TRAILER #1: KNOCK KNOCK, 2015 (dir.

Eli Roth)

The first shot (a personal mid shot) of the trailer introduces a victim worth
sympathising with: a father and a family man. The boy is dressed in blue whilst
the girl is in pink: a stereotypical method of costuming to communicate the
stereotypical family in which a wide audience will be able to relate to. The miseen-scene further proves a happy family, portraits hanging on the wall. The
woman is blonde with neatly styled laid back hair, appearing domesticated yet
relatable, linking to the American Dream (the country in which this film is set).
Lighting is soft, flattering each actor on screen and making them appear
approachable alongside the use of warm tones. Each colour is pastel and soft,
further allowing the audience to feel safe watching the family in this shot. The
man, however, is clothed in black with a messy beard which hints at danger and
gives him a mysterious appearance. Non-diegetic joyful piano music is playing in
the background, reflecting on the family atmosphere with their diegetic speech
slightly echoed and romanticised overlaid.

This long shot allows the environment to be seen clearly to the viewer. The
colours continue to be pastel yet vibrant, hinting at the perfect happy life. No
immediate red tones can be found: no indications of danger are shown on screen
when the family are together. The mise-en-scene shows messy plates and
uneaten food on the counters, allowing the down-to-Earth relatable portrayal to
be even more convincing. There is a TV shown, yet it is not on to prove the level
of intimacy the family feels for once another, all focusing on each other instead.

When the man is shown to be left alone, all non-diegetic music cuts off with this
birds eye view showing how big the house is- enhancing the idea on loneliness
and therefore lack of safety. Pathetic fallacy is used to communicate danger, the
diegetic sound of rain being the only thing audible. The only warm light source

shown on screen is outside of the house on the street, keeping the whole
building in the cool-toned dark and therefore making it appear unsafe.
Furthermore, the birds eye view shot also shows the remote nature of the
building: it being the only one visible and surrounded by greenery.

The antagonists are introduced in this shot: young women highly sexualised.
Clothes are see-through and figure hugging and contours in skin are highlighted
by the water and hard lighting to the left of the girls. One is blonde: living up to
the bimbo stereotype with a gold chain hinting at youth and trend. The girls are
shown to be in a warm light, convincing the viewer that they are approachable
(the over the shoulder mid shot allowing the audience to see them through the
protagonists perspective). The use of mid shot ensures the costuming can be
seen: sexual characters and therefore conventionally to a thriller dangerous.
In the background, flashes of red can be seen on the trees in between the pair,
hinting at danger and violence related to the characters.

When showing the interaction between the characters, a fade to black is used in
editing with the non-diegetic deep music building up in suspense (conventional
to a thriller). This hints at a darkness surrounding the characters and also
resembles blinking, reeling in the viewer to keep viewing the trailer in case of
missing the action and building tension.

Whilst the girls are wearing white robes (hinting at innocence and purity), they
are seducing the man. Their hair is a mess, hinting at promiscuity and their
makeup is smudged to resemble that of after sexual activities. Whilst the
background is warm, there are many tones relating to fire and therefore danger.
The protagonists shirt is unbuttoned, further indicating the idea of sex, the nondiegetic music allowing the viewer to view the subject as a negative thing.

Diegetic speech proves the girls to be foreign, bringing in the convention of

thriller: using the unknown to scare the audience.

A voiceover of dialogue is used over a blank screen, creating tension as the

viewer cannot identify the situation.

A point of view (of one of the girls) shot of the man then slowly fades in, him
being centred in the screen: their only focus. The depth of field is shallow further
proving this and hard lighting makes him appear evil and guilty the way in
which the girls are viewing him. On the other hand, the lighting also accentuates
his pleading look: direct address to the viewer which convinces them to
sympathise with him. This is intriguing to the audience as it presents the film as
complex, reeling in a more mature audience.

A fast-paced montage of editing works alongside non-diegetic sharp music to

show events of the torment without fully giving away the consequences, creating
suspense and increasing interest in the film. Each shot quickly fades into a blank
black screen, once again indicating darkness and death in the film.

TRAILER #2: THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN, 2016 (dir. Tate Taylor)

The first shot is a close up, showing the victim. Her blonde hair is stereotypical to
a victim: the sense of purity contradicted with her husky and sexual diegetic
speech. The hard lighting hints that the character has a darkness related to her,
yet also appears to be illuminating her appearance and making her seem

angelic. Being slightly out of focus, the shot appears personal but also softens
her and creates a likability towards the character.

Light non-diegetic piano notes create an innocence to the character, although

sexualised and barely clothed. The costuming is pale and white, further
reinforcing the idea of innocence and creating sympathy for the character
alongside the white mis-en-scene of the house. The warm sunlight hits her side
hard, once again making her appear angelic (hinting at her death) whilst also
indicating evil in her shadows. Inside the windows are dark and black, hinting at
the house is a danger.

An establishing shot shows the conventional urban environment of a thriller. This

shot fades in from black, creating a sense of mystery around the location. There

are more shadows than highlights, the lighting limited and hard to further initiate
this. In the tunnel, there are warm tones which imply safety, whereas at the end
of the tunnel (where Megan a main character was last seen) there are cold
tones of blue. This implies sadness and lack of safety, it being in the centre of
the frame and the main focus. The urban location conventionally fits to the genre
of a thriller.

In the background, a non-diegetic soundtrack plays: "Heartless Kanye West".

