Q: In what ways does your media product use, develop and challenge forms and codes and conventions of real media products?
Throughout the duration of creating our horror film trailer, Dean and I have acknowledged codes and conventions throughout and specifically made sure that we carried out a lot of research before going on to creating our final production. In our trailer we haven’t challenged them to an extent as we didn’t want to risk making our trailer to a bad standard. We used the common convention of having our trailer consist mainly of males and also having our killer as a male. This is key as it doesn’t confuse our target audience and also makes the trailer more believable and professional looking. The image below is a still image that is cut out from our horror film trailer. This is a shot of the killer approaching the front door of the house that they are inflicting pain on. I picked this shot out for a number of reasons as it doesn’t challenge codes and conventions in anyway, it follows them very specifically. As the killer is approaching the door, you don’t see their face through the glass as they are wearing a hood covering the majority of their face. This is a very popular code and convention in horror films as the killer is hiding his identity. This is a common occurrence in a lot of horror films as they build up suspense about who the killer actually is. For example you see this in the film trailer of Carver, a horror film which I studied closely whilst researching in to making a horror film trailer.//www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMilpd7y6. The use of darkness in Carver also ties in with my horror film trailer as we try to use the darkness to its full effect as it creates a scary and uneasy atmosphere and makes you watch over your shoulder a great deal. The use of darkness also provides the audience with a sense of mystery, as the killer in this picture is wearing dark overalls to hide their identity; it makes the audience speculate as they are guessing and want to know who the killer is.
The two ancillary tasks that Dean and I had to create along with our horror film trailer involved codes and conventions. The codes and conventions played a pivotal part in the production of these. We focused a lot of our attention specifically on the use of font and colour for our magazine front cover, looking specifically at existing media texts such as “Empire” film magazine for inspiration and guidance in to helping us to create the best production we possibly could. As media practitioners, it was key that we focussed a lot on colour, font and our sell lines as they are the main ingredients that make a magazine key to how successful it is and how successful it is in selling. For the colour of my magazine, I researched a lot over “Google images” to have a lot of backgrounds that currently exist in media magazines, for example http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/harrypotter6empire.jpg . This was a great inspiration for a background as it created a very spooky effect that fitted in perfectly with my horror film trailer. With the font that we wanted to use as you can see in the magazine front cover, yellow and white, it blends in very nicely with the background and most important of all, it is very readable to the audience and also very eye-catching. The image placement fits in with normal codes and conventions as it dominates the page and it would be the first thing the audience see when they first glance at my film magazine front cover. With my film poster, we had less codes and conventions to follow but took more inspiration from existing media texts as they helped us gain more information about what is required in a horror film poster. As you can see in our film poster, the image is very dark and spooky creating a dark and spooky effect, which relates to our main characters in our trailer. In this poster we again followed the normal set of codes and conventions. We placed our main image at the centre of the page and with the help of existing media texts, we knew where to the other information that was needed on our film poster. I wasn’t at all tempted to challenge codes and conventions as I thought that it might tamper with our poster and not make it stand out. I was inspired by the originality of other film posters I had come across as they looked real and had a purpose and you knew what they were trying to show and represent to the audience.
Q: How effective is the combination of the main product and texts?
When beginning the whole process of filming our horror film trailer, I was convinced that our ancillary tasks, which were to create a horror film poster and magazine front cover related to our trailer, would form a fantastic promotional package as they would blend in very well together and produce a brilliant production of media. The key for the trailer, magazine and poster to be a successful trio was for my target audience to play a defining role in determining how good our productions actually were. They had a big influence. The film poster was created in order to attract our audience. Our magazine was then created giving more specific detail about the film itself and trying to attract more and more of our target audience. From this, we started the production of filming and editing our film trailer. I feel after completing all these tasks, our three productions combine brilliantly as they are all sending out the same message which is to watch our film. The two ancillary pieces closely link in together very well there are the pivotal weapons that are advertising my horror film trailer. This is the front cover of my film magazine. This forms one part of my promotional package. The use of the main image and the ‘spooky, mysterious’ background blend in very well to create an eerie atmosphere and tone. The uses of the main image draws the audience’s attention very sharply as they see the blood on the face of the victim in my horror film trailer and see the knife point on his face. The image of the knife makes the audience feel on edge and uneasy as they see the blood on the victim’s face and therefore assumes that the knife is the weapon that caused the blood wound. The audience would then be drawn to the use of the sell lines on the left hand side of the magazine front cover, especially the sell line, “UNSEEN SHOTS OF THE NEW SAW VI SET!!” The use of the bright and attractive yellow fonts along with the quote being in bold block capital letters suggest that this sell line differs to the rest as I want the reader to gaze upon that sell line first as it is the most important and ties in with the main image being presented. The Lansbury drive sign is using a similar technique as the bold red font highlights the reader’s attention and it immediately sticks out to the reader. It has a dominating presence. Another technique I used is the promotional offer highlighted in the red bubble which offers readers the chance to go and see paranormal activity premiere. The promotional offer of seeing paranormal activity premiere was a good idea as it was a movie that was dominating the news and cinema worlds due to its reviews about being a film that “you shouldn’t watch on your own”. Seeing as it’s also a horror film, it will appeal very well to my kind of target audience that I want interested in ‘Lansbury Drive’. This magazine front cover plays a vital part in my ‘promotional package’ as it lets the audience divulge more information about the film itself.
My film poster was created ideally to attract my target audience in to taking an interest in my horror film. Seeing film posters’ being advertised all over your local town/city and your local newspaper or shop would make you take an interest in them. When you first glance at my film poster you detect the dark and ghostly type of theme as my poster is very effective in its use of darkness and eeriness. You can’t help but firstly notice the image used and the font that is placed in front of it. The image is of the masked killer in their overalls in a dark alley. This heightens the audience’s tension as this is a very spooky and dark image. The font used for the name of the film is in a very spooky font. It suits the genre of horror perfectly as it has the right characteristics such as the black font with the glow behind it. Above the image of the killer you have the strap line which gives the audience the slightest insight in to the reasoning for the main image. The three actor’s names at the top of the film poster were appropriately placed in a bold white font against the dark background to draw in the audience and show clearly who is in my film. The use of the white font blends in terrifically with the black background as it is easily readable and also has a ghostly effect about it.
I feel these three pieces form the perfect ‘promotional package’ for our audience as it gives them everything they need in order to know whether they want to see the film our not. The film studios involved in producing my film may also play a lesser role as viewers may associate “dimension films” with the “Scream” movies therefore strengthening their desire to watch the film seeing as dimension films have created great films in the past and continue to do so today. The trailer gives you 2-3 minutes to watch specific scenes that are in the film that we think will entice the audience further to go to watch our horror film. The trailer gives you the urge to go and see more as it shows 2-3 minutes of pure gripping visual excitement. The horror film magazine gives our audience who look reading a chance to read up on our upcoming venture and to decide for themselves whether they want to watch it or not. It gives in depth information about the film as a whole, but not dispersing the whole narrative of the trailer as that would just ruin the viewing as that is the most fun and exciting part.
Q: What have you learned from your audience feedback?
The age range of our target audience is 18-35, however this may vary by a few years. The gender of our audience will be profoundly male, although we will explore the female film scene in future issues, so we should create a small unique female fan base.
When getting feedback from the target audience, I put together a focus group in order to find out all their opinions and so forth. After my audience had watched my trailer back and seen the ancillary tasks they had a lot of positive comments to give and also had some queries about some of the editing and also gave their own opinions on how to maybe improve some of the shots. Here are some of the people in my target audience and this is what they said upon viewing my media coursework. Dean and I also put our horror film trailer on YouTube so we could get commentary back from everyone that watched it seeing as the majority of people who will watch it will fit in with our age bracket of our target audience. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOxV1--Diys . Once you have viewed the trailer you can see the comments below it showing evidence of audience feedback towards our trailer.
Sean O’Connor-
Age- 19
Views on media production- Sean had said to me that he really liked the narrative idea of the child witnessing his parents death and coming back to that specific house years later. Seeing as Sean had done a horror film trailer last year I automatically knew he was the best man to ask about the editing stage of my horror film trailer. He really liked the choice of music in the trailer saying that it suited the shots and the storyline. He shared a lot of his problems that he had whilst doing his and helped me overcome any of them that occurred with me. He found the bathroom scene very effective as they are 3 very quick jump cut shots of the killer and his victim, with the victim lying on the bathroom floor trying to cling for life via the sink but died. The only thing he told me that I could improve upon was to cut down on my use of black outs as I do have a lot in the film, especially nearer the first minute of the trailer. He said to look at other ways of producing clear and effective transitions of shots. Sean’s views helped me tremendously as he got a very good grade in media studies and his horror film trailer so I knew that he knew what he was talking about. When Sean viewed both my ancillary tasks, he immediately said that the magazine background was very cleverly put together as it had the misty dark background with the tress and the Lansbury drive sign added in. It gave it a spooky effect. He said to my film poster was very good but could do with a slight bit more detail where the gaps are to make it look even more appealing. Taking all this in to account, Dean and I took his advice and went back over our production work and made some changes such as dealing with the dead black outs and cuts to black in our trailer.
Kyle Bruney
Age- 19
Views on my media production- In Kyle’s words, he said my production was a “sick piece of work”. He liked all of it. Whilst watching the film trailer the only negative he could find was that he wanted to watch more of it. He is in the process of making a music video at the college he goes to at the moment so was intrigued to know more about the stages I went through whilst editing. He said to me that my alley way scene was particularly effective as we see the killer walking slowly towards the camera lifting his hood up and then the trailer stops there. He said that particular scene just made him want to go and see more. He thought the heart beat sound that I had uploaded to the trailer was very effective as it added to the tension and heightened it further. As Kyle is a big fan of horror films, especially slasher films, he watched this trailer very closely a good 3-4 times before giving me his overall opinion. When he viewed my ancillary tasks, he was very impressed with both the images on both the magazine and film poster. The use of the knife and blood in the magazine front cover image makes the film seem that bit scarier to the audience and Kyle said that will make it better as it will be interpreted as a really scary film which will make the audience want to see it.
James O’Leary
Age- 28
View on my media production- I thought I’d ask some who’s older than the original people I’ve talked to about my production so I asked my cousin who’s really in to horror films and he fits in to my target audience range perfectly. Once he viewed the trailer a few times he said he thought it was top class, especially for people who have never worked with this sort of equipment before. He really liked how I ordered the shots so that I wasn’t giving away the plot of the trailer and film. He thought the choice of song was really well thought, especially at the start as the start of the Linkin Park song sounds like a big countdown to something major that’s going to happen. My cousin watches horror film trailers on YouTube a lot and said to me there’s a lot of good things about my trailer. My choice of characters he said was very good and he said it was good that I didn’t challenge codes and conventions but putting any females in acting as a killer because it might not work how I would like it to. He said the chase scenes were filmed well and the transition of shots were effective. His only criticism was the use of the dead black outs and jump cuts to black at the start of the trailer. When James viewed my ancillary pieces he was very impressed how I had managed to get them both looking very good. He said it was obvious that I put a lot of time and effort in to both pieces and that I planned them both very well. He said the sell lines grabbed his attention in the magazine, especially the bright yellow font saying, “unseen shots”. He thought that stood out on the page nicely and that it grabbed the reader’s attention very sharply due to its commanding presence on the page.
