Here is my analysis of the film trailer for The Eye, as part of my A2 Media coursework

1. The Eye
Trailer Analysis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOxzXVGaEY8

2. The trailer opens with a flash accompanied by diegetic
thunder, heavy rainfall and several car horns,
immediately the scene is set in a busy city during a
thunderstorm. The opening shot is taken from a
medium-high angle and shows many people from behind
walking with black umbrellas. A fast cut focuses the
viewer on one person in this crowd; the lighting is low
key and rain blurs the camera lens slightly, but the
viewer can distinguish that the person is a woman with
long hair and possibly an important character. The next
jump cuts give more information about the woman as
she is walking home; a long tracking shot shows she is
walking with a white stick extended in front of her,
inferring that she is blind. The next shot is a medium
close up showing that the character (played by Jessica
Alba) is an attractive woman wearing dark sunglasses,
again inferring she is blind. This may have been done to
immediately give the viewer context about the main
character without using any unnecessary dialogue that
would make the trailer too long.

3. A high angle shot shows the woman
being helped across a lobby,
representing her as dependent on
other due to her blindness. A man
asks if she is “nervous about
tomorrow?” A mid-shot shows her
nervously clutching her white cane as
she responds “actually I’ve never
been so scared in my entire life”. This
is effective in leaving the audience
questioning why is she scared? What
is going to happen tomorrow?
Therefore building suspense and
mystery from the start of the trailer.

4. A slow fade to black is used in
between the shots as if to resemble
blinking, this may have been used to
subtly reinforce the title and subject
of the film, The Eye. An establishing
shot shows a busy city lit up at night.
A close up shot shows Jessica Alba’s
character has white glazed over eyes
as she presses her hands up against
a window. The non-diegetic music
creates an asynchronous
supernatural feeling that something
abnormal is happening.

5. A series of long fades are broken up by fast cuts
that appear to flash on the screen, these cuts
briefly suggest the character is in hospital and
appear to be POV shots. These shots create a
jumpy tension around the film again to suggest
that something is not right. A sound bridge
features dialogue between the main character
and who the audience assumes is a doctor,
stating that the “operation was successful”, from
this the assumption is made that she has
regained her sight. The black slowly fades into a
blurred POV shot, ominous piano music builds
over this. A dark figure appears in the
background before moving quickly out of shot, a
disturbing screeching sound suggests that the
figure is abnormal and somewhat frightening.

6. Non-diegetic piano music starts
as the film production logos
Lionsgate and Paramount
Vantage are shown briefly before
an establishing shot of a busy,
American city - probably the
same as before but in day time -
suggests some time has passed
since the operation.

7. A wide angle shot shows a room full of people
shouting “surprise” as the main character enters
the room. A cut to a POV shot slowly navigates
the room. The shot is blurred. This is effective
as it juxtaposes what the character should see
and what they actually see, therefore showing
the extent of her recovery from the operation.
Fast whip pans and tight frames show Jessica
Alba’s character in a state of confusion as she
does not recognise these friends that are
greeting her and welcoming her home from the
hospital. The whip pan ends with the shot
freezing on a close up of the main character
which has been edited to make her appear
monochrome and somewhat ghostly. This is the
next suggestion that something is wrong.

8. Another fade is used to reinforce the
idea of blinking and the theme of
eyes that is prominent throughout the
film. A blurred POV shot is again
used as it is synonymous with the
main character’s disorder,
consequently allowing the viewer to
identify that they are seeing from her
own perspective, without any
dialogue. The character questions
who her donor is, but the answer is
never given, suggesting it may be
integral to the story.

9. An over the shoulder shot shows an
unknown figure at the end of a hospital
corridor, the low key lighting makes the
figure appear ghostly and sinister. A
cutaway shows her face in apparent
confusion, with her brown eyes standing
out against the green/grey background,
before returning to the figure. The figure
appears blurred, showing the audience
are now viewing it through the main
character's eyes, the figure disappears
quickly with a creepy screeching sound,
much like the figure earlier. The figures
appear paranormal and suggest that her
new eyes have caused these supernatural
beings to appear.

