Camera Movement/Angle/Shot
The first view of a close up a video phone foreshadows how most of the film will be viewed. However the video rewinds to what may be the main character and it zooms out into a mid shot. The screen then blackens to an explosion, this is seen from a long shot but the camera amateurishly zooms in, as if taken from a handheld device; which gives the effect of a firsthand (POV) which is similar to The Blair Witch Project and adds that disorientated effect. The camera then cuts to a close up of ‘Robert Hawking’ one of the only characters named in the trailer; his addressing to the camera gives a documentary effect which may connect with the text at the beginning. The screen then cuts again to a long shot of the cities desolate landscape and a projectile coming towards the audience. This indicates Cloverfield’s cross genres as the projectile adds an action theme to the film. However two extremely quick cuts of distraught humans, brings it back to the horror and bleak theme. In addition even more extremely quick cuts show hospitals; filled with depressed, deprived and destitute people, these are all done using hand held cameras so the quality is not good and the camera gets fairly close to the people to see their faces which show desperate emotion. As the video quickly cuts and the camera gyrates, it is slowed down by a low angle mid shot of a man on a phone calling “Beth”. However the camera then cuts again to people running, the movement of the camera suggests that the person is running away from something and due to the POV camera type it creates tension through haste and fear. The use of the extreme close ups in the scenes may depict the struggle as characters physically look worn out, over the shoulder shots are used to create fear and an element of hiding from a POV angle. The use of low angles creates an urban warfare scene, as the camera tries to hide under a car, a clear act of desperation and realism which is arguably lacking in some horror films.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvNkGm8mxiM&feature=player_embedded#!
Editing
The beginning of the trailer shows a distorted Paramount Pictures logo, this already indicates that things are a turn for the worst. The screech between each cut is a sharp sound, which is distinctive and discerning another tool used to frighten the audience as a screech can be mistaken for a scream. The first scene is rewound, this may imply that the on goings of the movie are being watched from a later point and again adds to the documentary ambience of Cloverfield. However the jubilation of the party scene is cut, with the use of a quick flash of negative colors then it changes to an explosion. The use of extremely fast cuts may relate to desperation or anxiety. Again the camera cuts to the statue of liberty head being destroyed, this is the first continuous shot in the trailer and it seems to be in POV, this creates fear as the monster seems a little bit closer to home whereas other films with monsters such as Godzilla were in Tokyo. There is hardly any background sound within scenes; except for an ominous siren and the screams of people to create a disturbing environment. A series of quick cuts of random characters speaking of escape the use of dialogue produces a frantic mood, as the all want to escape but to no avail. One of the characters is blurred in the trailer, this strongly suggests that the film has already been record and is being watched from a later date. The 4th wall is broken when a character tells another to “turn off that camera”, this shows that the film is being record from a POV angle. The director is shown in the middle of the trailer to add effect and slow the action down, however the tempo is brought back up by the a succession of extremely quick cuts to show the danger and threat of the city. The film title and the day it comes out, the ominous screech stills erringly plays the background while the fills crew are shown.
Sound
The utter silence of the first scene with the text creates tension for it is to be broken with “SURPRISE”, an ironic term as it was used in a different less frightening context. The rewinding sound is an upsetting screech along with the screams of people following the explosion. As the trailer continues, the screams of people can be heard in almost every scene given the noise of all out disaster moreover what seems to be sirens can be heard to create an environment of panic and emergency. A warping sound can be heard when cuts are made in the trailer, this may be due to editing of the recording and is another indication of irony. Additionally to sound of emergency it seems every piece of dialogue is negative, “its winning” and “we have to get out of here” all add a dismal mood. When the trailer draws to a end, the bullet sounds of the urban warfare can hardly be heard over the screams, a distressing thought.