Q: How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
When going through all the stages of my planning, research and evaluation, I used various different types of media technology such as camera, internet, adobe Photoshop and in order to advance my portfolio further. Existing media texts such as the internet helped me research different types of existing media horror film trailer magazines and film poster that currently exist. This was key in to helping me develop my ancillary tasks. I made use first of all of all the resources I had to my name, such as internet access to the likes of YouTube etc... So I could watch different sorts of existing media horror film trailers to help inspire me. In my research part of my task, I carried out a lot of research in to how to start the process of creating a horror film trailer. I spoke to some my friends from the year above asking them advice about how to begin in order to make a successful piece of media production. I, as a media practitioner, took all advice given to me on board and took these ideas away with me. Before we filmed our actual trailer, we took a variety of practice shots in order we get to grips with how the camera functions properly and so forth. We got to find out the names of certain types of shots and also find out how the camera works exactly.
The blog formed a huge part of our research and planning, as that recorded all the information that I had found in order to help Dean and I create a superb piece of moving media production. Recording all the information I found was a boring process whilst using the programme Fronter, which has access to my school’s website and helps the teacher’s look at our work. Instead, we were given a website called Blogger to use, where we can create our own blog address and make the design of it how we wish it to look like. This made the process more fun and enjoyable as we controlled how well our research and planning would look on our own blogs as they were our own design and gave us that sense of independence knowing that I created my own blog from scratch. http://morrow44.blogspot.com/ this is my blog address so you can view all my research and planning work on here as well as viewing the horror film trailer itself as I have embedded it on to the website. The benefits of the blog are easy, one it makes my work look that more creditable and more interesting to view as people might now want to read my work due to eye catching and colourful design that I used. It makes people actually want to read my work instead of being forced to read it. The set up of the blog is good as, unlike Fronter, I can make my work look much more presentable and readable to everyone and can post images and video’s on their which makes it more visually attractive, unlike Fronter where you can’t use any form of visual evidence to show your work at all.
Whilst in the process of filming our trailer, media technology played a pivotal role in order to make my trailer as successful as it can be. Getting to grips with the video camera wasn’t easy as it was a very complicated piece of technology due to all the different sorts of applications on it. I have had the pleasure of creating media myself whilst on holiday with my friends last year, whilst filming myself coming down a water slide http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/video/video.php?v=1028563450761&subj=1163810648
This helped my creative side as I had never created anything like this before in terms of media. The camera played a big part in the filming of my horror film trailer as it enabled me to learn how to film properly and cut at the appropriate moments when filming. Dean done a lot of the filming due to me being in the horror trailer itself, playing a vital role in how it turns out. The shots I did film however were very effective, especially the shot with the killer walking down the alley way and about to reveal their identity and then the trailer finishes.
When constructing my ancillary tasks we first of all drew them so we could plan how we wanted them to look. When all that was done Dean and I used software called Adobe Photoshop to make our film poster and film magazine front cover. There was loads of different icons and options available to use we didn’t know where to begin. There were tools to change the colour effect and also there was a cropping tool which was very effective as it got rid of any un-necessary image that was in the background. Since year 12, my Photoshop skills have developed massively, with me being able to do a lot more with an image than I previously was able to do. I had a lot more widespread skills to my name such as the colour effects of the image, fonts, headlines etc... When editing our film trailer there were so many different sorts of edit that Dean and I had to have a long discussion in order to know what we were going to use. We used Premiere Pro, software which allows you to edit any visual moving audio clips that you have. When editing, we commonly used Dead Black Outs, Jump cuts, fades, zoom in and out in order to make our trailer look as good as possible. These were very effective as they made our trailer look extremely professional and also very real to life. There were a lot of things you could do with sound on Premiere Pro, such as download sounds and use them, such as heartbeats and wind etc, to heighten the tension in the trailer and put the audience on edge. Premiere Pro was extremely effective in my creation of my trailer as it allowed me to make a load of shots taken be made in to a film which looks very professional and of the highest quality. It allowed me to make some of my shots which had some errors in them look error free, with all the editing being able to cut out some of the mistakes made in filming, such as filming a shot to long, you were able to cut it down to wherever you want it.
Monday, 10 May 2010
Saturday, 8 May 2010
Friday, 23 April 2010
Thursday, 22 April 2010
Call sheets and shooting scheldues 5
call sheet 5
Date: 14th December
Times: 12pm till 5pm
To Bring: costumes which have already been decided upon and other props.
Schedule:
12.00 – 1pm: Tell everyone what is going to and what might happen today.
1.00 – 3pm: Watch shots 1-10 back a couple of times and re-film any parts of them we think need improving. Get costume, props ready
3pm-4.30pm: Watch shots 11-17 and again re-film any parts we think need improving or could be made better in any way. Get costume, props ready
5.00-6pm: Watch shots 18-21 and again re-film any parts we think need improving etc... Get costume, props ready
6pm-8pm: Watch shots 22-24 and again re-film any parts we think need improving. Watch the whole trailer again till satisfied with everything.
Additional information:
If for any reason you cannot make it on the day printed above please inform as soon as possible so that I can find a temporary or permanent replacement.
Thank you
Dean and Chris
Date: 14th December
Times: 12pm till 5pm
To Bring: costumes which have already been decided upon and other props.
Schedule:
12.00 – 1pm: Tell everyone what is going to and what might happen today.
1.00 – 3pm: Watch shots 1-10 back a couple of times and re-film any parts of them we think need improving. Get costume, props ready
3pm-4.30pm: Watch shots 11-17 and again re-film any parts we think need improving or could be made better in any way. Get costume, props ready
5.00-6pm: Watch shots 18-21 and again re-film any parts we think need improving etc... Get costume, props ready
6pm-8pm: Watch shots 22-24 and again re-film any parts we think need improving. Watch the whole trailer again till satisfied with everything.
Additional information:
If for any reason you cannot make it on the day printed above please inform as soon as possible so that I can find a temporary or permanent replacement.
Thank you
Dean and Chris
Call sheets and shooting scheldues 4
call sheet 4
Date: 8th December
Times: 12pm till 8pm
To Bring: costumes which have already been decided upon and other props.
Schedule:
12.00 – 1pm: Get all the rest of the shots ready to film.
1.00 – 3pm: Film shots 19 and 20 in this time and take time to watch them back.
3pm-4.30pm: Film shot 21 and get it perfect so we don’t have to spend any more time on filming it. Take 20minute break in this time.
5.00-6pm: Get shot 22 completed and then replayed back on the video camera to all too see to see if any changes needed.
6pm-8pm: Get shots 23 and 24 completed and then watch all shots back to pick out good and bad points of them and see if there’s any adjustments needed to any of the shots. Give characters insight of what’s happening tomorrow.
Additional information:
If for any reason you cannot make it on the day printed above please inform as soon as possible so that I can find a temporary or permanent replacement.
Thank you
Dean and Chris
Date: 8th December
Times: 12pm till 8pm
To Bring: costumes which have already been decided upon and other props.
Schedule:
12.00 – 1pm: Get all the rest of the shots ready to film.
1.00 – 3pm: Film shots 19 and 20 in this time and take time to watch them back.
3pm-4.30pm: Film shot 21 and get it perfect so we don’t have to spend any more time on filming it. Take 20minute break in this time.
5.00-6pm: Get shot 22 completed and then replayed back on the video camera to all too see to see if any changes needed.
6pm-8pm: Get shots 23 and 24 completed and then watch all shots back to pick out good and bad points of them and see if there’s any adjustments needed to any of the shots. Give characters insight of what’s happening tomorrow.
Additional information:
If for any reason you cannot make it on the day printed above please inform as soon as possible so that I can find a temporary or permanent replacement.
Thank you
Dean and Chris
Call sheets and shooting scheldues 3
Call sheet 3
Date: 7th December
Times: 12pm till 8pm
To Bring: costumes which have already been decided upon and other props.
Schedule:
12.00 – 1pm: plan shots 11-18 today and get all characters updated on what’s happening.
1.00 – 3pm: Have every one dressed and ready and get shots 11, 12 and 13 completed until they are perfect
3pm-4.30pm: Getting shot 14 perfectly shot and starting shot 15. Have 20 minute break in this time.
5.00-6pm: Get shot 16 and 17 completed and then replayed back on the video camera to all to see.
6pm-8pm: Get shots 18 completed and then watch all shots back to pick out good and bad points of them and see if there’s any adjustments needed to any of the shots. Give characters insight of what’s happening tomorrow.
Additional information:
If for any reason you cannot make it on the day printed above please inform as soon as possible so that I can find a temporary or permanent replacement.
Thank you
Dean and Chris
Date: 7th December
Times: 12pm till 8pm
To Bring: costumes which have already been decided upon and other props.
Schedule:
12.00 – 1pm: plan shots 11-18 today and get all characters updated on what’s happening.
1.00 – 3pm: Have every one dressed and ready and get shots 11, 12 and 13 completed until they are perfect
3pm-4.30pm: Getting shot 14 perfectly shot and starting shot 15. Have 20 minute break in this time.
5.00-6pm: Get shot 16 and 17 completed and then replayed back on the video camera to all to see.
6pm-8pm: Get shots 18 completed and then watch all shots back to pick out good and bad points of them and see if there’s any adjustments needed to any of the shots. Give characters insight of what’s happening tomorrow.
Additional information:
If for any reason you cannot make it on the day printed above please inform as soon as possible so that I can find a temporary or permanent replacement.
Thank you
Dean and Chris
Call sheets and shooting scheldues 2
Call sheet 2
Date: 6th December
Times: 12pm till 8pm
To Bring: costumes which have already been decided upon and other props.
Schedule:
12.00 – 1pm: Plan shots 3-10 today and get everyone up to date with what they have to do.
1.00 – 3pm: Have every one dressed and ready and get shots 3 and 4 completed until they are perfect
3pm-4.30pm: Getting shot 5 perfectly shot and starting shot 6. Have 20 minute break in this time.
5.00-6pm: Get shot 6 and 7 completed and then replayed back on the video camera to all to see.
6pm-8pm: Get shots 8, 9 and 10 completed and then watch them back to pick out good and bad points of them. Give characters insight of what’s happening tomorrow.
