This summarizes a document analyzing trailers and posters for three horror films: The Possession, The Apparition, and The Skeleton Key. 1) It provides a detailed breakdown of key elements in the trailers such as credits, narrative structure, performances, camera work, editing, sound, and release dates. 2) It also analyzes the posters for The Possession and The Skeleton Key, examining aspects like color scheme, composition, images, and fonts used. 3) Overall, the document offers a thorough textual analysis of various technical and persuasive elements across the trailers and posters to promote the three horror movies.

1. Textual Analysis
A2 Media
Lucy-Anne Richardson

2. Trailer 1 – The Possession
Credits
• The film was created by Lions gate and Ghosthouse pictures.
• Directed by Ole Burnedal
• Produced by Sam Raimi
• Written by Juliet Snowden and Stiles White
The use of some of the names above, especially Sam Raimi are very
popular directors/producers which is a persuasive element as the audience
will most probably know of their successful work which provides more trust
in the film.
• It also provides the names of the actors such as Geoffrey Dean Morgan
and Kyra Sedgwick as well as an extra website leading the more
information on Facebook.
Narrative
• Looking at Todorov’s narrative structure, you can compare this to the
trailer as it goes through all of the stages. Firstly you have the
equilibrium where there is a balance. The first characters you see are
the parents which is the balance. This then leads on to a disruption in
which it focuses on the main little girl who finds the box in which the films
stems from. They then try to repair the disruption by going to see
specialists and doing the exorcism. However, they do not show you the
overall ending as this would spoil the film; they show all the events
leading up to it, therefore the audience would need not go and pay for
the film.
Performance
• The performance of all the actors is of a very high standard. Each actor suits
their role within the film; especially the father who is played by Geoffrey Dean
Morgan. However, in my personal opinion, the young girl who gets possessed
didn’t play the part as well as she could have due to some parts being dull. The
use of successful actors also allows the audience to have more trust and
expectation in the film.

3. Release Dates
• The trailer doesn’t specifically say when the release date is, it
only shows ‘Coming Soon’ and a website where you can find more
information. This could be due to enticing the audience to keep
updated. Also, as the film came closer to being shown in
cinemas, it would have had the release date shown at the end as
it has been updated. The release date was 31st August 2012 from
recent trailers and the website. It would have only shown the
release date for the UK and it is where it is being shown.
However, the date would have been different if shown in other
countries such as the USA.
Camera Work
• The camera work is very good, it uses a wide variety of different
shots and many techniques that increase the tension of the film.
It includes many jump cuts that allow you to focus on the
important aspect of the scene such as when the young girl finds
the box at a yard sale. There are also a couple of establishing
shots which allows the audience to create the scene and
understand where it is based etc. which looks into the context.
The use of close ups show the audience the facial expressions
which could be considered the most important as it is a
thriller/horror meaning the actors have to act of the influence of
a ‘spirit’ that is supposed to be there although it isn't.
• The use of good camera work in the scene where the girl sticks a
fork into her dads hand only shows the actions of going to do it
rather than the after shot; the audience assumes it has happened
due to the acting and camera shots leading to it.

4. Editing and Sound
Some of the editing techniques are of a very high standard and is personally, why I
like the trailer/film the best. I have gained many ideas from this trailer when
looking at editing especially the scene where the spirit gets released from the girl
which shows essentially a swarm of flies leaving her body. I want to do a similar
scene with to show the same thing. However, I may have to change some sections
as they would have used high quality equipment so I may need to change some of
the editing techniques come the post production phase. Another good example
would be when the box moves by itself into the corner of the room. It
accompanies sound effects with it which makes it scary and more effective. They
have made the box move faster then suddenly stops when the music stops.
The Sound matches a lot of the actions and editing. Throughout the trailer, they
have used a variation of different sound effects as well as music. The music they
have used within the exorcism scene is quite powerful as it sounds choir like or
people would associate it with the church.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gBeG31fX40

5. Trailer 2 – The Apparition
Credits –
• Within the trailer itself, it doesn’t actually show the credits at all other than the Warn Bros (Time
Warner) and Dark Castle logo obviously showing who is creating it. However, you don’t get to find
out the director or producers, including the actors like you would in other trailers. This could be
harmful to the film as people may be influenced by certain people within the production to
actually come and watch it. One of the reasons it may not mention actors names would either be
because people are likely to know who they are like myself but only because they are from films I
would enjoy. This could differ with different audiences as others may not know which could be
why they haven’t including names as they aren’t hugely famous actors. It does give a website at
the end leading to Facebook which will give this information and release dates (as it only included
‘Coming Soon’).
• More recent trailers may be shown when the opening of the film is approaching which may give
different bits of information such as the release date.

