Analysis of the teaser trailer 'The Strangers'

'The Stangers' is a horror genre movie created in 2008. It is about a couple who moved into a new house and find themselves terrorized by masked men. The teaser trailer it's self lasts for 01:15. This teaser trailer is aimed at both genders aged 15+.

The opening scene is fairly simple yet effective. It starts with a black screen and a small square in the centre. The look of this is quite old fashioned as it looks like a projector  screen. A montage of seven images of houses appear in the square, non diegetic sound is used here when the images change, empathising the old fashioned feel. The page of this scene starts of slow but builds up speed towards the end creating a tense atmosphere. Non digetic sound is used in this part, at the start the sound is quite old fashioned, an upbeat sound with a man singing. However when the images speed up the sound changes from the man’s last note to what sounds like chimes and a deep pitch in the background. The combination of the fast pace of the music and the eary sound builds up anticipation and tension. While these images are flicking text has been used underneath to act as a narrator. To begin with the text portrays a happy feeling to go with the nice images of houses. The text then changes to a more dark feeling portraying to the audience something bad is going to happen. I think the text is very effective because the sound is quite and by reading the text builds up anticipation.

We are then shown an establishing shot which sets the scene for the trailer. It is night time therefore dark and is a MLS of a house. As it is a MLS the audience can see the forest surrounding the small house. This instantly creates a dark and eary feeling for the audience. This shot then fades into the next which is of a man alone in a kitchen lighting a candle. It is a MS so the audience can see he is alone in the poorly light room. Again this dark look portrays to the audience something is going to happen. The non diegetic sound at this point is an eary quite yet high pitched sound. This builds up anticipation which is what you expect from a horror genre.

The next scene is a very short clip to introduce the second character which is a women. The audience now know it is only them two in the house. Again the lighting is dim, the sound is eary creating an uneasy feel for the audience.

Next the couple have an intimate moment when they hug. From their body language and dialogue the audience know they are a couple. There is diegetic sound as they talk for a brief minute which breaks the high pitch sound. Suddenly there is a loud bang, this creates a juxtaposition from the intimate feeling to an uneasy one.

Then there are brief shots which are a mixture of MLS of the front door from the inside, a MS of the man’s facial expression and a MCU of the women putting her face against the door saying 'hello'. The transitions in this section are all fade, so it looks like they are all flowing and keeps the uneasy feeling.

Next is a very fast montage of shots which are mainly CU and MC. This is so the audience see the facial expressions of the characters. These shots are mainly of the characters face so the audience see their terrified expressions passing the feeling to them. CU shots of weapons are used to portray violence, this will make the audience feel a little scared. A lot of shots are low angle, this is because it portrays the feeling that the characters and venerable. All this time non diegetic sound is used such as a certain scream and clicking as the images pass. The links back to the start with the old fashion feel. The location is all within the house so the audience get the feeling that they are trapped. editing has been used by inserting transitions such as jump cut to make it look jumpy. Editing has been used to make some of the images look old and faded to make it look realistic and on edge.

One of the final shots is a MCU of three masked men standing. This creates an uneasy feeling for the audience as they cannot identify the men. As well as this non diegetic sound (screaming) has been added to creating a lasting impression on the audience. The screen then goes black and is silent as the audience take in what they have seen. It also creates a sense of the unknown. Next the style of the beginning comes back (the old fashioned look of a projection and the clicking noise). The title of the film is shown in large letters, this may be to create a lasting impression on the audience and so they remember it.

Finally the name of the director and 'based on true events' are shown on a black screen. One of the last things the audience see is the women crawling along the floor terrified and reaching out to the camera so it looks like she is asking for help. This may have been done to create a lasting impression and so the audience remember the film. Reference is made to media institutions such as 'Rouge' at the start.