1. Trailer Analysis – Orphan
The trailer begins conventionally with a green screen and logos of film
companies such as ‘Warner Bros’ and ‘Dark Castle’. The scene is set from the
starts as it is revealed to the audience that the couple, Kate and John are
ready to adopt, after having trouble trying to conceive a third child. They
want to adopt an older child and this is when Esther is first introduced.
In a medium close up of Esther, she looks like a happy, innocent and loving
child, however her costume suggests different. She is wearing a black collar
around are neck and a white blouse under a grey pinafore; this is an odd
costume for a child of her age to wear as it is the type of costume an older
woman would wear. The Nun at the orphanage tells John and Kate that
Esther is an “extraordinary little girl” who is very “mature for her age” despite
this, John and Kate adopt her as they have “quite a connection” with Esther.
However, straight away the audience know that she is “different” and all of
Esther’s characteristics and style show that she actually has a rare
conditioned where she is an older woman in a young body. Obviously the
audience do not know this so they are intrigued by Esther and carry on
watching. (See still below)
Following shots show Esther moving into the family home and being
introduced to her new brother and sister, in a medium close up, Esther shakes
her brother, Daniel’s hand and tells him it’s a “pleasure” to meet him,

2. however he doesn’t take a liking to her. Esther is welcomed into a new school
where class mates make fun of her outfit and refer to her as ‘Little Bow Peep’.
At this point, the non-diegetic sound changes from calm, happy music to a
deep stab of non-diegetic sound and the shot cuts to Esther kicking and
screaming in a toilet cubicle, the kick is intensified by the non-diegetic stab.
This is when the audience establish Esther is definitely different. Shots carry on
showing John and Kate at what seems to be a counselling session and the
shot cross cuts back to Esther frantic in the cubicle. Then there is a close up of
Esther’s face screaming and she looks crazy and untamed. Her eyes look wild
and unnatural, as they are such a deep black, she is frowning and her mouth
is wide open. Her scream fades away and the non-diegetic sound is intense
and raises tension for the audience. This is the turning point of the trailer as
the following strap reveals that there is ‘something wrong with Esther’ while
the words are echoed by the Nun in the background. (See stills below)

3. The nun reveals that the couple need to know what they’re dealing with as
“trouble has a way of finding” Esther. She says this against a conundrum of
fade to blacks. Then there is a close up of swings and the diegetic sound of
them swinging and creaking, this creeps out the audience and forces them
to carry on watching to find out more about Esther. The following shots show
Esther pushing the girl who made fun of her, off of the climbing frame, and
there is a low angle shot of Esther at the top of the climbing frame, this shot
gives her power and shows she is evil and in control. (See stills below)
The following strap is ‘you’ll never guess her secret’ this intrigues the audience
as they are desperate to find out what the ‘secret’ is. There is then a screech
of non-diegetic sound and a worm’s eye view of bright hospital lights which
suggests Esther needs professional care. Following shots show Kate on the
phone to a doctor who says they have no record of Esther ever being at the
institute. As she is on the phone, the camera pulls out into a bird’s eye view of
Kate; this shot suggests that Kate is small, and that Esther is going to take over
her and her family. After this, the cuts become quicker and the non diegetic
sound speeds up and sounds like sharp ticks, this increases the audience’s
anticipation and fear. There is then a medium close up of Esther, standing
over her sister, Max’s bed in the night and the non-diegetic sound continues
until lighting strikes. After this, shots show Esther walking around the family car,
and there is a sound overlap of her saying “I don’t think mummy likes me”
then the family car begins to roll down the hill, with Max in it. Kate chases the
car and then the shot cuts to a medium close up of Esther saying “it must be

4. hard to love an adopted child as much as your own” whilst she is painting,
once again an unlikely thing for a child to do the way she does. Esther is
taking over the family and is out to kill them. (See still below)
There is then a stab of sound and the action cuts to a bird’s eye view of the
tree house on fire and Daniel shouts “mum!” as he is actually in the tree
house. There is then a high angle shot of Esther who is smiling up at the tree
house, the audience can only assume she caused the fire, in this shot she
looks menacing and evil because of her malicious smile. (See still below)

5. There is then a stab of sound and the conventional montage of shots begin. It
includes shots of Kate on the phone finding out why Esther has been in
hospital, Daniel running away, police cars and Esther trying to seduce her
‘father’. She has a lot of makeup on in this scene and literally pounces on him
while telling him she loves him. This suggests to the audience that Esther is
seriously twisted. As the montage gets faster, there is a medium long shot of
Esther telling Kate she has a surprise for her, the following shot is an extreme
close up of Daniel with a graze on his face and the next shot is Kate tied up
on a bed; her costume seems to be some kind of hospital gown. Another shot
is a medium close up of Max looking scared and a shot of Kate shouting
“what did you do.” At this point the non-diegetic sound is pounding rapidly to
heighten the audience’s terror and expectation. As the montage of shots
end, it shows Esther pushing Max in front of the car Kate is driving, Esther is
completely taking over the family and doing everything she can to brutally
ruin them.
After, the action fades to black and there is a sound over lay of Esther
singing “that’s the story of, that’s the glory of love” and then conventionally a
strap reveals the title of the film. After this the action cuts to John calling
Esther and then she jumps up and there is a loud stab, this is the sting to signal
the end of the trailer and completely terrify the audience. The following strap
says ‘coming soon’ and has the film’s website for keen fans to find out more,
this is once again a common convention.