Conventions of a teaser trailer.

Trailer.
The conventions of a teaser trailer are that they are short in length and contains the title of the film. Most teaser trailers do not contain much footage from the film itself but instead short clips. Lots of teaser trailers have slides with short sentences used to 'tease' the audience. These slides give the viewer a little more information of the plot accompanied with some shots form the film. The purpose of a teaser trailer is to entice the audience, to grab their attention making them want to watch the film. A teaser trailer contains the date of the film, however sometimes not the specific date adding to the suspense. It can be seen a long time before the film is released. A teaser trailer helps hype the upcoming film, this way the film gains interest and becomes a talking point. The fact that it is shown way before the release date gives the film the power as the viewers are left wanting more. When making my teaser trailer, i will keep it short and use only small pieces of action so to grab the attention of the audience. I want my viewers to be on edge but also enticed.

Film magazines.

When completing my film magazine front cover I will use all of the codes and conventions. I have looked at 3 magazine covers to see how the films are presented and why.

This copy of Total film magazine is for the film 'Adjustment bureau'. The masthead takes up the top third of the page and is dominated by the main image. This shows signs of how well known Total film is that it is confident enough that the loyal reader's will recognise the magazine regardless of it being covered up or not. The date, issue number and website are underneath the masthead providing the reader with all the information they need to know about Total film. The bar code lies in the bottom right hand corner. This is away from the cover lines etc. The caption above the masthead, 'The modern guide to movies' is the magazine proclaiming how good it is. It sets itself apart form other film magazines making it unique. This could entice reader's to buy the magazine as they can be assured of its greatness. The main image and the only image shows the two main characters of Adjustment bureau. The image is intriguing as they seem in a rush and in their own world. The shadows in the background add to the mystery and leave the reader asking questions, why are the characters running, who are the mystery figures. The colour of the character's clothing ties in with the colour of the cover lines and masthead. This kind of makes them a part of the magazine which re enforces the fact that they are in some sort of trance. The male character is presented as dominant as he takes the lead and the female follows behind. Against the blue background the white and red writing stand out which draws the reader's attention to the main cover lines. The PUGS/PUFFS used are 'First looks' 'The world's best movie reviews' 'World exclusive' and 'Heads up our massive preview' They manage to make the magazine seem like it can give more than other film magazines and as though it is superior to them. The tag 'Spider man real steel' is something which will catch the reader's attention.






This issue of Empire magazine focuses mainly on The girl with the dragon tattoo. The masthead is in red making it stand out. The masthead is also dominated by the main image. The price and date can be found above the 'M' in the masthead. This is because it is a convenient place to put it and that was does not interfere with any of the magazines main cover lines. The bar code is in the right corner. I like the simplicity of this magazine cover. The main image is one that represents power to the character standing up. The low angle shot of the two main characters
makes them appear as though they are looking down on the reader. I like the fact that the colours do not quite match which suggests a rebellious move from the magazine which could reflect the nature of the film. The scrawled pink font makes the magazine appear rough around the edges which gives it personality but also makes it seem personal to the reader. This could persuade the reader to buy the magazine. The PUGS/PUFFS are 'The world's biggest movie magazine' 'The icon unveiled!' 'The only magazine on set' Only is underlined for effect. The use of exclamation marks at the bottom of the page, 'PLUS!' etc gives the magazine an enthusiastic edge and once again makes it look like it has more to offer.

This cover of Empire magazine is clearly dominated by the one film King Kong. I like the fact that this is an issue dedicated to one film and that the cover can concentrate on the one film. This allows the cover to capture the personality of a film, which I this this cover has done really well with The masthead is dominated and the price and date squeezed in above the M again. The bar code is in the top half this time and part of the E on the end of Empire has gone. This shows the destructive behaviour of the gorilla and the damage left behind. The pose of the gorilla is also one of anger and recklessness. The way the gorilla is coming out of the sides of the border suggests he will go beyond boundaries and cannot be kept captive as the caption suggests. The fact that the O is missing from Kong yet we still know which film the magazine is referring to shows what a well known film it is and knowing this the magazine has took chances with removing letters confident the reader's will know the film. The colour scheme is simple but again does not match mirroring the behaviour of the gorilla. The word exclusive is used to grab the reader's attention.

I think when making my own magazine cover I will be careful to use the right language and PUGS/PUFFS. I also will follow a colour scheme to make it look as professional as possible.

