Frame 1 is taken from the 2005 movie 'The Amityville Horror'. Our shot of the outside of the house bares some similarities to the shot from 'The Amityville Horror', such as it has been internally framed through trees which gives us the feeling that the house is isolated and that should anything go wrong its hard for anyone inside the house to escape and hard for anybody else to gain access. Another similarity between our shot and the shot from 'The Amityville Horror' is that both shots show just the house on its own, with no people, cars, pets or anything else around it which helps to add to the feeling of isolation and means that anybody staying in the house would be secluded from the outside world. There are also some differences between our shots, for example ours is set at night time whereas the frame from 'The Amityville Horror is shot in full sunshine. I think ours fits better with the horror genre because most horrors are set in the night time or in adverse weather conditions such as heavy rain and lightning, this is called the use of the 'pathetic fallacy' as a device. Another difference is that our frame was shot in low key lighting and at a canted angle, both of which are important in the use of horrors which commonly use expressionistic camerawork. Low key lighting and canted angles are commonly used in horror movies as a way of making the camerawork more expressive and to provoke different thoughts and connotations with the audience. Low key lighting can make us as an audience feel more paranoid because we don't know what else could be lurking in the darkness. Canted angles are used heavily because they can tell the audience that something is not quite right and can make the audience feel disorientated or uneasy with what they are seeing. They can sometimes also be used to represent the effects of alcohol or drugs on a person if they are shown at a canted angle.
Frame 2 is taken from the Australian horror movie 'Wolf Creek'. It is from a very similar sequence of fast paced, rapidly cut, varying shot distance, dancing shots from a party sequence similar to the one in our trailer. Both of these sequences, as well as many other similar sequences from similar movies are shot just before the equilibrium is disturbed and something unexpected happens and everything goes wrong. Teenagers are commonly used as characters in horror movies because the target audience for a horror is a teenager. As a result of this, the target audience is able to empathise with the characters because they are of the same age and may find themselves in similar situations to the target audiences lifestyle, such as a house party as shown in our trailer. There are some differences between the frame from 'Wolf Creek' and our frame from 'Deranged'. One difference is location, with the party sequence in 'Wolf Creek' being set inside a house and ours being set outside a house, in the back gardern. Another difference is that the frame from 'Wolf Creek' is a two shot, with another person shown in the background behind the main person in the shot. This is different to ours and suggests that something could already have gone wrong as our characters are already seperated and are on their own, however it would of been very hard for us to give the impression that we were in a large party because we were working in a small group. One other difference is the use of lighting in both frames. The frame from 'Wolf Creek' has been shot in high key lighting, whereas ours has been shot in low key, ambient lighting and has also had filters added to it to make it appear like night time.
Frame 3 is taken from 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'. It is an extreme close up of an eye, a shot that is commonly used in horror movies. Shots like these are used for a number of reasons, such as; they can make the audience feel like they are invading the personal space of the onscreen character, they can be used to help show emotions such as fear or upset, they can be used as transitions between shots, e.g. fading up from black to the next shot as the onscreen character opens their eyes etc. Both frames are similar in the fact that they been manipulated with the use of coloured filters to change the appearence and feel of the image. Both shots are very similar, however I personally prefer the direct gaze of the frame from 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' because as a member of the audience it looks more shocking to me.
Frame 4 is from 2007 movie, 'P2'. Both show close up shots of mobile phones showing "No Service" on the screens. This is a commonly used technique in horror movies because not only does it bring panic to the audience by making them feel like they are alone and trapped, it could also relate to other times in their lives where they have desperatly needed help and have been unable to get it because their mobile phones have been out of coverage and it also puts us in the perspective of the character. The two frames bare the similarity that they are extreme close up's of mobile phone screens, however I think the frame from 'P2' is more effective because at a glance it is much clearer to read what is on the screen. Another reason why I think it is more effective is due to the iconography of the low battery symbol in the upper right corner, which should also panic the audience more because they will worry that even if the character can get any signal, that the battery in the mobile phone will have died by the time they get somewhere with signal. In order to try and combat this issue we added a zoom in during our trailer towards the "No Service" writing to help to rectify this issue. If we were to do this shot again, I would suggest to my group that we started closer to the phone and zoomed in from their so the text was easier to read and also so the time of day was less aparent because the phone shows that the time is 14:22 in the afternoon, yet the picture has had filters added to it to make it appear like it is night time.
Frame 5 is an action shot from 'Cabin Fever'. Both frames have been taken from running sequences, in which the characters are alone in a heavily wooded area, but as a member of the audience we cannot see where or what they are running towards. Shots like these are commonly used in horror movies as a narrative enigma because the audience will be questioning themselves as to where the character is running towards or away from. Both shots have been taken with the cameraman crabbing alongside the character, with the midground in focus (where the character is) and the foreground and background out of focus. The frames from 'Cabin Fever' and 'Deranged' do have some differences, however they are very similar. The main similarity is that both are long shots that have been internally framed through a trees in a heavily wooded area, a typical setting for a horror movie. The main difference is the lighting, with the first shot being taken in high key lighting and very contrasting colours between the man running and the trees, whereas the frame from 'Deranged' is in low key lighting and the girl in the shot is harder to see due to the dark colours and shadows and she blends more into the background. The other major difference is the genders of the characters, obviously the character in 'Cabin Fever' is male and the character from 'Deranged' is female, however this is a very important difference as gender roles play a very important part in horror movies. Our shot helps to show the audience that the girl is a 'femme fatale' because she is running away, trying to save herself (and possibly others) and is not taking the stereotypical womens role of being helpless or being one first to die, get injured etc.
