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For A2 Media we had a variety of briefs which as a class we all choose the best brief which
we thought would be best to undertake as part of our coursework. The brief which we selected included producing a promotion package for a new film, which contained a teaser trailer. In addition to this we also had to create a film magazine front cover and a poster for the film. The reason for selecting this particular film brief was so that I could learn new skills, In AS we were taught the print skills which were portrayed though out magazine and posters.

This project requires a great amount of knowledge, skills and resources. However our school may lack the resources required in order to achieve a highly professional looking project. Nevertheless we are still confident in achieving a successful teaser trailer for a horror film.
To start this project off, we firstly needed to undertake some detailed research about teaser trailers. Once decided on the genre of my trailer (horror) I searched YouTube to find examples which I then when on to do a detailed analysis off, this meant breaking the conventions of a trailer in order to find the differences and similarities these trailer had. By doing this I gained an idea of the number of shots, variety of shots and the length of the trailers. After this I did an overall conclusion for trailers explaining what the conventions are for a horror film and how they were portrayed in order to target the audience.

The planning will include a precise production schedule which contained information what needs to be filmed where and when. However we found that the schedule had to be altered at time due to the weather conditions. As I worked in a group this meant that all members of my group decided on a name for our film, the number of characters and locations together. When deciding on our characters we decided it was best to draw up character profiles which were then given to our actors so they understood the emotion of their character better. This also helped us when filming as the actors seemed more real. The next stage of the planning was producing risk assessments for our location and we also took photographs for visual purposes. Finally we created a synopsis for our film as most films have one and was seen to be a vital convention when undertaking my research. We also produced a shooting script, shot list and a storyboard which provided us the basic knowledge when shooting.

Today, in class I wrote up a list of codes and conventions for general trailers then focusing on my genre I wrote up another list for horror trailers. I found that the main conventions are the same however in horror trailers the pace is much faster when building tension and the music gets louder. We also decided on the name for our film “The Missing” and therefore were able to write our synopsis. The narrative of the story were broken down into five sections, we based this around Tzvetan Todorov analysed narrative stages; equilibrium, disruption, recognition of disruption, attempt to repair and reinstatement of equilibrium.

After having our narrative and synopsis for our trailer we then we on to decided what we wanted to show in our trailer in order for it to be successful. However before we could start this process we needed to decide on the number of characters and draw up a detailed character profile. This would benefit us when shooting as each actor will we assigned a different character to portray , therefore having a character profile will help them to perform.

Today we were going to shoot the location we decided to use. By using our school as the setting for our film it made it easier as we are able to film during lesson time which would help speed up the production process.

Today we continued where we left and took a digital camera with us to start taking location images. After we had done this we started in the risk assessments for each location.

For a week and a half we have been spending time on our storyboards. The storyboard is the most used piece of work when filming therefore we felt we needed to spend some time deciding which angle to film, the type of movement whether the sound should be diegetic or non diegetic.

The storyboard will be used at all stages in the production process including the editing as we have also noted the transition and the length of each shot.

Today I created a rough anamatic for our trailer, this was based around the stills of the storyboard which I scanned into the computer in order to produce a rough version of our trailers. This enabled me and my group to visualize what the trailer what look like. I also added transition into the shots however by using Windows Moviemaker it wasn’t as professional as I wanted it to look. Nevertheless I gained an idea of the pace and the length of the trailer. This anamatic trailer allowed me to understand how editing software works.

After watching our anamatic trailer with my group and the teacher, it was clear to see that out intertitles were too long and was over taking the trailer which made to seem boring to watch. Therefore after using intertitles in our anamatic we decided to use a voiceover at the beginning of the trailers.

Today as a group we wrote up a list of equipment that we will need during our filming. This helps us save time when filming daily.
Today we started filming our footage however we found that we didn’t have enough actors so we had to use a person from our group as an actor. We did a character profile of 5characters however due to the lack of characters we only had 3 characters which consists of 1 boy and 2girls.

After 1 week of filming we had to edit our footage at Brentford learning centre due to the lack of resources our school had. However we only had one day to edit our trailers so we only had a short space of time in order to have a fully edited film. We firstly had an introduction to how to use the editing software as we weren’t familiar with it and then we had to download our footage onto the computer, however this process took the longest for our group as we didn’t realise how much footage we actually had and therefore we began to panic. After our footage had downloaded we created a rough cut then edited our rough cut and started to add transitions into our footage. For this process we had to refer back to the storyboard as we had mentioned the pace and type of transition required for each shot. As our genre was horror the trailers didn’t require a lot of transition . Towards the end the group spilt into pairs one pair focused on adding the logo, titles and voiceover while the other pair found music.

After completing the teaser trailer i then had 2 create the ancillary text which was made up of a film magazine front cover and a poster which was based around the film created in the teaser trailer. However before i was able to construct this next task I had 2 carry out a sufficient amount of research on both film magazine and posters. This knowledge will allow me to have a understanding of the codes and conventions needed to create a professional looking ancillary. I undertook my research by searching the internet for existing film magazines such as ‘total films and empire’ and then analysed them in detail to have an understanding of their representation as a film magazine. I also did the same research for posters.

