Questionnaire Results

Here are the results from our questionnaire posted, the results shown influenced our final media product; we questioned 40 people 1) Are you male or female

Male                                     16

Female                                 24

2) How old are you?

16-19                                   40

3) Do you think age is an important factor in horror films?

Yes                                      35

No                                        5

4) What locations do you associate with slasher horror films? here are a few sample answers which where given;

Graveyard

Woods

Isolated houses (haunted)

5) Does a sense of isolation help create the element of fear?

Yes                                   40

No                                     0

6) Which settings would you associate with the feeling of isolation? here are a few given sample answers;

Woods

Basement

A Dark room

Field

7) In slasher films a convention is mask or hidden identity, what type of mask would help create a sense of horror? here are a few sample answers;

Gas mask

Hockey mask

Bandana

Hat / Hoody

Balaclava

8) What elements do you think make a slasher film? here are a few sample answers given;

Violence

Sense of innosense

Young Victims

Isolated location

9) How many horror films have you seen in the last month?

0-5                                   37

06-11                                0

12 - 17

Conclusion

The results from the questionnaire told us that the most effective mask to use for the villain is a gas mask, when questioned “In slasher films a convention is mask or hidden identity, what type of mask would help create a sense of horror?” 17 people said gas mask followed by hockey mask.  We then researched various forms of gas masks and then decided to use a gas mask from world war two this also helped set our narrative plot.

When questioned “Do you think age is an important factor in horror films?”35 out of 40 people answered yes; from this we decided to use victims similar to the target audience’s age so they can relate to the victims easier and help create a detailed sense of sympathy.

“Does a sense of isolation help create the element of fear?” 100% answered yes, we knew from this that isolation would be a key element in our film and made effective by combing this with the villain. We carried this out by the use of camera shots, framing and lighting, we used a mid shot to frame the villain in the centre of the screen and dark lighting so that the main focus is on the villain, both of these combined helped create an effective sense of isolation.

Font ideas for Poster/Teaser trailer

Theses are a few of the fonts that we have considered using. Some of them show up all blured on the macs so we had to choose a vaariation so that we can try and see which one looks the best on the mac as well as our poster.

Tag line

When i was researching our film name i came across the word 'company', another word for the army, which inspired the thought of a tag line 'youve got company'. After giving the line a bit more thought we agreed on adding in an extra part making it 'You know when youve got company'. we agreed this was a good tag line and we liked how well it had a connotation to the army.

Poster Idea

Name Ideas/ Agent Fifteen

When researching a name for our film we came across the name blood agent, which is a toxic chemical agent used in warfare, this is highly relevant to our plot whilst creating an ominous effect, we researched further and came across the name agent fifteen. In February 1998, the British Ministry of Defence released an intelligence report that accused Iraq of having stockpiled large amounts of a glycolate anticholinergic incapacitating agent known as Agent 15.  The chemical agent 15 is an incapacitating agent which was widely used in chemical warfare, and when used in large quantities can lead to death but when used in small quantities can lead to Mydriasis, Blurred vision Dry mouth, skin, Initially rapid heart rate declining to normal or slow heart rate over time and Possible flushing of the skin. With the use of a gas mask for our main villain this has connotations of war which links the Title in with the plot.

How to do it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGT5z9G1L4c

Here is a 'How to' video that i used to help me try and create a website for our teaser trailer. It helped me to decide that dreamweaver was very time consuming and quite complicated, which isnt very fitting whith the time i have got.

Poster Edit 1

This our first edit of our poster image. I have chosen an army looking font but i am not too sure how well it works. There are some other fonts yet to try out for this though.

Poster image idea

This is one of the gas mask images we have decided that we could use. We have chosen this image because we feel it is very powerful through its vibrant red and deep black colours of the picture. This could potentially be a successful image for our poster.