Frame 6 has been taken from Norwegian comedy horror 'Dead Snow'. This is a typical shot found in horror movies, showing a character with a weapon before they are about to use it. Shots like these are used because they help to give indicators to the audience as to what might happen in the plot. The similarity between the two shots is that both characters are shown staring directly at the camera wielding a sledge hammer as a weapon, however that is where the similarities stop. The most important difference here is that the shot from 'Dead Snow' is of a victim trying to protect himself which is commonly done in horror films, such as 'Shaun of the Dead' and 'The Shining' whereas our shot from 'Deranged' shows the villan with the weapon, which should therefore panic the audience as opposed to them becoming more hopeful about the survival of one or more of the characters. Another difference here is the setting; the frame from 'Dead Snow' clearly shows that the character is inside, in a well lit building whereas our shot from 'Deranged' has been taken outside, using only ambient lighting and has been somewhat disguised by the trees in the background, which in my opinion makes it scarier because the villan is harder to spot and comes launching out towards the camera and therefore appears as if he is running towards the audience.
Frame 7 has been taken from Clive Barkers 2009 movie 'Book of Blood'. Both shots are low level, close up shots of men laying on the ground, being dragged away by something or someone in the background, whilst trying to get a grip on the ground to stop them getting dragged away. Shots like these are commonly used in horror movies because they build tension very quickly due to them being shown at a fast pace and because they are often unclear to the audience who is taking the character and/or where they are going. Both frames have similarities and differences. The main similarities are that they are both shot in low key lighting, with the frame from 'Book of Blood' looking like it has been shot at nightime and the shot from 'Deranged' with filters added to it to make it appear like nightime. The major difference however is that in 'Book of Blood' it is not apparent who or what is dragging the character away or where to, whereas in the frame from 'Deranged' you can see the villan (although only from the neck down) that is dragging me under the bridge. The other difference is that in 'Book of Blood' the location is not very clear whereas in 'Deranged' the shot has obviously been formed outside.
Frame 8 has been taken from the 1990 horror 'Night of the Living Dead'. Both frames are birdseye, midshots of individuals laying on the floor in pain covered in blood. Shots like these are typically used in horror movies because they make the audience member feel helpless because they are distanced from the character, however they are scary, deep and thoughtprovoking frames because the audience can see fully the extent of the pain that the onscreen character is in because they are directly above them. The shots also connote death because the character is low down on the ground, as far down as they can go and because they are distanced from everyone else but desperatly needing help but are clearly not going to get it so the audience thinks that this is the end for the character. The similarities between the two frames are that both characters are the expressions and movements of the characters who are clearly screaming out in pain, reaching out for help, the shot distances and that they are both shot in low key lighting. The difference here between the two shots is that the one from 'Night of the Living Dead' has been shot inside with the character staring at the camera and appearing to be reaching out the audience in need of help, with our shot from 'Deranged' being more distanced with the audience being spectators watching him get worse and it is also at a canted angle with the camera not directly above the character, showing that something has gone seriously wrong.
Frame 9 has been taken from 'Eden Lake'. They are similar shots to the ones in frame's 8 in the respect that they show the characters in pain and covered in blood, however this time the characters seem much stronger because they are able to stand up and because they have a mennacing look in their eyes. Shots like these are commonly used in horror movies because they either add more panic to the audience if the shot is of the villan, like the one from 'Deranged' or they give the audience more faith that something will take a turn for the better because they see that the character is becoming strong again and may be able to fight back, such as in 'Eden Lake'. These shots bare some similarities in that they have both been shot in a woodland area, in low key lighting, with both characters covered in blood. They are also both close up images, showing both men from the shoulders up. However the shot from our horror trailer is different because the character is not the one that is endangered but is instead the one causing the danger.
Our trailer also meets some of the conventions of teaser trailers and horror movies. It is considered a teaser trailer because it does not give away the full plot and because it lasts for less than 1 minute 30 seconds, unlike full theatrical trailers which can sometimes take twice this amount of time. It also clearly gives the name of the movie, something which is obviously very important for marketing the movie because the audience will not be able to go out and watch it if they don't know what it is called. However our teaser trailer does not give away the production values of the movie such as named directors, movie stars etc. which is common in many teaser trailers because they help to attract audience attention who may like films by a certain star and therefore will decide that they will watch the movie being advertised to them, possibly even if the plot or genre doesn't appeal to them. The music is used to help guide us through the narrative and the intertitles because of the changing soundtracks, volume and tempo which help to make them fit with the action, this is called pleonastic music. As a horror movie it fits the typical horror conventions of; small, isolated locations such as the woods and private houses, expressive camerawork with an emphasis on canted angles and extreme close ups, low key lighting and weaponary such as the use of sledge hammer and because there is a final girl character, however from our trailer is it unclear whether or not she survives at the end, although this should not be revealed anyway in a teaser trailer.
