A textual analysis on the trailer for the horror film - 'The Forest'

2. A trailer is a form of advertising in which the purpose is to promote a new
film to potential audiences and aims to encourage people to buy the film or
see it at the cinema.
The genre of a film will often be represented in a trailer through the elements
of mise-en-scene and cinematography techniques. For example, the editing
in a horror film is likely to be fast paced and include camera shots such as
extreme close ups, yet it’s very unlikely that these elements would be found
in a romantic or comedy genre.
The choice of actors within the trailer can also represent the target
audience. Majority of actors will have a specific genre that they are
constantly featured in. An example of this would be Jim Carey and comedy.
Trailers will often have a unique selling point to help it appear different from
others of the same genre. By having this it helps attract audiences because
a new release will appear different from previous trailers audiences may
have seen before. Trailers will often create enigma to entice audiences
through mystery.
AIMS & OBJECTIVES OF A FILM
TRAILER

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hW8hUcXR-A
The Forest, is a supernatural horror film which means that
the film falls within the genre of horror. It is directed by
Jason Zada, and stars Natalie Dormer and Taylor Kinney.
After the first few scenes of The Forest trailer it reveals
that Gramercy Pictures produce the film and Lava Bear
are responsible for the distribution.
Gramercy Pictures are known for their production of some
well known horror films including Insidious: Chapter 3 and
Sinister 2. Also, director Jason Zada is also known for
writing and directing other horror films including a short
film he created, Take This Lollipop.
THE FOREST TRAILER TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

4. • The trailer is 2:27 seconds long.
• The trailer doesn’t inform you on what the film is called,
the release date or any websites until 2:20, this is a
good feature as it builds suspense and mystery for the
audience but also will encourage the audience to watch
the full trailer.
• It is an unusual trailer in the sense of mystery, it is hard
to guess what’s going to happen straight away which is
a strong point for the film. This means the audience
can’t expect to be able to guess the plot line of the film.
• There is also a different story line than would be
expected which also could be a USP.
THE TRAILER

5. NARRATIVE
The opening of the trailer introduces an
audience to the setting through a series
of point of view shots. By doing this the
audience feel more involved in the
narrative as it feels like they too are
stepping into the Modern house which
appears, warm , cosy, brightly lit with
warm tones throughout, the house
includes furniture and decor that reflects
a humble, friendly and safe place.
The trailer has a middle aged woman's
voice over narrating which connotes an
idea of innocence and purity through it’s
story telling feel however the topic she
discusses is quite personal when played
along with images from the trailer. This
creates a calm atmosphere and relaxes
the audience before the trailer
commences.
The narrator tells a story between two
twin sisters. It then changes to a phone
call between a man and the one sister.
This adds to the mystery of what the
story line is going to be.

6. The story that the women tells implies that she knows something has
happened to her sister and goes on a trip to find out what has happened, this
adds to the suspense of the audience being left in the dark and not knowing
what has gone on. The Forest goes against the typical conventions as often
in horror films, the females aren’t usually the ones to put themselves in
danger and explore dangerous places.
The voice over sets the scene for an audience by introducing the storyline
which leads to the introduction of the main protagonist Sara. When this
character is introduced, she appears relaxed from her body language which
is something an audience can relate to as like her, they are unaware of what
will happen.
Todorov’s narrative structure can be applied to the trailer as the opening
scenes are calm and balanced where the woman is seen being on the phone
to someone. However when she receives information from the phone call
disruption occurs, the trailer suddenly becomes fast paced and the change in
sound also puts a negative impact on the atmosphere. The disruption
increases as the trailer progresses and the audience does not see the new
equilibrium as this will make them curious to know what happened.

7. CAMERA WORK CLOSE-UPS
The opening of The Forest trailer uses several
close ups of the woman on the phone, each of the
shots helps the audience to feel more involved and
to also get a feel for the basic storyline.
By using close ups to display the relaxation and
calmness at the start of the trailer creates a mellow
atmosphere for the audience but also helps the
audience to gain a more personal connection to the
woman. Also a close up would encourage the
audience to focus and listen to the voice over as
there isn’t anything else to look at. The choice of
focusing on the woman gives a feeling of
innocence and purity as they are often associated
calmness and sensibility. However the voice over
reveals that her story isn’t as relaxed as it is
portrayed to the audience, therefore the audience
are not expecting the sudden twist and as a result
creates a tense atmosphere.

8. LONG SHOTS
The trailer introduces the setting through the
use of long shots.
In the first long shot, an audience can see that
the atmosphere is natural and calm as the
house looks quiet and doesn’t look like a busy
or disturbed home but also it could be too quiet.
This could set the tone for the film as being
unexpected and dark, as the home looks safe
but the lighting around the home is pitch black.
This could be a theme that the audience is
unaware of.
Also, the surroundings appear to also be quiet,
no other houses can be seen either side. This
could suggest the character is alone.
This may create a sense of fear as it
foreshadows the characters loneliness as she
walks through the hallways in the dark, and
nobody will be there to help her if needed.
These shots also highlight the modern time
period through the warm home and little details
that everyday homes have.

9. HIGH ANGLE SHOTS
The trailer uses high angle shots to
show how the main character is
powerless and vulnerable, they also
give a hint as to what her biggest
weakness in the film is going to be.
This is shown through an establishing
shot as this highlights how small she is
compared to her surroundings whilst
also emphasising how deserted the
setting is.
This is dramatic irony as the audience
can see that something will happen that
the character is unaware of.
The first and second shots both show
how big the forest actually is, but also
helps the audience feel involved as they
are following them into the forest.

