Sunday, 27 February 2011
Thursday, 3 February 2011
Cell 17 Trailer Final.
This is the final of our teaser trailer. After receiving some very helpful feedback, we went back and made changes to various things including the music, shot sizes, pace etc.
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
Monday, 31 January 2011
Monday, 17 January 2011
What have you learned from your audience feedback?
Audience feedback is extremely important when producing an ad campaign for a film. It gives produces and distributors information and ideas of how to edit their trailer and also how to advertise it to make sure that it appeals to their target audience. This includes ideas for the music in the trailer, the storyline, text/font used within the trailer, type of language used. The movie poster is another thing that must look appealing to the target audience because it helps to compliment the trailer. Colours are very important and must suit the genre of the film. For example, use of red and white on black are conventional colours for a horror trailer.
We had a screening in class of everybody's trailers. This was our main source of audience feedback. The demographics of our target audience would be male or females, aged between about 17 and 25, so the screening was played to the correct audience. The trailer was played on a big screen twice and students took notes about the trailer - giving constructive criticism and also commenting on parts of the trailer which they thought worked particularly well. This was extremely beneficial to us because as they fitted our ideal demographics it meant that we would be able to edit it in a way to appeal to them. Our group was also involved and we did this for other trailers. Other sources of audience feedback includes parents and friends watching the trailer and giving advice. All of our feedback has been very helpful. Even as we watched the screening of the trailer ourselves, this gave us some ideas of what we should improve too. Each person was giving a sheet to fill in with different sections. As mentioned above, there was a section to write about parts which worked well in the trailer, favourite sections or shots for example. There was also a section for parts which should be improved and a section for any additional comments on the trailer. Each student filled this in according to their opinion of the trailer. As a group we read through the feedback and wrote down the points separately onto a blog post. This meant that the information was easy to read, understand and refer to when reworking our trailer.
After looking through and writing up our feedback as group we then decided on the things we needed to edit. We decided to add in some different clips that we left out so that we had a better variety of shot types. A lot of people said that this was needed when they watched our trailer. Another popular comment was that the montage section of our trailer wasn't 'pacey' enough. We took this into account and we not only sped up the montage, but we took a closer look and realised that not all the clips in the montage had equal timing and it looked a little odd. Now we have changed it so that all the clips fit together nicely and it runs smoothly and much faster than before. There were some shots that were included in the good feedback section, but again the speed didn't seem right. For example we have a shot of a hand sliding down a door. Many people particularly liked this shot but believed that it was maybe a little too slow. Other people wrote that they thought it was a good contrast to have a slow shot after some faster ones. We discussed this as a group and decided to agree that actually it was a little too slow, so we sped it up slightly but it's still much slower than some of our other shots. This is to create variety in shot types/lengths, to make the trailer more interesting. Some other comments we had involved the sound. Some people thought that the sound needed another look. We went back and looked at the sound and added in a little bit and changed the timing of some as well. We didn't completely change the sound however, because some people wrote that they liked the sound and thought it was effective. One particular mishap was noticed when screening our trailer. There was some talking over the hand sliding clip which we had forgotten to take out and had not noticed when working on it at our own computer. This was easily fixed. The main issue with our trailer at first was that the audience were a little confused as to the plot and the relevance of certain shots. To help make it more clear we moved around certain clips in the hope that the trailer would then make more sense. For example there is a shot at the end of our trailer of a girl standing by a gate, seen through some car headlights. Earlier on in the trailer we had shown the main character driving, so we thought this made sense, however because of the time between the two shots the audience had got confused. To make it clearer we moved the shot of her driving to just before the headlights shot. This should clear things up for the audience.
There are some things which definitely worked in the trailer, such as the acting of our main girl, and the fact that we filmed in the dark to create tension and fear. These points were mentioned by the audience after the screening. Another clip that was particularly liked was the hand sliding down the door shot towards the end of the trailer. Main points mentioned that were positive was the location and lighting. Many people said that the haunted house idea worked really well. The establishing shot at the beginning of the trailer seemed to be popular as well. We thought to include this because it's a horror convention. A few people said that they liked the music - which we created ourselves on Garage band. It's simple yet effective. We didn't want to overload the trailer with lots of random sounds. We believed that high pitched strings were very effective as they would keep the audience of the edge of their seats. Another shot which was liked by the audience was the stairs and mirror shot. We decided to use long shots of the main girl walking up the stairs and looking in the mirror. We angled our camera so that it was not seen in the mirror. We then quickly cut to the same clip but with an added character/ghost standing in the corner of the shot.
Watching each other's trailers definitely benefited us because we saw the reactions of an audience and which bits worked and which didn't. There were a few rather random and unhelpful comments but other than that it was very interesting to look at. As I've mentioned in the paragraph above, we took the feedback very seriously and we editing nearly everything that was mentioned by the audience.
The clip below shows Adam Nelson, a member of my group, talking about the audience feedback.
We had a screening in class of everybody's trailers. This was our main source of audience feedback. The demographics of our target audience would be male or females, aged between about 17 and 25, so the screening was played to the correct audience. The trailer was played on a big screen twice and students took notes about the trailer - giving constructive criticism and also commenting on parts of the trailer which they thought worked particularly well. This was extremely beneficial to us because as they fitted our ideal demographics it meant that we would be able to edit it in a way to appeal to them. Our group was also involved and we did this for other trailers. Other sources of audience feedback includes parents and friends watching the trailer and giving advice. All of our feedback has been very helpful. Even as we watched the screening of the trailer ourselves, this gave us some ideas of what we should improve too. Each person was giving a sheet to fill in with different sections. As mentioned above, there was a section to write about parts which worked well in the trailer, favourite sections or shots for example. There was also a section for parts which should be improved and a section for any additional comments on the trailer. Each student filled this in according to their opinion of the trailer. As a group we read through the feedback and wrote down the points separately onto a blog post. This meant that the information was easy to read, understand and refer to when reworking our trailer.
