The Conjurin

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Trailer Analysis

The use of the over the shoulder shot when the woman is talking to the ghost hunters help show how they are of a hierarchy & the woman to be distressed & desperate for help. This would therefore convey emotion from the audience as she is old & vulnerable.

Another use of the over the shoulder shot shows a body hanging directly behind the man. This would create fear from the audience for the characters. But also matches the conventions of a horror trailer as to have dead bodies as a symbol of horror/terror. This is also apparent in the reflection of the mirror as the woman is unaware of the figure behind her which adds to the fear of the trailer. Continually, the use of an over the shoulder shot & a pan together with the young girls looking up at the monster helps show the girls vulnerability & fear.

Camerawork:

The use of the handheld camera at the beginning where the characters are reporting from helps the audience automatically feel engaged with the trailer as they are seeing what the characters are seeing & experiencing their emotions.

The use of this camera shot helps implement the use of low key lighting which helps signify and connote danger to the audience and characters in the scene.

The continuous use of close ups within the trailer are conventional as you can clearly see emotions such as fear and terror from the characters. This therefore impacts the audience to feel sympathy. However, some tension and horror themselves as they feel the same emotion. It also helps the genre come across clearly as those of a horror trailer are usually distress and scared.

By using the handheld & the character reporting, the audience have the knowledge of what is happening. From the dialogue ‘heading down to the cellar where the doors just opened on their own’. This helps create tension & fear as the audience are witnessing the characters emotions.

Another use of dialogue: ‘family have been experiencing some natural occurrences’ this would impact the audience as they would feel sympathy towards the family. However, would want to carry on watching as they would want to know what the natural occurrences are.

The use of the high pitched sound when the child is dragged from their bed is conventional as this type of sound is unexpected & makes the audience jump. Therefore creating the horror behind the story & the audience to be gripped to the trailer.

Trailer Analysis

Sound:

Within these scenes sound would be necessary for the horror to come to life and the danger to be realistic for the characters and the audience.

The use of the sound effects such as screaming makes the trailer more tense & amplified as the horror is more believable from the character & the audience will be unaware of what the character is fearing.

The smashing of the glass is amplified within the trailer which helps convey danger that they are experiencing & that the figure is bringing for the family. It also relates to the falling pictures within the scene.The use of low key

lighting is present in these scenes which helps again carry the connotation of danger throughout the trailer & suggests danger continuously.

The production technique: credits and titles helps influence/encourage the audience to go and watch the film because of how people have rated the film & their comments on it. Also, the reference to the different films will influence them to go watch the film if it is similar to the film they have watched before.

Trailer Analysis

Editing:

The use of the montage helps introduce the characters job & what they are trying to discover. This type of editing isn't normally conventional to this type of genre. However, has a negative impact on this trailer as it disturbing for the audience & will make an assumption that its going to similar to what they find in the film.

Fast paced cutting is used to show the children sleeping. This shows the audience their vulnerability and the likelihood that something was creeping up on them due to the quick cutting to different scenes, enabling the trailer to become more tense and dramatic for the audience watching. Overall by the use of cutting means that the story will have a clear beginning, middle and an end which begins normally and then reaches its intended climax, which will keep the audience hanging and wanting to watch the film.

The use of black background automatically sets the scene for the rest of the trailer as being dark and dangerous.

The use of fade to black makes the storyline easier to follow & transitions between the beginning, middle and end. This means overall that the audience can fully understand the story and allows it to reach its climax quickly as the audience are hooked to the storyline. The use of fade to black is conventional as it helps add to the horror successfully as the colour black connotes danger and death to the audience.

The use of cross cutting in this part of the trailer helps show the main characters reaction and the response of the other characters to the scream. This adds panic and horror to the trailer as the audience wont know what's happening.

Low key lighting is essential in the trailer as it is conveying danger & horror within the trailer which is conventional for this genre. It is also suggesting that it is night time, which is conventional as bad things happen at night.

Trailer AnalysisThe use of the music box as the symbol of danger is

conventional as children's possessions seem to the origin of most horrors & end up taking the control of the children. This type of prop is effective as the audience would feel a certain emotion as children are involved with this horror story so would feel very moved with the story and make them feel encouraged to watch the film.

