Clayton George Wickham - final thesis

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returning the screen to black. The time it takes for this to elapse is approximately
three and a half minutes, which is the standard length of a full theatrical trailer.
Other elements stand out as similar to contemporary film trailers. The voice
over using vague narrative summary can be seen in trailers around that time, such as
in the trailers for Beetlejuice (1988; dir. Burton), Die Hard (1988; dir. McTiernan),
and is very similar to the voice over in the trailer for Psycho III (1986; dir. Perkins)
Also, while the graveyard framing is shot specifically for this segment, specially shot
footage has been used in teaser trailers especially. Such contemporary film teasers
that use footage exclusive to advertising materials include those for Masters of the
Universe (1987; dir. Goddard), The Gate (1986; dir. Takács), The Fly II (1989; dir.
Walas), and many others. These teaser trailers also use voice over similar to the
voice over at the beginning of The New Blood.
Half of the previous films, namely the three immediately preceding The New
Blood, have focused on Tommy as a central character, but this film introduces “new
blood” in Tina. This provides a distinct advantage to new viewers as the filmmakers
need only communicate the background of Jason and identify him as a primary
antagonist. In the most basic terms, this opening accomplishes this, in the same way
the campfire-framed opening of The Final Chapter did. First, the voice over tells the
viewer that the story of Jason is a local legend, and that he is an indestructible killer
that has returned from the dead. This legend is used in lieu of explaining Jason’s
precise background, his relationship with his mother and so on, that the franchise
viewer would be aware of. Second, the film clips used verify the truth of this legend,
demonstrating that it is not an exaggeration. Finally, the clips used from Jason
Lives! explains why, at the start of The New Blood, Jason is chained to a rock
underwater. In this way, the new viewer is provided with sufficient information to