Trailer notes

Sleepy Hollow

The trailer starts with the sound bridge of a wolf howling in the distace, then opens with an establishing shot of an old manor house, with a scarcrow and a spindley tree in the foreground. Right from the very start, the trailer is already representing the horror theme with these two elements. There are thuds and uneasy strings in the background. The colours are adark blue greys with a lot of black. We then see torches being either put or blown out in the darkness, which Builds suspense. We then witness the dramatic scene of a man running in the dark misty woods, a cut to the headless horseman and then the dicapitation og the running man. The studio icons are revealed with a flash of lightening and thunder. The introduction of the star, Johnny Depp, and development of the basic story line is the next stage. The music builds up progressivly. Here we also see Christina Ricci. The trailer uses lightening as a transition to different scenes. The first title is the directors name, Tim Burtion. The words of the title are revealed by a light shining from behind, this creates a silhouette in the darkness. There is also a mist floating in the air which is eluminated by the light. The star titles come next, and the music enhances their appearence. The trailer builds to a climax with shorter and shorter clips, untill the last clips shows an exploading windmill. The main title shown. It is a reverse of the others in order to stand out more, white on black. The white light shines through the cut out letters in the black background. The music here is just a loud groaning. The final draw to a close is of the horseman slicing his sword and Johnny Depp's character waking up to find he has just had a bad dream.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula

The trailer starts with an American voiceover. It mentions that the film is from one of the most celebrated film makers of our time in order to generate an audience. There's then a mention of the most unforgettable love story of all time. It doesn’t slowly build up at the beginning but throws you straight into the dramatic clips from the start. You identify the plot right from the start with the mention of ‘Dracula.’ This is to generate excitement. The stars are next to be named and then finally the main title, which is as though its written in blood. There is no development in the trailer or possible climax; this is probably because it is an old trailer, which were generally more basic. Although the music does build to a climax and then end with long dramatic strings. The final shot is quite dramatic, of a woman jumping out of a window. She is silhouetted for dramatic effect. The trailer ends with the caption ‘love never dies.’ This caption is mysterious and provocative.

Mary Shelly's Frankenstein

The trailer starts with the dramatic sound bite ‘no-one need ever die.’ The titles are super-imposed onto dark rolling storm clouds. After a few clips of the monster’s creation a title reads ‘Be Warned.’ This warning excites horror lovers because it suggests that the film could be very frightening. It could also mean other things like ‘be warned, this film is very good.’ The music is full of impact throughout; it is made up of choric singers. There are many clips that show people screaming or crying in distress to emphasize the calamity of this film. The lightening, with flashes throughout the trailer relates to the main story, but is also a common feature in gothic horrors. The stars names are uncovered at the end, again on a storm cloud. There is a last sound bite, ‘Can you ever consider the consequences of your actions.’ This makes us reconsider the first soundbite, and makes the viewers begin to unfold elements of the story. The final title flashes all over the screen until it settles in the centre. It too is white on black. Finally some purple rolling clouds wrap up the trailer.

Sherlock Holmes

The trailer starts with the sound bridge of a dark droning noise. There is then an establishing shot followed by a sound bite. In response to this is the mention of 'Sherlock Holmes' and this sets off a series of flashing images, which are cut to the music. There are many transitions into different clips that use the fade through black. There are also many more sound bites. The music gradually builds but then draws to a close for the first revealing shot of Robert Downy Junior, smoking a pipe and saying something humorous. He then dives out the window and into the Thames, accompanied by increasingly suspenseful strings. The three studio icons then appear quickly, one after the other. This then sets off a series of short, dramatic clips and crashes form the music. The next few clips unveil exposition. The music slowly builds. This trailer uses a tom and jerry soundtrack (whereby every movement is matched by the music's rhythm pitch and meaning.) The music suddenly kicks in while the stars are exposed. This is a clip of the star with their name below in bold metallic letters. The next short phase is a series of clips whereby the diegetic sound effects created by the actors (for example someone thrown into a door or a gun shot) matches the music perfectly. This technique enhances both the music and the action and helps to build to yet another climax. Overall the trailer deals with many rises and falls and silences then eruptions of noise, and plays with different levles of pace until the title flies onto the screen in bold stone-like letters.

Interview with the Vampire

The trailer starts with the studio ident followed by a sound bridge and then a sound bite. Various clips follow this, with some vast spacey music. After this short introduction comes the voiceover. The voice reveals the name of the director and his most successful film to generate the audience of fans. The stars are shown but not mentioned as yet. As the voiceover comes to a shocking conclusion the music dramatically gets louder, fuller and more emotional. Thios change in music is accompanied by faster clips showing more shocking clips. There are flashes of people screaming for example. A less mysterious sound bite then occurs to give more narrative to the trailer. The trailer then builds up to include more of an exposition. After this climax comes to an end the stars are finally revealed with a shot showing their face and the mention of their names. The final title is large and red. It slowly enlarges. It is in caps lock with a small print subtitle at the bottom. It is centred within the frame and symmetrical.

From Hell

This trailer starts with the sound bride of Big Ben and then the establishing shot of 19^th century London at night. Asoundbite then continues. A shot of Johnny Depp is then revealed. Then unconventionally, the trailer uses modern electronic music, this could be to show that the film has an edgy side, its the unique selling point. With the new music the 20^th Century Fox logo then appears, and it is sped up, again creating the idea that the film is modern and different. The trailer speeds up various clips and slows down some as well. After this small introduction the voice over starts. It is a low and strong American voice. The different clips are transitioned together with some orange flames which move over the screen. There are also white flashes which help as transitions. The story is explained slightly as well as the exposition, untill a soundbite from the killers mouth, reveals something shocking. Johnny Depp's character however then disputes him. The music then builds up with a series of dramatic clips. ~The stars names are revealed, interspersed with action shots. The foint is red on black, and a gothic font. The titles dont look very proffesional. The final main title appears big on screen, and then zooms forward, it also shakes. It is very ameture.

Barry Lyndon

I chose this film because i love the costumes and the lighting. It is also the right sort of period. The trailer starts with an establishing shot, shoiwing some marching soldiers. The music is of the period and startts right at the beginning of the trailer. A voiceover then announces the director, the stars and the awards won by the film. Next comes the rerviews, over long action shots. The trailer then shifts from being in the battle scenes, to a dinner party. The music changes, becoming more orchestural. And more reviews are read out. After lots of beautiful scenic shots and some clips of fighting, the title appears still on screen. It is very simple and has a pretty decoration around it, as well as a drawing of a gun. The background is brown.

The Wolfam

The trailer starts with the establishing shot of a dark moonlit forest. A man holding a lantern is killed. A soundbite then comes in, outlining the story, and history of the story. When the wolfman's hand comes into shot, the music makes you jump. There is then a shot of the person giving the voiceover. After some clips and a build up of music, the studio ident then comes in. It is specially themed to the movie. We then experience some exposition. The music is simple, just an oboe and some strings. When the wolfman leaps onto the main man the music picks up again and the fast action shots follow. These clips get faster and faster. The release date then flashes on screen. It is white on black with a white aura. The trailer comes to and end with a build up of dramatic music, important clips and the final wolfman howling. The main title is quite simple, just white on black, capitalised font, with a moon in place of the 'O.' The title glows slightly. The last shot is of a girl ruinning from the wolf in the woods. Finally we see the stars names appear on the black screen.