Film Trailer Analysis #2

‘The Others’

During the early days of constructing a narrative and style for my own film, one of the greatest inspirations to me was the ‘The Others’. I knew I wanted to create something that was set in the 1940’s and that I wanted it to remain as a supernatural horror. There are not many films like this out there, apart from this one (and ofcourse the horrors actually made in the era!) and so I aspire to create something as interesting as this. I chose to analyse this particular film trailer to further educate myself of the workings of this vague, indie genre.


The basic plot consists of the protagonist, Grace living in a remote country house with her two small children, Anne and Nicholas. The arrival of new housing (consisting of a nanny, gardener and a young mute girl) coincides with peculiar events within the home. Grace discovers that her family home is haunted.

Sound

Music & Sound Effects

A range of sound effects and music pieces have been interlaced within the trailer. Often we hear elements of whispery ghostly voices, gushes of harsh winds, squeaky doors, slamming doors and blood-curdling screams. Much earlier on in the trailer we hear a light piano piece of music which graduates into stern, gloomy organ playing. At one point we can hear drum beats, which reflect the pulsating beats of the characters hearts. There are also pieces of a violin playing. It is conventional for supernatural horrors to include classical music within the film; it also sets up the eerie tone of the narrative.

Dialogue

Within a film trailer, the dialogue in which we hear has been carefully selected from footage and pieced together to construct a basic plot-line for the audience. By simply listening to the dialogue, they gather an understanding of the narrative.

The trailer begins by exhibiting an extract of dialogue to the audiences in which we hear a refined, well-spoken English accent of a woman. She asks the audience: “are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin.” Although it has been taken from a scene within the movie, having it be the first piece of sound heard, it gives the impression that this woman (who at this moment is presumably the protagonist) is using direct address to correspond with the audience. Viewers feel as if the protagonist is conversing with them on a one-to-one basis, selecting them out individually, making them feel special as they listen intently to her story.

The next lines of dialogue include a conversation between the protagonist and three other characters in the scene. She begins by describing the condition of her house, explaining that the “paintwork has been rather neglected since the servants disappeared over a week ago” one of the three characters replies by saying “you mean they just vanished?” The protagonist declares that they had vanished “into thin air”. Only seventeen seconds into the trailer and already the audience have detected the eerie, austere atmosphere. They also assume that the three characters are now the new servants of the home.

In the following clip, the protagonist introduces her children to the new nanny; we know this because during this scene the old lady refers to herself as that. The children ask her “are you going to leave us too?” “The others said they wouldn’t, but they did and then it happened”. Within a line of dialogue spoken by one of the children, we have the film title. The understanding so far, is that this family consisting of a mother with a young son and a daughter own this spacious country house, in which they require servants and nannies. From listening to the dialogue the audience have learnt that the last group of house-keepers had made an abrupt disappearance in which the family find terribly upsetting, due to the tones of their voices.

The protagonist claims that her children “sometimes have strange ideas, but you mustn’t pay any attention. Children will be children.” This presents the audiences with the idea that perhaps something of the supernatural kind is occurring in their home, that the young son and daughter have picked upon and that the mother disregards as childish, fanciful behaviour.

Next we experience the first taste of the supernatural, during the scene in the children’s bedroom. The boy asks his sister “why have you opened the curtains?!” his sister creepily responds in a raspy, devilish voice “It was Victor”. This is a pivotal moment in which the audience discover the genre of the film. This scene cuts to the mother shouting at her daughter; “You told your brother there was someone else in the room” and she replies; “There was”. The subsequent clip shows the little boy lying in bed, awaking from his sleep screaming out for his “mummy”, the protagonist rushes to the little boy’s aid, the audience find this unsettling as they sympathise for the poor little boy. Up until this point, the viewers have comprehended that the children have had encounters with some sort of ghostly apparition named Victor.

It is within the next scene in which the nanny tells the frightened daughter that she “has seen them too” (here she is referring to ‘the others’) and “that sometimes the world of the dead gets mixed up with the world of the living”. This line in particular has been cleverly interwoven and beautifully reflects the twist at the end of the movie. Here it has been confirmed that the film takes the genre of a supernatural horror, due to its inclusion of ghostly activities.

