Analysis of Film Promotion Methods Catherine Butterworth

In the film industry promotion plays a key role in whether the film generates a profit or barely
breaks even with production costs because if the advert isnt of interest many people will not go
to the cinema. Whilst there are many methods that can be used to promote upcoming films some
will always be more effective than others, for example, whilst viral ads can be quite effective and
are now quite common alongside or at the start of YouTube videos most people find them
irritating to the point that if possible they will be skipped or muted which is the key downfall of
viral advertising. Another marketing strategy used by many of the big six Hollywood
production companies is freebies given to people when they buy a newspaper, the consumer
receives a promotional item that has ties with the film and that they can only get if they buy that
particular product that the freebie is gifted with, for example when Disney has a new film out,
one of the ways they promote is by doing a deal with a fast food chain, namely McDonalds, that
when someone buys a happy meal they get a free toy which is one of the main characters from
the latest film. DreamWorks Madagascar 3: Europes Most Wanted is the most recent example of
this, as at McDonalds if you buy a Happy Meal you will get one of the toys (pictured below). This
method is more effective because the toys themselves are very cheap in terms of production and
the toys tends to become the thing to collect among younger children making them more likely
to want to go and see the film, which in turn means a higher profit margin for the production
companies because young children cannot go to the cinema alone so an adult ticket must also be
purchased.
(Source http://www.flickr.com/photo
s/hytam/7457604172/)

The film I am analysing the promotion of is Mirrors; a 2008

Horror/Thriller film directed and written by Alexandre Aja
starring Kiefer Sutherland, Paula Patton and Amy Smart. It
has a BBFC rating of 15.Mirrors was produced by Regency
Enterprises (and New Regency one of their daughter
companies) but distributed by 20th Century Fox. The budget
for the film was $35 million (21.7 million). The Box Office
profits on the opening weekend and overall are on the left.
(Source http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0790686 /business)
The two promotional methods I will be comparing are the
trailer and one of the several posters (pictured below)

Analysis of Film Promotion Methods Catherine Butterworth

The first thing you notice about
the poster is the girl, which
seems odd until you watch the
film as the Protagonist is a man
and the Antagonist does not
have a specific form, however it
is likely the girl has been used
to conform with the
representation of gender in
horror films, in that women are
generally the victims and male
characters tend to survive. This
is because children are often
seen as the most innocent
because they have not been in
this world long enough to
become corrupted.

eyes are quite unnerving due to the lack of humanity.

The girls eyes are also quite

striking, as they are almost
entirely black, which suggests
that she is both the antagonist
and victim. The eyes have also
been emphasized because they
are the windows to the soul
which implies that the girl is
possessed i.e. the paranormal
entity has taken over her mind.
There is also the use of the
direct mode of address which
has been used to create visceral
pleasure in the audience as, as I
have already mentioned, her

The poster also has exaggerated low-key lighting, which represents the underlying theme of
darkness murder and possession. The typography used also represents a few connotations of
horror. For example, the second R in Mirrors mirrors the first. The colour of the text is also a
connotation of horror in that it is blood red.
Whilst the poster follows many conventions it breaks one in particular; the directors name is
not as prominent as the actors portraying the lead character, this is particularly unusual as the
director is not well known per se but his film The Hills Have Eyes is quite popular among those
who fans of horror films like the Saw films.
The trailer for Mirrors is around two and a half minutes and follows the three-act structure.
Whilst it follows most of the conventions of a horror trailer it doesnt use star appeal to promote
the film. Whilst all horror films have an antagonist, the films unique selling point is that the
antagonist can only act through peoples reflections.
Trailer found on: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0790686/

