Film Trailer Analysis 3

“Friday the 13^th”

“Friday the 13^th” is another popular slasher movie in which has attracted a very large target audience. It uses the codes and conventions of slasher movies very effectively and the films narrative is very well structured. You can clearly get the representation of evil and darkness from first impressions of this trailer as the trailer creates tension throughout which really does effectively intrigue the target audience. Right from the beginning where the scene of the lake is set followed by the small house the genre of the film is signalled to the target audience as the location appears in the middle of nowhere. This is extremely common for slasher movies as the location does frequently tend to be somewhere where “no one can hear your screams.” This is effective in adding tension and horror to the situation and makes the victims seem even more vulnerable and the killer more ferocious. There is a profound use of darkness where light seems to act as “the way out” as it often does in many slasher movies as you can see the torch lights being used in the early points in the trailer as well as flashing lights. They offer a way out or contrast to the darkness which represents evil and danger.

The trailer is effective in how it cuts from setting the scene early in the trailer of the lake and the small hut to inside the hut where the first character is featured and the non diagetic sound adds that extra element of mystery. When the scene of the lake was set the sound was peaceful and of birds chirping which is a common convention in slasher film trailers but the sudden cuts to the more intimidating, mysterious background music relates to the darkness which has just entered the trailer. About 20 seconds in there is a medium close up shot of a person pushing a door open in an intimidated, reluctant fashion where the diagetic sound of the door creaking adds extra tension. The shot gives off the impression that something may be lurking in this house and it intrigues the target audience to what horrors lie within. About half a minute into the trailer the young, seemingly innocent girl appears to be running with her torchlight away from something. This is very common among slasher movies where young females are running away from danger as it intrigues the male members of the target audience being as the females are frequently quite attractive. The torchlight is again being shown in the darkness and gives off that distinctive impression of a way out for the girl. The camera use in this shot is also very effective as it shakes in conjunction to her running which is really effective in luring in the target audience as it gives off that impression that the audience can really get a feel for the girls fear.

The films narrative is being unveiled to the target audience slightly as the girl continues to search and be horrified about her situation in which she is stuck in an area with a ferocious killer. This continues throughout the trailer and really does intrigue the target audience into thinking what the horror she is running from is. 40 seconds into the trailer there is a cut into the first strap line of the trailer where the producers name “Michael Bay” is featured although the background continues to be dark and keeps to the movies representation very well and therefore the line runs smoothly rather than disrupting the flow of the trailer. The editing of the trailer really picks up from here where the pace increases of the cuts drastically as the horror slowly unfolds about the killer. The trailer is however well structured in how it does not give too much away about the film; it only gives the target audience an idea about the narrative and gives away enough to grab the audiences’ attention as do many slasher movie trailers. There is another prominent strap line featured 46 seconds into the trailer where it reads; “and the directors of Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” where the words “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” are emphasised in the bold white font and really stand out to the target audience. Yet again this a common but very powerful technique by directors when making movie trailers as in grabs the attention of more members of the target audience and its not even talking about the film itself which is very effective. This is because some slasher movie lovers can clearly relate to “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and being as there are thousands of fans of the film out there, they are going to therefore being intrigued by this film, being produced by the same director therefore they can expect the same high standard. This technique therefore is very successful in getting more members of the target audience to take interest in the film as other members of the target audience can relate to similar films and therefore want to give this one a go.

There is then a very brief shot due to the fast paced editing as mentioned before of a police officer standing in next to his vehicle with torchlight. This shows how dark and intimidating the location is that even a member of authority needs some sort of light to protect themselves from the darkness. It also replicates danger as the officer would not be there unless something was wrong so the audience can start to understand that the horror is starting to be unveiled. There is then a distinctive shot of the girl running away into the darkness where the camera then zooms in on an old sign which reads, “Camp Crystal Lake” which furthermore unravels the narrative for the target audience as they can see that they are in a camp and it seems apparent that the young victims are unaware of this. The camera zooms in on the sign with the very high pitched sound in the background getting louder which raises the audiences attention at this stage which makes the sign seem all the more significant and important. There are two clear shots at about 50 seconds of one of the young girls from a medium shot in the rain where she appears petrified from her facial expression and anxious followed by a close up shot of a young man with black hair whose expression is also of great fear and surprise. This shows to the target audience that the victims may have an idea of what is after them through there facial expressions. At about 56 seconds into the trailer there is a very powerful shot where the non diagetic background music stops and the sound is at a minimal which creates tension. There is almost a blackout but for the swinging light on the ceiling which can be clearly heard followed by a very brief but powerful low angle shot of “Jason” the killer himself. The shot shows him in his mask and scruffy clothing and really does add that element of danger to the trailer. It also gives of the impression that “Jason” is lurking in the darkness and the light is what unveils him to his victims and adds vulnerability to his character. The darkness in which he seems to lurk in is what makes him seem dangerous and barbaric although the light unveils him as a humanistic figure although the audience get the impression that the killer would rather remain unidentified.

About 70 seconds into the trailer there is finally some action in which reveals “Jason’s” barbaric killing nature. There is a scary, high pitched noise, as the shot cuts to “Jason” approaching the young girl screaming with a weapon. The non diagetic sound in the background almost sounds like a steam train which can relate to “Jason” approaching his victim vigorously at lightening pace. The horrifying nature of the character is finally unveiled to the audience to some extent and very powerfully which is going to grab the audience’s attention. As a member of the target audience you get the impression that “Jason” is a very disturbed character who feels great anger and that he is unleashing this upon these young, innocent victims in an unforgiving, ferocious manner. The trailer only gives a slight insight to the film’s narrative due to the techniques used with the fast paced cuts, not letting the audience think to much about the trailer and let them unravel any mysteries as well as there only being one significant murder shown at the end which still is not certain so therefore there are a lot of question marks about the background to the story. However the location is set very effectively and the characters have been identified clearly enough, which combined with the fast paced action shown in the trailer, is going to entice the target audience. Also there is an ongoing voice over used throughout the trailer of an old lady who talks about “Jason” almost as a disturbed mother which yet again intrigues the target audience as there is no explanation for this technique. The overall representation of the film from the trailer is very powerful as the elements of fear, tension and danger are displayed in a abundance and the trailer manages to keep the audience on the edge of their seat throughout and manages to keep the target audience focused without giving to much away about the films narrative which in itself is a very powerful technique.