When creating our magazine front cover, film poster and trailer we used a combination of Adobe Premiere elements 10, YouTube and Photoshop.
Photoshop enabled us to manipulate our imagery making it feel more like a poster/magazine cover. It enabled us to put filters on the image and enhance parts of the photo changing the lighting etc. with all the different tools. It also enabled us to put text on our images which is particularly important when creating the magazine front cover, we were able to change the font size, colour and style to fit with the vibe that we wanted. As the other group members take photography they had past experience using this software making the process much easier to pick up new skills. We were able to place the bar code over the top of the image layering them on top of one another which also helped make it more professional. The snipping tool also allowed us to cut down images to our chosen size which was another very useful tool.
The main editing tool we used was Adobe Premiere Elements 10 as this allowed us to cut/crop footage, place it all together and put effects and transitions on it. Although we didn't fully explore all of the effects that could be placed over the footage we did use alpha adjust on several occasions. This made the lighting appear much darker conforming to the stereotype of horror film as the darkness connotes danger and mystery. We also used the fade transition to help smooth out the cross cuts between two different locations, this is also conventional of trailers as it helps to break it up more so it doesn't look like an opening two minutes. As we used the same program when editing last year we had past experience using it so were able to use tools that we had learnt how to use last year, for example the time lapse tool was used in our opening two minutes and in our trailer to make the victim appear as if she was running away quickly. When editing we were also able to explore different font types so we used Adobe to create our title as well, this program allowed us to create a bold white title which is what we wanted as its conventional of horror films.
We also used Youtube to research several types of non-copyright music, although we decided not to use any of these it was extremely useful when researching and enabled us to decide what soundtrack we wanted to use. Last year in AS I used non-copyright music from youtube but this year we decided we wanted to try record it ourselves and although this was effective we could have used an underlying soundtrack to go over the whole trailer. The sound track that we recorded was conventional of horror films as it sounded like a child and helped to build tension however it could have been improved to sound more like singing rather than chanting. Youtube also helped us in the post production when we wanted to analyse our trailer because of the use of the annotation tool, this allowed us to write comments all over our trailer explaining the shot types and editing decisions that we made.
Sunday, 9 April 2017
How have you made your trailer seem like a trailer?
Titles
One way we made our trailer seem like a trailer is through the use of titles. When creating the trailer we wanted to conform to the conventions of trailers to make it seem a more high budget professional trailer. During the editing process we included lots of trailers to help break up the trailer, this is a convention that is common in the majority of trailers, not only does this engage the audience but it also helps to advertise. In the titles we mentioned the location which helps to tie them all together, this acts as a genre indicator. and also links into the sound track. This helps to build tension because the audience begin to feel on edge and fear the unknown. By keeping all the titles in plain white bold font it keep its very simple but by leaving a ellipse at the end it makes it seem as if there is unfinished story over what is happening. The last title to be shown is the title of the film which is a convention in trailers because it helps to advertise the trailer so people remember the title of the film.
Editing
We kept the editing very fast paced to stick to the conventions of horror trailers this way it helps to build tension and keeps the audiences focus throughout the trailer. By using the fade tool it helped us cross cut between two different locations without it being a nasty jump cut. Also at the end of the trailer we incorporated a series of short shots to show a short snip it of the events that had happened. This is also conventional of horror films as it helps to build tension. The dip to black effects helps create a sense of mystery and makes the audience question what is happening next, an example of enigma code. To improve our trailer and make it feel more like a trailer we could have used different types of transitions and effects between each shot, this is something we can use to improve on in the future.
Sound
To make our trailer seem more like a trailer we didn't include any dialogue because we thought this would make it feel more like a film opening so the majority of sound in our trailer is non-diegetic. Our main soundtrack was the nursery rhyme of 'Teddy bears picnic' as this helped created a creepy atmosphere however to improve this we could have used a beat behind the sound track to make it sound more like music rather than just singing. We also had a voice over at the beginning of the trailer giving the audience some background context into what has/is about to happen. The sound was useful in answering some of the unanswered questions that the audience had but it is still an area that we could improve on.
Camera
In our trailer we used a wide range of different shot and from different angles to try and show the storyline from multiple different view points. This is conventional for a trailer as they are used to advertise the film encouraging people to see the film once it has been released. Long shots are used to show body language, close ups to show emotion, over the shoulder shots to show point of view and tracking shots to help build tension. By using short snips of multiple different shot types it conforms to trailers because it advertises and encourages people to come see the film once it has been released.
In our trailer we use Vladimirr Propps theory of narrative including characters like the villain, the victim and the false hero, these character types also make it feel more like a trailer. We also use binary opposites showing the contrasts between good and evil, this is shown through the use of mise-en-scene with the villain being dressed all in black and the victim all in white, this is a theory developed by Claude Levi Strauss. Also another convention of trailers is the idea of the enigma code leaving the audience with unanswered questions throughout the trailer, we do this in several places but in particular with the shot of the flowers being placed on the bench at the end of the trailer. The audience are left to question what has happened to the victim and this is not fully explored.
