Final Ideas: Film Trailer Narrative

In the beginning of the trailer we see a shot of the exterior of the house, we then see the main character step into this frame, at which point we can only see her feet, and that she is carrying a suitcase. The camera pans upwards revealing the back of the woman. The camera then moves 180* around the woman's head, exposing her face in the final shot. The camera cuts to an extreme long shot, showing her approaching the house which is visible in the background. 

The purpose of these beginning shots is to introduce the protagonist. Instead of exposing her abruptly on the screen, there is a build up of curiosity as to what she looks like within the use of camera movement. Also the purpose of using a panning shot to reveal the back of the character, adds to her mystery and also reveals her clothing to be that of a past era (indicating the time period in which the film is set.)

This cuts to a shot of the 'house next door'. The camera cuts-in closer and closer to a specific window of the neighbours house, and eventually reveals an old lady peeking through the curtain. The purpose of this shot is to introduce the character, it also sets a creepy and mysterious tone, hinting towards the genre of horror.

This fades into a scene where we see the main character unpacking her belongings in a bedroom of the house. This indicates that she has moved in, but also that she is lonely is this cold, empty room.

This fades into a shot where the same room is dark and the character is asleep, we see this through a birds-eye-shot of her lying in bed. She begins to toss and turn.

This fades into her 'dream sequence' in which we see a little girl spinning around in the garden (in slow motion) on a warm summers day. This cuts to a shot of the gardener watching her from afar, with a perverted expression on his face. This cuts back to the girl still spinning and then bumping into the gardener who is towering over her. This cuts to 'reality' showing the protagonist in bed having a bad dream. The camera cuts back to the dream sequence, and there is a low angle close up shot of the gardener handing the little girl a flower. The camera cuts to an extreme close-up shot of the flower in his hand and the little girl reaching out to take it, at which point he aggressively and forcefully grabs her arm. The camera cuts back to the protagonist and she wakes up.

The next shot shows her browsing the attic of the home and stumbling across an old book. She looks through it and discovers that this home was once an orphanage. The camera reveals the name of the orphanage and the photographs of the children. The woman discovers one photo in particular that stands out to her, it was the girl from her dream. As she holds it up, the ghost of the girl appears in front of her.


We then see the protagonist involving herself in a séance, trying to contact the ghost. The camera does a 180* pan around her, and then cuts to an extreme close-up of her closed eyes. As she opens them we can see the reflection of the girl.


Then the fast paced editing begins... (these clips aren't necessarily in order, but they give an idea as to which clips I shall be using in this section of the trailer)


- we see a message in which the little girl leaves for the woman, which indicates to audiences that the ghost wants the protagonist to help her.
-The protagonist holding the photograph of the gardener and writing down his name on a piece of paper, which we see her show a man at the barracks.
- The trailer shows him in a long shot standing there dressed in gardening attire, a graphic-match is used to then show him dressed in his military uniform.
- We see the protagonist and the antagonist dancing at a party.
-We see them under silhouette lighting by the water side, becoming romantically linked.
-The protagonist getting ready to go the party, (putting on her stockings, applying her red lipstick, getting dressed)
-We see the protagonist look into the reflection of her mirror and scream.
-The antagonist thrown onto the bed, having been stripped of his military attire.
-The antagonist hold the protagonist up against the wall by her neck, in a close up shot.
-Flashbacks of the little girl dancing/ being dragged along the floor/ standing in the house drenched in blood.
-Flashbacks of the gardener, a worm-shot of him leaning over the camera (the dead girl) holding a bloody garden fork.