Textual Analysis: Horror Teaser Trailer. (Fergie Nzita)

The teaser trailer I have decided to analysis is SAW V which is the fifth instalment of the SAW movies.

The Film Title: Saw V (5^th Instalment)

Year of Release: 2008

Director: David Hackl, previously served a production designer for Saw 2, 3 and 4

Producers: Gregg Hoffman, Mark Burg, Oren Koules, James Wan, Leigh Whannell

Actors: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Scott Patterson, Betsy Russell, Mark Rolston, Julie Benz, Carlo Rota, Meagan Good

Films Origin: The fifth instalment of the original Saw movie first released in early 2004

Synopsis (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/415847/why_the_saw_movie_series_scares_the.html): In the Saw movies, Jigsaw is a character whose only purpose is to act as a vigilante against people that he believes is not morally concrete. He has taken it upon himself to act as the judge, jury, and executioner of the people that he decides to torment. This, essentially, sets up for another fear that many of us keep tucked away in the dark recesses of our minds.

The teaser trailer opens up with a pitch black beginning; there is slow tension building music from the start which is not in English but more of a foreign language. The music sounds more like an evil chanting song which allows the viewer to almost identify what genre this film is which is horror. There is the tracking in of a man that looks clearly trapped in some way. The prop used is a box with attachments to it and inside the box is a man’s head. The man’s clothes are your average day to day clothes, this could portray the fact that this man has been taken out of his day routine, most probably at work or on his way to work and taken to this unknown location. There is non verbal communication in the trailer as the man does not speak however he expresses his emotions through his anticipation and eager to break away from his surroundings. Before he tries to break out, there is a voice that says hello that suddenly wakes him. This is the only dialogue throughout the whole trailer. Following this hello, there are loud sound effects and foley sounds to accompany the sense of horror.

The location is not completely visible and this adds to the feel of horror in the trailer because this man is clearly claustrophobic in his atmosphere therefore creating a tense atmosphere.

The story in the trailer is told through writing where the viewer can get a better understanding of why this man’s head is stuck in a glass box, even then, the narrator leaves the viewer in suspense as the captions say “His message is righteous, His love is everlasting, His gift is life”. This message would be connected to someone like God because God’s message is righteous and God’s love is everlasting with a gift of life. The written narrative therefore is a play on words as the man in the box looks unconscious but this person that put him there is described as a good person. This leaves the viewer confused with a desire to see the film.
There is only one evident character shown throughout the whole teaser trailer, this character is seen as unconscious to begin with, and then he wakes up drastically to a voice saying “hello”. The voice is deep and scruffy, presenting a scary dominance. The man wakes up rapidly from hearing this voice which gives a scary/horror effect. As the man becomes aware of his surroundings he tries in vain to escape. The representation of the character fits perfectly with the genre as it has the viewer feeling bewildered and puzzled, as well as fairly interested in what is happening, how he got there or even what might happen, which could result in them wanting to watch the actual film.

The pace of the trailer is slow at the beginning matching the music that is being played zooming up to the man in the box. From when the man is aware of his surroundings after the person, the pace goes from slow to fast, showing quick shots of the man struggling to get out.
The trailer says “This Halloween belongs to Saw VI”. Halloween is a holiday celebrating ghosts, ghouls and gore fitting perfectly with what the trailer is interpreting. The colours used in the trailer are dim colours. The writing is a golden serif type which represents a fiery atmosphere blending perfectly with a pitch black background to add a daunting effect. The contrast of when the man is in the box gives off different shades of blue with apart from the man’s skin and the lights in the box he is trapped inside. As you complete the trailer, you realise that the blue and fiery golden colour is interpreted into the logo for the movie at the end which is a dark blue from the bottom left corner fading upwards into a golden fiery colour. The black sides give the logo a more creepy finish.

There are 5 fast cuts in the teaser trailer. This is used so that it doesn’t give too much away to the viewer so they can stay puzzled. Because it is so fast, the viewer is viewing a lot at what seems to be the same time and this technique is good because it can also be seen as persuasive, because it wasn’t so clear to them, it “teases” them therefore they will feel the need to watch the film to get a clearer understanding and if they where a die hard horror fanatic, then not watching it will be out of the question. The music being played changes to a more sound effect approach with the load bangs and screams to show a change in scenery from being just simply in a box, with slower more calmer music to create suspense leading up to realising where he is and trying to escape.

The music in the trailer is played from the very beginning. The music is slow and sounds like something you would hear in a typical scary movie whose role is to create tension and suspense. The music changes to sound effects whose role means enhancing or even creating sounds to create shocking sounds especially in a horror movie’s perception.

The trailer starts off with the viewer practically not being able to see anything but a tiny square. The whole concept of teaser trailer is portrayed here because the viewer is confused by not being able to see anything and they left in that state of mind because everything gets more confusing from then on. The whole beginning consists of the camera zooming in then cuts to the written narrative The shot size does not fill the screen but is a small frame until when the man struggles to get out of the box, you see his body at close up.

The trailer plays before the film you are watching, depending on the certificate of that movie for example, a PG movie would see trailers of Universal or PG certificate before the viewing of their chosen film. The SAW V trailer would most probably be played during a film of certificate 15 or 18 because of its scary nature that wouldn’t be suitable for anyone below that age.

The difference between a teaser trailer and a trailer is that teaser trailers show very little and is used to make the viewer aware of what is to come. Teaser trailers “tease” the public therefore not showing everything you need to know about a film. A trailer is a longer version of a teaser trailer but doesn’t tease its viewers. The viewers are aware of what is happening but not the full synopsis of the movie. However some trailers give away the full synopsis and from then, there isn’t really a point in watching it.

By Fergine Nzita