ANALYSIS OF BABADOOK TRAILER
This page will be an analysis of the the film trailer Babadook. This is the story of a mother and son that are being haunted by a monster called The Babadook. They start to become crazy and after several strange happenings around the house, the mother reports a stalker. To the police she sounds crazy and therefore goes home back to the haunted souls that live in her house. The Babadook first appeared in a book and as the mother tells the story of the monster, the child becomes fixsated that it is real and as the books says if you deny the Babadooks presence it only grows stronger. The trailer uses amazing titles along with amazing camera angles and compositions to create a extremely spooky/horror atmosphere. Due to the story being about monsters, it is something that can be related to a large number of people that held a belief in monsters as a young child.
Camera Angles, Movement and Composition.
There are some interesting camera angles used in this film. Firstly in any trailer it is important to use a wide range of camera angles when filming, in order to make the trailer look convincing. The trailer uses several shots that I find very effective when trying to create the horror atmosphere. These medium long shots are normally of stairs or of an empty room and this creates the feeling that there is something stiring within these empty rooms. There is a camera angle when you see the mother and child in bed, however it is shot vertically creating a birds eye view on the situation. These shots are made up of a medium shot and due to the vertical angle make the audience see the facial expressions of the actors easily. There is an extreme close up of the boys eye when the doctor is looking into it, this shot brings the audience closer to the characters. Along with the use of interesting camera angles used in the trailer there is extremely good camera composition.
Camera composition is used extremely well in this trailer however, I would have liked to see a focus pull. The shot to the left shows the mother and son looking in the wardrobe for monsters. I believe that this shot is effective as we are seeing the mother and son from the shadows of the wardrobe. With the mother and son being center frame and the clothes being either side of the frame creates the impression that we are in shadows and therefore this increases atmosphere of the trailer.
The video below shows the different types of movements that are used in the trailer:
Another great composition is the shot of the mothers face. This is so effective as it is slightly out of focus and therefore seems frantic. The shot has the mothers face lit up by a torch with only darkness around her. This makes it seem like she is alone and creates an emotion of fear and panic. The facial expression that the mother is pulling is one of pure fear. This along with the surround blackness creates one very effective shot.
Mese en scene.
This trailer is situated in a house. The house is where the family live and therefore the costumes that are seen in the trailer are generic and what would be considered as normal clothing. The clothes that the mother is wearing are a sleeping gown which creates the characteristic that the mother is a vulnerable character as a sleeping gown is what you normally wear when you retire, your most vulnerable time of the day.
The trailer has amazing lighting using the technique of makanan lighting which is the use of black and white lights. This is done extremely well when it comes to lighting as there are several shots that show casting shadows and fading lights which can be seen as fading hope.
Props used in this trailer are mainly a knife and the book. The book is an interesting prop as it depicts the story of a creature, that once it has been seen, (in words or in physical presence) it only grows in strength. This book is what makes the creature come to the house and is what is blamed for the monsters presence. This causes the book to be destroyed and burnt. The knife is used to show the parallel between the characters in the book and the characters in the narrative. They are used in juxtaposition together and this therefore brings attention to the link.
Editing
The editing of this trailer is a non-linear representation of the film. Editing is not only used to inhance colours, and for applying special effects, but is where the decision making for which parts of the film, shall be shown in the trailer.
As you can see from the image to the left the colours have been de-saturated from the original image in order to create a more pale black and white theme. This is repeated throughout the trailer and any bright bold colours are seen as pale and dull, this is to create the effect of a darker and more dramatic atmosphere.
Transitions are a key part of any trailer. Watch the video below for all the different transitions used in the trailer.
Titles are amazing in this trailer. They link to the story as they are torn up pieces of paper and are animated to fall perfectly into place by reversing the footage of them blowing the pieces of paper. This is an effect that I want to use in my trailer as mine is also about a book that causes a possession to occur.
Sound
This trailer uses both diegetic and non-diegectic music. The diegectic sounds used in this trailer are in the forms of dialogue, prop sounds and other extreme noises such as screaming. Screaming is used effectively in this trailer as it is used to place the audience on edge because the screaming sounds are enhanced.
The dialogue from the creature (Mister Babadook) is enhanced to change the pitch and tone of the voice. This therefore gives the voice a much deeper and slower tone, this is used to make the audience feel uncomfortable and as if there is a supernatural presence involved.
The non-diegetic music used in this trailer uses sounds such as the turning of pages and other ambient noises like chimes to create a horror atmosphere. These chimes are used in a drone throughout the trailor to create a constant presence in the narrative, this neverending chime places the audience under constant threat of a jump scare. To see examples of all of these sounds watch the video to the left.