The song is slowed down and the lyrics match the thriller storyline of a murder.
Overlaying this is a sharp building unsettling noise resembling wind, proving
terror to have occurred on the location. The sun is shown to be setting in the
background, relating to death (the death of a day). Blue tones fill the dark
shadows of the trees, the desolate area being conventional to the crime scene of
a thriller. The establishing landscape shot of the crime scene proves danger and
violence to have happened, interesting an older audience and fans of thrillers
and crime dramas.

All music cuts off at this close up. The only focus of the shot is the emotion found
on the actress' face, enhanced by the shadows which imply danger around the
character. The character has ill skin and is shown to be of constant distress, that
alongside this shot showing guilt in her darkened eyes hint that she is a suspect
in the disappearance. She is centred in the screen to show importance of her
character and ensure that she is the main focus in the shot (with help from a
shallow depth of field). Emma Blunt is an extremely well known actress: her
stardom being a selling point of the film hence the amount of shots she is shown
to be in found in the trailer.

There is a fast paced montage to further sexualise the character of Megan, close
ups on her body parts (such as hips, lips and this stretched out pose) guarantee

that the viewer will judge the character to be promiscuous. It is conventional of a

thriller for the victim to commit the sin of sex and to be facing the consequences
of doing so. The montage is fast paced and in each shot she is shown in a warm
soft light, making her appear innocent and likable.

This close up hides the identity of the killer. Low but hard lighting is used to allow
only Megan's face to be visible in warm tones, reinforcing the idea that she is an
approachable character. Shadows fill the screen to imply darkness and danger of
the unknown. A hand can be seen gripping her face, a violent and controlling
gesture. The shot fades from black (another hint to danger) with the diegetic
dialogue of "that night"- implying that the man in the frame could be the killer.

The use of reflection in this close up is conventional to a thriller: self reflection to

prove insanity and danger. The red lipstick on the mirror resembles blood (and
could be blood to a viewer unfamiliar to the story) and the protagonist is shown
to be in high distress. The non-diegetic music is heightened in the background of
this shot, building up to the title. This implies that the actress is dangerous and is
a candidate of being the murderer. The complexity of possibilities of who could
have killed Megan is shown in this trailer, once again attracting the more mature
target audience.

TRAILER #3: THE DARK KNIGHT, 2008 (dir. Christopher Nolan)

A twist on the typical Warner Bros logo fades in from black and out again, a
desaturated version introducing the genre of thriller and hinting at lack of
vibrance.

An establishing shot shows the character to be in the shadows, hinting at

mystery and danger. The urban setting is conventional to a thriller and the blue
tones prove an unsafe environment. The non-diegetic sound of a deep rumble
introduce the sense of violence and evil.

Fading in from black, this long shot introduces a protagonist: the Joker. Editing
works in sync with sound, the non-diegetic voiceover speaking "me" as he is
shown. The urban environment is shown, the streets illuminated in warm tones
with flashes of blue in the background to hint at lack of safety in a subtle
manner. The camera is slightly tilted up, making the character seem more
impressive and threatening. His costuming is all black and his face can barely be
seen to indicate danger. The lighting is low and shadows are evident on the
screen, once again proving danger.

In a long shot, the Joker can be seen locked in a cage as if a circus animal,
surrounded by officials in dark costuming. Whilst this introduces the Joker to be a
dangerous character, it also hints that the authorities are untrustworthy and evil
too. Hard lighting shines down on the Joker, ensuring his presence is clearly
communicated to the viewer, the light accentuating the bars in which he is
locked behind and emphasising his tendency to commit crime. Blue and green
cool tones fill the screen, informing the viewer that wherever the Joker is, you are
unsafe. He is centred on the screen, making sure he is the main focus (being the
protagonist). The shot fades to black again proving a darkness and evil to the
character.

Hard lighting is continued, bouncing off of the blade and therefore emphasising it
to the viewer. The shallow depth of field in the close up allows the weaponry to
be the main focus of the shot, indicating violence and death: conventional to a
thriller. The blue tones are continued, ensuring the unapproachable atmosphere
to be upheld. There is a non-diegetic narrative and no soundtrack behind this
shot, mimicking a police report and further proving that he is a character of
crime. The shot cuts to black, the empty audio and video creating suspense and
intriguing the viewer.

In the over the shoulder shot, the viewer is placed in the victim's shoes, viewing
the well-known character in all his horror. His head is tilted back in a confident
and intimidating manner, flashes of red found in the unfocused background
(indicating a danger to the character). Hard lighting emphasises wrinkles in the
skin and hollows of the eyes: the result being a scary appearance.

The signature diegetic sound of the Joker's laugh (found in old cartoons) is
overlaid onto a building rumble and sign of chaos. The bullet holes frame his face
which is centred, emphasising his insanity and increasing his evil appearance

(him not being scared of the danger). Cracks surround his face, also proving that
his character is seemingly 'broken' and does not fit into a normal society. The
warm tones mimic the motif of fire found in the trailer- a sign of danger.

Centred once again, this mid shot shows the insane costuming of the Joker. His
hair is green as well as his suit, avoiding the stereotypical appearance of a man.
Hard lighting emphasises cracks in his face, signifying cracks in his humanity and
presenting a complex character in which intrigues a more mature audience. His
costuming matches his of many cartoons, interesting returning fan of the DC
Comics. Clapping in the jail cell shows disobedience and again proves a lack of
innocence around the character. Dark shadows reinforce evil further.