Media language investigation

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Media Language
Investigation
Lewis Brown

 I have chosen to analyze the horror trailers of
three films; Carrie (2013), You’re Next (2013),
and Curse of Chucky (2013)
 I will analyze these trailers in terms of
Cinematography, Sound, Mise en Scene and
Editing.
Trailers

At the beginning of the trailer, there is a low angle shot of a suburban home. This
connotes that although the house is not particularly large or spooky-looking, there
is something or someone inside with great power.

There is a close-up of a lock being shaken as if someone is banging against the door.
This suggests that there is someone inside who is so powerful that they need to be
locked away and they are frantically trying to get out.

We see the protagonist, Carrie, through a high angle shot to make her look weak. She
looks distressed and upset to give a false impression that she is the weak, damsel in
distress-type character. Throughout the trailer we see her gradually transform into a
villain.

We are given another false impression through a low angle shot of Carrie’s
classmates taunting her. This suggests that they are more powerful than her,
yet this changes throughout the trailer and they become the victims.

We also see a low angle shot of Carrie on a bed that is floating mid-air. This
angle suggests that Carrie is gradually finding her inner power.

We are shown a long shot of the chaos that occurs on prom night. This suggests
that the roles have reversed and her classmates are now victims of carrie’s
onslaught.

We are shown a close-up of a girl looking terrified, which creates a tense
atmosphere and shows that the trailer is coming to its horrific climax.

 The trailer begins with a woman singing and birds
tweeting, however this is contrasted with screaming
layered on top of it. This creates an unnerving
juxtaposition.
 We then hear a sad guitar solo, which emphasizes Carrie’s
loneliness when she says ‚The other kids, they think I’m
weird‛
 The guitar becomes aggressive and distrorted when we see
Carrie screaming on the floor and we hear girls laughing at
her which connnotes that something bad is about to
happen.
 When Carrie’s mother shouts ‘pray’ at her, we hear a loud
boom sound to emphasize her mother’s fear of God that
she instills in her.
 When Carrie gets asked to prom we hear a sinister piano
track which suggests that things aren’t as they seem. When
we hear Carrie say ‚Mama, I’ve been asked to prom‛ we
suddenly hear screaming to suggest that prom is going to
be chaos.

The house is a typical suburban home that looks bright from the outside,
however this contrasts with the dark lighting inside the home which suggests
that the home has a hidden, evil secret. The cross in the home is large and looks
sinister in the low lighting which reflects on Carrie’s life and how the fear of God
is constantly instilled into her.

There is a close-up of a miniature model of Jesus Christ bleeding on the
cross. There is a common emphasis on blood in the horror genre as it
suggests danger. The fact that Jesus Christ is bleeding suggests that
even Carrie’s religious upbringing can prevent her onslaught and her
great power.

The longshot of the explosion connotes danger and disaster which are common
themes in the horror genre of film.

Traditionally, a mother figure in a film is meant to be kind and loving,
however in this close-up she is admiring a knife. This may be unnerving for
the audience as mothers are associated with caring and looking after
children.

Near the end of the trailer, we see a dramatic change in Carrie’s costume. She
usually looks innocent with blonde hair, however she is now covered in a thick,
black oil substance and her hair has been changed to black due to the oil. This
change in costume suggests that Carrie has been transformed into the villain.

 At the beginning of the trailer the editing is slow paced to suggest
equilibrium.
 There are also slow fade-ins and fade-outs to the next shots which gives
a sinister atmosphere.
 When Carrie looks upset on the floor there is a shot-reverse shot of her
on the floor, then the low angle shot of her peers taunting her.
 When we see the shot of her peers laughing at Carrie, it is in slow
motion to suggest that it is as if the taunting lasts forever for her and
feels as if it lasts a lifetime.
 CGI has also been used when Carrie is floating on her bed and the
books are flying everywhere. For this shot to be made there must be
computer software that creates the effect.
 There is also the use of flash-forwards when Carrie is asking her
mother about prom, the scene flicks back and forth to the disaster and
chaos of prom.
 As the trailer progresses nearer to the end, the editing becomes much
faster paced to emphasize that the trailer is coming to a climax.

