Main film poster sketch

Looking at horror film posters such as Final Destination, I liked the simplicity of an image of a skull broken into pieces. However, as Final Destination has built such an iconic franchise it is incomparable to a film such as Say Your Prayers. This is because my film has not yet established a fanbase in which a simple symbol like Final Destination's poster on my poster would not be as recognisable. Instead I wanted to feature the main characters or even just one character on the poster as a way of introducing thier personalities.

Film Poster Artist: Kyle Lambert

Kyle Lambert is a visual artist who produces stills, film and TV posters. His most recent film poster is on the Super 8 film about kids who discover a government cover whilst filming for a homemade movie.

The film poster attracts my attention to the detail drawn by the artist using only a computer software. The pictures shown were taken in person and the artist had to completely recreate the scenery and people. Position and size of the character's face on the poster I think is very purposeful in allowing the audience to recognise who is the main character and who are important to the story.

The colours used are very dark and mysterious due to maps and writings on the wall being quite concealed in the background. While this helps bring characters forward, I also think it helps with the atmosphere the film wants to create. The most noticeable aspect for me however, is the backlight that comes from the upper- middle of the poster with it's light rays spreading from a white to blue line across the main character's face. This light I think represents the discovery of a situation of object that has bewildered the main characters.

The technique and style of the artist overall allow me to be curious about the films he draws for all the while advertising the films theme well. I think this type of poster can be incorporated into the style of my film project as it follows the same mystery to discovery to terror plotline. Even if Super 8 is a mystery/action film, I think the poster could work well for a horror film as well due to the common theme of mystery.

Survey Monkey

Below are the results I got from a survey I shared on social media platforms regarding horror films.

Majority of people who answered my survey were females.

Most of these people were aged 16-19; close to the target audience of 16-30 years olds.

 People were fairly regular in consuming films of the horror genre. It was expected to have people watch films more often than when horror films out meaning many people had a great interest in films.

Many people liked the idea of a supernatural film with gothic second most popular followed by gore. I found out people liked a less extreme subgenre of horror than those with explicit clips like gore. Due to the age group, not many liked an animated horror film. One person never watched films so they could not chose an option except for other.

Most liked it when there was a twist in the ending of a horror film. I expected to see more liking an original plot however some have commented that an original plot sometimes meant to them a less popular style of film; some that might be eccentric.

Movie Magazine Analysis 2 - Woman in Black

Woman in Black was a Supernatural/Drama starring Daniel Radcliffe. The front cover of Diabolique magazine presents the era of the film very well by showing the main protagonist wearing 18th century clothing. However the background showing a British townhouse does not show much to entice the audience to watching the film. The movie is a ghost who haunts various characters usually in the house and the place could have looked more distressed and darker in colour.

The fonts made all capital letters make it uniform and stand out. The term "diabolique" is translated from French meaning diabolical. This is associated with demonic, wicked or cruel degrees of action.

Placing Daniel Radcliffe about half of the front cover grabs the public's eye because he is a well-known actor for the classic Harry Potter franchise. The sole image of him will make the audience want to see his latest projects therefor a great advertising technique for Woman in Black to sell.

Conforming to the stereotypical location for supernatural horror films, the cover is framed with dark shadows of trees somewhat adding a depth of mystery to the magazine. Referencing to the title of the film, Woman in Black's magazine cover has a faded shadow of a woman far behind the main character. The size of her compared to the rest of the cover is much smaller to possibly allow some time for people to notice her for an effect of surprise or that the face of the actor is all that's needed for the audience to watch the film.

Production Logos Mock Ups

Film Teaser Poster Sketch

Film Magazine Cover sketch

The magazine cover shows the three main characters. Like in the film, they carry about a camcorder that films both their project and what they encounter. The are dressed in school uniform with the exception of the boy in costume to have ripped shirt and blood all over him because he was used as an actor.

All three have serious and cautious faces as they look forward into a reader. The camera's flashlight will blur some of their faces and will connote that they are looking at something in the dark; a place where everything is unknown based on their emotions shown on their faces. The light also reflects a part of the horror genre in that no one knows what is about to happen yet the characters look forward to find out.