Additional information:
If for any reason you cannot make it on the day printed above please inform as soon as possible so that I can find a temporary or permanent replacement.
Thank you
Dean and Chris
Date: 6th December
Times: 12pm till 8pm
To Bring: costumes which have already been decided upon and other props.
Schedule:
12.00 – 1pm: Plan shots 3-10 today and get everyone up to date with what they have to do.
1.00 – 3pm: Have every one dressed and ready and get shots 3 and 4 completed until they are perfect
3pm-4.30pm: Getting shot 5 perfectly shot and starting shot 6. Have 20 minute break in this time.
5.00-6pm: Get shot 6 and 7 completed and then replayed back on the video camera to all to see.
6pm-8pm: Get shots 8, 9 and 10 completed and then watch them back to pick out good and bad points of them. Give characters insight of what’s happening tomorrow.
Additional information:
If for any reason you cannot make it on the day printed above please inform as soon as possible so that I can find a temporary or permanent replacement.
Thank you
Dean and Chris
Call sheets and shooting scheldues 1
Call sheet 1
Date: 5th December
Times: 12pm till 8pm
To Bring: costumes which have already been decided upon and other props.
Schedule:
12.00 – 1pm: Introductions – come to terms with character/ plot and understand what roles you have to take on today.
1.00 – 3pm: Once everyone is accustomed to their role set of scene and shoot the opening shot of film trailer.
3pm-4.30pm: After reviewing the footage with every member of crew decide on best one and film “shot 2” and “shot 3”
5.00-6pm: Review all footage and decide which clips to use then have the rest of the time slot as a break.
6pm-8pm: After the break finally shoot the last shot in this location, after debrief the crew and produce the second call sheet for Sunday.
Additional information:
If for any reason you cannot make it on the day printed above please inform as soon as possible so that I can find a temporary or permanent replacement.
Thank you
Dean and Chris
Date: 5th December
Times: 12pm till 8pm
To Bring: costumes which have already been decided upon and other props.
Schedule:
12.00 – 1pm: Introductions – come to terms with character/ plot and understand what roles you have to take on today.
1.00 – 3pm: Once everyone is accustomed to their role set of scene and shoot the opening shot of film trailer.
3pm-4.30pm: After reviewing the footage with every member of crew decide on best one and film “shot 2” and “shot 3”
5.00-6pm: Review all footage and decide which clips to use then have the rest of the time slot as a break.
6pm-8pm: After the break finally shoot the last shot in this location, after debrief the crew and produce the second call sheet for Sunday.
Additional information:
If for any reason you cannot make it on the day printed above please inform as soon as possible so that I can find a temporary or permanent replacement.
Thank you
Dean and Chris
research into location and costume
Research into locations
This is the house that is going to stage our horror film trailer. We chose this as it is Dean’s house and also had the right characteristics to stage a trailer and also the right size. The house is big enough inside and also windows are very visible so clear to see inside so killer can see what is happening. On the basis of our horror film trailer, we are using this specific house on Lansbury drive as this is where the killer lived when he was growing up and where he witnessed his parents being murdered. He is back for revenge and doesn’t care who he hurts.
Alley ways- these are used for a scary effect. They are often used in horror films as they are very dark, intimidating places to be walking in, especially alone at night. Alley ways will be used in our horror film as that is where one of the killings takes place. They are dark, creepy places to be in alone and they are normally fully dark or have a beam of light shining from a streetlamp which gives focus to one specific point in the alley way. We are going to use this alley as it has a number of great characteristics which suit our horror film trailer perfectly and fit in with our sub genre. Alley ways give us a feeling of claustrophobia as we feel closed in and surrounded. We are going to scene a killing in an alley way as it is very secluded from normal open areas which are surrounded by people. No one will witness the killing as the alley way is very well hidden away and people tend to want to stay away from it as it looks dodgy and very dangerous.
This is the look of the street that we are using to stage a couple of chase scenes and also where the house is. This is Lansbury Drive. This street is a good setting as it is a long stretch of road and is very mysterious and quite creepy when it comes to night time. We will be filming a lot of the scenes here to between dusk and night time. The road also consists of a lot of trees and street lamps which adds to the mystery of the film trailer.
Research in to costume
This is the costume we are using in our film trailer. This will be the killer’s costume. We are using this at it looks very scary and also has the right characteristics for the horror trailer we are trying to create. It is dark and black and reminds people of the grim reaper. This is good as it is a very good disguise and hides the identity of the killer very well. This is the sort of costume the killers used when they murdered the current killers parents when he was young. The costume we are using gives a sense of danger to the trailer and makes it look more of a slasher genre.
We are using blood in a few scenes in our horror film trailer. Blood as we know is very effective in horror films as it gives the viewer a sense of scariness and anticipation. The blood makes them want to see what happens and they become more involved with the film. The blood will definitely make our film fit in with the sub genre category of a slasher when you see killings and psychical incidents. Blood in horror a film excite the viewer and makes them want to go and see the whole film. It shows the gruesome nature of the film. We will be using fake blood to make the blood scenes seem as real as possible.
We are using a knife in our horror film as the killer’s weapon of choice. We know that knifes not only scare the victim but also scare the viewer too as they can cause so much gruesome viewing and also cause serious injury and create a lot of blood/gore scenes in horror film trailers. The knife will make the viewer feel on edge and make them want to see the whole film. We will mainly use the knife when we see the killer kill his victims, and will also witness it in some of the chase scenes involved.
This is the house that is going to stage our horror film trailer. We chose this as it is Dean’s house and also had the right characteristics to stage a trailer and also the right size. The house is big enough inside and also windows are very visible so clear to see inside so killer can see what is happening. On the basis of our horror film trailer, we are using this specific house on Lansbury drive as this is where the killer lived when he was growing up and where he witnessed his parents being murdered. He is back for revenge and doesn’t care who he hurts.
Alley ways- these are used for a scary effect. They are often used in horror films as they are very dark, intimidating places to be walking in, especially alone at night. Alley ways will be used in our horror film as that is where one of the killings takes place. They are dark, creepy places to be in alone and they are normally fully dark or have a beam of light shining from a streetlamp which gives focus to one specific point in the alley way. We are going to use this alley as it has a number of great characteristics which suit our horror film trailer perfectly and fit in with our sub genre. Alley ways give us a feeling of claustrophobia as we feel closed in and surrounded. We are going to scene a killing in an alley way as it is very secluded from normal open areas which are surrounded by people. No one will witness the killing as the alley way is very well hidden away and people tend to want to stay away from it as it looks dodgy and very dangerous.
This is the look of the street that we are using to stage a couple of chase scenes and also where the house is. This is Lansbury Drive. This street is a good setting as it is a long stretch of road and is very mysterious and quite creepy when it comes to night time. We will be filming a lot of the scenes here to between dusk and night time. The road also consists of a lot of trees and street lamps which adds to the mystery of the film trailer.
Research in to costume
This is the costume we are using in our film trailer. This will be the killer’s costume. We are using this at it looks very scary and also has the right characteristics for the horror trailer we are trying to create. It is dark and black and reminds people of the grim reaper. This is good as it is a very good disguise and hides the identity of the killer very well. This is the sort of costume the killers used when they murdered the current killers parents when he was young. The costume we are using gives a sense of danger to the trailer and makes it look more of a slasher genre.
We are using blood in a few scenes in our horror film trailer. Blood as we know is very effective in horror films as it gives the viewer a sense of scariness and anticipation. The blood makes them want to see what happens and they become more involved with the film. The blood will definitely make our film fit in with the sub genre category of a slasher when you see killings and psychical incidents. Blood in horror a film excite the viewer and makes them want to go and see the whole film. It shows the gruesome nature of the film. We will be using fake blood to make the blood scenes seem as real as possible.
We are using a knife in our horror film as the killer’s weapon of choice. We know that knifes not only scare the victim but also scare the viewer too as they can cause so much gruesome viewing and also cause serious injury and create a lot of blood/gore scenes in horror film trailers. The knife will make the viewer feel on edge and make them want to see the whole film. We will mainly use the knife when we see the killer kill his victims, and will also witness it in some of the chase scenes involved.
research into location and costume
Research into locations
This is the house that is going to stage our horror film trailer. We chose this as it is Dean’s house and also had the right characteristics to stage a trailer and also the right size. The house is big enough inside and also windows are very visible so clear to see inside so killer can see what is happening. On the basis of our horror film trailer, we are using this specific house on Lansbury drive as this is where the killer lived when he was growing up and where he witnessed his parents being murdered. He is back for revenge and doesn’t care who he hurts.
Alley ways- these are used for a scary effect. They are often used in horror films as they are very dark, intimidating places to be walking in, especially alone at night. Alley ways will be used in our horror film as that is where one of the killings takes place. They are dark, creepy places to be in alone and they are normally fully dark or have a beam of light shining from a streetlamp which gives focus to one specific point in the alley way. We are going to use this alley as it has a number of great characteristics which suit our horror film trailer perfectly and fit in with our sub genre. Alley ways give us a feeling of claustrophobia as we feel closed in and surrounded. We are going to scene a killing in an alley way as it is very secluded from normal open areas which are surrounded by people. No one will witness the killing as the alley way is very well hidden away and people tend to want to stay away from it as it looks dodgy and very dangerous.
This is the look of the street that we are using to stage a couple of chase scenes and also where the house is. This is Lansbury Drive. This street is a good setting as it is a long stretch of road and is very mysterious and quite creepy when it comes to night time. We will be filming a lot of the scenes here to between dusk and night time. The road also consists of a lot of trees and street lamps which adds to the mystery of the film trailer.
Research in to costume
This is the costume we are using in our film trailer. This will be the killer’s costume. We are using this at it looks very scary and also has the right characteristics for the horror trailer we are trying to create. It is dark and black and reminds people of the grim reaper. This is good as it is a very good disguise and hides the identity of the killer very well. This is the sort of costume the killers used when they murdered the current killers parents when he was young. The costume we are using gives a sense of danger to the trailer and makes it look more of a slasher genre.
We are using blood in a few scenes in our horror film trailer. Blood as we know is very effective in horror films as it gives the viewer a sense of scariness and anticipation. The blood makes them want to see what happens and they become more involved with the film. The blood will definitely make our film fit in with the sub genre category of a slasher when you see killings and psychical incidents. Blood in horror a film excite the viewer and makes them want to go and see the whole film. It shows the gruesome nature of the film. We will be using fake blood to make the blood scenes seem as real as possible.
We are using a knife in our horror film as the killer’s weapon of choice. We know that knifes not only scare the victim but also scare the viewer too as they can cause so much gruesome viewing and also cause serious injury and create a lot of blood/gore scenes in horror film trailers. The knife will make the viewer feel on edge and make them want to see the whole film. We will mainly use the knife when we see the killer kill his victims, and will also witness it in some of the chase scenes involved.