Production Logos

I researched various production logos, such as Lionsgate Entertainment, Warner brothers, Columbia production, and Paramount pictures. Rather than looking for a production logo that was generic I looked for logos which had been edited to suit a horror film. E.g. A Walt Disney pictures production logo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8BYaTIWX1U   wouldn’t be appropriate for a film such as Nightmare on Elm Street.                    A production logo which came up perfect for a slasher horror film was Lionsgate.                                                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaqRwg2GP6w .

The Lionsgate production logo starts off with a panning shot of industrial cogs, it then zooms out through a lock on a door, the doors then swing open and the Lionsgate logo appears behind the door. The background against the Lionsgate logo is almost as if you where entering into another realm and the atmosphere building up throughout the sequence sets the tone for that realm.  Throughout the sequence there is low profile lighting and orange lighting has been used to help set a horrific atmosphere .

Websites

Websites are judged in 5 catagories:

1. Functionality.
2. Design
3. Content
4. Origanality
5. Overall effectiveness

1. Functionality is access, target audience, speed, legality.

2. Design is typography, artistry, user friendlyness, clarity and aesthetics.

3. Context is purpose, information, verbal expression, attention to detail.

4. Originality is animation, quality of predicted search, distinctiveness (what you last remember?)

5. Overall effectiveness is how effective it is as a whole.

When creating a website you need to focus on the main content of the website. Elimenate any unnescerssary links/information. Make sure everything you do has a purpose and is deliberate.

Predators Website Deconstruction

On the Predators website the background has been taken from a scene within the film, this helps set an expectation for the audience; what type genre to expect. The characters in the background are all wielding heavy guns which make them appear highly masculine, this is also supported by the fact that they are all wearing army uniforms; they are standing as if they are being hunted by something as they are all looking all over the place.The main selling point is clearly the predators DVD and blue ray, the character on the far right has his gun positioning down towards the text which states own it now on blu-ray and DVD using this presentational device helps draws attention to the advertisement text.The colour scheme is red, black and white which has connotations of gothic horror, which adds the effect of the website.

   

The Predators iPhone app is also a selling point; the availability of it is wide amongst the apple products which support it. The page for advertising it has a simple a colour scheme and isn’t overcrowded, which could suggest the application is straight forward and easy to use appealing to a mass audience.

SAW 4 Teaser Trailer Deconstruction

The saw teaser trailer opens in a dark isolated room, with a green filter over the lens to help create mystery and also too add an eiree effect to the scene, there is also  low profile lighting to help add to the horror effect. The words “on October 26th” is shown across the screen, the words are white against a plain background, which focuses the reader’s attention on the text as there is nothing to distract the audience.                                                                                                                                      After this scene, clips from the film are projected onto a brick wall this is effective as you don’t see the scenes directly which gives the effect of isolation and secrecy, the light rays from the projector can be seen which makes the audience feel that they are put in a position to watch people suffering at someone else’s expense, which is key to the saw films. The pace and the length of the clips suggest that the film is fast paced which starts drawing in a target audience for the film. Also with the length of the scenes being short not too much of the plot is given away, which is vital in a teaser trailer. One of the clips projected onto the wall is a clip of the jigsaw mask which is iconic to the saw films, this tells the audience to expect the classic convections of the previous saw films.  There is intense music in the background which helps with the overall flow of the teaser trailer.

Towards the end of the teaser trailer there is a voice over which prepares the audience to expect the generic conventions of the saw films.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIULC91UChA  

The Crazies website

On this website i found the typography very realavent to our genre 'Slasher'. one point of the typography on this website that specifically caught my eye was the'help us' written on the road sign, it is in a very scratchy text and on in a very dark red like blood. We could include a text like this in our media production because it can be very easy to do and very effective. The points of the text are sharp and pointed creating  chilling feel when its read showing that it is a succsesful piece of typography.

Here you can see the link labelled 'Feature' after you click on it with the mouse as it isinteresting and creative beacuse it shakes about before turning red like in the picture below. If we could incorperate something like this into our media production this would make it a lot more interesting and would attract the viewer in a better beneficial way. 




Here is the transition between screens once you have clicked on a link. It is hard to work out what it is but it keeps the veiwer interested inbetween the transition therefor keeping all the attention on the screen making this an effective succesful website.