Secondary research.

''Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotion from viewers, by playing on the audiences primal fears.'

The genre of horror is one which sets out to make the audience feel uneasy. By studying various film trailers and posters it has helped me to see various ways that this is possible. I have looked into products which I hope to base mine on and look at the main features.

The term "horror movie" first appeared in the writings of critics and film industry commentators in response to the release of Universals Dracula (1931) . Horror films deal with the viewer's nightmares, hidden worst fears and terror of the unknown. From my results on my questionnaire I have decided that my trailer must contain all the conventions but also keep my audience guessing by not giving too much away. When making my trailer I will keep the above quote in mind.

Trailer and film poster research.

The Woman.
The woman is a film about a family man who captures the remaining member of a 'wild clan' he takes her as an 'experiment' in which he wants her to be civilised. However, this backfires and puts his family in danger. Below is the poster for this film. I will analyse this along with the trailer.

I think this poster, although quite simple is very clever and effective. The white background suggests purity and innocence. However, the black splashes suggest that the character in the poster has tainted the view of women being pure and innocent. The way the title 'the woman' is in red to me suggests that it portrays qualities a woman could stereotypically have such as passion, it is also a very feminine colour which obviously contrasts with the character that we see in the poster, The red could however have the obvious connotations with horror films such as death, danger and blood. The fact that it could have two different connotations could suggest we sometimes have the wrong preconcieved ideas of people. Like stereotypical views, we could associate all women with being passionate and feminine, however this is not always true. There could be women outside of the stereotype, women can be presented as dangerous. As this may not be the first thing associated with women it proves not only looks but stereotypes too can be decieving. Also it means the viewer can choose how and why they interpret it that way. The fact that 'woman' is in a bigger font re enforces the gender of the charcter and suggests they should behave in the stereotypical way. The caption beneath 'Not every monster lives in the wild.' This suggests that there is more to the character than meet the eye. It entices the audience as it shows there is a story to tell behind her appearence. Not only does the charcter look unkempt but she could be dangerous as the poster suggests a 'monster'. The line 'They don't all live in the wild suggests the 'monster' will be invading somebody's 'normal' life unexpectadly. It also suggests to me that we think of monsters as not existing in the real world but only in children's stories. The caption suggests we are ignorant as to what we would class as a monster. It doesn't mean they ahve to be green or not human, it can simply mean they have monstrous behaviour. This also again presents the woman as being unladylike and that she is capable of commiting acts that are monstrous. We are aware that the type of people branded as 'monsters' by the media are usually murders etc, so we know the woman is evil. I like the fact that the film is based on a woman being the 'villain' as it is stereotypically a male. I think the film is out to break many stereotypes. The 'W' the character is photographed inside of could stand for women. The fact that the edges are jaggered could suggest that she is not feminine and she has a 'sharp' personality or mannorisms. It also suggests she has control and power, something we do not often see in females starring in films. It could mirror the action that will occour in the film. It also seems as though she is trying to break free, this could suggest she is breaking through the view of stereotypical views on women. The photograph itself the way the woman is posing suggests she has power and that she is aware of that fact. The way her eyes are looking up at the camera in any other photograph of a woman could be classed as a provacative pose, here it reminds us of her power. The shot is kind of overhead. This could mirror the fact that she is an experiment and people looking down at her. It is almost as if she is an animal. The fact that she stares up shows that she is not intimidated and is aware that she is different. It looks as though she has a slight smile on her face which could mean sheenjoys the attention. The way we only sees half of her face sugegsts not only that she is hiding something but that she is in control of what emotions etc she displays. It could alsobe to entice the audience to watch the film to see what she is hiding. The make up which makes her look dirty could reflect her lifestyle. She looks like she has blood on her mouth which yet again represents her as being dangerous.

