The Strangers Teaser Trailer (HD)

I thought this was effective because it misleads you to begin with and doesn't use any clips just pictures but it works effectively to give you an idea of what is about to come. The black fades also create suspense, and the whisper and knock on the floor get the audience scared. The extremely fast editing throughout the trailer practically only gives you a clue of what is coming such as the image of the knife, and the people with pillow faces so you want to know what is going to happen to the happy couple and why they are attacking them. Although this isn't low key lighting to the extent I want I thought the plot and the editing along with the music worked really well.

'The Silent House' Trailer HD

I liked this trailer because it appeared to be on very slow budget but was effective. Low key lighting was used to create the suspense and there was a shot with the woman in the foreground and the 'thing' after her in the background. I loved this shot as it was dramatic irony which meant that the audience knew she was being watched and something was about to happen which created fear and panic. Although I thought the music didn't really fit the trailer and the titles weren't the scariest font possible I still wanted to watch it till the end as you wanted to see what was after her and to give you a hint of what was going to happen.

Paranormal Activity 3 Teaser Trailer

I think this is a really effective trailer, it cross cuts between flash backs and what the audience have previously seen in the first 2 films. Again it is a hand held film, with a voice over and the titles, and the transitions reinforce the camera being hand held and capturing footage that wasn't meant to be filmed. It is a supernatural style teaser trailer and works effectively by working on your fear and teasing you with the woman in the background towards the end. Also it works well because it answers questions which the audience were wondering in the previous trailers.

Grave Encounters Teaser Trailer

This is a similar style film to the film trailer below. I liked the hand held idea, in an isolated area, with low key lighting and tense music. I also particularly like the titles and writing throughout this trailer as it adds to the suspense. The fast pace editing and screams also reinforce its genre of horror.

Quarantine Teaser Trailer

As part of my research I am going to look at 5 horror teaser trailers that will give me inspiration for my trailer either through angles, lighting, the plot or specific characters or locations.


I found a really effective film called  ‘The Quarantine’, although the beginning with the cane shot I couldn’t reconstruct the idea of the house in the dark with low lighting I really like. My favourite part of this trailer is the end part when the woman is dragged along the floor form a low angle shot which I want to include in my teaser trailer.  I also like the emergency services and the low key lighting which is really good inspiration for my trailer. 

Horror Conventions

For my teaser trailer I will do a horror genre. This is because I think I can reconstruct this and I am interested in this film especially when they are effective trailers.

The main aspects of a horror film is to bring panic and to the audience.

-Provoking their worst fears to make them feel scared.

- Most haunted horrors are filmed in isolated places with no one to help the victim. - - The editing is fast to create tension of what is about to happen but it also creates suspense.

- The background non diagetic music should also work along side the tension, increasing pace.

- Low key lighting and hand held cameras create suspense as it is more difficult for the audience to see what is happening creating surprise and shock when something jumps out.

- ‘Cloverfield’ is an example of this type of film.

- There are many types of horror movies such as science going wrong, creatures such as zombies, revenge, supernatural, nightmares, fear of death, illnesses ect. 

Definitions of the different trailers

A teaser trailer is a short trailer advertising a new film coming up, promoting and making being aware. The idea is to give away clips that make the audience want to go and watch.  I found a good site that site that explains the importance of trailers: http://www.filmeducation.org/staffroom/film_in_the_classroom/film_trailers/ From reading this passage it has sold me that the trailer must establish the mood, genre and the target audience. In the current society the Internet has allowed trailers to be uploaded onto blogs, YouTube and social networking sites allowing a free and effective type of marketing called viral marketing. This is very useful for filmmakers who may not have a high budget, as it is free and when used right can advertise a film and gain the audiences interest.  Also the people who go to the cinema to watch new films are mostly 16-25 and this age group uses the internet the most. They can also be downloaded and the ‘buzz’ spreads.  Teaser trailers can also be shown on the TV. The main different between teaser trailers and theatrical trailers are that teaser trailers are much shorter, whereas theatrical trailers are shown in the cinemas before another film just before the film is going to be released and are longer and give away more of the movie plot whereas the teaser trailer is designed and aimed to ‘tease.’