My analysis of the trailer for Silent Hill: Revelation 3D. I created this for my A2 Media Studies course. I hope you find it informative. :)

1. Silent Hill: Revelation
3D - Trailer Analysis
By Shannon House

2. The trailer opens with a fade into a
foggy establishing shot, accompanied
by non-diegetic heavy bass. Fog is a
convention of the horror genre as it
has connotations of mystery and
suspension, as well as the possibility
of symbolising clouded judgement,
which protagonists in horror films
usually have. Additionally, heavy bass
is also a convention in horror films as
it builds suspense and creates a tense
atmosphere. It also makes a scene
more dramatic and as it is a low
sound, it is usually associated with
evil.
Silent Hill: Revelation 3D - Trailer Analysis

3. This black screen already seems evil as
the colour black has connotations of
death, malevolence and mystery. This
subconsciously sets the audience on
edge because it creates an atmosphere
of suspicion. The off-white text spattered
with red is written in uppercase letters,
so it is almost like it is being shouted at
the viewer. This also makes the viewer
uneasy as average conversations aren’t
normally shouted, so it makes the
audience feel intimidated. The colour of
the text also arouses suspicion as
although the text is pretty much white,
which suggests purity, it is also spattered
with red, suggesting it is spattered with
blood. This unnerves the viewer as it
suggests the purity has been tainted.
Silent Hill: Revelation 3D - Trailer Analysis

4. These close ups flash up for less than
a second, barely giving the audience
time to process what they’ve seen,
other than that it’s not natural. This
increases the element of horror as it
is unsettling and also urges the
audience to watch the film as they
want to know what the creature is.
These short takes get increasingly
more frequent as the trailer
progresses, building tension and
drawing the audience in. This is a
common convention of the horror
genre as it is a relatively simple but
effective way to build suspense.
Silent Hill: Revelation 3D - Trailer Analysis

5. In this wide shot, all is dark and chaotic
aside from the character in the middle.
With the brightly coloured costume and
her positioning in the centre of the
frame, she is made the audience’s main
focus. As the viewer’s attention is drawn
to her, the audience can see there is
something off about the character as she
is walking calmly through a dark cloud of
panic and chaos. This creates an
atmosphere of tension as she is
positively serene in a situation where she
should quite clearly not be, unless she
was the one who caused it, indicating to
the audience that she is an antagonist.
Silent Hill: Revelation 3D - Trailer Analysis

6. The sinister text written on the wall
immediately unnerves the audience as it
appears to have been written in blood, due
to the drippy font and the dark colour. Again
uppercase letters are used to make the
viewer feel intimidated and powerless. The
simplicity of the message and the use of the
imperative also intimidates the viewer. The
use of the light shining through the window
highlights the words ‘Silent Hill’, drawing
attention to the text and signifying their
importance to the viewer. The unknown
symbol in the corner creates an uneasy
atmosphere for the audience as it becomes
another enigma code for the protagonists
and, to a lesser extent, the audience to solve.
This encourages the audience to watch the
film as they want to know the solution to the
enigma code.
Silent Hill: Revelation 3D - Trailer Analysis

7. The close up on the prop
immediately draws the audience’s
focus to the object and symbolises
that at some point in the film, the
item will be important. The intricate
design on the item also peaks the
viewer’s curiosity as it is unlikely that
it is familiar to the audience,
therefore intrigues the audience as it
is another enigma code to be solved,
therefore encouraging the audience
to watch the film. Additionally, the
similarly-angled close ups ensure the
focus is centred on the prop
throughout the trailer, signifying its
importance.
Silent Hill: Revelation 3D - Trailer Analysis

8. The viewer is immediately drawn to the
character in the middle due to the
unusual costume and centre-positioning
of the character. The audience is instantly
set on edge due to the large, unusually-
shaped mask and the huge sword he/it is
wielding. This helps give the trailer a
horror element. Additionally, the fire
burning in the background makes the
audience associate the trailer to horror
because fire is destructive and often has
connotations of hell, pain and suffering.
The character’s defensive stance also
unnerves the audience as it looks like
he/it is preparing to attack, which is a
very intimidating position to be stood in.
Silent Hill: Revelation 3D - Trailer Analysis

9. Here, the style of the text visibly
changes, the dull grey colour cracking
and flaking to reveal what resembles
coals underneath. This could
foreshadow an event in the
trailer/film where it is revealed
something is not as it previously
seemed. The coals could represent
another reference to hell as hell is
often pictured burning. The dynamic
animation also draws attention to the
title itself, and helps the distributor’s
name stick in the audience’s head.
Silent Hill: Revelation 3D - Trailer Analysis