The trailer starts with a fade into a large family home. It is a summer's day and the colours are greens, browns and whites which suggest a calmness. It looks like a regular family home. The car parked outside looks as though the family are unloading their shopping. This is effective as it acts as the 'calm before the storm' slowly leading the audience into the main storyline. The music palying is upbeat and everything seems right. The fade into a mid shot of the couple smiling and drinking represents them as leading normal happy lives. The slide 'They were an ordinary family' first of all the writing doesn't seem to reflect the happy music and could be likened to the font used for newspaper headlines, this could suggest this is the sort of story to be seen in newspapers. The way the statement is in the past tense also leaves a sense of foreboding. The balck background makes the writing stand out and the way some of the letters are faded could suggest that there is now something missing from their lives. The over the shouder shot of the family eating dinner, the atmosphere seems tense and the father is obviously in control. However, it could be a shot from many households. The trailer is obviously trying to show how normal the lives of the family were. Whilst there are shots of family activites such as the mother sowing, the daughter working there is also snippets of conversation such as 'fed the dogs yet' palced over the shots to cram in as much as possible how normal the lives are. 'With ordinary lives' this again re enforces the point that they are a normal American family. The clothes worn by the family are what you would typically expect them to be wearing. The father wears a shirt which I feel represents him as having authority. The mother appears timid in a summer dress. The mid shot of the father and son dressed in combat clothes represents them as having a close bond as they partake in activites together. However this shot all the colours are green and dark. This suggests a turning point in the trailer and highlights it as a significant moment when things are about to change. The dark colours give off a eerie feeling. When we first see 'The woman' we are aware that this is the swift in the story by the music. There is a drastic change and the music alerts us that this woman is important. I think this highlights how important music will be in my trailer. The music can completely change the mood of a trailer and can impact on an audience's feelings. I think that when choosing my music I will choose parraliell music so that it mirrors the action. The music steadily builds the audience up for the climax. After the first shot of 'The woman' the atmosphere changes dramatically and the mood becomes tense. The music build up on the slides of 'until' 'he' 'bought' 'her' 'home' and then gradually comes back down. I believe that the words come up one buy one to emphasise the effect she will have on the household. The way the words heavily come onto the screen could mirror the damage she will do. The shots of her in the 'wild' show us short snippets of her natural life. The father's face is interesting when he sees her for the first time. The woman to us could be any normal person swimming, however, the close up reveals the recognition on the Father's face. The shot from in front of the gun allows us to emphasise with woman. As the music stops, the noise of the reel being pulled is a sound bridge to the woman slowly being pulled upwards. It is a slow part of the trailer and a part where the audience to the trailer would not be sure what is going on. The flash then leads to a shot of the family who look distressed by their Father's findings. I think this lets us know more about the power posistions and the father is placed on the floor lower than the others however he obviously has more power than all them put together. The realisation that maybe they are not such a perfect family afterall is when he calls her 'our project'. The medium close up of the 'woman' allows us to see her fully for the first time and as the camera zooms out we get to see 'the project'. The music is again picking up pace and as many trailers do it ends with the woman screaming. This puts the audience on edge and also in a way proves itself as a horror film, that it is able to scare the viewers, making it sucessful. I think the trailer is longer than mine however the best part of it is the pace of the editing and the music. I will be using these things in my trailer to attempt to make it successful.

Research reults and initial ideas.

This graph shows the ages of the people involved in my survey.
There were 2 people aged 16, 2 people aged 17, 3 people aged 18 and 3 people aged over 18. I decided to use this selection of people because I think my trailer will be directed at people over 16. Also I wanted a selection of views from different ages as they will have different opinions and I think it will be interesting to see the different views.

I decided i would hand my questionnaire to 5 females and 5 males. This way I would be able to get an equal view from both genders. I wanted to see if the stereotypical view that males would prefer horror films is correct.

The majority of people watch films fortnightly followed by monthly. Some people added that this may be broken if there is a paticular film they want to see out.

The results show that the people I interviewed most enjoy wathcing horror and comedy films.

When asked if they would view the trailer before viewing a film 60% said they would do so, where as 40% answered with sometimes or no.
When asked what the first thing was noticed about a film poster 50% answered the character/picture. 40% answered the name of the film and 10% answered the colour.
When asked what colours they would associate with horror films, the answers were;
Black, red, blue, green and silver.
When asked if they would see a film based on the poster the majority, 70%, answered yes. 20% answered maybe and 10% answered no.
The thing that was most effective on a film poster according to the 10 people I asked was;
The colours, the picture, the font, a review and how professional it looks.

Initial ideas.

I think that I am going to base my film in a house. I want to get the message across that the main character feels safe in her home and any upset is unexpected.
Props used will probably be things such as a mobile phone a knife etc.

