Assignment Task: Students will need to choose an appropriate media artefact, research its origins and purpose and write a 500-word response, critically reflecting the appropriateness, successes and failings of the selected artefact. [500 words]
Solo Reflection on IT’s trailer:
Steven Kings ‘IT’ trailer created to entice the target audience, which for this film the target would be horror fans and young adults from the age of around 15-20, into going to watch the film IT. The trailer does a fantastic job of capturing the audience’s attention straight away as it immediately starts building tension through the eerie music.
The trailer has a slow build up to horror tropes to not reveal to the audience the entire plot making this an effective trailer as shows off some striking scenery and horror conventions to entice the audience into seeing the entire film. An example of this right from the start of the trailer producer has used conventions such as colour and non-diegetic music to build up the tension of the beginning of the trailer immediately attracting the target audience’s attention.
The director laid this trailer out in a suspenseful way that allowed the audience, who watch for entertainment value, to get hooked while the trailer drops hints of what’s going to happen coming up in following scenes. As the beginning of the trailer starts of light with just dark colours, close up shots and tense music to hint to the audience that something is going to happen and this continues to build the tension within the trailer as the character of Georgie goes outside and we begin to gain some diegetic sounds such as rain and thunder along with the character wearing a yellow raincoat, yellow often being used as to make the audience subconsciously feel tense as it indicates as a warning or danger towards this character, with the camera tracking and following Georgie switching from a birds eye long shot to a close up mid shot allows the audience to feel as though they are following Georgie creating a suspenseful atmosphere.
The trailer continues this throughout using colour as a strong signifier to the audience to indicate danger the main example of this is the red balloon that appears almost throughout the trailer and along with this the (non-diegetic) music picks up and fades and picks up again creating this sinister feeling for the audience. Along with this the trailer although shows off a hints of clown that is the main part to this film the audience does not get to see the full experience of chilling experience which would allure the audience into going to experience this film.
Along with this the trailer plays a lot on horror conventions as it uses a lot of suspenseful music, a creepy child and a murderous clown which are some typical horror tropes that are seen within the genre but is also a major part of attracting the indented audience as these are elements that make the trailer terrifying making the audience attracted to go and see the whole product, along with this they used the sinister slogan ‘you’ll float too’ and also mentioned the famous Steven King which would draw the audience in more making this an affective and enticeful trailer.
References:
Fairbrother, H. ( 2015 ). 2 Audience Theory – Media Studies. Mrshollyenglish.Com. http://media-studies.mrshollyenglish.com/theory/audiences-institutions/audience-theory
A website that informs about: Audience theory, Hypodermic Needle Theory, Uses and gratification (Blumler and Katz) and codes and conventions.
Extra Information:
Within the future when I develop my skills in analysis further I will come back to this trailer, or to the film as a whole, and re-analysis it as an actual analysis and not just a reflection.
This will be done here: