In my trailer I have used the normal conventions of a horror film by using logos of well-known successful companies e.g. UK Film Council and Lionsgate which give an immediate impression of this being a British independent horror film. It sets the scene ready for the trailer to begin. I start off with slower music and slower fade edits which is quite creepy and typical of a horror trailer. Approximately half way thorough the music changes to a faster beat, synchronous with the video as we see the headline of a newspaper with “Hunt For Serial Killer”. This gives the spectator more information about the film without giving away too much; a convention of any movie trailer. The video gets a bit faster however not fast enough which goes against conventions. However, if I were to do this again then I would make the trailer edits much faster here. The next part shows someone with a knife outside which reinforces the fact that it’s a horror film. Typical conventions of a horror include weapons and some sort of attack which is shown here. At the end I’ve made a shot which is stationary and a close up on the characters face to show fear and give the spectator nothing else to do but listen to his words “is he gone?” which continues to add information of the plot and categorise it as a horror. As the music track was fairly short I made it into a teaser trailer which just gives vague but important information points especially the title of the film. There’s no big star or director attached to this obviously so I needed to give the spectator something to remember. The title. This came before anything else as people might stop or look away from the trailer after the action is finished so to try to get them to pay attention to it I put it first. This is a common convention of movie trailers. Another convention I didn’t use but looking back I should have, is showing violence during the faster part of the trailer. I did show a knife and people being tied up however this wasn’t violent enough compared to what they would see in the actual film so it gives out a slightly different message to what I want. It’s a violent film which isn’t expressed in the trailer enough. Conventions I stayed away from was the use of a voice over and captions because a voice over can sound cheesy if it’s done wrong and I didn’t want it to feel like a documented event or a real event like a lot of horror films but more like something that happened under the radar and after deciding not to use captions it made my ideas for filming clearer as I needed to be able to show the audience rather than tell them what was going on. I used my research to help me learn about the conventions of horror films and general movie trailers which I have mostly followed for the trailer. I think most horror films are very similar as this is what is popular at the moment and is what people want or like to see. Although most people prefer something that is cutting edge and original, horror films are rarely like this and I wanted it to appeal to as many people as possible as there’s no big star or director involved so it’s better to stick to known conventions in this instance.

For my movie posters I did a bit of research looking at previous posters for successful movies and then ones of the horror genre to point me in the right direction. I planned some ideas and took the images for these and followed the plans which stick to poster conventions. Usually if there’s no well-known star then something else is used for the posters like a prop or the settings (Amityville Horror uses the house). I didn’t want to do this as I wanted the spectators to focus on the characters as this isn’t an action film but a character driven horror, so I sort of developed conventions to include unknown actors on the posters. For the rest of it I followed conventions by using dark lighting and unknown setting which added to the mystery and atmosphere. Using a muscular male holding a knife shows that it’s a horror which will contain violence and it’s a typical convention to show off the ‘bad guy’ as this is what attracts a lot of spectators. To counter this I used an image of the other character as being scared so if these posters are seen together it’s obvious who’s the one in an inferior position. This follows conventions because typically, it’s the female in the inferior position and a male in the dominating role. Typically, as with trailers there are teaser posters which come out either when production is still going or during the post-production stages to get people excited about the film and to give some information and get people looking out for it. I did exactly this with having one teaser poster in the final set and although in the real business there would probably be two or three posters one is enough for here. With the full posters I followed the usual conventions of having a main image, the title, a tag line and then credits or production company details. This gives a viewer all of the information they might need except a date which I could have added.

As with my other two products, I stuck to the conventions of real media magazines and used Empire magazine as my research and reference when thinking about how my cover should look. At first I created the main layout of the page but doing similar things and using my knowledge gained from the AS coursework to make it look realistic and attractive. This includes using tag lines, buttons and the type of language which would make it look interesting to a reader (“Exclusive” “First Peak” “Including!”). At the beginning I chose red for the magazines title because this is a colour most often found in film magazines and it looks dark and interesting along with the font I used. At first I had the title of the film in green because using a colour wheel the red and green should go well together without clashing. However, once I added the picture onto it I decided to change it to red so that there’s a full theme running throughout the cover and it also matched the red of the blood on the knife. The red stands out against the dark picture and the white text. It gives an eerie feel to the magazine and shows the film as a horror. It looks dark and threatening. I chose to use this image because it was one of the pictures I had used on my posters and I thought it would be good to have a noticeable theme running through the products so they look like they come from the same marketing campaign. The image is a little bit blurry and if I were to do this again then I could use a slightly different image so that the audience don’t get bored with seeing the same images. In a marketing campaign it’s important to show that the pieces match up and are part of the same film however they don’t want to see things being exactly the same as this would bore them. I did consider using the same font that I used in the posters for the cover as many film magazines do this to create synergy however I decided to go against this convention as it would have looked a little too much out of place. I thought it looked better and would have stood out and been more obvious if I kept the same theme for the magazine which is the red colouring with bold fonts. This makes the film title stand out on the page and attract readers to the magazine and the film.

Overall I haven’t really developed or changed the conventions used in horror film marketing products as the horror genre relies on the noticeable conventions to get their audience. A spectator doesn’t want to expect a horror film but get something different. Fans of the horror genre will recognise these conventions and even look out for them so for this project it is better to follow conventions and maintain the feeling of similarity for the spectator.

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

I think that my main product and ancillary texts are fairly effective because they follow conventions of a horror so it’s noticeable to the spectator what the genre is and will attract those fans. Also, they have a synergy because I made them to look similar so that they’re recognised as part of the same campaign as this is important to give the right message to a potential spectator. The trailer, as the main product, gives most of the information to the spectator so they know about the film, however it’s important to make sure that as many people as possible could see the marketing for the film so the posters are really effective in getting it noticed. As the posters are dark this shows the genre of the film as being something of a dark nature and the red on the knife makes this one stand out. Although the posters don’t show as much as the trailer does, if someone sees the poster they may find it looks interesting and will then seek out the trailer for more information. Not everyone pays attention to movie trailers, whether they’re in a cinema, the internet or on TV so the posters give the people who don’t usually use technology a way of finding out about the film. The posters basically add to what the trailer is doing and also draws people in to viewing the trailer. It’s fairly obvious that they’re part of the same campaign because I have used the same font and style for the title in the trailer as what I have for the posters. I did think about using the same font and style of the title that’s in the trailer for the magazine cover as many magazines use recognisable styles of a film for the cover so that it’s obvious they’re part of the same thing however I decided it would be better to stray from this convention as explained in the previous question. Out of my products, the magazine front cover is the least effective as I made it as a film magazine and most people who read film magazines watch trailers online, look out for new releases and use the internet to find out about films anyway so they could possibly already be aware of it however it would be good to give them extra information to make the film appeal to them and look interesting. This magazine cover doesn’t appeal to all people as it’s marketed towards film fans whereas I was trying to get as many people as possible aware of the film.

Overall I believe that the combination of my trailer, posters and magazine cover together are better than just one of them on their own because my products appeal to different sorts of people and are available to those who use the internet and to those that don’t. They have a synergy as they work together to reinforce the message and get as many people as possible viewing them. Although some parts are more effective than others at helping the other products, they all use each other to get the message about the film out.

3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

From my audience feedback I have learned that for the most part, people agree that the trailer, posters and magazine cover have synergy and are effective in showing the genre and narrative of the film. I have found out various things that I could improve if I had the time to continue this project such as adding more violence and sound effects to the trailer; using a better image for the magazine cover and by adding a date so that spectators know when to look out for it in cinemas. I have also found out that for most people it’s quite obvious what the film is about despite these points that I could change which shows I’ve developed from the draft trailer as people didn’t really know what it was about. 8/18 said that they would be interested in seeing it and although this is fairly low, it is possible that this could be down to the audiences genre preferences rather than the quality or how interesting my film actually looks. When evaluating the effectiveness of marketing with the general public, it is difficult to get reliable responses because usually if they don’t like the genre of the film they’re reviewing they give negative responses. The main part of the trailer that stood out was the music and the running feet which most people wrote about. This shows that they were both looking at the trailer and listening and were attracted to something of both so a general audience may do the same.

Finally, 15/18 said that they would expect to see products like this in cinemas and on street signs for real films that are being released. This shows that although the ones who aren’t interested in the horror genre still see that it looks fairly professional and realistic and is eye-catching so hopefully this would be the case with other spectators.

