Assignment 3 - Evaluation

How the aims of the production have been met:

The aim of our project was to create a film trailer of approximately two minutes in the theme of horror. The audience we intend to aim this trailer towards are people of the ages 20+, as we aimed it for this age range we decided it make a horror theme to stick with our selected age. Throughout the trailer we added suspense and quick cutting, (with the quick cuts we added music to create more of a shock and cliff hanger effect.) For the actors we used ourselves as we knew it would be more efficient and more suitable in terms of being prepared and on time. We planned ahead the days that we were free and showed up on weekend and during holidays as that was the best fit for us all and gave us more time to work with. For props we used a hammer covered in slime and our location was set in the nine pearls abandoned villa. We purposely wore dark clothing to fit into the theme of horror. A group members brother helped us with the filming when the three of us were needed to be featuring in the scenes. The use of the black and white filter was a good way to enhance the horror aspect and make it gloomy with dark shadowing, the natural lighting also helped create this look. overall we were extremely pleased with the outcome of our trailer. Each item of clothing was our own, this fit best as it allowed us so wear the same costume each filming day, we also planned for our outfits to be dark clothing to match the horror theme.  FinalCutPro is the software we used in order to get all the clips together and edit the full trailer together. This software allowed us to add titles in-between the cuts when necessary and added fades when we felt they were needed.

How the product applies appropriate codes and conventions and uses appropriate media language:

The trailer opens with the subtitle 'a man possessed' which indicates the horror aspect of it which straight away indicates the genre of the movie. For audience research we made a rota following with tally charts and turned these into bar charts to indicate a clear result, to do this we asked a selective few and asked what type of genres and themes they would suit best and the result we received is what we based our trailer off of. The main idea that we went for regarding the film trailer was suspense and cliffhangers and we felt that this was a necessary tool to enhance the horror and thriller effect as best as possible. As a group we analysed different aspects of different yet similar horror movie trailers and selected different features to help us with our ideas such as dress codes, weaponry, background set up, effects etc. We attempted to follow these ideas as best as we could and as realistically as we could although some ideas needed altering such as props and outfits.

How the product represents people, places or events:

We chose Sebastian to be the person to get possessed as it fit the stereotype of 'the scary male' we showed clearly the change in him before compared to what he has now become.... a killer. At first he was very curious and innocent and we showed the transition from that to uncontrollable and turned 'mental'. Due to the compound being abandoned the lighting was dark with only natural lighting peeking through which helped a lot with our theme. Using ourselves we could emphasize the typical teenage girl as the victim. We turned normal day life and put a scary twist on it such as the use of the pool and the drowning scene, people associate compound pools with fun and leisure whereas we turned that into the death of the teenage girl which may add fear towards the target audience.

Where and when the product would be exhibited/distributed:

We will be distributing posters and billboards around popular public attractions such as malls and so on in order to get some extra recognition from anyone who would be interested in our movie.
In normal age appropriate day to day movies we will be presenting our trailer just before the movie starts as well as posting out trailer publicly on youtube and will also be creating our own story on snapchat and instagram sot that people can join in order to keep up with our daily updates. We feel that twitter will be the most effective way of receiving recognition as people will be able to share our trailer on publicly to their friends and followers and so on.

1   What regulations and controls might be applied to the product and how have these been taken into consideration:

       We will be sure to mention that our trailer has been passed the 18+ and that our trailer will have a brief introduction explaining the relationships and communication between us and Compliance Officers. We will be labelling the key concepts such as violence and suspense.

           The strengths and weaknesses of the product in terms of meeting the needs of its audience:

     
         Throughout the trailer we surveyed multiple people in our target audience on preference of the movie trailer therefore from that aspect we will know that it will be successful. With the results we got we changed a few of them due to what best fit us and our times for example the costumes we changed a couple in order to match conventions of other horror movies. Our weapon was also suitable as its a hand tool that has a twist on it. Overall my group and I were very pleased with the outcome of our movie trailer as the results came close to our initial storyboard ideas. The meeting up to film process was very demanding with regards to finding times where everyone was free, although we had plenty of time in the end to film it. Looking back on the trailer I feel as though we could have perhaps had more people featuring in the film trailer although I think that FinalCutPro allowed and helped us create a final professional looking product to the best of our ability.

Assignment 3 - Film trailer

Assignment 3 - Location planning

Location Planning:

These following photos are the location we used in order to film our trailer, we chose this location because currently no one is living in it and it is perfectly suited for the theme of our trailer which is horror. The fact that there was a large display of furniture scattered around the ground helped to add effect. We mainly used the downstairs main entrance and the upstairs bedrooms.

