This is the teaser trailer for the movie ‘Woman in black’ which belongs to the supernatural sub-genre. I chose to analyse ‘woman in black’ because the use of sound and mise-en-scene inspired me with ideas for my horror trailer.
A teaser trailer aims to excite the audience about the upcoming film whilst not giving too much information away. Whilst watching this trailer we see children’s antique toys which begin to produce the background trailer. Then the narrative begins to unveil as we see a carriage driving through the mars h, soon the audience discover that this carriage is headed towards an un-kept mansion. Soon after, the audience are shown the inside of the mansion which appears extremely dark, melancholic and eerie. Next the shots show an old photograph which implies to the audience that this house has a huge history and then the camera takes a tour through the town, showing lose-ups of children’s face. This hints to the audience that children are a big part of the narrative and that there is something major to be feared due to their horrified expressions on their faces. Once Arthur Kipps enters the house, the trailer takes a pivotal turn and the audience begin to see what is actually terrifying the town. The fast montage of clips then begins and we see Arthur Kipps being tormented by ‘the woman in black’. This is the part of the trailer which builds up anticipation and excitement within the audience. When approaching the end of the trailer the editing slows down and we see the clips change from a scene from the movie to a dead black out. The trailer then ends with the name of the main actor and a terrifying sting which leads into the name of the movie, release date and website. The editing becomes extremely slow at the end with many dead black outs to make the audience feel as if something else will appear and scare them, this is great technique to leave the audience on the edge of their seats. There are no proper visuals of the ‘woman in black’, only shadows and eerie atmospheres implying that she’s there.
From simply describing the events which occur in the trailer it is easy to see the structure. The trailer begins with an eerie tranquillity, which then moves onto the disruption caused by the terrified faces of the towns people and then finally the fast montage of images which builds up to the climax.
Sound
Sound plays an important role in frightening the audience as it sets the mood and the tone for the trailer. Let us begin with the music.
The music is orchestrated by a series of children toys. Each toy uses a different instrument and each sound is amplified to make an eerie arrangement. The main sound use is the plucking of strings giving off a high pitched noted to resemble a children’s lullaby or the music which is found in a child’s jewellery box and so it is contrapuntal sound. This contrasts with the narrative of the movie and sending a chill down the audience’s spine. The tune keeps a steady beat until 0.52 where the tune sounds seems as if it is stuck on a record which will symbolise to the audience that something evil and bad is going to happen. From that point the sound of shaking maracas is added to speed up the tempo of the music. This compliments the fast montage of clips. For 2 seconds, 1:05-107, the music stops momentarily and then resumes in a much slower tempo, to symbolise the end of the trailer and match the slow editing used and make the mood extremely dramatic. Narrative including children often use toys, and contrapuntal music as the idea of turning something innocent into something sinister.
Along with the music, there are various sound effects used to create fear amongst the audience. The first sound effect used is the sound of mysterious winds whilst the institutional information is displayed at the beginning of the trailer. This sets the tone for the trailer and gives the audience goose pumps whilst they prepare for what is about to happen next. This wind combines with the music and so continues throughout the duration of the trailer. The wind connotes with open, isolated locations which are places associated with danger.
The next sound effect is used at 0:52, the wind and music are playing and all of a sudden the audience hears what appears to be a sharp intake of breath, the same breath which a person may take when they are frightened. After this point, the audience hear the first diegetic sound which is the rain and thunder. This will envelope the target audience into the world of the movie.
During the fast edit of images, many stabs (bursts of sound) are used to emphasise an action shown in the trailer for example at 1:03 when the child steps on her toy, which could foreshadow the life of a character in the movie. The sound is deep and dark to keep in with the theme of the narrative. Also at 1:05 a stab is used when Arthur Kipps slams a door. Also throughout the montage there is a sharp sound which builds up and once the climax is reached the non-diegetic sound is heighten creating a piercing note which will shock the audience.
This trailer is unusual for the fact that there is no dialogue; there is only a voice-over which seems like a child reciting a poem. As there is no dialogue, this poem is used to illustrate the narrative to the audience. Let’s take a look at the voice-over:
‘During afternoon tea, there’s a shift in the air, a bone-trembling chill that tells you she’s there.
There are those who believe the whole town is cursed but the house on the marsh is by far the worst.
