Analysis of Hide and Seek.

This film influenced our thriller hugely because the character of an innocent little girl is in this film too, she plays the main part as she's a lost child caught up in her parents problems, which is the key theme that runs throughout our film as well.
We studied the main aspects of this trailer that made it so successful, and why it made such a huge impact on us as the audience.

The trailer for 'Hide and Seek' uses music effectively to highlight main points in the film that are key to the storyline, and should have the most impact. The music gradually crescendos in volume, as more instruments are added such as strings, this increases the intensity and eventually it comes to the climax where the main dramatic point in the storyline is.
Also the words 'come out, come out, wherever you are' are used, which is said in a twisted version of the child's game hide and seek, we used this concept whilst brainstorming ideas for our film , because we were going to use the well known children's lullaby 'Mockingbird' but alter the last words to give it a sinister and dark edge. However in editing process we didn't end up using this.

The editing is a very important element in this trailer that gives it pace and suspense. The cuts are at first quite slow and then they seem to quicken however the audience is being teased into thinking the action will be taking place soon, but the cuts slow down again. Once the titles are introduced the cuts start to become fast and the action is blurred at the end because of how quick the cuts are, so you just catch glimpses which conveys bewilderment and intensity but also makes the audience want to see more.
At the beginning of the trailer close up and point of view shots are used of the little girl, this immediately lets us view what shes seeing. Then a variety of two shots, medium shots and reverse angle shots are introduced whilst some dialogue is taking place, these are common shots that are used when a conversation is happening because it makes the audience feel as though they are in that particular conversation.
Towards the end of the trailer when the pace is increased through the editing, fast tracking shots are used to make it as though you are following the chase and builds the tension, the zooming camera technique is used on the door too which makes the audience wonder whats going on behind and furthermore builds the suspense.
At the very end, a low angled shot is used from below the basement door so its as though the audience are positioned within the dark basement where 'Charlie' is supposed to be hiding, this creates excitement effectively.

Lighting is used effectively in this trailer to represent different moods and feelings. At the beginning the park is very bright which represents a childlike innocence, but also a certain naivety. This contrasts however to the darkness that the rest of the trailer is in, low key lighting is used throughout the rest of the trailer to show the binary opposition between good and evil. The darkness is particularly effective when the action is becoming more intense because you can't clearly see everything so it adds mystery.

The little girl is the main character in 'Hide and Seek', as she is portrayed in the beginning as an innocent, pure girl doing general child things such as playing in the park. The binary opposition of pure and twisted is created during the film, which at first makes the audience think that the child isn't as innocent as first thought, however this conclusion you draw quite early on into the film isn't necessarily true.


As you can see 'Hide and Seek' was our main inspiration, and we drew a lot of ideas from the film that we believed made it an exciting and thrilling film. We liked the idea of using light and dark to represent good and evil, this was created in our film by using the bright sunny park location then contrasting this with the dark shadowed hall and we also thought the idea of using a little girl in the film was interesting because its not a character you would normally expect to see in a thriller, so this would gain the audiences interest.
We believe that by using all these key elements that made 'Hide and Seek' so successful also have the potential to make our film just as successful.