The document provides an analysis of the trailer for the film Paranormal Activity 3. It summarizes that the trailer is for a supernatural thriller film and the third installment of a trilogy. The trailer uses techniques like diegetic screaming, shaky camera work, and dark imagery to create tension and scare the audience. Intertitles are also used to provide context and leave the viewer wanting more. Overall, the analysis finds that the trailer effectively markets the film to previous fans but may not attract new viewers.

1. The film genre is supernatural thriller. The
audience can tell this because the villain of the
film is a ghost or poltergeist, and there are links
made back to the previous two films in the
trilogy which also attracts the previous audience
to see the next instalment. The trailer lasts one
minute and forty four seconds and has a total of
eighty shots that are pieced together using fades
to black and static and inter titles.

2. The diegetic sound of screaming is used throughout the
trailer to create the thriller and scary effect. The poor
quality of the dialogue matched with the handy cam
adds to the realistic feel of the film. Non diegetic sound
is used throughout the trailer to scare the audience such
as a “wooooosh” sound effect. The trailer establishes that
the film is based around a family in their own home, and
also establishes that the daughter of the family has some
connection to the ghost.

3. The inter titles are used to help establish the narrative,
such as “discover how the activity began” to tell the
audience what the film is all about and the end title
“Paranormal Activity 3” is one of the last thing you see.
This is because the company want to leave you with
something that you will remember so that you would go
and watch the film. There is also a web address on the
screen in red, this could be to draw the audience’s
attention to it, or be the representation of blood.

4. Being a trailer for a follow on film, it builds on the
foundations of the previous two films to create and air of
expectation for things to go wrong and a sense that
something like this could happen to you. The trailer
leaves you with the expectation that the film will be even
better than the previous film because it says “this
October discover how the activity began”. The mood of
the film is very dark and eerie which fits in with a
supernatural thriller.

5. In the first half of the trailer nearly all the shots are eye
level point of view shots because they are shot using a
hand held camera, but there is one interesting shot
where the camera pans back and forth like a security
camera but we are shown its not a security camera but a
standard camera mounted on the swivel base of an
electric fan, I feel that this effects the way the audience
perceive the trailer and its message. Rather than the
shots seeming too professional and clean, but rough as if
it really was just one of the family setting up the camera
to “maybe capture something”.

6. The mise-en-scene is constructed to look like an
ordinary hose that any normal person would live in,
which then adds to the shock of the super natural goings
on and captures the audience.
Using this trailer is a good marketing scheme because it
leaves enough of the story out so that it would make
people want to go and spend money to see it. I think the
trailer is quite successful in targeting the audience that
has seen the previous two films but at the same time it
doesn’t really do much to attract a new audience I feel.

7. List of ten codes and conventions
1. Age rating information
2. Use of inter titles
3. Screams
4. Darkness
5. Fast editing
6. Exaggerated sounds i.e. when the lights go out
7. Special effects
8. Voice bridging two shots
9. Web address
10. The studio name and logo
The films code of enigma in this film is, “will the family survive?” and “who is
doing all of this?”
Film trailers are a very useful tool in promoting a film as it gives the audience a
taste of what is to come but leaves them with a question at the end, which will
only be answered if they watch the film.