Poster draft and final version

Above are the first and second attempt of the horror posters which my group and I created. From the criticism we took when we displayed our first poster to the audience who also viewed our trailer we then adapted on it and made it even better. On our first attempt at the poster you can see that the images are too far apart in order for it to be counted as a whole image, parts of the text do not stand out as they are supposed to, the date in which the film comes out is not diplayed clearly this is a main factor on a poster when you are trying to get your target audience to view your film the same goes for the website address. The age rating is not postioned in the right place on the poster; it being placed next to the title doesnt make it seem to be very clear as all the attentoin for the film up there is being drawn towards the film title.



The improvements made to this poster is that we included white text much like the magazine we stuck to the same colours and it links to the whole idea of conventions of horror film posters. The colouring of the logo was changed as well so that it fits in with the horror genre. The images are now closer together so that its the main focal point of the poster. The credit list includes all the cast and the age rating is placed at the bottom so when looking at the poster you can easly signify that the film is an age rating of fifteen as nothing along that bottom row stands out more.

Group Magazine Final Front Cover

This is our final front cover to our horror magazine.

As you can see we revised the old one and made extensive changes that were necessary according to our audience feedback.

First the colour yellow has been completely removed and replaced with red and white to make look a more realistic horror magazine. The text has also been spread out more so there is less empty space and more information our audience can read into. The title was changed to "Horrorscope" in red and bold capital letters, appealing to our audience.

The image was made much bigger to become the center of attention of our magazine and this would hopefully attract the audience; the person on the front cover is also black and this taps into post modernism and attracts our target audience further.

Group Magazine First Cover

Our original magazine front cover received quite a lot of negative feedback mainly saying it didn't look realistic enough, the text was too cramped, colours weren't conventional of horror, our magazine title wasn't good enough and the image was poor. This for me is quite unfair because after looking at many Rue Morgue magazine front covers, they look quite similar to this.

For example we were told yellow wasn't a colour for horror yet after looking at Rue Morgue, they make extensive use of the colour yellow and this a magazine that specialises in horror in all forms so this must mean a professional magazine is getting it wrong along with us.

The title was also apparently unreadable from a distance so it had to changed to look clearer and our text on the left was indeed too cramped and so that needed to be edited. The image also was too small and there was too much empty space but this was improved on in our newer front cover.

How we used social media

We used social media in order to promote our trailer and to gain feedback from the audience.

We used the social network site Facebook to attract our target audience. We uploaded our work onto a group we created in order to receive feedback in our inbox's, on the groups wall or on the chat service the website provides.

We also used youtube to upload our trailer, which may gain some attention if our advertisement of Facebook goes well. However, with Facebook we can upload all our work and drafts easily and feedback is obtained faster so Facebook is the preferred social media site.

We did try to use Humyo to create a podcast evaluation, however the website was no longer accepting new membership so we improvised and done a  recorded evaluation which we stuck on our DVD and uploading it to websites;  another pro over the podcast.

Effects in our trailer

We used effects in our trailer to heighten the sense of fear and to catch the eye of the audience.

We used the effect of having blood dripping down the screen, splattering on the floor and creating our credits. This was effective because blood is essential in horrors and our feedback from the audience was great many saying that it was a clever and effective idea.

We also filmed a scene where we had Miles can outfits and we turned the lights on and off rapidly showing two sides of him, dark and light (another effect the audience was impressed with). This was tweaked a bit to make the background darker/ lighter where we were tampering with the lights.

Fade outs were also used to create suspense with darkness being conventional in horrors because darkness is associated with evil, madness and mystery.

Questionaire Feedback

http://www.slideshare.net/pacjerkerjordy/audience-feedback-7986223

Questionaire & Link To Facebook

. How old are you?

. What sex are you?

.Do you like our choice of music in our trailer?

.Were there any parts you found scary in our trailer?

.Was the editing in our film trailer up to a considerable standard?

.Explain what we could have improved on?

