Poster Drafts

Analysis of a collection of horror film posters

From these horror film posters I have found that there is a very dark tone throughout them all. The dark and often black back ground helps to communicate the genre well. I feel the most effective colour for the title on these posters is red. I think this because the colour red connotes evil and danger again relating to the genre of the film. The red colour also helps to look prominent on the black background of the poster. The scratched and often ‘dripping’ or ‘elongated’ effect of some of the letters in some titles help to create a spooky effect to promote the film.

I believe every image on these images used has been edited to create a surreal or spooky effect. I plan to edit my image on Photoshop, however I am going to use a screen grab from my trailer to do this so the two products relate directly.

The text in these posters often includes come text or a quote that helps to incise and tease the public to tease the film. The also include important information such as the release date, which is often in a different colour, the actors included in the film, and the name of the film. Along the bottom of the posters there are small logos of the production company, I plan to include my production logo which I have created myself.

Plot Synopsis

Before I could continue in the making of my media product I had to distinguish a synopsis to help me story board my trailer. The plot synopsis for The Terror is as followed:

Isobella is a girl who never had the chance to grow up. Her paranormal spirit lives in envy of her older sister Francesca who survived the fatal car crash. Ever since her death, Isobella has wanted revenge on her sister, as she feels she has been forgotten. On Francesca’s 18^th birthday, she celebrates with a group of friends by having a camping trip. Isobella follows and plans to take her revenge whilst alone in the forest.

I didn’t want to give too much away in my plot synopsis because I wanted to keep ambiguity within my project, as I found through my research that many horror films use ambiguity in their marketing strategies and sometimes in promotional material to do well as the potential audience for the film are not aware what the film is about, this could mean that they will see the film because they are curious about what happens.

Logo size and background

Here I have captured the film production logos whilst being show in horror film trailers. I have decided to look closely at the text size and how big the logo is in relation to the trailer screen size as a whole. I feel this research will help create a professional looking beginning to my trailer.

In relation to size in these screen grabs, the production logo is always centred, and it is also the only thing featured on the screen at that time so that all the focus is on it.

Looking at all of these production logos I have found that my favourite,  in terms of how it looks , are the Warner Brothers and New Line Cinema logos. I like the effect of the black and white clouds behind the logo as I think this looks spooky and is conventional of my genre.

Below is two mock up of how I want my film production logo to look in my trailer.

 

 

My production company

 

These are some variations of my film production company logo which I have created. I chose to base my logo primarily around text, as I found from my research that existing and successful production company logos have text as the most prominent feature. To add some colour I chose to use neat and sophisticated lines so that my logo looks professional and tidy, whilst also allowing me to add a splash of colour into the design. I chose a royal blue colour as I feel this will represent my company well as this colour represents wealth and royalty.

I have included my logo as a flat and 2D version on the top image, however underneath this I have used the ‘perspective’ tool on Photoshop to make the image appear to be coming slightly off the page. I am going to experiment using both when creating my film to see which looks the most professional.

Studio Logos

When creating my own logo for my film production company I thought it would be helpful to look at some existing logos. From these logos I can see that every single one includes text, and the text reads the name of the company. On most the text is made to look prominent and stand out from the logo; however in some the text is incorporated into the logo image itself. In terms of colours there is lots of black, blue, red and yellow used. I think this is because it makes the logo very mutual in terms of appealing to a male or female audience. Blue, red and yellow are all primary colours meaning they are a bold and bright colour and I think this is what makes these logos so effective. The lay out and overall look for the majority of these logos is simple and neat, I think this helps to create a presentable image for the film production companies.

The Terror Edit 2

The Terror Edit 1

The Terror - Final Name

Terror
Noun

1. Extreme fear
" people fled in terror
synonyms: extreme fear, dread, fear and trembling, fright, trepidation, alarm, panic, shock

2. a person, especially a child, that causes trouble or annoyance
synonyms: rascal, devil, imp, monkey, wrench, scamp, mischief-maker, trouble maker.

I have chosen 'The Terror' as the title for my film becasue of the connotations and denotations surrounding the word 'Terror'.

(Sourced from Google ^)

The definition of the word ‘Terror’ has two main meanings, one being extreme fear and the other being the name for a child who causes trouble. This is effective for my film as the genre is horror/paranormally and the first denotation expresses fear. Fear is the emotion that I want the audience to feel when they see my film trailer so I think this works well. However the second definition of the word ‘terror’ is the name for a small child who causes trouble. The antagonist for my film is a young child who is going to cause all trouble and fear in my film so this also works very well with the name in which I have chosen.