What she wants is unknown, but she always comes back, the spectre of darkness…the woman in black.’
Looking at the voice-over above, we can see that there is not much information which revealed however it is enough for the audience to gather a rough idea about the narrative of the movie. The child’s voice begins by describing the ‘bone trembling’ feeling which people feel towards the antagonist. This is a powerful adjective, which is supposed to reflect how the audience should feel whilst watching the trailer. This first part of the narration implies the presence of ‘the woman in black’ and also it informs the reader that the movie is set in the Edwardian era as ‘afternoon tea’ was a popular event in that time. Moving on to the second section, the narration goes on to inform the reader exactly where the problem lies. The audience can gather that everyone in the town is affected by the issue but she lives in ‘the house on the marsh’. This combines with the long shots we see of a carriage travelling through the marsh and the establishing shot of the house itself. Finally nearing the end of the trailer the audience finally find out what is causing the disturbance in the town. The narrating continues to conjure up curiosity by saying ‘what she wants is unknown’. This will make the audience want to watch the movie to find out why she is like this. Then finally after a moment of silence which emphasises the coming phrase, the child reveals who is so frightening and who has earned the title ‘spectre of darkness’, ‘the woman in black’. Even when the antagonist is revealed, there is no actual name leave her character to still remain somewhat unknown which will further persuade the target audience to watch the film.
Mise-en-scene
Within mise-en-scene there are many separate areas to explore such as lighting, colour, costume/make-up/hair, settings, props, facial expressions, body language and positioning of characters with the frame. Each of these sections helps portray the genre and sub-genre of the film and frighten the audience.
Costume, make-up and hair
As the movie is set in the Edwardian era, the costumes have to be appropriate to the time period. The protagonist Arthur Kipps wears a simple costume throughout the trailer which consists of a three piece suit; waist coat, trousers and a blazer. All of the suits are either grey or black and they contrast with the white shirt. Kipp’s outdoor garments follow the same formal pattern as he wears a long black coat. We can see immediately that his appearance differs greatly from the people in the town and so the audience can identify him as the protagonist. His attire gives off an appearance of wealth and authority. Furthermore the whole style is very minimalistic and dark to reflect the nature of the movie. Kipp’s hair is also in a typical Edwardian fashion as he has a side parting which was typical of the wealthy men in that era, and also he chooses to keep long sideburns and a stubbly beard which again is something which was popular amongst wealthy Edwardian men. Also facial hair is a sign of masculinity and so the sideburns could also imply Kipp’s bravery and gallantry in the movie. Moving on the make-up, we can see that he has a very pale complexion to reflect the ghost-like and eerie atmosphere of the movie. The make-up is also minimal; this may be because he is a male so it gives a more realistic look.
The three children who appear throughout the trailer also have typical Edwardian costumes. They all wear feminine, girly dresses which emphasises their innocence; and so when we see them heading towards the window to presumably jump out, there is a major contrast in what their image portrays and what their actions are. This is a way to indicate to the audience that they be possessed by ‘the woman in black’ and so signals the sub-genre to the target audience. Moving on their hair and make-up, we can see that each child has their hair pinned back by a delicate bow which emphasises their innocence and allows the audience to gain a full view of their pallid, melancholic expressions which is created by the use of pale make-up. Furthermore there pale make-up gives them a ghost-like and eerie aura which builds suspense within the audience as they try to figure out what happened to these children.
As Arthur Kipp’s carriage rides through the town, we see the people who occupy the village and there is a clear differentiation between their costume and Arthur Kipp’s costume. The people in the town wear washed out pale, pallid colours which could symbolise their loss of hope and their defeated attitudes. In addition, the style of their clothing is much simpler, for example, the young girl at 0:41 contrasts heavily with the three girls we see at the beginning of the trailer as her costume is a simple pale pink dress; it is not a upper class as the dresses which we have previously seen. This will insinuate to the audience that they may be of a lower class; this is also shown through the costumes of the elder woman in the town as they wear simple dresses with a wrap around their shoulders to keep them warm instead of a coat which woman of a higher class may choose to wear.
The last character which appears in the trailer is ‘the woman in black’ however we do not completely see her; all the audience can see are vague shadows or dark faces. From what we can see is that her costume is black, fitting with her name, and the dark shadows also add to the black complexion and aura of ‘the woman in black’.
