INSIDIOUS TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

PURPOSE OF FILM TRAILERS A trailer is a form of advertising in which the purpose is to promote a new film to potential audiences and aims to encourage people to buy the film or see it at the cinema.

The genre of a film is often represented in a trailer through the elements of mise-en-scene and cinematography techniques. For example, the editing in a horror film is likely to be fast paced and include camera shots such as extreme close ups, yet these elements are not likely to be found in a film from the romantic genre.

Similarly, the choice of actors in a trailer can also represent the target audience of a film giving them something to relate to.

The actors themselves can emphasise the genre if they are known for a particular genre of film. For example, actor Jim Carey is known for playing a role in comedies.

Trailers will often have a unique selling point (USP) to help it appear different from others of the same genre. This helps to attract audiences because a new release will appear different from previous trailers audiences may have seen before.

INSIDIOUS 2 TRAILERHTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=FBBI4NEEBAK

Insidious Chapter 2 (2013) is a film from the horror/thriller genre and is directed by James Wan and stars Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne and Barbara Hershey

Insidious 2 acts as a prequel to the first film and tells the back story of the character Josh and his encounters with supernatural forces

Insidious 2 is produced by FilmDistrict and Stage 6 films who are known for producing several other films that fall into the horror genre such as ‘Don’t be afraid of the dark’ and the remake of the 1980’s horror classic ‘The Evil Dead’ and also including the first film of the Insidious franchise

NARRATIVE • Within the opening of the trailer we are made familiar with

the characters within the film and we gain a sense of equilibrium as we see them all interacting as a family

• The trailer also uses a calm non-diegetic soundtrack to add to this peaceful sense of equilibrium indicating to the audience that nothing is wrong however this is then counteracted by the screen fading to black and saying the words ‘it began two years ago’

• The use of the word ‘it’ adds to the action code and creates tension as audiences will be on the edge of their seats wanting to know what ‘it’ is that is disrupting this family’s peaceful life

• We also later in the trailer hear josh say ‘there’s nothing to worry about we’ve got our son back’ this is then followed by eerie music within the soundscape which indicates to the audience that this is about to be disrupted as eerie soundtracks and noises are conventions of the horror genre

Within the trailer gender stereotypes are conformed to in the sense that the male protagonist is shown to be comforting the female who is shown as being emotional and being the victim of these eventsTodorov’s narrative structure can be applied to the trailer as the opening scenes are calm and balanced where the family is shown. However when the eerie music is first heard, disruption occurs as the trailer soon becomes fast paced and the change in the lighting adds to the negative atmosphere. The disruption increases as the trailer progresses and the audience does not see the new equilibrium as this will make them curious to know what happens.

CINEMATOGRAPHY Within the opening of this film cinematography has been used as an indicator of the horror genre in the sense that it uses lots of close ups and mid close-ups. This is used in order to focus on the characters reaction to the narrative events. These camera angles are being used in order to create a tense, panicked atmosphere within the scene. This film opening also relies heavily on the over the shoulder shot. This is used to make the audience feel included in the scene and experience similar emotions to the characters in the scene are. Finally this scene also uses an eye line match in order to create fear within the audience. This is done through the use of crime scene photographs in which we see the murder victims injuries this creates a feeling of uneasiness in the audience because due to the eye line match we are forced to only focus on these which might then make us feel more fearful of the character who has killed this person or even to watch the film itself.

CINEMATOGRAPHY – CLOSE UPS Within this trailer close-ups are used in order to show how the audience is reacting to the tense or uncomfortable situations that they have been put in for example within the trailer we see close up shots of Renai’s face as she is experiencing these things and we are made to relate to the terror she is feeling .

CINEMATOGRAPHY- WIDE SHOTS Within this trailer wide shots are used in order to create a sense of equilibrium and balance before the horrific events in the climax of the film take place. Within these wide shots we are able to see that the action of this film takes place around a family as we see them together within the opening clips of the trailer.

EDITING The editing within this film opening may have been used to relate it to the genre of this media text as it is fast paced editing and jump cuts to reflect the tense and interrogative mood of the scene. This is demonstrated through the use of shot- reverse shot and eyeline match. Finally this piece also uses parallel editing to an extent that there are two different types of action happening within the scene for example there is the murdered woman laying in the chair and this is then paralleled with the couple speaking about what has just happened. This can be linked to the genre of horror as it represents the chaos of the situation and also that the characters are demonstrating fear.

