StoryBoard and Timeline

This is my storyboard and timeline, it shows the rough plan of what our ideas are. We can now follow these ideas and refer back to them if needed later on in the project.

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

The combination of my main product and the ancillary texts link well and are coherent with one and other. This partnership as a whole effect the outcome of the product and basically how successful it can be. When saying this what is meant is how well the advertising campaign is completed. Without advertising the end product (film) would not be known to the target audience therefore people not going to the cinema or puchasing the DVD. This could completely ruin a film/production due to lack of communication details to the audience. There are a range of methods that could enable the film to be known, this includes internet adverting (on social networking sites, blogs, webpages etc...), posters, billboards, newspaper/magazines and also television. The advertising (ancillary texts) is just as important as the film if not more important, because whats a film without people to see it? (paying customers) basically the film wont been seen if the audience doesnt know it exsists. I feel that the combination of my ancillary texts and my main product work together well as mentioned previously. This is due to the way in which I have designed them. I have puposely designed them this way so they are linked as almost a themed campaign, this enables the target audience to recognise the film. Both on the magazine cover and the poster I have used the same image of the female protagonist and also the font used on both is similar. This will hopefully work as almost a brand, for example how "Nike" works (people see the nike tick and automatically asociate it with the company.)

Overall the combination of my main product and the ancillary texts have worked out well, I feel they are strong and I am pleased with them.

How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

During the project I used many technologies in multiple stages, this includes technologies such as "Adobe Photoshop" this piece of software was used in the making of the two ancillary texts, this was key in the completeion of the two tasks. I was able to make the magazine front cover look proffessional and to a high standard, this was also done by useing the "Internet" to research exsisting successfull magazines and incorperating the nessessary techniques and qualitys into my own work. "Adobe Photoshop" was very helpful and played an enormous role in the creation of the final products, you are able to do many things on this piece of software this includes simple and more complex tasks. This includes processes such as: cropping images and manipulating them to fit the situation, inserting texts and cutomising them to the correct style, useing a range of colours for design possibilitys etc...
Another technology that I used in the project was "Final Cut Pro" this enabled me to actually create the trailer. This piece of software helped to edit the material we filmed and gathered, for example getting  long piece of video nd then cropping it down so that it was suitible. We then could insert it into the timeline very accurately so that it would fit into the structure of the trailer. Final Cut Pro was one of the most important if not the most important piece of software technology that we used, with out  this we would not have been able to construct the final trailer. Final Cut Pro also enabled a profeesional and effective end product.
The blogging technique that we have used to do a major part of our work on and present our work on has been very effective. This enabled us to store all of the work for this project on there including all of the final pieces. It was very easy and straight forward to use, and was also very convinient because you could do the work almost anywhere includeing at home, this enabled us to get alot more work done. Images and videos were very easy to upload and then talk about by anotating around them. You can also see examples of other peoples blogs so that you can get an idea of what to include.
The digital video camera that we used to film the trailer was obviously critical in the making of the trailer, this was very easy to use all you simply do is point to construct the correct shot taking in to consideration the angle and shot type. The transferr of the film digitally was very effcient and quick, this was a very easy process to complete.
"Garageband" was another piece of software that was used in the creation of the trailer, this enabled us to put sound onto the trailer with ease. By useing this piece of software we were able to personalise the soundtrack for the trailer and make it sound unique. For example you could record a sound or use one that is currently on the software and then minipulate it to suit the trailer and effect that you are looking for.
Another piece of technology that was used during this project was "Flickr", once creating an account I was able to upload photos and images both secondary and primary. I was then able to annotate in a very easy way, this was done by selecting the area you wish to discuss with a square and then entering information and comments about it. After completing that you could hover the mouse over the photo and see what you have written about specific areas. For example in one image you could hover the mouse over an area and it would say something along the lines of the darkness in this area of the image helps to maintain a mysterious and creepy effect which is key when creating a horror, it also connotes evil. This piece of technology was also very good to use because it enabled a fluent way to make notes.
A very obvious and commonly used piece of technology which is now days a key part of the internet was one of the main elements in this project, this was "You-tube". You-tube was a great resource for gathering information and also for putting videos on our blogs to analyse. By using You-tube we were able to get to know what could be in our trailer, simply because we could look at already made trailers from horror films that are already successful. As mentioned previously  we could put the videos on our blogs and then analyse them this was helpful because it enabled us to look more in depth at the trailer but more importantly it underlying formulae which constructs it, and basically what goes in to make it succeed.
Overall technology is a key and very important part of this project, most of the tasks and basically the majority of the project would have not been able to be complete without it.