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

During the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages of this project I have used media technologies such as the internet to research previous films and watch trailers which was really helpful in giving me an idea of how to structure my own trailer. Similarly I looked at posters and magazine covers of similar styled products to help me make it look more professional. Part of my planning stages I used a video camera to practice what type of shots I could do on the camera and how I can plan a storyboard with all the relevant details before I begin to shoot anything. Throughout I have used the internet to find information on the horror genre and movie trailers in general which helped me to have a better idea of what would attract an audience. Another thing I did was used internet surveys to ask people what they would prefer to see in a horror film, how they think my draft trailer could be more attractive and finally what they thought of my final trailer. I used a computer to store all of my work and used Microsoft Movie Maker to actually piece the clips together to get the draft and final thing. Similarly I used Photoshop and Indesign to create the posters and magazine cover.

Over the time of this project I have improved my skills with filming and taking footage to use in a trailer by being able to get better lighting and angles. My photo taking has improved for the same reasons as the pictures I had taken for my posters were as good as I could get them so they could be ready to edit and not have to do too much to them. I have been using industry standard programs like PhotoShop and InDesign to help me create great products and improve my skills with these.

I would have liked to have used better editing software then Windows Movie Maker however the one at college was difficult to keep the work edited and quite a few people had lost the work they had done due to hard drive problems so I decided to skip all that and just do it with what I have. Overall I think I’ve done a decent job with this as I’ve worked hard to improve my skills and made sure I targeted the products at the audience I’d like for the film.

Questionnaire Sample:

Does the trailer; magazine front cover and posters all seem related to each other?

• Yes, Definitely

• Yes, Slightly

• Neutral

• No, Not Really

• No, Definitely Not

Can you see a running theme?

• Yes, Definitely

• Yes, Slightly

• Neutral

• No, Not Really

• No, Definitely Not

Do they look professional?

• Yes, Definitely

• Yes, Slightly

• Neutral

• No, Not Really

• No, Definitely Not

I will be getting the results soon.

I decided that I could use and image of one of the characters walking through a street alone to show that even if you think you’re alone people can still be watching or following you. I thought that it would fit the film very well.

When I added the image in I put it in to Fill the Frame Proportionately. Once seeing this I noticed that it didn’t really fit the theme or tone of the posters so began to think about what else I could do. This would have fit in with the first test poster that I did because they have the same tone and style. The colours are very similar with these.

I finally decided that I should put one of the images from the posters I had created because even though it’s the same as on of the posters, some film magazines have actually had covers like that:

• Indiana Jones
• Pirates of The Caribbean
• Hellboy 2
• Watchmen
• Wolverine
• Inglourious Basterds
• Avatar
• Kickass

I decided to change the colour of “Home” from green to red so that it has a better running theme of white, black and red. It makes the film look scarier and more violent. To enhance the writing I added some outer shadowing and an inner glow to make it look bigger and better.

This is my final Magazine Front Cover.

I decided to do a Film Magazine as this would be the most likely place that a picture for this type of film would be shown. I started off by coming up with a quick name and doing some designs on the title just to make it look different and stand out.

Next I added some tag lines about the main film. I used the colour green for the title because its a complementary colour to the red that I had chosen for the title. Red is a good colour because it can be associated with men and women so it’s a unisex magazine to get the most spectators possible.

Adding tag lines like “Exclusive” and “First Peak” will get the reader more interested in the film and wanting to find out about it. If a movie magazine has it featured on their front cover it will be something that they should check out. But by adding these words it’s more persuasive and intriguing.

To make it look more like a real magazine I put a button about “2010′s Hottest Young Stars” to show that there’s more in the magazine for the reader to enjoy. This is similar to why I’ve added the banner at the bottom with a list of top directors and actors. It makes the magazine look more interesting and like something people would want to read. If a reader isn’t particularly interested in the film, they might be interested in the other articles I’ve put on the cover and when they read the magazine might actually want to watch the film so it’s important to show the reader what else they can get. It’s a common convention of magazines.

To complete the realism, I added a barcode with a date so that it can be bought and a reader will know which issue it is. Also, most magazines have websites now so I’ve also added one for this.

This is the outline for the magazine. I created it in Adobe’s InDesign which is a leader in the media industry. My skills with this has increased from the AS year to now so I think I can do more things and make it look better than what I could do before.

