Scream 4 Trailer Analysis

It starts with the green screen of being 'rated for appropriate audiences' which is included in nearly every film trailer. The first few seconds are of a returning character 'sydney' which shows this is a clear follow on from the previous 3 films. it shows us familiarity. It then has quick flash edits of each of the main characters faces. I think this is a clever use of editing as it shows us who is involved but in a typical horror way as their faces all look scared or serious and dark slow music ins included in the background. Accompanying the music is the deep unnatural voice of what we assume to be the murderer. We assume this, as the voice is low and laughs sadistically throughout. After this, the main plot is revealed with one of the main characters talking over the creepy music that plays throughout. The plot is suppose to be different from the others to give a new fright. It makes us, as an audience, fear a new unknown as the way people are being killed has changed. The killer is now filming the murders to try and differ from the past three films. This gives us new excitement as we know expect something new and different. After the plot has been explained, the edits and the music become quicker with the tension of what we are seeing. We now see snippets of the murderer in action to give us an idea of what to expect from the film. Many close-ups are used to show the fear on peoples faces and close-ups of the murderer are used plentiful to show what they are up against. The close-ups are used to show the iconography of the mask and the killer is mysterious as we can see the killers face.