1. Detailed Research of 3
Film Trailers
Yasmin Watkins

3. Identify the institution and the embedded
codes employed by the trailer
FilmNation Entertainment (plus Relativity Media)
 In ‘HATES’ the FilmNation institution
code appears at 0:23, while in Mud, another
FilmNation Entertainment company, it is shown in a
much smaller logo at the end of the trailer.
 This could be because there were many more
production companies involved in the making of
the film, compared to the high-profile HATES
featuring Jennifer Laurence.

4. What are the key selling points of
this trailer?
 This trailer focuses on time; it uses
frames-in-reverse, close ups of a clock
and inter-titles for connote this theme.
 It subsequently narrates to the audience that the
protagonist, along with the viewers, will have to go
back to the origins of the antagonists to find out
the hidden secret.
 Furthermore, Jennifer Laurence had received
acclaimed fame from her previous role in Hunger
Games, which helped increase the interest in this
film with her acquired fan base.

5. How does this trailer establish genre,
mood and expectation of the film?
 It uses fast-paced editing which establishes the thriller genre
of the film, while the fades to black transitions and intertitles connote the horror.
 The erratic speed of the narrative would cause the audience
to expect the film to be suspenseful.
 Isn’t constructed in the same way a horror film is, in terms
of predominantly showcasing the blood and gore of the film,
which subsequently highlights the thriller genre.
 The use of beginning the trailer with an action sequence,
leaves the audience to expect a fast-paced narrative in the
final film

6. Is this trailer more or less successful for you. Identify
which elements work and which do not work for you?
 By beginning the trailer with an action sequence, it leaves little
time to establish an equilibrium for the audience to see disrupted.
 However, this can be argued to attract the audience straight away,
and includes enigma codes, for the audience to question what has
happened to the protagonist
 The use of reversal shots are slightly unnecessary, but have been
used to tie in with the trailer’s concept of ‘going back to the
beginning’ of the story to find out what’s happened.
 Focusing on close-ups of the character’s facial expressions gives
away the what has happened without the need for dialogue, which
is also effective.

7. What appears to be the target audience for
this film?
The target audience for House at the End of the Street can be argued
to be:
 Fans of Jennifer Lawrence ~this includes a female audience, where
viewers may identify with Jennifer Lawrence’s character through
personal identity in Blumler and Katz’s Uses and Gratifications
theory, as well as the male audience, through Laura Mulvey’s male
gaze theory. This is highlighted by frames of her womanly curves
being shown in the trailer.
 Fans of psychological thriller –would appeal to a young adult
market as the protagonists are not stereotypically young
teenagers, and are in much more mature surroundings. This may
include viewers with a daring/ curious personality, who will want to
interact with the film’s mystery elements.

8. Release Date
House At The End of the Street: 21 September 2012 in the USA and UK
 I found this theatrical trailer published on YouTube on
29 March 2012, which was just over 6 months before
the film was actually released –highlighting the
marketing in the lead-up to a film.
 Its glowing text and background associate with the film’s mise-en-scene,
while the ‘#HATES’ is implying for the audience to consume the film further
past this trailer.
Source: IMDb
Credits
 This trailer didn’t use any credits other than at the end, to highlight the production
companies involved in the film, after showing their logos at the beginning of the film.
 Interestingly, there are no credits that mention the actors involved. This could be
because of Jennifer Lawrence’s fame as an actress to a large extent, so she doesn’t
need to be named in the film, due to assumed knowledge of her roles.

10. Identify the institution and the
embedded codes employed by the trailer
Paramount Pictures (plus Phoenix Pictures, Sikelia
Productions and Appian Way)
 In Shutter Island’s trailer, the Paramount institution
appeared at 0:06, while in Anchorman, it appeared
towards the end again at 1:41.
 As a well-known company, this possibly means that
they do not have to worry about where their logo is
placed, as the audience recognises the institution
code through media saturation.

