The film Saw is a 2004 horror film directed by James Wan. The trailer uses various techniques to establish it as a gory horror film. It features quick cuts and transitions between dark, tense scenes showing victims in peril. Non-diegetic sounds like heartbeats and screams build intensity, while the villain Jigsaw's distorted voice adds mystery. Overlaid text directly tells the audience he is a "madman" and "psychopath" to reinforce the disturbing tone. The trailer effectively uses visuals and audio to draw viewers in and generate fear and suspense around Jigsaw's deadly games.

1. Movie release date: October 1st, 2004
Director: James Wan
Genre: Horror
Age rating: 18
The film title ‘Saw’ is well suited and conforms to the genre of a
horror. The tool saw is known to be dangerous and sharp with
multiple edges, something similar to the villain of the movie ‘Saw.
The character is multifaceted and has many ideas in his mind to
make people value their lives, he wants to be able to carve and
changes peoples minds just like a saw can carve a piece of wood.
Even thought he title is just the main villains name, the connotations
from this suit and genre thoroughly.
AUDIENCE GENRE
The audience of the film is young adults, an elderly
audience would not enjoy this film due to the gore
and the murders, where as the young adults tend to
take enjoyment out of it and these sorts of films
would give them an adrenaline rush. The age rating of
this film is an 18 which I think is good because the
gore within the film is distressing so the younger
audience would not enjoy it.
The film Saw is a horror film, but specifically is a gore film (also
known as a splatter film). This subgenre deliberately contains graphic
portrayals of gore and violence. The trailer depicts the horror
because there is a lot of blood which is a typical convention, not only
this but the main character ‘Saw’ is clearly the murderer. This is
typical of a horror film but his mask adds more depth to the genre.
Some of the aspects that suggest it is gory is the Saw where the
victims are expected to cut of their feed. The fact the victims are
locked in a dark place also is commonly done.

2. Mise-en-scene
The main location for the majority of the scenes seem to be in a boiler room or a ware house, this vast amount of
space gives the audience a lot to look at however the location isn’t that clear because the film makes are intending to
show how the victims are helpless. All of the locations however seem to be run down giving the impression that they
have been abandoned. Through using the props of a saw the audience are able to witness first hand how the film is
full of gore. It almost sums up the film in the way that it depicts the violence. It foreshadows how ‘Saw’ can control
many victims. You could argue that having the object of a saw in the first movie trailer is used to reflect how the
actually person ‘Saw’ is a tool and all of his victims are his purpose. Another prop is also used as the trailer continued
which is of a newspaper article and the multiple articles shown emphasise the power of saw and how it is an ongoing
problem. The articles look old and worn down suggesting this problem has been going on for a long time and saw will
not stop for anybody. I feel that both of these props used are an effective choice because the audience are paralysed
by the danger and the newspaper article is sufficient evidence of this while the saw enforces the violence.
Another way mise-en scene has been used effectively is through the
costume. When we see ‘Saw’ during the trailer he is in a suit and a
bow tie, where as both of the victims in the same room are in scruffy
clothing which creates a hierarchy. The fact Saw is in formal clothing
highlights his power while the scruffy clothing represents how the
victims lack control and have to follow Saw’s rule. In addition to this
the clothes of the victim are wet and dirty, again showing how Saw
looks down on them and they can’t be as good as him until they
value life.
The film trailer starts in the dark with a character saying ‘si
someone there’. The audience is kept in suspense, not knowing
who is there and not knowing what is going on. This is an effective
way and conforms to the genre of a horror because the audience’s
attention is grasped. As the scene
continues the guy who is speaking is taking
pictures that are flashing, giving the
audience snippets of the scene but almost
making them feel like they are trapped and
in the same position as the victim. By
using such dark lighting the audience are
kept guessing therefore giving the trailer
control and being effective.

3. Camera
There is a close up of a women in a metal mask with her narrating over saying ‘All I can
taste is blood [pause] and metal’. This shot establishes to the viewer that the horror film
will be gory. The director is able to create a sense of shock and urgency immediately. Not
only this but the lighting of the shot is dark and gloomy, reflecting the atmosphere and
reinforcing the danger.
There is a shot of two of the current victims and a victim who has survived and all have facial expressions of fear. In all three shows the
camera angle is straight on showing how they all may be equal but they have been picked for a reason. Throughout the trailer the shots
like these are dark and gloomy and this is done because the director is trying to continuously remind the audience that anyone can be the
victim. The medium close up shots also depict the body language of two of the current victims which scream fear, by allowing us to see
the body the trailer is drawing the audience in and making us feel empathetic towards the victim making in an effective technique.
When the audience first see ‘saws’ face in the trailer, the tones are a lot darker and more
green then the victims are. The close up shot emphasizes these dark tones which
insinuate that saw has the power and the control, however this control is negative. The
shot also gets Saw from side on, where-as the other victims we see there full face, this
insinuates that Saw is the villain and he is multifaceted, supporting Prop’s theory of
having seven defined characters. I feel the angle of this camera shot is really effective
because it keeps the audience in the dark and informs them that the character has so
much more he has planned.

