Thursday, 25 April 2013
Thursday, 18 April 2013
Analysis of 3 Film Posters
Shot angle/Positioning
This is a mid-shot of the three main antagonists. It cuts out the arms of the two women to give the effect that the focus is entirely on them. The killer that appears to be male is the focal point of the poster giving him the majority of the power and almost making the other two masked people side kick characters
Lighting/Shadowing
It is apparent at the top of the poster, the lighting in the shot is designed to bring out the heads/masks of the killers, this makes them more prominent and menacing in the poster. The two protagonists are partially in shadows showing they have no power or influence in the shot.
Theme
The theme for this poster seems to be fear within simplicity. The poster is not in any way abstract or separate from normality, however, I think this goes well with the movie itself as the killers are not extravagant or outrageous etc. so I think the poster outlines the type of horror film The Strangers will be. The colour theme does not particularly stand out perhaps to set a dark and dreary tone.
Text/Font
The layout of the text is at the top and bottom of the poster. The reason for this is that the main image is the five people in the middle of the poster. The tag line is above the characters and the title of the film is at the bottom just below the top actors' names. The font used is relatively simple. More so for the tag line, the font used in the title is a little more eerie, with the use of a slight glare on each letter giving the text a mysterious edge.
This is quite a low angle shot and a long/extreme long shot, reason being that the whole bodies and surrounding of the people are shown. The fact that the shot is low angle gives us a small insight into what the man and boy are seeing as we see them but also see what they are seeing as we are facing the same way. From the positioning of the shot and frame it is clear that the man and the boy are the protagonists as they are the focal point of the poster. Even though they are partially shadowed, the light from the background makes them stand out a little bit more, making them more prominent.
Lighting/Shadowing
The lighting and shadowing are very effectively used in this poster, the man and boy are shown looking at a very bright and slightly eerie light coming from outside in the mist. This light from outside penetrates the windows and almost transforms the man and boy into silhouettes. This is excusable to some extent however, as the characters are not facing the camera, they are facing away showing that what they are looking at is of considerable importance.
Theme
The theme for this poster appears to be mystery and concealed information. The reason i think this is because the identities of the man and boy are kept a secret and the mysterious light and mist outside has no clarity as to what it is. In addition, the mystery seems to be of supernatural nature as the building the man and boy are inside appears to be a shop as there are shopping trollies to the lft and right meaning they are on earth. This then means that the mystery behind the mist is something unknown and could be alien or supernatural.
Text/Font
The title on this poster is a clever one as the words 'The Mist' are partly seeping away as they appear to be partially made of mist, which goes with the theme of mist and mystery. The text at the bottom of the poster is a quotation saying that it is a very shocking ending. This gives that extra bit of mystery and anticipation for the audience seeing this poster.
This poster's focal point shows a low angle long shot of the main character of the film: Jason Vorhees with his famous murder weapon and mask. This shot instantly gives Jason all the power in the movie, the audience who see this knows that Jason will be a powerful figure and judging by the large knife in his hand that he will be killing/trying to kill someone. Jason is standing dead centre of the poster because the film revolves around his character.
Lighting/Shadowing
There is a very specific setup of lighting and shadowing in this poster. As most horror fans will know, Friday the 13th is typically a very dark movie set mostly at night time and in very dark locations. Here we can see Jason standing in the middle of a dark wood as most of he himself is in shadows showing that he relishes in areas and conditions such as these, almost like he belongs there. There is one vital part of lighting in this image: the moonlight, illuminating The top-right side of Jason's mask. Moonlight in horror movies is a classic scary tool and this reflects that Friday the 13th is a classic horror movie and conventions can be expected to be met. As for the mask, there has to be some indication of the mask as it is the centrepiece of Jason as a character, meaning they are really showing off a horror franchise in this poster.
Theme
There seems to be a theme of darkness in this poster. Relating to the movie, the shots tend to be that similar of the poster: dark, looming and isolating shots and the occassional creeping of moonlight to show perhaps Jason's mask. In this poster that is exactly what happens - minimal light is used to create a sense of unsureness and uneasyness and when light is required, to make it fit in with the night time theme, a perfect example of this being moonlight.
Text/Font
The text and font in this poster are very typical of a classical horror such as Friday the 13th. The dark tones of the main image underneath a threatening, bloodthirsty shade of red in the title, clearly displaying that the audience can expect blood, death and other acts of violence. The text at the top of the poster confirms that this will be a classic horror that the audience will anticipate, the words 'welcome to crystal lake' at the top resemble the iconic sign at camp crystal lake in the film. This is a symbol of what is to come, and even perhaps a pointer or teaser to the audience.