One way we made our trailer seem like a trailer is through the use of titles. When creating the trailer we wanted to conform to the conventions of trailers to make it seem a more high budget professional trailer. During the editing process we included lots of trailers to help break up the trailer, this is a convention that is common in the majority of trailers, not only does this engage the audience but it also helps to advertise. In the titles we mentioned the location which helps to tie them all together, this acts as a genre indicator. and also links into the sound track. This helps to build tension because the audience begin to feel on edge and fear the unknown. By keeping all the titles in plain white bold font it keep its very simple but by leaving a ellipse at the end it makes it seem as if there is unfinished story over what is happening. The last title to be shown is the title of the film which is a convention in trailers because it helps to advertise the trailer so people remember the title of the film.
Editing
We kept the editing very fast paced to stick to the conventions of horror trailers this way it helps to build tension and keeps the audiences focus throughout the trailer. By using the fade tool it helped us cross cut between two different locations without it being a nasty jump cut. Also at the end of the trailer we incorporated a series of short shots to show a short snip it of the events that had happened. This is also conventional of horror films as it helps to build tension. The dip to black effects helps create a sense of mystery and makes the audience question what is happening next, an example of enigma code. To improve our trailer and make it feel more like a trailer we could have used different types of transitions and effects between each shot, this is something we can use to improve on in the future.
Sound
To make our trailer seem more like a trailer we didn't include any dialogue because we thought this would make it feel more like a film opening so the majority of sound in our trailer is non-diegetic. Our main soundtrack was the nursery rhyme of 'Teddy bears picnic' as this helped created a creepy atmosphere however to improve this we could have used a beat behind the sound track to make it sound more like music rather than just singing. We also had a voice over at the beginning of the trailer giving the audience some background context into what has/is about to happen. The sound was useful in answering some of the unanswered questions that the audience had but it is still an area that we could improve on.
Camera
In our trailer we used a wide range of different shot and from different angles to try and show the storyline from multiple different view points. This is conventional for a trailer as they are used to advertise the film encouraging people to see the film once it has been released. Long shots are used to show body language, close ups to show emotion, over the shoulder shots to show point of view and tracking shots to help build tension. By using short snips of multiple different shot types it conforms to trailers because it advertises and encourages people to come see the film once it has been released.
In our trailer we use Vladimirr Propps theory of narrative including characters like the villain, the victim and the false hero, these character types also make it feel more like a trailer. We also use binary opposites showing the contrasts between good and evil, this is shown through the use of mise-en-scene with the villain being dressed all in black and the victim all in white, this is a theory developed by Claude Levi Strauss. Also another convention of trailers is the idea of the enigma code leaving the audience with unanswered questions throughout the trailer, we do this in several places but in particular with the shot of the flowers being placed on the bench at the end of the trailer. The audience are left to question what has happened to the victim and this is not fully explored.
Audience research and profilling
Our target audience is typically 15+ however films of this genre tend to become less popular in people aged 30+. However the type of film would differ depending on what gender you were targeting, horror films tend to be more popular with males. From the researcher and planning stage 
we realised that we would want to create a horror film and these films are usually rated either a 15 or an 18. Horror films are not typically rated a 12 as the events may be distressing for someone of this age. Ours only involved a small amount of violence hence why it was only a 15, this enabled us to realise that the lower end of our target audience would be 15. Also the majority of people that go to the cinema to watch films of this genre are between the ages of 15 and 25.
Females of the age of 15 tend to be more into popular culture and enjoy things that the majority of people also enjoy. This would mean they would shop in shops like Topshop, Jack Wills and Urban Outfitters as well as cheaper alternatives like primark and h&m. At the age of 15 pop music is very popular with artists like Taylor Swift and Rihanna being very popular. These sort of people tend to be more into romantic comedies. However when they get slightly older like 17 their interests change and they tend to be more interested in horror films and thrillers, so we targeted this age range to our audience. However boys between the ages of 15 and 20 are more interested into crime and horror films because of games like Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto. This meant that we targeted our opening to males rather than females as its more appealing for them.
We used the result from our questionnaires in order to try and appeal our opening to people of the ages between 15 and 25. In our questionnaire we asked people of different ages and genders to allow us to incorporate characteristics that appeal to them all. Many people liked the idea of a female lead as it made it more relatable for girls so they put themselves in their shoes. We wanted the story to be based around the stalking nature of the antagonist helping to build tension and this was also popular choice for people in targeted age range.
we realised that we would want to create a horror film and these films are usually rated either a 15 or an 18. Horror films are not typically rated a 12 as the events may be distressing for someone of this age. Ours only involved a small amount of violence hence why it was only a 15, this enabled us to realise that the lower end of our target audience would be 15. Also the majority of people that go to the cinema to watch films of this genre are between the ages of 15 and 25. Females of the age of 15 tend to be more into popular culture and enjoy things that the majority of people also enjoy. This would mean they would shop in shops like Topshop, Jack Wills and Urban Outfitters as well as cheaper alternatives like primark and h&m. At the age of 15 pop music is very popular with artists like Taylor Swift and Rihanna being very popular. These sort of people tend to be more into romantic comedies. However when they get slightly older like 17 their interests change and they tend to be more interested in horror films and thrillers, so we targeted this age range to our audience. However boys between the ages of 15 and 20 are more interested into crime and horror films because of games like Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto. This meant that we targeted our opening to males rather than females as its more appealing for them.
