Research: A Nightmare on Elm Street

A trailer that is like ours is 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'. We thought this was similar due to the content of the film being based around nightmares, and the fact they're similar in genres.
Within this trailer there are aspects which we can apply to our trailer, for example:

• frequent fades to black for dramatic effect
• dark, chiaroscuro lighting

• short clips to allow not too much to be given away
• really intense, graphic scenes

• an extended opening to allow the initial story to be set (also adds to the drama)
• shadows - this links well to the genre

• scary music which is intense and fast paced (links to the clips being shown)
• text has to link to genre, so in this trailer it's red (designed to look like blood) on a black background - to create a contrast

• voice-overs, in this trailer the antagonist says 'you have nothing to worry about' while the screen is black for a scary feel 
• young children being shown on screen and singing = very scary

All these aspects link closely to the horror genre, and can easily be applied to our trailer because they're versatile aspects. Not only this, but they enhance the whole trailer and the primary purpose of a trailer is to advertise and draw people into watching the actual film. Therefore, its vital that this method of advertisement is well thought out to bring in viewers to watch the film at the cinema. 

ADVERT - POSTER

This is the advertising poster of the film, that would have appeared on bus stops, buses, billboards and many other public places.

The image is actually quite simple with it solely having an image of the antagonist, however, this image is quite haunting as we cant really see his face but we see he is scarred and is smiling. This makes us feel like he is plotting something, alongside the fact he has his hands crossed over, with one of his fingers being a blade.

The colours are all dark, with a hint of red throughout suggesting negative connotations of blood, danger and fire - which is a key element of the actual film. 

The writing is placed at the bottom of the poster, which means it doesn't take away from the powerful image that takes up the vast majority of the poster.

Moreover, the writing is in red and white. The red links to the blood red text that occurs in the trailer, therefore creating a link between that and it's other mode of advertising.This colour, once again reinforces the negative elements of danger and fire etc.

The white, on the other hand, would usually suggest purity and safety. However, here i think it could represent the danger of the victims, because the white writing is small and infrequent, and is completely surrounded by black and red, which could suggest and mirror the story-line in the film that they have no escape. 

The text 'welcome to your new nightmare' links well with the content of the film, but this isn't a definite feature that the audience will recognise. 

The final thing on the poster is the date of release, this is in red again and stands out. This enables the audience to see when they will be able to watch this film if they're actually interested enough. 

Overall, i think this is a really powerful poster due to it's simplicity. It's clear what the genre is - a horror and therefore it will be able to attract the correct target audience.