Editing specific to our trailer

Editing is one of the main factors which makes a psychological horror trailer successful. This is because with slick and effective editing skills, a trailer can catch audiences attention from the very beginning as it is usually the editing along with the sound which creates a tense and adrenaline rushing atmosphere. It  can be fast editing for example using a montage of shots with quick cuts, or slow editing depending on what mood the director and producers want to create at each point in the trailer for the audience.

Montage of shots
I cut down 'The Purge' trailer as when I was analysing it in previous research, I really liked the idea of including a montage of fast shots in an dis-chronological order to ensure the audience don't take their eyes off the action. I will see what my group think of the ideas but I want to use a montage of shots for when Maddie, our protagonist has a dream and sees her boyfriend missing, interviews with police and then him looking vulnerable and in danger to build suspense. We could use the montage to 'mush up' the shots and also put them in a random order to confuse the audience but to also clearly show that she is having hallucinations because it may be difficult to understand what is going on. When I was watching the montage in 'The Purge' trailer, I was so focused on the action and wanted to find out more before the trailer had finished. This is what I want our audience to feel like as well so this is something we need to heavily consider along with fast paced non diegetic sound as it creates a rush of adrenaline for the audience because of the build up of suspense.

Transitions

• Fade in/out

Fade in- a blank coloured screen, usually black, fades in to the next action shot

Fade out- the action shot fades out to a blank colours screen, usually black before a quick cut is used to show the next action shot.

These transitions create a sense of enigma and insecurity for the audience. This transition is usually used with calming and quiet non diegetic sound or no sound at all to make the audience feel on edge. These transitions are also sometimes used in a psychological horror trailer after an intense scene consisting of montage shots to allow the audience to calm down before they are then faced with more suspense and thrill.  The Strangers trailer uses these transitions throughout the whole equilibrium at the beginning before the disruption starts. This is to make the audience feel calm until they are suddenly shocked with fast cuts and loud music. 

I want to use a fade in and fade out transitions for our equilibrium when Maddie and Elliot are with each other at the beginning as it will enable the audience to see their personalities and it will prepare them for the rest of the trailer. Also they will be good to use at the end of the trailer to show a cliff hanger leaving the audience expecting more.

• Dissolve

This is also another popular transition for a psychological horror film as it is where a shot gradually replaces the next. It is also used in the beginning of 'The Strangers' trailer but I want to use this type of transition at the recognition of the disequilibrium, when Maddie sees Elliot cheating on with Delaney as it could symbolize a passage of time and how she can't handle what is happening so she is taking things slowly. We could also use this transition when she is taking the pills as it could be a build up to her dream or when she is about to pass out because for these shots to be effective, we want a gradual build up from when she begins to pass out to when she wakes up. We could use point of view shots with quick dissolve transitions to make it clear that it is a dream to make it look realistic.

Colour
A lot of horror trailers use a colour effect on particular shots to convey a certain mood for the audience. I want to use a black and white, red or grey style colour over the dream shots to make the audience clear it is a dream.

Composition and continuity

Trailers don't have to consist of match on action shots going through doors etc. all the time as most trailers, especially the ones I have analysed such as The Purge and The Strangers, usually just use lots of shots of events and action in narrative order. For example, in The Purge, there are only 3 match on action shots which shows that a lot of the time, trailers consist on multiple shots of different action one after each other, usually in narrative order

Sound
Even though the James Bond film 'Spectre' isn't a horror, I want to take inspiration for sound editing from this trailer as the sound is in sync with the action and transitions which is effective as it makes the trailer feel more tense as not only is it in sync, but it is fast paced which makes the action feel more dangerous and violent. I particularly like the scene where the helicopter is flying and the non diegetic sound track is matching with the helicopter spinning and falling, this is something  I want my group and I to do when we film Maddie running at some point in the trailer