The Haunting in Connecticut Trailer Deconstruction

The teaser trailer of ‘The Haunting in Connecticut’ begins with the introduction the producers of the film. Idents for Lionsgate and Gold Circle feature exclusively in the first second of the production suggesting that it perhaps is a low production film with a main selling point of its narrative.

Immediately the first scene is establishes the location of the narrative and our starting point; a single parent family has moved to a new home. The rural setting and classic model of the only car featured implies isolation from others and therefore aid in the horror they will soon face. This is confirmed by the fact that she is a single mother; the absence of a male adult leaves them all at risk.

  

Instead of a voice over in the initial scenes, a conversation between the mother and a local demonstrate the suspiciousness of the situation. This is when the audience learns that the house is not as it seems and that the history of the house will lead to the disruption of the family.

A piece of particularly affective sound is featured during the first ‘scary bit’, at ten seconds one of the children steps through an old floor board. Between the moments of her breaking the board then hitting the floor there is an interesting whoosh, the trailer then cuts to black. This is paralleled in our production at around twenty-six seconds; the boom and blackout signals the sudden end of the soundtrack and the beginning of the use of the Ouija board. Both sounds show a presence of the supernatural. From this point the presence in both productions grows stronger.

From here on lighting completely changes. The environment demonstrates the mood, in the beginning there is excitement and hope of a new life, the scenes or full of warm natural light; this is sharply juxtaposed after the floorboard accident. Suddenly the light turns cold, flickering candles and a general lack of light means characters are cast in shadow. The darkness continues for the rest of the trailer to match the tone of disruption of the initial happiness the family felt.

A recurring feature throughout the production is a voiceover of key lines. The trailer dips in and out of the scenes the dialogue is from and often over laps onto other shots that demonstrate what is being said, for example the line “They held séances in this house” continues across three difference shots, an extreme close up of the main character holding photographs of a séance, the second is a character saying the dialogue, and then a variety of séance stills. This use of sound is effective because of the information is gives to the audience, some of the most interesting scenes can be seamlessly tied together.

One shot that we were interested in replicating shows a threat that the audience can see but the protagonist is currently unaware of. The unseen threat invokes helpless feelings in the viewer, the dramatic irony creates fear. The way this is done in ‘The Haunting in Connecticut is a dark reflection in a television screen; at situation that is relatable to by the viewer and is often a fear for example late at night after watching TV. Our idea was the entrance of an unknown figure through a door in the background with our main character in the foreground. Unfortunately the scene we created that was inspired by this shot failed because of the relatively poor entry level camera we used in comparison to that used to create a million dollar blockbuster.

 

 One shot from a séance scene of the trailer features a young man exhibiting a possession. As an known substance flows out of him mouth he makes small juddering movements possibly associated with the physical act of throwing up but also a signal of his possession. The last few second of our product feature a very similar effect with head rolling. These unnatural movements are jarring to the viewer, letting them know the supernatural is at play.

Often in films about the supernatural the spirit(s) attempt to communicate with the protagonist, more often than not as a warning of the danger they are in and of the power of the spirit and ability to cause harm. In ‘The Haunting in Connecticut’ this is done through the appearance of etching into a characters skin. Although the message cannot be identified in the short moment that is shown, both viewer and character realise the enormity to the threat posed. This visual is made more effective but the variety of shot shown of the wounds, something that we chose to replicate in our own production.

 

Common themes in possessive horrors are scene of attempted contact with spirits creating a feeling that actually these people brought it on themselves. Group gathering to perform this activity feature in this and our trailer and unites the characters in the taboo act.




- Meg



Also see... The Haunting in Connecticut Poster Deconstruction

The Haunting in Connecticut Poster Deconstruction

The very top segment features the phrase ‘based on true events’, something an audience may see as a unique selling point when deciding whether or not to pay to see the film. Not only will the film evoke a reaction in the viewer but because is ‘true’ it is that much more relatable to real life, make the horror that much more horrifying.

The eye is immediately drawn to the brightest portion of the poster, a triangle of light cast in a dark shadow. Religious connotations spring from the crucified stance of the figure in the centre of the triangle. This iconic position is unmistakable in its reference to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ; the audience knows therefore, that religion will play a part in the spiritual events. He appears to be floating, also indicating an association with the supernatural.