Start.
The basis for my film is a teenage girl who's parents have gone away for the weekend of halloween. Getting many calls from her parents as it is the first time she is home alone she assures them that she is fine. The girl gets another phonecall from her mother asking her to check the doors are locked. The girl does so and leaves the keys on the kitchen side. Carries on as normal.

As it begins to get dark outside the mother phones again and asks her to check the doors are deffinitely locked although she knows they are she gets up to check anyway and the door is open. Thinking it is strange locks herself in again puts keys down. Figure appears and takes keys as we see girl going upstairs. Girl is killed and killer sends a text to 3 of the victims friends to come over. When they arrive the front door is open they walk in and go into kitchen they hear door slam and the lock being locked. Thinking it is the girl joking they go upstairs but find her dead.

Three girls then are locked in house trying to get out, 2 die one survives, cuts back to the first girl asleep on the sofa she wakes up and it was a nightmare. she checks the locks and the door knocks she rushes to the door opens it and the murderer from the nightmare is there (we see his face for the first time) he says trick or treat as he presents a knife.

Scream 4 poster.

As scream is a well known film anyway, there is not much need for a poster to go into detail. The film makers can be confident enough that the fans of the film will come and see the film regardless. Therefore, the poster is simple yet effective. The tag line, New decade. New rules.' This lets the viewer know that in the new film there will be twists 'new rules'. The mask is so well known that there is no need for the shot to be head on as we as an audience are aware what the mask is like. Therefore, this side shot of the mask is almost telling the audience we will see a new side to Scream in this new film. The way the end of the mask is made to look like a knife incorporates the violence of the film. It sends the message out that although the film is changing we should still expect the violence. The knife also illustrates the power the mask has. The darkened edges of the poster allow the mask to stand out. Also the fact that we can not see any ends to the mask means that he can appear from no where unnoticed and we will never know who he is. This also leaves the audience on edge as they want to know who is causing the damage etc. The red writing has the connotations of blood and death which is inevitable in Scream. The A in scream being a 4 reminds the audience that this is a knew film and things will be different.

The hills have eyes.

When looking for the first time at this poster the first things that are immediately visable are the girl with the hand on her face and the the title. The title stands out because 'hills' and 'eyes' are bigget than 'the' and 'have' suggesting they are the main words. To me it gives the feeling of being watched and there are people in the hills watching the characters because normally you wouldn't associate the hills having eyes. The way the arm blends in with the background suggests that who ever is doing the damage has remained unnoticed as they casually blend in with the background. This could also suggest what they are doing (murdering people) could be going unnoticed aswell. This poster to some extents uses the basic horror film poster conventions as the one main character is posistioned in the middle of the poster and the girl is the one in danger. This slightly stereotypical that she is helpless. The close up of her face shows her emotions. Although she looks terified it also seems as though she has resigned to the fact that she is going to die as she looks as though she has given up. The way everything kind of blends into the background suggests that what is going on could be done near us as it is so sutle that nobody would notice. This makes the audience question how safe they are. The colours used are a pale white/yellow which gives the poster a look of distortion and makes it look old. The gesture the strange arm is doing to the face could be a gesture of love from a mother to a child, however it is clear by the look on the the face of the girl that she does not trust this person and she is uncomfortable. The look given from her eyes makes the audience want to see who she is looking at and why they are making her feel uncomfortable. This leaves the audience in suspense. It could persuade them to see the film so they can find out who is inflicting the pain. The tag line is very clever, 'The lucky ones die first' this kind of takes a dig at other horror films saying to the audience be under no illusion that this is like any other kind of horror films, the lucky ones will die first however we will make it hard for the ones who manage to survive. It kinds of gives the film more power as though it is above the rest.

Poster analysis

As my genre is horror i have decided to look at various different horror film posters. I am going to look for the links between them which will help me when creating my own film poster as I will know what a typical horror poster includes.

