Assignment 3 - Film trailer analysis

Split Movie Trailer



Trailer Explanation:

The genre of the movie 'Split' is horror/thriller. At the start of the trailer they use some music which builds tension and creates an uneasy atmosphere about what is going to happen next. This is a common theme in the horror genre as it builds suspense but also lets the audience be aware that something is upcoming. The setting at the start of the trailer is in a car park where the 3 girls are kidnapped. This is a common urban fear that is shared, being taken doing your normal everyday activities, in this case - grocery shopping. Then later on in the trailer the setting changes to an abandoned cellar where the young girls are kept captive. The lighting makes it look dangerous like it is makeshift light and as if the capturer made the cellar himself. On the walls there are a young child's drawings of a 'scary beast'. This creates a sense to the audience that something is wrong with the child we haven't met yet and that something bad is going to happen soon, doing this by using unusual settings and props. Suddenly, the camera moves as if it is the girls looking through the key hole and you can see a bottom half of a woman, this is giving off a sense of relief for the audience thinking this woman is going to save the young ones, the characters then get excited and therefore the audience gets excited too thinking someone was there to help the girls - also creates suspense. Suddenly the door opens and you see the girls kidnapper standing there in a 'posh' womans clothes and it really is the turning point of the trailer, showing what the movie is actually about - a person with an multi personality disorder. This created a sense to the audience that the film coming out will have a lot of plot twists to the movie and then creates excitement towards the release date of the film. The trailer then ends on a cliffhanger - which leaves the audience wanting more, therefore creating more attention around the movie.

How Mise En Scene was used:

In the trailer they used a cloudy and more 'darker' lighting before any of the action started, creating an unknown tension for the audience. The setting was in the parking lot of a grocery store in the middle of the day - which can scare the audience as it is such a 'normal, every day thing' that they all experience and do. The girls are dressed as the basic teenage girl would normally dress, therefore making it more uneasy for the audience as the characters are doing nothing out of the blue to attract attention to themselves. The setting then changes to a basement/cellar where the girls are being held captive. This place has no windows which means there is no way for them to escape and leaves the audience wondering if the teenagers would find a way out in the movie. You then see the man change costume depending on the personality he is - one as a young child, a woman, etc. This then makes the audience feel tense due to what will the personalities do to the girls and which one is the most dangerous one.

Characters:

In the trailer you can see 5 different characters overall.

1 character is one of the three girls dad - he soon goes missing and leaves the audience wondering what happened to him??

2 of the 5 we meet are some of the girls friends, they are the typical and normal teenagers you will see and this links to the conventions by making you worried as to how something like this could happen.

Another character we meet in the trailer is the main girl. She is shown out to be the heroin of the trailer - trying to find way out of the basement and talking to the nicer personalities of the capturer. She is shown out to be brave. This links to the conventions of a horror film due to the fact that almost all films have a brave and heroic character throughout the movie.

Last but not least - the kidnapper. Although he may have many personalities within him, he is still one person. This links to the horror film genre due to the case that all films have the 'bad guy' who has something different about them. Therefore scaring the audience by causing a creepy sense around the character.

On screen graphics:

The text used in this trailer is usually put on a dark, black screen suddenly with a sound effect. This creates tension and excitement to the audience as the trailer is fast moving therefore building anticipation. The text also has splits across it, this links to the movie title 'Split'. It makes the audience be well aware the main character has severely different characteristics and is 'Split'.

Sound effects/Music and Camera work:

At the start of the  film trailer you see the camera going towards a man, almost as if walking up to him. The music at this point is slowly building up creating suspense and making the audience suspicious. Then when the girl sees her father is missing a louder, sudden noise happens. This continues throughout the movie trailer. Whenever text appears then a sudden noise happens. 'Creepy' music continues throughout the trailer and creates anticipation and strain within the audience and viewers.