The nanny continues by saying “sooner or later, she’ll see them” referring to the mother, “and everything will be different”. This informs audiences that part of the narrative consists of the protagonist making a discovery not only about her home, but about herself.

We then hear the mother say “There were voices, a boy and two women talking together” at which point the background noise consists of echoed whispers, and a child’s voice saying ‘mummy’. This starts off as asynchronous as we assume it’s a noise from a ghost, which then morphs into the synchronous diegetic voice of her own child trying to snap her out of an ethereal day-dream. As the mother dazes back into reality, her daughter points towards a picture she drew of ‘the others’: “Mummy look! This is the father, this is the mother, this is Victor and this is the old woman.” The mother then asks “what do the numbers stand for next to them?” and the girl claims that they stand for the amount of times she’s seen each of them, the old woman seems to have made more appearances than any of the others.

As the trailer navigates away from the serene, calm beginning, it dives into the fast-paced clips in which excitement and drama is built. A range of dialogue is used to portray the uncontrollable and frightening torment of the spirits, re-enforcing the momentum in which they travel, and the over-whelming effect it can have on a victim. The dialogue used here consists of:

“What do you want?!”
“They’re everywhere, they say this house is there’s!”
The mother shrieks, “No! Children, come here!”

Mise-en-scene

Setting/ Background

The first shot featured in the trailer is one of the exterior of a huge country house, however only the silhouette of the house is visible as the air is shrouded in a suffocating, wintry fog. It sets the tone of the narrative, creating an eerie and otherworldly atmosphere. The next set of shots show the interior of the home and here we see a grand staircase, arched panelled ceilings, spacious rooms, and mahogany floors and stained glass windows. The beautiful decor is reminiscent of a past era; the genre of the film is signalled as supernatural horrors are conventionally set in isolated and austere stately homes. The decoration bears resemblance to the 1700’s/1800’s decor; it reminds me of the period in which Jane Austen’s novels are set. The home also indicates the era in which the film has been set and also informs audiences that the family living there are prosperous and wealthy.

About twenty seconds into the trailer the settings start to become dark and diminutive, as the trailer unveils the narrative, the genre begins to glisten by making itself more apparent. The entire film is set in and around the house; the more supernatural-induced scenes are located in the conventionally scary places such as the attic, basement or in the garden at night time. Scenes that are more light-hearted are set in the drawing room, the kitchen, the living room; the areas in the home that are considered to be more ‘lived-in’.

Props

Within the trailer, props are specific for indicating the time period in which the film is set. For instance, the fixtures of the home include antique furnishings, grand fire-places, Grandfather clocks as well as fancy floral patterned chairs and carpets. Often we see the characters either holding candles or lanterns whilst twinkling chandeliers hang from every room. We see a shot of the nursery which contains old fashioned children’s toys such as string puppets, dolls, wooden horses and trains.

We also acknowledge the characters holding personal items that gesticulate the era, for instance, the mother holds a sewing circle, as she sits in the drawing room, drinking tea from a cup and saucer that sits on an antique table beside her sewing kit. All of the props establish that the film has been set in the mid 1940’s; during the aftermath of WWII.

The target audience of ‘The Others’ clearly have an admiration for the 1940’s decade. They are lulled into the warmth and beauty of the mise-en-scene and then slammed into the wintry ethereal, which is both intriguing and stimulating.

Lighting

The trailer opens with scenes that are filled with ambient lighting, exhibiting a delicate array of natural light within the home; although it still maintains an air of bluish tones which reflects a feeling of unease. As the scenes develop, ambient lighting is nowhere to be seen, as the characters suffocate within the darkened rooms of the home. What once was a spacious, well lit location is now a crowded, shadowy and sinister place. The narrative grows and the characters discover a haunting within their home, and the only source of light is artificial originating from lanterns and candles. The scene is smothering and tense.

The first scene in which we acknowledge the protagonist, low key lighting is used as there are sharp contrasts between light and dark on her stature. Half of her face is visible with uses of bright light, and the other half remains as a shadow. This style of lighting highlights the alienation felt by the viewer, emphasising the mood of isolation and hostility. This type of lighting is used throughout the trailer. 

