Shutter Trailer Analysis

This trailer for the remake of the Japanese Horror Thriller is made by Regency, who are famous for other horror films such as “Mirrors”, this type of information sets up the audience to realise what kind of film they are about to see. From the very beginning there is a slow but continuous rumbling sound in the background, this sound is usually connected with the horror genre. 

The establishing shot of the trailer is of the Tokyo landscape, revealing the setting of the film immediately. The rumbling sound in the background uses the seemingly innocent shot of the cityscape to allude to something more dangerous with the sinister music background. 

 The next shot in the scene is of a camera it takes a picture and the flash goes off, giving off an eerie white flash still with the rumbling sound in the background. After this shot there is a cut to black where it lists the other movies produced by the company, this short break leaves the audience waiting for the next, this increases the tension in the trailer

 This next shot zooms in on the camera as wit takes another picture, the same effect is given on the audience. Due to the amount of screen time given to the camera the audience will now realise that this film will revolve around this camera.

Again the screen cuts to black, therefore slowly increasing the tension in the trailer. 

This is the final shot of the camera it zooms in to an extreme close up, it flashes and the screen momentarily goes white, in stark contrast to the cutting to black. After this there is a narrative voice over to introduce the main storyline, the tone used by the narrator is serious and deep therefore does not give the impression that the story will be light hearted or happy. 

This is followed by a series of picture, with the voice over then goes on to explain the significance of the pictures. This sequence uses a transitional cut from one picture to another, so though flicking through pictures in a photo album, this fast pace and fluency encourages the audience to continue watching the trailer. Along with the voice over there is a loud screeching noise in the background to contrast the rumbling sound and bringing the tension to a climax, and therefore implying to the audience that this is the part of the film or trailer they should be afraid of.

After this there is another flash of light, this time bright red which has connotations of blood and danger, implying that the camera is the thing that is most dangerous. 

The next sequence on the screen is someone flicking through a series of pictures whilst the voice over introduces the idea of spirit photography. Through the photographs the audience can see a spirit crawling along the floor, this image is not only spooky but is also slow moving, again building up the tension. After this the is a jump cut back to an extreme close up of the camera lens, again using “the bomb theory” implying to the audience that the camera is the one that is picking up the spirits in the photographs. 

Directly after this there is a short and quick sequence of images, the first is a quick zoom in of a man sat alone in a chair in an empty room and of the skeletal face, the two linked together give the impression to the audience that the man in the chair is being haunted. The fast pace of this sequence adds to the tension as the audience do not quite see what the sequence is and only really see the skeletal face, this is created to make the audience jump. The background to the sequence is a loud screaming noise that resembles a scream, again after the sequence it cuts to black and the screaming sound cuts out with it, this then brings the tension up again before cutting to black.

After this the trailer then goes back to the “spirit photographs” using special effects such as a flash that goes across the screen, giving the effect of the camera taking pictures, each is designed to make the audience jump.

The next few clips are fast paces and show the main on the chair in various circumstances, the lighting in these clips are contrasting from light to dark, almost as though in a photography studio to a dark room, in keeping with the photography theme. 

 The next sequence again uses the flashing effect as though taking a picture of the surroundings, the same girl is used in this sequence, telling the audience she and the man will be the ones most heavily featured in the plot due to the amount of screen time they receive and, as seen in this screenshot, they seem to be placed in the centre of each shot too.  The rest of the trailer again repeats the fast moving shots as the spirits haunt and taunt the man and another woman and also use the flash effect on each of the cuts.  

After this fast paced sequence the loud build-up of music cuts to quiet and the name if the film fades up, similar to the way a photo appears in a dark room, again in keeping with the photography theme in the film. This last shot is in contrast to the rest of the trailer, therefore making the trailer seem more frightening and shocking.