The document summarizes research on trailers and posters for psychological thriller films. It analyzes the overall structures, sounds, and visual elements of trailers for Get Out and We Need to Talk About Kevin. It also analyzes posters for Silence of the Lambs and Black Swan. Key findings include how the trailers use tension-building music and editing to portray the films' psychological elements without revealing full plots. Common visual techniques identified are use of color symbolism and compositional elements to characterize figures and hint at themes. The analysis will inform the creator's own production work through suggestive imagery, sound design, and portrayal of characters' emotions.

1. Research
Your Name

2. GET OUT trailer

3. Get out analysis
Summary
Get out is a psychological/ horror film written and directed by Jordan Peele. The actor Daniel kaluuya as the character Chris a black man who discovers
disturbing secrets about his white girlfriend roses (Allison Williams) family.
I chose to research this trailer as it hits key elements of how effective a psychological trailer can be with the music to the footage. I haven't seen the actual
movie myself which helps me analyze the trailer as a clueless viewer.
Overall Structure
In my opinion the overall structure is the most interesting aspect to this trailer as it plays with the audiences head and tricks them to think one way and
another. The trailer starts rather positive with the music, acting and dialogue. The atmosphere makes it seem to be a romance as it includes a couple with
typical colour grading that is normally used in family romances. Within in the scene it establishes Chris's paranoia about what roses parents will think to him
being black with rose responding positively. This summarizes there characters for the viewer. This is a simplistic foreshadow of the plot and the rest of the
trailer. The positive section then ends when the couple hit a deer with there car. This is a strange random jump scare has a strong turning point from
positive to negative. To emphasize this turning point a title screen reveals the producers are “Blumhouse” who have created horrors such as “insidious” and
“the visit”. This smart way of tricking the audience makes the trailer feel more disturbing to the audience while keeping them intrigued. They're pulled over
by a cop asking for Chris’s ID even though he was not driving. With the repetition of the topic about black discrimination such as what Chris said to rose
prior reveals what the core plot will be about. They then revert to a seemingly positive revealing of the girlfriends parents having them act willing to the
relationship till the father suspiciously asks “How long has this been going on, this thang.” which comes across in a joking manner. The racists hints prior
before this scene implies a passive aggressive attitude from the father. The back and forth of positive and negative style of editing leaves with somewhat
jigsaw puzzle in the audiences mind. These scenes introduces two new characters who are both black, one male and one female. This would normally give a
sense of comfort for Chris however they suspiciously look like 1950s-60s discriminated workers with the typical maid clothing and the gardener clothing.
Over this scene Roses father mentions his relation the two characters and that they took care of his parents. This is some sort of way the father to comfort
Chris however this takes a turn with the next scene. The next involves Chris witnessing the two black characters acting very strange almost like robots
clearly showing that they are not sane. This confirms to the audience and Chris that roses parents are not normal. The next few scenes cleverly summarizes
roses mother. There two scenes played along with each other within the trailer relates with the supernatural elements and roses mother. One scene has
the mother questioning Chris's smoking habits in front of rose. This quote is then followed with another scene with the farther saying that roses mother can
fix It. Chris is open to the idea however the farther mentions that its to do with hypnosis leaving Chris too decline the offer. This gives clues to the audience
about more about the mysterious town and the actual plot of the film. More mysteries are revealed about the town in the next few scenes with Chris’s
friend Rod telling him about the missing black people who visit the town. Within the scene Rod has a black characters face on his computer implying he is
one that is missing. The scene soon after Chris goes to some kind of town party and the same black character that rod was researching about arrives. Chris
witnesses this black character acting strange similar to the black workers before. This type of editing keeps the audience thinking forcing them to
questioning and theories what is happening. For the finally of the trailer it starts to pick up pace and delves deep within the action segments of the film. This
doesn’t seem to tell you much about the plot but that Chris seems to rebel against the town causing many supernatural assurances. Any how this gives a
good effective ending to the trailer informing the audience that there will be a lot of action sequences within the film.