 



 

1day website deconstruction

The enter screen for the 1day website highlights that the film has connetations of high forms  aggression. The main central figure focuses the audiences attention and also to text , which also lays in the centre of the page. The colour sheme is mainly black and orange , the use of the colour orange against the black background represents the intensity of the poster. The overall colour scheme is kept simple with black and white in most of the poster this could represent that the film takes place in an everyday setting.

The main page for the 1day website advertises the varity of media that it uses such as mp3s, downloadables etc which engages the auidence and attract an auidence.The facebook logo in the left hand corner shows how uptodate with technology they are and also helps build up a customer base.

Meat Cleaver Images

 

This is the meat cleaver that we have got to use in our media production. It is perfect for what we are trying to archieve because it will be easy to reflect light off of although trying to get an image of the gas maks may be cfhallenging.

As you can see from this picture the knife picks the light up well. In the actual media production this knife will be effective because it looks very sharp and deadly to the bare flesh. You can see a clear image of this causing a lot of damage to ahuman being.

Typography

Typography is not just lettering written down. It is lettering that has been drawn in a certeain way, commonly used in posters and websites in the media industry.
In typography you get lettering that has a serif or sans-serif which doesnt have a sreif for example in the picture below.

With typography you have to focus on the image created so you have to think carefully about the choice of colour, style, clarity, mood created, size and shape .i.e. a smaller font would draw the viewer into the image.
Typography can also be used as a brand in a way, symbolising a film or a company. You can see this in magazines such as Total Film and Empire as they always have the same typograohy positioned in the same place almost symbolising the magazine. This is how you can link typography from a film trailer to a poster and website succsesfully.
It is here when you can include the colour schemes reflecting a genre and create very strong moods and feelings from film posters.

Casino Royale Website

 On this James Bond Casino Royale website i become fond of the layout. I was interested into the way you are made to feel like you are playing poker against Bond but choosing from the links which are poker chips and cards, also aspects to the game.The fact that it is all very classy looking shows strong connotations to a Bond film which would inspire our website to be very clear in its connotations.



In this screenshot you can see that when you hover over an object with the mouse a blue link bar appears with text. In this case it is the card that is highlighted and as you can see in the screen shot it lifts up giving the audience a feel of interactiveness.The website also takes up the whole screen keeping the viewer focused on the links and being fully enticed into the screen. Another feature on this website is when you move the mouse over the text it scatters into a mix of different random letters before one by one re spelling out the original word. I find this inspiring because it keeps the viewer completely interactive with the website.    



Friday 13th Website

http://www.fridaythe13thmovie.com/index2.html#/epk/film/

On this website there is a clear unique selling point as you can see the advertisement for the DVD is the main point on this website homepage. The homepage also has a scroll bar with information about the DVD showing all of its extra features to entice the audience into taking a further interest into the film. The menu bar is shown on a drop down image of a rotten piece of wood when the mouse hovers over it. This is effective as it makes the viwer feel they are interactive to what they are doing.
The homepage clearly has the 'Friday the 13th' heading to state the title acting as a branded logo.
Another feature on this website is when you move the mouse to any direction on the screen the background image slightly moves in the same direction.

As you can see from the picture above the headings advertising the DVD is shown on every page of the website. The movie title is also shown in the same way by being placed on every page of the website.
I took this screenshot showing the transition from page to page as you can see, shows blood fill the page until blank before opening the next page. This inspiring as you feel like even between pages you are interested to continue looking at the screen as if the creator never wants your eyes to leave.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 Teaser