11. What are the key selling points of
this trailer?
 The main protagonist is trying to find someone that is
missing from this unknown community, adding a key selling
point of mystery, as the audience interacts with the film
by investigating the situation through the eyes of the
protagonist.
 Leonardo DiCaprio is a widely-known actor, thus, a key
selling point for this trailer, as he’s the only actor
highlighted in the inter-titles. Furthermore, the audience
will feel emotionally invested in his character.
 The inter-title ‘A Martin Scorsese picture’ which is shown
at the beginning, will attract those who know of his
previous films

12. How does this trailer establish genre,
mood and expectation of the film?
 This trailer focuses on the themes of secrets, not
following the strict rules set out and isolation by being
set on an island. This establishes the genre and mood of
the film, as the characters are not in a stable, familiar
surrounding.
 The widely-known production company ‘Paramount
Pictures’ would be able to ‘inject’ its audience
(hypodermic needle theory) with the initial impression of
a high expectation for the
film.
 The soundtrack and dialogue provide enigma codes, along
with the expectation of a lot tension, thus establishing
the thriller genre of the film

13. Is this trailer more or less successful for you.
Identify which elements work and which do not
work for you?
 I find this trailer more or less quite successful because it gives a number
of scenes in different locations in a non-linear order –giving the audience a
lot of information to take in at once, while simultaneously not giving too
much away.
 Instead, it allows the target audience to want to answer the questions
that are embedded as enigma codes (through dialogue) and the implied
disrupted equilibrium (through imagery) through basic human nature.
 However, it can be argued that too much is possibly given away, even in
the short clips in the fast-paced editing, as it gives the audience an idea
of what may be going on.
 I think that this trailer works well as a theatrical one, but could be made
even more effective if scenes were cut out to create a teaser trailer,
which would give the audience just an inkling into what the film will be
about, without showing too many scenes from the climax of the film’s
premise.

14. What appears to be the target audience for
this film?
 The partial gore seen in the trailer would suggest that
this film would receive a 12A or 15 age rating by the
BBFC.
 The predominant male cast of the film would suggest
that the film is more targeted at male viewers, creating
more of a 60:40 ratio of the target audience.
 However, the mystery features of the film would attract
both female and male viewers, while the psychological
elements may attract a more female audience, who
stereotypically are more concerned with how people
think/ feel.

15. Release Date
Shutter Island: 19 February 2010 in the USA and 12 March 2010 UK
 I found this theatrical trailer was published on
YouTube on 16 October 2009, which was about
4 months before the film was actually released.
 This gave people something to look forward to in the new year, using
Leonardo DiCaprio as a main selling point.
Source: IMDb
Credits
 This trailer used credits to highlight that it was a ‘Martin Scorsese’ film as an additional
selling-point to the audience, along with its title and release date.
 Furthermore, following the title, more information regarding the production
companies, their logos, actors and further information is given to the audience.
 These are all created in the same typeface, to add to the film’s brand as it is
promoted.

17. Identify the institution and the embedded codes
employed by the trailer
 Hammer Film Productions
In the Woman In Black film trailer, the logo for Hammer’s
film production company I seen at 0:03; in ‘Let Me In’s
horror trailer, it’s shown at 0:08.
 This suggested that the institution codes were replicated
in the same way in their trailers, so I researched another
of Hammer’s credited horror film trailers with ‘The
Resident’, which was also at 0:08.
 This implies that Hammer assumes its target audience
knows that the company produce films under the horror
genre, reaffirming their relationship with the audience.

18. What are the key selling points of
each trailer?
 The trailer captures the essence of community seen in the film,
which isolates the protagonist.
 Daniel Radcliffe is a key selling point in the trailer, because of his
popularity and ability to attract his previous audiences from the highprofile Harry Potter franchise and his films since.
 This film was able to target the audience’s of the original book and
theatre adaptation of the story, as they would have been interested
in viewing the film adaptation of the story.
 The embedded enigma codes introduce the questions of the
secrets briefly seen in the film and how the isolation will
affect the protagonist.

19. How does this trailer establish genre,
mood and expectation of the film?
The trailer establishes genre, mood and expectation of the
film predominantly through the mise-en-scene.
 This is depicted through the use of conventional horror
imagery, such as: an isolated setting, an old house,
close ups of dolls and innocent children, before the
protagonist if finally seen at 0:43.
 The ‘fade to black’ transitions also helps to establish the
audience’s expectation of the film, as they are typically
used in this genre.
 These establish a mood for the audience, to change their
state of mind as the trailer increases its pace.