4. Sound
The music is exceptional through out the trailer and it heavily emphasizes the scenes especially with sudden change in atmosphere at the
beginning. For example from what I have said in my structure analyses, is that it starts with a romantic theme to then suddenly change when
they hit a dear. Through out this segment of the trailer there Is a subtle quite positive piano music which you would expect to see in a family
film. The music starts to drop just before the dear jump scare creating some kind of eerie feeling emphasizing the scare. When the title screen
is revealed, the first viola like sound effect is follows it. This sound effect sound very creepy which is common with horror films. This same
sound effected is repeated through out the trailer which I will name ”viola shriek” to refer to it. After the police encounter another title
screen is revealed with the same viola shriek. With the reveal of roses parents, there is an ambient sound giving adding tension. Another viola
shriek is played but with the introduction of the black workers. The fact that it isn't situated with a title makes this encounter feel as if it has
some significance. When the black workers start acting strange. The scary and bizarre feeling is emphasized with a sudden sound of a revving
car when the male black worker is running towards Chris. the sound then quietens down when the black worker turns away from Chris. When
Chris in confusion turns to the window to see black maid staring at him. The sound suddenly rises again creating another jump scare. This high
and low audio levels ads to the tension making the audience feel like its over to then be jump again leaving with distrust in the expectation of
the film. Another viola shriek is played introducing the scene about roses mothers. The difference between this one is the loud base sound
played as she turns on the lamp. This gives a sense of dominance to roses mother like as if she has control of the sound. Another sound during
this segment is when roses mum is stirring her tea. The load tea stirring sound is repeated four times. This makes it seem like the tea has
some significance to her hypnosis technique. Another violin sound effect is used to emphasize rods research into the missing black people.
When the black character at the part turns to Chris the same Viola shriek is played connecting his face to rods research. The ambiance sound
in the background by this point has picked up becoming more thrilling. When Chris takes a picture of the black character which causes the
character to go break. The sound when he takes the picture causes loud base sound silencing the thrilling ambiance sound. When the action
sequences start to play the sound fits brilliantly with the scenes emphasizing the intensity. The viola shriek is used a lot whenever an intense
action occurs making it thrilling. My favorite use of sound is when rose cocks a rifle and the gun shots are played on the next scene as roses
farther makes hand gestures during an auction to what looks to be selling Chris himself. The gun shots during the fathers hand gestures shows
that he's in control and that he's firing the gun. Last but not least there seems to be an old tv audio saying “a mind is a terrible thing to waste”
repeated at the end of the trailer. This quite closes of the trailer giving some significance to psychological side of the film.

