Institutional Research

I am going to evaluate the film Devil which was released on 17th September 2010Genre Supernatural Thriller

Brief Plot SynopsisIn Philadelphia, Detective Bowden is still grieving for his wife and son, killed in a hit-

and-run five years ago. A suicidal person jumps off from the top of a skyscraper onto a truck, and Bowden is sent to investigate. Meanwhile five strangers are trapped in an elevator in the building where the jumper committed suicide. The communication radio in the elevator is broken but the guardHaving been trapped for some time, tensions are high, so Lustig calls the police and Detective Bowden assumes the case. Without being able to contact the individuals he tries to work out who they are and realizes he can only account for four of them. Time is running out for the occupants of the elevator as Bowden realizes he has to get them out quickly.Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazils, Lustig and Ramirez, observe the individuals via CCTV as events unfold.

Content of the trailerUpside down shot of some text. Woman walking into hotel says hi to security guard.

More upside down text on the water. Short Introductions to characters, little clips of them all in the hotel getting into the lift. Shot of lift through people to the lift. Title text on the water. Lift. All characters in lift. Text. Smooth shot down the top of the building into the vents and the lift shoot. Text down a lift shoot. Lift getting hit. Lift breaking down, showing the control room panicking. Short shots of everyone. Then first injury, quick shots of conversation. Control room security camera. Title. Outside with the fire crew. Fire crew trying to get into lift. Title. People inside panicing. Control camera. Everyone going against each other. Title. Security camera flash of everyone dead. Lift shoot. Building lights all shutting down. Black screen. Crash of lift window, woman getting injured. Black, title. Top of building. Title. Foot on glass. Title. People escaping lift. Falling. Lift falling. People escaping. Sparks. Black screen. Guy lighting match and seeing devil face. Title.

Average shot lengthTime in seconds of the whole trailer = 2.34Count the number of shots = 81Sequence time in seconds/ Number of shots = 1.9

Range of locationsHotel. Lift. Control Centre. Road. Red lift walls.Star/s and characters

Range of different backgrounds to each character. Some are formal some are casual. Everyday people

What was the trailer about?The trailer summed up the movie well as well as showing you everything you need

to know without ruining the movie. It did link with the synopsis quite well but leaves a blur about what the devil does/is etc.

Were there any predominant themes?Typical horror film effects, flashing, fast cuts.

Were there any props significant to the trailer?The lift.

How would you describe the camera work? Did it use particular types of shot?Fast paced short shots, but with some smooths.

How was sound used on the trailer?Calm mutsic to begin with, with voice over of 2 of the characters then more. Music

dies down and sound effects come in of whooshing through the lift room. Then more dialogue. Dialogue all the way through mainly. Cuts out at the end to just be beeping then a scream.

How was sound used on the trailer?Calm music to begin with, with voice over of 2 of the characters then more. Music

dies down and sound effects come in of whooshing through the lift room. Then more dialogue. Dialogue all the way through mainly. Cuts out at the end to just be beeping then a scream.

The editingFast paced transitions with the dialogue over the top. When the music was slow so

was the camera movement.

Titling/Credits16 title scenes which first tell us a bit about the plot then when the movie is out then

the name.

Could you tell by the style of the trailer which genre the film belonged to?Yes, because of the fast cuts and the music.

I think that the camera work and angles was particularly successful in this trailer.I don't think that the change of title scenes worked well.This is a conventional horror film trailer.