6. Narrative
One of the main strengths of this trailer is the fact they have
narration at the beginning which sets the scene and lets the
audience understand what’s going on and why they are
doing certain things. For example, the narrator says that it
was a college experiment that succeeded and therefore
released a spirit. It then stops and allows the actors to
portray the rest of the story. The voice of the narration suits
the trailer and genre very well. It is serious and is a male
voice which goes well when he is explaining the experiment
as the audience may associate him with a professor etc.
Performance
The acting is quite well done, especially as I know of the
actors and love the films they have starred in. The main girls
acting out shines the other actors especially in the scene
right at the end of the trailer when she is being captured by
the spirit. However, one of the men who is shown laying on
the ceiling could have been done to a much better standard.
He makes it look unrealistic, perhaps just because the other
two actors are really good. There are only four people shown
in the entire trailer which seems odd as you would expect
extras or random people in the background of certain
scenes. In my opinion, this is another factor showing its
unrealistic.

7. Camera Work
• The camera work is done well as it creates tension and suits the storyline.
There are random flashes of science related images such as DNA and
chemicals etc. which links in with the experiment story.
• The camera also shows the events through another camera which is actually
shown in a film. It is clear to see through the differences in camera quality –
this really effective.
• Other parts of the camera work would be jump cuts which makes the trailer
jumpy as well as close ups which, again, show the actors emotions. Also, the
mid/long shot used when all three are standing looking over the town is
useful to the audience as it creates contextual information such as where
they are etc.
• The last shot is one of my favourite's which I would love to somehow
incorporate into my trailer. At the end the main girl is sitting very still and the
camera slowing zooms into her face whilst the demons hand wrap around
her body and eventually her face showing the audience she has been
captured.
Editing and Sound
• At first I didn’t think the sound was very good but once I listened again, there
were many effects that I didn’t notice because I was focusing on everything
else that was happening. Some of the sound effects were slowed down when
something scary was about to happen, then when it did – it sped up and
made you jump which was really effective. There are many sounds that link in
with the storyline such as the sound of equipment in the background, some
of which are squealing/squeaking sounds which are really quite
uncomfortable to listen to but it creates tension.
• One of my favourite effects used in this trailer would be at the end when you
can hear the girl’s thoughts but she isn't actually speaking it out loud.
• To link in with the genre, it follows some contemporary aspects such as
screaming and the sound of the demon itself.
• Looing at the editing techniques, they may have used some form of CGI to
make it look like her bed sheets were suffocating her. It created the shape of
her body which was really scary and it makes the audience feel
uncomfortable.
• Lastly, other good editing techniques included the girl getting sucked through
the wall as well as the man laying on the ceiling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7pY71AvnlE

8. Trailer 3 – The Skeleton Key
Credits
The credits are not shown at the beginning of the trailer but at the
end, all together. It is a black screen with white writing right at the
very end, tell the audience information about the film such as actors
involved, directors etc. It tells us that the film has been written by the
writer of ‘The Ring’ which is a very successful scary film. This gives the
audience more faith that the new film will also be a success. This is
the same with the mention of the actors’ names including Kate
Hudson, Gena Rowlands and Peter Sarsgaard. It also tells you the
director, Iain Soffrey and produced by Daniel Bobker.
Performance
In my personal opinion, I think the performance in this film is of a very
high quality. All three of the main actors are well known actors and
have had successful careers. The use of actors such as Kate Hudson is
appealing to audiences, firstly because she is a celebrity but also
because of her appearance. Looking at Laura Mulvey’s male gaze
theory, many people would be interested in her appearance and
her, in turn being interested in the film. The elderly man plays a very
good scene within the trailer when she shows him the mirror.
Release Dates
It doesn’t specify exactly what date the film is released, which some
trailer don’t until nearer the time of release. However, it does say
right at the end, ‘Coming soon on DVD and Video’ which makes the
audience excited. It also specifies some of the platforms used such as
DVD which at the time, was becoming very popular and would have
been a favourable choice.

