Dracula trailer analysis

Dracula trailer analysis

I chose to analysis Dracula because it is a familiar horror classic that everyone is aware of, if not the original then one of the remakes or similar based film. The original Dracula movie was made in 1931 and is one of the first vampire-horror films to record. This film Dracula was produced by Universal and is based on a 1924 stage play.
 

The opening clip is Dracula rising from a coffin but has titles over the clip saying "In all the annals of living horror..." from this text I have noticed that the word horror is in bold, and is  biggest font size on this clip, this informs the viewer straight away that it's a horror genre film. I also like the play on words "...of living horror" as Dracula is then opening the coffin and sticks his arm out so it is visible that he is alive. The next clip states "one names stands out as the epitome of evil!". Epitome means A person that is a perfect example of a particular quality, so in this case they mean that Dracula is a perfect example of evil and horror. I also notice that evil is in the biggest font and has an explanation mark to show as if it's being shouted and brings attention to the word. Straight after this clip there is a mid shot of Dracula by himself standing in the shadows because sunlight can kill a vampire, Dracula introduces himself "I am, Dracula". This clip then fades into a close up of Dracula and then the movie title "Dracula" appears over the clip. As there is a close up of Dracula and the movie title appears I noticed that the music increased and took over any existing sounds that were on the clip. The typography in the titles that have just been shown are very creepy and it looks like the colour in the text is bleeding down it and dripping off, or the bottom of the text has been torn and worn away. Either way the typography goes really well with the horror genre theme. Between all of these clips there was a slow fading to bring in the next clip, this is because trailers usually start off slow and then build up towards the ending of the trailer.
 

Throughout the trailer there is a voiceover explaining the background of Dracula and promoting the film. One thing the voiceover said that stood out to me most is when he talks about Dracula "lived after death, lived on human blood and took the form of a vampire bat" this tells you a bit about Dracula, and what you will be expecting to see in the film. For me the voiceover made the trailer less scary/frightening, I am aware that the year this was made, they didn't have the equipment and programmes we have now, but personally I think that just more text on clips would have been better. Throughout the trailer there is no blood or gore clips, I haven't seen the film but they may have left them out of the trailer because they were too gruesome or because there isn't any visible gore scenes. They used an orchestra for the music in this trailer due the date it was made when they didn't have sound affects or any other type of horror related music. I think orchestra music suits old black and white films because it's iconic and expected. Even though this is another thing that wasn't intended due to the year, I think that Dracula in black and white works because Dracula is often in dark places anyway, also because it makes it look more sinister. At the very end of the trailer on the last clip the title Dracula appears again, I've noticed this is the second time in the trailer; once near the beginning and once at the end, they also mention the name Dracula a lot in the trailer. They have done this so it stands out from everything else in the clip, and so there is no way of forgetting the film name.
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UehobGtSnOk