Film Poster and Magazine Analysis.

Below is a PowerPoint presentation for the research I carried out over the Christmas break for the ancillary task we’re preparing to undertake.

Film Posters and Magazine Analysis

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First Day of Filming.

On Friday, my group went to our first location; Leanne’s house to film the chase scene and any additional shots we needed. Due to our final girl being injured over the weekend, she was unable to make the filming date so, I stepped in and asked my friend Naomi who did GCSE Drama to become our final girl. This replacement worked to our advantage.

Here are some photos from the first day: 

With this location, at first, we felt quite restricted however, as we carried on filming, we realised that the restricted space could work to our advantage. We felt like we were in a horror movie. 

However, as time went on, we learned that one of the rooms we were planning on filming in is currently out of use so we have to find a substitute. I was thinking of using a wardrobe; reflecting the Michael Myers closet scene in Halloween. 

Mise-en-Scene.

Settings & Locations:
Settings and locations play an important part in film-making.
Sets are either built from scratch or a great deal of time is spent to find a setting which already exists that relates to the film.
Settings can manipulate an audience by building certain expectations and then taking a different turn.

Costume, Hair & Make Up
Tells us immediately whether the film is set in the present and what society/or culture it's centres around.
Act as an instant indicator to the audience of a character’s personality, status & job.
Certain costumes can signify certain individuals (e.g. black cloak of a vampire) or groups (e.g. policemen).

Facial Expressions & Body Language
Facial Expressions provide a clear indicator of how someone is feeling.
If someone is smiling broadly, we assume they are happy but we may get a different feeling if this is accompanied by dramatic/scary music.
Body Language may also indicate how a character feels towards another character or may reflect the state of their relationship.

Positioning of Characters & Objects within a Frame
Positioning within a frame can draw our attention to an important character/object.
A film-maker can use positioning to indicate relationships between people.

Colour
Colour carries certain connotations which may add meaning to a scene.
It can give a scene a particular look, feel or mood.
It may also be used for dramatic effect.

Source: http://www.slideshare.net/mediamonkeyslides/mise-en-scene-5427491

In relation to Horror - Props we'll be using:
- Chef's Knife
- Clown doll
- Box of matches
- Backpack
- Evidence bags
- Cocktail and shot glasses
- Flashlight
- Photos
- Sheets
- Sack
- Rope
- Broken cables

Costume:
Chris (final girl): Skinny jeans, converse, band t-shirt, headphones + backpack.
Charlie (villain 1): Sack, rope, white t-shirt (with blood), jeans, boots.
Fred (villain 2): Sack, rope, shirt, suspenders, jeans, converse.
Janet (victim 1): body-con skirt, green jumper, black vest, burgundy vans.
Marilyn (victim 2): body-con skirt, neutral vest top.
News reporter: black blazer, black skirt, white shirt, black shoes, tights.
Extras: smart/casual.

The Use of Silence.

Silence is the relative or total lack of audible sound. By analogy, the word silence may also refer to any absence of communication, even in media other than speech. Silence is also used as total communication, in reference to non verbal communication and spiritual connection. Silence is also referred to no sounds uttered by anybody in a room and or area. Silence is a very important factor in many cultural spectacles, as in rituals.

Gestures:

Placing the index finger in front of closed lips is the most widely recognized gesture of silence. The gesture can be used to demand silence without raising one's own voice. The rose, sometimes depicted clasped by or on top of closed lips, is another well-recognized symbol of silence stemming from various mythologies. – This gesture is a possibility to use on the movie poster as it comes across as quite innocent as well as secretive.

Music inherently depends on silence in some form or another to distinguish other periods of sound and allow dynamics, melodies and rhythms to have greater impact. For example, most music scores feature rests denoting periods of silence.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silence

Silence in movies creates a lot of suspense and puts the audience on edge. It contributes to the effect of having no idea where you are and who you are with. The use of silence also ties into the theme of secrecy as you’re not engaging with others.

Shooting Schedule.

Possible Locations.

We’re thinking about using the block of flats near our college in Norbury Park to film our news report scenes as the audience are able to establish where the murders were carried out. It’s also a location that is obviously close to home for most of our audience. 