After looking through and writing up our feedback as group we then decided on the things we needed to edit. We decided to add in some different clips that we left out so that we had a better variety of shot types. A lot of people said that this was needed when they watched our trailer. Another popular comment was that the montage section of our trailer wasn't 'pacey' enough. We took this into account and we not only sped up the montage, but we took a closer look and realised that not all the clips in the montage had equal timing and it looked a little odd. Now we have changed it so that all the clips fit together nicely and it runs smoothly and much faster than before. There were some shots that were included in the good feedback section, but again the speed didn't seem right. For example we have a shot of a hand sliding down a door. Many people particularly liked this shot but believed that it was maybe a little too slow. Other people wrote that they thought it was a good contrast to have a slow shot after some faster ones. We discussed this as a group and decided to agree that actually it was a little too slow, so we sped it up slightly but it's still much slower than some of our other shots. This is to create variety in shot types/lengths, to make the trailer more interesting. Some other comments we had involved the sound. Some people thought that the sound needed another look. We went back and looked at the sound and added in a little bit and changed the timing of some as well. We didn't completely change the sound however, because some people wrote that they liked the sound and thought it was effective. One particular mishap was noticed when screening our trailer. There was some talking over the hand sliding clip which we had forgotten to take out and had not noticed when working on it at our own computer. This was easily fixed. The main issue with our trailer at first was that the audience were a little confused as to the plot and the relevance of certain shots. To help make it more clear we moved around certain clips in the hope that the trailer would then make more sense. For example there is a shot at the end of our trailer of a girl standing by a gate, seen through some car headlights. Earlier on in the trailer we had shown the main character driving, so we thought this made sense, however because of the time between the two shots the audience had got confused. To make it clearer we moved the shot of her driving to just before the headlights shot. This should clear things up for the audience.
There are some things which definitely worked in the trailer, such as the acting of our main girl, and the fact that we filmed in the dark to create tension and fear. These points were mentioned by the audience after the screening. Another clip that was particularly liked was the hand sliding down the door shot towards the end of the trailer. Main points mentioned that were positive was the location and lighting. Many people said that the haunted house idea worked really well. The establishing shot at the beginning of the trailer seemed to be popular as well. We thought to include this because it's a horror convention. A few people said that they liked the music - which we created ourselves on Garage band. It's simple yet effective. We didn't want to overload the trailer with lots of random sounds. We believed that high pitched strings were very effective as they would keep the audience of the edge of their seats. Another shot which was liked by the audience was the stairs and mirror shot. We decided to use long shots of the main girl walking up the stairs and looking in the mirror. We angled our camera so that it was not seen in the mirror. We then quickly cut to the same clip but with an added character/ghost standing in the corner of the shot.
Watching each other's trailers definitely benefited us because we saw the reactions of an audience and which bits worked and which didn't. There were a few rather random and unhelpful comments but other than that it was very interesting to look at. As I've mentioned in the paragraph above, we took the feedback very seriously and we editing nearly everything that was mentioned by the audience.
The clip below shows Adam Nelson, a member of my group, talking about the audience feedback.
How were our survey results helpful?
As you can see on my 'D' post for research for main product, we did a survey and we wrote up our results. I also put some of the answers into pie charts to display it nicely. Our survey results helped before we began to film our trailer because it's always important to know what the audience is looking for. There would be no point in making a teaser trailer that wouldn't interest the target audience. So when planning our trailer and drawing up the storyboard we took into account the results from our survey.
Friday, 14 January 2011
Risk assessment
My House - A large section of the filming was done inside, this carried no particular risks in itself apart from the fact it was dark! However, the small section of filming we did outside in her back garden carried the risk that some of the ground was very wet and slippy that we found particularly prominent in a fast moving shot! (Below - The set for most of our filming)
In A Car, Outside & In The Studio - Not only did we film in a moving car, which clearly carries some minor risks, we also went outside to film in a deserted private place in the dark, which could bring risks of tripping hazards as well as strangers getting in the way of filming etc. The studio at college was our last set of filming, this carried no significant risks and was a safe secure environment to be filming in.
Draft Teaser Trailer.
This is the draft of our teaser trailer.
We recieved feedback on this which can be seen on another post.
We have got quite a bit to work on and we are hoping that our final product will tick all the boxes.
Annotating Stills from the Saw trailer.
Check out this SlideShare Presentation:
Annotating Stills from the Saw trailer.
View more presentations from gwebster1.
Feedback
After previewing all of the other group's trailers we all gave each other good and bad feedback before making changes to our work.
These are the results we recieved.
Good:
- Fast cuts
- Shows a certain amount of information but doesn't give the plot away.
- Scene in the studio
- Dark shots/night time
- Shot on the stairs/at the mirror
- Screaming
- Acting
- Establishing shot of location
- Trapped in a haunted house
- Headlight shot
- Lighting
- Tragic past coming back to haunt you
- Mysterious
- Hand sliding down the door shot
Bad:
- Shot of main girl at the sink
- Don't understand the relevance of last shot.
- Delete the talking bit at the end that shouldn't be there
- Improve text/titles
- Lack of variety of shot types
- Sound could vary
- Production company logo needed
- Unsure about the plot
- People crawling
- Need more titles about the other people in the trailer. E.g the ghosts etc.
- Unclear shots
- Not very pacey
- Hand sliding shot was too long
Storyboard
We began this storyboard before filming. We had to change some of the shots and ideas due to casting issues. We changed the storyline of our trailer in order to make it possible to film.
Thursday, 25 November 2010
Monday, 8 November 2010
Survey Results.
Survey Results
We surveyed 15 people...
1.) Do you like to watch horror films?
Yes: 9/15
No: 6/15
2.) Gender?
Male: 8/15
Female: 7/15
3.) Age?
13-17: 9/15
18-23: 2/15
24-29: 1/15
30-39: 1/15
40-49: 1/15
50-60: 1/15
4.) Last time you watched a horror film?
0-1 Month: 9/15
Over 1 Year: 3/15
2 Months: 2/15
3-6 Months: 1/15
5.) Horror films you've enjoyed in the past?
Sixth Sense (3/15)
Dracula (2/15)
Saw (2/15)
The Exorcist (2/15)
The Thing (2/15)
28 Days Later (1/15)
Alien (1/15)
Exorcism of Emily Rose (1/15)
Halloween (1/15)
Jaws (1/15)
Mirrors (1/15)
Mothman Prophecies (1/15)
Nightmare on Elm Street (1/15)
Paranormal Activity (1/15)
REC/Quarantine (1/15)
Se7en (1/15)
The Others (1/15)
The Shining (1/15)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1/15)
The Wolfman (1/15)
What Lies Beneath (1/15)
6.) Types of horror films you like?
Adventure: 10/15
Slasher: 7/15
Gory/Violent: 4/15
Comedy: 4/15
Romantic: 3/15
Monsters: 3/15
7.) Blockbusters or amateur?
Blockbusters: 10/15
Amateur: 8/15
8.) How do you find out about horror films?
Word Of Mouth: 9/15
Television: 7/15
Internet: 6/15
Magazines: 5/15
Cinema: 3/15
9.) Are you influenced by trailers?
