A2 Advanced Media Production.

My third horror trailer analysis


The Blair Witch project is a 1999 American horror film, the narrative is pieced together through amateur footage similar to the Paranormal activity 2 trailer i have analysed.

The first thing the audience see of the mise en scene is the forest through a close up and low lighting this sets the scene straight away and with the use of the shaky camera movements from the hand-held camera creates verisimilitude to the audience. The use of the hand-held camera is a main convention of horror films as this enables the audience to experience what the characters see it through. The non digetic voice over at the beginning with the actual news sounding over the pictures makes the audience realise the depth of what is going on as this horror is believed to be a true story therefore adding even a greater amount of horror.

Throughout the trailer the director Daniel Myrick has took into account he has to recreate this real tragedy with the most realism possible to both make audience believe what they are watching and that people who are linked to it are not offended. The editing of the whole trailer is montage editing this is to show that different situations are happening over the trailer as the camera crosses from the scene of the forest to the lab where DNA testing is believed to be happening and back to the home interviewing is occurring this is all seen through different parts of the trailer. When in the lab scene the close up of the hand-held camera used in what is interpreted as the one used in the actual Blair Witch Project filming with the students creates verisimilitude for the audience an yet again reinforces the realism of the film.

The font which is used to explain the story to the audience is very similar to the other trailers i have analysed in terms of contrast from the black background to the white font. The font is easy to read and a average sized font this is to make sure the words which come up don't distract the audience from the actual goings on in the trailer.

The lighting throughout the trailer remains very dark with no actual colours being shown this is to represent the darkness of the film as it is a horror genre the main convention of these movies are darkness. With dark lighting we as the audience are un aware of what is happening when the handheld camera is filming the floor as all we can see is twigs and branches establishing the mise en scene of the forest but creating an enigma of what is going on around the forest as the digetic sound of wind blowing creates a dramatic affect when watching this scene.