R11 - Analysis of film trailers - Annabelle & The Purge Anarchy

Summary of the film:
Annabelle is the doll featured in the opening scene of The Conjuring who makes her way into the hands of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. In the movie, a couple begin to experience terrifying supernatural occurrences involving the vintage doll shortly after their home is invaded by satanic cultists. 

Trailer analysis:
The trailer starts with a number of different shots of the location, as if they are snapshots of the event in the film, which are all shown in different angles to show the main focus of where the activity is taking place. This is a good tension building technique as it builds tension fairly quickly. In the beginning, you see a lady running up to her husband in the night showing that her sleep was disturbed by an unusual event. Shen then says “John wake up, I heard her scream" and "she's covered in blood" in a panicky and agitated voice. This builds up the atmosphere as more intense. Therefore, this will build up the curiosity to the audience as to what is happening. 

As soon as the man runs out the door of the house, intense and vigorous music starts playing in synch giving the movement an affect indicating that something is wrong judging by his facial expression as he looks worried and out of breath. He then urges his wife to go back inside the house repeatedly. This states that an unusual even has occurred and that something must be done in order to protect themselves, raising the tension and suspense.

In the middle of the trailer, you start seeing various quick camera shots of Annabelle the doll every now and then. This suggests that this specific object may have a responsibility in the unusual occurrences taking place. You then hear a child like voice whispering "I like your dolls" in the background and straight after there is a sudden scream which gets the viewer on the edge of their seat. This scream is used to build tension in this situation related to the doll. There are a number of flashes that are like strobe lighting, this shown over a man struggling to fight off the woman, the scream continues and then stops when just the dolls face is shown. After that, there is sudden attacking going on and this gives the trailer a fearsome effect. There are a number of flashes that are like strobe lighting. Flashing light is a good technique because it gets the viewer on edge and the bright lights almost get them excited to see what is going to happen next. This is shown over the man struggling to fight off the woman and the scream continues and then stops when just the dolls face is shown.

You then see a close up camera shot of Annabelle where a tear sheds blood out of her eye. The fact that red connotates evilness and death gives the impression that the doll is not so innocent after all and that the doll is full of secrets and is capable of unrealistic occurrences performed by an object as it doesn't happen in real life. This may be disturbing to the audience as dolls are usually seen as happiness, joy and innocence.

Also, the part where you can see the doll placed on the shelve in a kid's room is shown as a middle camera shot to establish the setting. As you can see, the curtains are blue and pink and the furniture is white. These colours symbolise innocence and purity which contrasts the image of the vintage doll even though she is wearing a pure white gown. This makes the doll stand out and it shows that this doll may be the cause of the problems taking place in the movie.

The screen changes again and this time the screen is dark and the tone of music drops and once again, there is a sudden crash as the screen changes to represent something has gone wrong again. Some strange things begin to happen around the house but in the back ground of the shot, for example the camera is on a close up of the doll ' Annabelle' but you can see the door slam shut in the background although no one is in the room. This is also a good tension building technique because it is almost done slyly. Then, a record player is shown starting to play music by itself. The music is a very relaxed kind of jazz music, a shot is then shown of the woman asleep on a low angle shot but also quite a long shot too, you can see the woman asleep towards one side of the shot and the music begins to play but the spirit or woman is shown walking around the house around her without her knowing. This music is used to lighten the mood, before quickly switching to something bad happening for a better effect on the viewer. 

The trailer quickly picks up the pace, the shots change from the woman sewing, to the cooker in the room, this gradually gets faster and faster, then a close up shot of the doll  Annabelle is shown for a brief second in between the other shots. You can hear a clock ticking faster and faster and lullaby music playing in the background which contrasts what is going on. The kitchen sets on fire and the woman is dragged into it by what appears to be a spirit. There are then a number of different shots that flash up very quickly and with very little time between them (enough for the viewer to establish what is going on). This is used to create a sense of panic. The door suddenly locks and the woman crouches down to look underneath, there is a POV shot of the baby in another room, this is interrupted by the doll falling to the floor in front of the shot. The screen quickly changes to the blank themed screen which reads 'discover the secret'.

Overall, I really liked this trailer, particularly because of the variety of techniques that were used to build tension and panic for the viewer. It gives you a good insight into the film but still leaves the viewer wanting more with the 'discover the secret', 'and of what she wants'.

The purge Anarchy Trailer Analysis from ABoksh