Below is a presentation showing the vast amount of media technologies, ranging from Photoshop, to produce the magazine cover and film poster, Final cut pro and iMovie, to create and edit my trailer and finally, Blogger where I have documented my process through research, planning and production. Media technologies allow industries to improve the appearance of a product as well as distribute a product to a wide audience globally.
The presentation below outlines the audience feed back received and reasons for the feedback and what we could do to improve our trailer in order to receive a more positive response a second time.
Furthermore, though films cool we had a feed back session to go over some of our rough edits of some of the scenes we merged together using Final Cut and IMovie. Below shows a video of some of the comments i received and ways of how I can improve my editing skills in order to cater to a modern 21 century audience and how to enrapture their attention and desire to watch the film.
During the session, Jesse O Mahoney, an industry professional television script writer gave his views and constructive criticism on how to improve our trailer. He stated that he was unfamiliar with who the female at the end was and that a voice over or some indication of who she might be will be appropriate in order to engage the audience and inform them appropriately. After this session his advice was taken into account and vast changes were made in order to make the piece look more like a trailer and build to a climax, and to overall emphasise the horror elements to make the audience scared yet excited.
Additionally, I have incorporated a slide show of all of the comments we received from channel 4.
Through the screen at channel 4 we were also luckily awarded with a certificate or the best use of sound. This award represents our successful use of apply conventions of trailers according to sound. The image below shows the certificate we were awarded at channel 4 studios.
Below is a presentation outlining the process of creating our Magazine and Film Poster in order to support out trailer campaign. Additionally, it outlines the reasons for the image we wanted to create as well as whether or not it was a successful outcome and if continuity was present.
I have also produced a powerpoint evaluating and outlining the continual aspects present across all of our products. Including the Film poster, trailer and magazine front cover.
The video below comments on all aspects of our trailer ranging from, music, characters, dialogue etc in relation to whether or not we used, developed or challenged the common conventions of horror.
STOCK CHARACTERS: Our stock characters rather adhere to the conventions of the horror genre due to the fact that a male protagonist is indeed the villain, similar to many mainstream horror trailers such as Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Dracula etc
However we challenge conventions of the horror genre through the stock characters as we have not included all of them. This is because we felt that the character description of the jock, and popular girl followed conventions that were based on the American horror genre and therefore did not fit into our British Horror trailer because audience members would not be able to identify with the fictional characters. Furthermore, by having a predominantly al male cast we have adhered to Mulvey's male gaze theory as we present the female character as passive and vulnerable. Additionally, the camera does linger on her body features witch also displays the female character as a sexual object.
SOUND: The music and sound track used adheres to typical forms and conventions of trailers as it uses lyrical music as a form of outlining the story and builds to a climax. My soul to take and Last house on the left have also used musicians to portray their storyline. Typical soundtracks of heart beats, doors slamming, and airy music are also used to complement the action on screen and add greater fear and impact to our trailer. The pace of shots of shots in horror trailers usually begin slow, simply outlining the story and then further proceed into a fast paced edit of shots. Therefore I have purposely chosen to used a rock sound track as it follows a similar pace and temp to my tailer.
SETTINGS: The main location used adheres to the typical layout of what an audience would expect to see in a horror feature film. The void is dark, empty, and abandoned, its initial appearance highlights horror. Through my research i discovered that many horror features such as Halloween, Scream and A Nightmare on elm street share the common feature of being located within the suburbs and places that are cut off from society. The void is an isolated area and i believed this would adhere to existing horror traits.
PROTAGONIST: The protagonist in our horror trailer is the unknown villain .Through my research of looking into the villains and protagonists in horror films I learnt that the villains are usually male, such as Jason Voorhees from Friday 13th. The protagonist featured in my trailer challenges some forms and conventions of the horror genre due to the fact that the villain within our piece is unknown. Films which share a similar trait include Scream, Saw, and My Bloody Valentine as the villain within these pieces is not revealed until the end of the film and films such as saw reveal the villain over a number of sequels. .