This is the house that is going to stage our horror film trailer. We chose this as it is Dean’s house and also had the right characteristics to stage a trailer and also the right size. The house is big enough inside and also windows are very visible so clear to see inside so killer can see what is happening. On the basis of our horror film trailer, we are using this specific house on Lansbury drive as this is where the killer lived when he was growing up and where he witnessed his parents being murdered. He is back for revenge and doesn’t care who he hurts.
Alley ways- these are used for a scary effect. They are often used in horror films as they are very dark, intimidating places to be walking in, especially alone at night. Alley ways will be used in our horror film as that is where one of the killings takes place. They are dark, creepy places to be in alone and they are normally fully dark or have a beam of light shining from a streetlamp which gives focus to one specific point in the alley way. We are going to use this alley as it has a number of great characteristics which suit our horror film trailer perfectly and fit in with our sub genre. Alley ways give us a feeling of claustrophobia as we feel closed in and surrounded. We are going to scene a killing in an alley way as it is very secluded from normal open areas which are surrounded by people. No one will witness the killing as the alley way is very well hidden away and people tend to want to stay away from it as it looks dodgy and very dangerous.
This is the look of the street that we are using to stage a couple of chase scenes and also where the house is. This is Lansbury Drive. This street is a good setting as it is a long stretch of road and is very mysterious and quite creepy when it comes to night time. We will be filming a lot of the scenes here to between dusk and night time. The road also consists of a lot of trees and street lamps which adds to the mystery of the film trailer.
Research in to costume
This is the costume we are using in our film trailer. This will be the killer’s costume. We are using this at it looks very scary and also has the right characteristics for the horror trailer we are trying to create. It is dark and black and reminds people of the grim reaper. This is good as it is a very good disguise and hides the identity of the killer very well. This is the sort of costume the killers used when they murdered the current killers parents when he was young. The costume we are using gives a sense of danger to the trailer and makes it look more of a slasher genre.
We are using blood in a few scenes in our horror film trailer. Blood as we know is very effective in horror films as it gives the viewer a sense of scariness and anticipation. The blood makes them want to see what happens and they become more involved with the film. The blood will definitely make our film fit in with the sub genre category of a slasher when you see killings and psychical incidents. Blood in horror a film excite the viewer and makes them want to go and see the whole film. It shows the gruesome nature of the film. We will be using fake blood to make the blood scenes seem as real as possible.
We are using a knife in our horror film as the killer’s weapon of choice. We know that knifes not only scare the victim but also scare the viewer too as they can cause so much gruesome viewing and also cause serious injury and create a lot of blood/gore scenes in horror film trailers. The knife will make the viewer feel on edge and make them want to see the whole film. We will mainly use the knife when we see the killer kill his victims, and will also witness it in some of the chase scenes involved.
Wednesday, 21 April 2010
Scream 2 and Halloween 2 film trailer analysis'
Scream 2 trailer –
I analysed this particular film trailer as I feel it relates to the genre of horror which i am trying to re-create.
In this film trailer a number of shots are used and edited at a fast pace, this gives the effect that time is passing quickly, but it also shows just how many victims, or suspense scenes there are.
The opening scene of the trailer is of a woman turning from her door to face the camera, as what seems to be her partner, or friend leaves the building. This creates a scene of which most horror film fans are aware of; a woman left alone in her house at night, is almost a cliché when it comes to horror films. This then cuts to a classic “Scream” phone call, which ends with a whiteout. This is followed by a POV shot with the sound of footsteps, walking towards the door. Are we seeing through the killers or victims eyes? This makes the scene more mysterious as we are not sure whether “we” as in the person who we are supposed to be is going to kill someone or be killed, again adding suspense.
After this we are bombarded with a succession of shots, white outs and quick editing, we also hear the killer’s voice still speaking on the phone, but we do not see him on screen, behind the voice seems to be a stinging noise which appears to be rising in pitch. In the middle of the trailer we are offered a lot more action. This is shown by various white out and quick cuts. We also come to terms with who the main characters in the film are.
We as the audience also get a glimpse of dialogue in the trailer when we are shown some college students talking about how the girl was murdered “she was stabbed seven times” this gives us a glance of what happened to the girl shown earlier in the trailer, and makes us want to see what really happened. The trailer ends with two shots of girls screaming, presumably as they are about to be killed or have seen a loved one murdered.
I feel that this trailer is effective in creating suspense, but it also shows just enough blood, gore and dialogue to keep the viewer interested and wanting more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U87t8x4ix0
Halloween 2 trailer –
The narrative of this film is similar to most slasher movies, however the killer in this movie, seems to invincible, as he parades around committing as many murders as he possibly can.
The trailer opens with an extreme long shot of what appears to be a women walking down a poorly lit deserted street. This adds a mysterious effect as we do not know whether this character will be the killer or the victim. This scene then fades gradually into a DBO. The scene fades in again to show the same woman clutching a gun in her right hand, as a police car approaches from behind her, the police car stops and the man steps out as we hear the woman’s trembling voice saying “I killed him”, the person whom she “killed” isn’t mentioned, but as a sound reaches a crescendo and cuts to a DBO it isn’t likely that we are going to find out, or maybe we will... This scene jump cuts into a flashback of the previously shown girl shooting a figure on the floor, this is accompanied by a high pitched scream, or wail, as the scene cuts to her being rushed to hospital with horrific burn injuries. We assume that the figure she is shooting done this to her. This opening sequence fits well with the genre of the trailer, as it gives enough dialogue for us to connect to the narrative, whilst still guessing as to what really happened.
The middle of the trailer reveals a little more dialogue, showing the killer roaming the halls of a hospital wing, seemingly looking for one specific person (the girl who we saw shooting a unnamed figure) Therefore we can guess that the film will be ultimately about the killer finding this girl after this we are bombarded with a series of jump cuts and quick edits, each revealing a small piece of dialogue and some form of murder, keeping our interest. But it also keeps us guessing as to what truly happens in this film.
The end of the sequence is very much the same as the middle, however it uses straps to tell us when the movie is premiering and who the main character is. The film ends with a prolonged shot of the killer smashing through a door and bending down to camera level, seeming to look at the audience, trying to say that we are his victims.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHslouUNi00
I analysed this particular film trailer as I feel it relates to the genre of horror which i am trying to re-create.
In this film trailer a number of shots are used and edited at a fast pace, this gives the effect that time is passing quickly, but it also shows just how many victims, or suspense scenes there are.
The opening scene of the trailer is of a woman turning from her door to face the camera, as what seems to be her partner, or friend leaves the building. This creates a scene of which most horror film fans are aware of; a woman left alone in her house at night, is almost a cliché when it comes to horror films. This then cuts to a classic “Scream” phone call, which ends with a whiteout. This is followed by a POV shot with the sound of footsteps, walking towards the door. Are we seeing through the killers or victims eyes? This makes the scene more mysterious as we are not sure whether “we” as in the person who we are supposed to be is going to kill someone or be killed, again adding suspense.
After this we are bombarded with a succession of shots, white outs and quick editing, we also hear the killer’s voice still speaking on the phone, but we do not see him on screen, behind the voice seems to be a stinging noise which appears to be rising in pitch. In the middle of the trailer we are offered a lot more action. This is shown by various white out and quick cuts. We also come to terms with who the main characters in the film are.
We as the audience also get a glimpse of dialogue in the trailer when we are shown some college students talking about how the girl was murdered “she was stabbed seven times” this gives us a glance of what happened to the girl shown earlier in the trailer, and makes us want to see what really happened. The trailer ends with two shots of girls screaming, presumably as they are about to be killed or have seen a loved one murdered.
I feel that this trailer is effective in creating suspense, but it also shows just enough blood, gore and dialogue to keep the viewer interested and wanting more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U87t8x4ix0
Halloween 2 trailer –
The narrative of this film is similar to most slasher movies, however the killer in this movie, seems to invincible, as he parades around committing as many murders as he possibly can.
The trailer opens with an extreme long shot of what appears to be a women walking down a poorly lit deserted street. This adds a mysterious effect as we do not know whether this character will be the killer or the victim. This scene then fades gradually into a DBO. The scene fades in again to show the same woman clutching a gun in her right hand, as a police car approaches from behind her, the police car stops and the man steps out as we hear the woman’s trembling voice saying “I killed him”, the person whom she “killed” isn’t mentioned, but as a sound reaches a crescendo and cuts to a DBO it isn’t likely that we are going to find out, or maybe we will... This scene jump cuts into a flashback of the previously shown girl shooting a figure on the floor, this is accompanied by a high pitched scream, or wail, as the scene cuts to her being rushed to hospital with horrific burn injuries. We assume that the figure she is shooting done this to her. This opening sequence fits well with the genre of the trailer, as it gives enough dialogue for us to connect to the narrative, whilst still guessing as to what really happened.
The middle of the trailer reveals a little more dialogue, showing the killer roaming the halls of a hospital wing, seemingly looking for one specific person (the girl who we saw shooting a unnamed figure) Therefore we can guess that the film will be ultimately about the killer finding this girl after this we are bombarded with a series of jump cuts and quick edits, each revealing a small piece of dialogue and some form of murder, keeping our interest. But it also keeps us guessing as to what truly happens in this film.
The end of the sequence is very much the same as the middle, however it uses straps to tell us when the movie is premiering and who the main character is. The film ends with a prolonged shot of the killer smashing through a door and bending down to camera level, seeming to look at the audience, trying to say that we are his victims.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHslouUNi00
Sorority Row film trailer analysis
Sorority Row
This film is about a group of girls who are graduating from college and decide to get revenge on a boy who they regard as a “player”, a guy who likes to bag women and sleep with them. But it all goes horribly wrong. The prank is to get one of the girls on the bed with him and while there kissing, she pretends to start choking. She is dead according to him, but the girls all know that she is alive and playing along to the prank. They take her body to an abandoned yard and she is still pretending to be dead. But all of a sudden, the guy who thinks she is dead takes a weapon shaped like a cross that you use to take tyres off, and sticks it straight through the girl’s body, unaware that she is actually alive and this is all a prank. This is where the horror begins with all involved being haunted and terrorised from that moment on.
The film starts with a lot of jump cuts to different scenes with all the girls shown. They are shown as very racy and flirty girls who are obviously good looking and use these looks to their advantage. The jump cuts give the audience the opportunity to see each girl that is in the group and it gives them an idea of what they are like. They are seen as part animals and girls that like to have a good time, which involves mainly alcohol and male attention. When they hatch the plan to get revenge on Gary the “player”, he comes scrabbling out on to the hall way to speak and get the girls to help him as he thinks the girl he was just with is dead. A medium close up is used to show the reaction on his face to the horror he has just witnessed.