What Have You Learnt From Your Audience Feedback?

I have shown my teaser trailer to a number of people which all have had different opinions and views regarding the overall outcome of the product. I have shown different groups of people so that I receive a wider variety of feedback.
There was a very good range of feedback that enabled me to improve on the trailer and also feedback that has shown me what was effective. I have received comments such as "Creepy" "Jumpy" and "Varied Shot Selection" I also got comments such as the structure of the trailer enables the audience to "identify with the main character".
Other comments such as "good use of effects for portraying nightmares" this was more specific and related to a certain part of the trailer where the viewer almost saw inside the protagonists head and saw her thoughts, This idea was risky to include but we decided as a group we should put it in and see how it works out. The reason why it was a risk was because throughout the research we did not see the effect/style in many other trailers, I thought that It would be a good way to summarise what has been going on without going into to much depth or boring the audience with the typical structures of expressing the storyline such as subtitles or voice overs. The outcome was proven to be successful and the target audience seemed to respond well to it. Comments that were taken on board to improve the production (constructive criticism) were "Didn't think the sound matched what was going on visually" this was quite a big debating point which we received likes and dislikes for this section of the trailer, some of the audience members agreed that the music and background sounds matched the visuals well but on the other hand some people did not. This was very tricky and we decided to tweak a few things but not by a great deal, the overall result and theory about the music was that it was sort of an acquired taste. The other main aspect of the criticism was referred to the detail of the villain some said that we needed to "explain more clearly about the villain" this was quite a tricky concept because we didn't want to give away to much detail about the scary element of the film otherwise this would effectively lose its mystery and therefore scariness.

The comments of the audience feedback which I received back about how it worked as a teaser trailer as a whole were mixed, along with the comments about the narrative, what was given away and what wasn't. I was again pleased with the majority of the comments but there were certain comments that were quite negative. The positive Comments such as "Didn't give away to much" and "The creepy factor was increased because the audience knew less about the villain", this was then challenged because we got comments also that said "Didn't reveal enough about the villain" although the feedback was mixed I feel that it went well overall. By not revealing a lot about the evil or villain left more mystery and creepiness, this therefore increased the scariness of the trailer and therefore reinforced the key conventions of the horror genre. Although some of the feedback said that It did not reveal enough we decided to keep the narrative of the trailer as it is, because the majority of the feedback said that it was a good aspect of the trailer that it didn't reveal much. The narrative was done like this so that the trailer wasn't just like watching the entire film. As a group and with the audience feedback we knew that one of the most important aspects of a trailer is to leave the audience wondering and wanting to see more. With the feedback comments received as a group we felt that we have accomplished this, and therefore in the trailer holding back certain information about the story/narrative but also at the same time giving away details as well.

Overall I feel that the feedback helped a great deal to tell me what  I have done well and what I have done not so well. I was very pleased with the majority of the comments that I received and have tried my best to incorporate them into the final products as much as possible.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

This still is from the film "Shaun of the dead" I have chosen this because of its supernatural style (the use of zombies/demons). This has also been used in my trailer to increase the creepiness aspect of the film. This is shown in my trailer (Cardiac Attack) when the demon boy is in the graveyard and also in other scenes as well. The blood and the pale complexion is a key signifier of this effect, this is what has been incorporated into my trailer, with the use of make-up, grenadine and also body language.


























