This document provides a detailed textual analysis of scenes from the trailer for the film SPLIT in 3 paragraphs: 1) The opening scene shows a group of girls in a shopping center. While seeming normal at first, details like the shaky camera work add an unsettling tone and sense that something is wrong or someone is following the girls. 2) A long shot down a dark tunnel features disorienting camera movements and unnerving piano music, building tension about what may lie ahead for one of the girls who was pulled away. 3) Shots of the girls in an underground, stone room with unsteady facial expressions and postures reflect the disturbing situation they find themselves in.

1. Textual Analysis of a Teaser
Trailer

2. https://www.
youtube.com
/watch?v=84
TouqfIsiI –
SPLIT Trailer
(2017)

3. From the long shot we can establish that it’s currently day time and that it is placed in a shopping centre, the girls
presented in this long shot are wearing normal casual clothes, such as a baggy jumper and some jeans, intending
that they are just out for the day. The amount of cars that are parked make it seem as if it were a busy area as due
to the time of the day and area that it’s placed it would normally seem that way on a weekend. The lighting used
seems to be high key as it’s almost as if they used natural lighting from the sun. Just from this scene alone we can
establish that it is normal therefore the mood created is quite relaxed and laidback. Nevertheless, this shot is also a
camera held creating that shaky look, this can represent a sense of uneasiness or being scared, an addition to that is
that the camera follows the group of girls this can present a sense of being followed or stalked by someone and the
fact it’s higher than them could potentially mean that it’s something much more darker and scary following them.
The sound on the other hand queues in immediately when this shot cuts in, the sound played is a non-diegetic
sound of what seems to be chimes, but it seems to get quicker fairly quickly, the chimes used can also be used to
portray that sense of uneasiness as it matches well with the handheld camera. Overall this shot is portrayed as
uneasy because as an audience we get that sense of something is not right however, the characters do not know
what is going to happen to them, which leads on to the question of what will happen to these girls.

4. For this extreme long shot it is portrayed as eerie and odd as the area that it is shown is not a normal location many
people would visit which gives off that aura of uneasiness, as an addition it also uses selective focus more towards
the closer area, blurring out the back bit, this is most likely to give the sense of, “What is at the end of the tunnel?”
to add to this point, the lighting is quite dark and dingy however it incorporates that “light at the end of the tunnel”
scenario. The camera seems to be located on a moving table/bed, as from this shot it moves in a straight line
however gives off that feeling of being push in a bed like a patient in a hospital, it shakes as if it were on uneven
ground giving it that slight shakiness to it. Before this shot we were shown a girl being pulled by something so
perhaps this is a point of view of what she is witnessing, this would give the audience a sense of panic as they don’t
know what is going to happen however it does seem bad. For this scene there is also a non-diegetic piano playing,
but only playing one key every 2 seconds this acts as if it were a build up which incorporates the idea of the panic
for the female being pulled away to the unknown. Overall, this shot is presented as confusing as the audience may
ask on what is exactly happening, however, the long camera shot, the eerie piano key, the short duration of the clip,
and the uneasiness of the camera senses that it’s not so great.

5. From this long shot we can establish three girls sitting on the beds, the girls seem to be in an unsteady set of
mind due to their facial expressions looking panicky and uncomfortable, this can also be told by the two girls
on the right their posture is odd as they are close together not sitting comfortably this can perhaps means
that something is wrong. Nevertheless, the girl of the left looks more dominant as her posture is quite relaxed
and she’s separated herself from the others, this can show she is more familiar with the situation as is
prepared for it, however she does look somewhat frightened. For the lighting it does look a bit dull and dank,
especially with the background wall being stone (which is unusual for a bed to be nearby) this can indicate
that it’s underground and unlike the first clip I chose being busy and bright, this is the opposite, isolated and
dark. Due to the darkness it creates a darkness around the girls as if they were becoming silhouettes, or just a
shadow, this can portray the sense of being forgotten. As for the sound, it has a non-diegetic piano key which
varies from a high key to low, this gives the sense of uneasiness. They use the sound as a duration of the shot,
so once it does the low key it cuts to this scene, but when the high key sound queues, it cuts back out. This is
a clever way to use sound as it feels like a build up, this creates suspense for the audience.

