'Advertising is key to any buisness' as stated on http://www.webpronews.com/cross-media-advertising-2001-08. Cross-media ownership is when one single conglomerate company owns a variety of different businesses in many different parts of the media industry. This links to Cross-media advertising which is different parts of media being delivered using a variety of media forms. Cross-media advertising is when different media companies advertise the same or different products. Different media companies advertise these same or different products by using a variety of different media forms. For example some of these media forms may be Television, billboards, newspapers, radio and many more. Cross-media advertising helps to advertise and promote different types of media to there different target audiences.
An example of the way that cross-media advertising is used is a promotional package. For example the magazine cover, poster and trailer that i analysed earlier for the film 'Jennifers body'. All of these different products are all advertising the same thing and this is what cross-media advertising is all about. Another products advertising this film is shown bellow. The picture shows a http://www.facebook.com/ page with a 'Jennifer's Body' background. This is another way helping to advertise the film to their target audience.
Another example of cross-media advertising being used is the blackberry pin bar code. This is a code on all blackberry's that allow each owner of the phone to speak to each other on a free chat room called blackberry messenger. This code is on each individual blackberry as well as now being advertised on different products (cross-media advertising).
The picture above shows an example of the blackberry pin bar code being used on one of the phones. Each blackberry has an individual bar code.
The picture above shows two blackberry's connecting by using the blackberry messenger pin bar code. This allows blackberry users to connect in a quick and easy way.
The picture above shows the pin being used again on a different product. This shows a name tag with the pin on, helping to advertise himself and the company by using the pin. This is a very good example of cross-media advertising. This is because the use of the blackberry pin bar code is being used more everyday on more and different products.
During this project i will be using a variety of different media to help me produce my final production work. I will be using media that i have previously used as well as using new technology.
BLOGGER:
For my media coursework last year i used a blogger to record every piece of work that i created. This was a simple and easy was to record and view the work that i had created. This was also an easy way for my teacher to view and make comments of the work that i created. I will also be using a blogger this year to do the same thing. However, this year i will be using a different blogging system because i think that http://www.blogspot.com/ is an easier way to update my work quickly.
PHOTO SHOP:
I have previously used Photo shop for my last media production work. Due to the fact that i have used this software before i believe that i am capable of using it to a good standard. This means that i can use Photo shop in my production pieces for my project to give good and affective results.
I used Photo shop last year to edit my photographs. This is because Photo shop is a good piece of software to edit photographs so that they look more professional. The software has many features that help to edit a photograph. Photo shop can also be used to insert pieces of text onto an image for making things such as magazine covers. This is what i used the software to make last year and i will also be using it this year to edit my photographs, create contact sheets for the photographs that i have taken and create my magazine cover and poster for my project.
Shown below is an example of a photograph that has been edited in Photo shop which i found on www.chilloutpoint.com. It is showing the before and after view of the image. The image shows how Photo shop has been used to blend and even out the woman's wrinkly skin to create a smooth and vibrant look. The photograph has also been brightened so that the image is more eye catching to the audience. This gives the look of perfection which is a drastic change from the before image shown on the left of the image below. Photographs are often edited in this way for magazine covers to attract an audience which is why i will be aiming to edit my photographs in this way. The model in the image is wearing striking clothes to catch the viewers attention as well as the model looking directly into the camera. This makes the photograph seem more personal as though the model is looking directly at you as a person.
IN DESIGN:
In Design is another piece of software that i have previously used. I also used this software for my media work last year. I used the software to create a double page spread for my magazine. This piece of software was an easy piece of software to grasp because it was easy to use but helped to create a professional look. However, for my project this year i will not be creating something such as a double page spread therefore i will not be using it this year. Below is an example of In Design being used to create a double page spread.
NIKON D300:
Last year i used a DSLR camera, Nikon D300 to capture my images. I used this camera to help me capture good quality images for my production work. I will be using this camera again this year to again capture my images. Bellow is an image showing the camera (Nikon D300).
PRINTER + SCANNER:
I used both of these pieces of equipment last year.
Printer - to print off information and images to put onto my mood board and to print of the questionnaires that i asked to my target audience.
