Paranormal Activity Trailer Analysis

                                          Paranormal Activity

Hand Held

High Angle Shot

Shot Of The Audiences Reaction

Quote From Bloody-Discusting

Introduced To The Third Character

Still Camera, Eye Level

The beginning shot of this trailer shows masses of people queueing for the film and in the cinema. This automatically breaks trailer conventions as its focus is on the audiences perception of the film instead of the actual film. Typography, which is a conventional element, is placed over the top to give the audience an indication to where the screening is set. Non-diegetic sound is added whilst the people are queueing to give it a horror feel. The camera is then at eye level with the viewers to show the audience watching the film. It then fades to an establishing shot of a couple in a house, this is the shot that tells us the narrative of the film as the man says "My girlfriend Katie thinks that theres something in the house" which automatically makes her the victim in this film. As this is at a high angle it connotes vulnerability to the 'paranormal phenomena'. Also, it could suggest that she is powerless over the demon. When the woman whispers "somethings here" and "I feel it breathing on me" this juxtaposes the bang within the next shot, which makes the audience jump as there is a sudden change of volume. This is conventional for horror trailers as it adds suspense and hopes to frighten the audience in order for them to go watch it at the cinema. Throughout the trailer there are shots that keep showing the audiences reaction to show the viewers how scary the film actually is. The colour green is used in these shots as the camera is in night mode. In the middle of the trailer there is a quote saying "'PARANORMAL ACTIVITY' IS OF THE SCARIEST MOVIES OF ALL TIME" by Bloody-Disgusting.com. Having a quote in a trailer is a conventional element as it shows the film is popular and could make the audience want to watch it more. Nearer to the end of the trailer we are introduced to the third character of the film who seems to be a specialist of the situation they are in. The man is shown to be 'The Helper', which is one of the seven character types which Propp made. However, Propps theory was that 'The Helper' normally aids the hero but in this situation there is no hero. There are then a couple of shots afterwards of the woman rocking backwards and forth. Here she has gone from 'The Victim' to 'The Villian' and as this happens the pace of the trailer increases a lot. At the end of the trailer non-diegetic sounds are added of a gun firing when the man is thrown at the camera to make it more scarier.