1. Detailed Analysis Of Trailer
Camerawork: The camerawork used in this
trailer is all purposely used to create tension
and to entertain the audience. The intention of a
horror film trailer is to make the audience feel
suspense and to make them feel involved within
the film. At the beginning of the trailer an
establishing shot is used to show the audience
where the action from the film is going to
happen. The establishing shot in ‘Sinisters’
trailer shows the House where the action is
happening. This is typical for a horror trailer
because the trailer is made to show the
audience what is going to happen and so that
they feel intrigued to see the movie.
Several zooms are used throughout the trailer
to show that something bad is going to happen.
This is very common for a horror trailer
because the entertainment from a horror comes
through bad events. The zooms used in this
trailer are used when the audiences are being
introduced to the house. This once again shows
the audience that bad events will take place in
that house.
A wide shot is used in the trailer to show the
darkness and size of the attic. This shot is used
in the trailer to create further suspense and to
keep the audience wondering what is in the
attic. Wide shots are commonly used because
they show lots of empty space and this once
again keeps the audience guessing and creates
suspense.
EE Establishing Shot
Wi Wide Shot

2. Sound:Sound: In the trailer non-
diegetic sound is used throughout to
create suspense and tension. An
example of the non-diegetic sound
is when the father enters the attic;
there is an eerie sound to suggest
that the attic is a dangerous place.
This non-diegetic sound is used
because the film wants the viewer
to be on edge and feel frightened.
The sound warns the viewer that
something bad is going to happen
and it lures them in. Another
example of non-diegetic sound is
when the father see’s the
antagonist. The sound is very loud
and it’s unexpected so that the
viewer is frightened and they feel
more tension. This sound is
specifically used to scare the viewer
and to really make the feel involved
in the film. Diegetic sound is used
within the trailer also and an
effective use of this was when the
father is screaming. The scream is
very loud and signifies that he is
very scared of the antagonist. This
use of sound makes the viewer feel
the man’s fear and shares his
experience.

3. Mise En Scene:One area of mise en
scene which is used in the trailer is the
use of props. In the trailer the little girl
is holding an axe. This prop signifies
violence and pain. It is common for
horror film trailers to show props which
signify violence because violence is a big
aspect of horror films as horror films
represent horror. The axe in this trailer
shows the viewer that the little girl
holding it is violent and possessed as
earlier on in the trailer she wasn’t
shown to be violent. Another use of
mise en scene used in the trailer is the
low key lighting used in the attic. The
low key lighting signifies danger and
bad events. This makes the viewer feel
tense as they can sense something bad.
Another example of mise en scene in the
trailer is the make-up used on the
antagonist. The make-up used gives the
antagonist a very pale face which makes
him look gothic and this signifies horror.
The make-up also makes the antagonist
stand out so that the viewer can easily
recognise it.

4. Editing: The editing throughout most
of the ‘Sinister’ trailer is quite fast and
the cutting between scenes is also very
fast paced. This fast paced editing is
purposely used to create suspense and
to create drama. The fast paced editing
keeps the viewer on edge because
they’re seeing so many things in a short
space of time. The viewer is then
wondering what is going to happen next
and they feel anxious to find out. This
fast paced editing is commonly used in
horror movie trailers because the film
producers want the viewer to feel the
suspense and to feel on edge. Another
piece of editing used in the trailer is a
shot reverse shot between the male
figure and the antagonist. This is
commonly shown in horror movie film
trailers because this editing shows the
contrast between the emotions shown
by the opposite characters. This is
effective because it shows the fear of the
male figure and the anger presented by
the antagonist. When watching the
trailer the shot reverse shot also shows
the viewer clearly what the antagonist
looks like and this is also done to create
fear for the viewer.

5. Conventions Of Genre: The genre
for the film trailer that I am analysing is
horror and from watching the film
trailer I have noticed several things
which make the trailer conventional for
the horror genre. For example the use of
weapons in the trailer. An axe is shown
in the trailer and the axe represents
violence and aggression. This is
conventional for the horror genre
because the horror genre typically
represents violence. In most
conventional horror movies weapons
are used to hurt people and so therefore
the axe being used in this trailer is
conventional. Another reason why the
trailer is conventional is the storyline
which has evil and bad events. It is
conventional for a horror film trailer to
show how bad things happen to either a
person or people because horror films
are made to scare the viewer and this is
done by showing them fellow humans
being punished and abused. This trailer
is therefore conventional because it
shows how a man is personally targeted
by evil and he suffers throughout the
trailer. Another example of how this
trailer is conventional for the horror
genre is the antagonist. The antagonist
in this movie trailer does not appear to
be a normal human being and this is
conventional for the horror genre
because the antagonist can therefore
not be killed if it is a spirit form of life.
This makes the film scarier because the
viewer is aware that there is not likely
to be a happy ending as the antagonist
cannot be killed.

6. Conventions Of Format:The
horror trailer is conventional for a
trailer because it does what is expected
from a film trailer. For example it
doesn’t give away the ending through
the trailer. The intention for a trailer is
to persuade people to watch the movie
and if the trailer gives away the ending
then the viewer will not feel the need to
watch the full movie. Another reason
why it is conventional for a trailer is
because it keeps the viewer guessing.
For example after watching the trailer
the viewer is questioning whether the
antagonist is killed or captured because
the trailer doesn’t give this away. By
doing this the viewer will feel the need
to watch the full movie because they
want to know what happens.