Horror trailer: Oculus

The trailer starts with the green screen which informs the audience the appropriate age range that is able to watch the film, but leaves the trailer very generic so that it can be suitable for all audiences. The audience this film is targeted at is for both male and females aged between 15-24 , from the pearl and dean website states for most horror film this would be the suitable audience as they would usually be interested in the horror films as they want a bit of scare from watching these genre films.

Then it cuts to show the production titles of Relativity which is a mini film studio in California. WWE studios and the BH productions which is an American horror film production company. Blumhouse produces micro- and low-budget horror movies, such as the Paranormal Activity, Insidious, The Purge, and Sinister franchises. This allows the audience to recognise who produced the film and the trailer will show acknowledgement for it being there. This is a convention of a trailer because it allows the audience to know who produced the film by showing the production titles, as some may be familiar with them.

The non diegetic music of the wind blowing starts signify a mysterious feel so the audience become more intrigued because the characters haven’t been introduced yet, as the camera pans right slowly to show  the location which is an attic in a haunted house setting. The is low key lighting allows to show time pass and peace as it is mostly empty, and then we are shown a long shot of the white cloth which covers the mirror, suggesting that it leaves it a mystery for the audience as it cover what could be the truth behind the cloth which leaves an enigma code for the audience as it leave them with an hints which would intrigue them into watching the film to find out about what this unknown secret is. whereas there is high key lighting from the window which is quite natural, highlighting the covered up object, which places significance on it as it shows that the storyline will based on what is covered with the cloth, then fades out in to black.

Then the camera cuts to a title of the producers of Paranormal Activity and Insidious which has an impact on the target audience as they have high expectations on this film, as they have been successful in previous horror films so the audience would mostly go and watch due to the popularity of the other films. This would be a unique selling point for the film because having the other successful films in the trailer allows the audience to recognise that this film is being made by producers of other film which they would be familiar with and would most likely to watch this film.

Then the diegetic sound of the wind continues as the items in the attic is revealed. The wind blows on the cloth that begins to uncover the mystery then we see a hand figure grabbing onto the cloth making their viewers suspicious however its appearance isn't revealed suggesting that it may be an antagonist of the ghost in the mirror. The attic seems abandoned because there are leaves and dirt on the ground which may imply that the plot will revolve around a family moving in and discovering the item which is hidden by a large cloth, leaves the audience wondering about hat this mirror may have significance as it connotes that it may hold a lot of power and control the possible family living in this house. The voice over of little girl complements this long shot, as the girl is talking directly to the audience as it directs them to the mirror, giving a description about it connoting that it hold a lot of importance in the film, and suggests by the way the child is talking looks like she is being controlled by someone as he voice sounds very echoed suggesting that she may be alone, this creates more suspense as it shows the child being alone with the audience, which would make the audience scared as it will make them apart of the film as they get a sense of the mysterious atmosphere. This adheres to the conventions of a horror film trailer as usually a children would be used in order to help get revenge on the protagonist, as ghosts would usually target innocent children as they wouldn't know what is going on around them.

 The antique old mirror is shown in a long shot, implying that it is an old fashioned suggesting that the storyline may have something to do with the past, the mirror reflects the whole room, suggesting that it hold a lot of power from a far distance. The voice over continues as the girl describes the mirror, “face of silver” suggesting it describes the mirror as a sacred thing as the child looks up to it, and sound very manipulating towards the audience, as this antagonist is trapped inside the mirror showing that it trying to get hold of someone in order for to come out. “frame of black” connotes the evil force signal being portrayed in the trailer. The camera then zooms making the voice over more effective as it leads the audience in to the trailer making them feel apart of the story as it will start to create suspense for them.“I stare; I can feel you staring back”suggesting that the voice over leaves a confusion about who this ghost is as it has control over this child, and gain a sense of connection between them. The non-diegetic sound intensifies for a moment then stops as the screen fades to black which may surprise the audience because it becomes dramatic.

