Saw IV comes from a popular horror movie series, Saw. The series began in 2004 and the first movie was directed by James Wan. However, Saw IV which was released in October 2007 was directed by Danny Lynn Bousman, another American director and screenwriter. The film was distributed by Lionsgate entertainment in the United States and Maple pictures in Canada. The film being released at this time of the month made the film more convenient as October is the month of ‘Halloween’. The trailer is 55 seconds in length which is just below the 60 second mark.
In the opening 7 seconds of the trailer, there is an introduction to the film company that distributed the film, Lionsgate. The font is son serif and the lighting is a very low key lighting with a reddish colour setting the mood creating a scary for the audience. The opening of the doors appears to mirror the opening of a chamber door for example. The shot fades out and cuts to a shot of the production company ‘Twisted Pictures’ which specialise in the making of Horror movies. The non-diegetic music of the choir singing is low and slow, connoting a sense of peace and gives a moderate tone to the opening. However, as many Saw fans know the pace is likely to quicken up.
The shot that follows is quite brief; there is a sound bridge of the non-diegetic music of the choir. This is an establishing shot of an underground trap setting. The lighting in this shot is very precise and prominent. Although, overall there is low key lighting, high key lighting is used in some areas revealing information to the audience of what the setting may be. This connotes unease within the audience as the information reevealed is vague. As in the previous films some of the killings are likely to take place in a ‘mausoleum’. This opening is conventional of most horror movie settings.
The shot then fades out into a black screen, the date of the release then appears in a White Greyish serif font which is patchy. The graphics used is very effective as parts of the font are covered slightly in a Greyish colour revealing to the audience a sense of uneven feeling and uncertainty. By this point the non-diegetic music begins to pace which builds up tension.
The camera shots are all in time with the non-diegetic music throughout the trailer, the music changes tune and the pace of the music quickens. This pace creates a haunting tone and reveals the quick pace at which things are happening and conveys confusion. The shot fades out and the camera tracks in from the side to low angle shot of a boy trapped behind bars. As the audience see this scene they can then establish that this location relates to the previous scene with the clue of the green ominous lighting. The tracking in of the camera towards the character reveals his NVC. His facial expression is afraid and scared and appears to be looking up at something, the positioning of his body makes him look vulnerable. Also, the low key lighting further expresses fear amongst the audience and the tracking in of the camera builds up tension in the audience as the camera closes in to the shot.
As each camera shot fades in and out there is a non-diegetic beat of a drum which paces along each time a shot appears. The low key lighting of the font, ‘THE TRAPS ARE SET’ is also in a White Greyish Serif font, part of the ‘T’ is covered and some of the font has a patchy looking texture. These graphics are very effective as it reveals to the audience something about the plot. The caption is also in capital letters which consist of being very bold and in the audiences face catching their attention immediately.
The shot then fades and cuts to a Low key light setting with a Bluish projection on the wall. Two male characters are revealed, they are both quite macho, which is very stereotypical. The positions look as though they are about to fight. The camera cuts and tracks in from the left to a projection of a woman, her facial expression looks afraid and likely to be vulnerable scared and likely to be screaming. This we can compare to the previous shot as it is very stereotypical to have a man holding a weapon as they must appear as heroes, often the woman is portrayed as the weaker counterpart.
The different angle at which the camera reveals the characters illustrate also the different parts of the wall in the ‘underground trap’ setting. This shows the audience that all this is happening in the same place.
The shot dissolves into another projection of a man in a suit with his hand on his neck. The projector lighting is low key but an off yellowish colour. The use of the dissolving shot connotes a possible connection between the victims.
The projection of these characters on the wall is important as it helps the audience to remember this is as a key feature in the film. The non-diegetic music by this point is extremely intense and the harsh low key lighting in this scene mirrors the characters facial expression. The colour palette looks bluish makes the setting look cold and dead. In this scene the man is also wearing a suit connoting a connection between this character and the character from the previous scene. A connection between characters is a common convention in horror movies. The projection also connotes the way in which the killer sees the character or how the character may die, it’s almost as though we are in the mind of the killer. The non-diegetic music is pacing at medium speed in this shot. There is a sound bridge to the next shot and the music gets louder. This is an MCU shot of a man who appears to be lying down on something. The shot reveals to the audience his NVC to which he looks very lifeless. The camera is at a low angle and the lighting is low key.
The camera then cuts to a Black screen with the non-digetic music quickening up creating intensity and then slows down. ‘IF IT’S HALLOWEN’ fades in a White Greyish serif font. Halloween is in a bigger serif font grabbing the audiences’ attention and maybe a feeding the audience clues. The font has a patchy rough texture which connotes the use of the weapon and how a ‘saw’ is used. At the same time we, the audience also hear non-diegetic sound of a man and then a woman screaming. The non-diegetic music continues as there is a cut to the next scene. The shot is a low angle close up shot of man hanging from what appears to be a chain. The lighting used here is very low key. The low angle shot in this case connotes that the character looking up at the male actor has the power and the other character looks vulnerable.
A significant part of this trailer shows a MCU shot of a White circus mask with Red spiral paint on both cheeks, Red paint on the mouth opening, dark eyes and a Red bow tie at the neck area which looks similar to a tuxedo. The lighting is extremely low key around the mask area; this creates mystery behind this character. There is a voiceover of a woman talking in a shaky voice saying ‘I’m sorry’ her tone sounds as though she is pleading with someone. We then hear a voiceover of a man in a very cruel tone saying ‘you think it is over, the game has just begun’ this voiceover insinuates that the game had started a long time ago. It also offers prequels to the film as this is the fourth one in its addition to the franchise. It also reiterates the franchise reminding the audience.
In addition, I’ve come to realise that it is extremely important to have editing and different camera angles in a trailer to convey the right message to the audience. Also, the use of the circus mask has been used in clever way to hide the identity of the one of the characters. The teaser doesn’t reveal too much information about the film as the dialogue is limited as well as the limitation of low key lighting. More information about the film can be found on the website which is provides information about all the Saw movies. http://www.officialsaw.com/
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