We used the result from our questionnaires in order to try and appeal our opening to people of the ages between 15 and 25. In our questionnaire we asked people of different ages and genders to allow us to incorporate characteristics that appeal to them all. Many people liked the idea of a female lead as it made it more relatable for girls so they put themselves in their shoes. We wanted the story to be based around the stalking nature of the antagonist helping to build tension and this was also popular choice for people in targeted age range.
Use of camera
The camera we used was a Cannon EOS100D with a lens of 18-55 and we found this very effective because the camera was very high quality meaning we could shot many close up shots to a high standard. As this is Lydia's camera that she uses for photography she was very familiar in the way the camera works making it very easy to film.
Throughout the trailer we used a majority of different for different effects, with them all combined it helped to show the trailer through several different view points building tension, these are some examples of shots that we used.
We used a long establishing shot as the first shot of our trailer, the establishing shot introduces the audience to the location and too two characters. Immediately the audience can see the woods is where the film is set acting as a genre indicator. As the woods is a very mysterious location and there is lots of trees around it makes the audience fear the unknown because they don't know what is hiding amongst the wooded area. The long shot allows the characters to also be in shot and they are clearly looking for something, this is an example of enigma code because the audience are left asking questions about who they are searching for and who these characters are. This helps to build tension because the audience are unsure about what's happening but the voice over give them an idea of what is to come. We used a tripod to film this shot as we wanted the camera to stay still and steady making it look more professional.
In the trailer we also used several close up to help pay attention to smaller details and focus the audiences attention. We used several close up to help show emotion, or lack of when filming the antagonist, but a close up we are particularly proud of is of one of our props. This close up was particularly successful because it looked as if the victim had dropped a personal belonging when running away from the antagonist, this also helps to add to the fear of the unknown because the audience don't know what has happened to the victim. As the shot shows that 'Claire' is calling it also helps portray emotion because someone is clearly upset looking for the missing girl, this helps the audience form an emotional bond to the victim as they sympathise with the situation. We filmed this shot free hand so we could get a close up high angle shot as if the audience is looking down on the phone, this makes them more involved with the trailer because they can imagine being there discovering the phone.
We also incorporated some tracking shots which we filmed by placing the camera on the tripod and then rotating it as the character ran past. By using the tripod it allowed us to make sure that the camera stayed at eye level and prevent shaking the camera. These shots allowed us to fasten the pace building excitement as the antagonist goes after the victim. As the camera was shot from a third persons point of view it made the audience feel helpless watching the events unfold, again building tension. These tracking shots are conventional of horror films and were very successful part of our trailer because it allowed the thrill to continue as the chase unfolds.
Throughout the trailer we used a majority of different for different effects, with them all combined it helped to show the trailer through several different view points building tension, these are some examples of shots that we used.
We used a long establishing shot as the first shot of our trailer, the establishing shot introduces the audience to the location and too two characters. Immediately the audience can see the woods is where the film is set acting as a genre indicator. As the woods is a very mysterious location and there is lots of trees around it makes the audience fear the unknown because they don't know what is hiding amongst the wooded area. The long shot allows the characters to also be in shot and they are clearly looking for something, this is an example of enigma code because the audience are left asking questions about who they are searching for and who these characters are. This helps to build tension because the audience are unsure about what's happening but the voice over give them an idea of what is to come. We used a tripod to film this shot as we wanted the camera to stay still and steady making it look more professional. 
In the trailer we also used several close up to help pay attention to smaller details and focus the audiences attention. We used several close up to help show emotion, or lack of when filming the antagonist, but a close up we are particularly proud of is of one of our props. This close up was particularly successful because it looked as if the victim had dropped a personal belonging when running away from the antagonist, this also helps to add to the fear of the unknown because the audience don't know what has happened to the victim. As the shot shows that 'Claire' is calling it also helps portray emotion because someone is clearly upset looking for the missing girl, this helps the audience form an emotional bond to the victim as they sympathise with the situation. We filmed this shot free hand so we could get a close up high angle shot as if the audience is looking down on the phone, this makes them more involved with the trailer because they can imagine being there discovering the phone. 
We also incorporated some tracking shots which we filmed by placing the camera on the tripod and then rotating it as the character ran past. By using the tripod it allowed us to make sure that the camera stayed at eye level and prevent shaking the camera. These shots allowed us to fasten the pace building excitement as the antagonist goes after the victim. As the camera was shot from a third persons point of view it made the audience feel helpless watching the events unfold, again building tension. These tracking shots are conventional of horror films and were very successful part of our trailer because it allowed the thrill to continue as the chase unfolds.