Scanner - to scan pieces of work onto my blog.
I will be using both of these pieces of equipment again this year to do the same sort of things making it easier for my primary research as well as making it easier to record information onto my blog.
Bellow shows an image of an example of a printer and scanner.
MICROSOFT EXCEL: Last year i also used Microsoft excel to create graphs to help analyse my primary research. This made it easier to pull out information to apply to my production work. I found this effective so will also be using this for my work this year. Bellow shows a print screen of Microsoft excel.
FINAL CUT PRO: To help put my scenes of my horror trailer together i will be using final cut pro. This piece of software will also help me to edit my work to create a more affective piece of production work. I have never used this piece of software before because it has never before been necessary. However, i will be practicing using this piece of software before piecing together my final trailer. This will give me more practice with the software so that when it comes to making my final trailer i will hopefully be more confident with it. Bellow shows final cut pro being used to edit videos.
CELTX
I will be using this programme to write up my script in a formal way. I have never used this programme before so i will be developing new skills by using this programme for the first time. An example of this programme being used to write a script is shown in the picture below.
SONY LUMIX FZ38:
To film my horror trailer i will be using a Sony Lumix FZ38. This DSLR camera is a super-zoom camera which also shoots lite high-definition moving images. The FZ38's new high dynamic scene mode helps to capture a scene with moderate exposure even if it contains both bright and dark areas. I have never used this piece of equipment before so therefore i will be doing many test shoots to practice using the camera. This is so that when i come to shoot my final horror trailer i will be confident with using the equipment.
Primary Research - Target Audience, Mood Board + Interviews.
TARGET AUDIENCE:
As a group we have researched into target audiences for horror films. From this information we have chosen for our target audience to be people over the age of 15, slightly more aimed at people under the age of 18 but also trying to attract the older audiences. This is so that the certificate of our film can be classed as a 15. Our product is going to be hopefully just slightly more directed at males as some of our secondary research has proved that more males tend to watch horror films as apposed to females.
MOOD BOARD:
For our primary research into target audiences for existing texts and for our own product we as a group have created a mood board that is split into three sections, one for each product (Trailer, Poster, Magazine cover). Each section has different bits of information included in it and we have collected peoples own opinions for each section by using a tally chart. From this mood board we have asked different age groups of people there opinions. This will help us to collect information together to help us to create our own products. The mood board that we created is shown bellow:
We have collected information from our mood board by collecting tally results shown on the mood board above. We asked ten people there thoughts on each section of our mood board so that we can get direct information from our target audience so that we can later on apply it to our own production work. We used the method of tallying so that it was a simple way of collecting information. For example it is clear and simple to see that two people liked the first setting, three people liked the second and five liked the third. This is an easy way to help us decide what sort of settings we are going to include in our own horror trailer.
INTERVIEW:
Also for our primary research we have created a questionnaire for our interview that we have filmed. This will also help us to collect together more information from our target audience to help us to create our own products. The questions and video for our interview are shown bellow:
1. Describe why you like horrors.
2. What is your favourite horror film and why?
3. What aspects would your expect to find in a horror film?
4. What emotions do you feel whilst watching a horror film?
5. Name three horror films that you have seen.
6. What words do you associate with horror films?
7. What do you expect from a horror trailer and why does this make you want to watch the film?
8. What makes a good horror poster? (eg. colour scheme, text, images etc.)
9. How would you expect the front cover of a horror magazine to look?
10. Overall, what is the most important factor of a good horror film?
For our interviews we asked eight people the series of questions. We filmed the interview on an iPhone 3GS. This is because the video did not have to be high quality because it is to help work towards our production rather than our final trailer which will be filmed on a high quality camera. The video was then put together and edited at home. The results that we received are shown in the video which is shown above. From doing this we found information directly from our target audience. This gave us more specific ideas to help us when creating our own production work. Most of the answers that we received from our questions were very similar and this has given us exact things to focus on when creating our teaser trailer. Different films such as 'The grudge' and 'Saw' were mentioned giving us films to look at that people have been interested in watching.