We've also decided to use Leanne's house as the pre-dominant location as we wanted a location that is supposed to keep you safe and make you feel safe. This will clearly put the audience on edge.

Horror Trailer Admiration.

Scream (1996)

Directed by: Wes Craven

I admire this trailer as it contains all the key codes and coventions of horror; including the key weapon and moments that shock the audience. I think Scream stands out for me as it defies the stereotypical horror film; Wes Craven's decision to add comedic elements and to have the characters know that they're in a scary movie enables the audience to feel at ease however, still in suspense as they don't know what could happen.

I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
Directed by: Jim Gillespie

I admire this trailer as it's aimed at teenagers who have played pranks and have experienced the consequences of their actions. This trailer relates to what we're working on as our moral to the story is progress responsibly and you're responsible for your own actions. The fact that the killer is also unknown relates to our trailer as our killer isn't discovered until the very end of the film.

When A Stranger Calls (2006)

Directed by: Simon West

What I like most about this trailer is that the audience experience a fear of the unknown. Not knowing who/where the killer is, immediately puts the audience on a sudden edge and makes them feel uneasy. The use of lighting in this trailer also adds to their fear as the killer's face is unclear as the house is almost in complete darkness.

Images from the Media DDLD.

The pictures below are of my group and I filming the parody of our horror teaser trailer:

The video below is of our parody for our teaser trailer. Some shots are blurry however, we were able to get our hands on the camera and Premiere Pro CS3. After this day, I feel a lot more experienced with the cameras and am confident with the editing process.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Osn8lwfH4Kw&feature=youtu.be

Horror Teaser Trailer Name.

Recently I carried out a survey on http://www.surveymonkey.com to ask our target audience which name caught their eye for our teaser trailer. After I had told them what the theme of our trailer was, they had the ability to pick one answer.

The results were tied however, after researching, I discovered that there is already a film called 'Unknown' starring Liam Neeson so, we had to go with 'Hush-Hush'. Although this was a last resort, I also liked the name as did the other members and our Media teacher.

Schedule for Media Deep Learning Day.

Below is our schedule for the Media Deep Learning Day today:

P1: Get a camera introduction from Mr Varghese – showing us how to use the cameras effectively and correctly.

P2: Organise the storyboard – making sure all shots are in the correct place and have been approved by the whole group.

P3: Update any blog posts. Create posts on cast, costume, props, lighting and shot schedule.

P4: Film test shots for news report scenes in Norbury Park. After filming, create a parody of the newsreport.

P5: Edit shots and put together in Adobe Premiere Pro CS3.

P6: Continue editing. After completion, scan all shots into the computer to put onto blogs.

Artificial Lighting.

Over the weekend, as a team we decided that we should research different lighting that could be used in the horror trailer. I decided that I was going to research Artificial Lighting. I discovered that:

- Artificial lighting is any lighting that isn’t sunlight.

- Artificial lighting is lighting which is man-made, such as fluorescent, tungsten, mercury vapour, sodium vapour, halogen, compact fluorescent etc. It can be turned on and off at a flick of a switch.

- There are also very special types of artificial light for specific purposes such as infrared heat lamps, ultraviolet lights for plant growth and tanning.

- In photography, different light sources have a different colour temperature which can be compensated for with special filters or simulated with special lighting. A flash simulates the light of the sun for a fraction of a second.

Examples of Artificial lighting:

Classifications & Conventions of Trailers.

Recently, we explored the conventions used within trailers and who the BBFC are.

BBFC: an independent, self-financing and not-for-profit media content regulator.

Their mission is to:

- protect the audience, and especially children, from content which might raise harm risks.

- empower the public, especially parents, to make informed viewing choices.

- recognise and respect the adult freedom of choice within the law.

- respond to and reflect changing social attitudes towards media content through proactive public consultation and research.

- provide a cost effect, efficient classification service within our statutory remit.

- work in partnership with the industry to develop innovative service models to provide content advice which support emerging media delivery systems.

- provide an effective service to enforcement agencies.

As a group, we established that we wanted our target audience to be between 18 – 25 years olds so, we want our teaser trailer to be rated an ‘18’.

BBFC guidelines: this is what is allowed in an 18 rated piece of media:

- Nudity

- Sex scenes are allowed however they must not be too graphic i.e. pornography.