The camera then fades with quick frames showing a male and female, suggesting that they could be the protagonist in the film, along with the robotic sound which goes alongside suggesting that t shows a build of tension in a small moment in the trailer, as it may be building up towards the ghost or the antagonist.  Then one of the medium shots shows scare on the children as they are scared about what may be after them, as have dirt on there face, suggesting that they have been going through torture, which as they are shown they look like they are protecting each other suggesting that they may be alone in this battle with the antagonist. The children looking directly at the audience may also suggests that they may be scared of the audience as it may refer to the mirror as may have manipulated the audience making the audience feel part of the plot. Then it quickly cuts to a medium shot of the two protagonist that were standing in front of the mirror, there is low key lighting to indicating that something is likely bad to happen. The non-diegetic sounds synced with the fast faced scenes to build up more tension, in these quick moments the past events were shown. This is a convention of a horror trailer as the both the diegetic and non diegetic music combined helps create that suspense in the trailer.

A close up of the mirror as blood drips down the mirror suggesting that it may show the future events as the characters may end up dead or being in danger of death as the red connotes this. The fade in of the voice over  “I hear your voice” implying that she’s getting closer to the antagonist which shows that she may be in danger. This allows the audience to become more closer to the antagonist. building the tension the camera fades out to show a long shot of a girl standing next to another mirror suggesting that there may be another side and may reveal the girl who is being possessed and controlled, as around her there are other ornaments which are old fashioned which suggests that they may have a linked past with the protagonist and leaves the audience curious about what they have may as a connection.   A long shot the main protagonist in a warehouse setting then the camera zooms up to a medium shot of two figures underneath the blanket which is enigma code for the audience for them to find out by watching the film. Then  the camera zooms in of a close up of the main protagonist expression which showing that she’s suspicious about what’s behind her this is shown through her scared expression. However as soon as she faces away the figure moves creating suspense for the audience. The scene returns to the attic setting as it zooms in again but the mirror is covered with blood implying death and danger for the audience to be expecting more intense moments in the film.

The voice over returns, there are couple of scenes that flashes back to the past then a medium shot shows an older women being dragged across the floor with implies that the antagonist has appeared, and a tracking shot is used to show this intense chase scene suggesting that it shows the antagonist capabilities as it shows it being very fast and powerful as it controls other people, making look put of control in humanity. The low key lighting gives a sinister feel as negativity occurring to the main characters. The close up of the main protagonists face as she holds a light bulb in her hand and her mouth is full of blood indicating that she was being possessed unexpectedly; her expression shows that she’s shocked and scared due to this. The final shot shows the antagonists face which may scares the audience as it appears suddenly then cut to a close up then cuts to black. she has a sinister smile suggesting the evilness she portrays. The low key lighting suggests that she has been revealed and is an unexpected shock for the audience, which would scare them further. A medium shot of a girl running down the hallway holding a golf club, her expression shows that she’s terrified as she’s crying and trying to protect herself. The fast pace chase scene as the antagonist is chasing her, her posture as she looks out of control seems like she’s possessed especially as she’s moving in an animalistic way. It returns back to a close up of the mirror as the blood spells the film name out, this is a creative way of ending the trailer as the audience doesn't know a lot about the plot which makes them curious on whether the main protagonist dies. This is a convention of a horror film as it is important that the audience know what the film is called and makes it memorable for them. as the camera zooms into highlighting section of the title, suggesting that it many start to show what this antagonist may look like.

The trailer ends with the "coming soon" suggesting the audience will have to wait for another trailer to get more information about the release date, but it is a convention of a film trailer as it allows the audience to be notified about when the film will be released. Underneath it it shows a hashtag #seeyourevil suggesting that it directs it towards the audience as it allows them to think about there own fears. Using twitter allows the film gain a sense of a global audience making the film more popular, as social media has become one of the most popular ways of promoting a film to a global audience. The red, lowercase font suggests that it hints the theme of death and fear so the audience think about what they are scared of making it more intense as it may be recreated in the film.