'Sinister'
This is the official trailer for the supernatural
movie ‘Sinister’. This movie is extremely recent having been released on the 5th
October 2012. Unfortunately I have not had the chance to go and see the movie,
but I found the trailer extremely powerful and I hope that my trailer will
follow a similar structure.
The trailer begins in an exciting way as it shows an
incident where a family was murdered nine months ago. There is an emphasis on a
house which implies to the audience that this is the root of all the problems.
Then the narrative returns to the present and shows the conventional
equilibrium of the protagonist’s life. He and his family have just moved into
the same house in hope for a fresh start and their lives seem idyllic. The
trailer then reaches its pivotal point and the protagonist finds an old box of
tapes. Whilst watching these realms of tapes he sees the murder of the previous
owners of the house. Soon after he begins to research what exactly happens and
further examines these tapes. It is while studying these tapes he sees a
repeated symbol which he learns is from a pagan deity name Bagoul who lives in
the world of images. Soon after learning this information the protagonist and
the audience see this pagan deity for the first and then we continue to see the
antagonist face leaving a horrific imprint in the audience’s mind. Now the
audience witness the disruption in the protagonist’s life and we see the effect
Bagoul has on his family. The audience then see the convention fast montage of
images which is also the climax of the trailer, this builds up excitement and
tension. We see the family trying to escape but gather that it was unsuccessful
as we then see further disruptions caused by the antagonists. These terrifying
clips are emphasised by the use of dead black outs. The trailer ends on an
extremely tarrying scene with a close-up of Bagoul’s face. No resolution is
shown to leave the audience pondering and bringing them to the cinema to find
out what happens next.
Sound
Dialogue:
This trailer uses lots of dialogue from the movie to help
unravel the narrative of the trailer. Let us take a look at the dialogue below:
News
report: “New details today in the grisly murders of a local family found
earlier this week.”
Daughter:
“I didn’t want to move here”
Dad:
“We couldn’t afford to live in the old house anymore, plus the new story I’m
writing is here.”
Son:
“Is the story a good one this time?”
Dad:
“I’m gonna’ write the best book that anybody’s ever read.”
“I’ve
got a really good feeling about this”
“You’ve gotta’ be kidding me, family
hanging out, barbeque 79’.”
“That’s the family who lived here.”
Police
officer: “You think these are serial murders?”
Dad:
“I don’t know.”
“First
one I found dates back to the 60’s”
“The
only link between all these cases, is this symbol”
Expert:
“The symbol is associated with a pagan deity named Bagoul, he consumes the
souls of human children.”
Dad:
“I’ve never been onto something this big before.”
Expert:
“Early Christians believe that Bagoul actually lived in the images themselves
and that they were gateways into his realm.”
“Children exposed to the images were especially
vulnerable to Bagoul’s abductions.”
Dad:
“Sweetheart, what are you doing?”
Daughter:
“Painting.”
“I
wanted to paint her picture.”
Mother:
“Who are you talking about?”
Daughter:
“Stephanie. She used to live here.”
Dad:
“Sarah”
Daughter:
“AAAAAAAAH!”
Dad:
“Sarah!”
Mother:
“What’s the matter? What’s happening?”
Dad:
“Get the kids. Pack the car. We have to leave here now.”
“Aahh!”
As you can see from the transcript above, the basic
narrative has been explained to the audience. At the very beginning a news
report informs the audience of the history of the house. Then we move on to
hear a family conversation, portraying the family as ‘normal’ and happy. The audience then hear the voice over of the daughter saying ‘I didn’t want to move
here.’ This is a foreshadowing to warn the audience that perhaps the antagonist will be
focusing on the children in the family. The audience then go on to learn that
the family have moved to the house as the father is a writer and is basing his
book on the events which have happened in the house, but he has not specified
whether it was the murder event and so the audience are left pondering the
thought. We are then taken to another clip where the father goes up into the
loft and discovers the box of old tapes, by his confused and surprised
reaction: ‘you’ve got to be kidding me’, the audience can piece together that
this is where the problem starts. Next anticipation is built when we see the
protagonist researching into the tapes and it is at this point where the
audience learn that the disturbance is caused by Bagoul. This is a convention
which has been inverted as usually in supernatural horror movies, the antagonist’s identity is not revealed to
leave the audience guessing what/who it can be. Soon after this point the fast
montage of images begins and we see how Bagoul is affecting the protagonist’s
lives and we learn that his daughter is in danger as she screams ‘aaaah!’ The
last piece of dialogue informs the reader that the protagonist is trying to
leave and protect his family but the audience do not know whether the family
have escaped from Bagoul’s clutches and so this will encourage the audience to go to the cinema to find a resolution.