THEMES: The main themes that are shown throughout my trailer are binary opposites such as success vs failure and revenge vs avengeance. All of these indicate some sort of a journey. These themes all have negative connotations, something that through my research I discovered most horror films have. I made sure that the central themes which were expressed throughout my trailer linked to my films tagline which is “If you cant be famous, be Infamous”
ICONOGRAPHY: My horror trailer featured many iconographical features which helped to express the horror genre. Dark lighting was commonly used to evoke fear and build up tension. Additionally, the use of shot shots and quickly changing from one scene to the next made my piece appear more abrupt and sudden. However we also challenged typical forms and conventions of icons within horror though our choice of weaponry. Instead of typically using a common knife or gun we used musical instruments which are not seen as weapons of horror however though our trailer can now be recognised as weapons.
DIALOGUE: Dialogue is very minimal across the entire trailer because the lyrical music used illustrates the story from the bands perspective. Phrases such as “ What gives you the right to say anything” and “ “So you don’t mind telling lies, You’re just a devil in disguise” clearly portray the frustration of the band and the “X-Factor” style judging. Dialogue that was included such as “Did you hear about that Judge being Murdered” simply further highlight the main features of the story line. Limited dialogue was used because, as a group, we decided we did not want to express the entire storyline and rather we wanted to lead the audience on without revealing who the killer was. This would build up the anticipation and desire to watch the film in order to discover who the killer is and, according to Todorov, what the new equilibrium is accepted.
Todorov:We are initially introduced to a heavy metal band playing in what seems to be a typical band rehearsal however, as we are introduced to a man criticizing their work the audience are immediately able to recognize that they are being judged in some form. Therefore, according to Todorov the equilibrium has been identified. In addition, the titles are able to move the story along and tell the story. The term “It was their last shot” implies that they have gone through several auditions and have continuously been rejected.
Levi Strauss:Following this event we are then introduced to what seems to be the disruption within a trailer. This is shown when the band begin to argue, shortly followed by a news report stating the judge of the first scene has been ‘brutally murdered’. The title of “X-treme fame or X-treme pain” hints that the murder could have been committed by the band as they are the ones striving for success. Binary opposition can then be applied in terms of success vs failure, whereby the band are viewed in a negative light because they are shown to kill anyone that blocks their path to fame. However, when the male singer shows signs of shock when listening to the radio broad cast shows that the murder is not a group effort and when the bass guitarist states “he was a prick” immediately places the audience into believing that he is the villain. Furthermore, the title of “Now the elimination begins” applies Bathes enigma codes, as this makes the audience believe that a band member will continue to kill others within the industry however, when a band member is killed it is questionable whether or not a band member is the villain and the idea of who the villain might be continuously changes which puts the audience in a sense of fear and excitement to discover who the villain is. This works as a marketing tool because the audience will need to watch the film in order to discover the answers to the ‘mysteries’.
As the murders commence we are presented with clear themes and connotations of horror as well as horror trailers. Within horror trailers you rarely see the before and or aftermath of a murder and what is consistent is presenting to the audience the victim about to get murdered. This allows the audience to gain a brief insight into the story line and they will then gather this information and create a plot on what they believe will happen, through this they can then determine whether or not they desire to view the film.
Propp and Stock Characters in Horror:During the trailer it is clear that the conventions of horror in terms of stock characters has not been fully applied. This is immediately identified through the large imbalance of both genders, there is a predominantly male cast whilst only a single female member. Furthermore my group believed that the description of stock characters was inappropriate for our piece as it is aimed at a young british audience and therefore the descriptions of the stock characters such as the jock, and the popular girl are phrases common to an american culture and would not complement our piece. Therefore we have used elements from the popular girl by emphasizing her her beauty.
Mulvey's Male Gaze: This then evolved into applying Mulvey's male gaze by having the camera linger on her chest area as well as dressing the female in revealing clothing. This adds to the idea of her being a powerless, passive character as well as showing that she if dominated by a male presence. This has been applied in order to show the camera reflecting a males perspective through applying the common conventions of horror.
