Fonts

This is a possible font that I will use for the title of my film on my film poster. I am considering using this font because it looks like a font that would be used for a horror film because of the tall slanting letters.

This is another font that I am considering using. I like this font because of the letter H. It stands out really well as it is a lot bigger than the rest of the lettering.

 

I like this font because it looks as though it has been hand written. It also looks like old fashioned writing so it will fit in well with the narrative of my film.

 

This is another font that I am considering using because it looks modern but is slightly worn away which will also fit in with the narrative of my film. It would also stand out really well because the lettering is really thick.

This is one of my favourite fonts it would stand out really well on my film poster. Part of the lettering is worn away which gives it an older look. Also, the letter L in the title, to me looks like a knife which suggests that the film will be a horror.

I like this font because it will stand out really well. Also, in the background of the lettering, it looks like stone, which will relate to the narrative of my film.

 

'Before deciding on what font to use for the title of my film on my film poster, I will place each one of them on top of the main image of my film poster to help me pick the best and suitable one'

 

Film Institutions

Film instutions are very important in trailers as it makes it recognisable to the audience who the film is produced by. Here are some film institutions that will help me create mine for my teaser trailer.

 

Some film institutions change their style because of the genre of the film. This is another version of Warner Brother's institution logo. This has been done to tell the audience what genre of film it is before it even comes on. When creating my logo, I will consider this idea.

 



This is the first logo I created. I created this logo using adobe fireworks.

 

This is another version of my logo. That will appear at the start of my teaser trailer so that it will already be recognisable as a horror film.

 



Organisation of Actors, Props and Costumes

My main character in my film is a sixteen year old girl called Anna.
About Anna;

• Naive
• Easily lead on by her friends
• Shy
• Loyal
• Wants to fit in with her friends and would do anything to do so.

To show Anna's innocent and shy side, in the teaser trailer, Anna will be wearing a non-revealing flowery dress similar to this one;

Anna's style will be very plain and simple to help show her personality.

 

A prop that Anna will have is sixteenth birthday cards to show that her age is an important part to the narrative of the film.

 



 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another actor in my film is another sixteen year old girl called Anya.
About Anya;

• Leader, likes to be in control
• Selfish
• Likes to play practical jokes
• Rebellious

To show Anya's rebellious side, in the teaser trailer, Anya will be wearing an outfit similar to this;

 

Anya's style will be more fashionable than Anna's to show her outgoing personality.

 

A prop that Anya will have which is an important part of the teaser trailer is the research that she finds. This is an important prop as it shows the recognition of the problem. The research that Anya had found was from a well known website so it will make the story more realistic.

 



Questionnaire and Results

This is the questionnaire that I sent out to help me create my film. I gave my questionnaire to 50 students and teachers at my college to get a different range of results. As I am going to create a horror film, I will based my questionnaire on horror films.

1. What gender are you?

Male/Female

 

2.      What is your age range?

15-17

18-21

22-30

30+

 

3.      Do you like watching horror films?

Yes/No

 

4.      What gets you interested in a horror film?

Trailer

Poster

Film Website


Film Magazine

Other people think the film is good

 

5.      Does the film trailer help you decide whether to watch the film?

Yes/No

 

6.      How long should a teaser trailer be?

20-30 seconds

30-40 seconds

40-50 seconds

50 seconds to a minute

 

7.      Do the actors in the film encourage you to watch it?

Yes/No

 

8.      Which two of the following,  encourages you the most to watch a film when watching the trailer?

Actors/Actresses

Soundtrack

Setting

Narrative


 

After I had collected back all of the questionnaires that I had sent out, I made a few pie charts of the results so they would be clear and easy to analyse.

This pie chart is referring to the question; What gets you interested in a horror film?
As you can see from the pie chart, a majority of the people who answered the questionnaire thought that the trailer would get them interested in a film. Nobody thought that a film website would get them interested in a film, therefore I will not include a film website on the poster or trailer.

 

 

This pie chart refers to the question; Which two of the following, encourages you the most to watch a film when watching the trailer? This pie chart shows that half the people who answered the questionnaire, thought that the narrative in the trailer would encourage them. From this, I have decided to give my teaser trailer a strong narrative without giving too much away. Also, just over a quarter of the people I asked thought that the setting in the trailer would encourage them. In my teaser trailer, I will include a setting which is a typical horror film convention, but still an effective one like the woods to make my teaser trailer effective. Not many of the people I asked thought that the actors/actresses would encourage them to watch a film as they thought horror films seem more realistic with a less know actor/actress starring in them.

 

 

This pie chart refers to the question; How long should a teaser trailer be? As you can see from the results, most of the people I asked, thought a teaser trailer should be about 40-50 seconds. I assume this is because a teaser trailer shouldn't give too much away so it gets an audience interested.