Lighting
The aim of lighting is to enhance mood, atmosphere and drama, to direct attention, to reveal a character and to suggest depth. When looking at the beginning of the trailer, we see a variety of close-ups on the children’s toys which play the spine-tingling music. These close-ups are carried out with profile lighting; this hides half of the toy’s faces and so making these innocent children toys appear sinister.
At 0.33 the trailer shows the image of an old family photo and achromatic lighting is used to illustrate to the audience that the narrative has gone back in time and the age of the photograph.
When the camera moves into the house on the marsh, the lighting changes dramatically and there are heavy contrasts between lighting and shadows, creating an eerie atmosphere. The dark connotes with unknown, danger and evil and so seeing the house with lots of dark corners will make the audience aware that there is something not quite right with the house on the marsh.
It is interesting to note that the only time the lighting appears to be bright is when the camera is on the 3 small girls. Artificial lighting is used to highlight the girls and we can see the lighting is artificial as shadows form in the background. The audience have a clear view on the girls and the lighting emphasises their pale expressions.
Colour
Throughout the film trailer there appears to be a greyish tinge which makes the atmosphere of the trailer quite ghost-like and sombre. The de-saturated tone shows that something is not quite right in this town and so indicates the sub-genre of supernatural. Furthermore this colour tone makes them feel uneasy, alarmed and apprehensive. As previously discussed when exploring make-up, the characters complexions are quite pale, almost resembling a corpse and so implying the people in the town are like the living dead. Each character looks as if they have had all life drained out of them by ‘the woman in black’. The pale, white tones of the character’s faces could also resemble their innocence and their withdrawn personalities due to the torment created by the ‘woman in black’. All colour which are used, for example, in costumes and props, are toned down to fit in with the mood of the trailer, however at 1:08 a sharp burst of orange is used to emphasises the flames of the fire and shock the audience as this is the first vibrant colour which appears in the trailer.
Facial expressions/body language/positioning of character within the frame
The first clip which I will be analysing is 0:33-0:35; this is where the audience see the three little girls playing together. In this clip we have two girls sitting on the right hand side of the screen and the audience have a clear view of their faces. The third girl is placed with her back towards the audience and this is so anticipation builds within the audience because as she turns around they will be expecting something frightening. Their bodies are stiff and they move slowly as if they have though they have seen something and this is also implied through the look of bewilderment on their faces.
The next clip with interesting character placement is shown when the camera scans through the town and the audience see three children behind what appears to be a gate. It is as if the children are behind bars, this unravels the narrative for the audience because the gate resembles bars, implying that the children in the town cannot be free of ‘the woman in black’. Their expressions are similar to the expressions on the faces of the three little girls which lets the audience know they are being tormented by the same experiences. This clip is similar to the shot at 0:44 where the camera moves to a window and the audience can see too small children looking out to view the carriage of Arthur Kipps as it rides through the town. By being placed behind the closed window it shows that they are trying to keep something/someone out.
Moving on, further into the trailer there is a melancholic scene where we see a woman fall to the floor and her expressions depicts heart-breaking sadness. Beside her are two women also from the town who comfort her and try to calm her down. This placement shows the comradeship of the town and how they all work together to try and defeat ‘the woman in black’.
Below are some pictures of the positioning of Arthur Kipp’s. As you can see in both clips his body is placed towards the right hand side of the frame. This is a great technique to show the audience the setting and location and so whilst watching these clips the audience will expect something frightening to appear from the background, this anticipation will make them sit on the edge of their seats!
Setting and Props
In the trailer, the marsh is a popular setting as this is where the house lies. In this movie the marsh is covered in thick fog and so the audience can literally not see a way out and are trapped in the world of the movie.
