Deconstruction of Annabelle Trailer

Annabelle (2014) is a prequel to The Conjuring (2013) and follows the story of a couple who have bought the Annabelle doll, which was previously featured in The Conjuring.

• The trailer begins with an establishing shot - typical to any genre and film as it sets the scene for the audience's understanding. Low-key lighting conforms to horror genre as it adds enigma because the audience are not able to see much. Therefore, the audience are not entirely sure as to what or who may be lurking in the darkness - and this is unsettling, making them want to watch on.
• On-screen opening dialogue: "John... you're covered in blood" immediately tells audience this is a horror film, thus appealing to horror fans. The non-diegetic background music builds and becomes higher in pitch in order to create an exciting tension to grasp the viewer's attention.
• Then, the screen goes blank as a woman whispers "I like your dolls" - this is a simple and innocent sentence however, because it is whispered and the screen is blank, it seems eerie and unsettling in order to unnerve the viewer.
• Series of clips which keep flashing to distort the audience's perception and unsettle them as they cannot properly see and therefore understand what is happening. This ultimately persuades them to continue watching the trailer, and then the film, to fully discover what is happening. This is paired with off-screen screaming from the characters which reiterates the horror genre and tells the audience that this film will be scary and, therefore, entertaining.
• Production companies appear after 30 seconds of intense clips to provide the audience with a 'break'. The production companies being used in this way is clever as it allows the audience time to think about why this doll makes strange things happen, and so they continue watching with the hopes of finding out. These production companies being included at that time also indicate to the audience that the trailer will be 'rewinding' to the beginning so they are able to discover how and why the Annabelle doll got to that particular house. The production companies are usually shown at the beginning of horror trailers so they do not act as a 'break', resulting in high tensions throughout the trailer in which the audience are holding their breath - thus persuading them to watch the film.
• After production companies, the lighting becomes natural and warm to provide a homely feel to the scene of the couple in the baby's room, unpackaging the doll.
• Title appears, advertising the well-known producer - persuading the audience that this film is of a good quality in terms of entertainment and production.
• Doors closing and radio turning on by itself - conforms to supernatural convention of telekinesis.
• "BEFORE THE CONJURING... THERE WAS ANNABELLE" - tells the audience this is a prequel informing them of the story of the Annabelle doll. This reference is made as The Conjuring was a successful film so it will persuade viewers of that film to watch Annabelle.
• Zooming in close up shot of Annabelle's face and an extreme close up of the woman's fingers which builds tension - foretells the audience that something is about to happen - this is beneficial in a trailer because heightened tension is persuasive so the audience are likely to want to watch the film.
• Slow panning of the woman crawling away from the fire, then panning stops and the woman gets dragged back by something invisible. This stopping of camera movement is effective as it frightens the audience and disenchants them as they initially thought she would escape.
• Afterwards, title "THIS OCTOBER" tells audience of the film's release - serving as a reminder which subliminally persuades them to go see it.
• Then, there is an extreme close up of Annabelle's eye, and the audience expect the typical supernatural convention of the eye blinking, however this is subverted and the doll stays still. Makes the audience wonder whether Annabelle is alive or not as most viewers believe her to be the one behind the strange occurrences.
• POV shot of the woman looking at her child from under the door, then Annabelle falls down in front of the baby. This is very effective as a POV shot places the audience in the character's position - further persuading them to go see the film. This shot is accompanied with a non-diegetic boom sound which plays when Annabelle drops and this is used to shock the audience.
• "DISCOVER THE SECRET", next title "OF WHAT SHE WANTS" does not disclose who "SHE" actually is, but audience immediately think they are talking about the Annabelle doll. Grips the audience as they want to know the 'doll's' motives, and so this persuades them to watch the film in order to find out the answer.
• Final clip shows the woman asking a girl "Who are you?" and her mode of address is that she is scared and confused. The girl does not answer, and instead runs up to her then transforms into an older, bigger girl who seems more vicious. This is effective as it shocks the audience and really makes them question the story behind the doll and this strange girl. This is paired with off-screen screaming as the audience cannot see the woman. The clip and scream fades out and the title 'ANNABELLE' appears capitalised in metallic blue, against a plain black background. This is effective as it is simple and legible and the blank black background conforms to horror and supernatural conventions of darkness, wickedness and enigma.

In conclusion, I believe this theatrical trailer is very effective in mostly conforming to horror and supernatural conventions so the audience are able to easy identify that, however there are times when some conventions (for example, the doll not actually being alive) are subverted. This confuses the audience and makes them think differently - and this is what makes the trailer more effective because this mystery further persuades the audience to watch the film. The use of POV shots, extreme close up shots, off- and on-screen screaming sounds and fast paced high-pitched music were also effective as it built and heightened tension which made the trailer more entertaining and gripping.