"The Strangers" Trailer

Mise-en-scene:

The trailer starts off with a shot of the lake, and desolate place that the couple have inhabited. You then see a shot of the house, and see a number of clips which relates to the couple being 'in love' this is shown through the props of rose petals being on the bed, candles, and the attire that they are both wearing, finally the ring signifies the couples affection for one another. The beginning of the trailer has a yellow colour design, and this adds to the peaceful and serene start to the trailer. The masks are a very significant factor throughout the film, as the identity of the 'invaders' are never revealed, so it leaves a lot to the imagination for the audience. You also see the antagonists appear and disappear a lot, which adds a ghostly effect to these people, making the audience more on edge, as you can never predict when they will appear. The use of violence is also evident throughout this, as with the use of an axe this shows the antagonists intent towards the couple, and also you see a short shot of the couple tied up and surrounded by 'the strangers.'

Sound:

The soundtrack at the beginning is very peacful and romantic, and this relates to the proposal that is announced at the beginning. You hear an exchange in dialogue between the couple. The music then begins to die out and you hear a loud and sharp bang. The sound of a 'swing' then overshadows a period of the clip, and this adds to the tension that the trailer is beginning to create. The swing then suddenly stops, and a singular prolonged beat becomes prominent, before another loud bang introduces another soundtrack, and you can feintly hear an almost 'heartbeat' noise as well. The sound is then replaced with the diegetic sound of the record, and with the axe breaking down the door, the record jams on the same part, and gradually speeds up towards the end, until met by a lound clash. The trailer is finished with the diegetic dialogue of 'because you're home.' This final dialogue adds as another and final tease for the audience, as it leaves a sense of mystery to the trailer.

Camera:

The trailer starts with an establishing shot of the surroundings to the household, which immediately makes the audience recognise the rural location of the film. The trailer then cuts to an establishing shot of the house, before starting a close up with the petals on the bed, and the camera slowly panning up. You then see a few medium shots of varying rooms of the house, before a close up of the candles flickering. The camera is in 3rd person throughout, although there are a few occasions when the camera does go into point of view. Towards the end of the first part, you see a few over the shoulder shots to direct the conversation between the couple, and this finishes with an extreme close up of the ring. The next shot is a still establishing shot, which shows the woman in the kitchen, with the 'stranger' appearing in the background. Throughout the trailer there is a continuous amount of establishing shots, and this shows how rural and desolate this place is. A low angled hand-held shot works very well, as the 'stranger' runs towards the camera, and then the over the shoulder shot through the blinds, is also very effective. The use of having an over the shoulder shot with the 'stranger' appearing in the background is also very useful as this shows the fear and suspense that the man should be feeling.

Editing:

The trailer lacks in continuity, as it has lots of short and quick cuts. However the beginning of the trailer is easy to understand as a story, so is much more continuous then the ending of the trailer. At the beginning the transactions between the shots is done by a dissolve effect, and this works effectively in making the trailer more continuous. After the opening sequence you see a shot reverse shot between the couple, and the trailer then fades to black, and the text gradually appears and moves to the background. The next shot fades up from black, and text appears as if a spotlight is running over it. When the next scene fades up from black again, a spotlight effect is used in the next scene, which illuminates the room. The next set of text, make it seems as if somebody walks past in the background, and the next scene seems to finish with a blind effect. The next set of text is very distorted, and you see a rapid reversing in the shot. The editing throughout is very quick, and just adds a quick and jumpy sense to the trailer, as the trailer becomes less continuous and speedy towards the end. The fuzzy filtered effect at the end adds to the point that the identity is never revealed of the strangers.