The trailer summarizes the plot of the horror film Saw, focusing on Jigsaw's deadly games. It shows various victims trapped in frightening situations, building tension and mystery around Jigsaw's true identity and the dangers facing the characters. Through a series of quick shots depicting blood, traps, and scared individuals, the trailer draws viewers in to learn more about Jigsaw's game and who will survive.

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Saw
Analysing a film trailer

2. In the first screen shot used it shows a medium close-up of
Jigsaw a mass murderer. The medium close-up shows a
picture of jigsaw on an old television in a dark room
creating a dark feeling. The shot immediately strikes fear
into the audience as they are shown a creepy puppet like
mask that does not look dissimilar to a clown which is a
common fear. This first shot creates precedence for the
remainder of the trailer as the fear first created in this shot
will make those watching the trailer want to watch on as the
audience seek the thrill. The first shot and footage is
probably the most important when trying to capture an
audience.
The second shot shows a close up of a newspaper cutting
where ‚Doctor Questioned says in Jigsaw case‛,
‚Prominent Oncologist Linked to Serial Killing‛ this
immediately let’s the audience know what the film will be
about. It also lets the audience know that the film is going
to be a Horror as killing and serial killers are a common
convention of a Horror film. Such as in the film scream
which is also about a serial killer.

3. This is the first inter title of the trailer stating ‚IT’S HIS
GAME‛ this is the first inter title of the trailer and although
it lets the audience know that there is going to be some sort
of ‘game’ played it also creates suspense as the audience are
left wondering what the game is and what to watch on to
find out.
This mid shot shows a man bare foot wearing a shirt with
rolled up jeans implying that the room is hot. He also has a
chain around his leg. He appears to be sitting in a very dark
and dirty boiler room or toilet. The conditions he looks to
be sitting look terrible. The man appears to be sitting very
relaxed with his arm propped up against something this
implies that the man has been sitting there a for a long
period of time and has become quite relax. The fact the man
has a chain around his leg implies that he is imprisoned
and has therefore been there an extended amount of time.
This is the first human face shown on the trailer; this makes
the audience start to wonder what happens to the man and
why he is there as they can relate to him. The environment
he looks to be hostile, it does not seem like a place a person
would wish to be sat in as it looks very dirty and unkept.
This could make the audience feel sorry for the character.
The chains and the dark and dirty rooms are also
conventions of a horror.

4. This wide shot show a figure stood bent over in a dark
room filled with green gas. The dark figure is holding onto
a metal fence, he appears to have something attached to his
head although it is not clear what is attached to him as it is
impossible to see the figure properly. However this
attachment could explain the reason for the figure being
bent over and for him needing to hold onto the fence as
they are something heavy is attached to the top part of their
body. However it is left up to the audiences’ imagination as
it is not possible to see. Again the figure seems to be in a
harsh and dark environment common in a Horror film. The
feeling of the unknown is also a common convention used
in Horror, as it is left up to the audience to work out what
the figure is.
This footage is a close up of a man. He seems to be sweating
and has a bewildered and scared look on his face; he is
stood in front of a tiled wall. This scared expression look
could imply a Horror movie as this emotion is a
characteristic of a Horror. This shot could also be linked to
the earlier shot where the man is sat in boiler room, so we
can assume that they are imprisoned together.

5. This is another close up shot; however this close up appears
to be the man who was pictured earlier in the trailer
chained in a boiler room. He is also sweating and in a tiled
room so again backs up the assumption that the two men
are in the same room. As we have seen this character for the
second time we can also assume that the man plays a
leading role in the film.
Here is another inter title saying ‚AND IT’S YOUR MOVE‛,
this refers back to the first inter title ‚IT’s HIS GAME‛. This
plays along with the fact that the whole thing is a ‘game’
designed and controlled by Jigsaw. The language used
implies that it is a game like chequers or Chess where it is a
common phrase in those games to say ‚It’s your move‛.