I have also produced a short questionnaire and have distributed in to 15 people. This will allow me to gain some audience feedback from my target audience. After collecting this data I will then analyse it to see what the key conventions I need to include in order to target my audience. The feedback will also help me gain an understanding of how my magazine/poster will look.
After developing my audience feedback I was now able to take my photographs for my magazine and poster. I took a variety of photographs experimenting with different angels and lighting in order to see which shot will look the best on my magazine/poster.

After taking my photographs I have now started 2 create my magazine and poster using Photoshop.

As both my front cover and poster are now both finished it’s been a long process in finishing the A2 task. But I now have 2 do an evaluation talking about the process of my task

Introduction

For A2 media studies I have been asked to create a promotional film package for a teaser trailer, poster and film magazine cover. For this task I had the opportunity to work as a group. We decided the best genre in which we were going to base our promotional film package around was Horror. This is because after watching a variety of trailers we found that horror trailers were the most interesting and intensive. The intensity used in horror trailers could be shown through my skills which I had developed throughout this course. For example I noticed horror trailers use a lot of close up and fast pace editing therefore I would take this into consideration when filming/editing in order to portray this convention in my trailer. I also think the reason we choose the genre horror is because of technology, as we live in a modern society more people are up to date with technology therefore this allows us to broaden our skills in teams of editing, this means we can explore doing different things when editing such as pace, transition, camera angles etc.

Another part of this promotional film package is to create a film magazine cover and a poster. I felt these two choices were the best as I had a high – quality understanding of print. This was because for our AS task we were asked to produce a school newsletter and a music magazine containing a contents page, double page spread and front cover. As I have already developed excellent skills and knowledge of print this meant that the magazine cover and poster would be produced to a outstanding standard and because I have developed my skills in Photoshop this would benefit my print work as well. The other choice which I had was to create a Web page for the trailer however due to not having the best facilities and technology to design the web page it would mean not being able to create work to the best possible standard which could have a impact on my finale grade.

In order for the trailer to be success I would need to carry out some research. This research will consist of an analysis of horror trailers so I can understand the codes and conventions used in horror trailers. I would also need to watch a range of trailers to gain some knowledge and background around horror trailers. However so I can understand where trailers are first advertised and distributed I would need to do some research regarding production companies.

After I have conducted my research I can then start on my planning which will include both group and individual tasks. Firstly as group we will need to make our storyline; this was done using Tzvetan Todorov theory of the five stages, which include: equilibrium, disruption, recognition, attempt to repair disruption and reinstatement of equilibrium. We fitted our storyline into these five categories. We than needed to storyboard our ideas to understand how it was going to be filmed and which camera angle, movements and transitions were going to be used.

From this promotional film package I hope to achieve a high quality teaser trailer which fits my genre and a well produced magazine cover and poster. I will need to achieve this by carry out specific research and detailed planning.

British Museum

My school was chosen to take part in the unique experience of teaming up with an educational production company to produce a docu - drama based on the Indian Landscape and Garden for the British Museum. The Indian landscape was inspired by the collections of the British Museum and Kew Gardens. It draws attention to the rich variety of plants and trees in the Indian subcontinent and the natural resources they provide. The landscape features plants used in:
 Food,
 Medicine
 Religion,
 Construction,
 Weaving
 Commerce

The aim of this was to promote the Indian landscape so the public had an understanding and sense of what the landscape was trying to represent. The highlights of this filming experience were actually getting to work alongside a professional crew and understanding the how the whole production process works. This allowed me to gain the knowledge of the production process which was beneficial to me as we were going to be asked to create our own trailer as part of the A2 coursework. By me working alongside of the production crew I was able to gain some tips from filming which would have helped me when making my trailer. The other highlight of my filming experience is that I was actually asked to be a part of the docu – drama. I took part in some acting scenes but I was mainly apart of a dance scene.

I think the part which I was most disappointed with is not being allowed to take part any post production work. This was frustrating for me as I believed I had a good knowledge and understanding of editing which I wasn’t allow to share or portray for the docu – drama. I think not being able to take part in any post production work meant that I wasn’t using my media skills to the best of my ability. I believe if I had been allowed to take part in this the final product would have been better.

The research could place before we meet with the directors, I did this by reaching the British Museum Indian landscape to see what it was about and familiarise myself with some of the knowledge. I had to look up what kinds of plants were kept in the garden and what kind of painting they had and what each of them represented. The planning was done as a group activity including the directors, we all came together as a group and put our ideas forward and then came up with a final decision. Once we had decided this we began to do a practise trail with the directors to see what looks best and what could be changed. The filming work was mostly done by the directors however I think if they had let us take part in some elements of filming it could have been improved. Another improvement which could be made is during the planning, I think I needed to research more on the background of the paintings as all mainly represented the story of Rama and Sita. By me researching this story I would have had a better understanding of the paintings which could have helped during the planning process.

I think the area in which I learnt the most in was being able to see how a production company works as a whole. I also gain more knowledge about filming and how to gain the best shot.

The aspect of the process which will be most valuable in my next image assignment would be the filming process. I learnt that when filming in order to get the best possible shot you need to film it many times and using different angles and lighting in order to gain the best effect. I think this will help me when making a trailer as I already have an understanding of filming.