Monday, 15 April 2013
4. How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research planning and evaluation stages?
Web 2.0 allows low budget film makers to promote and widely display their films, and advertisements easily and cost effectively. Many of the company's logos i have used above, are great example of this. Blogger is displayed as the biggest logo as, for me, it was the most important. It allowed me to upload all my texts, and products to the internet extremely easily and for free. Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Pro were vital for the creation of my ancillary texts and final product (trailer) as they enabled relatively easy creation and piecing together of these products.
I used both Windows and Apple operating systems for my written work and internet use. I prefered using the Apple Macs as they were a lot faster and i prefered the Safari browser to Internet Explorer, however i did all of my written work on Microsoft Word, because for me it is easiest to use.
The internet browsers are also very useful for research and distribution of my products as i have any website i can think of at my disposal for me to draw inspiration from and add to my own ideas and creations.
I did not have any problems with the software and hardware i used, being a former photography student, i knew how to use the tripods and cameras effectively, i also knew how to operate Photoshop properly. I also knew how to use Safari, Microsoft Word and blogger effectively, however i did have to take some time getting to grips with Premier Pro as it was only the second time i had used it, i did however manage to get used to it over a small period of time.
3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?
When producing an advertising and promotional campaign for a film, audience feedback is paramount. The reason for audience feedback being so important is that a distributor needs to find out exactly how to get the audience to watch the film, normal questions in research such as this are; how often you see movies, how likely you are to see movies at the cinema or buy them on DVD, what kind of film is their favourite, age, gender etc. This then gives the distributor a better outlook of how to entice an audience into watching/buying their movie.
I created a questionnaire containing specific questions, narrowing down my most suitable target audience and information about them. My questions included age and gender (demographics) and questions about film, such as how often they go to see one and what would make them more likely to see one. I distributed the questionnaire to classmates, family and friends to get a good mix of age and gender etc.
Questionnaire feedback details
I asked a variety of people specific questions so i could gather results predetermined on what i wanted the outcome to be. My first question asked the answerers their enjoyment of horror on a scale of 1 to 10. The average rating was 7 meaning the audience i provided with questionnaires were somewhat suitable to advertise to for my film. The second question i asked was what their favourite horro movie was. The reason i asked this question was to get a decent read on what type of horror people generally enjoy. The result of this tended to be films where the killer stalks his victims, for example. Friday 13th, Halloween and The Strangers. I asked, after this, where they most frequently watched films out of cinema, home or at a friends. most said at a cinema, and fewer said at home. The important information i gained from this question was where i could most successfully release this film: Cinemas or straight to home DVD. I also asked straight out, what would entice them to see a horror film. I received answers such as a favourite actors appearance, the director, a good advertisment. This gave me a better angle on what people admit they would be persuaded to go see a film. One of my most important questions was how the answerers hear about films. I recieved answers from set questions i.e. hear from people, see on internet, see on TV or see outside (posters, magazines etc.).
All of these answers gave me a better impression of what my target audience likes and dislikes about films, what would entice them to go and how they hear about them, meaning i could then improve my marketing campaign based on solid feedback from the audience i aim to sell my product to. this also changed some of the attributes of my final product (trailer) and my ancillary texts (magazine, poster) in the sense that we made the whole theme of '2' darker, more gritty and a lot tenser. It made my poster more simplistic, but staying just as effective, and the same applies to my magazine cover.
I created a questionnaire containing specific questions, narrowing down my most suitable target audience and information about them. My questions included age and gender (demographics) and questions about film, such as how often they go to see one and what would make them more likely to see one. I distributed the questionnaire to classmates, family and friends to get a good mix of age and gender etc.
Questionnaire feedback details
I asked a variety of people specific questions so i could gather results predetermined on what i wanted the outcome to be. My first question asked the answerers their enjoyment of horror on a scale of 1 to 10. The average rating was 7 meaning the audience i provided with questionnaires were somewhat suitable to advertise to for my film. The second question i asked was what their favourite horro movie was. The reason i asked this question was to get a decent read on what type of horror people generally enjoy. The result of this tended to be films where the killer stalks his victims, for example. Friday 13th, Halloween and The Strangers. I asked, after this, where they most frequently watched films out of cinema, home or at a friends. most said at a cinema, and fewer said at home. The important information i gained from this question was where i could most successfully release this film: Cinemas or straight to home DVD. I also asked straight out, what would entice them to see a horror film. I received answers such as a favourite actors appearance, the director, a good advertisment. This gave me a better angle on what people admit they would be persuaded to go see a film. One of my most important questions was how the answerers hear about films. I recieved answers from set questions i.e. hear from people, see on internet, see on TV or see outside (posters, magazines etc.).