Friday the 13th

One of the things i have noticed about this poster, which happens in quite a few horror posters, is that the edges of the poster is darker than the rest. I think this very effective as it draws the viewer's attention to the middle poster which is ussually where the main character is posisitoned. As well as focusing on the middle in makes the lighting used more effective as it stands out. I think i would deffinitely use the black around the edges of the poster because it also adds an eerie feeling and acting as a border it suggests everything inside is tainted by this colour. The main colour used in this poster is a dark black/grey colur. This gives the poster a cold feeling and obviously makes the audience aware of what genre the film is. The white writing, 'Welcome to the crystal lake' stands out against the black as it is in white writing. White has connotations of purity and innocence. This suggests that the horror of Friday the 13th movie starts completly innocently until innterrupted by the figure underneath the writing. The shot of the main character (who is posistioned in the middle) is a low angle shot also could be considered as a point of view shot from another character, prehaps a victim. I think this because the floor and actors feet and the ground, suggesting somebody is cowering on the floor. This type of shot is really effective because it gives the character lots of power. It emphasises the size of him which is also helped by the trees next to him. The way the character stands is firm and confident, this represents him as knowing he is in control and the power he posseses. The light and smoke around him presents him as being a God like figure which suggests he has the power to end people's lives. The way he is blocking the sunlight from being in the picture suggests he has bought darkness into this place. It gives a sense of foreboding of what is to come. It also suggests he controls who and what enters the location , this could relate to him killing people. Due to the way the shot has been taken it places the audience beneath him, at his mercy which once again highlights the power he holds. Even thought the character wears a mask we get the feeling that he is staring right at us. The mask conceals the killer's emotions which leaves us in suspense as we want answers to questions such as, why is he doing this?, what is he feeling? The red writing of 'Friday the 13th' is in bigger red font. This gives off connotations of danger, blood and death which links into the prop of the knife which causes those things. The other writing is white as it is not as important as the rest of the poster and therefore does not take the attention away from the more important parts. However, the date is in red. This is because it is released on February the 13th which links in with the title. This suggests that by going to see the film, the audience will be in danger. It acts almost as a challenge and makes the poster personal.

Today I have been trying to gather information about my target audience. This will then help me to know who I am aiming my trailer at. I decided the best way to gain this information was to get a questionnaire. I decided I would ask 5 boys and 5 girls so that it was fair.

1) How old are you?

2)Are you male or female?

3)How often do you watch films?

4)What is your favourite genre of film?

5)Do you watch a film trailer before going to see the film?

6)What is the first thing you notice about a film poster?

7)What colours would you consider to be related to horror films?

8)What would attract you to watch a film the most from a trailer?

9)Would you see a film based on the poster?

10)What do you think is most effective on a film poster?

I decided that by not putting options it allows people's opinions to be clearer and would help me more with research.

The last house on the left.

The last house on the left is a horror film which was released in 2009, it was a a re make of the 1972 film. I have chosen to analyse this film poster because I believe the poster is simple yet effective.

The black background immediately sets the seen for the poster, letting the viewer know it is a horror film. As the background is black, it allows the white writing to stand out and the red writing is what catches the viewer's eye. Red has connotations of danger and this poster the red writing looks like blood which communicates the fact that bad times are to come. The fact that no characters are on the poster, I think is intriguing as there is no indication to what may have happened or what will happen and we are unsure to who will be involved. The cloud over the house leaves a sense of foreboding which hangs over the house. The trees which surround the house also add an eerie feeling as the house seems quite and isolated. The simple question at the bottom of the poster is the only insight we get as a viewer to what might happen in the film.

'If bad people hurt the people you love, how far would you go to hurt them back?'

This question leaves the audience questionning their own emotions, what would you do and how would you react? I think this a good film poster because it does nto give much away at all, however it still leaves the audience questionnign what they know, this is a sign of how powerful a film poster can be. The poster helped me see that simplicity may be the key to my film poster.

Types of horror.

There are many types of horror films which come into different catergories. These can be; psychological, true stories, religious and gore.To make my trailer a success I need to think about what the purpose of a horror film is. As well as scaring the audience I believe horror films also invoke our fears as well as captivating and entertaining the audience. Most horror films end shockingly. Firstly I need to think what would potentionally scare people, what they are afraid of. Things such as spiders, rats and clowns can scare people however things that scare people and are more commonly seen in horror films are death, blood, darkness and the terror of the unknown. I think stereotypically, most horror films have a main character which ends up surving and they are usually a fight between good and evil. These are things I will keep in mind when making my trailer. Some things I think I need include in my trailer is different camera angles to include and exclude parts of the narrative as this will hook the audience. I think a good soundtrack will help build tension and indicate scarier parts of the trailer. The editing of my trailer will not only help build the tension and quicken or slow down the pace but make my trailer look more professional and sleek.