Research: Key Theorists

Audience theory is the starting point for many Media Studies tasks. Whether you are constructing a text or analysing one, you will need to consider the destination of that text, ie its target audience and how that audience (or any other) will respond to that text. Dating from the 1920s, this theory was the first attempt to explain how mass audiences might react to mass media and suggests that audiences passively receive the information transmitted via a media text, without any attempt on their part to process or challenge the data. Some institutions such as the Governments had just discovered the power of advertising to communicate a message, and produced propaganda to try and influence common people to their way of thinking. The Hypodermic Needle Model suggests that the information from a text passes into the mass consciousness of the audience unmediated. This theory suggests that, as an audience, we are manipulated by the creators of media texts, and that our behaviour and thinking might be easily changed by media-makers.

Research: General Trailer Research

Functions and Features of a trailer part 2

How does a trailer show that a film is worth going to see?
Whilst marketing campaign uses genre to gain our interest, it must also show us how this new film is different to others in the same genre: the USP. This is what separates one film title from another released around the same time or of a similar genre.

USP COULD BE
A genre which presents an usual mix – musical horror
Something distinct – innovative use of special effects
Star playing ‘against type’ – an actor known for action movie taking on a serious role.

What are the Features of a trailer?

• Trailers are NOT mini films. They are a genre in their own right and have their own sense of easily recognisable conventions
• Trailers are designed to capture out attention and hold it for a short space of time
  They create a mood or atmosphere and heighten out anticipation of what is to come within the film
• The style in which the information is conveyed is often fast – moving and requires out full attention.
• To watch a film at this pace would be impossible, we wouldn’t be able to cope with the input and would ‘switch off’. However, we enjoy the rollercoaster effect of a trailer and the mental challenge it presents.
  Sound is very important, particularly the music which can manipulate our emotions and create specific atmosphere
• The voiceover, a feature of advertising, is used to summarise aspects of the story and emphasises credits information where appropriate. Like every other element of the trailer the voiceover looks to promote the film by building our anticipation.
  

CONVENTIONS
They highlight the ‘best bits’ of the film – the very funny, sad ,action –packed, bizarre

• Showcase the stars in the film
• Some visual images barely stay on the screen long enough for us to recognise what we are seeing
• Conventions between characters often consist of one liners
• Dramatic camera angles – show events or character
• Action – combined with credits on screen
• Voiceover – used to tell the story and give credit information
• Music – Creating atmosphere
• Title – may not appear until the end
• Trailer builds to climax, where it ends

The purpose of a trailer
What is a marketing campaign and why is it needed?

• Film making can be very cost effective, with feature films needing healthy takings at the box office in order to cover the costs of production, pay investors and make enough money for the next release.
  
• When a film is released at the cinema it only has a short space of time in which it has in order for it to become a box – office hit.
  
• The marketing campaign plays an important role in informing potential audience about the film with the purpose of encouraging people to see the film in cinema.
  
• The distributors are keen for the film to be a success so they can create a marketing campaign that aims awareness of the film and create interest; this means distributors stand a better chance of making a profit.
  

Why is the trailer important?

• A Trailer is a powerful weapon in the marketing campaign. Posters are important in capturing the initial interest of the audience and drawing them into the cinema, but they cannot convey excitement and atmosphere of a film in the same way a trailer does.
• The combination of a moving image and sound both show “larger than life” through the equipment of the cinema.
• This means trailers stirs our emotion and gives us a “flavour” of the film that is impossible to gain through the still images alone.
  

When is the trailer produced?

• Most trailers are created and produced at the same time as the film is being edited.
  
• The timing of a trailer campaign in cinemas, online and on Television is important
  it must be shown far enough in advance to generate excitement about the film’s release, but not so early that people forget about the film.
  
• Often a very short version of the trailer, know as a “teaser”, will be released early on in the marketing campaign to give people an idea of what the film will be about, and to generate a “buzz” around the release.
  
• Most films now have websites to accompany their release, these teaser trailers are often seen fist online.
  
• After this theatrical campaigns and television spots will start to appear to maintain and strengthen the initial “buzz”.
  

Global Releasing

• Where a film is being shown in a range of countries, it many have a range of release dates, in which case each version of the trailer will need to carry the correct information to ensure audience are aware of the release date.
• Any of the films we see in the U.K are from the US and the trailers have been created there, hence the use of American vocabulary and accent in the voiceover.
• However sometimes the trailer may be re-cut for different countries. With a different voiceover or even dubbed speech.
• In recent years changes in media technology have had a big impact on the way that film titles are released internationally. When films are released earlier in the USA for example then they are in Europe “pirated” versions of those films.
• This is due to individuals recording the film in the cinema then uploading it online - an illegal activity usually referred to a “film piracy”.
• As a result if this potential box – office profits are at risk, those involving in promoting a film need to carefully control the process of release. For this reason films are increasingly released on a “day and date” which means that the film is released around the world on exactly the same day in order to prevent the international trade of pirated copies.
  

Research: Trailer Analysis - Sorrority Row

Name – Sorority row

Genre – Horror

Target Audience – The target audience for this film would range from teenagers aged 17 – 19 and young adults aged 20 – 30. The beginning of the trailer suggest that the film is a ‘chick flick’ however watching further on reveals that it’s a horror film, therefore the target audience would be interested in watching the film as it shows enigma and ambiguity.