21. Is this trailer more or less successful for you?
Identify which elements work and which do not work
for you.
 The first initial shots of the archaic toys work well with their diegetic
sound counterparts, by establishing a slow pace along with the premise for
the film, along with the non-diegetic initial soundtrack that simulates the
sound of the wind. This creates a build-up that the audience are aware of
and expect the editing and sound to shift.
 The focus on children, along with the child narrator of the trailer, may
cause an older demographic of the audience to become emotionally
involved with the characters. The brief stop to her narration coincides
with the film’s shift in tone, where the pace increases and more horrific
imagery is shown.
 It leaves enough enigma codes for the audience to become intrigued to
parts of the equilibrium, and disruption without giving away the main
parts of the plot. This is done well by focusing the shots on the protagonist
who the audience need to become aware of and find the answers to the
questions through his eyes.

22. What appears to be the target audience for
this film and how are they explicitly targeted?
 Fans of Daniel Radcliffe
–as he is the protagonist
 Fans of the original book and stage adaption of
‘The Woman In Black’, which would be widely
known among a much older audience.
 The demographic of those aged 15-25, who are
conventionally the main audience for horror films and have a
disposable income.
 Those with an adventurous personality and are thrill-seekers
–as portrayed by the film’s quick pace; implying ‘jumps and
scares’.

23. Release Date
The Woman In Black: 3 February 2012 in the USA and 10 February 2012 in the UK
 I found this theatrical trailer was published on
YouTube on 18 August 2011, which was 6 months
before the film’s initial release.
 The title gives the audience a website that they can further interact with
the film online; the audience would be persuaded to do so because of Daniel
Radcliffe’s role in the film.
Source: IMDb
Credits
 This trailer only used titles to credit Daniel Radcliffe in the
leading role, the title of the film, which is followed by its nonspecific release date of ‘coming soon’.
 These written codes are all capitalised in the same typeface,
to create an expectation of the horror genre and the film’s
promotional branding.

25. Is there an identifiable format in these trailers? Does
this apply for other trailers? Is it successful?
 These trailers predominantly follow Todorov’s narrative theory, as the
simplified: Equilibrium
Disruption, with the exception of The House At
The End of the Street, which used this in reverse structure, which was still
successful to a large extent.
His narrative structure is:
1. A state of equilibrium (all is as it should be)
2. A disruption of that order by an event
3. A recognition of the disorder has occurred
4. An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption
5. A return or restoration of a new equilibrium
 Furthermore, trailers
conventionally put the
film’s information at the
start and end of the
trailer, as these give the
audience a last impression
of the upcoming film, such
as its production
companies or main stars.

26.  This can be applied to the Shutter Island and The Woman In
Black’s trailers, as they follow Todorov’s narrative structure,
with the exception of the ‘new equilibrium’.
 This is because it is the largest enigma code that trailers have
to use in order to attract their audience.
Shutter Island
1. Arrives at the island for the
criminally insane with a job to do
2. A patient has escaped
3. Protagonist realises that there’s
something else going on
4. He is seen sneaking around and
trying to work out what is going on
The Woman In Black
1. Arrives at the village with a job to
do
2. There’s a curse surrounding the
‘woman in black’
3. Protagonist witnesses the curse
first-hand and believes
4. Delves deeper into her story, tries
to reunite her spirit with her son’s

27. Why are trailers constructed in this
way?
 The trailers are typically constructed in this way because of media
conventions of its similar products –HATES’ reversal of this
structure can be argued to break conventions.
 By showing shots from the beginning of the film as well as the
disruption, the audience is able to briefly connect to the
protagonists. The lack of answers to the questions suggested in the
trailer causes the audience to want to answer these questions –
resulting in them paying to watch the final product.
 This highlights how significant enigma codes are in trailers, as
they can be interpreted by the audience in different ways, which
can result in them interacting with the film online or in other
media products –such as the magazine front cover and film poster I
aim to create as my ancillary tasks.