This is from the film "One Missed Call" this relates to my teaser trailer simply because of the statistics/facts that are shown during the build up. this is very effective and enables the audience to gather a brief knowledge about the film without seeing any imagery. This style has increased in usage due to effect and popularity, it is very cleverly implemented into the structure of the trailer.





























This still is from the famous film "The Shining" starring Jack Nicholson. This relates to my horror teaser trailer because of the close up shot of the face. This is used at the very beginning of the trailer when the patient is laying on the operating table just after waking up. It is also used when the demon is at the window. This sort of shot enables the audience to see the emotions of the character at a short range, it therefore then enables the audience to relate to the villain more strongly. The facial expressions in horror are key, especially for villains and victims.





























This is from the the film "Nightmare on elm street". This scene of three little girls skipping connotes innocence, this is very effective in horror productions because if there is innocence there must be something at the other end of the scale for example evil. By involving both sides of good and evil normally good being portrayed as a bright colour such as white and evil being in a dark colour such as black, this clearly shows a comparison of the two contrasting protagonists. This relates to my teaser trailer because I have chosen to use children as the villains, this challenges the conservative ideology.

                                                                      










           


This shot is based mostly on gore and relates to my teaser trailer because of the gore used in it. This still is from the film "Eden Lake". Blood is a key convention of the horror genre as it connotes numerous things such as; danger, warning, anger etc... The blood used in this shot is slightly different in comparison to the blood used in my trailer. This is because the blood is used on the villains and not the victims.

This a still from the film "Friday the 13th" and it uses a great proportion of darkness in this shot. Darkness is one of the key conventions of the horror genre if not the most important, the scary stuff would in fact be not so scary if it was filmed in daylight or in a bright setting. The dark is used to add a sense of mystery to the scene so that the audience is curious what could be lurking in the darkness. If the victim could see the villain then it would eliminate the jumpy and on the edge of your seat aspect of horror, this would therefore not be scary and not be classes as a proper horror film. In my teaser trailer I've tried to balance and maintain an appropriate amount of darkness so that the creepy element of the film is maintained.

This is from the film "Record" and it uses a good form of editing. I feel that this has a unique of different style to it which creates a chilling atmosphere. In my teaser trailer I have used this technique to quickly change the tempo and mood of the trailer. This effect worked out very well and looks very professional. It is very important in a horror film to have some form of uniqueness or theme otherwise it is hard to separate one from another.






























This still is from the film "Underworld" This is linked to my teaser trailer because of the flickering lights. In this scene the flickering lights originate from the outside (storm) but in my teaser trailer the flickering lights are generated from the light bulbs above. The flickering of light and dark creates an nervy atmosphere and a base layer on which to build tension. Flickering lights are used in most horror films and are considered to be one of many key elements.

This is a classic from the 1922 horror film "Nosferatu"  I felt that this is a very interesting shot of a mysterious figure positioned in a doorway. I've used a very similar shot in my teaser trailer which includes the same formulae this shot has mastered. By using this sort of shot it shows a certain weirdness to the film. This can accompany horror in a very interesting way, more commonly in horror films nowadays there is a certain amount of the genre thriller added into the mix.

By blending hints of other genres in with horrors you are able to sometimes create a hybrid genre.
                                                                                                  

                                                                                  
                                                                                      

Film Poster

This is my Cariac Attack movie poster.

Film Magazine Cover

This is my film magazine front cover for Cardiac Attack.

Cardiac Attack Horror Teaser Trailer

This is the Final Horror Teaser Trailer "Cardiac Attack"

Paranormal Activity (Film) 2009

I went to the cinema to see this film because I felt that it was relevant to the teaser trailer that we are currently creating due to the hand held camera shots throughout the film. I want to include these sorts of effects and shots within my trailer to make it more effective as what has been done in this production.