5. We need to talk about Kevin trailer

6. We need to talk about Kevin analysis
Summary
we need to talk about Kevin is a psychological thriller drama film directed by Lynn Ramsay, and adapted from Lionel shivers novel
of the same title. Tilda Swinton stars as Eva a mother struggling to raise her psychopathic son Kevin (Erza miller). Since it is a non
linier film it also shows Eva coping with after math Kevin's school massacre.
I want to research this trailer as it covers a similar psychology to my film such as young personality disorder. I want understand
how they use techniques for a trailer to emphasize this topic.
Overall structure
Similarly to get out it starts with a positive atmosphere playing with the music and footage. This time they portray the beginning
as if it were a family film till the reveal similar to “get out”. The positivity dissipates as it goes along showing Kevin growing up and
misbehaving till Franklin; Eva's husband says “hes just a boy, just a sweet little boy”. This quote reveals a title screen showing the
awards breaking the family essence. Soon after it opens up with Kevin a little older acting slightly sinister telling Eva how he knows
she doesn’t like him. This settles a dark mood to the trailer giving an insight of the relation between Eva and Kevin. This makes the
audience wonder why Eva dislikes Kevin. Soon after there is a transition where young Kevin shoots a toy bow toward the window
with Eva on the other side. The transition takes place when the camera reverts back to Kevin but with him much older and with a
real bow. I think this is when the official twist of the trailer takes place as the transition gives a sense of foreshadowing and hints
towards Kevins murderous intent. The expression that Eva gives towards the toy arrow is a sign of fear of what Kevin is capable of.
I imagine this also what the audience Is thinking giving Eva a relatable character. We then hear an argument between Eva and
Franklin about Eva's concern towards Kevin's behavior. This segment informs us how franklin trust Kevin heavily. This makes the
audience curious to why there is a heavy contrast between both parents and there view towards Kevin. The last segment is very
fast pace showing various clips such as Eva looking scared, people trying escape through a door terrified, Kevin with a sinister
stare etc. This rapping fickler of clips ends when Kevin pokes toward the camera (up shot) in an aggressive manner. The rapid
segment overwhelms the audience informing them that the movie might be tense. With Kevin ending the segment shows how he
is the key reason for dark tones of the clips. The ending shows Eva alone. Titles appear during this with the awards the film has
received. The calm ending and the expression Eva has hints towards something traumatic happening that Kevin has caused
especially when this is after the clip with Kevin poking the camera.

7. Silence of the lambs posterMovie Summary
Jodie Foster stars as Clarice Starling, a top student at the FBI's training
academy. Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn) wants Clarice to interview Hannibal
Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a violent psychopath, imprisoned for various
acts of murder. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case
and that Starling, may be just the bait to draw him out
The pale white skin hardly revealing details
of Clarice facial features gives me a sense
of death straight away. The reason for this
is that white is iconic for dead bodies or
ghosts. This makes it obvious that I will be
for more of a mature audience as it seems
like it will be covering a dark topic. The face
also seems to be fading away on the left
while the right is a deep black shadow
contrasting with the left. This is quite
pleasing to the eye as it makes the face feel
as if it pops out. This could also symbolise
the dark tones of the investigation taking
over Clarice.
With the title being small may be because
they want to embrace the image rather
than obscuring it with letters. It also suits
the over subtle film playing with the word
silence as small titles tend to associate with
quietness. The title must be readable so
they chose the colour red contrasting with
the white image. The red can also
symbolise the vicious attributes associated
with the serial killers within the film
especially with Hannibal Lecter.
the expression with Clarices face is quite difficult to understand. For
example with the left side she seems very calm almost seemingly
dead however with the left side, she looks very surprised. This
obviously caused my the dark shadow making her right eye pop. This
kind of illusion might be a way of characterizing Clarices control over
her emotions. This could best represent when she first meets Lecter
to interview. She has to find a way to get in his head without him
getting into hers. the moth over her mouth represents the killer
buffalo bill who is one of the reasons for the interview and is a big
part of the movie. The cover of the mouth can be another sign of
control over what she says.
The moth itself is another key part to this image as the colours make it stick out a
lot from the white background. The moth represents the serial killer Buffalo Bill
who collects moths. This is obviously related to the plot of the film about the
Buffalo Bill investigation. This idea is also emphasised with the fact that it is in the
dead centre of the poster like as if it the core part of the film. The connotative side
on the other hand could be the fact that Bill has dominance over Clarices
venerability.
I'm having difficulties understanding the
reason for the “in Voluptas Mors” skull on
the moth however i’m giving my best
guess. The moth is called the deaths head
Hawk moth because of the seemingly
human skull pattern on its back. The twist
with the image is the fact that the skull is
made with real naked women. I think the
reason for this is too emphasise how deep
in psyche this movie delves deep in. the
women also seem to be dead
representing bills victims or even the skins
that he rips off his victim.

