1. Insidious Trailer
Analysis
{ By Tim Loe

2. The title screen at the start cuts to a medium close up of the protagonist with a
sound bridge. He is asked if he ‘is ready’, which he replies ‘yes’. This builds some
anticipation towards the trailer. The protagonists expression, and desaturated grade
of the shot creates an intense atmosphere.

3. The previous shot then fades out, and a close up of a metronome then fades in.
The diegetic and non diegetic sound of the metronome is a pace setter for the
trailer, it is set at a fast tempo, and the transitions between shots are synced with it,
giving the trailer a continuously fast, and menacing pace.
This close up cuts to a shot with text, promoting who the film was made by,
creating anticipation to see it. The text is white on a

4. This cuts to a medium close up similar to the first shot of the trailer, however this
time the protagonist is closing his eyes, and the camera is zooming in. This
zooming movements connotes that we are looking at his thoughts.
This shot cuts to an establishing shot of what is assumed to be their house. The
camera is tracking left, and the movement feels slightly unnatural, which
connotes that someone is watching the house. The shot is also low angle,
connoting the house is powerful, and giving it a menacing look.

5. The next two shots then give some exposition into the story, and reveals why the
previous shot was an establishing shot of a house.
The first shot is a medium shot of a mother and her son. The composition of the shot,
and the mise en scene allows the audience to see that they have moved house, and
are settling in.
The following shot is a long shot of the family, and the protagonist, who we can now
see is the father getting ready for what we can assume is his new job, and the reason
they moved.

6. The close up of the ladder, showcases conflict of the boy, this is synced with the
metronome, connoting that the conflict is almost controlled, and in order. This
emphasises the message the trailer is emitting, that the house is the antagonist,
and causing conflict upon the family.
That cuts to a two shot of the parents looking intrigued and terrified, this marks
the disequilibrium in the narrative (previous shots mostly of equilibrium). The
composition of the shot illuminates the fact that they are behind a window,
connoting that what they are looking at what is unknown, and therefore needs to
be controlled.

7. The following shot is an OSS of what the parents where looking at. We can now
see that the disequilibrium has been clarified, and is the condition the boy has
received (provoked by the house). The OSS re-enforces this connotation of the
unknown, since it displays how far away they are, suggesting that they cannot
get near since they do not know what the condition is.
This cuts to a medium close up of the mother. We can see that she looks very
distressed and tired, and contrasts from the starting shots displaying her
happiness.

8. - This cuts to a medium shot of a shadow unnaturally drifting past the
window. This unnatural movement has connotations of the
supernatural, and the fact that we can only see the shadow connotes that
the supernatural is outside the house, watching or trapping the family.
- This cuts to a long shot, with an unnatural movement using a
rig), connoting the supernatural. This low angle shot connotes that the
family are being watched, but the composition of the shot (placement of
light/parts of house) combine to animate the house, creating a sinister
atmosphere. This also illuminates the antagonist, which is the house.

9. This cuts to an extreme high angle of the women connoting that she is being
watched, and is vulnerable. The contrast between the following shot (extreme low
angle) and this high angle shot connotes that the house is watching them, and
contributes to the overall theme of the trailer, that the house is alive, and haunting
the family.
The next shot is a long shot of the boy sleeping, and the door slowly opens to
reveal part of the supernatural. We could emulate for our trailer, since despite it
being very minimal it is eye catching. The slow movement of the door also creates
a sense of anticipation.

10. This cuts to a montage of the expert (which is narratively a conventional
character of a horror). The montage is a series of close ups showcasing the
advanced equipment the expert has. The use of focus in this montage helps
make it seem more interesting, since most shots start of out of focus, and go into
focus quickly, this reflects the setting up of the equipment.

11. This XCU showcases the eyes of one of the experts. Her eyes display the
terrifying emotion she is experiencing. The use of XCU’s should be considered
for our trailer, since it is an effective way of portraying terror to the audience.
The next shot is a close up, combined with a sting this gives the audience a
sinister thrill, and the editing creates anticipation, since the shot was only
around 20 frames long, leaving the audience wondering what happened, and
wanting to see the antagonist again. This also plays on our innermost fears,
displaying the antagonist watch the father, intensifying the menacing
atmosphere.

12. The end of the trailer displays the conventional title cards, and the date of
release. This is conventional of a trailer, since the one of the main functions is
to be informative.
The lighting is also not mentioned much, this is because the main location is a
house, which is the antagonist, so therefore the antagonist is always present,
meaning low key lighting will be regular, which re-enforces the scary
atmosphere the trailer emits.

13. There is a shot after the title card, it is a medium close up of the antagonist
reaching out to grab someone. This is combined with a sting to provide the
audience with a final scare, making the trailer memorable.