The document discusses innovative ways to approach the genre and style of a horror film trailer: 1) Focus on adult characters as well as teens to subvert cliches and explore themes of maturity. 2) Shoot entirely in a single location to increase a sense of claustrophobia without relying on stereotypes. 3) Include scenes of characters scavenging to build weapons to develop an emotional connection rather than just waiting to die.

1. Pre-Production: Trailers 2 Question 4 - Genre

2. Representation:

3. In terms of the representation of certain aspects of the trailer we want it to have some degree of innovation and to break genre boundaries rather than relying on clichés and stereotypes of modern horror films featuring a bunch of teenagers stumbling onto events beyond their understanding and capabilities. We could instead use a variety of other actors, for instance using adult characters as well as teens. We could then fit in the theme of maturity.

4. Setting:

5. Somewhere I feel that must be non cliché is the location/setting. To set us apart from other films, we need a location that can stick in the public’s memory. Thinking on this, I realized that we could actually shoot it all in one location like, Phone Booth. This would increase the atmosphere of claustrophobia and would be a subtle way of provoking horror into the audience. I have proof of this success, as Phone Booth received positive critical acclaim.

6. Mise-en-Scene:

7. We could also have fun with the Mise en Scene of the piece. We could even include it into the narrative, where the protagonists have to scavenge and build their own weapons like in the game Dead Rising 2. This will allow the audience to have an emotional connection with the characters as they struggle to survive rather than them being just stereotypical and waiting to die and from this idea, it has a greater sense of reality, perhaps striking fear into the hearts of those who watch it.

8. Themes:

9. Another aspect where we cant be cliché is in the terms of themes. Horror films recently, have never focused on themes and have tried to just purely scare people. What we need to do is give our trailer thematic meaning, but not to let it overwhelm the trailer to the point where it isn’t scary anymore. Perhaps a larger emphasis on character building could allow us to work on themes of unity and survival.

10. Editing and Sound:

11. Editing is integral in creating a certain atmosphere in a trailer. We should use multiple fades and quick cuts to scare the audience, or to make them uneasy. We could also play around with the idea of using different kinds of non diegetic music from slow music like the trailer music from Battle: Los Angeles to the more extravagant music of We are Rockstars. This kind of juxtaposition to what’s happening on screen could allow us to get the audience to feel confused, intriguing them to see the film. For sound, we can create horror from using selective sound like when someone picks up a weapon. If it feels heavy, the audience will know if it is capable of inflicting mass damage or not ETC.

12. Camerawork:

13. And finally for the camerawork, a Blair Witch style handheld/documentary approach would be a good way of getting across a sense of realism. From the success of films such as Cloverfield and Blair Witch, it’s clear that this is a sufficiently powerful method of filmmaking. I also want to mix in normal camerawork for most mainstream Hollywood films like District 9. This would allow us to take on multiple perspectives with the camera and potentially, multiple methods of terrifying the audience.