Andrew's Textual Analysis Of A Horror Teaser Trailer

Textual Analysis of a ‘TEASER TRAILER’

Film Title: Orphan
Year of Release: 2009
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Producers: Joel Silver, Susan Downey, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Davisson Killoran
Production/Financing Company:
Stars: Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard and Isabelle Fuhrman Synopsis: Kate and John Coleman are rebuilding their troubled marriage. Kate had a drinking problem, but is in therapy and is doing well. She has been sober for one year. The couple decides to adopt a child. When they meet the nine-year-old Estonian girl, Esther, at the St. Marina Orphanage, they immediately fall in love with the well-educated orphan. Their young son, Daniel, is hostile to his new sister; but their deaf-mute son, little Max, is enchanted with her - at first. Eventually, Kate begins to feel that Esther is manipulative and possibly even psychologically disturbed. John refuses to listen to his wife's misgivings, and the wounds in their marriage reopen. Kate calls Sister Abigail at the orphanage, and the nun informs her that Esther has a troubled and mysterious history. Kate delves further into Esther's past and discovers she is not at all who she pretends to be.
Length (Seconds): 152 seconds

Mise-en-Scene
The film starts off with a big white house covered with snow, besides the cars and the coats on peoples backs there’s not much colour in this opening shot leaving the shot plain and a bit boring. The shot inside the house shows a very happy environment in which the orphans look happy. When Esther is sitting in the class room alone it suggests she is lonely and this is something that is not surprising as she is an orphan. When Esther joins the new class all the pupils are staring at her. Again showing she is lonely. When Esther is in the toilet cubicle it is a small enclosed space showing connotations of the character being trapped. Esther seems to wear a lot of dark clothing which represents that she is a dark character. The rooms are all dark and the weather is raining and dull and gloomy, this helps create an atmosphere that supports the role of the character that is Esther.

Sound
The first shot open with quiet strings with some pleasant piano chords added in as the orphanage portrays a happy environment for the orphans. The keys become lower when Esther gets angry. We also hear the children laughing at her. The bangs have been edited to make them sound louder and scarier and give the audience a fright. There is a sound that sounds like wind blowing when the location changes. The music builds up to a big bang then goes quiet and we here Esther scream very loud. The music dims down to let us here the voice over. After hearing 'I think there's something wrong with Esther' we here the swings creaking. This gives a creepy effect to the trailer. The music starts to get faster once bad events start occurring around Esther. There is fast banging to go with the fast cuts. It ends with Esther singing which creates a scary tone.

Camera Angles, Movement and Shots
Establishing shots are used a lot to show the location of the scene. There are also a lot of close up shots used when people are talking to each other, this helps the audience get a better view of the characters emotions. There is an extreme close up of Esther and the Mother first holding hands when the voice over says 'connection'. The shot of the family in the car is taken from above which could portray a sense of vulnerability. The camera is also above Esther when she is going crazy in the toilet cubicle; this could show us as viewers peering over to watch her. It pans up to a very high angle when the mother is on the phone to show she is vulnerable. The camera is at a low angle looking up at Esther to make her look powerful when she is by the bedside. Another way Esther is made to look scary is by using a close up of her staring straight into the camera.

Editing
There are a lot of quick cuts used that make the series of shots look more exciting. Fades are used a lot to indicate change in location and also to allow the writing on the screen to be seen. The screen goes all black when the voice over is on. There is slow motion running used to give a　sympathetic view on the mother. A jump cut from a long shot to a mid shot of Ester is also used.