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Paranormal Activity
AUDIENCE
The target audience for this Paranormal Activity trailer will be for older teenagers and adults due to the fact that it is a horror film. The certificate for the film is a 15 therefore the film will be aimed at those who are 15 and over. The film will not be suitable for those who are younger than 15 due to the horror content of the film. The teaser trailer may be rated lower though perhaps as a lot of the scarier scenes are cut out and not fully shown. Trailers are usually rated a certificate lower than the film to get a younger audience to notice the film, even though younger audiences could not go and see the film at the cinema, they could always use the internet to view the film or buy the DVD when it has been released. Majority of horror films are given the certificates 15-18. The audience need to stay
active through the film as the narrative keeps you wondering what till happy next.
GENRE
The genre for this specific trailer is horror. It is a conventional horror due to certain mise-en-scene elements such as low key lighting to add a scarier atmosphere to the film, the location of the house seems to make the trailer scarier as it makes it seem more realistic by being set in a normal home with a normal couple living there. The soundtrack used also shows that its genre is a horror due to the tense music.
Carol Clover's theory of
'The final girl will be terrorised throughout the film' counts in this case as even though the character of Katie is the only girl in this film, she is still being terrorised throughout until she is the last person alive and even then, she is still being terrorised. The trailer shows that the female character is being terrorised in the film.
NARRATIVE
The narrative is a typical horror genre as it is about a couple who end up having some form of Paranormal Activity happen in their home. They try to discover what is going on as things develop with the activity more and more each night. As the film goes on, Katie is the one who ends up getting possessed and killing her own boyfriend. The couple, Katie and Mica can be both seen as the
protagonists as they are both in the film throughout although, Katie seems to have more of a main role due to the events that happen to her. Both characters are
active as they both get involved with the events taking place even though it does seem at times that Katie doesn't want to get too involved and wants to be more of a
passive character.
Propp's theory is used here as in the trailer we can see clearly in the trailer the
character types. We can see that both characters are victims and the paranormal entity is the villain. Because of the trailer we can see that Katie becomes the villain as the plot progresses and she becomes possessed. It differs from other horrors as even though Katie herself isn't the villain, she is portraying the villain. It also differs that it is a female who ends up being the villain, however, in this case due to the possession storyline, it could be seen as similar to the likes of other films such as
The Exorcist and
The Exorcism of Emily Rose in the way that it is always females who seem to be the ones who get possessed. The film also has a typical
equilibrium and
disruption however the
equilibrium does not get resolved to become the
new equilibrium which could then lead onto showing that there could be a sequel.
REPRESENTATION
The representation of the characters seems to be normal. They are shown as a normal couple living in a normal house with a normal life. Mise-en-scene element of costume illustrates that they are just a normal couple. Also the setting of the house shows this too. The fact that a handheld camera is used throughout the film shows that they are normal as well and all of this makes the film seem much more realistic which is a scary concept to the audience. The couple are just
stereotyped as an average young couple.
MEDIA LANGUAGE
As mentioned earlier, the
mise-en-scene elements of costumes, props and setting portrays the characters and average people who just live their lives normally. They are shown as a realistic couple which means they can relate to the audience more. Their clothes are just normal, jeans and t-shirts to show the realism. Props that are used are just household things mainly such as the salt used and the photograph. The handheld camera is the main prop that is used. The
cinematography is shown through the use of a handheld camera which again, makes it seem more average and realistic to the audience. The lighting used is low key to create an atmosphere. Most of this was filmed during the night as that is when most of the paranormal activity begins. When it comes to the
editing in this trailer, it is mainly shown through jump cuts to show different scenes in a faster and scarier way. The
sound used in the trailer is mainly diagetic to show that it is realistic and it gets the audience more involved with the characters and their lives.
