Compare the impact and effectiveness of the trailer and poster of 30 Days of Night

The purpose of both the trailer and poster were designed to publicize the film and make people want to watch the film. The company has used synergy as both posters relate in some way. Both suggest a narrative, as they both have the vampires following them in some way. The poster uses a still image but uses elements from the trailer for example the axe he is holding is in the trailer. The trailer uses more sound to suggest bad things.  

The mise-en-scene is dark giving it a horror movie feel and the colour is de-saturated which suggests the cold and lifelessness of a dead body. The setting looks as if it is on ice and it also looks like it is snowing suggesting that the two characters are cold, vulnerable and the vampires have taken the blood. The snow could suggest that it is difficult to see and vulnerable; the storm clouds in the background suggest that trouble is coming.

The positioning of the two characters in the centre indicates they are the main characters. The man has a beard suggesting he is manly and doesn’t play by the rules as it is formal to have a clean shave; he’s a bit of a maverick cop. He has a sheriff badge on as well which suggests he has power also he is in front of the woman suggesting he is protecting her and she is more vulnerable despite the fact she has a gun. The woman is a stereotypical female victim, young and attractive which makes the audience think she is going to be the weak and vulnerable one. Their facial expressions suggest they are cautious and are nervous or scared of what is in front of them as they are looking in front of them. The fact that they are looking in front makes you think they are coming from the front but you can see that they are behind them and the text says ‘They’re coming…’ making the characters seem trapped and isolated this raises the question: how will they survive? This is the enigma that will attract the audience. The red blood splatter and weapons suggest that the film will be a violent one, and the vampire at the bottom suggests violence as well as his sharp teeth.

The title ’30 days of Night’ suggests there will be 30 days of darkness, vulnerability, coldness and the characters find it harder to see. The text on the red colour makes it look like someone has smeared the blood to write on it. The review of the movie makes people want to see the film as it is rated 4/5 stars by EMPIRE a popular film magazine. The language implies that it is a fast paced violent film to appeal to the typical horror film audience. The preview on Halloween makes it creepier as Halloween is the night of the dead giving it more of a fright factor. Columbia Pictures is a big production company meaning fans of this production company will want to see also Ghost Town Pictures are one of the production teams on here. The website is at the bottom of the poster so you can look up news for the film and to publicize the film and trailer.  

The trailer starts in a state of equilibrium. But the scene is full of things saying something bad will happen such as the dark mise-en-scene and the bad weather outside. The window draws your attention as you expect something to come through as it is extremely dark outside and very quiet. The woman standing in the kitchen looks tense or as if she is upset about something. It cuts to a man sitting on a sofa in the living room looking very tense, then back to the window where the woman I looking upset again this could suggest they have been fighting or something bad has happened as they are also in separate rooms. Something smashes through the window in an attempt to scare the audience. It is silent before the glass smash to give it more of an impact. It then cuts back to the man to show his startled reaction as he stands up quickly. It cuts back to woman being dragged through the window as the man follows her outside, and then to a scene of the man jumping toward where the woman is being dragged to, under the house. It then cuts to a close up of them holding on to each other, the camera then tracks out to the view of the woman, this is to put us on the shoes of the victim to share her emotions, being pulled under to see the man in desperation it then fades to black to suggest death and time passing by.

It cuts to a title card which is de-saturated and the colour pallet is blues and blacks, cold colours; all the warm colours are gone which can suggest cold, darkness or the vampires have drained the blood.

A text card appears saying, ‘They have lived in shadows’ and then it fades to black between the shots and shows two people in a high angle shot as if they are looking down on the village they are also in black suggesting they are the bad guys. The mise-en-scene also suggests they are the bad guys as it is extremely dark. There is no light in the village which can suggest that the village is lifeless or vulnerable and asleep. The shot of a vampire bending over a victim tilts to make it unnerving and another title card shows saying ‘but above the arctic circle’ meaning it will be extremely cold and dark. It then dissolves to a shot of piles of snow and again into a high angle shot of the village where people are walking to make them seem vulnerable; the clouds are low to make it look menacing and are stormy to suggest trouble.