Colour

The uses of colour reflect the year in which the film is set, with it’s palette of burgundies, mahoganies, beiges, off-whites, yellow whites, lifeless greys and blacks. We see uses of tones that symbolise the warm and worn-out nature of the post war era. The protagonist wears comatose, lifeless shades which mirror her existence as a ghost. The children wear hues of murky off-white colours which signify their innocence and youth, that was sadly tainted and cut-short by death.

Costume

The costume of the characters, of course is reminiscent of the mid 1900’s, and works as a strong indicator to audiences. The mother wears typical post war attire consisting of knee-length skirts, simply-cut blouses and square-shouldered jackets. We see her often wearing one coloured- tailored suits with narrow waists. This conservative approach to fashion displaced that of the 1920’s.

The little girl, Anne often wears worn-out chiffon night gowns, resembling the look of a ghost-child. In parts of the trailer we see the little boy wearing shabby striped pyjamas, consisting of faded blue and off-white stripes. The children’s costumes appear to have this hardened starchy texture to them, they look as if they’ve been washed too many times and the fabric has become stiff and not soft like children’s clothes should be. This reflects the tough, uncomfortable occurrences in which they are experiencing in their haunted home.

The nanny wears a dull, dark coloured shawl around her shoulders, reflecting that the house is cold and lifeless being surrounded by spiritual beings.

Hair & Make-up

The mother wears her hair in shoulder length curls which was a popular style of the 1940’s. The little girl wears her hair in a page-boy bob which was also very common of the era and the nanny wears her hair in a bun, which is typical of old ladies. The make-up used for characters consists of pale faces, the look is supposed to be natural, plain and ordinary. However, the paleness makes the characters look ill and lifeless, hinting towards their supernatural existence.

Body Language/ Facial Expressions

Throughout the trailer we see the characters exhibiting language and expressions of distress and disbelief. The mother maintains a signature face of wide-eyed confusion and startled fear. The little boy is constantly frowning with hardened eyebrows, this expresses his vulnerability as a young child who cannot fully contemplate what is happening. He often gives the nanny a look of curiosity, suggesting that he is unable to trust her given that the last one left so suddenly. Within the composition he often looks very small in comparison to other objects in the scene; this makes the viewer feel protective over him. The audience’s maternal instincts make them warm to him and feel the need to reach out and look after him.

The little girl exhibits content, lifeless expressions. She appears to maintain an air of maturity and this look makes the audience feel like she can accept and deal with the events. Although, there is something about her which makes the audience assume she is slightly mischievous and that her intentions are not always kind. For instance, in the bedroom we see the little boy sit up abruptly in his bed asking her “why did you open the curtains” she hauntingly replies “It was Victor”. The audience get the impression that she is sometimes trying to scare her little brother on purpose, which makes them less sympathetic towards her character.

Camera

There are a range of different shots, angles and camera movements used; I will be highlighting the most important ones shown in the trailer.

The first use of camera sets the supernatural tone. We first see a long shot of the mother in the drawing room sewing; this reflects that it is an ordinary day. Up until the camera cuts to a high angle shot of the mother which shows a close-up/ medium shot during the moment in which she hears strange, whispery voices. This particular camera angle highlights the protagonist’s vulnerability and ignorance to the higher forces. The camera pans 90* around the shaking chandelier, to reveal the startled disbelieving expression on the mothers face.

Whenever the camera is on the little boy, it always uses close-ups of his face to express the fear and confusion. During the bedroom scene, Anne tells him “It was Victor” who was playing with the curtains, the camera zooms in on the close-up of the boys face, revealing him panting breathlessly out of terror. This gives the audience a further insight into the anxieties of the little boy, triggering sympathy for him.  