SHORT QUESTION:
For our primary research we also went around and asked roughly 25 people what things they liked about a typical horror film. I have decided to put these result into a graph. This is so I can have a clear view of my results so that I can easily pick out specific information. This was a very successful piece of research and the results also helped us to decide more information about our own horror teaser trailer.
Secondary Research - Statistics of existing horror films + overall statistics for the horror genre.
For my secondary research i have be looking at the statistics of existing horror films as well as the overall statistics for the horror genre. I have been finding this information on http://www.imdb.com/ This will help me to gather information to apply to my own production work allowing me to choose my target audience.
I started off my secondary research by looking into an existing horror film (Wolf Creek) released in 2005. I then looked into the statistics of the film to find out more information about the people that watched the film. This has given me more information to help me decide who my target audience is going to be which is shown at the top of this post.
This shows that the highest number of IMDB users that have voted for this film are of the age of under 18 and above. This suggests that our target audience should be over the age of 15 so that we can still make our trailer for our film gory if needed, but also trying to attract all ages over the age of 15.
I continued my secondary research by looking at the statistics from a different film. I chose to look at 'The Ring' released in 2002 because it is one of my favourite horror films. I found my information from the IMDB website and a poster for the film and statistics are shown below:
These statistics show roughly the same results as from the other film that i looked at (Wolf Creek). This concludes that my target audience will be both males and female from the ages of 15 and above so that we can have the certificate of our film a 15. We will also be concentrating on attracting all age groups of people.
The statistics from both of the films that i have looked at show that both females and males enjoy to watch horror films. However, other members of my group found information that stated that more males are watching horror films to females. This concludes that our target audience may be just slightly more directed towards males but also trying our best to attract females to our film.
Primary Research - Analysis of a film trailer, magazine cover and poster.
For the primary research I will be choosing an official film trailer, magazine cover and poster for three different films following the horror genre to personally analyse. This will help me to find inspiration for my own production work because I will be creating work following the same genre and will therefore be using the same codes and conventions.
FILM TRAILERS:
This trailer is a good example, showing the codes and conventions of a horror movie. It is the trailer for 'The strangers'. The trailer begins showing to the audience the rating of the film which shows to the audience that the film is not suitable for people under a certain age which shows straight away their ideal target audience. The trailer then continues to show the audience the production company of which the film was produced by, which gives the company a chance of advertising to their audience.
The first shot in the trailer of the actual film is then shown using a wide establishing shot to show the audience where the film is set and to give a clear view of where the film is going to take place throughout. Non-diegetic music is also played over the top to help to set the atmosphere and help to show the genre of the film. Shots from the film are then shown as a sequence fading from shot to shot to give the audience an idea of the characters in the film. The sound of the loud diegetic bang then leads the audience into the horror genre of the film, showing that the film is going to be scary.
The screen then cuts to black as you hear the woman say 'what is that' as the audience are then told that the film is inspired by true events. The pace of the trailer then picks up and the use of fast fade in and fade outs create a sense of tension for the audience, which makes the audience want to know more. The use of text used in between shots shown on the screen for example 'we always tell ourselves' make the audience feel directly involved.
Throughout the trailer they have shown several different shot types for example close ups and wide shots to create a variety for the audience to make the trailer appear more interesting and make the audience want to go to watch the film. From 1.00 in the trailer the pace begins to become faster and the non-diegetic sounds and music becomes louder which makes the audience feel more tension and anxiety to want to know what is going to happen in the entire film. This is why teaser trailers are a good use of advertisement for a film because it makes the audience want to know more which makes them want to pay to go and watch the entire film. The low key lighting gives a scary look to the shots and the quiet diegetic music playing at 1.13 creates suspense for the audience until 1.26 when the door is getting banged through which makes the audience jump. The editing and very fast pace then creates excitement for the audience as they want to know exactly what is happening.
The teaser trailer then ends with the non-diegetic music becoming very quiet which is creating mystery as the screen fades to black, a short line from the film is then played and the title of the film appears on screen along with the main characters names. Finally ending with one final shot of the film and then showing to the audience the film is 'coming soon'. This makes the audience intrigued and makes them want to watch the entire film.