Plot – When five sorority girls accidentally cause the murder of one of their sisters in a prank gone wrong, they agree to keep the matter to themselves and never speak of it again, so they can get on with their lives. This seems easier said than done, as at a sorority party while everyone is wearing sorority gowns covering their face one of them is killed.
Length – 2.28

Number of characters – In this trailer there are a variety of main characters which are dominated in particular scenes. The main characters throughout the whole trailer are the 5 sorority girls. The other main character which is also shown is Megan’s (the one who gets murdered) boyfriend, However he is mainly showed at the beginning of the trailer. Another main character would be the unknown ghost/spirit which comes back to life towards the end of the trailer. There are also a number of background characters shown throughout the trailer. These include the people partying at the beginning of the trailer, the teacher which gives a speech on life to the girls and the students which are graduating. The background characters normally don’t have much dialogue but portray their actions through body language and facial expressions. The audience would be able to identify the main characters instantly as they are shown in most scenes as they have a significance importance to the storyline. However compare to the background characters that are less likely to be in most shots, background characters are showed when needed to provide a good setting and help the audience establish the scene at the time.

Number of shots – Approximately 113
The shots from this trailer last about 2/3 seconds using a mixture of camera angles and shots, however as the pace gets faster and more action is shown the shots begin to get shorter lasting about 1 / 2 seconds. The camera angles which are mainly used in this trailer as close ups and medium shots. This is to show key emotions of the characters whilst portraying the location/setting however the camera angles used try not to give the narrative away at the same time. The beginning of the trailer starts off by using an establishing shot of the school and the party scene. This is so the target audience get an understanding of the setting. The beginning of the trailer also shows each main character individually in a separate shot. This lasts for approximately 1 second each; this is done so the target audience can straight away indentify the main characters.

Music – The music at the beginning of the trailer starts off as upbeat party music which later goes into a scene of a party. This would confuse the target audience as this type of music convention is not normally used for horror trailers. This type of music is used up until the scene where is stabs her with a cross. From this scene on the music starts normal familiar music conventions which means it starts to build up to create tension and gets louder as the action gets more intense. This would keep the target audience engaged throughout the trailer as it uses a variety of music from different genre thus going against the normal conventions of a horror trailer. In this trailer there is about 10 seconds where they is no music and diegetic sounds such as the phone ringing and dialogue take over. However the music only starts to appear again when the sprit is shown, this is done is create huge enigma and build up the tension for what is going to happen next. Towards the end of the trailer the music gets louder as the pace is becoming faster and intense, finally the music cuts and the title is shown. This would therefore leave the target audience is great amounts of suspense resulting in them wanting to watch the film.

Voiceover – No voiceover

Production Company – The production company which is shown in this trailer is “Summit Entertainment”. Showing the production company is very important as it can help attract the audience. If the production company is a recognisable brand that will encourage people to watch the film as they would have a good reputation for film making and people would assume that film would be to a high standard. Another important factor in showing the production company in a trailer is surrounding copyright laws and to ensure them the trailer won’t be copied.

Credits/Intertitles – There are a number of Intertitles shown throughout the trailer
0.35 – 0.36 ‘A Prank’
0.40 – 0.41 ‘No One Would Ever Forgot’
1.08 – 1.09 ‘A Secret’
1.14 – 1.15 ‘No One Would Ever Tell’
1.50 – 1.51 ‘Sister For Life’
1.59 – 2.00 ‘And Death’
2.20 – 2.22 ‘Sorority Row’
2.26 – 2.30 ‘Coming soon’ – All the Intertitles are written in upper case lettering which suggest that they are powerful credits. It also it written in upper case lettering as it wants it to be eye catching and appealing to the audience. Most of the credits are only shown for approximately 1/ 2 seconds however they appear slowly on the screen and the texts gradually gets bigger. This is so the credits are read by the audience so they are kept engaged and interested.

Editing – The transitions used in this trailer are mainly straight cuts and fade to black. The 5 seconds of the trailer starts off by using a fade to black transitions however when the camera goes to show the main characters individually it uses a straight cut. This is so the characters are shown properly to the target audience and they don’t get confused whereas using a fade at the beginning is only setting the scene. As the pace of the trailer picks up the transitions become straight cut so it’s easy for the target audience to understand and see clearly to action. Using straight cut when the action is building up helps to create fast action and build up the anticipation within the trailer. The pace of this trailer starts off slow but as the storyline becomes more open the pace begins to speed up in order to keep the target audience interested.

Dialogue – Conversation are heard they keywords from these are: dead, kill, prank, lesson, cheat Theta Pi

Research: Trailer Analysis - The Devil's Backbone

Name – The Devil’s Backbone

Length – 1.23

Genre – Horror

Target Audience – 15 and over. Adults

Narrative – A gothic horror film about a young child who attends an orphanage.

Number of character – There are 5 main characters in this trailer. An old couple who shown to run the orphanage but there are also two teachers one female and one male, there is also an orphan who is calming to be seeing ghost.