- Violence is allowed.

- Crude language is permitted.

- Use/abuse of drugs is accepted to some extent.

For my group, we have to consider how far we want to go with blood, gore and violence.

An example of a film that displayed too many graphic scenes and blood/gore and violence was: The Human Centipede II (The Full Sequence). On June 6^th 2011, the BBFC rejected the sexually violent and potentially obscene DVD, which menat that it couldn’t be legally be supplied anywhere in the UK.

The decision was taken by the Director, David Cooke and the Presidential Team of Sir Quentin Thomas, Alison Hastings and Gerard Lemos.

Name Possibilities for Horror Trailer.

I recently had to think of 10 possible names for our Horror Trailer.

The possibilities I came up with are:

- Stealth (meaning: Cautious and surreptitious action or movement.)

- Hush-hush

- Deceit (meaning: a dishonest act.)

- Enigma (meaning: a person or thing that is mysterious/puzzling.)

- Conspiracy (meaning: the action of plotting or conspiring.)

- Knowing

- Hidden

- Unknown

- Haunting

- Vengeance (meaning: to get revenge.)

I’ve created a survey on http://www.surveymonkey.com/ asking my target audience what names ‘catch their eye’. So far, I’ve received some feedback however, I’m hoping more people will answer the question.

Survey link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PFWTS5J

*Updated November 20^th 2011:

Recently, I came up with two more possible names for the teaser trailer:

- Buried Within

- Hoax

Narrative and How It Relates to Theories.

Title of film:
Hush Hush

Exposition

Development

Complication

Climax

Resolution

In 2011, University students Janet and Marilyn are getting ready for Fresher's Week at Uni. It's their first night out as independent 18 year olds without their parents telling them what to do. They go to one of the dorms which is already filled with other Uni students. One boy comes over and hands them both a drink with the rest of the party-goers chanting 'CHUG CHUG CHUG!' As the night goes on, Marilyn & Janet become more and more vulnerable, drinking and doing drugs.


After completing different tasks set by the older years, their last task to play a prank on one of the 'Fresher's'; a boy named Fred who is sitting alone watching everyone else drink. They take him to a closet where he is then blindfolded. Not knowing what they're doing, Fred can feel himself gasping for air. Fred is left calling out to whoever has wrapped him up, unable to unlock the closet door. His brother is also calling out to the pranksters. Not knowing who, or how many there are.

As Marilyn & Janet are getting reading to go to bed that night, there's a power cut all over the university. Janet still feels bad about playing the prank on Fred however, she believes that he'll be okay. As Marilyn & Janet drift off to sleep, Janet hears a loud bang in her dorm. With a flashlight being her only source of light, Janet walks outside, into the corridor hoping to find what made that loud noise. Unable to find a source, she returns back to her room. She then sees Marilyn lying with the covers, covering her head. As she pulls the covers down, she sees Marilyn’s face smeared in blood with the word ‘MURDERER’ written on her forehead. At first, Janet is confused by this allegation however, she remembers the prank she had played only a few hours ago. Automatically knowing that her friend is dead, she drops the torch, attempting to find anyone that can help her. A mysterious figure appears behind her, close behind. 

News about the murders has spread across London over the past few days with other Londoners believing that it's 'just another Fresher's prank'. Christina Loomis (usually known as Chris) has just been accepted at the University of Woodsboro after asking to be transferred. Chris is a beautiful 18 year old who holds a dark secret that no one knows. Her secret haunts her every day. She too had carried out a sick prank a week before at her previous University. On that fateful night, she had been giving her best friend drinks (leading her to believe that it was 'just Coca Cola'. The morning after, her friend had died from alcohol poisoning. No one else knows but her.  By receiving word that the killer is still on the loose, Chris asks the registration office if she can transfer to another room after discovering that the two girls were killed in her dorm; room 13. 