8. Black swan posterMovie summary
When the company's artistic director
decides to replace his prima ballerina for
their opening production of "Swan Lake,"
Nina (Natalia Portman) is his first choice.
While Nina is perfect for the role of the
White Swan, Lily (Mila Kunis) personifies
the Black Swan. As rivalry between the
two dancers transforms into a twisted
friendship, Nina's obsession begins to
reveal her dark side.
The composition of the character is quite
basic with the character Nina is wearing
make up and typical ballet uniform. This
establishes the character to the audience
that she is very feminine. You can tell
from the very straight facial features that
the she is very serious which informs us
that the movie will be serious too. The
conative side might be the fact that she
takes her professional very passionately.
The fact that she is staring at us could
help the poster stick out as audiences
are automatically drawn to eye contact.
The black background helps makes her
face more profound helping the poster
to be more attractive to audiences. The
black could also symbolize her dark
thought s taking over her.
The crack on the side of her face can
mean a lot of things. The most obvious
reason is that it can be a physical
representation of swan lake breaking her
innocence. the crack could mean that all
her dark thoughts is breaking out or that
it is revealing something dark. Another
interpretation is that her beauty is being
ruined by Lily. For a newer audience it
would mean that the crack represents
the psychological genre
The title is a deep black which easily
contrast with Nina's white skin helping it
stand out. The black suits the style of the
black swan and Nina perspective of Lily.
The font is very simple, looking very
similar to theatre banners.

9. Research Analysis
• What common features do the researched products have?
– The products that I have analysed all have ways to visually portray psychology.
– “We need to talk about Kevin” and “silence of the lambs” have great ways to put us in the shoes of the
characters who deal with psychopaths such as Eva and Clarice.
– “Get out” on the other hand covers more of a fictional psychology delving deep within hypnosis, fighting
people getting in your head. This means they include fantasy such as a moving skeletons, sinking into the
bed etc. to visualise the thoughts in the mind. This is quite similar to “black swan” however Nina is trying to
fight her own mind. They also use fantasy such as when she turned into a literal black swan.
• What aspects of the research will you include within your own
production work?
– I wont be taking much influence from ”Get out” and “Black Swan” as they use a lot of advanced practical
and computer effects beyond my level.
– I can however use ideas from the black swan poster to make a very simplistic picture with subtle touches
such as the crack to symbolise film.
– I could also learn from the great sound design and editing from the puzzling ”get out” trailer forcing the
audience to watch the film to find out the answer.
– I would defiantly like to learn how to use suggestive imagery to foreshadow a film from a poster as well as
the “silence of the lambs” poster. I want to be able to layer many different designs to give a clever idea of
the film
– I will likely use ideas from the “We need to talk about Kevin” trailer to convey a characters emotions from
just the use of music, dialogue and editing as well as they have.

10. Questionnaire Analysis

11. Audience research
• Observation: overall 8 responses with eight clearly real
names
• What this says about my audience: this tells me that my
audience will be taking my survey seriously meaning I will
have a fair analysis.

12. Audience research
• Observation: the results are even with a four females and four males answering
my survey.
• What this says about my audience: This tells my that my audience will have
an even amount of female opinions and male opinions.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: i will try to include a
female cast for a female demographic to relate to. The core meaning however isn't
associated with gender so I think it could be ok with an all male casting.

13. Audience research
• Observation: it is shown that all my answerers are between 16-18.
• What this says about my audience: This shows how my audience will only have
teenage opinions making my survey unfair.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: my product will have a young
teenage cast fitting in-between those ages making easy for that demographic to be
interested however I do want an older audience as well as the core message isn't to do with
age.

14. Audience research
• Observation: it appears that most people want a two minute trailer
with 5 votes. This leaves “1 minute and 30 seconds” with one vote and
“30 seconds or less” with two vote.
• What this says about my audience: this means that my audience want
a good long enough trailer with a lot content.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: I will do my best to
record enough footage as well as edit them to fit in two minutes. This
should be easier as making it any shorter is very difficult.

