The Purge - Trailer Analysis

The Purge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0LLaybEuzA

It starts off being slow and the people are happy in the shots, there's also a slow soundtrack in the background to show how peaceful the place normally is. Text is also used to show what the film is going to be about e.g. crime in America.

There is then a birds eye view shot of the town they live in and it flicks through shots of the family in the house using two shots and mid shots. A fade to black is used to show the text on the screen again, which is telling the person watching a story. The story being that all crime is legal one night a year.              




There is then scenes of crime taking place in the streets, this shows what might happen when people are allowed to do what they want. The scenes are all in different colours and most low angled shots as they may be seen by security cameras in the streets.





Then there's an establishing shot of a house, this shows where most of the film will take place and the main setting for the film. It's night time which makes it a bit more spooky, also because it's a big house bad things are more likely to happen.





        
Then there's a over the shoulder two shot of a man and a woman looking at what a man is doing in the street/ garden. The focus is on the man and man and the woman are blurred out to show what they're looking at.

It then goes back to the crime shots where it shows worse crime happen e.g. fires. This also has a 'recording' writing it the top corner. A sound bridge is used towards the end of the man speaking, it then goes to a mid shot of the man in the house.

Then there's a birds eye view shot of the family preparing for what's going to happen. The lighting is focused on the circle they have made and the weapons they are preparing, so they can used them if they're needed. After this shot there's a close up of someone loading a gun, which really shows you what might happen. the pace also starts to pick up a bit at this point.





Then it goes to a close up of the man arming his house from the crime that's going to happen tonight. As he is pressing it the music changes with it to show how serious it is.

Then there's an establishing shot of the house they're in with the metal shutter closing, this is to show that they're now safe from things outside.
But because it's only the front door being secured the people could still get in through the windows. Then there's a close up of the shutter coming down, which gives the people a sense of security. Then there's a very quick fade to black as it gets closer to the bottom. which builds the tension.

Then there's a shot of the street which is completely empty. You can also hear someone announcing about 'the purge' in which all crime is legal for 12 hours. This shows that it's quite serious what's going to happen. While this is happening there are a lot of fade to black shots of the family and their cctv to record what's happening.

After the broadcast about what's going to happen, the next thing you here is someone shout 'help me' as they run to the secured house gates. The boy is on his own at the time and sees this man running away from something so he disarms the house to let this person in to hopefully be safe. Then there are a few shots of the rest of his family to show that they don't yet know about it.

The next shot it this man running towards the door after hearing the boy shout 'come on, hurry' as his dad armed the house again so the door is closed again. While this is happening there's a loud sound that gets louder as he is sliding closer to the camera. Then the shot fades to black.

Then there's a two shot of the boy and his mum looking worried because they don't know who he just let into their house. This shows that the scary parts and the most important parts are used in film trailers.





Then there are doorbell rings as it shows what other films the directors have been a part of. It then goes to a high angled shot through the cctv of someone standing at the door with a mask on. Also in other views of outside you can see other people walking towards the house in masks and dressing up clothes.

Then there's a shot from behind looking towards the house at people walking towards the house while someone says that the target for the purge is hiding in their home and they have an hour to find him or they'll all die.

Then there's a close up of the man who they're after to show how he has reacted to them saying that they're after him. He looks quite scared and sweaty but also quite calm even though they want to kill him.

Then there's another shot of the man standing outside, this time without a mask on so you can see what he looks like. At first he's just talking and then as he stops the camera jolts towards his face because he has an evil look on is face.

After that it fades to black and then shows scenes in the garden of other people walking around with weapons in their hands. Which also shows them as being trapped in their own home. Which is a convention in most horror films using the place you feel most safe as the main place of the bad stuff happening. As this is the same in Insidious, The Conjuring, Paranormal Activity etc.
Then there's another shot from the camera above the door showing two different people in a two shot both with scary masks on and one of them has a weapon which is very intimidating. The volume of the soundtrack increases rapidly after the man has finished speaking an end in a gun shot noise as it shows two more people dressed in white night gowns and black clothing. One of them is holding a gun in his hand and as the gun shot sounds it fades to black but the sound carries on to the next scene.
These shots are scary as you don't know who the people in the masks are and why they're after the man inside the house which builds tension.

As the sound carries on (sound bridge) it shows the dad with a torch looking around the house. This shot uses the rule of thirds with him to the right of the screen and not in the middle. Also because it's dark you don't know what's around him so someone may be watching or behind him. The torch then shines on the wall where there's writing saying 'don't look for me' this makes the viewer question what doesn't want to be found

and what might happen in the film. This then suddenly fades to black with could suggest that the torch has gone out and something may have happened to the man. All of these shots happen within a few seconds so the pace is starting to get faster which is another way of building tension.

The woman then asks if the people can get into their home so even she's starting to question how good the security is.  

Then it goes to showing the people trying to get into the house, you can see this with the man hiding behind a wall whilst someone wearing a mask is looking into the house. The camera focuses more on the person in the mask than the man as they're trying to show that they want to get in the house now. The soundtrack at this point is quite eerie, which builds tension. Also the lights are turned off in the house so they won't be able to see them.

There's a sound of a heart beat along with the eerie music to add more tension as it quickly fades to black from the shot with the man to his daughter. This is also a shot of her laying on the floor hiding and someone is walking past. This shows that they did eventually get into the house and they're all trying to hide from them. 

Then there are a sequence of shots used in the 180 rule as they're looking out of the door then the camera moves to the side and the behind them running away, this camera movement is really effective to show movement. As the door opens the light gets brighter to suggest that something is coming in. You can also see the they have both got weapons so they're willing to fight back.

Then there's an extreme close-up  of a girl in an old style dress about to use a very big knife for something. This shot is effective because it shoes that everyone is wanting to kill no matter what. Before this there was a shot of a view from outside of someone being pushed out of a car parked up. This makes you wonder who went outside or who is trying to get away. She also has blood on her dress which adds the the scariness.

Then there are a few shots of the children and parents being dragged away or struggling because they have been found. You cant hear the people screaming at this point though it's just the soundtrack in the background. This makes you wonder where the man is that they're actually after. Guns and axes are used towards them and against them. After these quick shots it suddenly fades to black and you can hear the man speaking.

He is saying that they will make it through the night and the girl doesn't think so, she thinks nothing will be okay again. This shot works well because the torch lights is shinning on her face which makes her look more scared and upset.

The last shot is of the mum walking with a gun ready to use. While there is someone peeping in the window with a mask on. Which adds more tension because she doesn't know. It then fades to black and the woman screams. So it has ended on a cliff hanger so you want to find out what happens next.

Most trailers end with the film title and a soundtrack that links in with the film. In this trailer it ends with a moving picture of the American flag in the background.