The Last Exorcism, this isn’t shown until seconds from the end of the trailer and is presented in a red, ghostly font on a black background. Next to the title is a blurred image of what appears to be the shadow of a girl and a bright light with a hint of red, behind her. The color scheme for the title contains mainly black and red which are both stereotypical ‘horror’ colors and set the mood for the film. We are given a hint towards the title near the beginning, as some information is given in a typewriting font which gives an eery effect saying “Reverend Cotton Marcus has performed over 47 exorcisms” ... “This will be his last.” I have highlighted ‘exorcisms’ and ‘last’ as these words create the title. Each title/inter-title is accompanied by music which creates a frightening atmosphere. They are displayed in between disturbing clips from the film.
Genre
The Last Exorcism is a horror. This is shown through the frightening and eery music and sound effects, the information we are given at the start introducing exorcisms and mentioning the devil, a sense of the setting being deserted. Also, the ancient images and writing shown appear scary. Throughout the trailer, some of the footage is distorted or fuzzy and make a crackling noise. Dialogue such as “Go back where you came from” and “GO GO GO!” suggests a negative atmosphere. Close-ups are seen often in the trailer to convey emotions which are often of fear, sadness, worry and most importantly, of the young possessed girl, who is very disturbing.
Starring
None of the actors names are given, but the main characters are shown in most of the clips, they aren’t very recognizable, although a small amount of viewers may notice them and be tempted to then see this film by that alone. The producer is named but, again, doesn’t appear to be very well known, although soon after we are told it’s by ‘the producers of Dawn of the Dead’ which is quite popular and may attract more of an audience. The writers and director are also shown, but again aren’t very familiar.
Action
The violence begins quite early in the trailer as a boy at the side of the road throws something at the car, before this, there is only a few basic clips to accompany the voice-over introducing some of the story. Most of the following clips appear to be quite calm, although the non-diegetic sounds and the dialogue are more intense and seem to be building up to something. The tension continues to build throughout the clips of the young girl as she panics and is worried about what is about to happen. This would draw an audience in as they would be anxious to know what is happening to her. The camera shots become indirect and frantic as the sense of panic and danger increases and we see breif shots of the girl, often in unusual positions or places. By the end of the trailer we are shown shocking clips of the posessed girl, accompanied by screams, which are violent and brutal. In one of the final clips, the reverend is attempting the exorcism and shouts "I command thee to be gone!", this is followed by a raging fire which symbolises the danger and fear.
Music
The violence begins quite early in the trailer as a boy at the side of the road throws something at the car, before this, there is only a few basic clips to accompany the voice-over introducing some of the story. Most of the following clips appear to be quite calm, although the non-diegetic sounds and the dialogue are more intense and seem to be building up to something. The tension continues to build throughout the clips of the young girl as she panics and is worried about what is about to happen. This would draw an audience in as they would be anxious to know what is happening to her. The camera shots become indirect and frantic as the sense of panic and danger increases and we see breif shots of the girl, often in unusual positions or places. By the end of the trailer we are shown shocking clips of the posessed girl, accompanied by screams, which are violent and brutal. In one of the final clips, the reverend is attempting the exorcism and shouts "I command thee to be gone!", this is followed by a raging fire which symbolises the danger and fear.
Music
The trailer begins with the eery sound of women singing high pitched notes in the background, this seems religious but eery and reflects the dialogue, which mentions the bible, exorcism, god and the devil. The pace of the non-diegetic sounds increases as the trailer gets more violent and frantic. The music becomes less eery and more intense and frightening. Occasionally there is a sound which could intentionally be like a knife slashing across something, but seems computer generated. The sound effects reflect each action quite accurately and as the trailer becomes more overwhelming, the music becomes more frantic and dangerous. I think it sounds like an alarm at some point, which symbolises the danger. It suddenly cuts off to silent at the end as the title is shown.
Voice-over
There doesn't appear to be a voice-over, although at the beginning of the trailer, there's a male voice mentioning the bible, exorcisms, god and the devil, accompanying the clip of someone flicking through the pages of an ancient book and images of demons. I beleive this is dialogue from the film, but because we aren't shown who is talking, it could be a voice-over. The voice sound like an expert in the area, but also as though he shows real interest in what he is saying, as well as a sense of curiousity.