15. Audience research
• Observation: most of my answerers have voted for “a trailer with a brief insight of the plot” with six
votes leaving “a trailer with very little information about the plot” with two votes.
• What this says about my audience: it is clear that my audience want an even amount of mystery
and information to make a trailer intriguing leaving questions for them find out when watching the
film.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: i will try my best to inform the audience of the plot
m]by using narratives and visuals as well as having obscure scenes leaving mystery making the
audience question.

16. Audience research
• Observation: my audience have answered with many different films while some are not
sure.
• What this says about my audience: this shows that most of my audience have a good
understanding of what a psychological film is and what is suitable to be included in a
trailer.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: I will research and watch the movies
that they state is there favourite to understand what I will need to make an effective
trailer. I shall learn form there techniques and apply them to my film.

17. Audience research
• Observation: people have answered mostly yes towards violence and gore within a trailer with six votes leaving two denying
it. I have a wide range of reasons for there opinion.
• What this says about my audience: this tells me that my audience like to see more mature content. Form there statement
as to why they say that it can be a good warning to those dislike gore to not watch the film. For those who disliked the idea
state that it could be harmful for a younger viewer.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: I will defiantly ad gore however I will control my usage of the content as it
can distract viewers away from the meaning of the trailer. I will also add a declaimer to those who aren't good with gory
scenes.

18. Audience research
• Observation: it is shown that all audience watch trailers on YouTube.
• What this says about my audience: this shows that my audience are all have a desire to watch films
since you have to search for trailer within YouTube. It also shows that my audience have an
understanding of social media.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: i will try my best to understand the differences
between YouTube trailers to cinemaFacebook trailer and make recognisable to my audience. I will
also try my best to make my trailer unique as my audience know what makes a trailer effective.

19. Audience research
• Observation: it shown that most people rely on a trailer to convince them to watch a film leaving
one answerer stating that he relies on other peoples opinions.
• What this says about my audience: this says that my audience expect a well made trailer is enough
to motivate them to watch a film stating a trailer is the best advertising media.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: i will make sure that my trailer will feel as if it is a
full fledged film convincing and motivating my audience to want a full film. I will do this by playing
with clichés and topes while also using unique techniques to flesh out my characters. Using clichés
makes the viewer assume what happens within the out of context clips.

20. Audience research
• Observation: I can see that 5 of my answerers like psychological films with only 2 who dislike them. The lack of the
eighth person answering may mean that they are not sure. I gained four comments as for the reasons why they
either like it or don’t.
• What this says about my audience: this shows that most of my audiences know what a psychological film means
and know how an effective one is made. This emphasised with there view on the topic as most of them state that
it is intriguing.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: I will study the psyche of my character and find the best ways to
use cinematography to capture the emotions that go through my protagonists mind. I will also have my
protagonist to narrate over some scenes to understand his opinion on life as a psychopath.

21. Interviews

22. Interview 1
• What is your favourite psychological trailer and what aspects of it do you think is
effective?
My favourite psychological trailer is Goodnight mommy, it has very slow paced editing and a
cold tone and mood, the children only whispering is very creepy as kids tend to be loud and
happy. The editing shows how the children are afraid of their own mother through
sequencing and sound design.
• Do you think gore and violence in a trailer is necessary even though it will be included
in the actual film?
I don’t think it is necessary however I personally prefer the trailer to showcase all parts of a
film, so if there is going to be gore in the film I think the trailer will benefit from showing
the gore.
• What kind of music would relate with a psychological movie trailer and why?
I associate high pitch violin like music that is very eerie and feels as though it is inside of
your head and lots of diegetic sounds such as whispering and creaking doors etc.
• Is a shorter trailer more effective than a longer trailer? Why?
I think longer trailers can be more effective as they can showcase more of the movie and
thus give the viewer a better idea of what the film is going to be about, therefore the
viewer will be more inclined to see the film.