This trailer is also good example, showing the codes and conventions of a horror movie. It is the trailer for the 'When a stranger calls'. The trailer begins showing to the audience the rating of the film which shows to the audience that the film is not suitable for people under a certain age which shows straight away their ideal target audience. The screen then turns to black before the trailer begins.
The first shot in the trailer is an image of a phone slowly zooming in, this relates to the title of the film which tells that audience that the film is about phone calls. Editing is then used to show fast showing clips of people screaming and this tells the audience front the first few seconds of the trailer that it is a horror continuing to attract their ideal audience. The scream then fades to black as a sound clip is taken from the film as the main actress answers the phone to the mysterious caller.
The entertainment company is then shown on screen, which gives the company a chance of advertising to their audience. Non-diegetic music is then played over the top to help to set the atmosphere and help to show the genre of the film. Shots from the film are then shown as a sequence slowly fading from shot to shot leading up to show to the audience where the film is set and then showing the audience around the house that the majority of the film is shot in.
The screen then fades to black as the writing 'she thought it would be a quiet evening' appears on screen. The pace slowly starts to picks up as the mysterious caller continues to call. At 1.18 into the trailer a loud non-diegetic bang is then used as the door begins to shake and the tension begins to build up. Continous sounds of phone calls are then played following the name of the film. Slow flashing images from the film are then shown on screen while inbetween the words 'alone', 'isolated' and 'trapped' appear on scren in front of a red background. These effects are slowly building up the tension for the audience which makes them want to find out what will happen to the main girl.
The babysitter is then told that the calls are 'coming from inside the house'. The lights in the house then turn off and as the actress find that the kids are missing she also finds the mysterious caller. 'You can't escape the terror' is then shown on screen split up with short clips of the film shown in between. This makes the audience feel more personally involved by the use of the word 'you'.
At 1.58 everything goes silent as she tries to hide. The mysterious caller then goes to grab her and the pace becomes very fast, showing very quick images of the trailer flashing between black and the clips. This creates more tension from the audience as the sounds and music also becomes louder to match with the very fast paced cuts and the low key lighting also gives a scary look to the shots. The editing and very fast pace then creates excitement and makes the audience feel scared as they want to know exactly what is happening.
The teaser trailer then ends with the non-diegetic music becoming very quiet which is creating mystery as the screen fades to black and the title of the film appears on screen. One last shot from the film is then shown on screen which should make the audience jump. This leaves the audience wanting to know more and also leaves them feeling scared. The trailer finally ends with the date that the film is released aswell as a website for the film so that the audience can research into it more if wanted.
Throughout the trailer they have shown several different shot types for example close ups and wide shots to create a variety for the audience to make the trailer appear more interesting and make the audience want to go to watch the film.
This trailer is another good example, showing the codes and conventions of a horror movie. It is the trailer for 'The haunting in conneticut'. The trailer begins showing to the audience the 'following preview has been approved for all audiences'. This lets all ages of the public view the trailer to try and get the largest audience possible for the following film. The production companies are then shown to the audience which gives them a chance of advertising to their audience. Speech from one of the main characters is then used as non-diegetic sound telling the audience that they did not diserve what happened to them. A shot of the place that it was filmed is then shown as the screen fades to black and words saying 'Northern Conneticut' appears on screen telling that audience thats the place where the film takes place.
More clips of the place are then shown and again the screen fades to black as the audience are told that the film is 'based on a true story'. An establing shot of the house that the majority of the film is shot in is then shown to the audience aswell as a series of shots showing to the audience the main characters in the film and the house. The trailer then shows at 0.46 a shadow in the television, this shows to the audience that the film is going to be scary.
Non-diegetic slow music then begins to play and a series of slow clips are played. At 0.35 they find a door in the oldest boys room that they cannot open as he states 'i wonder whats back there' this makes the audience want to find out what is behind the door. At 0.57 a second of loud non-diegetic music is played when someone walks past one of the character. This makes the audience feel scared and possibly jump.After a series of clips the screen then fades to black at 1.15 and the words 'this summer' appear on screen. This tells the audience when the film is going to be released so that they know when to look out for it so that they can watch it.
