https://youtu.be/kASmwcLpVNA
Editing Transcript
I have also pasted the transcript below that I followed when recording my video.
For my
editing research of horror film trailers I have looked a 3 horror film trailers
of the paranormal and psychological horror sub-genre. I have analysed the
overall time duration of the trailers, the pace and cuts, transitions, parts of
the film included and the sequencing of this material and the institutional
information. I have studied The Babadook, Oculus and Don’t Blink; I will be
focusing more on The Babadook trailer because this is most relevant to my
chosen plot.
From looking
at all three film trailers I can conclude that the overall time duration of
trailers is between 2 to 3 minutes long. Therefore only a small percentage,
about 0.02% of the whole film is revealed. This only gives the audience small
glimpses of the film which creates enigma within the audience, leaving them
with unanswered questions resulting in them wanting to know what will happen,
and so will watch the whole film. Within this time a clear narrative must be
shown with an introduction of the main characters. Trailers are made by
selecting clips that have a significant impact to get the audience excited and
clearly communicate the genre.
The length of
the cuts varies throughout the trailer with the beginning typically having the
longest shots and fewer cuts. This is because this is where the equilibrium typically
from the start of the film is being shown which enables the audience to
understand the storyline, what events have occurred and to introduce the
characters in addition to showing something significant in their lives. This
could be moving house, adopting a child, inheriting a toy. In the Oculus trailer,
the mirror has impacted the lives of the two siblings and this is suggested at
the very beginning when the female says “hello again, you must be hungry”, and
in the Don’t Blink trailer, a group of friends have travelled to a log cabin
high up in the mountains isolated from civilisation. This allows the audience
to develop feelings for the characters making them feel concerned during events
of horror. Fewer cuts make the pace slower because the same shot is being shown
for longer. For example the start of The Babadook is of the mother and son in
bed reading the book therefore the concentration is on the story of the book
which significantly impacts their lives. A slower pace is commonly used where
there is less dramatic action to allow the audience to understand the plot,
events and characters and it can also reflect the calmness of the characters’
lives at this point in time.
During my research I measured
approximate timings of the length of cuts during the start, middle and ending
of the three film trailers to prove that as the trailer progresses the shot durations
get shorter with more frequent cuts which you can see on screen now. As you can
see the start of the trailer has cuts lasting longer, with mostly none being
less than one second, in the middle section the length decreases with some
being less than one second and no more than 2 seconds. And at the end of the
trailer, there are cuts lasting for only half a second as intense, exciting
action is shown as short bursts to ensure that little is given away to the
audience to create enigma.
Cuts are
commonly used in film trailers because they are giving quick, short glimpses of
what is happening in a short time space to ensure that not too much is being
revealed, but enough to draw the audience in to watch the film. Therefore
scenes from the film are shown in fast, sharp shots so that not a large amount
of the film is given away. This results in the audience only knowing elements
of the film partially as the trailer only shows a minute amount of clips from
the film. This enables surprises to occur and questions to be answered when
watching the whole film. For example in The Babadook there are about 80 cuts
and a range of locations used this ensures that not too much of the same part
of the film is revealed leaving the audience with questions like how the
Babadook interferes with the lives of the mother and son. Consequently the
audience are left with queries giving them the desire to go and watch the film.
The use of cuts keeps action constantly coming as there is no time for the
audience to think about what they have just seen as the next scene is already
being displayed. This can help keep the audience watching and engaged as
different scenes follow on from one another abruptly leaving no break.
Fast pace
shots trigger fear on the audience because the speed of the shots make the
audience feel anxious and curious as to what is going to happen next. This is
achieved by using frequent cuts with short shot durations so that the audience
is only shown glimpses of events in the film.
The fast paced cuts disorientate the audience whereby they begin to feel
a sense of urgency. The audience cannot focus on one thing at a time due to a
range of actions taking place from various perceptions. Fast paced shots are
most effective when there is a lot of dramatic and significant action happening
as there is too much for the audience to take in what is being shown and so are
left uneasy and inquisitive. This ensures that they do not see too much of the
film to the extent that they feel like they have already seen the film.
