The trailer for The Shining uses contrasting shots and a voiceover to summarize the narrative and establish intrigue. It opens with establishing shots of the isolated hotel before cutting to a close-up of Jack Nicholson, foreshadowing his descent into madness. Through juxtaposing shots of Nicholson appearing normal with those showing his instability, it implies he will kill his family. Faster cuts between the family members then show his sanity deteriorating as supernatural elements emerge. The trailer builds tension using contrasting imagery and sounds to tease the psychological horror and mystery of what drove past caretakers to murder, leaving audiences questioning if ghosts are real or hallucinations.

2. TRAILER ANALYSIS: THE
‘The Shining’ is a 1980 supernatural horror film directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Jack Nicholson in a
career-defining role as a caretaker of the Overlook hotel who loses his mind. The film is regularly listed
amongst the greatest horror films ever made, and is often cited as an inspiration for more sophisticated
modern-day horrors. The style ofdirection and use ofstill imagery throughout The Shining is the strongest
influence behind my own promotional package, and it is therefore of paramount importance that the
trailer is analysed – in order to understand why it is so successful and powerful, 34 years on.
The trailer opens with a non-diegetic voiceover dominating a slowly building soundtrack of what sounds
like an oncoming storm/static on a television. Even though the first shot is the Warner Bros logo, because
of the nature of these sounds, the audience will be made immediately aware of the fact that it is a horror
film. Furthermore, as it fades into two long establishing panning shots of a lonely landscape and a hotel,
the audience are also given the impression that this will be a relatively conventional horror – as an isolated
haunted residence is a common convention ofthis genre. The voiceover then appears to directly address
the viewers, as he questions whether they have heard of‘the tragedy we had up here in the winter of1970’.
This introduces a backstory into the trailer that will drive the film and is another common convention
shown at the start oftrailers, and servesas an instant source ofintrigue to capture the audience’s attention
as well as consolidating the genre. Within these two shots, the lighting is ambient and the colours light,
highlighting how all is seemingly at ease despite the nature of the mentioned ‘tragedy’ that occurred
recently within the film. However, the use of a jump cut as the scene transitions perfectly captures the
juxtaposition ofshots – although the establishing oneswere light in tone and extreme long shots, the new
scene being displayed is a shallowfocus close up ofNicholson’s character, illuminated by low key lighting.
Ultimately, this highlights howall may appear well on the exterior ofthe hotel, but the interior will be the
placement for all the horror within the film, and due to the immediate focus on Nicholson, it is evident that
he will serve as the primary antagonist for this.
Indeed, as these first fewshots progress, it appears as though as the consistent narration of the voiceover is
talking about this character’s endeavours. For example, as he states that the individual who murdered his
family seemed ‘completely normal’, a slow tracking camera movement pulls out to show Nicholson’s
character gesturing wildly and shouting in an empty corridor. The antithesis of seeming ‘completely
normal’ and his aggressive gestures further implies that this is the subject ofthe voiceover. Proceeding on
from this, another establishing extreme long shot is used before being intercut with another establishing
shot of the same subject but in different weather. Further contrast here illuminates how the trailer is
steadily growing darker and more violent,even in terms ofthe weather itself – snowstorms are inherently
more threatening than sunny weather, and represent the characters descent into coldness/detachment from
reality. Kubrick’s decision to constantly juxtapose shots in the beginning of this trailer, while using the
voiceover as a sound and narrative bridge to give meaning to every shot, is fully implicative of the contrast
between the ‘completely normal’ individual and the madness that urged him to kill his family. He is
effectively summarising the narrative through using this method. In accordance with this idea, the next
shot utilises a Steadicam to push in to Nicholson, while simultaneously panning to show him peering
around a corner wielding an axe. The scene then abruptly cuts to black as the voiceover claims the
individual ‘killed his family with an axe’, and the proceeding shot then displays Nicholson hammering an
axe into a door. Blue and red are the most prominent colours within this scene and, despite it being the
climax of the voiceover’s tale, remains brightly lit. This emphasises the colours and insinuates how
Nicholson’s character is influenced by paranormal entities, as blue is a colour most associated with the
supernatural genre. Subsequently, the film is elevated to a further degree ofsophistication, generating even
more intrigue for the audience.Again, the actions here are concurrent with the voiceover, and with this
disturbing statement, the non-diegetic soundtrack that was previously quiet and dormant rises up in a
sharp crescendo, creating an explosion oftension. In a way, this almost indicates the end of the story, and

3. SHINING
http://youtu.be/1G7Ju035-8U

4. may prompt audiences to question why there is still a minute left ofplaying time – and this notion has been
deliberately fabricated by Kubrick in order to shock them into a deeper sense of intrigue within the next
scene. Here,the voiceover is attributed to a man, out of shot, who has been speaking directly to Nicholson
(shown in a well lit close up) discussing events prior to his induction.This creates a huge sense of irony for
the characters, as well as displaying how Kubrick was merely foreshadowing events within those first 30
seconds of the trailer. The Nicholson within these shots is smiling, well-dressed, and a reflection of the
‘completely normal’ individual mentioned earlier, and because of this, the audience knows that he will
assume the role of the previous caretaker and meet a similar outcome. Consequently, the lack of non-
diegetic sounds seems to add further relevance to the dialogue within the scene, and the irony within it.