At the beginning of the trailer, there is an establishing shot to show a large,
daunting house hidden by trees. This gives a sense of isolation and mystery to
the house and adds to the tense atmosphere.

There is a two-shot of a woman and an eerie figure in the windows reflection. This
suggests that the woman is being watched from outside the window and creates a
sense of fear.

We see a close-up shot of a window breaking. This could connote that
the people in the house are going to have their lives broken to pieces. It
also suggests that someone from outside the house has smashed the
window. As the trailer progresses we understand that it was broken by
a crossbow arrow.

After the glass breaks, we see several close-up reaction shots when an
arrow flies through the window and hits one of the people in the house.
They look totally bewildered at why the window has broken and this
connotes mystery.

Here we have a POV shot of an unknown figure aiming a crossbow at one
of the people in the house. This suggests that whoever is aiming it has a
murderous plan for the inhabitants of the house.

Here we have a close-up shot of a persons footsteps
which creates a sense of mystery.

There is then one low angle-shot of the villain followed by a high angle
shot of the victim. This connotes that the victim is totally powerless
against the masked figure as low angles are associated with power,
whereas high angles are associated with weakness.

 To begin the trailer, there is laid-back music to contrast with the
tenseness of the rest of the trailer and suggest equilibrium.
 We then hear a snippet of a characters voice saying ‚Dear Heavenly
Father‛. Spiritual and religious references are common in horror films
as they connote demons and other frightening apparitions.
 When we first see the villain appear in the window there is an
unknown metallic sound to suggest murder and mystery. This is when
we know something is going to disrupt the equilibrium.
 After we hear ‚What is that?‛ we hear glass breaking and an arrow
flying through the air. Everyone screams as a man falls over suggesting
that he has been hit by the arrow.
 We also hear creaking floor-boards which is a common sound in
horror films, it suggests someone dangerous is approaching.
 After a great metallic sounding crescendo, the laid back song from the
beginning of the trailer plays as we hear sounds of screaming and
slaughter. One of the lyrics of the song is ‚its such a perfect day‛
which contrasts with the sounds of murder and is an effective
juxtaposition.

The setting is an old house that looks as if it is isolated from the rest of the town or
city. This suggests that the people in the house are far away from any help such as
the police and this creates a sense of fear. The trees look sinister as they stretch out
like hands trying to hide the house away.

When we enter the house we see a close-up of the fire which connotes
danger as fire is associated with being hurt if touched. It could also
connote that the house will be burnt down, literally or metaphorically.

Here we have a woman who is dressed in little clothing, only
her underwear. It is common for women to be sexualized in
horror films as they are usually filmed through the male
gaze and are portrayed as sex objects who are damsels in
distress.

Here is a shot of a family portrait with a crossbow arrow smashed
through it. This suggests that the family is going to be metaphorically
broken to pieces through the course of the film.

Here we have a man whose head is covered in sweat. Sweating usually
connotes when someone is fearful or when they have been running for
a period of time. This character could possibly be running away from
the villain.

The words ‚You’re Next‛ have been written in blood on a mirror. Blood
is a common mise en scene element in horror films. The shot reveals the
title of the film in the same typography as it is usually displayed in
posters and other media products that advertise this film and creates a
sense of synergy.

Here is a shot of several knife props falling out of a characters hands. This
suggests that all forms of protection for the person is slipping away and they
will eventually be killed.

Here is an unusual shot of a character bloodied head sitting next to the masked
villain. Gore is a common element of horror films and so are masks (for example,
Scream, Jason in Friday the 13th and Michael Myers in Halloween) as they hide
the identity of the killer and this creates a sense of fear for the unknown.

