The Gallows Trailer Annotation

The Gallows is a brand new low budget horror film which is to be released on July the 10th 2015. The budget of this film was $15,000 and directed by Travis Cluff and Chris Lofing. Warner Brothers distributed this film. The age rating for this film is a 15 with a tagline 'Every School Has Its Spirit '. The video we studied in a group of 4 was two minutes and 18 seconds long. We chose this video because all the others were around 1 minute 30 seconds and we thought we wouldn't get enough information. This trailer is made up of around 86 shots with a small cast of characters. There were three main students which are the main focus throughout which can be seen from the range of close ups and long shots of them running around.

The narrative I got from this trailer was a few friends going to explore a school/theatre. They find an old TV and switch it on and video footage starts to play. They witness a boy being hung during a school play, the characters then freak out and decide to explore what had happened. There is a hand held camera throughout the trailer which makes it seem more realistic. The characters then decide to leave the builder but realise they are all locked in. Some characters then get killed one by one by an unknown spirit.

There are a variety of settings used. In the school, there is a scene set in the theatre, hallway with lockers, backstage, the hall and cupboard where the TV was. there were a few settings outside such as a town street, and up some stairs where the female character falls and laughs, there is then the final setting outside the door to the school.

there are four main teenage characters followed by three police officers and the spirit causing all the dangerous acts. The group of teenage friends are seen breaking an entry into a school. They are vandalising the place until they discover a spirit tracking them. This can be seen as a stereotypical representation of teenagers as they sometimes are seen as reckless and involved in some sort of crime and mischief. The spiritual character is not seen in the trailer. This could make the film more interesting as it may make the viewers want to see what this demon looks like. It helps keep the audience interested as the invisible demon can make the audience jump which builds suspense which most teenagers love in a film these days!

There are several music tracks used in this trailer. The main song is non-diegetic and a cover of Nirvana's Teen Spirit. The music choice fits due to the story line being about teenagers being around a spirit. There is also diegetic sound when the non-diegetic music is paused. There are many sounds such as doors squeaking and loud bangs as well as screaming.

There are also some titles included in the trailer which helps gain an audience. The inter titles add extra information to make the viewer want to see the film even more! There is added information such as the reviews and other films this film is similar/related to. This is great if you're a fan of the horror genre! The trailer itself is fast paced as well as the titles which builds suspense showing the audience its non stop.