Shots – The shots which are used in this trailer are close ups which show emotion of the character faces because it doesn’t give the entire storyline away just enough to keep the target audience engage. However there are also establishing shots which have been used to set the scene, with this are also medium shots seen. It is clear to see these camera angles have been used to show the importance of the character. For example a medium shot is used when the man is outside blowing his whistle and the children are running up the stairs, this implies that he is a teacher of the orphanage.

Music – There is a mellow soundtrack that is played in the background of the trailer but it’s very subtle until around 30 seconds into the trailer. From here it then gets faster adding tension and suspense to the trailer

Special effects – Bomb breaks and comes towards the screen

Credits/Intertitles – The actors and actresses name are seen along with translations for the Spanish dialogue.

Editing – The transitions which are used in the trailer are mainly straight cuts which build up anticipation and they make the trailer emphasise the action so the target audience are attracted making them want to watch the film. The pace of the trailer starts off slow but then gets fasters as the storyline builds up. This therefore creates more tension and more action.

Dialogue – Conversation are shown in the trailer and the keywords used are: ghost, dark and horror and there is also dialogue in Spanish

Unique Selling point (USP) – The main USP’s of this trailer are firstly the genre as it explores a Spanish element which unusual to the target audience. Another USP is the narrative and Director of the film.

Research: Trailer Analysis - Drag Me To Hell

Name – Drag me to hell

Length – 2.19 minutes

Genre – Horror

Plot – A loan officer ordered to evict an old woman from her home finds herself the recipient of a supernatural curse, which turns her life into a living hell. Desperate, she turns to a seer to try and save her soul, while evil forces work to push her to a breaking point.

Number of characters – In this trailer there are a variety of main characters which are dominated in particular scenes. However the two main characters which are shown throughout the trailers is the young women, whose name remains unknown throughout the trailer and the old lady who comes to her for help. The two main characters which are shown at the beginning of the trailer is the young women boss Mr Jacks and Stew the man which she is against in the assistant manager’s job position. However there are also background characters also known as flat characters in the beginning of the trailer. These include the workers and customers who stare when the old women is making a scene and the security who help to take the old women out of the building. The background characters are illustrated mainly through the facial expressions, body language and normally don’t have much speech. The other characters which are shown in this trailer is the young women’s boyfriend and a Astrologist. The audience would be able to distinguish which are the main characters from this trailer as they have the most part and are shown the most in scenes. However compared to the background characters that probably won’t be shown in many shots and have much speech. The main aim of background characters is to help provide a good setting.

Number of Shots – Approximately 92
The shot start of by lasting about 2/3 seconds each using a mixture of transitions and camera angles however has the tension starts to build up the pace begins to get faster therefore leaving the shot lasting only about ½ seconds. The camera angles mainly used in this trailer is close ups, medium angles and some long shots. The opening shot starts off with an Establishing shot and a bird’s eye view of the cars, this enables the audience to gain a understanding of the setting/location. The shots mainly used in the beginning are mediums angles which allows the audience to see the environment however when a strong emotion or facial expression is needed to be shown then the camera would change to a close up. For example shot number 15 of the old women is a close up of her facial expression. In this shot the women is looking terrified as she has just found out the young women is not permitting her with an extension on her mortgage. This camera angle allows the audience to connect with the characters and can be used to build up tension. For example shot number 22 is of the young women sitting in her car. The camera angle is again a close up but the camera zooms in very slowly creating a black outline at the same time. This camera movement builds up tension and suspension as the next shot will come unexpected to the audience.

Music – The music at the beginning of the trailer starts of a quiet and claim however at about 55 seconds into the trailer the music brings to get slightly louder as the young women is feeling pressured and unsure of what to do. However in shot 19 the old lady is begging the young women while pulling on her skirt, the young women then shouts “Security!” and the old women falls to the fall. At that point the music stops for approximately 2seconds then going back to speech. By the music getting cut at that point creates tension for the audience as they are anxious to see what happens next. The music then begins to get faster and louder as more action is occurring at a faster pace. This also helps to create tension to the audience as they are left fearful of what’s next. The music used in this trailer has a big impact on the trailer which helps to keep them engaged and make them want to watch the film.

Voiceover – None

Production Company – The production which made this film is Universal as Ghost house pictures. Showing the production company is very important as it can help attract the audience. If the production company is a recognisable brand that will encourage people to watch the film as they would have a good reputation for film making and people would assume that film would be to a high standard. Another important factor in showing the production company in a trailer is surrounding copyright laws and to ensure them the trailer won’t be copied.

Credits/ Intertitles – There are a number of Intertitles shown throughout the trailer.
1.22 – 1.24 ‘From Sam Raini’ – This lasts 1 second more than the other Intertitles as they want the audience the directors name to be shown for a long enough time.
1. 29 – 1.30 ‘Director or spider-man’ – By showing this, people who enjoyed spider man may be optimistic in watching it as it is produced by the same director so they believe they will enjoy it like they enjoyed spider-man
1.34- 1.35 ‘And the evil dean trilogy’
1.45 – 1.46 ‘This may’
1.51 – 1.52 ‘Universal pictures and Ghost house pictures
1.57 – 1.58 ‘Present’
2.04 – 2.05 ‘The return’
2.08 – 2.09 ‘Of true horror’
2.14 – 2.15 ‘Drag me to hell’
2.16 – 2.17 ‘In theatres May 29th’
2.18 – 2.20 ‘Universal pictures and Ghost house pictures present Alison Lohman “Drag me to hell” Justin Long Co-producers Cristen Carr Strubbe, Ivan Raimi – Showing the actors names can also encourage people who are fans of them to watch it, as they would be more reluctant in watching their favourite actor in a film.

