in Shutter
Island. We are doing this as we feel it is important to
introduce our audience to the setting immediately. To
keep with conventions of horror films we plan to use a
shower shot with our female protagonist to highlight her
vulnerability and to suggest forthcoming danger.

6. Shutter Island; Target
Audience
The age rating for the film is a 15 therefore in comparison with The
Exorcism of Emily Rose we can argue that the film isn't suitable for a
younger audience suggesting that it contains a lot more scarier and
thrilling moments which wouldn't be suitable for a younger audience.
In the first 10 seconds of the trailer we are introduced to the A-list
star, Leonardo DiCaprio immediately suggesting that this film is
targeted at a female audience as he is very popular and attractive.
Furthermore, the fact that he is well known suggests that the film will
gain mass appeal as there would be a lot of build up and hype around
a film staring an A-list star as the protagonist. The film's
genre, Psychological thriller also suggests action which typically
appeals to male audience and we can see this through a three-shot
image of the detectives. Typically, films containing horror genres do
not include well known actors, in example the actors used for
Paranormal Activity are unknown and this could suggest why the
trailer has to strongly emphasize horror conventions to appeal to their
target audience where as this film's trailer can just subtly embark on
thrilling and scary moments as they know that their A-list actors will
create the most appeal.
Examples within the trailer that appeal to its target audience;
-Image of Leonardo DiCaprio- attractive, popular, female audience. (screen shot
where it states his name and compare to Paranormal Activity lack of emphasis on
actors name)
-Where action is taken place (detectives, guards, guns etc.)- male audience.
How this will affect our trailer and target audience;
We are ultimately challenging the use of characters to appeal to our target
audience of this trailer- instead we are following conventions of Paranormal
Activity by using unknown characters; this will force us to exaggerate our thrilling
and scary moments within our trailer to appeal to our target audience that way
instead of A-list actors. -We are also going to include a build up of action within
our trailer to appeal to male audience- in example we plan to use found footage to
convey our female character's memory of the killing of her Mother when she is
possessed and this found footage will be action packed, with fast paced
music, lots of changing shots etc.

7. Representation of Social
Groups;
WHO DOES THIS TRAILER REPRESENT?
-Patients who suffer with mental health problems;
negative portrayal of them, disturbing behavior;
allows the trailer to appear scary.
-Detectives; males. (connotes action therefore
male audience appeal).
HOW WILL THIS EFFECT OUR TRAILER AND
WHO WE WANT TO REPRESENT?
We want to represent a social group of
doctors, which are a social group within Shutter
Island however do not play a dominant part in the
trailer. We are representing the social group of
patients who suffer with mental health problems
but are challenging the way Shutter Island present
this group as we are only representing this social
group through one character.

8. Paranormal Activity
Overview;
Paranormal Activity is a film about a young couple
moving into a suburban home and becoming
increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic
presence. The film is shot with hand-held cameras
and this is hugely reflected through the production
budget of under $15000. The trailer exposes the
audience to the nightly demonic presence through
found footage to express a realistic sense of horror.
We have chosen this trailer to deconstruct as we
found similarities in what we want to include in our
trailer in terms of style and editing. We intend to
include a demon possession and incorporate found
footage to represent the protagonist's point of view.
We chose this trailer as it involves techniques we
can easily mimic when filming our own trailer and
the narrative of 'devil force' is similar to how we
envision ours to be.

9. Style;
Found footage and CCTV techniques are used in the film are are presented
in the trailer to allow the audience to feel part of what's happening and can
also leave the the spectator in suspense as this technique of style may fail to
show every detail of the trailer. The film is filmed in a similar way to a
observational documentary, creating the effect that original sound and
raw, uncut footage was used, like a fly on the wall documentary.
Editing;
The most effective cut used within the trailer is the 'white noise' screens that
replicate a home video recorder, another way they simulate this is by super
imposing the date and time in the bottom right hand corner of the screen.
This also mimics a home video and adds to the realist narrative. The trailer
also cuts to black shots with short reviews about the film and text such as;
"Experience it for yourself" flashing onto the screen. This addresses the
spectator directly and persuades them to want to watch the film.
After watching the Paranormal Activity trailer and analyzing their
editing techniques which stand out the most to us, we plan to
incorporate the 'white noise' effect during our found footage
technique and aim to edit the time and date on to the bottom rise
of the screen whilst the white noise effect is playing. We liked the
style of the trailer and want to use found footage sequences in the
middle of our trailer to reflect a memory that our protagonist is
remembering to give the effect of a fly on the wall to allow the
spectators to feel part of the action; however we plan to challenge
this editing technique as we do not plan to use this filming style
through out the trailer