Pace
There doesn't appear to be a voice-over, although at the beginning of the trailer, there's a male voice mentioning the bible, exorcisms, god and the devil, accompanying the clip of someone flicking through the pages of an ancient book and images of demons. I beleive this is dialogue from the film, but because we aren't shown who is talking, it could be a voice-over. The voice sound like an expert in the area, but also as though he shows real interest in what he is saying, as well as a sense of curiousity.
Pace
The pace throughout the trailer builds as the tension does, beginning calm and informative. Quite early on in the trailer, the violence begins, but as it does, so does the sense of confusion, worry and danger. As the pace builds, it increases how anxious the audience are. The tension builds further as the young girl is introduced and the action in the clips eventually speeds up, aswell as going from one to the next quicker. The trailer finishes calm again as the music is cut and the title, writers and directors are shown.
Information
Information
The information we are given at the start introducing exorcisms and the devil gives us a breif insight into what we are about to watch. The ancient images and writing which accompany this appear eery, frightening and possibly dangerous. We are also introduced to the Reverend through text on the screen, and are given some breif information about him. The dialogue introduces us to the problem being faced throughout the film, "Somehow, the devil got in her." No additional information on the actual film is given but at the end it displays the title, writer, director and website.
Audience
The genre is horror, so the film is aimed at a more mature audience. It has quite as specific storyline which could also be aimed to attract a religious audience who beleive in the contents of the film, such as demons and the devil.
CONVENTIONS
Unlike many trailers, the stars aren't showcased at any point. This usually works as an attraction to audiences if the stars are well known.
It does however convey key features of the film through intertitles on the screen in between the relevant clips. Any information given through dialogue is narrowed down mainly to one-liners, but there is occasionally a breif conversation between characters.
Throughout the entire trailer, camera shots appear to be fairly frantic, as if being done with a hand held camera but deliberately rather than just poorly recorded. The effect reflects the overall atmosphere of each brief scene shown. The camera angles are often tilted slightly and even to the point where it is difficult to work out what you're looking at, but again this contributes to the frantic and dangerous effect.
The music throughout the trailer reflects the actions and dialogue, therefore assisting to create the overall atmosphere.
Another common convention that this trailer possesses is displaying the title at the end, although it was referred to at the start. It seems to act as a conclusion to what we have seen, 'The Last Exorcism'.
Right from the beginning, the tension and danger builds until the final climax, then the pace increases along with the action and amount of clips, until it comes to a sudden halt at the end, before the title is displayed.
Mainly informative and active clips have been put together in a montage, highlighting specific aspects of the film which are most likely to attract the target audience. Many emotions and situations have been chosen in order to attract the widest possible audience. For example, the religious references, the nostalgia created by the daughter referring to her mother as her "best friend", etc.
This trailer has a fairly conventional structure. The setting, characters and main features of the story-line are established at the beginning, as we see clips of them accompanied by inter-titles. This is followed by relationships between characters being briefly put in place and dilemmas or complications arising. This is mainly done through dialogue at first but is followed by a montage of clips which show you what is happening but leave you slightly clueless as it doesn't tell you.
It does however convey key features of the film through intertitles on the screen in between the relevant clips. Any information given through dialogue is narrowed down mainly to one-liners, but there is occasionally a breif conversation between characters.
Throughout the entire trailer, camera shots appear to be fairly frantic, as if being done with a hand held camera but deliberately rather than just poorly recorded. The effect reflects the overall atmosphere of each brief scene shown. The camera angles are often tilted slightly and even to the point where it is difficult to work out what you're looking at, but again this contributes to the frantic and dangerous effect.
The music throughout the trailer reflects the actions and dialogue, therefore assisting to create the overall atmosphere.
Another common convention that this trailer possesses is displaying the title at the end, although it was referred to at the start. It seems to act as a conclusion to what we have seen, 'The Last Exorcism'.
Right from the beginning, the tension and danger builds until the final climax, then the pace increases along with the action and amount of clips, until it comes to a sudden halt at the end, before the title is displayed.
Mainly informative and active clips have been put together in a montage, highlighting specific aspects of the film which are most likely to attract the target audience. Many emotions and situations have been chosen in order to attract the widest possible audience. For example, the religious references, the nostalgia created by the daughter referring to her mother as her "best friend", etc.
This trailer has a fairly conventional structure. The setting, characters and main features of the story-line are established at the beginning, as we see clips of them accompanied by inter-titles. This is followed by relationships between characters being briefly put in place and dilemmas or complications arising. This is mainly done through dialogue at first but is followed by a montage of clips which show you what is happening but leave you slightly clueless as it doesn't tell you.
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