Trailer- Text On Screen In Horror Films

Text on screen actually seems to be a pretty common feature when it comes to horror films. It can help to set the seen and the atmosphere for the film or trailer which is about to be shown, and it also gives the audience an idea of what the main idea for the story line is. The first and second picture is taken from a clip in one of the Paranormal Activity films. The first picture is able to give the audience a little bit of context into the name of the main character, but also the fact that the name of the distribution company is mentioned, makes it even more uncomfortable. This is because, it makes it feel even more real, although that we already know that the Paranormal Activity films are meant to look like they are of true accounts, which they actually are not. As well as this, the fact that the San Diego Police Department are mentioned, again creates a scary and intense atmosphere as the audience are begging to know what was so bad that the police had to get involved, especially as it is based around a paranormal matter. 

From the above screen, it is clear that the best way to show text on screen, is with a black background with white text. This helps it to stand out to the audience so that it is easier to read, especially as the text is clearly important, as it otherwise wouldn't be there. Again, the text is pretty basic as well, it is in what looks like a time write font, which can again suggest the age of the film that the directors are trying to encode into their text, even if it was filmed in the more modern day. Therefore, this whole process has been set to instill fear and uncertainty into the audience; something which is very effective and that myself and my partner will look in to when creating our own text on screen. 

This image is the second type of text on screen which is show in the Paranormal Activity films, and is actually a very prominent convention for all of the films. This particular text shows the the date, and the 'night' that we are being shown of the actors/characters are filming. Again, it gives the audience a little more information and detail, otherwise, due to the nature and context of the film, it could potentially be quite confusing. Furthermore, there is a similar background being used with the white text on a darkened background, again making it easier to see. 

This image below, is taken from another film which i have researched before, called the 'The Blair Witch Project'. Similarly this film is in documentary style, which is similar to our own, which is where text on screen seems to be quite common. However, this text on screen, gives us slightly more information as we are actually told that the film makers went missing. Therefore, there is the sense of dramatic irony as the audience already know that something bad is going to happen to the characters whilst they watch them. 

Furthermore, the very last sentence is a piece of text that actually appears just at the very end, a few seconds after the other text has already appeared. Therefore, without any explanation, we are shown that the film is going to be about the recordings of the footage that was found a year later, from the characters that went missing. This consequently intrigues the audience to know further information, as they want to know why the filmmakers went missing. 

Finally, again the same sort of text and colourings are being  used, which shows it is clearly a very popular choice, again something we will take into consideration when using our own text on screen.