A title card appears saying, ‘Where nights last 30 days.’ This makes it more menacing because the audience know that vampires live at night and gives the background of the movie it then fades to black then fades up into an extreme long shot of a man by himself to suggest he is isolated and the dark mise-en-scene is suggesting that something bad will happen; it then cuts to a shot of a close up of the man and someone behind him who is blurred to make him more menacing. A montage of quick shots follows and a wind and eerie sound thrills the audience. The last shot is a horrifying one of a mouth wide open with sharp teeth and blood. It fades to black then another title card saying, ‘Their time has come again.’ This suggests that this has happened before and that the vampires are coming to attack them. It fades to black to suggest that time has passed.

You then see the hero policeman driving through the arctic and he gets a message saying he is needed at the jail. It cuts to the jail with a man behind jail bars suggesting he is trapped then the shot reverses to the policeman as if he is behind the bars. This is a visual theoretical question: who is trapped? The man in jail or the policeman? The man in jail says ‘Board the windows, try to hide, they’re coming.’ It cuts from him to the policeman each time he says some words and on each cut to his face the camera zooms in bringing the audience a bit closer to his face. You see that his teeth are damaged, deranged and dirty which would make you think of the vampires and if he has a connection in some way. There is a close up of a detective saying ‘Who are they?’ and behind him you see a blurry figure (a vampire) outside through the blinds, the blinds suggest that the detectives are trapped. You can then hear it breathing giving a very eerie atmosphere. There is a montage of lights going out in the town to thrill the audience and make them vulnerable as they can’t see.

A title card says, ‘Based on the ground-breaking graphic novel’ which is a selling point for people who already like the novel and also it is in red to with connotations of blood and violent content of the film.

 There is then another montage of shots of the victims looking scared and hiding; including a boy at the beginning of the montage which will make you have more sympathy as it is a boy by himself and a small boy by himself is a vulnerable target as well as it being in a high long shot signifying he is vulnerable. Similarly, there is a woman screaming help which shows vulnerability. The non-diegetic sound of a steady beating heart gradually grows louder symbolising fear.

A title card contains the name of producer Sam Raimi, this is a selling point for fans of his work, Raimi is a big American movie producer he produced the ‘Evil Dead’ and ‘The Grudge’ This is another selling point as fans of Raimi’s work will be interested. The ‘I’ on his name drips down like blood and because it is in red again it represents blood.

There is then a close up of a bloody vampire mouth to show violence and danger, followed by a edit to a close up of the young female police officer saying vampires don’t exist, which is a cliché and shows that she doesn’t want to believe in them. It cuts to a close up of a vampire’s hand and its nails. The nails are bloody and dirty and overgrown making them more like claws which shows danger and violence.

Music with a steady driving beat starts creating tension, there is then a quick fade to black and up to the man in jail saying ‘It ain’t the weather, its death approaching,’ with him behind bars to represent him being trapped. There is then a fast-paced montage of images of vampires killing/taking people and scared faces of humans to build tension and excitement.

The music starts to crescendo; the text card says ‘how can they be stopped?’ This is a rhetorical question only answered by going to see the film again a selling point for the movie. Another montage of images of destruction follows and one is of the policeman saying ‘we can last the month meaning he is a beacon of hope for the group. ‘When daylight never comes,’ shows that they will be in darkness making them vulnerable.

There is another montage of death and destruction and the music grows quicker and the pace of editing gets to increase excitement and give the audience a rush of adrenaline. There is a crescendo building to the peak of the woman’s scream so her fear has more of an impact on the audience. This builds up to the final scare as the vampire is about to bite and a woman screams. The fade to black to suggests the woman has died. The title then comes on the screen and looks as if it is a blood smear. The billing block and the link to website come up so people can go to the website and follow updates on the film.

In conclusion the trailer is more effective than the poster because the trailer gives more of a sense of story with sound and moving images this gives more of an impact to the audience. The trailer uses a high-pitched crescendo up to the peak of a woman screaming this gives more emphasise on the scare. The poster does have similar aspects such as the website link and similar dark mise-en-scene and iconographic images. Both the poster and trailer will be linked to a larger marketing company which will be based in the websites hub.