This film was very unique and I felt that it had very different shots and effects that havent really been used before in previous horror films. Shots with the camera in a hand held point of view but strangely placed in a fixed position is one example, these sorts of shots really challege the normal conventional shots. Personally I felt that these shots worked to the films advantage and played a very important part in the overall scariness of the film. This film was not completely covered in gore, it was quite opposite. Paranormal activity was more creepy than anything else, this effect substituted for the typically used gore effect.

Paranormal activity was quite dark and mysterious up to a point the audience did not know entirely what was going on, this built up tension very well and was able to keep building gradually until the very end where the tension hit its climax, at this point the tension was relieved and the film ended in a shock and a sort of suspense. This style is mainly designed for cinema viewing and the reaction of the people watching it, this will not have the same effect and atmosphere on dvd release because you havn't got the audience showing their emotions.

Key Conventions of Horror essay

There are many key conventions of horror and these are combined together to create the horror genre in more depth. Over a period of time as horror films have grown and become increasingly scary and popular amongst their targeted audience, the creators of the genre have established important effects and styles they must include to get the overall atmosphere and mood they set out for. When seeing a horror the audience expects certain givens, this includes the key conventions of horror, these are for example; Blood, death, killing, weapons, screams, fear, monsters, villians, victims and all together darkness and mysteriousness. Without these very important signifiers the genre would not specify clearly enough what it is atempting to acomplish as a film and even what genre it is.

When you think of horror films certain things come to mind, somthing in all horrors that you imediately pick up on is the location or setting. The audience is able to remember the place the horror was set because it plays an enormous part in the film and the horror genre. People who have watched certain horror films are left with the memory of where it was set and why. This brings the point of why stick with the stereotypical location to set a horror film, for example colleges, universities, hospitals, small towns and villages. All the settings of horror films seem to follow a structure (small, remote, isolated places with no communication) the creators of these films specifically follow this structure because it works very well and can adapt to a range of situations. One horror film that challenges conservative ideology is " A Nightmare on elm street" this is set in a small town but is in no way isolated, this is a very clever because it does'nt follow the structure but still works on a very intelligent level. What is meant by this is that although it is definetly categorized under the genre of horror it in some way seems different or almost like a hybrid. The killer (Freddy krueger) does'nt isolate them in means of location like in most horrors, he seperates their minds form reality by attacking them in their sleep. The writer of nightmare on elmstreet (Wes craven) had found a new way to portray the location of horror films, in my opinion this is one of the scariest horrors because you are not isolated in a location like other typical horrors you are amongst friends and family but there is still nothing that they can do. The location of the horror is very important and new locations are being thought of rapidly, this is improving the horror genre and making it more exiting, also more realistic aswell.

The key covention of Lighting has had an enormous effect on horror films, and has drastically changed the genre over a short period of time. When the genre was first experimented with in early productions, in films such as "The cabinet of Dr Caligari (1919)"  "Nosferatu (1922)" and even slightly later films such as "Dracula (1931)" the idea of darkness within the world of horror had not been used to its full potential. Now lighting is one of the main coventions that we associate with the genre. This has happened because the use of darkness or low key lighting adds a mysterious and unknowing element to the films, the audience does not know what is lerking in the dark corners, and therefore creates the suspence and dramatic uphold that leaves the viewers on the edge of their seat. Then suddenly when the tension is at its highest point somthing will happen to shock the audience for example a monster lundging out at you from within the darkness. The creators of the horror films now had somthing new to adjust and perfect, somthing that they could change and vary in so many ways. One of these is motivated lighting, this could be used to highlight the protagonist and show that he/she is in a dangerous or vunerable position. This is for example the victim walking down a dark tunnel with a torch as the only light sorce, this emphsizes the fact that the villian or killer can see the victim but not the other way around. The motivated lighting technique used in these circumstances would give the impression that the viewer is in the protagonists shoes. Lighting has changed the horror genre forever and is always improving, there is so many other ways of showing scared, tense and a build up of tension through lighting.