All of these answers gave me a better impression of what my target audience likes and dislikes about films, what would entice them to go and how they hear about them, meaning i could then improve my marketing campaign based on solid feedback from the audience i aim to sell my product to. this also changed some of the attributes of my final product (trailer) and my ancillary texts (magazine, poster) in the sense that we made the whole theme of '2' darker, more gritty and a lot tenser. It made my poster more simplistic, but staying just as effective, and the same applies to my magazine cover.
Sunday, 14 April 2013
Finished trailer - "2"
(Please note: small glitch at start is due to a YouTube error and not the group)
Friday, 29 March 2013
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
1. In what ways does your
media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
We have aimed to make our final product resemble a real horror
trailer by keeping to most important codes and conventions; however, we also
aimed to make our trailer different and new. For this reason, we decided to
challenge some conventions.
We stuck to the conventions that make horror trailers horror
trailers. For example we thought the masked killer theme works very well in
iconic horror films such as Halloween and Friday the 13th. We used the masked killer as
most horror movies use their killers: as a stalker. We tried to hold back on
the blood and gore in the trailer, to give it a classy edge. Meaning we know
the killer will kill someone, but the trailer leaves the viewer wondering how
when and why etc. In other words, we don’t give much away in terms of the plot
of the movie.
Generally, horror trailers tend to have a set of conventions that make them distinctive as horror trailers. These conventions appear in the form of mise-en-scene, cinematography, sound, editing and narrative structure. The mise-en-scene of horror trailers tend to be similar in differing sub genres of horror. For example, the killers in horrors are known for wearing masks to hide their identity, thus keeping them mysterious and all the more scary. The killer also usually wears dark clothes to keep hidden at night time. We stuck to both of these horror conventions as we thought they were very effective. Another aspect of mise en scene we used was effective lighting. Whilst our killer was outside we used lighting to darken his body but bring out slight brightness in the mask so the audience can only see the silhouette of a body, then a scary looking mask peering in through the window. Cinematography conventions in horror trailers can be a long shot for an establishing shot of a house or area of inhabitance for example. Tracking shots are commonly used in horror trailers to show slow movement of a character, perhaps the killer walking through an area unseen. This type of shot can also be effective from a point of view shot. Low angle shots are commonly used when dealing with the killer or the villain. This is because a low angle shot gives the killer all the power and control in the shot and the victim little power especially if it is a point of view shot as the victim would be cowering or trembling and looking up at the killer totally at his/her mercy. The killer, in a shot like this, would be looming over the camera which makes them look bigger and taller, adding to the sense that the killer, whose identity is not known and who’s face is covered by a mask, is more monster than man. We also decided to stick with the convention of sharp, loud and jumpy sounds in our trailer. This is because we thought it was one of the best ways to make an audience jump, or be frightened, especially when matched with an equally jumpy shot on screen. These kind of sounds work especially well when there is a build up to a jumpy shot, or even an anti-climax where the audience think there will be a surprising bit, and then wait a few seconds and put that bit in after the audience have calmed down. One of the classic horror trailer conventions is the fast paced montage. We used one of these as the basis of our trailer, including a big number of differing shots to make the minds of the audience race along with the speed of the trailer. We included shots of people dying or dead, but only for a split second, to make the audience think about it that little bit more, because as we thought, the more information you withhold, the more the audience will want or imagine. This montage was more effective with our use of another convention coming just before it. We used a slow steady build up with titles to set the scene for the trailer then, build up to the montage with a change of pace which switches the whole tempo and mood of the trailer.