Yes: 8/15
Sometimes: 6/15
No: 1/15
10.) What do you want from a horror film?
Entertainment: 7/15
To Be Scared: 5/15
Escapism: 4/15
A Cheap Thrill: 1/15
We surveyed 15 people...
1.) Do you like to watch horror films?
Yes: 9/15
No: 6/15
2.) Gender?
Male: 8/15
Female: 7/15
3.) Age?
13-17: 9/15
18-23: 2/15
24-29: 1/15
30-39: 1/15
40-49: 1/15
50-60: 1/15
4.) Last time you watched a horror film?
0-1 Month: 9/15
Over 1 Year: 3/15
2 Months: 2/15
3-6 Months: 1/15
5.) Horror films you've enjoyed in the past?
Sixth Sense (3/15)
Dracula (2/15)
Saw (2/15)
The Exorcist (2/15)
The Thing (2/15)
28 Days Later (1/15)
Alien (1/15)
Exorcism of Emily Rose (1/15)
Halloween (1/15)
Jaws (1/15)
Mirrors (1/15)
Mothman Prophecies (1/15)
Nightmare on Elm Street (1/15)
Paranormal Activity (1/15)
REC/Quarantine (1/15)
Se7en (1/15)
The Others (1/15)
The Shining (1/15)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1/15)
The Wolfman (1/15)
What Lies Beneath (1/15)
6.) Types of horror films you like?
Adventure: 10/15
Slasher: 7/15
Gory/Violent: 4/15
Comedy: 4/15
Romantic: 3/15
Monsters: 3/15
7.) Blockbusters or amateur?
Blockbusters: 10/15
Amateur: 8/15
8.) How do you find out about horror films?
Word Of Mouth: 9/15
Television: 7/15
Internet: 6/15
Magazines: 5/15
Cinema: 3/15
9.) Are you influenced by trailers?
Yes: 8/15
Sometimes: 6/15
No: 1/15
10.) What do you want from a horror film?
Entertainment: 7/15
To Be Scared: 5/15
Escapism: 4/15
A Cheap Thrill: 1/15
Tuesday, 2 November 2010
Idea for trailer.
The idea of the plot of our trailer.
A woman is living alone in her childhood house where her carers lived before they died. When she was younger, however, she spent a lot of time locked away in solitary confinement because she suffered from behavioural disorders. Whilst she was locked away a spiritualist removed her 'demons' to make her a happy normal child. When she gets older and is living in the house on her own she begins to get haunted by a demon made up of her disorders, torment and anger as a child. The trailer will include shots where she is walking around her house and it turns into the room which she was kept locked away in as a child. We will also use mirror shots to show the demon in the mirror and to show her torment.
A woman is living alone in her childhood house where her carers lived before they died. When she was younger, however, she spent a lot of time locked away in solitary confinement because she suffered from behavioural disorders. Whilst she was locked away a spiritualist removed her 'demons' to make her a happy normal child. When she gets older and is living in the house on her own she begins to get haunted by a demon made up of her disorders, torment and anger as a child. The trailer will include shots where she is walking around her house and it turns into the room which she was kept locked away in as a child. We will also use mirror shots to show the demon in the mirror and to show her torment.
Saturday, 30 October 2010
Return of the repressed.
After reading about the 'Return of the repressed' theory, I decided there are several ways it can link to horror films and the audiences.
Firstly, the audiences. Everybody has different fears and ideas of horror. I believe that horror films are trying to go against conventions and bring out the fears that people would try and 'repress' and forget about. For example themes such as clowns and ghosts that many people are afraid of, these fears come alive in many horror films. A modern example of this would be Paranormal Activity. Many people believe that their homes are haunted and are scared of ghosts and spirits being with them. Paranormal Activity, similarly to Blair Witch Project, is filmed to look real and home made. This goes against the ordinary conventions of horror films such as having a final girl and hidden messages and secrets. In many horror films there is often a suggested reason for people being tortured or murdered etc. Maybe they are being punished for doing bad things in their life - for example Saw. Paranormal Activity appears to have no reason for the haunting other than that the main girl in the film is the one being haunted and the demon/spirit will follow her wherever she goes.
Another way that horror could be linked to the Return of the repressed theory, is in the characters of the film. Say the antagonist/bad guy in the film has murdered or tortured somebody, this could be due to trying to repress his anger in the past and his true personality is now coming out. It is human nature to get angry and feel strongly about people, however most people would not act upon their feelings. In watching horror films we could possibly see what our anger could lead to had we not repressed out feelings and realised the difference between wrong and right. Slasher horror or violent horror could be seen as almost acting out situations that we would have nightmares about or possibly even thoughts about if we were in a state of rage ourselves.
Firstly, the audiences. Everybody has different fears and ideas of horror. I believe that horror films are trying to go against conventions and bring out the fears that people would try and 'repress' and forget about. For example themes such as clowns and ghosts that many people are afraid of, these fears come alive in many horror films. A modern example of this would be Paranormal Activity. Many people believe that their homes are haunted and are scared of ghosts and spirits being with them. Paranormal Activity, similarly to Blair Witch Project, is filmed to look real and home made. This goes against the ordinary conventions of horror films such as having a final girl and hidden messages and secrets. In many horror films there is often a suggested reason for people being tortured or murdered etc. Maybe they are being punished for doing bad things in their life - for example Saw. Paranormal Activity appears to have no reason for the haunting other than that the main girl in the film is the one being haunted and the demon/spirit will follow her wherever she goes.
Another way that horror could be linked to the Return of the repressed theory, is in the characters of the film. Say the antagonist/bad guy in the film has murdered or tortured somebody, this could be due to trying to repress his anger in the past and his true personality is now coming out. It is human nature to get angry and feel strongly about people, however most people would not act upon their feelings. In watching horror films we could possibly see what our anger could lead to had we not repressed out feelings and realised the difference between wrong and right. Slasher horror or violent horror could be seen as almost acting out situations that we would have nightmares about or possibly even thoughts about if we were in a state of rage ourselves.
Thursday, 14 October 2010
"The Final" Summary and Analysis.
The Final.
Plot.
This film is about bullied teenagers in an American school. Eventually the way they're being treated becomes too much to handle and they get the bullies back. They lure all of the teenagers to an abandoned location, spike the drink and handcuff and torture them. This is their way of feeling powerful and getting people back for treating them so badly all of their lives.
Analysis.