Uses and Gratification Theory:Additionally, our trailer applies to the uses and gratification theory because it successfully allows a british audience to personally identify with the characters presented on screen due to the fact that the common american personas of stock characters were not applied. Additionally, our trailer will build up excitement within our target audience which would undoubtedly generate ‘word of mouth’ and further build up the climax of release, thus selling more merchandise and forming a larger crowd. Lastly, like minded individuals who like the piece will come together and form companions which can also increasingly publicize and draw attention to the future release of Death Jam.
The trailer was successfully published on youtube for fans to view
Similar to the twitter campaign of Paranormal activity I also began a twitter campaign to promote Death Jam
A Facebook page was also set up for Death Jam in order to inform and excite an audience as well as provide feedback and generate to a larder crowd and specifically speak to our target audience
Additionally, Films cool also posted Death Jams's trailer for audience feedback and to generate excitement
During this Films Cool session we were introduced to Matt Wakham and Megan Stuart Wallace who are key attributed within the media industry and are known for successfully making a brand accordingly. We began looking at three very successful campaigns that took the idea of digital strategies out of the spectrum and achieved something phenomenal. These include Paranormal Activity, Blair Witch Projects, and finally the most incredible campaign of all, Batman.
On of the key lessons we were taught is that dominance over social media and visual dominance across billboards and magazines etc is key in achieving crowd excitement and selling cinema tickets. A film's digital strategies and campaigns help promote the film even more, and also allow the audience to feel involved within the film and movement. The images below show the digital campaigns we were introduced to:
Paranormal activity was a very low budget film and not many people knew of its existence however, when it began a twitter campaign audiences thrived on a global release and this further lead into the creation of the second and third film being produced by Hollywood. They received over one million tweets in less than 20 hours. Therefore showing the power of social media and how you are able to successfully use it in order to communicate to a wide range of people. We used the idea of a twitter page and created one for Death Jam.
The Dark Night used a flashmob, by involving various people to participate in a games worldwide. This created the illusion that the characters were real and audiences truly believed in what they were doing. This generated crowd excitement and people were able to join like minded individuals in this stream of events and they would complete the game together and feel as though they are apart of the film.
District 9 is another campaign that used signs and posters. They used these images as a way of crossing the bridge of reality and fiction together. The posters provided a website and number to call which heightened the realism of the posters and allows audiences to get involved in the idea. Anticipation towards the film is then generated because, similar to the dark night audiences are playing a active role in the film prior to its release.
Prior to the beginning of my A2 course, I was fortunate enough to have work experience at Hit Entertainment, a company that create, produce and distribute a number of famous children's brands including Bob the Builder and Thomas. Despite the fact that this company I was taught how a product is produced through CGI and how the sound is also implemented as well as being told how the PR and Marketing sections distribute products and magazines in order to generate larger sales. The things i learnt during my work experience showed large cross overs with the information i was given at the Film's Cool session with Matt Wakeham. Therefore i was able to identify with the fact and realise that it is consistent across all boards. From this i have applied it to my trailer and promoted my trailer across all famous social media franchise to similarly generate a larger fan base.
During my work experience I worked in both the Consumer Products and the Media industry of the company during my work experience. My responsibilities were tasks such as updating the Excel documents, calling various catalogue makers to find a company that will create the new series of Hit brochures, arranging DVD's and burning replicas as well as choosing clips that will be placed on Foreign websites, organising the files, and finally I attending a Thomas sound recoding to view how the audio was record and placed over the CGI images.
When working with Sophie Young I was required to write synopsisʼ for the various books that will later be read and put up onto the official Rainbow Magic website. Furthermore, I was given the task to handle and organize information that would be given to consumers and future buyers as well as finally organizing stock and filing documents correctly. I was also given the opportunity prepare merchandise for the future Thomas premiere.
Overall, my experience has lead me to further understand the media business though the first hand experience I had within Hit and apply it across other mediums.
Every film release is accompanied by a film poster I'm order to alert the attention of future viewers and this allows the film to gain further publicity as it could be featured in a magazine, newspaper, billboards, bus shelters, overall, anywhere the a large crowd will be to view the poster.
