Hey everyone! Today I’m talking about our two trailers and showing the finished result as well. I’m beyond proud of my teammates and me for putting in the effort to complete this project, which was truly a great experience.
Trailer 1:
Genre and Conventions-
When we were making The Hollow, I knew from the start that we were leaning straight into the psychological thriller/horror vibe. Everything about the trailer, the empty hallways, the weird tension in the pacing, the way we barely explain anything, is meant to make people feel uneasy. We didn’t want to hand the plot to the audience; we wanted them to sit there like, “Wait… what’s actually going on?” That’s why we kept the dialogue super minimal and let the visuals do most of the talking. It fits the genre perfectly and keeps that creepy, mysterious energy alive.
Narrative Structure and Enigma Codes-
The way we structured the trailer is very restricted on purpose. Instead of giving a full storyline, we only show little pieces, quick flashes of characters, locations, and moments where something feels off. As someone who wrote the trailers and helped film it, I wanted the audience to start asking questions immediately: What is The Hollow? Why are these characters involved? Why does everything feel wrong? That ambiguity is exactly what thriller trailers rely on, and we leaned into it hard.
Character and Representation-
Even though we don’t introduce characters through dialogue, you can still read a lot from how we move and how the shots frame us. Everyone looks tense, isolated, or suspicious, including me, since I’m the co‑detective in the black shirt. We wanted the characters to feel like they’re stuck in something they don’t fully understand. Not giving away our identities or backstories adds to the mystery and keeps the focus on the atmosphere instead of personalities.
Camera Shots and Visual Style-
For the visuals, we mixed close-ups, wide shots, and tracking shots to build tension. The close-ups show the fear and confusion, while the wide shots make us look small and alone in the environment. The lighting is dark and controlled, very psychological thriller coded, and it makes everything feel like something could jump out at any second. That was the exact mood we were aiming for when I was helping with the camera work.
Mise‑en‑scène-
Most of our settings, the hallways, the dim lighting, the quiet spaces, were chosen to make everything feel empty and unsettling. We kept props minimal, so nothing distracted from the tension. The shadows and low‑key lighting really push the idea that the danger in The Hollow isn’t physical… It’s psychological. That’s the whole point of the film’s atmosphere.
Editing and Pacing- (We talked about it as a team, but Ethan and Maddy edited; I'm more of the writer here)
The editing is full of quick cuts and sharp transitions, which keep the energy high and the tension rising. We avoided long takes because we didn’t want anything to feel comfortable or predictable. The timing of the cuts matches the shifts in the music and sound, so everything feels connected. It’s the same style you see in professional thriller trailers: fast, intense, and always hinting at something worse coming.
Sound Design-
For the sound, we focused on non‑diegetic audio, the music, and atmospheric noises that guide how the audience feels. The soundtrack builds tension slowly, and the moments of silence hit even harder because of it. Silence is honestly one of the scariest tools in a thriller, and we used it to make viewers hyper-aware of every little movement. It’s a classic thriller technique, and it works perfectly for our trailer. Ethan found an app that doesn't give a copywriter for using those sounds we all picked the sounds together, and then he edited, and the maddy jut helped Ethan make it longer, but he had already done 70% of the editing.
Target Audience-
This trailer is definitely aimed at people who love psychological thrillers, mystery stories, and anything that builds tension without relying on jump scares. It fits the taste of teens and young adults who enjoy piecing together clues and reading into visuals. The whole style is for viewers who like subtle, slow-burn suspense.
Influences and Research Connections-
A lot of our inspiration came from psychological thrillers that focus on mood and mystery instead of action films like "The Witch", "Hereditary", and "The Invitation". Those trailers barely explain anything, but they make you feel everything. We followed that same approach with minimal dialogue, atmospheric sound, and a fragmented narrative. It helps place The Hollow within the genre while still letting us be original.
