The trailer uses common horror film techniques to represent the film Annabelle as being in the horror genre. It begins with establishing shots of a house at night to set an eerie atmosphere. As the husband and wife investigate a strange sound, jump cuts and loud alarming sounds are used to startle the audience. When the husband returns from the neighbor's house, the wife finds a stranger holding a doll in their home, indicating the doll will be central to the supernatural events in the film. Rapid flashing shots depict the violence as the possessed neighbors attack, while close-ups of blood dripping into the doll's eye suggest the doll is the source of the supernatural force haunting the family.

2. The two and a half minute trailer for
“Annabelle” represents this film as a movie of
the horror genre. The audience can recognise
this through the four main areas of
representation: mise-en-scene, sound, editing
and camerawork.

3. The film trailer begins with a long shot of the detached house in
which the main protagonists are living. The shot is taken during the
night so the low key lighting creates an eerie atmosphere. The lack of
sounds makes the audience expectant of what may come later on in
this scene. However, the only sound evident is the dialogue of both
husband and wife which already sound afraid due to a sound heard
coming from next door.

4. The husband and wife are in their pyjamas to represent the time
of day and how urgent it is that they must check the cause of the
abrupt sound that has occurred from next door. There is a lot of
fade ins of jump cuts – breaking continuity – to tell the story
faster as the sole purpose of a trailer is to attract its audience
through the narrative of the film.

5. As the husband comes out of the neighbour’s house, a loud
alarming sound is used to make the audience jump. A tracking
shot of the wife is used as she goes back into the house to call an
ambulance however the shot pans to a stranger that is in their
house holding a doll – a possessive item found in nearly all
horror films. This connotes that the narrative will be based
around this doll and may have this possessive woman appearing
in many scenes.

6. A series of flashing shots are used to show the violence as they
try to defeat the possessed neighbours that are trying to kill
them. The use of fast paced shots makes the audience feel
frightened as well as have an idea of the narrative. Close up
shots are used to show the death of the woman and the blood
that drips into the eye of the doll. This connotes that perhaps the
supernatural force created is due the blood that has dripped into
the eye of the doll therefore the woman can remain and haunt
the family through the doll using it as an entity.