Since the sub-genre we are focusing on in our narrative is psychological horror, my group and I decided to try and focus predominantly on psychological horrors when looking into existing media texts. However, when looking at trailers for psychological horrors, I noticed that they varied greatly, due to the diverse storylines that appear within them. Therefore, I decided to pick two trailers which had lots of similarities and differences, and conduct an in depth comparison between them, in order to discover more about conventions of trailers under my sub-genre. The two trailers I picked for this were Orphan and Hide and Seek.
Both trailers are very conventional in their use of narrative within the trailer; Todorovs structure of equilibrium, disruption, reaction and repair and new equilibrium, however, they leave out the new equilibrium, a convention of trailers, in order to entice audiences to come and see the film. Both equilibriums are extremely similar to one another, in the sense that they both connote the same sort of message about the family to the audience - a loving family have a fresh start, a new beginning. This is reflected in the types of opening shots within the trailer, as both trailers begin with an establishing shot and an overhead shot of a family-type car on a journey. However, the difference is the places they are going; although it is clear that a new beginning is being made for each family in the trailers, both families are going to different places for different reasons. Hide and Seek are going to a new house in a new area and in Orphan it is clear that the couple are at an orphanage to adopt a child. There is a big emphasis on the equilibrium in both these trailers, as the whole concept of both films is about how tormented individuals can completely destruct a loving family.
Both trailers also make use of non-diegetic text, such as straps and film logos, in different ways. The trailer for Orphan provides the audience with some anchorage and ambiguity through the use of straps; it is communicated through the straps that Esther is harbouring a dark secret (i.e. "There's something wrong with Esther" and "You'll never guess her secret") but in order to find out the secret, the audience will need to come and watch the film. The straps which feature therefore, help when it comes to providing anchorage to the audience for the trailer, as well as enticing the audience to come and watch the film. However, there is a less prevalent use of non-diegetic text, specifically straps, within the Hide and Seek trailer - the first time the audience sees non-diegetic text is when the names of the actors who star in the film appear on the screen (this is following general film conventions, since they are big names such as Robert DeNiro, who will be likely to attract a wider audience, however, this is unconventional of horrors, who tend to feature new and unknown actors) and the second time non-diegetic text is seen, is at the end of the trailer, just after the film title and just before what could have been a sting. These pieces of text could be argued to be 'straps' (although the placement of them is highly unconventional) because just like the straps which feature in the Orphan trailer, again they provide ambiguity and anchorage for the audience - the audience can tell that a tormented individual is ruining the family dynamic, but there is a "secret" that the audience must find out about the individual, by watching the film; by placing the straps right at the end of the trailer, the audience will be wondering about the secret, long after the trailer has finished, and will therefore want to go and watch the film to stop their curiosity. However, it could also be argued that the reason Hide and Seek is lacking in the use of straps is not only because it is older than Orphan, but because the trailer implies that Emily is the tormented individual when in fact, it is her father who is tormented. This effect would be unacheivable if straps were used, and so the lack of straps helps the audience to keep on guessing about the narrative of the film. The trailers are not only similar in the content of their straps, but in the appearance of them; the text featured within each trailer is in a serif font, which could be said to be more eerie - it looks much more old and traditional when compared to a sans-serif font, so can add to the creepy feel.
Both of the films, as stated before, are based around the destruction of a family - it is therefore no surprise that the main characters who feature within both Hide and Seek are young girls, whose behaviour becomes more erratic throughout the trailer - a convention of horror films, ever since The Exorcist was released. Both girls - Esther and Emily - are also extremely similar in appearance in their dark hair and pale skin, as well as being of a similar age range to each other, therefore it is likely that both trailers are aimed at a similar audience; if someone who has seen Hide and Seek watches the trailer for Orphan, it is likely that the person will want to watch Orphan. Other mise-en-scene elements, such as lighting, are also similar between the two trailers. The two trailers feature mainly ambient and artificial lighting, creating a sense of realism between the two texts. Camera shots are also an extremely important element in both trailers, as they are used in order to help convey meaning about the narrative and characters. In the Hide and Seek trailer, at 0:14 there is a birds-eye view shot of the family's car driving through a road in the middle of a forest. The weather appears bleak, dreary and miserable, even though the family are driving towards a new - and hopefully better - life, and the trees in the forest are all bare and leafless, and of a dark colour, with the grass underneath them being a light brown colour, as if it is in need of water. This birds-eye view shot enables the audience to see the environment around the family, and whereabouts they are headed towards, and the mise-en-scene elements could also be argued to signal to the audience that Emily, and her father, David, are heading towards a life which will be miserable, bleak and dreary. Similarly, Orphan uses a high angle, medium close-up shot of Esther at 1:55; usually, a high angle shot is used in order to make someone look vulnerable, weak and powerless, and since Esther's appearance (pale skin, bunches) is very innocent, this usually should work in her favour, making her look like she isn't the antagonist, however, the way in which she looks up at the camera completely contrasts this. This shot gives a subtle message, hinting to the audience of the twist; Esther is pretending to be something she isn't.
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