 

 

This pie chart refers to the question; Do the actors in the film encourage you to watch it? As you can see from the results, the pie chart shows that most people thought the actors in a film does encourage them to watch a film. As I only have a very limited budget, I would not be able to afford a big actor/actress to star in my film, therefore, I will include actors/actresses that the audience can identify with, for example, someone who is the same age as my target audience. 



 

 

Paranormal Activity Magazine Cover Analysis

 

This is the magazine cover Entertainment featuring the film Paranormal Activity. From looking at this magazine cover, my first impressions of this film is that it would be a comedy rather than a horror. Unlike the film poster of this film having a picture from the actual movie, the magazine cover has an alternative picture on it. This makes the magazine less effective as it doesn't relate to the film poster or teaser trailer for the film.

 

The masthead of this magazine is Entertainment, I don't think this is a very effective name for a horror magazine because it gives me the impression that the films that are included in the magazine, would be drama or comedy films, not a horror. On the cover, there is big pink stars dotted around, this isn't very effective as it has no relevance to the featured film.

 

The title of the film, Paranormal Activity, stands out well against the main image. However, unlike other film magazines that I have analysed, the font that is used on the film poster, isn't included on the magazine cover which gives it no relation to the film poster. When creating my magazine cover, film poster and teaser trailer, I will make sure that all three will relate to each other and will tell the genre of the film.

 

On the left of the magazine cover, there is a sell line that says; 'How a tiny $11,000 movie became a big scary smash' this is telling you the facts about the featured film to get an audience interested in reading the magazine. On my magazine, I will possibly include this.

Insidious Magazine Cover Analysis

 

This is a horror film magazine called Fangoria featuring the film Insidious. The masthead of the magazine instantly gives away the genre of the films featured in the magazine. This is very effective as audience will instantly know what magazine to get if they're looking for a horror film. The font of the masthead is also very effective because of the sharp points on the lettering gives it a dangerous look. Also, because the outline of the masthead is red, it looks as if blood is dripping from it which makes it look creepy and scary.

 

The main image of the magazine cover is a scary character from the film Insidious. This gives an insight to the horror's that are included in the film which will draw attention. The title of the film is included on the magazine cover so the audience will know which film it is featuring. Also, the magazine has used the same font that was used on the film poster and teaser trailer so that they will all relate to each other.

 

At the bottom of the magazine cover, there is a strip of other horror films. This tells the audience that this magazine only features horror films so that it's main target audience is people who like horror films. When creating my magazine cover, I will make sure that it is clear that it will only feature horror films so that it has a specific target audience.

 

The sell lines around the main image of the magazine have nothing to do with the featuring film, when creating my magazine cover, I am going to include sell lines that are related to the featured film.

 

At the top of the magazine cover above the masthead, it says 'Italian Horror! American Terror! German Gore!' this shows that this magazine is a worldwide magazine and atttacts a wide audience.

Chernobyl Diaries Film Poster Analysis

Chernobyl Diaries is a horror film related to the aftermath of the nuclear explosion in Chernobyl. Chernobyl Diaries is a 2012 film which was co-produced and directed by Bradley Parker and Oren Peli. Chernobyl Diaries was made by the makers of Paranormal Activity and Insidious. Referring to this on the poster draws an audience in as they already know it will be a good film as it is made by the people who have already produced two good selling films.

From looking at the poster without reading any of it, audiences will already know that the film has a dark side to it and most likely be a horror film. The audience will know this because of the colours in the poster, black, white and red. This common housestyle is used a lot in horror posters because of the connotations of the colours. The colour red represents danger and the colour black represents darkness. Also, having red and white text upon a black background makes it stand out and easy to read.

As like most film posters, this poster gives a hint to the setting. The setting looks like it is a run down town. This adds to the horror of the film and would make people want to see it because audiences will want to know why is it run down? What happened to it? This relates to Barthe's theory as the audience will want to know the answers to the film and therefore watch it. Also, in the clouds of the main image, there is a nuclear sign. This will attract an audience as people know that nuclear is powerful and dangerous and will want to know what's happened.

There is a billing block at the bottom of the poster. A billing block is a condensed block of writing that contains, companies, directors and other cast members and crew. This will attract the target audience as they may realise their favourite actor or director starred or directed the film. This will encourage them to watch the film as they are interested in their work.

There is a tagline above the title which says; 'Ten years ago, the Ukranian government let tourists visit the area around Chernobyl. They said it was safe...It wasn't' this tagline gets an audience interested as they get an insight to the narrative of the film. This attracts an audience as they already know what part of the film is about, and will want to know the ending of the film. Also, the audience will want to know 'Why wasn't it safe?'