The first thing we see in the trailer is a school locker and we hear the sound of a bell. This straight away shows us the setting. The next thing we see is a teacher by a white board and a class with notepads and pens. There are cuts to dark scenes outside with fire and people talking quietly. This creates suspense and is gradually building up to show us what's really going on in this school. We then see a montage of shots of various teenagers being bullied - smacked, surrounded or shouted at. We then get a cut back to the classroom scene and there is a close up on one of the bullied boys' notepad. He is drawing an evil character in black and white. The teacher in the classroom is saying words which relate to what is going on: 'Hell' 'kill' 'pay for your actions.' This is all to set the scene. We then see another bullied guy who says 'we've suffered enough.' This is effective because we straight away sympathise with the bullied teenagers which means that when they're being tortured we will almost want to see it happen to them because of the way they treat other people. We then see another shot of some bitchy girls being sarcastic and mean to girl. They are dressed in pink/blue - light hearted colours. They're hair looks perfect and they are all pretty. This is to show us the difference between the bullies and the bullied teenagers. The next shot is of the bullied kids putting on evil masks and costumes for the party. As the audience who's seen the rest of the trailer, we know that these costumes are not innocent. As these teenagers are putting on their costumes they are thinking of torture and revenge. At the scene of the party we see teenagers partying but one by one crashing out on the sofas to pass out. We hear the words 'I wanted to be your friend, but now I will be your enemy.' This again is building the tension because we know that danger is looming. The teens are then handcuffed and everybody is on the floor. We hear the screams of a girl and people are crying and panicing. We see people being tortured and one guy is stripped which is to seem degrading and to make everything worse for him.
The beginning shot is from a canted angle which makes the audience feel disorientated. The way the characters are standing is also a big clue as to the part they are playing in the bullying. For example one girl dressed in dark clothes with long thin hair, is being surrounded by girls and they have their arms folded and have backed her into the lockers. In the classroom scenes we have shots from behind the teacher so that we feel like part of the scene.
Editing includes the writing of 'The Final' that appears after 13 seconds of the trailer. This is unusual because in modern day horrors the title often appears at the very end of the trailer. The text fades to black. Other editing includes a bully victim in her costume at the party turning her head in slow motion. This is to give the audience a clue that she is part of the plan to torture the bullies. We also see some slow motion shots of people dancing and partying, but also of people passing out and having to sit down due to drousiness from the spiked drink.
Non digetic sound includes high pitched strings playing typical horror film sounds. A keyboard is also heard lighting the background. We hear the occasional almost mechanical sound of a fairly high pitched screech, like an old rusty door, or somebody scratching their nails down a blackboard. We also hear high pitched ringing and a faint bass drum in the background to give an almost heartbeat effect.
Digetic sound includes the characters speaking to each other. The tone of voice of the characters also shows us the part each character is playing. We also hear the voice of the teacher over the top of many other clips. Other sounds include: screaming, crying, shouting, arguing and of course the strange, loud, robotic noise coming out of the main 'masked,' vengeful teenager.
I think that the teacher speaking about 'hell' and 'paying the price for your actions' is very effective in this trailer because it tells us as the audience that danger is coming. It's like a warning. Also, it makes everything seem so much more sinister and scary. I also think that the masks and the idea of a party is very effective because this is realistic. If this kind of thing was going to happen the most likely way to get a group of teenagers to an abandoned location would be to organise a party.
I think that the scary voice coming out of one of the teenagers is a little bit extreme although at the same time it's making the movie seem more horrific and scary. The voice does sound very robotic and fake though, but then this kind of noise is conventional of a horror film so it could be seen as good or bad depending on opinions.
Plot.
This film is about bullied teenagers in an American school. Eventually the way they're being treated becomes too much to handle and they get the bullies back. They lure all of the teenagers to an abandoned location, spike the drink and handcuff and torture them. This is their way of feeling powerful and getting people back for treating them so badly all of their lives.
Analysis.
The first thing we see in the trailer is a school locker and we hear the sound of a bell. This straight away shows us the setting. The next thing we see is a teacher by a white board and a class with notepads and pens. There are cuts to dark scenes outside with fire and people talking quietly. This creates suspense and is gradually building up to show us what's really going on in this school. We then see a montage of shots of various teenagers being bullied - smacked, surrounded or shouted at. We then get a cut back to the classroom scene and there is a close up on one of the bullied boys' notepad. He is drawing an evil character in black and white. The teacher in the classroom is saying words which relate to what is going on: 'Hell' 'kill' 'pay for your actions.' This is all to set the scene. We then see another bullied guy who says 'we've suffered enough.' This is effective because we straight away sympathise with the bullied teenagers which means that when they're being tortured we will almost want to see it happen to them because of the way they treat other people. We then see another shot of some bitchy girls being sarcastic and mean to girl. They are dressed in pink/blue - light hearted colours. They're hair looks perfect and they are all pretty. This is to show us the difference between the bullies and the bullied teenagers. The next shot is of the bullied kids putting on evil masks and costumes for the party. As the audience who's seen the rest of the trailer, we know that these costumes are not innocent. As these teenagers are putting on their costumes they are thinking of torture and revenge. At the scene of the party we see teenagers partying but one by one crashing out on the sofas to pass out. We hear the words 'I wanted to be your friend, but now I will be your enemy.' This again is building the tension because we know that danger is looming. The teens are then handcuffed and everybody is on the floor. We hear the screams of a girl and people are crying and panicing. We see people being tortured and one guy is stripped which is to seem degrading and to make everything worse for him.
The beginning shot is from a canted angle which makes the audience feel disorientated. The way the characters are standing is also a big clue as to the part they are playing in the bullying. For example one girl dressed in dark clothes with long thin hair, is being surrounded by girls and they have their arms folded and have backed her into the lockers. In the classroom scenes we have shots from behind the teacher so that we feel like part of the scene.
Editing includes the writing of 'The Final' that appears after 13 seconds of the trailer. This is unusual because in modern day horrors the title often appears at the very end of the trailer. The text fades to black. Other editing includes a bully victim in her costume at the party turning her head in slow motion. This is to give the audience a clue that she is part of the plan to torture the bullies. We also see some slow motion shots of people dancing and partying, but also of people passing out and having to sit down due to drousiness from the spiked drink.
Non digetic sound includes high pitched strings playing typical horror film sounds. A keyboard is also heard lighting the background. We hear the occasional almost mechanical sound of a fairly high pitched screech, like an old rusty door, or somebody scratching their nails down a blackboard. We also hear high pitched ringing and a faint bass drum in the background to give an almost heartbeat effect.
Digetic sound includes the characters speaking to each other. The tone of voice of the characters also shows us the part each character is playing. We also hear the voice of the teacher over the top of many other clips. Other sounds include: screaming, crying, shouting, arguing and of course the strange, loud, robotic noise coming out of the main 'masked,' vengeful teenager.