10. In this medium close up, people can be
seen in the windows, staring out at the
intruding character. From this
perspective, the audience feels like they
are standing next to the protagonist and,
due to the low angle shot, feels
powerless and intimidated by the
characters in the windows. This
unsettling behaviour adds to the horror
element as it is not normal human
behaviour and is very unwelcoming. In
addition to this, the fog makes it difficult
to see the people in the windows, adding
another layer of mystery to the scene.
Also, at this point in the trailer, each bell
toll sound effect coincides with a fade to
a new shot. This is a good example of
excellent editing.
Silent Hill: Revelation 3D - Trailer Analysis

11. In these two shots, the viewer can see
humanoid shapes that aren’t quite human.
This adds to the horror element in the trailer
and also brings in a supernatural element, as
it is quite obvious these are not natural
occurrences, and also gets the audience
wondering if the humanoids used to be
human. The over-the-shoulder long shot
almost puts the audience in the perspective
of the thrashing shadow, immersing the
audience in the action and almost making
the audience feel responsible for causing it.
The wide shot enhances the horror element
as the audience can see the full extent of the
ghastly events going on in the scene. It also
makes the viewer morbidly curious about the
events that have transpired in the storyline,
encouraging them to watch the film.
Silent Hill: Revelation 3D - Trailer Analysis

12. In this two shot, the protagonist is dressed in
normal, modern clothing whereas the other
character is dressed in unusual, old-fashioned
clothing. This mise en scene is unsettling for the
viewer and suggests the other character has been
isolated from society for a long time. Due to the
fact that the rest of the town is dressed in a similar
fashion, it suggests to the audience that the entire
town has been isolated, probably for a good
reason. This adds an element of danger to the
trailer as it is unknown why the town was isolated
from everywhere else. Furthermore, the
protagonist’s facial expression is one of shock or
terror, suggesting something out of shot is
disturbing the protagonist. Because the other
character is not turning around, it suggests to the
audience that it is a regular occurrence for the
town and could be the reason why the town was
isolated. An eyeline match next shot confirms the
audience’s suspicions and creates another element
of horror in the trailer.
Silent Hill: Revelation 3D - Trailer Analysis

13. This long shot shows a spider-like
creature crashing down through the
shelves, scaring both the
protagonists and the audience.
These shots of the creature, coupled
with shot-reverse-shots of the
protagonist’s face help add a layer
of horror and terror to the trailer.
Additionally, the positioning of the
camera and the lower angle puts
the viewer in the perspective of the
protagonist, immersing the
audience into the action and
increasing the fear element of the
trailer.
Silent Hill: Revelation 3D - Trailer Analysis

14. This medium shot shows the same
weirdly-dressed character from
earlier, although this time, he’s
swinging the giant blade. This
confirms for the audience he is an
antagonist in the film. The swipe cuts
right in front of the camera, like it was
the viewer being attacked. This
increases the fear element of trailer
and immerses the audience right into
the action. Also, as the blade finishes
its arc, a transition to the main title
screen occurs, which is an good
example of excellent editing.
Silent Hill: Revelation 3D - Trailer Analysis

15. In this shot, a close up on this girl’s face reveals
something is not quite right as her face is
unnaturally pale and her eyes are black. This
creates an atmosphere of horror and adds to the
supernatural essence of the trailer as black eyes
have connotations of demonic possession, and
therefore connotations of hell itself. Moreover, the
fiery background makes the character look like she
is stood in hell. The character seems to be staring
in the direction of the camera, and right at the
audience themselves, directly addressing the
viewer and pulling them into the action. In
addition, the possessed character is a young girl.
Children, especially girls, have connotations of
innocence and purity, so for the girl to be
possessed is unnatural, as it ruins the innocence
and purity of the character’s soul and increases the
horror aspect in the trailer. These are all frequently
seen in horror films and are common conventions
in the genre as they have an excellent effect on the
audience.
Silent Hill: Revelation 3D - Trailer Analysis

16. Coinciding with a change in music, both the
titles and the music become more dynamic.
In the titles, the camera appears to pan round
a close up of a freeze frame. These dynamic
close ups convey the messages to the
audience while still keeping the viewer drawn
into the action, which is important so as not
to lose the whole effect of the trailer. The
music increases in tempo, layers and dynamic
at this point, becoming more intense and
dramatic. This also keeps the audience in the
action and helps to build tension and the
right point. The shot length also gets shorter,
creating a sense of chaos as the trailer
reaches its climax. Additionally, a Halloween
release is a common convention of the horror
genre as Halloween is basically a celebration
of horror, therefore horror films would be
most popular at these times.
Silent Hill: Revelation 3D - Trailer Analysis