Genre and Conventions-
Trailer 2 takes everything we set up in the first trailer and pushes it way further into psychological thriller territory. The pacing is tighter, the shots feel darker, and the danger feels way more in‑your‑face. When we were putting this one together, we leaned into all the classic thriller stuff: shadowy spaces, quick flashes, fragmented visuals, basically anything that makes you feel like something bad is about to happen. Compared to Trailer 1, these feels more urgent and way more focused on the threat, which is exactly how second trailers usually work in real film marketing.
Narrative Structure and Enigma Codes-
The structure in Trailer 2 is a lot more aggressive, I would definitely say. We reveal a little more about the danger surrounding the characters, but we still don’t explain the full story. That was intentional. We wanted people to feel like they’re getting closer to understanding The Hollow, but not actually reaching the answer. The trailer starts slow and then builds intensity through faster cuts and more dramatic visuals. As someone who helped write and shape the flow, I wanted the escalation to feel like the narrative itself was tightening around the characters, almost suffocating.
Character and Representation-
In this trailer, the characters, including me, since I’m the co‑detective in the black shirt, are shown in moments of fear, confusion, or confrontation. We wanted to highlight vulnerability without giving away who we are or why we’re involved. There’s no backstory, no dialogue, nothing that grounds us too much. That choice makes the characters feel more universal, like anyone could be in our position. It also keeps the focus on the emotional tension instead of personal details.
Camera Shots and Visual Style-
Trailer 2 uses a wider range of shots than the first one, and since I helped with the camera work, this part was really fun to build. We used:
Close-ups to show panic or realization
Tracking shots to create movement and tension
Wide shots to show how isolated we are
Fast-cut inserts that hint at danger without revealing it
The whole visual style is darker and more contrast-heavy. Everything feels sharper and more threatening. That fragmented, high‑contrast look is super common in thriller trailers, and it helped us push the intensity way higher than Trailer 1.
Mise‑en‑scène-
The mise‑en‑scène in Trailer 2 is way more dramatic. The settings look more dangerous, the lighting is even lower, and shadows basically take over the frame. It gives the feeling that the threat is always there, even when you can’t see it. We kept props and costumes simple again, my black shirt as the co‑detective, the mask, the empty spaces, because the simplicity keeps the focus on the psychological tension instead of building a huge world. It’s all about mood, not clutter.
Editing and Pacing- (We talked about it as a team, but Ethan and Maddy edited; I'm more of the writer here)
The editing in this trailer is noticeably faster. The cuts get shorter and shorter as the trailer goes on, which makes everything feel like it’s speeding up. That pacing matches the rising stakes and pulls the viewer deeper into the mystery. We used flash cuts, abrupt transitions, and visual interruptions to create disorientation. That’s a classic thriller move, and it makes the audience feel like they’re losing control right along with the characters.
Sound Design-
Sound plays a huge role in Trailer 2. The music is more intense, with a rising tempo that matches the editing. We added non‑diegetic sound effects, such as low rumbles, sharp hits, and atmospheric tones, to build tension and signal danger. And of course, we used silence at key moments to make everything hit harder. This kind of sound design is super common in second trailers because they’re meant to elicit a stronger emotional reaction from the audience.
Target Audience-
The target audience is the same as Trailer 1, teens and young adults who love psychological thrillers, but Trailer 2 appeals to them in a different way. Trailer 1 was all about mystery and atmosphere. Trailer 2 is about tension and stakes. That two‑trailer strategy is exactly how real studios market their films: first, you introduce the world, then you crank up the conflict.
Influences and Research Connections-
Trailer 2 pulls from modern psychological thrillers that use fragmented editing and rising tension films like "Hereditary", "The Invisible Man", and "The Babadook". The shift from atmospheric mystery (Trailer 1) to heightened tension (Trailer 2) matches how professional multi‑trailer campaigns are structured. It shows that we weren’t just making random choices; we were following real genre and marketing conventions.
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