Straps are used effectively to show that the film changes from that point on. This is the turning point in the film and the straps lead us to think that a big incident is about to occur. “A PRANK”. This shows us that it was all one big wind up to get revenge on Gary for cheating on one of the girls in the gang. In the car, a lot of close up shots are used to reveal the agony and despair on Gary’s face and also shows the joy and laughter on the girls faces thinking they have wound him up properly.
Incidental music is played while there in the car to intensify the drama that is happening. The words you hear from the song “you did a bad thing” show that Gary still believes that he killed her. You can hear the little drum beats that are very quiet which signals that something big is building up and the tension is about to mount up. When Gary sticks the weapon through her and kills her everyone is distraught and shocked by this as it was only supposed to be a prank on Gary to get revenge on him for cheating on one of the girls. A lot of jump cuts are used to show each girls reaction to her death. A low angle shot is used to show us where they are going to dump her body and get rid of it so none of them are found guilty. This shot shows us there angle and view of the location which is a well. They dump the body and the weapon to get rid of all the evidence. A white out is then used as the film changes from this point onwards. A jump cut is again used on all the girls when each of their phones ring and this shows us there reaction and horror to this happening. Incidental music is played when they are being haunted by someone they think is the dead girl Megan in a black hooded gown. This music builds up the tension. Along with the jump cuts, close ups are used on each of the girls as it gives us a good indication of what they are feeling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlCLtjjLbxs
This film is about a group of girls who are graduating from college and decide to get revenge on a boy who they regard as a “player”, a guy who likes to bag women and sleep with them. But it all goes horribly wrong. The prank is to get one of the girls on the bed with him and while there kissing, she pretends to start choking. She is dead according to him, but the girls all know that she is alive and playing along to the prank. They take her body to an abandoned yard and she is still pretending to be dead. But all of a sudden, the guy who thinks she is dead takes a weapon shaped like a cross that you use to take tyres off, and sticks it straight through the girl’s body, unaware that she is actually alive and this is all a prank. This is where the horror begins with all involved being haunted and terrorised from that moment on.
The film starts with a lot of jump cuts to different scenes with all the girls shown. They are shown as very racy and flirty girls who are obviously good looking and use these looks to their advantage. The jump cuts give the audience the opportunity to see each girl that is in the group and it gives them an idea of what they are like. They are seen as part animals and girls that like to have a good time, which involves mainly alcohol and male attention. When they hatch the plan to get revenge on Gary the “player”, he comes scrabbling out on to the hall way to speak and get the girls to help him as he thinks the girl he was just with is dead. A medium close up is used to show the reaction on his face to the horror he has just witnessed.
Straps are used effectively to show that the film changes from that point on. This is the turning point in the film and the straps lead us to think that a big incident is about to occur. “A PRANK”. This shows us that it was all one big wind up to get revenge on Gary for cheating on one of the girls in the gang. In the car, a lot of close up shots are used to reveal the agony and despair on Gary’s face and also shows the joy and laughter on the girls faces thinking they have wound him up properly.
Incidental music is played while there in the car to intensify the drama that is happening. The words you hear from the song “you did a bad thing” show that Gary still believes that he killed her. You can hear the little drum beats that are very quiet which signals that something big is building up and the tension is about to mount up. When Gary sticks the weapon through her and kills her everyone is distraught and shocked by this as it was only supposed to be a prank on Gary to get revenge on him for cheating on one of the girls. A lot of jump cuts are used to show each girls reaction to her death. A low angle shot is used to show us where they are going to dump her body and get rid of it so none of them are found guilty. This shot shows us there angle and view of the location which is a well. They dump the body and the weapon to get rid of all the evidence. A white out is then used as the film changes from this point onwards. A jump cut is again used on all the girls when each of their phones ring and this shows us there reaction and horror to this happening. Incidental music is played when they are being haunted by someone they think is the dead girl Megan in a black hooded gown. This music builds up the tension. Along with the jump cuts, close ups are used on each of the girls as it gives us a good indication of what they are feeling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlCLtjjLbxs
Carver film trailer analysis
Carver
The film Carver is about a group of friends who are on vacation and get lost and end up at a filling station where they are approached by a strange man. They took a detour and ended up at a very quiet and empty spot. The strange man asks them for their help and they reluctantly accept, not knowing the danger they are putting themselves in. They go to an abandoned looking house where the strange man claims to live and they come across a horror film and a projector. The scenes were gruesome and terrifying. Unbeknown to them, the scenes they saw in the horror film take place for real at the very place they are staying, and they are the victims, but they are unaware of this until strange events start taking place. To quote the voice over “when they open doors that should not have been opened”, that is where all the horrible and truly gruesome events start to take place, with shocking killings and horrid events taking place. The way they die is inexplicable due to the sheer horror of how they die.
The film trailer Carver starts off with a variety of long shots showing the countryside and the camera is panning from left to right. The countryside represents peace and harmony and gives away that this film won’t turn out like that. It shows a happy family scene at the start with medium shot of girls on a male’s shoulders and them all having a good time.
A voice over is used for effect to let us, the audience know what is actually happening and builds up to exciting and gruesome events. The voice over gives us detail about how their trip started and adds a scary effect to the film. A variety of quick editing such as fade and dissolve are used to make the transition of shots look good and to a high standard. When the gang discover the horror film a sequence of shots are used to show each of their reactions to finding the horror film, from then on, every thing changes. Medium shots and close ups are used to show the gang members being tortured after discovering this horror film. Every thing they see on the horror film happens to them for real.
The use of editing throughout the middle of the trailer is a concept of the film trailer as it is fast paced and shows all the gang members reactions to the going on’s. A close up is used on one of males faces, whose face is covered in blood. The close up shows us the agony he’s going through and gives us an idea of how bad his face or head is injured. Incidental music is played throughout to build up the tension of the scenes in the middle as all the gang members lives are in danger. It heightens the drama of what is happening
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMilpd7y6As
The film Carver is about a group of friends who are on vacation and get lost and end up at a filling station where they are approached by a strange man. They took a detour and ended up at a very quiet and empty spot. The strange man asks them for their help and they reluctantly accept, not knowing the danger they are putting themselves in. They go to an abandoned looking house where the strange man claims to live and they come across a horror film and a projector. The scenes were gruesome and terrifying. Unbeknown to them, the scenes they saw in the horror film take place for real at the very place they are staying, and they are the victims, but they are unaware of this until strange events start taking place. To quote the voice over “when they open doors that should not have been opened”, that is where all the horrible and truly gruesome events start to take place, with shocking killings and horrid events taking place. The way they die is inexplicable due to the sheer horror of how they die.
The film trailer Carver starts off with a variety of long shots showing the countryside and the camera is panning from left to right. The countryside represents peace and harmony and gives away that this film won’t turn out like that. It shows a happy family scene at the start with medium shot of girls on a male’s shoulders and them all having a good time.
A voice over is used for effect to let us, the audience know what is actually happening and builds up to exciting and gruesome events. The voice over gives us detail about how their trip started and adds a scary effect to the film. A variety of quick editing such as fade and dissolve are used to make the transition of shots look good and to a high standard. When the gang discover the horror film a sequence of shots are used to show each of their reactions to finding the horror film, from then on, every thing changes. Medium shots and close ups are used to show the gang members being tortured after discovering this horror film. Every thing they see on the horror film happens to them for real.
The use of editing throughout the middle of the trailer is a concept of the film trailer as it is fast paced and shows all the gang members reactions to the going on’s. A close up is used on one of males faces, whose face is covered in blood. The close up shows us the agony he’s going through and gives us an idea of how bad his face or head is injured. Incidental music is played throughout to build up the tension of the scenes in the middle as all the gang members lives are in danger. It heightens the drama of what is happening
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMilpd7y6As
Last House on the left poster analysis
Last house on the left poster analysis
This poster is advertising the film “the last house on the left”. The first thing that comes in to our sight is the image of the house. It looks a very old, unstable house which looks like it has been abandoned. It is quite a big house as well which makes it more scary and creepy as it’s alone in the middle of nowhere. The house is very old looking which suggests to us that it has a historic past of some sort, and by the looks of it, a very haunted past. There are dark clouds over head above the house and this suggests that something in the air is changing, like there is something bad happening soon. The clouds represent danger and anticipation as we want to know what is going to happen. The trees in behind the house are very plain looking and dead looking which represents that there is death around the corner for the people who visit this house and also signals to us the time of year it is, autumn. The trees give off a scary effect as they could be surrounded by woodland, which is a very scary and spooky place to be in, especially at night. The poster’s background is black which gives a very clear interpretation that the film has a lot of horror and killings in, as black represent the end and no way of surviving. It signals to us that danger is looming ahead and that they should beware about what is going to happen. The font used to give the name of the film is in bold block capital letters with a bold white font used. This makes it stand out in the black background and the white font gives it a presence on the page, letting us know it’s dominant on the page. The word “HOUSE” is written in a red font, which signals to us that blood and gore play a big part in the film. The word house is written in red with a couple of the letters splattered. This signals to us that this could have been written not using ink, but blood, and used with a finger. This gives the film a more scary and gruesome image. The word house is written in bigger font than the other words which emphasises that it actually is the last house on the left, and with it been written in a splattered red font, gives the audience a image of horror. Below the picture of the house there is a quote or a message; “IF BAD PEOPLE HURT SOMEONE YOU LOVE, HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO HURT THEM BACK”. This quote is written in block capitals which emphasises the point more and it comes across more clearly. This gives the audience the idea that this horror film is based on a revenge attack.
This poster is advertising the film “the last house on the left”. The first thing that comes in to our sight is the image of the house. It looks a very old, unstable house which looks like it has been abandoned. It is quite a big house as well which makes it more scary and creepy as it’s alone in the middle of nowhere. The house is very old looking which suggests to us that it has a historic past of some sort, and by the looks of it, a very haunted past. There are dark clouds over head above the house and this suggests that something in the air is changing, like there is something bad happening soon. The clouds represent danger and anticipation as we want to know what is going to happen. The trees in behind the house are very plain looking and dead looking which represents that there is death around the corner for the people who visit this house and also signals to us the time of year it is, autumn. The trees give off a scary effect as they could be surrounded by woodland, which is a very scary and spooky place to be in, especially at night. The poster’s background is black which gives a very clear interpretation that the film has a lot of horror and killings in, as black represent the end and no way of surviving. It signals to us that danger is looming ahead and that they should beware about what is going to happen. The font used to give the name of the film is in bold block capital letters with a bold white font used. This makes it stand out in the black background and the white font gives it a presence on the page, letting us know it’s dominant on the page. The word “HOUSE” is written in a red font, which signals to us that blood and gore play a big part in the film. The word house is written in red with a couple of the letters splattered. This signals to us that this could have been written not using ink, but blood, and used with a finger. This gives the film a more scary and gruesome image. The word house is written in bigger font than the other words which emphasises that it actually is the last house on the left, and with it been written in a splattered red font, gives the audience a image of horror. Below the picture of the house there is a quote or a message; “IF BAD PEOPLE HURT SOMEONE YOU LOVE, HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO HURT THEM BACK”. This quote is written in block capitals which emphasises the point more and it comes across more clearly. This gives the audience the idea that this horror film is based on a revenge attack.