Generally, horror trailers tend to have a set of conventions that make them distinctive as horror trailers. These conventions appear in the form of mise-en-scene, cinematography, sound, editing and narrative structure. The mise-en-scene of horror trailers tend to be similar in differing sub genres of horror. For example, the killers in horrors are known for wearing masks to hide their identity, thus keeping them mysterious and all the more scary. The killer also usually wears dark clothes to keep hidden at night time. We stuck to both of these horror conventions as we thought they were very effective. Another aspect of mise en scene we used was effective lighting. Whilst our killer was outside we used lighting to darken his body but bring out slight brightness in the mask so the audience can only see the silhouette of a body, then a scary looking mask peering in through the window. Cinematography conventions in horror trailers can be a long shot for an establishing shot of a house or area of inhabitance for example. Tracking shots are commonly used in horror trailers to show slow movement of a character, perhaps the killer walking through an area unseen. This type of shot can also be effective from a point of view shot. Low angle shots are commonly used when dealing with the killer or the villain. This is because a low angle shot gives the killer all the power and control in the shot and the victim little power especially if it is a point of view shot as the victim would be cowering or trembling and looking up at the killer totally at his/her mercy. The killer, in a shot like this, would be looming over the camera which makes them look bigger and taller, adding to the sense that the killer, whose identity is not known and who’s face is covered by a mask, is more monster than man. We also decided to stick with the convention of sharp, loud and jumpy sounds in our trailer. This is because we thought it was one of the best ways to make an audience jump, or be frightened, especially when matched with an equally jumpy shot on screen. These kind of sounds work especially well when there is a build up to a jumpy shot, or even an anti-climax where the audience think there will be a surprising bit, and then wait a few seconds and put that bit in after the audience have calmed down. One of the classic horror trailer conventions is the fast paced montage. We used one of these as the basis of our trailer, including a big number of differing shots to make the minds of the audience race along with the speed of the trailer. We included shots of people dying or dead, but only for a split second, to make the audience think about it that little bit more, because as we thought, the more information you withhold, the more the audience will want or imagine. This montage was more effective with our use of another convention coming just before it. We used a slow steady build up with titles to set the scene for the trailer then, build up to the montage with a change of pace which switches the whole tempo and mood of the trailer.
In terms of marketing, the purpose of teaser trailers is to
leak/ drip feed information to the audience, hence making the audience
anticipate what will happen next and eventually they become increasingly
interested until the movie comes out, thus making the movie more appealing by
method of withholding information from the audience. A good teaser trailer
should be short and surprising, something that is just enough to grab the
viewers’ attention without showing any important information, it should set the
tone for the movie rather than show the plot.
Monday, 11 February 2013
Monday, 14 January 2013
Audience Research Questionnaire
Audience research questionnaire
1. Please
circle you gender – MALE / FEMALE
2. Write in
the provided space your age in years ……....
3. On a scale
of one to ten, circle how much you enjoy horror films
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9 10
4. If
applicable, state your favourite horror film ……………………………………………………………
5. Where do
you usually watch horror films?
At Home / At the Cinema / At a Friend’s / Other
6. What
attracts you to see a horror film?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
7. Would you
see a movie if it had your favourite actor in it? – YES / NO
8. Would a
trailer entice you to go and see a film? – YES / NO
9. Where do
you hear about new films?
Internet / Posters / TV / People / Other
My questionnaire contains all questions that i thought were good tools for withdrawing the right information from my target audience. I have included questions on demographics and psychographics such as gender and age questions, also where people watch films, reasons to go see a movie and advertising questions. I think these will help collect the correct information as it gives a good insight into where films fit into the everyday lives of people and reasons for why they do or dont watch films.
Results
male: 6
female: 4
age average: 24
horror enjoyment rating average: 7/10
favourite horror films: Blair Witch, Halloween, Saw, Skeleton Key, Strangers,
watch at home: 4
watch at cinema: 5
watch at a friends: 3
other: 0
what attracts them to see a horror movie: Adverts, suspense, director, cast, hype, friends, word of mouth
favourite actors appearance: 9/10 said yes
would a trailer entice: 8/10 said yes
hear about it on internet: 3
hear from posters: 0
hear from tv: 5
hear from people: 4
other: 0
Collecting the results from my questionnaire, i found that the average rating of horror film enjoyment is 7 out of 10 which means that the majority of people enjoy horror films. Most people said they watch horror films at the cinema and some commented that they will normally watch a horror film at the cinema and not again.
My questionnaire contains all questions that i thought were good tools for withdrawing the right information from my target audience. I have included questions on demographics and psychographics such as gender and age questions, also where people watch films, reasons to go see a movie and advertising questions. I think these will help collect the correct information as it gives a good insight into where films fit into the everyday lives of people and reasons for why they do or dont watch films.
Results
male: 6
female: 4
age average: 24
horror enjoyment rating average: 7/10
favourite horror films: Blair Witch, Halloween, Saw, Skeleton Key, Strangers,
watch at home: 4
watch at cinema: 5
watch at a friends: 3
other: 0
what attracts them to see a horror movie: Adverts, suspense, director, cast, hype, friends, word of mouth
favourite actors appearance: 9/10 said yes
would a trailer entice: 8/10 said yes
hear about it on internet: 3
hear from posters: 0
hear from tv: 5
hear from people: 4
other: 0
Collecting the results from my questionnaire, i found that the average rating of horror film enjoyment is 7 out of 10 which means that the majority of people enjoy horror films. Most people said they watch horror films at the cinema and some commented that they will normally watch a horror film at the cinema and not again.
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