I think that the teacher speaking about 'hell' and 'paying the price for your actions' is very effective in this trailer because it tells us as the audience that danger is coming. It's like a warning. Also, it makes everything seem so much more sinister and scary. I also think that the masks and the idea of a party is very effective because this is realistic. If this kind of thing was going to happen the most likely way to get a group of teenagers to an abandoned location would be to organise a party.
I think that the scary voice coming out of one of the teenagers is a little bit extreme although at the same time it's making the movie seem more horrific and scary. The voice does sound very robotic and fake though, but then this kind of noise is conventional of a horror film so it could be seen as good or bad depending on opinions.
Tuesday, 12 October 2010
Trailer Conventions.
Recognisable Conventions of a trailer:
- Highlight the best bit of the fillm
- Not shown narrative in correct order
- Stars of the film shown/mentioned
- Images on the screen for different amounts of time
- Hearing one line of a character's conversation
- Action interspered with credits on the screen
- Voiceovers - rarely in horror films.
- Music/sound creates atmosphere
- Title appears at the end
- Trailer builds to a climax - builds suspense.
Trailers are designed to capture our attention and hold it for a short space of time. They show the audience enough to make them want to go and see/buy the film, but not enough to give everything away otherwise it would be pointless. When watching a trailer the audience gets involved and curious and tries to fit it all together to understand the overall plot. Trailers include montages of clips to give us a quick taster. If the entire film moved at this pase nobody would watch it, as it would become too much. But for a trailer this technique works perfectly.
Hostel Trailer Analysis
Hostel trailer.
The horror film ‘Hostel’ is set in an abandoned location and at the beginning of the trailer we know very little about what is going on there. The setting is iconic of horror films because it’s mysterious and dark. Low key lighting is used to create this dark atmosphere.
Mise en Scene: The props in this trailer are significant because it gives us, as an audience, an insight to what is going on in this strange place. We see close ups of pipes, taps and running water. This shows us that the setting is dingy, gloomy, dirty and disgusting. This is again iconic of horror. We see rusty tools such as a drill and scissors, which look like they would used in a garden but this makes us suspicious as an audience because it is suggested in the trailer that they are being used for other things. We see shots of the location which appears to be some kind of abandoned warehouse and some of it looks underground because of the pipes. Flickering lights are used within the scene to make it seem more dingy and unwelcoming but also to build up the tension. We see a close up of a woman's toe in a clamp - about to be cut off, it fades to black to hear the loud noise it makes and the distant scream of the woman. Costumes of the characters include masks over the face, dark clothing, one man appears to be wearing heavy armour looking clothing. There is a close up of a victim tied in a chair striped down to just his underwear. This shows us the power of the antagonists in the film because they are taking away the victim's dignity.
The camera work is very important in this trailer. At the beginning we get an establishing shot of the main location, which as I've previously mentioned, is a warehouse looking building that could be underground. It's very abandoned and fairy dark. We are then shown close ups of running water and taps and pipes. Following this is a long shot of a man and some sort of pipe or tool. He is dressed in some kind of overalls and he is wearing protective gear over his face. He is also in a dingy, damp room. We see a close up of a victim's horrified face as he awakes to find he is tied to a chair and about to be tortured by a man he had previously met and befriended. There are various shots of medium close ups, close ups and extreme close ups of tools. We also see a long shot of the victim tied to a chair and we hear him whimpering in desperation. We can see from this shot that both his hands and his feet are tied to the chair. There is a medium close up of a man with what appears to be the sort of mask a doctor or nurse would hear in a hospital for hygiene matters, coming towards the camera with a drill in his hand. We then see a montage of shots of men with tools looking like they are going to attack and we also see a victim crawling across the floor and a man running away through a corridoor. We then see two men dragging a man who's struggling.
The editing in this trailer includes many fade to black transitions. At the beginning of the trailer the clips stay on the screen for longer and everything is much slower so the transitions are easy to see. As the trailer goes on we see a montage of clips instead. Other editing includes the text on the screen explaining parts of the plot to give the audience a taster of what the film is about. The text is yellow on a black background, this could be iconic of horror and night time - possibly symbolising street lights. The writing has been edited to flash onto the screen in various ways and fade to black once it's been read. All of the clips from the film have been put together in a montage of shots it make the trailer gripping and exciting. This makes clips seem faster than they would in the film to give the audience a quick idea of what's going on but not giving too much away, so that they still want to come and watch it. Towards the end of the trailer the text begins to follow the quick shots, because it flashes aggressively and it's larger than before.
The non digetic sound in the trailer includes what sounds like strings/a violin. At the beginning there are two notes played a few times and they are smooth/legato. At the trailer becomes more exciting the strings begin to play four notes in an ascending, repeated pattern, this to create suspense and mystery. Other non digetic sound includes loud crash noises as certain text or certain scenes appear on the screen.
Digetic sounds include: The sound of the lights flickering, screaming, shouting, crying, sounds of things being ripped off walls, heavy breathing, a drill being turned on, scissors cutting and footsteps as a victim runs away. All of this sound makes the trailer much more gripping and tense.
The horror film ‘Hostel’ is set in an abandoned location and at the beginning of the trailer we know very little about what is going on there. The setting is iconic of horror films because it’s mysterious and dark. Low key lighting is used to create this dark atmosphere.
Mise en Scene: The props in this trailer are significant because it gives us, as an audience, an insight to what is going on in this strange place. We see close ups of pipes, taps and running water. This shows us that the setting is dingy, gloomy, dirty and disgusting. This is again iconic of horror. We see rusty tools such as a drill and scissors, which look like they would used in a garden but this makes us suspicious as an audience because it is suggested in the trailer that they are being used for other things. We see shots of the location which appears to be some kind of abandoned warehouse and some of it looks underground because of the pipes. Flickering lights are used within the scene to make it seem more dingy and unwelcoming but also to build up the tension. We see a close up of a woman's toe in a clamp - about to be cut off, it fades to black to hear the loud noise it makes and the distant scream of the woman. Costumes of the characters include masks over the face, dark clothing, one man appears to be wearing heavy armour looking clothing. There is a close up of a victim tied in a chair striped down to just his underwear. This shows us the power of the antagonists in the film because they are taking away the victim's dignity.
