Textual analysis task
- 2. First frame Firstly in this opening shot, we are shown the two main characters Jennifer, and Needy. Although Jennifer is smiling and seemingly excited, Needy looks a bit awkward and anxious. They are shown to be wearing casual early 2000s clothes such as jeans, T-shirts and comfy jackets. Its low lighting and a bit crowded suggesting they are in a bar or at a gig. The camerawork is still and focuses mainly on mid shots at normal angles the effect of this is showing the audience how normal and ordinary it starts out. A montage editing style is used with fast pace to convey high intensity or to foreshadow a big event will happen. Over the top of the background music, there is a narrator explaining the narrative of the film although you can hear some dialogue through the shots. His voice is a bit sarcastic and dramatic.
- 3. Second frame We are shown a mid-close up of Jennifer in her cheerleading uniform, she’s clearly standing at the front which could suggest she is a popular head cheerleader. She’s smiling and waving at Needy showing that they’re friendship is close. Its very high key lighting showing a school gymnasium environment, all this information tells gives the audience a positive insight and mood on the film so far. The camera zooms in on Jennifer in this shot, this focuses in on her character the effect of this is to draw attention. The framing of this shot draws attention to how she is smiling seeming to have the life of an average teen. Following the montage editing each shot lasts around a second or two, keeping the fast pace, the effect of this is to emphasize how quickly things went badly.
- 4. Third frame During this shot we are shown things starting to go badly, we are shown Needy standing in front of an explosion looking concerned and shaken. However she doesn’t seem to be looking shocked or scared. The light from the explosion is behind Needy casting a shadow over her, this could highlight the darkness in the film. The transitions are a very quick cut to the next shot, building tension and keeping the high speed shot duration. The camera work has limited movement till this shot, a mid shot where the explosion happens and the camera shakes the effect of this is to make the audience feel as if they were apart of the film. The diegetic use of sound effects is used when the explosion goes off is supposed to make the audience believe the realism and feel the impact of the explosion. During this shot the narrator explains how they were best friends, however when it transitions into this shot he says ‘until’ matching the time of the explosion suggests this is where everything goes down hill.
- 5. fourth frame In this shot, Needy looks devastated and shocked, we see her wearing a big pink prom dress with her curly blonde hair coming across so innocent , contrasting with the dirty gloomy setting behind her. You can see cobwebs in the background suggesting this place is old and unused. By this an eerie atmosphere is created. Keeping the quick transition speed and shot duration it keeps the tension ,intensity and insanity of everything. The effect of this to the overall trailer is conveying to the audience the genre and how the film will be presented. The camerawork movement is still as if she has frozen in fear, however it slightly zooms in on her face from a mid-shot to emphasize her emotion. The camera is slightly angled up at Needy showing not only showing she’s looking down at something but also represents the difference between her and Jennifer’s demon possessed body. Along side the background music, you can hear Needy gasp in horror. While the narrator says ironically ‘ until Needy caught Jennifer’ which leads onto the next shot with suspense.
- 6. Fifth frame This is first shot we are shown of Jennifer’s possessed body, she has grey eyes blood dripping off her face and a gaping jaw with animal like teeth, although she’s wearing a white dress and evening gloves covered in blood its effective as its highlights how pure she was before her body was possessed by a demon and now covered in blood. She is hunched over Needy’s mutilated boyfriend like he’s prey. The lighting is low and gloomy, which causes the effect of looking lifeless. Continuing with the montage editing we zoom into a angled down shot of Jennifer which is effective because it portrays her character is a very evil demonic way. With the music following on, the narration carries on from the last shot saying’ when Needy caught Jennifer … eating her boyfriends face’. This has so much ironic effect as in between these shots they show a short shot of Jennifer kissing Needy’s boyfriend.
- 7. Sixth Frame During this shot, we just see a close up of Jennifer opening her eyes straight in the camera. She looks pale, restless and ill, the opposite to the beginning of the film or after she's fed. The lighting is dark and cold, she looks almost dead yet slightly agitated. Through the entire trailer the editing is constantly a montage sequence fast paced transitions and short duration shots. A constant effect of the intensity and emphasizing how quickly everything went wrong. The camera work in this shot is zoomed into Jennifer’s face, it’s an uncomfortable close up as its as if she is staring at the audience. As the narration stops, we hear dialogue of Needy saying ‘ Jennifer is actually evil, not high school evil’. Which is effected relating to the shot we are shown next. There is no non diegetic sound in this shot, other than the music.