6. Here is another close up shot. In this shot there is a close up
of a saw covered in a blood laid on the floor of what looks
to be the same room featured in clips before. A close up or a
shot of some sort of bloodied weapon such as a knife,
sword or saw is a common characteristic of a Horror movie.
It could also be said that the footage of the saw refers back
to the title of the movie ‘SAW’. The bloodied saw also
implies that the implement was used to a cut something,
which automatically makes the audience wonder what has
happened and if the characters featured in earlier clips are
ok. This makes the audience want to watch on.
Here again is another clip of Jigsaw, however in this clip he
is shown in a close up. the change from a medium close up
to a close up could be a method of trying to scare the
audience as Jigsaws creepy puppet is progressively getting
closer. At this stage the identity of Jigsaw is concealed
behind the clown like puppet which is used to create a
creepy effect. The concealing of Jigsaws real identity
intrigues the audience and again makes them want to watch
the film so that they can find out what the characters true
identity is.

7. Here is a close up of a woman with a metal contraption
around her head. The woman appears to be very frightened
and is clutching at the contraption as if trying to remove it.
We can assume that this contraption is part of Jigsaw’s
murderous ‘game’.
This shot is a close up. The audience is unable to see what
the manning is doing however it implies that the man is
sawing away at something; the implication is that the man
is sawing at his leg. However this part if left up to the
audiences imagination to work out. However this will
attract the audience to want to g and see the movie because
they will want to see what the man is really doing even if
the implication seems obvious. The character in this scene is
also the same one that has featured twice in scenes, so
throughout the trailer the audience may have gained an
interest for the character and interested in what has
happened to him.

8. In this shot it shows a door shutting on some stairs. This
shutting of the door could signify that there is no going
back for those involved in Jigsaws game. The stairs look as
if they are going down to a basement. Basements are
thought of a scary places and are commonly used in Horror
movies.
In this shot it goes from a medium close-up to a close up as
the character wearing a pigs heads jumps up towards the
camera. This will scare the audience. Making those who
enjoy horror want to see the film.

9. In this scene it shows a close up of chains covered in blood.
There also appears to be blood all over the tiled floor. From
this the audience will make the assumption from this that
the character who was shown earlier on wearing chains and
sawing at something has sawn of his leg to get out of the
chains. This will make the audience care about what has
happened to the man and watch the film to see the full
story.
In this inter title it simply states the name of the
movie, which is common at the end of a film trailer. This is
so that this is the last thing that the audience sees so that
they remember what the film is called if they want to see it.
In this inter titles it states what time of the year the movie is
being shown. In this case it is being shown in the autumn. It
a good prediction that the movie will be shown during
Halloween as that is held during the autumn months.

10.  Throughout the trailer there is a narration. This narration is however
dialogue from scenes of the movie. This is used effectively to give a
background of the movie and what the movie is about. It also gets the
audience interested in what happens to the narrator later on in the
movie. Throughout the trailer it uses very eerie music that gives a very
creepy feel. There is also parts of the trailer where ‘Jigsaw’ the main
‘villain’ talks, this entices the audience as they now want to know who
the ‘villain’, it is also creepy. There are also scenes where they play
victims scream and a door shutting this is to play on the psychology of
the audience. The screaming will automatically make the audience
scared but this will also make them want to see what happens in the
movie. The door also signifies no return and is also quite a common
convention of a Horror movie. All sound effects used suggest it is a
Horror.
Sound Effects

11.  In this trailer there are 5 inter titles, 5 seems to be a common characteristic of movie trailers as
we found the same amount of inter titles in other films we analysed such as the film 'The Boat
That Rocked'. The inter titles are used as a chilling way of telling the underlying story what
the film is about without giving too much away, using language such as "It's His Game" and
"And It's Your Move‛. The writing is set in a black background with a sort of green haze over
it. The writing is a bright white. The inter titles appears from a left to right transition, with a
shadowy effect.
Intertitles and Credits
 At the end of the film it states the name of the film and then tells the audience when
the films will be released which is common at the end of a film trailer. Shown below:

12.  At the start of the trailer it starts with the voice of Jigsaw who is the mass
murderer who organises and designs the deathly games, Jigsaw says "It is
time to play a game". Jigsaw commonly uses this phrase and says it to all
his victims before they play his 'games'. The voice used for the Jigsaw
character is very creepy. The Jigsaw character is pictured as a white mask
with red swirls on the cheeks; the mask looks very similar to a
puppet, which could link to the fact that this is all a game as puppets are
thought of as being toys who are played with by children as part of a
game. "Technically speaking he is not really a murderer; he never killed
anyone, finds ways for his victims to kill themselves". This clearly shows
what is going to happen in this movie. Throughout the trailer it paints
picture of Jigsaw the murderer playing games with his victims and that the
narrative is a game to see who survives. This is helped along by the inter
titles. The narrative of the film is shown only really to be survival. The
movie trailer does not share normal conventions of a movie trailer as there
does not seem to be any sort of equilibrium.
Narrative

13.  The lighting used is very dark, the only light used in the film is
artificial and this gives the impression that the characters are trapped
and will never leave. The use of dark lighting is very common and is a
convention of a horror movie and trailer.
 The main location for a lot of the scenes seems to be in some sort of
boiler rooms and warehouse. It is not particularly clear where the
location is. I think that is because the filmmakers wanted to show the
audience that the characters are helpless and will never get out. The
locations look like run down dirty places as if they have not been used
in years. This gives the impression that the location of the film is in
some sort of abandoned warehouse or boiler house, well away from
civilisation.
 There are few props used in the trailer. One of the props used is a
saw, this is a very common convention of a Horror as sharp object are a
common object in horror movies. Another prop used is the death traps
created by jigsaw. For example the backward bear trap that is strapped
to the head of the woman in one of the scenes. Another prop used is
the room of razor wire which the man has to crawl through to survive.
Lighting, Location and
Props

14.  One of the representations given is that of Jigsaw. He is represented as
serial killers, who are commonly represented as being very
clever, devious and brutal. As we can see from the trailer he is clever in
the way he creates his games. He also has not released his identity
which is also very serial like, this concealment is common for a serial
killer in a horror movie. Another representation given is that the
people trapped in jigsaw’s games are helpless and cannot escape from
the games he has created.
 The Unique selling point of this movie is the game show like feel given
over. However in this game show competitors have to win their lives.
This is a very unique and i have not seen this in any other horror
movie. Another unique selling point is the interesting contraptions
created by jigsaw; people will see the contraption and want to find out
how they work and how they kill the victim.
 The editing that is used is very snappy, the editor has used only small
clips and made the transitions very fast, I think this is to create
intensity. The speed of transitions becomes faster as the trailer goes
on, it appears to be reasonably calm at the beginning but as the trailer
progresses the footage becomes more gruesome and the transitions
become faster. The inter titles have been edited so that so that there is a
green haze over the writing giving a creepy feel, the writing is a bright
green to make it standout it also makes the inter title look quite creepy.
Representation, USP and
Editing

15.  There does not appear to be any institutional references in this trailer. I think
this is because the trailer is actually a teaser which is also implied by the fact
at the end it does not give an actually date of when it is being released. A
teaser is released to try and get people prepared and excited, looking out for
the date the film will be released which will be shown on the full trailer.
 The genre of this film is a Horror. It is quite obviously a horror as it contains a
lot of blood. Blood is a common convention of a horror and this movie
obviously has a lot of it. Another convention that shows that the movie is a
Horror is the use of gruesome contraption of death, although i have not seen
the same in other movies, deathly contraption are common in horrors. The
character of Jigsaw is also common in a horror, a murderer is a common
character in a horror movie. The victims are also kept in a dark place away
from the rest of humanity which is also a common location for this genre.
Also to the dark lighting used also implies the genre of a Horror.
 I think the target audience for this movie is young adults, i think that an older
audience may not enjoy the film as it is mostly just carnage and murder and
therefore would not enjoy the movie as much. However I think young adults
would enjoy the film more as they would not mind watching the gore. The
age certificate of this film is an 18 and i think that this is suitable; a younger
audience could find this movie very distressing as it shows very gruesome
and bloody images.
References, Genre and
Target Audience