What techniques does this trailer use to persuade an audience to see the film? Highlight media terminology. Italicize any examples. Put theorys to media theory in bold.

The trailer 'The Roomate' has used Mis-en-scene in order to persuade the audience to see the film. An example of this is through the natural makeup of the two girls, this helps the audience who are female to identify with them (Theory by Blumler and Katz- Uses and Gratification) as they are young teenagers which persuades them to go and watch the film for self identification. The natural makeup connotes that the girls are naturally beautiful and attract which attracts the male gaze (Laura Mulvey) to go and watch the film. Anxious, worried looking facial expressions have been used in this trailer which creates enigma (Barthes). An example of this is towards the end of the trailer when the Sarah is in the shoulder she is dragged by a mysterious person, here the audiences can see her tensed up face which builds enigma as the audience do not see the villains face which persuades them to go and watch the film as mystery is being created with low-key lighting connoting something negative will happen. Another example of Mis-en-scene used is setting, there are a variety of locations used such as in the bathroom, inside a room and inside a bedroom all of these locations have persuaded the audience to watch the film as all the location have used low-key lighting as it had created a lot of mystery (Barthes) this anchors the films genre of being a horror/ thriller as the audiences who's favorite genre is this they will interested to go and watch the film. One of the most important props used in this trailer is a pin; this has been used towards the middle of the trailer. The audiences will classify this as being the disruption theory Vladimir Propp, as the disruption had made the audiences want to find out more-if the girl had stayed alive or not. So the setting (in the bathroom) is a key aspect used to persuade the audience to go and watch the film in order to find out more. There are many actors used in this trailer and example of this is the two main girls Leighton Meester and Minka Kelly this will persuade male audiences as they will be attracted towards their appearance (male gaze-Laura Mulvey) where as female will look at the two actresses for identification (Uses and gratification By Blumler and Katz) as they may be interested in how they have done their makeup.

In addition, there are a variety of shots used in order to give the audience different effects. An example of a mid-shot is of the of the protagonists friend when she is being dragged by someone the audience yet doesn’t know who. The mid-shot used in this shot lets the audience focus on the facial expressions and the upper body language. The mid-shot also denotates to the audiences how the actress is trying to prevent herself from getting attacked which persuades the audiences as they may like a bit of tension building up. Another type of shot used is an established shot; an example of this is 27 seconds into the trailer. This shot lets the audiences see the location and maybe identify the place (Uses and gratification by Blumler and Katz). The shot includes a red car panning from left to right, the exotic location may persuade the audience to see the film as they may have never seen this location before so therefore it persuades them to go and watch the film. Another example that goes well with this shot is the tall buildings in America which then persuades the audience to go and watch the film as they can identify with the locations.

Besides this a variety of lighting techniques have been used to persuade the audiences to watch the trailer. An example is at the start of the trailer when the dorm mates are introduced. This is in high key lighting as the moods of the characters are happy, along with this the start of the trailer when the audiences have not come across the disruption yet (Theory by Todorov). In contrast low key lighting has been used in specific times, an example of this is when the protagonist friend is being pulled this influences the audience’s mood as it creates mystery (Barthes) due to the audience not knowing who is dragging her.

The non-diegetic sound is soundbridged over the shots. When there is high key lighting during the equlibruim (Torodovs theory)  the sound seems  more happy and there are less voiceovers. Whereas towards the disruption the voice overs become louder and the non-diegetic sound paces a little to create suspense. An example of the soundbridged shot is when our protagonist is checking into the university. From there the music gets louder and the voiceovers become much more subliminal. However, although lots of non-diegetic music is used, there seems to be lots of diegetic real life sounds used within the trailer. Examples of this include the: the tower clock (at the beginning of the trailer), the sound of the bicycle and shuffling of characters movement. This not only creates a sense of realism but creates a more distinct sound as we come closer to the disruption.  Repeating of sound movement is also used.  An example of this is the shuffling of footsteps that are held in both (narrative structure) equilibrium and disruption. The distinct link connotes that these movements happen in both parts of the story but that one is good and one is bad. This then connotes Strauss’s theory of binary opposition.