Analysing The Last Exorcism.

I am going to analyse the teaser trailer for The Last Exorcism and discuss what trailers do and why? And also what this particular trailer does to appeal to it's audience. 
If you double click the video it will take you to the youtube website, where you can view the trailer on full screen.

The Last Exorcism is a horror film and the trailer has appealed to our group as we think it is a perfect example of a trailer in which we intend to produce. Throughout this analysis i intend to discuss what features are used and why in order to appeal to it's audience.

We are firstly shown a close up of an old house in the middle of no where which connotates a ghosts and demands, from this the genre is shown clearly just on one camera shot, this makes it easier for an audience to understand what may happen in the film and whether it is the genre they enjoy. A lot of fast pace editing is used throughout the teaser trailer but mainly used on the protagonist; this is usually used in horror teaser trailers to show that something bad is going to happen to this person. This is also brought across when using color grading and in The Last Exorcism teaser trailer we are shown a lot of color grading especially red which connotates; death and blood. 

From the teaser trailer for The Last Exorcism, a voice over of the protagonist is used when we cut to a close up of images from the bible, this is used to give away the story line to the audience which gives them a feel to the film and helps them decide whether they should see the film. Through out the teaser trailer we cut to a lot of long shots of the girl possessed which to an audience causes tension and a sense of something bad is about to happen this is also influenced by slow music, which as well causes tension. This is used a lot in horror teaser trailers because it scares the audience, where as if there was a lot of close ups of the evil character then to much would be given away. There are also a lot of close up of the evil character crying throughout the trailer to show emotion but also causing enigmas for the audience. They may wonder; why is she crying? What’s happening? In horror teaser trailers we are shown a lot of canted angle shots which are used to show something is wrong. This is an effective use of camera shots for a horror because it can connotate a lot for an audience. Teaser trailers often use a lot of over the shoulder camera action in order for the audience to feel more involved with the film and it feels more direct to them. This is used a lot in The Last Exorcism trailer as it is a documentary style film and is filmed by the characters themselves. So the use of using over the shoulder camera action in this particular trailer is effective as the audience may feel they are part of the film.

Every so often we cut to the scene of the exorcism which is used to show to the audience what happens and that this is the main scene in the film but only shows quick long shots of it so to much isn’t given away. This is effective for a teaser trailer because it is repeating throughout the trailer so becomes familiar to an audience. As well as a lot of fast pace editing used in the trailer to show horror, a lot of slow pace editing is also used as this is teasing the audience, making them seem more scared and to an audience comes across as a teaser as well as horror.

A lot of voice overs are used in the trailer instead of music which makes it seem more realistic to the audience but at one point in the trailer a lot of voice overs are used at once which blags the audience but connotates; noise and confusion. The use of mise en scene is important as this tells the audience a lot about individual characters and also gives the characters their own profile to an audience. We are shown throughout the trailer long shots of characters to become familiar with what they are wearing but also what sort of background they are from. We are shown a long shot of the protagonist wearing a suit and he wears this suit all the time and so from an audiences point of view i get a feel of the protagonists personality just from what he is wearing. This is very popular for trailers to have long shots of characters and this is so the audience can relate back to the trailer and become familiar with the character when going to watch the film. 

A lot of captions are used in the trailer using a white, bold color on a black background to advertise the film and the sponsors but also to inform the audience when the film is out at the cinema. The use of color connotates what the film could be about. The black background connotates; death, never ending and coldness. The white, bold writing connotates innocence.


I believe that The Last Exorcism is a great example of a teaser trailer as it has the right aspects in which we want to achieve when making our own teaser trailer.Analysing this trailer has given me a more understanding of what is needed to for fill this genre. I now know why colour grading is an important aspect for this genre and connontates a lot about what the film is.