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REy7i-odnv4

The teaser trailer starts off with a black screen with the viewing age 'no one under 17 permitted to view' suggesting the film is very graphic, but also stating its target audience 17+.
The non diagetic sound of the narrator then interrupts the silence to describe the re appearance of the killer. After that an ere sound is played through out the trailer that helps to create that uncomforting atmosphere.
The shot then shows a close up of something but it is too close to work out what the camera is focusing on but it is clear what ever it is its metallic. The lighting is very dim and works well with the little light there is on these shiny metal objects creating a very cold and heartless feel for the audience watching.
It then shows a cogg with very pointed teeth that look almost like sharp teeth. This makes the audience feel intimidated and guessing it is off of the chainsaw.
The shot then changes and it shows oil being dripped onto a greasy piece of machinery which can only be assumed is the chainsaw once again.
The next shot then confirms to the viewer the shots are of a chainsaw as you can see the links and teeth of the chain on the saw in the dimly lit light that is provided.
The ere droning sound soon becomes more apparent and the narrator then quotes 'Now after more than a decade, he comes out of hiding.'
You then hear the sound of a door being slammed open onto something with a female screaming and the distinguished noise of a chainsaw revving. On screen you see the killer burst out of a door scaring a female whilst holding the chainsaw above his head.
The killer in this shot is wearing a mucky apron with what looks like a mixture of grease, oil and dries blood on it. this shows the audience how scummy and dirty this killer is creating this tramp look.
Throughout the shots it looks like the film is shot in an underground area, similar to a mine layout with support beams around the walls and ceiling. The next shot you see is with the killer standing on a moving car leaning across to try and cut the victims. The editing used in this shot is shown where there are sparks flying up from the chainsaw and where the actor playing the killer was able to lean across stably.
The shot following is the killer cutting through the roof of the victims car while the canvas of the roof rips open revealing the killers daunting mask. The diagetic sound of a scream followed by the firing noise of the credits ends the trailer as a whole leaving the viewer reminiscent of that last sound heard.
The typeface of 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2' is in a very slashed and rugged font still implying these slasher conventions.
This is where the narrator picks up stating the title and the well known director 'Tobe Hooper'
     

Costume Ideas

Magazine cover analysis

On this magazine cover the picture of batman is the main focus. The main light focus is on the panels of his costume as it is what creates his character. The fact that batman is looking straight out at the viewer shows the intention that in the film batman is out to ‘get you’.

The colour scheme on this cover is all black representing him as a villain creating a contrast between him and the villains, especially as his costume is completely black with a gold belt.

The typeface of sub-heading ‘rough justice’ is in a bold dominating font showing the impression he has on the society and crime in Gotham.

The fact that there is a little amount of information on the cover about the contents creates the seriousness the batman has and compared to a cover of the joker on the ‘EMPIRE’ cover shows just how big of a contrast they have.

The cover clearly shows how iconic the image of batman is as it clearly doesn’t need anything but sub-headings and an image to create his mood and intentions.

Magazine cover analysis

On this magazine cover the joker is placed in the centre of the cover. He is placed in the centre of the cover because he is the focus of the magazine. ‘EMPIRE’ the title of the magazine is placed behind the jokers head as it is an iconic feature to the magazine.

            The typeface of sub-heading ‘the joker’ is reminiscent of newspaper cuttings a feature normally associated with ransom notes; this gives a dangerous appearance to his name therefore creating the impression of a dangerous character. This typeface also has a childish, unorganized appearance, showing a lack of seriousness to his character.

The overall colour scheme of the cover is black, green and purple. The background is black which implies darkness to his character and the overall text, and the joker himself is associated with the colours green and purple which are parts of his franchise since early marvel text, these colours also feature throughout the text and are used to highlight different areas of the magazine.

The jokes evil status is increased through his facial expression and positioning. By looking directly at the camera – and therefore the reader- creates a discomfort for the viewer, therefore once again increasing and reinforcing is ‘bad’ status.

The batman logo is located at the top of the page above the jokers head as it is now a trademark of Christopher Nolan’s Batman films. This also shows irony from the film where it is batman who still ends up on top of Gotham.

Questionnaire

QUESTIONNAIRE
1) Are you male or female

2) How old are you?

3) Do you think age is an important factor in horror films? E.g if the victim is young would it make you feel more sympathetic towards them?

4) What locations do you associate with horror films?

5) Does a sense of isolation help create the element of fear?