.Would you pay to go and see this film if it viewed in the cinemas?

.Do you think the story line for the trailer is good?

.Do you like the name of the film trailer?

.What did you like the most about the film trailer?

Link to facebook : http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_113330418746997&ap=1

Characters

Miles - Miles is our antagonist and also plays the role of Jordan's dad in our trailer. His story is that as a child he was bullied badly and thus has decided to take revenge on those who done him wrong and those who get in his way. He is in many ways like Michael Myers from Halloween, because he hides his identity with the mask and kills his victims with a kitchen knife. He doesn't have a lot of lines and is always grinning maniacally suggest he has gone mad and is not himself.

Jordan - Jordan is our protagonist and plays the role of Miles' son in the trailer. He is a student at college where suddenly his friends are being murdered within the school. To his horror he discovers its his dad who's commiting these atrocities and decides he has to stop his dad before he hurts more people. He would appeal to the target audience because we don't usually have black protagonists in a film, (this is post modernism and works well when subverting away from the normal conventions) and this relates to our target audience of teenagers.

Sami - Sami plays Jordan's best friend in the trailer. He gets a call from Miles, which could mean Miles wants to meet him about something. Little does Sami know Miles intentions are bad and Sami meets his fate later on while waiting for Miles and has his neck broken by Miles.

Music

We spent a lot of time looking to what music we were going to use for our trailer. In the end we settled for Sick Puppies - Going Down. The lyrics in the song inspire violence and anger and the music is very loud and angry therefore creating a angry atmosphere. This song is also mainly listened to by teenagers and therefore the song relates to our target audience. We did look at many other songs; some I will list below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm8wWdtmdjQ - Muse - Hysteria (Instrumental)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyWPcxi4-Uc&feature=related War & Battle ( Compilation of atmospheric music)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETJ5cdDBoaE&feature=related ( Eerie piano track)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FihplmNWkdA&feature=related (Scary music)

Locations

We shot almost all of our trailer at Kelsey Park Sports College. This is because its an urban horror and it can also relate to our target audience of male teenagers with school is something all teenagers are familiar with making it more appealing

We also shot some scenes at Miles house as this allows the audience to get a better understanding of his characters and adds to the realism of the trailer

Fangoria Magazine

Fangoria is an internationally distributed US fan magazine that specialises in the genres of horror,slasher splatter and exploitation films. This magazine has been regularly published since 1979.

This is one of the magazines front covers

I would say that due to Megan Fox being the front covers centre of attention this issue of the magazine is trying to target a teenage or adult male audience. This is because not only has Megan Fox recently been considered a sex symbol, but also she has been edited with a set of sharp fangs which are covered in blood all the way down to her chest which is quite gruesome and this would put off younger audiences due to its scary nature.

Centred at the top of the front cover is the title " Fangoria" which is coloured red, possibly to be associated with blood, evil, anger; all conventions of a horror. The first and last letters of the title curve inwards that could be cleverly edited to look like fangs, relating back the the title of the magazine. This is one idea I could be willing to incorporate into my magazine

On the left and right on the front cover there are subheadings of what was then the latest films to be released in the horror genre. Not a lot of information is present on the cover and therefore not a lot can be analysed from the front, however since the main eye catcher is Megan Fox this may be enough for the target audience to purchase this magazine.

Rue Morgue Magazine

Rue Morgue is a Canadian magazine that was first published in October 1997 that covers Horror in all media: film, books, websites, music etc.

The title " Rue Morgue" is written is block capitals filled with red and has an outline of thick black that spike slightly down. The text is also edited to appear cracked, thus depicting something decrepit and sinister. The colours red and black obviously are conventional of horror that can signify many things I've stated previously. We also see a crescent moon which is often associated with many things to with horror such as witchcraft or occultism.

On the subject of the occult, there is quite clearly an image of the devils pentagram, infamously known as something dark and evil, supposedly used to call forth demons or trying contact the devil himself. The image is in red and dripping down therefore suggesting its been painted with blood.