The key conventions of horror has to be input and balenced in the correct proportion, the film must not include all of the conventions otherwise it will appear to be another genre, basically a spoof or a parody. The creator has to be careful when trying to make a new and different style of the genre because one false decision could effect the entire film. This is somtimes what seperates a good horror from a bad one.

Overall there are many key conventions of horror films some more noticable than others but all playing a part in determining the outcome of the film, horror is expanding and becoming more and more popular with time. Key conventions have a big role in this and will continue to spring new ideas.

Horror film Idea

A family from london moves to a small village. The family are used to the busy and non-stop atmosphere of the big city; this is a big change for them, but also for the people who live in the village.The people in the village are used to a certain way of life and have been that way for some time, there about to change on the account of some middle class settlers. The family consists of the two parents Steven and Emily and their two sons. Steven has had a job offered. The two children are both reluctant to move away from their lives in the city (London).

The local people at first seem normal and welcoming to the family, but things soon start to change. When Emily starts to manipulate the entire look of the house and destroys unknowingly what is a part of the villages history, the two boys are having numerous parties that go on into the early hours of the morning.The Dad builds a supermarket over the top of many local businesses.After all this the local inhabitants start to build up a hatred for the family and want them out immediety. When the family refuse, the people of the village result to more violent methods. With everyone in the village with the same point of view, even the police whats stopping them from doing anything? even murder!

Analysis of Questionnaire (Open discussion questions)

We used open and closed questions within our questionnaire to gather both qualitative and quantitative data.

Question 2 – What features in horror films are you interested in? Please explain.

Most popular requests
• Suspense,

• Tension,

• Psychological,

• Gore,

• Sex appeal,

• Familiar surroundings,

• Twists,

• Jumpy bits

• Blood.

Through this question we found that these aspects were the most popular suggestions in which people would like to see in a horror movie. The features people were interested in the least the were special effects and the gradual building of music. This has helped us gain knowledge into what our target audience wants to see so that they enjoy the movie which potentially will make our product a success.
3) What do you look for in a horror trailer? Please explain

Here is a summary of the response we received from this question:

• Damsel in dresses

• Suspense, fast paced, clues to narrative

• good plot

• Not so much revealed, hint at the plot

• Twisted ideas – issues that concern my demographic, things I can relate too e.g. Eden lake, working class ‘chavs’

• Mysterious killer

• Jumpy bits

• Makes me want to know more

• Building music- voice over
The results we received were largely what we expected. A few people said they were interested at issues/topics which related to their demographic. To us, this seems like good idea as the audience can then sympathise with the characters. As we plan to target a young audience, incorporating an issues witch relate young teenagers will be a good idea.
Question 5 – When on a date, do you look for anything particular in a horror? Please explain.

Most popular requests
• A scary moment

• Jumpy scenes

• Something that scares the girl
Through research we found that the most frequent audience that go to the cinema are teenage groups of girls, teenage group of boys between 16 and 25 and couples aged between 20 and 30. We took this into account and asked this question on how we can make our movie attract this audience. These were the most common answers in our results which show us that our movie has to be scary or ‘jumpy’ in order to appeal to a coupled audience.
Question 8 –Please note down any comments that you think might help us?

Most popular requests


• Should involve teenagers

• built tension

• handheld shots


This has influenced us to use teenagers in our teaser trailer. This is convenient for us and it will meets the needs of our target audience.

Questionnaire results (Bar Chart)

Questionnaire results (Bar Chart)

Group Moodboard

This is a group moodboard, we have put all our ideas together. We have done this so that it helps us to include everyones perspective and not just our own. This gives us a clear view on what to include in our trailer and overall makes it more complex and varied. I designed this on "Adobe Photoshop" and designed the layout so that I could fit as many ideas as possible on it. This was relitivly simple to create but is very effective also in helping us construct the final Idea.

