Psycho (1960) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6YLm--bgaI
M – Use of a voiceover, black and white, location (house on top of the hill), and use of low key lighting used to make shadows. Music used can be described as discordant (but also creates suspense) and the final part of the trailer consists of the woman’s screams. Formal clothing – what would have been worn in the 1960s. Mixture of shots, both medium and close ups. Remote setting – motel off the main road, ‘house on top of the hill’

I – Universal, Alfred Hitchcock – auteur known for his directing style

G – slasher – use of the knife which is used to stab the woman
Horror – the atmosphere that is created using different shots

R – Could represent the woman as being vulnerable

A – Older audiences who may enjoy watching Hitchcock films. Also as the genre is slasher/horror, the target audience would be primarily males.

I –Men being dominant – hence the killer is male, the knife being used as a phallic symbol. The voiceover is also male – patriarchal society

N – The narrative is in chronological order. The use of binary oppositions such as good and evil

Halloween (2007) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kww5KSqzV9U
M – Using dark colours, also the use of green creates a spooky atmosphere. Fast cuts and low key lighting (used to create shadows). The voiceover adds to the suspense that is being created as it makes the trailer scarier as the killer is wearing a mask.

I – Rob Zombie

G – Horror/ Slasher – audience can assume the genre by the various conventions used i.e. music, lighting, scary atmosphere that is created etc.

R - Women being presented as vulnerable as she is being attacked – most probably because she has committed a sin i.e. pre martial sex

A – Primarily males who prefer the horror genre more than women.

I – dominant ideology (audience can assume that the killer is male), patriarchal - male voice over.

N – Chronological order?, use of binary oppositions i.e. Natural and supernatural & good and evil.

Both are similar as the killers use a knife. Also the use of a male voiceover, killer can be seen to have a disguises. In Psycho, a wig and gown and in Halloween a mask. Disguises are used to create suspense amongst audiences which only encourages them to go and watch the film.
Essay
The form and function of a trailer is to encourage the audience to go and watch the film. I have analysed two different trailers from the same genre but different decades, the first trailer is Psycho directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1960) and the second trailer is Halloween directed by Rob Zombie (2007).
However producers many produce more than one trailer in order to market the film at different audiences.

The opening to Psycho can be seen an introduction to the narrative as we see both the main characters. Also the use of the voiceover helps to move the story along. However it is a male voiceover which could connote the patriarchal society we live in, as the majority of films tend to have a male voiceover as opposed to a female one. But as the horror and slasher genre is most appealing to males, movies within this genre are less likely to use a female voiceover. We are also shown the setting in Psycho, which is the house on top of the hill - a location which has been used many times in forthcoming slasher and horror films.
In contrast, the opening to Halloween creates the spooky atmosphere which audiences expect when watching a film from this genre, but the trailer also uses text which could place emphasis on events that are about to happen (within the trailer), as the first set of moving images we see are flashbacks, most probably from childhood. Like Psycho we are then shown the setting which appears to be in the suburbs. The common misconception about living in the suburbs is that it may be safer, however this may not necessarily be true as in the media today we still hear about crimes which occur just as much in inner city areas.
Though both films use different locations, nevertheless they still create suspense as Halloween creates the idea that the killer could be your next door neighbour whilst in Psycho the audience is anticipating the consequences at stopping off at a spooky motel.

In both trailers we see the killers use a knife to kill their victims, this can also be interpreted as a phallic symbol which ultimately gives males the power over women (at the same time portraying women as being vulnerable, but also the competition that women currently face in society with men) .As an audience we can assume that the victims may have committed sins which resulted in their murders.
Halloween uses more fast cuts towards the end of the trailer which builds up to a climax where the killer jumps out, this makes the film seem scarier as it is unexpected.
Both films can have a visceral effect on audiences, however I think that Halloween is more visceral partly because of the fast paced cuts that have been used which almost feels like a ‘rollercoaster ride’. Whereas Psycho features less cuts and the trailer is rather slow pace. By this also highlights how much technology has advanced over a few decades, as producers are able to do more special effects which enhance the film in an attempt to gain more audiences.
Also they can also be seen as an intellectual puzzle, as audiences will be trying to piece together the mystery of the attacker and looking for clues as to why he may kill his victims as the pleasure is derived by being surprised by the unexpected. As many new films within this genre do expect audiences to follow the narrative closely, as well as collating information on the psychopath.

A common feature used throughout the trailer is of the women screaming, which would add to the terror of being attacked but also includes the element of horror.
In Psycho, whilst the character is screaming at the prospect of being killed, high pitched music is being played which sounds discordant (strings). Halloween also features female characters screaming but does not use similar music but a softer instrumental is used, but at the same time creates a similar effect to Psycho.
Whilst Psycho relies on the voiceover to create suspense, Halloween used both voiceover and written text to create suspense, “there exists a dark side in everybody” and the audience is then shown the murderer putting on a mask. The idea of a mask is used in many horror or slasher films, for example in Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), the killer’s face is disguised using a mask, this can add to the suspense of the film, by keeping the audience guessing about who is behind the mask.