SAW IV film poster analysis
This poster is advertising the film “SAW IV”. The first thing our eyes are drawn to is the image in the centre of the page. This determines how well the film does in terms of success or failure. We see a pig dressed in red overalls, wearing high heels. We can see clearly this is a trap and a set up as it shows the person’s leg tied to the chair. The pig’s head hidden under the overalls suggest everything isn’t as it seems in this film. Or, the pigs head is a trap or a disguise so that the real person underneath can hide themselves from reality. The pigs red overalls are red which signals to us death, blood and gore. This is true in the nature of all the previous saw films. The pigs head suggests a trap is being set to lure victims in, probably to their death. The chair the pig is sat is looks like some sort of torture chair, where people who sit on it suffer severe pain and distress. The background of the poster is black with a beam of light shining. This could suggest that not everything is lost, there could be light at the end of the tunnel, the outcome might turn out decent. The black outskirts and the beam of light blend in well together as they create a vision of hope. Judging by the outskirts of the poster being black, the room there in looks like it’s black also with the beam of light coming through. The chair that the pig is sat in looks a modified wheelchair fitted with extra pieces of equipment to make it look more dangerous and menacing. The way the pig is sat in the chair makes it look as if he or she is waiting for someone and the red overalls suggests that the pig is hiding. The quote “IT’S A TRAP” makes this vision obvious to the viewer. The director’s vision isn’t obvious as it has a pig in the chair, so it doesn’t want to give the narrative away to easily in the poster. The quote “IT’S A TRAP” is place below the picture to inform the audience not to believe exactly what they see. It’s written in a bold white font which makes it clearly stand out in front of the black background. There is red font used at the bottom of the page which says when the film is coming to theatres. “IN THEATRES OCTOBER 26TH. This font represents blood and gore as it is a horror film and under the sub-category of slasher. There is a lot of white writing used to show cast names and credits about the film beneath it’s a trap quote. The white font is used again as it mixes well with the black background.
friday the 13th film poster analysis
The image I am analysing is a poster of the film “Friday the 13th”. I chose this image as the “Friday the 13th” series is extremely successful in the slasher genre.
The main image in this poster takes up the whole page, emphasising the importance of the image. The main image features a densely wooded area, possibly the camp where “Jason” apparently drowned. The background of this image creates an eerie setting; this is shown by the fog/mist which creeps upwards to the centre of the image and on to “Jason’s” body. At the top of the picture is darkness form the canopy of trees, and also a gap in this canopy which produces a “spotlight” effect on “Jason”, again emphasising that he is the main focus. The man in the centre of the image is “Jason Voorhoes” the main killer in “Friday the 13th”. Jason appears to be wearing a form of altered hockey mask. This one item of costume adds to the eerie setting but also allows us to imagine what his personality and appearance may be. For example; what is Jason hiding behind the mask? Whether it is a physical impairment or just a mask to conceal his true identity, it keeps us guessing and unnerved. The rest of “Jason’s” costume consists of an old, muddy and tattered jacket and some trousers which cannot be seen. The use of this old and tattered jacket suggests that Jason has stalked these woods for a while, and may even have been involved in numerous chases. Jason’s weapon of choice seems to be his machete which is gripped in his right hand. The sheer size and sharpness of the blade unnerves us further as we see how Jason will hunt his “prey” in the up-coming film.
The two straps used are in a bold white sans serif font, suggesting that they are meant to be read by the audience. The main caption at the top of the poster say’s “Welcome to Crystal Lake”. Firstly “Crystal Lake” is the name of the setting where all of the killings take place. Also this caption is used for irony and witty humour, as “welcome” is used ironically as we know in hindsight that the victims who visit “Crystal Lake” certainly are not welcome. The second strap which is in a smaller font than the first say’s “from the producers of the Texas chainsaw massacre”. This is a technique to gain publicity, in an attempt to guide the fans of “the Texas chainsaw massacre” by suggesting that this film may be of the same quality.
The master-head is in a blood- red font, suggesting the genre of the film. The mast-head is the most eye catching text on the page, meaning that you are almost immediately drawn to it. Due to this factor the editors have chosen to put the fragmented “reviews” directly underneath the mast-head. These reviews are effective in giving a one word summary of the film and are also great publicity.
The main image in this poster takes up the whole page, emphasising the importance of the image. The main image features a densely wooded area, possibly the camp where “Jason” apparently drowned. The background of this image creates an eerie setting; this is shown by the fog/mist which creeps upwards to the centre of the image and on to “Jason’s” body. At the top of the picture is darkness form the canopy of trees, and also a gap in this canopy which produces a “spotlight” effect on “Jason”, again emphasising that he is the main focus. The man in the centre of the image is “Jason Voorhoes” the main killer in “Friday the 13th”. Jason appears to be wearing a form of altered hockey mask. This one item of costume adds to the eerie setting but also allows us to imagine what his personality and appearance may be. For example; what is Jason hiding behind the mask? Whether it is a physical impairment or just a mask to conceal his true identity, it keeps us guessing and unnerved. The rest of “Jason’s” costume consists of an old, muddy and tattered jacket and some trousers which cannot be seen. The use of this old and tattered jacket suggests that Jason has stalked these woods for a while, and may even have been involved in numerous chases. Jason’s weapon of choice seems to be his machete which is gripped in his right hand. The sheer size and sharpness of the blade unnerves us further as we see how Jason will hunt his “prey” in the up-coming film.
The two straps used are in a bold white sans serif font, suggesting that they are meant to be read by the audience. The main caption at the top of the poster say’s “Welcome to Crystal Lake”. Firstly “Crystal Lake” is the name of the setting where all of the killings take place. Also this caption is used for irony and witty humour, as “welcome” is used ironically as we know in hindsight that the victims who visit “Crystal Lake” certainly are not welcome. The second strap which is in a smaller font than the first say’s “from the producers of the Texas chainsaw massacre”. This is a technique to gain publicity, in an attempt to guide the fans of “the Texas chainsaw massacre” by suggesting that this film may be of the same quality.
The master-head is in a blood- red font, suggesting the genre of the film. The mast-head is the most eye catching text on the page, meaning that you are almost immediately drawn to it. Due to this factor the editors have chosen to put the fragmented “reviews” directly underneath the mast-head. These reviews are effective in giving a one word summary of the film and are also great publicity.
Case Study relating to my Horror film trailer
Media case study
In this case study I intend to gain vital information into the background of serial killers. I will use this information to shape the background of my killer, to make it the most realistic and interesting as possible. I feel that certain films portray a set of “codes and conventions” for a slasher film killer. This information coupled with real life example will be extremely beneficial.
Halloween
The plot for this film relates to the narrative that Dean and I are assigning to our horror film. In the film “Halloween” a 17 year old girl named Judith Myers was stabbed to death, by her 6 year-old brother. Myers (the boy) was then institutionalized for 15 years, just to break out days before Halloween. Myer's physiatrist Dr. Loomis was the only one that knew that Michael is coming back to Haddonfield, but by the time the town realized it, it was too late for many people.
The above narrative is the basic plot for the film “Halloween” I feel that this was important to include as the film “Halloween” was a major success when it was first released in 1978. This film explains the story of “Michael Myers” who vents his anger on the individuals that reside in his home town. Due to this I feel that it would be important to assign a space in our case study dedicated to this film.
There are a many aspects of this basic plot which compares to the basic plot for my horror film, for example the fact that the boy was institutionalized. However our child is institutionalized under different circumstances, as he witnesses the brutal murder of his parents, his mind becomes twisted; therefore he must be institutionalized for his and other people’s safety. Also the length that Myers was institutionalized for compares to my film, as our killer gets breaks out after 15 years. The weapon that the killer uses also compares to my film as we intend for the killer to use a big kitchen knife. The final comparison between “Halloween” and my trailer is that the killer returns to the scene of the original murder to truly express his hate for the town/street. In “Halloween” Myers does this by hunting a group of teenagers, however in my film the killer does this by trying to kill everyone who lives in that street.
Friday the 13th
Unlike “Halloween” this slasher only marginally relates to our horror film. The basic plot for this film is; in 1957, at Camp Crystal Lake, a young boy named Jason Voorhees drowned, due to the counsellor’s lack of attention. Now, in 1979, Steve Christy finally reopens Camp Crystal Lake with the help of a few new counsellors. Ignoring the warnings from a local, the murders start once again as Jason prowls the area looking for someone to kill. Is it Revenge that the killer is looking for? Who will survive the nightmare and live to tell the story?
Again like “Halloween” “Friday the 13th” was an iconic film of its period, reopening the lost ties to the slasher industry which “Halloween” opened in 1978. I felt that this would be an important film to include because of its huge success and influence. This film follows “Jason” as he enacts his revenge on those who didn’t pay any attention to him.
There is one main aspect of this plot which compares to the narrative of my horror film. This is that Jason returns to the scene of where he supposedly drowned to enact his revenge. Similarly to this and “Halloween” the killer presented in my film will return to the same suburban street where he witnessed his parents murder to enact his revenge on the individuals currently living there.
Nightmare on Elm street.
I have chosen to include Nightmare on Elm Street in my case study because it was a very successful and influential horror film in the 1980s. Along with Halloween and Friday the 13th this film shaped the horror genre and attracted huge interest. Due to these reasons i felt it was important to include this film in my case study.
Also the killer Freddy Krueger relates to the killer in my horror film. The main relation between these two killers is the act of revenge on a quiet suburban street. In Nightmare on Elm Street Krueger enacts his revenge by haunting and killing teenagers of the parents who killed him in their dreams. Similarly in my horror film the killer revisits the street where his parents were killed, filled with a hatred he plans to enact his revenge on the simple inhabitants of “Lansbury Drive”
In the early 1980's, a psychopath named Freddy Krueger murdered several children with a glove with straight razor blades attached to the fingers. When a decision by a judge sets him free, Krueger is burned alive in the boiler room where he worked by an angry mob of the parents whose children he terrorized & murdered. Years after his death, the children whose parents were responsible for Krueger's death are experiencing terrifying nightmares. The ghost of Freddy Krueger is haunting their dreams, and when Nancy's best friend Tina dies in her sleep violently during a dream confrontation with Krueger, Nancy realizes she must find a way to stop the evil psychopath's reign of terror - or never sleep again.
A new 2010 remake of “Nightmare on Elm Street” directed by Samuel Bayer is set to be released in May 2010.