Questionnaire answers
We asked ten people to answer our questionnaire that we created relating to narrative and characters and this was the outcome:
What did you like about the storyline of our trailer?
What did you like about the storyline of our trailer?
· It didn’t give away too much about the film x4
· Left a lot of un answered questions about the film x2
· Made me want to go and watch it x2
· The naivety of the protagonist when walking alone in the woods x1
· The realistic looking make up x1
What would you of changed about the storyline?
· Say what the protagonist was like before x2
· Give an insight into who the antagonist is x2
· Why the antagonist is snatching the protagonist x4
· Why did the protagonist change into the antagonist x2
How does our trailer follow the stereotypes of a horror?
· Scary setting x1
· Clothing of the characters x2
· Choice of characters x2
· Sound used x1
· Editing x1
· Camera angles x1
· Camera shots x1
· Make up x1
After watching the trailer would you go and watch the film in the cinema?
· Yes x8
· No x2
What was the most memorable part about the trailer?
· Beginning x1
· Middle x1
· End x4
· Characters x3
· Intensity x1
What was strong about the editing of the trailer?
· Fast pace x4
· Cutting x5
· Variation of scenes occurring within the trailer x1
Did the sound within the trailer fit the convention of a horror?
· Yes x8
· No x2
What was strong about the sound used within the trailer?
· Links to the characters within the trailer x2
· Adds mystery x2
· Makes the trailer eerie x2
· Intense x2
· Follows conventions of a horror x2
What was strong about the characters clothing?
· The colours used on the character clothing fitted the connotations of the character x3
· They were easily distinguished between x2
· They were easily identified x2
· They met the expectations of characters within a horror movie x3
Questionnaire
What did you like about the story-line of our trailer?
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What would you of changed about the story-line?
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How does our trailer follow the stereotypes of a horror?
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After watching the trailer would you go and watch the film in the cinema?
· Yes
· No
What was the most memorable part about the trailer?
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What was strong about the editing of the trailer?
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Did the sound within the trailer fit the convention of a horror?
· Yes
· No
What was strong about the sound used within the trailer?
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What was strong about the characters clothing?
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Use of titles
Firstly we created our production credits as this is very important when creating our brand identity. We came up with the idea of 'SINISTER PICTURES' as a distributor, we kept the image very simple for this but made it white so it stuck out in comparison to the black background. The text underneath was in capitals as this is conventional of production credits. Then for production company we chose 'HANDS ON PRODUCTIONS' which was also in capitals and in white to help create an eerie atmosphere. We really liked the image used for this one as it looks like a ghostly figure that has been blurred, again this would act as a genre indicator. Production credits are very important when creating a trailer because it makes it look more realistic and like a larger budget film. The imagery used is high quality and we felt it was very effective in helping to advertise our film.
Throughout the trailer we have titles fade in and out on a black screen, these titles link to the nursery rhyme that is the soundtrack for our trailer. They help to break the trailer up slightly slowing the pace down in places helping to build tension. All of these titles are white on a black background showing the comparison from good and evil, binary opposites. We also felt that by doing this it would allow the words to stick in the audiences head for longer making them more likely to go and see the film. The font is very bold and the lettering is all in capitals which is another convention of horror trailers, again helping to build tension. The first title that appears is 'if you go down to the woods today' which immediately tells the audience about the location but leaves them with unanswered questions until the next title is revealed, this is an example of enigma code. Next title reads 'you'd better not go alone' which makes the audience fear being on their own, especially when in the woods which is a location that everyone can relate too, this helps to create a tense atmosphere. The last title helps to enforce this because it says 'but safer to stay at home...' this suggests that people are not safe once they leave the house. Also the use of the ellipsis suggests that this is not the last they are going to hear about the story.
We researched many different horror trailers and released that a lot of the older films tended to use red font as their title but the newer ones tended to use white. The connotations of red linked to blood and gore whereas white tends to connote innocence so leaves less to be revealed by the title. We also felt that using white related to our trailer more to show the differences in good and evil. By placing it on a background it allows the title to stand out more and be more memorable. When studying different trailers we noticed that the majority of fonts were bold and clear font, usually in capitals so we also decided to do this. As a group we decided that the title with the font 'Adobe Casion Pro' was most effective as it made a white outline creating a creepy effect. By this being the last thing on screen it allows viewers to remember the title of the film making them more likely to go and see the film once it has been released.
Throughout the trailer we have titles fade in and out on a black screen, these titles link to the nursery rhyme that is the soundtrack for our trailer. They help to break the trailer up slightly slowing the pace down in places helping to build tension. All of these titles are white on a black background showing the comparison from good and evil, binary opposites. We also felt that by doing this it would allow the words to stick in the audiences head for longer making them more likely to go and see the film. The font is very bold and the lettering is all in capitals which is another convention of horror trailers, again helping to build tension. The first title that appears is 'if you go down to the woods today' which immediately tells the audience about the location but leaves them with unanswered questions until the next title is revealed, this is an example of enigma code. Next title reads 'you'd better not go alone' which makes the audience fear being on their own, especially when in the woods which is a location that everyone can relate too, this helps to create a tense atmosphere. The last title helps to enforce this because it says 'but safer to stay at home...' this suggests that people are not safe once they leave the house. Also the use of the ellipsis suggests that this is not the last they are going to hear about the story.
