Woman in Black Trailer Analysis

The Woman in Black is a 2012 British-American supernatural period horror film directed by James Watkins and written by Jane Goldman. The film was released in the United States and Canada on 3 February 2012, and was released in the United Kingdom on 10 February 2012.

The trailer starts off with an establishing shot of the surrounding location to give the audience a look into where the action will take place. Tracking shots are used to give the audience an insight into the haunted house which is where most of the action in the film will be, it also emphasises the feeling of being scared for the audience. As the trailer continues there are lots of close ups and establishing shots, this is to show the characters facial expressions when they enter a certain location in the film. The close up shot will emphasise the atmosphere of the scene because if the characters are scared then the audience will start to feel scared too.

The genre of the trailer can be identified through the credits that appear, for example, Cross Creek Pictures produces the film and if the audience are aware of this company then they would know they produced films like Black Swan and Clown. James Watkins directed the film and he is best known for writing and direction horror/thriller films, he wrote and directed the thriller Eden Lake which won Best Horror Film at the 2009 Empire Awards.

Fast paced non-diegetic sound is used when a lot of action is taking place, this helps to build tension and prepares the audience so they know something is about to happen. The involvement of children in the trailer is significant because it makes the viewer think the children are weak and vulnerable. At the beginning of the trailer the non-diegetic sound has a slow pace; this puts the audience in a position of waiting and wanting to find out if anything dramatic happens. There are also diegetic sounds, such as; a crow screeching, people screaming and an arm chair creakily rocking, which are conventions of a horror film.

The title of the film appears at the end of the trailer, this is to help the audience remember the name since it is the last thing they’ll see. After the title has appeared, it is followed by the release date of the film. This shot also includes the web address for the official “The Woman in Black" website and the logos of the production companies involved. The writing is white on a black background with a smoky grey effect. The white colour generally connotes death and ghost which also ties in with the film's storyline and genre.