Analysis Of 'Grave Encounters' Trailer

For me, this trailer was greatly effective because of its music. Not only was it uneasy, but it ranged in sound levels. It rapidly changes throughout beginning with a windy noise which sets the scene. As more snippets through the trailer are revealed, the tempo of the music builds and slowly gets more eerie. The music is jumpy and louder in parts, with bangs and thunder bolts when something important happens, emphasizing that specific part not only visually but through sound. When paranormal parts of the trailer are shown, an uncomfortable scratchy noise occurs; this connotes danger and denotes that a spirit is near. As the tension builds and the characters move fast paced, the transition of the different clips is quicker; along with the music. It speeds up, making your heart race faster and entices you to keep on watching it because its difficult to tear your eyes away from the screen. Quick strumming on the string instruments makes the situation more spine-chilling because of its edgy, tense effect. As the trailer develops towards the end, all of the different sounds add up together creating more anticipation and anxiety.

The target audience for this trailer is for ages 15+ as well as horror film fans. Some shots in the trailer are hand-held camera shots and some are real footage. The variety makes the audience more eager to carry on watching as it is more interesting. Some shots are shot in colour and some are shown through the hand-held camera in the dark so has a ‘night vision’ making it seem more realistic are therefore more captivating and enthralling for the target audience. Through the use of quick transitions between shots, this makes the audience watching feel as if there is so much going on that is all becoming one big blurry mess. This is much like the emotion and behaviour of the characters in the film as they begin to question their sanity and descend into the depths of madness.

The use of shots in the trailer that make the audience jump is an important factor; this feature makes the trailer more memorable when the film is eventually released. This is then used for social motive; for people to discuss in conversation. These are memorable shots and stick in the audience head because they make you jump as it’s something that you don’t expect, for example when the bed falls from the ceiling and when the girl turns around and her face is distorted. When these shots are shown there is screaming, loud music or a loud bang – this adds to the scare factor.