We researched many different horror trailers and released that a lot of the older films tended to use red font as their title but the newer ones tended to use white. The connotations of red linked to blood and gore whereas white tends to connote innocence so leaves less to be revealed by the title. We also felt that using white related to our trailer more to show the differences in good and evil. By placing it on a background it allows the title to stand out more and be more memorable. When studying different trailers we noticed that the majority of fonts were bold and clear font, usually in capitals so we also decided to do this. As a group we decided that the title with the font 'Adobe Casion Pro' was most effective as it made a white outline creating a creepy effect. By this being the last thing on screen it allows viewers to remember the title of the film making them more likely to go and see the film once it has been released.
How like film posters and magazines are ancillary texts?
Magazine
When designing our magazine front cover we decided to use an image of our victim to help advertise our film well. We use Photoshop to edit the image, and because we wanted all the focus to be on the victim we darkened out the corners to help focus the attention. The photo itself was taken close up to draw attention to the small details like the blood and bruises that are on the victim, not only this but it portrays emotion very well making the reader feel more connected to this character. The shadows created by the darkened out corners help to create a shadow effect allowing the audience to think about what may be hiding in the shadows creating an eerie atmosphere. We named our magazine 'CAPTURE' to act as a genre indicator, not only this but it links to the name of our trailer 'SNATCHED'. The reason we decided to chose a name that acted as a genre indicator because we took inspiration from the magazine 'EMPIRE' which writes about action films. The lettering is in bold white font that has also been darkened out in places, this allows the title to stand out without taking attention away from the main image, it also helps to show the contrast between good and evil an idea that links to our trailer. Under the main image is our tag line which links to the location choice and also helps to create our brand identity because when people hear that they can immediately draw connection to our film. We also included several other titles to try entice people into buying the magazine, these include '45 movies you need to know about' and 'massive preview special' this makes people feel as if they are missing out if they didn't buy the magazine. Lastly we included a barcode to make the whole cover look more professional and as if it was being sold in a shop. When researching magazine front covers we took inspiration from 'EMPIRE' and 'TOTAL FILM' so we tried to keep the style very similar to these with one single image that advertised our film effectively, we felt this helped in making our cover look as professional as possible. To improve our magazine I would include less titles as I feel it takes over a lot of the front cover, but overall I think that it is effective in advertising our film and still looks realistic.
Poster
Our poster was also edited on Photoshop to allow us to manipulate the photography as we wanted to conform to the stereotypes better. For this we decided to include an image of both our victim and antagonist so the audience were introduced to both characters and also giving them an indication of what the film is going to be about. The font of the title is in large white writing as we wanted it to be quite simple but still stand out so the audience are able to remember the name of the film. As the victim is dressed in white and the antagonist in black it links to binary opposites and the clear division between good and evil which is an idea followed up in the trailer. The effect put over the image makes the model in the image appear more pale which makes the audience question whether the character is dead or alive. The background is blurred to make it looks as if the victim is running away and everything has become hazy for her because the antagonist is going to grab her, the shot itself is a mid shot to focus on the body language while still showing bits of the surrounding woodlands. On the poster we used the same slogan as on our magazine cover and that is also included in our trailer helping to link all three things together. However for this we wanted to put this in a red font to link to danger, conforming to the posters that we have looked at in the past, red font was common in older horror films as it connotes blood. I feel our film poster conforms to film posters because it includes original photography, its capturing and gives the audience some idea about the storyline/genre.