- 8. Seventh frame During this shot, we see Jennifer’s eyes change colour, as she lures a boy to his death. The lighting is low yet lit by what looks to candles that could stereotypically are used in satanic rituals. The boarded walls suggest they are in an abandoned house or attic. The effect of this creates tension and a creepy atmosphere foreshadowing she is about to kill him. Editing could have been used to change the eye colour. This would have an effect on the audience as it’s a sudden change which increases intensity and tension. This shot in shown for barely a second as it’s a quick dramatic change. As this shot barely lasts a second it doesn’t involve much camera movement. It’s slightly angled to the side close up making her look demonic and mischievous. The effect of this is to make her appear more intimidating. While the music carries on throughout the trailer, they add in sound effects when the eyes change colour which adds a creepy and supernatural atmosphere.
- 9. Eighth frame I feel this is a very important shot as it really represents the demonic character using her sexuality to draw in and kill teenage boys. The shadow we see on the boarded walls behind lit candles shows us the silhouette of her kneeling over this boy in a way that resembles a wolf with blood squirting out of his body as she’s rips her teeth out of his chest. The lighting is low creating a dark atmosphere, although the light coming off the candles is warm. This has a very shocking effect on the audience. Again throughout the transitions are short cuts to the next shot. However this shot is one of the few that stay on the screen for a few seconds as the camera focuses in on her face just before. The effect this has on the audience is very direct. This mid to long shot establishes the location well while not being too over the top with the gore and blood, using the shadows. Its slightly angled up as if the audience were on the same level as the body. This has an intimidating effect on the audience. While the narration has stopped, the music picks up and more sound effects are added for example during this shot we hear an demonic sound and the sound of flesh ripping and blood being splattered. This could be quite gruesome to the audience.
- 10. Ninth frame In this shot we are shown Needy in a completely different way, she looks restless, untidy, and insane. The orange top and concrete walls suggests that she’s in a prison. The light is low, yet casting a slight shadow over her causing shadows under her eyes causing her to look sinister. The effect of this is up to this point Needy has been represented in a innocent way, therefore telling us the situation has had effects on her. We are only shown this shot for a second keeping the fast pace and transitions through out the trailer. Comparing the next shot, it shows complete contradiction where we see Jennifer looking healthy and beautiful again, which contrasts with the way Needy has turned out. Its effective putting these shots together as it tells the audience the different effects it has had on the two characters. This mid shot shows her staring right at the audience having an intimidating effect. As we have been shown before the shot zooms closer to Needy, which emphasizes her facial expression. While the music carries on being played in the background, we hear Jennifer say ‘extra salty’ as we see the shot change from Needy to Jennifer. The effect of this is showing the contrast between the two.
- 11. Summary In total the sequence is 34 seconds, which on average is a bit shorter than a normal teaser, however we receive lots of information about the movie within this time. The narrative and genre is clearly represented mainly due to the narration over the trailer. Although the montage sequence was edited well in a way to represent the genre and narrative. From the ending of the trailer, it leaves you to question what happens to Needy and Jennifer? Does Needy kill Jennifer? How does it end? The unique selling point of this film is the different aspects and themes it portrays, it’s a thriller, yet has funny, aspects, with themes of an dysfunctional friendship. Yet from this there is a wide target audience range, as it could be targeted at girls ages 15-24 yet the thriller genre could be interesting to boys. The fantasy genre for demons, vampires, werewolves has been a massive craze in the past few years therefore this genre could attract a large audience. I can learn from this, the way we portray a film can attract a much larger audience and how effective the editing in a trailer can be and the different ways it portrays a film genre and narrative. I can use this to help me in my trailer by picking up on some camerawork, editing and sound techniques.
- 12. Poster analysis Bold, block letter title- Red- danger, blood, evilTagline- ‘she's evil…and not just high school evil’ Links closely to trailer and genre Actors names bold at the top- well known actors From the academy award winning writers of ‘juno’ - Advertising previous successful films Coming soon in red at the bottom- Important information in bold ‘Hell yes’- Contradicting good and bad Hell links with demonic themes in trailer Main image- long shot sexual colour, red represents danger, blood, death. The character representation is sexualized, short skirt, high heels All these factors link to genre and narrative Dark eerie back ground- links to the settings seen in trailer Hand in the desk- She’s got secrets, she's hiding something, murderer
- 13. summary To summarize, I believe the marketing team linked the poster and trailer, very closely, you can definitely tell its for the same film and the genre and narrative are presented clearly. I think they presented the poster in a way to attract an audience by sexualizing the character, she is attractive but by the colour scheme and mise en scene showing the hand in the desk we know there's danger there as well. From this I can learn to use aspects when creating my poster for our teaser trailer to attract certain audiences depending on our target and what are major factors of a poster that need to be included.