Assignment 3 - Film trailer conventions

Our movie belongs to the genre horror as we as a group find this the most intriguing style of movie and we get more pleasure and a greater experience through watching these movies.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1596365/

The woman in black:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1582507/?ref_=nv_sr_1

The house at the end of the street:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1457767/?ref_=nv_sr_2

The conjuring:

All of the film trailers above have similar features as they all have quick edits with snipers of music matching along with them. In all they have dark sides to all of the locations as they are located in dark gloomy houses which leave you hesitant to ebbed imagine living there. In these three they also have one person as the 'bad guy' as you have the woman in the woman in black and the lady in the conjuring haunting the house as well as the sound man in the house at the end of the street. They all have dark mysterious personalities which match them all up. In general they all have a dark setting and background. The location of the films are also set in a deserted area with the one house far away from the 'real world'. The houses are mainly filmed and seen most commonly during the night time.

Storyline:

A woman Carolin had asked for the help of demonologists and paranormal investigators after she had experienced strange events in her home. They had recently moved to a secluded farmhouse where supernatural activities have been taking place. Although the manifestations are mild at first they slowly began escalate in a horrifying manner especially after they look into the past and history of their new house. Gradually strange things start to happen to the family as the dog dies at first and starts to hear strange noises for example hearing claps when no one is around. Certain characters also begin to sleep walk which had never happened before they moved, after she falls through the floor of her cupboard she sees spirits and comes to the understanding that the spirit haunts mothers in order to get them to kill their children. After figuring it out things turn back to normal, or so they think.

Background
Characters
Setting
Quick edits

Assignment 3 - Costumes/props planning

Assignment 3 - Film trailer analysis

The Woman In Black- Horror

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1596365/?ref_=nv_sr_1

The Woman in Black is a 2012 British-American supernatural horror film directed by James Watkins and written by Jane Goldman. The film trailer uses various techniques such as, darkness, slow gloomy music, quick edits and scary shots. Its the type of trailer you don't want to dare watch, but its something you can't miss out on. It is based on an old house in the middle of nowhere which contains dark secrets. A writer goes to the house alone and ends up stuck there with the tide. In the trailer there are rapid cut edits with dark music which makes it appeal more to the audience. Throughout the whole film trailer they have used many different variations of lighting, darker lighting occurs the most as the trailers purpose is for the thrill and the dark setting with help to set that mood. The trailer really enhances the mood to the audience as they strongly convey the horror genre to the audience and make us see all that is happening within the movie even though in the movie they are clueless. The slow music that has been put in the with the quick edits create a spooky dark mood to the audience and watching trailers without the soundtrack in the background is not half as scary compared to when there is music. When there have added music in with the quick edits and spooky/ jumpy scenes it really gets the audience interacted and puts them in the scary vibe. The setting of the movie also emphasises the scary side of the movie as it is located by the shore and shows us that the times you can leave depends on the tide arrival.The background setting throughout the movie is constantly foggy making the mood very low and gloomy. 

At the very beginning of the film trailer it starts off with leaving people edging for more and to continue watching, the woman at the beginning of the trailer effectively tells the main character not to go to the house he was planning on going to. As soon as we set eyes on the inside of the house we immediately get the impression that it is a very old abandoned and dark house. The effect of the photos and letters that we see that have been left behind by the previous owner shows us how far back this time was and shows the scary aspect of the old photos. The photo that is in zoom throughout the trailer has made a clear effect on the audience and they zoom in towards the house and you can see the silhouette of a woman in the window inside the house which was obviously not noticed by the family. As Daniel Radcliffe  creeps up the stairs slowly with background music adds affect as you are left wanting him to stop continuing up the stair but can't help but watch him proceed. Soon after the first scene This captivates the audience in the perspective that they are left wondering why he was advised not to go. Halfway through the film trailer it shows the upstairs corridor with the dark lighting filming the farthest door in clear shots with all around it being a blur. 

Throughout the film trailer there were quick edits along with dark music making the audience wanting to turn down the volume whilst they jump at the quick edits. As you can see in the film trailer they show you scenes with little details that don't reveal much and still manage to keep you interested which will therefore encourage you to go and watch the movie. Other conventions conclude of quick edits following along with the actors names. The start of the trailer also shows the companies involved with the making of the film. The trailer grabs the audiences attention by making them feel more involved. Adding the fast paced edits when the tension is high showing the emotions on the characters faces during different times making it more interesting. The first shot taken shows the audience clearly where the film is set and taking place and due to the camera work we can also see where the tension starts to take place as the audience now knows the surroundings. The shot shows a dark and mysterious atmosphere engaging the audience even further. Its then built up even more when there is a fast sequence of edits which has a changing technique of chime bells. The chime bells add effect as it starts off slow to begin with and then the pace picks up throughout adding tension. The bells then get faster leaving the audience waiting for something to happen. 

The dolls portray a disturbing scene as it adds emotion to the audience that they would feel whilst watching this trailer. It shows tension as the doll is staring into the middle of nowhere this creates the atmosphere to show the mystery within the trailer. 

Assignment 3 - Storyboard