6) Which settings would you associate with the feeling of isolation?

7) In slasher films a convention is mask or hidden identity, what type of mask would help create a sense of horror? Gas mask , hockey mask , bandana  etc.

8) What elements do you think make a slasher film?

9)  What are your favourite horror films?

10) How many horror films have you seen in the last month?

Texas Chainsaw Massacre Film Poster

The main colours used in this film poster are white, black and red.
the white shows the innocence of the characters, assuming these are the victims of the killer. The black signifies the darkness of the killer and the villainous side he has. the red in the title shows the aggression of the killer in the film. It may show how brutal the murders are by such a deadly weapon. The only real symbol of the film i can see is the killer. He has a chainsaw which is labeled in the title showing the audience a graphic view of how dangerous and intimidating he is. The background of the poster only includes what looks like an entrance of some sort with the killer standing as if he is leaning into something, maybe into when he is killing someone. There is also a female behind him who looks as if she is in pain with blood down her suggesting she has been a target of the killer. In this film poster the figures are shown illustratively. The messages in this film poster are shown visually through the big bold text asking the question 'Who will survive and what will be left of them?' I think in this poster the intended audience are 18+ as it does not hold back at the image of its violence by having a chainsaw and implying the killer will attack innocent people. I think the most persuasive device used in this poster is the title 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' as it is quoting it as a real story, and also the question asking 'who will survive?' it gets the audience thinking who or what is it that will be fighting for its life. The genre conventions refer to a horror genre through its persuasive context and colouring of the film title. The information in this poster is very important because it sets the tone for the movie. The quote suggesting it is a real story and the question on survival takes the mood from the poster to a realistic level of pure evil committed. I think this poster is effective because it isnt filled with information but it is enough to get the audience interested. It has the iconic killer holding a chainsaw as if he is just about to attack someone and with the female behind him looking as if shes in pain it puls the whole of the posters feel together.

   

Total FIlm Magazine 'Max Payne' Cover

The magazine cover has a big bold title at the top stating its brand so you can instantly be drawn in. it also has the name of the movie that the front cover image is from (Max Payne). It also has little sub headings around the side of the film title to attract the audience into taking more of an interest into the magazine. ‘inside! Stoner carnage dazed &confused Simon peg Gi Joe’.

The key features in this magazine cover are Mark Wahlberg (Max Payne) as he is standing with 2 guns pointing out past where the audience would be looking. This draws the viewer further in to the picture. Another key feature is the movie title ’Max Payne’ it is in a shattered font and is placed at the bottom of the screen to anchor the whole cover.

This cover could inspire our magazine poster by the use of the text anchoring down the whole poster and the use of the viewpoint in the centre of the main figure giving a feel you’re in between each gun. Also the background is dark taking the main focus straight to the figure in the centre of the poster cover.

Terminator Magazine Cover

The total magazine cover for terminator salvation follows the classic conventions for gothic horror by using red white and black as the main colours. The terminators eyes are bright red which focuses the reader’s eyes to attract the target audience.  They also lay in the top third of the page which is a convention used as a presentational device to attract readers. There is high profile lighting on the face of the terminator, this highlights the definition and makes the face appear sinister. In the lower left hand corner is red lighting this follows the colour scheme set for the magazine colour and also attracts the audience’s eye towards the word TERMINATOR which links the illustration to the text.                                                          

Narrative Theories

Todorov suggested that conventional narratives are structured in 5 stages to the theory:

State of equilibrium

Disruption of equilibrium

Recognition of the distribution

An attempt to repair the distribution

A reinstated of the equilibrium 

Vladimir Propp

He suggested that characters took on the role of narrative “spheres of action” or functions

1.       The HERO, usually male, is the agent who restores the narrative equilibrium often by embarking upon a quest (or search) saves the princess and wines her hand. Propp distinguishes between the victim hero, who is the centre of the villain’s attention, and the seeker hero who aids others who are the villain’s victims. The hero is invariably the texts protagonist or central character.