The camera work is very important in this trailer. At the beginning we get an establishing shot of the main location, which as I've previously mentioned, is a warehouse looking building that could be underground. It's very abandoned and fairy dark. We are then shown close ups of running water and taps and pipes. Following this is a long shot of a man and some sort of pipe or tool. He is dressed in some kind of overalls and he is wearing protective gear over his face. He is also in a dingy, damp room. We see a close up of a victim's horrified face as he awakes to find he is tied to a chair and about to be tortured by a man he had previously met and befriended. There are various shots of medium close ups, close ups and extreme close ups of tools. We also see a long shot of the victim tied to a chair and we hear him whimpering in desperation. We can see from this shot that both his hands and his feet are tied to the chair. There is a medium close up of a man with what appears to be the sort of mask a doctor or nurse would hear in a hospital for hygiene matters, coming towards the camera with a drill in his hand. We then see a montage of shots of men with tools looking like they are going to attack and we also see a victim crawling across the floor and a man running away through a corridoor. We then see two men dragging a man who's struggling.
The editing in this trailer includes many fade to black transitions. At the beginning of the trailer the clips stay on the screen for longer and everything is much slower so the transitions are easy to see. As the trailer goes on we see a montage of clips instead. Other editing includes the text on the screen explaining parts of the plot to give the audience a taster of what the film is about. The text is yellow on a black background, this could be iconic of horror and night time - possibly symbolising street lights. The writing has been edited to flash onto the screen in various ways and fade to black once it's been read. All of the clips from the film have been put together in a montage of shots it make the trailer gripping and exciting. This makes clips seem faster than they would in the film to give the audience a quick idea of what's going on but not giving too much away, so that they still want to come and watch it. Towards the end of the trailer the text begins to follow the quick shots, because it flashes aggressively and it's larger than before.
The non digetic sound in the trailer includes what sounds like strings/a violin. At the beginning there are two notes played a few times and they are smooth/legato. At the trailer becomes more exciting the strings begin to play four notes in an ascending, repeated pattern, this to create suspense and mystery. Other non digetic sound includes loud crash noises as certain text or certain scenes appear on the screen.
Digetic sounds include: The sound of the lights flickering, screaming, shouting, crying, sounds of things being ripped off walls, heavy breathing, a drill being turned on, scissors cutting and footsteps as a victim runs away. All of this sound makes the trailer much more gripping and tense.
Film Industry Distribution.
Film distribution is a marketting campaign to launch new films by advertising them and trying to get them into cinemas. The main ways to advertise and get the publicity for films are: Trailers, posters, the internet, mobile advertising, radio and television.
Synergy is important when launching new films because it helps to sell and publicise it. Many films also have XBOX or Playstation games to go with them, posters, mobile phone apps etc. This is to make the film a big hit and the company will therefore make more money from it.
Trailers are said to be the most important form of advertising a new film. Many people will watch a trailer at home or even in the cinema when they're going to see another film. Trailers need to be each catching and exciting to make the audience want to pay to watch it. On trailers of movies there are often comments written from famous newspapers and companies such as 'Best british comedy of the year.' Full movie reviews or even just these quotes can make the movie seem more appealing because the audience is being told that it's worth going to see.
Distributers must be sure of the audience they are trying to attract when marketting a new film because they want to make sure they are appealing to the right group of people. The largest audience for films are people aged 15 - 24. Films also need to have a clear U.S.P so that the audience is interested.
Blockbuster films - companies including Warner, Sony, 20th Century Fox - films are recieved straight from the production company. However, independant distribution companies such as Lionsgate, Metrodone and Momentum Pictures, buy films from film festivals that they believe can make lots of money.
Synergy is important when launching new films because it helps to sell and publicise it. Many films also have XBOX or Playstation games to go with them, posters, mobile phone apps etc. This is to make the film a big hit and the company will therefore make more money from it.
Trailers are said to be the most important form of advertising a new film. Many people will watch a trailer at home or even in the cinema when they're going to see another film. Trailers need to be each catching and exciting to make the audience want to pay to watch it. On trailers of movies there are often comments written from famous newspapers and companies such as 'Best british comedy of the year.' Full movie reviews or even just these quotes can make the movie seem more appealing because the audience is being told that it's worth going to see.
Distributers must be sure of the audience they are trying to attract when marketting a new film because they want to make sure they are appealing to the right group of people. The largest audience for films are people aged 15 - 24. Films also need to have a clear U.S.P so that the audience is interested.
Blockbuster films - companies including Warner, Sony, 20th Century Fox - films are recieved straight from the production company. However, independant distribution companies such as Lionsgate, Metrodone and Momentum Pictures, buy films from film festivals that they believe can make lots of money.
Thursday, 7 October 2010
Trailer Idea - Final Idea
Our initial concept of the film has had to be changed due to casting issues. Because we are unable to find a younger girl to play our main characters inner child we have decided to change the idea as such:
The confinement cell the main character was in as a child is posessed by a demon.
Once someone leaves the cell they soon die within their own home of unknown causes
Every new person to leave the cell has been haunted by the posessed spirits of those to die before.
The main character experiences poltergeist activity and sees aparitions of the past spirits in her home.
She loses her certainty within her own home and hides in her room that changes back into the cell. She is never seen again but the ending scene shows her in the cell with all those who had been in it before, and she is dead too.
We have easily adapted our storyline to suit our storyboarding and shot concepts. Although we will have to work some more to decide what characters will be using, it will not change our idea much so we can still do everything we have already intended to do.
The confinement cell the main character was in as a child is posessed by a demon.
Once someone leaves the cell they soon die within their own home of unknown causes
Every new person to leave the cell has been haunted by the posessed spirits of those to die before.
The main character experiences poltergeist activity and sees aparitions of the past spirits in her home.
She loses her certainty within her own home and hides in her room that changes back into the cell. She is never seen again but the ending scene shows her in the cell with all those who had been in it before, and she is dead too.
We have easily adapted our storyline to suit our storyboarding and shot concepts. Although we will have to work some more to decide what characters will be using, it will not change our idea much so we can still do everything we have already intended to do.
How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
A web 2 site is a site that involves interaction between site users. For example, social networking sites such as facebook, video sharing sites such as youtube or blog sites such as blogger and photo sharing sites such as flickr. It means that we can combine all three. For example, I have uploaded videos onto my blog from youtube, and photos from flickr. Websites combine together to promote other websites which the site user could be interested in. I have used this in my own work a lot. It means that I have been able to present the information I needed in different ways. I also used the website 'slideshare' which meant that I could use a powerpoint presentation I created and share that onto my blog. Other students can also get involved with my blog, for example the members of my group have been granted access to be able to comment on any work I've done, and we can get ideas from each other. Some issues with web 2 would be that although privacy settings can be edited, it's quite complicated so therefore most blogs would be public. This means that people could copy or take work and claim it as their own when in fact it's not. However, often somebody would notice this. Other problems could include internet or computer's not working properly. I've been lucky in that I haven't had many of these problems whilst working on my blog.
