Paranormal Activity Trailer Analysis

              

    Paranormal Activity was released in 2009, and was considered as hugely successful. It only budgeted an incredible $15000 to produce which required double and triple checking to check that this figure is correct. It has made a profit of $193 million which just shows how successful they were. This is the trailer for the first movie that they had produced but they have later on produced a number of movies on top of this,
    This trailer is very unique as we witness a real life audience viewing the actual movie. This was completely different and new and so the audience would have feel intrigued and drawn in. As soon as the film distribution company; paramount is shown, then the movie actually begins. The camera shot used to view the trailer is a kind of long distance shot co the trailer can be seen but it also reminds the audience that the trailer is actually being filmed in a cinema .
    The lighting is consistently dark in this trailer to re-enforce that the trailer is of a horror genre and also reminds the audience that they are in a cinema. Throughout the trailer, during the scary parts, the camera quickly cuts to the audience in the cinema to show their reactions and this will also draw the actual target audience in.
    The unique selling point is shown very cunningly yet is there from the start to the end of the trailer. This is the camera type. The camera quality is poor but that is because the producers wanted them to be. Furthermore this was the reason why they didn't have to spend much in the production stage of this movie as they were using cheap cameras in comparison to the ones used by other movies which cost thousands each. This is emphasised in the trailer when the Male Character says "High Def (Definition) Camera, On,"which shows the camera being used is simple and the audience will really be experiencing the movie as if they are an additional person in the house.
    The female character is given most prevalence right at the beginning of the trailer just after the film distribution company "Paramount" goes by and this is done by the man camera looking at her. During this time, it seems as if there are two cameras when there is a shot/reverse/shot used to view the conversation. This also introduces the secondary character who is the man.
    The camera movements are never smooth and this helps to build the tension and remind the audience that he is carrying the camera at all times. The camera movements get quicker and quicker as the non-diegetic sound gets introduced. As the sound gets louder, there are more paranormal events which is followed by cuts to the audience getting scared and jumping.
    This trailer really tries to sell itself via the audiences faces to the horror scenes but it also contains the reviews by critics and reviews such as "the scariest movie of all time" will easily sell the movie to the public. Furthermore right at the end, when you think the trailer is over, we suddenly see a man fly into a camera and this may have been added to tell give the audience a final push to go and watch the movie. This is the only time that we really see the movie in the trailer in full screen as almost all of it was filmed as if we were in the cinema but this quick transition would catch the audience by surprise and really have them gain a memory of the trailer which is the real purpose of a trailer.
      Similar to The Devil Inside which I have analysed earlier, the title is quite plain but we witness an effect on the title with the sound of a camera being distorted. This is how paranormal activity is trying to make the audience remember this trailer. Furthermore the background is plain black and this really emphasizes the title. Just before the title, we witness a character being thrown into the camera and I believe that the title was put here because that specific scene would have gained the audiences attention. After the title, we see something for less than a second but if it is noticed by the audience, then they will remember the trailer if the haven't already.
     The target audience will get drawn in through the camera types but ultimately by the mysteriousness and the horror scenes that this trailer entails. We don't really gain a lot of information about the main characters. this adds to the level of suspense that this trailer was trying to build which ultimately will make the horror scenes seem more horrific in peoples perceptions than they actually might be. So the Horror scenes are also the other factor which will attract their target audience of old teenagers and young adults.
     Overall, I feel as if there is a lot to learn from this movie and how making a horror trailer may be the easiest yet most effective. In my first year of AS media studies where we had to do the opening two minute of a movie, we were encouraged to stay away from Horror movies as they have slow starts but this year we are getting told that a horror trailer could be quite easy and I have to say that I too agree. More specifically about this trailer, the use of camera is one that I can't forget as it was done so effectively. Paranormal Activity has been so successful with such a small budget so I'm sure that I will keep on reverting back to this trailer when we are shooting ours.