Later that night, she's starts unpacking her suitcase when she hears a knock on the door. A young boy named Charlie is standing at her door. When she opens the door, they start a conversation about the University. Being hospitable, he asks her if she wants to take a tour on campus. After agreeing, they walk along side by side talking about University life. After talking for some time, they come to a halt in the dorm 'common' room. Charlie tells Chris how a boy named Fred had died a while ago in 'this very room'; someone had played a prank and locked him away. Chris then starts reminiscing about her previous Uni and what had happened. Charlie seems upset by their conversation so, goes off to compose himself. When Charlie comes back, he tells her that the boy who had died was actually his brother. He then asks her if she knows what happened in her room a few days ago. Not knowing what he's talking about, she asks him to explain. After telling her what had happened, she reluctantly tells him that she wants to leave to go back to her room and rest. Charlie goes back to his dorm across the campus.


After going back to her dorm, Chris tries to go to sleep however, she keeps on seeing images of Charlie's brother being 'buried' somewhere in the University. However, the next image she sees is the dead carcass' face level to hers. As she drifts in and out of sleep, she hears someone whispering in her ear saying 'I know what you did.' Thinking it's Charlie she tells him to go away however, she's stunned when the mysterious person reveals that it's not Charlie. Jumping at the sound of this figure's voice, she tries to run out of her room into the dorm common room. As the mysterious figure continues to follow her, she finds a small closet in the common room. Trying hard not to blow her cover, Chris peaks through the keyhole to see if the killer is near. She finds a box of matches on the closet floor. As she ignites one of the matches, she nudges something, a life-size doll-like person that's staring at her. The person then mouthes out the word 'SURPRISE'. She screams out in terror and runs out of the cupboard with the wrapped up person close behind her. Just as she thinks she can escape, another wrapped up figure is running towards Chris in the other direction. With the two stopping right near her, Chris asks [during deep and heavy breaths] who they are. They both unravel their cloth to reveal that they're actually Charlie and his brother Fred. Chris then learns that Charlie had faked the death to scare the rest of the University and helped his brother to get revenge on whoever had: decided on the prank, who to play the prank on and who carried out the prank. Another detail was added on before he attempted to kill Chris; he would kill whoever played a prank that turned horribly wrong. With Chris questioning why they played the sick joke, they say that they wanted the rest of the University (and perhaps the rest of the country) that you shouldn't mess around. Charlie then goes onto say that he hates secrets. He then stabs Fred in the stomach. As Fred falls to the ground, Chris tries to run from Charlie however, he stops her in his tracks. He tells her how he killed Janet and Marilyn and he plans on killing her so he could be the only survivor in the massacre. Charlie, using the knife he had used to stab Fred then tackles Chris to the ground, pointing the knife at her heart. As she struggles to set herself free from his grip, she punches him. As Charlie drops the knife, holding his nose, she grabs the knife and climbs on top of Charlie.  She stabs him in the chest. 

Chris is seen lying on the floor with the knife in her hand, in between Fred and Charlie as the police arrive on campus.

Chris is then left sitting in a white room; wearing an orange jumpsuit; looking at the camera.

How it relates to theories:

- In my opinion, our narrative relates to Todorov's Equlibrium Theory. Our narrative begins with an equilibrium/initial situation which then creates a disruption. Once the disruption has been resolved, a new equilibrium begins at the end of the narrative.

- Our narrative relates to the Final Girl Theory. However, we've played on the conventions of the 'Final Girl'. The Final Girl in films like Halloween and Scream are all innocent however, our Final Girl has 'killed' one of her best friends.

- Our narrative also relates to the Male Gaze as well. The Final Girl is treated as a sexualised object as she's in a vulnerable state.

Conventions in a Horror Trailer.

Here are some key conventions I’ll take into consideration when creating my teaser trailer:

- keys moments in the film

- ellipsis/ ellipses

- where it’s set

- music

- narration – voice over

- title of the film + release date

- names of the stars, directors, producers etc

- age restrictions

- production company

- onscreen text

- fades to black

- flashes

- enigma code (a hook)

- non-chronological events

Film Trailer Discussion.