When designing our magazine front cover we decided to use an image of our victim to help advertise our film well. We use Photoshop to edit the image, and because we wanted all the focus to be on the victim we darkened out the corners to help focus the attention. The photo itself was taken close up to draw attention to the small details like the blood and bruises that are on the victim, not only this but it portrays emotion very well making the reader feel more connected to this character. The shadows created by the darkened out corners help to create a shadow effect allowing the audience to think about what may be hiding in the shadows creating an eerie atmosphere. We named our magazine 'CAPTURE' to act as a genre indicator, not only this but it links to the name of our trailer 'SNATCHED'. The reason we decided to chose a name that acted as a genre indicator because we took inspiration from the magazine 'EMPIRE' which writes about action films. The lettering is in bold white font that has also been darkened out in places, this allows the title to stand out without taking attention away from the main image, it also helps to show the contrast between good and evil an idea that links to our trailer. Under the main image is our tag line which links to the location choice and also helps to create our brand identity because when people hear that they can immediately draw connection to our film. We also included several other titles to try entice people into buying the magazine, these include '45 movies you need to know about' and 'massive preview special' this makes people feel as if they are missing out if they didn't buy the magazine. Lastly we included a barcode to make the whole cover look more professional and as if it was being sold in a shop. When researching magazine front covers we took inspiration from 'EMPIRE' and 'TOTAL FILM' so we tried to keep the style very similar to these with one single image that advertised our film effectively, we felt this helped in making our cover look as professional as possible. To improve our magazine I would include less titles as I feel it takes over a lot of the front cover, but overall I think that it is effective in advertising our film and still looks realistic. Poster
Our poster was also edited on Photoshop to allow us to manipulate the photography as we wanted to conform to the stereotypes better. For this we decided to include an image of both our victim and antagonist so the audience were introduced to both characters and also giving them an indication of what the film is going to be about. The font of the title is in large white writing as we wanted it to be quite simple but still stand out so the audience are able to remember the name of the film. As the victim is dressed in white and the antagonist in black it links to binary opposites and the clear division between good and evil which is an idea followed up in the trailer. The effect put over the image makes the model in the image appear more pale which makes the audience question whether the character is dead or alive. The background is blurred to make it looks as if the victim is running away and everything has become hazy for her because the antagonist is going to grab her, the shot itself is a mid shot to focus on the body language while still showing bits of the surrounding woodlands. On the poster we used the same slogan as on our magazine cover and that is also included in our trailer helping to link all three things together. However for this we wanted to put this in a red font to link to danger, conforming to the posters that we have looked at in the past, red font was common in older horror films as it connotes blood. I feel our film poster conforms to film posters because it includes original photography, its capturing and gives the audience some idea about the storyline/genre.
Wednesday, 5 April 2017
Explore your use of sound.
Our use of sound is conventional of horror films, its eerie and creepy and acts as an immediate genre indicator for audiences. We decided to get one of our group members to sing the 'teddy bears picnic', we also recorded her humming the tune to see which one was more effective. When Hannah was singing it see made it sound like it was a child singing along, this helps make it more tense because children are associated with innocence whereas when they are put in horror films its becomes more creepy because they are usually these sweet dependant people. Not only is this nursery rhyme well known so people would be able to recognise this and associate this with our film, helping to create a brand identity, but it also links to the location. Overall this bit of sound was conventional to the genre because its eerie and foreshadows future events about how its not safe to go to the woods alone.
This use of song is very similar to the trailer for the film 'Carrie' because this starts with a women singing over the top of the trailer, diegetic sound because the audience are introduced to the source of the sound. This singing is broken up by screaming but despite the screaming happening the singing remains very calm, helping to build tension because the viewer is very unsettled and does not know who to trust. We really liked the idea of the calm singing to stay constant throughout despite the drama that is unfolding on screen.
Also at the beginning of our trailer we had a voice over of one of the victims friends talking about the events that had taken place, this helped to briefly introduce the audience to the story giving them some background information. The voice over also helped the audience become more connected to the victim before they had even been introduced to her. Although voice over is a subversion to the usual horror film, dialogue is often used at the beginning instead. For example in the trailer for the 'Conjuring' dialogue is used on its own without any non-diegetic music to allow the audience to focus on what was being said. By doing this it helps to emphasise any strange noises, or any non-diegetic sound when it does eventually get introduced, this helped us in the timings of our sound to create the best effect.
The non-diegetic sound in our trailer is very similar to that in 'Nightmare on Elm Street' because they have children singing in that as well to help build tension. We thought this was a good idea and created a very tense atmosphere which was an effect that we also desired to create. The song in our trailer links to our location and suggests that the woods is an unsafe place to be, this also helps with enigma code as it leaves the audience with questions about the woods and if the victim ever does return.
This use of song is very similar to the trailer for the film 'Carrie' because this starts with a women singing over the top of the trailer, diegetic sound because the audience are introduced to the source of the sound. This singing is broken up by screaming but despite the screaming happening the singing remains very calm, helping to build tension because the viewer is very unsettled and does not know who to trust. We really liked the idea of the calm singing to stay constant throughout despite the drama that is unfolding on screen.
Also at the beginning of our trailer we had a voice over of one of the victims friends talking about the events that had taken place, this helped to briefly introduce the audience to the story giving them some background information. The voice over also helped the audience become more connected to the victim before they had even been introduced to her. Although voice over is a subversion to the usual horror film, dialogue is often used at the beginning instead. For example in the trailer for the 'Conjuring' dialogue is used on its own without any non-diegetic music to allow the audience to focus on what was being said. By doing this it helps to emphasise any strange noises, or any non-diegetic sound when it does eventually get introduced, this helped us in the timings of our sound to create the best effect.
The non-diegetic sound in our trailer is very similar to that in 'Nightmare on Elm Street' because they have children singing in that as well to help build tension. We thought this was a good idea and created a very tense atmosphere which was an effect that we also desired to create. The song in our trailer links to our location and suggests that the woods is an unsafe place to be, this also helps with enigma code as it leaves the audience with questions about the woods and if the victim ever does return.
