Editing;
Halloween II follows a different sort structure to the conventional Freytag Triangle Horror/Thriller movie trailer, as seen in 'The Strangers'. Instead of gradually increasing the tension and suspense of the trailer through establishing shots and apparent peaceful scenes, Halloween II uses the traditional 'scary' shots throughout. However, the trailer does start off with very long edits to set the scene, yet the cutting styles are either directly to black without a fade, or no black at all and just cut straight to the next clip. The reason behind the quick cutting styles and the direct show of action/gore, is because of the film being a sequel. Usually the audience would have already seen the first one, therefore they will already know the back story of what has happened prior to the release of this film. This means that they will want to get straight into the heart of the trailer, instead of watching a recap of events from the previous film. This is why you see the antagonist straight away - as there is no need to build up to the point of seeing it in the trailer - because the audience watching the trailer would have seen him before.
Throughout the trailer, there is a sequence of long scenes which are broken down in to smaller shots. Invisible editing gives us the impression that it is all one shot because you don't pick up the edit style as much as fades or black cuts. The main scenes in the trailer are; in the street with policeman, in the hospital, in the protagonists house, outside on the streets and then lots of differing shots that make up a faster paced ending to the trailer. These shots so much more interaction between both antagonist and protagonist when in comparison to 'The Strangers', where this interaction only really occurred when the trailer was in the midst of the high paced sections. Blunt cuts and flashes emphasize the fast paced sections, when in fact some of the scenes last for a longer duration, this quick transition has the same effect of very short clips.
Overall, the editing styles in this trailer have been used to maximize the potential of scaring the audience into going to watch the film. By using plenty of shots of the protagonists and antagonists, the trailer acts as one big teaser - hence it being called a teaser trailer - that entices the audience in. Unlike some horror trailers where there is social interaction between characters for the first half, leading up to that sudden point of action, Halloween II shows the audience exactly what they will be getting by including moderate gore, action and terror. In some cases, these trailers are more effective in drawing people to see the film, yet it all depends on personal taste in the long run.
Camera and Shot Compositions;
The main effect used in this trailer is the use of a point of view camera angle, where the camera is shaking and being jogged as if the camera were the viewer's eyes. This is a widely used feature throughout the trailer and is being used to draw the audience into the scenes as if they were there watching it first hand. It is mixed in with the traditional steady shot, giving a contrast in the different types of shots that can be used when filming. Usually, the steady shots are the ones that are there to inform the viewer of something or show parts of the story as if they were a bystander to the event. The first hand camera shots make the audience imagine that it is themselves in place of the protagonist, which inevitably makes them feel more scared. Medium close-ups and close-ups are being used most within the trailer, as it is able to show in more detail the expressions and emotions of both the protagonists and antagonists. By using the closer shot angles, the company are able to get the audience to focus on certain aspects far more easily, as a simple close-up will immediately draw their attention to it.
As well as using these compositions, 'Halloween II' practically keeps all of the shots at about waist height or above, making sure that you can see the face of the characters involved and at least some of their neck or torso. It again helps the production company to emphasize any emotions that are being shown in that particular clip. As well as emotion, the camera is kept at waist height because that is where most action is taking place if the character is moving or doing something. It keeps their actions in the frame all the time, showing the audience everything that is happening. There is also the presence of some high angled shots and low angled shots that split up the fluency of the waist heigh shots. High and low angle shots are the convention in horror movies because they have the ability to make the protagonists look inferior, and the antagonists superior. They also have the ability to connote which characters are strong, weak, powerful, etc... Which can be applied to the antagonists in the film as well.
An example of the first person camera shot is between 0:23 - 0:44, where the camera is following a girl on a stretcher along corridors of a hospital. Throughout this sequence in the hospital the camera is being handheld by a person jogging alongside the background characters. Occasionally an over-the-shoulder shot is used, to really make it seem that the viewer is there watching the action unfold. It is a really effective shot to use as it transports the viewer into the room as the action behind the camera is unfolding. As this shot is at the start of the trailer, it's purpose is to draw the audience into the trailer and keep them watching until the very end. If the start of a trailer is uninteresting, boring or dull, there is high chance that the viewer will turn it off or just watch something else. However - as stated above - by drawing the viewer into the action in making them think they are a character in the film keeps them watching in suspense. If the majority of the target audience watch the trailer all the way through and it appeals to them, then there is a much greater chance in them watching the film at the cinema.