At 1.42 the pace of the trailer begins to pick up as flashing clips from the film re shown to the audience. The screen then fades to black as the words 'the fear' appear on screen more clips and then again saying 'is real'. This makes the audience interested because they want to know what will happen to the character and may find it more interessting knowing that it is based on true events.
Flashing editing is used towards the end of the trailer creating tension for the audience. The screen then fades to black and the name of the film then appears on screen. A final clip is then played giving the audience something to remember the film by. The credits showing the production company and more is then shown on screen followed by 'coming soon', 'see more...' and the website for the film as the final shots.
MAGAZINE COVERS:
This is a good example of a front cover of a magazine of which follows the horror genre. This magazine is specifically targeted at the fans of the horror genre. This is shown by the many different aspects of the magazine. The front cover includes important aspects of a magazine cover for example a bar code, date, issue number, price and website for the magazine.
The entire background is covered with an image taken from a scary film (Friday The 13th) which is stated across the picture. This draws the audience in and immediately indicates to the audience that the magazine is focusing on scary films. The cover follows a variety of colours for the colour scheme - yellow, red and green as well as white which is enhancing the magazine cover and making it appear more interesting to look at.
The mast head across the top of the cover looks as though it is dripping down which may appear to look like blood which relates to the genre of the magazine. The cover also includes main bits of information shown on the banners along the bottom and the left hand side of the cover. All of these aspects of the cover come together to create an all over interesting look which also includes a lot of information for the audience to focus on when wanting to buy and read the magazine.
This is another good example of a front cover of a magazine of which follows the horror genre. This magazine is a film magazine which targets all different genres of film. The front cover of this issue is directly targeting fan on the horror genre. This is because it is advertising a new horror film. This is shown by the many different aspects of the magazine. The front cover includes important aspects of a magazine cover for example a bar code, date, issue number, price and website for the magazine.
The background is covered with white including a picture across the whole of the background. This image is promoting a new scary film (Jennifer's body). The picture is of the main character from the film, Megan Fox. This front cover is then pulling in pre-determined audiences by using a famous actress. This promotes the film as well as making the magazine appealing to a pre-determined audience. The cover follows a variety of colours for the colour scheme - red, blue, yellow and grey. This is making the magazine cover more appealing to the target audience.
The mast head across the top of the cover behind the picture brings in the pre-determined audience for the magazine as well as letting knew audiences know what the magazine is all about. The cover also includes main bits of information to catch the readers attention and to let them know what will be included in that specific issue of the magazine. All of these aspects of the cover come together to create an all over interesting look which also includes a lot of information for the audience to focus on when wanting to buy and read the magazine.
This is another example of a front cover of a magazine of which follows the horror genre. This magazine is a horror film magazine. The front cover of this issue is directly targeting fan on the horror genre. This is because it is advertising a new horror film (Freddy vs. Jason). This is showing the 'Jason' side of the story shown by the title of 'Freddy vs. Freddy'. The front cover includes important aspects of a magazine cover for example a bar code, date, issue number and price for the magazine.
The background is covered with a picture of the main character from the films. This targets pre-determined audiences for the Freddy films. This promotes the film as well as making the magazine appealing to a pre-determined audience. The cover follows a variety of colours for the colour scheme - red, yellow, green, brown and white. This is making the magazine cover more appealing to the target audience.
The what looks like a slash across the page refers directly to the Freddy films with his claw hand. This makes the magazine look more interesting and shows the direct split between the different Freddy films. The mast head across the top of the cover lets the audiences know what the magazine is all about and tells the audience that it is a horror magazine. The cover also includes main bits of information to catch the readers attention and to let them know what will be included in that specific issue of the magazine. All of these aspects of the cover come together to create an all over interesting look which also includes a lot of information for the audience to focus on when wanting to buy and read the magazine.
POSTERS:
The is a horror poster advertising the film 'Hide and seek'. The poster follows a colour scheme of red and white on top of a black background. These colours are used throughout the poster creating a mysterious look created by the colours of red and black while the white highlights the main important things in the poster which is the title of the film and the date that it will be released. The color red is a strong color to use for a horror poster. This is because it is usually symbolising or making some reference to blood, which makes the audience interested in the film.
