Echo (2009)

Narrative: The Russian Theorist Todorov instigated a theory which has become renowned to form a cohesive structure in a horror trailer, his philosophy is based on equilibrium and disequilibrium in a horror trailer is narrated through key iconography to portray a storyline, this theory can be applied to Echo (2009) which is a movie based on the sub genre of the supernatural. The trailer starts off with an establishing shot of a compact city, which suggests to the audience that the Echo is located in an urban city which contradicts a significant amount of horror trailers which seem to be located in barren locations. Moreover, the audience are aware that the horror trailer is still in its period of equilibrium as the main character smiles and seems to be upbeat this is also supported by the over voice of the narrator who states that “bobby has come home” suggesting that the trailer is still in its period of equilibrium. As the trailer progresses the narrative shifts to the moment of disequilibrium “he arrived too late”, this is as a result followed by the period of disequilibrium when the main character is moving around the haunted house (1.55), Todorov’s theory is an effect method of providing a target audience with a narrative.

Codes and Conventions: codes and conventions are usually conveyed through iconography, the initial convention of Echo was illustrated in the establishing shot of an urban city, and this is a necessity in horror trailers as location allows the viewers to directly interact with the trailer. Furthermore, another convention of horror is isolation and vulnerability; this was achieved by placing the main character in an isolated barren and haunted house which would suggest that he would be the main prey that the evil spirit would attack. The villain is not revealed which is a typical convention of horror as most horror films obscure the identity of the villain for instance using a mask, which supports Barthes theory of signs and signifiers, hence complementing the fear factor. Other forms of conventions could be the woods, the haunted house, the isolated character and blood. In addition, the trailer also conforms to the final girl theory by carol clover by implementing the female to be the villain this could be linked in with feminism.

Sound: Sound is an efficient method of dictating the mood of a trailer this can also be mirrored by Echo which has used non-diegetic sound of a piano played at a slow pace in the background connoting to the audience that the mood is subtle, which creates a romantic feel to the trailer. However, notably as the trailer shifts into disequilibrium, the sound becomes much faster and louder, which could reflect the vulnerability of the main character placing the audience in his perspective. In contrast to a substantial amount of trailers, Echo has used a voiceover to narrate the trailer, the narrator’s mellow voice adds to the fear factor of the trailer which is also supplemented by the use of tone cards. Moreover, sound is imperative to instil fear to an audience by dictating the mood is also significant in the narration of a trailer. However, although the trailer has used non-diegetic sound to a large degree, it has also used diegetic sound through dialogue which generates a stronger bond between the trailer and its audience.

Editing: Echo embarked upon the use of continuity editing to create cohesion between the trailer and its audience. The trailer starts with slow fades to blacks, which could imply that the mood is subtle and hence as well as indicating to the audience that the trailer is progressing through its period of equilibrium besides, as the time elapsed in the trailer, the shots become more intense and paced to create suspense within the audience but to also suggest that the trailer is in disequilibrium. Furthermore, the mood of the trailer can also be illustrated through the use of lighting consequently, in contrast to the beginning the trailer towards the end has changed its contrast to a darker feel which could connote that the evil spirit in the trailer is near and hence suggesting that the main character is vulnerable, this was mostly depicted from the tone cards used by the editors.