6. This medium/long shot of the rose on the bed is quite simplistic in the way of creating a certain mood. As for
the other shots it’s always been uneasy, just for this shot alone the rose somehow makes it fairly peaceful, this
could be for what roses are normally used for such as events like a wedding, or a sad but peaceful funeral.
Despite how the rose is placed on the pillow of course it has the hints of unsettling emotions, such as the girl
on the side of the screen, It doesn’t show all of her, therefore we can’t tell what her facials is but her posture is
very closed and almost personal-like, this can present a sense of something bad, so she is ultimately ‘hiding’
herself. The lighting is also quite dull, almost could be low-key, however this gives off a ‘odd’ feeling as like I
said previously, it’s unusual for beds to be underground. The girl appears to be fading into darkness almost
like a silhouette, but nevertheless she has a soft glow perhaps showing that there is a chance? For this shot,
there is a narrative that is said that, “There is a flower in the bedroom, and in the bathroom, this could mean
we’re Important” which gives a sense of calmness however, there is still the high and low key music which
cancels that sense of calm, with them piano keys they added what sounds to be an old squeaky wheel, this
creates irritation, and more suspicion on what is truly happening.

7. This shot is quite interesting as its mixed between an extreme long shot and a long shot, depending on how
you look at it, the door is close up blurred out so we would focus on out the door crack, this can give a sense
of being trapped or isolated from the outside. Peering through the crack in the door we can see that there is
a female (or what appears to be a female) dressed in a long skirt and heels, this can be quite formal, however
looking into a crack in the door makes it’s odd and eerie as we don’t get a full picture of the person. The
lighting appears to be high key as it looks well-lit in the ‘outside’ area this enhances the idea of being
trapped, in contrast with the dialogue where the three girls start banging on the door shouting, “We’re in
here!” The banging on the door emphasises that they are indeed trapped and wanting to get out, it gives a
sense of fear. This shot is slightly longer than most of them, this makes the shot slightly more important as
this actually introduces the psychological half in this teaser.

8. This extreme long shot, it shows a man running down the stairs as if he were in a rush to be somewhere, this
fits with the duration of the shot as the pace goes well, apart from that this believes to give a sense of
intensity and suspicion. This shot also rotates which gives a sense of being trapped as it feels like its stair after
stair, almost if you were in the mind of the antagonist, this spinning could create crazy, or worse.
Nevertheless, the male appears to be in formal wear so perhaps he is in a rush for a meeting? As the audience
this can only raise suspicion of what’s occurring. In the voice over it talks about how a woman has never ‘see
and case like this before’ referring to the antagonist having multiple personalities, possibly having multiple
personalities could leave someone feeling confused or feel like they’re repeating over and over, thus why this
shot was included to give that sense of confusion and being trapped. Like I said previously this shot only lasts
around 2 seconds before fading away this could enhance the pace and make it more intense. Overall, I find
this shot intriguing and I like the use of the spinning camera movements as it has that sense of repeating, and
it leaves the audience in to thinking about the situation as the trailer unravels the mystery.

9. From this long shot we have two characters conversating with each other, however, in the dialogue the
question, “Who are you?” is asked, this strikes a nerve in the male character making him uneasy, however
from his posture he looks upper-class and as if he were to impress, as his clothes compliment that statement.
On the other hand, the woman in a blue jacket looks suspicious as she askes the question making her seem
intrigued in him. For the lighting it appears to have a contrast between the light and the dark, as the light
shines more onto the male, giving him that light outline on him yet still having that dark shadow on his front
half, this could represent that he puts on a fake personality to make him appear ‘good’ however, he has that
dark side which could mean that he has more of a bad side as most of him is ‘covered’ in shadows, on the
other hand the woman has half and half, perhaps suggesting that she’s neither good or bad, just a curious
person, she is more dominant in this situation as she is the one asking the questions, after this was asked the
music dies down which perhaps suggest that the male in this situation stop for a moment to think. This
statement also adds the idea that the intense music that is playing could be the male characters brain, and his
thought process, this enhances the situation drastically.