EDITING Furthermore within this trailer we can see that the most exciting clips of the film are placed evenly throughout the trailer so that the audience are kept interested throughout the trailer and will therefore feel more incline to go and watch it. However the editing does speed up towards the end so that the trailer is able to ‘save the best for last’ of the film, the audience is also more likely to remember these scenes as they will be fresh in their memory due to them being the last things they see.

SOUND Within the trailer for insidious the use of diegetic and non - diegetic sound can be indicative of the genre of this media text. For example with the use of diegetic sound within the scene we can hear characters saying things such as “leave our family alone' and “it’s still happening’. This would indicate genre as it is discussing the haunting and paranormal events that are taking place as ghosts or other-wordly beings can be one of the k conventions of the horror genre. Non- diegetic sound is used to represent genre in this case as there is a eerie soundtrack playing in the background later in the trailer which makes the scene feel more tense and scary.

NON-DIEGETIC SOUND The trailer also uses a calm non-diegetic soundtrack to add to this peaceful sense of equilibrium indicating to the audience that nothing is wrong however this is then counteracted by the screen fading to black and saying the words ‘it began two years ago’

The use of the word ‘it’ adds to the action code and creates tension as audiences will be on the edge of their seats wanting to know what ‘it’ is that is disrupting this family’s peaceful life

We also later in the trailer hear josh say ‘there’s nothing to worry about we’ve got our son back’ this is then followed by eerie music within the soundscape which indicates to the audience that this is about to be disrupted as eerie soundtracks and noises are conventions of the horror genre

MISE-EN-SCENE Within the opening of the trailer audiences can observe that natural lighting is used in order to create a sense of equilibrium so that we suspect that this the family’s idea of normal. We also see the characters within the film and we gain a sense of equilibrium as we see them all interacting as a family .

However later on this is subverted because we see that The lighting used is also very dark and this connotes the idea of the unknown as the audience and characters in the film are unable to see what's could be coming.

Similarly, the dark lighting is suitable for the horror genre as it adds to the gloomy, negative atmosphere.

MISE-EN-SCENE / SETTING Within this trailer the setting subverts horror genre conventions as it does not really take place in the conventional isolated setting but is more modern and takes place in a suburban neighbourhood.

However later on within the trailer we see these conventions conformed to within the scenes taking place in ‘the further’ where it is shown with minimal lighting in order to create an eerie atmosphere and make it more mysterious and uncomfortable for the audience to watch.

the Mise en scene within the trailer of insidious can be linked to genre in the aspect of lighting. For example within this clip a poorly lit scene is used to convey the genre we see heavy uses of the colours black and red. these colours both carry the connotations of danger and death. This lighting is appropriate in the sense that someone within the scene has just been murdered. The costuming and makeup within this scene may also be linked with the horror genre in the aspect that these characters are all shown to be wearing black clothing which would reflect the sombre mood of the scene that has just happened. Also the props within the scene might be indicators of genre as for example there is only candle light and light coming from torches. This might reflect that the genre of this film is horror because the lack of lighting makes the scene seem eerie and tense for the audience watching it

MODE OF ADDRESS This trailer also indicates that is a horror film through the release date that is displayed within the trailer ‘Friday the 13th’ is the title of a classic horror film that the producers of this trailer hope that the target audiences will have the knowledge of this film and see this a date that is linked with this genre. Many people will also know that this particular date is ‘unlucky’ therefore they will assume that there is something sinister about this film and this may encourage them to want to see it

The trailer talks to the target audience by using their website and twitter account as a synergistic technique.

This form of advertising is relevant to the target audience as it can help people to raise awareness of the film through social networking. Also, with twitter if people start talking about the film, this all helps the promotion and raising awareness of the film.

BARTHES’ ENIGMA THEORY The purpose of a trailer is to create mystery surrounding the films release and this theory can be applied to the Woman in Black trailer as mystery is created throughout.

The use of the word ‘it’ adds to the action code and creates tension as audiences will be on the edge of their seats wanting to know what ‘it’ is that is disrupting this family’s peaceful life

We also see the words ‘the terrifying secret’ which creates suspense as the audience will want to know what this secret is and what it is that makes it so terrifying and this will make audiences want to see the film so they can find out what this secret is.

INFLUENCES• from this trailer we have decided to take influence from the suburban setting of the house and decided this is one of the settings that we wish to use in our production •We have also decided to use close up camera shots in order to show the reaction of the characters to the various situations they are in so that the audience feels like they are a part of the action and feel the same emotions as them •We have also decided that we are going to be using fast paced editing in order to create a jumpy tense atmosphere within the narrative of our film and also so that the audience is left on ‘edge of their seat’ •We also plan on using non-diegetic sounds such as soundtracks in order to create this tense atmosphere which is one of the conventions of the horror genre.