Use of Camera
Camera shots/angles/movements
To make a successful trailer a variety of camera shots should be used to make the trailer as entertaining as possible for the target audience. The first interesting camera shot happens at 0:15 when the audience see a close-up of a dirty china doll. As earlier discussed china dolls are a major fear amongst the audience and so this immediate close-up will shock and surprise the audience. This close-up is then followed by a series of other close-ups which change in time with the music. This easy flow of images and music instantly draws the audience into the world of the movie. Next an extreme long shot is used of the carriage moving through the marsh. This extreme long shot allows the audience to see the vast marsh land and makes the characters appear insignificant. It prepares the audience for the power of the antagonist. The camera then pans across the house on the marsh to inform the reader that there is something wrong with house. This is emphasised through the broken gate and overgrown grass. Soon after this the trailer then focuses on the inside of the house and we see an eye shot of the corridor. For this brief moment the camera appears to be hand held, making the audience feel as if they are the antagonist’s themselves. Divulging further into the trailer the camera begins to zoom into a window of the house to show a shaded figure and scare the audience. We see Arthur Kipps enter the house from a high angle. This symbolises that in this house Kipps is less dominant and not in control. Once Kipps has started to explore the house the camera moves to a close up of his face standing behind a window. A shallow focus has been used leaving the window blurred and emphasising the terrified look on his face. The protagonist is someone the audience looks to, to solve the problem so if the protagonist is uneasy so are the audience. Another shallow focus is used when Kipps rips of the wallpaper in the child’s bedroom. In the forefront of the camera we have the child’s monkey toy which is blurred; this has been done because through this clip the monkey begins to move on its own accord and so frightens Kipps and the audience simultaneously. Soon after, we see Kipps lost in the marsh as the camera is frantically panning around him and moving from a long shot to a close-up to show his fear. Throughout the trailer it is evident that composition of landscapes and scenery is popular. The compositions of the eerie, vast landscapes provide a brief break from the horror scenes in the trailer.
Editing
Editing is the transition from one scene to another. A cut is the most popular type of editing in media as it brings realism into the text. In supernatural horrors the antagonist is often invisible and so the torment is carried out subtly. This means that editing types such as match-on action and wipes are used scarcely. The main type of editing used in this trailer is a cut. This type of editing is easy and allows the trailer to flow smoothly. After the institutional information at the beginning of the trailer, the camera fades in to the child’s room creating a sense of mystery. After the fast montage of images the editing begins to slow down at the instead of the cuts change from scene to scene, they change from a scene to a dead black out. This is used to create dramatic effect. Lastly to create a terrifying sting a shot-reverse-shot is used to show Kipps looking out on the marsh, the camera then cuts to the marsh land and then cuts back to Kipps at the window and from behind him appears ‘the woman in black’. The speed of editing is interesting to explore as it begins extremely slowly with slow cuts to build anticipation. Once the problem has been identified the editing begins to speed up dramatically, showing clip after clip of the movie and making the audience’s heart pound. After this montage of images the editing then slows to the pace it was at the beginning of the trailer to create a bold, cliff-hanger ending. It is said that the editing of a supernatural horror should imitate what the audience’s heart rate will be when watching the trailer.
Straps
Below are the straps which appear in this trailer:
‘CBS Films’
‘Crosscreek Pictures’
‘Daniel Radcliffe’
Usually in horror film trailers, especially supernatural horrors, there are a lot more straps used as they are a great technique in helping the audience unravel the narrative. This is the teaser trailer and so the editing may have excluded the straps which explain the narrative due to the lack of time. This trailer only uses straps to establish the institutional information and the leading actor as a way to lure in the audiences. Fans of Daniel Radcliffe will feel inclined to go and watch this movie after being informed that he is starring in it and this applies to the institutions listed; audiences who are fans of CBS films and Crosscreek pictures will be excited to see this movie too.
Representation
Arthur Kipps has been presented as the traditional, stereotypical dominant male. This is shown through the narrative as he takes it upon himself to solve the mystery of ‘the woman in black’. This also links back to the idea that in Edwardian times the men used to take care and be in charge of the family. When children are involved in the narrative of a supernatural horror they are usually possessed by the spirit/presence however in this trailer we see the children with a different representation. The children in this narrative are tormented by the spirit but do not get possessed. They are portrayed as innocent and angelic, making the audience feel sympathy for them and also opening up their protective instincts to save the children; the only way the audience are able to do this is to go and see the movie to discover the resolution.
Overall this teaser trailer successfully succeeds in luring the target audience into the cinemas to watch the movie. After viewing this small taster they are left wanting more. I find that the use of all the mise-en-scene elements work beautifully together to bring the audience into the Edwardian ere. The music which ran throughout the trailer has inspired me and I hope to include something just as spine-tingling for my own trailer.