Editing – The editing is things such as transitions and pace. The transitions which were used in this trailer were mainly fade and straight cut. In the beginning of the trailer the main transition which was used is a straight cut. This enables the audience to not get confused with the shots or storyline and is a simple transition. However when the tension was building up or a close up was used the transition used would be a fade. This was so it took a bit longer getting to the next shot so the audience would be keep in suspense for longer meaning they would be more interested. For example shot number 20 fades into the next shot of the women walking to her car. Shot number 20 is when the young women have just had her skirt pulled on by the old lady and had to call security to remove her. In this close up shot she is looking scared and shocked. This shot was a very fast pace shot and the music was gradually building up. However by using a fade transition into the next shot keeps the audience in suspense. The pace of the trailer varies it starts of slow than as the trailer goes up the pace begins to get faster as tension is building up.

Mise en scene - This refers to many things such as setting/location, lighting and custom. The setting of the trailers changes in order for the audience to get an understanding of storyline. The first establishing shot starts off by showing cars on a motorway then fades into the young women driving her car. The other locations from the trailer include: her office, a car park, the young women’s house (bedroom), a haunted house, near a river and a cemetery. All these different locations represent a change in the storyline however they all link together. The lighting which is mainly used in this trailer is notan lighting when the scene is positive however as the pace gets faster and shots become more intensive the lighting which is mainly used is chiaroscuro. This is when the lighting becomes dark and dull which would have representations of bad meanings. The lighting is an important aspect in the trailer as it helps to set the scene for the audience. The custom which the characters wear are also important as it has to relate to the characters representation for example the old lady is portrayed as a stereotypical image of what old ladies wear. Having characters look stereotypical helps the audience to understanding and connect with the character as they would already know the connotations attached to the character.

Research: Storyboard- Drag Me To Hell

Research: Poster Analysis - Paranormal Activity

Introduction –Paranormal Activity is a 2007 American independent horror film written and directed by Oren Peli. The movie centers on a young couple, Katie and Micah, who are haunted by a supernatural presence in their home. The movie is presented using "found footage" from the camera set up by the couple to capture what is haunting them. I will explain in detail the conventions of this poster and there meaning/representation.

Camera Work – The camera angle used in this poster is a wide
shot. This enables the target audience to see the whole scene/ surroundings and have an understanding of what is going on. The image shown seems to be taken from a film camera due to the time shown at the right hand corner. This adds enigma as most other posters such as The Blair witch project and The Eye are all shot by cameras. This shows the conventions of this poster to be different from others. The image also shows ambiguity, it’s clear to see that this image was taken from a scene in the film, however compared to other poster the conventions of the image or person is usually shown in a medium shot facing the camera. However in this case the couples are not looking towards the camera and seem to be looking at something. This therefore shows ambiguity as it’s not made clear to the target audience what they are looking at. The lighting used in this poster appears to be night vision on the film camera. This gives a connotation of darkness, isolation and fear all these show the genre of the film (horror)

Colour – The three predominate colours used in this poster is red, black and blue. The black is used as a background colour which indicates death, evil and dullness. The use of the black also makes the image and the title stand out more clearly to the target audience. The red used in the title “Paranormal Activity” indicates strength, devil and blood all these connotations can be related to the image. The red would attract the target audience as its eye catching. The last colour used is blue this together with the white used shows purity in the poster. The white is used above the image which allows the text to be seen clearly and easy to read. This is same with “The Blair Witch Project” as they also used white text against a black background in their poster. All these colour tie in together and individually have their own connotations. The overall colour of the image is a blue light this signifies to the audience that its night time. It also suggests a feeling of coldness from the use of blue.

Typeface – The Typeface used in the title “Paranormal Activity” is very bold and eye catching. The title is written in uppercase lettering which suggest strength and power. It’s also trying to state the emphasis on the title. This convention is the same as “The Blair Witch Project and The Eye” as they also have their title written in uppercase letters. However the typeface used in the title appears to have a shadow behind it. This could be trying to represent a ghost or sprit which could be what they are looking at in the image. The typeface therefore gives a little insight to the image which may encourage the target audience to want to watch the film. The typeface used in the text near the title is also in uppercase. The use of the question in uppercase “What happens when you sleep?” could be used to make the target audience think about that particular question and therefore creating enigma. The typeface used in the text above the image appears to be written in the old fashion format of a type writer. This could be trying to portray the target audience which the film is aimed at.

Layout – The layout of this poster is one similar to “The Blair Witch Project” in that the image is placed in the middle with the text at the top and the title of the film below the image. However the use of the lines shows the break up between the three different sections. This could have been done to make it clear and more understandable to the target audience. The layout of this poster shows three different divisions which are very different compared to other posters. The footage is filmed therefore they may not have enough to create an entire poster; this also cannot be reproduced as it is real and they are dead.

