Horror trailer analysis Due to there being a lack of films based around a similar concept to ours we decided to look at horror films with animal antagonists and see how they constructed their trailer in terms of pacing and present cinematographical elements… The Pack (2015): https://youtu.be/lp6nUcshWzM The trailer begins with shots establishing the setting and the profession of one of the main characters (a hunter/gamekeeper/farmer) the action quickly ramps up as the trailer skips from early morning to night and the music changes accordingly, with ominous wails and sound accompanying the family trying to get away from the titular “pack” of wolves which is hunting them for an unexplained reason. The remainder of the 2 minute 21 second trailer is populated with shots of the family trying to fend off/escape the pack. Clearly the trailer follows a rather typical layout as it does not reveal any major plot points or show much of the supposedly gory deaths which are hinted at. The pacing is comparable to that of a train as it leaves a station as in it is quite slow but ramps up quickly. In terms of elements our group may adopt it is safe to say that the commonplace method of a trailer which slowly ramps up would be a good fit, as it is for a plethora of films. Other elements may include the unwillingness to show any death as although it is rather macabre to say, some of the audience will be there for the death and as such would not want any of them spoiled in a two minute appetiser.
Unnatural (2015): https://youtu.be/SfSBU7MRlZw The trailer for unnatural follows a very similar format to the one last looked at but also employs the use of cross cutting to advantageous effect, disorienting the audience and also giving them insight into plot points without directly showing them, the aforementioned interwoven scenes are of the visitors to the in the middle of nowhere island being hunted by a large polar bear called man-eater along with another scene which is purposefully out of place, a scene with an employee running through a test lab being hunted or perhaps pursued cannot really tell. The interweaving Is used to great effect to show the pacing of the film also as it ramps up the action significantly more in comparison to the first third of the trailer which is slow and purely expositional, with the sole purpose of setting out a clear start point for the narrative. The themes of the film are worn on the trailers sleeve as the theme of supernatural/spirituality is introduced first but then superseded by a science fiction theme, all converging on what the polar bear (primary antagonist) is and how it Came into being, the film does not show an explicit answer to the issue but due to how screen time is divided it is obvious the scientific answer is the favourite to come out on top. The elements which we could possibly adopt include how the themes are presented through scenes devoted to them and also the way that the film uses cross cutting to great effect in order to bombard the audience with information and also show the scope of the film without outstaying its welcome, keeping to a safe 2 minutes 21 seconds.