 Similar to the trailer for the film Carrie, there are several slow
fades from shot to shot to create a sinister atmosphere.
 When the lyric ‚When it gets dark we go home‛ is sung, there is a
reverb effect and the voice echoes as the music stops. This creates
tension as the words reflect on the night approaching.
 When the arrow from the crossbow smashes through the window
we see everyone’s reaction’s as we cut to the faces of the people in
the home. This allows us to understand that everyone was not
expecting this to happen.
 We also see several fades to a black screen. In the horror genre,
black is a common colour as it connotes fear snd darkness.
 When one of the victims falls and drops the knives it is in slow
motion to place an emphasis on the persons protection falling out
of their reach.
 Near the end of the trailer, there is an extremely fast paced editing
section of shots of people’s terror, this suggests that the trailer is
coming to its climax.

The trailer starts with a high angle shot of an isolated house with a delivery van
outside. This connotes that whatever the van is delivering is about the make the
people who live in the house powerless.

Here is a high angle shot of a young child holding ‘Chucky’. This angle
suggests that the young girl is weak against the doll’s powers.

Here is a close-up shot of Chucky behind the childs back. His pupils begin to dilate
which is asscosciated with strong, negative, emotional responses such as fear and
anger. This creates a tense atmosphere and suggests that Chucky is evil.

There is a low angle shot of the house which makes it look eerie and is
typical of the horror genre.

Here is a two-shot which is an interesting juxtaposition of emotions.
The young girls frightened expression contrasts with Chucky’s cheerful
face and creates an uncomfortable atmosphere.

Here is a high-angle shot of the mother which connotes that she is weak and
powerless compared to Chucky.

Here is an uncomfortably close, close-up which emphasizes how Chucky’s
expression has changed from happy and playful to evil.

 At the beginning of the trailer we hear a sad piano waltz which
connotes that something sinister is about to happen.
 We hear chucky saying ‚Wanna Play?‛ in a friendly voice, but
then we see his pupils dilate and a metallic sound plays. This
suggests that Chucky has a deadly motive.
 We hear the sound of thunder and ‚Can we sleep with you
tonight?‛, this is a pathetic fallacy and suggests something bad is
going to happen.
 We then hear the manic laughter of Chucky and aggressive rock
music begins to play. This suggests that Chucky’s slaughter is
about to begin.
 We also hear Chucky saying ‚Its time to play‛ and then a
woman's heavy breathing. This is a juxtaposition because
Chucky’s dialogue is associated with playing and having fun
whereas the woman is clearly not enjoying herself; its as if she has
been running from Chucky.

The high angle establishing shot shows clearly that the house is iscolated
from the outside world (similar to the previous house in ‚You’re Next)
which shows the family are far away from the help of others. The van that
delivers Chucky can be seen clearly in this shot to create emphasis on the
doll.

Behind the child’s back we see Chucky with a pleasant expression, however his
pupils dilate which is usually associated with danger. The doll also has freckles
which connote innocence; this is totally untrue for Chucky as he is murderous and
evil.

In contrast to his previous expression, Chucky now looks evil. The fact that the dolls
face has changed completely suggests to the audience that he is not a doll at all, but is
an evil being. He also is wearing children’s dungarees which connote playfulness
and this contrasts with chucky’s real personality.

There is a shot which emphasizes a rack of knives, but the sense of fear is heightened
as the lightening creates bright lighting which makes the knives look sinister. It is
common for weapons to be constantly emphasized in horror films.

Here is a shot of a curtain (possibly a shower curtain) with a hand
about to pull it back. This is an homage to the horror classic ‚Psycho‛
and its shower killing scene.

 Similar to both of the previous trailers, the trailer begins with slow
paced editing and ends with fast paced editing at the climax.
 At the beginning of the trailer when we are introduced to Chucky,
we first see his full body when he is revealed in the cardboard box.
Suddenly we cut to a close-up of his face which creates the feeling
that he is jumping out at the audience.
 Each time after we see a close-up Chucky’s face, the shot is filtered
with several frightening effects. Here are some examples below:
Also, when Chucky is pushing a woman in a wheelchair, there is
match on action as he pushes her at an extremely fast speed from
different angle shots. This suggests that he is about to push her out
of a window or into a wall, with either causing harm to the woman.

Media language investigation

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