Having decided as a group that the supernatural sub-genre of horror is the way in which we would like to take our trailer, it is important that we look for inspiration in terms of what to look up too and pay homage too as well as what to stay away from in order to create a successful trailer that entices the target audience to watch the subsequent film upon its release, after all that's what a trailer is for. We as a group would like to go down the supernatural route and pay homage to the iconic film (as well as its remake) "Poltergeist". This film was groundbreaking in the supernatural sub-genre at it's time and so it is a theory and idea that if created right can be an unforgettable as a trailer as well as overly successful in achieving its purpose of enticing a target audience into wanting to watch the subsequent film.
The original version of Poltergeist was released in 1982 and was one of the first poltergeist themed horror films, this film was one which struck fear into the eyes of the audience because the events happened within a modern home for the time therefore being easy to relate too. The original, 1982 version of Poltergeist portrays the story of a modern (for the time) in a house built upon a grave yard. This film is iconic in the Poltergeist themed horror genre as inspiration because it was one of the first to portray an actual poltergeist within the film by showing and presenting it in various ways as if to confuse the audience into not knowing exactly what is happening throughout the film. The trailer is good at taking the important bits of the trailer without revealing the entire plot therefore creating a strong trailer that is appreciated by the audience.
Within the original Poltergeist trailer of 1982 we as a group really enjoyed the originality in which presents itself, the ways in which the trailer is able to show something new and exciting while allowing for the audience to develop an emotional connection with the characters that are shown within the trailer. In addition to the originality, we as a group also enjoyed the use of a modern house within the trailer because it gave a feeling of reality in terms of relation to the trailer. The audience watching this trailer would see the modern house and link that to their personal circumstances at home which therefore creates the impression that whats happening within the trailer could also happen to the audience. The use of a contemporary and modern family also has a personal effect upon the audience, modern and contemporary characters allow for emotional relationships to be built with the audience which in turn creates feeling of concern for the characters in terms of whats occurring within the trailer therefore making the audience want to watch the subsequent film in order to see what happens to the family within the trailer. Overall there are elements within the 1982 Poltergeist trailer that we as a group would pay homage too and look to for inspiration.
As well as the positive elements of the original 1982 Poltergeist trailer in which we will partly pay homage too, there are also less exciting and pulsating moments within the trailer in which we as a group have made the collective decision to stay away from. One such example of an element within the original 1982 Poltergeist trailer that we as a group will stay away from is the narration. Within the original trailer, a voice over is used throughout the trailer as if to try and enhance the experience of the onlooking audience but in real time it sounds very amateur within the context of the trailer and it is very much unnecessary within the trailer. In addition to this the use of a voice over takes away some of the tension otherwise created because it ruins the connection in which the audience can make with the characters and visual media forms within the Poltergeist trailer. The special effects used and created for the 1982 Poltergeist trailer weren't pulled off very well, the effects are (although modern for their time) wouldn't impose an emotional effect upon the audience because they do not look realistic enough to entice them into the trailer. Furthermore the special effects used look a little out of date by today's standards and so we as a group need to ensure that if we use effects that they are professional in looks and style. Finally, the titles shown at the end of the trailer look unprofessional by today's standards and so we as a group have decided to sit and discuss the titles in which we could use the ensure that we create a trailer that has professional elements to make the trailer look as stylish and top quality as possible.
The 2015 remake of the 1982 original "Poltergeist" is the trailer in which we as a group feel that we could pay more homage too. This particular film is done in a way in which it is similar to the original in context but has its own elements to develop an emotional connection with the audience which in turn they feel a deeper emotional connection which the characters making them want to watch the film to ensure that the family end up safe. In addition to this the 2015 remake is a new version of a poltergeist classic and so it does really well as a whole ind enveloping a trailer in which the audience enjoy and want to see subsequent film footage in the film. We as a group have decided that this particular version of the Poltergeist style film would be better to look at in terms of looking for a film to pay homage too.
In terms of what we as a group would look to pay homage too, we really enjoyed the modern home feel in which the 2015 Poltergeist remake sets as a scene. We enjoy this modern home feel because with an audience watching the trailer, it gives the impression whats happening within the trailer could happen in any home therefore making the audience feel as if it could happen in their own home increasing the fear within the trailer. In addition to this, the modern home appeals to us as a group in terms of filming purposes, it is easier for us as a group to film within this setting and this therefore attracts us as a group to this element of the 2015 remake of Poltergeist. In addition to the location, we as a group liked the idea of having a child or a teenager within the trailer because when the audience watch this film, they make an emotional connection between themselves and the characters therefore making the audience want to watch the subsequent film to see what happens within the end game of the film. As well as an emotive impact, the use of teenagers eases the filming schedule because it is easier to film within ourselves rather than needing to go out and cast others for the trailer. Finally, we as a group enjoyed the quality of the titles within this trailer. Unlike the 1982 original, the 2015 remake has professional titles of good quality which adds another layer to the trailer. A professional trailer with professional titles makes for a more appealing trailer to the audience therefore increasing the chance of the audience wanting to go and watch the subsequent film upon its release.
The 2015 remake of the 1982 Poltergeist film has very good elements in which we as a group would very much pay homage too but the trailer in fact does have elements in which we as a group wouldn't refer too because we personally don't like those particular elements within the trailer. The sound effects within this 2015 remake we felt were unrealistic and over dramatic, within the trailer the use of sound effects is good to an extent but occasionally the sound effects go overboard and look as if they are forced within the trailer. This is unattractive to us as a group in terms of what we are looking for and so we will look to move away from this when creating and editing our own poltergeist themed trailer. In addition to the sound effects, we as a group feel as if the special effects are also over dramatic to the extent where it takes some of the potential realism away from the trailers final product. Due to the over dramatic special effects, we as a group will look to avoid this issue but having a poltergeist themed trailer that neither undermines the need for special effects or over dramatises the trailer when it is unnecessary. Finally, we as a group didn't like the lighting connotations too much within this 2015 remake of Poltergeist because we feel that the constant change was not beneficial in the overall context of the trailer but in addition to this there were occasions when the light was too bright therefore distracting the audience from the visual story and more upon the beams upon the screen, we as a group will therefore aim to avoid this issue.
As a group, we have concluded that while the two Paranormal trailers are of high quality and stature, we will also aim to take inspiration from an iconic film based around out chosen sub-genre. The Enfield Haunting is a classic paranormal sub-genre horror film and has a trailer in which we as a group aim to pay homage towards. We as a group particularly like the series of scenes in which the main subject is being strangled by a curtain and we believe that such a sequence can be recreated and developed to fit our own story line in which we are trying to create. In addition to this, we will take inspiration form the series of household objects being smashed and ruined. As a group, we believe that we can recreate such drama for the use of our titles within the trailer.
In conclusion to the inspiration page, we as a group have seen the trailer style in which we would like to pay homage too but in two different ways. As a result from this planning, we as a group feel that we can take the best elements of all three trailers while ensuring that the elements in which we didn't like so much are discarded to create a final product from our perspective that is professional as well as top quality that also creates an emotional and fearsome impact with the audience to ensure that they carry out the purpose of a trailer, to watch the subsequent film upon its release. We also believe that our trailer will make good use of the sub-genre research carried out as well as the long standing history of poltergeist and possessed trailer forms. In order for this to be a successful trailer, we must look at what other trailers did well and what they did not so well to ensure that we have visual guidelines as if follow while we are planning and filming our own version of a poltergeist trailer.