The film's title say your prayers will be written in a sharp font and coloured like wood. This will relate to a cross which is associated with the title as crosses are made of wood.

In comaparison with Woman in Black, instead of featuring only one main character I needed to introduce all characters since Say Your Prayers is a new film and possibly unheard of. However, Woman in Black uses a face of a actor able to promote film due to his popularity with the audience. I conformed to the basics of a film magazine having a main image, cover lines, masthead, sell lines, buttons, barcodes, issue and price lines.

In-class Trailer Analysis - The Girl On The Train

The trailer starts showing parts of the film in chronological order with text in the beginning to show an event was one week ago.  The trailer first introduces the dilemma which is the apparent victim who is the blonde girl having self-issues and her dialogue is shortened to one-liners. This gradual introduction uses a slow, quiet song that eventually builds up. The main protagonist is introduced as described by the title of the film; she is on a train passing by the places the blonde girl was seen. The diegetic sounds of the train synchronises with the increasing volume of the same music since the beginning.

The the purpose of the trailer was to introduce the newly- known film as it mentioned as an inter-title that it is a novel-based storyline and that it came from the distribution companies of Universal and Dreamworks. The addition of these names allows the audience to remember well established companies giving a sense of verification to the film. However, there were no reviews nor ratings given to comment that it was a critically acclaimed film. There was also no mention of the actors' names and only the main actress would be recognised by the public. The other actors' anonymity allows the audience to only see their performances as real as the character as possible and not to be linked with other movies they've been in.

The music increases in tempo and volume; synchronising to a crescendo with the diegetic sounds of the train horn. A montage with the clips from tense scenes in the movie is edited to create confusion in the plot but to also intrigue the audiences. The last scene was the main character standing quite inebriated on a platform under dark lighting with the train passing by. This makes us question her character as a whole since that we can't predict her actions due to a dark presentation and in her state, we don't think she can too. The screen ends abruptly cutting off the sound and the title of the film fading in to give the viewers a lasting memory of it's name.

Quote of the day

"You want as many people as possible to consume your art. And to do that, you have to be a business person" - Halsey

I agree with the quote since that in order to reach out to people, you must be tactical in how you approach them. Unfortunately people judge on how it looks, the art that is being advertised must look appealing in how it is presented and before people actually consume it. For instance, when music is being advertised, the album cover must look desirable to its target audience before they listen to it. The product is made public and within that a certain group of people are selected strategically via Marketing this product takes a business minded person in order to be successful.

Audience Research - Video Interviews

\

Movie Magazine Analysis 1 - Batman v Superman

Batman vs Superman movie magazine poster shows the three main characters in the centre of the page with dark skies and light coming form behind. The poster shows the three looking very brave and dignified in their costumes. the colour scheme of dark colours including blue, red and black keep true to the original idea for the superheroes however the picture shows that they have been modernised. They have made the characters look very realistic in what they would look like today since that they originated from comic illustrations.

The fonts used are very bold and all in capital letters thus making a very big statement on the magazine cover. The title of the film Batman v Superman coloured in a steel type colour makes it stand out and for the audience to remember; steel also connotes that they are strong and indestructible.

The stormy, monochromatic background shows that danger is ahead. Since that the title suggest Batman v Superman will fight against each other, the characters are also positioned apart with wonder woman in between.

Target Audience - Class Brainstorm

Poster Analysis 2 - Final Destination 5

Final Destination 5 has the colour scheme of dark blue, grey and black with majority of the poster showing a skull. This immediately tells me that the film's genre is horror as many horror films present the theme of death as represented by the large picture. The skull appears to have bits of the edges breaking off which as a metaphor, connotes that something is falling apart or that something is going wrong since that skulls don't seem to break apart by themselves. The backgroud being dark and blocking anything besides from the skull tells me that this film is mysterious as we dont know what to expect to appear on the film. The poster is a mere symbol of what the film's genre is.


