"Orphan"

"Orphan" is an American horror film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, it was released on the 7th of August 2009. The trailer for the film begins with the diegetic sound of dialogue, we can hear a woman speaking in a mellow tone of voice that sounds almost pessimistic as she says "Im ready to adopt". This introduction to the trailer provides the audience with key information about the film and allows them to make assumptions about the denotation. The sound of gentle, angelic music can be heard in the background that gives off a warm, positive vibe to the audience. This music immediately becomes slightly fast paced as we are shown a very long shot of a young girl from behind. The depth of field in this shot creates a sense of curiosity for an audience as only a small fraction of the shot shows the child with the camera briefly pans towards the right.
The shot then cuts to a medium close-up of the girl who introduces herself to the woman and her husband, ambient light is used as we see a short sequence of shots that cut between the young girl and the couple who are looking to adopt. The use of lighting, facial expressions and body language during these shots show happy people in a friendly environment and make the audience feel relaxed.
Very low key lighting is used when the couple are discussing adoption, this sudden contrast creates a sense of danger for the audience and makes them want to know more. The camera shot then fades in at the same time as the non-diegetic music dies down, a new sequence of shots begins as the shot fades out again. This makes the audience aware that a new scene is beginning and provides a smooth transition between the sequences.
We are shown a shot of the house that the couple live in, as the car drives into the shot the camera zooms in towards the house, this movement puts a negative emphasis on the house and suggests that it will be a key location in the film. The background music is very faint and gradually becomes more noticeable as it beeps at a constant pace, almost resembling a heart beat. The shots inside the house also use very low key lighting, again darkening the mood and creating an eery feeling as though something is going to happen.

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A sequence of fast paced shots begins as the non-diegetic sound of sharp and high-pitched music builds tension. A close-up of the young girl screaming abnormally puts the audience on edge. This sound then fades out and we see a blank white screen, an unusual phrase in black font appears in the centre of the shot that creates confusion and interest among the viewers.
The next few shots show a steady image that cuts to a black screen then again to another image before cutting to a black screen again, this pattern continues for a short sequence of shots. Every time that the shot is black we hear the diegetic sound of the Sister talking about the adopted child, then when the shot shows an image again we can hear both non-diegtic sound and ambient sound. These shots and phrases work very effectively at ensuring the audience are on the edge of their seats. www.google.com

A low angle shot of the young girl shows her strong and dominant nature, this shot flickers as though there is lightening surging through the windows, the music builds up as it becomes more high-pitched before it crashes loudly as the flashing kicks in. A long sequence of fast paced shots quickly builds suspense through the use of low key lighting, intense background music, a fast editing pace, a variety of different types of shots and dark natured images featuring weapons, violence, fire and a sense of urgency. The sequence ends as a shot cuts to a black screen and all the sounds fade to silence. We then hear the diegetic sound of the young girl singing a peaceful song in an innocent tone of voice whilst we see a white shot with the title of the film in black font, centre screen. This again relaxes the audience into a sigh of relief yet to be thrilled with tension again when a for the final time during the trailer sharp, loud background music suddenly highlights a shot making the audience furthur shocked and horrified wanting to see the film.

Information sourced from http://www.imdb.com/ and www.youtube.com