'Paranormal Activity 3'
When I was searching for the trailer for ‘paranormal
activity 3’, I came across a lot of variations. I chose to analyse this teaser trailer
as I found it gave an excellent portrayal of the movie. Let us begin by
discussing the narrative of the trailer...
The trailer opens using an effect which makes the screen
look like static which is sometimes received when watching home videos on a VCR player. This
immediately allows the audience to gather that the movie is filmed in a ‘found
footage’ style and that the movie may not set in present times. We then see two small girls, Katie and Christie, who are happily playing in their garden. All of a sudden the audience are shown a clip of Katie from the first 'Paranormal Activity' movie; her face is close to the camera and her expression is
sinister, almost as if she is not 'normal'. The audience are then taken back to the past where Christie shyly hides from the camera making the audience warm to her
innocence; this opening has set up the equilibrium. However soon after the
audience see a disturbing clip from ‘paranormal activity 2’. For the members of the audience who have seen the previous movies, they will recognise the clips and be surprised as to why they are in this movie trailer and so are intrigued to find out what happens next. This is similar to the members of audience who may have not seen the previous movies as they will wander what these images signify. We are then taken back into time and see the two girls laughing and playing again, but the happiness
is short lived. The narrative moves back into present times and we hear the two
sisters as older woman discussing their childhood and certain disturbing incidents which
occurred in it; the audience now know that these women are the two little girls as they are
holding a childhood picture and this is why the flashbacks from the previous movies occurred. This conversation is broken by the laughter of a
little girl and the scene goes back in time showing Christie playing with her
mother; this scene lasts for a brief moment of time which could symbolise the characters brief happiness. The editing begins to
slightly speed and the audience see a variety of shots of the women as adults
and they explain what their childhood problem was and how it ‘thrives on fear’.
Nearing the end of the trailer we see the two women back in their childhood and
trying to play the game Bloody Mary, the screen goes black and so the audience
are expecting something frightening to occur. Katie then screams out in an
attempt to frighten her sister and ultimately the audience. As the audience have been falsely frightened they assume that nothing scary will occur again,
leaving them unprepared when they see a dark figure standing in the bathroom as
the girls leave.
Looking at the narrative we can see the trailer has a
conventional narrative structure. The world of the movie begins happy and
peaceful; this is the equilibrium. The narrative then goes on to unravel the
problem and finally at the end of the trailer we see the disruption. This structure follows the beginning stages of Todorov's narrative theory; trailers do not show the resolution and new equilibrium to ensure that they do not give too much away and keep the audience wanting more. Scenes of Katie and Christie as children, who are jovial and full
of purity, are placed in between scenes where we see the woman as adults and
talking about their problem, to break up tension. As the audience begin to feel
scared and expect something frightening, they see a happy image which builds up
further more anticipation for the next frightening scene. The paranormal
activity movies go back in time and so this movie explores the women’s childhoods. By showing clips from the previous movies the audience can make links
and piece together both narratives, this is of course if they have seen the
previous movies. If they have not seen the previous movies, the trailer may be
a bit unclear at first but then soon after when the woman begin discussing
their problem all will become clear.
Sound
Sound, both diegetic and non-diegetic, helps to emphasise
the fear trying to be created in the scene. Below is the dialogue for the
trailer:
Dad: “Alright here we go.”
“Hey ladies”
Katie (child): “Hi!”
Dad: “Hey. Oh it’s Katie.”
“Woohoohoo”
“Katie. Wave hi to the camera Katie.”
“Hey Christie, wanna’ say hi?”
“Come on give us a wave here Christie”
Christie (adult): “whatever happened to us
when we were little, I don’t remember anything”
Katie (adult): “Whatever it was, it thrived
on fear”
“The more we paid attention to it, the
worse it got”
Katie (child): “Alright I think it’s on.
Remember the rules?”
Christie (child): “Yes. Say bloody Mary
three times.”
Katie (child): “Okay. Let’s turn off the
lights.”
Katie & Christie (children): “Bloody
Mary. Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary.”
Christie (child): “I’m scared”
Katie (child): “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH”
Christie (child): “AAAH”
“KATIE!”
“Stop”
Katie (child): “I’m sorry”
Christie (child): “it’s not funny”
The dialogue above helps emphasise the mood in each scene of
the trailer. At the beginning the dialogue seems to be quite jovial. The father is
pleasantly playing with his children and we can see their happiness by his
expression of joy; “Woohoohoo”. The dialogue then moves on to when the girls
grow up and the audience become aware of something which happened to them when
they were “little”. At this point the audience do not know exactly what/who the
antagonist is and this becomes clear in the next speech when Katie says
“whatever it is”. This signals that the antagonist is not human and so the
audience begin to suspect something supernatural; this is a good indicator for
the sub-genre of the movie. The conversation as adults ends with this
terrifying statement “the more we paid attention to it the worse it got” and
the next scene has gone back in time to when the children are playing a
spiritual joke, and so the scene becomes ironic. This will also make the audience frightened to watch the trailer as they will think the more they watch the more likely they are that these events will happen to them. We then hear the girls beginning
to chant “Bloody Mary” three times quite slowly. During this time the audience
prepare themselves for a shocking moment however nothing happens. Then all of a
sudden Katie lets out a blaring scream, which causes the audience to jump, but
soon after they hear the laughter of the children and the audience becomes
relieved as they think it’s all over. As the audience are relaxed and
unprepared, this is the moment where the audience then actually see something
truly frightening. As the girls leave the bathroom there is a shadowy, dark
figure which stands in the corner. This image is unexpected and so causes the
audience to intake a sharp breathe instead or jumping.