9. Camera Work
The camera work in this film is relatively good. At the
beginning, there is an establishing shot of a bright setting
which the woman is travelling across. This allows us, along
with her expressions etc. to see that she is travelling
somewhere new. However, as she gets to the house, it
starts to get darker and more mysterious. The camera work
uses good angles which match the actions and sounds well.
For example, when there is lightening, the camera has the
good woman on the left and a statue on the right which is
quite mysterious and unknown.
One of my favourite camera shots is when the elderly lady
is talking about the house. When she says ‘Skeleton Key’, it
switches to a shot which looks like it is inside the key hole
so you can see the shape of it. It allows us to see the young
lady walking towards what the audience knows to be the
door to the attic. As she goes into the room, the audience
already know it’s a bad idea so the camera turns upside
down as she walks in. This immediately tells the audience
this is negative. There are many close ups which are used
well, in the correct points so we can see the actors’
expressions. Lastly, when they are talking about seeing the
ghosts through the mirrors, the camera actually looks like
its looking through a mirror which is really effective.

10. Editing and Sound
The editing in this film is not as good as you would
expect. Even though it is a supernatural, scary
film, they tend to use real life situations to scare the
audience rather than digitally created images. For
example, when the elderly man points at who he is
scared of, he points to a door and a shadow suddenly
moves. Whereas, you would expect something to be
created perhaps by CGI like newer films.
However, the sound is quite effective as it sets the
mood. At the beginning, there is a happy song played
as she is on the way to the house but once she is
there, it stops which shows the audience there is
something wrong already and that this is the setting
for the evil happenings they are expecting. When the
camera looks upon the elderly woman, the sound
deepens which could give the audience some early
warning that she is the antagonist or the negative
character; also known as dramatic irony. This is the
same when the younger woman opens the attic door
as a deep slow bang sounds showing she shouldn’t
be going in there.

11. Poster – The Possession
Colour Scheme – looking at the colours used in the
poster, the background is a dull grey which I
personally think should have been darker to create
a more mysterious, dark effect. This grey is too
light for such a disturbing film. However, the use of
the light blue/green colour for the girls outfit looks
like a hospital gown which is in keeping with the
story line. The poster is quite bland in colour as
they are mainly focusing on the
image, however, the overall colour scheme is dark
and dingy. The left hand, bottom of the poster is
black whereas the rest is not. It makes it look like
the blackness is spreading which is really effective
and links in with the spirit spreading through the
girl.
Looking at composition, the rule of thirds is used
well in this poster as it is spaced out equally. The
eyes go to certain important places on the poster
such as both ends of the title and the hand which
is the main focus.

12. Image – Immediately, the image is very disturbing and
scary in itself. You can’t see the girls face as the hand is
covering it but if you were to have already watched the
trailer you would know what the girl looked like. The fact
that you can’t see the girls face is very unusual and scary
so the audience would want to find out more. It could also
show that the protagonist’s identity has been taken
away, something that is important for the audience to
relate to.
Font – The main title you see is The Possession which is
white which you wouldn’t expect in a scary film as the
connotation of white is pure and innocent. However, this
could represent the girl as the spirit takes over her
because she is pure. It shows juxtaposition and contrast
with the rest of the poster. It also has lines and splatters
through it which could be seen as blood perhaps. Another
link to blood would be the release date being in red which
the eye immediately goes too as well as having the
connotation of blood or perhaps love which shows the
relationship between the father fighting to save his
daughter.

13. Poster – Skeleton Key
Colour Scheme – The colours are quite dark but as it has a
face on the poster, it uses the skin colour of the model also.
It almost looks like a sepia effect has been used. It seems to
darken as you go up the poster which I think is because he
is looking slightly upwards at something – which we don’t
know what – so it will darken at what he’s looking at.
Looking at the rule of thirds, it has been used in this poster
so you look at the title as well as the eye which has used
super imposition to insert another picture inside – perhaps
to look like what the man is seeing.
The image on this poster is one of my favourite's because of
the use of two pictures put on top of each other. It tells the
audience a bit about the story just from the poster. For
example, you can see the man is elderly from his skin, you
can also see what could be the same man, sitting in a
wheelchair which brings the question – why is he in the
wheelchair? Also, the house he is looking at is obviously
important if he’s sitting there staring at it and to be the
main focus point on the poster.

