Trailers aren't created just to give a preview of the film but also to encourage us to watch a film and have interests. It should catch our attention and tell the storyline in one short clip, without giving too much away. A trailer grasps our attention as there is constantly changing images throughout, so we stay focused to be sure we do not miss something. As well as this, introducing cast and main characters is effective, but also should leave some surprises for the audience to get excited by whilst watching it in the cinemas; making it worthwhile.
Specifically for horror trailers, there are many steps to take into account to make it a successful trailer. Firstly, introducing the heroine and the potentially 'innocent' one who will be wronged by, possessed, attacked, etc. There also needs to be a certain 'rule' or something that must be followed, and not broken under any circumstances. Then, traditionally, the heroine unintentionally breaks this rule, resulting in a down fall. After this, demonstrate the horror accounted by this rule being broken and their consequences. Consisting of flashing scary and gruesome scenes, catching their attention. Although the audience may feel slightly disturbed, they still choose to put themselves in this sense of insecurity whilst watching it; but then shots of extreme horror scenes, but without revealing too much terror.
Specifically for horror trailers, there are many steps to take into account to make it a successful trailer. Firstly, introducing the heroine and the potentially 'innocent' one who will be wronged by, possessed, attacked, etc. There also needs to be a certain 'rule' or something that must be followed, and not broken under any circumstances. Then, traditionally, the heroine unintentionally breaks this rule, resulting in a down fall. After this, demonstrate the horror accounted by this rule being broken and their consequences. Consisting of flashing scary and gruesome scenes, catching their attention. Although the audience may feel slightly disturbed, they still choose to put themselves in this sense of insecurity whilst watching it; but then shots of extreme horror scenes, but without revealing too much terror.
A Quiet Place (2018)
A Quiet Place has a similar concept to our own trailer with the idea of being hunted down by a supernatural being. At the very beginning of the trailer we hear the TV's reporting the news which makes us aware straight away that the equilibrium has been disturbed. We took this idea of having dialogue running through our trailer in the background, for this we opted for a 999 call. This call made it clear to our audience that something had gone wrong, the broken and trembling voice makes them feel uneasy and wonder what the call is about and how it ties in to the overall film. This intrigues the viewers and make them anticipate the films release.
Truth or Dare (2018)
'Truth or Dare' has a similar concept of trying to find out the secret behind a mystery which we were inspired from. For instance, our trailer has a detective hunting to find the reason behind mystery deaths and young children who've been noticed in the community. Their secret of a human never being able to touch them or get too close is something that gets discovered throughout the trailer. In 'Truth or Dare', the players find out about the reality of the game and how instead of them playing the game, they're getting played instead is also something they find out through the film.
Rings (2016)
Both the main antagonist/victim and protagonist in Rings are female which is a rare sight in the film industry, we took this idea and had two female leads playing the good and bad characters. We challenged traditional film conventions as the female character in any film is often perceived as weak, dependant and vulnerable. Our lead female also becomes a victim as she comes across as a 'seeker victim', looking for the trouble. We leave our trailer with both of our good and evil characters towards the end of a chase. This leaves the viewers to wonder if the detective resists the black eyed kid or if the black eyed kid gets the better of her. Typically with traditional conventions the viewers can predict that the stronger male role will over power the weaker female, in our trailer this is not the case and we leave more room for question to arise.