I believe people will read the title of my film and instantly know that it is a horror film, this is effective for me as this could make the viewer’s read more about the film as they will already  guess the genre without even seeing the trailer. Making the audience read more about my film will almost always end up in them watching the trailer, meaning they should then want to see the whole film as a result.

Title Ideas

When choosing my title for my film I wanted to experiement with how it sounded and how it looked to the viewer/audience.
A list of names which I thought of are:

The one

The chosen

The girl

The nightmare

The possession

The chase

The chaser

The revenge

The terror

The Scream

I chose 4 from my list , which I thought were the most effective to experiment with:

The One, The Chosen, The Revenge, The Terror
 

Film Title Planning

When naming my film I need something which sticks into the viewer’s heads and is easy to remember, but also something which is catchy and effective. The name is so important as it is one of the main features to help promote the film. From my research I have found that many effective and successful titles contain one word or a single noun with 'The' in front of the noun. This is a common theme within many film titles and this could possibly be a tactic used by film makers to help the name stick in the potential audience’s minds. Within my research for my films name I came across this website which lists 'The 20 Highest Grossing Scary Movies of All Time'. Link to site

The list of horror films with 'The' in their name or which follow the conventions which I have found are:

• Saw (2) – $87 million

"Saw II" is the most successful film from the "Saw" franchise, which includes seven movies. It starred Donnie Wahlberg and Beverly Mitchell, with Tobin Bell playing the villain, Jigsaw

• Scream 2 - $101.4 million +3 - $89.1 million

"Scream 3" is part of the four film "Scream" franchise. The movie stars Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courteney Cox. Arquette and Cox were married less than a year before the movie's release.

"Scream 2" was released a year after the original "Scream" and was directed by Wes Craven, who directed all four films in the franchise

• The Haunting – $91.4 million This late '90s film is a remake of the 1963 film. It starred Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Owen Wilson.

This late '90s film is a remake of the 1963 film. It starred Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Owen Wilson

• The Others – $96.5 million

"The Others" starred Nicole Kidman and was released the same year she and Tom Cruise divorced.

• Scream - $103 million

"Scream" won the MTV Movie Award for best movie and reportedly used about 50 gallons of blood during production.

• The Grudge – $110.4 million

The first in the three film franchise was inspired by a Japanese film and had the same director as the Japanese original.

• The Village - $114.2 million

This film starred Sigourney Weaver and Joaquin Phoenix. It was nominated for an Oscar in the music category.

• The Ring – $129.1 million

"The Ring" is a remake of a 1998 Japanese film. More than two million copies of the DVD were sold in the U.S. during its first day of release.

• The Exorcist – $232.9 million

"The Exorcist" is based on a 1971 novel about a real life exorcism from 1949. Maxim and Entertainment Weekly have voted this film the scariest movie of all time.

• The Sixth Sense - $293.5 million

The highest-grossing horror movie of all time stars Bruce Willis and 11-year-old Haley Joel Osment. It was nominated for a staggering six Oscars, including best director and best picture.
With all of these successful titles in mind I thought it would be best for my title to adopt this approach when choosing and creating my own film title. There are some other aspects I need to keep in mind such as:
Has the title already been used before? As this could bring up copyright issues
Is the title very similar to any existing ones? The public could get them mixed up
Am I following the appaoriate conventions? Yes, as I have basied my research on horror films

Number 8: Into The Darkness - Trailer

Number 7: Antiviral - Trailer

Number 6: Insidious Chapter 2 - Trailer

Number 5: No One Lives - Trailer

Number 4: Dark Circles - Trailer

Number 3: Dark Skies - Trailer

Number 2: The Conjuring - Trailer

Number 1: Your Next - Trailer

Top 8 Recently Released Horror Films

These are the top 8 films which have been released in the past three years. I have chosen to include these on my blog as I feel researching these films, analysing the trailers and picking out conventions and effective parts, will help me when creating my own video.
I have found this information from this site: Link to site

Film Classifications

AGE 15 INFORMATION

What does the 15 symbol mean?
No-one under 15 is allowed to see a 15 film at the cinema or buy/rent a ‘15’ rated DVD. 15 rated works are not suitable for children under 15 years of age.
Are there any limits on what sort of theme a work can have at 15?
No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.