10. Towards the end of the trailer, the editing uses
quick, fast cuts to help build tension.
As these cuts are quick, it makes the audience
question what it is they have just seen. This will
then further encourage them to go and watch
the film whilst also creating a sense of fear. For
example, multiple scenes are put together with
a few different pop ups that give the basic
information on the forest featured in the film, this
makes the trailer continuous and flows well.
Cross-cutting is also used in the trailer. This is
where scenes are shown in a non-chronological
order to show the most exciting scenes in the
trailer.
In this trailer to more exciting scenes are shown
gradually at the start with one or two but the
majority are shown towards the end which helps
to attract an audience and entice people to
watch the film as the most memorable scenes
are left until last.
EDITING

11. The trailer uses a harmonising flute at the beginning, this represents
a calm relaxed setting as the instrument is associated with innocence
and calmness and this setting represents that, but then as the fast
paced scenes begin the flute cuts dead and then a piano/keyboard, a
harp and non-diegetic scare sounds begin and play different
melody's relevant to the happenings within the trailer. The pace of
the keyboard drastically changes throughout. The cut out between
the change creates unease and suspense for the audience. The
music is in time with the happenings within the trailer, so whenever a
jump scare would happen the keyboards pace would increase and so
would the volume.
The music is consistent throughout the trailer with emphasis on all
diegetic sounds.
SOUNDTRACK

12. The weather is also used as part of sound. The wind is used as a
diegetic sound, this instantly creates a naturally fierce atmosphere. If
these sounds were played alone, an audience are most likely to
know that the atmosphere is quite negative . This is suitable for this
style of film as the weather is a typical convention in setting the
scene in horror.
All diegetic sounds can be easily heard but all sound natural and add
to the reality of the film, therefore creating an audience to feel
uneasy. The door creaking is used as the first diegetic sound we
hear. The unzipping of the tent, the voice over the phone, the
aeroplane landing, the conversation between different characters, the
shower, the wind, the fire, the rustling of the leaves, the click of the
camera are all diegetic sounds that help with the suspense and the
scare of the trailer.
DIEGETIC SOUNDS

13. During the fast paced scenes at the end of the trailer
the sound is extremely busy but minimal, volume wise.
The soundtrack for the trailer fits the actions in all
scenes but also still makes the audience feel quite
uncomfortable as they still don’t expect what’s going to
happen. This encourages the audience to use their
imagination to think about what is on their screen.
Silence is also used at the beginning and at the end of
the trailer. This builds tension at the start and shows at
the end how the scene is still quite tense. Todorov’s
narrative structure can be applied to this as the silences
show how there is not an equilibrium.

14. The setting always appears quite light and calm, but also isolated. This creates a
sense of fear as there is the normality of it being light and calm but also, so much
is going wrong that the characters are unaware of gives the audience a sense of
reality.
The trailer shows signs that surround the forest, this can connote the idea that the
character is being rebellious and crossing into a path that can only peruse bad
vibes, it will also make the audience sit there and think ‘don’t go in there’ which is
something you will find with majority of horror films, this encourages the
audience to get involved a lot more.
The majority of this film is set in a forest, this is a typical convention of horror
films, but this particular film is set in a specific forest that has a background story
to it to support the storyline.
The trees within the forest surround the characters and this can emphasis the
entrapment that is indicated from the characters.
MISE-EN-SCENE SETTING

15. The colours used are very warm colours and everyday colours in the modern
world, but as the trailer progresses the colours become a lot darker, and
portray a sense of danger and can often be associated with death which is
appropriate to the ‘suicide forest’ in which they are set.
The colour of the character’s costumes are often quite bright and modern,
which again would tap into the reality of the situation. Although as the trailer
progresses and becomes more and more tense the costumes become dirtier
and a lot duller which corresponds with the events within the trailer.
The lighting used begins warm toned but like everything else gradually
becomes duller and darker as the events of the trailer progress. These little
details create the tension for the audience.
The darker lighting connotes the idea of the unknown as the audience and
characters in the film are unable to see what could be happening / coming.
Similarly, the dark lighting is suitable for the horror genre as it adds to the
gloomy, negative atmosphere.
COLOUR & LIGHTING

16. The trailer gives the audience a release date, this would give the audience a
date to remember and ensure that they don’t forget about the film whilst
waiting for the release.
The trailer talks to the target audience by using a Google search bar with the
following text ‘ Suicide forest true story’ , by doing this they are encouraging
their audience to look into the true story but also to promote their new
release, using this is a synergistic technique.
This form of advertising is relevant to the target audience as it can help
people to raise awareness of the film through social networking. Also, with
Twitter if people start talking about the film, this all helps the promotion and
raising awareness of the film.
MODE OF ADDRESS

17. The unique selling point of the film trailer, is the fact that the
film is based on a true story. Having a film based on a true story
creates more fear and tension for the audience as it’s a bit closer
to home and there is the whole realisation factor that these things
have actually happened and are still happening and this is a scary
thing to realise.
Also some members of the audiences may find that having a
female being the brave one, venturing into a suicide forest, going
outside of the codes and conventions of a film and making the
story line original and different to all other films based around a
forest. Many people value a strong independent woman, and this
may further entice a different kind of audience.
UNIQUE SELLING POINT