Towards the end of the trailer, there is an extreme close-up two shot including the boy and the girl. Anne has been placed in the centre and the little boy occupies the left hand corner. Her hand has been placed over his mouth as she says “Can you hear that? There’s something there” to prevent him from screaming. As she takes control of the situation, she dominates the screen. This reflects the character of the little girl as being quite ballsy and brave. Although she appears slightly forceful in that her hand is placed over her brother’s mouth, I would associate the gesture more with the fact that she is trying to protect her little brother instead of trying to frighten him. This also shows the growth of the character, as throughout she appears to be quite troublesome and spiteful, but here we see her in a much more mature light.

A bird-eye-view shot is used on the mother during the scene in which she is looking up the stairs. The audience look down on her in the eyes of the protagonist, she appears small and weak.

Editing

The first type of edit used is a match-on-action. We first see a long shot of the mother, which cuts to a high angle shot of her in the same place. This emphasises the alienation felt by the character. This then fades to a shot-reverse-shot in which we see the children amongst conversation. As the trailer graduates, we experience a range of fades and fast edits. We see quick cuts, DBO’s and subtle uses of dissolves as we reach the climax of the trailer, and excitement and drama is generated for audiences. One of the edits used within the fat-paced crux of edits includes a flash of white light, this is followed by a scene in which we see a character that is new to the trailer and this could reveal part of the plot audiences.

Iconography/ Codes and Conventions

Within the trailer, pieces of iconography have been used to highlight what the genre of the film is. Uses of codes and conventions ensure that the right target audience are being addressed and attracted.

Within this trailer we see elements that are recognisable of the supernatural genre: the fact that it is set in an old stately house, gives off an eerie and unsettling vibe, highlighting the ghostly presence that these huge houses seem to have. The inclusion of whispery voices in scenes, obviously indicate that there is another being in the room. We also see shots of the outside of the home in which we see it’s creepy, fog-shrouded exterior; the tone is set and audiences acknowledge that this is not a sweet little family story set in the 1940’s but one that is much darker.

When shots of the interior of the home are shown, the rooms of the house appear vast and spacious making the characters within them appear small and insignificant. The emptiness re-enforces the sense of alienation and isolation experienced by those who correspond with the dead.

We often hear faint twinkles of wind-chimes swaying in the wind; this is known to indicate the presence of spirits which further suggests the genre of the film, yet in a subtle way.

It is conventional to include a scene in a supernatural horror that shows the main character looking into a mirror and to see a ghostly figure appear in the reflection. This convention originates from the idea that mirrors represent some sort of parallel universe in which wondering spirits use to travel. I can guarantee that in every supernatural film, one will see a scene that includes the utilization of a mirror.

Another convention of the genre is using scenes that are set on stairways. Within this trailer we see a shot in which the protagonist is standing at the bottom of the grand stair-case looking up. If we consider the purpose of stairs, we can build an understanding of why they are frequently used within supernatural horrors. We use stairs to get from one place to the other, to travel from down to up or from up to down. In this trailer, we see the mother standing at the bottom looking up, searching for something, searching for an answer for this madness in her home. It symbolises the journey she must take in order to solve the enigma. 

Representation

The trailer builds an interesting representation of gender because it is one that is unconventional for this particular period in time. In the 1940’s men were considered to be more powerful than women physically, emotionally and mentally. Women were ofcourse seen as vulnerable creatures that needed to be nurtured and cared for. The absence of a male within this film indicates the strength of the female character as she adapts to both the role of the mother and the father to her children.

We do not assume that she is a weak and feeble creature; we see her as an independent and brave woman who although experiences moments of fear and anguish, she still maintains this unbeatable and unbreakable persona.

  Representation of youth is conventional as we see the little boy as often being vulnerable and in need of being looked after, which is a basic need of a child. The little girl appears to take after her mother as she is quite self-assured in her own right. We see elements of feistiness to this character which indicate the influence of a strong matriarchal role model. We also see a weakness to the boy which could highlights the result of the lack of a strong father figure.

In conclusion, I believe that this trailer is extremely successful in addressing and appealing to its intended target audience. The combination of sound, mise-en-scene, camera and editing beautifully work together to generate excitement, drama and tantalizing fear. All the more it effectively reflects the genre and builds up an understanding of the basic narrative. Most importantly, it urges audiences to want to watch the film.