Influences

The Ring



Director- Gore Verbinski

Genre- Horror

Plot- A young journalist must investigate a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone in a week of viewing it.

Cast- Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, David Dorfman

Awards- ASCAP award, 2 Saturn Awards, 2 Golden Trailer awards, MTV Movie Award, Teen choice award.

The Ring trailer is made in an order which follows the storyline of the film, this acts almost as a blurb and shows the viewers what roughly happens throughout the film but leaves out the main details, this entices the viewer by leaving them to want to know how the story they have been introduced to ends. Through the use of the music and editing within the trailer you can tell that the film will start slow but finish at a fast pace, this is shown as the music becomes quicker and louder as the trailer goes on and the cuts between each scene become quicker. This speed aspect is also shown by the content within the clips for example at the beginning of the film the content is slow, calm and controlled, but as the trailer goes on the it becomes panicked and unpredictable with shots of smashing windows for example. Another shot used is one of a clock counting down, this gives the impression to the audience that the characters are becoming more panicked and rushed as the time of their deaths count down. The use of a catchphrase within the film, in this case ‘you will die in 7 days’ gives the film a niche like edge as the phrase is one which will stay in the minds of the audience and so makes the film recognisable. Throughout the trailer one of the main shots used was a close up, this gave the audience a focus point and showed them the most important parts of the storyline for example the ringing phone which was also reinforced by the loud sound of the ringing. The lighting within the shots in the trailer is dark; this reflects the dark storyline of the film. Through the use of dialogue the viewer of the trailer within the first 25 seconds will know the main storyline of the film, the trailer makers use this technique of using the dialogue to tell the story throughout and this gives an introduction to the characters within the film. The use of the pictures drawn by the child reflects innocence which adds to the horror effect as this character will appear to the audience to be harmless. The final shot of the film is a women jumping from a cliff, this could suggest to the audience that there are deeper issues within the film for the characters. The trailer leaves a lot of questions unanswered; this entices the audience to want to answer these questions and so want to see more.

The Grudge



Director- Takashi Shimizu

Genre- Horror

Plot- An American nurse living and working in Tokyo is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse, one that locks a person in a powerful rage before claiming their life and spreading to another victim.

Cast- Sara Michelle Gellar, Jason Bahr.

Awards- BMI Film Music Award.

The Grudge begins by setting the scene, this is done by showing an extreme long shot of a busy Japanese street but instead of the street noise; the audience can hear a ghostly wind sound, this already tells the audience that there is a haunting aspect to the film and that the genre of the film is horror. This use of showing a busy Japanese street also presents to the audience that the characters within the film are part of the main society and so brings an element of realism to the film which makes the film seem more realistic and because of this scarier for the audience. The makers of the Grudge trailer have made sound a crucial point and chose not to use dialogue to describe the storyline of the film; instead they chose to show it through writing within shots. This would emphasize the sound and so become a focus point throughout. The only pieces of dialogue which the trailer makers chose to use were 3 lines from the main character played by Sarah Michelle Gellar, this use of showing there is a star in the film will attract the audience and as she is associated with similar sci-fi horror genres like Buffy then this could again appeal to the audience. Also With these being the only lines in the trailer they will feel more powerful to audience as they are the only sentences the film makers wanted them to hear. The pace of the film differs from the ring as its quite slow throughout, with a few fast paced cuts and the structure also differs as there isn't an increase in the speed of the music or the sound. But similarly to the ring the trailer makers have chosen to finish on an iconic shot, the hand coming out of her hair, the reason for this to give the audience a shot to remember the film by. In terms of the length of the trailer, this is quite short at a minute and a half.

The Orphanage



Director- Jaun Antonio Bayona

Genre- Drama/ horror

Plot- A woman brings her family back to her childhood home, where she opens an orphanage for handicapped children. Before long, her son starts to communicate with an invisible new friend.

Cast-Belen Reuda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Princep
Awards- 7 Barcelona film awards, Butaca award, COFCA award, 3 CEC Awards, 2 International Fantasy Film Award, Fotogramas de plata, 7 Goya Awards, Grand Prize, SCI FI jury Award, Golden Reel Award, 3 Premio ACE’s, Audience Award, award of the Spanish Actors Union, Spanish music Award.


This trailer for the film The Orphanage focuses on the innocence of children; this is a crucial part of the storyline of the film. This child like behaviour is presented through the use of a party with balloons and also the trailer makers focus on the playing of children’s games. The Orphanage trailer is set out in a similar way to The Ring, this being because the film starts with slow paced music and cuts increasing throughout to a fast pace. This shows the template of the film and how the pace of it will increase throughout. Also the way it is presented is similar to The Ring by showing the storyline and leaving out the key parts within the film. looking at The Orphanage trailer you would find it difficult to know that the film is actually spoken in Spanish, this makes it appeal to the British audience, as they may be less willing to watch a film if they know its in subtitles. the use of an over voice to describe the film is a clever way of showing the story of the film as it gives a structure to the trailer, the only speech within the trailer is "Simon" which shows the main storyline of the film being a search for this mysterious "Simon", also the way its said throughout presents panic and worry to the audience. All three trailers have a pattern being that they all finish on an iconic scene, one which would shock an audience and The Orphanage finishes on a shot which i really like being the shot of the masked boy standing alone, a powerful shot.