Trailer Analysis Presentation - As Above, So Below

As Above, So Below was released in August 2014 and therefore is very new. The film delves deep into the underground of Paris to look for historical treasure in the catacombs (click next). This is the poster for the film; the Eiffel Tower is upside down with skulls surrounding the bottom of it. It shows the seemingly endless amount of dead people who lie beneath. This poster could suggest that because the picture is upside down the dead have control over the living (click next).

From watching this trailer it is clear that the genre of the film is a thriller/horror. This is identified through the mise-en-scene, diegetic and non-diegetic music and the narrative of the trailer. Examples of these are skulls and dialogue such as “The gate of hell”. There is a fear of the unknown throughout the trailer, therefore adding to its thriller genre. The film is based on real life catacombs in Paris which could be called ‘The World’s Largest Grave’ as it holds the remains of about six million people. This adds to the fear for the audience as they are real which consequently heightens the horror in the film, adding to the genre (click next). I asked a number of people to watch the trailer and asked them what features of the trailer identify the genre. One person said “The Title underpins the sinister nature of the film”, which I totally agree with because ‘below’ could be a reference to hell as it is based on death. Another person said it was the music that “stood out for them to confirm its genre”; by this they mean the non-diegetic music which is eerie at first with just one piano note playing constantly. It builds throughout the trailer to create tension, ending with a drum beat which is typical of a horror trailer. The pace of the trailer was also mentioned, it starts at a steady pace, slows and gradually gets faster until the shots flash before a person’s eyes to build the adrenaline (click next). The trailer creates a sense of narrative and a plot through the mise-en-scene, dialogue, titles and props (click next). This trailer creates a code of enigma by making the audience ask questions such as ‘What are the hidden historical facts in the catacombs?’, ‘How did these people get trapped? It makes the audience want to know more about the film (click next).

The trailer uses lots of titles to get information through to the audience, these are some of them. They try to inject fear into their audience by saying ‘But the world doesn’t know its darkest secret’. It makes people feel nervous when hearing fearful words about a hidden secret. The title “Your past will haunt you” is aimed at the audience who are watching the trailer, making them feel like they are a part of the horror making them feel targeted (click next).

I would say the target audience’ age for this film is around 18-25 because it features young students. I believe that because the film is based on the historic catacombs it also appeals to a specific audience who are interested in archaeology. The BBFC classed this film as a 15. (click next).

The trailer lasts for two minutes and thirty seconds and if I counted correctly I believe there are about 100 shots in this trailer which is why it is so fast paced towards the end, they did this to create a sense of chaos. There were a few shots that stood out for me in the trailer, firstly (click next) this establishing aerial shot of Paris. It is a deceiving image showing Paris in a relaxed setting with a slight sunset which is a complete contrast to what lies beneath the city. It has been used to show that is a state of equilibrium at the beginning of the film. It is a stereotypical image of Paris, the city that people adore. (click next). The next shot is a medium close up of a girl screaming and shouting covered in what looks like mud. It creates a sense of panic and is not a nice visual image to see as it shows the girl struggling. This image is hard for the audience to watch as it shows she is trapped underground, isolated in a claustrophobic area. The image is very dark reflecting the souls that live below the city. It could also represent the girl’s bleak situation as everything is dark which gives the impression there is no way out. Near the end of the trailer a man says “It wasn't my fault”, as he is thrown into the fire. This fire sequence enhances the evil nature of the film. The fire could represent hell and show that people are sacrificing him as their minds are being twisted by dark spirits. This is suggested because the car starts to twist into the middle of the room and sink into the ground, pulling the characters minds into hell with the spirits. At the end of the film the title is shown with a symbol of a circle, with a triangle and a square which represents the holy trinity or possibly illuminati. This suggests that the illuminati may have something to do with what’s going on under the catacombs and obviously there is a religious connection. It gives a mysterious edge to the film with a fear of the unknown. It pushes the audiences imagination and curiosity about what the symbol means (click next).

Common camera work in horror trailers are close up’s, establishing shot’s, zooming and tracking, all these elements equal a trailer which will scare an audience. A lot of these effects were used in this trailer such as the hand held camera which is shown in this image. It created a sense of distortion and panic (click next). The transitions in the trailer consisted mostly of cuts at different paces. As the pin started to drop that there was something wrong and the balance of the film was broken there were a lot of fade to and from black transitions. Also there were digital effects such as the camera turning on and starting a shot creating a fuzzy image, this makes the trailer seem like it was filmed by the characters in the film. Also some of the shots were taken as pictures which were effective because it created a better sense of narrative in the trailer (click next).

Diegetic sound was used in the trailer to give away some of the narrative and to inform the audience on the situation. The first thing the audience hears a character say is “My name is Scarlet Marlow, and I’m a student in urban archaeology”, this dialogue opens the trailer and lets the audience know information on the main character. They find out the narrative when she says “370 feet below this point is a hidden chamber that might contain a critical missing piece of our history”. Dialogue is also used to scare the audience, for example when a man says “What the hell do we do now?” and “It wasn’t my fault”. What wasn’t his fault? It leads the audience to asking questions about the film. Also the use of silence makes the audience anticipate that something is about to jump on the screen which is a good way of scaring an audience (click next).

The use of non-diegetic sound created an atmosphere. It started with just one piano note playing which was then heightened when the catacombs were mentioned to show that they have a huge part to play in this film. There is non-diegetic sound of camera’s taking photos to show that they are taking photos are they go around to collect information. Stereotypical drum beats which sound like heart beats start creating a darker mood and build the intensity. Also the use of strings was effective as it sounded sinister and a siren could be heard which could reflect that they are being warned about something. A child’s laugh is also heard which always makes the audience scared when watching a horror film, especially because in this trailer there is no sight of a child meaning there may be a dead child’s sprit lurking below (click next).

The trailer sets up expectations from watching it such as the audience expect to see bones, death and chambers underground. The mood of the film is very dark which is very atmospheric, it is typical of a horror trailer because of the features it includes (click next). The mise-en-scene is made up of props like maps and bones but a lot of the film was filmed in the actual catacombs that are open to the public which created a realistic setting. The lighting is very effective when they are inside the catacombs as at one point the only light being shone is through the characters head lights reflecting that the only way they can get out is being guided by each other. Costume and make-up were used to enhance the severity of a situation, such as cuts on the body. The wide shot of the body hanging from the ceiling is a disturbing image, the red lighting reflecting danger suggests that this person has been hung by someone or something and that it is a potential frightening outcome for anyone investigating the catacombs (click next). The trailer suggests that the main girl Scarlet becomes friends with other archaeologists, and that is why they are all going into the catacombs together, they are all friends but she is particularly close to another male suggesting there may be a relationship (click next).

This film studio used the trailer to market its product because it is more engaging for an audience to watch clips from a film to see if they would enjoy it. It makes the audience use a lot of their senses which keeps their attention when watching it. As a promotional device it is the best way to get viewers. This trailer grabs an audience as it never stops offering more information on the film. In my audience research a person said “It makes you want to go and see the film” which shows it is successfully bringing in their audience (click next). I believe it has successfully targeted its audience because it offers everything a thriller/horror film needs such as death, panic, fear of the unknown. For those people who would watch it because of the historical background they get to see inside the catacombs which means they get an insight into what they really look like (click next). Here are a list of some conventions that have been used in the trailer. They have all been used to create a successful trailer portraying a thriller/horror film, without them it wouldn’t have the same effect (click next). Overall trailers can make or break a film. If they don’t grab the audience’s attention then no-one will go to see it. Examples of successful horror trailers are The Shining, What Lies Beneath and The Woman in Black.