The Ring Film Trailer Analysis

The purpose of a film trailer is to show and preview an upcoming film to the public and use the trailer itself as a way of encouraging them to go to the cinema to watch it, specifically with the horror genre of film there are a variety of codes and conventions that are contained within a trailer such as the use of slim storylines to keep the viewer from knowing the entire story, the cliff-hangers which help to create a suspense for the viewer encouraging them to go and see it and the effect of the music, the pace and editing to add to the suspense and the tension created. For “The Ring” film trailer there is a slim storyline that’s gained from watching it, from the trailer the viewer can see that the film is based upon an eerie video tape that if one watches it they will receive a phone call noting that they will “die in seven days” and that they will see the ring before they die and therefore it’s a race against time for the mother to her son’s life and her own.

The camera used in The Ring is very varied and effective at portraying different representations. For example one of the very first cameras shots in the trailer is a tracking shot (dolly) of a hallway or corridor inside a very dark lit house, this particular element has connotations of horror and the fact that it’s in a dark place gives it a very eerie and sinister feel to it. Another shot is the high angle shot that’s used to show the young boy who’s watching the videotape inside his home, the high angle shot here particularly emphasises the fact that he’s very young and the fact that he’s very vulnerable to this sort of phenomenon, this therefore helps to also emphasise the connotations of horror just like in the previous shot but also in this shot there is the sense of iconography with the very dark, gloomy and sinister feel to the home in which the boy is watching the videotape as these elements of cinematography are very typical in the horror genre of film. To add to this these are also some of the many codes and conventions of horror in film.

In “The Ring” film trailer there is some iconography that’s used with the mise èn scene with the use of setting and location of the woodland and wooded parts In which parts of the trailer a set in, this particular element is generally a very typical one in the horror genre of film as the woods are usually associated as being very dark and gloomy places in which you might associate the thoughts and feelings of not being able to escape and being trapped forever.

The sound is another way in which the horror in this trailer is portrayed, there is not really any dialogue sound heard throughout but there are many other sounds heard. For example from about 45 seconds into the trailer there are voices that are heard and things such as “You saw it, you saw the tape!” are heard, this edited effect makes the voices seem and appear as voices inside one’s head and help to add to the paranormal phenomenon that this films is mainly based around and therefore creating the horror.

The use of editing in this particular trailer of “The Ring” is also another element that is particularly effective at portraying the horror genre and helping to add to the horror consisted in the film trailer. One of the clear examples of editing in this film trailer is the denotation of the static which appears to pop up on the screen whenever (in the trailer) any of the people are watching the videotape, it happens quite regularly throughout the trailer and it helps to show these connotations of horror and psychological horror because it gives the viewer a sense that whenever the videotape is being watched the viewer of the tape is being watched too and the feeling that they aren’t alone whilst watching it.