At the top of this post there is a montage including most of the programs which I used during the process of making our trailer, movie poster and magazine cover. To start with, I used the search engine Google, and the video sharing website Youtube, to help with my research into horror and trailers. This meant that I could take a look at existing products to help me to decide on an idea for my own, and what works and what doesn't etc. I then began using Flickr - a photo sharing website, to upload photos of movie posters or magazine covers related to new movies, and I annotated these to see what they included. This helped me when I began to make my own. I then began to use Blogger to start up my blog and post my flickr analysis'. I also then began to analyse youtube videos, which I could also put onto my blog because web 2 means that I can link two websites together and work with both. This meant that Blogger, Youtube, Google and Flickr were all linked so I could post anything I wanted onto my blog. To create our trailer we used video cameras and a Mac with programs called Final Cut Pro and Garage Band. Final Cut Pro was to edit our essay, putting clips together, changing speeds, adding texting, lighting, transitions etc. Garage Band was used to create our sounds to go with the trailer. We were able to put our video onto Garage Band so that we could make our music in time with the trailer. Using most of these programs/websites was fairly simple and very beneficial. We came across a few problems such as internet connections going wrong or programs crashing. But other than that everything has been pretty straight forward and easy to get to grips with.
Overall, these websites and programs helped to develop our skills in modern technology. Before creating this teaser trailer I hadn't got much experience on a Mac. Final Cut Pro was a little difficult to get used to as well. We made sure that each group member was given a chance to take a look at this program and have a play about to get used to it. Last year we developed our skills on Photoshop and Blogger and this year we developed them even further. I'm now finding photoshop much easier to use. It's been essential for creating my ancillary texts. I think that since last year I have come quite a long way with my creativity on photoshop. Last year I found it very challenging to come up with ideas and to find ways of overcoming obstacles on my own, I needed a lot of assistance. This year I have been discovering more and more and finding ways to improve my skills on my own.
At the top of this post there is a montage including most of the programs which I used during the process of making our trailer, movie poster and magazine cover. To start with, I used the search engine Google, and the video sharing website Youtube, to help with my research into horror and trailers. This meant that I could take a look at existing products to help me to decide on an idea for my own, and what works and what doesn't etc. I then began using Flickr - a photo sharing website, to upload photos of movie posters or magazine covers related to new movies, and I annotated these to see what they included. This helped me when I began to make my own. I then began to use Blogger to start up my blog and post my flickr analysis'. I also then began to analyse youtube videos, which I could also put onto my blog because web 2 means that I can link two websites together and work with both. This meant that Blogger, Youtube, Google and Flickr were all linked so I could post anything I wanted onto my blog. To create our trailer we used video cameras and a Mac with programs called Final Cut Pro and Garage Band. Final Cut Pro was to edit our essay, putting clips together, changing speeds, adding texting, lighting, transitions etc. Garage Band was used to create our sounds to go with the trailer. We were able to put our video onto Garage Band so that we could make our music in time with the trailer. Using most of these programs/websites was fairly simple and very beneficial. We came across a few problems such as internet connections going wrong or programs crashing. But other than that everything has been pretty straight forward and easy to get to grips with.
Overall, these websites and programs helped to develop our skills in modern technology. Before creating this teaser trailer I hadn't got much experience on a Mac. Final Cut Pro was a little difficult to get used to as well. We made sure that each group member was given a chance to take a look at this program and have a play about to get used to it. Last year we developed our skills on Photoshop and Blogger and this year we developed them even further. I'm now finding photoshop much easier to use. It's been essential for creating my ancillary texts. I think that since last year I have come quite a long way with my creativity on photoshop. Last year I found it very challenging to come up with ideas and to find ways of overcoming obstacles on my own, I needed a lot of assistance. This year I have been discovering more and more and finding ways to improve my skills on my own.
How effective is the combination of your product and ancillary texts?
Film distribution is a marketing campaign to launch new films by advertising them and trying to get them into cinemas. The main ways to advertise and get the publicity for films are: Trailers, posters, the internet, mobile advertising, radio and television. Synergy is important when launching new films because it helps to sell and publicise it. Many films also have XBOX or Playstation games to go with them, posters, mobile phone apps etc. This is to make the film a big hit and the company will therefore make more money from it. Trailers are said to be the most important form of advertising a new film. Many people will watch a trailer at home or even in the cinema when they're going to see another film. Trailers need to be each catching and exciting to make the audience want to pay to watch it. On trailers of movies there are often comments written from famous newspapers and companies such as 'Best British comedy of the year.' Full movie reviews or even just these quotes can make the movie seem more appealing because the audience is being told that it's worth going to see. Distributors must be sure of the audience they are trying to attract when marketing a new film because they want to make sure they are appealing to the right group of people. The largest audience for films are people aged 15 - 24. Films also need to have a clear U.S.P so that the audience is interested. Blockbuster films - companies including Warner, Sony, 20th Century Fox - films are received straight from the production company. However, independent distribution companies such as Lionsgate, Metrodone and Momentum Pictures, buy films from film festivals that they believe can make lots of money.
We chose to classify our film as a 12 rating. This is because the genre of the film/trailer is horror and therefore wouldn't be suitable for young children, however the film/trailer doesn't deal with violence, or sexual content and would therefore be suitable for ages 12 and up.
My movie poster and trailer are very similar. The main photo on the poster is a shot taken from the trailer. To make the poster and trailer look similar I used a 'skribble' font on some of the text. This fits in well with the twigs in the background of the photograph. I used Photoshop to change the brightness and contrast of the main photo. This made the image more black and white to fit in with the conventional colours of the horror genre. I also decided to add in a blue colour just to create a contrast and make the poster look appealing and interesting. As well as making a film poster, I created a film magazine cover using an existing title, to show the importance of getting on the cover of a film magazine when promoting a new film.
When making my movie poster I searched online for other posters to similar films for ideas. Below are two which inspired me most
As you can see, both of these posters have a main image in the middle which is a shot from the movie. they then have the title in bold above the image, and the names of people involved below the image. This was the layout of my poster as I felt that the large image in the middle was very effective. Looking at 'The Exorcist' poster, I felt that the colours were effective. The light purple writing goes well with the bright white light coming from the street light. It all looks like it matches. When making my movie poster I wanted it to connote fear and darkness. Which obviously relate to horror. The black, white and blue colour scheme reminds me of night vision on a camera, which is used in our movie trailer.