Analysis of Film Promotion Methods Catherine Butterworth

Within the trailer this is the most
effective establishing shot as this
where the plot line of the film is
established. As is typical of a horror
film the main setting for the film is an
abandoned building, later mentioned
as previously being a mental hospital.
This is the archetypal setting for this
genre as in it being abandoned people
assume nothing inhabits the building,
this is used to lull the audience into a false sense of security. The music was quite calm but has
gradually become more prominent in place of the dialogue, which acted as a sound bridge; as the
music became louder it also became dissonant which has been done to put the viewer on edge.
The aforementioned dialogue sets up the premise of the film, the lead character states that for
an abandoned building the mirrors are very clean, this hints at the plot of the film, the other
guard then replies The fella who worked herewas completely obsessed this confirms the
belief that there was something motivating the other guard to keep them clean because common
sense suggests that most people would just do what they were asked to - keep watch.
Whilst company idents feature in all
trailers, the ident has been reversed,
this is a play on the title of the film as
the image has been mirrored, this has
also been done to create a visual link
between the production companies
and the film as some people will watch
another film because its directed by
the same person.
This shot is the first to show the
protagonist alone, suggesting he is
vulnerable, the vulnerability of the
character creates feelings of sympathy
in the audience. In the mirror behind
the character his reflection is not a
true reflection as it turns around
which creates the suspense needed to
make the audience jump. As there is no
diegetic sound only the non-diegetic music can be heard which is composed of synthesized
strings, which make a rather unpleasant, grating sound which is again tension building; this is
done, as without the tension horror films would not be as scary because there wouldnt be
sufficient material to create visceral pleasure. The shot being a medium close-up as it makes the
audience feel as if they are there.
At this point in the trailer
darkness has been used to convey
the power of the antagonist as
most people are afraid of the dark
simply because they cannot see
anything and are therefore
powerless against whatever may

Analysis of Film Promotion Methods Catherine Butterworth

be lurking in the shadows, this creates empathy and fear in the audience as it is something
people relate to. The only light source in this shot is coming from the protagonists torch, which
acts as a metaphor for the darkness consuming the light i.e. the darkness represents the
overwhelming presence of evil in the building (the antagonist) and the light represents the
protagonist being virtually powerless as he takes up less of the shot, this is generally the case in
horror films until the end (or in some cases not at all) in that the antagonist is more powerful. A
sound bridge is also used; the protagonist asks, Is anybody there? as the screen quickly fades
to black the white flash transition is used as a low screaming of a woman in pain can be heard.
This sparks both curiosity and
worry because the handprint on
the mirror isnt the protagonists,
which poses the question What
made that? it creates fear in the
audience because they do not
know what made the handprint,
but there is the possibility it was
the antagonist which is getting
closer to its next victim.
This is a common feature in this
genre; something having a
message scratched into it by
something inhuman left for the
protagonist/victims to find, in
this case the protagonist is
watching which creates a feeling
of insecurity because you cannot
see what is scratching it into the
mirrors but something is there in
the room with the character, fear
is also building up as the angle of
the shot is such that you can only see the mirror and not what is behind you in the sense that
you feel you are there with the character but too far to reach in and help them because you are
slightly above the eye line of the character almost looking down on the scene. Tension and fear
is built up because you cannot see the antagonist so you therefore, even if the chance arose,
cannot fight it off if it decides to attack the audience rather than the protagonist because of the
use of a medium close-up you feel as if you are in the room and have just as much of a chance of
being killed/possessed by the antagonist.

After the brief montage of shots a

slightly longer clip is used to give
a very brief overview of what
happened to the man who was
replaced by the protagonist; in
short he disobeyed the antagonist
and he was killed as punishment.
In this shot he can clearly be seen
(and heard) begging for his life as
the mirror cracks at his presence,

Analysis of Film Promotion Methods Catherine Butterworth

this scene has been used because it shows that even those loyal to the antagonist are
dispensable, this is common in all genres of film as the antagonist and those loyal to them
always get their comeuppance, but in horror it is almost always granted by the antagonist as in
action adventure for example the protagonist kills/punishes the antagonist for their wrongdoing.
After the above shot there is another brief montage of slightly longer clips, which again follows
the three-act structure.
This particular clip is slightly
longer and enforces the
representation of gender in
horror; that women are always
more vulnerable than men and
are therefore more often than
not going to die first. This also
hints at her being a
stereotypical blonde as she is
oblivious to the fact that as she
moves away from the mirror her reflection is still present and staring back at her.
In conclusion I believe both of these methods to be effective as they both feature stereotypes of
the horror genre as well as, without giving the plot away, give you an idea of the storyline, in the
case of the poster it suggests that the girl is or is about to be a victim of the antagonist that is (as
she is looking at you) right behind you. Both means of advertising create an interest in lovers of
the horror genre through the colours used and the icons of horror throughout.