Orphan - Trailer Deconstruction

Although we are looking into teaser trailers, the only available trailer for orphan was a theatrical one. we wanted to look into specific shots that we were inspired by.

The first shot we came across when we were looking at ‘orphan’s’ trailer, was the close up shot of Esther screaming. It gives the impression of her appearing evil, allowing the audience to really see her personality, questioning her innocence seen in other shots. The scream is echoed with the tension being created from, the background music, meaning there is more to Esther than the audience think.

The second shot we were inspired by was the text ‘there’s something wrong with Esther’, while this is on screen, someone’s voice is also saying what’s on screen. The text fades in, onto a white screen with a flash of bright light which could be representing the past and how this may have provoked her evilness. The words become watery and look as if they are running, which could represent tears.

The third shot that we became inspired by is the close up of the chains at the top of the swing. The depth of field used in this shot was particularly good as it changes the focus from the trees to the chain which gives us as the audience an idea of location. The sound is the drone developing from the previous shot, with the squeak of the swing, this creates an eerie atmosphere, most likely worrying the audience.

The next shot was another of the swings, again it is close up, possibly intending on making the audience scared. The depth of field in this shot focuses just on the swing rather than alternating between the backgrounds. The drone in the background of the shot creates the tension about what is happening in the film, giving an insight into what people think of Esther. Again, the swings are squeaking, helping build the tension.

The fifth shot, is only a short shot, showing Esther on a swing watching over another girl, she has the straight face seen on the poster and on the website, with the contrast of evil and innocence, there is the slight squeak of the swing. We were inspired by the idea of a child on a swing to create evilness.

The shot of more text has no dialogue which connotes the idea that Esther does have a secret as nothing is being said to the audience.

Again the text looks watery, representing tears, or even blood.

The non diagetic sound is tension building, almost sounding like a heartbeat, making the audience expect something to happen.

The last of our specific shot of Esther is a high angle shot showing giving a sense of evilness and the power she has over the audience as if she is watching over them, this isn’t usual for this sort of shot, but the close up of her face creates an atmosphere with the plain background.

The contrast of Esther’s innocence and evilness is shown through her pale skin and dark eyes and hair.

The sound is at the end of a tension building sequence, where the trailer proves that there is something wrong with her.