10. Another close up shot of the main character is
used before a quick whip pan that shows an old
pale woman stood right behind her. This is used
to add a shocking and scary element to the film,
making it more exciting as the character is
somewhat taunted by these ghostly figures. The
lighting flickers on and off as the she stumbles
down a corridor, the flashing resembles the
storm at the beginning and it is iconic of
supernatural films. A long shot depicts a child in
a hospital gown, with a shaved head, possibly
suffering or died from a bad illness, standing in
front of a dark, transparent figure, this can be
assumed as a ghost. A child’s voice is heard
whispering “I know you're scared, don’t be” The
whispering makes this sound creepy and further
emphasises the supernatural storyline.

11. Flashes during cuts are now used instead
of the fades in order to accelerate the
pase and suspense of the trailer as more
supernatural scenes and jump scares are
used to excite the audience. The text
“how can you believe your eyes” is used
in full capital letters with your eyes
appearing in red; suggesting of danger
and possible bloodshed. The next cut
shows main character unable to see
recognise herself “who is she” through
someone else's eyes, shown by the text
“when they’re not yours”.

12. The camera pans around the back of the
main character as she stares at a picture
of herself and a mirror. A rising drone
sound builds suspense before a series of
flashes and a close up of the main
camera looking directly upwards into the
camera. A crab shot is used as if the
audience is in the mirror looking back at
the main character as she smashes the
mirror. This is dramatic and includes the
audience in this destruction and conflict
between the main character looking
through someone else's eyes. It is at the
point that the trailer starts building
towards a dramatic end with faster cuts
and tension building, non-diegetic music.

13. A tracking shot follows the main character down a
winding corridor as if she is trying to run away from her
psychological problems. A boy appears in a raincoat and
plastic hood -which is abnormal clothing for indoors and
infers this child may also be a ghost - the child is then
seen jumping from a window before Jessica Alba’s
character can reach him. When she gets to the window
it is closed and she presses her hand up against it, an
action match is used to cut to someone on fire behind a
pane of glass. This action match is effective as it
suggests the character is not only seeing ghosts but
also people dying. This is reiterated by her stating “I’m
seeing things I shouldn’t see” as a close up shot shows
a floating pair of feet, which again infers she is seeing
dead people through a dead person’s eyes. An extreme
close up shows her pulling her eyelid as a tear rolls
down her cheek as if she is trying to escape from the
supernatural horrors her new eyes are showing her.

14. The next shot is a visual effect
showing the text “Jessica Alba”
who is playing the main
character. There is a black
background with the outline of the
iris, of an eye, shown in a ghostly
blue colour. Jessica Alba is
highlighted as she is a major
Hollywood actress and so is a
major selling point of the film.

15. The music speeds up and becomes more
intense as it nears it’s climax; There are many
fast cuts with scenes of car crashes and
explosions, that are parallel with the music. The
climax of the trailer shows glass flying into
Jessica Alba’s eye, in slow-motion before an
explosion and fade-to-white. This action is
emphasised and made more intense in slow
motion and gives possible context to how she
became blind. The fade ends with the film title
“The Eye” appearing on screen next to a ghostly
blue and white eye, the title is spoken in the
same deep voice that appears on many film
trailer, giving it a mainstream cinema likeability
that appeals to a wide demographic of people.

16. The last cut shows the main character slowly
approaching a ‘peephole’. Non diegetic piano
music makes this seem ominous and scary.
There is a long empty POV shot through the
peephole, before a Zombie-person lunges
towards the audience. This creates a jump scare
that again excites and terrifies the audience
simultaneously. This is effective in showing the
varying supernatural, psychological and horror
aspects of this trailer that make it exciting and
appealing to varying demographics and
psychographics.