The layout of the poster is simple but eye catching. The title of the film is written in very large writing at the top of the page. The writing for the title is large because it is a more important piece of information for the poster to deliver to the audience. The next most eye catching point of the layout is the imagery shown in the centre of the page giving the audience an insight into the film and let them imagine what it might be about. Names of the main actors in the film are written bellow the image in medium sized writing. This is because they are still an important factor of the layout bringing in a pre-determined audience for the film. The final thing included on the poster is the information from the production company which made the film. This shows that the film is official but is in much smaller writing because it is a less important factor. This is because the audience will be less interested to look at it and it is not an eye catching feature of the poster.
The main characters names are shown towards the bottom of the poster catching the attention of the pre-determined audience and letting the new audiences research the main actress and actor in the film looking at their previous work and more. Finally information from the production company is printed at the bottom of the poster to show the important information.
This another effective poster which is helping to advertise the horror film 'Scream'. The poster follows a colour scheme of white and black. This keeps the poster simple but interesting for the audiences eye to focus upon. The entire background of the poster is an image covering everything behind the text on the poster.
The layout of the poster in very simple but again like the 'Hide and seek' poster, it is eye catching. At the top of the poster there is two sentences about the horror film and about the murders in the film. This gives the audience a very small insight into the film which is helping to attract the audience to the film, making them want to watch the film. The title of the film is written towards the bottom of the page. This title is written in larger text than the rest to make it stand out more and this is because it is the most important and remember able part of the poster. The title is spread across the poster to make it look important.
Underneath the title are the names of main characters that perform in the film. This is important information to have on the poster because it helps to bring a pre-determined audience to the film. Finally information from the production company is printed at the bottom of the poster to show the important information.
Above is another horror poster advertising the film 'Mirrors'. The poster follows an overall colour scheme of red, white and black. This again keeps the poster simple but interesting for the audiences eye to focus upon. The entire background of the poster is an image covering everything behind the text on the poster just like the poster advertising 'Scream' is.
The layout of the poster in very simple but again like the other posters that i have looked at it is eye catching. At the very top of the poster the name of the main actor is stated. This helps to bring a pre-determined audience to the film, and this is shown in white to make it stand out from the image covering the background behind the text. Bellow this name is the title of the film. This title is written in red and is the largest text on the poster. This makes it stand out from the background image and the rest of the text on the poster. The title of the film being written in red directly links to the horror genre because the colour is usually associated with blood which is a common convention of the genre.
The poster also includes images from production company's showing to the audience that it is an official film as well as using a sentence 'there is evil on the other side'. This sentence attracts the audience and makes them want to watch the film to find out what the evil is that is 'on the other side'. This brings a sense of interest to the poster.
PROMOTIONAL PACKAGE:
A promotional package are a variety of different products, all helping to advertise the same film to the audience. For example bellow is an example of a promotional package. This is because there is a magazine cover, poster and trailer all advertising the film 'Jennifer's body'.
Empire magazine is a very popular magazine giving information about knew films that are being released. This issue of Empire magazine uses a photograph of Megan fox as the main background image. This magazine cover is helping to advertise to the audience the film 'Jennifer's body'. The image of Megan Fox does not show any blood or any other element that may link to the film. However, the magazine was published at the same time as the film was being released. This makes the audience think about Megan Fox so that when they see other products helping to advertise the film 'Jennifer's body' they still have the actress in mind, making them want to watch the film.
This Poster is another product helping to advertise the film to their target audience. In comparison to the Empire magazine this poster is alot more forward, giving the audience the idea that the film is going to be a horror. This is shown to the audience by the use of blood at the corner of the mouth. Blood is a very typical code of the horror genre so shows the audience that it is clearly going to be a horror film. In relation to the Empire magazine, the posters entire background is a picture of Megan fox. Also in relation to the magazine cover Megan Fox, the main actresses name is clearly written in red writing towards the bottom of the poster. This connects together both the magazine cover and the poster, both helping to advertise the same film.