Music:
Running alongside the dialogue
is the non-diegetic music. The music is dark and ominous and sets the 'sinister' tone for the trailer however it does not remain in a constant rhythm throughout
the trailer. As the family discuss their happy new lives at the beginning of
the trailer, the deep tone running alongside the dialogue prepares the audience for the frightening events
which are about to take place. As we look further into the trailer we can see that at various points the music stops
to heighten the tension in the scene and so when the music resumes it creates a
much bigger impact and causes the audience to jump in their seats. It can be said that the music stopping mimics the audience holding their breath to prepare for something frightening or because they are already so terrified. When looking at the composition of the music, it seems to be created by a computer and sounds like eerie winds combined with deep breaths. The sounds of heavy breathes will make the audience feel as if
someone is breathing on them and watching them, whilst simultaneously the sounds of gusty
winds emphasises the lonely suburban location; both sounds are conventional for
supernatural horrors. At 1:38 the music begins to resemble the sound of a
heartbeat; it is as if the music is controlling the audience’s heartbeat and this
continues until the point 1.48 where the undertone music is replaced with a
sharp stab. From 0:53 to 0:57, the music becomes distorted and so it is paralleling the
disruption about to take place in the protagonist’s life.
Stabs:
One reason this trailer is so
effective is because it uses stabs frequently throughout the trailer which cause the audience to jump.
The first stabs we hear are in the news report at the beginning of the trailer.
At 0:09 and 0:11 we hear our first two stabs which are used to change between
clips. These stabs emphasise the horrid images of a family being hung. The next
stab occurs when the protagonist is watching the tapes he finds in the loft; this sharp burst of sound frightens the audience and also emphasises the
protagonist’s fear as he sees the hanging of the family. As we delve further
into the trailer the next stab occurs at 1:03 where we see a car being set
alight. The stab occurs after a period of elongated ghostly music and so comes
as a complete surprise to the audience. The next stab occurs at 1:24. At this
point the audience first see the antagonist appear in the protagonist’s life
and so the stab heightens his importance. A pattern begins to appear as every time
we see the antagonist Bagoul, there appears to be a stab to reinforce his 'sinister' nature. Each stab sounds like a high pitched scream which will ring in
the audience’s ears leaving a lasting effect.
Sound effects:
As there is a frequent use of
stabs, the uses of sound effects are limited. The most predominant sound effect
used in the trailer appears at the end at 2:06. From this moment in the trailer,
the only sound the audience hear is the sound of an old tape player. This
non-diegetic sound matches the narrative as it was the tapes which revealed the
story of Bagoul. The sound plays between clips it rapidly builds up
anticipation felt within the audience. In addition normal sounds which occur in
everyday life are amplified to try and trick the audience; they will hear this
sound and presume something scary is about to occur however usually this is not
the case and so they are lulled into a false sense of protection. This
amplified sound is then usually followed by a frightening clip which the
audience are not prepared for. An example of this is shown at 0.33 where the
footsteps and the sound of the box dropping are amplified and the audience
expect to see something frightening in the loft but instead are faced with
another box. Another sound effect used throughout the trailer is the sound of
an old, metal gate creaking open and close. This sound is extremely high pitch
and is used to maintain a frightening atmosphere when there is dialogue; this
is shown at 0:41.
Mise-en-scene
Costume/hair/make-up
Let us begin with the costume,
hair and make-up of the protagonist. The movie is set in modern times and so
the costume of the protagonist fits in with the fashion styles which are
popular today to create a realistic character. Take, for example, the knitted
cardigan with leather elbow pads. This is something which has been popular
within men’s fashion for a few months now and so the audience can derive from
this that the protagonist takes pride in his appearance and is interested in the
latest fashions. However by further examining his costume we can see that he
chooses to wear the classic blue jeans and a simple t-shirt which will imply
that he also likes the ‘relaxed’ look, just like many males in the audience. He
wears the jeans for the comfort and practicability which they provide as he is
a working farther and would have a hectic schedule during the day.