Slow paced
shots are often used at the beginning of the trailer when less significant
action is occurring because the wanted intention is to give the audience
something smooth to follow so that they can gain an understanding of the plot
and characters to allow them to make connections with the situation of the film
and work out who they sympathise for. The audience needs to be engaged with the
story line and have an idea of the plot so that they have a desire to watch the
film otherwise they would have no interest as they do not understand what events
and why they have occurred. These slow paced shots give the audience time to
think about what they are seeing and to highlight that nothing too
‘out-of-the-ordinary’ is occurring. Slow paced shots are achieved by longer
shot duration times with fewer cuts. Slow paced shots often result in the pace
of the trailer to gradually increase with a higher frequency of cuts to create
tension and lead onto the scenes of more dramatically thrilling action and
horror.
The
transitions commonly used in trailers are fade-out to black or fade-in from
black. They are often used at the beginning to middle of the trailer where the
pace is slower. Fade-out to black is used at the end of a cut to smoothly show
transition into the next shot. This prolongs experience to build up emphasis on
the film as the blackness can suggest that something terrifying is going to
happen without revealing what has happened. This intrigues the audience to want
to watch to find out what happens. Because the fading transition is not a fast
motion, they can suggest calmness which contrasts with the chaotic editing
later on in the trailer. Fade-out to black also enables the audience to
understand that different parts of the film are being shown so that they do not
disorder the events of the film. Fading out to black makes the cutting smoother
because it gives the audience guidance, and makes the overall trailer flow as
it prevents abrupt scene changes that increases the pace of the trailer which
disorientates the audience. However at times of action and fast paced editing,
short abrupt cuts will be used to build up tension on the audience which will
draw them into watching the film. Fade-out to black also gives the audience a
short time to think about what has been shown allowing them to decide how they
feel about what has happened.
The structure
of a trailer commonly follows the first three steps of Todorova's Narrative Theory, and is often in the chronological order of
the film. Typically a film trailer begins with the equilibrium to allow
the audience to get to know the characters and have a base line of what they
are like and what is going on. Then a disruption occurs which impacts the everyday
life of the characters, and then we are shown their recognition of the
disruption. At the beginning of the trailer we are shown the characters and
atmosphere to be normal and content with everything being how it should be; this
is followed by a disruption which causes a problem for the characters and
‘disrupt’ the normality they are used to. After that the recognition of
disruption and realisation occurs showing the characters living a more chaotic,
unsettled and disturbed life. The reason
why stage 4 and 5, the reacting to disruption and new equilibrium, of the
theory are not shown is because this would give too much of the film away,
informing the audience what will happen throughout the whole film, which leaves
them with no unanswered questions and no desire to see the film as they know
what will happen. Therefore there is no uncertainty or unknown upon the
audience making the film unfrightening and leaving no mystery. The sequence of
the cuts does not have to be in chronological order to the order they occur in
the film.
For example the
Oculus film is different to the usual layout because the film is told in the
present day in addition to flashbacks from the past which reveal the story of
horror of how the horrifying events occurred and impacted their lives in the
present day. The opening seen of the trailer is in the present day suggesting
what the purpose of the mirror has to do with the horror brought into the lives
of the siblings. This creates enigma on the audience leaving them wondering
what the mirror has done to impact the lives of the protagonists, its history,
and why would the protagonists want to discover it again. Creating enigma draws
the audience in to continue watching to find out what has happened, how and
why. After the recognition of disruption where Kaylie unravels the mirror and
Tim is discharged from a psychiatric hospital, the building up of relationships
between the two characters is shown through shot reverse shots. Then the
trailer is juxtaposed having the past and present run alongside one another
changing between the two. This structure of a trailer toys with the audience’s
expectations therefore keeping them engaged because it is something they are
not used to. This is thought to be a development in the trailer genre within
the modern day.
In The
Babadook the trailer begins with an equilibrium of the mother and son reading
the book in bed, this lasts for around 18 seconds with 10 cuts. This is part of
character development whereby we can clearly interpret that the relationship
between the mother and son is strong. Here the mother is looking after her son
as she is reading a book with him positioned close together. Furthermore in the
wardrobe shot we can comprehend how the boy relies on his mum for protection
from the way he clings round her waist. The book is what disrupts their lives
by haunting, stalking and possessing them, this lasts for about 28 seconds. The
recognition of the disruption includes scenes of the mother burning the book,
being asked if she is okay by a co-worker, going to counselling, and reporting
that her and her son are being stalked. Then towards the end of the trailer
more frequent cuts are shown with fast shot durations to show glimpses of the
horrific events that occur within the film.
