Conventionally, the Paranormal Activity trailer begins by displaying its rating, "approved for all audiences", as well as the film's rating: restricted. This indicates the target audience of the film and warns the viewers about the graphic and violent nature of the movie. There is no sound present in this shot.
The trailer's opening shot is an establishing wide shot of a multitude of people in a line waiting to see the screening of the film. Over the shot white text fades in, displaying the time, place and overall context of the shot. Both diegetic and non-diegetic sound accompanies the following shot sequence. Diegetically, the audience can hear the crowd speaking unintelligibly, this creates a sense of presence in the viewer. Non-diegetically, a rhythmic deep dull sound, reminiscent of an echoing drum, has been lodged over the diegetic noise; these sounds evoke feelings of tension in the audience, making them wonder what will happen next. These types of non-diegetic sounds are very commonly used within the horror genre. The lighting in this first shot is fairly bright as it is filmed in the daylight, this bright lighting is used to contrast and highlight the darkness present later in the trailer. The same happens with the colour diversity and saturation, in this first shot, there is a wide array of saturated colours, which then emphasizes the under-exposed monochromatic aesthetic of the trailer.
The preview then cuts to a wide shot inside the cinema where people are taking their seats and getting ready to watch the film. This cut is led by a parallel deep drum-like sound, unlike before, this time the non-diegetic sound is louder, thus more noticeable to the audience, this elevates the feelings of uneasiness of the viewers. The lighting seems dimmer and the colour less saturated as the public gets closer to watching the film, this connotes the mysteriousness surrounding the movie and foreshadows the figurative darkness of Paranormal Activity, building curiosity and anxiety in the audience. To this point, the overall mood of the trailer is pretty light, seemingly unlike horror, surprisingly this is a common technique used within the genre to gradually and unexpectedly build tension and inspire fear in the audience.
The audience is presented with a wide point-of-view shot displaying the public's perspective inside the cinema auditorium as the movie commences. Now the lighting is extremely lowkey, making the movie's audience barely visible in the shot, thus the public is shot with a night vision camera, creating a monochromatic green visual. The moment the movie begins, another non-diegetic noise emerges, the sound of a vintage 35mm film projector rolling, this sound is used to establish the unconventionality of the setting and overall narrative of this movie preview. For this exact reason, the trailer momentarily cuts to a medium shot of the audience, using a night vision camera, and then it J cuts to a wide shot of the cinema screen. The audience is then presented with the opening shot of the movie itself, a low-angle medium shot of a man using a hand-held camera and a mirror to film himself introducing the narrative of the film and its two protagonists: "My girlfriend, Katy, she thinks there is something in the house". This section of dialogue gives the audience a glimpse of the way in which the female protagonist will be represented in the film, as the "damsel in distress", in need of rescue, this is very common in all films, especially within the horror genre. This shot, within the movie, establishes the manner in which the movie will be filmed, as well as the main aspects of its cinematography. One of the movie's most unorthodox characteristics is the use of the handheld camera, which accentuates shaky camera movements that allow the movie to feel more realistic and relatable to the viewer, and that reflects the uneasiness and anxiety of the characters, evoking those same feelings in the audience because of their newly induced sense of involvement with the protagonists. This type of cinematographic style is extremely unconventional in the movie industry, although it is exceptionally common in the "found footage" and "mockumentary" subgenres. Interestingly Paranormal Activity's cinematography and narrative were heavily influenced by The Blair Witch Project (1999), which I also discussed previously in my blog.
The trailer then progresses to a wide shot of a bedroom, the shot is slightly distorted thanks to the apparent use of a wide-angle photographic lens that warps the perspective of a shot, creating a visual appearance similar to real CCTV footage, increasing the realistic feel of the film This shot also sets the place in which the movie will presumably unravel, a house, this challenges the conventions of deserted locations, making the audience relate to the characters even more. The use of wide angles throughout the trailer creates a sense of isolation and vulnerability.
At this point in the trailer, the editing becomes faster-paced, increasing the dramatic tension. There is also an evident use of shot-reverse-shot of the cinema screen showing clips of the movie, and close-up shots of the public's reaction to these clips. Through the use of close-up shots, the trailer highlights the public reactions and feelings of fear and anxiety. By showing the reaction of the public the trailer depicts and illustrates the reaction they are striving to achieve in the audience themselves as they watch the trailer; as well as portraying the eeriness of the movie and how the audience is likely to feel if they decide to watch Paranormal Activity.
The trailer becomes noticeably quieter as one of the protagonists whispers "I hear a weird sound" while pointing the camera to a dark room with a swinging chandelier at the bottom of a flight of stairs. A non-diegetic sound slowly builds up in volume, creating anticipation and tension. The preview cuts to a two-second close-up of the anxious cinema's public as the other protagonist whispers "something is here. I feel it breathing on me". A loud oversaturated sound is heard as the audience is presented with a shot of the CCTV of the bedroom, the sound is meant to jump-scare the viewers. Again, the trailer cuts to a close-up of the public to show their reaction to this jump scare.
The next shot sequence shows physical evidence of the paranormal activity that the protagonists suspect is occurring in their house. Throughout these shots, diegetic sounds of door creaking and footsteps are elevated and emphasized, this is a technique conventionally used in horror films to indicate that there is a supernatural or paranormal presence near the protagonist, which is usually a direct threat to their wellbeing. These sounds build tension and set anxiety in the audience, which will later be used to heighten the effect of a future jumpscare.
Yet again, a non-diegetic noise gradually becomes louder, signalling a possible jumpscare, and then the preview cuts to a bedroom CCTV shot, where both protagonists are sleeping. The door the slowing begins to close, and suddenly accelerates to close, creating a load band that jumpscare the audience again. It then shows the reactions of the public in a close-up shot.
After this, in a handheld manner, one of the characters shows bite marks on the back of the other character, symbolizing the physical danger they are in.
In between a mixture of shots and every time at a faster pace, the trailer addresses the audience watching the trailer: "experience it for yourself". This mode of address directly encourages the viewer to go and watch the film in order to experience what the public portrayed in the trailer experienced. Moreover, by using all caps and a bold typeface the text creates an intimidating tone that works particularly well in the horror genre.
Towards the end of the trailer a title scene reading: Paranormal Activity is presented to the viewers. This is a final call to action directed to the audience to watch the movie.
The film's website is also shown to the audience, this creates synergy in their advertising campaign.
Challenging conventions, and throughout the entirety of the trailer, music is not used. additionally, it's crucial to note how this trailer uses darkness in order to play on the primal human fear of the unknown. Furthermore, we can see how to narrative of the trailer and the movie itself challenges Todorov's theory concerning narrative structure, as there is never a moment of equilibrium, thus there is also a lack of a new equilibrium.
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