Horror Moodboard

This is my Moodboard which shows all my ideas and views on horror trailers. I have focused on the elements that personally make up the horror genre for me. Well known characters such as Freddy Krueger and the two girls out of the shining are iconic horror villians that leaves an image in the minds of everyone who sees them, I feel that the characters play an enormous role in the films and are definetly one of the main aspects of making a horror. The settings that I have included also play a important part. One of the settings that I have included in my moodboard is the classic image of a haunted house. The appearence is well known all of the world and people link it primarily to horror films. Another image that features in my moodboard is vampires and werewolves, these are some of the original monsters and villians, this for me creates a major part of the horror genre.

Nightmare on elm street still

nightmare on elm street still
Originally uploaded by Daniel Harris8

 This is a still that I have analised from the film Nightmare on elm street. I feel that this is a very good horror shot and captures the atmosphere and mood of the scene.

The Role of the Distributor, Distribution plan and Marketing plan

The role of the distributor is very important and vital if the film is going to succeed. The distributer decides when and how the film is going to be released, this is done so its chances are optimised.The vast and ever expanding audience type makes it a difficult job for the distributor amongst other aspects, he/she cannot treat every films distribution the same. It would simply not work out. Every distribution plan is tailor made and personalised for the maximum success of the film, the distribution plan has to almost be perfectly organised and laid out so that the release of the film is suited to the audience. It has to consider mainly the demographics point of view with aspects such as age,gender,income... but also lifestyles,social networks,media consumption patterns etc as well.

The Marketing plan is very complex, and there is a lot to be considered. The aim of a marketing plan is to create visibility, raise awareness and engage interest. This can be done in a range of different and effective methods, this includes things such as; posters, adverts on television and the internet, free gifts, magazine and newspaper articles, interviews with the directors and cast, trailers etc... The marketing of the film has to be completed well to compete not only with other marketing plans but also other leisure activities. The aim is at the entire public audience and with there being more choices than ever before it is getting increasingly more difficult to attract even a small section. It is hard to communicate and target every audience because everyone is different and might not react to the same type of advertising. Older audiences may have seen a film advertised on the television or in a newspaper and react to it differently to a younger person seeing it on the internet, radio or on some form of advertising panel. There is one way of marketing a film that almost applies to everyone, this is word of mouth. Word of mouth seems to suit every audience in the way that the reputation of the film is spread from one person to another in a matter of minutes. This is also a very strong method of marketing and enables the person who has seen the film to give his/her opinion about weather it is worth seeing to multiple people in different audience type categories, if this person thinks of the film as good or even excellent this will have a positive effect of the amount of tickets sold.

"Dawn Of The Dead" Horror Teaser Trailer

House of fears teaser trailer (2008)

A nightmare on elm street (2010)

Vladimir Propp Narrative Structure (The Shining)

Vladimir Propp's narrative structure has its advantages and it disadvantages. There are points in the theory that are correct, and almost perfectly suit the structure of the film. This is for example "The hero is persued" This happens in the shining where Jack is chaseing Danny through the maze. There are also other points that are not only incorrect they seem to be misplaced within the structure, what I mean by this is for example "The hero is transferred to the general location of the object of his mission/quest" In the shining the character is already at the destination and has been there almost since the begining of the film, but in the structure it notes that the character should be transferred there almost three quarters of the way through. This example like a few others in Propps theory was incorrect, some more noticeable than others but still wrong. Overall this shows that Propps structure is very good at basic narrative structures but seems to struggle with more complex ones.

"Return of the Repressed"

The term "Return of the repressed" is theorised to be the existence of certain thoughts and feelings that eventually show their selves as symptoms if they are not discharged. They are expressed by a person almost subconsciously, The person would feel strongly about the matter all the time but not want to express it, instead they would find it shows as a reluctant erg.

Sorority Row Trailer (2009)

The reason that I have choosen Sorority Row is because it is a recent horror film with a good twist in the middle. It also targets a wide audience mainly teenagers Male and Female. Sorority row in my opinion uses all the correct conventions of the horror genre, and the trailer is designed very well to entice the viewer.