Texas Chainsaw
As with all of the films I have included in my case study i believe that “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” was an influential movie in its era. You can identify its success by exploring the amount of re-makes of this classic.
Also the killings can relate to our horror film. The fact that this film plays on the role of the quiet “family house” being a setting for gruesome murders relates to the theme of our film. For example a number of killing s will take place in the home where our killer used to live, playing on the role of the quiet suburban home. However our film focuses more broadly on the whole road as a setting for horrific killings, whereas “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” only stays within the house and the surrounding area.
A group of five close friends are heading through the back roads of Texas en route to their grandfather's potentially vandalized grave. Along the way these teenagers pick up an apparently mentally unstable hitchhiker, who managers to cut himself and Franklin with a knife, before getting thrown out of the car. They then go to visit an old house where Sally and Franklins' Grandfather used to live; one of the characters upon hearing a generator enters the house in search for the owner. What none of them realize is that this house is the home of Leather face and his evil, demented family of cannibalistic psychopaths. One at a time, the teens are murdered by Leather face in horrifying ways.
In this case study I intend to gain vital information into the background of serial killers. I will use this information to shape the background of my killer, to make it the most realistic and interesting as possible. I feel that certain films portray a set of “codes and conventions” for a slasher film killer. This information coupled with real life example will be extremely beneficial.
Halloween
The plot for this film relates to the narrative that Dean and I are assigning to our horror film. In the film “Halloween” a 17 year old girl named Judith Myers was stabbed to death, by her 6 year-old brother. Myers (the boy) was then institutionalized for 15 years, just to break out days before Halloween. Myer's physiatrist Dr. Loomis was the only one that knew that Michael is coming back to Haddonfield, but by the time the town realized it, it was too late for many people.
The above narrative is the basic plot for the film “Halloween” I feel that this was important to include as the film “Halloween” was a major success when it was first released in 1978. This film explains the story of “Michael Myers” who vents his anger on the individuals that reside in his home town. Due to this I feel that it would be important to assign a space in our case study dedicated to this film.
There are a many aspects of this basic plot which compares to the basic plot for my horror film, for example the fact that the boy was institutionalized. However our child is institutionalized under different circumstances, as he witnesses the brutal murder of his parents, his mind becomes twisted; therefore he must be institutionalized for his and other people’s safety. Also the length that Myers was institutionalized for compares to my film, as our killer gets breaks out after 15 years. The weapon that the killer uses also compares to my film as we intend for the killer to use a big kitchen knife. The final comparison between “Halloween” and my trailer is that the killer returns to the scene of the original murder to truly express his hate for the town/street. In “Halloween” Myers does this by hunting a group of teenagers, however in my film the killer does this by trying to kill everyone who lives in that street.
Friday the 13th
Unlike “Halloween” this slasher only marginally relates to our horror film. The basic plot for this film is; in 1957, at Camp Crystal Lake, a young boy named Jason Voorhees drowned, due to the counsellor’s lack of attention. Now, in 1979, Steve Christy finally reopens Camp Crystal Lake with the help of a few new counsellors. Ignoring the warnings from a local, the murders start once again as Jason prowls the area looking for someone to kill. Is it Revenge that the killer is looking for? Who will survive the nightmare and live to tell the story?
Again like “Halloween” “Friday the 13th” was an iconic film of its period, reopening the lost ties to the slasher industry which “Halloween” opened in 1978. I felt that this would be an important film to include because of its huge success and influence. This film follows “Jason” as he enacts his revenge on those who didn’t pay any attention to him.
There is one main aspect of this plot which compares to the narrative of my horror film. This is that Jason returns to the scene of where he supposedly drowned to enact his revenge. Similarly to this and “Halloween” the killer presented in my film will return to the same suburban street where he witnessed his parents murder to enact his revenge on the individuals currently living there.
Nightmare on Elm street.
I have chosen to include Nightmare on Elm Street in my case study because it was a very successful and influential horror film in the 1980s. Along with Halloween and Friday the 13th this film shaped the horror genre and attracted huge interest. Due to these reasons i felt it was important to include this film in my case study.
Also the killer Freddy Krueger relates to the killer in my horror film. The main relation between these two killers is the act of revenge on a quiet suburban street. In Nightmare on Elm Street Krueger enacts his revenge by haunting and killing teenagers of the parents who killed him in their dreams. Similarly in my horror film the killer revisits the street where his parents were killed, filled with a hatred he plans to enact his revenge on the simple inhabitants of “Lansbury Drive”
In the early 1980's, a psychopath named Freddy Krueger murdered several children with a glove with straight razor blades attached to the fingers. When a decision by a judge sets him free, Krueger is burned alive in the boiler room where he worked by an angry mob of the parents whose children he terrorized & murdered. Years after his death, the children whose parents were responsible for Krueger's death are experiencing terrifying nightmares. The ghost of Freddy Krueger is haunting their dreams, and when Nancy's best friend Tina dies in her sleep violently during a dream confrontation with Krueger, Nancy realizes she must find a way to stop the evil psychopath's reign of terror - or never sleep again.
A new 2010 remake of “Nightmare on Elm Street” directed by Samuel Bayer is set to be released in May 2010.
Texas Chainsaw
As with all of the films I have included in my case study i believe that “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” was an influential movie in its era. You can identify its success by exploring the amount of re-makes of this classic.
Also the killings can relate to our horror film. The fact that this film plays on the role of the quiet “family house” being a setting for gruesome murders relates to the theme of our film. For example a number of killing s will take place in the home where our killer used to live, playing on the role of the quiet suburban home. However our film focuses more broadly on the whole road as a setting for horrific killings, whereas “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” only stays within the house and the surrounding area.
A group of five close friends are heading through the back roads of Texas en route to their grandfather's potentially vandalized grave. Along the way these teenagers pick up an apparently mentally unstable hitchhiker, who managers to cut himself and Franklin with a knife, before getting thrown out of the car. They then go to visit an old house where Sally and Franklins' Grandfather used to live; one of the characters upon hearing a generator enters the house in search for the owner. What none of them realize is that this house is the home of Leather face and his evil, demented family of cannibalistic psychopaths. One at a time, the teens are murdered by Leather face in horrifying ways.
Feedback on narrative
Feed back on our narrative
After we presented our pitch, we were given feedback by our class mates and our teacher about what they liked and what could do with changing. There were some positive and negative comments based on our narrative. Firstly, the narrative got a positive view from our class mates. They liked the structure of it and the idea of a killer returning to where he once lived to wreak havoc. The majority of the class said they liked the idea of the film trailer being based 15 years later when the killer breaks out from a psychotic institution.
They said to make it better; there opinion was that there should be more dialogue and more blood and gore involved to make it sound more like a horror slasher film, and not a thriller. The locations got a positive review because they have the right characteristics to host a horror film and you see them in near enough every horror film you watch as they play an integral part in making the film as scary as possible.
To conclude, we have taken board the advice and ideas that we were given and have therefore made changes to our horror film trailer idea to make it as good as possible. Our narrative will now include more witnesses and there will be more blood and gore shown to make it sound as good as possible.
After we presented our pitch, we were given feedback by our class mates and our teacher about what they liked and what could do with changing. There were some positive and negative comments based on our narrative. Firstly, the narrative got a positive view from our class mates. They liked the structure of it and the idea of a killer returning to where he once lived to wreak havoc. The majority of the class said they liked the idea of the film trailer being based 15 years later when the killer breaks out from a psychotic institution.
They said to make it better; there opinion was that there should be more dialogue and more blood and gore involved to make it sound more like a horror slasher film, and not a thriller. The locations got a positive review because they have the right characteristics to host a horror film and you see them in near enough every horror film you watch as they play an integral part in making the film as scary as possible.
To conclude, we have taken board the advice and ideas that we were given and have therefore made changes to our horror film trailer idea to make it as good as possible. Our narrative will now include more witnesses and there will be more blood and gore shown to make it sound as good as possible.
film narrative
Horror film trailer
Name of film: Lansbury Drive
Killer’s background:
The killer in my film grew up on a normal, peaceful suburban street. When one day his home and all that he thought was safe and private was invaded by two masked thugs. These thugs ransacked the house, stealing everything of value in the process. This brought them to the last room where they burst through the door and killed the two people sleeping inside. The boy looked on from the closet where he had taken refuge, as he watched his parents go limp the two thugs departed the house and stole away into the night. The boy was terrified as sat on the bed and tried to wake his parents. The boy was sent into care where matters got worse; the boy it seemed was twisted beyond recognition, harbouring a grudge for that suburban street where his life was stripped away from him.
Main Narrative:
The main narrative of my horror film trailer is that the boy who was sent to care returns to the street where he grew up. However the killer is ready to unleash a hatred for these people that he has been harbouring for 15 years. As he invades homes, ambushes victims and kills all whom he sees the killer goes on a rampage to unleash the pain which he felt when he was younger.
Name of film: Lansbury Drive
Killer’s background:
The killer in my film grew up on a normal, peaceful suburban street. When one day his home and all that he thought was safe and private was invaded by two masked thugs. These thugs ransacked the house, stealing everything of value in the process. This brought them to the last room where they burst through the door and killed the two people sleeping inside. The boy looked on from the closet where he had taken refuge, as he watched his parents go limp the two thugs departed the house and stole away into the night. The boy was terrified as sat on the bed and tried to wake his parents. The boy was sent into care where matters got worse; the boy it seemed was twisted beyond recognition, harbouring a grudge for that suburban street where his life was stripped away from him.
Main Narrative:
The main narrative of my horror film trailer is that the boy who was sent to care returns to the street where he grew up. However the killer is ready to unleash a hatred for these people that he has been harbouring for 15 years. As he invades homes, ambushes victims and kills all whom he sees the killer goes on a rampage to unleash the pain which he felt when he was younger.
codes and conventions
Codes and conventions
There are many codes and conventions that are visually obvious to us in film trailers. These determine how the film trailer turns out. These form a set of guidelines which most successful horror trailer abides by. Here are four conventions that are essential in film trailers.
The first code and convention I am going to discuss is straps. Straps are pieces of writing that appear across the screen of a film trailer when it is informing the viewer of important information and revelations. They are usually used in the beginning, middle and the end of trailers. An example of a strap used is in the film trailer ‘The Forgotten’. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEiqWaIKJ5Q.
The second code and convention I am going to discuss is the use of dead black outs (DBO’s). They are used for effect in film trailers. A DBO is when the screen goes pitch black. This shows that the end of something thrilling has happened and adds suspense and anticipation to the film to make the viewers feel that they have to see more. An example of a DBO is used in the film ‘One Missed Call’. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1F7hJNsi5M
The third code and convention I am going to discuss is the use of blood in horror films. Blood is used to demonstrate that someone is injured and/or dying. The more blood and gore used draws in the audience’s attention. In horror films, the destruction the villain causes leads to a number of injuries and deaths which involves blood and gore, which adds to the effect by creating a sense of fatality. An example of this is used in the film ‘Carver’. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMilpd7y6As
There are many codes and conventions that are visually obvious to us in film trailers. These determine how the film trailer turns out. These form a set of guidelines which most successful horror trailer abides by. Here are four conventions that are essential in film trailers.