The main target audience of Final Destination would typically be teenagers and young adults who love horror. The poster is successful in enticing fans of the film franchise as it reflects the previous films' poster designs

Poster Analysis 1 - Project Almanac

Project Almanac's poster uses mainly blue, grey, metalic silver and gold to connote that it is a futuristic, sci-fi and action film. There is a group of teenagers huddled amongst each other with light in between and light all around the floor that catches our eye. It is only explthe ained in the trailer that they in fact use a time travel machine which explains the picture. This is however hinted in the tagline "Today is better the second time round.".

A background of a city skyline at night compliments the colour scheme and adds a sense of mystery as it is dark and not mich can be seen pass the teenagers. They seem to all be wearing the typical attire of any other person with jeans, trainers and shorts; however, one of them has a back pack which suggest adventure as he wouldn't need to pack much if the dilemma of the film was quick to overcome.

I think that this poster is aimed for those who enjoy adventurous films against the backdrop of sci-fi. The movie poster does well to refer to the genres using the colour scheme and its features. The USP is that the group of friends discover a time machone and they use it to go back in the past to change small things for the better of them only; this causes the problem in that they change other things for the worst the rest.

Film Treatment

Film Promo

Treatment

Using what you have learnt about the process and conventions of film promotion create a treatment for your chosen genre.

Group members:        4                                           

Chosen genre:       Supernatural Horror                

Title of film:               Say Your Prayers                    

Outline of Ideas:

What is the basic plot synopsis?

The main character and her friends who are 17-18 have been assigned a project in school to make a short horror film. During the making and editing, they experience paranormal activity that is caused by a curse. The course is because they use and destroy a photo they found in an old book. They are haunted when making when fake bleeding cuts turn out to be real and when editing, they review the footage to have apparitions of the dead also wanting to rest in peace.

What type of characters will be in the film?

The main protagonist

·      an 18 year old student who hard working and ambitions planning to go to a good university

·      out of all characters she is the most level headed

·      She is a sceptic however she does eventually believe what paranormal activity is happening to them

  

Where will your trailer be set?( details of interiors, exteriors, etc)

·      School - classroom, library

·      Night scene in park– students filming location

·      Unknown locations – in a dark room, only characters are visible

What other aspects of mise-en-scene do you need to consider?

·      Makeup, costume – gore/horror needs fake blood and injuries, clothes are damaged

·      Ouija board, shot glass, old photo, camera props

·       Found footage – camera is blurred (in editing)

What conventions of the genre will be included in your trailer?

·       Jump scares

·       Blood found on random places – walls, ceilings, unknown injuries

·       Hiding from something – behind doors and closets

·       Blunt weapons to defend the characters

Repertoire of Elements

Supernatural Horror Mood Board

Iconography on Supernatural Horror mainly includes visual representations of death, vulnerability and good vs. evil. Death will include skulls, gore and graveyards whereas vulnerability will include being restricted by chains, weapons that could kill and the setting of isolated places with the lack of aid. Themes such as religion can also be included in all but works most especially well with good vs. evil due to the debate of justifying if a person is right or wrong because their religion is their belief. The dangerous aspect to religion within horror is how far a person can carry believing in their religion until it can harm another being.

Supernatural itself is popular with movie fans because although some may be in fear of the unknown, many are curious and would like to see where a fictional story can end up.

Trailer Analysis 2 - Blair Witch Project

The found footage thriller/horror Blair Witch Project starts by a shot on a camera held by someone running in an abandoned building. The sole sound of running out of breath during this clip is effective in immediately informing the audience what type of movie this is. The fact that it is also by point of view allows us to empathise for them as we see what they get into later into the film.

The build up of tension appears both in footage and music put together by synchronised editing. The characters' curiosity lead them to the isolated forest and an abandoned house. The moment things go wrong, the characters' speech become high pitched, shaky and mostly questions such as "What's going on?" implying that they have no idea what will happen; that they are all vulnerable. The music score is intense in building up in volume and higher pitch.