Mise-en-scene:

The clock as a prop helps create tension. This is because it is suggesting that something will happen at the specific time, this would then impact the audience as they would feel encouraged to watch the trailer/film to see what happens. Also, this type of genre tends to take place at night therefore this would be conventional.

The use of the pictures of family would help evoke emotion from the audience as they could associate themselves with that family & feel the same feeling when they imagine the circumstances. Thus meaning they would want to watch the film as they want to understand the story.

The costumes used such as the white clothing on the hanging body is conventional as white is conventionally used on ghosts or those of the dead. Also, the scars on the woman’s hand is conventional as it suggests that something is there to get them. This would hook the audience into the trailer as they would want to know what it is, but also create fear from them for the character.

These two images make the audience know there is a presence which the characters are unaware of which grips them to the trailer.

Poster Analysis

The poster follows essential conventions for successful promotions. This is because the image is central & therefore allows the audience to put their attention to the surroundings & then the main image. This enables the horror behind the poster to be revealed to the audience such as the dark background helps connote danger.

The use of the mise-en-scene within the image such as the white clothing is conventional because the colour white (their brand identity) is normally associated with ghosts or people from the dead. It is effective as it allows her to be central to the poster & grab the audiences attention and portray the horror which is present in the trailer

Additionally, the use of the doll helps suggest that the character could be a young girl (innocent) or old woman (frail and vulnerable) who’s taking control of children’s toys. However, creating a massive impact as these two types of ages wouldn’t be associated with this horror.

The font is plain. Having said that, it makes it easier for the audience to read & is attention grabbing due to the contrast between the colour of the text & of the dark background. From this, it is clear how the different products link together. As they all use the components: low key lighting & white and bold fonts which is essential to their brand identity as being informational & attention grabbing. The language used: ‘based on a true story’ would encourage the audience to watch the film because the experience and emotions would be real/truthful. However, would create some fear from them as a viewer as the story shown could be quite disturbing for them to imagine happening to someone. Also, the reference to previous films would encourage the audience as they could of liked the director & their films beforehand.

DVDAnalysis

From looking at the previous poster for ‘The Conjuring’ it is clear that they link as for the house style: dark background & white fonts (making it eye catching).

Also, the noose on the tree helps convey the horror as the audience will be able to make assumptions of who/what is haunting the family. The composition shows the tree to be close to the audience & the house to be far away. This shows that the house is in danger & there is no way out.

The image is an establishing shot. This is effective as it shows the audience the origin of the horror & relates to the content of the trailer as this is where they saw the hanging body within the trailer. This shot is disturbing as for the darkness above the house which help to convey danger to the audience.

The use of the colour black and white are conventional as they suggest horror to the audience.

The use of the similar font helps create brand identity for both pieces as the colour white being associated with danger/death which is conventional for this genre & enables the font to stand out above the contrasting background & help to grab the audiences attention towards the product.This DVD cover also uses the reference to the ‘true story’ this encourages the

audience to go watch the film, but also sets them up to make assumptions of what the story line is. The use of the comments on the lower part of the DVD cover relates back to the comments provided on the trailer. This allows the audience to link the products easily to the trailer, thus making their brand identity clear to the audience: informational however negative as by the negative words (introducing the genre) used to describe what the viewer will be seeing. The use of the film strip containing photos from the trailer or film while provide the audience with an insight to the film (again introducing the genre).

Website Analysis

The brand identity is clear here in another of their promotional packages. The dark coloured background helps convey danger & fear for the audience and the characters. This colour is typical as it allows each feature to stand out above the background and grab the audiences attention. The use of the short clip from the film only lit up by the match is quite terrifying if viewed by the audience as they fear what she is looking at or something coming from behind. Therefore, keeping the audience gripped to the website.

Also, the use of the white coloured font helps grab the audiences attention as they contrast with the dark background. It also allows the audience to draw a comparison between on the ancillary products for the conjuring. So if they realise the similar features they may buy the products or use the sites as they enjoyed the film.

The use of the social medias will help target their intended audience and enables them to view different comments and views about their film. This will enable them to fulfil their brand identity of being informational and engaging with their audience. It will also appeal to the audience as they are of the ages which they use social media and will therefore access their products easier.