Is 15 really stronger than 12A?
 Yes. 15 works are stronger than 12 or 12A rated works and could include any of the following:

- Strong violence
- Frequent strong language (eg 'f***').
- Portrayals of sexual activity
- Strong verbal references to sex
- Sexual nudity
- Brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence
- Discriminatory language or behaviour
- Drug taking

How much strong language is there in a 15?
There could potentially be a great deal. At 15 there is no upper limit on the number of uses of strong language (eg f***).
Occasionally there may be uses of the strongest terms (eg 'c***'), although continued or aggressive use will not normally be passed 15.

What about discriminatory or offensive terms?
There may be racist, homophobic or other discriminatory language, and the work could explore themes relating to this.
However, at 15 the work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour.

Can there be strong violence?
Yes, at 15 violence may be strong. It should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury, however, and the strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable.
Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable.
Easily accessible weapons may not be glamorised.

What about horror works?
Many horror films are rated 15. At 15 there can be strong threat and menace (as long as it is not sadistic or sexualised), although the strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable.

What about dangerous behaviour or things teens might copy?
We consider the risk of potential harm to impressionable teenagers. For example, dangerous behaviour such as hanging, suicide and self-harming should not dwell on detail which could be copied.


AGE 18 INFORMATION

What does the 18 symbol mean?
Films rated 18 are for adults. No-one under 18 is allowed to see an 18 film at the cinema or buy/rent an 18 rated DVD. No 18 rated works are suitable for children.

Are there any limits on what sort of theme a work can have at 18?
No theme is prohibited at 18. Adults are free to pick their own entertainment within the law, so it is possible some themes tackled at 18 may be offensive even to some adult viewers.

What sort of issues might I find in an 18 film or DVD?  
18 works are for adults and can contain strong issues such as:

- Very strong violence

- Frequent strong language (eg 'f***') and/or very strong language (eg ‘c***’)
- Strong portrayals of sexual activity
- Scenes of sexual violence
- Strong horror
- Strong blood and gore
- Real sex (in some circumstances)
- Discriminatory language and behaviour

How much strong language is there in an 18?
There is no limit on the number of uses of strong (eg 'f***') or even very strong language (eg ‘c***’) which can be passed at 18. Uses could be aggressive, directed, frequent or accompanied by strong violence.

What about discriminatory or offensive terms?
There may be racist, homophobic or other discriminatory language at 18, and the work could explore themes relating to this.

Can there be strong violence?
Yes, at 18 violence can be strong and be portrayed with strong detail. There may even be dwelling on the infliction of pain or injury, or scenes of strong sadistic or sexual violence.

The strongest gory images are permitted at this category.

What about horror works?
The strongest horror works are passed at 18, they may contain strong horror, gore or sustained threat and menace which exceeds the boundaries of 15.

What about dangerous behaviour or things teens or other viewers might copy?
Though 18 films and DVDs may cover difficult and strong subjects and themes, harm is still a consideration. Very dangerous or criminal behaviour (for example, behaviour which if copied poses a credible harm risk to viewers) may be cut.

If adults can watch what they want, what might be cut from an 18 work?
In line with the consistent findings of the BBFC’s public consultations and The Human Rights Act 1998, the BBFC will not normally override the principle that adults should be free to choose their own entertainment.

However, cuts are occasionally made to 18 rated films and DVDs. Intervention is most likely in the following areas:

- Where the material is in breach of the criminal law, or has been created through the commission of a criminal offence
- Where material risks harm to individuals or, through their behaviour, to society – for example, any detailed portrayal of violent or dangerous acts, or of illegal drug use, which may cause harm to public health or morals. This may include portrayals of sexual violence which might, for example, make rape look appealing
-  Where there are more explicit images of sexual activity which cannot be justified by context. Such images may be appropriate in R18 works and, in ‘sex works’ (see below), would normally be confined to that category.

 I have chosen to research these two age classifiactions as I believe my horror film will lie between age 12 or 15, this is because of the amount of horror/swaring etc that might not be suitable for younger children. Once I have filmed and edited my film I will then decide which classifiaction will be the most appropriate, as this will depend on the effectiveness of the footage and edits, which will determine how scary it will be at a final product.