The first code and convention I am going to discuss is straps. Straps are pieces of writing that appear across the screen of a film trailer when it is informing the viewer of important information and revelations. They are usually used in the beginning, middle and the end of trailers. An example of a strap used is in the film trailer ‘The Forgotten’. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEiqWaIKJ5Q.
The second code and convention I am going to discuss is the use of dead black outs (DBO’s). They are used for effect in film trailers. A DBO is when the screen goes pitch black. This shows that the end of something thrilling has happened and adds suspense and anticipation to the film to make the viewers feel that they have to see more. An example of a DBO is used in the film ‘One Missed Call’. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1F7hJNsi5M
The third code and convention I am going to discuss is the use of blood in horror films. Blood is used to demonstrate that someone is injured and/or dying. The more blood and gore used draws in the audience’s attention. In horror films, the destruction the villain causes leads to a number of injuries and deaths which involves blood and gore, which adds to the effect by creating a sense of fatality. An example of this is used in the film ‘Carver’. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMilpd7y6As
Questionnaire feedback
Analysis of Media Questionnaire
After completing and distributing our questionnaires, we managed to create a base for which to manage our ideas. We particularly found the questionnaire helpful in distinguishing which effects, shots and locations are effective in a film trailer.
The first two questions we used in our questionnaire were to establish whether the individual was in our target audience or not; “How old are you?”, “What gender are you?” The majority of the people who answered the questionnaire were in the category of “18-20” (60%) where as 10% resided in the “15-17” category and the other 30% were “21-25”, as you can see from the results our “TA” resided in the “18-20” age bracket. For the second question, we found that 60% were males, and the further 40% were females.
The third question that we asked was “What is your favourite film genre?” From this we got more of a mixed result, but the clear favourite, which we previously expected was “Horror”
As you can see we got a mixed result from our questionnaire, but Horror films are still the clear favourite.
For the Fourth question we asked whether they enjoyed horror films or not, for those who didn’t select it as their favourite “Do you enjoy horror films?” For this question we received 10 “yes’s” meaning that 100% of the people ticked “yes”
After finding out that the audience does in fact enjoy horror films, we then added a question to find out exactly what type of sub genre they particularly enjoy.
From this variety of results we found that slasher and psychological were the most popular sub-genre’s of horror this confirmed our choice in creating a slasher film trailer, as we now know it will appeal to our target audience.
After we confirmed which sub-genre of horror we were planning on doing, we then had to find out which setting will be the most effective in our trailer, therefore we asked this question; “In a horror film trailer, which locations do you feel are effective?” We got a variety of different answers for this question but here are a few that we found really related to our genre.
“Dark locations, like alleyways and woods” (from a female aged 15-17)
“Abandoned areas would fit well, like an abandoned house” (from a male aged 21-25)
“I think empty fields or woods are good in horror films” (from a male aged 18-20)
For the sixth question we asked our target audience whether they believe that the use of straps (text that tells dialogue) are important in a horror film trailer. For this question we received a mixture of results. Six of our participants believe that straps are important in film trailers as they tie up loose ends, however the other four participants opted for the “no” option, suggesting that you can present your dialogue through shots alone.
For the seventh question we asked the audience “What kinds of sounds and music do you expect to hear in a horror trailer?” from this question we got a mixture of results. The most common answer however was “Screams”, this was closely followed by the sound of the killer murdering his victim. Other answers include “creaking doors” and “eerie noises”
For the eighth question we asked whether there was a horror film trailer that our target audience thought was particularly bad. All of our participants had their own idea on this matter and some even listed two. We found that the two most popular were:
“Sorority Row”
“Halloween” – it wasn’t clear which Halloween film they meant though, because there are currently 12 in the series.
These results were beneficial to us as we know that if we analyse these film trailers then we may be able to pick up on the factors which makes these trailers unsuccessful.
For the ninth question I asked participants whether there was a film trailer they enjoyed, in contrast to the above question. The most popular answer by far was “The Saw trailers” However the hype of the up-coming saw film may be a factor in this answer.
These results were extremely beneficial to us and both of these will feature in our analysis. Due to these answers we now know that these two trails contain the crucial elements which make a horror film trailer successful.
For the last question we asked our target audience “Do you feel that film trailers have an impact on your decision as to whether you will watch the film or not?” the majority of the vote was “Yes” with 8 people choosing this option.
This suggests to us that film trailers do have a huge effect on whether people will watch the final product or not, therefore we will have to take huge consideration into making this film trailer the best that we possibly can.
After completing and distributing our questionnaires, we managed to create a base for which to manage our ideas. We particularly found the questionnaire helpful in distinguishing which effects, shots and locations are effective in a film trailer.
The first two questions we used in our questionnaire were to establish whether the individual was in our target audience or not; “How old are you?”, “What gender are you?” The majority of the people who answered the questionnaire were in the category of “18-20” (60%) where as 10% resided in the “15-17” category and the other 30% were “21-25”, as you can see from the results our “TA” resided in the “18-20” age bracket. For the second question, we found that 60% were males, and the further 40% were females.
The third question that we asked was “What is your favourite film genre?” From this we got more of a mixed result, but the clear favourite, which we previously expected was “Horror”
As you can see we got a mixed result from our questionnaire, but Horror films are still the clear favourite.
For the Fourth question we asked whether they enjoyed horror films or not, for those who didn’t select it as their favourite “Do you enjoy horror films?” For this question we received 10 “yes’s” meaning that 100% of the people ticked “yes”
After finding out that the audience does in fact enjoy horror films, we then added a question to find out exactly what type of sub genre they particularly enjoy.
From this variety of results we found that slasher and psychological were the most popular sub-genre’s of horror this confirmed our choice in creating a slasher film trailer, as we now know it will appeal to our target audience.
After we confirmed which sub-genre of horror we were planning on doing, we then had to find out which setting will be the most effective in our trailer, therefore we asked this question; “In a horror film trailer, which locations do you feel are effective?” We got a variety of different answers for this question but here are a few that we found really related to our genre.
“Dark locations, like alleyways and woods” (from a female aged 15-17)
“Abandoned areas would fit well, like an abandoned house” (from a male aged 21-25)
“I think empty fields or woods are good in horror films” (from a male aged 18-20)
For the sixth question we asked our target audience whether they believe that the use of straps (text that tells dialogue) are important in a horror film trailer. For this question we received a mixture of results. Six of our participants believe that straps are important in film trailers as they tie up loose ends, however the other four participants opted for the “no” option, suggesting that you can present your dialogue through shots alone.
For the seventh question we asked the audience “What kinds of sounds and music do you expect to hear in a horror trailer?” from this question we got a mixture of results. The most common answer however was “Screams”, this was closely followed by the sound of the killer murdering his victim. Other answers include “creaking doors” and “eerie noises”
For the eighth question we asked whether there was a horror film trailer that our target audience thought was particularly bad. All of our participants had their own idea on this matter and some even listed two. We found that the two most popular were:
“Sorority Row”
“Halloween” – it wasn’t clear which Halloween film they meant though, because there are currently 12 in the series.
These results were beneficial to us as we know that if we analyse these film trailers then we may be able to pick up on the factors which makes these trailers unsuccessful.
For the ninth question I asked participants whether there was a film trailer they enjoyed, in contrast to the above question. The most popular answer by far was “The Saw trailers” However the hype of the up-coming saw film may be a factor in this answer.
These results were extremely beneficial to us and both of these will feature in our analysis. Due to these answers we now know that these two trails contain the crucial elements which make a horror film trailer successful.
For the last question we asked our target audience “Do you feel that film trailers have an impact on your decision as to whether you will watch the film or not?” the majority of the vote was “Yes” with 8 people choosing this option.
This suggests to us that film trailers do have a huge effect on whether people will watch the final product or not, therefore we will have to take huge consideration into making this film trailer the best that we possibly can.
target audience profile
We believe that our main audience will reside within the age range of 18-35, however we acknowledge there may be unforeseen variables which may change this slightly. The gender of our target audience will be both male and female. We believe and our questionnaire has reinforced that both male and females enjoy horror films. Obviously our audience should enjoy horror films, we also will be aiming our trailer at those who visit the cinema regularly to watch horror films, as that is when our trailer will be ultimately seen. Our audience should have several interests which coincide with our guidelines. They should be socially and psychologically secure, meaning that they have a good group of friends who go out often including going to the cinema. However again there may be variables in this.
The age range of our target audience is very specific, however we realise that we will get a few individuals who don’t fit in with our profile. The age range of our target audience is 18-35, however this may vary by a few years. The gender of our audience will be profoundly male, although we will explore the female film scene in future issues, so we should create a small unique female fan base. There isn’t a set dress code for our readers, seeing as there are different types of styles which people follow with their own sets of guidelines. In terms of the food that our audience will eat, we don’t have specific guidelines, however from our research we do have a vague idea for e.g. If they have a family then they will have proper, healthy diets. However if they live on their own in a flat/studio apartment then they will mostly live on takeaways and leftovers. Our audience will drive any car they can afford, or use public transport to get around. The younger 16-20 year olds we expect to use public transport as they may not have the funds/qualifications needed to drive
The age range of our target audience is very specific, however we realise that we will get a few individuals who don’t fit in with our profile. The age range of our target audience is 18-35, however this may vary by a few years. The gender of our audience will be profoundly male, although we will explore the female film scene in future issues, so we should create a small unique female fan base. There isn’t a set dress code for our readers, seeing as there are different types of styles which people follow with their own sets of guidelines. In terms of the food that our audience will eat, we don’t have specific guidelines, however from our research we do have a vague idea for e.g. If they have a family then they will have proper, healthy diets. However if they live on their own in a flat/studio apartment then they will mostly live on takeaways and leftovers. Our audience will drive any car they can afford, or use public transport to get around. The younger 16-20 year olds we expect to use public transport as they may not have the funds/qualifications needed to drive
why i chose to do horror film trailer
Throughout my life I have found that I have always had a keen interest and understating of the horror genre, especially the slasher sub-genre. After watching a film named “Scream” my true passions for horror were awoken and I have been an eager follower of the horror franchise ever since. I am particularly impressed by the way editing is used for dramatic effect specifically in horror film trailers. I am fascinated by the quick editing which is used to create action and suspense, ultimately ending in a prolonged scene which may or may not decide whether you as a viewer will see the film or not. This is something that I want to experiment with within my horror film trailer.
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