Shot reverse
shot for character interaction is most commonly used at the beginning of the
trailer when the editing is at a much slower pace so that the audience can get
a glimpse of the characters and understand who they are supporting and
sympathise for. This editing technique contributes to the development of
characters showing the relationship between them and how they feel about each
other. For instance here in Oculus the shot reverse shot is used near the
beginning of the trailer when the two siblings are talking about their past to
enable the audience to understand their relationship. Shot reverse shot enables
the audience to see and listen to the conversation between characters, focusing
on one face and expression at a time; this allows them to see their emotions
and reactions alternatively as though the audience are part of the
conversation.
Eye line match
is another editing technique used to allow the audience to relate to the
characters more as they are revealed to what is going on in the characters’
situation from the characters’ point of view. Therefore this can make the
audience feel fear among the protagonists as they can see what the victims see
at the same time as the victims see for themselves. This gives the audience a
feeling as though they are part of the horror which then adds more suspense and
distress on the audience. For instance in The Babadook trailer an elderly
character is sat watching the television, then a close up of the mother of the
child, followed by the elderly women again with a figure made to be the
Babadook and then a close up of the mother’s horrified facial expression.
It is likely
that the opening of the trailer will be the logo of the production company who
made the film, or the title of the film because this signifies that the
upcoming is film based. For example in the Babadook trailer the first scene is
the production company E One Entertainment Media Company; the Oculus trailer
opens up with the certification rating of the film to make people aware of the
upcoming images and clips, and meets the legal requirement.
The title of
the film is likely to be more towards the end of the trailer when the producers
believe that they have shown enough to convince viewers to watch the film.
Having the title at the end of the trailers makes the audience focus on the
highlights of the film then they can decide if they want to watch it and can
remember the name of it as it is one of the last things they see. Sometimes the
name of the film is repeated throughout the trailer. In the Babadook trailer
the noun ‘Babadook’ is repeated through character speech. The title of a film
can make the audience feel an intended emotion and feeling, particularly fear
and uneasiness, especially if the title is disturbing or implying something is
not entirely right. Sometimes the title of the film can hint at events in the
storyline, and it is common for horror films to have short, abrupt titles
because this can imply mystery as one word does not give a lot away. For
instance ‘Oculus’ is defined as a design representing an eye, and the trailer states
how the mirror powers you to see what it wants you to see. The title ‘Don’t
Blink’ has a negative power word which makes you wonder why you cannot do what
it is telling you to not do, and so makes you curious to what the film is about
and relevance to not blinking.
The Babadook title appears at the end
of the trailer and lasts for 3.7 seconds, and the institutional information is
after the title lasting for 2.95 seconds. This is so the audience can remember
the name of the film, who produced it and the release date, allowing the last shot
to fade into the film title shot to leave the rest of story unknown.
Credits are
shown at the end of the trailer to acknowledge those who were involved with the
funding and production of the film such as Sony Entertainment Pictures,
Universal, 20th Century Fox. It is also common to include reviews
and critics as these can help sell the film to others. Seeing actors and/or
directors feature in a film that the audience like, will make them more likely
to want to watch the film and therefore help make the film a success by
purchasing the film in some way. Likewise seeing a film produced by the top
producers gives the audience high expectations of film and more likely to go
and watch it as they have high reputations with huge successes previously
meaning that they have the money to fund a film that has been made remarkably.
This could be major film companies or individuals like Jason Blum – founder and
CEO of Blumhouse Productions.
Having
reviews incorporated with the trailer can help the audience decide if they want
to watch the film from hearing what others have to say. The reviewers can be a
reliable source particularly when film critics and directors have reviewed
films.
The release
date of the film within the trailer informs the audience when they can see the
film. This is commonly found at the end of the trailer near to the title and
institutional information so that the audience can remember the date, shown
here in the Oculus trailer at 2:28, 3 seconds before the end. Leaving the
release date unknown by stating ‘Coming Soon’ can leave the audience waiting,
and let them keep track of the actual release date. This is most commonly used
when a teaser trailer is released prior to the official trailer to ‘tease’ and
steer up interest within the audience. The official trailer is likely to have
the official release date so that the audience will be ready to go see the film
when it is out.
Social
networking can be a way of promoting the film further by creating a buzz for
the audience and giving them more interaction with the film. Therefore on
trailers it is common for social media links to be advertised for viewers to
follow and interact with for more information on the film.
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