Research into similar products

Typical conventions of a film trailer:
- Hand held camera causing the 'shaky camera' effect.
- Screams and loud unexpected noises.
- Close up shots of the characters.
- Showing the best bits of the films to attract the viewers.
- Intense build up indicating a frightful moment coming up.
- Use of dialogue.
- Protagonist.
- Dark lighting.
- Scenes set in typical domestic areas. E.g House, hospital.
- Battle fo good and evil.
- Disruption of normality.

Paranormal Activity 3

Looking into similar products that already exist i have found it very useful when picking out the conventions that have been included and typically what to expect in a horror film trailer. As my horror trailer is based on paranormal and unknown activity i thought this was an interesting trailer to analyse and pick out different conventions that i could possibly use in my trailer. 

Camera Work
At the beginning of the trailer a hand held camcorder is being used, you can tell this because of the 'shaky camera' effect. For the way it was being film at the start made the feeling it was home filming for memories of the children's childhood which is why the camera effect worked well in the section. Throughout the trailer there is a variety of different camera shots, including close up, medium long shots, panning and high angle shots. For horror films this is typical conventions that are found with using a wide variety of different shots to create different effects and feelings towards the audience. For example, in this trailer a close up is used purely to scare the audience and is used in an unexpected way accompanied by loud sound effects. As horror is out their to scare people are create the feeling of uncertainty this enables this atmosphere to be created using the different camera shots. Reflections are used during the bathroom scene in the trailer which allows the effect of the silhouette being created in the corner.

Sound
Throughout the film trailer there is a mixture of both digetic and non-digetic sounds. As the camera is filming the children the sound is filled with their laughter and dialogue between the characters. When it gets to the more intense scenes of the trailer the sounds seem to change to unrealistic sounds but are put in place to make the activity scare the audience and possibly make them jump. Screams are used a lot throughout as well, for example when the girl is dragged from the bedroom she screams over the top of the looped music.

Mise-en-scene
The costumes of each of the characters are very normal and what you would see typical families were. On the children they are seen in shorts and skirts with jumpers and t-shirts. As the lighting changes in the trailer towards the end it is hard to work out what the costumes are. The silhouette at the end is clearly dressed in dark clothing to ensure that it is just a silhouette that is seen on the camera with the dark lights.
The lighting throughout the film trailer changes as it goes through. At the beginning of the trailer natural lighting is used as it is set in a normal back garden, the scenes that are filmed in the house seem to have low key lighting as its not bright and vivid on the characters. As the scary sections start the lighting changes to being very dark, night lights are used during the bedroom scene. Although the scenes filmed in the natural light because of the editing effects you can tell some of this has been taken away.
The setting and props that are used throughout the trailer are very realistic. As the trailer is based around a house the props used are what you would typically find in a house. As the first section of the trailer is filmed in the back garden a trampoline is used which is filmed with the children using it. A variety of rooms are used during the trailer including the bedroom, playroom and bathroom. Having the the production filmed in a house makes a more haunted feeling that links well to the paranormal activity that will be happening.
The facial expressions, positioning and body language are only really seen on the children. Their facial expressions and body language of them is still very innocent which shows to the audience that they are just normal children and leaves that sense of mystery of what will happen to them.

Editing
The editing during the film trailer has been done to a very realistic and effective way. Starting the filming with the children playing innocently and having snippets of the scary silhouette pop up unexpectedly with the lighting and sound changing suddenly. In some of the scenes were the camera is filming the children playing, this has been slowed down into slow motion to emphasise their innocence with the change of sound during this to make the audience feel that it is getting more intense. In the middle of the film trailer the filming is broken up by some text stating when the film will be released which makes the audience aware of the time to expect it to come out. As well as this is says 'Discover, The Secret, Behind the Activity', this leaves the suspense going and creates an atmosphere to the viewers. With this broken up enables to audience to read it properly and not necessarily expect what is coming next although they may have gathered it gets scarier. Having the use of the camera changed, when the children decide to use it in the bathroom and then the silhouette appears in the corner this has been edited by overlapping the shots to make it look like its a ghost.

Duration
The duration of the trailer is what you would find typically to any other trailer. I think this is a good duration as it isn't too long for the audience to get bored and smaller snippets of the film can be put together quicker to make the trailer more intense and leave the audience hanging and wanting more. Although some other trailers are longer I still think this is a suitable time to use for a trailer.