14. Font – The title is the first thing you see as it looks
like it is coming out of the picture. The title is very
clever as they have used an ‘£’ sign which looks like a
key hole to replace the ‘e’ in ‘key’.
The colour is also slightly bright which firstly makes
me think of a bright light shining through the key
hole – perhaps this is from a scene in the trailer
which reminded me.
Right at the top of the poster, Kate Hudson’s name is
spaced out. This shows she is the main actor in the
film and also could show her fame as she is the only
actor shown on the poster – it could draw people in
just because she is in it.
The use of the eye could be significant and linked in
with the film. The eye is the main focal point on
someone’s face as it shows their emotions. Also, the
eye could be linked spiritually as it is said you look
into someone’s soul through their eyes.

15. Magazine Cover – Sherlock Holmes
Colour Scheme – The colours used in this magazine cover suit the
genre very well. The use of the blue and white creates a smoky
effect which is mysterious. Blue also connotes coldness which
suits the film well. I will look into connotations when creating my
magazine cover as it creates an in depth effect. The title is in bold
capitals which is just the normal convention of ‘Total Film’
magazine as the same one is used on every magazine.
However, this title is white which would usually portray purity or
innocence. This could be juxtaposition as there is a contrast
between this and the thriller/horror genre. The background is also
very subtle as it shows buildings which, from contextual
knowledge about the film would be London buildings such as the
Big Ben on the right perhaps.
Image – The image is of one of the characters which I am going to
use on my cover. It will be the main actress once she has been
possessed which will be accompanied by a dark eerie background
and title. The model on this cover is also very famous and could
be one of the aspects of why audiences would actually come and
see the film either because of their fame or the fact that their
previous films have been successful which gives faith in this film.
This is the same with directors and producers. The models
position is looking straight forward and is standing straight up
with his hands in his pockets showing he is quite relaxed yet
thinks quite well of himself.

16. Rule of thirds – The rude of thirds is used really well on
this cover as the eyes go to the most important aspects
of it. For example, straight away you look at the models
face which is important as you see who it is (fame) as
well as the expression. You also see the title of the fame
and can immediately associate all other aspects with it
such as the actor and background.
Text – The text on a magazine cover would obviously be
a lot more than it would on the film poster. This is
because the magazine would be advertising the film in
order to gain a larger audience. The title of the film
would usually be all in the same colour. However, this
cover uses white and blue perhaps to give more
emphasis on ‘Sherlock’ as people would automatically
know what film it is if they were to see it quickly for
example. The font used is not what I would expect this
film and genre to be. It should be a harsher, bolder font
to stand out more effectively.
From this I will use the main actress as the model. I will
also use a bolder font than this as it is in keeping with
the scary genre and so it stands out more.

17. Magazine Cover – New Moon
Colour Scheme – Even though New Moon is not classed as a horror, it is
still quite mysterious and supernatural.
The background is pitch black and there is no variation in colour. From
knowing the film, I know this is juxtaposition as the actor shown is not
the evil character but is seen, by some, as evil which could be why they
have used black (dramatic irony)
The use of yellow on the title is used so that it stands out which it does.
Yellow usually connotes happiness or sunshine which completely
contrasts what happens in the film. I wouldn’t have used yellow as it
does not look very in keeping with the red on the ‘Empire’ title. The red
goes really well as it connotes blood, love and lust which is what the
film is all about.
Image – The image is of the main character in the film and one of the
most popular. He is also very famous and appeals to many young
teenagers. Laura Mulvey’s male gaze theory links in with this as the
model could be partly why people are interested in the film/magazine.
The rule of thirds also makes the audience look straight into the actors’
eyes which shows the emotion on his face. Also, the eyes are quite
important to the film and his character as the orange eyes show that he
is a good vampire rather than being evil who have red eyes.
Text – The text is suitable for the magazine as it is bold and bright – it is
easily viewable. The ‘Empire’ font is always kept the same as it is a well
known magazine and this is partly how it is recognised. There is not as
much text on this cover compared to the other as less cover lines are
used.