All of the information on this page is from the British Board of Film Classification website, however I have pulled out the information which is useful for me and my product.

Risk assesment

This is from the Health and Safefy Executive website of how to make a risk assesment in the workplace.

''To do a risk assessment, you need to understand what, in your business, might cause harm to people and decide whether you are doing enough to prevent that harm. Once you have decided that, you need to identify and prioritise putting in place, appropriate and sensible control measures.
Start by:

• identifying what can harm people in your workplace;
• identifying who might be harmed and how;
• evaluating the risks and deciding on the appropriate controls, taking into account the controls you already have in place;
• recording your risk assessment;
• reviewing and updating your assessment.''

I have chosen to film the majority of my film outside (even possibly all of it depending on which idea I choose). The risk essesment I make will make sure there are no real hazards for my actors/actresses to get harmed by. If there is any hazards which I  can not make safe, for example, a branch on a tree about to fall off, or sharp security wire on the top of a fence, I will ensure I will let all my cast and crew know of them so that there is no risk of any injuries.

Health and Safety

From the BBC film network

''Producers should ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons working with and for them are not exposed to risks to their health and safety. An example of what may be considered reasonably practicable would be if location filming was taking place in a warehouse with poor lighting. It would be appropriate to ensure that extra lighting is used and that all sharp or otherwise hazardous equipment is made safe.
You should have at least one experienced member of the crew who is aware of health and safety issues.
Some genres may pose more risks than others i.e. horror or action films or scenes involving animals. The production team should discuss safety issues before filming begins and take steps to avoid or reduce the risks identified.''

Break Down

I think that this is a very effective beginning for a horror film trailer. I believe the suspense is create by the equilibrium being quickly broken at the beginning of the trailer by the use of fast action and edits, along with a sudden sound. This creates disequilibrium and I feel this is what makes it so interesting. The edits match the sound and the action to make the viewer feel like they are in the action which makes them intrigued in the film, making them want to watch more. I feel this is a very good example to help me plan ideas of how to begin my trailer as I want to make my viewers interested in the trailer just as this one does.
As I watched the rest of the trailer, as it began to tell the story, I didn't think it was as effective as the beginning so I chose not to analyse it. However I am going to choose another more successful trailer that gives an incite into the story effectively so I can use the same similar techniques in my trailer.

An example of effective editing in the beginning of a film trailer

Above is a breakdown of the most effective part of this video

Camera Framings

These images and information above I have taken from the internet, I feel it is effective as it clearly shows an example of all different types of camera framing that can be used throughout photography and filming. Below are my examples and images to help me see what effect the would give in relation to mood and emotion to suit my horror genre.



The first camera framing here is an extreme close up. I feel this could be effective when showing emotion in my trailer as it clearly shows the actors eyes. It could show the character shocked and crying to cause tension and atmosphere within the trailer.
I feel closeups would also be used for a similar reason. It helps to show emotion like the extreme close up, however it allows the viewer to see the whole face. This could show expression and reaction better than the extreme close up.
Medium close ups would be used during the equilibrium of the trailer as this is a very conventional shot for a neutral mood, as it gives off no certain messages or feelings.It just allows us to see the actor/actress and some of the background behind him/her.
I feel mid shots could be effective in a horror genre as it allows us to see the main actor/actress in the scene however it also allows us to see quite a lot behind. This would allow me to make the antagonist appear in the background with out the talent being able to see him/her, because this would create suspense for the viewers and draw them in.
Low angle shots could be used in my horror trailer to make the the antagonist big and powerful, on the other hand a high angle shot could also be used to show the antagonist looking down on the protagonist and also to make the protagonist look small and vulnerable.
Wide shots and group shots would help me show movement in my film/trailer to create verisimilitude and realism, and to also make the happenings of the film realistic and believable.
I could use long shots at a high angle to show the antagonist watching the protagonists as this would create a spooky atmosphere for the film, it would also make the audience interested into who and what is watching them and why.
Throughout my filming I am going to experiment with lots of different camera angles to see which work best to give the best effect.

Music to set the scene

I feel I could use this music to set the scene to a scary film as I it creates a creepy and mysterious atmosphere. This music would be effective to set the beginning scene for my film/trailer as it would slowly introduce the audience into the film whilst allowing me to save the scariest and loudest part until last. I believe this music could also be effective to use in the background when introducing the audience to my characters and setting in my film as it shows no sudden noises or climax.

