ORPHAN

Lauren Pettitt

I feel that this film trailer successfully and conventionally

follows the typical structure of film trailers. It starts off slowly,
letting us know that this family was going to adopt a child,
called Esther. This is when we are first introduced to the main
antagonist Ester in a medium close up as we can see her
shoulders, she is very typical of the conventions of children in
horror films. With very pale skin and black hair. This mid close
up is interesting as it shows her in pure innocence painting and
smiling, as this is the opening shot I believe this is done to
make us like her as a character and not see the bad in her
making it more shocking when the film progresses. It is
supported by her saying hi Im Ester again showing she is
well mannered. Non diegetic sound is also use to create a
feeling of each shot, a light melody is being played on a piano
which contradicts the genre of the film. The mise- en-scene is
set in what looks like an orphanage, we can tell this through
the nun at the beginning and also seeing children running
around. This is a very common convention in horror films
including kids. When looking at lighting and colours that are
used throughout this trailer we see that there is a gradual
change from the beginning to the end. At the start of the film
trailer, there is a range of bright colours on show to the
audience e.g. when Esther is painting, there are a lot of colours
on the page. This makes it unclear at the beginning of what
type of genre that this film belongs to as the child and family
look happy and normal. Ambient lighting is being used which
makes the atmosphere appear bright and normal. The painting
itself is very interesting as it painted very well and detailed
which on a sub conscious level as an audience we think that
there is something different or special about this child.

It then uses a straight cut transition to move to a

two shot in a mid-close up, which is unusual is
that the head of one character is cut off maybe
suggesting we arent introduced to that character
yet. The body language of holding hand shows a
commitment but by having them both in black
gloves foreshadows the danger this commitment
may have on the both of them. The fact Ester is
in a black coat with white sleeves sticking out and
then black gloves again could connote that she
wants to be good although is over powered by the
bad. You could also argue that the white is uses to
symbolise the innocence of the family she is going
into and the black symbolises the evil she is
bringing into it. The sound bridge of low pitch
music at a fast pace resembles the sound of
running making the audience on edge as to why
this has been put there. It sounds as if it is
building up to something which gives the
narrative enigma to what is it building up to. We
can assume from her location that she is leaving
the orphanage the colour and lighting drastically
changes which foreshadows the events about to
take place.

Where previously when we saw her sitting down in the

first shot, she is now shown in a very different light
both literally and metaphorically. Her posture has gone
from sitting up very straight to being hunched over with
arms crossed. She now has much more closed body
language whereas before we saw her arms open and
welcoming. Her facial expression has gone from smiling
to looking very stern and intense. The most symbolic
part of this shot I would say is the fact she is slightly
rocking on her seat, rocking back and forth has always
been linked to someone losing their mind or struggling
with mental health issues so this gives a massive hint
to her mental state. The lighting itself has become
much dark and the only source of light is from a lamp
on the coffee table, the right of her is not lit at all. This
could connote the two sides of her with binary
opposites one side of her wants to be good and well
behaved although the other side wants to be the
juxtaposition of that. This is also reiterated with the
black and white clothing. The sound track as become
more high pitched ad faster now implying that the
danger is about to begin and gives narrative enigma as
to what is going to happen. Esthers dark, old-fashioned
costume and the shape of her hat give her a witch-like
appearance that immediately leads us to see her as
evil, sinister and a danger to innocent children.

Sound, in any case, is one of the most important and

key element of any piece of moving media. In this
film trailer, the combination of Diegetic and Non
Diegetic Sound is used to create fear, excitement
and anticipation for the audience. Diegetic sound
has been used in this film trailer to help aid the
target audiences understanding of the narrative. For
example, towards the middle of the trailer, when our
understanding of the narrative should become more
detailed and clear, we hear the mothers voice say I
think there is something wrong with Esther. This is
stated by the nun we saw at the beginning of this
trailer, a common convention of horror films is
religious connotations which means this film fits in
perfectly with this. Immediately, the target audience
are aware that something bad is going to happen
and that Esther isnt the child we first thought to be
kind and normal.

As an audience we are positioned looking down

the barrel of the gun. Although we are placed
looking up on her making her seem larger and
more powerful. Making us very vulnerable and
under threat. What I found very clever is the
juxtaposition of the first shot and this one. In
the first shot her arm was point out although it
held a paint brush to paper this time is holds a
gun to another vulnerable character (the
younger sister). This shows both the
development of the film as well as the
character herself. The diegetic sound of her
saying Do you want to play is chilling as this
is something children would normally say but
due to her issues and the weapon she is
holding it has been given a very dark and
dangerous underlining meaning. This film is
very interesting in showing contrasting
representation of children on one hand we see
a young girl dangerous and evil but on the
other hand we see the younger sister
vulnerable and unsafe. I think this works well
because as an audience we feel the same as
the parent, unsure of what can be done. We
worry for the families survival.

Conventionally, the speed of editing starts off slowly before gradually becoming
faster and faster. This type of editing builds up tension and creates suspense and
also adds excitement for the audience. It does this because when it starts slowly,
you are able to get a clear understanding of the basic narrative, for example
when we are introduced to the antagonist, then as the speed builds up more and
more on the action scenes, it prepares the audience for a final burst of action at
the end, which is known as the sting. Again to support this is the ever increasing
speed of the non diegetic sound. Not only does this speed and style of the trailer
create excitement and suspense, but it also creates fear and a sense of eeriness
that makes the audience jump out of their skins. This is a use of action editing to
fit a lot of action into a small amount of time. This could also link to Esters frame
of mind of her being confused by all these feelings and unsure how to show them.

The scene where Esther is in the toilet, her

facial expressions and body language is angry
and violent which reflects her character. We
are shown from a low camera angle again
showing the sheer power she has and how
she has taken over. During the climax of the
trailer, dialogue becomes mainly screams and
shouting e.g. the mother on numerous
occasions shouts out What did you do!
What are you doing?! and so on. There is
pure emotion in the mothers voice making us
feel for her and worry for her due to what
Ester has turned into. It jump cuts to other
scenes showing danger such as someone
being pushed in front of a car.