Death Jam film poster adheres to the typical film codes and conventions of many posters as it follows a similar layout to many industry designed film posters.
Whist designing the poster i used a image from the film itself to generate excitement and it is an image that an audience member will recognise if they watch the trailer, which means they will most likely remember the image and will probably watch the film. The image also adds to the terrifying feel which is trying to be created through the vivd image of the female judge being gagged and tortured. I chose a red, white and black colour scheme for the overall poster as i did with the magazine as from my previous research i learned that these colours were consistent within the horror genre and are easily identifiable.
This film poster also features the film tagline situated at the top 'If you can't be Famous, be Infamous.' , this intrigues audiences and generates the desire to watch the film. The tagline also hinders the storyline as it means
that someone attempting to achieve fame fails and is now
on a killing rampage as they are now infamous. The image emphasises this as well clearly connoting the themes of horror.
The famous director is highlighted on the poster which emphasises our ups and the production details are featured at the bottom of the poster. This follows the common conventions and creates a professional image.
Magazines features allow the newly released film to gain further recognition and be identified by a larger audience. Exclusive articles, insights and competitions also create excitement and a great desire to watch the film, many will be anticipating the film's release. A film being featured in a magazine ensures media attention and gaining audience recognition.
I designed this magazine front cover and decided to place a picture of one of the band members on the front as this highlights our main production value and emphases the importance of the band as a key feature within the film. Additionally, effects such as high contrast and low brightness were place on the image in order for it to appear menacing because even though the image may be interpreted as one of the band members it can also been seen as the killer.
I chose a typical red, white and black colour scheme for the text and background of the magazine as these colours are the typical conventions used throughout horror. As previously stated red connotes blood and gore whilst black is the colour for death.
Furthermore by creating a magazine in order to feature our film it contributes to our digital strategy campaign.
When creating the magazine i followed a similar layout to Empire and Fangoria as these are two successful publications which focuses on the media industry and cover topics including film, additionally they are also associated with horror and by following similar conventions for inspiration means that my magazine will also have similar successful traits. I incorporated a masthead, main image and side text, which is the layout used by al magazines globally, and this ensured i was adhering to all of the common conventions associated with magazine covers.
There is a vast improvement from the final draft and the first draft of the magazine as the final draft has consistency whilst the first draft seemed rushed and has no consistency or professionalism.
We used after effects as a way to add creativity to our piece and finish it off with a more professional finish. Many of the trailers i have research have used after effects in some form such as making motion images shatter, or though the on screen titling. One of my favourite trailers that has successfully used after effects in my opinion is Final Destination. which used a shatter effect in order to enhance their USP of a 3D film release. I wanted to enrapture a similar theme and have the title "Death Jam" shatter in order to further excite the audience.
Below shows a video of the text death jam shattering.
The clip below shows the initial edit of our deaths as a guideline to what our real trailer will look like. I composed the deaths as the first death being a full sequence and the further two being mixed together as though they were happening at the same time. Many trailers, in order to build up tension, excitement and fear for the audience they merge several deaths and torture scenes together. However, whilst trying to achieve similar conventions of trailers i failed in the sense that my first edit did not build up to the climax that i had hoped and instead appeared as a short film rather than a trailer.
The music used in our horror trailer is "Doors" from a local band called Slowyear. Through the research i have conducted into horror trailers I found that many use lyrical music in order to enhance their message and complement the themes of the film. These include 'My soul to take" that used Sick Puppies, Going Down, which clearly used the lyrics of "Because one of us is going down", which clearly portrays the violence and battle within the film.
A Nightmare on Elm Street created the sound track of infants singing to further enhance the villain and his abilities to murder people in their dreams, this is shown when the children sing " 9,10, Never sleep again".
Finally a trailer in specific that was brought to my attention was The Last House On The Left, which used the acoustic cover to "Sweet Child O' Mine" which in my opinion truly captured that there is no limits when it comes to protecting their daughter. This was shown when the positive song was juxtaposed with the death and murder of the villains.