2.       The VILLAIN who creates narrative distribution
      In our trailer the villian is the character who creates narrative distribution due to his Psychotic state of mind, but his identity remians hidden due to the fact that he wears a gas mask.

3.   The DONOR gives the hero something; it may be an object information or advice which helps the resolution of the narrative.

4.       The HELPER aids the hero in the task of restoring the equilibrium

5.       The Princess (the victim) is usually the character most threatened by the villain and has to be saved, at the climax, by the hero, The Fathers (who is in the fairy tales was often king) role is given to the princess away to the hero at the resolution of the narrative. He may also be dispatched as the hero.

6.       The DISPATCHER sends the hero on his or her task

7.       The FALSE HERO appears to be good but at the end of the narrative appears to be bad.

Topics which affect the media produced

The media today is affected by many external factors which the public can relate to and come across everyday; therefore the public would become a target audience for that form of media. Many of these factors are usually kept within national boundaries unless the target audience of the media piece is international. We decided to research trends that affected the public so our media product could relate to a lot more people ultimately targeting a wider audience.  
Current trends which affect the media we see today are:

Natural disasters ( Floods , droughts)

Mass killings (Raul Moat) (Michael Ryan)

Youth Culture ( Drink , Drugs, Violence)

Warfare ( the war in Afghanistan )
  
With warfare being on the news on almost every channel its hard not to come across, which would make it a topic that everyone has some knowledge about. We decided to use this subject for our media project as its a wide area to cover giving us room to experiment with a variety of ideas.

With different events occurring, effecting the public we can expect to see these changes reflected in the media we see today.

My Bloody Valentine Poster Deconstruction

The miners mask is a convention of a slasher film; it helps keep the villains identity hidden and create mystery. It also becomes a symbol for the villain and anything related to it becomes almost a warning that the villain is linked to it.

The pickaxe takes up the whole length of the poster and creates a very aggressive tone for the poster helping it attract its target audience.

The dark lighting helps add horror to the overall effect of the poster. Also the setting is in a mine which helps set the location for the film.

The use of the colours; red, white and black follow the gothic genre very closely and tells the audience straight away what genre of movie the film is.  The red could also be interpreted as love “valentine”.

Teaser and thearetical trailers

Teaser

A teaser trailer, or teaser is a short trailer used to advertise an upcoming movie.

Teasers, unlike typical theatrical trailers, are usually very short in length (between 30–60 seconds) and usually contain little if any actual footage from the film. Sometimes it is merely a truncated version of a theatrical trailer. They are usually released long in advance of the film they advertise.

Theatrical

Theatrical trailers use a series of selected shots from the film that’s advertised. These shots are usually some of the most exiting or funny parts of the film that are shown but without producing spoilers. For this purpose the scenes are not necessarily in the same order as they are in the film. A theatrical trailer has to advertise the movie in less than 2 and a half minutes which is the maximum amount aloud.

Apocolypto Teaser Trailer

·        1 minute 2 seconds

·        No dialogue

·        Text introducing the director (Mel Gibson) as award winning

·        Fast shots not showing a lot of narrative

·        Questions: ‘How far would you go’ ‘To save your family?’

·        More text ‘the chase’ ‘begins’. Being dramatic with the sound of drums to build up the excitement. Music also gets faster.

·        Not much story shown because of close up shots just show expressions.

·        Not much text just a review and a question and date.

·        Starts with a loud sound with the sun setting and then thunder.

·        Ends with someone getting chased with the drums getting faster and faster.

·        Intention was to leave audience feeling that the story is a mystery.

Apocolypto Theatrical Trailer

·        2 minutes 27 seconds

·        Introduces producer

·        Has a voice in another language with dramatic sound

·        Editing is a lot slower to reveal more narrative

·        Pauses of black screen in between each shot

·        Starts with little girl and a voice-over then ends with the cinema release date after the title and directors name is shown.

·        The intention is to show some insight into the narrative and sell the movie to an audience.

The theatrical trailer shows a lot more narrative than the teaser hoping that it will further more sell the product.