10. In this scene we can tell that we are back in the underground area that was introduced in the
beginning of the trailer. The underground area is presented as dark and eerie, this makes the situation
unstable as it’s not exactly a ‘happy’ place. In this scene we also see a male he appears to be
struggling, or attempting to do something, this confuses the audience as it’s not exactly clear on what
the trailer is suggesting.
Furthermore, this shot only lasts a couple of seconds this makes it fast pace and can enhance the
intensity, and the overall feeling to the trailer. This is a high angle shot, this makes it appear as if the
character is lower, and it could also suggest that he is non-dominant, however in this scenario he
seems as if he is in pain, this is suggested with the diegetic sounds of bones breaking/moving and him
grunting in pain. He appears to have shadows almost ‘consuming’ him, this can also suggest that he is
turning into something bad or it’s over taking him.

11. This extreme long shot shows a area which appears to be under a train station, It seems like It’s dark and
dingy almost cold looking, no one would normally go there at night. In the background it appears to be lights
coming from a huge building, this appears to be the only light source until the flashlight appears. In the far
distance you can see a male figure run away from the flash light, this could suggest that he is afraid of the
light and wants to keep in the darkness, or he could be afraid of WHO is holding that flashlight.
Nevertheless, this shot is fast pace as it’s apart of a montage, this means that they want to get a lot of shots in
with as little information so the audience can be intrigued into the trailer to want to watch more. The sound
played in this shot in a non-diegetic sound, which almost sounds like a string on a guitar was pulled and left
for that eerie hum before pulling it again, that relates well with the montage as it adds intensity and curiosity.

12. Overall
This trailer is overall 2:30 as I couldn’t find an exact teaser for this movie, however, it still includes all the main
parts you would find in a teaser, a build up, leaves the audience wanting to watch more, and it’s slightly short.
In this trailer I believe people would be able to figure out it’s a psychological thriller as after the male comes
out wearing female clothing it leaves the audience thinking on what and why, further into the trailer it slightly
explains it saying he has 23 personalities, this answers a few of the audiences questions, however, the
character then goes on talking about ‘the beast’ this ideally askes more questions and intrigues the audience.
As well as to why he ‘kidnapped’ the three girls.
I would say the unique selling point for Split is his multiple personality disorder, it’s not viewed upon much,
this movie shows what it can do, however there is the good side to it.
I’d say the target audience for this film is most likely teenagers and up, it includes three teenage girls
therefore the teenagers would relate more in a way that they could understand the feelings that get
portrayed in the movie/trailer. However, young adults/adults may perhaps find it interesting as it’s not the
usual thriller film you would get, I’d say it’s carefully thought out. It may perhaps strike counsellors/therapists
as they may one day get a person with multiple personalities and it gives them a sense of how they can go
from one to another.

13. What could I perhaps use?
In this trailer a lot of ideas perked up, I liked the contrast between the light and dark, emphasising how
they could appear nice, but they are actually dark on the inside. But The most important thing from
this trailer is how they laid out their montage, it’s well put together, it’s short therefore fast pace and it
made sense. The trailer didn’t give away too much information however, it just gave a few basic ideas
of what the movie may be about.
The shot with the staircase was interesting as it represented the endless thoughts, as it rotated with
the stairs as well, it’d be interesting to add something similar as our antagonist was briefly made so we
could make something haunt his memories in a way that it’s an endless trail of thoughts.
I also liked how the music stopped once the woman asked who he was, it was almost as if we were in
his mind, and he almost stopped to think, and then it continues as if he is getting racing thoughts
about something which could link in with the stairs scene.