Another
indication that the protagonists takes pride in his appearance is the goatee
beard which he has chosen to wear. Facial hair is a sign of masculinity and
symbolises his strength and bravery and so because of the connotations of masculinity
it allows the audience to identify this character as the protagonist. Also as
mentioned earlier he has styled his facial hair in a goatee which indicates his
youth which compliments his costume. In some clips, he is shown
wearing reading glasses. Many members of the target audience will also wear
glasses and so this strengthens the bond between the protagonist and the
audience. The make-up is minimal and is only used to make the skin appear
clear. It has a completely natural look so the audience cannot notice it. This
is done as most males in present times do not wear make-up on a daily basis and so the character has
to appear the same to create a realistic portrayal. His hair is not gelled in
any specific way and has no parting of any kind; like a typical man his hair
seems to follow the ‘straight out of bed look’.
Moving on to the mother, she does not appear often but when
she is in frame, her costume seems to mainly consist of jumpers and knitwear. From
the images below it is easy to see that the costume is very simple and
resembles what a typical mother may wear. Knitwear and jumpers usually connote
with maternal love received from mothers and grandmothers and so this costume
makes the character appear as loving and caring. The delicate necklace which
she wears adds to her gentle nature. Her make-up is a lot more evident than the
father’s and is used to give the character a natural glow to add to her loving look
and make her appear warm. Her hair is shorter and kept straight; this is a
style most mothers will choose to keep as it is easy to handle and quick to do
in the mornings. The small side-fringe which swoops down the front of her face
makes appearance look younger and youthful and adds definition to her face.
The
daughter in the family is the character which has the most unusual costume.
Usually the audience would expect to see a girl of that age in pretty, delicate
dresses however we see her mainly wearing an extremely baggy shirt. This
costume sets her apart from the stereotypical character the audience are
expecting and so we automatically know that she is the child which will be
hunted by Bagoul. Another outfit we see the daughter in is in a night suit.
Children’s pyjamas depict a lot of innocence within a character and so when we
see the daughter being possessed in her pyjamas, it becomes a lot more
frightening for the audience. The daughter’s make-up is used to make her skin
very pale, which again indicates that something is wrong and she is outlined as
different from the very beginning. In supernatural horrors which contain
children which are girls, it is conventional that there hair is long. This is
because long hair adds to the innocence of a child, and can be used to cover
faces to create a sinister look.
The final main
character left to discuss is the anatagonist himself, Bagoul. His costume is a
long black robe which is normally a symbol for ancient satanic cults and so
conventional for this sub-genre. His make-up is done to give him a pure white
face which glares in the darkness. His eyes are blackened out by makeup which
could perhaps represent Bagoul’s blackened soul as in literature it is said that the eyes are the gateway to the soul. Also this creates a sharp
contrast with the white face causing his piercing eyes to stand out significantly. His facial
features are sharp which will make the audience feel that his soul and
personality are also thorny and inhumane. The overall use of costume, hair and make-up for the antagonist follows all the typical conventions for an antagonist of the demonic/spiritual kind.
Colour:
Even though we have discussed the style of costume, the
colour of the costumes also tells a lot about the characters personality. The
protagonist wears dark colours, such as blues and greys as they are presumed as
manly colours; however he stays away from the colour black due to its
connotations for evil. The mother wears soft colours such as pale salmon, pink
and creams to give her an innocent aura and present her as the typical female;
sweet and loving. Moving on to the daughter, the colour of her clothing seems
pallid and lifeless which is perhaps foreshadowing her possession by Bagoul. She seems to favour quirky colours such as brown and purple to again outline that she is different and the narrative will focus on her. Her unconventional portrayal in the trailer will encourage the target audience to watch the movie to find out what will happen to this child.
However
whenever the camera is on the antagonist, the orange tint changes to blue,
turning the atmosphere of the trailer colder. The blue tinge gives a somewhat
mystical look and this is what alerts the audience the Bagoul is a supernatural
spirit.
Lighting:
Lighting
helps to set the mood and create an atmosphere within a trailer. In general
when looking at the trailer, natural light which comes through the windows into
the room of the house is used instead of artificial lighting. This is so that
shadows can form all around the room creating a more threatening look.
The next interesting type of lighting used occurs at 0:23
when the family are around the dinner table. The light source is coming from
above and so illuminating the family in an almost angelic glow whilst the rest
of the house is left in the darkness. This tells the audience that the house
has many secrets which this innocent family are going to stumble upon.
Moving on to 0:33 in the trailer, we see the protagonist
moving into the loft. In the forefront of the care there is no lighting and
everything is covered in shadows. The only light appears from behind the
protagonist; this is known as back lighting. In the trailer, it is this clip
which unravels Bagoul’s curse onto the family and so by have the light
illuminating behind the protagonist it is as if he is unknowingly walking away
fron his happiness and into the deadly, dark clutches of Bagoul.
