ANALYSIS OF TITLES AND GRAPHICS

BY JOE GOSSE

CABIN IN THE WOODS (2012)

THE CABIN IN THE WOODS IS A 2012 HORROR FILM DIRECTED BY JOSS WHEDON.THE FIVE FRIENDS GO FOR A BREAK AT A REMOTE CABIN IN THE WOODS, WHERE THEY GET MORE THAN THEY BARGAINED FOR. TOGETHER, THEY MUST DISCOVER THE TRUTH BEHIND THE CABIN IN THE WOODS. IT IS A GRUESOME BUT FUNNY FILM IN WAYS AND FALLS UNDER THE HORROR SUB GENRE OF COMEDY HORROR.

The first caption is the Lionsgate caption, this not only shows who the production company is but it gives a slight insight to the film as well. It uses a oligochromatic colour pallet with the red and darker red colours as seen. The trailer starts of friendly and when this first caption comes into play it shows a lot about what the film may be like. The dark colours show that evil may be involved with the film and the cloudy red background of the caption demonstrates that it could be set in the middle of no where with a doom like feeling hovering above it. But this caption definitely gives a good insight that the film will be a horror.

In the second caption there is a good example of a personal pronoun which interpellated the audience to feel slightly on edge and almost excited for what might come next. The black on white colour scheme in this caption shows binary opposition by levi Strauss. Good vs Evil. There are a few cracks towards the background of the caption which shows that there could be an unstable storyline or things don’t go as they plan to like a typical horror film. From the first two caption they have come on screen over what seems to be a nice and family friendly film, but the captions make the audience on edge and apprehensive as to what will come.

This caption is similar to the one before but its just expanding on the idea that what you( the audience) think the film will be like and what it will be about isn’t at all what it is going to be. Using black and white colours on a Serif font in capital letters to send the point out to the audience and give the messgage that it will be scary and you need to be aware of what will come. Its making you ask a question also, If I thought I knew the place what will it be like now? Which also leaves the audience wondering. This is using Baths enigma codes.

The forth caption just has the words, “THINK AGAIN” in capital letters again in a Serif font. It makes the audience feel slightly scared about the film and makes your thoughts think again about the plot into a deeper detail about the film. It makes you think that things will be taking a turn for the worse and what you expect to happen in the film wont actually happen.

This caption shows who the director is and in this case they have used the same Serif font and oligochromatic colour pallet scheme to create the horror atmosphere for the audience. Joss Whedon is a well known director who has directed films such as Avengers age of Ultron and Avengers Assemble. This yet again grabs the audiences attention because he is very well known so this will bring in a huge audience and will also capture a wider range of people to watch the film and will also give an insight as to how good the film will be as it has a very well known director in it.

This caption is similar to the one before in showing who the writer of the script was and this is to capture the audience in showing them a bit more about who helped make the film, and that its by a well known author. This also is using a oligochromatic colour scheme to do this. The colours are dark and the red associated the film with blood/ death.

The next caption used is in the same font and the same background as the previous few but this one is showing the audience when the film will actually be released so it gives the audience a factor of excitement if they're enjoying the trailer. It is telling the audience when to go and watch it and keeping it in the horror genre with the dark red and black oligochromatic background.

The next caption used is leading on from the previous one saying, “This April” and its telling the audience that they will discover the fate of the protagonists found in the trailer. Its interpellating the audience to create an attachment to the trailer and its as if they're involved with the film. This is also still using the same font, colour scheme and Serif font to create a good image and a relative image to do with the horror trailer.

This graphic has the words in Serif font saying, “ The secret” and this had led onto the two previous captions saying, “This April discover.” The secret shows the audience that it will be an anchoring film and that the film has hidden gems inside of it which the audience may or may not have discovered. This captivates the audience and gives them a sense of excitement and that the film may be mysterious when they watch it in April.

This is the final caption behind the sequence of the last few captions. This text shows that the secret is in the cabin and that in the film there will be something up with it and maybe its not all that it seems to be. This grabs the attention of the audience and its giving them a reason to watch the film because it is making the audience intrigued by using enigma codes by baths in asking, “What is the secret behind the cabin in the woods?”

This caption is also using the oligochromatic colour scheme and this is giving the name of the film to the audience so they know what its called. The Cabin In the Woods is the name of the film so this makes it clear in a slightly bigger font than the rest of the captions so the audience know what they're watching.

The trailer for Cabin in the woods uses the same oligochromatic scheme for the most part of its titles and captions which creates a great feel of a horror trailer and captivates the audience well as they know what they're watching. This last caption shows the audience that the film will be out soon which can make them excited and even eager to watch the film.

This caption is reiterating the idea of who the film is written by and who its directed by. This just reminds the audience of how big the film could be because of how big the people who made the film are. Having this caption come up twice in the trailer is a way of just making sure that the audience know who made it which can anchor them in and gives them no reason to forget the trailer.

This caption is a hashtag which is a way of creating hype and buzz about the film because when people watch the trailer they can tweet or facebook about the film which is a great way to spread the news about the film and to get more people excited to see it and to go online and search the trailer on places such as youtube and vimeo. This also has the production companies on this caption all still in the same font and background colour. This still also gives the audience a web address so they can get extra feed to do with the film. This caption is also the final still of the trailer which is a great one to finish on as it can anchor an audience really well.