Sound effects:
In this trailer there is no music or soundtrack which runs
along in the background. This could be because the movie is shown as ‘found
footage’ and so to make the events seem realistic no music is played over the
dialogue. To replace the music there seems to be a continuous use of the tape
reel sound effect. This sound effect first appears at 0:07 just before the
footage begins. This sound effect sounds aged and so the audience can guess
that the narrative is not set in present times. Throughout the trailer this
sound continuously appears when a scene is changing; each time it is unexpected
and so slightly frightens the audience but also reminds them of the ‘found
footage’ theme.
Moving on to 0:31,
the audience begin to hear the sweet sound of children’s laughter, however
these is a deep, ominous contrapuntel tone which plays alongside, killing the happiness in
the scene. Furthermore as the laughter goes it begins to slow in pace and lower
in tone, to give an echoing effect. This provides the audience with a sense of
foreboding. This laughter is used again at 0:43 to create the same effect.
The final sound effect used is a dark, ominous tone which is
played to build anticipation. We usually hear this sound when a strap is on the
screen. The sinister tone of the music makes the audience feel that the next
scene after the strap will be something scary and so they begin to anticipate
the worst.
Stabs:
The first two stabs appear at 0:19 and at 0:27. These are
the moments when the extracts from ‘paranormal activity 1 &2’ are shown to
contrast with their happy childhood. The stabs are used to heighten the fear
felt by the viewers when watching these clips. Between 0:46 and 0:52 the
audience hear frequent stabs which are used every time the scene is changed,
this is because the audience are watching the fast montage of images and so the
stabs emphasise the images and cause the audience’s heart rate to rise
dramatically. Finally at 1.24 the last stab occurs, just after the shadowy
figure appears. The stab is the last thing the audience hear, it is has a deep
tone and the sound lingers for a few seconds, which perhaps represent how the antagonist
lingers around its prey and so making the audience feel as if they are in
danger.
Mise-en-scene
Costume/hair/make-up:
The trailer begins in the year 1988 and the audience are able
to see this through the costume and make-up of the characters. In the image
below we see Katie and Christie as children and they are wearing pretty,
delicate dresses and skirts which symbolise feminism and innocence. The colours
are bright and stand out, which was a popular fashion style for the 80’s; these
bright colours also symbolise their energetic, youthful souls which the demon
is trying to take. Kristie has a side pony tail which was another fashion statement
of the 80’s and was the sort of hairstyle used by fashion icons like Madonna. The target audience would have been growing up in the 80's and so would pick up on these styles almost creating a nostalgic feeling in the beginning of the trailer which will later emphasise the frightening scenes. Katie’s make-up is
very minimal and she looks as if she is not wearing any, however Christie’s
make-up makes her appear very pale and this symbolises the torment which she
later receives from the supernatural being. From the pale skin the audience can
immediately note that Christie is the character which will experience the haunting.
As the trailer movies into the future, so does the
costume/hair/make-up. Below is an image from the trailer of the two girls as
adults. As we can see their hair styles are more relevant, with Christie
carrying a stylish bob and Katie choosing for the classic long straight hair
look. Also their costumes have changed from bright, neon colours to more
simpler and subtle tones. These tones make the characters look older and mature
but also at the same time make them keep innocence within them. This will allow
the audience to feel sympathetic towards them and they adopt the typical
‘damsel in distress’ stereotype. These changes in hair and costume allow the
audience to gather that the movie is set in present times. Both women have
make-up showing they take pride in their appearance, however their make-up is
natural and represents what women would wear on a daily bases. This allows the
characters to become realistic and so the audience can image themselves in
their positions.
Colour:
In the scenes which feature the women as children, the clips
appear to have an orange tinge. This orange tint gives the scenes a warm glow
and emphasises the enjoyment of the children. Furthermore the warmth of the
orange colour allows the audience to feel safe momentarily. These scenes
contrast with the scenes where the children are adults as they have a bluish
tint. The colour blue is said to connote mysteries and as the women discuss their
childhood they are trying to understand the mysterious events which took place.
The blue tint makes the audience feel uneasy and aware that something is not
quite right in the world of the movie.
Lighting:
When we see the characters as children at the beginning of
the trailer, natural lighting is used as they scene takes place outside and so
gives the trailer a realistic portrayal. If we look towards the end of the
trailer we see the two characters in the bathroom and the lights are switched
off. Having a phobia of the dark would be quite popular amongst the audience as it is a common phobia, so
as they are not able to see anything they begin to panic. The only light
visible in this scene is the red recording light which features on the camera.