This is similar to the scene at 1:13 in the trailer where we
see an old tape of a child swimming. A spot light is used on the child to draw
the audience’s attention to him but the use of this spot light causes the rest
of the scene to be in darkness. This darkness foreshadows the danger the child
is about encounter within the swimming pool.
Another
spotlight is used at the point 1:25 where we see the antagonist standing in a
bush. Again, this spotlight is used to direct the audience’s attention straight
to Bagoul and so illuminating him in the darkness to frighten the target audience.
Further into the trailer at 1:41, we see the use of profile
lighting which is when half of the character is in light and the other half remains in darkness. This lighting can cause a character to look menacing as it implies that they are not what they seem. In this case the lighting shows the innocence of a child vs the possession of Bagoul and so could indicate to the target audience that she may already be under possession.
Facial Expressions/Body language/positioning of characters
within the frame:
When
looking at the protagonist of the movie, we can see that the costume, the
lighting and colours combined portray him in a masculine light. This pattern is
continued with his positioning and body language. In the image below-which is taken from the
trailer- we see the protagonist casually sitting on a chair in his new home.
His arms and legs are relaxed and his stance is typical for man; he looks as if
he truly owns the room and the house. This is hidden irony as, little does he
know he will soon not be in control.
His masculinity is further emphasised as at 0:30 we see him
and his wife relaxing him bed. His body is above hers and he is slightly lying
on her, which is another typical manly representation.
His
expressions tend to be relaxed and cool and he always seems to obtain composure
so the audience see him in a high status. However at 2:09, it is the first time
we see the protagonist completely vulnerable and so this then makes the
audience feel vulnerable as they looked upon him for safety. Compared to his previous placements in the trailer, he is now placed on the floor whereas before he was always slightly above other characters, which highlights that he is no longer the dominant character; his positioning combined with his horrified expression emphasises this point.
By studying the antagonist throughout the trailer its clear to see that he is always placed at the centre of the frame so that his sinister
face is burnt into the audience’s mind, that way they cannot run away from
him. His expression is stern, strong and never faultless which also the
audience to gather that he does not back away and that he will fight until he
gets what he wants.
Moving on to the daughter, her body looks lifeless throughout the trailer. In the beginning of the trailer this is done to make her appear eerie and foreshadow her later possession and towards the end of the trailer, her lifeless body emphasises her actions once she is possessed. Her arms usually hang down as if they are not in her control and her
expressions are often lost making the audience feel sympathetic towards her.
Setting and Props
The only location we see in the
trailer is the house in which the protagonist has just moved into. Due to the
size and look of the house, and using previous knowledge on supernatural
horrors the audience will assume that this house is in an isolated Suburban
town as this is a convention for this sub-genre. The idea of an isolated area
will provoke fear in the audience as the area is much quieter than an urban
town and so it is harder to obtain help. Furthermore it means that it is harder
to escape from the antagonist as there is nowhere to run!
Props are used to reinforce the image of the character and
enhance the message of a scene. Below we see the clip of the daughter lying in
bed. Her toys are surrounding her, emphasising her innocence and the
paintbrushes and paper on her bedside table inform the reader of her interest
and show that she is a typical child. These props heighten the audience’s fear as they do not want any harm coming to her.
The most predominant props which feature throughout the trailer
are the tapes and the tape player which lead the protagonist and the audience
into Bagoul’s world. By using a tape player it shows the audience that Bagoul
has been around for many years as it is an old piece of technology. This is a fearful thought for the audience as
it shows that no one has defeated it and it then causes the audience to ponder
as to whether he can be defeated at all.
Use of Camera
A variety of camera shots are used in this trailer to make
it as gripping as possible for the audience. The trailer begins with an establishing
shot of the house informing the readers that the narrative is based in and
around this house; the camera slowly zooms into the house to build up
excitement. Moving further into the trailer we see the box of tapes and tape
player by an over the shoulder shot. This makes it appear as if someone is
watching the protagonist and so causes the audience to feel tense and uneasy. A few
seconds later we see lots of extreme close-ups of the tape player at 0:44.