Target Audience – The target audience for this audience would be teenagers aged 16-18. The target audience which this poster is trying to attract is modern teenagers; this is shown through the use of new technology such as the video camera being used as an image as they know their target audience is up to date with the latest technology. It more likely that boys/men are more likely to be attracted to this film through the media language such as “scariest film” and “nightmares guaranteed” all these words wouldn’t attract a girl/women as much as it would to males.

Media language – The language used in this poster is informal and straight to the point. The use of the language attracts its target audience by using interesting terminology which would make the target audience think and react for example “you will be affected as it’s hard to ignore “this line would leave the target audience wondering whether this statement is true therefore resulting in them watching the film. The use of the language “Don’t see it alone “can be seen as a marketing aspect as it’s informing the target audience to bring someone else along therefore resulting in more sales.

Representation – The representation of the image is that they are a young couple. They are represented to be well off i.e. fairly rich due to the surroundings shown. They portrayed as being scared and frighten of something which can be suggested to be the shadow shown near the door. This can therefore link to the size of the image which appears to be shown quite small. This may indicate that they are insignificant and less powerful.

Research: Poster Analysis - The Blair Witch Project

Introduction
The Blair Witch Project is an American horror film released in 1999. The narrative is presented as a documentary pieced together from amateur footage, filmed in real time. The film was produced by the Haxan Films production company and directed by Daniel Myrick and Edardo Sanchez. The film relates the story of three young student filmmakers who hike into the Black Hills of Maryland to film a documentary about a local legend known as the Blair Witch, and subsequently go missing. The viewer is told that the three were never found, although their video and sound equipment was discovered a year later. This "recovered footage" is presented as the film the viewer is watching. In this analysis I will explain in detail the conventions and meaning of this film poster.

Camera work
The camera work used in this poster is a high angle which is focusing on the subject eyes. This camera work used makes the subject’s eye the main focus of the poster, which would attract the target audience. The camera work used makes the subject look vulnerable however at the same time the image appeals to the target audience. The fact that only half of the subject’s face is shown suggest enigma. The image taken is a still taken from the footage and cannot be reproduced because this film is based around footage which has been found. The lighting used could suggest that a torch is being used underneath his face to enable his face to be lit up. This would allow the target audience straight away to indentify the genre of the film horror, due to the connotations. The lighting only lights up parts of his face making one his eye’s the main focus whilst the other is half lit up. This would attract the target audience as it can be used as a focal point. The eye’s show emotion of fear and together with the camera angle suggests that the subject is the victim. This would therefore attract the target audience as they would want to find out more about the image.

Colour - The three predominant colours used in this poster are black, red, and white. The black represents dullness and darkness together this adds with theme of the genre (horror) so it allows the target audience to identify the genre straight away. The red shown in this poster is not used as much as the other two colours. The red is only used to show the logo and the website of the film. The use of the colour red emphasis the logo which could suggest death or danger. The red at the bottom of the poster is used to attract the target audience to the website and makes this section of the text more visible. The last predominate colour used in this poster is white; this is only used to show the writing. By putting the writing in white it allows the target audience to read the text clearly and it stands out against the black but at the same time it’s not over power the main image. Having some text allows the target audience to gain a brief understanding of what the film is about, the text used in this poster leaves the target audience wanting to watch this film. The white suggest purity and in this case is used a neutral colour in order for all three colour to tie in together. The use of the colour white is also a practical design choice. The three predominate colours indicate mystery which will attract the target audience in wanting to watch the film or known more about it.

Typeface - The Typeface used in the main title “The Blair Witch Project” is all written in capital letters. This is means it’s trying to emphasis the title as something important. Having the title in capital letters would attract the target audience as and therefore become recognized. This would encourage the target audience to watch the film or find out more about it. The typeface above the main image is written in small but bold text this is often known as san serif. This allows the target audience to have a brief understanding/ background of the film within the summary given on the poster. The use of white colour in the typeface enables the text to be seen clearly against the black background. The emphasis is made on the face that it’s a ‘real’ which would attract the target audience as not many films have this storyline based on raw footage.

Layout - The layout of this poster is clear and easy to read. The layout of this poster is simple and is eye catching to the target audience. The layout of this post is similar to Saw IV and other film poster in that they all follow the same conventions which are the main image, title, brief catch phrase of the film and credits. All these conventions are easy to indentify however in their separate ways enable the target audience to understanding what the genre is immediately. The layout of this poster makes the target audience first drawn to the image, then the text above and lastly the title. This means that the target audience are keep engaged with the whole poster.

Target audience - The target audience for which the poster is aiming to attract is people aged 16-25. The use of the word “students” in the poster suggests that other students would prefer watching the film as would find it easier to relate to the characters. It could be suggested that students studying Film, Media studies etc are also being targeted due to the use of the language “three student’s filmmakers”.

Representation - The representation of this poster suggest enigma through the image. By only allowing the target audience so see the top half of the persons head but the emphasis being on the eyes shows huge enigma in the fact that the target audience cannot identify the person leaving them wanting to know more. The representation of the logo placed above the writing is trying to show someone being hung but it an unusual way. This logo shows ambiguity. The use of the colour red represents blood or devil which is all connotations to do with horror. The other major representation is the image. Its placed in a forest with indicates a feeling of isolation this together with the eyes creates a representation of fear.

