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1. PARANORMAL ACTIVITY TRAILER ANALYSIS
By muhammed usman

2. Narrative
The trailer is told from the perspective of
an audience who are watching the film at
the cinema. By using this, a consumer
of the trailer are able to see the
reactions of a real audience.
The trailer is revealed from the viewpoint of
an actual audience, who are watching the
film at the cinema (where the movie will be
released first).
By doing this the director of the movie
absorbs his audience by presenting the
reactions of other audiences, which raises
enigmas in the persons head to why they
are reacting that way? What made them
react in such a way? To seek an answer to
the enigmas in the individuals head he/she
would go and watch the movie.
Todorov’s Narrative Structure
At the start of the trailer, the audience enter the cinema and the
atmosphere is very calm. As the audience in the trailer appear
comfortable, the consumer watching the trailer is too as
everything seems balanced. However, when the lights go out in
the house, the audience reactions in the trailer become restless
and tense as there is a shift from being balanced to unbalanced
as supernatural activity begins to happen in the house. At the
end of the trailer, there is no equilibrium as this will hopefully
help to entice the audience to go and watch the film to find out
the ending.

3. Performance
• The actors used in Paranormal Activity are
unknown or aren't really in the ‘spotlight’.
• This can be thought to be quite successful as
the plot is set in an ordinary house and this
means that the characters are more relatable to
the audience.
• The fact that the actors are not very famous
allows various audience to connect to the
characters more because they are very similar
to them.
• Furthermore, by using actors that are unknown,
an audience may be curious to find out more
about the film as they are new rising stars.

4. Camerawork
• The camerawork in the trailer uses point of view
shots as characters are filming in their house with
a hand held camera. This allows an audience to
connect with the characters as everything is
shown from their point of view meaning that a
consumer finds out information at the same time
as the characters. Similarly, point of view puts the
audience in the shoes of the character and this
means that there is no dramatic irony as the
audience know no more than the characters
themselves.
• The camera movements are very shaky to reflect
that the characters are filming. This is a
convention of the horror genre as it makes the
audience feel involved as they share the nerves
and unease that the characters do.
• This choice of camera movement allows the film
to look more realistic as the medium shots only
show what the characters can see in the house.

5. • The trailer includes camera shots that
are filmed from the perspective of an
audience watching the film.
• These can be classified as as a point of
view shot and an over the shoulder shot
as this allows a consumer of the trailer to
share the same experience as the
audience at the cinema.
• Similarly, mid-shots and close-ups are
used to show the audiences reactions to
certain scenes in the film. The reactions
shown are often of shock and this makes
the consumer curious as they are unable
to see the visuals that the cinema
audience are seeing on screen and
perhaps makes it more likely that people
will go and watch the film.

6. Editing
• Montage is also used in this trailer. This is where cuts from throughout the film are
pieced together so that these scenes are edited in a way that allow the trailer to have
maximum impact on the audience.
• The calmer, more balanced scenes are shown at the beginning and the more
frightening, shocking scenes are shown towards the end causing the trailer to appear
unbalanced.
• By doing this, the exciting scenes are more likely to be remembered by the audience
as it is the last thing they see.

7. Fast Paced Editing & Cutaways
• Instead of using straight cuts, the trailer uses
dissolve transitions to white noise to remind the
audience this is a home video.
• The pace of the trailer is made fast through
quick cuts of the video camera becoming
faded. By doing this, if becomes difficult for
the audience to be able to see what is
happening, so encourages them to rely on
their senses and use their imagination.
• This also reminds the audience that the
characters are filming what is happening
themselves and highlights the more personal
connection the audience have towards the
characters.
• The fast pace of the trailer is emphasised
through cutaways as this makes the trailer seem
disjointed which creates an uneasy feel.

8. Sound – Incidental Music
• The trailer uses very little sound, there is no incidental music to create an atmosphere
however, because there is very little sound tension is built because audiences are
waiting and expecting that something will make them jump.
• Furthermore, by having no incidental music, a sense of verisimilitude is created as the
setting is a normal, quiet home where background music is not needed in order to
create an atmosphere. This makes the plot more relatable to an audience as this is
something that they can connect to as they can apply the situation to their own lives.
• Using silence or very little sound is another convention of horror films as this helps to
build suspense and tension for an audience.

