1. Textual Analysis
Film Trailer
Paranormal Activity
Charlotte Page

2. Aims & Objectives of Trailers
• A trailer is a form of advertising in which the purpose is to promote a
new film to potential audiences and aims to encourage people to buy
the film or see it at the cinema.
• The genre of a film is often represented in a trailer through the
elements of mise-en-scene and cinematography techniques. For
example, the editing in a horror film is likely to be fast paced and
include camera shots such as extreme close ups, yet these elements are
not likely to be found in a film from the romantic genre.
• Similarly, the choice of actors in a trailer can also represent the target
audience of a film giving them something to relate to as well as
providing a form of escapism as suggested in the Uses and
Gratifications Theory by Blumler and Katz.
• The actors themselves can emphasise the genre if they are known for a
particular genre of film. For example, actor Jim Carey is known for
playing a role in comedies.
• Trailers will often have a unique selling point (USP) to help it appear
different from others of the same genre. This helps to attract audiences
because a new release will appear different from previous trailers
audiences may have seen before. Trailers will often create enigma to
entice audiences through mystery.

3. Paranormal Activity Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_UxLEqd074
• Paranormal Activity (2007) is a film from the horror/mystery
genre directed by Oren Peli. The film stars Katie Featherston,
Micah Sloat and Mark Dredrichs.
• Director, Oren Peli, is known for his work within horror having
produced films such as Insidious (2010) and the Chernobyl
Diaries (2012).
• The distributer of the Paranormal Activity series is Paramount
Pictures. The production company for Paranormal Activity is
Blumhouse Productions who have also produced the other
Paranormal Activity films in the series. Blumhouse Productions
produces a variety of films from different genres however are
known for their horror films having produced Sinister (2012)
and Mockingbird (2013).

4. 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.
• 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.

5. Performance
• The actors used in Paranormal Activity
are fairly unknown.
• 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.
• This is because the audience are able
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.

6. 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.

7. • 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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 suggests
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.

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. Influences
• From this trailer, we have been inspired by the setting to use a family
home in our own trailer as this will help audiences relate to the setting
and characters more.
• 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 as in our questionnaire results, point of view
shots were also popular.
• 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 house 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.