When we were put into our groups, we were asked to discus what we would expect to see in trailers and what intrigues us to go and watch a film in the cinema. Here are the results:

We decide to go and see a film at the cinema because:

- good critic reviews

- friends want to go

- based on the hype

- how it’s advertised

- the cast involved

- could be a sequel

- adaptations

- based on a particular genre

The main jobs that film trailers do are to:

- excite the audience

- to give the audience a preview

- to encourage them to watch it

- build anticipation

- identify the genre

- basic understanding of the film

- best scenes in the movie

- who’s involved (the actors and actresses)

Film trailers are usually shown before films at the cinema/ before and during films on TV because:

- gives audiences an opportunity to see what’s coming out – similar to the genre

- people won’t leave the cinema until after the film

- to keep audiences entertained before the film starts

Other methods film companies use to promote films:

- posters

- leaflets/ magazines

- promotional tours (premiers, interviews etc)

- internet

- radio

- merchandising

- images

- music videos

- competitions

- mobile phone apps

Effective film trailers you’ve seen and reasons for their effectiveness:

‘Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark’ – what excites me about this trailer is that at the beginning of the trailer, you don’t see anything but darkness and there’s complete and utter silence until the end of the trailer. You get to see a glimpse of the ‘horror’ within the film.

Questionnaire Results.

Horror Movie Questionnaire Results

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Audience Theories.

Cultivation Theory:

Television has become the main source of storytelling in today’s society. Those who watch more than 4 hours of TV a day are labelled heavy television viewers and those who view less than 4 hours a day, according to George Gerbner (1976) are light viewers. Heavy viewers are exposed to more violence and are therefore affected by the Means World Syndrome, an idea that the world is worse than what it is.  The overuse of TV is creating a homogeneous and fearful populace.

For his results, Gerbner placed TV viewers into 3 categories: light viewers (less than 2 hours a day), medium viewers (2-4 hours a day) & heavy viewers (more than 4 hours a day). He found that heavy viewers held beliefs and opinions similar to those portrayed on television rather than the real world which demonstrates the compound effect of media influence.

Copycat Theory:

The copycat theory relates to something which is publicised in the media that creates a lot of attention, resulting in others to imitate or ‘copy’ the same action in order to gain the same attention. The well-known cases of this are copycat murders, suicides and other violent acts that come with no motive other than attention. 

An example of this is 12 girls getting pregnant in the same time period at St Andrews RC School. The staff had blamed movies such as Juno for 'glamourising' teen pregnancy. 

Desensitisation:

Desensitisation is the theory of media audiences’ reactions growing weaker according to the level/amount of exposure to violence, death and sex. There’s a decrease in fear and sensitivity to extremely aggressive behaviour and taboo subjects, and possible introduction to everyday life.

An example of this is in 1999 – two senior students embarked on a massacre, killing 12 students and 1 teacher. The shootings resulted in moral panic aimed at Goth culture, social outcasts, gun culture, violent films and music, teenage internet use and violent video games. 

Horror Film Research Questionnaire.

I decided to use http://www.surveymonkey.com/ as I wanted to find out what my potential audience would find frightening and how far I could go with my horror trailer (with reference to their fears). An example that I thought about was The Human Centipede. Many critics believed that this film contained too many scenes that were too horrific for cinema release and so, was released straight to DVD.

I also took inspiration from Paul Wells’ research. Wells’ conducted a study looking at the relationship between audiences and the horror genre. From this, we drew out the conclusion that the relationship to being frightened changes with age. Younger audiences are aware of artificiality and are becoming harder to shock.


Here is the structure for my questionnaire:

1. What's your greatest fear and how did you come about being afraid of this particular fear?

2. What components in horror scare you the most?

Darkness Fear of the unknown (nature) Entrapment Monsters Supernatural

Other (please specify)

3. What's your favourite location for horror to be set?

A domestic setting A haunted house Forests Isolated parts of town Underwater

Other (please specify)

4. What do you like to see in horror movie trailers? (Music, setting, voice-overs etc).

5. Do you want to be frightened when you watch a horror movie trailer?

Yes No

*

6. How would you describe your horror viewing habits?

Always Occasional Rare Never

7. Are you attracted to blood and gore?

Yes No To some extent

*

8. What's the most recent horror film you've seen and what did you enjoy about it?

9. What gender are you?

Male Female

10. How old are you?

0-15 years old 16-25 years old 26-40 years old 40+ years old

I gave my potential audiences a week and a half to fill out my survey on surveymonkey. As the week went past, 19 people had filled out my questionnaire.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9S8TTZD