1. Dream house – analysis
How does it establishgenre?
The trailerstarts forthe soundof someone playingthe pianopoorlyforexampleachild.This
suggestsa lackof perfectioninthe pianopiece showssomethingbadisgoingtohappen.Alsoitadds
to the sense of eerinessandthe threateningatmosphere.Alsothe factthatthe instrumentuse isa
pianowhichisa soloinstrumentemphasisesthe factthat the audience andthe characterswithinthe
filmare isolated.The Beginningof the trailergoesonto Daniel Craigsaying"once upona time"
resemblingchildhoodnurseryrhymesandfilms.Thisgivesthe effectof darkhumouras though
"once upona time"shouldmake youthinkof somethingcomfortinge.g.bedtime stories.However
the creepinessoverallsit andtake the outsetof comfort.The firstshotis of a childthisgivesthe
impressionof horror,asthe dark lightisusedwhichhasconnotationsof deathand nightmares.
Furthermore aswe see that there are childreninthe film, due tothe fact thatthey are meantto be
innocentandvulnerablemakesthe audience confused.Thisisbecause thiscertainstereotype isnow
subvertedandistwistedmakingitmore creepyandunsettling.
What are the keysellingpointsin this trailer?
Daniel Craigisa USP as he isan unusual choice forthe main lead.Thisisbecause horrormovies
conventionallypignotwell-knownactorsforparts, thisisbecause thenaudiencesdon'thave any
expectationstowhatmayhappene.g.JenniferAndersonisstereotypicallyknownforromantic
comedies,meaningwe will have asanaudience anideato whatwill happenatthe end.Therefore in
horror as there isno tellingyoucoulddie,be the victimorthe villain etc. addingtothe suspense of
horror. Therefore asDaniel Craigisusedthere isnocertaintytowhat may happentohimin the film
makingthe audience more anxiousthroughoutthe wholeprocess.Anotherkeysellingpointisthe
supernatural/psychological factor.Thisisintriguingtothe audience asthere isthatsense of
confusiontowhatis happeningandwhoisthe victim/villain.Due tothe fact that itis humannature
for usto findout the answer,the psychological elementmakesitharderforus to dothat therefore
inthe endwe are enticed.AlsoDaniel Craig'svoice overstartingwith"once uponatime".This
accompaniedbythe single nightpiano,whichiscontrolledbythe cutsof the shots.This suggeststhe
familyisnotincontrol overanyof the situation,neitheristhe audience whichisthreatening.
How does it establishthe mood?
The use of the voice-overstartingwiththe Nurseryrhyme,immediatelymakesthe audience thinkof
children. Alsoasitinvolvestwolittle girlsthe audienceare inshock,as girl stereotypicallyare more
vulnerable due towesternideologieswhichare beingrepeatedoveryearsandyearsof media,
therefore enhancingthisidea.The twogirlsmake the audiencewanttosympathise withthem,as
we immediatelyassumethattheyare indangerand needhelp.Alsothe tone inthe voice overis
slowandquiet.Thisimmediatelydoesnotscare the audience butmakesthemfeel depressed.
Howeverasthe trailercontinuesthe moodchangesasmore informationisgivene.g.the murders.
Thisgivesthe audience more understandinghoweverthe knowledge emitsfeartowardsthe
audience.

2. How does it use genericcodes?
The use of the dark lightingthroughoutthe wholetrailerisa geneticcode withinitself.Darknesshas
connotationsof deathandevil,therefore are missingamoodof fear,whichisthreatening tothe
audience.Alsoasthe lightingisdarkitisunclearfor the audience whattheyare watching,whichis
more confusing,wheneditingtechniquessuchasjumpcutsare usedit ismore dramatisingand
shocking.Alsothe darknesscouldbe asymbol withinthe trade up. A symbol of a feature or
characteristicof one of the characters,for example asatrailergoeson we geta sense thatDaniel
Craig hasa dark side tohischaracter. Moreoverthe symbol couldbe a signof destructionthatwill
unfoldwithin the trailer.Furthermore the non- diabeticmusicisanothermaingenericcode.The
suddensoundsare soundsthathave beenemphasisede.g.childrenlaughing,doorslamming.Thisis
done to firstfrightenthe audiencebutalsothe pianomusicandthe nurseryrhyme music,relate to
the childrenthissuggesttheycouldhave amajorpart withinthe film.Alsothe use of children
laughingisanotherexampleof darkhumour.Forexample laughterhasconnotationsof happiness
and familyhoweverwhenusedinthissituationitemphasisesonthe factthat thisfamilyisnot
happy.
