Textual Analysis –

Paranormal Activity 3

By Tim Loe

The trailer starts with two brief establishing shots, allowing the audience to have a clear picture of where the film will take place. The lighting is ambient, and camera movement is hand held, projecting the ‘home-video’ style the Paranormal Activity series is known for. These opening, establishing shots are conventional of a trailer and are required to give the audience an insight into the story of the film, however crucial parts of the story are not featured in the trailer to leave an enigma with the audience(the function of a trailer). The vibrant colours and incidental music of the shots conveys a playful and innocent atmosphere to the audience which is deliberately done to emphasise the contrast of the following shot.

The playful atmosphere previously presented is disrupted by a static TV effect, jump cutting to a tilted – medium close up shot, the un-natural tilt of the shot presents an supernatural atmosphere to the audience. The fact that this disrupts the playful, tranquillity of the previous shots implies that perhaps the subject of this shot is disrupting the families life. The low key lighting suggests that the subject is a villain, and the un-natural black and white tint also contribute to the inhuman atmosphere of the shot.

This disruption continues, with a jump cut to a XLS of a low key light room, and an ominous blue tint, which connotes that the villain is supernatural. The diegetic sound of the screaming is the first indication of human conflict (connotations of pain/fear) in the trailer, and the fact that there is no clear cause to this portrayed in the trailer adds to the enigma.

The final shot of this home video footage is a two shot of two girls which is over-cranked and zooming in, there is also diegetic sound of the girls laughing to combine with the footage. This zooming movement emphasises the happiness of the girls, and the fade out connotes to black connotes that their happiness has faded away.

The Paranormal Activity 3 trailer follows convention, and includes separate black screens featuring text throughout the trailer. The text is embedded in the footage of the trailer, building the enigma and excitement of the trailer, making us want to see more and ‘discover’ this ‘secret’.

The final and last shot of the trailer is a two shot of the girls. There is a dislocating silence which contributes to the discomforting atmosphere. The diegetic sound of the scream breaks the agonising silence. This final shot shifts away form convention slightly, as there would usually be silence followed by a sting to break the tension and shock the audience, however the screams may deceive the audience and leave them vulnerable to the climax of the trailer which is the appearance of the dark, tall antagonist in the background.

The end of the trailer showcases the title screen which is a convention of all trailers. Having this title follow up such a dramatic climax of the trailer makes it more memorable, and adds to the excitement and anticipation to see the film, which is the function of a trailer.

After reviewing the Paranormal Activity 3 trailer, I have summarised effective components of it, to consider when finalising our project.

- The Static TV transitions effectively break up the trailer, presenting a powerful contrast between the innocence and happiness of the girls with the fear and screams of the victims to the supernatural force.

- The hand held camera and home video style of the trailer projected a sense of safety and familiarity since we associate it with the people and normality. This led to an even bigger emphasis between man and supernatural, intensifying the shock and discomfort conveyed by the trailer.

- The dark figure also looks persuasive and may be a realistic option for a supernatural force for our horror, this could be combined with the static TV effect so only glimpses of the antagonist are showcased.