Recipe For A Conventional Horror Teaser Trailer

For personal research, And as we have now initiated the editing process, I wanted to investigate the typical conventions of a realistic, atmospheric and scary Teaser Trailer. I will be analysing 'The Omen (2006)' s Teaser Trailer below;







Step 1: ADD A GREEN BAND

By adding a green band at the beginning of our trailer we will be adding a sense of realism and professionalism into our trailer. This is also a convention for film companies to use a green band when promoting their trailers or getting audience feedback.



Here is our green band

Step 2: ADD YOUR PRODUCTION COMPANY LOGO OR NAME

20th Century Fox Production logo/animation

By adding your individual production company name alongside an animation or sound effect is seen in almost every film trailer or teaser trailer. It identifies who produced the film and can be used to build a reputation within their target audience or audiences in general.

Step 3: ADD AN ESTABLISHING SHOT(S)

As you can see 'The Omen' used a creepy, empty, lakeside, playgound scene with the quiet but eerie sound effect of a creaky swing. I feel this is very effective as it creates an uneasy tension-filled atmosphere. It also looks like they have added a slight grey filter and overtone as the shot looks quite discoloured, it is a really good technique in making a normal mirror the atmosphere and feeling of the story. This shot pans across to the figure on the swing.

Step 4: FOCUS ON AN ACTOR/ACTRESS/OBJECT

As the shot progresses we slowy zoom in from behind. It alsmost looks like a point of view shot as it can be seen as walking towards the character. The music slowly develops and increases in volume which adds to the tension and horror within the trailer. Futhermore, as the camera zooms in to that one character, the audience then assume that this is the main or one of the main characters.

Step 5: A JUMP/MOMENT OF HORROR/TENSION

At this point the music changes and I feel that the genre of this film is more obvious to be of the horror genre. Plus, the character is wearing red, which can represent evil and/or blood. The characters stare is aimed directly at the audience which can be seen as a point of view shot. It is very effective.

Step 6: ADD AN INTERESTING SYNOPSIS

Along with sound effects, 'The Omen' used this very effective Synopsis including the element '666' which of course represents the devil or evil. This is supported when they display 'His Day Will Come' which may indicate the devils return to Earth? Adding a Synopsis can be one of the main elements can can attract audiences to watch your final film as it only hints at the plotline without giving too much away.


Step 7: ADD A FANCY DATE OF RELEASE

I feel that they used a really good idea of releasing their film on the 6th of June 2006 (06.06.06) which they yet again linked to the devil or devilish image. They also made this clear by fading the first image into the second. I really like what they did here and was a innovative way to attract their audience once more.
By studying this one trailer in detail I feel as if I have beomce more popular and aware of the conventions of a horror trailer which I can then transfer into the production of our own trailer.