Tuesday, 4 April 2017
Monday, 3 April 2017
Have you subverted or conformed to stereotypes typical of your genre?
When we decided to create a trailer from the genre of horror/thriller we knew that we would have to conform to many of the conventions and stereotypes of the genre as this is a cliché and acts as a genre indicator to the audience. We knew that we would have to have the three basic characters, identified by Vladimirr Propp where he identifies seven different character type, these being the protagonist, antagonist and the victim. However we subverted to a few of these stereotypes, like introducing the 'false hero' character, by doing this it allowed us to keep the audiences attention thus encouraging them to go and see the whole film once it has been released.
Our victim is 'Hannah' who we tried to portray as vulnerable and innocent so when she was put in danger the audience feel more sympathy for this character, this would conform to the conventions of a horror trailer. We used mise-en-scene to help portray this as we started with her in ordinary clothes to illustrate how it could have been anyone in this position, again helping to build tension. We then chose to change Hannah into a oversized white t-shirt because white connotes purity and innocence. As Hannah's character then becomes the 'false hero' this would link to binary opposites which would subvert to the usual stereotype of horror films as white is often associated with the victim.
Our antagonist was a dark mysterious figure with their face covered, which would also conform to stereotypes in horror/thriller films. The antagonist was dressed all in black which conforms to the conventions of horror, as black connotes danger and mystery. We decided to cover the antagonists face completely so that a sense of mystery is created also conforming to stereotypes.
The soundtrack we used over the top of our trailer also conformed to the stereotypes because it was eerie and creepy to help act as a genre indicator throughout. Not only did it help to build tension but it also linked to the location of our trailer, the woods, which is another thing that we decided to conform to. We decided to film our trailer in the woods because it was eerie and quiet and a bit of a cliché in these types of films, we took this idea from the film 'Cabin in the Woods'. The non-diegetic sound of the voice over also helped conform to stereotypes because it illustrates the upset caused by the events that have taken place making the audience feel more connected to the victim.
When editing we used some the 'fade' tool to merge two different scenes together and keep tension throughout this helped to portray the genre. By doing this we were able to create quite a fast pace which is another convention of horror that we decided to conform too.
Another stereotype of horror/thriller films is that there is clear binary opposites which we both conformed and subverted to. At the beginning of our trailer it is very clear that the dark figured character is evil and Hannah is good, but as the trailer continues these differences start to blur. By doing this it acted as an enigma code, Roland Bathes as this isn't fully explained causing the audience to have many questions making them more likely to go and see the film once its in cinemas.
Our victim is 'Hannah' who we tried to portray as vulnerable and innocent so when she was put in danger the audience feel more sympathy for this character, this would conform to the conventions of a horror trailer. We used mise-en-scene to help portray this as we started with her in ordinary clothes to illustrate how it could have been anyone in this position, again helping to build tension. We then chose to change Hannah into a oversized white t-shirt because white connotes purity and innocence. As Hannah's character then becomes the 'false hero' this would link to binary opposites which would subvert to the usual stereotype of horror films as white is often associated with the victim.
Our antagonist was a dark mysterious figure with their face covered, which would also conform to stereotypes in horror/thriller films. The antagonist was dressed all in black which conforms to the conventions of horror, as black connotes danger and mystery. We decided to cover the antagonists face completely so that a sense of mystery is created also conforming to stereotypes.The soundtrack we used over the top of our trailer also conformed to the stereotypes because it was eerie and creepy to help act as a genre indicator throughout. Not only did it help to build tension but it also linked to the location of our trailer, the woods, which is another thing that we decided to conform to. We decided to film our trailer in the woods because it was eerie and quiet and a bit of a cliché in these types of films, we took this idea from the film 'Cabin in the Woods'. The non-diegetic sound of the voice over also helped conform to stereotypes because it illustrates the upset caused by the events that have taken place making the audience feel more connected to the victim.
When editing we used some the 'fade' tool to merge two different scenes together and keep tension throughout this helped to portray the genre. By doing this we were able to create quite a fast pace which is another convention of horror that we decided to conform too.
Another stereotype of horror/thriller films is that there is clear binary opposites which we both conformed and subverted to. At the beginning of our trailer it is very clear that the dark figured character is evil and Hannah is good, but as the trailer continues these differences start to blur. By doing this it acted as an enigma code, Roland Bathes as this isn't fully explained causing the audience to have many questions making them more likely to go and see the film once its in cinemas.
Saturday, 1 April 2017
Tuesday, 28 March 2017
Audience feedback
Thursday, 23 March 2017
Wednesday, 22 March 2017
Script for our presentation
Caitlin:
Initial ideas:
The idea of doing an action trailer stood out to us as we have seen previous years and they worked really well. Although this was the case we decided that doing a horror trailer would work better, this is because we have had experience doing a horror opening 2 minutes and our coursework in year 12 was based on the horror genre.
Lydia:
What is your film about?