The main figure is wearing clothing is a style that suggests he lived at least a century ago. This information could mean that he lost his life as a reason of the haunting, that he is the spirit that causes disruption in the film, or both. His position, flowing above the other figures, suggests that it is he they are channelling, between this and his period clothing it is almost certain that he is dead.

The entire post is in sepia such as an aged photograph or environment light solely by candles. This confirms that the haunting is not a new event, the viewer will see yet more victims fall prey to what threat lurks in this house in Connecticut. It is also evident from the trailer that photographs of the séances play an important role in raising suspicions of the present of the supernatural. The sepia effect confirms this recurring theme.

The tag line lies between the hanging figure and the scene of séance. “What if the only explanation for what you saw, was unbelievable?”The phrasing coupled with the images featured on the poster give the line much more meaning. The audience knows vaguely that what is being seen could be someone long dead and that the only explanation is a present of a supernatural force. The position of the text is in the centre and relatively small, this is to draw the viewer in and to look deeper at the image below it. This is also achieved by the use of triangles, namely that to the light above and shape created by the floor/walls below.

The scene of a séance come just below the centre line, this activity is the centre of the plot. The two figures in the foreground hold hands as we assume that the others are, the presence of this however suggests that these two have entered into a romantic relationship. The two younger figures in the background are teenagers, the young woman is conventional attractive as shown by her cleavage. All but one figure have eyes closed with their heads down turned, the other looks up. His dark shirt gives the impression that his head is floating, he is the protagonist and he is the object of the supernatural’s interest.

The title, ‘The Haunting in Connecticut’, puts emphasis on the word ‘Haunting’ by simply making it the largest word. The specificity of ‘in Connecticut’ suggests that this is not the only haunting and that there are others in similar areas.


- Meg




Also see... The Haunting in Connecticut Trailer Deconstruction

Shot Inspirations

Drag Me To Hell - Seance Scene

Use of candles to create mysterious atmosphere and reflect supernatural element.

Those that have been possessed change their appearance, often given strange eyes and perhaps skin colour. Close ups emphasise this change.

Midshots of people around table as they look at  the possessed person – also showing background to show room that they are in. Often decorative and old fashioned to show the old magic being used.

Over the shoulder shots to emphasise reactions of people to the possessed person, showing vulnerability and fear.

Strange events occur while possessed and other people panic. Cause dismay and confusion.

Haunting In Conneticut - Seance Scene 

Two shot over the shoulder of other people at séance, showing people around table and possibly creating a sense of paranoia or tension. Very low level lighting creates ominous tone and uncertainty.

Midshot of person as they become possessed, focussed on them showing their vulnerability and how they were singled out by spirit.

Midshot of other man intensely watching, ominous and worried for boy’s character.

Close up of possessed boy as he writhes and drools, showing harsh possession – showing him to no longer be human while making audience uncomfortable with such a close shot.

Shot from other side of table between other people as he collapses onto table. Fear for him in case he is dead, although no one at table moves.  He is the main thing lit showing importance.

Dark lighting or candle lighting would be useful in trailer during Ouija board use, as it would create tension and reflect the dark magic that they are playing with. Panning shots from behind the girls looking at the girls on the other side of the table would be useful to see all of their expressions and reactions while also seeming quite confined. Close ups of the girl that gets possessed would be effective as they would show the effect of the spirit and make audiences uncomfortable.

Grey's Anatomy - Choking Scene (0:32 - 1:05)

Calm atmosphere as character lies in bed. No non-diegetic sound and only diegetic sound is the ceiling fan as it slowly revolves. Everything winds down slowly to a stop, reflected by slow fade to black as he falls asleep.

Sudden cut to juddery handheld camera on close up of woman choking and gasping – sudden cut and sudden close up are shocking and create fear for her character. No non-diegetic noises and only diegetic noise is her choking and struggling. Other mid shots show her struggling and flailing. Shot of the sideboard pans to show her on bed with man on top of her choking her.

Would be useful to create sudden tension in audience for trailer. Have a slow scene where everything seems fine, then fade to black and suddenly cut back to close up of girl being possessed while others panic. The silence except for diegetic choking and screaming would also be very effective.







-Emily