Mise-en-Scene;
'The Amityville Horror' is a hints towards a lot of gore, making it an intense and shocking trailer. There is constant interaction between the protagonists and antagonists, clearly showing the audience the intentions that lie within the film. Due to this, there is a lot of features that have to be present in the background. In the trailer you clearly see a knife being wielded by the antagonist, show his intentions. There is also the presence of blood, telling the audience that at some point in the trailer someone it going to get hurt or potentially killed, which is the convention of films from the horror genre. Towards the end of the trailer, there is a clip and it shows the antagonist kneeling down forcefully moving his arm up and down with a knife, which is being accompanied by a "slice" sound effect. You don't actually see the knife penetrate anybody, as it's been censored, however it is a prime example of how it suggests a certain feature to the audience.
Again, like 'The strangers', Halloween II also hides the identity of the antagonist behind a mask. However in this film the mask is a rubber halloween one, as used commonly in Trick or Treating. It is able to show more of an expression than some blank, featureless plain masks, but the expressions shown are purposely designed to scare and portray fear. Just like 'The Strangers' the audience are left guessing as to who, or what, could be behind the mask and what is the motivation behind the psychopathic/merciless vision they possess. The inclusion of the halloween mask matches up with the film name, "Halloween", as the killer is hiding it's identity behind a costume. When blank masks are being used, it's harder to tell whether someone is joking about, or whether they have an underlying evil motive. This is the same with the halloween mask, not so much for the viewers as they have seen the prequel to Halloween II, so they know what the killer looks like. However for unsuspecting characters in the movie, the killer - Michael Myers, could just be seen as another person out enjoying themselves trick or treating. An example of this is shown between 1:19 - 1:23 in the movie where a small child asks the antagonist, "are you a giant?", showing that the typical costume can be misconstrued to portray something other than a killer. Potentially the reason behind wearing costumes when committing crimes in the first place.
Music, dialogue, Sound Effects;
In the trailer there isn't a specific song or background track that plays through the entire duration, there are instead just smaller bits that play intermittently throughout. These are most notably seen at the start of the trailer, and at the end. The start the footage is accompanied with gospel soul music of a woman singing notes, which sounds similar to parts in the titanic. It's a juxtaposition because on screen you are seeing partial violence, but the music doesn't match the footage being shown on screen. It's a slow start to the trailer, however it soon picks up speed once the calm, relaxing music stops. At the end of the trailer the music comes back in again, but is at a much faster tempo. It's faster pace is made up of heavier beats, crashes, drum hits and orchestral singing, which makes it perfect for the action sequence in the trailer.
Dialogue and sound effects are the most used source of sound in the trailer, as this is where the producers want the target audience to focus their listening too when they are watching it. The dialogue in the trailer isn't a long conversation between two characters, it is often a few words or a phrase that are being spoken out at the audience. It reinforces the feel of them being a bystander potentially watching/hearing the events unfold. As well as the dialogue from the characters, there is also a voice over that has been used in place of captions. So that there is a constant flow of clips playing, the voice over tells the audience what they would have been reading if the captions were there. It has been done so that the pace can be kept fast throughout the trailer, and because you can place sound effects and footage behind the voice over as its happening. This isn't usually done with captions because the text on screen has the chance of blending in with the images being shown at the same time, making the voice over the most efficient way to let the audience know what is happening. The person doing the voice over has a very deep voice which adds to the horror theme of the trailer, and he is speaking slower than a normal talking pace.
The sound effects are highly conventional of the horror movie genre as they have all been used to purposely scare or make the audience jump. The sound effects most used in this trailer are screams, shouts, knife related FX, as well as atmospheric sounds such as rainfall and thunderclaps. Each sound effect has been specifically matched to a clip that either involves someone in peril, pain or fear, such as the scream. The atmospheric sound effects aren't being used to frighten the audience, they are instead being used to set the scene of a clip. As well as the sound effects being matched to specific actions in the footage, they are also used for a change in pace of the trailer or to cover up a change of invisible editing. When a shot changes and it is particularly noticeable, a loud 'jumpy' effect will be put as soon as the change takes place. This scares the audience and they don't take notice of the edit, which is also conventionally found at the end of period of prolonged darkness or silence. It's purpose being primarily to scare the audience as much as possible so that the trailer will stick in their minds increasing the likelihood of them going to see it at the cinema.
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