- Primary Research - Analysis of a film trailer, magazine cover and poster.
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 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. 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.
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.
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 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.
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.
ICONOGRAPHY:
I researched into the iconography of horror films which i found on www.horrorfilmhistory.com/index.php?pageID=1990s.
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.
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