9. Diegetic Sounds
• Even though background music is not used, diegetic sounds are used in the trailer to
create a tense atmosphere as well as creating a sense of verisimilitude.
• The diegetic sound of the audience screaming reminds the consumer of the trailer that
this is a horror film as screams and shrieks are another convention of the horror
genre.
As the consumer is unable to see what is happening on screen, diegetic sounds
encourage an audience to use their imagination.
• Bangs and loud noises are also another convention of horror films as people often
associate this with making them jump or violence. These are played when something
frightening happens as this is more likely that the audience will jump.
• Similarly, the synchronous sound of the bang when the door closes means that this
makes more of an impact and the audience pay more attention to it.
• The trailer uses white noise of the video camera and this not only reminds the
audience that the characters are filming the events themselves but creates a sense of
mystery as it feels like the audience are becoming more distant.

10. Mise-En-Scene
Setting & Props
• The setting used is an ordinary family home and the choice of
décor and props used such as the laptop suggests that this is
a modern family and this would be something that the
audience watching the film can relate to as the modern feel to
the house, this suggests the young characters and this is
something that the target audience can connect with.
• The urban setting shows a middle class family and this is
representative of the typical American audience that the film
is appealing to. By doing this, the film is able to reach a wider
audience.
• Even though the setting appears modern, props
such as the chandelier in the hallway is a
traditional convention of horror and this implies
that the film is mixing old and new horror conventions.
• The bedroom is repeatedly used as a setting
where the supernatural events occur. Usually,
the bedroom is associated with comfort and safety however
the trailer takes this feeling away as the comfort is replaced
with feeling uneasy.

11. Lighting & Colour
• The lighting used throughout the trailer
is very dark and this is a convention of
the horror genre as darkness connotes the
idea of the unknown and danger.
• However, in several scenes, high key lighting
is used to place emphasis on the subject and
this makes the audience feel uncomfortable
as the lighting is very bright and harsh.
• The colours used in the house are quite plain
and simple reflecting the modern feel of the
house and the characters that live there.
• Even though the lighting is dark, a
juxtaposition is shown between the colours
black and white. The black suggests evil, and
darkness whereas the white implies purity and
innocence so perhaps demonstrates the
contrast between the goodness of the characters
and the evilness of the supernatural.

12. Mode of Address
• The trailer talks to the audience through
the slogan “Experience it for Yourself.”
By doing this, the impression is created that the
trailer is directly talking to the audience and
encourages consumers to go and watch the film as
people should experience the events like the cinema
audience who featured in the trailer.
• Furthermore, by using capitals, the text not only
appears bolder but an intimidating tone is created
which would be expected of a trailer from the horror
genre.
• The film’s website address is also shown at the
end of the trailer which is a synergistic technique.

13. Barthe’s Enigma Theory
• Barthe’s enigma theory can be applied to the
Paranormal Activity trailer as the purpose of it is to
promote and create mystery surrounding the films
release.
• The title, Paranormal Activity, instantly creates a sense
of mystery as it implies that the storyline will feature
the supernatural but it is unclear exactly what this
activity is. Therefore, the audience are intrigued to
watch the film to see what the mystery is.
• Similarly, some scenes audiences will only understand
once they have seen the film so this may entice
audiences to go and watch the film.
• Most of the scenes shown in the trailer are in the dark
and this adds to the sense of mystery as at times it is
unclear what is happening.

14. Influences
• Within camerawork, point of view shots allow consumers to take the place of the
character and feel like they are involved so this is something we are going to consider .
• From this trailer, we have been influenced to use a similar editing style by showing
calmer scenes at the start and building to the more exciting scenes as it is likely the
final scenes will be remembered more. This will allow Todorov’s narrative structure to
apply to our trailer as opening will start with an equilibrium and end unbalanced to
create a sense of mystery.
• We have found that silence is effective in creating a tense atmosphere as audiences
are expecting something to happen that will shock them but through silence when it will
happen is unclear. This will help our trailer to frighten the audience which is expected in
the horror genre.
• For the mise-en-scene, we plan to use low key lighting in the scariness of the trailer as
this helps to create fear as it is unknown what will happen.
• We are also going to add text in our trailer, like the text in this one, as it creates a more
personal feel and allows the trailer to directly talk to the audience.