10. Paranormal Activity; Target
Audience
The target audience for this film is stated briefly in the comparable
profile taken from Pearl and Dean's website (pearlanddean.com).
From this we can learn that the target audience for this film is young
audience (15-24) which is typical within the horror genre. From the
trailer we can also see that the target audience may be couples; the
narrative of this film is based around a couple who become
increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence therefore the
trailer might persuade couples to go a watch the film. The fact that the
trailer seems to be challenging typical conventions with the horror
genre by using two main characters including one male instead of
conveying vulnerability through the use of just one young female
suggests they wanted to widen their target audience by increasing
their chances of targeting men for example.
Examples within the trailer that appeal to its target audience;
-Use of both genders to ensure a mass appeal.
-The demonic presence of the trailer- appeals to the audience as its a
well known aspect which has been used in many films before e.g. 'The
Exorcist'. However we feel that the trailer doesn't specifically mention
the demons instead just expresses a powerful presence leaving the
audience in suspense to what it could be.
How this will affect our trailer and target audience;
-We are challenging the use of characters in Paranormal Activity, by
using just one female character as the protagonist instead of two, to
follow conventions of the majority of horror films to convey our horror
genre more realistically.
-We are using a similar narrative to appeal to our target audience-
devil presence. The devil presence clearly successfully appealed to its
target audience therefore when it comes to the production of our trailer
and the creation of the devil presence we are comfortable in knowing
that it will appeal to our target audience and can look at the way
Paranormal activity does it to gain a more realistic and professional
final result.

11. Representation of Social Groups;
WHO DOES THIS TRAILER REPRESENT?
Age; Young couple- allowing the film to relate and appeal
to its target audience (young people)
Gender; Male and female- again allowing the film to
relate and appeal to both genders of its target audience.
HOW WILL THIS EFFECT OUR TRAILER AND WHO
WE WANT TO REPRESENT?
We aim to use a young female to play our possessed
protagonist to allow our trailer to relate and appeal to its
target audience of young people. However we are going
to challenge Paranormal Activity's use of its main male
character and aim to use a male for the doctor, instead of
the main character. This way we will have the chance of
appealing to male audience by representing their social
group however will be following conventions of many
horror films through the use of just one female young
main character.

12. The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Overview;
Based on a true story, the trailer of The Exorcism of Emily
Rose (TEOER) portrays a young female possessed by the
devil and the fight that her family alongside a priest have to
go through to try and win justice against court. Through the
trailer we can see that Emily Rose's family and the priest
believe she is somehow possessed however are taken to
court as being accused of performing an illegal procedure
'Exorcism' unnecessarily. The trailer is packed with dialogue
taken out of the film chronologically shown which allows the
audience to easily grasp the narrative. It is filled with
disturbing shots of Emily Rose herself behaving possessed
by the devil; these shots are playing alongside conventional
tense music typically found in a horror trailer which allows the
whole watch of the trailer to become pleasurable for the
audience as it is what the audience would expect and want
from a horror trailer.
We have chosen to de-construct and analyse the trailer of
TEOER as the narrative is very similar to one we wish to
create in our trailer. We are going to be using the idea of a
girl being possessed by the devil and the struggle between
her and the doctors which almost reflects the struggle
between the court, the family and priest in the trailer of
TEOER; therefore analysing this trailer seemed perfect. The
conflict of 'what is real and what isn't' is what we really want
to emphasize in our trailer, and we felt that TEOER trailer
really portrays this, leaving the audience to make up their
own minds.

13. Character
s;
-Young female is used in TEOER; holds
connotations of vulnerability and innocence.
Emily Rose, victim and protagonist which is
typical in a horror film- follows conventions;
pleasurable for audience as it is what is
expected.
-Judges in court; there as instigators of the
disequilibrium. Question the priests exorcism
procedure.
In our trailer we plan to follow conventions of a
typical horror film and include our main
character and ultimately the victim as a young
female to ensure we appeal to our target
audience by providing them with what they
expect and find pleasurable in our horror trailer.
As the devil holds connotations of being such a
powerful force, by including a young female
who gets possessed by one will really
emphasize her vulnerability. We also plan to
include doctors who are similar in their role to
the judges in the court in 'TEOER' as they are
there to cause a clash in beliefs for the
audience and leave them wondering who to
believe, the young female or the doctors to
whether she is mentally ill or is possessed by
the devil.