23. Interview 1 summary
• From the first question I immediately receive a great answer from Sam as he states that his favourite
psychological trailer is ”goodnight mommy”. Right off the bat this is very useful for my project as I have
seen the trailer and the overall editing within it. They have an incredible use of techniques to emphasise
the horror. With Sam's response, it seems that he feels the same way as he explains the themes, mood
and tone. The fact that he understands the techniques they use in there trailer means that ill have to use
similar or unique techniques to satisfy this type of audience.
• For the second question he says that it isn’t necessary to have violence and gore but its best to have it
shown. What i see from his answer is that he wants a range of content within a trailer including the gore if
the film has them. I totally understand the idea as it can inform the audience of what type of film it will be
and warn those who dislike the violent content. I will use violence and gore when it is suitable, only to
make an effective trailer.
• For the next question I asked what kind of music could be best for a psychological trailer since I have no
music talent what so ever. He responded with high pitched violin notes, stating that they are eerie. I
wouldn’t disagree with this fact as violins are used a lot with horror esc films as it drives tension for the
audience. He also said diegetic sounds can be good sounds such as door creaks and whispering. This quite
a good Idea to help pull the audience into Arthurs mind and what he hears. I will definitely use these
sounds as they inforce the psychological genre.
• With the last question Sam states that longer trailers are better as it allows enough content to intrigue the
viewer. I must agree with this as I have no idea on how to make a short trailer effective enough without
looking lazy and poorly written.

24. Interview 2
• What is your favourite psychological trailer and what aspects of it do you think is
effective?
Berlin Syndrome uses some dark themes like abduction and keeping people in places
against their will which is shown in the trailer and is paired with some depressing
music to make the viewer feel sorry for the protagonist. So, music and the scenes that
are used can make the trailer very effective.
• Do you think gore and violence in a trailer is necessary even though it will be
included in the actual film?
As long as the trailer does not go overboard with the violence then I am fine with it as
long as the trailer truthfully represents final film then its fine by me.
• What kind of music would relate with a psychological movie trailer and why?
It depends on the film you are trying to make. If you want people to feel sorry for the
protagonist then a sad score would be more appropriate but, if you want the film to
be more action oriented then some fast-paced music would be better.
• Is a shorter trailer more effective than a longer trailer? Why?
Depends if the trailer can get its point across in the allotted time or not but, if the film
is complicated then a longer trailer will be more appropriate.

25. Interview 2 summary
• With the first question jack answers with the Berlin syndrome. He talks about the plot and how it uses
scenes and music to make the audience sympathise with the character. This a very interesting statement
as making an audience feel for a character within a trailer makes them want to see what happens to them
on the film. I will have to find ways in order to make my characters have enough depth within a short
period of time in order to get the audience be drawn by them. One Is to make my protagonist interesting
so I may make him narrate what goes through his head.
• On the next question my interviewee says that gore and violence can be used but not too much. I couldn’t
agree more as going over board can distract viewers from the core meaning of the trailer. I shall limit my
usage of just using blood as an artistic purpose implying that they are injured or have injured someone.
• The third question was fairly interesting as jack called me on my vague question. For example he states
that music depends on the style of the trailer, having the music related the mood of the scenario or
character. Since my trailer will start slowly I may use ambient or diegetic sounds to convey Arthurs relaxed
routine. When the trailer picks up I will have to use faster violin sounds creating tension.
• For my last question jack tells me that if the plots complicated then a longer trailer will best suited for my
project. I completely agree with this idea as my plot is fairly hard to understand within a trailer. Ill have to
use narratives to either explain or hint the plot or use very obvious scenes to convey it.

26. Bibliography

27. Bibliography
1. Tahmid Ahmed. (2018) Target Audience Research Survey (conducted on
4/12/2018)
2. Sam Scheottner. (2018) Target Audience Interviews (conducted on DATE)
3. Jack Hickman. (2018) Target Audience Interviews (conducted on DATE)