Teaser:

Poster:

Secondary Poster:

I’m really happy with the way these posters turned out. They have been evaluated and you can find this in Production – Magazine+Posters – Posters.

I had to edit the layout of it so it’s done in a longer way than what I needed for the trailer. After I have added these to some of the posters I will be able to choose which one I want as my main piece.

To overcome this, I gained an image of a knife and cut it out using the lasso tool and changed the tone of it to fit with the main image. To make it look more like it belongs there I levelled it so it didn’t look so much out of place.

Thinking back to the poster I had created before, I remembered that I had added some bloodstains to the wall. I thought that to make the knife stand out a bit more I could add some blood splatters which will show that he’s not just holding a knife but willing to use it.

When adding it in I needed to make it look like the intruder was actually holding it so I scaled down and resized the knife so that it looks a realistic size and then changed the tone with the Hue/Saturation tool so it’s the same sort of colours and blends in well. I also cut out some of the knifes handle so it looked like he was holding it.

The next thing I thought was a good idea to do was adding some scars to his arms as he’s supposed to be a marine and a tough guy so will of course have some injuries. Unless he was Iron Man but he doesn’t have a suit so it would look natural and realistic.It gave him character.

I got some images of scars and then layered them onto his skin and changed the tone again so that it fits in and doesn’t look out of place. I used the Multiply tool to create some more and just put them at different areas to make it balanced.

I kind of got a bit too excited with the blood splatters and went over the top with the blood coming down off the hands. I want it to be subtle in the way it shows violence and not over the top and too gory so I’ve got rid of the extra blood and left only a little bit on the knife. Also, I used the font that I didn’t like too much and to keep with the continuity of the posters I’m going to keep it the same.

This one is a lot better and seems more interesting to me because it’s quite subtle and the image flows and looks real.

The next thing to do is to create a credits section which are usually found on the bottom of film posters.

In the one I chose the lighting looked better and he was also holding a knife which would make him look dangerous and violent. Firstly I cut him out of the image with the polygonal lasso tool as the lighting was too light and if I wanted it to be obvious that the posters were connected I had to make it darker. Also, the intruder is only inside the house when it’s dark. This was quite difficult as I kept cutting at the wrong areas or getting too much out. There were some parts that weren’t so clean but I was just going to try and darken these areas and blend them a little bit. It was quite annoying.

I added a dark layer in black with the intruder so that I could make him look as if he’s coming out of the shadows. I wanted him to look violent and anonymous which I mentioned earlier on when I first took the images. It makes the character better and scarier because you don’t know what you’re facing.

As the person in this picture is quite slim he didn’t look exactly how I wanted the intruder to look so I used the Liquify tool to make his arms look bigger and stronger as if he were a marine. His hands do look quite odd because I couldn’t make them bigger without ruining it and making it look stupid but I think it would look worse if I had the character as slim.

To continue on with the theme from the last photo I added the same grungy effect and decreased the saturation so it appeared more black and white. To make it look colder I added a blue tone to it. I think this represents the character well because to be a serial killer you have to be cold and detached.

(Above) Rough stage before I had darkened the whole image.

(Above) This is what I have completed today. I will revise it another day to see if there’s anything that I could improve.

In previous posts I mentioned that I couldn’t download the ones I wanted from dafont so I looked through what PhotoShop had and tried some of them out but I found a good one that I liked called “Chiller”.

I liked this font because it looked like it had been scribbled or written in blood and it wasn’t as eerie as I had first imagined I wanted the font to be but I think this one shows a sort of disorganisation.

Obviously because the background was black I was going to use something that stood out from that. Originally I thought about doing it in blood red (like what I had done on the practice I did in InDesign) but I didn’t want it to look too over the top and like a cheap independent horror film so I went against that and decided it would look eerier in white.

The title looked a little bit too white so I added a layer onto it with another grungy texture which I had used yesterday for the whole image. This made it look much better. I just wanted to test what it would look like if I added some blood splatters to the title and the characters face and saved some copies of these with the title and tag line but it looked better without. I wanted it to be quite subtle.

With a different font and blood splatters across it. I think the top one looks the best as this font is a little bit too comical and big and the blood splatter looks out of place. It doesn’t look as scary as I wanted it to be.