This draws the audience attention and so they begin to wait for something bad
to happen.
Afterwards the spotlight from a torch illuminates Katie’s
face, giving her a menacing glow and portraying her as a ‘false threat’. The
spotlight then moves to Christie briefly and the audience’s eyes frantically
search the frame to search for this light as to them the light represents hope
and escape from this terrifying moment.
Next the sisters open
the door which allows light from another room shine through from the left hand
side of the frame. The girls are walking into the light which emphasises the
goodness, purity and innocence within them; for now they have escaped evil. On the right hand side of the frame
the light reveals a shaded figure which lurks in the shadows and so instantly
revealing its dangerous nature.
Facial expressions/body language/positioning of characters
within the frame:
Whilst watching the trailer it is interesting to note that
Katie and Christie always appear on the screen together. They are, of course
sisters and so have a close bond which this positioning emphasise but also it
shows that no matter what experiences they go through, this demon/spirit will
not tear them apart and that they will try and fight it together. When looking at the
depth of field, it seems that Katie seems to be positioned closer to the camera
and this could highlight her significance in the narrative.
Setting and props:
In both of the time periods, the trailer is
set in a house, as this is a conventional location for supernatural horrors. The movie was released in 2011 and we now live in an era where the audience is
afraid of the threats within the home, as this is the one place they are meant
to feel safe. Many props are used in this trailer to help emphasise the time
periods and to also emphasise the meaning of a scene. At 0:29 we see a long
two shot of the girls playing in their garden. This long shot allows the
audience to see all the toys the characters which act as props. These toys
portray the girls to be having a typical childhood. They do not seem unusual
and so haven’t done anything to provoke this demon activity, the audience will
notice this and then begin to worry that this random haunting could happen to them. The next
prop which appears in the trailer is a damaged picture; this prop is
significant as the audience can recognise that this is an image of Christie who
we saw earlier in the trailer and so this helps the audience recognise that the
trailer has now moved into present times.
There is another prop which is extremely important to the narrative which is the camera itself. We do not see it until the end of the trailer but we are aware of its presence as we know that the film is portrayed in a found footage format. Over the years many people around the world report mysterious sightings in home videos and images and so this is a realistic technique to portray a supernatural antagonist.
Use of camera:
The first interesting shots we see occur at
0:17. As mentioned earlier this clip was taken from paranormal activity 1 and
it shows Katie crawling towards the camera. The shot begins as a medium shot
and as she moves closer, it ends with an extreme close-up of her eyes. During
this extreme close-up the audience can see that she looks possessed and so they
ponder what they are going to learn about her childhood and what caused her to end up in this why and so they will go to
the cinema to find out the full narrative.
Towards the end of the trailer the camera shows a two medium
shot of Katie and Christie. This shot is created by the reflection from a
mirror; mirrors show a reflected view and can symbolise an an alternate world where evil could lurk. This will cause the audience to expect something frightening to occur.
Editing:
As the movie and trailer is presented in a found footage
format, the editing from one scene to another is done with a special effect. As
the clip changes , for a brief moment the audience see static and hear white
noise, which constantly happened on old video recorders. This brings a sense of
authenticity to the trailer. At 0:29 the editing slows down and we see the clip
of the children playing in slow motion. This elongates the time for the clip
and so the audience's fear and anticipation builds up. The clip then fades into
a dead black out and then the first strap appears. The audience can gather that by the
scene fading symbolises the happiness fading away from the girls lives which
gives the trailer a sense of poignancy. Fades are used continuously throughout
the trailer as they create a sense of mystery and they also help symbolise the
movement of time to the audience.
Straps:
Straps are an important element within a trailer as they
help the audience piece the narrative together. Below are the straps which
feature in this trailer:
“This October”
“Discover”
“The secret”
“Behind the activity”
“Paranormal Activity 3”
The use of straps is minimal to ensure that not too much
information is given away. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th
strap inform the audience that in this movie they will finally find out why
demons are after these women and the whole franchise will make sense to them
and so therefore will encourage the audience to go to the cinema to watch the
movie so they can reveal ‘the secret’. The first strap informs the audience
when the movie is going to be released as after the trailer the audience are
going to want to know when they are able to watch it. The final strap reveals
the movie title name, for the people who have seen the previous movies, this is
an insignificant feature and this strap benefits the part of the audience who
have not seen the previous movies.
Representation:
The trailer solely focuses on the representation of woman at
different ages. The representation of the children is conventional, as they
appear as ‘normal’, happy and angelic. This is similar to the representation of
older woman, as in this trailer we see them being controlled by the antagonist
and so the audience see them as helpless and as mentioned earlier they adopt
the ‘damsel in distress’ stereotype.
Conclusion:
This trailer leaves lots of cliff hangers throughout the
trailer and mixes narratives from the previous movies which will leave the audience with lots of unanswered questions and so they will go to the cinema to watch the movie
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