Research: Trailer Analysis - Drag Me To Hell

Name – Drag me to hell

Length – 2.19 minutes

Genre – Horror

Plot – A loan officer ordered to evict an old woman from her home finds herself the recipient of a supernatural curse, which turns her life into a living hell. Desperate, she turns to a seer to try and save her soul, while evil forces work to push her to a breaking point.

Number of characters – In this trailer there are a variety of main characters which are dominated in particular scenes. However the two main characters which are shown throughout the trailers is the young women, whose name remains unknown throughout the trailer and the old lady who comes to her for help. The two main characters which are shown at the beginning of the trailer is the young women boss Mr Jacks and Stew the man which she is against in the assistant manager’s job position. However there are also background characters also known as flat characters in the beginning of the trailer. These include the workers and customers who stare when the old women is making a scene and the security who help to take the old women out of the building. The background characters are illustrated mainly through the facial expressions, body language and normally don’t have much speech. The other characters which are shown in this trailer is the young women’s boyfriend and a Astrologist. The audience would be able to distinguish which are the main characters from this trailer as they have the most part and are shown the most in scenes. However compared to the background characters that probably won’t be shown in many shots and have much speech. The main aim of background characters is to help provide a good setting.

Number of Shots – Approximately 92
The shot start of by lasting about 2/3 seconds each using a mixture of transitions and camera angles however has the tension starts to build up the pace begins to get faster therefore leaving the shot lasting only about ½ seconds. The camera angles mainly used in this trailer is close ups, medium angles and some long shots. The opening shot starts off with an Establishing shot and a bird’s eye view of the cars, this enables the audience to gain a understanding of the setting/location. The shots mainly used in the beginning are mediums angles which allows the audience to see the environment however when a strong emotion or facial expression is needed to be shown then the camera would change to a close up. For example shot number 15 of the old women is a close up of her facial expression. In this shot the women is looking terrified as she has just found out the young women is not permitting her with an extension on her mortgage. This camera angle allows the audience to connect with the characters and can be used to build up tension. For example shot number 22 is of the young women sitting in her car. The camera angle is again a close up but the camera zooms in very slowly creating a black outline at the same time. This camera movement builds up tension and suspension as the next shot will come unexpected to the audience.

Music – The music at the beginning of the trailer starts of a quiet and claim however at about 55 seconds into the trailer the music brings to get slightly louder as the young women is feeling pressured and unsure of what to do. However in shot 19 the old lady is begging the young women while pulling on her skirt, the young women then shouts “Security!” and the old women falls to the fall. At that point the music stops for approximately 2seconds then going back to speech. By the music getting cut at that point creates tension for the audience as they are anxious to see what happens next. The music then begins to get faster and louder as more action is occurring at a faster pace. This also helps to create tension to the audience as they are left fearful of what’s next. The music used in this trailer has a big impact on the trailer which helps to keep them engaged and make them want to watch the film.

Voiceover – None

Production Company – The production which made this film is Universal as Ghost house pictures. Showing the production company is very important as it can help attract the audience. If the production company is a recognisable brand that will encourage people to watch the film as they would have a good reputation for film making and people would assume that film would be to a high standard. Another important factor in showing the production company in a trailer is surrounding copyright laws and to ensure them the trailer won’t be copied.

Credits/ Intertitles – There are a number of Intertitles shown throughout the trailer.
1.22 – 1.24 ‘From Sam Raini’ – This lasts 1 second more than the other Intertitles as they want the audience the directors name to be shown for a long enough time.
1. 29 – 1.30 ‘Director or spider-man’ – By showing this, people who enjoyed spider man may be optimistic in watching it as it is produced by the same director so they believe they will enjoy it like they enjoyed spider-man
1.34- 1.35 ‘And the evil dean trilogy’
1.45 – 1.46 ‘This may’
1.51 – 1.52 ‘Universal pictures and Ghost house pictures
1.57 – 1.58 ‘Present’
2.04 – 2.05 ‘The return’
2.08 – 2.09 ‘Of true horror’
2.14 – 2.15 ‘Drag me to hell’
2.16 – 2.17 ‘In theatres May 29th’
2.18 – 2.20 ‘Universal pictures and Ghost house pictures present Alison Lohman “Drag me to hell” Justin Long Co-producers Cristen Carr Strubbe, Ivan Raimi – Showing the actors names can also encourage people who are fans of them to watch it, as they would be more reluctant in watching their favourite actor in a film.

Editing – The editing is things such as transitions and pace. The transitions which were used in this trailer were mainly fade and straight cut. In the beginning of the trailer the main transition which was used is a straight cut. This enables the audience to not get confused with the shots or storyline and is a simple transition. However when the tension was building up or a close up was used the transition used would be a fade. This was so it took a bit longer getting to the next shot so the audience would be keep in suspense for longer meaning they would be more interested. For example shot number 20 fades into the next shot of the women walking to her car. Shot number 20 is when the young women have just had her skirt pulled on by the old lady and had to call security to remove her. In this close up shot she is looking scared and shocked. This shot was a very fast pace shot and the music was gradually building up. However by using a fade transition into the next shot keeps the audience in suspense. The pace of the trailer varies it starts of slow than as the trailer goes up the pace begins to get faster as tension is building up.

Mise en scene - This refers to many things such as setting/location, lighting and custom. The setting of the trailers changes in order for the audience to get an understanding of storyline. The first establishing shot starts off by showing cars on a motorway then fades into the young women driving her car. The other locations from the trailer include: her office, a car park, the young women’s house (bedroom), a haunted house, near a river and a cemetery. All these different locations represent a change in the storyline however they all link together. The lighting which is mainly used in this trailer is notan lighting when the scene is positive however as the pace gets faster and shots become more intensive the lighting which is mainly used is chiaroscuro. This is when the lighting becomes dark and dull which would have representations of bad meanings. The lighting is an important aspect in the trailer as it helps to set the scene for the audience. The custom which the characters wear are also important as it has to relate to the characters representation for example the old lady is portrayed as a stereotypical image of what old ladies wear. Having characters look stereotypical helps the audience to understanding and connect with the character as they would already know the connotations attached to the character.