When making my film magazine cover I was inspired by the magazine 'Empire,' as you can see because I used this at the title of my magazine cover. Below is one of the images which I used to help design my magazine cover.
Instead of taking a new photo for my magazine cover, I used a shot from my trailer which I thought was effective. This was because in this particular shot the lighting looks really natural and good and it blends in well with the text and everything else that I wanted on my magazine cover. I decided to use a few other images as well just to make it look more exciting. I used a couple of boxes around some text to make it stand out. This is often used on real magazine covers to make them look snazzy and eye catching.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
To show how our horror trailer challenges and develops forms and conventions of real media products, I have taken 6 shots from my trailer and 6 from actual horror trailers and put them side by side. As you can see some of the shots are nearly exactly the same. This is because when filming our trailer we tried to use shots which were common in teaser trailers to make the target audience excited but without giving away too much of the plot. For example, close ups of the main character are often used to show what they look like, who the actors is, what they are feeling or what's going on in their life.Location shots for example like the shot I've shown of a front door and an establishing shot of the house - these are again to give an idea of the plot but not give everything away otherwise then it would seem less mysteries and the target audience could lose interest. The shot we used of our main character in bed when she sees a dark figure is similar to the movie 'Paranormal Activity' where most of the hauntings happen when the main character is in bed. This is because night time is seen as conventionally the time for hauntings and supernatural goings on. We fear the dark and in the middle of the night we could feel disorientated and confused, making everything seem that little bit more freaky.We didn't challenge conventions much in our teaser trailer, most of what we filmed was conventional.
Teaser Trailers are very important to media production companies in making money because without them the target audience wouldn't know about the film. The target audience for our teaser trailer was 17-25 year olds. This means that teaser trailers played in the cinema and on television would definitely catch their eye as stereotypically this age group would be watching films or television quite a lot. Within the teaser trailer editing and camera shots are particular obvious. For example with editing, how fast paced the trailer is, the effects on text, transitions, cuts etc. Shot sizes including close ups, establishing shots, medium close ups - all shots to show different things. Close ups show emotion for example fear in horror. Establishing shots show location. Medium close ups show character and a bit of the location - not giving away too much. Our trailer is about a woman who used to be locked away in solitary confinement and once she has escaped and is living a normal life all of her past demons and memories come back to haunt her. This type of idea is similar to films such as Paranormal Activity because the ghosts themselves are never seen but the fear on the main protagonist's face and the strange goings on around the characters are what makes the film mysterious and scary. When making any teaser trailer there is always a need to follow conventions because this is what makes the film itself successful. Without the teaser trailer people wouldn't go to see the film and therefore the production company wouldn't make any money.
Going back to the 6 screen shots I have chosen, the similarities and differences and fairly obvious. I think that many shots in our trailer appear quite professional as we tried to make them look as realistic as possible. However, with one camera, two locations, and limited props and lighting etc, it is hard to make the shots as realistic as they would be in an actual teaser trailer or film itself.
Non digetic sounds in our trailer are quite minimal. This was to create more suspense and mystery. We have some high pitched string noises through out most of the trailer, and some loud bangs when the text appears on screen. Digetic sounds in the trailer include our main character screaming in the middle of the night. We also have a clip of her begging to to be 'let out' when she is trapped in the cell. This is conventional of a horror teaser trailer because it makes the audience feel uneasy and scared - tempting them to go and see the film to see what it's all about. We decided not to use a voice over on our trailer. This is because in general horror films don't use voice overs as they can ruin the suspense. Voice overs work particularly well in every other genre of film but don't fit as well with horror. A few horror films do chose to have a voice over but conventionally they wouldn't. Other than the few words our character says, we haven't included much dialogue. This is because our horror film is mainly based on one character, she doesn't have a family or friends around her, she is secluded/alone. Conventionally a horror trailer wouldn't use much dialogue anyway, because the shots and screams are far more important as general conversation in the film wouldn't be too exciting.
Going back to the 6 screen shots I have chosen, the similarities and differences and fairly obvious. I think that many shots in our trailer appear quite professional as we tried to make them look as realistic as possible. However, with one camera, two locations, and limited props and lighting etc, it is hard to make the shots as realistic as they would be in an actual teaser trailer or film itself.
Non digetic sounds in our trailer are quite minimal. This was to create more suspense and mystery. We have some high pitched string noises through out most of the trailer, and some loud bangs when the text appears on screen. Digetic sounds in the trailer include our main character screaming in the middle of the night. We also have a clip of her begging to to be 'let out' when she is trapped in the cell. This is conventional of a horror teaser trailer because it makes the audience feel uneasy and scared - tempting them to go and see the film to see what it's all about. We decided not to use a voice over on our trailer. This is because in general horror films don't use voice overs as they can ruin the suspense. Voice overs work particularly well in every other genre of film but don't fit as well with horror. A few horror films do chose to have a voice over but conventionally they wouldn't. Other than the few words our character says, we haven't included much dialogue. This is because our horror film is mainly based on one character, she doesn't have a family or friends around her, she is secluded/alone. Conventionally a horror trailer wouldn't use much dialogue anyway, because the shots and screams are far more important as general conversation in the film wouldn't be too exciting.
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Representation of women in the horror genre.
The horror genre, especially 'slasher' movies, are known for representing women in a negative way. The women are often half naked, running around, panicing and the main victims. Sometimes they are engaging in sexual activities and their punishment is to be killed by a man. Studies have shown that when the roles are reversed and the female is the murderer, usually there is a background to it and a man is actually to blame. This could suggest that females are not intelligent enough to think for themselves and the male is always the most powerful. The females also are stereotypical, in that they scream and run away from the murderer instead of trying to fight back. These stereotypes are challenged in some slasher movies because of the 'final girl.' In many slashes films there is a final girl who the murderer doesn't catch. On the other hand, this could also be seen as still presenting females negatively. The final girl is usually de-feminized which suggests that only the tom-boy girls will survive because ordinary girls wouldn't have any sense and it would be their own fault for getting killed. 
Five examples of slasher films that reinforce this stereotype or challenge it are:
Halloween - the final girl is the one not indulging in sexual activities, she is smart and willing to fight to survive.
Friday the 13th.
Five examples of slasher films that reinforce this stereotype or challenge it are:
Halloween - the final girl is the one not indulging in sexual activities, she is smart and willing to fight to survive.
Friday the 13th.Black Christmas.
Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Psycho.
Psycho.
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