These extreme close-ups slightly delay the audience from finding out what is on
those tapes and so it is a technique to build up anticipation. At 0:51 we then
see another extreme close-up of the tape record however this time it is face on
and so the light from the tape player glares in the frame. When the audience
see this they are expecting something frightening however nothing appears and
so they are pulled into a false sense of security which will heighten their
fear further when something frightening does appear. There’s an interesting
shot which appears at 0:58; we see the protagonist from a high angle. This shot
occurs straight after he finds the tapes and begins the investigating and so
implies that he no longer has control or power as a high angle makes the
character appear less superior. At 1:05 there is an interesting extreme
close-up of the protagonist glasses in which we can see the reflection of the
car burning within the lens. Throughout the trailer we see the protagonist as a
powerful, dominant figure, however at this moment the audience sense fear as we
can see the fear which lies deep within the protagonist’s eyes. At 1:24 we see
one of the most terrifying shots within the trailer; an extreme long shot of
Bagoul hiding in the bushes. As the audience’s eye scans the bushes they do not
expect to see anything and so this makes the scene a lot more frightening.
Editing:
Editing is the transition from one clip to the next. The
main type of editing is a cut as it provides realism to a media text. Let us
explore the editing in the trailer…
Right at the very beginning of the trailer when the news
report is being read out, the scenes change by a flash. Between each clip there
is a brief flash of the pagan symbol which the audience learn about later in
the trailer and so it is a foreshadowing. At 0:25 the camera fades to black
briefly and into the next clip. This gives the trailer a mystical atmosphere
and so indicates the supernatural sub-genre to the audience. At 1:02 a match on
action is used to show various angles of the car being set alight. These clips
change quickly making the audience feel frantic and unaware of what is going
on, mimicking the emotions of the protagonist. Moving on to 1:32 the editing goes back to 3 quick sharp flashes of black
whilst the picture on the laptop slowly moves. These flashes are supposed to
mimic the audience pulse as they see this terrifying shot. Further into the
trailer the flashes continue expect this time, the camera flashes to the symbol
and then to the next scene. This causes a disruption in the editing causing the
audience to feel confused just like the protagonist. During the fast montage of
images only cuts are used to ensure that the speed of the editing is not slow and the scene is not interrupted, keeping the audience's attention. Towards the end of the trailer, at 2:07 the camera cuts to dead black outs to
build anxiety, again these blackouts appear at a pace which mimics the
audience’s heartbeat. Lastly we end with a shot reverse shot; the camera shows
a long shot of group of children who are sitting and are clearly possessed. The
camera then turns back to the protagonist to show the fear in his facial
expression, however immediately after this, the camera then returns back to the children and we see
Bagoul appear from the left hand side of the screen. This shot acts as sort of
a sting which will cause the audience to jump out of their seats.
Straps
Straps are another technique used to help the audience
unravel the narrative. Below are the straps which appear in the trailer:
“9
months later”
“From
the producers of PARANOMAL ACTIVITY and INSIDIOUS”
“Once
you see him”
“Nothing
can save you”
“Sinister”
The first strap helps the audience understand the change in
the time period in the beginning of the trailer when we see the transition between the police surrounding the house and the protagonist's family moving into the house. The third and fourth straps together send a warning to the
audience; they will think that once they see Bagoul’s face that they too will
be in danger and so the fear and story becomes realistic in their mind. The
last strap of the trailer appears right at the end and informs the target audience of
the title of the movie and also about the personality of Bagoul. As they leave
the cinema theatre, they will be left with the thought that something which is
pure evil, ‘sinister’, is after them. The second strap is the only one which is
used in a way to entice the audience into watching the film. It lists the other
movies which have been made by the same producers and so the fans who loved
‘paranormal activity’ and ‘insidious’ may go to watch the movie based on that fact even if the trailer didn't leave a lasting impression.
Representation
As mentioned earlier, all of the mise-en-scene elements
combined portray an extremely dominant and masculine portrayal for the protagonist. He is a typical stereotypical male who feels the need to protect
his family from the antagonist and in daily life as he moved into his new home
to start a new happy life with his family. Even though the daughter is not in
traditional costume for a little girl, her personality traits are stereotypical
as she is an innocent child who just longs for protection. It is conventional
for supernatural horror movies to include children in their narrative as it is
said that young children are more in touch with their spiritual side and so are
more likely to be possessed.
Conclusion
I personally find sound a huge component in making me scared
and so this trailer is extremely successful in my eyes. I hope to use the
similar use of stabs and present my antagonist in a similar way as I find these
two features were carried out excellently to create an intimidating and spooky
atmosphere which engulfs the audience into the trailer.
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