Going back to the beginning footage, the character are running around in the abandoned house or forest and screams can be heard; from this gore and violence is expected. The selling point in the trailer which is exactly the same as the first movie, is that a supernatural, demonic character is killing them off one by one. This concept shown in trailers seem to appear in most thriller/horror or supernatural/horror films.

Trailer Analysis 1 - Chronicle

Chronicle is an unconventional superhero film in that the students who get superpowers weren't born of galactic royalty nor has a mentor to tell them about what they get. The trailer therefor starts with the three main characters in school from the camera the protagonist (Dane DeHaan) films the whole movie with. When they stumble upon a mysterious underground area, they start to panic. Editing uses static transitions from each to the next thus emphasising that something wrong is happening until it blacks out.

When they get back to their normal lives, they start to experiment with what they can do and the main character has killed someone without thought. A tense rise in music is applied to build up the suspense and tension as the audience anticipate what they are going to do about their problem non of them their age can handle. The camera angles and shifts also become much more unstable implying no sense of control of the next events. The footage shows various damaged such as cars being lifted and crushed when the main character turns evil and lets loose with his powers. 

The transitions near the end also become much more glitched and some footage is pix elated and static in between shots. Nerve-racking experiences from the whole film is put into a montage beside a crescendo of music. This would include the three flying in the sky through clouds, people crashing in between building floors and the units of army closing in on them. These random set of clips in a montage make the audience question what is happening so that people will watch it in cinemas.

Reviews - NERVE

It’s no coincidence that Nerve, the most successful attempt at melding the virtual world and the real one so far, was directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, the film-makers behind Catfish, itself a mind-melting “documentary” that unpicked the myth of online identities. 
-The Guardian 

“Nerve” succeeds mainly in showing us how exhilarating it can be to embrace them.
-New York Times 

Like one of its daredevils hanging one-handed from skyscraper scaffolding, Nerve mostly manages to maintain its precarious balance of pulpy suspense and social commentary.
-Rotten Tomatoes 

Reviews provide an insight from experts who understand how to analyse a film. It gives the audiences and idea of their own future opinions of the movie after they have watched it. In many ways, it tells the audience whether or not the film is worthy of spending money and time to watch. 

The reviews can also help bring up conversations between people in the hopes of making the film a common topic whilst it is in the cinemas. The review may include unbelievable snippets of a film without giving away too much that may cause controversy making the audience want to go the cinema to see it for themselves. For instance, one review mentioned one of the characters hanging off a crane; people who hear this might know of the actor and they might have only heard that they are in the film because of the review.

As the film becomes popular with the public it is possible critics can also praise the movie. The audience's response also affect later reviews as much as the reviews affect the public response. 

Website Analysis + Social Media Use - NERVE

                                                             http://www.playnerve.com/

Prior to entering the website, a neon sign of an eye appears saying 100% underneath. Automatically, I am getting a sense of the film's theme as technicolored with a bit of mystery to make the whole movie intriguing to audiences targeting those looking for an exciting film; even more so that this is a thriller. The same colour scheme is applied throughout for the texts and lighting for each scene in the movie.

The movie's poster appears at the top making it recognisable from other public places it appears in such as buses, train stations and bus stops. Film posters, movie stills and the storyline follow to introduce the film. Embedded on the website are gifs which are short-time moving images that repeat from the film and phrases from the film inviting the audience to join them such as "We dare you". Other enticing phrases include "You can be famous" and "Play to survive".

From the top of the page to the bottom, icons of social media websites are linked to their official accounts. The use of social media is powerful in reminding the audience and fans of the film that the movie is out in the cinemas. The inside veiw of movie posters, stills and soundtracks invite the public to be intrigued and teased even before release; sales are already predicted to be successful when many people visit the website and many people follow the accounts on social media. This shows that there is already an interest in watching the film within the public. The behind the scenes visuals make the audience feel like they have known the film for a long time which helps in the build of anticipation until the film comes out.

Welcome

This is Beamari Alarva Suerte's blog post for my A level Portofolio.