14. Plot;
Young female possessed by the devil- The devil is a character
which typically appears within the horror genre and plays a huge
part in the development of the plot as when she first gets
possessed is when the film is at is peak and the conflict begins.
The devil is also a powerful force which highlights young
females vulnerability.
The court case plays a huge part in the development of the plot
as it leaves the audience left with the choice in believing if she is
just suffering with a mental illness or if she is actually possessed
by the devil. Court case instigates a disequilibrium to the
plot, causing a problem for her family and the priest who believe
she is possessed and making it much more pleasurable view of
the trailer.
We have chosen to include a similar plot as TEOER to
include in our trailer, as we feel that is a perfect plot to
incorporate in a Psychological thriller/Horror genre as it will
follow conventions within this genre e.g. possession, young
female etc. Also we wanted to base our trailer on a 'true
story' and found that most trailers including this one, and
'Paranormal Activity' are actually based on a 'true story'
allowing this trailer to be useful whilst developing a plot for
our own. We also want to create a conflict of different
beliefs, like the trailer of TEOER, however we are going to
do this through what the doctors believe the young female
in our trailer has and what she herself actually believes. We
are going to challenge the way in which TEOER's trailer
shows their conflict in 'different beliefs' as we are not going
to include as much dialogue as the trailer does; we feel that
it gives too much away and we would like to leave the
audience in suspense and to guess more on what happens
due to the clash of beliefs.

15. Target Audience TEOER;
The age rating for this film is PG-13. For a typical horror film, this age rating is very
rare as well known horror films typically include age ratings of at least 15 and even
more so, 18. This suggested that this film wasn't as scary on a horror scale as other
films with a higher age rating, however we felt that the idea of 'being possessed' and
'devilish behaviour' had the potential to be conveyed through a increasingly disturbing
and more scary film and ultimately a higher age rated film in example, Paranormal
activity who is rated a 15. The film is asking the viewer to examine their own beliefs
about life and death, religion and science therefore we felt that the target audience for
this film must be open to challenges thrown at them about what they really believe
and what they don't; ultimately the viewer must have a close relationship with their
inner beliefs to be able to watch such conflicting controversy in a film. Typically, horror
films are aimed at a younger audience, 15-25, therefore as this film sits under the
genre of horror the film could appeal to a young audience who find pleasure in
suspense and being scared. However as this film includes a dominant focus on
controversial topics such as science and religion we can argue that these features
may appeal to an older audience as the study of religion and science connote history
(an area which typically appeals to an older audience)
Examples within the trailer which appeal to its target audience;
-When Emily Rose is possessed (scary)- young audience.
-Conventional aspects of horror-horror music, young female as the victim as well as
the protagonist, disequilibrium- audience are given what they expect from a horror
and results in an enjoyable and pleasurable watch.
-Dialogue- In court- older audience
How this will affect our trailer and our target audience?
-When our protagonist is possessed- want to show our female character's 'devilish'
behaviour to scare our younger audience and give them what they expect.
-Conventional aspects of horror (young female as victim, horror music, disequilibrium)
to give our audience what they expect, making it a pleasurable and suspenseful
watch.
-Use of dialogue to suggest conflicting controversy in our trailer and to question what
the audience believes like Emily Rose trailer- is she just mentally ill like the doctors
say or is she possessed by the devil? Used to appeal to an audience who want to be
challenged and examine their own belief and ultimately maybe an older audience to
gain a mass appeal.

16. Representation of Social
Groups;
-Religious people of society; through the priest and his practice of
the exorcism on Emily Rose.
-Lawyers and judges in court; instigate the disequilibrium in the
trailer, believe the priest performed an illegal procedure
(Exorcism) on Emily Rose.
HOW WILL THIS EFFECT OUR TRAILER AND WHO WE
WANT TO REPRESENT;
We aim to represent the social group of doctors in our trailer
which challenges the presence of judges/lawyers used in
TEOER. However we want the social group of doctors to still
serve the same purpose in our trailer as they do in TEOER, to
cause controversy by raising the question to the audience 'is she
just mentally ill or is she possessed by the devil'.