This is the trailer for the film 'Jennifers Body' showing similar techniques to the other horror trailers that i have looked at and analysed. This trailer goes along with the promotional package for the film helping to get an audience for the film making people want to go and watch it.
Secondary Research - Looking at reviews, audiences opinions of the genre and iconography of the genre.
For the secondary research I will be looking at reviews of horror films and peoples opinion of the genre itself. This will help to give me more information about the horror genre and also to give ideas to my group when thinking about our own production work.
REVIEWS OF THE HORROR GENRE:
"The problem is that horror is not a genre, it is an emotion. Horror is not a kind of fiction. It's a progressive form of fiction that continually evolves to meet the fears and anxieties of its times."
The quote shown above was found on http://web.utk.edu/~wrobinso/590_lec_horror.html and is written by Douglas E. Winter, a male sharing his opinion of the horror genre. This shows that he believes that horror is more of an emotion that a genre. This tells me that i have to make my production pieces so that my audiences feel scared and to create fears and anxieties. This will help my production pieces fit in with the codes and conventions of the genre. This will help to make my coursework more believable and realistic to the target audience. However, this information may be biased because it is written by a viewer of the genre rather than a professional that is involved in the business.
Horror films are unsettling films that are designed to invoke our hidden fears, frighten and panic the audience in an entertaining way. These things are some of the codes and conventions of a horror film. They are very basic but all films that are following the genre include them. The films usually include some gore to shock and then amuse the viewers of the film. These codes and conventions have been around ever since the horror genre was first created however, now in the modern world the professionals are trying to think of new ideas to carry on making their audience and each generation is frightened instead of all horror films being predictable.
For my A2 Media coursework I will be working in a group of three with Rachael King and Rhiannon Leek to create a series of products including a film trailer, a magazine cover and a poster to help to advertise our film. We all decided together to choose this brief and will be working separately to pull information from different aspects together to create a strong and interesting piece of production work. I have now created a research plan showing specific dates so that I can keep to a strong series of deadlines and this is shown below:
1. Primary and secondary research into similar products:
(Personal deadline for section - 21st September)
Primary research:
For the primary research I will be choosing an official film trailer, magazine cover and poster for three different films following the horror genre to personally analyse. This will help me to find inspiration for my own production work because i will be creating work following the same genre and will therefore be using the same codes and conventions.
Secondary research:
For the secondary research I will be looking at reviews of horror films and peoples opinion of the genre itself. I will also be looking at audiences take on some horror trailers and posters. This will help to give me more information about the horror genre and also to give ideas to my group when thinking about our own production work.
2. Research into target audiences for existing texts and for your own product:
(Personal deadline for section - 30th September)
For my primary research i will be creating a mood board as a group that will be split into three sections, one for each different product. This mood board will be displaying different fonts, photographs, screen shots from film trailers and examples of film and magazine titles. As a group we will be doing this and asking different age groups of people there opinions so that we can collect together information to help us create and put together ideas for our products. We will also be creating a series of simple questions to use for an interview using a recording piece of equipment. For this we will be choosing participants to interview so that we can get an insight into their views on the horror genre and what aspects we should use for our coursework. We have chosen to do this so that it was different from just creating a questionnaire like we did in our previous As piece of coursework. This gives variety to our pieces of coursework. We have also chosen to do this because it will be helping us to collect information straight from the source which is our target audience (Primary research).
For my secondary research i will be looking at the statistics of existing horror films that i have been looking at as well as the overall statistics for the horror genre. I will be finding this information on http://www.imdb.com/. These statistics will show information such as how many people have watched the trailer. This will help me to gather information to apply to my own production work (secondary research).
3. Research into new media being used:
(Personal deadline for section - 10th October)
I will be individually stating what new technologies I have used and will be using for my coursework. I will also be analysing each one and how they will individually be helping me to plan and finally create my products as a part of my group.
4. Research into cross-media advertising:
(Personal deadline for section - 14th October)
I will be completing individual research into cross-media advertising and will also be analysing good and bad points about it. This will help to incorporate into my planning and finally my production.