Media language - The media language used in this poster is straight to the point and written so that the target audience understand the point trying to be portrayed. The writing covers all aspects which the target audience need to know in order for them to have a good
Understanding of the film for example explaining who is in the film “three students”, the location Maryland and the place where the film is set “the woods”. The use of the ellipsis after the word “documentary” adds tension to the text. This allows the target audience to pause and think also adding enigma.

Research: Questionnaire & Findings

Questionnaire for Poster
1. Which colours do you think best suits a horror film poster? (Tick three)
Blue Orange
Red Brown
Black
White
Yellow

2. Which image would attract you into watching the film shown on a poster? (Tick one)
Image of actor
Recreation of the scene
Still image for the film
Image of the location

3. What age do you think would be attract to a horror film?
16 -18 25-30
18-21 30-35
21-25 40 and above

4. Which four main conventions would you like to see in a film poster?
Image Actors Name
Film Name Website
Credits
Release Date

Questionnaire for film magazine
1. Which Name best suits a film magazine name?
Film works
Film worlds
Cineworld
Global Films

2. Which topic would attract you to read a film magazine
Real life stories about the actors
Interview
Top 10 hits
Film Reviews

3. Which colours would attract you to a magazine? (Tick three)
Red
Black
White
Yellow
Blue
Orange

Questionnaire for teaser trailer
1. Do you enjoy watching horror films
Yes
No

2. What attract you to watch a film?
The actors
The narrative
Genre
Review

3. How long do you expect a teaser trailer to last?
1minute
3minutes
5minuts
10 minutes

4. How much of the narrative should be given away in the teaser trailer?
All of it
Most of it
None of all

Planning: Narrative Structure & Character Analysis

Tzvetan Todorov analysed narratives ad suggested that they could be broken down in to five simple stages. Using his theory, as a group we broke our narrative down ensuring they fitted in to each stage.
Equilibrium - t’s a normal school day for the characters however this day is Halloween so it’s the 31st October 2009. A Group of friends are hanging out together in the school playground. Jay who is one of the main characters in the film tells the rest of his friends a hoax about a previous head teacher. This head teacher had committed suicide in the school building on the evening of Halloween. He tells the rest of his friends that since this day the school has been haunted.
Disruption – That night Jay and the rest of his friends decided to break into school to investigate whether this hoax is true or not. Whilst they are in the building they start to hear noises and get worried.
Recognition of disruption – They begin to wonder around the school in order to find where the noise in coming from however they all see a shadow of the teacher and then Jay goes missing.
Attempt to repair disruption – Jay then scares the rest of his friends as he doesn’t reallt go missing and tells his friends he was only joking. They all then go to leave the building but the door is locked and they hear more noises.
Reinstatement of equilibrium – They finally leave the school and the next day tell everyone else what happened that night. A year passes and a new group of friends start telling the same myth.

Character Analysis
The characters for my horror trailer will include 5 characters all together made up of 3 boys and 2girls. It is important to have a mixture of boys and girls as the characters can be related to my target audience. This means the horror trailers is aimed at both sexes therefore including both boys and girls means the target audience can connect with the characters better.
3boys = Jay, Arron & Sean
2girls = Tara & Laila

Jay – Character Analysis
Rebel, leader. Stereotypical image of a teenager aged 17. He wears hat, tracksuit bottom, Trainers, Hoody. His personality is arrogant, big headed, attention seeker and always smokes. He comes from a working class family who lives on a rough estate. He had a stepdad who abused him and now lives with his single parent mum. He’s on the verge of getting kicked out of school due to bad behaviour, truancy and bad grades.

Aaron – Character Analysis
Comes from a middles class wealthy family. Smartly dressed – trousers, shirt, cardigan, plimsolls. Has mainly good grades in school and well mannered. However he is easily influenced by other. 17 years old.

Sean – Character Analysis
Stereotypical image of a teenager. Wears tracksuit, trainers. Lives on the same estate as Jay. He also comes from a working class family and lives with his parents, follows jay and gets into bad crowds. He is also on the verge on getting kicked out because of bad grades, smoking and truancy.

Tara - Character Analysis
Best friends with Laila. She is also a attention seeker and is popular amongst her peers at school. She wears a lot of makeup and wears leggings, top, pumps, earrings, necklace, and bangles. She comes from a working class family and lives with her mum. Average student who attends school most of the time. 17 years old.

Laila – Character Analysis
New to the area and lives with parents. Got into the wrong crowd with Tara and the boys. Simple girl who wear, jeans, top and shoes. Subtle make up. Good grades but will suffer due to new school and friends. She is quite shy.

Planning: Animatic & Storyboard

This was the first storyboard my group and I drew out. However after carrying out audience research we found that this storyline did not meet the needs wanted by our target audience. Below are some quotes from our target audience about our project.

• " The narrative was good but the storyline didnt flow as well as it should have
• " I thought the idea of the story was brillant but when showed the storyboard the narrative got confusing"
• "The storyboard shows to much detail, it's meant to be a teaser trailer which shows parts of the narrative this is showing the whole film!"

After this audience feedback we decided to re create the storyboard taking all these comments into consideration.