The main image is related to the text on the left about the film " An American Werewolf in London". The image is of a man under going a transformation into a werewolf which is seen below

The target audience of this magazine are those who appreciate horror in all its forms,regardless or gender. However, age will obviously be 18+ because of the imagery which isn't suitable for younger audiences

Prop & Costume List

We had a variety props and costumes that were used in our trailer

A kitchen knife appeared in two scenes, but was never used as a weapon.

We had a mobile phone used to have the antagonist call a victim, leading him to his death

Miles used a mask to hide his identity and also wore an all black outfit when wearing the mask.
In other scenes he was dressed casually

Me and Jordan were also dressed smart/casual because this was a horror located in a school so we wanted to add to the realism and also try to appeal to our target audience of an older teenage generation.

Shot List

The list of shots that we used in our trailer:

- Close ups and Mid shots - these shots were used many times our trailer such as the final scene where Miles wakes up in order to frighten the audience, but is mainly use to show bodily and facial expressions, communicating the characters feelings towards the audience


- Two shot - used at the start of the trailer with me and Jordan having a conversation, used to shot our stage of equilibrium before the disruption happens ( Todorovs narrative theory)

- Tracking shot - camera follows me running into Miles and him dealing the final blow with the knife

- High Angle shot - used when the younger Miles was being chased by the bullies down the stairway and emphasizes that the younger Miles is inferior and lacks power over the bullies

- Low Angle Shot - this was shown at the end of the trailer when jordan walks off after the battle. This then shows that Miles is once again inferior as he was some years ago, implementing irony into our trailer

Story Board 2

This is the story board of our final scene in the trailer.

Box 1. Miles walks through narrow hallway pursuing Jordan. Miles is blacked out, white mask. Low angle shot.

Box 2. Jordan trips while being chased by Miles. High angle shot

Box 3. Miles walks toward the camera, while alternating between costumes we synchronise this by turning the light on and off rapidly. Mid shot

Box 4. Over the shoulder shots, one from Miles' view and one from Jordan's

Box 5. Miles lays defeated on the floor, camera pans across body

Box 6. Camera zooms in to Miles masked face. Close up shows Miles suddenly waking up after supposedly be dead

What is the point of a trailer and genre?

The whole point of releasing trailers is to promote the film. Without trailers there could be no way that the audience would know what the film is about, therefore there cannot be an established target audience without a trailer. Furthermore, trailers are what allow the target audience to know that this film is for them by being teased with footage from the film; drawing them in and leave the audience wondering what happens next.

The whole point of a genre is to sell the film to a specific target audience. The way genres can be broken down is through its codes and conventions. Once those conventions are known, we know what kind of film it is.

If theres murder, blood, evil or monsters then it will be a horror film. Action films usually have explosions, gun fights, car chases and men as main characters to attract their audience.

Comedy's reach to their audience by evoking laughter through gags ans sketches, usually has happy atmospheres and a coherent narrative, meaning there is a link between the events occurred in the narrative.

What our trailer will include

After we came up with the plot of our trailer it was then time to figure out what shots we were definintly going to use, the sound we wanted to use, who the characters were and who would play them, the setting and the editing & effects we would use after we had shot our trailer.

Where sound is concerned we wanted to challenge the normal sound tracks you find in a horror film. The sounds you usually will hear in horror is screaming, noises that are made by weapons such as knifes, guns etc. The music tends to be quiet, high pitched notes continueusly being played; this music is quite disturbing as it doesnt sound natural and prepares the audience for a fright and this instantly tells the audience its a horor film. However, as we have decided to subvert away from that and create a more urban horror trailer we have used a rock soundtrack with lyrics that inspire violence and mayhem, which are conventions of horror but I dont think this may be as successful if we were to use this instead of something more fitting to the horror genre.

Our trailer will be using todorovs narrative theory of equilibrium. Equilibrium -> Disruption -> Recognition -> Action -> New Equilibrium