As a group we came to the conclusion that in order to truly capture our audiences attention similar to the power The Last House On The Left had on myself as an audience member we needed to find a song that shows the tension and barriers our fictional band faced. "Doors" uses the lyrics of "What gives you the right to say anything" which was placed with the criticism of one of our judges, as well as "You're just a devil in disguise" That was placed during the elimination of the band members and murder of the final two judges.
Below are two images showing the production companies we created for our horror trailer. Every film released has a production and distribution logo at the start of their trailer. The production companies also help fund and distribute the film globally. Additionally, fans of either the production and or distributor will look at their previous releases and will most likely watch the new film created as they would have high expectations that the new release would have similar themes.
The production company needed to have similar horror conventions and follow a similar genre to our trailer as they would be the company that specialise in the creation of horror films. Therefore the language used needed to connote the themes of horror, "Scream Supreme" seemed appropriate. Additionally, the themes and colour scheme also required a similar pattern. Over carrying out much needed research into horror production companies we identified a common theme and colour scheme used, this was red and black. Red and black are commonly used as they equally complement each other by adhering to the themes of death, violence and blood. Therefore, influence us to use an identical colour scheme.
The distributor for "Death Jam" is "Film Works International"
As a group we were given the task to design the 'Filmworks International' logo, throughout previous research that I had done I found out that the design of the logo has to connote the name of the company and its target audience. For example , 'Universal' features an image of the world, therefore indicating it's global audience.
For our distributor we followed a similar pattern by having an image of a plane traveling over the sun. Similar to Universal it shows it's globally recognised appeal and the text equally suit the image, 'International' can be thought of as traveling internationally, therefore a plane seemed to complement the language used.
As we are unable to use copyrighted music in our trailer, we had the great opportunity to listen to tracks from Awate, an alumni student of Acland Burghley school. Music is a very important aspect of a trailer as it evokes emotion and helps to tell the story, as well as complement the fast passed shots on screen. During the workshop we spoke about Awate's journey into the industry and what inspired him to create the music he does. Additionally, we spoke about the impact music has on various forms of media and why it is used. As a group we chose a suitable track and identified where it should be placed in order to create a great impact. However the track did not suit the bands appearance or the genre of the piece and we thought a more edgy style of music, such as rock, would be more appropriate rather than the drum and bass style that aware specialises in.
As a group we were given the opportunity to have a workshop session with Christine Blundell and Cliff Wallace who are professional make up artists within the film and television industry. Many of the films they have been apart of include Sherlock Holmes, Finding Neverland and Closer.
During the session we were able to see a number of prosthetic arms and torsos that have been used in films to create the illusion of a cut or infection. Additionally, I volunteered to be apart of experiencing what it is like to have a prosthetic cut. Christine applied petroleum jelly on my cheek bone followed by a previously prepared mould that was shaped into a cut. She then applied the mould followed by sin colour foundation and blood to give the authentic appearance.
After being able to experience a mould being applied as well as seeing some previously used dummies, and a portfolio of Christine's and Cliff's work we closed with a question and answer session relating to general questions about the industry and advise on how to create an equally effective illusion on our own trailers. We were given advice on a number on areas however, one of the main pieces of advice that we used was how to create the illusion of blood. Christine recommended mixing golden syrup and food colouring, we used this method in the second day of filming. Below shows a number of photos taken from the filming sessions.
My House: Filming Day 6 was the last session of filming and we intended to shoot both the conversion between Sekander and Chis after Sekander listens to the radio broad cast, as well as shooting the footage of the judge dismissing the band at the audition. The audio from the radio broad cast will be recorded separately and then placed on top of the action during the editing process. In addition, depute the fact that the judges' commentary is not in the studio where the band played the impact of having the judge against a white back ground shows his superiority and during editing will create the illusion that they are occurring simultaneously at the same time.
Overall, filming was very quick and efficient as there were no time restraints, the group knew how to use the equipment effectively, and only two of our actors were needed to complete the filming.
Below shows a clip of the judge delivering his comment on the bands audition and a separate clip showing the lead vocalist having a conversation with another band member.