What is the expectationsof the film?
Due to the beginningstartwiththe nurseryrhyme,firstlyitsuggeststhatthe mainfocuswill be on
the childrenthishighlightstheirvulnerabilityandisolationfromthe restof the characters. Secondly
the ironyis emphasisedasthe conventionsof anurseryrhyme isa happyending.Howeverdue to
the fact that it isis a horror thissuggeststhatit will be farfromhappyending.Alsorelatingto
audience expectations,horrorshave codesandconventionsthataudiencesexpectandwill see when
watchinga horror. Forexample,blood,gore,murders,psychological disturbancesetc.
What ideologiesdoesthe trailerestablish?
Ideologiesof childrenwhichare testedandmeasuringtheirvulnerability.Byhavingchildreninthis
traileritplayswithaudiencesfearsespeciallytargetingparents.Thisisa wayto scare audiencesbut
at the same time relate tothemforinstance havingthe childrenbeingmurdered isnotsomething
that happenstoregularparentseveryday,howeverlotsof people withinthe audience will have
childrenwhichisaway to communicate withthem.Alsohome andsafe touse challenge withinthis
trailer.Thisisplayingwithfearsasyour home is meantto representasafe place howeverwhenthis
isthe subvertedandtwisteditchallengescertainideologies.Thisshowsthe beautyof ideologiesand
howtheylinkinwithgenresforexample horrorsare designedtochallenge ideologiesthistherefore
isthe reasonwhywhenwatchingahorror you feel unsafe because all ideologiesare challengedand
subverted.
Whichelementsare particularly successful inthe trailer?
The relationshipbetweenthe non-dieteticsoundandmusiccompare tothe use of editing.For
example the beatof the pianonote isadjustedtothe cuts.This issuccessful because itaddstothe
sense of creepinessandthatsense of a lack of control towardsthe audience,makingthemfeel
unsafe andnot at ease.Alsothe narrative issuccessful,forinstance the familywhichcanbe
generalisedtoeverybodybutaddingmurdersinwhichtherefore isplayingwithpeople'sfearsand
ideologies.Whenlookingattrailersandthe purpose of traileritisto entice andscare audiencesbut
alsomake it lookattractive sothat theywill come andwatch.Therefore whenlookingatthistrailer
it hasin mostsensescompletedthat,thisisbecause ithasstar appeal e.g.Daniel Craigthe editingis
done verywell e.g.dissolvesandfastcutsand the use of characters e.g.children.

3. Whichelementsare least successful?
I foundthat the part that wasLeast successful wasinthe trailerwasthat there wastoomuch of the
narrative whichwasshown.Whichmade the trailerlessof affective asitwasnotas scary as it
could've been.Thisisbecause theycouldinventionof a horror isthe unknownandaddingto that
sense of mystery.Thiswastherefore diminishedthroughthe narrative beingshowninthe trailer.
Does the trailer meetexpectationsofthe target audience of this filmand how are they explicitly
targeted?
The target audience of thisfilmisfamilye.g.parentsoryoungadults.Therefore Ithinkthattheydid
target them.Thishasbeendone throughtestingandchallengingideologiese.g.childrenindanger
and safetyof the home.Therefore ashorrorsare meantto scare and threatenaudiencesthey
manage to complete this.Alsoitcouldbe arguedthatanothertargetaudience isteenagers,strictly
speakingandtechnicallytheyare the closesttochildren,therefore whensuchtechniquesare used
as nurseryrhymesittriggersandemotionwithinthemastheyrememberthe comforttheyfeltwhen
hearingbedtime stories.Bythisthenbeingtaintedwithmurdersandhorrorconventionisitthen
ruinstheirchildhoodmemoriesandbecomesmore shockingandscarywhenwatchingthe trailer.
Narrative structures
Todorov withhistheoryof equilibriumanddisequilibriumworkswellwiththistrailer. Itstartswith
equilibriumwithvisual imagesof A familye.g.childrenrunningaroundparentslaughing.This
immediatelywill make the audience feelcalmandsafe andalso lookat theirownfamiliesandrelate
to theirownmemories.Howeverthe state of equilibriumischangedwhenthe repetitive soundof
the constant pianonote plays,givingthe impressionof aclocktickingas if time isabout to runout
for the family.Thisimmediate whenwe asthe audience findoutthatthe childrenandfamilywere
murderedandfromthenon itis a star of disequilibriumandunbalance withinthe trailer.