5. The scene cuts to a strap, which ultimately marks a shift in the tone and pace of the trailer now the
audience are aware that Nicholson’s story still remains untold. A series ofstartlingly quick shots that jump
between wide, detached establishing shots and close up tracking shots ofeach ofthe family members occur
in conjunction with a non-diegetic orchestral soundtrack that rises and falls. The faster pacing of these
shots accelerates to the inevitable action that the audience will already be aware of, and begins to paint a
brief introduction to the cast. Further conventions are met with the use of the child in touch with the
supernatural, and the audience is made immediately aware of his importance by his voice being used a
sound bridge between the scenes, which begin to flicker more noticeably between ambient lighting and low
key lighting, tracking shots and static shots. Kubrick is using contrast even more here to demonstrate the
rapid disintegration ofNicholson’s sanity, who is consistently shown as separate from the rest of his family
and is placed majoritively within static shots, as opposed to the fluid tracking shots surrounding his son
(Danny) and wife. It is as though Nicholson is coming to terms with his own insanity and the isolation
causing it, and this is reflected in the continuous drumbeat heard throughout the soundtrack that speeds
up throughout these shots, until it culminates in a series of jump zooms on Nicholson that are each
punctuated by a series ofthese beats. This transferral from a medium shot to a close up is representative of
the chaotic, unstable nature of Jack’s mind, beneath the ‘completely normal’ exterior foreshadowed
earlier in the trailer. Other changes are noticeable at this mark too; the depiction of the weather has finally
settled to show the snow storm instead of the sunny chill, Nicholson wears darker clothes and appears
unshaven, and the sounds of the said storm merge in with the soundtrack. All of this is symbolic of the
effect that the isolation is having on Nicholson’s character, and howthe more time he spends alone, the less
time it will take for him to detach himself from his family and eventually commit murder. Moreover, this
is reflected within the next few shots, as supernatural imagery becomes more apparent and a ghostly
voiceover urges him to deal with the family ‘in the harshest possible way’. As the day turns to night, the
colour blue returns in great prominence, and the ambient lighting itself is tinted with this colour during
scenes of profile lighting on Nicholson as he walks towards his wife, and lengthy panning shots of the
outdoor fog and dark skies. The first definitive hint of the supernatural is seen as Danny encounters two
little twins who are dressed in period clothing – but the fact that they are shown only for an instant
illustrates howKubrick wants the audience to question what subgenre the film falls under. Indeed, this is
reflected in the narrative itself, as many question whether the ‘ghosts’ seen are hallucinations brought
upon by the immense isolation, or genuine hauntings of the dead girls who were murdered prior to their
arrival. It is this uncertainty that will drive audiences to watch the film and find out.
The following scenes display Nicholson’s battle with the insanity that plagues him, and show his attempts
to reconnect with his family for better or worse. Firstly, a strap is used in conjunction with a loud, non-
diegetic bell, to pave the way for this shift in tone. By using the sound of a bell – which will resonate at
every strap shown from this point onwards – the audience are inclined to conjure up associations with the
oncoming approach of death and the supernatural. Bells are usually used as an indicator of significant
events to come, and this resonates within the context of the trailer, as the inevitable slaughter that the
audience expect approaches. Also, through stating that it is ‘based upon a novel by Stephen King’,
audiences will immediately recognise the film as a horror, and it will appeal to even more viewers due to
Stephen King being a very popular author at the time. Proceeding on from this, the soundtrack shifts to a
heavy, consistent drumbeat that quickly boosts the tension and heightens the significance of each following
shot, representative of Jack’s last attempts at holding onto his sanity. This idea is supported by the nature

6. of the shots themselves, as juxtaposition is used once again to show the two different ‘sides’ of the
antagonist. A prime example of this is the immediate tracking shot of Nicholson hurling plates at the
camera, causing it to shake and tremble, followed by a rapid cut of him crying at a slight low angle, being
comforted by his wife as he talks about his violent dreams. With these shots, audiences will be questioning
whether the film is a psychological horror or a supernatural one – and if it is both, it promised to be
something newat the time, which was bound to urge all viewers to see it in cinemas. Following these, the
montage shots begin, and a variety ofimagery is hurdled at the audience as they gain an insight into what
awaits them in the climax ofthe film. Even here, Kubrick usescontrasting colours, lighting, positions and
angles to create a mismatch of vibrancy that suggests that the film will incorporate more elements of
sophistication into its narrative than its horror movie peers. It becomes evide nt that, as Nicholson
threatens to ‘bash your brains in’ in a sound bridge between scenes of his son having a stroke and him
approaching his wife at a high angle, the story ofthe previous owner is occurring once again. Ultimately,
this presents the trailer as cyclical, and this presence ofsome sort offorce within the hotel adds a degree of
mystery to the film that was uncommon in other horrors at the time. Indeed, as the trailer builds toward
its end, vital clues as to the mystery as revealed within the shots used – but as they are so short in duration
and graphic in composition, they are harder to see by the audience, and serve only as a ‘taster’ of what
they can expect from the film. Before the final title strap appears, the soundtrack also accelerates in
correspondence with the shots, to the point where the violin crescendo sounds like an otherworldly
scream; also implying the supernatural elements of this film and how the final part of the film itself will
feature much screaming. The title strap is finally shown in silence. The font is simplistic and white,
emulative ofa more sophisticated kind ofhorror that could only fall under the psychological/supernatural
bracket.