The first shot shows us a man in a suit. Suits are an icon of power, so the audience is immediately aware that the man shown is superior. The shot also appears as if a hand held camera has been used, creating a more realistic feel.
We then view a fade to black to a mid shot of the same man driving. However, the audience is unaware of the place he is heading to. This follows the convention of with holding information, to maintain the audiences observation.
Another fade to black is followed by a crude, isolated wooden house. Which, again proceeds the convention of a deserted building which helps portray a sinister and uncomfortable atmosphere.
On the next fade to black, the audience understand that the character in the beige suit is actually a reverend (Reverend Cotton Marcus) This starts to flesh out a little more information. Although, we are still unaware of his purpose throughout the film. Again, fulfilling the convention of keeping the audience engaged. To continue with engaging the audience, we then discover that the reverend has 'performed over 50 exorcisms.'
12 seconds in to the trailer, the audience witness a young girl, who's involvement in the film is unexplained as the shot fades to black and reads 'This will be his last'
The next character to be introduced we know is the girls father as the dialogue from the film says 'Reverend. I need you to do an exorcism for the soul of my daughter' This shows that someone must be possessed by an evil spirit. So the audience understand that the film is a horror. We also can infer this because the shots are quite dark and mysterious, and this is one of the major conventions used in horror films. (An example of this convention, is when we see an extreme long shot of a silhouette of what we assume is the girl we saw previously. This shot consist of low key lighting)
When the audience observes a close up of the girl when she is 'normal,' we get to view how the girls personality contrasts to become possessed, showing that something is wrong.
The non diegetic dialogue says 'You've got nothing to be nervous about' which makes the audience feel relaxed. However, that is immediately altered when we see a close up of the girl look as if she has broken her neck, which is accompanied by non diegetic sound which emphasises that the girl isn't safe, which creates hype and keeps the audience hooked which is a convention.
It also cuts to black and a terrifying non diegetic scream scares the audience to build up the dark atmosphere.
When we read 'From producer Eli Roth' and 'Producers of Dawn of the Dead' these are also small pieces of information which help sell the film as people who like Dawn of the Dead or are fans of Eli Roth then this would also encourage the audience to view the film. this is a major convention of trailers. another convention that this trailer follows is the showing of the release date and title of the film as we need to remember the title so we can look out for when its at the cinema and also we need to know when it will be released to go and see it.
We also see the girl breaking parts of her body and and moving in unusual ways. This is to reiterate the fact she is not in control of her body which accentuates the fear some people have. The convention of a horror film is that the plot plays on the audiences vulnerability and from this trailer this can happen without the audience physically being in this situation. The trailer also fits the convention of previewing their most scariest bits, encouraging people to see the film.
Again, the teaser also fits the convention of using low key lighting, creating a dark atmosphere and after hearing loud music, the music then goes very quite to enunciate the horror when the loud music begins again.
What is interesting about the trailer is the text that reads 'If you believe in god, you must believe in the devil' and persuades you to turn to religious ways to solve the situation.
Finally, towards the end of the trailer montage editing is used which includes lots of sharp shots to engage the audience and create pulse raising effects to promote the film.