4. Editing
The trailers lighting has a green filter to it and green connotes the idea of gore
and blood and this sets the tone for the trailer. This is a successful editing
technique as it means that the trailer is conforming to the genre of a horror.
Throughout the trailer the transitions from one shot to another change quickly
and this affects the whole pace of the trailer. BY having quick cuts and transitions
there is a sense of urgency being depicted and the audience have to keep up with
the trailer. Unlike other trailers, this trailer isn’t as fluent because of this, but this
is done purposely as a way of making the trailer jumpy and tense. The speed of
the trailer picks up towards the end as the victims panic and struggle. At this
point fast motion has been used in order to allow the audience to visualise that
urgency.
The inter titles have been edited in and this interrupts the clips adding intensity
but also creating suspense. By having so much inter titles the audience are
having to concentrate thoroughly, therefore making the jumpy sections even
more shocking. I feel the editing of the text is really effective as it breaks the
trailer up and this could be done as a way of reflecting how nothing can stop saw.
Something else that is done is going back to previous victims in flashbacks, this
allows the audience to witness the history of the murders and it also makes the
trailer a lot more gory. On the left there is a screen shot of one of the victims who
is called ‘Paul’ the fact he is out of focus due to the barb wire makes it clear the
this victim lacked hope. The fact the flashback has also been filtered into a lime
green tone foreshadows the victim is facing a gory death.

5. Sound
The sound in the trailer at the beginning is quite with only the diegetic sound like the footsteps and the camera flash being used. The
silence of this creates suspense but also allows the audience to gain a sense of reality. Soon after there is the laugh of what sounds like
a little kid, this sends chills downs the viewers spines. As this laugh becomes louder an unknown figure comes out shown in the print
screen below that makes the audience jump, a the non diegetic sound is used at this point as the music crescendo’s dramatizing the
scene.
Another sound that has been overlaid in post production is
the heart beat which builds up with the intensity of the clip.
The heart beat is quite prominent and is effective because
your heart beat races when you are panicking therefore the
audience are feeling what they victims are feeling.
Furthermore a lot of the non diegetic sound that has been
added in is high pitch and this helps to build a tense
atmosphere. Paired with this the diegetic sound like the
chains clinking are ones that are familiar with the genre of
horror therefore the trailer is conforming to its genre.
Throughout the trailer there is narration, but this narration
is done with dialogues from the scenes of the movie. This is
done effectively as the audience are informed of the
background of the movie. The music throughout is eerie.
The main villain, ‘Jigsaw’ talks and this entices the audience
as this main character is intriguing and interesting. His voice
is distorted and this creates a sense of mystery. In the
trailer there is screaming involved and this scares the
audience but also will make them want to see the movie.
Another effective sound is the clock that ticks to
reflect there isn’t much time left but also
represents the challenge the victims face. The
sound of this emphasises there panic.

6. Texts
Something that differs in this horror from my first format
research, ‘Oculus’, is the dense amount of overlaid text that
has been used in post production. Words like voyeur,
madman and psychopath are used to describe saw and this
adds to the intensity of the trailer. The audience are given all
of these ideas to them on a plate through the text but these
ideas are ones already running through there might,
therefore the director may have done this as a way of
reinforcement. All the text is in the same font and the capital
letters makes it stand out. The background is dark with the
text being a mixture of white blues and greys, all negative
and cold colours, foreshadowing the film and reminding the
audience of a horror.
The last two narration parts are ‘It’s his game’ ‘And its your
move’ making the trailer personal to the audience and
making them feel like they have some involvement. I feel for
this type of horror movie the text is effective because it
escalates the mood and puts all of these ideas into the
viewers mind. The text at the top ‘twisted pictures’ is
wrapped in barb wire and this is a company that has been
used by the film production, the barb wire reflects the horror
conveys danger and the need to escape.