Media Language

Horror movie trailers utilise codes and conventions to apply deeper meaning than what we actually physically see. My summer trailer uses at least 1 of these theories that talk about this. Saussure talks about this before

Symbolic codes are seen in the mise-en-scene of the film; in other words, costume, props, setting, lighting & non-verbal communication fall under the category of mise-en-scene. In my summer trailer, we made the protagonist wear white (which is the Signifier) and that signifies purity and innocence. Also, our setting was in the woods which is a common location in horror movies. But the lighting wasn't lowkey enough for it to feel like a horror movie.

Technical codes is seen in the camerawork. For camerawork, framing of the camera and the movement of the camera is considered. In my summer trailer, as the protagonist is walking forward, the camera also moves forward along with her to create the suspense. The shot is a long shot so we can see her whole body and we can see fear.

Also, technical codes is seen in the editing so cuts, fades and other transitions are considere. In my summer trailer, there were a few cuts to a flashback of the antagonists' friends for like 3 secs. This gives viewers a bit of insight. This could be considered as a montage because it isn't always in chronological order like in the actual film.

In addition, audio codes are present so sound is considered. Sound is very important and holds 80% of the scare factor. In my summer trailer, the soundtracks we used was intended to create the suspense so we can get the audience waiting for something to happen. The soundtrack gets even more higher pitched and louder to feel like the antagonist is getting closer and closer. This could be considered as non-diegetic sound.

Lastly there was written code so in other words, text is present. The text has crayon-like look and we made it shake to make the film look distorted and twisted so that the audience feels uncomfortable. However, text wasn't focused as much and I think we could have put more into it and made it more effective.

Representation Essay

There are numerous different theories on how movie trailers represent certain characters and that there's a typical formula. In my summer trailer, not a lot of these theories have been applied which is expected. 

The first theory I will be talking about is the Male Gaze theory by Laura Mulvey. This theory consists of female being seen as sexual objects which is intended at the male side of the auidence since horror is a genre that is pre-dominantly for the male side of the spectrum. So this means it would sell. However, in my summer trailer, they were no females shown which already means that this theory hasn't been applied. There's only males in the trailer. Even though there's a theory on Female Gaze but there's nothing for females to look at sexually since the main protagonist has his clothes on.

The next theory to talk about is the Final Girl theory. According to this theory, there should a last sole survivor and this survivor has to be a female. Since she's the last survivor, she has to battle the antagonist as the climax of the movie> Most of the time, the Final Girl defeats the antagonist. This theory is only common in slasher movies as the antagonist's purpose is to kill its victims. Since my trailer is more on the supernatural side of things, this theory can't be applied so it wasn't applied because it wouldn't make sense. This idea is good idea especially in current times because this theory shows the theory shows how females are becoming masculine and this is happening currently in  terms of female rights.

The next theory is about religion and sexuality. This theory states that the idea of possession has sexual connotations as the evil spirit is most likely represented as a male and the person getting possessed is most likely a female. The portrayal of evil spirits relates back to religion (e.g. Christianity.) These things happen in supernatural movies and to repel these evil spirits, the protagonists normally have religious objects such as the cross or the Bible. In my summer trailer, it's not clearly apparent but with the cuts to the antagonist's face shows that there are evil forces lurking around. However, this theory has not been applied as much.

The next theory is about hegemony and teen punishment. This states that the teenagers get punished for committing sins such as sexual acts (because premarital sex is a sin)  Also, this theory states that there is dominance from males to females. In horror films, the overpowering evil force is a male most of the time and the victims are females majority of the times, In my summer trailer, you can see teen punishment since m the protagonist in the trailer is a teenager and at the end yo u can see the teenager is about to get killed by the antagonist and is cowering in fear in a corner.. 

The last theory I will be talking about is the monster in the human and the monster in the human. The monster in the human refers to people being born with no sense of morality and are evil. On the other hand, the human in the monster shows that even monsters that they seem to be are actually just like us which makes the audience feel pity or sympathy for the monster since these monster did not want to be created. A good example of this is Frankestein's monster. This theory isn't applied to my summer trailer because this doesn't relate to this subgenre of supernatural. This relates to werewolf horror movies.

To conclude, my summer trailer needs a lot of work but some of there theories can't be applied because of the sub-genre of my summer trailer.