Our film is about an innocent teen who gets ‘snatched’ she is walking through the woods alone and gets taken by an unknown character. The teen who gets taken then comes back at the end to haunt a close friend. This adds mystery to our trailer because the audience are going to wonder why she is back to haunt her friend and was it her friend who was the unknown character who took her?
Caitlin:
Where we filmed:
We filmed in Norbury woods because it was well known to our group this is because Hannah walks her dog there and she suggested filming there. The reason we decided to film there was because it is very eerie and dark which conforms to the stereotypes of a horror film. Also the area we chose is very quiet which meant we weren’t going to be disturbed by the public and we also knew we weren’t going to scare people either.
Lydia:
Obstacles you had to overcome:
On the first day of filming Hannah wore a blue coat and when we went back to film on another day she wore a grey coat, meaning she wore different outfits which didn’t work, we only realised this once we had filmed and got back into class to edit so we had to re film it again on another day, this set us back quite a bit because it was quite difficult to get all the group together because of different jobs and lessons.
Caitlin:
Strengths of your production:
We believe that the most successful part of our trailer is the music, we recorded this ourselves and it adds a very eerie effect. The voice sounds like a child which also makes the trailer really scary and works very well.
Monday, 20 March 2017
Shot list
In our trailer we are mainly focusing on the use of close up and extreme close ups to focus the audiences attention on small details throughout the trailer, this is very common in horror films. However we will use a variety of different shots to help build tension, making it more difficult for the audience to guess what's coming next.Some of the key camera shots we will use are:
- Close ups- We will use multiple close up's during our trailer, this will emphasis key moments in the opening. We will also use it to highlight facial expressions and create more tension with the audience.
- Establishing shot- This will be used to introduce the viewer to the location, in this case the woods. As the woods is a commonly used location in a horror films it immediately indicates to the viewer the genre.
- Long shot/Medium shot- This shot will be used to portray body language of the characters, this will represent how even the character feels fear therefore so will the audience.
- Tracking shot- Although this shot will be hard to film we are going to try and track feet walking highlighting that the victim is alone and vulnerable.
- Extreme close up- An extreme close up is very similar to a close up but normally it focus on one key part of a frame, this helps to show exact details and portray emotions.
- Over the shoulder shot- shot of someone/something that is shot over somebody else's shoulder, can be used to track conversation or to show somebody else is present during a particular shot.
Consideration of stereotyping
We decided to work on the idea of the 'damsel in distress' in order to make the audience feel sorry and pity for Hannah. Also as just under half of the people interested in the film are female they could relate to the situation. They may relate to feeling unsafe when walking home and the feeling of helplessness if anything was to happen. Also as Hannah is of a young age it appeals more to our target audience as they will also be in the young adults category. This is very stereotypical of a female in a horror film as we tend to think of them as the ones getting into danger and needing help.Typically the antagonist is a large strong man but we wanted to subvert to this and use an ordinary person who could be anyone. We wanted to illustrate that anyone could be the antagonist because there is a dark side to everyone. Although we didn't use a man as the antagonist we still used someone taller and stronger than Hannah so the opening stayed realistic.
In the majority of horror films, especially older ones, it will always be a female who gets into a situation where they shouldn't be and inevitably ends up getting themselves killed, so we wanted to stick to this idea.
Questionnaire feedback
What is your favourite genre of film?
Are you male or female?
How old are you?
Do you watch horror films?
What rating do you usually expect a horror film to be?
What would make you want to go watch a horror film?
Are you male or female?
How old are you?
Do you watch horror films?
What rating do you usually expect a horror film to be?
What would make you want to go watch a horror film?
Questionnaire
How old are you?
0 – 11 years
12 – 14 years
15 – 17 years
18 – 29 years
30 – 39 years
40 – 49 years
50 – 59 years
60+ years
Are you male or female?
Male
ÿ Female
What is your favourite genre of a film?
ÿ Romance
ÿ Action
ÿ Adventure
ÿ Comedy
ÿ Crime& gangster
ÿ Drama
ÿ Historical
ÿ Horror
ÿ Musical
ÿ Science fiction
ÿ War
ÿ Chick flicks
ÿ Fantasy
ÿ Sports
ÿ Thriller
Why is this your favourite genre of film?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Do you watch horror films?
ÿ Yes
ÿ No
If (Yes) Why do you watch horror films?
………………..……………………………………………………………………………………
If (No) what would make you watch a horror film?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Which of these three titles do you think would suit a horror film?
ÿ Gone missing
ÿ Taken
ÿ Snatched
Why does that sound like a good title for a horror film?
……………………...………………………………………………………………………………
What age rating would you normally expect a horror film to be?
ÿ U
ÿ PG
ÿ 12
ÿ 15
ÿ 18
What do you stereotypically expect to see within a horror film?
1. The power is shut off
1. The power is shut off
2 2. Someone investigates a strange noise
. 3.The phone line is cut off
. 4. The victim falls in front of the antagonist
. 5. Vehicle won't start
. 6. Someone is killed in the first 5 minutes
. 7. A stormy night
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