Sounds Effects

Link to site

Whilst researching different sounds and effects for my movie I came across this site which has various free sound effects on which I maybe wouldn't be able to create by myself, so I believe this will come in very useful if I decide to use effects in my final trailer.

Sound effects

This is another site I came across when looking for music and sound effects for my film trailer. I think some could come in useful when making my trailer as there are some wind and outdoor sound effects which I could use to emphasise some sounds for a scary effect. Link to site

Research - Music and sound

Link to the site

When researching what music I could use in my movie trailer I came across this site which showed me the 'Top 10 Horror Film Soundtracks of 2012'. The site allows me to read a short description of the film and an insite into the music used. As well as this I can preview the music and also buy it if I choose to use that music on my video.

Research - Settings (Mise-en-scene)



 
I have researched many different horror film settings and found that the most common and most effective is a derelict forrest, because of this I think I am going to use this setting for my film as I want my final trailer to look professional. From this research I have also found that the most common time of day to shoot is the night once the sun has gone in. I think this is because people automatically seem to become more scared in darkness. This may be because not as much can be seen, however it may be because this is the conventional setting for a horror film.

The dark lighting will allow me to create silhouettes, this can act as a scary effect if used with my antagonist character as the viewer and protagonists will only be able to see the black outline of the character making her look more scary.

This research has helped me choose my final setting for my film. I am going to film in a forrest at night just as the sun has set because this is conventional for a horror film. Fimling at night will also allow me to use a night vision edit. (as used in paranormal activity for another scary effect - see below)

 

 



Costumes, related to the genre of horror

I chose this selection of costumes to include on my blog as I feel they relate well to my horror story. The antagonist in my film is a small girl so I have based my costume research around similar characters. From this research I have found out that the costume for this type of character is very minimalistic and simple. In some cases very typical outfits we would expect a little girl to wear act just as well as a simple oversizes white dress. I have decided from this costume research that my antagonist is going to wear a large oversized long t-shirt. The t-shirt is going to be slightly dirty and worn with white frilly socks which we would expect a little girl to wear.
In terms of hair styling I have chosen to have all of my antagonist characters hair down and messy, in a middle parting (similar to the middle left photograph above). I have chosen this as it can cover her face in some shots to make her look scary and I also think it looks the most effective.
I am not yet sure weather to use simplistic makeup or to make the girls eyes very dark to make her appear scary, I am going to decide this after I have done a photo shoot with my actress to see which looks most effective behind the lens. 
In some scenes my antagonist is going to be seen with an old teddy bear, I feel this will be effective as it will make the audience see her as an innocent little girl when however she is the villan in my movie.

Research - My findings from a 'The Guardian' article

Link to the site

I looked at this article, from the Guardian, as it focuses on film trailers and how film makers make them so interesting. I have learnt that some argue to believe, seeing the trailers at a screening of a film is sometimes the best bit of a trip to the cinema. They believe this because they are able to take out all the parts of the film that didn't work as they had hoped, along with all the bad acting and jokes, to be left with 150 seconds of the best and most exciting parts of the entire film, almost making the full film boring!
Another fact which I have learnt is that the success of a new film is judged by its performance on its opening weekend. Experts believe that trailers are the key in gathering the crowds for new and upcoming films. I am going to keep this in mind when creating my own trailer as this shows me that it needs to stand out from all other film trailers so that the public will come and see my film over any others that are coming out around the same time. I am going to do this by including dramatic features in my sound and editing in particular. 
This article has helped my understanding of film trailers from a professionals point of view, however the last paragraph of this article I found was the most inspirational, so I have chosen to quote it in my research:

"All in all, trailers might seem a difficult thing to love. They lie and deceive, and when they're not lying or deceiving, they're being too honest, revealing the plot. They're nakedly focused on selling a product, intent on convincing us every movie is the greatest ever made when most cannot possibly be. And yet they remain irresistible. As Don Lafontaine might put it, in a world of short attention spans - in a time when the entire movie industry is hopelessly commercially compromised anyway - only one part of a trip to the cinema remains a guaranteed pleasure. And if a particular trailer fails to deliver? No problem: it'll be finished soon anyway. Very soon. Even the trailers for Dances With Wolves and Alexander were over within two-and-a-half minutes." - Quoted from the Guardian article