Here is my final trailer...
Sound:
Using freesound.com I collected various sounds, to create suspense and a foreboding atmosphere, I feel the sounds I have used have achieved this. The digetic footsteps are commonly associated with the horror genre. I also used a background non digetic sound that is quite ominous, making the audience feel on edge are they too are unaware of what is in store. In Paranormal Activity, a non digetic heartbeat is used, I thought this was really effective in terms of audience anticipation, as it is almost a reflection of their own heartbeats as they are terrified of what is about to happen. The digetic sound is what is to be feared the most, when the girl whispers in order to possess the woman there is a chilling feeling that follows. Similarly, when the woman asks 'Mark is that you?' but because of the earlier footsteps it is evident there is someone else intruding.
Mise-en-scene:
Lighting: I have mainly used Low key lighting to create an eerie, dark atmosphere and fear of the unknown, it is again a common trend within all the trailers I have been looking at. Especially in The Ring. The use of natural light in my trailer is used to create a natural environment like in Paranormal Activity, but it also creates suspense as normally light is associated with being safe, but I have gone against this so the audience feel perhaps relieved as they think bad things don't tend to happen in day light but the mirror scene in the attic is perhaps a slight contrast to the usual conventions.
Location:
My trailer is set in a house, it is in a sense isolated as the woman thinks she is alone, but it is not a stereotypical horror, haunted house, as it is fairly modern and not necessarily in a forest in the middle of nowhere. However, the attic is perhaps quite a stereotypical convention as attics/basements are usually where murders etc hide waiting for their victim. Normally a house is seen as a safe haven for people, where they are safe from everything, but when the girl descends from the attic the woman's vulnerability is in full force as the girl is no longer hiding but in the place where people feel most safe, this invasion is what creates such terror and suspense within the audience. This is also where the name 'The Intruder' came from, as the girl is in fact intruding as she is no longer stereo-typically hidden in a dark creepy attic but in the open space of a bedroom.
Costumes and props:
My main female protagonist is dressed fairly ordinary, to show she is not special, she is just an average middle class woman, this evokes fear within the audience as they think that could be me? it also a lot more relate-able. The girl in the attic, I dressed in white, to portray her youth, she is youthful, pure? I also based her on the girl from the ring. I messed her hair up so she looked scary and dark eye makeup and a pale face so she look dead.
Camera Shots:
Low angle shots:
I used various low angle shots to capture the girl in the attic, this shot indicates a sense of superiority and power and control, exactly what I want this girl to be, as she is the one who controls the woman through possessing her, and she is a supernatural force who holds all the power.
High angle Shots:
I used these shots in order to portray a sense of inferiority and victimize the protagonist. This is indicated immediately when a high angle shot is shown looking down on her when she hears the footsteps from above. She is completely vulnerable in this shot. Similarly as she descends up the attic steps a high angle shot is used as she approaches the fear of the unknown and gain her vulnerability is evident.
Closeup:
The close up shots of the protagonist are used in order to see the heightened emotion that is evident within the horror genre. It again reinforces the idea of her being vulnerable and victimized.
Long Shot:
The mirror scene is the most conventional in terms of genre, the long shot used to portray this shot really does evoke a sense of shock and terror within the audience and again when she disappears there is a sense of foreboding doom.
Establishing Shot:
I used this shot right at the end, the girl at the end of the bed looking over the woman is very chilling and creepy, and I got this idea from Paranormal Activity, the shot really indicates her power and control over the woman, and the woman's vulnerability as she lays asleep in bed.
Editing:
The editing starts of very slow and the cuts to black make it speed up slightly these are effective as they create a sense of mystery and omniscience within the trailer. They also have the critic reviews such 'Scariest film of the year' making my trailer, appear more authentic and similar to that of Paranormal Activity. The mirror scene the editing is very fast and this creates a fear within the audience.
I decided to add these bits of static/lost signal right at the end as I was looking at paranormal activity and realized how well they compliment the trailer and the credits. They link to the genre excellently and just make the trailer appear a lot more like a horror genre. I also stretched them out so they would fit the whole screen as I felt this looked more effective.
These types of credits are on Paranormal Activity's trailer. I feel they made more trailer have more of a narrative and create a more climatic trailer as the cuts to black create audience anticipation. They also make my trailer appear more authentic and realistic as these types of credits are evident in most trailers.
